Ask, Seek and Knock!

(Matthew 7:7) “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: “

I am no model student, I never have been, and academics seemed to be a bore for me growing up. Sport on the other hand, was where it was at. I made it my business to walk to the tennis courts and to hit the ball for hours or when I learnt to play badminton for the first time, I seemed to get hooked and made every effort to play where possible. I could not have been older than twelve. Homework was something I detested! A misguided mind-set that it was boring and nerdy to be academic. But I am now convinced that whatever we truly seek out we will find. The rules of engagement have changed somewhat, as Christians we are given wonderful privileges, they are; ask and it will be given, seek and then we will find and finally knock and the door shall be opened.

However how will anything be given if we do not ask, how will we find if we do not seek and how will any particular door be opened if we do not knock? It is easy to get into a “rut”, bad habits form easily and then they are not so easy to break. We need to remind ourselves that we will only ever get one crack at life in these mortal bodies, when we breathe our last then the clock will be up. Eternity and all that lies ahead would have hinged on what we have done in our bodies and with the gift of salvation. How often have we asked and what is it we have asked for? What door do we keep knocking on and which door is opened? And finally whatever we seek out through life will be evident in what we put our hands too.

We now have a much higher calling than any other, as Christians we must learn to ask, seek and knock in every area of our lives. This will take sacrifice! We must learn to become solely dependent on God through His glorious Son, the Lord Jesus. I am so far from that goal in some areas of my life; I know I need to change! But unless I ask how will I receive? For the first time in my life I have an anxiety about money and the future, this is not how we have been instructed to live; “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6): - Do we see how this verse confirms my train of thought; ask, seek and knock!

What will I do with this bit of information? Will I continue be a hearer and not a doer or will I take it seriously and not be a man who has to be forced by circumstances into having to ask, seek and knock. Tribulation does bring about the necessity to cry out to God. It is obvious from the examples left us by the "Jewish Exodus", where Moses led them from Egypt into the Promised Land.

Even though we have Christ’s Spirit we have been instructed to ask, seek and knock! If we remain inactive we will be rendered ineffective. God help us to understand the importance of asking, seeking and knocking. Thank you for revealing these truths to my understanding this morning my great Father, please help me take them seriously. I do realise it may hurt and there may be rough times ahead, but if it makes me more like my glorious Saviour then it will be worth it all, Amen!

This then is the promise from our Saviour; “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:8)

We could take this text and then begin to get caught up with a particular reference to what it is actually teaching, let us not do that but rather draw from the principle it teachers. Our sole dependency must be on the finished work of Calvary and nothing else! This is the lesson of life we must eventually all learn.

Signing off

Tyrone

The greatest of these is Love!

(1Corinthians 13:13)   “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

The beloved Disciple John, was as history suggests, the only Apostle not to get martyred. He died from natural causes on the Island Patmos after being imprisoned for his love for Christ and obedience to God’s call upon his life. I often wonder why he escaped the torment of such cruel deaths the others faced; Peter crucified upside down, James beaten, stoned and then clubbed to death. With all the others being martyred, but not John, why? We know that he is referred to as the “beloved disciple”, the one who had a place reserved for him, his ear given permission to listen to the heartbeat of God in the flesh, he would at times rest his head on the Lord Jesus’ chest; “Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper…” (John 21:20)   

This is how the Lord Jesus viewed john; “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!"” (John 19:26) 

There was a special place for him and that was very close to the Lord’s heart, there is no other mention of any of the other disciples nestled in the arms of the Lord. John seemed to love more than the others. A verse that comes to mind when I think about the Apostle John is this; “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13): - I am not for one minute suggesting that the other disciples were not sold out for the Lord; they obviously were, why else would someone die for their cause. But even the Lord Jesus whilst he hung upon that cruel cross looked at his earthly mother, Mary and it is recorded interestingly by John himself that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved. Love the greatest of all virtues!

Faith will eventually run its course, hope will no longer be needed but love will endure forever; “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1Corinthians 13:13)   

I believe even though John made his mistakes, he understood better that all the others that because God is love, he too loved! He understood the greatest of the entire commandments; "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)  

Do you remember this account? It was a time when all the disciples had lost hope, the Lord Jesus had been crucified and they all went back fishing, they return to their old lifestyles as their hope had dwindled. Both Peter and John were guilty as charged, but Peter is singled out, in fact it upsets Simon Peter and gets him to point a finger at John, but the Lord turns to Peter and seems ignores Johns transgression. John knew he was wrong and never needed to be told, Peter on the other hand was deal with severely. I wonder does the understanding of love play its part, I would suggest that it most certainly does!

