Goodness and Severity!

(Romans 11:22)  “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God:”

Here are two of God’s attributes in the quoted verse, goodness and severity, opposite ends of the emotional spectrum, you could say. One is almost tempted to separate it as the good and bad side, BUT God is righteous and everything about His being and character is Holy and righteous. Therefore He will only ever judge from that platform; He is God and thankfully is in control and yet He always operates under the banner of all that is holy and righteous. His ways are far above our ways, all this means is when we think we reason with a sound mind and pass judgement on something or someone, even though we are fully convinced with are correct in our rational, we may be miles off the truth. Why? Because of our fallen natures, sin has affected even our reasoning. Remember our very first example of “I did it my way” in the book of Genesis when Cain and Abel offer a sacrifice. They both did something similar; they both offer a sacrifice to God. Cain’s sacrifice was rejected and Abel’s accepted. Abel was a beneficiary to God’s goodness whilst Cain eventually experienced the severity of God. We must remember both sacrifices were to the same God! I know I have laid my heart on the table and still believe that once a person is truly saved that they will never be lost. We have enough in scripture to prove this point. However, when God addresses those who call out to him, He has been very deliberate to show us that He can and will be very strict and stern when required. It is important that we get to know our Heavenly Father and the only way we can achieve this is to spend time with Him. Quality time! We must understand what it is He will accept and what He will never accommodate. Let us consider what pleases Him. We can say with assurance that His Son the Lord Jesus, pleases Him. He is also please when we follow Christ instruction by the Word, the Bible! Let’s prove that! “He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." (Matthew 17:5)

And we know that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ has himself said; Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) 

So the only way we can experience the Father’s goodness is through His Son. This is why when we pray to God the Father we always pray in the name of the Lord Jesus. Not through Mary or any other saint, only through the One in which God the Father was well please, His Son! You could say Abel understood this in type as he offered his sacrifice to God, but Cain came in his own strength and in his own way, it was nevertheless the same God and not another and yet He was not on the receiving side of God’s goodness but rather after rejecting to repent when corrected by God he eventually became bitter and twisted and committed the first murder in history. He was then banished from the Garden of Eden and faced God’s severity. Only then did he appreciate the error of his way but then it was too late; “Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear.” (Genesis 4:13) 

We reason like this; if I am a good person, I give to the poor; I may even tithe to the local church and because of this God will accept me. You will be mistaken! As we have just proved that from scripture. God is love and is full of goodness but we will never embrace that side to Him if we sing this song, “I did it my way”, all we will then receive is His severity and we will then echo the words of Cain, “my punishment is greater than I can bear.” But then it will be too late! It needn’t be this way! Because if we follow God’s instruction we will be privy to His goodness; as He now gives us the same instruction that He gave to Cain, he was offered an opportunity to repent; “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:7)

The only possible way for us to do well is to repent of our own sacrifice, whatever form that may take for each individual, but rather to fall to our knees and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus and confess our sin before Him and ask for forgiveness. If we do this then we will find the goodness of God and escape His severity. Nothing else will ever cut it!

For all who have repented and called upon the Lord Jesus have the mind of Christ, if we have been born again; we then have His Spirit living within us. We have been instructed to put on the mind of Christ. "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.” (1Corinthians 2:16)  - But it is clear that putting on His mind (to think like Him) is a process. New parameters have been set, so we must never forget our first love, the Lord Jesus Christ. We must not get “lost in translation”; we must never become too big for our boots! If we become confused and are not sure what we should do, remember the basics, remember to call upon the name of the Lord and we will be saved. Not only from hell, but from our current dilemma!

Signing off

Tyrone

Theory must become practise!

(Matthew 13:57) "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household."

What good is theory if we are never tested by its practical application? Would it help if I went to college to learn how to be a photographer and qualified top of my class in a theoretical exam. It would look good on my Curriculum Vitae (CV)! But unless I actually took that information and applied it practically with camera in hand, it would be useless. The more I practised the better my results, this is obvious and it is no different in principle, when it comes to the theory of how to live as a Christian. Trails we will have and we must face them. But what I find rather intriguing is how often those closest to us come against any progression we make as Christians, as they look to breakdown and not encourage. There could be numerous reasons why this happens, and we may be guilty of exactly the same mistake when dealing with others, in fact I am convinced that we have mostly if not all erred in this area of our lives. We know that the devil goes around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour and I know he likes to sow discord amongst family and friends and even brothers/sisters in the Lord. Our character (old nature) is still something we all need to work through in our lives; sometimes we walk victoriously, whilst other times we fall privy to it; outbursts, anger, pride and the like. Nevertheless although we can never commend these traits we must accept the fact that we are still living in bodies that have a fallen nature. It is true that we no longer should be slaves to it. It is also true that we should no longer habitually practise what we once were slave too i.e. sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. If we look honestly at the list, we will all realise that we fall privy to some of those traps at times. We must however seek out grace to overcome, but if we fall, we have a high Priest who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities and we are encouraged to repent and seek out God’s forgiveness and as He is a forgiving God, He will forgive us our sin: - “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:9)  

