Month: November 2020

Jesus gave us a frightening prophesy of the last days. After telling us that persecution will   happen with the government and religious institutions complicit in persecuting individuals on His account, Jesus notes that we should not expect immediate relief. Rather, intensification. Betrayal within families, a reversal of the 5th commandment and finally worldwide hatred of those who represent Him;  “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” 

Surely those will be (and for some already are) terrible days. Days that call for prayer and intercession. But all the prayer and intercession one can raise cannot stop the ultimate will of God to punish a nation for their wickedness, nor cause God to choose a righteous instrument as the tool for such punishment. 

The late David Wilkerson once wrote how the prophet Habakkuk saw the people of God about to experience that exact thing in the coming invasion of Judah. Habakkuk cried out to God for mercy and relief; 

“Habakkuk was saying, in short: “How can this be, O God? I have interceded endlessly, beseeching you to bring revival to your people. I have prayed with such faith, such hope, but revival never came. Why have you ignored my prayers?”… To Habakkuk, it appeared that God stood by passively, not acting at all. It seemed that as wicked men grew stronger, God’s people grew weaker. And it continued with no judgment being visited on the wicked.

God never did explain to this prophet why the wicked gain power and force their will upon the righteous. He never answered Habakkuk as to why he seemed silent to his cries. This had to baffle the faithful prophet. Habakkuk certainly expected God to provide him with explanations. He surely must have thought the Lord, in his mercy, would reveal why he seemed silent and why his promises seemed to fail. Maybe God would explain to him the calendar of future events concerning Judah and Jerusalem. But no such explanations were forthcoming.”  

Instead, all God said to Habakkuk was, “the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” 

Similarly, all Jesus says to those who experience the terror of the wicked on His account is, “he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” 

That has to be enough. 

As Habakkuk said, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”  

May we have the same outlook, should we live through such a time. 

Habakkuk looked through the fog and mist and wondered at God’s program, but in Christ we know God’s plans for this age.

Warren Wiersbe

APPLICATION: Worship

Our God is God Most High, sovereign over all the earth and all who live upon it. Let us ever praise His Name. 

In Matthew 10:17, Jesus solemnly warned us that we would be handed over to human institutions (“they will hand you over to the local councils.”  He told us we would be publicly and physically abused by religious groups (“they will … flog you in their synagogues.”  He warned us that we would be “brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.”  He told us that such would happen “on His account.” Then He gave us a word of encouragement for that time, “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” 

Every preacher can tell you that most of the time they do concern themselves with what they will say, and also how they will say it. Good preparation of a testimony and careful consideration of how your message will be received is always prudent. The preacher speaks for God, so they should and must take care to ensure the words are what God would have for that group of people, at that point in time. Preaching His Word is a sacred and high responsibility. It cannot be taken so lightly as to not bother preparing! 

Of course there are times when you cannot prepare, on account of an unexpected opportunity. In such cases, the Word of God exhorts us, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”  In other words, it is required of the Christian that you are prepared, even when you haven’t had the time to properly prepare! Like a seasoned outdoorsman caught in a sudden storm, your prior training and character come to bear. You will be ok because of who you are as a person, even though you don’t have all the external tools you’d normally bring to such an occasion. 

For this reason, while not everyone is a learned preacher, every child of God knows that God uses them to speak to others from time to time. Occasionally, one’s words will be very literally the words of God to someone else, who will know that God has just spoken to them. That is why we share our testimonies, and a good part of the value of participating in small group Bible study. From each member of His body, we can hear God speaking to us. 

While that is occasionally true, Jesus tells us it is always true when the circumstance is one of forced testimony to someone in authority. If you squeeze a sponge, what it has absorbed comes out. Crisis always reveals character, and the more urgent the crisis the more raw the revelation of character is.

We can therefore know that the suffering God may call us into is never wasted. It is a testimony against those who dare to try to sit in judgment of the body of Christ. Moreover, we can know that every torturer, every ungodly judge, every dictator who persecutes the people of God – they have all heard from God and been given opportunity to repent. 

Even if what they heard, they heard through the duress of others.

You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.

C.S. Lewis

APPLICATION: Thankfulness

Let us be thankful that as long as we pursue God wholeheartedly, we need not worry about how we will react in the day of duress. In that moment He will give us exactly the right words to say that carry eternal impact.  

In Jesus’ day, “The Roman justice system and the local Jewish justice system sat side by side. Submission to the Jewish authority was a choice (but a necessary concomitant of membership in the Jewish community); submission to the Roman authority was mandatory.” 

