“For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be stirred up as in the valley of Gibeon, to do His task, His unusual task, and to work His work, His extraordinary work” (Isaiah 28:21).

That is, literally, His “task is strange,” His “work is alien.”  

I learned along time ago, from the late Bible teacher Derek Prince no less, that judgment to God is “strange,” is “alien.”  That is to say, it is not His nature to judge; by nature He is merciful, kind, and compassionate.  But Judge He is, judge He must, and judge He does.  

I have always been intrigued by what follows the verse above, as if a completely separate portion of Scripture; today, however, I find it to be completely joined to God’s judgments. Here is the passage, starting in verse 23 and ending at verse 29:

“Give ear and hear my voice,

Listen and hear my words.

Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed?

Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?

Does he not level its surface

And sow dill and scatter cummin

And plant wheat in rows,

Barley in its place and rye within its area?

For his God instructs and teaches him properly.

For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,

Nor is the cartwheel driven over cummin;

But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a club.

Grain for bread is crushed,

Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever.

Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it,

He does not thresh it longer.

This also comes from the LORD of hosts,

Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.”

There is so much to be had from these verses.  Years ago–I can recall it vividly, I took it as practical wisdom for marketing and managing my company’s projects.  I reasoned that if God instructs the farmer, He can teach me how to run a painting business.  However, although it stands by itself as a wonderful illustration about how God involves Himself in the work of men, I find that in context it is a fleshing out of the words found beforehand.  It describes how God works through His judgments.  You can see, if you look at it this way, God’s wisdom and wonderful counsel.  You can also see His love at work through painful discipline.  Think of the father, about to spank his child, saying, “This is going to hurt me more than it will you.”  

I was greatly helped by reading the commentators, all of whom seemed to agree.  I first turned to Matthew Henry who, I think, is less ‘theological’ than the rest; his writings seem more like meditations than they do word studies or scholarly dissertations.  Yet they are filled with insight.  Here is what he writes,

“The Lord, who has given men this wisdom, is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in his working. As the occasion requires, He threatens, corrects, spares, shows mercy, or executes vengeance. Afflictions are God’s threshing instruments, to loosen us from the world, to part between us and our chaff, and to prepare us for use. God will proportion them to our strength; they shall be no heavier than there is need. When His end is answered, the trials and sufferings of His people shall cease; His wheat shall be gathered into the garner, but the chaff shall be burned with unquenchable fire.”

You see, what God does He has to do even though He doesn’t want to do it.  But He has an end in mind; He is after producing something in His people.  Suffering has its place; it is “after you have suffered for awhile…..” (1 Peter 5:10).  

Expostiors’ explains it this way,

“God’s purposes require him to act differently at different seasons, perhaps sparing Jerusalem in 701 B.C. and destroying it in 586 B.C.  Once again, the variety of God’s ways with people is being underlined.  Plowing, sowing, threshing, and grinding are all means to this end. So God has his purposes in history, and through a sequence of events he brings them to pass. God’s power and wisdom, united in his nature, bring forth a pattern of events in the story of the human race. The agricultural processes here suggest pain, implying that it is possible to find oneself on the wrong side of God’s purposes in history and so to experience his judgment.”

A. R. Faussett writes, 

“God adapts His measures to the varying exigencies of the several cases: now mercy, now judgments; now punishing sooner, now later (an answer to the scoff that His judgments, being put off so long, would never come at all); His object being not to destroy His people any more than the farmer’s object in threshing is to destroy his crop; this vindicates God’s ‘strange work’ in punishing His people.”

So are the will and ways of God; He does what He needs to do in order to bring about His designs for men and nations.  We on the receiving end should take heed and trust in the goodness of God, as while He leads us through the valley of the shadow of death, He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies.  His goodness and lovingkindness always chases after us.  That is the nature of God and the reason for His judgments.  

I have said it over and over–I shall say it again:  God’s judgments are redemptive.  I reason that absent God’s dealings with men, they would not in the goodness of their hearts turn to Him.  Keep in mind that there is “none good, no, not one.”  We are a fallen race, a condemned one.  But for the grace of God, no person would come out of this reconciled to God.  If it weren’t for the consequences of sin, which send men reeling, they would not ponder God. The whole human race is under judgment–save those who have believed in the Son of God (see John 3).  

And, if it weren’t for difficulty and trouble, who among we who have believed would grow?  This is a different matter, though it is related.  