What would be wrong is if we tried to justify ourselves and our sin, when we do we then fail in our application to live correctly as Christians. Nevertheless having said that we must remember from where we have fallen. We must learn to forgive one another as Christ has forgiven us. It may be tiresome at times, but the Lord Himself instructs us on forgiveness and to what measure we should apply it to our lives; Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22)

No matter what the sin, we must also remember that we too were once sinners. We may still sin but now because we have been covered by the blood of the Lamb we are not classified as sinners. How come you may ask? Well Christ has paid the price for all who have found repentance and confess Him as Lord. He has taken our punishment upon Himself and therefore we are no longer guilty as charged, past present and future sins. It is an amazing gift, the love of God. Once we were condemned to hell, but for all who have His Spirit, we now are no longer possible candidates for the Lake of Fire. Our great Saviour has redeemed us with His own blood, Priceless! When we are reminded about this truth we should then easily apply forgiveness where and when needed. “And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7) 

Now without any practical confrontation in this area of our lives, how will we ever be tested by the theory, it will and must happen! It is part of our spiritual growth and we must seek out God’s grace to overcome.

I began with a reference of surprise, but we are taught once again by the Word what to expect from those closest to us; “a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” Although this text refers to a prophet, it is clear to see that in principle we can and must apply it to all who confess Jesus as Lord. How so? A prophet by analogy, an inspired speaker, someone in this context who confesses to others that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and propagates that there is no other true means whereby a man may be saved outside of Christ. In other words someone who is a spokesperson on behalf Lord Jesus, in whatever forms that may take for Christians, as for me it is mostly through my blog.

Let us now look at the resistance God faced as a man here on earth.

“His own countrymen had rejected him once, yet he came to them again. Note, Christ does not take refusers at their first word, but repeats his offers to those who have often repulsed them. In this, as in other things, Christ was like his brethren; he had a natural affection to his own country; {(but although He faced much resistance in his own country, he nevertheless pursued their hearts.) – (My thought!)} It did not trouble his heart. It appears he was not much concerned at it; he despised the shame, Heb_12:2. Instead of aggravating the affront, or expressing an offence at it, or returning such an answer to their foolish suggestions as they deserved, he mildly imputes it to the common humour of the children of men, to undervalue excellences that are cheap, and common, and home-bred. It is usually so. A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country. Note, Prophets should have honour paid them, and commonly have; men of God are great men, and men of honour, and challenge respect. It is strange indeed if prophets have not honour. Notwithstanding this, they are commonly least regarded and reverenced in their own country, nay, and sometimes are most envied. Familiarity breeds contempt. It did for the present (to speak with reverence), in effect, tie his hands: He did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. Note, Unbelief is the great obstruction to Christ's favours. All things are in general possible to God (Mat_19:26), but then it is to him that believes as to the particulars, Mar_9:23. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation, but then it is to everyone that believes, Rom_1:16. So that if mighty works be not wrought in us, it is not for want of power or grace in Christ, but for want of faith in us. By grace ye are saved, and that is a mighty work, but it is through faith, Eph_2:8.” (Matthew Henry)

Now let us not run away with ourselves and just draw a simple assist from this statement; “a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” I am not for one minute suggesting that I am a prophet, I am but a simple man who like all must work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but be encouraged if the Lord was not accepted in His home town and amongst family and friends why then should it be any different for us, it won’t be! But because we have been taught this, we now have the theory to take with us into our lives and guard our hearts against it. How I love the Word of God and the way it has been designed to help us press on. Father I pray that you will help us press on in humility bringing honour and glory to your name. For you alone are worthy of all honour and praise, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

                                                       

Justification!

(Romans 8:33)  “Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.”

How often are things said with a boastful confidence, yet if it is with a hint of pride, then we speak not with the Lord’s Authority but as fool’s! Whenever we look for justification because of what we have done, we have entered into error, but if commendation comes from another, then it is God who justifies. We stand and fall before Him and no other! How often will we sit up and listen to fools? How much time do we give to them that do not have it in their power to justify? We take advice from family and friends, yet we look to them hoping to find a way out of some sort of predicament, but what is frightening, this is often our position. Why do we continue to walk in circles? It is as if we want to escape the heat wave but we continue to visit the Sahara! Go figure! We all fall privy to this error in one form or another. Once again this just highlights the importance of God’s Word as it is a lamp for our footsteps; it illuminates the path to righteousness, not only for our ultimate goal, heaven, but also for our journey in the here and now as we run this race. We are warned that not all who run finish and receive the prize. But all who run the race with the Word as their guide will finish and finish well. It is as simple as that, God has promised it and He has sealed it with the Holy Spirit! “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 1:13) - He has made a commitment to all His children and all because of Christ and him crucified. Will you believe His promise; we must suppose it with all our hearts, regardless of the trials in life.