To this day, Christians world over make a very deliberate decision to abide by the laws of at least two governments. The laws of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the laws of the country they abide in. Many of us live according to multiple governments, adding civic government, territory/state/provincial government and local church government to the mix. These mixes usually result in the Christians of the community being very literally the most law-abiding citizens of the land. 

But sometimes the laws of our physical land – be it country or territory – and the laws of our God and King collide. In those cases it is required that the Christian adhere to the higher authority. For the laws of a province cannot trump the laws of the country, and the laws of the country cannot trump the laws set by God Most High. When that happens we are inevitably brought before a human ‘justice’ system on charges of lawbreaking. Jesus told us as much would happen, “On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.”

Jesus will later tell us again that we will be witnesses in Acts 1:8. Most times that means we’ll have opportunity to witness to those in our circles. But sometimes we have opportunity to witness beyond our normal circles. To police officers, to judges, to jailed inmates, to lawyers and court officials. Sometimes even to governors and kings!

That’s not always a pleasant witness experience. Not for us, and not for those we are witnessing to. For while most of us in our present western society can witness without fear, and to the effect of leading others to Jesus, some will witness in fear, and as a testimony during the final judgment which will be used against those we witness to. 

In such cases, our witness is of the presence of Christ (in speaking His words), the character of Christ (in courage and boldness), the wisdom of Christ (in purposing to exalt the humble and humble the proud) and the power of Christ (in view of His ultimate triumph). In such cases, it is also our testimony of the presence of evil (that they would judge God’s own), the error of human ways (that the powerful persecute the vulnerable), the foolishness of those who sit in ‘judgment’ (for they will be judged), and the weakness of demonic systems (which cannot even stop the testimony of an innocent and vulnerable person).  

All of that is on Christ’s account. It is to His glory and happens because Jesus wants us to be witnesses. So much so that we really don’t even have a choice in the matter. We will be witnesses. Even to those over us on the earth, and even to all the earth. 

Amen.

No redeemed man must be in any degree an unwilling witness for his Lord.

Charles Spurgeon

APPLICATION: Intentionality

To be called upon to witness for Christ is an honor, for it does not fail to carry a reward. Let us then be all the more eager to witness for Him, both in season of grace and in season of difficulty. 

That Jesus is our savior is good news! That Jesus is our Lord and God is welcome news. That Jesus modeled a sinless life is great news. Yet that Jesus’ life was itself a prophetic act – a model for all who come after Him – is actual new information to most. Often, hardly welcome news at all. But so it is; we are to live our lives as He lived His. A life of putting God the Father’s will and purpose far before our own. A life of complete and total daily submission to God. A life of full obedience to His Word, and that in the fullest expression of the term (far from legalism). A life of daily dependence upon Him. A life of daily listening to His Voice. A life of prayer, and a life prepared for suffering for the sake of the other, even at the greatest of costs. 1John puts it this way, “The one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.”

In living like that, Jesus also modeled and taught internal keys to doing so successfully. Some of those are (like the beatitudes) are well known. Others are less so:

“Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues.”

Jesus’ point here is that we should be προσέχω (prosechō), meaning ‘paying attention’, ‘be concerned about’, ‘to be alert for’. He is not saying that paranoia is a godly trait. Paranoia is an unhealthy suspicion that others are out to hurt us. It is true that some are, and the rest of the verse plainly tells us so. But those who constantly suspect others are planning their hurt find themselves living a stunted life devoid of joy. Jesus is not telling us to live like that. Rather, He is saying we must keep space for thought before responding to those we encounter. We simply do not know the motives of others, the spiritual forces behind their words or actions, or where those words and actions will take us.

A modest level of internal guardedness is therefore actually most wise. It gives us room to think about what God is doing in the midst of our encounters with others. No doubt that everyone He sends us to or sends to us is someone who needs to see Christ in us. But some need to see Christ in us as an affirmation, and some need to see Christ in us as a testimony. How best to respond is not something we should do without thought. It is that space for thought that Jesus is speaking about. It is the or internal guard that allows us to ask Him for guidance before we respond, and to hear His Voice in so responding.

Taken in the context of what Jesus just said about being as shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves, we hear Him telling us to be alert SO THAT we can be shrewd in our dealings with the called, and innocent in our dealings with the wicked. Being on guard will not avoid persecution. But it will ensure that in all our dealings, we accurately represent Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

The very worst side of the world will be turned towards you when you have been nearest to the eternal throne. Pirates look out for loaded vessels.