Here is the account; “He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go." (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, "Follow me." Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!" So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?"” (John 21:17-23)

John was a disciple that embraced love like no other and we know that there are days ahead that will leave many waxing cold in love; “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Matthew 24:12)

May we learn from John and fight for the love amongst the brethren with all our might’s. God help us to lay down our lives for one another as the love of many will wax cold, but may we resolve to be amongst the number that hold onto it, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

  

Beware of the old heart!

(Jeremiah 17:9) “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

I agree with my brother Malcolm’s statement that scripture must take precedence over all other teaching or preaching, both externally as well as internally, our hearts are desperately wicked and deceitful above all things and they look to wrestle for liberty and often at the exclusion of sound doctrine.

"And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.” (1Chronicles 28:9)

There is much talk about one’s own free will in Christian circles, especially between the Arminian and the Calvinist. I will not go there this morning but we will look at this instruction from David to his son Solomon and understand Solomon responsibility, “If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.”

If one sets out on a journey, the only way to finds ones destination is to have a detail map. Guess work is never a good idea! Our hearts if left to their own devises will lead us down that road Destruction; we may even come across, Obnoxious, Rage, Self-willed and Proud streets as they are all in the same vicinity. It is only the accurate map to life, “the Word of God” that will keep us out of those dangerous hazards. But it is imperative that we use the map to life if we are not sure of life’s direction. Guess work is never a good Idea! I am convinced that He who has begun a good work will complete it on the day of the Lord. Not because I like the sound of it, which I do, but because the bible teachers me this to be true! I bypass my heart in that sense and trust the Word as the final authority. And yet we are warned that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night! “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” (1Thessolonians 5:2)

Therefore I have a responsibility to pay attention to this warning and many others. How do I know that the Lord will come as a thief in the night? Not because I sense it, which may well be true as I am lead by God the Holy Spirit and God’s Spirit now lives within me. But I know of a certainty that the Lord will come as a thief in the night because the Word of God, the Bible has told me so. A clear uncomplicated message! Now if it was left up to my own imagination about certain truths in scripture, where would that leave me? A very dangerous place! Why? Because our hearts are desperately wicked; “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9): - How do I know this? Because I am taught from the bible and when I examine it against scripture I know it to be true. Much about my life consists of excusing or accusing, but where is that yardstick? The bible is the final authority! On the other hand the world with its jargon teachers a different message and that is we are all inherently good. Who will you believe? I have made my choice! Let God be true and every man a liar! It is not about what my heart would like scripture to say but rather what is actually says; Let me use a very strong example which may cause hearts to resist, proving my point; “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” (1Timothy 2:12): - Not a very popular message, even more so in today’s world, nevertheless Paul explains why; “For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” (1Timothy 2:13-14)

What then we will conclude? Will we yield to the authority of God’s Word or will we resist it and yield to the deceitfulness of our hearts, only you can decide! When we resist the instructions of men, so be it, but when they speak under God’s authority we have no choice but to pay careful attention to what is said.     

We cannot remain on the fence if that is where we find ourselves. We must look at the detail map God has left us, His Word, our Saviour the Lord Jesus and find clear concise direction for our next step wherever we may be. If we have second guest up until now on any given topic, let today be a new day with a new resolve to be more diligent to God’s instruction in and through His Word.

God help us to take life a little more seriously, for His name sake, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

  

Regret... will it play its part?

Regret, will we ever have remorse in heaven? This morning my thoughts go deep as I reflect on this, which seems to be a nagging consideration. We are told to occupy until He comes, John Piper warns us not to waste our lives and the scripture teachers that we will sow what we reap. I understand that principle all too well! Whatever we put our hands to will lead us to its objective. Chase money and the reality of Paul’s warning to Timothy becomes our very own reality; “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” (1Timothy 6:9-10)

Some believe that they are immune to this warning, but all will suffer loss if taken by it. Then we have the warnings of Peter to abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul; “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” (1Peter 2:11): - Again some will look to ignore this warning thinking they will escape its torment, only to find that the Word of God is always precise! Accommodate any forms of “passions of the flesh” and it will torment us until we seek forgiveness for our actions, whatever they may be! The “Old Man” constantly looking to remain alive even though on God’s reckoning he is dead! The flesh hangs on with all its might, yet at the expense of a tormenting war that rages within our souls.