Where do my thoughts wonder this morning you may ask? Although I have many considerations happening at the same time, I can thankfully say they do not run to the counsel of the worldly wise for their advice is foolishness when we understand the better and bigger picture, the will of God! We must seek out answers from the Bible and from all those who hold this great book as the final authority to all of life’s questions. Be sure of this, God will only ever sanction what He has penned by men under the divine inspiration of God the Holy Spirit. There is safety nowhere else! You may say God speaks to me, and I am sure He does, but He will never contradict His Word. It is impossible for God to lie! With that in mind – In times past, God did use prophets and visions and dreams, to give direction to those who were seeking His direction and His will for their lives. He even spoke directly, face to face with Moses. But He now has spoken and it is finished in that sense, let me explain.

Yesterdays blog highlighted the importance of faith to the Christians life, without it we cannot please God, it is actually impossible. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, but we must now, after embracing this truth be careful not to run away with ourselves. We must find the correct procedure and application for faith in our lives. We must not look to the mystical realm to find direction as they once did. They looked for proof by way of miracles and signs, I am not suggesting that they were wrong; on the contrary these signs were sanctioned by God. Here is one of the many examples; “behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said”. (Judges 6:37)  - Should we be following the same methodology? No! Why? The answer is a simple one and not complicated at all;  “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high...” (Hebrews 1:1-3)

The Canon of scripture has been fulfilled; nothing we now need is outside of scripture. It is sound doctrine that we must seek out. The Apostles were commissioned by God to pen and instruct all of God’s people; it is a map to equip us for battle and fierce is the mêlée. We needn’t now look for signs outside of what has been written. With all this rain around, we will be bound to see some rainbows, what do you see when you look upon a rainbow? It is no doubt beautiful to behold, it is pleasant on the eye. But is should remind us of the covenant between Noah and God, it must excite us and teach us that God has not forgotten his covenant with mankind; “I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” (Genesis 9:11-13)

God gives us his Spirit and the Word to train us for battle, if you need to see Him at work just read through the book of Judges and it is obvious that he does not need our help, only our obedience. Obedience to what you may ask? The Word of course, as it is His Word that will justify! The Word became flesh; the Lord Jesus is the Word! Come what may we must hold onto Jesus Christ our Lord and all of His promises, nothing else will justify us in this life or the life to come. If our minds reason outside of this truth then we are wrong and we must reject all and everything that opposes the Word of God. This is our only imperative!  How then will we be counted worthy? “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness...” (Romans 4:5)

I trust you get the point and it is this, we must look to God’s Word or to others that will seek out the truth of God’s Word so that we may find direction. Opinions will never be justified outside of God’s will, if we are to find His will, it has already been penned in and through His Word, the Bible! 

Signing off

Tyrone

Without faith!

(Hebrews 11:6) “And without faith it is impossible to please Him...”

Faith is such a vital side to the Christians life, without it we cannot please God, it is actually impossible. “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

How often I have read a verse or verses and implied but not expressed what I have read, how much have I understood? Here is a classic verse I must have read and referred to a numerous amounts of times in my life, but to what extent have I embraced its teaching. Now faith is evident throughout the globe, we have considered this deliberation before and concluded that people have faith in all sorts of things. All faith means is to trust and believe in something especially without logical proof. Think of the “lucky rabbit foot” some although very few believe that it carries luck for them, so gamblers would look to unlock its magical lucky powers. Completely illogical! An individual with a rabbit foot normally on a key ring, looking to it for luck; how lucky was the rabbit? It couldn’t have been that lucky or else it might have escaped with its life. A classic example of misguided faith! Superstition and faith goes hand in hand for many, some with ridiculous rituals: I have heard that even some of our South African cricket players have a list of things that must be done in order to perform well. Toilet seats up instead of down, feet off the ground, etc!

Enough time spent on the trivial nonsense! What does God require from us and more specifically from His children? We obviously believe He exists, but do we sincerely believe that He will reward us if we seek Him out? This is another one of those left alone subjects because of the “name and claim” it doctrine that has come out of the hyper-charismatic movement. A skew to scripture and then many run from the truth of scripture. If only God would open our eyes just for a second to see the warfare that surrounds us, I think we would be far more diligent in seeking truth from scripture. Obviously we are faithful in part, or else we would have no direction in a perverse and wicked world, and yet we have direction because of the Spirit of truth which lives within us.

