Can you think of any people that you just love to be around? It seems like time flies and you wish you could just be with them forever? It may be someone whose humor hits the spot with you, or someone who is so kind and understanding, or someone you simply adore? When we are with that person, it is not the setting or situation that makes it special – the person makes it special, and your relationship with them. It is not the things you possess, the activities you are doing, or the food you are eating that draws you in, but rather the person is all you need. It is enough to observe how they interact with the world around them, with you. Simply watching them is worth living.
It seems as though most times, when heaven is thought about or discussed, there is more attention given to the setting rather than to the Person who we will be with. There will be no sin, no sorrow, no pain; streets of gold; the tree of life; the river of life. Yes, but all of those things are simply accessories, they are additions to the real thing – being with God. People say, “Heaven sounds boring – floating around on clouds for all eternity!?” That is not at all what Heaven is, but the main point is missed – Heaven is being with God! And being with God means that will will be in uninterrupted, unending fellowship with a Perfect Being of Love. No person on earth can truly satisfy us, especially forever. Everyone at some point either gets boring or frustrating, but God never will.
Can you imagine the jokes that God will tell? We have experienced on the earth some pretty deep humor in our relationship with God. He knows how to reach deep into the depths to tickle our soul. What kind of laughter will be produced in us in the presence of an infinitely wise, good, and all-knowing God! And that added to the fact that there will be the utter absence of uncleanness and pride – those types of things that kill joy. You that belly laugh we all get when we crack up? It is surreal. Will we laugh like that for a thousand years?
Can you imagine watching God at work or play? Have you ever watched in awe at a person working their craft? I have always been floored by how some artists draw or paint. Can you imagine watching God draw something? I’m sure there would be pin drop silence, and all of heaven with jaws dropped, amazed at his handiwork on a canvas. Have you ever watched a man with wonder doing some kind of task that requires great power? I remember staring at a video one time watching a man do what seemed like endless amounts of a variety of pull-ups, just thinking, “Man that is some strength right there.” Can you imagine what kind of works of power we will get to watch God perform? How about watching God bowling with planets as pins? Can you imagine the rumble of that strike!? Can you imagine being in the crowd of saints and angels cheering?
Can you imagine hearing God sing or play an instrument? I absolutely love music. I get it. I love to just sit and close my eyes, contemplate and muse over music. It really strikes a chord with me for some reason :). There are times when I am just in awe over the beauty and inspiration of some pieces, it can be truly and deeply satisfying. But what will these be in comparison to God as composer? To experience him singing or playing? Our hearts will burst! We will be elevated straight up into the air. We will be totally floored. Can you imagine the standing ovations? Recitals lasting for a thousand years, each piece better than the one before, but the first was absolutely divinely magnificent?!
We could go on and on about how wonderful it will be to watch God (we will one day). But then we could talk about things that hit home a little more. Can you imagine God doting on you? My wife sometimes just stares at me. Sometimes it can be a little embarrassing, but it is precious, because she is adoring me (at least I think that’s what she’s doing). Try to ponder God’s face, staring at you with a gentle smile and soft countenance, looking deep into your soul, non-verbally communicating to you, “You are mine, forever. I love you, forever. We are together, forever.” How could that be boring? More like thrilling and completely satisfying. What will His hugs be like? What will it be like to make plans together with God? There is much about my life right now that is an adventure- and a part of me wishes I had a thousand years to be able to do in this earth all that is in my heart, so I cannot imagine how interesting and thought provoking it will be to adventure with God in an unveiled state.
What will it be like to be taught by God? Any true Born-Again Christian has experienced a supernatural relationship with the Bible. There have been times when we just sat back in fear mingled with joy saying, “This Book is alive!” But can you imagine His lectures in Person (no zoom meetings in heaven)? Lectures on any topic not just theology, but also physics, art, or communication? We will be learning, right? If Jesus as a man learned, then of course there will be learning and growing in Heaven. Can you imagine how profound those “aha” moments will be? “Whaat?”
So, in answer to the question – No, Heaven will not be boring. It will never be stale, dull, uneventful, colorless, repetitive, flat or mundane. Each moment will overflow with inexpressible peace, joy, happiness, wonder, amazement, passion and super-abundant glory. And none of this is ultimately derived from the places or things that will be in Heaven, but rather from GOD Himself. O for that day to come!
Do you have a loved one that has died? Imagine the glory they are in right now.
Is life today feeling more like death? Hope in God. He is good, and will bring you to His Paradise in due time. This too shall pass. We are going on from glory to glory. And draw near to God. If Heaven is bliss because of God, not the setting, then recognize that you already have God. Our understanding is yet imperfect, but focus on who He is today, what He is saying and doing, and you’re guaranteed to find much more pleasure and joy than focusing on yourself or the things of this world.
If you don’t know Christ as your Savior – today is the day to secure your future with Him.
There is only one thing that would keep us out of Heaven, and keep us from enjoying Him forever. That one thing is sin. It is not a lack of religion or good deeds that keeps people away from God, but rather the presence of something unpleasant and repulsive to God – sin. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If you want to be united with God today and for all eternity, you must be forgiven and cleansed of your sins. And this is all that needs to happen. Thankfully, God, in His love, gave His Son Jesus Christ to suffer and die for your sins on the cross. Jesus rose from the dead, ascended back to Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, as a Mediator or Advocate before God, our ultimate Judge. God has promised that if we acknowledge our sinfulness and trust in Christ’s offering for our sins, that He will forever forgive all of our sins, even our future ones. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord Jesus shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) Call upon Him today, right now, and I’ll look forward to seeing you in glory!
