It Still Works

“O [thou that art] named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? [are] these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?” (Mic 2:7 AV)

Although our passage refers to Israel and Judah ignoring the word of God because they believe it to be ineffective, the truth behind the question brings hope to those who desire to know and walk with God in obedience and faith.  The question God poses to the people of God is intended as an accusation.  The charge before the people of God is simple.  For those who wish to walk uprightly, the word of God is effective.  For those who do not, then the word of God is a plain book.  The Spirit of God is not constrained by the words on the pages of the word of God.  If the Spirit is constrained, or straitened, it is only because the reader’s heart is hard.  Therefore, we have a great promise here.  As long as we desire to walk with God and grow in Christlikeness, the word of God is effective.  This is of great comfort to me.

Over the years, the ministry of the word of God to the spirit and heart of the child of God changes.  In our spiritual youth, the word of God was primarily a source of doctrine.  Prophecy was also important.  The facts of the bible and the implications of those truths became our steady diet.  As we grow in the word of God and know the truths contained therein, the ministry of the word of God adapts.  As we grow in Christlikeness, the ministry of the word of God becomes more devotional than informational.  However, if we are not careful to remember this, we can misinterpret the ministry of the Spirit through the word of God as something entirely different.

As we age, our conversations with our spouses or family change.  In our earlier married life, we were learning much regarding the other.  Over the years, we have grown to a point that we can predict what the other is thinking.  We can anticipate thoughts.  As we age, our conversation changes.  Rather than task-driven, it becomes more personal.  Rather than growing on knowledge, our conversation becomes more intimate.  We laugh more.  We smile more.  Our life becomes one of personal growth rather than a function of getting things done.  Some couples see this change as a drift.  But it is not.  It is actually just the opposite.

Reading the word of God and listening to the Spirit are much the same.  We already know the doctrines of salvation, baptism, the attributes of God, or the history of the nation of Israel.  We have read these passages for years.  We know what the next chapter discusses.  We know where the context is going before we read it.  Part of our ignorance assumes that familiarity means we are drifting from God.  But nothings could be further from the truth.  Sometimes, it is the same passages that speak to us again and again.  This doesn’t mean we have stopped growing any more than when we share verbal affirmations of love to our spouse time and again that they become less sincere.  The Spirit of God is not straightened.  He is not constrained.  He is free to do a work in our hearts as long as we seek to grow in Christlikeness.  This is the power of the Spirit.  This is the power of His word.

Revival Amid The Impossible

“So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.” (Jon 3:5 AV)

I believe the Bible to be silent on this matter, but I could be mistaken; but what was it that precipitated the revival Jonah realized at Nineveh?  What happened to prepare the people of this wicked city?  Why did they believe the preaching of Jonah, and why were they moved with fear?  The only evidence of any event that precipitated Jonah’s preaching was a salt-water whale vomiting Jonah on the shores of the Euphrates.  What doesn’t make sense in my mind is the historical narrative of the relationship between the Ninevites and the ten northern tribes of Israel?  From the early years of Israel in Palestine, Nomads from Nineveh would raid the eastern edge of Israel on a regular basis.  They would pillage, rape, and murder the eastern tribes of God’s people.  There was no fear of Jehovah in their eyes.  Yet revival came.  We may never know the particulars lest we try to manufacture them ourselves.  One thing is for sure: God can and does bring revival to the darkest people at the darkest time and under the darkest of circumstances.

The adversary is trying to convince the body of Christ that massive revivals are no longer possible.  He is convincing, to say the least.  He will point to the carnal condition of the body of Christ as evidence.  He is right.  We are carnal.  He will point to the destructive influence of science, so-called.  He will point out that mankind has been brainwashed into believing there is no God.  He controls the schools, the media, and the culture.  All to convince mankind that there is no God and Jesus Christ is a myth.  He is largely successful.  Our adversary will make a big deal out of shrinking churches, the razing of sacred buildings, or the downward spiral and moral decay of humanity.  He will increase confrontation to a new level.  The efforts of evangelism are directly challenged by a hostile world.  It seems as though all this is increasing while the influence of the gospel is waning.  The enemy of the cross will point out that we are losing and not winning.  So he asks, why bother?  The body of Christ becomes discouraged because our baptismal waters have run dry.  There seems to be more empty space than full.  We are trying to raise funds to survive rather than to increase.  All the trends are heading in the wrong direction.  But that is exactly when revival comes.  That is exactly why revival is needs.  Revival doesn’t come to a body that is already alive.  Revival comes to a body that is almost dead.