I remember after being newly saved going to a movie with an unsaved friend of mine and although I did not know much back then, my soul was deeply vexed by what I witnessed. It wasn’t as if I was watching an X-rated movie, it was a typical Hollywood block buster. I cannot remember the actual movie, but that is not relevant. My point is this; the movie was full of underlying stabs to the true God and Christianity. One of the most successful chains in movie history to date has been the Harry Potter movies. Yesterday, I watched it in the comfort of my home, without distraction and was drawn to a statement that was made as it is relevant to the feud we face as Christians. Good versus evil its theme, and as the evil leaders gathered around a table discussing their plot to eliminate the “chosen one”, Harry Potter a statement was thrown out with great glee and it went something like this. “There are rumours that we (the evil) have infiltrated the ministry” and then someone’s retort was, “at least they are right about that,” and then all around the table erupted with laughter!

I am not for one minute implying that the world has any sound doctrine to offer, as it does not! All I want us to recognised is the onslaught to it, even if it is with undertones, let us not be blind to our surrounding. There are many who try to infiltrate sound doctrine, with a perversion to the truth and as time ticks by this will not get better but worse! Even Satan appears as an angel of light!  “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. ” (2Corinthians 11:14-15)  

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2Timothy 4:3-4)

Although this is a fact and it will happen, that does not mean we should shy away from the truth but rather the more, run toward it.

Now back to our text; “without faith”, it is faith we must embrace with both arms and if we are already in the clinch, then we must squeeze even tighter. We must understand that although we may well have the first part of this text down; we believe in the only true God, because we have the Spirit of Christ that lives within us, we now must begin to appropriate the second half of this verse with more vigour and that is, we must believe that He is a rewarded of those who diligently seek Him out. Let us not run from this truth because of the error we see amongst the charismata denominations but rather run toward it as if our lives depend upon it, as it does!

Let us learn from our forefathers; “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” (Hebrews 11:13)     

We spend far too much time on worldly activities, even if it flies under the “banner of responsibilities.” I am not arguing that they do not have their place, but forget our opinions and let us rather look to the Word for direction; “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son.” (Hebrews 11:16-17) 

Will we offer up all we have and believe by faith that God will reward all those when tested, that He will look out for us? I wonder! I know my own heart in the matter, I am not sure I will pass the test. But that does not mean it is not what we have been called to do. May God give me strength to walk with the mindset of all mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11! May He be merciful to all who confess Jesus as Lord in this area of our lives!  

I leave us with this thought; remember to run toward the truth and not from it!

Signing off

Tyrone

...will I judge! - part 2

(Genesis 15:14)  “...will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

Part 2:

So what is the foundational truth we have to come to grips with in order to please God our Father? If we stand on this thought, foundational! We must appreciate that without the correct foundation we will not stand in the storm. “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.” (Luke 6:48)

What would happen prior to building a house if a man dug deep into sand, I suppose the deeper he dug the more secure his house would be, but depending on the tempest and its severity, it however would eventual give way. But the person who knew that their foundation was of utmost importance, they would not neglect their detail to it! They would look for rock to build on! That rock is Christ!

If you have followed this blog, by now you should have acknowledged that there is absolutely no other way to make it to heaven or ultimately stand against the trials of life. but by Jesus Christ the Lord! What I now need to hit home is the importance of our “repentance from dead works”. The account of Cain and Abel beautifully illustrates this point. Let us now look at Cain’s attitude and why he felt that God should accept his sacrifice; they both brought a sacrifice, Abel's was accepted but not Cain’s, why? “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” (Hebrews 11:4)

The texts gives us the answer, it was by faith! Cain did not come in faith, for if he had his sacrifice would have been accepted, yesterdays text also tells us this; The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." In other words, Abel acknowledged that it is God who is in control and the well-being of his sheep was all because of God’s goodness, and more specifically, God’s kindness to him. Cain on the other hand looked at his produce as something he has achieved because of his own hard work. He did not acknowledge God as merciful and took credit for his work outside of faith, he felt that because of his own hard work God should now accept his sacrifice and accept him. The response from God is clear, He did not accept Cain’s sacrifice and neither will He accept any of our own works outside of faith. We must always keep in mind that God is love but outside of Christ we will never be covered by the love of God.

What can we learn from this example to help us understand what God requires from us? It is obvious; nothing outside of faith will ever be accepted. Nothing outside of Christ's finished work will cut it! The driving force behind spirituality in the world today is exactly the same attitude of Cain. I will and must be accepted because of what I have done, wrong! We will never be accepted for what we have done, never ever, our acceptance is only because of what Jesus has done.

The conclusion then is this; I must have faith towards God and I must repentant from dead works. Forget about looking for justification in what we do, but look to be appreciative to God our Father for sending His Son in our place, to pay the price for our sin. For it was the Lord Jesus, who defeated the enemy, sin, as He hung on that tree. Nothing more or nothing least will ever justify us before a Holy God. If we understand this foundational truth then we be like that man who built his house on the rock. We have an inbred tendency to always look for justification within ourselves, all this achieves is a proud look and an arrogant mindset leaving us mistakably informed and all we will achieve is God’s resistance; “but he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)

Abel was humble and Cain was proud as simple as that!