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:13)
This is a great prayer, and I’m sure underused by most. I have a feeling the prayer more often raised to God is, “Father, help me to overcome sin,” which is a necessary prayer as well, but how many times do you think we could have avoided sinning, if only we had asked God to not permit the temptation to come? We can and should overcome temptation by the power of God, but many times we don’t. In most or many cases if we can avoid the temptation we avoid the sin. A walk of prudence is a tremendous addition to a walk of valor. If we are praying and asking God to not lead us into temptation, wouldn’t it be a good idea that we lead ourselves not into temptation? In this article I want to highlight some Scriptures that speak about the necessity and wisdom of building protective walls around our lives, and to give some practical advice on things we can do to avoid temptations…
The Devil Don’t Sleep
“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. For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.” (Proverbs 4:14-16)
Satan and his minions live to cause others to die. They feed on trickery and revel in causing people to sin. It is their entertainment and meaning in life – they are fishers of men, to steal, kill and to destroy. It is difficult to comprehend that there are beings that are pure evil, but so is the case. Wicked men don’t sleep until they have done mischief, but evil spirits don’t need to sleep or eat, nor do they have the distractions of worldly cares. Sin is eager to get you and the flesh wants to be satisfied. “The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” We are no match for evil powers.
We are in a desperate need for God’s protection on our lives and for wisdom in our walk. If you are the kind of person that thinks you’re all set then you are deceived: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Pride precedes a fall.
The more we trust ourselves the more danger we are in. Proverbs 14:16 says, “A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.”“One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.” -esv
We are never instructed in Scripture to trust ourselves. In fact, the opposite is true: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” (Proverbs 3:5-7)
Fishermen tailor their bait for their catch. Devils customize their temptations for the souls they are responsible for. Demons have been around a while, they know man. They know who, what, when, where, and how to lay that trap for you to fall into. Thankfully the Bible says that we do not have to be ignorant of Satan’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11). If he strategizes to lay out traps for us, we must counter strategize to avoid them. It would be better to avoid having to walk through a minefield than to successfully tip toe through one. Therefore, this above verse tells us to not even go near the road where we know wickedness is happening: “avoid it, pass not by, turn from it, and pass away.” All of these phrases are saying the same thing and repeated for emphasis.
The Necessity of Walls.
What fortress does not have walls around it? If there is something of value, Evil is going to want to find a way to defile it. There is power in purity and holiness, and it must be guarded. If you have security, why have walls then? A valiant army on the ground perhaps can ward off most foes, but how much more of an upper hand does that same force have on top of a massive impenetrable wall?
To overcome the Evil One we must have on the whole armor of God, but a part of being strong in the Lord is by staying in the castle. We cannot be foolish by tempting the Lord. There are appropriate times to leave the city and engage in battle, but it must be the right time and the right circumstances.
Do you have walls up? Walls don’t make you pure. Don’t get that mixed up either. But we are better off with strong, defined walls.
Unhealthy Doctrine
The Bible speaks a lot about sound doctrine. The word underlying “sound” means “healthy.” Sound doctrine is teaching that produces godliness. Unsound doctrine is teaching that leads people into sin rather than away from it. One of these destructive doctrines is Anti-nomianism (against-law). What they say is that in Christ there is no law, “We are not under the law, but under grace.” It is true that we are not under the Mosaic Law any more, and we are free from the constraints of man made traditions, and that our righteousness comes through faith alone in Christ. But, what it does NOT mean is that there is any justification for us to sin, or to put ourselves into places for temptation to sin. Consider the following verses…
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh…” (Galatians 5:13) Jude warned about teachers who come in secretively, who “turn the grace of God into licentiousness.” (Jude 1:4) “As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness…” (1 Peter 2:16) Each of these scriptures are saying, “Yes, you have liberty, but do not…never, ever…in any way, shape or form, think that this means you can sin.” We have been liberated from sin, not liberated to sin. Jesus is our Master. The Holy Spirit is our Lord. We are obligated to obey him and to be holy as he is holy. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1-2) So be very careful about teachers who highly emphasize the freedom in Christ, while minimizing our obligation to obey Christ. In following Christ faithfully there is liberty, but there is also prudence. We are not to fear man, but we should fear sinning against God and marring his reputation.
Biblical Basis for Bulwarks
Proverbs 22:3
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
A prudent person considers carefully what could happen down the road based on their course of action, and plans accordingly. They are aware of the evils that are determined to make them fall. They recognize that there are dangers…real dangers. They are not proud and just say, “Ah! Whatever comes, I’ll just stand against it and fight against it!” They humbly recognize that the wisest course of action is to hide. The Christian walk is warfare. Read Pilgrim’s Progress. The forces of darkness strategize and then execute their plans. Discerning Christians do the same. The simple-minded man assumes there is no danger, either as a result of their pride or naivety. Whatever the root, the simple man gets himself into complex difficult situations that could have been avoided.
There are times to fight and there are times to hide. David hid from Saul; Jesus hid from angry crowds; Paul hid from the Jews.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-23
“Prove (examine, test) all things; hold fast that which is good (kalos – beautiful, fine). Abstain (keep away) from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
How do we test everything? Of course by Scripture, but also look at the fruit. Do apples grow on vines? “A tree is known by its fruit.” Look at the results of actions and ways of life. There are courses of action, that if pressed to the letter, may be biblical, but not be wise. There are activities that may be permissible, but not best. “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient.” 1 Corinthians 6:12 We should stay away from what is evil, but we should also stay away from what looks like evil; or what could possibly be evil; or what could possibly lead to something evil. “When in doubt, get out!”
“We should therefore abstain from evil, and all appearances of evil, from sin, and that which looks like sin, leads to it, and borders upon it. He who is not shy of the appearances of sin, who shuns not the occasions of sin, and who avoids not the temptations and approaches to sin, will not long abstain from the actual commission of sin.” (Matthew Henry)
Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Practical Advice for Avoiding Temptation
*I am not necessarily saying that any of the following activities are sinful in and of themselves. However, if you struggle with sin in any of these areas then I believe that the following recommendations would prove prudent in most cases.
Just don’t drink alcohol at all. If you don’t take the first sip, then you don’t have to worry about taking too many. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1) If you need any amount of alcohol in your system for you to have a good time then you already got a problem.
