Sowing the Kingdom

And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-30)

Jesus likened the kingdom of God to a man sowing seed. His role is simple.

He scatters the seed. The Greek text uses the definite article — “the seed.” This man has seed to sow, and he does with it exactly what you are supposed to do with it; he sows it.

He sleeps by night and rises by day. He goes about his business. He does not worry about the seed. He does not keep pulling it up to see how it’s doing. He knows that he has done his part, and he trusts the seed to do its part. He does not know how the seed will do what it does; he just knows that it will. And so he rests and goes about his business.

When the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle. He watches for the grain to ripen, then he harvests the fruit of the seed he has sown. It is an age-old principle: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest … shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. (Galatians 6:7-9)

This man does not sow in fear, but in expectation. From the beginning, he has a vision of the harvest. He has an expectation of reaping, and he is patient. He does not reach for the sickle when the seed begins to sprout and the blade comes up. He waits. It begins to bud and blossom. Still he waits. The fruit grows and comes to its proper fullness. But it is not yet ripe, so he keeps waiting and watching. When the fruit is fully ripe — now it is time, and he reaches for his harvesting tools.

Notice that puts in the sickle immediately. All the while he has been waiting, he has been watching, for he knows that the time of harvest, when it comes, comes suddenly, and there is a short window of opportunity to gather it in.

Many people have sowed their seed, but missed their harvest because they were not waiting or they were not watching. They either killed it off early, or else they were not aware or prepared when the time came to act. But the man in this parable was wise: He sowed, he waited, he watched, and then he quickly gathered the harvest.

That is what the kingdom of God is like. It is like a seed that we sow. If we will sow the seed, the kingdom of God will do the rest. Jesus said, “The earth yields crops by itself.” This has very much to do with the kingdom of God, for Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). The kingdom of God is His will being done on earth exactly as it is being done in heaven. The whole earth, all of creation, is waiting for this to happen. Paul said,

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. (Romans 8:19-22)

What is the seed that brings forth the kingdom of God? Jesus spoke of it earlier in Mark 4, in the parable of the sower. Explaining this parable to the disciples, He said, “The sower sows the word” (v. 14). This is the word that comes from God. Peter called the Word of God incorruptible seed “which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:23).

This incorruptible seed, this eternal Word, was present at the beginning of creation when God spoke the world into existence. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God” (Hebrews 11:3). Now all creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God — the people of God who will sow the seeds of His kingdom by taking His Word in their mouths and say, “Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Our job is to be faithful in sowing the seed, to believe the seed to do its work, to watch with patient expectation, and be ready to gather in the harvest.

Taking On Lent

Lent begins today, Ash Wednesday, six weeks before Easter Sunday. It is a time of repentance and preparation. The ashes on the first day of this season represent mourning over sin and the longing for holiness. In Lent, we remember the temptation of Christ in the wilderness and His journey to the Cross. We become aware of how Christ humbled himself and how God calls us, also, to humility as we participate in his redemptive purposes. We consider, also, what our own place of service and sacrifice is in his divine plan.

Lent concludes with Holy Week. On Palm Sunday, we think of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, knowing that soon he would be rejected by the Jewish leaders. The irony of this is subtly observed by the burning of this year’s palms to become next year's Lenten ashes.

Many Christians talk about what they are “giving up” for Lent. But that needs to be understood in the context of what we are taking on. That is, what am I willing to let go of so that I may accomplish the destiny God has for me? Jesus extends this invitation:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give your rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30)

Paul reckoned it this way:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

The forty days of Lent is an opportunity to enter again into the purpose, passion and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, and be made more like him.

There is Always Enough

WOW! Yesterday was the final day of the 2006 convening of International Apostolic Ministries (the body that ordained Suzanne and me). Heidi Baker, of Iris Ministries, ministered to us, morning and evening.

Heidi and her husband, Rolland Baker, minister to multitudes in Mozambique. They feed, clothe, and house the poor, preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ to them. They have seen countless miracles of provision and healing. Heidi's testimony is summed up by the title of her book: Always Enough (available at Amazon).

Heidi's a.m. message to us was on multiplication (as in Jesus feeding the 5,000). The take-away point that impressed itself upon me is that there is ALWAYS enough of everything--that's why Jesus came. If we will go to the Lord every day to eat and drink of Him, there will always be enough to love and take care of all those God has set before us.

Her p.m. message was that God wants us to be His house. If we will surrender everything to Him, He will come and fill us with Himself — the greatest treasure. That is our job: to let Him fill us. The position of ministers (and all His people are called to be His ministers) is this, to quote Heidi: "lower still."

Are you willing to come before your Father in heaven and let Him be your life, your purpose, your provision? That is what biblical faith is all about.

The Pleasure of God on Earth

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

This line is, of course, from the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer Jesus authorized us to pray. It is in the imperative mood; that is, it is a command: Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The Greek word for “will” has a semantic range which includes these meanings: determination, choice, purpose, inclination, decree, pleasure, desire, will.

So we might also pray this way:

• Determination of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Choice of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Purpose of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Inclination of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Decree of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Pleasure of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Desire of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We are authorized to announce God’s determinations and choices, to articulate His purposes, manifest His inclinations, and declare His decrees. To us is given the joy of calling for His pleasure and desire to be fulfilled on earth as they are in heaven.

The Lever of Commitment

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Recently, one of the pastors at our church was preaching the Sunday morning service. At one point in his message, he wanted to say something about “level of commitment.” But his tongue stumbled a bit and out came “lever of commitment.” He quickly recovered and move on with his sermon.

But I was caught by the profundity of his slip of the tongue: lever of commitment.

A lever is a simple machine, a tool that greatly multiplies the effect of your effort. It focuses your energy for greater efficiency and productivity. Leverage is a powerful thing. Archimedes said, “Give me a lever and a place to stand and I’ll move the world.”

Commitment brings a powerful leverage that can change the world. It is like a tiny seed that grows up to become a mighty tree. It is like a little bit of leaven that leavens the whole lump of dough. It is a patient expectation, a dogged perseverance, an endurance that does not quit until its objective is secured.

God is not looking for men of renown or great talent. He has talents and gifts in great abundance. But He is looking for those who are faithful (full of faith) upon whom He can bestow greatness.

Commitment is faith linked with perseverance — a mighty combination that can change the world. How is your lever of commitment?

Faith is a Conductor

Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”

When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”

But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from me.”

Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; you faith has made you well. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:43-48)

Faith is a conductor for the power of God. Many people must have brushed up against Jesus, as Peter suggested, but only one touched Him in faith. Matthew’s account records of this woman, “For she said to herself, ‘If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well’” (Matthew 9:21). This woman had faith and she knew how to release it: She called for what she desired, and believed in her heart that she would receive it. Then when she touched Jesus, she received what she believed.

When this woman released her faith, she received a great release of the power of God. She perceived this power when she realized that she had immediately been healed. Jesus Himself perceived that power had gone out of Him, and clearly said so. That is how He knew that someone had touched Him so distinctly in faith.