God our heavenly Father please help us to remember to always walk in faith and to never look for justification within ourselves but to always recognise our standing before you and in no one else, other than our great Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ! We stand because of Him and nothing else! When we eventually arrive at the entry gate to heaven, our pass word will be, JESUS CHRIST THE LORD! Praise His name!

For when we are judged; “...will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.” (Genesis 15:14) – And all because of our great Messiah! 

Signing off

Tyrone

    

   

“...will I judge!"

(Genesis 15:14)  “...will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

This morning I am driven to explore God’s judgement. In times past, prior to Christ and the work of the cross, there seemed to always be a way of escape or was there! Due to it being far too much of an in-depth study to unpack all my thoughts to support my persuasion as I believe that provision was always made for man to find a way of escape, but only up to a point and then there was no possibility of forgiveness.

I must use a few examples to support my argument; as I have started to make my way through the bible as a reading project; I have started at the beginning and find it wonderful on the one hand but terrifying on the other. He saves some but ultimately destroys others! This is the God we serve; He without hesitation has both traits to His persona. We know from scripture that God is love; “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1John 4:8)

But we also know that God is righteous and will judge as He has done from the beginning, let us look and examine what He said to Cain: - “And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." (Genesis 4:2-7)

There are a few observations we must note in this text; firstly there were two sacrifices but God only received one of them. Why? They both had a calling! One was a gardener and the other a shepherd!  God gave their father Adam a calling, he was to tend the garden and now both of them also had responsibility. Why did God accept the sacrifice of one and not the other? I will not dare to speak as if I am able to speak on behalf of God will absolute certainty and explain His decision. But we have the Word for study and when we glean from it, we see God’s heart in the matter. Our existence here on earth is to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but we must work out what God will accept and what He will reject. The Apostle Paul teaches us this with absolute certainty, he gives us an inclining into this very account when we scratch just a little deeper than the surface, this is what he teachers: - “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. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Romans 12:1-3) 

God will always be God and He will never relinquish His title to another. We must understand this clearly! What He says goes and it is not up for debate! But we must always remember this, as a righteous God He always acts in righteousness even if we cannot see it at the time! He is the One who will keep righteousness intact, if we left it up to mans opinion we would be in big trouble. Thankfully that is His domain and therefore all who belong to Him will always be safe. Thank you Heavenly Father!

For us life is a journey and we must work out what it is that God requires from us along the way. It is obvious that all must firstly repent and turn to Jesus to be covered by His grace. No covering, no lasting grace! We may all have what is known as common grace, save and unsaved alike. The sun rises for the righteous as well as the unrighteous, for those who believe and also for those who don’t! But lasting grace will only cover those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. In other words, not everyone will make it to heaven, but only those who are written in the Lambs Book of Life, those who are born again! This is clearly seen in scripture! However once we are saved we must find obedience in our lives, it is taught through suffering! Another topic for another time!

Now back to Cain and Able; what do you see when you read this account? Why did God accept Abel’s sacrifice and not Cain’s? Time does not permit me to conclude today’s thoughts, but I would like you to study it for yourself and come up with some answers and I will conclude this tomorrow. It is a crucial foundational truth we must come to grips with if we want to please God our Father! The answer is in the text!

Signing off

Tyrone  

But the Helper, the holy Spirit...

(John 14:26) “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit...”

I have a troubled soul this morning, not troubled as if one without hope! But troubled by heaviness to seek out the truth on how, and to what degree, my application to text in conjunction with revelation should proportionately be applied. I am not sure there is an equal answer for all! That is somewhat of a dangerous statement and many a cult has found strength to mislead their follows with that type of theology. Nevertheless, we must all embrace Him with open arms! Having warned us on the wrong application to verses out of context, what about the over emphasis on structure, that too can mislead! It is also obvious that our carnal mind rejects the work of God the Holy Spirit, both the sinner and the saint can be influence by this fact. If as a saint (a child of God) I reason as a man to the exclusion of what scripture teachers me and I shut out the greatest of Teachers, the Holy Spirit, then I reject His council. I may miss out on revelation! How I love it when I am surprised by scripture and a new truth jumps out at me on a page that I may have read many times before. It brings with it freshness to my ongoing relationship with this great God of ours! If I over reason what God is showing me, I then may miss out! I do however say that with much carefulness! We must proof scripture to be true from scripture itself!

I need to find answers; we must wrestle to find answers! Remember Jacob and his encounter with the angel (man) at Peniel, he had such a determination to be blessed that it marred his flesh for life! O if only I could have but a blot of his tenacity. “When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."” (Genesis 32:25-28)

If I consider scripture, there are many absolutes; the Word will endure forever, everything that has been penned will come to pass, whether good or bad and so on.