Don’t be alone with a woman (or a man) that you are not married to. Talk about a door open for the Devil! Remember Joseph and Potiphar’s wife? Joseph didn’t have a choice to be in the situation he was, he was a slave. I believe this is one of the reasons why he had strength from God to escape. But if it is not necessary and you choose to put yourself into that situation, then you are tempting God. Get a chaperone. Better safe than sorry.
Don’t hang out with people who have the same sinful temperaments as yourself. If you are prone to gossip, stay away from tattlers and busybodies. If you have anger tendencies, stay away from angry people. “Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.” (Proverbs 22:24-25)
Stay away from sinful, worldly people. “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” “Bad company corrupts good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33) You will become like the people you hang out with, so choose your close friends wisely. The Bible does not say that Jesus was a friend of publicans and sinners (Matthew 11:19), this was a derogatory phrase said about Jesus by the ‘holier than thou’ Pharisees. The point – Jesus loved everyone, even the worst of sinners, and reached out to them to heal them and teach them, but he was not their buddies. We are in the world, but not of the world. Reach out to all, in humble love, but do not be BFF’s with ungodly people, or else in time you will sit in their seat (Psalm 1:1). Come out from among them and be ye separate saith the LORD.
Watch your influences carefully as well. Music is powerful. Don’t listen to music that is ungodly- you will learn their ways. Don’t fill your heart and minds with ungodly movies or books or games. You are deceived if you think that you are unaffected by the communication transfer- whether it be language, images, life values, worldviews, etc.
Get rid of your TV. Just unmount it and put it into the garbage. It doesn’t matter much money you wasted on it – toss it. “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way…I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” (Psalm 101:2-3) If it is sin for you to practice it, then it is sin for you to fill your mind with it. If your problem is not watching unclean things, is it a time waster? “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” You won’t regret it.
Install accountability software on your devices. Don’t allow yourself to be “untracked.”
For some- straight up get rid of the smart phones or devices. If this causes too much difficulty or inconvenience in your life – too bad, you made the choices you did. “
If you easily yield to temptations to spend too much money- cut up your credit cards. Don’t even go into that store or visit that website. If it’s a really destructive habit, allow a faithful friend to be in control of your money for you for a while.
There are some locations you simply should not go. Why are you at the bar? For a soda? Go to the grocery store. Don’t be pressured to go out to the bar with your coworkers or friends. Don’t go to the club. Don’t go to parties where you know they’ll be drinking or foolishness or ungodliness.
In general – If there are any people, places or things that are common grounds where temptations happens for you – do something to cut those things out of your life. Find a way. Do whatever it takes.
Matthew 5:29-30
“And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”
There are some things in life that we just simply need to have no toleration or relationship with. Some things need to be cut off, smashed up and thrown in the pit.
Colossians 3:5 Mortify your members which are upon the earth…This is heavy language. Kill. Violence. There are some things we should hate as Christians. We should hate sin. For some this may mean that you have to get rid of the smart phone or devices; some of you the wisest route is to dismount the flat screen and either trash it or give it away. The fact that you think that is too radical shows you how much of an idol it is in your life. David Wilkerson was the founder of the very successful Christian drug rehab discipleship program called “Teen Challenge.” He saw great works of God in his ministry. He traced his success back to getting rid of his television and replacing that time with reading the Bible and prayer. It’s time to get serious for God! Some of you need to sell that car, or downsize your house, or quit that job, or walk off the team, or cut up your credit cards. It may be time to check into a long term rehab. Sell your car, give it away, burn it! – Do whatever you need to do to eliminate the possibility of entering in to temptation.
What are you willing to do to be right with God?
What are you willing to get rid of in order to gain freedom from sin?
From my experience, the most often mentioned argument in support of women pastors is “Deborah was a Judge.” Every time Deborah is referred to I just can’t help but to giggle. I don’t mean any ill-will – at all – it’s just…the example is so weak, it’s actually self-refuting. I’d like to offer four reasons why the account of Deborah actually supports the position that women should notbe pastors. I also want to point to what the Bible does teach on the subject and to make some pleas to my Chrsitian brothers and sisters…
Four Reasons Why The Story of Deborah Discourages Having Women Pastors:
#1 Ecclesiology from the book of Judges?
Each book in the Bible has a specific purpose for why it was written. A good principle to follow to ensure sound theology is to gather support for your position from books that are directly written about the topic you are studying. For example: If you want to know what the Bible teaches about origins you should draw mainly from Genesis, not from Esther or Proverbs, because that’s not what those books are focused on explaining. John wrote his Gospel specifically to prove that Jesus is the Messiah, and that if we simply believe in him we will have eternal life. Similarly, Romans and Galatians were written specifically to explain the Gospel; how an individual can be declared righteous before God. We should be going to these books mainly and preeminently to build our doctrine of salvation, and not books like James, or Ecclessiastes.
What books in the Bible should we prefer as we build our Ecclesiology ( which is the doctrine about the nature of the Church and how it should properly function)? Well, Paul wrote a letter to his apprentice Timothy with the express purpose of guiding him how to properly lead and establish a church in the New Covenant. His first letter to Timothy even has a specific section about women’s roles in public worship. Can you think of a better place in all the Bible than this, for solid answers on the question of whether women should be pastors or not? There we find Paul instructing, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” (1 Timothy 2:11-14) This passage unambiguously, prescriptively, in proper context, teaches that the responsibility of public, authoritative teaching and preaching of the Word of God, in the gathered church of God, is reserved for men only; that women should not be in positions of authority over men in the church; and that this arrangement is not to fluctuate based on cultural norms, as indicated by Paul’s appeal to creation for this order. The church of Jesus Christ today is much safer if she builds on the foundation of the Apostles’ doctrine, rather than an Old Testament History account. All of Scripture is inspired and beneficial, but needs to be understood in context, applied in context, and given its proper weight in relationship to context.
#2 The Account of Judges has no bearing on a New Testament office anyways.
The story of Deborah is descriptive not prescriptive. Meaning, the story is simply an account of what happened in Israel at that time, not a didactic passage instructing God’s people how to function. There is no divine calling, anointing or formal establishment of Deborah to an office.
