Proverbs 15:13; 15; 17:22
Rules, regulations and statutes aren't meant to be amusing, but at times they are. Maybe it's because they are supposed to be so all-fired serious that I find some of them downright hilarious. Some examples?
A San Francisco ordinance forbids the reuse of confetti. In Danville, Pennsylvania, "fire hydrants must be checked one hour before fires." In Seattle, it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon of more than six feet in length. An Oklahoma law states that a driver of "any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in death shall immediately stop ... and give his name and address to the person struck." A piece of noise-abatement legislation was passed in the village of Lakefield, Ontario, which permits birds to sing for thirty minutes during the day and fifteen minutes at night.
Furthermore, we preachers are an incredibly funny lot. And when I study the faces and read about the lives and lifestyles of the pulpiteers of yesteryear, I confess I often chuckle. Many of them - deep down - were wild'n crazy characters.
Such humor is not making jokes out of life; it's recognizing the ones that are there.
Now, I'm not suggesting that everybody start reading the comics or watch all those mindless sitcoms (frankly, most of them aren't even amusing) or tell a lot of silly jokes to each other. That's external, superficial, and shallow. I'm suggesting a project far more significant: developing a lighter heart that comes from a confidence in the living God, the loving Creator, the sovereign Lord who gave us humor and who smiles every time we enjoy His gift.
In the insightful words of Elton Trueblood: "The Christian is joyful, not because he is blind to injustice and suffering, but because he is convinced that these, in light of the divine sovereignty, are never ultimate. The humor of the Christian is not a way of denying the tears, but rather a way of affirming something which is deeper than tears."
Yes, a few things in life are absolutely tragic, no question about it. First among them, a joyless Christian.
A truly cheerful face comes from a joyful heart, not from a lack of concern for life's tragedies.
~Charles Swindoll~
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Hello!
I have been offline all day. My internet server ATT has had "technical difficulties" all day and were not supposed to be back on line until tomorrow morning. Well, appears they got their "difficulties" fixed sooner than they thought. Anyway, I'm so sorry that I couldn't post today. If the internet is working good tomorrow morning, I will be posting, the Lord willing!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
O God ... Thine Enemies # 5
And so as King Jehoshaphat led his people into battle, they said, "Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth forever." What a Mighty, Triumphant Cadence this is for people of God as they take the offensive against God's enemies.
And when they begin to sing and to praise, the Lord set "ambushments" against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir (Edom and others); so they were routed, for the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them completely. And when they had finished with the inhabitants of Mount Seir, they helped to destroy one another ... and no one escaped. God's enemies destroyed themselves (2 Chron. 20:18-24)
Therefore, we see that evil destroys itself, it self-destructs. Revelation 17:8 tells us that which "ascends" out of the bottomless pit, that which "ascends" out of the depths of satan, has one destiny and that is destruction, "perdition". God has determined that everything that ascends out of the depths of satan, no matter how evil it is, is on its way to destruction. "The beast that thou sawest ... shall ascent out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition ... And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth ... goeth into perdition" (Revelation 17:8, 11).
Beloved, in spite of all their efforts to pervert the children of God from the right way of God, the Moabites, and all they represent, will destroy themselves; for sometime during all their evil activities, they will produce a Moabitess called Ruth. And Ruth, whose redemption exemplifies the Grace of God, will prove that God's mercy endureth forever: "...and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat David the king ... and... behold, the lion of Judah, the Root of David... and lo, in the midst of the Throne ... stood a Lamb as it had been slain ... And the Lamb shall overcome them (all the enemies of God): for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him - Abraham, Ruth, Jehoshaphat, the people of Judah, and the overcomers from all ages - are called, and chosen, and faithful."
O God ... for, lo, Thine enemies make a tumult: They are Confederate Against Thee" (Psalm 83)
(4) The Hagarenes: Ishmael was Hagar and Abraham's son, and we have already seen that the Ishmaelites represent that which is "born of the flesh." But what is the significance of the Hagarenes? What is their part in the evil confederation of God's enemies? In 1 Chronicles 5:18-22, which is one of the few places where those who call themselves Hagarites are mentioned, the sons of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh are making war with the Hagarites; and with God's help, the Hagarites were overcome. However, verse 22 makes an interesting statement: "For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God." Because the war was of God! Why? The last time the Word speaks of Hagar, God is very good to her and her son; and although it was God's will that Abraham cast out Hagar and her son of the flesh, God still mercifully provided for them.
We have to go to the New Testament to find out why God made war with the Hagarites. Galatians four tells us that "...Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking: for these women are two covenants, one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children" (verses 22-25).