Charles Spurgeon

APPLICATION: Intentionality

Only the Lord can recognize the intentions of others with accuracy all the time. We must therefore lean into the Spirit’s guidance.

The Church and the individual Christian are faced with much opposition. Some of that   opposition is overt and blatant right from the get go. Their voices are loud and boisterous, their movements obvious and threatening. Some of that opposition is quiet and some of it is quite sly, its movements hidden in plain sight within the church itself.   

Beyond the ever-present temptations and trials, there are those outside of the church that seek the destruction of the church and the people of God. They will campaign to limit Christian activity, seeing prayer at a flagpole, or a Bible study at the workplace, as an assault on their sensibility and way of life. They will shout you down, throw rocks through your windows and spray paint the church’s walls in efforts to intimidate God’s people. They will threaten physical harm and then carry out that threat in efforts to shut down the Gospel and stamp out the move of God. 

But even worse, there are also those who seek to destroy the fabric of the church and God’s people from within. Those who pretend to be believers, but have not actually been changed by a personal encounter with the Spirit of Christ, or they’ve so grieved the Spirit of God that they can no longer hear His appeals for surrender. These are the sleeper cells of the enemy. They do not contribute in meaningful ways, but they are loaded with criticism of those who do. 

Both groups are dangerous to the unity of the church, the life of the immature believer and the nascent seeker of God. Both groups are also inevitable. They will be encountered by every believer at some point, and by every church at some point. All the more so when the believer goes out into the world to spread the Gospel! Fortunately, Jesus has some words of wisdom for us in this regard, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

Some might think that the Lord means for us to be shrewd among the wolves, and innocent among the doves. Certainly from a human standard that makes sense. But He is actually encouraging us the opposite, and for good reason. The apostle Paul put it this way, “I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” 

To the wicked we must be blameless and pure. This is a testimony to them of God’s perfection, and a judgment on them for not acting likewise in the presence of those who reflect His character. One commentator put it, “The innocence called for will involve a consistent integrity that is prepared to suffer rather than compromise and which is careful to give no grounds for legitimate legal objection.” When we act so, the Spirit of God convicts those who persecute us of the evil they are doing. And they cannot shout down His conviction, for it is a conviction in their hearts, not their ears.

It is among the good that we must be shrewd and wise. Constantly seeking for their betterment, intentional about their discipleship and pure in our use of the Word of God. By this the people of God are encouraged toward Him in praise, and by our silence the people of our enemy the devil are encouraged toward God in repentance. Let everything we do draw people to God.

Amen.

Christians need hard heads as well as soft hearts.

Pete Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli

APPLICATION: Intentionality

Pray for and practice wisdom among the pure, and grace among the wicked. 

Jesus’ instructions to His disciples for pioneer missionary work is to go with the goers,   and to leave those who reject the Gospel preached to God’s wrath, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”

That sounds harsh. But in the book of Romans, Paul declares that people have no excuse to reject the arrival of the Gospel, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” 

The preaching of the Gospel and the accompanying evidence of His Kingdom provided to those who have never heard or seen it before is the first glimmer of the coming Kingdom of God. It is a ray of hope. A light in the darkness that must not be ignored. Those who do ignore it are like those who shut their eyes when the first light of dawn breaks across the horizon. They do not want to wake up. They think themselves better off without the light. They desire to keep dreaming. It is to them a harsh and unwelcome reality to which they react poorly. Reacting physically to its presence, they do their level best to suppress the light.

God’s view is that the Gospel is so precious, and so many are perishing without it, that the limited time of those who have been prompted to carry it to new places must not be wasted. There are other fields that do not put up so much resistance. Resistance and suppression of the Gospel are legitimate gauges of one’s call to preach. Only those who know they have heard the voice of God telling them to stay, can stay. The rest must move on, but not before participating in God’s intention to pour out His wrath in judgment on those who refuse the free offer of His grace and forgiveness. 

That participation consists not of violence, but prophetic act. The plain, ordinary and  small act of shaking off dust from one’s feet. It is a silent signal, perhaps physically noted by no one except God alone. It is a sign to those who see it, and to Him a flare. For to them it signals the withdrawal of the Gospel, while to God, it signals where to pour forth His wrath. Not the wrath of his fiery anger, but the wrath of His withdrawal and silence. 

