Adversity is Limited

“Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.” (Isa 33:1 AV)

This word of truth is a general one meant to be applied to all of Israel’s prosecutors.  Assyria, Babylon, and Persia would all grow in strength and then decline by the hand of a greater enemy than their former one.  Assyria invaded Israel and took away the ten northern tribes.  Babylon came next.  After invading Assyria, they too invaded Israel and took away Judah and Benjamin.  Then the Persians invaded Babylon and took away all, including those Jews residing in Babylon.  The point is, a persecutor will not sustain his persecution.  The persecutor will eventually become the persecuted.  Eventually, the enemy will be depleted of strength and resources, usually by complacency and ease, until another takes its place.  This is a good thing to remember when we are overwhelmed by adversity greater than ourselves.  Eventually, be it Sprite or Scourge, will run out of gas.

Nazi Germany comes to mind.  The way in which they advanced over Western Europe was impressive.  It doesn’t take much to find a documentary on the battles of WWII.  A cursory scan of cable channels will reveal all sorts of historical references or even highlights of this famous war.  Even those dedicated to weaponry will have a program or two highlighting the different armaments used during this great war.  Germany used a doctrine referred to as the Blitzkrieg.  In German, the term means lightning war.  The philosophy of Hitler was to overwhelm his enemies with vastly superior forces very quickly.  There was little tactical planning because sheer numbers would bring victory.  They would rapidly take advantage of every access point into the desired territory or city and send everything they had.  They overwhelmed much of Western Europe in months instead of years.  The allied powers used this to their advantage.  What eventually led to the downfall of the Axis powers in Europe was a thinning of their resources and ranks.  The Allied forces would retreat in a spread-out fashion to entice the Axis powers to follow quickly and disperse too thinly.  Coming in from behind their forces, the Allied were eventually able to surround and constrict the Axis forces.  What led to their downfall was they advanced too rapidly and could not give their supply lines time to catch up.  They literally ran out of gas.

What is true in temporal warfare is also true in spiritual warfare.  Our adversary is limited in what he can do.  The trials of life are only temporary.  Eventually, they will run out of gas.  Even with health issues, the body will eventually fail.  But we will have a new one.  An incorruptible one.  One that cannot suffer pain, discomfort, or death.  Whatever we face, be it Sprite or Scourge, is limited.  It will eventually pass.  This is the hope and the patience of the saint.  The world does not understand how we can face adversity with the peace that passes all understanding.  This is one of the reasons why.  The world despises us for it.  They hate us.  They attack us because even though we will suffer like fates as they do, no one can steal our joy.  We are not hopeless.  We are not helpless.  By God’s grace, we will make it through.  There is no adversity we will face that is bigger than God.  None.  No enemy, no trial, no suffering, no challenge.  God is always bigger.  He always will be.  And, unlike all we face, God has no limits.  He cannot run out of gas.  He has eternal power, wisdom, and presence.  We face a defeated enemy and he knows it.  Let us run the race set before us as though we will win and not lose.  Because that is the reality of our lives as children of the Most High.

Night Songs

“Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel.” (Isa 30:29 AV)

 

One commentator suggests the evening song referred to here is the beginning of the Passover in which the Assyrian army may have invaded Israel.  However, this would not go with the context here.  There is gladness.  There is solemnity.  The point to be made here is the Sabbath started in the evening and the psalm sung would have been one of solemnity.  Whether it be the Passover, or an ordinary Sabbath, the song sung in the evening would have been quiet, meditative, and deeply moving.  The context of this verse is the wonderful grace of God in the greater context of God’s correcting hand toward Israel.  The encouragement for Israel is to not get so overwhelmed by the hand of God that they forget just how good God is.  God must correct.  He wouldn’t be a good God if He didn’t.  The hope is seen above.  No matter the circumstance, whether trial of faith or correction, the LORD will give songs in the night.  Songs of solemnity.   Songs of deep emotion.  Songs of quiet devotion that rest the weary soul.  It is not necessarily the cause for these songs which the writer wishes to think upon.  Rather, the nature of the songs which speak to my heart is what I wish to think upon.