Now we can see why God makes war with the Hagarites, for allegorically speaking the children of Hagar represent that which is in bondage to the flesh - in other words, they represent that which lives according to the dictates of the flesh. If we trace Hagar's literal descendants (the Arabians) throughout history, we find that no one or no nation, for very long, held them captive or made them slaves. As a people, they are very hard to control or to conquer.
But allegorically, the Holy Spirit is telling us that Hagar's children are children of bondage: - Hagar the Egyptian bondmaid was in bondage in Egypt; she was in bondage when she was with Abraham and Sarah. And when she was cast out, she became free to wander where she desired; but even though she was free to choose her own way, the Holy Spirit tells us that she was still in slavery to the dictates of the flesh. Thus, the Holy Spirit reveals to us through the Written Word that Hagar and her descendants are descriptive of those who seem to be free but, who in reality, live according to the flesh, according to their own affections and lusts. And in God's eyes, this is bondage! Those who live after the flesh have "the spirit of bondage"; those who are led by the Holy Spirit live in "the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Romans 8:12-21).
God made war with the Hagarites because they represent that which causes His people to live according to the dictates of the flesh - "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other." Therefore, "the Hagarenes" are part of the evil confederation against God and His people, and their goal is to bring God's people under the bondage and dictates of the flesh:
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
"Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise" (Galatians 4:28) ... (the Promise); for, "the Power from on High" produced us and we are born from above, we are "born of the Spirit" (John 3:6). And since we began "in the Spirit," we should live in the Spirit, in the Realm of the Holy Spirit. And "if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. If by the (Holy) Spirit we have our life [in God], let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit. And the fruit of the Spirit, [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness; gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]. (Galatians 5:22-25).
~T.Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 6
And when they begin to sing and to praise, the Lord set "ambushments" against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir (Edom and others); so they were routed, for the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them completely. And when they had finished with the inhabitants of Mount Seir, they helped to destroy one another ... and no one escaped. God's enemies destroyed themselves (2 Chron. 20:18-24)
Therefore, we see that evil destroys itself, it self-destructs. Revelation 17:8 tells us that which "ascends" out of the bottomless pit, that which "ascends" out of the depths of satan, has one destiny and that is destruction, "perdition". God has determined that everything that ascends out of the depths of satan, no matter how evil it is, is on its way to destruction. "The beast that thou sawest ... shall ascent out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition ... And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth ... goeth into perdition" (Revelation 17:8, 11).
Beloved, in spite of all their efforts to pervert the children of God from the right way of God, the Moabites, and all they represent, will destroy themselves; for sometime during all their evil activities, they will produce a Moabitess called Ruth. And Ruth, whose redemption exemplifies the Grace of God, will prove that God's mercy endureth forever: "...and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat David the king ... and... behold, the lion of Judah, the Root of David... and lo, in the midst of the Throne ... stood a Lamb as it had been slain ... And the Lamb shall overcome them (all the enemies of God): for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him - Abraham, Ruth, Jehoshaphat, the people of Judah, and the overcomers from all ages - are called, and chosen, and faithful."
O God ... for, lo, Thine enemies make a tumult: They are Confederate Against Thee" (Psalm 83)
(4) The Hagarenes: Ishmael was Hagar and Abraham's son, and we have already seen that the Ishmaelites represent that which is "born of the flesh." But what is the significance of the Hagarenes? What is their part in the evil confederation of God's enemies? In 1 Chronicles 5:18-22, which is one of the few places where those who call themselves Hagarites are mentioned, the sons of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh are making war with the Hagarites; and with God's help, the Hagarites were overcome. However, verse 22 makes an interesting statement: "For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God." Because the war was of God! Why? The last time the Word speaks of Hagar, God is very good to her and her son; and although it was God's will that Abraham cast out Hagar and her son of the flesh, God still mercifully provided for them.
We have to go to the New Testament to find out why God made war with the Hagarites. Galatians four tells us that "...Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking: for these women are two covenants, one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children" (verses 22-25).
Now we can see why God makes war with the Hagarites, for allegorically speaking the children of Hagar represent that which is in bondage to the flesh - in other words, they represent that which lives according to the dictates of the flesh. If we trace Hagar's literal descendants (the Arabians) throughout history, we find that no one or no nation, for very long, held them captive or made them slaves. As a people, they are very hard to control or to conquer.