This morning I would like to explore the influence of the God the Holy Spirit in our lives and how we should walk by His influence and not with the minds of men.

The Charismatic’s (the anything goes type of Christian) likes to run under the banner, “leading of the Spirit” and often to the exclusion of sound doctrine. One thing is for certain, God the Holy Spirit will never contradict the Word of God. He will never deny Himself! This is the basis of our foundation and all that is said must be confirmed by the Word of God – the Bible! Correct application to the work of God the Holy Spirit is imperative to the believer’s life.  His main objective is to reveal Christ! In fact He was the catalyst that impregnated the Virgin Mary; “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18) 

It is a clear indication that from start to finish He would be involved with the Lord Jesus’ ministry and it can and should not be any different for the believer. He is our helper; “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) 

We see that He is also our teacher but if we overlook Him as our teacher then we will revert back to a carnal mindset! My next point I can with certainty say, as it has been tried and tested in my life; He shall bring to remembrance all that the Lord has said to us (believers) and how does that happen you may ask? The Word which has been penned in the Bible once digested either through ministry or through reading will be brought back to our minds if and when needed. It is a help to equip us to walk in faith! I have heard much said about “memory verses” (memorizing scripture in a parrot type fashion), it may have its place but I am not convinced, I may be wrong! Nevertheless the text is clear; the Holy Spirit will bring to “remembrance what the Lord has said!” I can without fear of contradiction confess that my memory is not good, but as far as remembering and recalling scripture I accredit that to the work of the Holy Spirit and nothing else. I will have no boast whatsoever in my ability as a man to remember scripture! There is such a vastness to God the Holy Spirit that I will barely scratch the surface, but I must continue! I fear for the Christian that has build a hedge around self because of what he has witnessed in so called Christian circles and how they have miss appropriated His work. The cliché that is often referred to but carries with it much truth; “do not throw the baby out with the dirty bath water!” Over correction to the detriment of truth seems to be the order of the day. May God help us in this area of our lives, as we are in desperate need of His help! I would love to explore this though further but although time would permit, I fear if I become somewhat long winded, I may miss the importance of this topic with many words.

Let me conclude with some of C.H.Spurgeon’s thoughts on the Holy Spirit, as he will be easily received by most, even if I am not by some!

“...One word of comment and advice to the saints of God, and to sinners, and I have done. Saints of the Lord! ye have this morning heard that God the Holy Ghost is a person; ye have had it proved to your souls. What follows from this? Why, it followeth how earnest ye should be in prayer to the Holy Spirit, as well as for the Holy Spirit. Let me say that this is an inference that you should lift up your prayers to the Holy Ghost: that you should cry earnestly unto him; for he is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can speak or think. See this mass of people. What is to convert it? See this crowd? Who is to make my influence permeate through the mass? You know this place now has a mighty influence, and, God blessing us, it will have an influence not only upon this city, but upon England at large; for we now employ the press as well as the pulpit; and certainly, I should say, before the close of the year, more than two hundred thousand of my productions will be scattered through the land—words uttered by my lips, or written by my pen. But how can this influence be rendered for good? How shall God's glory be promoted by it? Only by incessant prayer for the Holy Spirit; by constantly calling down the influence of the Holy Ghost upon us; we want him to rest upon every page that is printed, and upon every word that is uttered. Let us then be doubly earnest in pleading with the Holy Ghost, that he would come and own our labors; that the whole church at large may be revived thereby, and not ourselves only, but the whole world share in the benefit.
Then, to the ungodly, I have this one closing word to say. Ever be careful how you speak of the Holy Ghost. I do not know what the unpardonable sin is, and I do not think any man understands it; but it is something like this: "He that speaketh a word against the Holy Ghost, it shall never be forgiven him." I do not know what that means; but tread carefully! There is danger; there is a pit which our ignorance has covered by sand; tread carefully! you may be in it before the next hour. If there is any strife in your heart to-day, perhaps you will go to the ale-house and forget it. Perhaps there is some voice speaking in your soul, and you will put it away. I do not tell you will be resisting the Holy Ghost, and committing the unpardonable sin; but it is somewhere there. Be very careful. O, there is no crime on earth so black as the crime against the Holy Spirit! Ye may blaspheme the Father, and ye shall be damned for it, unless ye repent; ye may blaspheme the Son, and hell shall be your portion, unless ye are forgiven; but blaspheme the Holy Ghost, and thus saith the Lord: "There is no forgiveness, either in this world nor in the world which is to come." I cannot tell you what it is; I do no profess to understand it; but there it is. It is the danger signal; stop! man, stop! If thou has despised the Holy Spirit— if thou hast laughed at his revelations, and scorned what Christians call his influence, I beseech thee, stop! This morning seriously deliberate. Perhaps some of you have actually committed the unpardonable sin; stop! Let fear stop you; sit down. Do not drive on so rashly as you have done, Jehu! O slacken your reins! Thou who are such a profligate in sin—thou who hast uttered such hard words against the Trinity, stop! Ah! it makes us all stop. It makes us all draw up, and say, "Have I not perhaps so done?" Let us think of this; and let us not at any time stifle either with the words or the acts of God the Holy Ghost.” {Delivered on Sabbath Morning, January 21, 1855, by the REV. C. H. Spurgeon At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.}

