And repeat…

Although the above is a highly generalized version of our day, it does show how they can be filled with many things to do. Unfortunately, it’s easy to loose focus on eternal things when we live like that for days, weeks, months and years on end. If we’re not careful, we’ll find ourselves thinking more like an unbeliever than a child of God. So let’s take a look at what Jesus had to say about this topic to help us retain our focus.

Matthew 6:25-34

25 “This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the sky: they don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? 27 Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! 30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith? 31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

In verse 25, Jesus tells us to not worry about our basic needs of food, drink, and clothing. Then he asks us a question which prepares us for the answer he’ll give in verse 33 — the question being, “Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?” That question gets at the heart of every unbelievers life — making sure their basic needs are met to their level of comfort — but Jesus tells us this should not be the focus of believers.

Then in verses 26-30, he gives us two illustrations that I believe help provide a foundation to the question regarding our basic needs. The illustrations of the birds and the wildflowers describe how neither of them do anything to take care of their future needs, yet God still provides for them. More importantly, the illustrations define how much more valuable people are than the wildflowers or the birds. So if God places much more value on people, then how much more will he take care of the needs of his people?!

He even goes as far to say, in verse 32, “For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” The HCSB uses the word idolaters instead of gentiles because becoming an idolater is what happens when your thoughts are focused on seeking after only your basic needs. The NLT further clarifies this incorrect focus by saying, “These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers…” but they should not dominate the believer’s thoughts. So what should dominate the believer’s thoughts then? What should equally dominate your mind while you conquer your daily ToDo list?

Jesus’ answer: His Kingdom and His Righteousness.

In verse 33, Jesus says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” God will provide us “all these things” — all our needs — when we make it a priority to seek his kingdom and righteousness first, before our own needs. It’s counter-cultural and, at times, almost illogical during bad economies, but it’s what we’re commanded to do. He’s calling us to be ambassadors/representatives for his kingdom and his righteousness. So what is his kingdom and righteousness?

His Kingdom

Generally speaking, I think God’s kingdom could be viewed from two perspectives: a future one and present one. I think his future kingdom is what most people think of when asked to describe God’s kingdom — it’s where believers will spend eternity with God in Heaven. Mark 9:47 provides a good example of seeing God’s kingdom as a future one.

Mark 9:47

And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

Jesus’ warning that it’s better to enter the kingdom of God (or Heaven) with only one eye instead of going to hell with two eyes shows that God’s kingdom can be viewed as something in the future.

However, I believe Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 – 7) show us a great example of God’s kingdom in the present. The present kingdom of God is where God sets up, through his believers, an example of himself for this sinful world to see. Take a moment to read through the following list of topics that Jesus teaches on during the Sermon on the Mount:

• The Beatitudes:
  • Being poor in spirit
  • Mourning
  • Gentleness
  • Thirsting for righteousness
  • Being merciful
  • Being pure in heart
  • Being a peacemaker
  • Being persecuted for righteousness
• Believers are the salt and light of the world
• Christ fulfills the law
• Murder begins in the heart
• Adultery begins in the heart
• Divorce
• Telling the truth
• Going the second mile
• Loving your enemies
• How to give
• How to pray
• How to fast
• Being careful with our possessions
• Do not judge
• Requesting things from God
• Evangelism
• Jesus Christ is the strong foundation

These topics are not just nice ideas from God, they are his instructions to us for being his kingdom here on earth! This is why Jesus calls believers to let their light shine in Matthew 5.

Matthew 5:14-16

14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

God’s kingdom is not just something we look forward to in the future, it is what every believer is a part of in this present world!

His Righteousness

The greek word for righteousness is dikaiosyne <dik-ah-yos-oo’-nay>, which means justification, or a Christian’s right-standing with God. However, it also portrays the idea having the highest values in character and actions. It’s the motives behind our character and what we do.

Not only are we called to represent God’s kingdom by being his light in this dark world, but we are called to be his representatives with the right motives at heart. So how are you doing? Are you representing God’s kingdom and righteousness in your daily life? Are they the dominating motive behind how you tackle your ToDo list during your day? Or are you more focused on doing a good job so that your earthly boss will give you a good review and possibly increase your compensation? Let’s look at one other example.

Solomon’s Example

2 Chronicles 1:7-12

7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him: “Ask. What should I give you?”

8 And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great faithful love to my father David, and You have made me king in his place. 9 LORD God, let Your promise to my father David now come true. For You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Now, grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people, for who can judge this great people of Yours?”

11 God said to Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge are given to you. I will also give you riches, wealth, and glory, such that it was not like this for the kings who were before you, nor will it be like this for those after you.” 13 So Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place that was in Gibeon in front of the tent of meeting, and he reigned over Israel.

Instead of seeking after his own personal well being or desires, Solomon’s focus was on what God had called him to do — to take care of the people of Jerusalem. Therefore, because his focus was on God’s people and his motives were right, God not only gave him the wisdom and knowledge to lead the people, but God gave him all the other blessings that he didn’t ask for also.

Let’s let Solomon’s example be an example for us also. Let’s make sure our daily focus is all about representing God’s kingdom and righteousness, while letting God worry about suppling our daily needs.

Okay, so sheep are not the most intelligent creatures on planet Earth but they do know how to do something very well…they know how to listen to their shepherd’s voice and follow him, and that’s what I want to look at today.

John 10:1-5
1 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

As I mentioned, sheep may not be the most intelligent of creatures but they do know how to listen to their shepherd’s voice.

We can make a few other assessments about sheep from the text.

• Sheep are called by name and are personally led by their shepherd
• Sheep listen and recognize the voice of their shepherd over other voices
• Sheep will follow their shepherd’s voice but run from a stranger’s

But sheep are not born just knowing and doing all of this. They learn it over time. They learn by following the examples of other sheep and by being in the presence of their shepherd day in and day out.

I believe God wants us to know that we, too, can hear the voice of our Shepherd! In fact, this is probably one of the most asked questions by Christians…“How do I hear the voice of God in my life?” “How can I know that God has a plan for me?” “What is God’s will for my life?” These are perfectly honest questions for which the Bible has answers.

The first thing we need to know is that God knows us by name and promises to lead us personally.

Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

John 14:16-17
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Just as sheep have a shepherd to lead them, we have God’s Spirit who lives in us to lead us and help us, but just like sheep, we definitely need help in learning to hear our Shepherd’s voice.

Wouldn’t it be great if upon getting saved we just automatically heard God’s voice in a clear way and there was never a doubt as to what He wanted us to do? But, alas, it doesn’t work that way. We have to learn how to hear His voice. It takes time to develop this skill so go easy on yourself as you begin to learn.

There are a couple things we can do to drastically help us listen to God’s voice.

The first is to live a consecrated life.

Matthew 26:39
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Jesus didn’t just pray a prayer of consecration, he lived a consecrated life. Every day for him was about doing the Father’s will instead of his own. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that if he never would have consecrated his life from the beginning, then there never would have been a Gethsemane prayer.

The origin of the word “consecrate” means to force your life into sacred dedication. I think we all could have guessed the part about it being a “sacred dedication,” but the “forcing” part may be new to us. Just like Jesus prayed, consecration is the forcing (the bending) of our wills to the Father’s.

Is it a choice, yes! Is it easy, no! Is it possible to live a consecrated life with Jesus as our example, definitely! Let us, as an act of faith, consecrate our lives to God, forcing our wills to obey His perfect will. Doing so will put us in a better position to hear what God is speaking to us.

The second thing we can do is to stay filled with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:17 says to “be filled with the Spirit.”

That’s a command! But how often and to what degree?

Romans 12:11 (AMP)
11 Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.

So from these two passages, we know that we need to stay filled and burning with the Holy Spirit! This is probably the number one thing we can do to help us listen to and obey the Lord’s voice.

Just look at the disciples lives after they were filled on the day of Pentecost. Act 2 clearly shows that they stayed in the upper room and quietly sought after the Lord’s face to make sure they heard correctly and knew what the next step was….right? No! When the Spirit filled them, they went out and preached. They taught new converts and they healed people.

After being filled with the Spirit they naturally did God’s will! When the Spirit fills us and we allow Him to take control of our lives, suddenly our daily-grind of a job becomes a mission field that for which we are commissioned. Our eyes see the spiritual need in people instead of coveting their possessions. All that we have, all that we are becomes God’s resources for use in His Kingdom!

So now that we are better able to listen to our Shepherd’s voice because of a consecrated life and a Spirit filled life…what are we to listen for?

We need to recognize the Lord’s voice! The Bible provides many examples of how God speaks to His people, but there are three methods in particular that He tends to use most often. Let’s take a look at each.

The primary way that God will lead us is through His Word and the inner witness.

Romans 8:16
16The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.

The word “testifies” in the Greek simply means to testify or to be a witness. It’s like an inner knowledge of agreement. It’s when you just know that something is right deep inside you. I have sometimes called it an impression, as if the Holy Spirit was impressing a thought or idea upon me.

John 14:25-26 (NLT)
25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

When we read God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will impress upon us the Truth from Scripture. And then He will bring it to our memory when we need it during our daily routines.

Romans 8:16 says “The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children,” which means when you got saved it was the Holy Spirit speaking to you—through this inner witness—to confirm that you were indeed saved. The Holy Spirit gave us that inner knowledge of agreement, and it’s with this same “impressing” and “knowing” that God can and does lead us still today.

The second most common way the Holy Spirit leads us is through the inner voice or “still small voice” as it’s often been called. The main difference between the inner witness and the inner voice is that the inner voice actually has a voice.

1 Kings 19:11-13
11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The phrase “gentle whisper” is made up of three Hebrew words:
demamah- whisper, calm, silence
daq- thin, small, fine, gaunt
qowl- voice, sound, noise; lightness, lighthearted

Combining these Hebrew words gives the idea that the inner voice is very light and airy, and easy to be drowned out. So how much background noise do we have in our lives? Let’s see…

We wake up to music or a noisy alarm.
We drive our vehicles listening to music or talk radio.
We keep the TV on even when nobody is watching.
Our computers have become the hub of our noisy digital lives playing music and videos, and allowing us to stay socially connected.
Our smartphones are always notify us of the latest piece of news from our friends.
And our ears have been permanently corked with MP3 players.

Is it any wonder why we don’t hear the inner voice of the Spirit like we want?!

I love what Elijah did when he recognized the still small voice, he pulled his cloak over his face in the midst of the powerful wind, the earthquake, and the fire so that he could focus on what God was telling him. He didn’t want to miss it…so he focused in. Also note that when the inner voice spoke to Elijah it spoke actual words with coherent thoughts. It was not just an impression like the inner witness.

There is one other point to mention about the inner voice. Notice that in verse 11 it says “the Lord said” but in verse 13, when describing the still small voice, it says “a voice said”. The Bible makes a clear distinction between the inner voice and the Lord’s more direct voice. The reason why this is important is because there will be times when God will lead us by the inner voice but we may assume that we’re just hearing our own thoughts.

Don’t be so quick to dismiss what you heard! If the voice you heard sounded like your own voice but it lines up with the Bible, then it may very well be the inner voice of the Spirit leading you.

The third way God leads us is through the authoritative voice of the Lord.

Acts 9:1-7
1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.

In Saul’s case, the authoritative voice of the Lord was audible. We know this because the men with him heard the sound (verse 7). But the authoritative voice of the Lord doesn’t have to be audible, it may just seem that way to us.

This is the one of the differences between the inner voice and the authoritative voice. Where the inner voice seems to come from within you, the authoritative voice will seem to come from outside of you (or right next to you) and it will not sound like your own voice. And most importantly it will not just be an anonymous voice, it will be very clearly identified as the Lord’s voice, just as it was for Saul in verse five.

Now that we know how to listen and we know what to listen for, what do we do when God does speak to us? Like our examples, the sheep, we need to follow our Shepherd’s call. We need to act in obedient faith! Acting immediately when we sense His inner witness, inner voice, or authoritative voice will definitely stretch our “faith muscles.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 says we “live by faith, not by sight” and obeying the voice of the Lord is definitely a step of faith.

Yes, you will make mistakes and not “hear” correctly from time to time but that’s how we learn. Just like it took years for you to learn how to communicate with other people using effective listening and speaking skills, so it will take a while before you can correctly discern the Lord’s voice from all the others in this world. But as you “practice”—acting immediately in faith when you sense what you believe is His voice—it will become easier.

Just remember that we have this promise that we can know our Lord’s voice.

John 10:4
[The shepherd] he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

Here are a few passages and I’ll put the rest at the end.

Luke 2:25-32
25 There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple complex. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for Him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took Him up in his arms, praised God, and said:
29 Now, Master,
You can dismiss Your slave in peace,
according to Your word.
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation.
31 You have prepared it
in the presence of all peoples—
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and glory to Your people Israel.

John 3:36
The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.

Jesus Christ IS the salvation of God! He alone is the Gift that God the Father gave to humanity. The salvation of God is not a thing to be possessed; it is God Himself to be embraced as Lord and Savior!

Why is this important? Because as students of our modern culture, we’ve all been taught to be good little consumers–-consumers that know how to acquire many possessions. The church is not immune to this mindset either. Long ago it found its way into the church which is why we find so many topical messages today, such as, “God Wants You to be Rich,” “Becoming a Better You,” “Living Stress Free in Today’s World,” “Increasing God’s Favor in Your Life,” and “The Biblical Road to Blessing.” It almost appears that unless the church sermon is designed, written, and marketed to make the Christian consumer feel good, then we won’t buy it.

While I believe that we need to learn how to grow in the Lord through His Word and Spirit, I don’t think increasing the number of SELF-focused sermons and messages is the solution! Ephesians 2:8 is perfectly clear that we don’t bring anything into the salvation equation when it says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Self is not a factor in the salvation process.

In fact, the pride of self was the first sin that caused Lucifer to fall from God’s presence and become Satan. Isaiah 14:12-14 records the five prideful statements attributed to Satan before he was cast out of Heaven.

Isaiah 14:12-14
12 Shining morning star,
how you have fallen from the heavens!
You destroyer of nations,
you have been cut down to the ground.
13 You said to yourself:
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will set up my throne
above the stars of God.
I will sit on the mount of the assembly,
in the remotest parts of the North.
14 I will ascend above the highest clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”

If the pride of self caused Lucifer, the shining morning star, who lived in God’s continual presence, to sin and become the father of lies, how much more should we guard our hearts from pride and self.

Another reason why this is important is because it helps us correctly answer questions such as, “How can a loving God send anybody to Hell?” and “If salvation is really a free gift, then why does rejecting it send me to Hell?” You see, these questions only have merit when salvation is an external gift that God can give or withhold from somebody. But when a biblical understanding of salvation is applied to them, it is clear that these questions are asked out of a Scriptural misunderstanding.

Salvation IS God Himself, therefore, if somebody wants to reject God’s salvation, they are actually rejecting God. The two cannot be separated. Although He does not want anybody to perish in Hell (2 Peter 3:9), He will not force anybody to love Him. John 3:16 says, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” I added emphasis to show that Jesus is not forced upon anybody. All of us have a choice! We can choose to believe that Jesus is God’s salvation or we can choose to not believe it.

So how can a loving God send anybody to Hell? He doesn’t. In fact, He did the exact opposite by sending His salvation, Jesus Christ, while we were still lost in our sins (Romans 5:8).

And if salvation is really a free gift, then why does rejecting it send me to Hell? It doesn’t because salvation is not a gift separate from God. As mentioned above, God will not force anybody to love Him. Instead, He grants people their eternal desire. If a person does not want anything to do with God, as displayed in Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15), then He sorrowfully grants their request by eternally removing His presence from them in Hell. However, if a person accepts Jesus Christ as their salvation, then they will enter eternity to remain constantly in His loving presence.

What is your salvation? Is it a thing that you possess or is it God Himself that you embrace? I encourage you to put some serious thought to this question. Don’t let your salvation be based in shallow consumerism. Instead, find your salvation by embracing the God of the universe as displayed to us through His only Son, Jesus Christ.

Here are some other passages that reference Jesus Christ as the salvation of God:
Luke 3:2-6
2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way for the Lord;
make His paths straight!
5 Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made low;
the crooked will become straight,
the rough ways smooth,
6 and everyone will see the salvation of God.”

John 3:14-18
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.
16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Anyone who believes in Him is not judged, but anyone who does not believe is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.

John 5:36-40
36 “But I have a greater testimony than John’s because of the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish. These very works I am doing testify about Me that the Father has sent Me. 37 The Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have not heard His voice at any time, and you haven’t seen His form. 38 You don’t have His word living in you, because you don’t believe the One He sent. 39 You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me. 40 And you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

Acts 4:11-12
11 This Jesus is
The stone despised by you builders,
who has become the cornerstone.
12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

2 Timothy 2:10
This is why I endure all things for the elect: so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

Titus 2:11-14
11 For the grace of God has appeared, with salvation for all people, 12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14 He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a special people, eager to do good works.

Hebrews 5:7-10
7 During His earthly life, He offered prayers and appeals, with loud cries and tears, to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. 8 Though a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. 9 After He was perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 and He was declared by God a high priest “in the order of Melchizedek.”

Long ago, Jesus told a woman caught in adultery to “Go…sin no more” (John 8:11) and He tells us the same thing today. But how do we combat temptation when it seems like each one has been specifically customized just for our area of weakness? Let’s take a look a few Scriptures to find an answer.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Paul makes it very clear in verse three that we cannot have victory in spiritual matters using natural techniques–-”we do not wage war as the world does.” If we are currently fighting temptation using only natural techniques, we will fail. Now the Lord is not opposed to “natural techniques,” which is precisely why He says in 1 Corinthians 6:18 to “Flee from sexual immorality.” That word “flee” simply means to run away. You can’t get more natural than that! However, the difference is that this is a command from the Lord and not just my human technique for dealing with sexual immorality. If I were to use any other distraction or avoidance technique of my own devise, no matter how good they sound, I will find myself giving into the sexual temptation. Victory over temptation only happens when we choose to obey the Lord in whatever technique He tells us to use.

We also have to remember that we’re not fighting temptation with our bare hands! Paul reminds us in verse four that our weapons are not of this world, instead, they are divinely powerful for destroying the devil’s foothold in our lives.

Understand that when Paul said our weapons are full of divine power, in the Greek language, he is saying they are full of God’s power (as the Almighty One), His might (in wealth and influence), His strength (of soul, being fortified and patient to endure calamities and trials), and His ability (know-how) to provide victory over the exact temptation that you’re struggling with right now!

Keep in mind, though, that it will still be hard work, which is why Paul uses the Greek word kathairesis to describe the act of demolishing. This word perfectly describes a demolition crew prepared to tear down a building using every tractor, wrecking crane, and explosive in their possession. Against such force, the strongholds–-the arguments and false logic–-that we use to support our giving into the temptation must fall.

Paul continues, in verse five, by describing the arguments and false logic as things that raise and exalt themselves above God’s rule in our life. These are the thoughts, that in the moment of our temptation, suggest to us that it’s okay to give in this one time because once won’t hurt anything. They’re the thoughts that puff us up by suggesting we’re strong enough to handle the temptation on our own, without the Lord. These are the arguments and pretensions that our divine weapons are able to demolish!