We also understand that God deals with all His children in His loving tender way and yet sometimes that does require some harsh discipline which is often played out through the flesh. If one is weak and sickly amongst us, it is often the flesh that reveals the sickness. Although we may be spiritually crippled it is the flesh that will bear the brunt of the weakness. When we walk as mere men that is all we understand and often only realised our error when we suffer in our bodies.

“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (1Corinthians 11:27-30) 

But, because of God’s love for His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus and His love toward us, this is what causes God to act favourably even if we don’t; “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:6-11) 

God brilliantly does all things with purpose and an objective, His will in the forefront of His mind, which must also become our objective; He is holy, righteous and merciful and He alone is good. Thankfully He has chosen to include those who confess Him (His Son) as Lord as part of His family and He will continue to look out for His own, Praise His Holy Name now and forever more!  

Yet with that comes the warnings, when we chose to ignore them it will be at our own peril, when will we finally learn, is the question I find infiltrating my mind even now as I type.

So here then is my final consideration; when we eventually arrive home, heaven our final destination it is clear from scripture that we will face a works judgment; we will be judged on what we did with the free gift of salvation. Some will suffer loss; “each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (Corinthians 3:13-15)

Now if we were to suffer loss, that would mean there would be regret and yet we are also taught By John that heaven will be a place where there will be no more tears, in other words no regret; “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:13-17): It seems to be obvious that these came out of the great tribulation, in order to do that one would need to be faithful to God’s call, they would have suffered no loss, so a consideration could well be that for them there would be no regret. A special place is reserved by God for them; "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.”

However there is another portion of scripture that includes all who make it to the New Jerusalem and no one there will have any regret, for if they did, God will free then from it; “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:3-4)

My conclusion which may be impulsive would be; if we were to suffer loss because of our disobedience we would carry that into heaven, through the believers judgement (works judgment) up until the final wedding feast and only then will those who have dilly dallied with the gifts of salvation be freed from regret.

I have not done an intensive study on this, these are only my thoughts and my mornings consideration, yet I have answered them in some form and I have a clearer understanding of what it is I must get on with, the will of God!

Signing off

Tyrone  

   

    

      

Brothers dwelling in Unity!

(Psalms 133:1)  “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”

David understood the culinary advantages for brothers to eat and to share a table around the finished work of Calvary. I would liken it to honey in the rock in a dry and barren land. It is something we must never take for granted and we must fight with all our might for unity amongst the brethren. How thankful I am to God my Father for the unity we as brothers in Christ share around God and His Word on a Saturday mornings. For a long time I was in a barren land, with very little unity around God’s Word as I battled to come to truth with certain realities, that had been misrepresented.  I will say, amen! To what David has to say, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”

The strength of any well thought out plan is for people to be unified in their objective. That goes for both the honourable as well as the criminal. Even organised crime would be less effective if it was not unified with criminals standing together in unity to rip off the public. What David is saying is how sweet it is when, Christians get together around the finished work of Christ with the same objective and that is to bring glory to their God, praise His name! These kinds of encounter help us find new strength to fly the banner of truth in our lives. It is something well worth dying for.

Christianity is filled with many proud and conceited individuals and I have no doubt played my part amongst that number. However there must come a time in our lives when we put off childish things and we look to fight for the common good of all true Christians across the globe. This does not mean at the exclusion of sound doctrine, but on the contrary, to stand up for truth and to allow the Word of God to speak and to break down strongholds in the minds of babes and those who have been blindsided with error as if it was the truth.

The time is at hand for all of God’s children to fight the good fight of faith and to help those who as weak and in need of a helping hand. It is imperative that we begin at home with our own lives as we look for grace to strengthen our own relationships with God our Father through the finished work of our great redeeming King the Lord Jesus. Prayer a vital pillar to that relationship.

Instead of looking for reasons why we will avoid certain brothers if indeed they are brothers in Christ, let us fight to have sweet fellowship with them in unity around Christ. What is it that will change our understanding on any given topic? What will open our eyes to the truth if we have misunderstood certain doctrines and misrepresented them? I am convinced, for us to arrive at a place of understanding it is all about humility before our great God. If we can learn to echo the words of Paul to Timothy and make them our own, I believe we too with David will echo his statement about brothers and unity. This then was Paul’s instruction to Timothy; “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (2Timothy 2:23-26)

We must act in a particular manner when handling the Word of Life, we must patiently endure evil in gentleness; however it is only God who can grant man repentance and help them come to their senses.