But allegorically, the Holy Spirit is telling us that Hagar's children are children of bondage: - Hagar the Egyptian bondmaid was in bondage in Egypt; she was in bondage when she was with Abraham and Sarah. And when she was cast out, she became free to wander where she desired; but even though she was free to choose her own way, the Holy Spirit tells us that she was still in slavery to the dictates of the flesh. Thus, the Holy Spirit reveals to us through the Written Word that Hagar and her descendants are descriptive of those who seem to be free but, who in reality, live according to the flesh, according to their own affections and lusts. And in God's eyes, this is bondage! Those who live after the flesh have "the spirit of bondage"; those who are led by the Holy Spirit live in "the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Romans 8:12-21).
God made war with the Hagarites because they represent that which causes His people to live according to the dictates of the flesh - "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other." Therefore, "the Hagarenes" are part of the evil confederation against God and His people, and their goal is to bring God's people under the bondage and dictates of the flesh:
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
"Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise" (Galatians 4:28) ... (the Promise); for, "the Power from on High" produced us and we are born from above, we are "born of the Spirit" (John 3:6). And since we began "in the Spirit," we should live in the Spirit, in the Realm of the Holy Spirit. And "if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. If by the (Holy) Spirit we have our life [in God], let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit. And the fruit of the Spirit, [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness; gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]. (Galatians 5:22-25).
~T.Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 6
The Immense Significance of the Christian Life
There are many misconceptions as to what the Christian life really is. I shall, however, not say very much about this negative side - that is, as to that which is either mistaken, confused or inadequate. The best way of dealing with all such difficulties is to take the positive line, by seeking to present the truth in its fullness, as we may be enabled, and so leave the comparisons to be made by those who read.
Our first phase of this matter, then, is the immense significance of the Christian life. That phrase embodies a principle of very great importance. It is this, that we shall never really appreciate anything presented to us in the Word of God until we see it in its full setting. If we regard it as just something in itself, we miss a great deal. We need to get its great background and its great setting in order to feel the full impact of its significance. That is what we shall seek to do now, as we are Divinely enabled - to see something at least of the immense significance of the Christian life.
The Christian Life Begins with Christ
We shall probably be on the ground of common agreement when we say that the Christian life begins with Christ, but that means a great deal more than it sounds. To say that Christianity began with Jesus is true if you put Jesus in His right setting, and it is just at that point that an adjustment may be necessary in order to grasp the immensity of this matter. For neither the Christian life nor Christianity began with the historic Jesus. They did not begin when Jesus was born, when Jesus lived here, when Jesus died and rose again. It is just there, I say, that we need to make an adjustment. We must know what it is that the Bible shows as to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ In the "Before Times Eternal"
Now you take up your New Testament, and open at the Gospels. You find tat Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus back to Abraham. Luke takes Him back still further, to Adam. Mark begins his life of Jesus at the time of His baptism, when He was thirty years of age. But John reaches beyond them all, back through the thirty years, beyond Bethlehem, back to Abraham and beyond Abraham to Adam; and he does not stop there, he goes still further back. "In the beginning" - whenever, wherever, that dateless time was - "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." That is a statement - and it is only a statement, a statement of truth, of fact - as to the Person of the Lord Jesus; and that, with one or two other sentences, is all that John gives us.
But we have in the New Testament, through another Apostle, a much fuller revelation concerning Jesus in that dateless past. Through the Apostle Paul we are taken right back and shown a very great deal about God's Son "before times eternal," not only before He came into this world, but before this present world order came into being. It is the general custom to begin a biography with something concerning the ancestry of the person in view, leading up to his or her birth, the whole thing being, of course, just an account of the human and earthly history of this person. But the biography of Jesus Christ does not only go right back long before His own birth into this world and beyond His human parentage or ancestry. A large section of the biography of Jesus Christ in the Word of God relates to that which is called "before times eternal." Here are some fragments of Scripture. We hear Him praying. He is praying to His Father, and He is saying: "Glorify Thou Me with Thine own Self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was" (John 17:5). That is really a bit of His biography, or autobiography - "the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." And then the Apostle Paul, in that matchless description of Him, has this one clause, this mighty clause of only five words: "He is before all things" (Col. 1:17). "The glory which I had with Thee before the world was." "He is before all things."
It is right back there, then, that we travel to find the meaning of a Christian, the Christian life and Christianity. Let us contemplate the Lord Jesus there, from the standpoint of definite statements in the Scriptures.
First of all, AS TO HIS PERSON - what He was like then. "God ... hath... spoken unto us in His Son ... Who being the effulgence of His glory, and the very image of His substance..." (Hebrews 1:2, 3). That certainly does not belong to the days of His humiliation. That goes right back, as we shall see in a moment, in the very connection or context of those words - "the express image of His substance," "the effulgence of His glory." That is what He was like before the world was.