There is a special place from my childhood that comes to mind every now and then.  This special place was only accessible during the summer months.  There was a special event that happened at this special place and as a child, it seems God was extra close during these times.  Every Wednesday evening, during Boy Scout camp, there was a church service held at a simple open-air chapel overlooking our lake.  The back of the chapel faced west, so our church service was conducted as the sun set in the west.  A protestant Chaplin held the service as we sat on log benches in the open air. This happened no matter the weather.  Some of these services were in the rain.  The only type of weather that would cancel the service was an active thunderstorm.  The Chaplin would lead in common hymns sung without instruments. He would usually read a passage of scripture, give a brief sermon, and read other passages of scripture.  Depending on the Chaplin, we might have partaken in the LORD’s supper.  These special services were different than normal church services in that they were more solemn, quiet, and meditative.  They were not designed to be rowdy.  They were not organized to pump us up.  It was a quiet time to reflect on how great and all-present God was to us.  We called them vespers. 

Fast forward to a few years ago.  In one of my churches, I attempted to hold Christmas Eve vespers.  They were ok with the type of service I had in mind.  Just not the name.  They thought the term, Vespers, meant some liturgical church service styled after the tradition from which I came out.  There is something to be said about quieting down our worship and allowing the Spirit to work in different ways.  I do not think being meditative and solemn is more profitable than celebration and verbose praise.  All of this has its proper place and time.  Condemning one as opposed to another shows ignorance of the word of God and makes for an unbalanced saint.  There are times when the songs of the evening are appropriate.  These songs of praise may even use the same words as the songs of volume and quick tempo.  The message has not changed.  But the emotions involved do.  I love the songs of the night.  They are very special to me.  They are times when all is quiet.  They are times when God can speak to my heart with less to overcome.  They are very special to me in that the Holy Spirit of God often becomes far more personal.  These times are precious.  These times are priceless.  These times are necessary.  And, these times must be pursued.

Determined and Directed

“The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.” (Isa 26:7 AV)

John Gill has a good explanation of this verse.  In short, the way that the saved must go is uprightness, and God, who is the most upright, has judged that way to be the right and just way.  Note in particular the path of the just is weighed.  This means the way of righteousness is not an arbitrary standard or rule.  This means God has meditated upon the way and has deemed it the best and only way for the just.  Mankind has a hard time believing this.  We want to think the ways of God are based only on His nature and not by a pragmatic principle that makes righteousness advantageous to the saint.  At least that is what immature man thinks.  He learns, over time, God's way is not only the right way but also, the best way.  This is not limited to general living, but also the specific will of God for our lives.  This is not limited to sanctification.  This would also include our place and calling in life.  His way is the best way.  Not just because He has declared it to be so.  But, He has thought it through, examined all aspects of it, and determined the way in which we should go is the best way.

We had some wilderness my father owned in which we camped out a lot.  Keeping twelve children occupied for a week or two with nothing more than 66 acres of woods and a pond was a herculean task.  There as fishing, swimming, and canoeing.  There was badminton, volleyball, and more swimming.  There was hiking, biking, and more swimming or fishing.  After the first two days or so, we were bored out of our minds.  So, my father allowed us to build trails to hike.  We marked them with different color markers.  These trails would wind around certain features like pine forests, hardwoods, the pond, and the outside perimeter of the property.  Everything was acclimated to the pond.  My dad had to approve all plans for trails.  We had to walk him through what we wanted to do before he gave us saws and axes.  Why?  Because he knew that property like the back of his hand.  He knew where the wells were.   He knew where the broken fences were that could allow an errant bull to wander into our woods.  He knew where the poison ivy grew, where the thorn apples were the thickest, and where we could ride our bikes fairly easily.  In short, he knew the overlay of the land much better than we would ever know it and knew the best way to go.