The Greek word for power is dunamis. It is the substance that went forth from Jesus’ body, through His garment and into the woman. It was the power of God, resident in the body of Jesus Christ, that healed this woman, but her faith was the conductor that laid hold of this mighty power and conveyed it from the body of Jesus into her own.

Now the power of God was available and more than sufficient for any and every need this woman might have had. It just so happens that, in her case, the great need was for healing. If her need had been different, her faith could have conducted the power of God in the same way to meet it. On a different occasion, Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).

When you learn how to activate your faith (see Mark 11:22-25), it will be a strong conductor for releasing the power of God, not only to meet every need in your life, but also to minister it to the lives of others.

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Healing Scriptures and Prayers
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

The Focus of Faith: God

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:22-23)

Some people focus on the mountain: so big, so high, so impossible. Some people focus on their faith: so small, so weak, so inadequate.

But Jesus teaches us to focus on God. Before He ever talks about moving mountains, He simply says, “Have faith in God.” Faith apart from God is meaningless. True, biblical faith comes from God. Before we can operate in faith, we must focus on God, and have the kind of faith that comes from Him.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God Romans 10:17). Let that faith fill your heart to overflowing by hearing the Word, speaking the Word, meditating on the Word. Then you will be ready to speak to the mountain and see it move.

If you want to move mountains, here is what to do: Don’t focus on the mountain. Don’t even focus on your faith. Focus on God.

Choosing for Your House

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15)

Joshua made his choice. He made it not only for himself, but for his family and all who were in his house. Such is the authority and power of inheritance. Such is the authority and power of a father. Everything we do, every decision we make, will have great influence upon the direction and destiny of our family.

Adam learned this the hard way. When he chose to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he established the destiny for all his sons and daughters who would come after him. Ever since then, the whole world has experienced both good and evil, agonizing to sort between the two, and suffering the unintended consequences of Adam’s rebellion. Fortunately, God had a plan for redemption, which would come through the family line of Adam and Eve. We read the first mention of this promise in Genesis 3:16. Adam and Eve received this good news by faith, and the possibility for salvation has also been passed down to all their generations.

We read of Noah’s decision:

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Hebrew 11:7)

Noah chose for his household when he decided to believe and obey the LORD, and his family was spared from destruction. Had he chosen differently, you and I would not be here.

God said of Abraham,

And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” (Genesis 18:17-19)

Abraham believed the promise made to him and his descendants. In fact, he believed even before he had any descendants. God was not choosing Abraham; He was establishing in Abraham a whole new household. When Abraham believed God, he was choosing not just for himself, but for all those who would come after him.

Isaac, son of Abraham, chose to believe the covenant, and he passed it on to his sons.

Jacob, son of Isaac, chose to receive the covenant. At Bethel, he wrestled with God until God blessed him. Then in his old age, Jacob gathered his sons together and passed the blessing on to them (see Genesis 49). From him came the twelve tribes of Israel, and from one of them, Judah, came the promised Messiah.

The Old Testament is full of examples where one person’s decision established the destiny for their household. In the New Testament, also, we read of:

• Cornelius. He obeyed the vision of God which instructed him to send for Peter. Peter came and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to Cornelius’ entire household. “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the Word” (Acts 10:44). Then they were all baptized in the name of the Lord (v. 48).
• Lydia. “Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay’” (Acts 16:14-15).
• The Philippian Jailer. He cried out, “What must I do to be saved.” Paul and Silas said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). They preached to him and all his house and ended up baptizing every one of them. “Now, when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household” (v. 34). The jailer’s decision brought salvation to all his house. But what if he had gone through with his original plan to kill himself?
• Stephanas. Paul said, “Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas” (1 Corinthians 1:16). Stephanas’ decision to receive Christ opened the door for salvation to come to his whole household.
• Onesiphorus. Paul wrote, “Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus” (2 Timothy 4:19). The faith Onesiphorus had permeated his household so much that Paul greets them along with the rest of the church under Timothy’s leadership.
• Lois and Eunice. Paul said to Timothy, “I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also” ( 2 Timothy 1:5). The choice Lois made carried through to her daughter, and even influenced the destiny of her grandson, Timothy.

Be encouraged. The choice you make to honor the LORD will greatly influence the destiny of your entire household for the good. Choose wisely.

Heaven Now

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:20)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

Growing up in church, and even in Bible college, I had the impression that these sayings about heaven were only for when I died. Yes, I was laying up treasure for myself, as Jesus said, but I didn’t expect to see one bit of it before I kicked off of this planet. Yes, I was blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies, but that was for later, not for now.

Now, perhaps that is what I was taught, or perhaps that was what I picked out by my own feeble understanding. I won’t blame my teachers and professors, although, looking back, there was an awful lot of that weak tea going around. But I will blame it on the deceptions of the devil.

It was supposed to be an encouragement to me to know that I had all these treasures and blessings waiting for me “in the sweet, by and by.” But other than that, they seemed to have no practical value to me in the mixed-up here and now. There was a saying that used to go around (and probably still does in some circles): “He’s so heavenly-minded that he’s no earthly good.” What we were meant to glean from that aphorism is that you better not be thinking about heaven too much if you want to get anything done on earth.

How utterly ridiculous!

I have since come to realize that, until I get my head firmly stuck in heaven and my mind solidly established in the spiritual realm, I won’t be able to accomplish anything at all worth keeping. Paul said,

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

Heaven is precisely where our minds are supposed to be focused. Why? Because that is where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of the Father — and that is exactly where we are, hidden with Christ in God. Paul makes this even more explicit in Ephesians 2:4-6.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Think this through: God the Father is seated in heaven on His throne, where He rules and reigns forever. Jesus Christ the Son is seated there also by His side, where He rules and reigns forever. Not only that, but every believer in Jesus Christ has been made alive, raised up and is now seated together in Jesus in the heavenlies. If we are seated with Jesus (and the Bible says that we are), then we are seated on the throne with Him. And what do you do on the throne? You rule and reign. That is, we rule and reign with the Lord Jesus Christ — not sometime off in the future when we die or are raptured out of here, but right now. Today. This moment.

That is why we need to get our mind into heaven, to understand our identity in Christ, to understand the authority and power God has given us to make His kingdom known on earth.

• The treasures we lay up for ourselves in heaven are not for the sake of heaven but for the sake of earth. We won’t need them in heaven, but we do need them here and now, to bring forth the kingdom of heaven on earth.
• Every spiritual blessing we have been given in the heavenlies is for our use now, to fulfill God’s purpose through His people. The spiritual realm is not divorced from the natural realm, but is actually the source of the natural realm.
• The prayer Jesus taught us to pray, “Kingdom of God, come. Will of God be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” is for now. If we’re going to call for the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven, then we better be able to see what’s going on in heaven.
  