WHAT WAS HIS POSITION THEN?
"...Who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped" (Phil. 2:6). Though He was equal with God, on an equality with God, He counted not that equality with God as something to be grasped. Equal with God, on equality with God - that was His position then.
Then AS TO HIS APPOINTMENT. Here again is the Scripture context of the words we quoted just now. "God ... hath... spoken unto us in His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things." "Appointed heir of all things." When did that happen? That was not done in time, that was not at the time of His birth or subsequently. That was right away back there in eternity past. There was something done in the counsels of the Godhead, whereby the Son of God was appointed Heir of all things, when it was determined that all things should be the heritage of God's Son. His rightful inheritance as God's Heir. It was not, of course, that He was to come into it on the demise of God, but God bound up all things with His Son, and made Him their Inheritor. These are things that we know through the Scriptures. How did the men who stated them come to know? Well, they tell us. Paul, who says most about this, tells us quite definitely that it was given to him by revelation: God made it known to him.
That, then, as the "before times eternal." And out of that relationship with God, out of that fellowship with God, and out of that appointment of God, came the next move, the creation of the present world: not the creation of the present world condition, but the present cosmic order; and again we are given very much information and light as to the relationship of Christ to this.
Christ the Agent of Creation
We are told in the first place that He was the Agent of it, GOD'S AGENT IN THE CREATION. Here is the statement: "All things were made through Him; and without Him was not anything made that hath been made" (John 1:3). Or again another statement: "In Him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through Him, and unto Him": (Colossians 1:16). And if it needs another word to bear that out, here it is: "There is ... one Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom are all things" (1 Corinthians 8:6). He was the agent in creation.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 2 - "Christ the Object and Integrator of Creation")
Our first phase of this matter, then, is the immense significance of the Christian life. That phrase embodies a principle of very great importance. It is this, that we shall never really appreciate anything presented to us in the Word of God until we see it in its full setting. If we regard it as just something in itself, we miss a great deal. We need to get its great background and its great setting in order to feel the full impact of its significance. That is what we shall seek to do now, as we are Divinely enabled - to see something at least of the immense significance of the Christian life.
The Christian Life Begins with Christ
We shall probably be on the ground of common agreement when we say that the Christian life begins with Christ, but that means a great deal more than it sounds. To say that Christianity began with Jesus is true if you put Jesus in His right setting, and it is just at that point that an adjustment may be necessary in order to grasp the immensity of this matter. For neither the Christian life nor Christianity began with the historic Jesus. They did not begin when Jesus was born, when Jesus lived here, when Jesus died and rose again. It is just there, I say, that we need to make an adjustment. We must know what it is that the Bible shows as to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ In the "Before Times Eternal"
Now you take up your New Testament, and open at the Gospels. You find tat Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus back to Abraham. Luke takes Him back still further, to Adam. Mark begins his life of Jesus at the time of His baptism, when He was thirty years of age. But John reaches beyond them all, back through the thirty years, beyond Bethlehem, back to Abraham and beyond Abraham to Adam; and he does not stop there, he goes still further back. "In the beginning" - whenever, wherever, that dateless time was - "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." That is a statement - and it is only a statement, a statement of truth, of fact - as to the Person of the Lord Jesus; and that, with one or two other sentences, is all that John gives us.
But we have in the New Testament, through another Apostle, a much fuller revelation concerning Jesus in that dateless past. Through the Apostle Paul we are taken right back and shown a very great deal about God's Son "before times eternal," not only before He came into this world, but before this present world order came into being. It is the general custom to begin a biography with something concerning the ancestry of the person in view, leading up to his or her birth, the whole thing being, of course, just an account of the human and earthly history of this person. But the biography of Jesus Christ does not only go right back long before His own birth into this world and beyond His human parentage or ancestry. A large section of the biography of Jesus Christ in the Word of God relates to that which is called "before times eternal." Here are some fragments of Scripture. We hear Him praying. He is praying to His Father, and He is saying: "Glorify Thou Me with Thine own Self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was" (John 17:5). That is really a bit of His biography, or autobiography - "the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." And then the Apostle Paul, in that matchless description of Him, has this one clause, this mighty clause of only five words: "He is before all things" (Col. 1:17). "The glory which I had with Thee before the world was." "He is before all things."
It is right back there, then, that we travel to find the meaning of a Christian, the Christian life and Christianity. Let us contemplate the Lord Jesus there, from the standpoint of definite statements in the Scriptures.