I think some reading (if ever anyone reads what I spend hours writing) would wonder why I seem to focus so much on the negative, on judgment.   Do I?  Am I not speaking of God’s goodness, His love, His tender mercies?  Again, read Hebrews 12 and Revelation 3.  He treats people according to their need.  Whatever we require to return us to God and for Him to produce the sons and daughters He desires, He does for us.  This is no less than the love of God in action. 

I am reading the account of our Lord’s visit to His hometown where, at first He enjoyed a great welcome.  Yet things turned south quickly, and after speaking well of Him at first, within a short period the people were all about destroying Him.  “No prophet is welcome in His hometown,” He had said; and then went on to tell of how the earlier prophets Elijah and Elisha had ministered not to the Israelites, but to those of other lands, to pagans.  

What strikes me are the Lord’s words as paraphrased by commentator David Brown:  “Too much familiarity breeds contempt.”  I cannot help but think that this applies to we in our day concerning the person Jesus.  

I understand that presently there is a generation rising up that ‘knows not the Lord’; whereas, in a more general sense, America is an evangelized nation.  That is to say, there is no want for professing Christians, churches, Christian media, Christian literature, and overall Christian culture.  Yet the title of Phillip Yancy’s book, The Jesus I Never Knew, comes to mind.  Most people do not know Jesus Christ, nor do they pursue knowing Him; He has become all too common to them.  Jesus Christ is taken for granted in our land.  

I know this to be true simply by considering those in my extended family.  While I have not surveyed them, from what I have observed I would say that they would all, upon asking, profess a belief in God and Jesus.  And though I have not consulted Barna recently, but have read the data at some point in this last year, most Americans would likely say the same thing.  But does Jesus Christ occupy the life?  Motivate the soul?  Fill the mind?  Is He worshipped on Sundays? Any day?  Hardly.  Church attendance is on the decline, and these days even those who sincerely believe in the Lord do not consider going to church a necessity.  

Yes, there are those who hate the Lord and all He represents; they would wipe Him and all the vestiges of a believing nation from the land.  And that they have done to some degree; they have removed Him from the public square, from the public schools, and even from some of the churches!  But still, Christians and Christianity is commonplace.  Jesus Christ is even among the curse words Americans use, and not for praise.  

What is needed?  If Americans do not know the One they profess, if our familiarity with Him has bred contempt–what then?  They must see another aspect of Him they haven’t seen; they must come to know Him as He really is.  How would that be?  

I shall from here speak randomly, writing as things come to mind.  

First of all, let the truth be told.  “Truth has stumbled in the streets,” the prophet Isaiah wrote.  Since the church is “the pillar and support of the truth,” and since she has been more or less silent for many, many years, let her rise up and call a spade a spade.  Let her speak the truth in love. Let her address the issues of the day on behalf of the One who has the answers.  Let her confront the lies being perpetrated by the chief of liars, Satan.  

Second, let there be a demonstration of a true, experiential knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  When the Bible speaks of knowing God, it is not just head knowledge–my goodness, the world has enough of that!  “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.”  It is not the theologian that exhibits Christianity, but the person who is living in communion with Jesus Christ.  This is seen by the relationships Christians have with one another.   “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  Christ and Christianity will be seen to be altogether uncommon if the life of the believer stands out in stark contrast to the rest of the world.  And this in his love for his fellow Christians.

Third, let the power fall.  I think of Che Ahn’s book, Say Goodby to Powerless Christianity,  which is certainly what must happen to dispel our familiarity with the gospel.  “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk,” Paul writes, “but of power.”  In another place he says, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”  

Perhaps the single most greatest need of the hour is for a display of power.  I believe people seeing and experiencing God’s power will knock familiarity with Christ right out of the park. 

I say “let the power fall” because that is crucial; we need God to unleash His power upon and through His willing people.  A good example is from my own life just recently.  I know a man who is so much like those I have described above.  He would, and has, professed Jesus; yet there is no evidence that he is an active follower of Jesus Christ–at least as I understand it.  They say he is going blind in one eye.  So one day I laid my hand upon his eye and prayed it be healed–this, in accord with our Lord’s own words in Mark 16 (which I believe with all my heart!).  But, so far, nothing has happened; his eye remains as is.  What if, when I laid my hands on him his eye was instantly and forever healed?  I think his relationship with Christ would be dramatically changed!  