The kingdom of God is breaking through into this present age. Jesus said,

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. (Matthew 11:12 NIV)

The kingdom of heaven is not static, it is dynamic. It is forcefully advancing upon the earth. That is why we must have our focus firmly fixed on heaven, not because that is where we are going, but because it is breaking forth into our world.

We need to change our perspective. We are not the last team out, waiting for the Big Airlift to extract us from this old, sinful world. No, we are an insertion team, an advance unit heralding the kingdom of God, bringing the power and authority of heaven to bear on the problems of the planet and establishing the rule and reign of God on the earth. It is a “can’t lose” situation, for at the end of the book of Revelation, we see heaven and earth coming together as one. That is where all things are headed, but for the believer in Jesus Christ, heaven is now.

Understanding Things Not Seen

But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)

There are things that are seen, and things that are not seen. It is important to see with your eyes — thank God for them — but it is even more important to see with your spirit. That is, to see the deep things of God which are revealed to us by His Spirit.

The things which are not seen are eternal.

We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal … For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 4:18; 5:7)

Everything you see with your physical eyes is only temporary. Only that which cannot be seen will endure. How much better to set your focus on that which will last than on that which will not, to walk by faith, not by sight.

The things which are not seen are evidenced by faith.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is the substance, the underlying reality, of things not seen but which we fully expect to see. Though these things are not seen, they are made evident to our spirit by faith.

The things which are not seen frame the visible world.

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

God is invisible. He is Spirit, and it is by His Words, words of His Spirit, that all things were created. To see only with physical eyes is to deal only with effects. To get down to cause and origin and source, you must learn to see in the spiritual realm, to understand by faith.

The things which are not seen must finally be reckoned with.

By faith, Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household. (Hebrews 11:7)

Had Noah not paid attention to that which is unseen, he would not have prepared an ark, and we would not be here today.

The things which are not seen give us the proper understanding of reality.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

The Old Testament saints had many wonderful promises from God. They did not experience them in the natural, but saw them “afar off” in the spirit. Their hearts were thus properly oriented to the reality that their lives were firmly rooted in things not seen. By their faith, properly focused on things not seen, they brought forth the promised fulfillment which came after them.

The things which are not seen require the perseverance of hope.

We also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. (Romans 8:23-25)

In the Bible, hope is a positive anticipation, a joyful expectation that everything God has said will come to pass. It is not seeing with the eyes, but seeing with the heart, seeing in the spirit. Everyone who has received the Lord Jesus Christ is a beneficiary of the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit. Though we have not yet seen all that God has promised, the Holy Spirit is the guarantee within us that it will all be fulfilled. It is this eager anticipation that causes us to persevere. For what is not now seen will one day be fully revealed.

The things which are not seen are revealed by faith in Jesus Christ.

Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father … He who has seen Me has seen the Father. (John 6:46; 14:9)

Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. (John 20:29)

Whom [Jesus Christ] having not seen, you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. (1 Peter 1:8)

No one has seen the Father except the Son, but if you have seen the Son, you have seen the Father. Though we do not now see Jesus Christ in the flesh, we are able to see Him, by faith, in the spirit. And seeing Him by faith, we see the Father.

The things which are not seen with our natural eyes are revealed to us in the spirit. Faith is the evidence.

Activating Your Faith

Whoever says to this mountain … (Mark 11:23)

The only one who can activate your faith is you. Faith comes from God, by hearing the Word of God, the Holy Spirit making it come alive inside you (Romans 10:17; 1 Corinthians 2:11-14). But it is activated by you, more particularly, by what you say. Jesus said,

Assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (Mark 11:23)

Notice that faith is expressed by what you say. This means that what you say must be in agreement with what you believe. That is how Jesus Himself activated faith. Notice that even in His statement, He is very aware of the act of saying: “Assuredly, I say to you.” The word “assuredly” means that He is speaking with utmost conviction. He is very consciously releasing His faith to the disciples.

The only one who can stop or hinder your faith is you. Many Christians, if they do manage to speak in accordance with the Word of God, often slip back into unbelief by speaking words of worry, doubt or fear. The devil has no power over you, but if he can get you to give voice to the lies he whispers in your ears, he can neutralize your faith. The answer, however, is to do what Jesus did when satan tempted Him in the wilderness — answer with the Word of God. The devil has no defense against that. Though he might try to twist the Scriptures on you, if you regular meditate on the Word and learn to discern your Father’s voice, you will not be fooled, just as Jesus wasn’t (see Matthew 4).

Once you activate your faith for something, it will work until it is fulfilled — unless you stop it. Remember the story of Jairus. He had great faith that Jesus could come to his house and heal his daughter. Jesus began to accompany him, but was stopped along the way by the faith of the woman with the issue of blood. Jairus might have let this become an offense, a stumbling-block to his faith, but he did not. However, when servants came from his house to inform him that his daughter was dead, his faith was in crisis, tested to the limit. When Jesus heard this, he immediately turned to Jairus and said, “Do not be afraid; only believe” (Mark 5:36).

Jairus had earlier activated his faith by declaring to Jesus, “Come and lay You hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live” (Mark 5:23). But now he had a choice to make: to continue to believe, or to let the report of his servants create fear and negate his faith. The decision he made is seen in the very next thing he said: nothing. He did not give voice to the doubt that was trying to grip his heart; he did not release words of anxiety; he did not short-circuit his faith with fear. He held firmly to his original activation of faith, “she will live,” and his daughter was restored to life.

What you do with your faith is up to you. It comes by hearing the Word of God; it is activated by the words of your mouth. Always speak in agreement with the Word and do not let fear attach to your words.

Everybody Gets What They Bargain For

Everybody gets what they bargain for, but not everyone will like what they get. Adam bargained for the knowledge of good and evil when he chose to eat of the forbidden tree. And he got exactly what he bargained for — ever since then, the world has known good and evil, and the whole place has been a wreck.

A choice that is truly free must have real consequences, or else the will only appears to be free. Many people proudly tout their free will but then try to deny the consequences. Or else they portray God as having somehow been unfair or cruel to them by delivering the corresponding judgment. But the judgment of God simply restores the equilibrium of righteousness. It sets things right, and that means consequences. The natural consequences for choosing the good are good; the consequences for choosing evil are evil (which is nothing more than the lack of good).

Everybody gets what they bargain for, but not everyone likes what they get. Here’s how Paul put it:

For the wrath of God is revealed form heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lust of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:18-25)

Paul has more to say about this matter in verses 26 and following. But my point here is that when people choose against the incorruptible glory of God, the only thing left is corruption. Having thus chosen corruption, God gives them over to that which they have chosen: corruption, which equals death, separation from the life God prepared for everyone to enjoy with Him. Though they freely choose the corruption, they rail against the natural results.

C. S. Lewis said that, in the end, there are only two kinds of people:

• Those who say to God, “Thy will be done.” And they enjoy the splendor of heaven.
• Those to whom God says, “Thy will be done.” And they experience the torment of hell.