 “In all that I have said I have given you another reason for seeking the aid of the Holy Spirit. If you do not understand a book by a departed writer you are unable to ask him his meaning, but the Spirit, who inspired Holy Scripture, lives forever, and he delights to open up the Word to those who seek his instruction. He is always accessible: "He dwelleth with you and shall be in you." Go to him for yourselves and cry, "Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law"; and, this being granted you, entreat him to send forth his light and power with the Word when you expound it, that your hearers also may be led into all truth. Commentaries, expositions, interpretations, are all mere scaffolding; the Holy Ghost himself must edify you and help you to build up the church of the living God.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

  

The Rebuke of the Wise!

(Ecclesiastes 7:5) “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.”

Back when I was a youth the rebuke of the wise was far from sight and eager ears; sadly this verse had little positive influence over my life, or maybe I should rather say it had a great negative influence over me and the outcome to my life. I was not given the nickname “Typhoon” because I had a gentle character and was softly spoken. It was not as if I made it my goal to live up to my nickname that just seemed to be who I was as a young boy growing up into adulthood. Trouble followed me and often! Why some would ask? The answer is before our very eyes, I listen to the “song of fools” with great anticipation and eagerness. I knew no better one could say, as I was dead in my trespasses and sin, although that may partly be true I still loved the sound of the music and how its chorus “O fool” had such a catchy tune to it. How I love the beat of the drums that dominated its chorus. Nevertheless I was not alone; all my friends seemed to love it too. In fact almost everyone I encountered enjoyed its tune! Surprisingly, the “song of fools” never seemed to drop off the hit parade, in fact it is still number one in many countries. It still influences so many lives!

I had breakfast with a good friend of mine on Saturday as he was out from Nigeria, however he does not share my sentiments as far as Christianity demands. He is the Managing Director of the Nampak operation in Nigeria and with it comes great responsibility. He is no doubt good at his job and he is very level headed as far the secular world demands. We were discussing the world’s economy and how volatile the stock market is, just one of God’s judgements, a volcano, earthquake or a tsunami and the markets hit a speed wobble, panic sets in and people rush to sell so not to get caught in another market crash! His comment to me was this, “that is why we must live life to the fullest we never know when it will end.” That was a direct quote from the “song of fools”; it is the line that leads into the chorus. My retort was a simple one but I think it cut deep, God knows! I pray it did! I said "Terry, as astute as you are when it comes to making provision for your family, you have life cover etc, why then will you not make provision for your next life, your spiritual life that will never end?” No more was said on the topic but I would ask all to pray earnestly for Him, his name is Terry Wilson and for his family that God may have mercy on their souls and save them.

We are bombarded from every side with this powerful song, "the song of fools” it has cast its spell on so many, it had me dancing to its tune for so long, but GOD sent a man to preach the gospel to me and through his rebuke and the work of God the Holy Spirit’s intervention my eyes where opened to the truth, that Jesus saves! And how well He is able to do exactly that! How I have learnt to love the rebuke of the wise! It may have taken a lifetime but it finally begins to bear its fruit. “Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” (Proverbs 9:8) 

For so long I shunned the counsel of the wise and I have many scars that remind me of my folly. I have a leg that is an inch and a half shorter than the other, I am HIV positive and take medication on a daily basis to keep the virus at bay, but what that does do for me is to remind me of my recklessness and how I should have known better but I still chose to danced to its melody. I have learnt and am still learning to love the rebuke of my heavenly Father as He corrects me through His Word. It teaches me how to walk circumspectly before Him, sometimes it is as gentle as a cool breeze but there are times when a forceful hand is needed and I can truly say I love Him all the more for it! Let us never forget to love the rebuke of the wise as it will stand us in good stead here on earth, but especially for the life to come! Heaven is our final destination and there will never ever be a song such as this, which we are so easily lured by here on earth. Folly will have no place there! Heaven will be so full of wisdom that it will overshadow the negativity of craziness and all its fruit. Heaven will be a new beginning for all who overcome and who learn to love the rebuke of the wise here on earth even though the “song of fools” is bellowed through ever medium we are exposed to in our daily lives. If we once lived under its influence, it no longer should have any hold on us. Our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ has defeated all, even the folly of the worldly wise! So let us remember to love the rebuke of the wise as it will equip us to run this race with determination, we will finish our race victoriously bringing glory to our heavenly Father, as there is a day coming in the not to distant future where we will hear these words; “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matthew 25:21)

But in order to achieve this goal we must pay careful attention to all of wisdom’s direction and that can only be found in God’s Word, the Bible and nowhere else! Of course there are many great books written to teach us to walk in wisdom and circumspectly before a Holy God, just so long as they draw accurate direction from the Bible.

