Purpose for Deliverance

“KOPH. I cried with [my] whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes. I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.” (Ps 119:145-146 AV)

We fail to remember that the purpose for deliverance should be obedience.  We want deliverance for many reasons.  We want deliverance because the trouble we feel is too great to bear.  We want deliverance because we know that the loss from our troubles will be more than we can take.  We want deliverance simply to be at peace.  We want to be saved from our troubles because we are ashamed of our failures.  We do not like the feeling of guilt.  So if the LORD saves us, then those unfavorable feelings will suddenly fall away.  We want the LORD to save us for many reasons.  And they are all good reasons.  Yet the one that should be at the top of the list is obedience.  We should want deliverance so that we are at liberty to wail in obedience and faith toward our God.  Israel learned this the hard way.

Our Psalmist tells us in psalm 137 that the captors of Israel required a song of Zion.  They required mirth when there was none.  One of our O.T. prophets tells us that there was great weeping for Jerusalem and the temple that once stood there.  Another prophet tells us that those who returned were provided the opportunity of restoration and worship.  He called it a nail in the place.  Israel and Judah, when carried away to Assyria and Babylon respectively, mourned for their homeland.  Initially, they mourned for those familiar things they missed.  But over time, they missed what they should have safeguarded all along.  They missed the temple.  They missed the liberty to live in the laws of the Old Testament.  They missed what made them who and what they were.  It is astounding that when Cyrus opened the door for their return, so few did.  Those that did struggled.  They had revival.  But not without a few failures along the way.  Just ask Nehemiah.  What the leaders did was to always have in the forefront Mosaic law and worship.  God brought them back from Assyria and Babylon so they could recommit to following the law.

We want to be free from all sorts of trouble.  We want it for all sorts of reasons.  The purpose for our existence is to fellowship with our Creator through obedience and faith.  That is what makes mankind unique.  The trouble we face is intended to increase one or both.  For Israel, it was obedience.  For Peter who walked on the water, it was faith.  Sometimes, it is both.  It is okay to ask for deliverance from guilt and shame.  It is okay to ask for deliverance from overbearing circumstances.  It is okay to seek liberty from troubles.  But let us remember the first priority.  We are to increase in conformity and trust.  We are to mature by a broken will and a soft heart.  If we want the LORD to turn our situation, we must remember that He will do so with the expectation that we will obey and trust more than we have in the past.

An All In Prayer Life

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb 10:22 AV)

A true heart in full assurance of faith.  That is the condition of which we need to approach our living and loving God!  A true heart in full assurance.  That is quite a mouthful.  That is no small thing.  A true heart in full assurance is not something easily attained.  First and foremost, our hearts can only be made true by the blood of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.  A heart that is fully assured finds itself there through the careful reading, studying, and application of the word of God by the work of the Holy Spirit.  Having a true heart that is fully assured comes when God has His way and we willingly yield to it.  What we must remember is that ‘true’ here does not mean sinless.  It means sincere, founded on truth, and pointed toward truth.  Think of a compass.  It points to magnetic north, and not true north.  Full assurance of faith does not mean absent of all fear or anxiety.  A bit of trepidation is understandable.  What God requires is a step toward Him regardless of the fear which may reside in our souls.  In short, the apostle tells us that when we draw near to God, check our hearts for truthfulness and faith.  The phrasing indicates this is possible and doable.  We have it.  Let us use it!

The phrase “all in” comes to mind.  If one is going to do something, then he or she should do it 100%.  The book of Acts in chapter twenty-seven relates Paul’s experience aboard a boat in the middle of a serious storm.  Verse fifteen is one of those verses that are extremely descriptive of the event.  They were caught in a storm, and Paul said that they stopped trying to control the ship and “let her drive”.  They were all in.  There was no turning back.  Come what may, they were totally and completely in the hand of God.  That is an anxious place to be.  It is like those who choose to bungee jump.  I was watching videos of this sort of thrill activity with people who were not prepared to jump of their own accord.  Most were distracted by the professionals and then pushed off the ledge.  They all had one thing in common.  Not one single jumper enjoyed the experience.  Not to say that they refused to repeat the jump.  Perhaps they were once they got over the initial fear.  But what we do know is that they did not like the experience as it started.  Those who were wound back to the top did even worse.  Those who go all in yell with exclamations of elation.  Going all in changes the experience.