Repentance is the opportunity to choose again and receive the offer of forgiveness and reconciliation God extends to us in Jesus Christ. You will not regret the consequence you receive from that decision.

The Table of Hope

“Fill me with hope, LORD,” I said.

“Come to My table,” He answered.

The Table of the Lord is the place where hope is renewed.

Moving Mountains By Faith Working Through Love

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. (Galatians 5:6)

Though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2)

The effectiveness of your faith will never rise above the level of your love. You might have faith enough to move mountains, but without love, it won’t matter one bit — you will probably be moving the wrong mountains.

Notice that both faith and love come from God:

Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 6:23)

They come to us in Jesus Christ:

And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1:14)

Love comes from God, for God is love (1 John 4:8). Trying to do things by faith without love is like trying to do things by faith without God.

Perhaps faith without love might get some things done, but it will not make any lasting contribution or bring positive change that endures. But when love gets involved, God gets involved — and that makes a world of difference.

Diligence and Blessing

He shall be like a tree
Plant by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in is season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

(Psalm 1:3)

This, of course, is speaking of the one who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of the mocker, but who delights in the instruction of the LORD and continually meditates on it. Whatever he does shall prosper.

In Deuteronomy 28, describing the blessings of keeping covenant with Yahweh, God puts it this way:

Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today … The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 28:1, 8)

This is a wonderful promise of prosperity. It belongs to Christians under the New Covenant as much as it belonged to Israel under the Old, for the New Covenant is called a better covenant, based upon better promises (Hebrews 8:6). It will not grant less than the Old Covenant, but more.

But these wonderful covenant promises are not all necessarily automatic, they must be appropriated. All Christians have these promises from God, but not all have laid claim to them and experienced the manifestation in their lives.

How do we lay hold of these promises? The answer, of course, is by faith. Faith is believing the promises of God. But it is not enough simply to believe, we must also speak and act in accordance with that faith and those promises. For it is the nature of faith to act. That is why James says that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). Paul said that faith works, or expresses itself through love.

Those who walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners and sit in the seat of the scornful are not the crowd who are going to be diligent in the things that bring true prosperity. They may connive and cheat and see some short-term gains, but these will quickly evaporate. And they certainly do not exercise faith working through love.

So the promise of God is that there is prosperity for everyone who delights in His Word and obeys His commands. He will command the blessing on all to which you set your hand. But notice, in the following verses, that diligence is part of His instruction to us.

He who has a slack hand becomes poor,
But the hand of the diligent makes rich. (Proverbs 10:4)

The hand of the diligent will rule,
But the lazy man will be put to forced labor. (Proverbs 12:24)

The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting,
But diligence is man’s precious possession. (Proverbs 12:27)

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. (Proverbs 13:4)

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5)

Do you see a man who excels in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before unknown men. (Proverbs 22:29)

Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,
And attend to your herds;
For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations. (Proverbs 27:23-24)

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

The Hebrew word translated as “diligent” generally means to be incisive or sharp. We might say “on the ball.” It is active, it is timely, it is decisive. It is quick to act, but not without due consideration, to take care of the things that ought to be taken care of. Another word means to be skillful, to excel. Such excellence requires that one be ready and steady in their effort. The word for “diligent” in Proverbs 27:23 is actually the word for “know” used twice, reflecting a Hebrew idiom for emphatic action. The idea in this verse is to do all you can to keep up with what’s going on in your affairs, or your prosperity can easily slip away.

The promise of God does not mean that we can let diligence go by the wayside. On the other hand, we should not put our trust in diligence. Rather, the promise of God is the assurance that, if we will be diligent we will be successful and prosperous in whatever we do. So have faith in the promise and in faith bring forth diligence.

Established in Heaven and Earth

Forever, O LORD,
Your Word is settled in heaven.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
You established the earth, and it abides.

(Psalm 119:89-90)

Whatever God settles in heaven is established on the earth. Everything — everything — is established by the Word of God. Whatever God says endures, it abides forever. It is what His faithfulness is about. God means everything He says; He believes it and fully expects it to be completely fulfilled.

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

The worlds were framed by the Word of God. The word for “world” literally means “ages,” but by implication refers to everything that exists. The word for “framed” means to be perfectly joined together, thoroughly completed and brought into order. In other words, everything that exists was perfectly joined together, thoroughly completed and brought into order by the Word of God.

God’s Word embodies His thoughts and His ways.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways my ways,” says the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain comes down,
And the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater;
So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

(Isaiah 55:8-11)

Whatever God says in heaven shall be accomplished, completely fulfilled on the earth.

Everyone who has received the Lord Jesus Christ and become His disciple has the authority to speak the Word of God on earth and expect to see it come to pass.

Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:18-20)

In the Greek text, the grammatical sense of “will be bound” and “will be loosed” is that whatever we bind or loose on earth will have already been bound or loosed in heaven. This is about the Word of God, for nothing can be established in heaven contrary to the will of God, and the will of God is expressed by the Word of God.

We bind and loose things on earth by speaking the truth of the Word of God. When we agree together on earth, we must be in agreement with the Word of God, and then it will be done for us by our Father in heaven. Our authority is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the perfect expression of the will and Word of God. When we gather in His name — that is, for His purposes, to act as He would act and ask as He would ask — we have His authority to bring earth into line with heaven.

Remember also that Jesus taught His disciples to pray “Our Father … Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Whatever the Word of God has established in heaven, we can call for it to be established on the earth.

As you read and feed on the Word of God, pay close attention to how it expresses His will in heaven. For as a believer in Jesus Christ, you have every right to call for and expect to see His will done on earth in the same way. Let the Word fill your hearing and your heart (that is how faith comes, Romans 10:17), then begin to pray as Jesus taught. Don’t be afraid to get specific, but target every need you see with what God has said about it in His Word. For His Word, even in your mouth, will fully accomplish His will.

Is It Always Right to Forgive?

Many Christians believe that they don’t have to forgive someone else until they apologize. In fact, some Christians even think it would be wrong to forgive someone else until they apologize. They use Luke 17:3-4 to argue their point:

Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, “I repent,” you shall forgive him.

But what they miss is that Jesus is not, at this moment, focusing on the offender’s need to repent; He is addressing the disciples and their need to forgive. “Take heed to yourselves,” He says. Regardless of what someone else may have done against us, the point of greatest concern is not whether they have repented, but whether we have forgiven.

Our forgiveness of others is not based on whether they repent. Iit is based on faith. The disciples realized what Jesus was calling them to do, for they said, “Lord, increase our faith” (v. 5). It is at that point that Jesus spoke to them about faith as a mustard seed.

On another occasion, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I do not say up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22). Notice again that Jesus’ focus was not on the repentance of the offender but on the forgiveness of the disciples.

In another place, in a teaching on prayer and faith, Jesus said, “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him” (Mark 11:25). Our forgiveness is not conditioned on whether the offender has repented, but whether we have anything against anyone (these parameters are pretty inclusive). If we do, then our duty is clear: we must forgive.