Another important detail is the nature of the Judges ministry. The style of leadership the Judges provided was very unofficial. They were more like grass-roots warriors and influencers than formal, executive-branch office-holders, like the Kings were, or Apostles, or…Elders are. But let’s just say that Deborah was the leader of Israel, and let’s add to it the hypothetical situation that in the Old Testament God called, anointed and appointed just as many women to be prophets, priests and kings as he did men. That still wouldn’t make it ok for women to be pastors, because we are not in the same dispensation. It sure would make the case at least somewhat more strong, but it still would not be sufficient. But that is only a hypothetical situation and therefore pushes the majority of the weight in favor of the male-only leadership position.
#3 The Judges was a time when everyone did that which what was right in their own eyes.
The time of the Judges was marked by carnality, confusion, chaos, lawlessness and independence from God. This is hardly a wise time period to draw support for what should be normative in the New Testament Church. Should we dedicate a percentage of the tithe to cast idols for the house of God (ch.17)? Should we hand over our wives as a ransom to be abused by people persecuting us (ch.21)? Should we encourage single men to jump out of bushes to kid-knap women and then marry them (ch.21)? Are these practices to be standard procedure for the godly Christian today – they did it in Judges? Following the example of people in the times of the Judges is synonymous to saying that you are at a time when every man in the church is doing what is right in his own eyes. Ought not our default reaction be to resist imitating what we see in Judges?
The percentage of female leadership in the church has steadily been rising over time. Are we to see this as a sign of health and growth or a time of decay? Well, Scripture warns that one sign of a society under the judgment of God is when women begin ruling over the people: “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them.” (Isaiah 3:12) This verse is in the context of very intense rebuke from God over his people’s sins. You say, “But women are rising up because men are failing to do their jobs!” Perhaps, but if you are taking that position, you are admitting that your church has been embracing the “Judges spirit,” which is when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25) Instead, if we look at the times in Scripture when God’s people experienced true revival, awakening and lasting reform, it was always men leading the way – Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, Ezra, Nehemiah, Jesus, Peter, Paul, etc. There are too many to number. The point is that there are time periods in the history of redemption that are wise examples to follow and then there are times when we are not so wise to follow their example. Let’s yield to the nearly universal rule in Scripture, that healthy times in the church happens under male leadership.
#4 Deborah Didn’t Recognize Herself As The Leader.
In the account (Judges 4), Deborah recognized the leadership of Barak. She came to motivate and awaken him to his duty. He was cowardly and only went up to battle because Deborah was willing to go with him. In the end it was a woman, Jael, who valiantly drove a spike through Sisera’s temples and fastened his head to the floor. All of this in the story is designed to cast shame on Barak; it should have been him that led the way, fought the battle and defeated the enemies General.
We do live in a time of male complacency, lack of valor and manliness among God’s people. It seems as though fewer and fewer men are surrendering to passionate service for Jesus, while more and more women are attending seminary, or standing up and speaking up for Christ. It’s sad when you see more women than men showing up to prayer meetings, bible studies, and open air evangelism.
God is going to get his work done one way or another, through whatever means he chooses (Balaam’s donkey for example). I do believe that God is speaking through many women pastors in the church today. I’m sure there are people getting saved and growing in Christ through their ministries. However, it is possible for God to do his work through disobedient vessels — God miraculously brought water out of a desert rock when Moses smote it, but this very action caused him to forfeit his place in the Promised Land. I bet the majority cheered Moses that day, not realizing that his actions were a massive personal failure. The spirit of God was mightily upon Samson, but he did lots of damage and died in shame. Jesus spoke about men who prophesied in his name, cast out devils and did many wonderful works, but they did not know him and didn’t make it into the kingdom.
Pragmatism is when the end justifies the means. It’s not wise to conclude that God is pleased just because you see special things happening – our only safe basis for concluding that God is pleased is if we are carefully submitting to the Word of God. So, yes, there are many very gifted, intelligent, theological, eloquent, spiritual women who are pastors, but they are being disobedient in this area to the clear teaching of Scripture. If you are a woman Pastor you should step down from your position and use your passion, gifts, and knowledge to motivate the men around you to do their job, and to do it well. I know some valiant Christian women and I thank God for them. They are vital and essential to the success of the church. It’s awesome to see Jael’s driving nails through the temples of enemy generals. But we must follow the prescriptions of the Word of God if we want to please God and have true success.
Applications
The design of the story of Deborah is to rebuke cowardly men, not to encourage women leadership. It ought to be our goal to see the percentage of female pastors dropping. The root issue really is unconfessed sin in the camp. Sin causes God to remove his hand of blessing, and one way in which God blesses his people is by raising up strong, valiant, godly male-leaders. So, whatever your sins are, put them away so we can see a time of refreshing again.
Women – If there are no men around you leading, then pray for them and encourage them to stand up and do their job. Beg them. If you are asked to be a pastor or elder or bishop, use that wonderful opportunity to call out the men in that church to their post. If men are not going to step up, then be valiant for Jesus, chop some demons heads off – pray, fast, weep, speak up! But don’t disobey God and lose your reward, by moving into a place that is not yours. King Uzziah was struck with leprosy in his forehead because as a King, he tried to offer incense in the Temple. 80 valiant priests withstood him and said to him, “It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God.” (2 Chronicles 26:18) Ladies- resist the temptation to usurp authority, it will not be for thine honor. It is to the shame of men to not rise up to their position, but it is likewise to the shame of women to assume a position that is not theirs.
Men – Don’t sit on the sideline and watch as more woman run into battle for the LORD. Put on your armor, pick up your sword, and run into battle. More plainly – stop playing video games and watching porn, open your Bible, study and memorize it, go out in the streets and preach the Gospel, then find a church or start a church and faithfully teach the Word of God.