Paul also describes another method for dealing with these deceptive, self-exalting thoughts, and that is to take them captive! Paul uses the Greek word aichmalotizo to describe how we are to take these thoughts captive, and for good reason. This word paints the picture of a baby being captivated by bright colorful lights, or of an adult being so infatuated by another person that all other relationships and responsibilities fall to the side. It is a mind so captivated by something that it can do nothing else. Normally, this is what temptation does to us. However, in this case, Paul says to reverse it and use that same captivating power to stop that thought of temptation and determine if it submits to the will of Jesus Christ. If it doesn’t, then throw it out of your mind and don’t let it come back.

Here are some other passages that give us insight into fighting our sinful, rationalizing logic and pride in order to make all of our thoughts submit to Jesus.

According to Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus handled every temptation that the devil brought to Him in the same way. “It is written” is what Jesus said before He countered every temptation with Scripture. If our Lord used the Written Word of God as His foundation for fighting temptation, how much more should we also use it!

Although Peter was the one speaking to Jesus, in Matthew 16:21-23, Jesus saw beyond the natural to where the source of Peter’s thought came from. Jesus addressed the devil directly and immediately. What Peter said was an idea that was contrary to the will of God, and by acting immediately, Jesus didn’t allow that idea to have a place in the disciples minds or his.

Philippians 2:9-11 tells us that no other name is as powerful as Jesus’. And Matthew 28:18 reminds us that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus, therefore, let us not be shy in using our Lord’s name when rebuking temptation that comes our way.

As soon as we become aware that our thoughts are defending (rationalizing, making excuses, playing up the positives of) something contrary to God’s Word, no matter how desirable it may be, we need to immediately say “no” in Jesus Name and have a Scripture to back it up. Only with the Lord’s help, we can have victory over temptation!

²⁷Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” ³⁰They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

³¹Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

³²But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

³³Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

³⁴“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

I love how Jesus used many natural situations as illustrations for teaching spiritual truth, especially to his disciples.

This passage picks up right during the middle of Jesus’ witnessing to the Samaritan woman at the well. The woman just left Jesus to go tell people in her town about him when the disciples walked up to him to make sure he had something to eat. Jesus was keeping a busy schedule preaching the Kingdom of God to the surrounding towns, so the disciples were just looking out for his physical well being. I, personally, think it was a nice gesture. However, look again at Jesus’ reply in verse 32. “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Fortunately this is not one of his parables where he leaves us guessing what he meant. Instead, Jesus tells us what this “secret food” is in verse 34, when he says, “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

Doing the will of God the Father fed Jesus! Let me say that again. Actually doing the work that God the Father called Jesus to do nourished him; it was his spiritual food! Now that is a little different from our standard way of thinking. The typical Christian will say they’ve been “fed” spiritually if they’ve heard a good message on Sunday, or if they’ve had an insightful Bible study, but here, according to Jesus, putting into action (actually obeying) what you’ve been taught is the real food.

What does physical food do for our bodies? It nourishes and sustains them. Food also provides us enjoyment and pleasure (sometimes a little too much). This is exactly what Jesus was teaching his disciples in verse 34. Doing the will of God will nourish and sustain you spiritually, and it will also bring you enjoyment and pleasure.

How many of us, at times, feel like malnourished Christians? If we do, then according to Jesus, we need to do God’s will in order to get fed. So I guess the next question should be, how did Jesus find out what God the Father’s will was? If we don’t want to be malnourished spiritually, then we need to find out where and how Jesus got that spiritual food, right?

Well, in verse 32, all Jesus tells us is that “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Okay, so that’s not very helpful. However, let’s take a look at some other passages from the book of Luke.

Luke 6:12 – One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
Luke 11:1 – One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Luke 18:1 – Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

From these passages, we know that Jesus not only believed in prayer as the main way of communicating with his Heavenly Father, but he also taught it to his disciples. So if God’s will is like spiritual food sitting in a locked cupboard, then prayer is the key to opening the cupboard so that we may do God’s will and be nourished!

When was the last time we looked at doing God’s will as being spiritual nourishment?

When was the last time we saw prayer as being the main key to our spiritual nourishment?

So often we go to the Lord in prayer only for things we need. While the Lord wants us to do this (Philippians 4:6), I would also encourage us pray to the Lord to find out what he wants us to do! Spend time talking to God. Let him know what you’ve been going through in life. Yes, I know he already knows, but that’s not the point. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross and victory over the grave, we now have unlimited access to God…and he wants to spend some long over due time with us. Share with him what’s on your heart. Tell him your needs and wants, and thank him for what he’s already done in your life. Then spend some time listening to him! Let the Lord God of the universe share his heart with you through is Word and Spirit. If you do this and also obey what he tells you to do, I bet you may just find yourself in better spiritual health.

The same is true with our Christian lives. However, I feel that most Christians are focused on just the defensive. After entering into a relationship with Jesus, they spend the majority of their efforts on staying away from temptation and sin by reading the Bible and praying for their own needs. Although these efforts are needed for a healthy spiritual life, they are defensive in nature.

So what does a good offense look like for a Christian? I would say it involves being led by the Holy Spirit in activities that impact the kingdom of darkness for God’s Kingdom of Light!

The emphasis is two fold: first, the activities must be Spirit led, and second, they must chip away at the devil’s kingdom. If we only do the activities without being Holy Spirit led, then we’re wasting our time. Likewise, if we’re being Spirit led but not putting it into action, then we’re no earthly good.

Paul gives us an example of being Spirit led while trying to do activities that would affect the kingdom of darkness.

Acts 16:6-10
6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Paul knew that he was called to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. So what did he do? He traveled to where he knew Gentiles would be. And we know from this passage that he wasn’t given a divine travel itinerary to follow. He went around from town to town as he was led by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus.

Verse 10 in the NIV translation uses the word “conclude” to explain how they determined what Paul’s vision meant. In the Greek, that word is symbibazo (süm-be-bä’-zo) and means to coalesce, to put together in one’s mind, to come to a single conclusion. It means that Paul wasn’t told outright where he should go. Instead, God gave him the clues and Paul had to put them together. The Amplified Bible explains it well when it says “And when he had seen the vision, we [including Luke] at once endeavored to go on into Macedonia, confidently inferring that God had called us to proclaim the glad tidings (Gospel) to them.

If Saint Paul of Tarsus, who wrote the majority of the New Testament, did not have the divine plans for his life spoken directly into his ear, then I think it’s safe to assume that we too may need to “confidently infer” some of God’s plans for our lives.

Having said all this, I think there are two questions that we need to ask ourselves.

1. What have we, as individual believers in Jesus, been called by God to do?
2. Are we following the Holy Spirit’s leading in that calling?

Think about it. What has God gifted you with to impact eternity?

Romans 12:6-8 lists seven core gifts that God has given to the Body of Christ. In this passage, Paul just finished explaining how we who form the Body of Christ are many members forming one body. However, he explains that each of us have different gifts given to us by the grace of God. These are the main areas of giftedness that motivate you when serving God. If you are a believer in Jesus, then you have at least one (possibly more) of these gifts operating in your life. We’ll talk more about this at another time, but for the time being, here is a quick list of those gifts along with their basic definitions.

1. Prophesying – Speaking the Truth of God’s Word into current events.
2. Serving – Doing whatever it takes to help somebody else be successful.
3. Teaching – Researching and explaining the Word of God to others.
4. Encouraging – Detecting the soulful needs of others and being able to raise them back up in strength.
5. Giving – Raising and distributing material possessions and wealth to most effectively benefit God’s Kingdom.
6. Leadership – Organizing and managing God’s people and resources so they will be more effective.
7. Mercy – Showing compassion toward others by doing everything in your power to ease whatever situation their in.

Where and how are you putting these gifts to use?

Not to be confused with the gifts listed in Romans 12, Ephesians 4:11 provides another list of four apparent gifts. However, if we take a closer look we’ll see that they are not gifts, but instead roles or jobs that God has commissioned for the Body of Christ. This is why it says at the beginning of verse 11, “It was He who gave some to be….” These are areas of service in which the gifts listed in Romans 12 are typically used. Here is a quick listing of the four roles along with their brief descriptions.

1. Apostles – Ministry starters
2. Prophets – Truth proclaimers
3. Evangelists – Soul winners
4. Pastor/Teachers – Shepherds, bringing God’s people to maturity

The last question I’ll ask is this; are we wasting our time by using our gifts in areas that God has not led us? 1 Corinthians 3:5-15 makes it clear that not all “Christian” activities will last into eternity. Only those inspired, led, directed, and empowered by the Lord will last through the fire on the day of judgment.

I encourage you to seek the Lord about what He has gifted you with, if you don’t already know. And seriously seek the Lord about how He wants those gifts used so that they’ll be the most effective for His Kingdom. Then confidently trust the Lord to bring opportunities your way where you will be able to use those gifts for His glory.

This is one of Jesus’ many “Kingdom parables” where He compares the Kingdom of God to something else in order to relate truth about how His Kingdom operates. And at first glance, this parable could be interpreted as God’s Kingdom positively affecting the world around it. However, I think if we dig a little deeper we’ll find something different.

In this parable Jesus used the Old Testament understanding of leaven along with an example from his culture to relate a truth about the Kingdom of God.

So what does the Old Testament (and parts of the New Testament) say about leaven? Well, according to the following passages, it is consistently shown in Scripture as exemplifying the presence of impurity or evil.

Exodus 12:15,19
15 ‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
19 ‘Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land.

Exodus 13:7
“Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders.

Leviticus 2:11
No grain offering, which you bring to the LORD, shall be made with leaven, for you shall not offer up in smoke any leaven or any honey as an offering by fire to the LORD.

Deuteronomy 16:4
“For seven days no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh which you sacrifice on the evening of the first day shall remain overnight until morning.

Matthew 16:6,12
6 And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
12 Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Mark 8:15
And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

Luke 12:1
Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

1 Corinthians 5:6-9
6 Your boasting is not good Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?
7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.
8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;

Galatians 5:9
A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.

Although the Jews were allowed to use yeast in their daily baking, under the Mosaic Law it was restricted in bread used in the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover (Exodus 12:8,15-20; Leviticus 23:6-8), and also in offerings placed on the alter (Exodus 23:18;34:25; Leviticus 2:11; 6:17). The only exceptions were the use of yeast in the two wave loaves offered as firstfruits (Leviticus 23:17) and some of the cakes of bread offered with the peace offerings (Leviticus 7:13).

So aside from the two exceptions listed above, yeast was never to be used in anything that was presented to God nor did it have any positive spiritual applications.

Now regarding the example from Jesus’ culture, one of the main characteristics yeast is known for is its ability to work through an entire batch of dough. Because of this it was a common practice for a baker to retain a lump of leavened or fermented dough from a former baking and use it to leaven new dough.

The teaching that yeast in this parable represents the positive influence of the Kingdom of God pervading the world has no Scriptural justification. Nowhere in Scripture does leaven represent good. Likewise, the idea of a converted world at the end of the age is contradicted by the presence of tares among the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30) and bad fish among the good (Matthew 13:47-52) in the kingdom itself.

Although Biblical truth has influence on the world and the power of the Gospel is saving souls, the mixing of leaven into the Kingdom of God is not the method of divine salvation nor the way the Kingdom of God is grown. This parable is then a warning that true doctrine, represented by the flour, would be corrupted by false doctrine. Compare this with the following passages and Jesus’ parable becomes more clear.

1 Timothy 4:1-3
1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,
2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,
3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.

2 Timothy 2:17-18
17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
18 men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.

2 Timothy 4:3-4
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

2 Peter 2:1-3
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be  false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;
3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

So how much yeast have we been eating? How much false teaching have we been swallowing?

Knowing how leaven works, can we allow even a small portion into our lives? With the warning of Matthew 13:33, I believe it’s every believer’s role to prevent false doctrine from entering the Body of Christ. It’s not a responsibility that we can just shrug off saying, somebody else will take care of it.

Here are three things that each of us, as individuals, can do to help the Body of Christ.

1) We have to be spiritually knowledgeable.
Yeast typically doesn’t look like other grains. Although there are some similarities, a trained baker knows the difference. Likewise, false teachings may have some truth mingled in with it but that doesn’t make it all true. We need to know the difference by staying in God’s Word and by remaining sensitive to His Holy Spirit. Train your spiritual eyes to see the difference.

2) We need to be aware of what’s in front of us.
Yeast doesn’t just hop into the mixing bowl. It must be placed there intentionally. Likewise, we need to pay close attention to what kind of teachings are be taught to us. Luke encourages all of us to not just take somebody at their word whenever they are teaching us (Acts 17:11). We must test the spirits to make sure the source of the teaching is truly from the Lord (1 John 4:1).

3) We need to take a life inventory.
Bakers always know how much of each ingredient they have on hand. Likewise, we need to keep an inventory of our thought life to see if we’re accepting any teaching that doesn’t line up with the Word of God. Ask the Lord to reveal to you any thinking or theology that’s not accurate according to the Bible. Then after He shows you, get it out of your head and thought life before it affects other areas of our life.

If each of us will do our part to guard against the leaven of false teaching, then the Body of Christ will be able to stand strong on the Word of God.

However, when asked how a Christian becomes mature in their faith, most Christians will answer: by reading your Bible, doing daily devotions, praying often, going to every church service, getting connected to a small group, giving to the church and missions, by serving at your church, etc.

Not that doing any of those activities are bad––in fact, they’re all very good things to be involved with––but none the less, they are just activities. They are merely external events that we can choose to do.

Instead, I believe the way for a Christian to become spiritually mature is to live life the same way they received eternal life––by the grace of God through faith in Jesus. Let’s take a look at Galatians to study this a bit further.

Galatians 3:1-9
1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
4 Did you suffer so many things in vain–if indeed it was in vain?
5 So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
6 Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.”
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

In verses 1 and 2, Paul is confirming to the church of Galatia what he wrote in Ephesians 2:8 –– that a person is saved by grace through faith. Then in verse 3 he questions their motives. Above we read from the New American Standard Bible, which is very accurate to the original text. However, I also think that the New Living Translation captures the heart of what Paul’s telling the Galatians.

Galatians 3:3 NLT
How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

First Paul makes it clear that they didn’t receive the Spirit of God (salvation) by obeying the Mosaic Law. Then he says that their works of the flesh or human effort are also powerless to save and perfect them.

These people were not lacking in a desire to know God better. No. The problem was that their desire to become mature in their relationship with God was based out of a sense of duty––the attitude of “I must do this because it’s good, right or expected of me.”

The Jewish person was expected to obey all 613 commands of the Mosaic Law. It was taught to them from early childhood and reinforced with many festivals and sacrifices throughout the year. So even though these Galatians had truly accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and had received the Spirit of God, they were turning back to what they knew, to what they understood, and to what they were comfortable with.

This is why Paul corrects them by saying nothing they physically do (works of the Law or any human effort) will bring them closer to God. And to prove his point, Paul points them to Abraham as an example of a person who didn’t physically do anything and yet God gave him righteousness.

Then Paul uses the phrase “those who are of the faith” (literally, “those who continuously believe, rely on, and have confidence in the Lord”) to describe Abraham’s motive. Abraham’s righteousness didn’t come out of a sense duty (“I have to”), it came out of a sense of belief (an “I want to rely on God”). He lived his life continuously wanting to rely on the Lord. Sure he made his fare share of mistakes but he was always able to get back on track because his motivation was based on an “I want to rely on God” instead of “I have to”.

How about us? What is motivating our desire to become mature in our faith?

We may not have 613 commands that we’re expected to obey like the Galatian Jews, but we do have many things that are “expected” of us after we become a Christian. Let’s take a look at probably the three biggest Christian expectations: reading the Bible, praying, and going to church.

We definitely need to get God’s Word into our hearts and minds. We definitely need to dialogue with God. And we definitely need to stay connected with people of similar faith. All of these are necessary for us to draw closer to God, but let me ask you, what motivated you the last time you sat down to read your Bible? Was it just another activity on your “to do” list that had to get done? Was it accompanied with dreadful thoughts because you’ve fallen three chapters behind your Bible study group? Or is it something you just can’t wait to do because you know that every time you read it, the Lord reveals new truths to you?

When you think of your prayer times, are they just laborious sessions of one-sided conversations? Are they merely what you do before and after a devotion because that’s what you’re suppose to do? Or do you see prayer as your opportunity to share with the Creator of the Universe–your Lord and Savior who sticks closer than a brother–what’s been going on in your day? Or as your chance to ask for God’s best to happen in somebody else’s life?

Are you at every church activity, either attending or helping, because you were taught that’s when God moves in peoples lives? Are you always saying “yes” to the volunteer list because you’re afraid that God will be disappointed if you don’t? Or do you see specific opportunities at church and can’t wait to signup for them because you know God has gifted you to do that kind of work or to serve those people in need?

All the nations were blessed through Abraham, not because of what he did, but because of who he relied on. Because of his faith in the Lord, he was compelled to do what pleased God. The same is true with us. Our faith should compel us to do the very things that not only please God but also draw us closer to Him. I encourage you to take inventory of the motives in your life. Ask the Lord to help you live life by grace through faith.

What does it mean to abide in Christ?
How do I know if I am abiding in Christ?

Word Counts:
In this section of Scripture we find the word “abide” used 10 times. That’s quite a bit for only 11 verses. So I think it’s safe to say the Lord wants to teach us something about abiding in Him.

Also in this passage, the word “fruit” is used 6 times and, according to Biblical numerology, 6 usually is the number that refers to mankind. The word “vine” is used 3 times which typically refers to God or of the divine. And lastly, the word “branch” is used 4 times which usually refers to things that have been created. So even without a verse by verse study, we can quickly see that:

• the fruit referred to in this passage is linked to mankind
• the branches are most likely pointing to mankind since we are what God created
• the vine is that which is not created but rather what is divine
• and a strong emphasis is placed on abiding in the vine

Walk through:
Verse 1:
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

Jesus starts by describing what roles He and the Father play in His illustration.

Jesus is the “true vine” which is the source of life for everything connected to it. Also, since He said He is the “true” vine, that most likely indicates that there are also “false” vines. There are no doubt many things that people look to for their source of life, fulfillment and satisfaction, but Jesus is the only true vine that provide lasting, eternal life.

The Father is the “vinedresser,” literally, the “husbandman” or “tiller of the soil.” He’s the one that takes care of the vine and all it’s branches.

Verse 2:
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

Jesus does two things in this verse. First He tells us that He’s talking about branches that are connected to Him. Then, of those connected branches, He separates them into two groups.

1. Branches that bear fruit
2. Branches that don’t bear fruit

Knowing the human condition, Jesus tells us right away what happens if we’re a branch in Him that doesn’t bear fruit. He knows that there are believers in Him that aren’t bearing fruit, and so He addresses it at the very beginning.

The word for “fruit,” by the way, has three aspects to its meaning.

Greek– fruit (karpos) –– the fruit of trees, of children, of the effect/result of something

Regarding the non-fruit bearing branch, Jesus says that His Father, the Vinedresser, “takes [the branch] away.” But to “take away” is only one part of the meaning of that Greek word.