This is the apostle’s meaning of a true heart full of assurance.  He tells the Hebrews that they had lingered enough in mediocrity and indecision.  It was time to go all in.  First by accepting their Messiah as their Savior.  Now, it is time to do the same with everyday living.  It is time to go all in.  It is time to have a sincere heart toward the things of God, get right with God, and in spite of anxieties and concerns, to trust Him nonetheless.  Time to go all in.  “Let us” means to yield to the experience of an unobstructed relationship with the LORD.  “Let us” means to let go of all that gets in the way of a relationship that can be much deeper than it currently is. “Let us” means we get out of the way of the work of the Holy Spirit and let Him do His thing.  “Let us” go to God with a pure heart of assurance means to sit down and the table and never get up.  It means deciding once and for all that we are God’s, and He is ours.  It means to “let nothing between our soul and the Savior”!

Tailor Fit

“For such an high priest became us, [who is] holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;” (Heb 7:26 AV)

Hebrews chapter seven has entertained some pretty useless debates on the identity of the priest Melchizedek.  It is clear who he was.  Melchizedek was a pre-incarnate appearance of the LORD Jesus Christ.  We know this emphatically for three reasons.  First, he had no human lineage.  Second, three times he is said to be eternal.  Third, God the Son would not subject himself for an eternal priesthood on a temporal, man-centered one.  God can swear by no other.  For there is none greater than God Himself.  So, the priesthood of Melchizedek had to be a divine one.  Otherwise, the Son would not subject Himself to it.  Having said that, the verse above is precious, to say the least.  Our High Priest is Jesus Christ.  He is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate, and greater than all of creation.  The most astounding word to me is ‘became’.  The word means “suitable, proper, seemingly fit”.  Jesus is everything we are not.  In His character, attributes, and sacrifice we see how utterly wicked that we are.  Even more glorious is that only God could save such wicked mankind as we are.

Treatment for certain diseases is becoming more tailerable to the individual patient.  CAR-T cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy for certain types of cancer.  The process requires the patient to supply the base of cells that fight disease.  Another patient’s cells will not work.  The T-cell is extracted, modified, and placed back into the patient.  The treatment is specific to the patient.  He or she must use what is unique to them and cannot use any other supply.  One could say that the treatment ‘became’ them.  Another way to look at this word is something that is so uniquely effective that it only works for that one individual.  Or something that is so custom fit that there is only one individual for whom it is made.  It becomes them because it is specific to them and is perfect in all that it does or needs to do.  For something to be becoming, it must check all the boxes perfectly with no possibility of any future needs being unmet.

Our Savior saved us completely and thoroughly.  There is nothing more that can be done or needs to be done.  Every sin is paid for.  Every fault will be repaired.  When He comes again and we are glorified into His image, we will be perfect in every way.  It will be impossible to fall again.  Those who know the LORD as their LORD and savior have been saved to the uttermost.  See the previous verse.  When the apostle tells us that our Savior becomes us, it is a word that has a hard time making a equal comparison to anything in the created world.  Jesus Christ is King.  He is God.  When the perfect God of all of creation comes to suffer and die for a fallen race, His sacrifice is absolutely flawless.  It becomes us because we are absolutely lost.  Praise God for His wonderful gift of grace to the humble and lowly.

Loving Words of Challenge and Affirmation

“But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.” (Heb 6:9 AV)

Some might see this as a remark of disappointment.  Some may think the writer is disappointed in the Hebrews for their rejection of their Messiah.  While that might have been a feeling our writer had, it was not the motive for the statement.  Rather, the motive was meant as an encouragement to excel at that which they were called to do.  The entire book is written to the Hebrews as proof of who Jesus is to them.  The writer relies heavily on the Jewish system of worship as well as the promises made to Abraham.  The statement above is a challenge.  In a loving sort of way, the apostle is challenging them to be all they can be based on what they have.  They have sufficient proof and knowledge of the scriptures.  They have evidence from the gospels and testimony of witnesses.  They have a Gentile legal record.  They have the accounts of historians.  They have all they need.  Now, the apostle tells the Hebrews that he is personally persuaded that the Hebrews are capable of better things.