Matthew 6:12, 14-15And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
At the outset, it is encouraging that a request for forgiveness is included in the template of the Lord’s Prayer. It’s inclusion means that sin, repentance and forgiveness is expected by God to be a normal part of the Chrsitian life. The Lord knew our weakness and made provision for it. So if you’re one of the poor beggars who come daily to the throne of mercy as a repeated offender, be encouraged, this is the way it is supposed to happen. We are strictly forbidden all throughout scripture to ever sin, no matter how great or small; sin is never tolerable or permissible, but the wonderful news is that regardless of the severity or frequency of our transgressions, we are still invited to return to our Father and receive mercy for our souls! Today, if there is unfinished business between you and the Lord, don’t delay: Isaiah 55:7, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
But there is more to the story here with this prayer. There is a very important addition made to the prayer: a condition – it says, “Forgive us our debts, aswe forgive our debtors.” Then attached to the end of the prayer is another statement elaborating how important this condition is, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”Remember, this prayer is not meant only to be prayed, but to be lived. Here’s the deal – If we want the freedom and invitation to come to God for forgiveness when we sin, then we must be willing to forgive others when they sin against us. Wow. This really seems to be the focus of the Lord in this part of the prayer. Our Father is a God of great, magnificent mercy, and if we have tasted of that mercy, we must – we are required – to extend that same mercy to others. This combination is beautifully illustrated by Jesus in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, found in Matthew 18…
In Matthew chapter 18 Jesus speaks all about offenses, or problems between people, and how to deal with them. He strongly warns against offending others (v.6); reminds us that offenses are simply going to happen (v.7); and then he gives the instructions for the proper way to resolve conflicts (v.15-20). At the end of these instructions, Peter asks Jesus a question, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” So the Jewish teachers at that time taught that you should forgive someone three times, but not the fourth. Three strikes and you’re out! Peter, sensing that Jesus is calling for a higher standard of mercy and forgiveness than the status quo, upped the ante to 7. Jesus replied to him, “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.” Jesus is obviously speaking symbolically here. He is not saying, “Keep track of how many times someone offends you, and when they reach 491 times, tell them that you are not obligated to forgive them anymore.” He means, “Keep forgiving them. There is no limit. Always forgive.” Knowing Peter, as well as the other apostles, there was most likely a pause, trying to process the teaching, not getting it. I also tend to this, because in Luke 17 we have a similar conversation (which may perhaps be the same occasion) where Jesus says “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4) Their response to Jesus’ teaching was, “Lord, increase our faith!” Haha! They knew right away, “Lord, if we are actually going to successfully do what you just said, we really need your help! Grace to understand why we should do that, and strength to be able to!” So in response to their plea for increased faith. Jesus delivers to them this parable:
“Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion (pity), and loosed (set him free; let him go; released him) him, and forgave him the debt.”
In the parable there is a King who called his servants to give an account of their stewardship. One unfortunate fellow came, knowing that he had accumulated an astronomical amount of debt. He owed the king 10,000 talents. In Jesus’ day, 1 talent was equal to 6,000 days of pay, assuming an average wage. In modern terms this would be about $720,000 ($15/hr would be $120/day; Multiply by 6000 and you get $720,000). Now this servant did not owe 1 talent, but 10,000 talents. When we multiply $720,000 by 10,000, that gives us a whopping $720 Billion. Yes, Billion with a B. Saying that this kind of debt would be a sort of a problem would be an understatement! Do you think that however this debt was accumulated caused some problems for the kingdom? In fact, it seems very unlikely that this kind of debt could even be added up in real life by one person. The point that Jesus is making is that the servant accumulated a debt that was impossible to pay off.
So to settle the debt, the King commanded that the servant, his wife and children should be sold into slavery until the debt could be paid. This meant a lifetime or servitude, most likely a complete separation from family. The servant, realizing that his entire life was over, did the only thing he could do – he fell prostrate before the King and begged for mercy, pledging that he would do everything in his power to pay it off (even though he and the king knew he never could without a miracle). This caused the King to have compassion upon him, to pity him, and to completely release him of his obligation. I’m not sure if this sort of debt has ever been freely and totally forgiven among men. I doubt it. But the point is that in a hypothetical situation, imagine if someone was actually pardoned of that much debt! Wow! What an dream that would be to experience.
This part of the parable is an illustration of God’s mercy and forgiveness. The King represents God and the servant represents Mankind. Every person born into this world has an account with God; not a money-account, but a moral account. Mankind is made in the image of God. We have been loaned a body, soul and spirit, and have been commissioned by God to invest our lives in his service and in things that please Him. We are obligated to reflect his character in the world, thereby giving God a “return” to him for his investment.
The big problem? You guessed it – we have all abused this loan. Every sin we commit is another swipe of the card. Our “sin-card” is more like a credit card than a debit card – the deeper we go into debt the more we accumulate compounding interest (by this I mean that “sin will always take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay.” Some people have so much debt from various places they have even forgotten that certain ones exist. Our moral-account is similar – we cannot even begin to trace back all of the times we have plunged our moral obligations into the red. We have done this with every account we have – our bodies, our minds, our affections, our possessions, our relationships, etc. The Bible is abundantly clear: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20) Like the servant in this story, our debt is impossible to pay off. The longer we live, the more we sin, and the more our debt piles up. We can attempt to pay it off, but it is too massive and compounding to actually do it. “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6) The only way we ourselves can pay the fine for our crimes is to spend the time – this is what Hell is.
The only way out is to be prompted by sheer desperation and to cast ourselves on the pure mercy of God for forgiveness. We must plead, “God, please forgive me. I’m wrong. I’m guilty. I deserve this judgment, but please forgive me.” Thank God, that just as the King in this story, God will forgive us when we come to him with humility and repentance. Our debt with God cannot simply be overlooked; that would be an affront to the infinite holiness and justice of God. This debt had to be paid, and God in His wonderful love and tender-mercy, He gave his Son to pay the debt for us, in full at the Cross!
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us (canceling the public record of debt), which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (Colossians 2:13-14) Also Psalm 103:2-3,10-12, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Praise God for his wonderful mercy and love! We have been eternally set free!