Jonah faced impossible odds.  In fact, he expected the Ninevites to wholly reject the grace of God.  We looked for and wished for the destruction of Israel’s enemies.  He fully expected a Sodom and Gomorrah event.  After all, until Jonah showed up in a pile of whale vomit, there wasn’t much respect for the God of Israel.  It wasn’t until a preacher who had the gall to preach for three days up and down the streets of Nineveh before the Ninevites felt anything coming close to fear. One would think the sailors of the ship upon which Jonah traveled would have told the Ninevites of the events preceding Jonah’s appearance, but they were on the other side of Asia.  News would not have traveled that far and that fast.  What was it that made the Ninevites afraid of a God whom they never respected in the first place?  We will never know.  But one thing we know for sure.  No matter how spiritually dark a place can be, God can bring revival.  No matter how anti-Jehovah a people might be, God can bring revival.  It doesn’t matter how much a people group disdains the culture of the preacher, God can bring revival.  As we approach the coming dark days of the tribulation, let us never grow weary.  God can bring revival no matter the situation.

Incorruptible Corruption

“I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars [was] about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.” (Jon 2:6 AV)

Jonah is one of several wonderful examples of the doctrine of the resurrection.  His travels in the belly of the whale and release onto the shore picture the resurrection of Christ and His believers.  Daniel would be another.  What we want to consider here is the last part of the verse.  Jonah uses the past tense while still in the belly of the whale.  While in the belly of the whale, Jonah states that God has brought his life up from corruption.  How?  He is still in the depths of the sea.  No doubt he is experiencing the bends.  He is surrounded by whale bile, stomach acid, saliva, and decomposing fish.  If there was anyone in the midst of corruption, it was Jonah.  So, how can he say that he had been brought up from corruption?

There are two explanations.  It could be that Jonah was speaking in the present tense because he internalized the future and lived there.  Rather than acknowledging his present situation as permanent, he saw that with repentance, the LORD would deliver him.  Therefore, he lived presently in the promise of future deliverance.  Or, there could be something else going on here.  Perhaps what Jonah saw was not what the future held, but rather, what God had accomplished in the present.  Jonah was thrown into the belly of the whale as a mercy from God.  Yes, Jonah was in disobedience by running from the call of God.  However, he saw his prison as the means God used to redeem his life.  In fact, he calls it his mercy a few verses later.  The belly of the whale was the means by which God rescued a rebellious child from a life of running.  What is never discussed is what would have become of Jonah if God simply let him go.  God could not let Jonah pursue a course of action that was not for him.

The belly of the whale was Jonah’s redemption.  It was his salvation.  He fled from the presence of God, but God found him right where he placed him.  The humility of Jonah is what saved him.  He saw his predicament for what it was.  It was God’s way of rescuing Jonah from a life of self-will.  It was God’s way of saving Jonah from a pattern of poor decisions.  It was God’s way of slowing Jonah down long enough to help him reflect on God’s call.  It was God’s way of motivating Jonah to stay on point.  He was able to speak in the present tense because he came to himself.  He knew God’s best for him was still God’s best for him.  Praise the LORD that Jonah realized his situation in the light of God’s will for him.

That They May Know

“That [men] may know that thou, whose name alone [is] JEHOVAH, [art] the most high over all the earth.” (Ps 83:18 AV)

The name JEHOVAH only appears four times in the word of God.  It is so sacred that the Jewish people refuse to use it.  God’s word differentiates the name JEHOVAH from all other names by using the name LORD.  When the reader reads the name LORD, in all capital letters, it means the same as JEHOVAH.  Both mean ‘the existing one’.  The psalmist is praying for the coming of the LORD and His justice inflicted upon the enemies of God.  He is not seeking justice merely for fairness’ sake.  Rather, he is seeking the righteous judgment of God so that all of mankind might know that the Lord JEHOVAH rules creation.  That is the point of it all, isn’t it?  If we are looking for the purest motive for praying that the LORD would return, this is it!  May Jesus come back and establish once and for all that He alone reigns over all of creation!

Reaction to authority varies with maturity.  The more mature we are, the more we welcome authority.  When I was in grade school, we had a group of boys that were out of control.  To say they were wild would be an understatement.  Every chance they got, they would cause mischief.  Or worse.  There were times when their antics directly affected me.  There was the time one of them tried to pick a fight with me.  There were other times when I was abused on the playground.  There were times when they would surround me in class and pick at me without the teacher noticing.  But there were also times when they were acting out, and it never involved any assault on me.  Sometimes it was in the classroom.  Sometimes it was on the playground or in the lunchroom.  Most of the time it was on the school bus ride home.  Regardless of how it affected me, when the teacher arrived, I was glad.  I was elated.  The boys were put in subjection, there was order and disciple, and the class could go forward with learning.  Just having an authority figure in the room meant all the difference.