Let us not mistake gentleness for the accommodation of error and the doctrines of devils. Wolves are not to be accommodated in any shape or form, even the lion was no match for the shepherd boy David; at any sight of them he destroyed them and protected his sheep: "But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.” (1Samuel 17:34-35):- Elijah did exactly the same thing, he openly opposed those who opposed His God, if the challenge comes against the truth of God's Word it must be openly addressed so that the wolves are exposed.  

My plea is to those who have Christ’s Spirit across the denominations, there are Presbyterians, Baptists, Pentecostals as well as many other church groups that preach Christ and Him crucified and who have amongst their number those who confess Jesus as Lord, all of God’s children, His election and those who are known by God.

I have often wondered why any one particular church had not received the fullness of the measure in application on how a local assembly should operate. I think it has something to do with the necessity of keeping us humble. I may be wrong! But what I do know is what David teachers us; “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” And this must be our objective; we must fight for it and learn from one another.

The sooner we understand that our kidneys play their effective role in our own bodies and that we need then to flush out any impurities, the sooner we learn to work for them and not against them. If we learn that our kidneys are about to fail, we will not now go out of our way to go on an alcoholic binge, unless we have a death wish. So too has God placed each member in the body as it has pleased him; I now speak to the universal church and not the local assembly; we can and must learn from one another. For if we remain firm on our laurels and refuse to receive nourishment from our brothers we will not share and understand David’s sentiment on what it means to dwell in unity. We will suffer loss!

God help us to learn to stand on His truth and for us to lay down our lives for our brothers especially when we do not have unity as a common denominator. As the battle begins to gain momentum it is important that we know who is with us and who then is the true enemy.

“What it is that is commended - brethren's dwelling together in unity, not only not quarrelling, and devouring one another, but delighting in each other with mutual endearments, and promoting each other's welfare with mutual services. Sometimes it is chosen, as the best expedient for preserving peace, that brethren should live asunder and at a distance from each other; that indeed may prevent enmity and strife (Gen_13:9), but the goodness and pleasantness are for brethren to dwell together and so to dwell in unity, to dwell even as one (so some read it), as having one heart, one soul, one interest. David had many sons by many wives; probably he penned this psalm for their instruction, to engage them to love another, and, if they had done this, much of the mischief that arose in his family would have been happily prevented. The tribes of Israel had long had separate interests during the government of the Judges, and it was often of bad consequence; but now that they were united under one common head he would have them sensible how much it was likely to be for their advantage, especially since now the ark was fixed, and with it the place of their rendezvous for public worship and the centre of their unity. Now let them live in love.

II. How commendable it is: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is! It is good in itself, agreeable to the will of God, the conformity of earth to heaven. It is good for us, for our honour and comfort. It is pleasant and pleasing to God and all good men; it brings constant delight to those who do thus live in unity. Behold, how good! We cannot conceive or express the goodness and pleasantness of it. Behold it is a rare thing, and therefore admirable. Behold and wonder that there should be so much goodness and pleasantness among men, so much of heaven on this earth! Behold it is an amiable thing, which will attract our hearts. Behold it is an exemplary thing, which, where it is, is to be imitated by us with a holy emulation.” (Matthew Henry)

Signing off

Tyrone  

Pray without ceasing!

(1Thessolonians 5:17)  “Pray without ceasing.”

The ability and liberty in ones prayer life is a good indicator on where we stand before our Holy Father, if we have something to hide we will not have a liberty to express ourselves openly before Him. Obviously we can hide nothing from God and it is imprudent to even try. And yet I find myself having to constantly guard against the deceitfulness of my own heart in this area of my life, forgive me Father God.

Communication is the greatest tool in our arsenal, we have received the ability to converse openly with our heavenly Father; by His grace we must learn to use it wisely; to be open face before God our heavenly Father is our only option, do not be deceived into believing that all is well when in fact it is not. If our agenda’s do not coincide with God’s will then we walk as carnal men, and we will never please God. But open honest prayer life is a good indicator to help us understand where we stand spiritually; in other words how we have matured as Christians can be measured by the liberty we have to pray openly before God. If we have nothing to say, we either walk carnally by not giving God much thought throughout the day, or we live in habitual sin and it is a hindrance to our prayer life. We turn a blind eye to that which does not please God our Father.