But this is not the end of the story. Nor is it the main point of the parable…
Here is the second half of the parable:
“But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him a hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst (begged) me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth (from O.English – wrath, writhe; hot), and delivered him to the tormentors (torterors; scougers), till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”
We see the most preposterous event occur after this servant was forgiven of his unimaginable debt. He leaves the King’s presence, now a free man, debt free! You picture him on cloud-9, overjoyed by this miracle that happened in his life. But what does he do? He goes out and finds one of his fellow-servants who was in debt to him. We are told this other servant owed him 100 pence (denarii), which is equal to about $12,000. Some sources place the currency exchange much lower than this, but either way, these are servants answering directly to a king, who were most likely wealthy. Whatever the amount actually was, the point of the parable is to show that it was an insignificant amount that could easily be paid off.
The forgiven servant seizes his fellow-servant, violently grabs him by the throat, and demands from him immediate payment, “Pay me what you owe me!” The fellow-servant responds to him in the same exact way he did before the king – with humility, begging for mercy. But instead of having mercy, or even having patience, the forgiven servant casts his fellow-servant into prison, to be a bondsman, until payment could be made! Unfortunately for this “forgiven” servant, some other servants saw the whole thing go down, and came and told the king what happened. Can you imagine how angry this king would have been? It is unimaginable, unthinkable, that this would be the actions of a servant who was forgiven of so much! It says that the king was wroth – he was hot, in wrath, enraged. The then king calls in the servant and gives him a scolding reprimand, “You wicked, degenerate, vicious servant. I forgave you all of that debt, because you begged and besought me. Shouldn’t you have have had pity on your fellow-servant as I had pity upon you?” Then the king delivered the servant who would have been forgiven to the tormentors (torturers, scourgers) until he could pay his debt…which he would never be able to pay.
Can you imagine to gall; the nerve it took for this man to do this to his fellow-servant? There is absolutely no reason why this should have happened. The amount of pity, compassion, mercy and forgiveness the servant received from the King should have prompted his heart to feel obligated to extend that same mercy to his fellow-servant, especially since the debt that was owed to him was NOTHING in comparison to the debt that he was forgiven of.
Here’s the point – when you received forgiveness from God, you forever forfeited the right to hold a grudge against others! Why? Because forgiveness has a price tag. You cannot receive forgiveness from someone else and then not give it to others. More specifically – how can you see yourself on the precipice of Hell, deserving to be there, hear God’s voice of pardon, then walk away and send other people into the hell of your own making, and then try to justify your actions??? That is craziness, foolishness, wickedness.
We have all sinned against God, correct? We’re all the servant who was forgiven of the impossible debt? We all deserve the Lake of Fire for eternity?
Now, since we have been forgiven we all still sin, correct? On a daily basis? And we still come to God regularly begging his mercy and forgiveness about the same sins over and over again?
And he still forgives us, correct?
So why in the world would you ever think it is right for you to hold a grudge against anyone else in your life!!!???
You say, “You don’t know what they’ve done to me. They have ruined my life!”
Oh, really? Have you not marred the image of God on account of your sins? You have brought shame on the name of God in the presence of the King of the universe! You have played the harlot with devils in His presence. You worked for such a long time to destroy his kingdom. Was it not your sins that put Christ on the cross??? And yet is it not you who surrendered to God while his enemy? Was He patient with you while you were committed to defaming his name? “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Have you had compassion, or pity, on that person who has wronged you? Have you hung on a cross for their offenses? Are you willing to go to Hell for them?
One might say, “But you don’t understand, they keep doing the same thing over and over and over. If they really meant it when they asked for forgiveness, then they would stop!”
Oh, ok. Well good thing that when you went to God for forgiveness, it was only for that sin you committed once! Good thing you don’t drag yourself to the mercy seat on a daily basis beseeching forgiveness AGAIN, for the same thing you always do…
Or, do you do the same thing all the time and keep coming to God for forgiveness? You don’t like the sin you keep committing, you love it and you hate it. You allow yourself to be deceived thinking it will please your flesh and bless your spirit at the same time. When it fails to do the latter, you come back to God for release from guilt and shame, and for his anointing to heal and restore your joy again. Have you ever thought that perhaps the people around you, who sin against you, are simply acting just like you are in your relationship to God? It would do you well, that when others sin against you, to try to see your face on their body. When you continually come back to God for forgiveness you expect nothing less than free, full, liberating forgiveness. Why don’t you give out the same, especially since what you are forgiving is nothing in comparison to what God forgave and continues to forgive you of? “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” You are under obligation to give pure mercy to others, forever, for the rest of your life. “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
If Ye Forgive Not
The King initially offered complete forgiveness to his servant, but when he heard what this servant did to his fellow-servant, the King changed his mind and now required him to pay the debt. What is God’s disposition towards those who refuse to offer mercy and forgiveness to others? Remember, the King in the story represents God. Jesus put it this way without mincing words: “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” Does this mean that if you are a professing Christian, and you refuse to release others of their sins against you, that you will not have eternal life? Does Jesus actually mean what he is saying here- that if we do not forgive others then God will not forgive us? Before we answer that, let’s look at a few other Scriptures, just to drive home the point:
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25-26)
“With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.” (Psalm 18:25-26)
The Scriptures are clearly telling us that in some way God is committed to dealing with us in the same manner that we deal with others. How can we truly, consciously be forgiven of Hell and then not give out forgiveness for something petty and earthly? If the Spirit of God has truly come to live in our hearts, how can we not have those same bowels of mercy? If you live in bitterness, unforgiveness, variance, strife, or any other sharp offense between you and others, then you should truly check yourself to see whether you are in the faith. On the other hand, if you know that you know that you know Him, yet are still an unforgiving servant, you must be in a horrific spiritual prison, under deep chastisement from God, and I urge you to simply repent, be reconciled to your brother, and be set free from your bondage. Accept any loss that comes as a result, so that you might gain back your joy. “Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:30-32)
Living the Lord’s Prayer, Part 4 – – – “Give us this day our daily bread”
*The video ends a few minutes short. Make sure to read the last few paragraphs of the article.