Greek– take away (airo) –– to raise up or elevate; to lift up from the ground.

The fuller meaning of this word paints a picture of a vinedresser finding a branch that is not bearing fruit because it is bent down and laying on the ground. Seeing that it is still connected to the main vine, he lifts it off of the ground and props it up so that it may grow and bear fruit.

That’s a beautiful picture of what the Father does for us.

Then Jesus describes the second group, the branches that are not bent down but are already growing correctly and bearing fruit. Jesus says His Father prunes them so that they may bear more fruit. Now I was expecting the word “prunes” to mean clipping or trimming or something along that line, but it doesn’t.

Greek– prune (kathairo); root– katharos –– to cleanse

The act of pruning is more of a washing away of those things that will harm or hinder the production of fruit in the branch. So instead of a gardener with a pair of sheers ready to cut away things from the branch, this word describes a gardener with a bucket of water and a wash rag.

So how exactly does this pruning/washing happen? Well, according to verse 3…

Verse 3:
You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

Jesus says very plainly that if you are a branch that’s connected to Him, then you are already clean (katharos, the root word for “prune”) because of the words He’s spoken to you.

Greek– clean (katharos) –– clean physically, ethically, and ceremonially

Greek– word (logos) –– the written and spoken word

In Ephesians we see another example of how the Word of God is used as a cleansing agent.

Ephesians 5:26
…so that He (Jesus) might sanctify her (the Church), having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

The written and spoken word of God, when applied to our lives, has the power to wash and cleanse us of everything we’ve done, including our wrong motives (guilt), and place us in right standing with Him. And as a side note, the Word of God is not just a cleansing agent; it is also what makes us strong.

1 John 2:14
I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

So when we are weak and not able to breakthrough temptations and circumstances that surround us, get the Word of God in your heart and mind. Only there will we find the sure foundation to stand strong.

Verse 4:
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

Jesus here mentions the word “abide” to further describe how a branch is connected to the vine.

Greek– abide (meno) –– to stay, to remain, to wait for

A branch has to stay or remain connected to the vine in order to live. And notice that this state of remaining and waiting is not just something we do. Jesus said “Abide in Me, and I in you.” He remains in us just as the life-giving sap from a vine flows into its branches. And just like the Greek word also means “to wait”, Jesus also waits on us – waits as in serves us and also waits as in waiting for us to make the right decision.

The point Jesus makes is clear. If we want to bear fruit of any eternal value, we need to abide in, stay in, remain in, and wait on Him.

The thing we need to be very careful about is what I call “the disconnect.” When a branch is cut off and disconnected from the main vine, it still grows and produces fruit…for a little while. It takes time for the fruit-producing ends of the branch to realize the live-giving sap is gone.

The same is true with us. There are times when we allow “little” sins to slip through –– all the while they are disconnecting us from the Lord. Our conscience becomes seared and we don’t realize that we’ve cut ourselves from the vine. Only when the fruit is no longer there do we realize what we’ve done.

Verse 5:
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

In this verse Jesus just further emphasizes what He said in the last verse.

In case there was any wondering, He tells us that He is the vine and we are the branches. In both verses 4 and 5 Jesus declares that apart from Him, we can not bear fruit or do anything of eternal value.

Verse 6:
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

Jesus now defines another type of branch, those that are not connected to Him. Up to this point He’s been talking about connected branches and how bad it would be to become disconnected from Him. But in this verse He officially calls them branches that “do not abide” in Him.

Jesus provides a very serious description of what happens to those who do not abide in Him. The branches are thrown away (or thrown outside, literally) and left to dry up and wither. Then they are gathered by others and thrown into the fire and burned.

Bible scholar, Matthew Henry, has this to say about branches that are disconnected from Christ.

If any man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch. This is a description of the fearful state of hypocrites that are not in Christ, and of apostates that abide not in Christ. [1.] They are cast forth as dry and withered branches, which are plucked off because they cumber the tree. It is just that those should have no benefit by Christ who think they have no need of him; and that those who reject him should be rejected by him. Those that abide not in Christ shall be abandoned by him; they are left to themselves, to fall into scandalous sin, and then are justly cast out of the communion of the faithful. [2.] They are withered, as a branch broken off from the tree. Those that abide not in Christ, though they may flourish awhile in a plausible, at least a passable profession, yet in a little time wither and come to nothing. Their parts and gifts wither; their zeal and devotion wither; their credit and reputation wither; their hopes and comforts wither, Job 8:11–13. Note, Those that bear no fruit, after while will bear no leaves. How soon is that fig-tree withered away which Christ has cursed! [3.] Men gather them. Satan’s agents and emissaries pick them up, and make an easy prey of them. Those that fall off from Christ presently fall in with sinners; and the sheep that wander from Christ’s fold, the devil stands ready to seize them for himself. When the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, an evil spirit possessed him. [4.] They cast them into the fire, that is, they are cast into the fire; and those who seduce them and draw them to sin do in effect cast them there; for they make them children of hell. Fire is the fittest place for withered branches, for they are good for nothing else, Eze. 15:2-4. [5.] They are burned; this follows of course, but it is here added very emphatically, and makes the threatening very terrible. They will not be consumed in a moment, like thorns under a pot (Eccl. 7:6), but they are burning for ever in a fire, which not only cannot be quenched, but will never spend itself.
(Henry, Matthew. “Commentary on John 15.” . Blue Letter Bible. 1 Mar 1996. 2008. 30 Nov 2008.)

While Matthew Henry’s understanding of verse 6 describes what would or could happen to a person who does not abide in Christ in the here and now, I believe we can also look at Jesus’ words as prophetic regarding the end of the age.

Matthew 25:41
Then He will also say to those on His left, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”

Revelation 20:15
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

These two passages, along with many others in the New Testament, describe the place of eternal punishment as a burning fire.

Either way, if the verse is talking about the here and now or the end of the age, it’s a very serious warning and I don’t want to be a part of it.

Verse 7:
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Here Jesus lists a very positive benefit of abiding in Him. If we are staying, remaining and waiting in Christ, and His words remain in us, then we can ask anything and it will be done for us.

This is a pretty big promise to make, but He can make it knowing that we will only ask for what is already within His will, because we are abiding in Him.

Another way to look at this promise from Jesus (thank you Leslie) is that if He is truly our source of life and our source for everything we need in life, then would He want us going anywhere else for something we need? No! Jesus made this promise because He wants to be the one to fulfill us. He wants us to come to Him for anything we need!

Verse 8:
My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

This verse is pretty self-explanatory in that bearing much fruit shows to the world that we are disciples of Christ, which glorifies God the Father.

But something else worth pointing out is that there are four degrees of fruit-bearing:

1. no fruit (v2)
2. fruit (v2)
3. more fruit (v2)
4. much fruit (vv5,8)

This is important to note because bearing much fruit doesn’t just happen overnight. Many times we look at the fruit in somebody else’s life and we want the same thing right away, but we forget that their fruit was produced over time. If we stay, remain and wait in Christ, our fruit will be produced also.

Here are different areas where our fruit may be produced:

• The fruit may be new believers in Christ through evangelism (Romans 1:13)
• The development of Christian character through the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
• And living a Christian life through the fruits of righteousness (Romans 6:21-22; Philippians 1:11)

Verse 9:
Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.

Jesus here confirms that He loves us the same way the Father loves Jesus. And this is the type of love we experience when we abide in Him.

Verse 10:
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Jesus explains in this verse that keeping His commands is part of how we abide in Him.

In fact, through this section of Scripture we’ve discovered three conditions of an abiding and fruitful life:

• We must be cleansed by God’s Word (vv2-3)
• We must remain in Him and His Word in us (vv4,7)
• We must be obedient to do all that He commands us (v10)

Verse 11:
These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

Jesus closes His teaching by saying the result of living this cleansing, remaining, and obedient life is that we will have the His joy in us and our joy will be full. What a wonderful way to live life!

The “out of context” claim is often used to stop arguments, but many times with no basis. Yet many times Bible texts are taken out of context and made to mean things which their authors never intended them to mean.

How do you respond to your friend?
How do you make sure that you are not taking Scripture out of context?
And what is context anyway?

Definition:
context (con·text)
- noun

1. the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect: You have misinterpreted my remark because you took it out of context.
2. the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.

Keeping a portion of Scripture in context is nothing more than making sure we fully understand the portion we are interested in, as well as, what comes before and after it.

Peter gives us a clear warning on taking scripture out of context.

2 Peter 3:16
He [Paul] writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

What I take from Peter’s admonition is when we come across portions of the Bible that we don’t understand, we shouldn’t try to impose our modern-day understanding on top of it, which could possibly distort its meaning. Instead we should seek to understand the context in which the Scripture was written by asking knowledgeable and spiritually mature ministers, family and friends. We can also use tools like Bible commentators, Bible study guides, and Greek and Hebrew language tools, all of which can be found online at places like Blue Letter Bible and BibleGateway.

Types of Context: (taken from Energion – Understanding Context)

• Syntactic Context
  This is simply the linguistic structure of the verse, and how various elements of it fit together. It means you need to get various clauses and phrases attached to the right element of the sentence.
• Literary Context
  Where does this element fit in the broader structure of the passage I’m reading. In part, this involves understanding what type of literature you are reading.
• Historical Context
  When in history was this passage written? What were the circumstances? What elements of the history contribute to the nature of the material written.
• Cultural Context
  This overlaps with historical context, but goes beyond it. How did the people who wrote and/or heard the piece of literature you are studying understand the world, and written texts? What concepts were available in their world?
• Canonical Context
  Where does this passage fit in the overall canon of scripture. For those who are reading the Bible as part of the literature of their faith, this is particularly important. There are reasons why these texts were chosen and put together into the larger book we call the Bible. How does your passage fit into this broader picture?
• Spiritual Context
  Where does this passage fit in spirituality generally?
• Experiential Context
  What is the nature of the religious or spiritual experience of the people who wrote and read or heard the passage you are studying?

Examples of “out of context” and misused scriptures:

Example 1:
“God has a prosperous plan and future for me.”

Key Scripture:
Jeremiah 29:11
1 This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
…
10 This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Analysis:
While many people claim this blessing for themselves saying it was written by God to Jeremiah, it was actually a God inspired word written by Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon.

Yes, God does have a plan and purpose for each person (there are several passages that proclaim this fact), but this passage would be taken out of context in order to apply that meaning to us today.

Example 2:
Are we suppose to forget past negative experiences or past achievements?

Key Scripture:
Philippians 3:13-14
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Analysis:
This passage is typically used to tell believers that they shouldn’t get hung up on negative events that happened in their past. Instead, they should press onward to attain the goal that God has for them.

However, kept within context, Paul is teaching believers that we should forget about any positive accomplishment that we made through our own strength and effort. We are to count them as loss, as rubbish, that we may “take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

Example 3:
“We need to be hot on fire for God; God doesn’t want us cold.”

Key Scripture:
Revelation 3:16
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Analysis:
Many preachers use this passage to proclaim that we need to be “hot on fire” for God implying (or directly stating) that God doesn’t want us to be cold, or that being cold is bad.

Yet this passage is actually referencing the historic medicinal uses of hot and cold water from fresh springs. Both hot and cold water was good and useful. However, lukewarm water was useless for medical purposes and God was telling the Laodicean church that they couldn’t be used by Him because they were neither hot OR cold.

Example 4:
“We need to be strategic in our planning, getting God’s vision for our church.”

Key Scripture:
Proverbs 29:18a
17 Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.
18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
19 A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.

Analysis:
We all know that we need God-given direction and vision for our lives, because that’s what this passage says, right?

Kept within context, we can see that the author was referring to a “vision” of practical discipline for children and servants. Do we still need God’s vision for our lives, YES! But we can’t use this passage to proclaim it.

Example 5:
“If you don’t get your healing it’s because you didn’t have enough faith for the healing.”

Key Scripture:
Matthew 13:58
53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”

58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Analysis:
When believers and non-believers alike seek God for a healing and they do not receive it in the manner they were expecting, this passage is often used to explain why. It is said that they didn’t have enough faith for the healing.

But when this account is read in full, to which kind of faith was the author referring? Faith in Jesus! The people in Jesus’ home town couldn’t believe that the little boy who grew up in their town, whose brothers and sisters and mother were all with them, was the savior of the world. Verse 57 says “they took offense at him.” So because they could not believe that Jesus was who He said He was, they couldn’t receive anything (including physical healing) from God; not because they didn’t have enough faith for a healing or miracle.

Example 6:
“Every Christian has a separate race to run.”

Key Scripture:
Hebrews 12:1
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Analysis:
Some ministers use this passage to teach that every Christian has a separate race to run. While it is true that God has a special plan for each believer, this passage tells us that every believer is running the same race along side of his fellow believer (“let us run…” and “let us fix our eyes…”). It is a race in which the collective members of the Body of Christ run together keeping their eyes fixed on Jesus.

Example 7:
“I can claim the best for me: financial success, prosperous life, material blessings, etc.”

Key Scripture:
Philippians 4:13
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.
11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
14 Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.

Analysis:
So what is the “all things” that Paul says he can do in verse 13? He says that he has learned how to live through any circumstance—wealthy or poor, well fed or starving—and still keep his faith in the Lord. This Scripture is a description of how Paul lived out the Christian faith, not a prescription for us on how to do/be/get something from God.

Example 8:
“I can reap a great financial harvest by sowing financial seeds.”

Key Scripture:
Galatians 6:7c
1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5 for each one should carry his own load.
6 Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Analysis:
The phrase “a man reaps what he sows” is often used as a teaching for reaping financial blessings, and is also sometimes used to point out the “biblical version” of karma.

However, there is not a single reference to finances in the passage. In stead, the sowing and reaping is in regards to our sinful nature or to the Spirit. Also note, according to verse 9, that the time of the sowing and reaping is all within a single person’s lifetime, therefore eliminating any references to karma which is part of the belief in reincarnation which extends over multiple lifetimes.

Example 9:
“What I say will be done because God will give me the desires of my heart.”

Key Scriptures:
Matthew 21:21-22
18 Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
21 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Psalm 37:4b and 5b
1 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Analysis:
Many charismatic groups use these passages together as Scriptural basis for “name it and claim it” faith.

Although the passage in Matthew is a lesson on faith, Jesus primarily used the example of the fig tree as an illustration of Jerusalem which only had the appearance of spiritual life (green leaves) but lacked any real spiritual fruit (figs). In regards to using our faith, Jesus further clarifies this teaching in Matthew with his other teaching in John 15, specifically verse 7 which says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you,” and verse 16 which says, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”

The Scripture in Psalm is a stand-a-lone passage not directly related to the passage in Matthew, and when read in context, tells us the conditions for having the desires of our hearts met: “delight yourself in the Lord” and “commit your way to the Lord” and “trust in Him.”

Example 10:
“All we have to do is lift up the name of Jesus and He will draw the lost to Himself.”

Key Scripture:
John 12:32
32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

Analysis:
Although there is nothing inherently wrong with this statement that ministers make, the problem is that Jesus wasn’t referring to preaching but to the manner of His death, as verse 33 states.

Example 11:
“The Devil comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.”

Key Scripture:
John 10:10
1 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12  The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

Analysis:
Who is doing the stealing, killing, destroying? The Devil? Well, actually, the passage says it’s the “thief.” So who then is the thief? According to verse 8, it’s anybody who comes in a manner like Jesus preaching a false message, aka, false teachers. If the devil is referenced within this passage it could possibly be as the “wolf” who “attacks the flock and scatters it.”

Example 12:
“Touch not the Lord’s anointed.” A phrase often quoted with the understanding that laypersons within a church have no right to question the behavior, conduct, or decisions of ministers.

Key Scriptures:
1 Chronicles 16:22a
19 When they were but few in number,
few indeed, and strangers in it,
20 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
21 He allowed no man to oppress them;
for their sake he rebuked kings:
22 “Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm.”
23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
proclaim his salvation day after day.

Analysis:
This passage is a psalm of thanks that David dedicated to a few of the Levite priests after they moved the Ark to one of David’s tents, and after the priests ministered to the Lord. Verse 22 in David’s psalm is a statement by God to the people of the world regarding His chosen people, Israel, and to His prophets.

1 Samuel 24:6
1 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2 So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.

3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, “This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.” 7 With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

Analysis:
1 Samuel 24 (and also chapter 26) does not teach that it is wrong to question the behavior, conduct, or decisions of people who profess to be ministers yet act contrary to the teachings of the Scriptures. Instead, they show that it is wrong to physically harm or have the intent to harm somebody anointed of the Lord

Example 13:
This is the banner verse of the Universalist Church, which believes that everyone will go to heaven and that there is no hell.

Key Scripture:
1 Peter 3:18
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Analysis:
This passage, although packed with the truth of what Jesus did for us, is not a statement declaring that everyone will go to heaven and that there is no hell. In fact, within context it is a statement meant to encourage believers when they suffer for doing good in the name of Jesus.

Hybrids? Pfft. Clean diesel? Who cares. Americans want cars with iPod integration, photochromic glass and capless fueling systems – whatever the hell those are.

Give people a choice between a fuel-sipper with a map in the glove box and a gas guzzler with in-dash navigation and most of them are going home in the car that tells them how to get there, according to a “snapshot” survey by MyRide.com.

The great thing about this article is that it’s true! Although the mainstream media purports that Americans are converting to “green lifestyles” and leaving behind their misguided fossil fuel habits, their purchasing decisions show the contrary.

As I read through it I thought, “are we Christians any different than the people surveyed about their car buying philosophies?” Do we make a verbal stand for the “green” (save the people) Christianity but actually buy into the gas-guzzling, tech-savvy world?

Do we say one thing but do another?

I hope not, but let’s make sure.

The Oxford American Dictionary defines hypocrite as a person who indulges in hypocrisy, which is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform.

I love how the dictionary uses the word indulges to describe the person’s act of participating in hypocrisy. It’s as though hypocrisy is a treat or something to be desired. However, to be fair, I had a friend tell me that some people actually do like to pretend to be somebody/something they’re not; so maybe hypocrisy is an indulgence for them.

The English word hypocrite comes from the Greek word hypokritas which means actor. So at its root, a hypocrite is somebody who acts, puts on a show, and is not real or genuine. Let’s put this definition of hypocrisy at the forefront of our minds as we ask ourselves some questions regarding the following areas.

Are we hypocrites in the way we help the needy?

Matthew 6:2
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

It’s a command of Jesus that we are to help those less fortunate then ourselves. And this passage implies that we are already giving to the needy. So how are we doing? Do we find ourselves giving more lip-service to the needy than actual service? And when we give, do we do it in a private way that honors God and maintains the dignity of the needy person, or do we put on a public show for all to see?

Are we hypocrites in the way we communicate with God?

Matthew 6:5
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Are we prayer-warriors when around other Christians, our friends or church leaders but prayer-illiterate or prayer-deficient when we’re by ourselves? Do we change our speech, tone, volume and the way we pronounce certain “Christianese” words (“God” = “Gawd”) depending on who we’re praying with? My recommendation – be yourself. God knows what you sound like when you pray with a genuine heart, so you might as well sound the same when praying around others.