When Paul says, “pray without ceasing”; that in itself is our own barometer, an ongoing check, that we walk in the spirit and not in the flesh; stop praying and we are inviting the old man to once again live in our lives. I like Samuels response in this portion of scripture, look how he ties ceasing to pray in with sin; “And Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king." (1Samuel 12:20-25)

 “Pray without ceasing,” 1Th_5:17. “Note, The way to rejoice evermore is to pray without ceasing. We should rejoice more if we prayed more. We should keep up stated times for prayer, and continue instant in prayer. We should pray always, and not faint: pray without weariness, and continue in prayer, till we come to that world where prayer shall be swallowed up in praise. The meaning is not that men should do nothing but pray, but that nothing else we do should hinder prayer in its proper season. Prayer will help forward and not hinder all other lawful business, and every good work. 3. In every thing give thanks, 1Th_5:18. If we pray without ceasing, we shall not want matter for thanksgiving in every thing. As we must in every thing make our requests known to God by supplications, so we must not omit thanksgiving, Phi_4:6. We should be thankful in every condition, even in adversity as well as prosperity. It is never so bad with us but it might be worse. If we have ever so much occasion to make our humble complaints to God, we never can have any reason to complain of God, and have always much reason to praise and give thanks: the apostle says, This is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us, that we give thanks, seeing God is reconciled to us in Christ Jesus; in him, through him, and for his sake, he allows us to rejoice evermore, and appoints us in every thing to give thanks. It is pleasing to God. 4. Quench not the Spirit (1Th_5:19), for it is this Spirit of grace and supplication that helpeth our infirmities, that assisteth us in our prayers and thanksgivings. Christians are said to be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire. He worketh as fire, by enlightening, enlivening, and purifying the souls of men. We must be careful not to quench this holy fire. As fire is put out by withdrawing fuel, so we quench the Spirit if we do not stir up our spirits, and all that is within us, to comply with the motions of the good Spirit; and as fire is quenched by pouring water, or putting a great quantity of dirt upon it, so we must be careful not to quench the Holy Spirit by indulging carnal lusts and affections, or minding only earthly things.” (Matthew Henry)

May God help all His children view prayer with a greater urgency that the day before, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

 

     

Step back and pause!

Today is a day I want to slow down with my thoughts and reel them in a little, which I must tell you, it is not an easy thing to do. Although God the Holy Spirit undoubtedly leads and directs all the children of God we have a safe guard to make sure we do not lose our way with a particular thought. We have history on our side! Let me explain; God is the same yesterday, today and forever; He is the great I AM! Praise His glorious name. How then does history of any form play its part? Christ Spirit then plays His part through others who have gone before us. Every child of God, every true born again believer receives Christ’s Spirit at salvation. It is part of the exchange from old to new. So now, every believer has the same mind to work from; “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.” (1Corinthians 2:12-16)

With this understood I often find myself running ahead with a thought as revelation deepens and I get excited with my new found understanding. But in order to make sure I am not being blindsided by pride and the like it is a good thing to look to others who have the mind of Christ and see what they saw on the topic I now find myself contemplating. With that in mind I do not want us to forget the roles we have been called to play as individuals in the body of Christ; many members but one body; we do not all have the same function and we must understand this, which many of us haven’t actually understood, especially in reformed circles. We need each other in the Body of Christ, but we also need to give place to each and every member to function in the body of Christ (church), no differently to how my fingers work with my keyboard and my eyes direct them to the keys, with my mind processing the information. Unity in perfect harmony! It is the members of my body working together that help me achieve my objective, which is to post this blog shortly.

WE NEED ONE ANOTHER the sooner we understand this the better it will be for us and for all involved in the body of Christ. It is God’s design and if we want to be about His will then surely we need to function under his direction; “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” (Romans 12:4-11)

If a teacher now teachers the Word of God, it would be a good practice to see what other have taught on the same subject, However I would not say that we should live only in another man’s revelation, Christianity is personal and so we should learn to understand our role as believers, on a personal level. We have a teacher and He is God, God the Holy Spirit; “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26)

Nevertheless I also have an enemy and we know where he loves to play; in the minds of men; "Did God actually say, “ is the question he loves to ask, Satan our enemy! The Lord Jesus has defeated Him once and for all, but he still prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

My conclusions then, I take the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit very seriously, it is my first point of reference when looking to understand the scriptures in relation to my own life on a personal level. But I do not consider those who have already run their race and come out on the other side with much fruit to their lives, as something of the past. I believe that they too can help me understand what God requires from me when I look to see what they understood on any given subject. God the Holy Spirit was also their teacher as He is mine. If I do not reason with this clarity I then am conceited and what I am actually saying is that I am better than them, as God gives me direction but I am not sure they also received it. Pride waiting for a fall! His understanding should not be different as God is God and He cannot change as He is perfect and in no need of any change. As much as I need their input in my life, a man like C.H.Spurgeon has opened my eyes to a lot I would not have seen without His influence. God used Him and is still using him to teach me certain truths! However we must never be insensitive to the other perspectives that the other members of the body of Christ would bring to a certain subject. Think on it like this, ask five people to describe a sunset and then package that into one explanation and the listener would be far more informed about the sunset.  

