The Spies to Canaan and Why God Was Angry (Part Two)

Good morning.

In Numbers 13:28 we read the report of ten of the twelve explorers: “But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.” They thought with their carnal mind and reacted on information that they had heard through the news of the day. Through all the ages people have actually not changed. Our circumstances and technology may have changed, but when it comes to the nature of man there is nothing new under the son.

People talk and are lovers of news reports and gossip. Anak must have been a well-known notorious person, for the Israelites knew of him and he certainly created fear in these ten spies’ hearts. These ten also looked at their potential circumstances and panicked. They saw these impressive fortified cities and thought: ‘How will we ever settle in this land with all these hostile people in their fortified cities surrounding us.’ The thought that the Lord had actually promised that He would give them the land and that they therefore would actually occupy those cities and have everything ready-made for them, did not occur to them.

What has the Lord promised us? “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 4:6-7).

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own,” (Matthew 6:25, 31-34).

Just like the ten spies looked at these huge people and their fortified cities, and in the process forgot that the Lord had actually promised to give them the land, we often look at tomorrow and all its challenges and forget what the Lord has promised us. We also hear on the news of all these coming financial disasters, look at the political situation around us and the increasing crime and forget the Lord’s promises.

When it comes to provision we know we need to earn a living, for money won’t fall from the sky. If we therefore are called to work in the marketplace, we should do it, but it should not take up time that belongs to the Lord. He should always receive the firstfruits of our time as well. We do our best and He provides the remainder, since has promised His provision. I have recently heard testimonies of where people were in dire straits and money actually arrived at their front door in an envelope. It happened to us before as well.

We can also set ourselves up for blessing. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you,” (Luke 6:38). The context in which this passage was written applies to any form of giving such as giving judgement, condemnation, forgiveness, mercy and obviously blessing, which includes provision for others’ needs. If we are interested in doing business as an income, and we trust and please the Lord, we are set up for provision via that source. If we work for a salary and experience difficult times, we may not have a miraculous amount of money paid into our bank account every month, but the Lord will cause our resources, such as the food in the cupboard, the tyres and fuel of the car and so on to last longer. I remember a few times in the past when I realised our budget would never reach beyond the fifteenth of the month, but the next thing we knew we have made the end of month – an accountant’s nightmare.

To be continued.

Lord, please help me not to look at the circumstantial giants, but to you and your promises.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

The Spies to Canaan and Why God Was Angry (Part One)

Good morning.

When the Israelites reached Canaan, the Promised Land, Moses sent spies or explorers into the land to see what it was like. Here follow a few extractions from Numbers thirteen and fourteen where it was recorded. “²³ When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs.” When they returned “²⁷ they gave Moses this account: ‘We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. ²⁸ But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.’ ³⁰ Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.’ ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.’ ³² And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, ‘The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. ³³ We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them,’” (Numbers 13).

In Numbers 14 we read how Israel reacted in fear and what the Lord’s reaction was http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+14&version=NIV1984. If you have time you may read it. I will extract a few relevant passages though. Joshua and Caleb tried to remedy the situation by saying in verses 7-9: “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

Israel had the opportunity to repent and believe Joshua and Caleb, supporting them, but instead they actually anticipated killing them. Note that the Lord waited with His reaction to the situation until He saw what Israel’s decision would be, before He gave His verdict. Once again he wanted to destroy Israel. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?  I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they,’” (Numbers 14:11-12) and once again Moses had to remind the Lord of the consequences of such a decision (see verses 13-19). The Lord forgave them, but they had to bear the consequences of their decision as we see in the remainder of the chapter.

Where do we stand in this regard? The reason why Israel was punished is because they didn’t believe and trust the Lord. They chose to believe what men said about the circumstances rather than challenging the circumstances together with their God who was greater than their circumstances. Note that Joshua and Caleb never said that they will have a ball of a time when they entered the land. They admitted that they had to deal with the inhabitants, but that the Lord would be with them as they do it.

The giants we have to slay today are our carnal nature and the spiritual forces, and these giants make every effort to create unbelief in us. We are constantly tempted to follow human guidance to solve our problems, rather than relying on the Lord – to make for instance money (Mammon) our security instead of faith that the Lord will be our provider. We should be busy taking the land the Lord has given us – His Kingdom and all the souls that should enter it, looking unto Him who is all sufficient.

To be continued.

Lord, please help me to trust you.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

By What Do We Live?

Good morning.