“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” (Luke 21:33)   

 

Signing off

Tyrone

                                 

Remember Calvary!

(Luke 23:33) “And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary...”

To visualize an actual location where our great Saviour bled and died leaves me with mixed emotions. How thankful I will always be, for He has set me free! Honour, power and glory belong to no other, He alone is fit to be glorified as the King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s and I gladly proclaim Him as my Lord and King. For He is my King, He is my Lord! I will bow to no other because of His faithfulness to that hill, called Calvary. In my mind, there is soberness to the actual event with flashes of discomfort, pain, ridicule and much more. However there is overwhelming gladness when I consider that for our King, it was worth it all! I know that without Him and that hill known as Golgotha, I would be lost and undone, a man groping in the dark, without hope and doomed for hell. But now I cry, “Yes I can see!” And all because of Calvary. It was but a place, a piece of land, Kranion, the Greek name for Golgotha - the place of a skull: a reprehensible place, to add to the reproach of His anguish, but significant, for there He triumphed over death. He was crucified. His hands and feet were nailed to the cross as it lay upon the ground, and it was then lifted up, and fastened into the earth, or into some opening made to receive it. This was an excruciating and disgraceful death above any other. He was crucified in the midst between two thieves, as if He had been the worst of the three. Thus He was not only treated as a transgressor, but numbered with them, the worst of them. That He was reviled and reproached, and treated with all the disdain and disapproval imaginable: The people stood beholding, not at all worried that they now crucified God in the flesh but rather pleasing themselves with the display as they geared and called out, “if you are God save yourself.” They triumphed over Him as if they had conquered Him, whereas He was Himself then more than a conqueror; if He be the Christ, the chosen of God, let him save himself that was one of their thoughts!  They mocked Him; they made spectator sport with Him, and made a jest of His sufferings; and as they drank sharp and cheap sour wine themselves, such as were generally allotted them, they victoriously asked him if he would pledge them, or drink with them. And they said, “If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself”; for, as the Jews prosecuted Him under the notion of a pretended Messiah, so the Romans under the notion of a pretended king. That the superscription over his head, setting forth his crime, was, “This is the King of the Jews” (Luke 23:38). He is put to death for pretending to be the king of the Jews; “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20) - So they meant it; but God intended it to be a declaration of what He really was, notwithstanding his present disgrace: He is the King of the Jews, the King of the church, and His cross is the way to His crown. Ironically this was written in those that were called the three learned languages, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, for those are best educated that have learned Christ. There was no mistaking what they had done. It was written in these three languages that it might be known and read of all men; but God designed by it to signify that the gospel of Christ should be preached to all. Although they may not have understood what they had just done; “And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments.” (Luke 23:34) – Nevertheless they were guilty of their part in the sentence; crucifiers of Christ know not what they do. They that speak ill of Christianity speak poorly of that which they do not know, and it is because they will not know it. There is a kind of ignorance that does in part excuse sin: ignorance through want of the means of knowledge or of a capacity to receive instruction, through the inappropriateness of education, or inadvertency. The crucifiers of Christ were kept in ignorance by their rulers, and had prejudices against him instilled into them, so that in what they did against Christ and his doctrine they thought they did God service, all those who reject Christ and His finished work will nevertheless be guilty of the body and blood of the Lamb and they will all suffer His wrath!

Christ is in His kingdom, interceding. “Lord, remember me, and intercede for me.” He is there ruling. “Lord, remember me, and rule in me by thy Spirit.” He is there preparing places for those that are His. “Lord, remember me, and prepare a place for me; remember me at death, remember me in the resurrection.” “Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!” (Job 14:13)

Now the hill of Calvary although so full of treachery is now a place of comfort for a multitude of believers, in fact they cannot be numbered, and all because of our great Kings faithfulness to it. “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;” (Revelation 7:9) 

See how it now does ring so sweet in the ear for all those that believe. Light springs from the mixed emotions of Golgotha, and every herb of the field blooms sweetly beneath the shadow of the once accursed tree. It was a place of thirst for our King, Grace has dug a fountain which now gushes waters pure as crystal, each drop capable of such healing. Think not on this your seasons of conflict, look only to Calvary and you will find solace there, a hill full of such comfort and a King who now intercedes for all who call out to Him. Remember Calvary as it will never be forgotten!

Signing off

Tyrone

Much of my reference was drawn directly from Matthew Henry’s Commentary and some gleaning from the "prince of preachers" C.H.Spurgeon.