Christianity is indeed all too common in these United States.  There is a Jesus we have never known–at least not in modern times.  There is even a contempt for Him and His followers.  All of which needs to change.  The truth of God’s word must be told–no more watering down Scripture to save our necks, fear confrontation, or avoid losing church members.  The life of Christ must be demonstrated in the church if it is to be exported.  And God’s power is absolutely critical if we wish to reach those who take Jesus for granted.  

With regard to which, this last need, I close with a prayer prayed by the church in the book of Acts:

“And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29-30).

“The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).

These words, spoken by Moses in a prayer at the end of his life, are seen also in a Psalm attributed to him, Psalm 90.  There he writes, “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations” (verse 1).  Well, not quite, as Israel was in and out of their relations with God; many times and in various ways they were very far from Him.  Yet, still, God was always there as a refuge for them, a place to come to, a place to live.  

The idea of dwelling in God perpetually strikes me this morning.  It means that we have made the Lord our home.  Not so much a place from which we go out and come in, but a place we live whether we go out or come in.  We are always there.  

In some respects this is true for all men, though only in a general sense, and in no wise a conscious one.  For it is written, “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17).  All really do live in God, even those with rebellious hearts.  But this is not the sense of Moses’ words.  The man who lives in God has made a choice, that wherever he is and whatever he does, he dwells in God.  The Lord God is a home from which he never departs.  He is, as it were (as is so relevant right now), self-quarantined.  He has decided, not because of some disease, nor even for an escape from danger (though these are both valid and biblical reasons), but because this is a most wonderful place, this shelter of the Most High, this shadow of the Almighty.  

Yes, God is our refuge; He is our safe place, our fortress.  He is our shield from the terrors of the night, and the arrows that fly by day; from the “pestilence that stalks in darkness,” and the “destruction that lays waste at noon.“  But He is so much more than that!  I think it pleases God that we choose to live in Him for the sake of living in Him, not just to save our necks.  He is, after all, our exceeding joy; and in His presence is fullness of joy.  These are the best reasons to dwell in Him.  

If we move on from Psalm 90 to Psalm 91, we see a correlation between dwelling in God and loving God, because, really, this is what I am talking about.  

In verse 9 we read, “For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place”–and then it goes on to tell of the safety we will enjoy as a result.  “No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.”  But then in verse 14 it continues, “Because he has loved Me…..”  You see that the idea of dwelling in God is all about loving God; that is the focus.  All the other things derive from this:  We love the Lord.  

“Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.

With a long life I will satisfy him

And let him see My salvation.” 

We are not ‘using’ God to protect our skin–and don’t get me wrong, He is our protector, and we do need to protection.  And run to Him I shall!  Hide behind Him I will!  But stay there.  Stay there, for there is more to Him than that.  

To dwell indicates a sense of permanence, and that is the point.  You are not paying God a visit, then heading out to do your thing.  No, as in our opening verse, “You have been our dwelling place for all generations.”  Permanently. Forever.  

My thinking takes me to another place, John 15, where Jesus says, “Abide in Me.”  Webster makes a distinction between dwelling and abiding.  He puts the one as more permanent, and the other as more temporary.  I am certain that is not the sense in which Christ employs the term.  If that were the case given the context, then He being the vine and we the branches, if we were to leave off of abiding, then we would whither up and be fuel for the fire.  No, to abide in Jesus is to do so at all times and forever; that is the objective, that is the plan.  So the two, Moses’ words and Jesus’ words, they are the same.  

It is worth considering the outcomes, as both are very much desirable.  As with Moses, there is protection, deliverance, and long life.  With the Lord Jesus, there is fruitfulness, answered prayer, and the love of God.  Who would not want these?  

How to dwell in God?  I think it is a conscious choice.  As the title of Bother Lawrence’s book indicates, we practice the presence of God.  That is, if we live and move and have our being in God, we seek to intentionally live that way.  We make it our aim to be spiritually minded (Romans 8:6); to set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2).  We see ourselves as being in God.  We turn what is mundane into acts of worship (Colossians 3:23).  We commune with God in His word and through prayer.  We live a life of love.  We obey Christ. 

“The eternal God is a dwelling place.”  Let Him be yours, be mine.  That is His will for us.  One day, through faith in Christ, we shall live with Him forever.  “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places, and I go to prepare a place for you.”  In the here and now, He wants to be this for each of us; and there, in Him, we get to enjoy all the benefits.  But best of all, we get to enjoy the Lord Himself.  