Are we hypocrites in the way we draw close to God?

Matthew 6:16
When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

How do we draw close to God? In this passage Jesus gave the example of fasting, but let’s not forget about our times of Bible reading, prayer (mentioned above) and worship as well? Do we climb into our “prayer closets” or do we march ourselves down to the front of the sanctuary/auditorium in front of everybody during the worship service? Please understand my heart in this; there are definitely times when the proper response to God is definitely on our faces around the alter. But the best response should always be one that draws us closer to God instead of drawing attention to ourselves.

Are we hypocrites in the way we help other believers with their problems?

Matthew 7:4-5
4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Do we have a self-righteous air about ourselves when attempting to help others with their problems? Let’s not pretend that we don’t have any problems of our own when we go to help our fellow Christian with a problem they’ve been struggling with. There’s a good chance, in fact, that many people already know you’ve been secretly struggling with that same problem. We’re all sinful humans and pretending that any of us is perfect is a sure way to set ourselves up for failure. Instead, find the most mature and genuine Christian friend or leader you know (one that you can really trust) and ask them to be brutally honest with you. Allow them to point out the “planks in your own eyes” and then pray together on a regular basis. Through this kind of friendship accountability you will see your life change.

Are we hypocrites in the way we lead people to the Lord and disciple them?

Matthew 23:13
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

Matthew 23:15
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

Although we may not be physically closing Heaven’s door on somebody or intentionally turning them off to Jesus while they’re being discipled, are our indirect actions and speech lining up with the salvation message we speak? Are we causing stumbling blocks for people because our casual day-to-day life doesn’t match up with our “Sunday service” and “midweek service” life?

“Walk the walk if you’re going to talk the talk” is a cliche saying but it’s appropriate here. Even if you don’t see them, there are people observing the way you live. They listen to what you say when you’re talking with your close friends, family, coworkers and bosses. They watch how you act when you’re at work, at your desk, out in the shop, on a break, at home and even how you handle road rage. They want to see if you’re real! They want to see if you are who you say you are, no matter who you’re around or what circumstances you’re in?

What other areas in our lives are we putting on shows? Do we feel like we need to wear actor’s masks around certain people because we just can’t let them know how we really are?

What Jesus taught was counter-cultural, definitly. So did his life consistently matchup with what he taught? YES! It’s not like after sharing his teachings on the Mount of Olives that he went back home, took off his “Messiah mask” and said “boy they really bought that, hook, line, and sinker.” NO! Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). What about us, his followers?

If we can’t be real, honest, genuine, and transparent with people, then how are we supposed to show them the way to Jesus?

Got hypocrisy? Hopefully not!

Short answer: Yes and No.
Long answer: Let’s see what the Bible says…

We should give out of our poverty.

Mark 12:41-44
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,worth only a fraction of a penny. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

2 Corinthians 8:1-3
1 And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.

We should give out of our increase.

2 Corinthians 8:14
At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.

2 Corinthians 9:10-11
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

We should give when there are special needs.

1 Corinthians 16:1-3
1 Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.

We should give to the regular support of believers in need.

Acts 4:32-35
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

We should be wise with the money God gives us, making sure it’s being used in ways that have eternal value.

Matthew 25:14-30
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 ” ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

We should temporarily withhold our giving if it means taking care of our immediate family.

1 Timothy 5:8
If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

We should temporarily withhold our giving if it means we won’t be going into debt.

Psalm 37:21
The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously.

Matthew 5:42
Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Romans 13:6-8
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. 8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

Overall, we should give out of a willing heart.

2 Corinthians 8:12
For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

2 Corinthians 9:7
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

According to Mark Cuban, “A meme is a set of questions that are passed from person to person. You fill out the questions. Post them on your blog. Then you tag another blogger who is supposed to do the same thing.“

The meme that Floating Axhead has setup is:

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. No cheating!
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people.

So here’s my three sentences…

Elsewhere he writes: “We have the mind of Christ.” The fellowship of the cross is not only a holy duty for us, but an unspeakably blessed privilege, which the Holy Spirit himself will make ours according to the promise: “He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you”; “He shall glorify me.” The Holy Spirit formed this disposition in Christ and will also do it in us.

Taken from The Believer’s Prayer Life by Andrew Murray.

Here are my five tagees:

Big Is The New Small
Dave Ferguson
littlepastor
Swerve
Friendly Christian

Who will step up?

Although some people may drink energy drinks to keep them active and alert, I’d say the drinks are more about an energetic rush mixed with two parts of flavor and a pinch of social status.

Have any of you had an energy drink lately? There’s several (270+) to choose from.

Here are just a few:

• Full Throttle
• …Lost
• Bawls
• Bookoo
• Kronik
• Amp
• Liquid Ice
• Monster
• Mountain Dew
• N-Motion
• Radioactive
• Red Bull
• Red Celeste
• Rip It
• Rockstar
• Rush!
• Sobe
• Starbucks Doubleshot
• Stacker 2 Products
• Xyience Xenergy
• 5-Hour Energy
• Hype
• Bomba
• Blue Streak
• Jolt Sodas
• Steven Seagal’s Lightning Bolt
• Source Burn
• 180
• Nature’s Nitro2Go
• OC Energy

Consumer market research tells us that when it comes to food and drink products, taste is king. If something tastes good, then people will consume it even if it’s not-so-good for them. But just like the energy drink article indicated, there’s a major following behind these drinks ⎯ people under 30 years of age ⎯ especially college students and athletes.

You know an energy drink has moved beyond simple drink status when a MySpace Energy Drink Club is created and has 393 members! So what do these members have to talk about? The latest threads on their forum are:

• Show us your collection
• How many energy drinks r out there????
• WTF on energy drinks!?!?!?
• Wanted: Energy Drink Tester’s

There’s definitely some social status mixed in with the energetic rush!

So what gives you energy? What fuels you? What drives you?

Not surprisingly, the Apostle Paul has something to say about this.

Colossians 1:24-29 (NLT)
24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

28 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

That word “power” in verse 29 comes from the Greek word energeia (en-e’r-gā-ä) and in the New Testament is used only of superhuman power, whether of God or of the Devil. It’s also the Greek root word for our English word, “energy.”

So where did Paul get this superhuman energy? Did he run down to the local Quickie Mart and grab a flask of “Flailing Yack”? I highly doubt it. Instead, I believe this passage reveals two important keys about the source of Paul’s energy.

First, in verse 25 it says he was given a responsibility to serve the church by proclaiming God’s secret of “Christ living in you” to the Gentiles as well as the Jews.

And second, verse 28 tells how he went about completing that responsibility by telling, warning, and teaching everyone.

Apparently this was not an easy job to do. Paul tells us in verse 29 that he “worked and struggled so hard” and out of his working (or doing) his job, he came to depend on Christ’s superhuman power and energy that worked within him.

So what’s your personal job from God, and are you doing it?

We may not all be apostles (special messengers) like Paul, but I know for a fact that God does have a special job for each person he created.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

More than that, there are over 100 verses in the Bible that talk specifically about the plans and purposes God has for his people.

Do you know what your God-given purpose is? Do you know what your job is? If not, simply ask him! Jesus himself personal revealed to Paul what his job was (Acts 9:1-19) and he will do the same for you. If you have an honest desire to know, Jesus will reveal it to you.

Then get busy doing your job! Yes, it will be invigorating. Yes, it will be exciting and scary. There will be good days and bad. There will be ups and downs, just like any other job. And, just like Paul experienced, you will need to depend on Jesus for superhuman energy to complete it.

Taste maybe king in energy drinks, but Jesus is Lord of the superhuman energy that will work within you as you do what God has called you to do.

Just as it’s easy to loose our focus on day-to-day projects, I think it’s also easy to loose our focus in spiritual matters. My hope is that this article will be the first of many that will show us how we can remain “focused” in living our Christian lives according to God’s will.

Wouldn’t it be great if at the same time we committed our lives to Christ He also gave us the map of his will for our lives?! Unfortunately He doesn’t do that…

But don’t we sometimes go through life acting like God has shown us this map. We allow things to come into our lives as though we know they have been divinely blessed. We make significant life decisions without consulting our Lord because we “think” that’s the choice He wanted us to make. We plan long-term goals and purposes of our lives as if we already know they’re the ones that match God’s goals and purposes for our lives.

I think everyone of us is guilty of making assumptions about God’s will for our lives instead of taking the time to really find out what He wants for us. But why do we do this? Let me put it another way. If we honestly believe that God loves us and has the ultimate best for us, then why would we willingly choose to do something that’s not part of His will?

I think the main reason why is because of the original sin of pride. Pride takes the focus off of God and puts it on ourselves. And when self takes over, we want to be in control, therefore, our ways become best.

When it comes to staying focused on God’s will, especially during the day-to-day, I believe becoming a “nearsighted” Christian may help us. Let’s look at Psalm 37:23 to elaborate on this.

Psalm 37:23 (NASB) says, “The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way.”

Notice that this passage doesn’t say the “way” of a man is established but instead his “steps” are. So what’s the difference between a step and a way?

According to the Hebrew language, the word for “step” is mits`ad (mits·äd’) which means “to go forward; to take a step.” It is the smallest, forward movement a person can take. And the word “way” in the Hebrew language is derek (deh’·rek) which means “a road, path, direction, distance, journey, manner of life.” Just as a journey is made up of many steps, so a person’s way in life is made up of many steps.

With these meanings in mind, we can now clearly see two principles within Psalm 37:23:

1. God has established and prepared every individual step we need to take in life.
2. When we walk in those established steps, He delights in our entire journey of life.

According to the National Eye Institute, over 25% of adults in the United States are affected by nearsightedness. This problem makes faraway objects appear blurry because they are focused in front of the retina. In the physical world, somebody suffering with this problem would have it corrected using glasses or contacts. However, in the spiritual world, I think having a touch of nearsightedness is a good thing.

Just like a nearsighted person can only see faraway things as blurry objects, so we, spiritually, should be able to know when God is preparing us for things in the future but not really make out the details. We need to be less concerned with doing God’s will for the future and more concerned with doing His will right now, in the present. Now I didn’t say we shouldn’t be at all concerned with the future; we just can’t be wholly consumed by it. God wants us to prepare for the hopes and dreams that He’s placed within us. But we can’t live in the hopes and dreams of tomorrow; we can only live in today.
Seek after God’s face to find out what the “next step” for today is, rather than the step you’ll need to take 5 to 10 years down the road!

Keep your Christian life focused by being “nearsighted” when looking at God’s will.

It is carelessly assumed by most persons that when a preacher pronounces a message of truth and his words fall upon the ears of his listeners there has been a bona fide act of hearing on their part. They are assumed to have been instructed because they have listened to the Word of God. But it does not follow.

This is very true. How many times can each of us say we’ve sat and listened to sermons and yet don’t recall even the last the we heard; much less say that we were truly taught something that changed the way we live our day-to-day lives?

Now that’s not to say that every sermon has had no impact on our lives because some have! But what is the difference? Assuming that both sermons are taken from the Word of God, what makes one sermon a life impacting teaching and another just another forgotten preaching?

Some would say the difference is all on the part of the preacher; the way he delivers the message; the illustrations he uses in the message; the amount of emotion or humor that is involved; and so on. But I believe there is another element we need to consider…that being the hearer.

A.W. Tozer goes on to say:

If we would be truly instructed we must be worthy to hear; or more accurately, we must hear in a worthy manner. In listening to a sermon, reading a good book or even reading the Bible itself, much may be lost to us because we are not worthy to hear the truth. That is, we have not met the moral terms required to hear the truth rightly.

Worthy to hear? Hear in a worthy manner? What is he talking about?

The first point Tozer makes is that people will say that nothing is required from the hearer because of Isaiah 55:11, which says:

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

The argument is that since God’s Word will not return to Him empty or void, then it will always be effective wherever and whenever it is preached. Therefore, the hearer doesn’t need to do anything. But that’s not what Isaiah 55:11 says. In fact, the emphasis of the Old Testament prophets was that God cried out to His people but they would not listen.

Proverbs 1:24-25
24 But since you rejected me when I called
and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,
25 since you ignored all my advice
and would not accept my rebuke,

Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed (Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:1-15) is another great example of how just because God’s word is preached doesn’t mean it is received by every person. Likewise, if the sermons of our Lord Jesus were always received on “good soil” then why did Jesus proclaim several times, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”? No, the hearer definitely has a role to play.

Another point Tozer makes clear is that “before there can be true inward understanding of divine truth there must be a moral preparation.” Tozer continues by saying:

The Gospel according to John is filled with the teaching that there must be a spiritual readying within the soul before there can be a real understanding of God’s truth.

This can be seen is John 7:17 which says, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”

1 Corinthians 2:14 also bears this out by saying:

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

These passages make it clear that the Spirit of God needs to bring about a change in the hearer before the hearer can truly hear the Word of God. And that change is humility.

Look again at John 7:17. Jesus tells His followers that if they really want to understand what He’s saying then they need to do what He says first, then the understanding will follow. That takes humility; truly acknowledging that Jesus’ ways are greater, better, wiser than our own!

We are also told to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1). Therefore, we should never just blindly accept a sermon preached to us, but instead should make sure the minister “is worthy to speak to us.” But now having a better understanding of the roll of humility in hearing the Word of God, Tozer says we should also ask ourselves, “are we worthy to hear”?

When we humble ourselves before the Lord Jesus we prepare ourselves for greater understanding and application of His Word and teaching, no matter who is minister is.

Sometimes ministers of God’s Word can be quite unusual. Tozer points out that Peter was brought to repentance by the crowing of a rooster. Saint Augustine was brought to repentance through seeing a friend killed by lightening. Nicholas Hermann was converted through seeing a tree stripped of its leaves in winter. And D. L. Moody was led into a clear anointing of the Spirit through the testimony of a simple-hearted elderly lady of his acquaintance.

When a hearers heart is truly humble before the Lord it almost seems that anything can be the minister of God’s divine Word!

Tozer concludes by saying:

God will speak to the hearts of those who prepare themselves to hear; and conversely, those who do not so prepare themselves will hear nothing even though the Word of God is falling upon their outer ears every Sunday.

Good hearers are as important as good preachers. We need more of both.

Are we hearing in a worthy manner? Have we humbled our hearts in order to truly hear the Word of God no matter who the minister is? Let’s take the time to ask for Jesus’ help in the matter before we go to our next sermon.

If ever you find something on my site that’s not working properly, just drop me a note at joe@titusoneone.com and I’ll get it fixed up.

Thanks,
Joe

Here are some of my thoughts.

Sam Walton may be right in saying, “There’s only one boss. The customer.” but that’s not how the church, the Body of Christ is organized and operated. The customer mindset may be fine for business but it’s not for church. In fact, I believe one of the biggest problems with church today is that people have brought the customer mindset into it. We believe that we are customers and the church is there to entertain us! And when you think about it, it kind of makes sense. People drive up and park there cars in large parking lots, walk into the building (which very rarely has a cross on it anymore), are greeted with warm hands and smiling faces, find a cushioned seat somewhere in the auditorium, and then…the music begins! They’ll have people welcome them from the platform and hand out “up coming events” literature to them. There will be musical numbers sung by the choir and soloists, and eventually, the main attraction — an eloquently delivered message from the minister. This whole time the “customer” has had to put forth no effort except for maybe dropping some money in the offering plate as it passes by. And many of them will only drop in as much as they think the show is worth!

Is this a picture of every church. Absolutely NOT!!! Is it a picture of your church? I hope not. But I know it is for many people.

The problem with the customer mindset is that a customer is a consumer. And consumers are those who purchase and use things, often for self gain. So is it any wonder why people with this mindset come into the church and give based on how well they were entertained instead of from their heart? Is it any wonder why people don’t get involved and volunteer at the church, because that would require giving of themselves which goes against everything a consumer knows to do.

Instead of a customer/consumer mindset we should have a child of God mindset. What’s the difference? A child of God is one who has an intimate relationship with God the Father through Jesus the Son. We recognize others as members of the same family and would do anything for each other. We laugh together but also cry together. We do life together!

“Find God. Live Better.”
Oh really? Did Jesus live a better life after he fully committed himself to the Father’s will? Did the apostle Paul or any of Jesus’ disciples have a better life after they “found God”? Not according to the world’s standards. All of these people were verbally and physically tortured, and (for most of them) were killed for their faith. God is in the business of redeeming people back to him, not necessarily in making their lives more comfortable while on Earth.

Should the church have a vision statement?
I’ve always had problems with a church needing a vision statement. In some respects those kinds of statements are useful for uniting and bringing purpose to a group of people. However, I thought the Church already had a vision/mission statement!

Matthew 28:18-20
18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Does a church need an image to market to the world?
I think this is actually why so many churches have problems relating to and being believed by the world. The church has advertised an image that is not of God.

Colossians 1:15-20
15He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Take a second look at this passage. Verse 15 says that Christ is the image of the invisible God and verse 18 says that Christ is the head of the body, the church. So if I’m reading this correctly, the image churches should be conveying to the world is that of Jesus Christ since He is the head of the Church and is the only image of God we have!

The unfortunate thing is that the vision statements and marketing image of some churches are spoken louder then the Gospel of Jesus…and people buy it. These people have bought the “form of godliness” instead of the real thing.

2 Timothy 3:1-5
1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

If a church wants to be successful it needs to preach the Word of God with great boldness (Acts 4:23-31; 9:28; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 28:31), period.

Not necessarily uplifting news! But I think Kathy Griffin’s story truly showed the pulse of our society. I’ve included a few snippets of the story below.

Before Kathy Griffin won a creative arts Emmy last weekend for her reality show, “My Life on the D-List,” she joked that an award would move her to the C-list. She was right: “C” as in censored.

The TV academy said her raucous acceptance speech will be edited when the event, which was taped, is shown Saturday on the E! channel.

In her speech, Griffin said that “a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.”

She went on to hold up her Emmy, make an off-color remark about Christ and proclaim, “This award is my god now!”

The comedian’s remarks were condemned Monday by Catholic League President Bill Donohue, who called them a “vulgar, in-your-face brand of hate speech.”

After reading the story about Kathy, I sat, not disgusted or angry or disturbed, but sad. Obviously she only believes in Jesus as somebody to be mocked. So assuming that her spiritual condition (her relationship with Jesus Christ) lines up with her words, where does that put her in eternity…hell.

Then I thought about the many people whose lives were taken from them in the seven stories regarding deaths and killings. Did they know the Lord? Or what of the people involved in the sex crimes stories? How would those events effect their ability to trust/accept the Lord?

Then I thought about the pop star stories. These people are living it up and have every thing (according to the world’s standard) but do they have a personal relationship with Jesus?

When was the last time you watched TV or a movie and looked not at the characters but at the actors and actresses and wondered if they were saved? How about the people you work with? The people you pass by every day?

I heard one pastor say that life’s little delays are God’s way of putting you were He needs you, so that you can be a minister to the people waiting in those delays with you. What do you think? I think think there’s some truth to it. So often we get caught up in what we’re doing or what “has to be done” that we’re in such a rush we don’t notice the people next to us or in the line in front of us — unless they get in our way.