That is a far worse judgment than calamity, because calamity brings grief, and grief might bring about repentance. 

Silence and abandonment brings about only greater anguish of soul, as the wicked forsake repentance and instead work themselves into ever deeper pits of hopelessness and despair. Until the day they stand before His throne, and repentance is no longer an option.

When God is silent, and speaks not by His judgments, men think He is like themselves and are emboldened to sin; but when God thunders by His judgments, they have other apprehensions of Him.

William Greenhill

APPLICATION: Intentionality

When God is silent in prayer, He nevertheless speaks through His Word – so whatever you do, do not stop seeking His face. 

To this day, it is appropriate when visiting a friend’s place for the first time to say   something along the lines of, “What a nice place you have here!” It’s just a kind and appropriate thing to say. Sometimes we wholeheartedly mean it, and sometimes we say that out of courtesy. It is not always a comment on how much we enjoy their taste in home décor or their selection of furniture, or even the location and style of their home. But its origin is not in politeness or vanity. Its origin is part of the revealed character of God, who both provides shelter for His creation and first seeks to bless. So the idea of hospitality and seeking to bless others upon greeting them is all through the Scripture.

This in mind, it is hardly surprising to hear Christ’s instructions to the traveling Gospel minister, “As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.” Luke puts it this way, “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.” 

Blessing a house might seem strange, but the blessing is not for the house itself. It is in recognition that the visitor brings the presence of God with them, and ultimately meant for the people who dwell there. Commentator John Nolland says, “Though only a standard Jewish greeting, in the present context it has become an anticipatory bestowal of the blessings of the coming kingdom of heaven. With this precious new significance it seems improper to mis-bestow it. The disciples are, however, told not to worry about that possibility. Their bestowal of peace will function like the benefit bestowed by the baptism of John: the significance of the act will be determined by the manner in which it is received.”  

Read that again, “The significance of the act will be determined by the manner in which it is received.” Isn’t it so with so much of the Kingdom of God in the here and now (before God’s physical return to earth)? Recall how John baptized people and then warned them, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” John wanted them to know that the blessing of baptism for repentance is only as sure as the obedience of the one who repents. Those who went through John’s baptism and didn’t repent (or even intend to) cannot escape God’s judgment. God cannot be fooled by behaviour that doesn’t fool us. 

Jesus told us to ‘baptize’ (in a manner of speaking) a residence when the presence of God’s Spirit in us enters said residence as we walk into it. Then, whether that blessing gets attached to the person who occupies the home or not becomes entirely dependent on whether that person co-operates with the Spirit of God or offends (grieves) the Spirit of God. If there is a foothold for the holiness of God’s blessing there, God’s blessing stays there. If not, then not. It is for this reason that showing hospitality to the people of God is so helpful, because they always leave a blessing wherever they stay. For as the Spirit of the Lord goes, so goes the blessing!

Throughout the saga of history, God consistently initiates relationship. He is a gracious host, constantly welcoming in wayward sinners who deserve His wrath—a people whose only hope is that He would show them underserved hospitality

Dustin Willis and Brandon Clements

APPLICATION: Intentionality

The next time you are welcomed into a home, remember to bless those who live there!

Jesus’ instructions to the traveling minister in Matthew 10 are straightforward. They were to go only where they were called to go. They were called to not only preach, but minister and do works of power. They were to completely rely on God for their daily sustenance. They were also to have a particular strategy when they got to a new town. 

Simply put, the first missionary trip Jesus commissioned His disciples to was to expand the Kingdom of God by bringing the Kingdom to places where it was not recognized before, even though the people there already had the Word of God and considered themselves the people of God. Jesus sends His disciples to minister first to their own culture. Going to familiar towns and villages, they were to find the ‘worthy person’ there and focus entirely on that individual and their household. The disciples were not to use a crusade approach. Jesus notes that even if finding that person involves a search, it would still be His desired approach. He said, “Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave.”

It is of note that Jesus’ chosen method for this missionary work was not widespread advertising advance of their arrival followed by a public meeting. Neither were they to use a mass market approach by handing out written pamphelts or announcements. Jesus also does not give instructions for a street ministry. Nor a compassionate door approach such as a soup kitchen or clothing loft. Nor a teaching ministry, or a language ministry or a sport-related outreach. No, the disciples were to use an evangelism method we now call “the person of peace” method. 