“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men” (John 1:4).

I wrote recently about Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night, how my friend John once pointed out that while all the houses in the painting had their lights on, the church was dark.  That stayed with me for an entire day, and even as I drifted off to sleep it remained upon my mind.  

I wonder how many, and to what degree, churches in America are without their lights? And, knowing that the church is not a building per se, but people, individuals who comprise the body of Christ, how many of my fellow believers are without the light of Christ in them?  

I was thinking of the nature of light.  There are two aspects to it; one, it dispels darkness, and two, the eye is naturally attracted to it.  From these I conclude the following:  if darkness encroaches upon the church, it is because it has no light; and if on the other hand it has light, the world is drawn to it.  

John spoke of bringing the world to us–to the church that is.  I wondered at that, as the mandate is for us to go to the world (see Matthew 28:18-20).  And in the course of our conversations around this theme I understood, I think, what he was saying.  Another friend, our missions director, put it this way and in these terms:  we bring the world to us with “podcasts, shows, online bits, media, etc., with a prayed up strategy that makes transformation through God’s word possible for anyone that gets plugged in.”  Okay, I get that.  I think of The Billy Graham Association’s internet evangelism program; from what I read about it it is a very fruitful ministry.  

John, in a lengthly response spoke of leveraging our church’s global network to solve major world problems such as affordable housing, clean air and drinking water.  

As for me, I cannot escape that dark church in Starry Night.  The Lord Jesus warns, “Watch out that the light in you is not darkness” (Luke 11:35).  Christians have a responsibility to be who God has called them to be.  What is that?  “The light of the world.”

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).  

If indeed Christ is the Light of men and He dwells in His people, then it is our job to let that light shine.  And shining as it does, it naturally attracts the attention of those around it.  If we are not of the sort to hide it, or otherwise permit it not to be seen, the world sees it and God gets the glory in return.  

How then to let it shine?  Jesus here associates light with deeds; we first allow the light in us to shine by virtue of observable good deeds, things that we do that attract attention and that the world itself, unredeemed as it is, considers good.  These would be deeds that directly benefit the recipients and are identifiable as being from God.   

If we need examples, the New Testament is chock full of them.  Perhaps they are best summarized by a statement made by Peter in Acts chapter 10,

“You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (verse 38 italics mine).  

I think it clear that Peter was referring to the things he personally witnessed Jesus doing, of which we have an accurate account in the four Gospels.  To put it more succinctly, we do the very same things Jesus did, and in so doing our light shines.  

How else?  Live as God intends–that is to say, live holy lives.  

I cannot help but think of some things Don Federer said in his book, A Jewish Conservative Looks at Pagan America.  

“The Jewish mission is precisely to talk about God, to make humanity aware of His dominion, to remind us of the necessity of God-based ethics.  Absent that, there is no logical reason for the continued existence of the Jewish people.”

He goes on to say,

“What then is our mission?  To lead uniquely Jewish lives, lives dedicated to charity, piety and virtue, to living the tenets of Jewish law.  To teach by our example.  Like a pebble thrown into the middle of a lake, Torah Jews can have a ripple effect on those around them, just by acting the way a people should, but rarely do behave.  To testify to God’s presence in the world.”

Now I understand Federer here speaks of Jews, what he believes to be the Jewish mission; but his words no less describe the mandate given us by the Lord Himself.  

It has been said that a man cannot be saved by observing deeds alone–there must be words; but he can be attracted to the one doing the deeds.  That is the point.  We let our light shine by virtue of what we do, and by reason of who we are–being, consciously, intentionally, who God made us to be:  the light of the world.  Light-bearers.  

The light of the church, its windows darkened, must be turned on.  The call of God is to be a city set upon a hill.  

I close with a prophetic picture of what this looks like–the world coming to us, to the house of God, the church,

“Now it will come about that

In the last days

The mountain of the house of the Lord

Will be established as the chief of the mountains,

And will be raised above the hills;

And all the nations will stream to it.

And many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

To the house of the God of Jacob;

That He may teach us concerning His ways

And that we may walk in His paths” (Isaiah 2:2-3 italics mine).  

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).  

I sit and I stare.  I look up all the related verses.  I read what the commentators have to say.  In this singular verse is pretty much all a man needs to know.  