One thing Paul made clear in his Epistles is that life is a race. There’s a definite starting and ending point and many challenges along the way.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

What main points do you pull out of this? For me I see three main things:

1. Run to win the race.
2. We run for an eternal crown.
3. Major discipline is required.

Now take a look at this passage once more. What context do you think Paul is placing it within? I’ll give you a clue, it’s not just an analogy for life. No, it’s an example of a believer living a life fully committed to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ!

Let’s read the full context starting with verse 19.

1 Corinthians 9:19-27
19Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Paul made sure he used every moment of his life to 1) lead somebody to Jesus or 2) prepare/discipline himself to lead somebody to Jesus.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then this is what this life is all about! If life was simply about getting saved, then God would pull us out of this world the minute we got saved. But we don’t see that happening. No, instead, after a person accepts Jesus’ death and resurrection as paying the penalty for their own sins, they are then to go into all the world and tell other people the Good News!

D. L. Moody, when talking about sharing our faith, said that in Heaven we will do all things perfectly except for that. Think about that for a moment. In heaven we will do all things perfectly, except for sharing our faith with somebody who doesn’t know Jesus. Sharing our faith is something we can only do while we’re here on Earth.

So I have a few questions for us (myself definitely included). And don’t just scan over these. Let them sink in and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you regarding each of these areas.

• What race are we running?
• Are we signed up for the right race?
• Are we running in such a way as to win…to win souls to Jesus?
• Are we burdening ourselves down with unnecessary things/cares of this world?

If the Holy Spirit just revealed something or a few things to you…things you need to do or things you need to stop doing…then stop reading and ask Jesus to help you with those things. Take a moment now and get things right between you and God.

Evangelism, sharing your faith, can be an intimidating thing. But I want you to know you are qualified to share your faith. If you have genuinely given your life to Jesus, then you are qualified to share at least your testimony. In addition to your testimony, anything that God has revealed to you during times of Bible reading, studying, or hearing of His word through biblically grounded teachers/preachers you are qualified to share. And if you want specific training on how to share your faith with people, then check out these two options.

• Evangelism Explosion
• The Way of the Master

Ask God to give you “divine appointments” to share your faith with people. If you are serious about wanting opportunities to share your faith with others, Jesus will give them to you! And you’ll also find that you’ll be on the look out for them as well.

And lastly, there’s always room for improvement. There are probably things we are unnecessarily burdening our lives with; things that hinder us in sharing our faith. Get rid of them! Also, the Bible says we need to study to show ourselves approved by God (2 Timothy 2:15). Get into the Bible! Read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it! Take some Bible study classes just for personal/spiritual growth. Try one or both of the evangelism programs listed above. Then let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

With the condition of our world not getting any better, and our RSS news feeds only getting worse, let’s be about our Lord’s work.

The other sections are…

• Part 1: Concerning Spiritual Gifts
• Part 2: The Revealing Gifts of the Spirit
• Part 3: The Spoken Gifts of the Spirit
• Part 4: The Action Gifts of the Spirit

The three action gifts are grouped together because by them the Holy Spirit produces something through the recipient.

Faith

Greek: pistis (pÄ“’-stÄ“s) – a conviction of the truth of anything especially when relating to God, Christ, and the divine; belief.

Defined: The gift of faith is a supernatural gift by the Spirit of God enabling a recipient to supernaturally, and against all odds, believe and trust in God for anything.

Important facts to know:

• The gift of faith is one of the three action gifts (those that do something): gift of faith, miraculous powers, and the gifts of healing.
• There are four kinds of faith:
  • Natural faith – a belief in the processes of this natural world (example: the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.)
  • Saving faith – a belief in Christ for salvation.
    • Ephesians 2:8-9 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
  • General faith – the ever growing trust in God to live out the Christian life.
    • Luke 17:1-6 1Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” 5The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
  • The gift of faith – a supernatural belief given for a specific reason at a specific time.
• The gift of faith produces supernatural belief in the recipient, where as the other actions gifts typically produce supernatural results in others.
• The gift of faith will often work along side the gifts of healing or the gift of miraculous powers.
  • Sometimes the gift of faith is given to an individual so that she may believe that God wants to miraculously heal somebody through her.

Jesus calms the storm

Mark 4:35-41
35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

This is a good example of the gift of faith in action. Jesus says in faith, and with confidence, “let’s go to the other side” not know what may happen before He gets there. He is so fixed in His faith that He is able to sleep during a furious squall. After He is awoken by the disciples, He confronts it with the same supernatural faith that believes for a miracle that calms the storm.

The gift of faith for supernatural provision

1 Kings 17:2-6
2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.”5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

This is similar to many modern day missionaries who have been given supernatural faith to believe God will take care of them in barren and hostile countries.

The gift of healing for raising the dead

2 Kings 4:32-35
32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy’s body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

John 11 (entire chapter)
3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

Even more current ministers of God, such as Smith Wigglesworth, have been given the gift of faith for the healing of dead people.

Gifts of Healing

Greek: iama (Ä“’-ä-mä) – a healing or the means of a healing, remedy, or medicine.

Defined: The gifts of healing are supernatural movings of the Holy Spirit through one believer to physically heal another person.

Important facts to know:

• The gifts of healing are not to be confused with medical science. The gift of God is supernaturally produced while the other is naturally produced.
  • Usually the gifts of healing will produce the physical healing immediately or at a much faster rate then natural healing.
• It is called the “gifts of healing” (plural) not the “gift of healing” (singular) because Holy Spirit produces different types of healings in different ways.
  • For example, through Jesus and the apostles the Spirit of God healed many different types of illnesses (skin and blood diseases, blindness, paralysis, etc.) and the healing occurred in a different way for each one (laying on of hands, speaking a word, through mud, by walking to a priest, by getting up).
  • Because the gifts of healing don’t operate the same every time, trust and faith in God, on the part of the participant and the receiver, is required.
  • The gifts of healing often work in conjunction with the gift of faith.
• Gifts of healing are almost always given to heal others.
  • This is not to say that some times the healing touch may be for the recipient of the gift.
• While the immediate purpose of the gifts of healing is to heal people, another purpose of it is to display God’s glory.
  • John 9:1-7 1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3″Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7″Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

Peter and John used to heal a crippled person

Acts 3:1-10
1One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.6Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Paul receives a healing and is used to provide healings

Acts 28:1-10
1Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.7There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. 8His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. 10They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

Miraculous Powers

English: miracles
Greek: dynamis (dü’-nä-mÄ“s) – strength, power, ability, might.

It’s from this Greek word that the English word “dynamite” comes from.

Defined: The gift of miraculous powers is a supernatural moving of the Holy Spirit to intervene in the ordinary course of nature, a temporary suspension of the accustomed order, an interruption of the system of nature as we know it for the benefit of God’s Kingdom and people.

Important facts to know:

• The gift of miraculous powers often works in conjunction with the gift of faith.
• The primary purpose of the gift of miracles is to display God’s power and control over all of creation.

Jesus calms the storm

Mark 4:35-41
35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Here we see the gift of miraculous powers working with the gift of faith as Jesus clams the furious squall by speaking to it.

Jesus walks on water

John 6:16-21
16When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. 20But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

Jars of oil

2 Kings 4:1-7
1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a little oil.”

3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

5 She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

This is another clear example of a miracle as the jar of oil only became empty when there were no more jars left to fill.

Exodus 14 records the account of Moses dividing the Red Sea at the Lord’s command. The gift of faith was necessary in this account as it would take a miracle to divide the sea and allow the Israelites to walk across on dry ground.

An Axhead Floats

2 Kings 6:1-7
1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live.”
And he said, “Go.”

3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh, my lord,” he cried out, “it was borrowed!”

6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.

Clearly another example of the gift of miraculous powers in operation.

The other sections are…

• Part 1: Concerning Spiritual Gifts
• Part 2: The Revealing Gifts of the Spirit
• Part 3: The Spoken Gifts of the Spirit
• Part 4: The Action Gifts of the Spirit

The three speaking gifts are grouped together because by them the Holy Spirit delivers a divine message through the recipient.

Unlike the revealing gifts which deliver a divine message to a passive recipient, the recipient of a spoken gift must be willing to speak the message in order for it to be delivered.

Prophecy

Greek: prophÄ“teia (pro-fā-tā’-ä) – a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; especially by foretelling future events.

Defined: The gift of prophecy is a supernatural utterance in a known language given by the Spirit of God which provides strengthening, encouragement, and comfort to believers and/or foretells future events pertaining especially to the kingdom of God.

Important facts to know:

• Like all of the nine spiritual gifts, the gift of prophecy is given to an individual as God sees fit. This is often based on how willing a person wants to be used by God in this way.
• The gift of prophecy is the “greater” of the three speaking gifts because it takes both tongues and its interpretation to equal prophecy.
  • 1 Corinthians 14:5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.
• The gift of prophecy is a gift that we should eagerly desire.
  • 1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.
• It’s important to know that prophecy is always in the known/understood language of the people to whom the message was given.
  • 1 Corinthians 14:2-3 2For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. 3But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.
• Prophecy is meant for believers as opposed to unbelievers.
  • 1 Corinthians 14:22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.
• A message of prophecy will always edify (lift up, help, encourage, make better, improve, and be of comfort to) the collective group of believers to whom it was spoken.
  • 1 Corinthians 14:4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
• Prophets can be both male and female.
  • Luke 2:36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.

An example of Jesus prophesying about His death and resurrection.

Matthew 20:17-19
17Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, 18″We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

A NT example of prophecy in use.

Acts 11:25-30
25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

27During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Another NT example of prophecy.

Luke 1:62-79
62Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

67His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68″Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come and has redeemed his people.
69He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

About half of Zechariah’s prophecy was a retelling of Israel’s past mixed with praise and thanksgiving, which meets the criteria of being “strengthening, encouraging, and comforting.” The last half of his prophecy was a foretelling regarding his son, John.

So this begs the question, “What about ‘personal prophecies’?”

Prophecies given for an individual are rare in the NT. Aside from Zechariah’s prophecy over his son, John, the only other example that I know of is recorded in 1 Timothy.

1 Timothy 1:18-20
18Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. 20Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

We don’t know what the prophecies over Timothy were, nor do we know who gave the prophecies. All we see here is Paul encouraging him, giving him instruction, in accordance with those prophecies.

So from these scriptures we can gather that personal prophecy is biblical. However, we need to remember the safeguards that the disciples and apostles gave us.

Personal Prophecy Safeguard #1
Test the spirit (the source) of the message.

1 John 4:1-3
1“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”

The prophet must acknowledge through word and deed that Jesus is the Son of God and became a man. If they do not then do not accept their prophecy.

Personal Prophecy Safeguard #2
The prophecy must line up with the Word of God.

Romans 16:17-19
17I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

If any part of the prophecy is contrary to the teachings of the Bible, then throw the whole thing out.

Personal Prophecy Safeguard #3
If the prophecy contains any foretelling then it must come to pass otherwise the prophet was not from the Lord. (See Deuteronomy 18:21-22 later in this article.) Since the foretelling part of a personal prophecy can’t be proved out until a later time, the best thing to do is write it down (providing it passes the first two safeguards) and then file it away. If it was from the Lord you will know when it takes happens, and then you can give God the glory for prophecy He spoke over your life.

What about the office or calling of the prophet? Is the gift of prophecy and the office of a prophet the same thing? Let’s take a closer look at a familiar passage in Ephesians chapter four and I think we’ll have our answer.

Ephesians 4:11-13
11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

The word prophets from verse 11 is defined the following way in the Greek.

1. in Greek writings, an interpreter of oracles or of other hidden things
2. one who, moved by the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman, solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration, especially concerning future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and kingdom of God and to human salvation
   1. the OT prophets, having foretold the kingdom, deeds and death, of Jesus the Messiah
   2. of John the Baptist, the herald of Jesus the Messiah
   3. the Messiah
   4. of men filled with the Spirit of God, who by God’s authority and command in words of weight pleads the cause of God and urges salvation of men
   5. of prophets that appeared in the apostolic age among Christians
      1. they are associated with the apostles
      2. they discerned and did what is best for the Christian cause, foretelling certain future events. (Acts 11:25-30)
      3. in the religious assemblies of the Christians, they were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak, having power to instruct, comfort, encourage, rebuke, convict, and stimulate, their hearers
3. a poet (because poets were believed to sing under divine inspiration)
   1. of Epimenides (Titus 1:12)

As you can see there is not really any difference between the office of a prophet and the gift of prophecy. So how do we distinguish between the two if at all? The distinguishing factor is in one word.

The word “gave” in verse 11 has two aspects to its meaning in the Greek; 1) “to give something to someone” and 2) “to grant, permit, or commission” someone.

And when a person is commissioned that means they are given the authority to perform a task or a certain set duties for an extended period of time. So the only difference between the gift of prophecy and the office of the prophet is duration in which the person operates in that gift.

The idea of a person commissioned to be a prophet for an extended period of time is what we see in the OT.

The Old Testament prophet defined: nabiy (nä·bÄ“’) – one who is caused by a divine inspiration to either rebuke the conduct of kings and nations or predict future events.

The eighteenth chapter of Deuteronomy clearly explains why God established the office of prophet and also describes how we can know if a person truly is a prophet.

Deuteronomy 18:14-22
14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so. 15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”

17 The LORD said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”

21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD ?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

Along with many others, John the Baptist is a perfect example of an Old Testament style prophet.

John 3:1-12
1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the desert,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ ”

4John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

11″I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Speaking in different kinds of tongues & Interpretation of tongues

Because of the nature of these two gifts it is best to examine them together rather than apart.

English: tongues
Greek: glōssa – the language or dialect used by a particular people distinct from that of other nations

English: different kinds or diverse
Greek: genos – the aggregate of many individuals of the same nature, kind, sort. English words used to translate genos: kind (used 5 times in KJV), kindred (used 3 time in KJV), offspring (used 3 times in KJV), nation (used 2 times in KJV), stock (used 2 times in KJV), born (used 2 times in KJV), diversity (used 1 time in KJV).

Tongues defined: The gift of speaking in tongues is a supernatural utterance by the Holy Spirit enabling the recipient to speak in languages unknown to him/her.

English: Interpretation
Greek: hermÄ“neia (her-mā-nā’-ä) – more or less what has been spoken obscurely by others.

We get the English word “hermeneutic” from this Greek word, and hermeneutics is the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary texts.

Interpretation of tongues defined: The gift of interpretation of tongues is a supernatural comprehension of the unknown language (the “tongue” that was just spoken) and an utterance of that comprehension.

Important facts to know:

• The gift of tongues is the most prominent of the three speaking gifts, having the most controversy, although it is not the most important of the spiritual gifts.
• Tongues are a sign that will follow believers.
  • Mark 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues…
• Speaking in tongues can happen when a person is baptized/filled with the Holy Spirit for the first time. In the book of Acts, there are four occasions (Acts 2:4, 8:17, 10:44, 11:15) where people were filled with the Spirit (11:15 being a retelling of 10:44) and of those only 8:17 doesn’t specifically say the people spoke in tongues, however, it does say that a visible sign did occur.
  • Acts 8:17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money…
• The gift of tongues is used in two different ways: privately and publicly.
• Privately the gift of tongues is primarily a devotional gift to be used in our prayer life and during personal times of praise and worship to God.
  • Paul apparently used his personal tongues quite often as he said he spoke in tongues more than the Corinthian church who we know was “exploding” with spiritual gifts.
    • 1 Corinthians 14:18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.
  • Tongues used in the private devotion life are a constant reminder of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence and are meant to supernaturally encourage and strengthen a believer.
    • 1 Corinthians 14:4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself…
    • Greek for edify is oikodomeō (oi-ko-do-me’-ō) – has two aspects to it.
      • To build or restore a house or building from the foundation up.
      • To establish and promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness, blessedness.
• Publicly the gift of tongues, when used with the gift of interpretation of tongues, can be used to build up and encourage a group of believers. It is the equivalent of the gift of prophecy.
  • 1 Corinthians 14:5 …He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.
  • Without the gift of interpretation, tongues spoken publicly are fruitless unless the hearers understand the spoken language.
    • 1 Corinthians 14:18-19 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
    • Acts 2:1-12 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
  • When used publicly among a gathering of believers, messages in tongues should be orderly and limited to 2 or 3 at most, and then, only if there is an interpreter.
    • 1 Corinthians 14:27-28 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two — or at the most three — should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.
  • There is strong evidence to suggest that tongues, when spoken publicly, will only be in human languages.
    • 1 Corinthians 14:22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.
      • How can unintelligible babblings be a sign unto unbelievers of God’s love and grace unless the language is understood?
    • 1 Corinthians 14:23-25 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, 25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
    • Acts 2:1-12 (See above)
  • One scripture that seems to counter this thought is:
    • 1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
    • On the surface this verse seems to suggest that tongues can be in either a human language or an angelic, non-human language. So if this is true then it needs to not contradict 1 Corinthians 14 and Acts 2.
    • Since we know that tongues used privately are for personal communication between the believer and God, and for the believer’s edification, then it doesn’t matter if the believer or anybody else around the believer understands the language.
      • 1 Corinthians 14:2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.
      • 1 Corinthians 14:4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself…
    • But if the message in tongues is uttered with a public intention, scripture suggests that the language, although unknown to the speaker, will be known (understood) to the hearers when there is no interpretation given.
      • 1 Corinthians 14
      • Acts 2

The next article will examine the Action Gifts in more detail.

The other sections are…

• Part 1: Concerning Spiritual Gifts
• Part 2: The Revealing Gifts of the Spirit
• Part 3: The Spoken Gifts of the Spirit
• Part 4: The Action Gifts of the Spirit

The three revealing gifts are grouped together because they make known to the recipient of the gift something they had previously not known, a divine revelation.

Unlike the spoken gifts, the revelation that comes through the revealing gifts is usually not given through the recipient’s own mouth. Revealing gifts also do not require the participation of the recipient as do the spoken gifts; the Holy Spirit simply gives the revelation to the recipient whenever He sees fit.

Unlike the action gifts, the revelation that comes through the revealing gifts does not do anything on its own. The recipient must act on the revelation in order to apply it.

Message of Wisdom

Greek: sophia – wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters

Defined: The message of wisdom is a supernatural revelation given by the Spirit of God which provides insight into the mind of God, His purposes, direction, and will.

Important facts to know:

• The message of wisdom is a short message or a small part of a greater whole. It is not God’s entire plan and will.
• The message provides insight into God’s larger purpose for His Kingdom or for a person.
• The word of wisdom can come in many different ways: audible voice, internal voice, vision, dream, or angel messenger.
• Many times the message of wisdom will be given along with a message of knowledge. The two gifts often operate together.

Paul found himself in many different situations in the book of Acts and in chapter 27 we see him given a message of wisdom that was used to reveal times of trouble and God’s protection. Notice how in verses 23-26 Paul clearly conveys foretelling information about the men he sailed with and his own life, given to him by an angel messenger.