Where we go wrong is when the teacher wants to be artist and the artist looks to become the teacher; the hand looks to be the foot and visa-versa! Both members are needed in the body for it to function effectively.

God help us to understand the importance of each member in the church and to pray for their liberty within their particular churches so that Christ may be glorified and we may grow up in unity and into adults in love; “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:13) 

Signing off

Tyrone     

  

  

Trusting the Word!

(Romans 12:1) “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice…”

A living sacrifice is something far different to a sacrifice that was once alive but now is dead. A sacrifice speaks of death and yet we are instructed to die through life. It is an ongoing ritual and not a one off event as it was in the days of Moses where sacrifices were introduced through the institution of the law, God’s Ten Commandments. An animal could only ever be offered once as a sacrifice, he would be alive before the procedural and then dead after it. We have been instructed with this imperative from our beloved brother Paul, to be a living sacrifice, that means a continual sacrifice, a way of life and not a one off event; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)   

He stresses this point because I believe he understood the importance behind being “a living sacrifice”, it is a “trigger” to bring forth fruit unto God, call it pruning a fruit tree if you like. Without a self-denial of all that opposes God’s will and His character in our lives we are rendered fruitless. What is the fruit we are after? The fruits of the Spirit, which are; “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” They have become a living sacrifice.

What would make a man boast with such boldness if he hadn’t understood the way in which God blesses his children with fruit; “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows-- and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2Corinthians 12:2-10)

I hope we are beginning at least to understand if we haven’t already understood that we are at our strongest in faith when we are hard-pressed. Paul is very clear on this; “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  When everything seems to be running smoothly from a worldly perspective, life’s achievements and the like, then we think we are strong and yet we are actually weak in the faith. It is when I understand this type of requirement from God my Father; I then begin to understand this statement with a lot more clarity; “that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1Corinthians2:5)

It is the trial of life that places a dependence upon us to look to God for strength, but the world preaches another message and that is self-sufficiency. God will bring down that message with a great crash, He has already defeated their leader, Satan has been overpowered in and through the work of God’s beloved Son the Lord Jesus, where and when He defeated him once and for all on Golgotha’s hill. All praise belongs to our glorious King; praise His name now and forever more.

For Christ sake God the Father will continue to work under this banner; “that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” It has been this way from the beginning and so it will continue. Have we learnt to accept it and have we welcomed adversity just as Paul learnt to do? Will we learn to align our wills with His? Which was; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

I am persuaded that the battle to relinquish our own will takes place in our own minds; but until we accept the truth and what the Word of God teachers on any given subject, we will never change. There must first be an acceptance to what is taught before we will experience change. Fight the Word and we will never experience spiritual grow, we will remain infants all our lives.

The trick of deception is to get someone to believe a lie as the truth; Satan’s foundation to all of his lies. The cornerstone to all his trickery; “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say,’…” (Genesis 3:1) 

God help us to have eyes to see, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Power of Salvation!

There always seems to be some cause or voice we can attach ourselves to without too much effort. Just as I scroll through the first few posts on my Facebook page and I realize that the catch phrase “much to do about nothing” plays its part in our lives. Not that any given topic may mean nothing to us, on the contrary, because a certain topic grabs our hearts we are quick to get involved, it gives us a voice and a purpose. There is much we can learn from social media platforms like Facebook.

At times it doesn’t take much be noticed, but I have a concern, what about the real issues of life, heaven, hell and the perfect work of Calvary? We do not see too many getting involved with the Christian cause and we do not see many reposts about our love for Christ. If only I had the ability to open a person’s eyes to the truth of what Christ achieve on Calvary, if only I wielded a magic wand, and yet I actually do to some degree, not because of my ability but because of what God has equipped us with, His Son’s Spirit and we are able to cry “Abba Father”.