First of all, AS TO HIS PERSON - what He was like then. "God ... hath... spoken unto us in His Son ... Who being the effulgence of His glory, and the very image of His substance..." (Hebrews 1:2, 3). That certainly does not belong to the days of His humiliation. That goes right back, as we shall see in a moment, in the very connection or context of those words - "the express image of His substance," "the effulgence of His glory." That is what He was like before the world was.
WHAT WAS HIS POSITION THEN?
"...Who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped" (Phil. 2:6). Though He was equal with God, on an equality with God, He counted not that equality with God as something to be grasped. Equal with God, on equality with God - that was His position then.
Then AS TO HIS APPOINTMENT. Here again is the Scripture context of the words we quoted just now. "God ... hath... spoken unto us in His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things." "Appointed heir of all things." When did that happen? That was not done in time, that was not at the time of His birth or subsequently. That was right away back there in eternity past. There was something done in the counsels of the Godhead, whereby the Son of God was appointed Heir of all things, when it was determined that all things should be the heritage of God's Son. His rightful inheritance as God's Heir. It was not, of course, that He was to come into it on the demise of God, but God bound up all things with His Son, and made Him their Inheritor. These are things that we know through the Scriptures. How did the men who stated them come to know? Well, they tell us. Paul, who says most about this, tells us quite definitely that it was given to him by revelation: God made it known to him.
That, then, as the "before times eternal." And out of that relationship with God, out of that fellowship with God, and out of that appointment of God, came the next move, the creation of the present world: not the creation of the present world condition, but the present cosmic order; and again we are given very much information and light as to the relationship of Christ to this.
Christ the Agent of Creation
We are told in the first place that He was the Agent of it, GOD'S AGENT IN THE CREATION. Here is the statement: "All things were made through Him; and without Him was not anything made that hath been made" (John 1:3). Or again another statement: "In Him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through Him, and unto Him": (Colossians 1:16). And if it needs another word to bear that out, here it is: "There is ... one Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom are all things" (1 Corinthians 8:6). He was the agent in creation.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 2 - "Christ the Object and Integrator of Creation")
The Great Unseen Reality Is God Himself
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me" (John 14:1)
At the root of the Christian life lies belief in the invisible. The object of the Christian's faith is unseen reality.
In the world of sense around us, the visible becomes the enemy of the invisible; the temporal, of the eternal. That is the curse inherited by every member of Adam's race.
Our uncorrected thinking, influenced by the blindness of our natural hearts and the intrusive ubiquity of visible things, tends to draw a contrast between the spiritual and the real; but actually no such contrast exists. The antithesis lies elsewhere: between the real and the imaginary, between the spiritual and the material, between the temporal and the eternal; but between the spiritual and the real, never! The spiritual is real.
If we would rise into that region of light and power plainly beckoning us through the Scriptures of truth we must break the evil habit of ignoring the spiritual. We must shift our interest from the seen to the unseen.
For the great unseen Reality is God! "He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." This is basic in the life of faith. From there we can rise to unlimited heights.
"Ye believe in God," said our Lord Jesus Christ, "believe also in Me." Without the first, there can be no second.
God and the spiritual world are real. We can reckon upon them with as much assurance as we reckon upon the familiar world around us!
~A. W. Tozer~
At the root of the Christian life lies belief in the invisible. The object of the Christian's faith is unseen reality.
In the world of sense around us, the visible becomes the enemy of the invisible; the temporal, of the eternal. That is the curse inherited by every member of Adam's race.
Our uncorrected thinking, influenced by the blindness of our natural hearts and the intrusive ubiquity of visible things, tends to draw a contrast between the spiritual and the real; but actually no such contrast exists. The antithesis lies elsewhere: between the real and the imaginary, between the spiritual and the material, between the temporal and the eternal; but between the spiritual and the real, never! The spiritual is real.
If we would rise into that region of light and power plainly beckoning us through the Scriptures of truth we must break the evil habit of ignoring the spiritual. We must shift our interest from the seen to the unseen.
For the great unseen Reality is God! "He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." This is basic in the life of faith. From there we can rise to unlimited heights.
"Ye believe in God," said our Lord Jesus Christ, "believe also in Me." Without the first, there can be no second.
God and the spiritual world are real. We can reckon upon them with as much assurance as we reckon upon the familiar world around us!