Jesus said, “Love your enemies and bless them.” How can you love your enemies without extending forgiveness to them? How can you bless them, if you are unforgiving? But if they are your enemies, they have not yet repented and apologized, or else they would no longer be at enmity with you. Yet, Jesus tells us to love them anyway. Not only to love them, but to bless them, as well. That requires forgiveness.

That is how Jesus Himself lived, all the way to the end. When He was being nailed to the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Here were the enemies of Jesus, putting Him to death. Not only were they not apologetic, they did not even realize what they were doing. There was no repentance or compunction in them. Yet, Jesus cried out to the Father to forgive them.

Or consider Stephen. He was stoned by the synagogue council for teaching and preaching Jesus. As he lay dying, he cried out to the Father, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” His last words were forgiveness for those who were in still in the act of killing him. They had no repentance, showed no remorse, offered no apology.

It is always right to forgive others, to love your enemies and bless them — even if they have not repented. In fact, it is required of all who would be disciples of Jesus.

My Mouth Shall Not Transgress

You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
You have tried me and have found nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

Concerning the works of men,
By the Word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.

(Psalm 17:3-4)

Here again is the heart/mouth connection. David set his heart before the Lord and purposed that his mouth would not transgress. It is important that we establish our heart upon the right things, but it is just as important that we align our words with the right things.

David made a determination that he would not overstep the boundaries by the words of his mouth, but that he would line his mouth up with the Word of God, for it was by the Words of God’s lips that David was able to avoid the path of the destroyer. Not only did the Word keep David from walking that path himself, it also kept him from crossing that path — and so he was kept from destruction.

David purposed, therefore, that he would not speak anything contrary to the Word of God. If you want to walk a successful and prosperous path, you must determine that you will not transgress with your lips, but that you will speak in agreement with the Words of God’s lips.

Set your heart on the Word of God, then when your mouth speaks out of the overflow of your heart, it will keep you from destruction and bring forth the creative power of God into your life. For the Word of God not only reveals things, it also causes things to be.

What Does It Cost to Change the World?

Everything! But it is well worth the price.

Small Things Change the World

Do not despise these small beginnings. (Zechariah 4:10 NLT)

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven. (Matthew 13:33)

If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move form here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible. (Matthew 17:20)

This is how the world works. Everything begins as a seed, a bit of leaven, seemingly small and insignificant. Consider the Creation, for example: God spoke a little word and the worlds were framed.

Mathematicians have developed an explanation to address how the world hinges on small beginnings. It is called Chaos Theory, “sensitive dependence upon initial conditions.” The classic paradigm is that the beating of a butterfly’s wings in Beijing can affect the weather patterns over Central Park in New York.

Bankers and investment counselors expound on the miracles of compound interest, the snowballing effect of a little bit of interest accumulating over time.

In the beginning, God created a man and a woman and gave them this amazing assignment: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion” (Genesis 1:28). Quite a job description for the very first couple, and yet eminently doable in the providence of God.

Jesus said “The kingdom of God is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened” (Matthew 13:33). The leaven, though very small, eventually works throughout all the dough. The kingdom of God works in the same way.

Jesus also compared the kingdom to a mustard seed, “which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches” (Matthews 13:31-32).

Faith, too, is like a mustard seed, He said. A little bit goes a long way — if you plant it. Mountains move. In fact, Jesus made a statement so startling that we gloss over it as hyperbole, but it is not. He said, “Nothing will be impossible!”

We don’t really need to understand how it happens, we just need to know that it happens. Jesus said,

The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come. (Mark 4:26-29)

Have you ever noticed in a vegetable garden, how a gardener will often take the empty seed packet and put it on a stake at the end of the row? Carrots, cabbage, peas. Why does he do that? It is not for the benefit of the seed, but simply to help him keep track of what is planted where. The seed already knows what it is, and that is how it will come up, regardless of how the rows are marked.

The seed carries its destiny within itself, and the soil knows what to do with it. Our job is simply to be faithful — full of faith — to sow the seed. In its proper time, it will begin to breakthrough the soil, to grow and develop, to bud and blossom and bring forth fruit. When the fruit ripens, there is harvest — much greater than the seed that was sown.

Start small, finish big. Take your faith and plant it. Speak the Word of God over you life, over your world. Believe the leaven and watch it work. Scatter your seed freely. The world waits in sensitive dependence upon the initial conditions of your heart, so turn your heart in faith to the Lord, and nothing will be impossible.

Looking for Breakthrough

One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek;
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD
And to inquire in His temple.

(Psalm 27:4)

The Hebrew word for “inquire” is baqar. Literally, it means to plough, but generally it means to “break forth” in the sense of searching and seeking out. Other versions have:

• To visit early in His Temple. (Jewish Publication Society Bible)
• To meditate, consider and inquire in His Temple. (Amplified Bible)
• Getting wisdom in His Temple. (Bible in Basic English)
• I’ll study at His feet. (The Message Bible)
  

David was in a tough position, completely surrounded by his enemies. An angry army was encamped around him and fierce war was being pitched against him (v. 3). False witnesses opposed him, hostile voices breathing out violence (v. 12). David was in serious need of breakthrough in his situation, and that required a breakthrough in his spirit, to break forth with an intense focus on the LORD.

Perhaps this was the occasion we read about in 1 Chronicles 14. David had just been established at Jerusalem as king over Israel. When the Philistines got word of this, they came looking to oppose him. David went out against them. The Philistines made the first move and raided the Valley of Rephaim. (vv. 8-9). Then in verse 10, we read,

And David inquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hand?” The LORD said to him, “Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand.”

The word for “inquire” here is shalal and means to ask, beg, borrow, and on occasion, even to demand. It is an earnest request. God answered and released David into victory:

So they went up to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there. Then David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of waters.” Therefore they called the name of that place Baal Perazim. (v. 11)

“Baal Perazim” means “Master of Breakthroughs.” When David broke through and focused himself on the LORD, the LORD broke through his enemies in a mighty way.

One final encounter remained in this battle, for afterward, the Philistines made another raid on the valley (v. 13). This was a fresh battle and required a fresh word from the LORD. Yesterday’s breakthrough is no assurance of today’s victory.

Therefore David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; circle around them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” So David did as God commanded him, and they drove back the army of the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer. Then the fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations. (v.v. 14-17)

This was the final triumph over the Philistines, and it happened because David broke through and inquired once more of the LORD. God went forth before Him, then David went forth in God’s footsteps and appropriated the victory.

If you want to breakthrough to a place in your life you have never been before, you must breakthrough to God in a way you have never done before. You must come to the place in your life where you realize that it is all about God and that true and lasting success will never come to you apart from Him. Then seek Him with all your heart. Get in His presence and lay claim to His promise and provision with single-minded focus. Let no other words fill your heart but His, and He will lead you to complete victory.