Some of us already experience it and some of us are on our way, but it still remains very difficult – living by faith.

What do I mean by living by faith? Living by faith is to take the Lord on His word. ‘He said it; I believe it and that settles it.’ I am constantly learning it, since the Lord continually puts me into situations of purification and having to rely on Him and His promises.

Living by faith remains a choice though. When we end up in difficult circumstances, we have a choice to try and get out of it in our own way or to abide by the directions given in the Bible. Say for example somebody refuses to pay us what we are due. The logical human reaction would be the desire to strangle the person until they pay up J, but since to most of us it would be violent, we may prefer the legal route. So there we go, fighting a bitter legal battle that affects our testimony and our relationship with various people and the Lord Himself.

How would Jesus have done it though? “‘You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles,” (Matthew 5:38-41). Yes, you have read it correctly; we should not demand the money back.

Oops, so how do I get my money back? Well the choice is ours whether we are prepared to forgive and by that lose the money, but to trust the Lord to provide. If we have to calculate the risk we can find peace in the fact that forgiveness will earn us a treasure in heaven, so for now we have lost, but in heaven the reward awaits us. I had to do that a number of times in my life.

In the Word of God are many commands and promises that require faith to obey. Do we trust the Lord for our protection and that of our loved ones, standing on His many promises regarding protection as for example Psalm 91? I am not only referring to physical safety, but also to moral and emotional safety. In this evil world we do not actually have a choice, but to rely on the Lord in that regard. Concerning the emotional and moral safety of our children we can do all we can by obeying Proverbs 22:6: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it,” but we cannot stop the world from making their impression on them. We need to rely on the Lord to watch over us.

As we obey, searching our hearts and working along with the Lord as He initiates change in us, hearing what He tells us and doing something about it, we walk by the faith showing the Lord that He matters to us (Philippians 2:12-13: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose”). If we “lean not on your own understanding,” as Proverbs 3:5 says, but “trust in the LORD with all your heart” He will be pleased (Hebrews 11:6).

The end of the age is near and the Lord is preparing wise virgins, who are attentive to His call and commands, to usher others into His Kingdom by acting in faith.

Where do you stand? We all have a choice to either live a secular life dictated by the desires of the sinful nature or to live a life of faith, led by the Holy Spirit.

Lord, I need to make my choice. Please reveal yourself to me.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

 

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

Use Your Intelligence

Good morning.

How many of us tend to separate our religious life from life itself. We seem to live ‘secularly’ during our work week and when we relax, but on Sundays or during our midweek meetings we switch over to ‘spiritual mode’. Countless times I have spoken to somebody and when the conversation went in a spiritual direction they suddenly switch over to this solemn tone of voice and facial expression. How does our thinking process differ when we are involved with the spiritual things in comparison with when we think about the practicalities of life? Don’t we sometimes ‘not think’ when we face spiritual dilemmas or just stand back passively hoping that the Lord will intervene?

The Lord once showed me that I have received a certain level of intelligence and that, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, I need to use my gift of intelligence just as much as I would use any of the other gifts I have received for the purpose of building the Kingdom of God. When Jesus sent out the twelve in Matthew 10:16 He told them: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Other translations use the word wise instead of shrewd, but if one looks at the Greek, shrewd or crafty are accurate translations. What Jesus actually told the disciples here is: ‘Listen my friends, don’t just barge into spiritual challenges and let people walk all over you. Think it through, hear from the Holy Spirit, and be clever.’ We need to outsmart the enemy with our intelligence skills, guided by wisdom and anointing from above.

Jesus said in Mark 13:11: “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” This does not only apply to persecution, but to any challenge we face as we serve the Kingdom of God. We may be challenged with arguments by a person from some false religion whom we try to lead to the Lord, or for that matter by anybody who do not believe. We need to have an attitude of being wise, clever, shrewd, crafty, or whatever we want to call it, creating in us the right frame of mind to use our intelligence skills, combined with the Holy Spirit’s wisdom to accomplish His will.

Being crafty or shrewd has a bad sound to it, I admit, especially in the light of us having to be pure and holy, but it is only a skill to outsmart the enemy in a war situation, which we actually are in. We always need to measure our actions by Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Paul was a good example in this respect. When he was arrested by the Roman army after being falsely accused by the Jews and being prepared to be flogged to get him to talk, we read in Acts 22:25: “As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, ‘Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?’” What a clever move. He could have just submitted to ‘what will be, will be’, but the Holy Spirit reminded him of his heritage and he acted like a son of the King. I love the soldiers’ reaction in verse 29: “Those who were about to question him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.”