When JEHOVAH reigns it will be a bit different.  We didn’t worship our teachers.  We don’t worship our leaders or law enforcement.  They are offices given by God by which society can function.  When Jesus returns, all will worship Him as He is.  He is the Creator God!  Order and discipline will be restored.  But so too will respect and humility.  Society will benefit from the rod of iron.  But more importantly, mankind will be brought to the correct condition before their Creator and not until Gog and Magog will they attempt to rise up against Him.  When my father was recognized as the leader of the Scouts or the classroom, it made his children proud!  Not in a bad sort of way.  Rather, we were tickled that my father received the respect due his position.  We took offense when he was maligned or mocked.  The same is true of the child of God.  We take offense when JEHOVAH is a curse word.  We are insulted when the LORD God is a joke on some late-night comedy show.  We are hurt when those who hate Him use Him as a punching bag.  We look forward to the day when all of mankind acknowledges that He alone is God.  He alone is the Creator.  He alone is the LORD.  He alone deserves all the worship due His name!  Come, LORD Jesus, come!

Open The Flood Gates

“But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” (Am 5:24 AV)

This is a great stand-alone verse.  Context does matter.  But there are certain verses that work inside and outside of the context in which you find them.  The book of Proverbs is a great example.  The context here is a warning for Israel that God is going to judge them for their blatant disobedience.  He is warning them that unless they change rather quickly, they will be conquered and carried away.  The immediate context of this verse above compares presumptuous sacrifice with willing righteousness.  Israel had strayed so far from the word of God that they knowingly offered sacrifice with filthy hands of sin.  They planned to do this deliberately as opposed to ignorance or neglect.  So, the LORD is saying He would rather have abundance of righteousness than abundance of sacrifice.  The verse above can be used regardless of the circumstances.  For Israel, it was holiness over religion.  For our nation, it is getting back to our Judeo/Christian roots over political and economic influence.  After all, living free is not a noble pursuit unless we also live right.  On a personal note, holiness should overflow the life.  Judgment is our decision-making process.  Righteousness is the things we choose to do.

I have in mind the times of adolescence spent playing at a creek or sewer spillway.  Yes, my friend and I used to play in the storm drains.  Near where I lived, there was a storm drain with grated barriers on both sides when it went under a road.  We would often try to dam it up.  That is, until the police showed up and asked us not to do that.  There were other times when friends or siblings would join me, and we would build a dam across a small stream.  The object was to build a dam to see how large a body of water we could construct behind it.  However, after a small body of water had gathered, it was fun to dismantle the dam to see what would happen to the ‘lake’.  Sometimes we would remove part of it so see the power of the water do the rest.  Or, more times than not, we would use a very large rock as a projectile to blow a hole through the dam.  Then we could watch the water rush downstream and take the dam with it.  Hey, what do you want with an 8-year-old boy with no electronic entertainment?  We had to make our own fun.  There is a unique feeling watching a rush of water head downstream.  It is hard to explain.

The thing about the analogy above is that waters and a mighty stream are hard things to stop.  As anyone familiar with dam building knows, there has to be some sort of pressure release.  As great as the stream was before the dam, it must remain the same afterward.  One cannot build a dam without releasing water after the dam.  The water will find a way.  It will either destroy the dam, or find a way around it, under it, or through it.  The holiness of Jesus Christ, which lives in us must find a way out.  There must be a release valve.  There must be a vent.  Any believer who is trying to live in the world cannot withstand the pressure of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  It has to come out.  God uses the word ‘let’.  A great word!  If we are not living through the Holy Spirit, it is because we are not letting Him do His work through us.  The pressure is going to build.  Just let it go!  Just yield to the power of the water that is building in your heart.  Just let it flow!

No Secrets

“Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done [it]?  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Am 3:6,7 AV)

The application is obvious.  The nation of Israel is ignoring the clear signs God is sending their way.  The book of Amos begins by citing an earthquake that will happen two years after the book is inspired.  It was God’s way of sending Israel a clear message which would be hard to ignore.  The earthquake was verification that God had spoken and that Israel should have listened.  However, there is another application here for the saints.  God sends clear indications of His pending will for individuals, the church, and the world.  The only reason they are missed is that people are not watching.  Those things that are happening are ignored.  Defining them in the light of scripture is not a habit we get into.  We believe that life is passing as it always has and that the fulfillment of prophecy is much further down the road.  That may be so.  Or it may not be so.  Those who have their eyes on the horizon are better prepared for what might be coming.