My high school career was a profound one.  I don’t know why, but most teachers went above and beyond to help me succeed.  I had a few I remember distinctly as teachers who would challenge me to do better than I was attempting.  There was our ninth grade American history teacher.  Two of my English teachers also worked hard to better my grades.  I had a mechanical drafting teacher who poured his heart into my work.  Then, there was one of the teachers who I prized above all.  It was my Photography teacher.  He had a darkroom in the classroom, and I was the only one who knew how to run it.  It was by his mentoring that I learned far more than a hobby.  He taught me to think, to interact with my world, and also how to be a mentor for others.  These teachers had several things in common.  They had a love for their students.  But they also had a commitment to help those students who responded to their instruction to be all they could be.  It is that commitment, love, and hope that change a mediocre student into one that is highly successful.

Note something even more special regarding the above passage.  Note the plural pronoun.  The apostle uses the word ‘we’.  Who is the ‘we’?  The letter to the Hebrews does not mention any author or scribe by name.  Therefore, the only way this could be understood is the author and the LORD.  Now, this is even more encouraging.  It is such a comforting thought when our parents, teachers, pastors, etc. voice a confident affirmation of our ability to mature unto Christlikeness.  They know we can.  They are persuaded that we can.  But when God tells us this, it feels overwhelmingly secure.  When the LORD tells us that He is persuaded that we are capable of good things, then we are far more apt to attempt those good things.  Praise the LORD for His confidence in His wonderful works of grace upon the saints of God.

Take the Escape Hatch

“For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard [him];” (Heb 2:2-3 AV)

That “just recompence of reward” is the reason this writer is so grateful for the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ!  The writer of Hebrews is clear here.  The just recompense of reward for our sin is eternal damnation.  Our Creator created us to please Him.  We are to do that through obedience and faith.  When we fail, we fail the purpose for our existence.  What makes this failure worse than it could be is that the majority of our failure is founded in rebellion.  As disconcerting as the “just recompence of reward” is, the “escape” is its polar opposite.  As frightened as we should be at the possibility of our just recompense, we can rejoice even more at the escape that was provided.  One can only wonder how our lives would be had not the LORD provided the escape clause!  There may be consequences for our choices.  And there often are.  These consequences may be lived in this life and unavoidable until the next.  But there is an escape.  This escape is found in the person of the LORD Jesus Christ!

I can’t remember a time when I was ever in a life and death situation and needed an escape.  At least one that I caused myself.  This writer is rather cautious.  I am not a big risk-taker.  However, I do remember several situations that gained global attention.  Every now and again, we read of a pet or small child that falls down a hole.  Or we hear of a boater who suffers catastrophic failure and is afloat for several days to weeks before anyone finds them.  I remember the miners trapped in Chili.  It grabbed the attention of the entire world.  Thirty-three miners were trapped for sixty-nine days 2,500 feet down and three miles from the mine’s entrance.  The owners of the mine had repeatedly ignored safety warnings, and the mine collapsed.  Over the preceding dozen years, eight workers were killed.  A worldwide effort ensued to get these men up.  The rescuers had to drill another shaft down to where the miners were and build an elevator to bring them up.  As they were winched up one at a time, over five million people watched the rescue in real time.  The accident was caused by human neglect.  One might callously say that these men, who worked for a company that was known for safety violations took an unwise risk.  That might have been so, but I am sure they were grateful beyond words for the escape that finally came!

Our sin deserves the worst punishment that the Divine hand of God would decree.  Our punishment is well deserved.  We made those choices.  We ignored His law.  We went our own way.  Sometimes from ignorance of the law, but most of the time from the depths of our wicked and rebellious hearts.  We shook our fists in the face of God and told Him how we were going to live.  We flaunted our ability to make choices.  We dared Him to stop us.  We hated Him for confronting us in our evil ways and determined that He would never rule in our hearts and lives.  That is the nature of all mankind.  Yet God provided a way of escape.  He drilled the hole from heaven to earth.  He sent down His Son to be our payment.  Jesus died on a cross and bore the wrath of the Father.  He is our way of escape.  We are not trapped.  I am sure that after a few days, those miners realized just how trapped and helpless they were.  Even the manmade ladder that was supposed to be installed was missing.  There was no way out.  Not unless someone from above sent a way of deliverance.  That is exactly what Jesus did!  I shudder to think of what awaited me before Jesus saved my pitiful soul.  You, too, have the same way of escape.  The choice is yours.  You can get in the rescue pod with Jesus and come out of the pit, or you can stay there and suffer the consequences of your rejection.  Our recompense of reward for the sins accumulated over a lifetime is too much to fathom.  The way of escape is far better!