Something similar happened in Acts 16:37-38: “But Paul said to the officers: ‘They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.’ The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.” He stood his ground.

The Lord knows how to deal with people and how to build His Kingdom. All He needs from us is to respond to His instructions bravely by using our intelligence.

Lord, please guide me.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

What If Jesus Returns Today?

Good morning.

The Lord seems to keep our attention on Jesus’ teachings or warnings about His return.

Before I continue, I would like to mention a comment I had from a reader of our previous message about the wise and foolish virgins. The wise virgins wouldn’t give some of their oil to the unwise virgins. In the light of the previous message; anointing to act within our gifting (letting our light shine), which is represented by the oil of the virgins, cannot be passed on, our reader said, we need to receive it from the Holy Spirit ourselves. My child cannot act on my anointing and I cannot act on the pastor’s anointing. The anointing is made available only through an intimate relationship with the Lord through obedience.

Today I would like to look at Luke 12:35-48  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2012:35-48&version=NIV1984 and in particular at verses 42-44: “The Lord answered, ‘Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth; he will put him in charge of all his possessions.’”

We are all called to manage something for the Lord, which is why we have been equipped with the gifts we have. What is it that you are responsible for? Maybe you would like to seek the Lord’s face and enquire of Him what it is He would keep you accountable for when he returns. If you read these passages in Luke 12, and in Matthew 24-25 we are told that Jesus’ coming would be sudden and the message is clear that we should be ready at all times.

The picture we receive from these passages is one of where the people carelessly continue with life the way they like to, with no regard for when the Master would return to check up on them. They have been given responsibilities and when the Master returns they will have to answer to Him. Yet, they are unconcerned.

Where do we stand in this regard? What will we answer the Lord Jesus if He suddenly returns today? In the light of our previous few messages, will we actually join Him in the clouds or are we going to stay behind because we were not ready? If we are to answer to Him, will we be able to account for what we have done with our anointing and gifts, and with every opportunity that has been put before us?

You may now say that I focus too much on accountability and that we are living under grace. We cannot ignore the Word of God, can we? If it is written, so it will be and we will not escape it, which is why the Holy Spirit considered it necessary to raise prophets and watchmen to make His people aware of what is to be. Luke 12:48b says: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” What are you gifted with?

I wish I could put it more gently. We keep praising the Lord for His kindness and grace in church and I am not sure whom we try to bluff, since these words of Jesus are all but gentle. We are now living in a time of grace, but we should not abuse it for it certainly is going to turn into a time of judgement. Jesus said in Luke 12:45: “But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk.” Would ignoring the needs of others and only living for ourselves, being the judges of the less fortunate, count amongst such abuse?

What did Jesus say in conclusion to this prophecy? “That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows,” (Luke 12:47-48a)

I wonder what He meant by it, but prefer not to find out... and you?

Lord, help me live as if you may turn up today.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

Would You Have Oil For Jesus?

Good morning.

As I concluded our previous message with these words: ‘Will you not please make a commitment in your heart to prepare for the coming of the Bridegroom?’ the parable of the wise and foolish virgins crossed my mind. Therefore we are going to look at it today. You will find the passage in Matthew 10:1-13 and at this link: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025:1-13&version=NIV1984. Please read it before continue reading this.

As I prayed about this message during the past couple of days a few thoughts occurred to me about the virgins. Since the parable is about what the Kingdom of God is going to be like during ‘those days’ as Jesus put it, we are going to look at this passage from that perspective. In the previous chapter Jesus spoke about the signs of the end of the age, and ‘those days’ therefore refer to the end of the age. If you haven’t concluded yet that we are very close to the end of the age and that Jesus is coming soon, you may want to start looking out for the signs. I am not one of the prophets that would pinpoint a date for Jesus’ coming, since only Father God knows when, but I am quite convinced that it will be still in our lifetime.

So, let’s look at the virgins. First of all they were virgins, who were undefiled and pure. As Christians we were made undefiled and pure through the blood of Jesus and every time we confess our sins we are pure again. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness,” (1 John 1:9). These virgins therefore represent Christians living during the end times, awaiting the coming of the Lord Jesus.