Acts 27:9-26
… 21After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ 25So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”

Old Testament examples of a message of wisdom prior to the day of Pentecost.

1 Kings 13:1-5
1 By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2 He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD : “O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’ ” 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign the LORD has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

4 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5 Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD.

1 Kings 13:16-17
16 The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 I have been told by the word of the LORD : ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’ “

Here we have two examples of a message of wisdom being given to the same man of God. In verses 1-5 the man of God was given a foretelling message surrounding Jeroboam and even specific signs from the Lord to confirm that the message was from Him. This is how many of the Old Testament prophets operated.

The second passage was regarding the man of God’s personal safety. He was told by God to not do certain specific things but he was tricked into doing those things and his life was taken from him.

Message of Knowledge

Greek: gnōsis – understanding

Defined: The message of knowledge is a supernatural revelation given by the Spirit of God which provides an understanding of certain facts in the mind and will of God.

Difference between the message of knowledge and message of wisdom:

• The message of knowledge usually reveals part of God’s divine plan concerning the present or past; an understanding of facts.
• The message of wisdom usually reveals part of God’s divine plan concerning the future; insight into God’s purposes and plans.

Important facts to know:

• Like the message of wisdom, the message of knowledge is also a short message or small part of a greater whole. It is not all of God’s knowledge and understanding.
• The message of knowledge can also come in many different ways: audible voice, inner voice, vision, dream, or angel messenger.
• Many times the message of knowledge will be given along with a word of wisdom. The two gifts often operate together.

An example both of the message of wisdom and knowledge working together.

Acts 9:10-16
10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

11The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

13″Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

15But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

In this example we see the message of knowledge being given in verses 11-12 as the Lord tells Ananias where to go and what to do regarding a vision Saul was given. This is new information revealed to Ananias regarding the present and past situation of Saul. Then in verses 15-16 we see the Lord elaborating upon the message of knowledge with a message of wisdom. Ananias is now given a glimpse into what the Lord wants to accomplish through Saul in the future.

An example of how Jesus used the information given to him through a message of knowledge.

John 4:7-19
7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

9The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11″Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”

13Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17″I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19″Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.

The Holy Spirit revealed to Jesus certain facts about the woman’s life. Jesus then acted on those facts by using them in the conversation with the woman which eventually led to her towns salvation.

Another example of the word of knowledge and acting upon it.

Acts 8:26-29
26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

In this passage, God, through an angel, revealed that Philip needed to go down a certain road and then, a little later, go up and talk with an Ethiopian. Philip had to follow the revelations that God gave him which were part of God’s plan to save that Ethiopian.

Examples of the message of knowledge revealing peoples thoughts and intentions.

Matthew 9:4; 12:25
9:4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?
12:25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

Luke 9:47; 11:17
9:47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him.
11:17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.

Old Testament examples of messages of knowledge prior to the day of Pentecost.

• Encourage and enlighten: (1 Kings 19:2-4,14,18)
• Warn a king of an enemy’s plans: (2 Kings 6:9-12)
• Help recover lost property: (1 Samuel 9:3-4,6,19-20)
• Discover somebody in hiding: (1 Samuel 10:21-23)

The Gift of Distinguishing Spirits

Greek: diakrisis (dÄ“-ä’-krÄ“-sÄ“s) – distinguishing, discerning, judging

Defined: The gift of distinguishing spirits is when the Holy Spirit reveals the source of spiritual activity, enabling a person to judge/act correctly.

Important facts to know:

• The gift of distinguishing spirits is one of the three “revealing” gifts – the other two being the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge.
• The gift of distinguishing spirits is usually considered the least of the three revealing gifts. The revealing gifts usually follow in this order of importance because of their range of scope: 1) message of wisdom, 2) message of knowledge, and 3) distinguishing spirits.
• Where the message of wisdom reveals God’s plans and purpose for the future, and the message of knowledge reveals God’s insight regarding present or past events, people, places, and things, the message of distinguishing spirits reveals God’s insight regarding spirits (both good and evil) and their intent.

Jesus is allowed to see the spirit behind Peter’s words.

Matthew 16:21-23
21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

23Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

In defense of Peter, he was most likely concerned with his Lord’s safety with maybe a twinge of selfishness involved. But regardless, the focus and motive behind his words were not in alignment with what the Father revealed to Jesus. Thus Jesus discerned the origin of Peter’s words and rebuked Satan.

Paul is allowed to see the intentions behind a spirit’s actions.

Acts 16:16-18
16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

The word for “troubled” in the Greek is diaponeomai (dÄ“-ä-po-ne’-o-mÄ«) which means to be troubled, displeased, offended, pained, or to be worked up. Sometimes the revelation that comes from the gift of discerning spirits is nothing more than a “sensation” deep within your spirit like Paul experienced.

The gift of discerning spirits is not just to provide revelation. Like the messages of wisdom and knowledge, the gift of discerning spirits is given with the intention that recipient will act on the revelation, just as Paul did.

Old Testament examples of discerning of spirits prior to the day of Pentecost.

Moses was allowed to see into the spirit world.

Exodus 33:20-23
20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
21 Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

Elisha prays that his servant may see into the spirit world.

2 Kings 6:15-17
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked.
16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

The next article will examine the Spoken gifts in more detail.

The first place the 144,000 are mentioned is in Revelation chapter 7 so let’s start there.

Revelation 7:1-8
1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3″Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 4Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

Facts about the 144,000:

• Generally speaking, they are the “servants of God.”
• They have a seal on their foreheads; the seal:
  • is known by God
  • it sets them apart from the rest of the people in the world
  • it is for their safety
• 12,000 from each tribe of Israel were sealed
  • The tribe of Dan is excluded from this list in Revelation possibly because of their addiction to idolatry (Judges 17:7-13;18:1-30)
  • The half-tribe of Manasseh took Dan’s place; Manasseh was the first son of Joseph who was half Hebrew and half Egyptian.
  • The order of the tribes listed in Revelation is also different from the original listing in Genesis 49. The changed order could possibly represent their faithfulness to God. The original order from Genesis 49 was:
    • Reuben
    • Simeon
    • Levi
    • Judah
    • Zebulun
    • Issachar
    • Dan
    • Gad
    • Asher
    • Naphtali
    • Joseph
    • Benjamin

• Timing in Revelation
  • The 144,000 were sealed between the sixth and seventh seal.
    • Revelation 6:12-8:5; Chapter six starts the seals.
    • Chapter 7 starts with the 144,000 and ends with the great multitude in white robes.
  • After the seals come the trumpets
    • The fifth trumpet (Revelation 9:1-12) brings specific torture to all people except those who are sealed.
• Who are they?
  • Some speculate that they are, generically speaking, God’s chosen remnant in the world during the end times.
  • But more likely is that they are God’s chosen Jewish remnant (descendants from the twelve tribes of Israel) reserved for evangelistic work during the tribulation. What proof is there of this?
    • Revelation 7 is very clear that the 144,000 came from the twelve tribes of Israel, therefore they have to be Jews.
    • Because of the timing in Revelation when the 144,000 were called out and sealed, we know that it was during the tribulation (between the sixth and seventh seal, before the trumpets and bowels.)
    • The 144,000 are called the “servants of God,” therefore they must be about God’s work of restoring lives back to God.
      • In fact, all of the tribulations in Revelation are evangelistic in nature, designed to put people in situations where they will cry out to God for salvation.

The second place where the 144,000 are mentioned is in Revelation chapter 14.

Revelation 14:1-5
1Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

Facts about the 144,000:

• Timing in Revelation
  • Revelation chapters 14-16 describe the preparations for the Messianic judgment.
  • The tribulation period is over but God’s holy judgment is yet to come.
  • Chapter 14 starts by describing the 144,000 who triumphantly came out of the tribulation.
  • Chapter 15 starts by describing the Gentiles who had been victorious over the beast.
  • Both of these groups are described as being in heaven, in the presence of Jesus, and no longer on earth.
    • The “standing on Mount Zion” comment in 14:1 can be seen as either the physical mount in Jerusalem, which would conflict with the description of 144,000, or as the triumphant church, the body of Christ upon which Jesus stands as head.
• The seal on their foreheads is now better described as being both the names of Jesus and the Father
• The 144,000 sang a new song before God that only they could learn.
  • The song is speculated to be one of victory after their conflict with the dragon, beast, and false prophet (Revelation 12-13).
  • It had never been sung before because such a conflict had never existed before.
  • It’s also possible that they were playing the harps, but the sound of rushing waters and loud peals of thunder is the voice of God.
• Verses 3 and 4 say that they were redeemed and purchased from the earth and from among men. They were bought with the Blood of Christ just as any person is who believes in Jesus as Lord.
• The 144,000 were set apart in that:
  • They were pure and virgins
  • They followed Jesus wherever He went
  • They were offered as firstfruits to both the Father and Jesus
    • They were the firstfruit, the first sacrificial offering out of Israel reserved for the Lord’s work during the tribulation.
  • They did not lie
  • They were blameless
    • Not in that they were perfect humans, but in their sincere dedication to the Lord.

Any time a topic from the book of Revelation is studied it often presents more questions than answers. My hope with this study is that we were able to uncover the biblical facts regarding the 144,000 while keeping it within the context of the book of Revelation and also the context of the entire Bible. If you had other questions come to mind during this short study, please feel free to email them to me at joe@titusoneone.com. I will do my best to research them and provide you with a biblical answer.

Until next time, Joe.

So let’s not be ignorant but instead let’s take a closer look at these nine gifts of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11
1Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

Right after Paul tells the people at Corinth to not be ignorant concerning spiritual gifts, he reminds them of their past in order to make a point. They were ignorant of the gifts of the Holy Spirit because before they came to Christ any mute idol was able to influence them and lead them astray. They had many misconceptions concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit so Paul sets them straight by illustrating the power and influence of the Holy Spirit.

It is a good thing to ask ourselves questions along this same line. Am I giving full control of my life to the Lord? Is the Holy Spirit able to influence me and lead me according to the Father’s will or am I allowing other things to have that influence over me?

As I mentioned earlier, there are nine spiritual gifts listed here in 1 Corinthians but that doesn’t mean each one is controlled by it’s own spirit or authority. (For example, the “spirit” of prophecy.) No. All of these gifts are from the Holy Spirit and Paul illustrates this by explaining how there are different kinds of Christian service and different kinds of Christian works but they are all under the direction of the Lord. In fact, the very ability to perform them comes from the Lord (verse 6 and also John 15:5 – I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.)

Another reason why these introductory verses (1-6) are important to the topic of spiritual gifts is because it confirms for us that these nine miraculous operations are from God and NOT from any other unclean/evil spirit. This may be a minor point for some people but I can say from experience that it is a major reason why many Christians will not trust the Lord in this area. All of us who are believers in the Lord Jesus have trusted Him with our lives, for our very salvation, and we did this based on what the Bible said. So I ask why should we not trust in the Lord with this portion of Scripture also?

One last point that Paul makes before mentioning the individual gifts is the fact that all of the gifts are given for the good of every person involved, for the “common good” according to verse 7. This phrase in the Greek conveys the idea to banding together to contribute and help each other. So when the Holy Spirit allows a gift to manifest in our lives He bands together with us for the purpose of encouraging and strengthening the body of Christ. The gifts are not given so that some people will appear more spiritual than another, which could potentially cause division. Instead they should bring about a strengthening-together among believers.

Paul lists the nine gifts in verses 8-10 and does not separate them into categories. But for the purpose of studying them, it helps to break them into three groups of three.

There are the Revealing gifts which include:

• Message of Wisdom
• Message of Knowledge
• Distinguishing between spirits

There are the Spoken gifts which include:

• Prophecy
• Speaking in different kinds of tongues
• Interpretation of tongues

And there are the Action gifts which include:

• Faith
• Gifts of healing
• Miraculous powers

As the names of the categories suggest, the revealing gifts bring divine understanding to the believer, the spoken gifts require the believer to trust the Lord to utter words, and the action gifts perform a task through the believer that’s in line with God’s will.

This is part 1 of a 4 part study on the gifts of the Spirit.

The other sections are…

• Part 1: Concerning Spiritual Gifts
• Part 2: The Revealing Gifts of the Spirit
• Part 3: The Spoken Gifts of the Spirit
• Part 4: The Action Gifts of the Spirit

(When reading a “walk through” please note that my comments, thoughts, and questions are indented and the Bible text is not.)

Philippians 3 (NIV)
No Confidence in the Flesh
1Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:7 to stay from vain repetition but here Paul is repeating to the Philippian’s a teaching he already gave them. Paul says it is a safeguard to them; so we can see that one thing worth repeating is the Word of God in the form of teaching and instruction. We can never get too much teaching from the God’s Word!

2Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.

The “mutilators of the flesh” were the traditional teachers of the Jewish Law. They boasted themselves to be of the circumcision group but Paul gives them a more accurate name as they mutilated the the church of Christ by cutting it into many pieces and factions.

What did the teachers of the Law preach? Salvation through traditions/works.

What about today; who would be the mutilators of the flesh today? Any religious group who teaches salvation through works; but more specifically, any Christian group who tries to enforce non-biblical spiritual or material/physical rules over you.

Paul says we need to watch out for these “dogs,” these evil people who mutilate the church of Christ one false teaching at a time. This is why it is so important for us to delve deep into the Bible and know what it really says. Only then will we be able to discern a half-truth with the real truth of the Bible.

3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

Why would somebody want to put confidence in the flesh? Anything that we accomplish through our flesh is, at best, temporary, decaying, and of no eternal value. Yet through our flesh there is an element of pride which inflates our egos and is so addicting.

Paul gives us an example from his life.

(Verse 3 continued) If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

So what accomplishments (those of a religious appearance or those of the world) do we puff ourselves up with that we have earned without God’s help?

7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

Are these sayings of Paul the mindset of most Christians today? Do the majority of Christians live out what Paul is saying here:

• Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
• I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus.
• I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.

What do we find ourselves concerned with most of the time? Taking inventory of what our mind spends most of its time thinking about is a worthy task. It will reveal our real treasure (Luke 12:33-34) and help us to know if we really do consider everything a loss for the sake of Christ.

10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

If we truly want to know our Lord then it will involve suffering and death.

Do you think this is why many Christians would rather put confidence in their flesh and have the wrong mindset? Or is it that they just don’t know or don’t care?

Notice that Paul says it’s through righteous suffering that we have fellowship with Christ; and it’s through death (Galatians 2:20) that we become like Him. So should we seek out suffering and death? No. But when situations involving righteous suffering and death show up in our lives, we need to remember what they will produce in our lives instead of trying to find the quickest way out of them.

Pressing on Toward the Goal
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

We need to remember that on this side of eternity none of us are perfect and there will always be something else God wants us to work on.

The key phrase in this passage is “press on.” Paul reminds us that we need to always push ourselves forward to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us.

So why did Jesus take hold of us? 1. To save us. 2. To call us to action. And it’s the “calling to action” that Paul is referring to here as we’ll see in verse 14.

We’ve been called to do the will of our Lord while we are still on earth and this is what Paul says we need to constantly press upon ourselves to do.

Why would doing the will of God require so much pressing? Maybe because it involves suffering and death?

But Paul gives us some helpful advice!

13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Knowing that none of us are perfect, we need to forget about our past mistakes and accomplishments and instead focus on what is directly in front of us.

The word “ahead” does not mean future but anything, good or bad, that’s directly within our sight; those things that are now and present.

This is good to know because we have a tendency to distract ourselves with future ideas and goals that don’t exist. God wants us to plan for the future but live in the present.

15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

I love how Paul so gently but boldly says that his way is the only right way. He can make this claim because his life proved that he followed the Lord in every matter.

But he also makes a very good point that we need to live up to what God has revealed to us. How can we expect God to draw closer to us and reveal more to us when we’re not living and doing what He has already shown to us?

17Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

We need to link up with friends who don’t just talk about their faith but who are active in their faith. Paul actually says to observe peoples Christian walks and when you see somebody living the life, become friends with them and be accountable to each other.

18For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

And when you’re observing people’s lives, be aware of those whose lives are ruled by their flesh and their minds focused on carnal things. They may call themselves Christians but their lives will prove what they really are.

And this is who we are and what we have to look forward to…

20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

She had a few admirable statements, such as:

• She probably could not have gotten through her marital troubles without relying on her faith in God.
• “I am very grateful that I had a grounding in faith that gave me the courage and the strength to do what I thought was right, regardless of what the world thought.”
• “I’m not sure I would have gotten through it without my faith.”
• She was sustained by the prayers of others.

One of her last comments was, “At those moments in time when you are tested, it is absolutely essential that you be grounded in your faith,” and I think this statement is typical of most Americans. In fact, I think it exemplifies the status of American faith in God.

Although Clinton’s statement is definitely true, I think it’s almost more important to be grounded in your faith during the non-testing times.

I’m sure somebody with a more statistical mind than my own has already discovered and proved this to be true (and please contact me if you have), but I think there is a 20/60/20 rule. The theory is that the majority of people’s life experiences can be broken down into the following:

• 20% of their life will be in the pits
• 60% of their life will be on the plateaus
• 20% of their life will be on the peaks

We all know by experience what the pits are and hopefully we’ve had opportunity to experience some peaks in our lives. It’s the plateaus of life that I want to take a look at today.

By definition a plateau is…

Plateau
–noun

1. a land area having a relatively level surface considerably raised above adjoining land on at least one side, and often cut by deep canyons.
2. a period or state of little or no growth or decline: to reach a plateau in one’s career.
3. Psychology. a period of little or no apparent progress in an individual’s learning, marked by an inability to increase speed, reduce number of errors, etc., and indicated by a horizontal stretch in a learning curve or graph.

The percentages may be wrong but I believe the theory is correct; the majority of our lives will be between peaks and pits. Maybe we call them by a different name — the daily grind, the dead-end job, or the glass ceiling — but the plateaus are still there and that’s where the larger part of our lives are lived.

I believe that the degree to which our faith is grounded and active during the plateaus of life will greatly determine how we respond during the pits and peaks of life. Is our faith grounded in the Word of God or in something else? Is the Bible the one and only solid foundation for our faith or do we allow other things (experiences, teachings, concepts, ideas, etc.) to influence our belief in Jesus Christ?

Also, how active is our faith? Are we applying the Word of God to our lives and actually living out what we say we believe? One of my favorite verses is James 2:17 which says, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” If our faith in Jesus Christ is genuine then it should compel us to act! And what should we act on? the Word of God! Jesus proves this true by saying, “If you love me, you will obey what I command (John 14:15).”

So with this in mind, let’s look at an individual whose life was full of pits, peaks, and plateaus — Joseph of the Old Testament. One might say that Joseph’s life was only pits and peaks but I don’t think so.

When Joseph came under Potiphar’s care (Genesis 39) he had already gone through some pits (literally) but now was entering a plateau. The chapter explains how he received many responsibilities to manage Potiphar’s household because the Lord was with him and had blessed him. This new plateau for Joseph was a life of faith, day-in and day-out trusting in God and following the commands of his master, Potiphar. Everything was going well, until Potiphar’s wife took notice of him.