How to Cast Your Cares

Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

Some people “drown their sorrows” in alcohol when they encounter difficulties in their life. Some people chain-smoke to “calm their nerves.” Others, when things are not going well, head to the refrigerator for “comfort food.”

God has a better idea. Instead of drowning your sorrows, cast all your cares on Him. The Greek word for “cast” means to fling, toss, hurl in a sudden motion.

There are two different Greek words for “care” in this verse. The first one refers to the distractions and anxieties of life that so often eat away at us, sapping our strength and destroying our peace of mind. These are the cares we are to quickly heave over onto Him.

The second word for care speaks of the interest or concern one person has for another person or thing. God has a great interest and concern for us and our well-being. He invites us to freely cast all our worries and concerns upon Him, for He desires to manifest His love and grace, and take care of us in every way. Those things that are anxious distractions to us are no problem for Him. He is not distracted or overwhelmed at all by them, but has already prepared the solution for each one.

Whenever care or concern comes into your heart, take it quickly to Him. Let it be no more on you, but totally upon Him. He can cope. Nothing is too big for Him to handle or too small for Him to care.

Here are some practical ways to cast your cares on Him:

1. Humble yourself before God. That is the point of the verse immediately preceding the one we are considering. “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). Realize that it is all about Him and not about you. Quickly yield yourself to Him in every matter and abandon yourself completely to His will, for that is exactly where your solution will be found. Give yourself to Him and say, “Yes, Lord” and “Thank You, Lord.”

2. Trust in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has a promise to the righteous: “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). And who are the righteous? All who receive the Lord Jesus Christ. “For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

3. Keep your thoughts focused on the LORD. The prophet understood the importance of this. He said, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). Whatever you focus on is what you will become dependent upon. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

4. Do not speak words of worry. Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ (Matthew 6:31). Notice that worry is exercised and expressed by what we say. Jesus says don’t do it. Worry is meditating on the lies of the devil. When we speak words of worry, we are giving voice to the thoughts of the enemy. It will do nothing to solve your problem, but will only increase the burden of your heart.

5. Speak only words of faith. It is not enough just to refrain from words of worry, although that will help keep your situation from deteriorating. You must go a step further and replace words of worry with words of faith. Jesus told Jairus, “Do not be afraid, only believe” (Luke 8:50). Notice the declaration of the psalmwriter: “I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust” (Psalm 91:2). Just as worry and fear are exercised by our words, the same thing is true of faith. Jesus said, “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:23). Search out the promises of God’s Word. Let them fill your heart and mouth, then speak them over everything that concerns you.

When troublesome thoughts and cares try to enter your heart, don’t drown your sorrows. Instead, cast them quickly upon the Lord, for He will not allow you be moved, but will sustain and establish you.

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Keeping the Faith When Things Get Tough
Peter’s Letter to Jesus Believers Scattered Everywhere
Bite-Sized Studies Through First Peter
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Remembering the Benefits at the Table of the Lord

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits.

(Psalm 103:2)

Do this in remembrance of Me. (Luke 22:19)

The other day, as I went to Table of the Lord, He put me in mind of Psalm 103. I had actually begun meditating on another psalm at the time when 103 entered unbidden into my thoughts. So I went with it.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

(Psalm 103:1-5)

Remembering. That is what the Lord’s Table is about. It is a continuing sign of covenant. When Jesus took the cup, He said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). “This do as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:25).

The making of covenant is the shedding of blood, but the essence of covenant is in exchange: He gives me all that is His; I give Him all that is mine. Isaiah shows us a vivid picture of the exchange Jesus the Messiah made for us:

Surely He has borne our griefs [literally “sicknesses”]
And carried our sorrows [literally “pains”];
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted [as if for His own account]

But He was wounded for our transgression,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

(Isaiah 53:4-6)

In the New Testament, Paul tells us that

He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. He took our sicknesses and pains and gave us His healing. He took our chastisement and gave us the wholeness of His shalom (His peace). He took our poverty and gave us His riches. These are benefits that belong to us in the new covenant which is in His blood.

Now, it is true that, as many have said, we seek not the gift, but the Giver. So we come to the Table of the Lord in remembrance of the Benefactor. But it is also quite appropriate to remember the benefits Jesus came to give us. He went to the Cross that we might receive and enjoy all the elements of salvation. It would be rude and ungrateful of us to neglect that for which Jesus gave His body and shed His blood.

The Table of the Lord, therefore, is a powerful opportunity to remember the work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the Cross and apply the benefits.

• If you have sinned, it is an opportunity to confess and receive forgiveness and cleansing.
• If you are sick, it is an opportunity to receive healing.
• If you are in the bondage of addictions, emotional or mental confusions, demonic influences, or other strongholds, it is an opportunity to receive deliverance and freedom.
• If you are in need of guidance, it is an opportunity to receive the wisdom of God.
• If you are in need of finances or other resources, it is an opportunity to receive the provision of the Lord. He will satisfy your mouth (your desires) with good things.
• If you are in need of renewal and refreshing, it can be found at the Table.
  

Paul said, “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). The Table of the Lord is the witness of the exchange made at the Cross. It speaks to us of the victory Jesus won and the provision of God poured out for us.

Come often to the Table of the Lord and remember all His benefits. As you come, bring all the concerns of your life and let them be dealt with by the promises of God and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which cries out on your behalf. Then go forth, walking confidently in the victory He has won for you.

A Remarkable Clarity of Spirit

Someone recently directed me to the website dedicated to a young man whose life shined with the glory of Jesus Christ. Johnny Chase struggled with cancer, losing a leg to that foul thing, but always rejoicing in God. He passed away in the very early hours of December 22, 2005. He was sixteen. Here is the notice posted at the website by his father:

John died this morning. For some reason Laura and I couldn’t sleep so we sat up and dozed on and off in the living room with John. He was sleeping more soundly than usual and suddenly he woke up bright and excited and said, “I’m going home now. It’s awesome. I’m going to be with Jesus.” He was so happy about it. Then he fell into a restless sleep and died peacefully several hours later. God is so merciful.

It was a remarkable clarity of the spirit he experienced as he prepared for Home. This same sort of testimony can be found over and over concerning the home-going of the saints. It is the same clarity of the spirit that we who know the Lord Jesus ought always to have while we are still on this planet. For we are born from above, our citizenship is from above, and we are presently seated in Christ Jesus in the throne room of heaven. Jesus taught us to pray, “Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven!” So we certainly ought to be able to see in the spirit what is going on there. It is that clarity of the spirit which, I believe, God intends when He tells us so often in Scripture, “Behold!” Johnny Chase was beholding.

 Learn to behold the things of the spiritual realm.

Either Way—Forgive!

Someone asked my grandmother, when thoughts of offenses they received in the past come to mind, is it God or is it the devil who is reminding them? My grandmother replied, “Who cares? Either way, the answer is to forgive.”

Exactly right!