The virgins had lamps with them. I don’t know what the traditional meaning of lamps was during wedding ceremonies in those days, but what I do know is that with regard to the Kingdom in these days we read in Matthew 5:14-16: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” The lamps therefore represent our testimony and our gift with which we are to glorify the Lord or the Bridegroom. In order for the lamps to keep burning oil is needed as we have seen in this parable. The foolish virgins ran out of oil for they were not prepared.

Generally oil represents anointing in the Bible, so in order for the lamps of our gifts to keep burning it needs to be fed with anointing. Without the Holy Spirit’s anointing our gifts are powerless and will function by earthly wisdom and effort. How do we then obtain the anointing of the Holy Spirit? The foolish virgins had to go and buy some oil, obviously at the same place where the wise virgins obtained theirs earlier. We obtain our anointing the same way, except we don’t need to pay for it. Read Isaiah 55 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2055&version=NIV1984 and note a few passages: “Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live” (verses 2-3), and “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (verse 6).

The Holy Spirit anoints those who seek Him and obeys in faith, those who choose to let their lights shine. If we are careless and aloof, just living our religious lives, not really interested in serving and glorifying the King of kings with the gift He gave us for that purpose, we will be without oil when the Bridegroom arrives and will not enter with Him. I have heard of a pastor with the anointing for healing who slid back into a sinful life of alcoholism, but in his drunken state would pray for people and they got healed. God is faithful even though we are unfaithful (2 Timothy 2:13). He doesn’t look at our religious pretence, but whether our hearts call out for Him every moment of every day, seeking to be obedient.

Lord, show me what to do to be ready when you come.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

The Lord’s Grace Allows us Opportunity To Change

Good morning.

I'm placing this late tonight since on Friday morning I'm not available.

We have discussed in the previous message that we should never be content with our stand before the Lord. Only those who live holy lives will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). This is probably meant for this life as well as life in heaven. Jesus said that He will show or reveal himself to those who obey His commands (John 14:21). When He reveals Himself, isn’t that exactly what seeing the Lord means?

If I have a gift for you in my pocket and tell you I have something for you, and ask you whether you are able to see it, you will probably think I am nuts and will ask me how you can see it unless I show it to you. We can spend the whole evening together and you will learn nothing more about what I have for you unless I reveal it to you. If I then tell you I will reveal it to you if you do what I ask you to do, you are suddenly in a difficult position. Do you really want the gift so badly that you would obey my instructions in exchange for the gift?

In the same way the Lord wants us to obey His commands before He reveals Himself to us. For us to be able to be a position to hear His every command and to do as He tells us, we need to stay close to Him, very much like a good servant or employer is ready to obey every wish of their superior. Isn’t that what holiness is – setting aside all those things that distract us so we could be attentive to the Lord’s commands? If we live in such close harmony with Him we will get to know Him intimately, just as Moses got to know Him and we will then ‘see’ Him.

But then eternity also awaits us, and only those who lived holy lives will see God as Hebrews 12:14 states. Romans 10:9 declares: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Matthew 16:16, Luke 8:50 and Acts 16:31 similarly state that those who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved. In John 3:3 Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,” and in verse five He confirmed it by saying “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Can you see that He mentioned here the Kingdom and not God Himself?

I will leave the deduction from these passages to you, but they were shown to me when I once told the Lord I didn’t think it was fair that those who just believe and live self-centred lives should have the same privileges in heaven than those who really sacrificed everything for the Lord as for example the apostles did. The picture of heaven I received at the time depicted Jerusalem and surrounds, where those who only believed lived in and around the city, those born again in the palace of the King, but only those set apart for Him through holiness will be in His courts and presence. I have used this analogy before for those who have seen it, but I think it is such an important incentive for us to work with the Lord at changing us into obedient productive instruments in His hands (Philippians 2:12) as we have discussed in the last few blogs.

I urge you my brother and sister to heed these words, which the Lord so repeatedly speaks through me His servant. We hear so many messages on God being a gracious Lord, but He is only gracious whilst we are on earth to give us opportunity to change from being saved into being holy, since He so much desires for us to be with Him in person. In life after death He will be the judge. He is raising up many messengers like me to urge us to prepare for the end. I myself have been through tremendous purification and still am being tested.

Will you not please make a commitment in your heart to prepare for the coming of the Bridegroom?

Lord, please help me to heed to your word.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

Are You Content with Your Spiritual Condition?

Good morning.

The human being is a highly intelligent and innovative being. Most of us constantly look for something to interest us. We have all kinds of hobbies, sports and entertainment to keep our active minds occupied. In our careers we always aim higher and have lofty ambitions. We are not easily content – in fact we constantly want more.