~A. W. Tozer~
Saturday, October 6, 2012
O God ... Thine Enemies # 4
O God ... for, lo, Thine Enemies Make A Tumult: - They are confederate against Thee" (Psalm 83)
(3) Moab: Moab and Ammon are the shameful results of Lot's incest with his daughters. Therefore, the children of Moab and the children of Ammon represent that which perverts the right ways of the Lord. Although Ammon is the sixth name on our list (in Psalm 83) oe these ten enemies of God, we are going to consider Ammon along with Moab because these both spring from the same source. Since they are the descendants of Lot, the Moabites and the Ammonites represent the gradual let-down and abandoning of God's spiritual standards. Lot did not start in in Sodom, but in 2 Peter 2:7 and 8 the Scripture declares Lot to be just, a "righteous man," a man redeemed by the Blood. When God destroyed Sodom, He "delivered just Lot ..." So if we follow Lot's history in the Scripture, we will see that Lot gradually, little by little, compromise by compromise, found himself in the midst of Sodom, a citizen of Sodom. Even worse, Genesis 19:1 tells us that Lot sat in the gate of Sodom - which means Lot had become so involved and so compromising as to the right ways of God, that he was recognized by Sodom as a leader. Hence, Lot sat in the place where the Sodomites made their perverted decisions and judgments.
Second Peter 2:7 says that God delivered "just Lot," and Genesis 19:29 says that "God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow," the overthrow, God's overthrow of satan and the evil depths that satan had produced in Sodom and Gomorrah. God remembered Abraham's uncompromising stand against Sodom. "And Abraham said to the king of Sodom ... I will not take anything that is thine ...", and God remembered Abraham's intercession, in the Spirit, and God delivered just Lot (Genesis 14:22-23).
We know that Abraham was not perfect, but God produced through him that which was "born of the Spirit," that which had eternal results. But even though God rescued Lot out of Sodom, Lot did not produce that which had eternal results; Lot produced that which perverted the right ways of the Lord. Lot committed incest with his daughters - and Moab and Ammon, and their descendants were the results.
The Moabites and the Ammonites worshiped many gods, such as Baal, etc. But they are noted for the fact that they worshiped the false-god Molech, also called Chemosh. nd in order to receive strength for war, and in order to come under the evil protection of these false gods, behind whom is satan, the Moabites and the Ammonites committed the ultimate evil! They sacrificed their children as burnt offerings unto these infernal and hellish gods.
Beloved, by compromising and abandoning his stand in the Lord, Lot sacrificed his children, and his children's children to this infernal idolatry. In the time of Israel's greatest spiritual decline, in the time of Manasseh, Israel also succumbed to this evil idolatry. They sacrificed their children to this evil which proceeds out of the depths of satan.
Does this evil exist today? Yes it does! It exists right now in our time because most of what is called Christianity is in a state of compromise wit the world; and along with the world, it is sacrificing its children to abortion, drugs, sodom, and every other kind of idolatry. And because most of the Church has not, and is not, taking an uncompromising stand in the right ways of God - which is the way of the Cross - it continues to rear generation after generation which has no conception of the Cross and Its principles of self-denial. Thus, the Moabites and the Ammonites represent that which is out to pervert the next generation from taking THE RIGHT WAY OF GOD - THE WAY OF THE CROSS. God help us to take an uncompromising stand!
Now, for our encouragement, let us look at a time when great multitudes of the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, (and the children of Mount Seir, and Edom and others) came against king Jehosphaphat and the people of Judah, God's "hidden ones." Jehosphaphat was king of Judah at the same time that Ahab was king of Israel. The kingdom of Israel had been divided at Solomon's death, and the Word says that Ahab did more evil in the sight of the Lord "above all" that were before him. Jehoshaphat made several bad mistakes; the worst being, be made an alliance with Ahab (one time) which proved to be disastrous; and his son married Ahab and Jezebel's daughter - thus, Jehoshaphat sowed to the flesh. However, even though Jehoshaphat made mistakes, the Bible says: "The Lord was with Jehosaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David" (his spiritual father being David), which means he was a man after God's own heart, a man who desired to do God's will(2 Chron. 173; Acts 13:22).
And because of this, the Moabites and the Ammonites moved against Jehosphaphat and the people of Judah, for out of Judah proceeded the generations of Jesus Christ. King Jehoshaphat called the people in Judah together, and they sought God's way of defeating the enemy. Now through his affiance with Ahab, Jehoshaphat had learned to never make war against the enemy unless you are in the right way of the Lord (2 Chron. 17, 18, 19). So, the king and the people prayed and stood before the Lord:
"Oh our God, wilt Thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee. And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones (infants), their wives,and their children" (2 Chron. 20:12-13).