“The Lord God is a sun.”  That is to say, He provides light; He is Light.  There is no darkness with God.  All He is and does is as far from dark as you can get–infinitely distanced from all that is considered to be darkness.  He shines brightly upon those who are His, who have come under His glorious sunshine. He is the “sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2).  In His light we see light (Psalm 36:9).  He is our light and our salvation (Psalm 27:1).  We are instructed to arise and shine ourselves, for our Light has come (Isaiah 60:1).  Though darkness covers the earth, and deep darkness the peoples, the Lord always rises upon His people.  Though clouds may fill the sky, even dark clouds of gloom and doom, yet upon His chosen beams of bright light shine down upon His godly ones.  

“The Lord God is a shield.”  God spoke to Abraham our father and said, “I am a shield to you” (Genesis 15:1).  What He was to Abraham, He is to us; as through Jesus Christ the blessing of Abraham belongs to we his children through faith.  Psalm 91 reads, “His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”  Wherefore?  He delivers us from the “snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.”  Who among men can provide us with better protection than God Himself?  Paul speaks of the shield faith.  This is not less than the belief that the Lord God is our shield.  We trust Him to protect us from the “flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16)–even extinguishing them as they hit this shield who is the Lord.  Because we trust Him so, we will “not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; or of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.”  Because we “have made the Lord, even the Most High, (our) dwelling place (behind the shield that He is), no evil will befall us, nor will any plagues come near our tent” (Psalm 91:5-6, 9-10).  

“The Lord gives grace.”  Of this Matthew Henry writes, “What is grace, but heaven begun below, in the knowledge, love, and service of God?”  Meaning, grace is a taste of heaven on earth.  Under the New Covenant, we who are of Jesus Christ have had this grace “lavished upon us.”  We have found out that God’s grace is “sufficient for us.”  We are taught that God is able to “make all grace abound to us, that always having all we need, we may have an abundance for every good deed.”  Not only in the here and now do we receive grace for salvation, but it (God’s grace) will be ours to enjoy in the ages to come–and there are ages to come.  And what, pray tell, is grace?  It has been defined in so many ways, but the chief meaning is God’s undeserved favor.  He has caused His face to shine upon us, and when God looks at you you can well be assured that all His love, all His goodness, all His power is all yours to have and enjoy.

“The Lord gives us glory.”  When I think of glory, I think of God’s presence.  “His glory filled the temple.”  I think of God’s people, concerning whom Paul writes that God’s glory is in His saints (Ephesians 1:18).  And Henry says, “What is glory, but the completion of this happiness, in being made like to him, and in fully enjoying him for ever?”  So it is that the glory of God is the presence of God inside every believer by reason of the Holy Spirit in them.  When we look upon a fellow Christian, there we see God’s glory.  And oh for the tangible presence of God–there is not a better feeling this side of heaven.  Indeed, it is heaven’s atmosphere given us to taste upon earth.  And for sure, God’s glory is the glory and majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one” (John 17:22).  Meaning, what Jesus Christ has by way of glory, we have right now.  “As He is so are we in this world.”  The glory of God is upon us, saints.  God gives it, and it is glorious!

“No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”  And what is the catchword here? “Uprightly.”  This promise is for those “who walk uprightly.”  Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary helps us understand the meaning of this:

When yashar (the Hebrew word) pertains to people, it is best translated “just” or “upright.” God is the standard of uprightness for His people: “Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way” (Ps. 25:8). His word (Ps. 33:4), judgments (Ps. 19:9), and ways (Hos. 14:9) reveal His uprightness and are a blessing to His people. The believer follows Him in being “upright” in heart: “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart” (Ps. 32:11; cf. 7:10; 11:2). In their daily walk they manifest that they are walking on the narrow road: “The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation” (Ps. 37:14). The “just” are promised God’s blessing upon their lives (Prov. 11:10-11).

To summarize, we live and walk in a way that pleases God–i.e., by faith–and that is modeled after the Lord Himself and His holy word.  We are men and women of integrity.  We so order our lives so as to conform to God’s will and ways.  We keep our hearts; we stay on the straight and narrow, fixing our eyes on Jesus.  We keep the commandments of the Lord, remaining humble before Him.  

The outcome?  God does not withhold anything good from us.  He supplies both our needs and wants–assuming they are good, that is; God does not give us what is harmful to us, the bad things; of this we can be confident. He is sovereign and has our best interests at heart.  