However, when it comes to a relationship with the Lord, we easily are content with just doing our religious duty. To some of us being religious is a completion of the perfect life. We have our financial fortunes growing, our children have their model lives, our homes are tastefully decorated and our careers are doing well. Being religious just completes the picture of a dream life, since it ensures that we will have a secured eternity as well.

Paul the Apostle, who had been tremendously fruitful in Christ, seemed to have turned this around just the other way. In Philippians 4:12 he stated with regard to his material needs: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

However in Philippians 1:9-11 he wrote: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” Does this point to being content in our walk with Christ? No, on the contrary he coupled a growing knowledge and insight to love. How can this be? Isn’t love just doing some service at church or in the community – a practical and giving gesture? It is, but our ultimate goal is to show people who God is. In His prayer for the disciples in John 17:3-4 Jesus said: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”

In our secular lifestyles we can hardly have enough, but how about our relationship with the Lord. Do we have a constant hunger to know Him? There is a difference between knowing about God and knowing Him. When I first met my wife I knew about her. I knew her features, how her voice sounds and after talking with her for a little while I knew some of her interests, her world vision and so on. But it was only after I have walked with her for some years, with us testing one another, that I know her – what turns her on and off, what I should and shouldn’t do in her presence, and so on.

Jesus said that eternal life is to know God. Knowing about God is not sufficient, since James 2:19 tells us: “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” Knowing the triune God is to seek Him, spending time with Him, going willingly through the trials and tribulations that He uses to help us discover ourselves, and to deny ourselves so He could become more and us less (John 3:30). Only those who are set apart and know Him will see Him, since without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). In fact, the depth of our current relationship with the Lord will just proceed in heaven.

As we spent time with the Lord, suffering through the tests He puts on our path, we will gain more knowledge of Him who is love and grow in our depth of insight into His ways. It is only when we see ourselves in the light of His glory and love that we will have insight into our real condition, and only then will we be able to work at changing ourselves to be become like Him - pure and blameless, filled with the fruit of righteousness, to the glory and praise of God.

Jesus was without sin, but this was not what pleased His Father. It was because He has brought Him glory on earth by completing the work He gave Him to do (John 17:4).

Thank you, Lord that through Jesus’ sacrifice I am also without sin in your eyes. Help me to know you and complete the work you gave me to do.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

What Happens to Idle Hands?

Good morning.

In the previous message we spoke about discovering ourselves through trials and tribulations. We have also learnt in the past few messages that sin is much more than just disobeying the Ten Commandments. Jesus’ commands that He issued during His teaching on earth and through the Apostles’ teaching are more comprehensive and stricter, and deliberately disobeying them is regarded as sin, which hampers our relationship with the Lord and will cause us not to see God due to unholy living (Hebrews 12:14).

We know that many Christians rely heavily on the teachings about God’s grace, but if that is all that the gospel is about, we can tear out and burn most of the New Testament, which gives a lot of instruction and commands about what we need to do to please the Lord.

The sinful nature and Satan eagerly await every opportunity to get us to sin and disobey the Lord. There is the story of a man, called Mike who got a job on the railways during those years, and as a benefit got a house next to the railway track. Concerned about the noise of the trains, he approached one of the current residents of the area and asked how much the noise of the trains actually bothered them. The neighbour answered that it did bother in the beginning, but after two weeks you get used to it. In that case, Mike said, he will move in two weeks later.

We tend to avoid the nagging awareness-, and ignore the Holy Spirit’s conviction that living only for our own comfort, being only busy with meeting our own needs, only keeping the Lord as crisis centre, doing our religious duty and so on is as much sin as for example stealing and adultery.

The idiom states that ‘the devil finds work for idle hands’, meaning that if we have nothing to do, we are usually tempted to do wrong things. This is very true in real life, but even more so in spiritual life. If we do not have purpose with regard to ‘seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness’ (Matthew 6:33), doing Jesus’ commandments so He could reveal Himself to us (John 14:21 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014:21&version=NIV1984), and many more instructions in the Bible, the devil and the sinful nature will find something to fill that space, such as ‘how-to’ directions to selfish living. What I am saying is that we need to live for the Lord and for Him only. If we do not determine in our hearts to hear from the Lord every day what He wants us to do regarding His requirements and do it (Kingdom interests), Satan and our sinful nature will make sure our time is taken up by other worldly interests.