Not One Would be Sacrificed to the Gods of Moab and Ammon!
So the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel who was the result of five generations of the sons of Asaph, the great leaders and singers of Psalms - five generations of those who had stood and praised the Lord in the beauty of holiness, in the way of the Cross:
And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, 'Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jersualem; fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you" (2 Chron. 20:15-17).
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 5)
(3) Moab: Moab and Ammon are the shameful results of Lot's incest with his daughters. Therefore, the children of Moab and the children of Ammon represent that which perverts the right ways of the Lord. Although Ammon is the sixth name on our list (in Psalm 83) oe these ten enemies of God, we are going to consider Ammon along with Moab because these both spring from the same source. Since they are the descendants of Lot, the Moabites and the Ammonites represent the gradual let-down and abandoning of God's spiritual standards. Lot did not start in in Sodom, but in 2 Peter 2:7 and 8 the Scripture declares Lot to be just, a "righteous man," a man redeemed by the Blood. When God destroyed Sodom, He "delivered just Lot ..." So if we follow Lot's history in the Scripture, we will see that Lot gradually, little by little, compromise by compromise, found himself in the midst of Sodom, a citizen of Sodom. Even worse, Genesis 19:1 tells us that Lot sat in the gate of Sodom - which means Lot had become so involved and so compromising as to the right ways of God, that he was recognized by Sodom as a leader. Hence, Lot sat in the place where the Sodomites made their perverted decisions and judgments.
Second Peter 2:7 says that God delivered "just Lot," and Genesis 19:29 says that "God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow," the overthrow, God's overthrow of satan and the evil depths that satan had produced in Sodom and Gomorrah. God remembered Abraham's uncompromising stand against Sodom. "And Abraham said to the king of Sodom ... I will not take anything that is thine ...", and God remembered Abraham's intercession, in the Spirit, and God delivered just Lot (Genesis 14:22-23).
We know that Abraham was not perfect, but God produced through him that which was "born of the Spirit," that which had eternal results. But even though God rescued Lot out of Sodom, Lot did not produce that which had eternal results; Lot produced that which perverted the right ways of the Lord. Lot committed incest with his daughters - and Moab and Ammon, and their descendants were the results.
The Moabites and the Ammonites worshiped many gods, such as Baal, etc. But they are noted for the fact that they worshiped the false-god Molech, also called Chemosh. nd in order to receive strength for war, and in order to come under the evil protection of these false gods, behind whom is satan, the Moabites and the Ammonites committed the ultimate evil! They sacrificed their children as burnt offerings unto these infernal and hellish gods.
Beloved, by compromising and abandoning his stand in the Lord, Lot sacrificed his children, and his children's children to this infernal idolatry. In the time of Israel's greatest spiritual decline, in the time of Manasseh, Israel also succumbed to this evil idolatry. They sacrificed their children to this evil which proceeds out of the depths of satan.
Does this evil exist today? Yes it does! It exists right now in our time because most of what is called Christianity is in a state of compromise wit the world; and along with the world, it is sacrificing its children to abortion, drugs, sodom, and every other kind of idolatry. And because most of the Church has not, and is not, taking an uncompromising stand in the right ways of God - which is the way of the Cross - it continues to rear generation after generation which has no conception of the Cross and Its principles of self-denial. Thus, the Moabites and the Ammonites represent that which is out to pervert the next generation from taking THE RIGHT WAY OF GOD - THE WAY OF THE CROSS. God help us to take an uncompromising stand!
Now, for our encouragement, let us look at a time when great multitudes of the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, (and the children of Mount Seir, and Edom and others) came against king Jehosphaphat and the people of Judah, God's "hidden ones." Jehosphaphat was king of Judah at the same time that Ahab was king of Israel. The kingdom of Israel had been divided at Solomon's death, and the Word says that Ahab did more evil in the sight of the Lord "above all" that were before him. Jehoshaphat made several bad mistakes; the worst being, be made an alliance with Ahab (one time) which proved to be disastrous; and his son married Ahab and Jezebel's daughter - thus, Jehoshaphat sowed to the flesh. However, even though Jehoshaphat made mistakes, the Bible says: "The Lord was with Jehosaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David" (his spiritual father being David), which means he was a man after God's own heart, a man who desired to do God's will(2 Chron. 173; Acts 13:22).