The same is true of God, and much more.  He does not establish our way for the mere pleasure of dictating our lives.  No.  His was is the best way.  His way is the right way.  He has examined all possible ways and has determined that His way will reap the greatest blessings of any way.  The way of the just is upright.  He has weighed in the balance that way and found it to be the excellent way.  There is no better way.  This way is the easiest to travel and the one with the greatest outcome.  God does not promise us a way free of trouble and trials.  This comes with being human.  But it is the way wherein God will be glorified and we, blessed.  It is the way of mutual benefit.  It is the right way.  It is the way in which the just shall remain just.  It is the way wherein the just shall proclaim the goodness of the LORD to all others.  It is the way wherein the adversary can do much less.  It is the way determined before God created anything.  His whole of creation is made to function in that way.  To go contrary is to invite heartache and disaster.   This right way even His angels will attest to.  This way, even the devil will agree – is the right and best way.  We simply must accept and trust.  Trust and obey, for there is no other way.

Faithfulness in the Fire

“Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.” (Isa 24:15 AV)

Spoken to captive Israel in Babylon while Media/Persia invaded.  The fires are the fires that the Persians lit to burn down the city.  Captive Israel would have been affected by the judgment coming upon their captors, yet, they were instructed to glorify God while suffering for the disobedience of their enemies.  This had to be a scary thing.  They had gotten acclimated to their new surroundings under the governance of Babylon.  Now, there is a massive army invading through the center of the city and burning everything in sight.  There is no discretion on their part.  They burned it all.  Israel did not do a thing to cause this.  God sent Persia against Babylon for their treatment of Israel.  They took their calling a bit excessively.  They did not restrain themselves.  For this, God sent them the Persians who not only ended their reign but made their land completely unihabitable to this day.  In all this, Israel had to witness, and even suffer a bit while God dealt with their enemies.  This is not anything new.  They had to do the same in Egypt.  God’s people, even if by no fault of their own, will suffer while God judges His enemies.  How we respond will reveal our attitude toward the holiness of God and the depth of faith we possess.

We live in an interesting neighborhood.  It is not such a peaceful one.  Several times over the last few years, the police have been called for different reasons.  There was a domestic dispute just up the street.  There was the throwdown of a rival prostitute or drug dealer that happened just across the street.  There was a fella that was going through cars on our street.  There was the murder of a six-year-old and the murder of a mother of four.  There is the occasional loose pitbull that attacks other dogs.  But the one that sticks in my mind happened about two years ago.  I look out my dining room window and there are cop cars all over the place.  They have our alley blocked on both ends.  They have both streets on both sides of the alley covered.  This is only two doors down.  Then I see about a half-dozen SWAT members in full gear preparing to storm a house.  They were looking for a bail jumper.  Another similar event happened the next street over.  This was the other direction and only a few houses from our own.  SWAT was all over it.  Very similar circumstances.  This time, it was a squatter who was held up in a vacant house with a minor.  In times like these, it is advisable to stay in one’s house away from windows lest a stray bullet or two come your way.  It is not fair.  It is not right.  We are not guilty of anything, yet treated like prisoners in our own homes.   It was for our safety. 

God must judge sin.  We are in the midst of it.  As much as the LORD desires to judge only the wicked, we do not live in a vacuum.  Yes, the LORD will rapture the church before the seven years of tribulation commences.  We will not have to endure such horrible circumstances as the twenty-one judgments coming.  Leading up to this event, however, may mean we have to suffer a bit.  America cannot continue down this path of complete rebellion against God without suffering circumstances for it.  As believers, we live in this cesspool.  Because we do, we have to endure all that comes with it.  This means some hard years are coming.  Perhaps harder than we can imagine.  How we react will tell the world who we love and how much we believe in Him!  The martyrs of the first century and beyond knew their suffering was for the glory of God.  They did not shy away from the stake, the lion’s den, or the hanging.  They endured it all for the glory of God.  Those days may be coming for the N.T. church.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Regardless, we need to be prepared to glorify God in the fires for it is this praise that just may turn others to the salvation so freely given in Christ.