Genesis 39:7-10
7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

This passage clearly outlines that Joseph’s faith was grounded; he would not waver from what he knew to be true. We can also see that he was willing to act on his faith by refusing to give into his master’s wife in verses 9 and 10. Joseph initially responded to Potiphar’s wife with, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” and then day after day continued to refuse her. Joseph was not afraid to act on his grounded faith but as a result of this had another pit present itself.

Genesis 39:20-23
20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

When most people would have been crushed by the prison surroundings, Joseph remained strong. He didn’t “loose faith” during this pit but instead remained resolute. I believe he was able to do this because during his normal, average, non-peak, non-pit, day-in and day-out daily grind of a life he made sure his faith was grounded and he acted on that faith.

Likewise when Joseph was at a couple of his greatest peaks (Genesis 41-43: when Joseph was in Charge of Egypt and when his family came to Egypt) he didn’t cast off God saying he didn’t need Him anymore or lash out at his brothers for what they did to him. During the peaks and the pits of life Joseph remained grounded and active in his faith toward God.

And, by far, the best example is Jesus. He prepared for his greatest peak (the transfiguration) and most horrible pit (the cross) by walking in grounded, active faith toward the Father while in the plateaus of life.

So let’s not be the standard American who only turns to God during the pits of life and then quickly turns away when things are back “under control.” Instead, let’s prepare for the pits and peaks now by walking out (grounding and acting on) our faith during the plateaus of life.

-Joe

“Other Ways the Holy Spirit Leads Us” is the fourth of four thoughts on how we can better prepare our hearts to hear from our Lord.

So far we’ve learned about three of the main ways the Holy Spirit communicates to us: through the inner witness, the inner voice, and the authoritative voice of the Lord. But there are several other ways also.

Visions

Acts 10:9-20 says…

9About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

14″Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

15The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

16This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

17While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. 18They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.

19While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. 20So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

In verse 10 is says Peter fell into a “trance.” The Greek word used for trance is the same root word we use for the English word “ecstasy.”

It literally means:
“a throwing of the mind out of its normal state, such as a lunatic or that of a man who by some sudden emotion is transported as it were out of himself, so that in this rapt condition, although he is awake, his mind is drawn off from all surrounding objects and wholly fixed on things divine that he sees nothing but the forms and images lying within, and thinks that he perceives with his bodily eyes and ears realities shown him by God.”

Visions will sometimes contain God’s voice but not always. Also, visions will usually contain things in them that we recognize, although those things may be used or presented in an unusual way, such as Peter’s large sheet with unclean animals in it.

Visions that I’ve had have even contained myself in them, as if I were seeing a scene in my life played out from a third-person perspective.

However the vision unfolds, and wether God is directly speaking in it, you will know exactly what the purpose and meaning is behind the vision.

Dreams

Although dreams may at first glance appear to be the nocturnal version of a vision, according to the Bible they serve a different purpose.

In the New Testament the only the Magi and Joseph are recorded as having dreams. The Magi were warned not to go back to Harod after seeing the baby Jesus. And Joseph had three dreams all recorded in the second chapter of Matthew.

Matthew 2:13-15; 19-23

13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Although these New Testament examples limit dreams to simple warnings, we know that dreams can be a lot more when we look at the dreams of Daniel and Joseph in the Old Testament. Their dreams were visually rich and often were used to foretell future events.

I have had dreams of people from my past and after waking up decided that God wanted me to pray for them, but I’m not sure I would classify that as a biblical dream.

Gifts of Wisdom/Knowledge/Discerning

1 Corinthians 12:8-10 outlines nine gifts of the Spirit. All of the gifts are given as the Spirit directs (verse 11) and they are for the benefit of everybody involved (verse 7). Three of the gifts are the gift of wisdom, the gift of knowledge, and the gift of discerning spirits.

Let’s take a quick look at the Greek meanings behind these three gifts of the Spirit:

Wisdom (sophia): broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters
Knowledge (gnōsis): general intelligence, understanding
Discerning (diakrisis / dÄ“-ä’-krÄ“-sÄ“s ): a distinguishing, discerning, judging

So without repeating myself too much, we can see that a gift of wisdom is when God reveals to a person full and very broad understanding regarding something, the gift of knowledge is when God reveals understanding that is more specific or limited when compared to the gift of wisdom, and the gift of discerning of spirits is when God reveals the source of spiritual activity, enabling a person to judge/act correctly.

The book of Luke chapter five holds an example from Jesus regarding these three gifts.

Luke 5:17-26

17One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. 18Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.20When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

21The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

22Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

John 3:34 tells us that Jesus had the Spirit “Spirit without limit” so we know that all of the gifts of the Spirit were operating in His life, as the Spirit directed. So regarding this miracle in Luke we can see all three of these gifts being used.

First we can see that Jesus was given specific insight (the gift of Knowledge) into what the Pharisees and teachers were thinking. Second we can see that Jesus was then given a broader understanding (the gift of Wisdom) of the entire circumstance and it’s purpose — using a physical healing to prove His ability to forgive sins. And lastly we can observe that Jesus also knew (the gift Discerning spirits) the source of the Pharisees and teachers hearts and acted accordingly.

The understanding that these gifts bring usually happens in an instance, and not the result of prayer, meditation, or in-depth Bible study. I say this because just like the other ways the Holy Spirit leads us, His understanding brings revelation to us with which we need to act on in faith. Having the gift of Wisdom/Knowledge/Discernment manifest in your life as the Spirit leads will not cause you to DO anything. You have to choose to do something with it.

Other Spirit led people

Acts 9:10-19 says…

10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.11The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

13″Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

15But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

In this example, Ananias came to Paul to share what the Lord told him, but at other times it can be us going to another biblically-grounded Christian and asking for advice. Either way, the most important key to remember is that the communicated message from the other Christian must be in line with the Word of God. If it isn’t, throw it out!

Along with being biblically grounded, there should also be a confirmation within your heart that confirms what the other person is telling you. The reason why is because guidance from other Spirit led people usually comes after the Holy Spirit has already been communicating with you in some form.

Circumstances

Acts 16:6-10 says…

6Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The important thing to note about the above passage is that Paul had to “conclude” what God was telling them after being circumstantially blocked twice and also having a vision. Paul did not receive a clear communication in this instance but acted in faith on what he concluded was from the Lord.

I’ve also experienced circumstances that prevented me from going down one path, but I’ve also had open doors that I needed to walk through before finding out that they were not the right path, just an experience gaining path. In other words, circumstances will not always be clear.

You may want to include the “second chance on life” circumstances in this category. This is when a person’s life was divinely spared through some accident and out of that circumstance the person changes the direction of their life, concluding it was God that spared them.

The goal is to NOT be led by circumstances. I say that because it is not the most direct form of communication like the other ones we’ve examined. The good thing to remember is that God will speak to us any way He can in order to get our attention.

Finally, remember that God will personally lead you in your everyday life, obey the inner witness and voice in your spirit, and don’t seek spectacular guidance.

May God increase your sensitivity to His voice so that we can truly be His sheep, following His voice.

Every believer in Jesus can learn how to be led by the Holy Spirit instead of by their physical senses and circumstances.

“Learn to be Led by the Holy Spirit” is the third of four thoughts on how we can better prepare our hearts to hear from our Lord. Portions of the following were adapted from Kenneth E. Hagin’s book Following God’s Plan for Your Life.

Notice that I said learn how to be led by the Spirit. Knowing how to be led by the Holy Spirit does not come naturally right after a person accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior. Just as sheep have to learn to recognize the voice of their shepherd, so we have to learn to recognize the voice of our Lord.

The first thing we need to learn is that God leads us through our spirits.

John 4:24 says that God is spirit. He is not a physical being. And He’s also not a intellectual cloud or “God Conscience” somewhere in the cosmos like many new-agers believe. Therefore the primary way He speaks to us is through our spirits instead of through our carnal flesh and mind.

And to further back this up…

1 Corinthians 2:11 (NASB) says…
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

And Proverbs 20:27 (NASB) says…
The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the innermost parts of his being.

Both of these passages tell us that it’s our spirit that really knows what’s going on inside us and it’s through our spirit that the Lord communicates to us.

Let’s take a look at (learn about) three of the main ways God leads us so that way we can better recognize His voice when He communicates to us.

1. The first and foremost way God leads us is by an inner witness.

Romans 8:16 (NASB) says…
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.

The inner witness (also translated as testifies) is like an inner knowledge of agreement. It’s when you just know that something is right. People sometimes call it a hunch or an impression.

Usually specifics (like exact words or images) are not conveyed with the inner witness but somehow you know exactly what it means.

Romans 8:16 tells us that it’s with this inner witness that we know we are saved — we just know that it’s true because the Holy Spirit gives us that inner knowledge of agreement. And it’s with this same “knowing” that God can and wants to lead you.

2. The second way the Holy Spirit leads us is through the inner voice or “still small voice.”

The main difference between the inner witness and the inner voice is that the inner voice actually has a voice.

1 Kings 19:11-13 says…

11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

There are three Hebrew words make up the phrase “gentle whisper“:
dĕmamah- whisper, calm, silence
daq- thin, small, fine, gaunt
qowl- voice, sound, noise; lightness, lighthearted

Combining these Hebrew words gives the impression that this method of communication is very light and airy, easy to be drowned out.

Also notice that in verse 11 it says “the Lord said” but in verse 13 it says “a voice said.” I believe it was written this way to clearly show us the distinction between the inner voice and the Lord’s more direct voice (which we’ll talk about next.)

Many Bible teachers suggest that the inner voice is actually the voice of your spirit which we call our conscience. The idea is that just as your physical body has a physical voice, so your spiritual body has a spiritual voice. And although we cannot hear our spirit voice with our physical ears, we can hear it through our conscience. Although the Bible does not clearly explain how the inner voice works, it is clear that there is a distinction between it and the Lord’s more direct voice.

Usually when the inner voice speaks it actually conveys real words with coherent thoughts, not vague impressions like the inner witness.

3. The third way God leads us is through the authoritative voice of the Lord.

Although usually the authoritative voice of the Lord will not be audible, sometimes it can be.

Acts 9:1-7 says…

1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.

In Saul’s experience, the authoritative voice of the Lord was audible because the men with him heard the sound. This voice was very clearly the Lord’s as Jesus declares in verse five.

The inner witness, inner voice, and authoritative voice of the Lord are the three main ways God speaks to us. There are other ways also but these three are used most of the time with most people.

So know that we know about them, how can we develop them? How can we recognize the inner witness and inner voice so well that they are more clear than another person’s voice talking right next to us? As I meditated on that question the following three things came to mind:

We need to…

1. Ask for forgiveness for anytime we may have grieved the Holy Spirit.
2. Ask God to restore our sensitivity to His Spirit.
3. Act immediately in faith when we sense His inner witness, inner voice, or authoritative voice.

Yes, you will make mistakes and not “hear” correctly from time to time but that’s how we learn. Just like it took years in the physical world for you to learn how to communicate with perfect listening and speaking skills, so in the spirit world it will take a while before we can correctly discern our Lord’s voice from all the others in this world.

But as you “practice” (acting immediately in faith when you sense what you believe is His voice) it will become easier.

Just remember that we have this promise that we can know our Lord’s voice.
John 10:4
[The shepherd] he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

“Stay Filled with the Holy Spirit” is the second of four thoughts on how we can better prepare our hearts to hear from our Lord.

When God seems to be less-than-descriptive with His plans for your life, know that you can always be a doer of His Word, and in so acting, you will be living in His perfect will for your life. In fact, sometimes when you just don’t know what to do, doing only what the Bible says is the best thing you can do.

For example, the Bible is clear that we should…

• Pray for our brothers and sisters in the Lord
• Love and pray for our enemies
• Carry each others burdens
• Give out of our abundance to those who are in need
• Walk by faith, not by sight
• Meditate on God’s Word

And this is just a short list, things off the top of my mind. If I were to ask all of you to name just one thing you know the Bible tells us we should do, we’d fill up pages of instructions. That’s plenty to keep us busy for the rest of our lives doing exactly what God wants us to do!

However, there’s one command in particular that’s part of God’s written will for us that will also help us to know God’s perfect will for our lives as well. Let’s look at Ephesians chapter five to find out what it is.

Ephesians 5:17-18
17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

This passage tells us two things, 1) that we can know the will of God, and 2) that we need to be filled with the God’s Spirit.

The phrase “be filled” in the Greek actually means “be being filled”; to maintain a constant flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Not just to be filled to overflowing once and never again, but to allow the Holy Spirit to constantly keep us filled with Him.

Romans 12:11 further supports the degree to which we are to be being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12:11 AMP
11Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.

Is is possible to be filled with the Spirit once and be “aglow and burning”? Well, depending on how you look at it, yes and no. Yes, initially we can be filled and be aglow and on fire for God, but there are two things that will “drain” the fire of the Holy Spirit out of us:

1. The current world system (anything of the flesh) because it is at war with the Spirit (Galatians 5:17).
2. And we are given the command in Matthew 10:8 which says, “Freely you have received, freely give.”

The book of Acts records that the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit for the first time in chapter two. Then it says in chapter four that they were filled again upon their request!

So what happened to warrant a “re-filling”? Here’s a quick list:

• Peter preached to Jerusalem, leading about 3,000 people to be saved and baptized.
• Many converts devoted themselves to the disciples/apostles teaching (they started organized church).
• Peter used to heal a crippled beggar.
• Peter again preaches to the crowds.
• Peter and John preached before the Sanhedrin, Sadducees, priests, and other church leaders.
• Many other miracles, signs and wonders were done by the disciples.

I know I sure would need a re-filling after God used me to do all of that! But instead of getting caught up in the specifics of what God did through them, let’s back up and look at the whole picture.The disciples were just simple, unschooled men that followed the command of Jesus–the command to stay in the upper room till the Spirit had come. They obeyed and upon being filled with the Spirit, what did they do? Did they continue to pray and ask God to reveal His specific will for each of their lives?! NO!

After being filled, they simply did what they felt impressed to do because they were being led by the Holy Spirit. And if you notice, what they “felt” impressed to do are the same things we are told to do in the New Testament. Would you say that what the disciples/apostles did after being filled with the Spirit was actually God’s perfect, specific plan for their lives? YES! They were impressed to do the will of God just like we can be impressed by God today. I believe many times we become overly concerned with the specifics of God’s will for our lives instead of simply doing what we already know He’s called us to do.

Being filled and staying filled with the Holy Spirit is one of the best things we can do to make sure we are being led by the Spirit of God.

I think many times in pentecostal churches people are more concerned with getting filled with the Spirit then they are with maintaining the continued flow of the Spirit in their lives. Romans tells us how we must maintain the Spirit of God in our lives so that we may know His will.

Romans 12:1-2
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

If you want to know God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will than 1) guard your body by giving it to God and 2) guard your mind by renewing it in God’s Word.

When we allow the Spirit of God to continually fill us with Himself by actively guarding our bodies and minds from the things that hinder His control in our lives, then we will find ourselves naturally knowing and doing God’s specific will for our lives more and more.

So just to recap, being filled and staying filled (continually maintaining the Holy Spirit’s control in our lives) will put you in a better place for knowing and doing the perfect and specific will of God.

“Consecrating Ourselves to God’s Will” is the first of four thoughts on how we can better prepare our hearts to hear from our Lord. Portions of the following were adapted from Kenneth E. Hagin’s book Following God’s Plan for Your Life.

Let’s start by taking a closer look at Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Matthew 26:36-42
36Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41″Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

42He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

These verses give us an example of Jesus’ dedication as He consecrated Himself to do the Father’s will.

Jesus said, “Yet not as I will, but as you will,” because He knew that the scourging and the cross was before Him.

Think of all the sins committed by us, humankind, throughout all time — all the immorality, debauchery, murder, and hatred. Second Corinthians 5:21 says that Jesus was made sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. But Jesus’ death on the cross had to happen in order for all of us to be saved.

It was Jesus’ consecration to His Father’s will (and not His own) from the beginning that allowed Him to be led by the Spirit of God, and ultimately, to know the Will of the Father. But what does consecration really mean? It’s certainly not a word I hear used in casual conversation in our modern society.

Consecration:
ORIGIN- from the Latin consecrat- ‘dedicated, devoted as sacred,’ from the verb consecrare, from con- (expressing intensive force) + sacrare ‘dedicate,’ from sacer ‘sacred.’

The above definition suggests that consecrating your life means to force your life into sacred dedication.
The prayer of consecration is not just a one-time prayer like that of a salvation prayer. The prayer(s) of consecration is (or should be) the fruit of a consecrated life! We will only be able to know and follow God’s plan for our lives if we constantly maintain an attitude of consecration and surrender to the Lord’s will, whatever it might be.

The consecrated life is a life of faith, a living by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Consider our own consecration to the Lord. If you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you obviously trust Him with your salvation, but do you trust Him with the direction of the rest of your life? We (myself included) need to be willing to do anything that God wants us to do. We need to choose to commit ourselves to God and to obey His will every day for the rest of our lives.

So how are we doing?

Here are some practical things we can do to live a consecrated life:

1. Never say never.
Don’t rule out something based on your preferences or probability.

For example: being called as a missionary to a foreign country that you dislike.

Choose to say Yes! to whatever God lays before you instead of saying, “I hope He doesn’t call me to (fill in the blank) because I’d never do that.”

2. Get rid of unwillingness in your life.
Being unwilling, even in the smallest area of our life, is not living in faith — it’s living in the flesh.

Just as “a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough” (Galatians 5:9) so unwillingness has a nasty way of spreading to other areas of our lives.

At it’s root, unwillingness is really saying that you think your will is better than God’s. So stop it at the root by humbling yourself before God.

3. Life if full of choices; take them one-at-a-time.
Most people want to know the FULL will of God before they’ll obey but that’s not usually how God reveals His plan.

Don’t get stuck on one choice thinking you need to have the answer for every choice after it.

As God allows choices to cross your path take them one at a time making your decision based on what God has revealed to you so far.

The Bible has much to say about our freedom in Christ. Here is a short list:

John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Romans 6:7
anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Romans 6:18
You have been set free from sin…

Romans 8:2
through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:13
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

1 Peter 2:16
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

And even one of our “father’s of faith,” Martin Luther, had this to say about freedom, “A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none…”

WOW! That’s a lot of freedom!
Just to clarify, where does our freedom come from? Our faith in Jesus as Lord. (John 8:36) Our freedom is tied to our salvation in Jesus. Without Jesus’ death and resurrection we would still be a people lost in our sins with no hope.

So what should a Christian’s response be to the freedom Christ has given us? What are we supposed to do with all this freedom?

General observations:

1. Know that you are free.
   John 8:36 – So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
2. Don’t go back to a life of bondage.
   Galatians 5:1 – It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
3. Don’t hide sin in your life under the guise of freedom.
   1 Peter 2:16 – Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
4. Use your freedom to serve others.
   Galatians 5:13 – You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

A closer look at Paul’s food illustration:
1 Corinthians 10:23-33 NLT
23 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. 24 Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.

This is Paul’s introduction to his illustrations on the freedom believers have in Christ. He immediately points out that freedom that is self-focused is not responsible.