All those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord, have all been given the measure of reconciliation. Our words, when declaring the simple message of the gospel carry with it an enchanted power and the Apostle Paul explains it like this; “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:14-16)

Not enchanted abracadabra but we rather have a duty in some measure at least to declare the simple message of the cross, not only to those who we think will listen. We must wherever and whenever the opportunities arise speak about what the Lord Jesus Christ achieved on earth for mankind. Even if we think a person will never respond, the power of the gospel resonates with God’s ability and not our feeble projections, never forget that! Paul understood and now teaches us that he is not ashamed of the gospel and neither should we be, why? “For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.”

Our great God and Father has chosen to unfold His perfect plan in this manner, He could have rather of chosen to prove His existence by miraculously appearing in the heaven doing mighty signs and wonders and yet He chose to be a small still voice, possibly your voice will be used as a tool by God to open a sinners eyes and to cause him to fall to his knees and to find repentance. If that isn’t glorious then I am not sure what is! A man dead in his trespass and sins, damned to hell for all eternity unless he repent and God may use our voice to help him turn, what a glorious thought! A man hard as nails and then by just sharing a simple message about Christ’s accomplishment on their behalf and wallah; a grown man brought to tears as God comes and makes his abode in that individuals life.

KISS (keep it simple stupid), the simple message of the gospel, not with big swelling words or with might, all we need to do is simply declare the truth and then to watch God the Holy Spirit where and when He chose to save. I saw my entire family get turned around from believing our own independent lies, who we thought God was and what He meant to us as individuals. We all had our own ideas! Within a year almost my entire family was confessing Jesus as Lord. Why, because someone was not ashamed of the Gospel and had gone out of his way to preach it to us.

Faith then comes from hearing, and hearing the word of God. We must be sure to keep the unadulterated message of the cross simple and concise and not to start running off with big swelling words. Just get a person to understand what Christ came to do; He died for sinner so that they could go free, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God! People must be brought to this point; do they need a saviour or will their own works get then to heaven? But unless words bring them to a place to make that decision, no decision will need to be made. It is not enough to simple believe. Individuals must believe in the resurrection and then confess Jesus as Lord. But there can be no hard and fast rule when it comes to salvation; “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)

But this I will say and echo the words of Paul; “I am not ashamed of the gospel as it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes”. Let us therefore remember to tell people the “old story”, how God became a man, went to a cruel death for a crime He never committed, and He did it for whosoever. What that individual does with it is out of our hands; but let us must remember, “The gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone that believes”.

Signing off

Tyrone

    

Christ's perfect Example!

I often have good intentions that do not always turn into actions. The Bible teaches me that if I know how I could help in any given situation and I do not act upon it, then it is sin; This is the question we must ask ourselves and see if we are clear in the matter; "For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you." (2Corinthians 1:12) 

“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.” (Isaiah 1:17): - Therefore when the scripture teachers us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God, how must we do that? We must personally, on a practical level, get our hands dirty. We must get involved! Do not be fooled, Christianity is a walk for the faithful, and not for those who are unable to endure hardship. It is training of the elite and we must and will remember our Captain’s example; we must learn to follow Him. There has been no greater leader throughout history, how He has lead from the front with such persistence and humility coupled into one, without the enemy ever penetrating His defence. Praise the glorious name of Jesus! I know I have often had my defence penetrated, but "while we have breath we have hope" and we must once again get up and resolve to fight the good fight of our faith, no matter how many times we fall. “If God be for us who can be against us”! Faith has a promise attached to it, our great Redeeming King; the Lord Jesus Christ will get His Father’s children Home. Come what may, we must have the faith of Joshua and Caleb and if we have His Spirit then we have that faith. God has given it to us, praise His name!

The Lord Jesus marched forth on earth with His Father’s will in the forefront of His mind and He marched to victory. But His march was not the march of a king but He was treated as a stray dog and as a lamb to the slaughter they lead Him to die on a cruel Roman cross. And through it all, He was able to forgive not only in His heart but audibly He pronounced His forgiveness and uttered these glorious words; “And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."” (Luke 23:34)

Let us consider what it was that the Lord was forgiving His accusers for; where do I begin?        

Christ our Saviour was not just a man of words but of action; "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:27-35)

Here we see the Lord giving his disciples instruction on how to practically act in a world that demands and takes its pound of flesh. For all those who have received Christ Spirit, we are His disciples! These instructions then apply to us! It is far easy to turn a blind eye to the one in need and to justify why we shouldn’t help, we reason like this; I work so why doesn’t he! The point in case is this; the Lord Jesus gave verbal instructions but then He was not only willing to be tested but was established by His very own teachings.