Can any of us (at least in America) say that we pray this prayer for what it actually says? When is the last time you woke up in the morning and prayed, “Father, thank you for waking me up today. Among other things, I’m not sure what my family and I are going to eat today, but we trust you to take care of all of our needs. You are a good, heavenly Father, and you know what we have need of. Amen.” I can say that I have had days like that, but very few. I have to say as well that I had those days because of necessity, not because of choice (I’ll talk more about that in a little bit). Every day I think most of us give thanks to God for our bread (which we should), but how many of us actually pray for our bread. This article will discuss the spirit of the “our daily bread” prayer, and will also look at how we can embody that spirit, so we can actually see God answer this request in our lives.
Physical or Spiritual “Bread?”
Is Jesus instructing us to ask the Father for physical bread or spiritual “bread?” I think everyone would agree that “bread” here is representative of “necessities,” but is it referring to our daily physical or spiritual needs? The famous publication “Our Daily Bread,” which has daily devotional tid-bits, may have many people assuming that the prayer means, “Father, give us the words of wisdom we need to live by today.” Do we need God’s grace on a daily basis for our spiritual, mental, emotional, relational needs? Of course, but those concerns are covered under the headings of, “Hallowed be thy name…thy kingdom come…thy will be done…forgive us our debts (sins)…and lead us not into temptation.” The fact that Jesus had in mind physical bread (necessities) seems pretty apparent to me. It makes perfect sense that way; there is nothing in the context to indicate that he had otherwise in mind; and also, if Jesus did mean physical bread, how else could he have said it, to make it clear that that’s what he meant. It’s clear, but I’m afraid that we may have some intuitive hesitation to lean away from the literal meaning because of the implication it may have on our lives. If he does mean literal bread, how can we even begin actually praying this prayer if our cupboards are already full?
The Spirit of the Prayer
In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus is instructing his followers to practice three spiritual disciplines: giving, prayer & fasting. Each of these disciplines have practical benefits, but there is a greater purpose shared by each of them – we could call it the “spirit” or heart of the disciplines – which is trusting God. Does practicing giving meet real, practical needs? Sure, but a greater need is us learning to trust God with our finances. God doesn’t really need our money to get his work done. Does practicing fasting free up your mind, body and time? Sure, but a greater need is for us to trust God to be our source of satisfaction in life, and so on. I think that within this prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread,” Jesus is trying to communicate to us about A WAY OF LIFE, not merely leading us to ask God for our daily provisions.
Consider the Lilies
What is this “way of life” Jesus is speaking about? The same chapter as the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6) gives us further insight. In discussing the difference between being heavenly minded and earthly minded, Jesus says, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” (Matthew 6:25) Jesus is telling us to not be anxious, worried or even concerned about our basic necessities. It should not be the focus of our lives. Why? Because there are deeper things in life that need to occupy our hearts, minds and time- “The life is more than meat, and the body more than raiment.”
He then says to consider, or think carefully about, the ravens (Luke 12) and the lilies. The ravens do not plant, harvest, or store up food in barns, yet they eat and survive. They do not have a job with a guaranteed weekly pay stub, bank accounts, refrigerators, pantries, deep freezers, investment funds, or insurance policies, yet they are not worried about life at all. We got some serious issues. If God feeds his pets, how much more can we be guaranteed that he will feed his children? Not only the ones made in his image, but those remade in the image of his Son, those who are washed and in his favor eternally?? What about the lilies? They do not labor (toil, struggle), nor do they take great pains to make their appearance, yet Jesus says they are more beautifully clothed than even Solomon was in his glory! Now, this is crazy, because at least the ravens do something to get their food – they hunt or scavenge. Yet, the lilies do nothing except rest and soak in what nutrients God brings them. Wow. These are presented as examples for how careless we should be about the acquisition and security of our physical necessities in our lives.
Did Jesus practice what he preached? He sure did. One day a man wanted to follow Jesus, and Jesus warned him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20) I love how it is put in the hymn “Thou Dids’t Leave Thy Throne,” “The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest, in the shade of the forest tree; but Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God, in the deserts of Galilee.” Jesus did not have a home; he didn’t have a guaranteed weekly pay stub for his labor; he didn’t have a bank account, savings account, credit card or investments. Yet, he survived. He thrived. There was no one happier, more secure, more useful, more giving than Jesus, even though he did not have a guarantee of all of these necessities.
Jesus was on a mission – to seek and save the lost. He said, “I have meat to eat that ye know not of…My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” (John 4:32,34) No one worked harder than Jesus; no one had more responsibilities than Jesus; yet no one was more free in life than Jesus.
He understood the perfect balance of working hard/laboring/discipline combined with rest/freedom/spontaneity. He worked hard, without guarantee of pay, mostly misunderstood, and yet was loved and provided for. He was free from the demands of man, yet fully devoted to the demands of God. “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Jesus understood that if you seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33) He didn’t say that if you value God in your life that God will give you the strength to work and provide for yourself. He is saying that if you work for God, the provision will be brought to you, like the liles.
Was Jesus a pauper? He actually was. Pauper: poor person. He was a pauper, but he wore a seamless robe, which from my understanding was a unique and expensive garment in his time. How did he get the robe? The Father brought it to him somehow. There were rich people who ministered to Jesus at times.
Jesus lived a very ascetic life, one of self-discipline and abstention, yet there were times when Jesus fellowshipped and feasted. But it was always when the Father said so. And I believe that he enjoyed the spread, the laughs and the experiences more fully than anyone else, because they were always gifts, unearned but deserved (because of his labor for God) and timely.
Was Jesus a monk? No, he was on a mission, but he was certainly truly pious, often praying alone for long periods of time. I’m not suggesting we all become monks, but I definitely think us American brothers could use a couple extra shots of monkish flavoring.