If God is bringing it to mind, it is because we need to forgive. If it is the devil bringing it to mind, it is because he wants to ensnare us in thoughts of how we were so terribly mistreated. He wants to entangle us in feelings of past hurts and keep us offended. For offense is a stumbling-block, and when we are offended, we are tripped up — unable to move forward. So if it is indeed the devil reminding us of past offenses, we can short-circuit his plan by forgiving — and moving on.

As often as the thought of past offenses comes up in your heart, forgive.

(See also Don’t Let the devil Outsmart You.)

When You Learn How to Hear, You Will Know What to Say

The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of disciples,
That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens me morning by morning,
He awakens my hear ear to listen as a disciple.

(Isaiah 50:4 NASB)

This is discipleship, to hear what the Lord is saying, and to speak in agreement with him. Jesus is the prime example, and this was His modus operandi:

For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak. (John 12:49-50)

Jesus spoke only what He heard the Father saying. He was listening in the Spirit, hearing what is going on in the spiritual realm. This is important because the natural, physical realm comes forth from and is fully dependent upon the spiritual. For God is Spirit (John 4:20) and He created the heavens and the earth. What is more, He did it by His words (Hebrews 11:3).

If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you have the same capacity to listen in the Spirit, to hear what the Father is saying, for you have been born again by the Holy Spirit:

For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches. (1 Corinthians 2:11-13)

You have the ability to hear the Shepherd, for Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27).

You also have the ability to hear the Word of God, for that is how the Holy Spirit ministers faith to your spirit. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).

Jesus said that it is out the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). When you hear the Word of God and faith begins fill your heart to overflowing, you will find that what comes out of your mouth will be faith-filled words — and that is the ability to move mountains. Jesus said to His disciples:

Have faith in God. For assuredly I say to you, whoever says t this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (Mark 11:22-23).

In this verse, to have faith in God literally means to have faith of God, and that comes by hearing the Word of God.

When you learn how to hear the Word of God, you will know what to say. Let it fill your heart to overflowing, then you will have both the words and the faith to speak to mountains, and you will know how to sustain the weary one with a word. This was how Jesus operated, this is how He taught His disciples to operate, this is how you and I are to operate.

Inheritance is the Heart of Ministry

Reading in The Order of a Son by Mark Hanby:

Only those who understand and follow biblical father/son relationship can comprehend the generation of Christ that will bring the appearing of Jesus to the world. Only those who understand the absolute necessity of replicating their ministries in future generations will be able to pass on inheritance. (p.15)

We in ministry should not be marking the effectiveness of our ministries by what we have been able to accomplish but by whether or not we have been able to successfully pass down the inheritance, given by God, to the next generation… What God is doing cannot be completed in any one generation. (p. 15)

It is not too strong of a statement to say that a ministry that fails to pass on inheritance to sons is a ministry that has failed to complete its purpose in Christ. (p. 18)

The heart of ministry must be turned toward raising sons and passing on inheritance. (p. 31)

Exactly! God always works through inheritance, and inheritance always involves the father/son relationship. God brings us sons, in the spirit and in the natural, so that we may pass on to them the inheritance He has given to us.

(Note: This is not about gender but about generation. See also The Hearts of the Fathers and God Works Through Fathers.)

The Beginning of Joy

“You'll never realize Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you've got.”

~ Mother Teresa

Someone else said,

• Brokenness is realizing that Jesus is all you have.
• Hope is realizing that Jesus is all you need.
• Joy is realizing that Jesus is all you want.
  

Following that logic, brokenness is the beginning of joy.

If you have come through brokenness to the place of hope, realizing that Jesus is all you need, why not enter into the fullness of joy and let Him be all you desire?

The Mystery of Godliness

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.

(1 Timothy 3:16)

Paul presents us with a powerful confession of faith concerning the “mystery of godliness.” The Greek word for “without controversy” literally means “confessedly.” To confess means to agree, to say the same thing. What Paul presents is what the apostles taught and what the Church has confessed from the beginning.

A mystery is a secret God is revealing to His people, and through His people to the world. The mystery of godliness is the revelation of what the Christian faith is about. Paul presents it in six phrases.

• “God was manifested in the flesh.” This is the mystery of the Incarnation, the revelation of God in human flesh. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
• “Justified in the Spirit.” Though He was in manifested in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ was vindicated in the Spirit. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:17-21; Acts 10:38). Paul opens his letter to the Romans with this two-fold mystery of flesh and spirit: “Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:3-4).
• “Seen by angels.” Angels attended and announced both the incarnation and the resurrection of Jesus. They were present to minister to Jesus after the temptation in the wilderness. The author of Hebrews demonstrates the superiority of Jesus, Son of God, over the angels of God. Angels are not to be worshipped as some false teachers taught (this was one of the errors Paul addressed in his letter to the Colossians). Rather, Jesus is worshipped by the angels. When He ascended to the throne of heaven, angels surrounded Him. Peter said that the angels greatly desire to look into the mystery of the Gospel, the Christian faith (1 Peter 1:12).
• “Preached among the Gentiles.” The Greek word for “Gentiles” is ethnos. The coming of Jesus the Messiah was not just for the Jews, but for the whole world — every tribe, every tongue, every ethnic group — the nations. Peter learned the depth of this mystery in Acts 10, when He was sent to Cornelius, a Roman who reverenced the God of the Jews. Paul understood His own calling to be especially to the non-Jews, apostle to the nations.
• “Believed on in the world.” These mysteries of the Spirit are very improbable to our natural perceptions, which have been turned upside down by the deceptions of the evil one and the bondage of sin. And yet, Light entered the world and blind eyes have been enabled to see by the proclaiming of the mystery, the preaching of the Gospel. “Faith comes by hearing,” Paul says, “and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).
• “Received up in glory.” Forty days after His resurrection, the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven and was received up into glory. The kingdom of God has broken into the world, and the King has taken His rightful place on the throne of heaven to reign in glory forever as Lord of heaven and earth. Paul tells us that every believer in Jesus Christ is now seated together with Him in that heavenly dimension (Ephesians 2:6).

These mysteries have been revealed for our benefit, that we may fully enter into the life Jesus came to give us. They demonstrate the depths of God’s grace toward us. Good works do not bring us to this place. Godliness is not primarily what we do but what we receive by faith in Jesus Christ. And so we are changed.

The Mystery of Glory

I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the Word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God has willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:25-27)

Paul is speaking again of the stewardship of the mysteries of God. This stewardship is not earned, but given as a matter of grace. The mystery of God has to do with the Word of God: The Word reveals the mystery; the mystery fulfills the Word.

In the Bible, a mystery is a secret that God is revealing to His people. We cannot reason our way to the mysteries. They must be revealed to us, and that is what God has done, by His Word and Spirit.

The mysteries of God are revealed expressly to His saints. But don’t misunderstand. Saints are not some sort of super-duper spiritual guys. In the Bible, a saint is one who has been sanctified. To be sanctified simply means to be “set apart.” We receive it by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a saint; God has set you apart for His own wonderful purposes.