Avoid It At All Costs

“Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.” (Pr 4:14-15 AV)

These two verses and the verses following are great passages for young men to memorize.  Solomon gives a wonderous road path for practical righteous living.  The first step is above.  Simple.  Just stay out of the areas of life where sin is easy.  The vast majority of our problems could be avoided if we would simply avoid being at the wrong place or wrong time.  Sin is all around us.  Sometimes, we invite it in.  The biggest threat we have is the TV.  Now that it is pride month; or should we say Sodom and Gomorrah month; the TV should probably stay off.  The commercials are replete with all sorts of wickedness.  We get ourselves into trouble by having things on the tube that would offend God.  Don’t go by their way.  The advice that follows these two verses are a continuing thought.  A focused and purposeful life will also keep the saint out of a lot of trouble.  What we do want to meditate on this morning are those areas of life where we could avoid temptation that would eventually lead to sin.

The LORD blessed us with plane tickets to see my family in Tennessee.  With Lisa’s cancer, driving anywhere more than just a few hours makes it a journey.  What could normally be done in one day would have taken two and a half.  I have not been to an airport in a very long time.  It is a fishbowl of human behavior both good and bad.  It astounds me how immodest most people dress today.  From the guy who wore an untucked t-shirt three sizes too small and had his belly sticking out, the to parade of yoga pants and tight shirts, it is enough to pray the LORD might temporarily blind me.  I couldn’t help being where I was.  There was only one way to get on my plane and that was around thousands of people who did not know the LORD nor lived as though they did.  One woman knew what she had and was not afraid of showing it off.   The other day we went to the zoo.  There was a GenReb (gender rebellious.  I refuse to call them trannies because it is physically impossible to transition from one gender to the next) who thought he had to display to the entire world his rebellion.  Dressed in a slitted dress that exposed his undergarments, it was clear we had to get the grandkids out of there.  It is all around us.  The question is, knowing this, how much effort do we take to avoid it?

My fear is sin will become so commonplace that the saints do not take the effort to avoid it.  We can act fatalistic as though we cannot get away from it so we don’t even try.  But that is not the case.  There are many things we can do.  With the woman at the airport, the key was to look outside at the plane traffic as opposed to the parade of vain sex appeal constantly passing before me.  The zoo was a matter of knowing the general whereabouts of the pervert and being at a different part of the zoo.  The most effective of all measures is prayer.  Being in constant prayer keeps the mind and eyes where they belong.  We need to have a spiritual escape hatch.  A place we can run to out of the temptation that surrounds us.  We need a resolve to take a long way around rather than pass right through the evil that is so pervasive.  So, let us make a covenant with our souls that no matter what, we will strive to remove as much temptation as possible.  Control the things we can leave to the LORD those things we cannot.  We owe it to the Savior.

Praise Should Be Natural

“Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” (Isa 12:5-6 AV)

In verse three, the bible tells us to draw joy out of the well of salvation.  This is a deep well that never runs dry.  The context is the salvation and restoration of Israel after millennia of captivity and diaspora.  Israel will be restored to their land, Jesus will return, and they will enjoy 1,000 years of peaceful reign.  The salvation spoken of here is a physical one which was the result of a spiritual one.  Those Jews who accept Christ as their Messiah will also be saved physically during the tribulation.  Those saved both spiritually and physically will then enter a millennial reign wherein worship is the main function of mankind.  Because the LORD saved them, they will gladly proclaim His mercy and strength.  The same is true for the New Testament saint.  We have been saved from a life of sin and an eternity of hell.  Life may have its challenges, but God is always good to us.  Salvation is a wonder to behold and a privilege to live.  Our passage tells us to sing.  The things he has done are past tense.  The fact He is known is always present tense.  We are told to cry and shout.  This is no silent praise!  This is verbose.  This is obvious and borders on annoying.  But if God has done and is doing great things, then our natural response should be to verbalize His greatness to any and all.

Over the years, I have known many older saints who seem to have a handle on how great God is.  Recently, I have had the privilege of getting to know an older couple who have retired from ministry.  In fact, as I write this, several come to mind.  They all have one thing in common.  They have learned to live in the joy of the LORD each moment of each day regardless of the circumstances they face.  Another saint comes to mind.  This fella is a good friend of the groom whom I co-officiated this past weekend.  We sat and spoke for a while.  He had been widowed several years back, so he has been alone for some time.  He has just been diagnosed with a cancer of the blood.  This type of cancer is incurable.  To further complicate his situation, he has a bad heart.  He needs surgery on his heart before he can undergo the treatments for his cancer.  And he is doing this alone.  One would think anyone in this predicament would be discouraged and downcast.  Not this guy.  He sees this as an opportunity to share his faith with any and all whom he meets.  He told me that it is his goal to hand a tract to each and every nurse, doctor, and employee of the cancer center where he is going.  Rather than go down a road of self-pity, depression, or resignation, he is seeing this as an opportunity to share the love of God with lost souls.  He doesn’t complain.  He doesn’t moan.  He looks forward to the next appointment with joy and anticipation.