25 So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

Paul uses the illustration of food because it was an issue for his day; it’s still any issue for us. However, a believer’s freedom is not limited to just food.

27 If someone who isn’t a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience.

You have the freedom to accept invitations from non-believers, if you want. This is different than being unequally yoked with unbelievers, which we’re not supposed to do. (2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?)

28 (But suppose someone tells you, “This meat was offered to an idol.” Don’t eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. 29 It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.) For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? 30 If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it?

Consider the conscience of the people around you. For their sake you may restrict your freedom. Notice also that Paul is talking about an unbeliever’s conscience, not a believers. Otherwise your freedom should never be restricted to what others believe/think.

31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. 33 I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.

Be responsible with your freedom in Christ by noticing who is around you and where they are at spiritually. Don’t let your freedom become a stumbling block to unbelievers or believers. Use your freedom to allow you to win others to Christ. Because you are no longer restricted to special traditions, you have the freedom to try to “please everyone in everything [you] do.”

An example from Jesus:
Luke 13:10-17
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Notice how simple Jesus’ “prayer” over the woman was. Faith operating through the Spirit doesn’t always require “emotional” action in the physical.

14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

The Sabbath rules are a perfect example of religious bondage. Do you think the synagogue rulers thought they were under religious bondage?

15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Paul said to be aware of others conscience and to intentionally limit your freedom so that you would not be a stumbling block to others. But isn’t Jesus being a stumbling block by not limiting his freedom in this passage? No. Jesus used his freedom to show the synagogue rulers the bondage they were under and which they were putting other people under.

So our freedom can be used to allow us to reach down to where unbelievers are at spiritually. Or it can be used to uncover bondage in unbelievers lives that they may not know is there.

Thoughts from Martin Luther:
“A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none, a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to every one.

“We will speak also of those works which he performs towards his neighbour. For man does not live for himself alone in this mortal body, in order to work on its account, but also for all men on earth; nay, he lives only for others, and not for himself. For it is to this end that he brings his own body into subjection, that he may be able to serve others more sincerely and more freely.

“Yet a Christian has need of none of these things for justification and salvation, but in all his works he ought to entertain this view and look only to this object—that he may serve and be useful to others in all that he does; having nothing before his eyes but the necessities and the advantage of his neighbour.

“Here is the truly Christian life, here is faith really working by love, when a man applies himself with joy and love to the works of that freest servitude in which he serves others voluntarily and for nought, himself abundantly satisfied in the fullness and riches of his own faith.” ~ Martin Luther

People in America all the time talk about how they deserve special rights/freedoms, but they never want the responsibility that goes with them.

As Christians we need to maintain a higher standard and remember to be responsibly free in Christ.

“We have been taught to believe that negative equals realistic and positive equals unrealistic.”

I can somewhat understand how a realistic view of life may be seen as negative or “glass half empty” but I don’t think I’ve ever correlated a positive outlook with being unrealistic. I think we have to maintain a positive sense of hope, believing that things will not always be as they are now. The daily grind of life is called a “grind” for a reason. No matter where our grind happens — on the job, in our careers, or at home as a stay-at-home parent — it will slowly grind away at us unless we choose to have a positive, godly view of people, events, and circumstances. Does that mean we all need to be “Pollyannas”? Absolutely not! That would be truly unrealistic. Just know that at times life will not be fabulous, fun, or fair and during those times we need to change our view from the hopeless to the hopeful by focusing on our Lord Jesus!

“…everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

1 John 5:4-5

Peter is probably one of my favorite disciples because he is so real and genuine. He was very outspoken and always eager to do whatever the Lord told him to do, even when he misunderstood and messed up along the way. In John 21 we get to hear a conversation between Peter and Jesus which I believe really sheds some light on the subject of multiple second chances.

John 21:15-17 says:
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Just for one moment let’s take a look at this passage in the Greek language. What we’ll quickly see is that Jesus and Peter are using two different words for “love.” Jesus uses the word agapao {ag-ap-ah’-o} in verses 15 and 16 where Peter uses phileo {fil-eh’-o} through the entire passage. So what’s the difference between them?

Phileo love is like the fondness between two friends. It is best expressed through acts of kindness and hospitality. Although this form of love is great and needed it is not perfect. In fact, it is often very bias and conditional.

Agapao love has sometimes been called the “God kind of love” or “perfect love” and both of those descriptions would be accurate. Agapao is the type of love that is unconditional and deeply loves no matter who the individual is, what status or wealth they have, or where they’re current circumstances have brought them. It is rooted in a decision to love instead of a feeling. It is the love that God has for us.

So now that we have a better understanding of some of the words, let’s have a closer look at what God is telling us in this passage.

Only a few days before Jesus’ conversation with Peter we know that Peter denied Jesus three times and then witnessed Jesus’ death on the cross. Then three days later Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples. In John’s Gospel this conversation happened after Jesus had appeared to his disciples for a second time. Peter was a broken and bruised man at this point, and although the Bible does not explicitly say so, I’m sure that he would have welcomed a second chance — a chance to make it right. And that’s exactly what the Lord Jesus was doing.

Knowing Peter’s spiritual and emotional condition, Jesus first tried to encourage Peter to come up out of his current state, to move forward and press onward in his walk with the Lord. Jesus tried this twice by asking Peter if he loved him with the agapoa kind of love. But when Jesus saw that Peter would only respond with the phileo kind of love, Jesus met him at his level. In verse 17 Jesus asked Peter if he loved him with the phileo kind of love and then Peter saw what Jesus was doing. Peter recognized that Jesus came down to his level to encourge him.

But something important to notice is that even though Jesus met Peter at his level, Jesus never lowered his expectation for Peter. Jesus consistantly told Peter to feed his lambs and to take care of his sheep.

How many times has the Lord done the same for us? How many times has he been faithful: providing for our needs, helping to pay the bills, buying our groceries, and not turning his back on us when we choose to do things our way instead of his? What would cause God to do such things for Peter and the rest of us when all we are in return are rebelious creations? Love! His agapao love for his children.

Romans 5:8 says:
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Nothing we can do (or keep ourselves from doing) will earn us God’s love or faithfullness. He is a God of love according to
1 John 4:8. He loves us conconditionall, with no strings attached, and this will never change.

So if you have taken a couple of steps backward (or maybe so many you that you’ve lost count) in your relationship with Jesus, know that his love for you remains the same. His expectation for you also remains the same and he’ll do all he can to encourage you to get there, but when you are not able, he will be there to lift you up to where you need to be. Turn to him and ask him point blank for help. Tell him what happened that got you to where you’re at and that you need his help to make it right. Although he already knows all the details he’ll jump at the opportunity to be there for you and to do for you what he did for Peter.

    "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…"

    Love,
    God

Happy newborn, friends. I pray that he will bring you much joy!

They tell them that God loves them for who they are and nothing that they could do would ever change that, but how often do you hear believers telling other believers that?

Well, I’m here to tell you that God loves you, Christian! And nothing that you’ve done in the past, even after becoming a Christian, and nothing that you are going to do will change how much God loves you.

Romans 8:38-39 says:
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But why is this so important? Don’t Christians already know that they are loved by God?

Maybe some do but if you look at the vast majority of Christians their lives (their actions, speech, and thoughts) do not reveal that they believe God loves them. In fact, I think their lives prove that they believe God is out to get them. (But that’s for another discussion.)

Just like it’s vitally important that nonbelievers know that God loves them, it’s just as important that Christians know the same thing. Let’s put Romans 8:38-39 in context and find out why.

Romans 8:28-39 says:
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
    "For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Many people are familiar with the part that says, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” but that’s only part of what Paul was saying. The part that people often leave off is, “who have been called according to his purpose.” When left together, verse 28 becomes Paul’s introduction to the topic that we are loved for a purpose!

Paul starts his teaching by using words like: foreknew, predestined, conformed, called, justified, and glorified. These are words that people avoid because of the confusion they can cause, but I believe when kept within the context of the Bible they make perfect sense and will help us to understand why we are loved for a purpose.

The Bible teaches that God is omniscient (all-knowing) so it would make logical sense to say that he knew us before time began, before we physically existed. God foreknew us but he also predestined us.

Predestined in the Greek language is proorizo {pro-or-id’-zo} which simply means to predetermine, to decide beforehand. The confusion that surrounds this word, I believe, comes from two different understandings of destiny. One understanding says that destiny is the hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future; fate. The other understanding is that there is a perfect plan and order of events for each of our lives but we don’t have to choose it because we have free wills.

The Bible teaches that all of us are born as free moral agents, meaning, that we can choose to accept or reject God’s perfect plan for our lives. So keeping this in mind and also knowing that God knew us before we physically existed, Paul is telling us that while we were still just thoughts in God’s mind, he decided what his perfect plan for us was, even if we wouldn’t accept it.

And that perfect plan is for each of us to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, Jesus Christ. Why? So that we would be part of God’s family, Jesus being the first brother, according to verse 29.

Paul expounds on this even more for us in verse 30 by saying, “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

God wanted to make sure that we knew about his perfect destiny for our lives so he “called” us. And this makes perfect sense. When you have good news that will benefit somebody else you will typically do everything you can to tell them. You wouldn’t keep it from them; you’d let them know as soon as you could so that they can respond to it. In the same way, God has decided on a perfect plan for us and after telling us about it though his Bible he wants us to respond to his call!

Paul continues by saying when we accept God’s call he then justifies us which, in the original language, means that he has publicly declared us as righteous. Then after he declares us as righteous he glorifies us. God “causes the dignity and worth of us to be made manifest and acknowledged”! And those aren’t my words. That’s taken straight from the Greek meaning of the word “glorifies” in verse 30.

Pause for a moment and allow this to sink in. Christian, when you responded to God’s call and said yes to his perfect destiny for your life, it was at that moment that you were made the righteousness of God and your value in God’s eyes was made known. It is no wonder then why Paul says, “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” and “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”

God loves you, Christian! He is not out to get you nor is he “up there” just waiting for you to make a mistake so he can rain down his wrath. No! Instead he has made us “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (verse 37). Not only is God’s love so strong that nothing can separate us from it, but he has chosen to love us so that his righteousness would work in us, and so that his glory would shine through us. This is God’s perfect plan for us as we allow ourselves to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus.

You are loved, Christian! You are loved for a purpose!

NEW YORK (AP) — More than nine out of 10 Americans, men and women alike, have had premarital sex, according to a new study. The high rates extend even to women born in the 1940s, challenging perceptions that people were more chaste in the past.

“This is reality-check research,” said the study’s author, Lawrence Finer. “Premarital sex is normal behavior for the vast majority of Americans, and has been for decades.”

Finer is a research director at the Guttmacher Institute, a private New York-based think tank that studies sexual and reproductive issues and which disagrees with government-funded programs that rely primarily on abstinence-only teachings. The study, released Tuesday, appears in the new issue of Public Health Reports.

The study, examining how sexual behavior before marriage has changed over time, was based on interviews conducted with more than 38,000 people — about 33,000 of them women — in 1982, 1988, 1995 and 2002 for the federal National Survey of Family Growth. According to Finer’s analysis, 99 percent of the respondents had had sex by age 44, and 95 percent had done so before marriage.

Finer said the likelihood of Americans having sex before marriage has remained stable since the 1950s, though people now wait longer to get married and thus are sexually active as singles for extensive periods.

“The data clearly show that the majority of older teens and adults have already had sex before marriage, which calls into question the federal government’s funding of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs for 12- to 29-year-olds,” Finer said.

Under the Bush administration, such programs have received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.

“It would be more effective,” Finer said, “to provide young people with the skills and information they need to be safe once they become sexually active — which nearly everyone eventually will.”

The truth is that even the largest amount of “abstinence-until-marriage” programs will only positively impact a small percent of people. Why? Because even though it makes sense medically to abstain until marriage, it’s not what the fleshly carnal nature wants.

Now if we expand this out to encompass any desire of the flesh, not just sexual ones, then we have an even greater problem. How are we to combat the desires of the flesh when external programs fall short? The answer is with a change of the heart (a rebirth of the spirit); this is the only way to overcome the flesh.

1 John 5:3-5
3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Reading this passage from the back to the front, we see that the necessary rebirth of our spirits comes by believing in Jesus as the Son of God. So what does that “belief” look like? It is a life lived in faith (a life fully depending on and trusting in Jesus), and according to verse 4, this life of faith is what allows us to have victory over the world, and all of its fleshly desires.

But let’s take it one step further. What did Jesus have to say about living a life of faith that directly combats the fleshly desires of this world?

Luke 11:33-36 AMP
33 No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or crypt or under a bushel measure, but on a lampstand, that those who are coming in may see the light.
34 Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye (your conscience [your faculty of knowing]) is sound [single and whole] and fulfilling its office, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound [not in unity and scattered] and is not fulfilling its office, your body is full of darkness.
35 Be careful, therefore, that the light that is in you is not darkness.
36 If then your entire body is illuminated, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright [with light], as when a lamp with its bright rays gives you light.

The first point I take from this passage is that we need to protect the light that is in us!

Luke 11:34 explains how our eyes are like a lamp that allows us to see where we are going. Without our eyes we would be lost in the dark. When a light is scattered or reflected in many directions it looses its power and intensity. It is no longer single and whole. Likewise when our eyes are used to view many things, objects, people, and events at one time they will inevitably miss many details. Another way to look at it is when you intently read a book you will get much more out of it than when you simply scan through portions of it.

Luke 11:35 applies the “eyes = lamp” illustration to our spiritual lives. We must make sure that we are not putting anything in front of us that will cause the light in us to grow dark. Every time we put something else (especially “dark things”) in front of our eyes we are potentially scattering the whole, unified Light of God in our lives. That’s when our conscience starts becoming seared and looses its ability to “know” the difference between righteousness and sin. That’s when we loose our light and blend in with the rest of the world.

Luke 11:36 is the result of you protecting God’s light in you… “your entire body is illuminated”… “it will be wholly bright with light.” When we keep “dark” things out of our lives and allow God’s perfect Light to be unified in our lives, that’s when He illuminates our entire being!!! That’s when we truly resemble our Maker and become His presence everywhere we go.

Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.

John 1:5b God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

The second point that I take from Luke 11:33-36 is that we need to be the light that God has called us to be!

Luke 11:33 tell us that we are to be godly examples that the world sees. There is no pure and holy light in the world. But God, in His infinite wisdom, has chosen to put his Spirit, his Love, his Light in us (those who believer that Jesus is the Son of God.) So we must allow God to put us in places where we can shine…spotlighting the path that leads to Jesus.

What are the characteristics of light:

• It shines – being an immediate source of light.
• It is a source of heat – heat being a primary means of therapy and healing.
• It clearly defines its surroundings – making clear what was confused.
• It’s intentional – thrusting its beams of light into surrounding darkness.
• It stands out – being a beacon, a point of reference and an anchor in a sea of darkness.

How many of these characteristics do we have in our lives?

Let’s allow God’s Light to shine in and through us as we walk a life of faith. Let’s be His Light in this dark world pointing the way for those who are lost in the darkness. When we allow God to do these things in us it won’t matter how many federally funded programs are available, because people will no longer put their trust in the strength of this world but in the God who overcomes this world.

Once people know that you are a Christian will they be able to approach you with real life issues and hurts? Are you accessible when they have deep spiritual questions that only the God of the Bible can answer?

As with everything in the Christian faith, Jesus is our perfect example in how to be approachable. The example He gives us is recorded in Luke 15:1 (NLT) which says, “Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.” Now you may be thinking where’s the example in this short passage?! But I assure you there’s a very important lesson to learn here.

I don’t believe there was any question regarding what Jesus taught or where he stood on moral, political, or spiritual issues. When a person came to hear Jesus speak they knew what His position was regarding topic at hand. Whether He used a parable or a direct illustration to make His point, His words were clear and spoke the heart. Even at the age of 12 the religious teachers of the day were amazed at His understanding of the Scriptures (Luke 2:41-51).

But unlike normal men who usually become lofty and unapproachable with their higher learning and knowledge, Jesus remained welcoming, accessible, and reachable. Listen to how various translations describe the types of people that came to visit Jesus in Luke 15:1:

The New Living Translation says “tax collectors and notorious sinners.”
The Amplified Bible says “tax collectors and [notorious and especially wicked] sinners.”
The Message Bible says “men and women of doubtful reputation.”

I think it’s clear that the people who “often came” to see Jesus were less than desirable people; the rejects of society. Yet the Gospels are clear that He made Himself reachable by anybody: rich or poor, schooled or unschooled, healthy or sick.

So may I ask the question, “How are we doing in this area?”

Matthew 9:10-13 says:
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?"
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.‘ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (emphasis added.)

And Hosea 6:6 says:
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings (emphasis added.)

I believe these two passages clearly outline the reason why we need to be approachable like our Lord Jesus. God desires mercy, not sacrifice! He wants people to acknowledge him and know him personally! Every action that God has and will ever take is to prove that he loves us and that he is accessible through this Son, Jesus Christ.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (emphasis added.)

God the Father gave his only Son for the express purpose that he would die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. In order to do this, God put himself in an approachable “position.” He made himself approachable by giving us his Son.

Anytime you physically give somebody a gift you too are putting yourself in an approachable position. Your stance is more relaxed instead of stiff. Your arms are open and extended instead of crossed or tucked in your pockets. And the expression on your face is most likely one that’s smiling and inviting. It’s clear that you are approachable and not closed off.

Even when we are not giving gifts we still need to watch the “positions” of our attitude and hearts because nonbelievers are watching. When nonbelievers find out that we are Christians, they will intentionally watch us to see how we handle situations at work, at home, with our friends, or wherever we happen to be. If we come across with a stiff, cross-armed attitude and a closed heart, there’s a strong chance they will attribute our attitude and actions to God’s character. And why not! If we say we are Christian, then our attitude and actions must reflect our Christian God, right?

Peter’s advice to us in this matter is to “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12.)

So how can we live such “good lives” like Peter recommends? How can we truly live an approachable life like Jesus? I believe there are four practical things we can do:

1. See people through the eyes of a blind person.

Simply put, don’t judge people based on their outward appearances. First Samuel 16:7 says that “man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” and this needs to be our focus as well.

2. Remember that no one is greater than another.

Christian, sometimes the best thing for us to remember is that we are sinners saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus. Every single one of us — all people — are on the same playing field when it comes to our need for salvation. Priest or peasant, corporate tycoon or homeless person, we all need Jesus equally. Without Jesus in our lives we are all “notorious and especially wicked sinners.”

3. God gave to you so that you would give to others.

Matthew 10:8 says, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Intentionally put yourself in a position to give and fulfill Jesus’ command. Look for opportunities at your work, in your home, at your church, at the store, and hanging out with your friends to freely give what God has given to you. 

4. Live with an “open arms policy.”

Have an open arms policy, not just an open door policy. Make yourself, not just your office, personally available to others. Jesus showed us ultimate love and accessibility by opening his arms wide on the cross. We should do no less by showing his love and accessibility to nonbelievers.

Choose today to live a life like Jesus, open and accessible to people of all kinds. Pray that the Lord would give you opportunities for people to come and receive from God through you.