And because of this, the Moabites and the Ammonites moved against Jehosphaphat and the people of Judah, for out of Judah proceeded the generations of Jesus Christ. King Jehoshaphat called the people in Judah together, and they sought God's way of defeating the enemy. Now through his affiance with Ahab, Jehoshaphat had learned to never make war against the enemy unless you are in the right way of the Lord (2 Chron. 17, 18, 19). So, the king and the people prayed and stood before the Lord:
"Oh our God, wilt Thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee. And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones (infants), their wives,and their children" (2 Chron. 20:12-13).
Not One Would be Sacrificed to the Gods of Moab and Ammon!
So the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel who was the result of five generations of the sons of Asaph, the great leaders and singers of Psalms - five generations of those who had stood and praised the Lord in the beauty of holiness, in the way of the Cross:
And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, 'Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jersualem; fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you" (2 Chron. 20:15-17).
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 5)
Embracing the Truth
"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation - having also believed" (Ephesians 1:13)
The gospel is true because Jesus is true, not simply because Christians believe in Him.
After stating salvation from God's perspective in verse 12, Paul here states it from man's perspective. Faith in Christ is your response to God's elective purpose in your life. Those two truths - God's initiative and man's response - coexist throughout Scripture.
Paul rightly called the gospel "the message of truth" because truth is its predominant characteristic. Salvation was conceived by the God of truth (Psalms 31:5) and purchased by the Son, who is the truth (John 14:6) and is applied by the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). To know it is to know the truth that sets men free (John 8:32). Believers are people of the truth (John 18:37), and they worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) and obey the Word of truth (John 17:17).
Yet, as profound and powerful as God's truth is, people have rejected, neglected, redefined, and opposed it for centuries. Some, like Pilate, cynically deny that truth even exists or that it can be known by men (John 18:38). Others foolishly think that denying truth will somehow make it go away.
Perhaps you've heard someone say, "Jesus may be true for you, but that doesn't mean He has to be true for me." That view assumes that belief somehow determines truth. But just the opposite is the case. Truth determines the validity of one's belief. Believing a lie doesn't make it true. Conversely, failing to believe the truth doesn't make it a lie.
The gospel is true because Jesus is true, not simply because Christians believe in Him. His resurrection proved the truth of His claims and constitutes the objective basis of our faith (Romans 1:4; 1 Peter 1:3).
You will face today armed with the message of truth and empowered by the Spirit of truth. Truth is your protection and strength (Ephesians 6:14). Lost souls desperately need to hear that truth. Represent it well, and proclaim it with boldness.
Suggestions for Prayer: Thank the Lord that by His Spirit He has enabled you to understand His truth (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). Ask for wisdom and boldness to speak His truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).
For further Study: Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 and Acts 17:30-31. What key elements of the gospel does Paul list? What is the relationship between Christ's resurrection and God's judgment on sinners?
~John MacArthur~
The gospel is true because Jesus is true, not simply because Christians believe in Him.
After stating salvation from God's perspective in verse 12, Paul here states it from man's perspective. Faith in Christ is your response to God's elective purpose in your life. Those two truths - God's initiative and man's response - coexist throughout Scripture.
Paul rightly called the gospel "the message of truth" because truth is its predominant characteristic. Salvation was conceived by the God of truth (Psalms 31:5) and purchased by the Son, who is the truth (John 14:6) and is applied by the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). To know it is to know the truth that sets men free (John 8:32). Believers are people of the truth (John 18:37), and they worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) and obey the Word of truth (John 17:17).
Yet, as profound and powerful as God's truth is, people have rejected, neglected, redefined, and opposed it for centuries. Some, like Pilate, cynically deny that truth even exists or that it can be known by men (John 18:38). Others foolishly think that denying truth will somehow make it go away.
Perhaps you've heard someone say, "Jesus may be true for you, but that doesn't mean He has to be true for me." That view assumes that belief somehow determines truth. But just the opposite is the case. Truth determines the validity of one's belief. Believing a lie doesn't make it true. Conversely, failing to believe the truth doesn't make it a lie.
The gospel is true because Jesus is true, not simply because Christians believe in Him. His resurrection proved the truth of His claims and constitutes the objective basis of our faith (Romans 1:4; 1 Peter 1:3).
You will face today armed with the message of truth and empowered by the Spirit of truth. Truth is your protection and strength (Ephesians 6:14). Lost souls desperately need to hear that truth. Represent it well, and proclaim it with boldness.
Suggestions for Prayer: Thank the Lord that by His Spirit He has enabled you to understand His truth (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). Ask for wisdom and boldness to speak His truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).
For further Study: Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 and Acts 17:30-31. What key elements of the gospel does Paul list? What is the relationship between Christ's resurrection and God's judgment on sinners?
~John MacArthur~
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