We have no standing to complain.  We have no reason to murmur.  God is good to us all the time.  Last night, my wife and I watched a medical drama.  In this episode, a father dies from injuries suffered in a car accident.  Every time I watch a show like this, I wonder how anyone can cope with life while having no relationship with God.  The last scene regarding this husband and father was of the wife, sitting by her husband's body and weeping.  She was completely hopeless.  How does anyone live without God?  We have the LORD.  We have a shoulder to lean on that is bigger than the universe.  We have a God who knows all things.  He knows our needs.  He knows our weaknesses.  He knows how He will meet with us in a very special way.  This is why the well of salvation is deep.  It doesn’t end in eternity.  It is infinitely deep.  The joys are everlasting to everlasting.  He is mighty to save.  He is there whenever we call upon His name.  He is a wonder!  He is active!  He is and always will be our loving Father.  So, let everyone else in on the secret.  The depth of our gratitude is commensurate with the energy and frequency of our public praise.  If we are silent, then we do not appreciate all that God has done for us.

Self-inflicted Deafness

“Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.” (Isa 6:10 AV)

This instruction is somewhat confusing.  The LORD instructs the prophet to continuously preach the truth regardless of their response, and do so purposely to make the people dull of hearing.  This explains the use of this same reference in the New Testament.  Jesus quotes this verse several times.  On the face of it, it would seem God does not want certain people to be saved.  But that is not what is happening here.  The frequency of preaching the truth is what is making them deaf to it.  Or, better yet, the frequency of preaching combined with the lack of response is what causes them to be lost.  The more they hear the word of God and the less they respond to it, no matter how much it is preached, they will eventually not hear at all.

Have you ever noticed you can get used to a sound to the point you cease to hear it until someone who has never heard it, points it out?  Even if the sound is something we should heed?  My wife and I used to attend a flea market not too far from our home.  In fact, it was only a couple of miles.  I noticed something peculiar the first few times we went.  A siren would go off at intermittent times of the day.  I am used to the local fire department sounding an hour right at noon.  That is not uncommon.  But this siren was not at a precise time of day.  And, it was loud.  The first time I heard it, we were at the flea market.  It was rather loud.  No one seemed to take notice.  They continued their shopping.  They continued their conversation.  It was as though my wife and I were to only ones who heard it.  That was impossible.  It was very loud.  Seeing as how no one else paid this any mind, I let it go.  Then about a month later, it happened again.  Same scenario.  The siren went off, and the building shook a bit, but no one seemed to take notice.  So, I asked someone what that siren was for.  I was told on the first Saturday of every month, they test the tornado sirens.  Each first Saturday, usually near high noon, the sirens located all over the county go off for about a half minute.  One of the sirens happened to be in the parking lot of the flea market.  They had gotten so used to the sirens, they didn’t heed them any longer.

The prophet was sent to a people who would not listen.  All he was accomplishing was making them more calloused toward the truth of God.  But that does not mean his ministry was fruitless.  The very next verse tells the prophet to continue until the nation lay in ruins.  His job was to warn them right up until the moment destruction comes.  This got me thinking.  I wonder how much of God’s word we are missing because we turn a deaf ear to some or all of it.  How much does God get through to our hearts so that more can get through?  How much of the preaching, teaching, and personal devotions impact our decisions?  If we refuse to listen and act upon the word of God already revealed, then we will not hear the word of God when we need it the most.  Do we continue to listen, believe, and obey?  Or, do we pass it all off and continue on our way?  If the latter is the case, there will come a time when no matter how loudly the LORD speaks, we will not hear.  And that is a frightening place in which to be.