We are not proclaiming a super spiritual life here. To anybody born into Christ, Christ is their life, which is why He said in John 14:6: “I am the way the truth and the life.” We are pilgrims, ambassadors, soldiers – call it what you wish – from the Kingdom of heaven, resident in a foreign country called earth. Jesus prayed in John 17:14-16 for those who love and follow Him: “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it,” and we read in John 15:18-19: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.” Where do you, in your relationship with the Lord, fit in? Our identity, purpose and destiny are heaven. Our sinful nature, however, attach us to this world and Satan uses it to keep us attached if we do not decidedly live out what we are – Kingdom ambassadors.

Lord, please help me to live and work in obedience to you, so that my hands will not be found idle.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

Discover Yourself

Good morning.

We all live a lie! That may be put a bit harsh, but the word of God does say in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Man is by nature very crafty to twist and bend life the way they want it. We easily justify our actions, interpret the Bible to suit ourselves, pretend we live in certain ways as to deceive people into believing certain attributes about us, often act in ways to turn circumstances to our advantage and use people for our benefit. Maybe you feel now that I generalise a lot – well if the cap fits, wear it.

The Lord told Samuel when Samuel had to identify one of Jessie’s sons as the next king to be anointed: “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart,” (1 Samuel 16:7). So who are we bluffing? Talking of David; why was David called a man after God’s own heart? It was because David realised he couldn’t fool the Lord and often had a broken and contrite heart before the Lord. We only need to read his psalms to see his heart.

He concluded Psalm 139 with these words: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting,” (verses 23-24). Have you prayed these words before, meaning it? I would be careful if I were you. We don’t know ourselves and easily deceive ourselves, but the Lord means business with us and His ultimate goal is to get us to see Him, for us to be in His presence. The only way for us to be in that position is to be holy, set aside for God, since according to Hebrews 12:14 “without holiness no one will see the Lord”, and this is the Lord’s ultimate goal for every single individual who submits themselves to it.

Yes, the Lord only works with the willing vessels who are prepared to be changed and refined unto holiness, which is why Philippians 2:12-13 says: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” The words ‘continue to work out your own salvation’ indicates our determined decision to work together with the Lord to get where He wants us to be.

We don’t know our hearts, for our hearts deceive us. “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known,” (1 Corinthians 13:12). The Lord knows us fully and His ultimate goal is for us to know ourselves fully, for only if we know who we really are we can forget about ourselves and focus on the Lord.

The way we discover ourselves is through trials and tests. How would you know how far you can run on your level of fitness if you do not start running and test yourself? How would you know how you would behave under high pressure if you are not put in that situation? How would you know whether you would have the faith to wait upon the Lord in difficult circumstances if you don’t end up in such circumstances?

Some of us allow sin in our lives too easily, which hinder our relationship with the Lord. If the Lord does not allow the consequences of sin to shake our lives, how will we ever discover that we cannot play cat and mouse with the King of kings?

To see the Lord requires holiness – complete devotion. In such a relationship is no place for any idols and the only way we will discover what the idols are that keep us from being holy, is when these idols are smoked out by the pressure of trials and tribulation. That is why the comfortable church in countries controlled by Money tends to stagnate, and the church in persecuted and poor countries prospers spiritually.

Lord, please allow trials and tribulations to reveal me.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

Being Alert Equals Life (Part Two)

Good morning.

What kind of temptation must we watch out for? We don’t know. That is why a country and its army have spies. They don’t know what the enemy’s next move is going to be or what threat the country faces in terms of terrorism and crime. Satan and his subjects work undercover and in darkness and they need to be sniffed out, so to speak, which is why we are commanded to watch.

We need to be constantly alert. On the front in a warzone the soldiers expect anything from their enemy, so they are constantly on guard. Guards are posted at the base and landmine detectors go ahead of the vehicles searching for landmines. There is no such thing as everybody having a leisurely time in the canteen after a day’s work or a relaxing drive.

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings,” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

Satan’s primary purpose is to “to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10) so that our relationships with the Lord and each other can be affected. For example he doesn’t want the Kingdom of God to grow. If he therefore could rob us from our security in Mammon, so we can worry and put our own needs before those of the Lord, he succeeded in hindering us to first seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) and managed to make us ineffective.

In another example Satan knows that Jesus said in John 13:35: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”. Therefore if he can succeed in messing up relationships between Christians and by that causing them to be selfish, the world would lose interest in Christianity since to them these people, serving a so-called loving God, are no different from them.