Now God’s plan is not only to reveal these mysteries to His saints, but through His saints as well. He has chosen to make known the glory of this mystery among all the tribes, ethnic groups and nations of the world (the Greek word for “Gentile” is ethnos).

But what is the rich and glorious mystery God has chosen to release through us to the nations? It is:

Christ in you, the hope of glory.

“Christ” is the equivalent of the Hebrew Messiah. That is, He is the One Anointed by God to remove the burdens and destroy the yokes of sin and all its oppressions. The promise of Messiah was first revealed to Israel, but He comes not only for the Jews, but for all the nations of the world. And so He is revealed to the whole world by the people of God.

What is the “hope of glory?” Hope is positive expectation, joyful anticipation. Glory is the manifestation of God’s greatness and goodness. The hope of glory is the joyful anticipation of the greatness and goodness of God being fully and completely revealed in all the nations.

It is only in Jesus the Anointed that we have this positive expectation of fullness. When we receive the Lord Jesus Christ, God seals us with His Spirit, who is the “down payment” of our inheritance, the guarantee that we will experience the fullness of His glory (Ephesians 1:13). Paul said, “Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but them I shall know just as I also am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

God does not keep Himself hidden, but reveals Himself to His people, and through His people to the nations. We are stewards of His mysteries, until His glory is fully made known to all the world. Let us therefore be full of faith to believe His promises, and they will come abundantly into manifestation.

(See also Stewards of the Mysteries of God .)

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The Focus of Our Faith
Paul’s Letters to the Jesus Believers at Colosse
Bite-Size Studies Through Colossians
by Jeff Doles

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Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Stewards of the Mysteries of God

Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. (1 Corinthians 4:1)

We are stewards of the mysteries of God, mysteries of His kingdom. Jesus said to the disciples, “It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 13:11.

In the Bible, a mystery is a secret that God is revealing to His people. God reveals these mysteries to us by His Word, by His Spirit, and finally, by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

These mysteries were first revealed to Jesus’ disciples, whom He sent out as apostles, and later to Paul. They were all stewards of these mysteries. The job of a steward is to properly distribute that which has been given into his care.

And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?” (Luke 12:42)

Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” (Matthew 13:52)

Not only were Jesus’ disciples privileged to know these mysteries, but they were also given authority and power to bring them forth, to proclaim and demonstrate them to the world.

By extension, it has likewise been given to us to be stewards of these same mysteries, for Jesus commissioned His disciples to teach us everything He taught them (Matthew 28:19-20). As they were stewards of these mysteries toward us, we, in turn, are to be stewards of these mysteries toward others.

Paul said, “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” Then he added, “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). As stewards of the mysteries of God, we need to be faithful — that is, full of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). God is looking for us to believe these mysteries, to speak and act according to them. For these mysteries make Jesus known in our lives, and by our lives, to the world.

If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you are in the privileged position of being His servant, and a steward of the mysteries of God. You have been given authority and power to reveal His glory and release His love, through bold witness, and through signs, wonders and miracles, declaring the kingdom of God.

Hear a Just Cause, O Yahweh

Hear a just cause, O LORD. (Psalm 17:1)

David is the psalm writer here. He is crying out to God for justice. The word for “just” can also be translated as “righteous.”

“Hear a righteous cause, O LORD.” David is calling on the God of Covenant. The name “LORD” (all caps) signifies the Hebrew Yahweh, the personal name of God and the name by which He entered into covenant with His people. David has a complaint, a situation that needs to be set right, and He is calling on God to fulfill the provisions of the covenant on His behalf.

Now, God is not bothered by these complaints, not one tiny bit. In fact, He delights in them, for it means that the petitioner is taking His promises seriously. That requires faith, and faith greatly pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). God wants us to bring every unjust situation before Him so that He can set it right. Isaiah gives us a good example of this. The LORD says,

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

(Isaiah 62:6-7)

God made promises concerning Jerusalem, and He established watchmen who were to come before Him night and day to bring those promises before Him continually. They were to “get in His face” with the provisions of His Word.

That was under the Old Testament covenant. But now we have a new and better covenant, based upon even better promises. This new covenant is mediated to us by Jesus Christ.

But now, He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. (Hebrews 8:6)

The blood of Jesus cries out on our behalf. The author of Hebrews says that we have now come “to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things that that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24).

In Genesis, after he was murdered, Abel’s blood cried out to God. God spoke to Cain and said, “What have you done? For the voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). The blood of Abel had a voice and it cried out to God for justice.

(Notice also that this blood cried out from the very ground on which Abel was murdered. Even the land itself must have justice before God. But that is a discussion for another day.)

In the same way, the blood of Jesus has a voice and cries out to God on our behalf, to bring us the justice He established for us in the New Covenant. In fact, this New Covenant is established in His blood. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus took the cup and said to His disciples, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20).

Under this new and better covenant, Jesus has taken our sin upon Himself and given us the righteousness of God. “For [God] made [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

In other words, if you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, you now have a righteous cause before God. You have the right to come before Him on the basis of the blood of Jesus and have your situation set right according to the promises of God.

Under the new and better covenant established in the blood of Jesus, God’s people have the right and authority for every blessing that belongs to the righteous, for Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. We can now enjoy all the benefits of the children of God, including forgiveness, healing, and prosperity. (See Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Psalm 103 and Psalm 112 for more on the blessings that belong to us.)

When you know the Lord Jesus Christ, His blood continually cries out before God on your behalf. It declares that you are completely righteous before Him. Bondage, sickness and want now have no right to you. Cry out for God to hear a just cause — the blood of Jesus — and claim all the promises of His covenant. 

Yahweh Laughs Again

The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
The Lord laughs at him
For He sees that his day is coming.

(Psalm 37:12-13)

In Psalm 2, we see that the LORD laughs at the nations in their rage because they cannot do anything to stop or hinder His plans. For He has already anointed and established His King.

Now in Psalm 37, we see the LORD laughing again, this time at the plots of the wicked against the just. He laughs because He sees that, not only will His own plans come to full fruition, but the plans of the wicked will reduce to nothing. For their day is coming, the day of their destruction. God will not have to lift a finger, it will happen of its own accord. They will fall apart under their own weight.

It is a matter of sowing and reaping. God established that principle in the world at the very beginning of creation: Everything brings forth after its kind. In the New Testament, Paul put it this way,

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (Galatians 6:7-8)

Harvest is the judgment of God. If you sow good, you will reap good, and the judgment is favorable for you. If you sow evil, you will reap evil, and the judgment will be favorable for those against whom you have sown. No wonder God laughs. His judgment on the wicked is that He lets them reap what they have sown:

The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.

(Psalm 37:14-15)

That is why David begins this psalm with “do not fret.”

Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

(Psalm 37:1-4)

Trust in the LORD and sow good seed, and your harvest will be very pleasant. Sow bad seed, and your harvest will hit you hard. It is the difference between God laughing with you and God laughing at you. “With” is better.

(See also Yahweh Laughs)