In this one verse, then, is pretty much all we need–indeed, all we need!  God is our light.  God is our shield.  God gives us grace.  He gives us glory.  He does not withhold a thing from us that He considers good.  

“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36).  

The kingdom over which Jesus is King, and of which we who believe are a part, is from another place; it is not of this world, but of heaven.  It is, as it revealed to us in Matthew’s Gospel, the kingdom of heaven.  Or, in the others, the kingdom of God.  

There is another kingdom–there are but two: the kingdom of darkness, and we know who is the king over that one.  Thanks be to God that we, the believers, have been transferred from the one to the other.  That makes us from another place as well.  

Christians ought recognize that their association with the Christ places them in a category outside the realm of this world.  The Lord, on the night He was betrayed, prayed thus concerning His disciples, “they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” And again, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.” 

Apparently, this slipped Peter’s mind as he drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant.  And no doubt when he denied the Lord three times, too.

Paul writes, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” That is to say, and this is my point, Christians are other-worldly.  We are not of this world, but have been redeemed out of this world. We now, every single one of us, belong to another realm. We should be conscious of this, and carry ourselves accordingly.  

Christ’s kingdom, being from another place, a heavenly one, is completely opposite to the earthly one.  They are as different as oil and water, as darkness from light. Whereas in some cultures where the leaven of the kingdom has had its effect, there is still some semblance of the heavenly rule in place.  But, as in the United States, it is quickly dissipating.  In Asia Minor it is gone, just as in most of Europe as well.  

Christ’s kingdom is the antitheses of Satan’s, and Satan is the one who rules the world of men (see 1 John 5:19).  Not for long, though!  

Christ’s kingdom, inaugurated at His first coming, is on the march.  Though it spread like wildfire at its onset, overtaking the entire known world in but a few centuries, it seemed to have diminished.  There were the dark ages.  Then came the resurgence.  There was the Reformation.  There were the great awakenings in England and America.  The Holy Spirit was poured out at Azusa Street. He moved mightily upon the youth in the 1960’s and 1970’s.  I understand that there are more people coming to Jesus now than at any point in the history of Christianity.  Daniels’s vision of a rock being cut out (but not with human hands) and becoming a huge mountain filling the earth is fully in play.  One day, soon, there will be one kingdom, not two; and one King, not two.  That is our hope and prayer.

The kingdom of Jesus Christ, not from here, has its own laws, its own ways, its own culture.  We have these embodied in the New Testament.  In what we call The Sermon on the Mount, for example, we have an overview of it.  With the balance of Jesus’ teachings, and those of the ones appointed by Him, we have all we need to live and walk in a completely different way. The Lord expects this of us.  

This kingdom is to take precedence over everything else.  Including our needs and wants. Jesus tells us to seek it first. To make it our priority, with other things common to men taking a back seat.  

Inasmuch as He is above, and we are there with Him (because we are united with Him in spirit), our lives should be characterized by a heavenly quality, just as His was.  There is something very different, and very attractive to the hungry soul, about a kingdom man or woman. That is why crowds were drawn to Jesus, and especially those who knew their need.  

No doubt I could say more, but the main point, I think, is to view ourselves as being from another place.  Not that we are better than the unredeemed, but that we are redeemed. How we think, speak, and act should reflect whose we are, and from whence we came.  Yes, we were born of the flesh; we are human beings just like everyone else.  But that is our only commonality. In reality, we are, by virtue of the new birth, sons and daughters of the Living God; heavenly ones, majestic ones (Psalm 16), revived spiritual beings, citizens of another realm.  From another place.  

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John” (Revelation 1:1).

Among the many things that grab my attention this morning is the idea that Christians are the bond-servants of Jesus Christ. You don’t hear much talk of this in our churches. Instead, there is much to do about our freedom in Christ, our being made sons and daughters of God by reason of our faith in Christ. And this is good, and absolutely true. Yet Scripture, the New Testament alone, uses this word (doulos) 111 times. By definition it simply means a slave.

It shouldn’t surprise us to be called such, as Paul reminds us that we were bought with a price, we were redeemed–or, bought back–by the Blood of Christ. Thus we are owned by Christ, and whether we are in agreement or not, or yielded as such, the idea is that our wills have been made subservient to the will of Jesus Christ.