I struggle to find to the right words to express what I see in Jesus – He truly did live like the ravens and the lilies. May God help us to have this kind of freedom, carelessness and obedience to God our Father!
The Manna Story
God wants his people truly trusting him, even for our necessities, on a daily basis. This is illustrated well by the story of the Manna in Exodus chapter 16. Yahweh gave his people miracle bread from heaven, mainly as a rebuke against their murmurings, but also to teach them that God is more than able to be trusted for everything on a daily basis. Notice how carefully God instructed his people to only gather what they needed: “This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer (approx. 1 gal. dry measure)for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.” (Exodus 16:16-21)
Yahweh laster told the people why he fed them with daily bread in this fashion, “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”
The life is more than meat. Israel had a purpose, to be a light to the nations. That kind of task is too grand for his people to be too concerned with mundane and earthly things. God provided miracle bread for his people, his disobedient people, for forty years, in the desert. It is a miracle how God provides for us, I’m not denying that at all. But experiencing miraculous provision doesn’t necessarily say anything about your spirituality, godliness or effectiveness in partnering with God to be a light to the nations. Miraculous provision should be understood for the child of God – especially one desiring to do his will. If we can’t trust God to miraculously put bread on the table, how are we going to trust him to supply the Spirit for abundant life today? Or to add new souls to the church? Over-abundance is a very dangerous thing. It is a huge temptation to forget the faithfulness of God and begin trusting in ourselves. Hear how God warned his people about over-abundance, “When thou hast eaten and art full…Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day…And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:10-11,17)
“There’s nothing wrong with having nice things”
Have you ever heard a preacher or another Christian say, “Now, there’s nothing wrong with a Christian having nice things, we just can’t let them become idols or a distraction in our lives.”? O.K. Yes, I agree in general, but this is hardly the kind of thing that American Christians need to hear! Instead, they need to be WARNED that their STUFF can easily and subtly rob them of revival, quench the Spirit, distract them from prolonged prayer, meditation in Scripture and winning souls! American Christians by and large have nooo problem with being too puritanical, too frugal, or too cautious about indulgence! “Make sure all those believers know that it’s ok for them to have nice things!” Are you kidding? We are over-worked on over-time, over-fed on over-abundance, and over-spent on over-drafts! We are the church of Laodicea. We are the generation of Haggai who laid the foundation of the temple, but then left off raising the walls because we are too busy meticulously wainscoting our own homes. No, we need to be told to fast; sell things, get rid of things; stop buying stuff you don’t need; stop buying stuff at the price and quality you do – even if you can afford it; downsize; stop being so busy. Sacrifice for Christ; pray more, longer; read more, longer; evangelize more, disciple more. Make time and money for Christ! These are the types of things I believe we should be proclaiming to our people! Why? Because there is a danger in being surrounded by abundance…
Feed Me My Portion
In Proverbs 30:8-9 we find the prayer of Agur, “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient(my portion; prescription; necessary) for me: lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” He is in effect saying, “God, you know what I need. If I determine how things go in my life I’m sure I will mess it up in some way. You know the adequate amount of resources that I need to live on and be happy with, but also will keep me trusting you well.” There is a danger in having too much. We can become like Nabal the Fool who derided David’s servants, “Who is the son of Jesse!”
1 Timothy 6
In the midst of Paul’s polemic against greedy people and wealthy society, he gives these warnings, “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10) In inordinate view of money or possessions can unwittingly lead us into temptations, traps, foolish lusts, perdition, apostasy, many sorrows, and many more dangerous thing not listed here. How are we doing, as American Christians, in our relationship with “things” and money? Are we content and moderate?
Paul here defines for us what contentment truly is, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” (1 Timothy 6:6-8) Having food and raiment (covering – clothes and housing) is God’s definition of what we need. God is saying that if you have food to eat, clothes on your back and a roof over your head, then you should be satisfied. We know full well that Paul here does not have in mind five-star dainties, elegant costly attire and mansions. He is certainly not saying, “Be content with your luxuries.” In another place he said, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:11-13)
What should we do? “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
(1) Don’t be high-minded, high-maintenance or attracted to high-society, “Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.” (Romans 12:16) Having nice possessions and high status can trick us into thinking that we are godly somehow on account of those things. (2) Don’t trust in your riches, because they make wings and fly away. If it was all taken away from you today, would your faith be shaken? Would you be shaken? If so, repent, and ask God to help you to get your trust right. (3) Learn to find pleasure and enjoyment in the simple things that God brings to us. Also, learn to wait on God and enjoy the earthly things as God brings them to you, not you going on and procuring them for yourself. (4) If you have the ability to have a high standard of living, don’t choose to. God gave you a lot of money or resources because that is a major part of how he wants to use you for his kingdom. “To whom much is given much, much will be required.” (Luke 12:48) If your wages are above average, then so should your giving. If a large percentage of your time is spent earning a large salary, then a large percentage of your pay should go to those working in the Lord’s harvest fields. He says here to the rich to be “rich” in good works.
Here is how I would try to concisely describe the Christ-like way of life we should be striving to live: Every believer (especially men) should be a hard-worker – expect no one to pay your way; strive to increase your productivity and earnings while decreasing your standard of living; fast often; strive to give away more of what you earn, while receiving and living more on miracles; if you haven’t done this in a while – prove God’s faithfulness in your life by giving away all of your money, or a large enough amount to where you have to trust God for the outcome (Luke 21, the poor widow cast in all that she had); find out a way to prove to yourself, in a measurable way, that you are actually living by faith; that you are truly able to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Press Toward the MarkPaul said, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” (Philippians 3:13-15) I in no way am saying that I live up to what I have presented in this article, though it is my heart’s desire and aim! I confess that it is the standard and that it is possible. Similar to the fact that God’s command, “Be ye holy, as I am holy” is the standard, though we all seem to fall short of it, so it is with the spirit of this prayer, and the way of life Jesus lived- we all seem to fall short of it, but may we strive after it, to become more like our Lord and so that his kingdom can be strengthened and furthered in the earth!