A trumpet is pretty hard to ignore.  I know.  I pastor a church where most learned a wind instrument.  Our church used to have a school, and part of the curriculum was to learn an musical instrument.  The pastor at the time played trumpet, so most learned a wind instrument.  We have or had a French horn player.  A bass horn player.  We had a trombone player, a saxophone player, a flute player, and two clarinet players.  Now we have a few violinists a cello player, and a viola player.  We are a pretty musical group.  It is those trumpet players I wish to use this morning.  We have two players.  There is a marked difference between one player and both players.  The second player fills the room.  He has a lot of power behind his playing.  I have to turn my hearing aids down when he plays.  The smiles are tremendous.  His playing is so remarkably lively and loud that people smile.  They almost chuckle in pure delight.  His playing changes an entire group of people.  When attending our services, those sitting in the pews cannot ignore his joy behind his instrument.  It is so obvious, it would take an effort to ignore it.  I think this is where our churches are today.

I know that every time the middle east is in turmoil, prophecy wonks tell us the coming of the LORD is nigh.  This has been happening since 1948.  I get it.  But even if the current conflict is a tune-up to the first battle of Gog and Magog, it is still significant.  According to the scriptures, Iran will head a group of ten nations to go against Israel and horribly lose.  Bringing this principle to something more practical, God speaks often with His people.  He speaks directly through His word.  Reading and hearing the word of God is hearing the very voice of God.  Beyond His word, God speaks by the events of life.  Whether it is the input of others or merely, the events of a given day, they are all allowed or caused by God for a reason.  Sometimes the events are dramatic.  Sometimes they are subtle.  But they are there.  Amos is telling us all that God will not do anything that should surprise us.  We should know God and how He works well enough so that everything He allows or causes is predicted before it happens, and that all that happens is part of God’s sovereign and gracious plan.  We walk through life clueless sometimes.  We do this by choice.  God will do nothing without revealing His secrets to the people of God.

Made Man-strong!

“Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man [whom] thou madest strong for thyself.” (Ps 80:17 AV)

The author is Asaph.  The purpose is a prayer for David.  The application is simple.  The songwriter for the king is praying for God’s hand to be on the leader.  This would be true of David, or anyone whom God touches for leadership.  What we often forget is that all men are called to lead.  What differs is the area of responsibility to which each is called.  Some are called to be kings.  Some are called to be ministers.  Some are called to be teachers.  Most are called to be husbands and fathers.  God created man to lead.  But what stood out to me this morning is the phrase that ends this particular prayer.  God created men, and specifically men who lead, to be strong for the LORD.  We often look at the charge to which we have been entrusted, whether a family, a classroom, a church, or a nation and think that it is for them we are supposed to be strong.  And that is certainly true.  But in a different way, we are to be strong for the LORD.  He is not weak.  He is not in need of our strength for provision or protection.  Rather, He is seeking those who will be strong for His testimony’s sake.  He is seeking those who will be strong for His purposes and plans.  The personal possessive pronoun is what speaks the loudest.  Thyself!

My father taught his children much.  One of the skills he attempted to teach us was leadership.  It was important to both him and my mother to raise boys to be men.  Neither allowed us the luxury of backing out on that calling.  My mother did not allow her boys to be feminized.  She refused to allow us to wear the prevalent fashion of the day that was meant to erase the sharp distinction between boys and girls.  When it came to my father, he used the Boy Scouts to train his boys how to be men.  I wouldn’t recommend that organization anymore, but sixty years ago, it had much virtue.  There are better organizations that do what the Boy Scouts once did, but from a disciplined Christian perspective.  Delegation was one of those skills that he shared with us.  His goal was to raise boys who could eventually be free from their mentor and take on the responsibilities of manhood.  One of those responsibilities was to train other boys to be men.  Part of our training was to learn, assume responsibility, and mentor others for the sake of our troop and our Troop Master.   That would have been my dad.  We didn’t win many competitions, but my father was known well in the council of troops as a leader who trained boys well.  Our troop number was four.  Out of thousands of troops, ours was the fourth oldest.  That is saying something when one remembers the Boy Scouts started in 1919.

Note in particular that the tense of the verb above is present tense.  That means Asaph has acknowledge that God made David strong.  God made men strong and to be strong.  This is the problem with the whole idea of feminizing men.  It makes them weak.  It turns on its head the design of God and makes men the opposite of what God has made them.  No wonder there is confusion and depression.  God made men strong so that they can be used of God for God’s purposes.  It is the world that tells us that men are weak.  In fact, masculine weakness is seen as a virtue.  This has been going on since the end of WWII.  All one has to do is not notice the cultural shifts.  Leave it to Beaver was once the standard for what it was to be a man.  By the time we get to Home Improvement, a man is a idiot who cannot even screw in a lightbulb right.  He is seen as a sensitive oaf who is more in touch with his feelings that he is his brain.  That is not how God made us.  God made man to be strong for Him!  If we are strong for Him, then we will be strong for those who look on us for that strength.