This is how they treated the One who came to save the lost; “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with 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. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:1-12)

Our great Saviour not just a man of many words but action a way of life, God give us ears to hear and help us to be more like Him we cry, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

Hallowed be thou Name!

(Matthew 6:9) …"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”

“Hallowed be thou Name”! It is a marvelous thought to think on, the consecrated name of our Lord and King in light of Jehovah God as the only true God, for He is “hallowed” and “hallowed” be His name. Do we register the severity and magnitude of what we are actually saying? I am not sure we do. When we recite “our Father” and we declare “hallowed be thou name” does is register, does it resonate and do we get it? I am not sure I have grasped this truth as I should have. In fact I know I haven’t, forgive me Father God! But this morning I would like to consider the hallowed name of God, my God!

Holy, sanctified, blessed, consecrated, deified, sacred, revered, respected and that would only be my opening sentence. Our God is so much higher than the heavens that our carnal minds cannot begin to process and conceive who this great God actually is. We are told it is impossible to put a face or to relate to him in the natural. Why? Because we are dead in our trespasses and our sins; we are dead to the spiritual realm because of sin, until this “hallowed God”, our God stepped in by sending His only beloved Son to pay the price for sinners so that they could go free. “Hallowed be His name”!

Even those who appear to be religious are blind to the heavens and they cannot see it unless they are born again, this is what the Lord Jesus taught; “Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.": - Therefore there is a provisory condition, one must be born again, not that a person must re-enters their mother’s womb a second time, that is obviously not possible, but we are clearly taught that there are two worlds, a world of the natural and the world of the spirits; God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24): - So in order for us to enter into a relationship with God, we need to have our eyes opened to the spiritual world. How is this done? We are born again! Without this personal event in our live we will not make it to heaven; “Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”” (John 3:5)

A simple explanation and not difficult to conceptualise, or is it? If you still live in the natural world and perceive with human intellect, what I have just said will appear like gibberish and your mind will be unable to process the concept. But if we have been “born again” and if regeneration has happened in your life then what the Lord has to say on the subject will be easily understood.

But before we get lost in translation, let us not be so captivated with the concept of having to be “born again”. When God reveals Himself to a person, He firstly quickens him in the Spirit and this is why this remains a mystery for some, but for others it is a new lease on life, true life! Life in the Spirit! And this is how the Lord Jesus explains the transition in Christians lives; “Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:7-8)

The only reason some will be able to cry out to God in Spirit and truth is because of Christ’s selfless act on Calvary, Hallowed be His name!  God the Father send His only begotten Son to earth to live as a man and to die a cursed death for a crime He never committed. Hallowed be His name! What man would ever do such a thing? But God! Hallowed be His name!

The Lord Jesus hung upon that cruel Roman cross on the hill of Golgotha and the masses jeered and mocked Him, with taunts of “if you be God”! God He was, is and forever will be and yet He did not call the angels from heaven to free Him from the cross and to smite His accuses, but rather uttered these words; “And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments.” (Luke 23:34):- Hallowed be His name!

“When we were united by faith to Christ, we were brought into such complete fellowship with him, that we were made one with him, and his interests and ours became mutual and identical. We have fellowship with Christ in his love. What he loves we love. He loves the saints-so do we. He loves sinners-so do we. He loves the poor perishing race of man, and pants to see earth’s deserts transformed into the garden of the Lord-so do we. We have fellowship with him in his desires. He desires the glory of God-we also labour for the same. He desires that the saints may be with him where he is-we desire to be with him there too. He desires to drive out sin-behold we fight under his banner. He desires that his Father’s name may be loved and adored by all his creatures-we pray daily, “Let thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven.” We have fellowship with Christ in his sufferings. We are not nailed to the cross, nor do we die a cruel death, but when he is reproached, we are reproached; and a very sweet thing it is to be blamed for his sake, to be despised for following the Master, to have the world against us. The disciple should not be above his Lord. In our measure we commune with him in his labours, ministering to men by the word of truth and by deeds of love. Our meat and our drink, like his, is to do the will of him who hath sent us and to finish his work. We have also fellowship with Christ in his joys. We are happy in his happiness, we rejoice in his exaltation. Have you ever tasted that joy, believer? There is no purer or more thrilling delight to be known this side heaven than that of having Christ’s joy fulfilled in us, that our joy may be full. His glory awaits us to complete our fellowship, for his Church shall sit with him upon his throne, as his well-beloved bride and queen.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

HALLOWED BE THY NAME!

Signing off

Tyrone