We are owned. When evangelizing others, it would be a good idea to make this known, that in coming to Christ you really are turning your life over to Him.

I like what I believe is Campus Crusades for Christ’s tract used for evangelistic purposes. It depicts a throne. Until coming to Jesus you are sitting on it, you are calling the shots of your life. When accepting Christ into your life you are getting up off that throne and allowing Jesus to sit there. Now, He calls the shots.

This is a good picture of life God calls us to. Not only is Jesus the Savior of men, He is Lord of all. In coming to Him we come under His rule. If we don’t want Him as our Master, then it is best to hold off receiving Him until you are ready to accept Him as such. Those who do not wish to have Him rule over them should read Luke 19:27.

We are not our own.

A slave has no rights, except for those given him by his master. I think the New Testament is all about telling us what our rights are as bond-servants of Christ. There are certain things we must not do, but there are a multitude of things we can do. Chief among the things we are free to do is love. Whatever we can do in love we are absolutely free to do. Too, whatever we can do in faith we are free to do–faith being belief in what God has to say in His word (albeit rightly divided).

Our motto as slaves of Christ ought be that same one as was our Master’s while here on earth: “Not My will, but Thy will O God.” It should be communicated by those preaching the good news of Jesus that in coming to Him you are setting aside your will in favor of God’s will, which is far better than yours.

Everyone serves someone. As Bob Dylan would put it in his song, “You Gotta Serve Somebody,” you either serve the Lord or you serve the devil. It is up to you.

Paul tells us that prior to being born again into God’s family, we were slaves of sin. We were under that cruel master, the devil, or Satan. We were closed in by his kingdom, the kingdom of darkness. We had no choice but to sin; indeed, we were under his control, just like the rest of the world (see 1 John 5:19).

There is so much to-do amongst Christians about pursuing your dreams. I think it is better to pursue the will of God. While I believe firmly that God puts it in our hearts what He wants us to be and to do, simply pursuing things because you want to is the wrong approach.

I have told the story of how I came to be in the painting business. As I came to Jesus I was anti-business and hated to paint. My aspirations were more inclined toward music and writing, and occupationally I thought I would be in the medical field, as some sort of tech or something like that. And then God said, “Start a painting business.” I tell others that it isn’t what you want to do, it is what God calls you to do. It isn’t up to you; it is up to God.

I think it is good to dream a bit, what you could do for God; but in the end it may be something altogether different than your dreams. You may like it in Southern California, or Florida, but God may have you go to Siberia!

The Lord Jesus, the night before He was crucified, was praying in effect to His Father, “Is there any other way?” He knew there wasn’t, but He was asking anyway. And then He said those infamous words, “Yet not as I will, but as You will.” And, “Your will be done.”

Again, I remember a time–it was 1990, and my five-year old company was losing money for the first time. I lay despondent upon the couch in our home on South Waverly Road, and the Lord spoke to me these words from the book of James,

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that’” (James 4:13-15).

I think this would be a good habit to develop. In considering anything, be it small or great, practical or spiritual, in the home, the workplace, or the church, to say, “If the Lord wills.” This is the attitude of the slave; he wants to know what his master’s will is.

This too is the proper mindset of the bond-servant. He considers his master more important than himself (see Philippians 2). What his master thinks trumps what he thinks. What his master wants trumps what he wants.

As we see in Philippians 2 (just referenced), the slave of Christ not only puts his Master ahead of himself, but also his fellow bond-servants. This is where the rubber really hits the road. In some respects, following Jesus is not all that difficult–it’s these other slaves that complicate matters! But a rule of the first order among all the bond-servants of the Lord is that they love one another, just as they are loved.

And this latter point is the one that must be emphasized above all others. When we speak of being slaves of Christ, you can not think of a better place to be, as this Master is by far better than the other, and you are under this One or that one. This Master loves you, and as He Himself was a Bond-Servant to His Father–and we see the fruit of that relationship–so we are to be bond-servants to Him. There is not a better place to be in all heaven or earth, than under the loving rule of the Lord of all. Knowing what we know of the benefits of being such, who in their right mind would not want this Man ruling over them? I pray regularly, “I will have this Man rule over me.”

So you see, that while we are free, we are bound. We’ve not been liberated to do as we please. No, the idea of liberation is to do what pleases God. A man so liberated can be free no matter where he is, even in chains (as was the apostle Paul). It is as Pastor Len Hill said the other day concerning those he ministers to in prison. They may be behind bars, but they are free men. That is, they are free to serve Jesus as His bond-servants right where they are at.