He is out to kill our passion for Christ through the busyness of our lifestyles, our self-centred approach to life and our need to be self-sufficient. He destroys our efficiency by tempting church entities to become religious and man-centred, resulting in millions of passive Christians warming the pews on Sundays as they listen to adorable preachers who seem to conveniently ignore the commands in God’s word to obey what He tells us to do, and therefore not preach it and make it happen – all these are temptations.

Can you see the subtlety of these temptations? So what is the solution? The solution is to hear from the Lord, to walk daily in the Holy Spirit – to watch and pray. In our previous message we likened the Holy Spirit to a satellite that can see where we cannot. He watches on our behalf and we just need to be in the control room to receive the information that the Holy Spirit relays through to us.

I have been in a position where I lost a lot by being tricked by my flesh into making disastrous decisions, which I thought at the time was right. The Lord, however, has seen it coming and ahead of the crunch gradually gave me passages from the Bible that would create faith in my heart and give me a solution in the situation. When the crunch came I was settled in the Lord and knew why it had happened, what new direction the Lord sent me into, and how He was going to care for us. Because I walk by the Spirit daily, I picked these up in my spirit and made it my portion. I did not panic and ran to Mammon for help, but silently humbled myself before the Lord, repented of my foolishness and once again surrendered my life to Him. This sounds very super spiritual, but I am far from that and am learning daily to surrender more of my time and resources to Him.

There are much more to temptation than the obvious, for there are so many areas in which we can be hindered to be what the Lord’s heart’s desire is for us as individuals.

Holy Spirit, I want to be tuned into you so I can receive the information regarding temptations that you relay to me.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

Being Alert Equals Life (Part One)

Good morning.

Did you enjoy the series about the book of James? We need to be challenged, since that is why we have the Word of God. As a father I put challenges before my children. I have one teenage son left at home and, as long as I have him around, I will challenge him with issues that he will face in life, such as doing properly whatever he sets his mind to, to persevere with what he started, to work hard and honestly when he does a job and so on. Those who have children should know that they do not always do what is expected of them from the first moment they are told – they need to be encouraged and reminded.

In the same way we do not do everything we are commanded in the Bible. For the past nearly a year the Lord prompted me to write these challenging reminders of what He expects of us, should we desire to obey Him and please Him. James focused a lot on sin and trials in his book and in this message I would like to touch some more on temptation.

Temptation come in many ways and can be more subtle than we think. We often think of temptation as we are being tempted to eat a piece of cake that we shouldn’t and so on. We also only look out for temptation that is obvious, such as the temptation to steal or lie. Satan and even the sinful nature are, however, much more crafty than that. Remember we are in a war between darkness and light, and in a war the two factions constantly create strategies to outsmart the other. Satan or the sinful nature will not come to us claiming ‘I am Satan and you shall sin before me’. He will lay an ambush and a trap for us – very subtly tempting us to be disobedient and therefore sin. Let us take the example of Jesus’ time of praying in Gethsemane as recorded in Matthew 26:38-46.

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’” Do you think this was a command Jesus gave His disciples and expected it to be obeyed? Do you think disobeying a command of Jesus could be considered sin? We read that Jesus went to pray and when He returned He found the disciples sound asleep. “‘Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?’ he asked Peter. ‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak,’” (Matthew 26:40-41).

What was the temptation? It was to put the needs of their bodies before those of Jesus – to consider their own priorities more important than those of their Lord. Satan used the needs of the sinful nature to lure them into negligence and carelessness. This was not an obvious sin such as breaking one of the Ten Commandments, but it was disobeying an instruction from the Commander, leading to an ineffective army. How many of the Holy Spirit’s instructions do we ignore daily because we only consider the needs of our flesh.

Note the words “watch and pray”. A soldier on the battlefield, especially with guerrilla warfare as it is done these days, has to watch out all the time and buddies have to watch out for one another. We need to be on the lookout for temptation in any form and expect it to be very subtle. Jesus also commanded prayer, for the Holy Spirit is our ‘satellite’ that can see where we cannot, so if we stay in prayer He will warn us against deceptive attacks of temptation to sin.

Why is this so important to the Lord? It is simply because sin causes a break in our relationship with Him and hinders our spiritual growth and efficiency.

To be continued.

Lord, help me to care enough about pleasing you, so I would watch and pray.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.