An Encouraging Rebuke

“These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” (Tit 2:15 AV)

I am intrigued by what Paul means by “these things”.  We know that preaching, in general, follows the same rule.  We are to speak the entire oracles of God.  We are to exhort with the entire word of God.  We are to rebuke by the entire word of God.  That is Paul’s instruction to Timothy.  However, in this passage, it seems as though there might be particular things to which Paul is referring.  If Paul intended to refer to his entire letter to Titus, this verse would have appeared at the end of the letter.  Rather, it appears in a chapter with specific content.  The main idea is proper conduct of the saint within the status of their societal place.  The elder men and ladies are to teach the younger how to conduct themselves in both public and the home.  Servants, or employees, have responsibilities to which they should commit.  All the instruction is given in the context of the second return of Christ.  It is the hope of His return that Paul uses as the motivating factor to godly living.  When considering that rebuking in light of hope is the idea here, it brings significant considerations to the mind and heart of the saint.

Speak, exhort, and rebuke are three degrees of the same thing.  To speak here means to utter.  It is a casual conversation or a general call for mutual discussion.  To exhort means to call to one’s side.  In other words, if speaking is effective, the exhortation follows.  Two opposing sides have come together in a mutual agreement to discuss a matter.  Rebuking is to confute or admonish.  Once an agreement to discuss a matter is established, then the truth must be presented.  To confute means to prove to be wrong.  That comes first.  Admonish means to encourage to accept what is right.  Again, that follows a certain process.  We cannot encourage to accept what is right before we can establish what is wrong.  The point here is that Paul did not instruct Titus to use communication as the only goal.  It was the proper use of communication to encourage those in Crete to live Christlike in the hope of His return.

This is where I need to park for a bit.  The imminent return of Jesus Christ is not a popular topic of preaching.  Yet it occupies a significant portion of the entire word of God.  The promise that God will reign on earth is the hope of Israel.  They look forward to their Messiah.  The church looks forward to the return of Jesus Christ so that He alone is worshipped and glorified.  According to Paul, the imminent return of Jesus Christ is a motivation to deeper commitment to Christ.  Not the opposite.  If presented correctly, the church should double-down on living for Jesus.  Not the opposite.  It is a misunderstanding to think that preaching and teaching the return of Christ produces lacks saints in the pew.  This simply isn’t so.  The more we realize how close He is to His return, the less we will worry about the future.  The less we worry about the future, the greater the risks taken to fulfill the great commission.

Comforting Word

“Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?” (Ps 119:82 AV)

The writer equates the comfort that comes from God with His word.  And rightly so.  The LORD may speak is several ways, but it is His word that is our greatest source of comfort.  He may speak of His majesty and sovereignty through creation.  We see how the universe works is perfect synchronization, knowing that the hand of an infinite God planned it all and is running it all.  We can hear the comforting words sent by the hand of God through the words of those closest to us.  We can hear the Spirit’s prompting, feel His encouraging presence, and sense His Spirit bearing witness with our spirit.  We can have all these things by the gracious provision of God, but the word of God excels above them all.  His word is His greatest source of comfort.  That is why I love is so dearly!

Greeting cards are a special treat.  As I approach my later years, I appreciate them much more than in my younger years.  In my younger and more materialistic year's presents were better.  Now, whether it is a birthday, anniversary, a special day of recognition, or the holidays, greeting cards top my list.  Over the past twenty years or so, for different occasions, the children of the church write their own cards.  These are the best!  Some are humorous, but all are charming.  I get the delightful pleasure of seeing my ministry through their eyes.  What a precious gift!  October was pastor appreciation month.  Our church recognized the pastors of our work.  The cards we received still sit on my table as I read them over and again.  They bring a smile to my heart and face.  There is something about a written letter or card that is more valuable than spoken words.  They are the gifts that keep on giving.

The word of God is far more than a book of doctrine and nuggets of truth.  The word of God is His love letter to each of us.  Absent from His direct presence, He has given us His word that right from His heart that speaks to ours.  Only the foolish saint would refrain from reading it every day.  When we involve the Spirit in our reading, the pages come alive.  I was reminded of this very thing.  This past week has been a long one.  For those who love our LORD and want to see the foundation of our nation rise from the depths of secularism, things did not go so well.  But God never dies!  He is still on the throne!  He still reigns no matter how elections turn out.  Nothing new has happened.  Jesus is coming back.  No election can stop it!  Praise be to God.  It is His word that is eternal.  Not this world.  I, for one, am eternally grateful for His written word, which comforts my heart.