It is of some significant note that Jesus’ approach is entirely dependent both on God’s providential circumstance and Spirit-led decision. The town they would find themselves coming into is the next town they could get to. That’s literally obvious. The person of peace (the “worthy person”) they would find is the person the Spirit of God leads them to discover. A person of peace is just someone who has both influence and interest in God’s purposes. You find them in your travels as God leads both your paths to cross. They express interest in you because they can sense something of God’s presence in and upon you. They express interest in your message because they want to know God better. They are able to demonstrate hospitality because they have means, and it becomes obvious as they do that, that they also know many other souls. 

That may not be obvious at first glance, but it is certainly not mystical. The disciples would need to use nothing more than a bit of spiritual discernment and basic common sense. Blogger Michael James Breen put it this way, “Find the person of peace, the person who is open to you, interested in you, likes you, wants to be around you. Go to their turf, where they’re comfortable. Allow them to serve you, show you hospitality. Spend intentional time with them, and be ready to do the works of the Kingdom and speak the words of the Kingdom (in appropriate ways).”

The mission of God done the way Jesus would have us do it requires neither great resources or great pre-planning. But it does require radical obedience and radical dependance on our Father in heaven and His Spirit’s work in our lives. Being the hands and feet of Jesus always has.

Amen.

When our people cast fear to the wind and spend themselves and risk their lives and fortune in the cause of God’s truth, and in love for other people, then God is revealed for who He really is: infinitely valuable and satisfying—so much so that His people don’t need the fleeting pleasures of sin in order to be content.

John Piper

APPLICATION: Intentionality

Who has God lead you to? Who has He lead to you?  How is He being glorified in those relationships?

Anyone who has ever gone camping in a remote location knows the importance of proper preparation. Unlike car camping, where you can simply drive to the nearest store or go home in a few hours, remote camping typically involves hiking or canoeing a full day or more just to get to where you want to be. Once you get there, you soon realize that if you haven’t brought it and the location doesn’t naturally provide it, it isn’t there! Nothing quite grips you like realizing you forgot a warm enough jacket, are running out of fresh water or didn’t pack quite enough food. The rush of adrenaline immediately gives way to a near-overwhelming sense of panic. Such things turn trips into adventures, albeit in a most uncomfortable way. Not properly managed, they can even turn what was supposed to be a wonderful trip into a life-or-death situation. Preparation is important.

The same is true of all overnight travel. You always want to ensure you have enough money to get to where you are going and the right clothing for the conditions you’ll find along the way. We know these things. So Jesus’ advice to His disciples as He sends them out appears to fly in the face of common-sense, “Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.” Is Jesus saying that preparation is not necessary for the Christian? 

Hardly. Actually, Jesus had been preparing His disciples for some time for this next step in their journey of faith. Jesus was following a plan, and that plan required the discipling of a group of followers who could take the Good News all around the world, discipling many more along the way. All that Jesus had done to this point was His preparation, and now He commissions the disciples knowing they are spiritually prepared enough to do what He wants them to do. 

Commentator Stuart Weber writes, “Having trained the disciples by example in chapters 8–9, Jesus took them another step forward. His command not to take any money or supplies for their journey was a great challenge to their faith in God’s provision. Jesus wanted the Twelve to focus on who they represented as they ministered to those in need. If they would make his kingdom their sole focus, the Father would provide their daily needs through those to whom they ministered.” Commentator Leon Morris puts it this way, “The disciples are workmen for God, and they can rely on their employer to supply the things they need.” 

They can, and they must. Jesus’ point is not that they should be truly unprepared. It is that when you have chosen to wholeheartedly follow Him and are spiritually prepared to do what God wants you to do, you can rightly expect God to provide all you need to glorify Him as you go. God’s obedient disciples  are not assured of a comfortable life, nor a life free from want. Rather, it means we will not physically lack what He needs us to physically have to fulfill His purpose through us.

Our fallen nature is untrusting, so our flesh tells us to reject that idea and store up an abundance for ourselves that is so great we could not possibly use it all along the way. Yet it is obvious to all who look on that hoarding resources is evidence of distrust of the Father as our provider. Worse, our lack of faith hinders God’s message through us. Knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to let go and simply trust Him. But it does cause us to daily choose to overcome our fallen flesh, and simply trust Him along the way. 

Through following Christ’s example, believers will persevere and learn to live in dependence on God alone.

Tokunboh Adeyemo

APPLICATION: Worship

God will provide for His obedience followers. This is the promise of eternity. Why should it not be our promise for today? Let us worship God, believing on His provision.