Free to be slaves, this is the idea.

“You are the God who performs miracles” (Psalm 77:14).

If there is one thing about God, it is that He is supernatural, whereas we, we humans, are natural. He is above, we are below. He is in heaven, we are on earth. He is limitless, we are sorely limited. The Bible, from front to back, is a testament to the power of God. From beginning to end, God is revealed as a God who does the miraculous, who defies the natural order of things, who intervenes in the affairs of men and does what men cannot do.

It is amazing how it is that many do not believe in miracles–until they need one, that is; then they are open to the idea. It also is surprising how many, having experienced the power of God, soon forget. Such was the case time and again with the children of Israel, and it is true in our day too.

I think if a person pauses for a moment he will see the hand of God in his life. So many of the wonders God does goes unnoticed by men. Who among us knows how many times we have averted tragedy and we were not even aware of it? The Scripture says, “To the Lord belong deliverances from death.”

And, if you take the time to think a little further, most every aspect of life is itself miraculous. Our bodies for example, are filled with wonders, the likes of which science is still unfolding and may never get to the end of. The world about us, the natural order, is awe-inspiring.

The miracles the Psalmist speaks of are, no doubt, at least those displayed by God in the redemption of Israel from the rule of Egypt. In reading through the Law-books of the Bible, then on to those of history, you see such things as the plagues inflicted upon Pharaoh, water coming from a rock, the sun standing still, and an axe head floating. You see the walls of a fortified city fall down with the mere shouts from a multitude of people, entire enemy armies wiped out without Israel having so much as to lift a finger. I could go on.

And then we have the revelation of God in Jesus Christ–and I mean thatGod reveals Himself fully, He gives us everything we need to know about Him in the Person of Jesus. And what, pray tell, do we see God doing in Christ? Going about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil (see Acts 10:38). If you want to know what God is like, and what sort of things He does, all that need be done is to read the accounts of Christ Jesus in the four Gospels.

The miracles are said to be “attesting miracles;” that is to say, they are intended to point you to the one who does them. They attest to the Person and power of God almighty. If you are after a miracle, and you get one, and it doesn’t result in your placing your faith in God, then you have missed the purpose.

Nothing is impossible with God. Nothing is too difficult for God. To think otherwise is foolhardy.

Not that God needs our faith to do what He wants, but for the most part, experiencing the miraculous requires belief on our part. Most of the wonders Jesus did in the New Testament were in response to a person’s faith. Where that was not present, as in our Lord’s hometown, He was not able to do much, but He healed only a few people; the rest were left un-helped, and it was not the Lord’s fault.

One thing to latch on to God about is His ability. Paul gives us a word we all do well to commit to memory:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

God, you see, is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (NIV), so why limit Him? Why not step out of our earthly mindset and the confines of science and agree with the holy writ? God is not bound by earthly standards, nor is He limited to the findings of science. He created science!

I don’t believe I have ever met a person who has not needed a miracle at some point in their lives. And, the thing is, there is one waiting for every person just on the other side of unbelief. God is the God who does wonders, who works miracles upon the earth. He makes the blind to see, the lame to walk, the demonized to be free, and the dead to rise. He makes the deaf to hear, the leperous to have clear skin, and even mere fevers to subside. These are things He does.

The greater miracle however, the miracle of all miracles is this: He reunites the sinner to Himself. He reconciles men. He forgives sin and invites those estranged from Him to become part of His family. What we call salvation, this is the greatest of all His wonders. And, if He can save the worst of men, making them whole again–as is true in my case, what then can He not do? God can do anything!

I think this is the conclusion God would want us to come to, this is the sum of the matter: the faith that pleases God, that evokes His response, is the belief that He is the God who can do anything. He is the God who can do anything God. This is the message, this is the faith that, when exercised, will bring about the miraculous in your life.

“And He answered them and said, ‘Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate’” (Matthew 19:4-6).

My thoughts are many this morning–all over the map, as when I read I think, and when I read often my emotions are aroused. So it is when I read these words, I think of my wife and our marriage, and I want to go and be with her.

Those who distort the created order do so to their own peril. Not only that, but they miss out on what is perhaps the greatest of all blessings this side of heaven. It is evident from the construction of the body, that God intended one of each sex to be joined to the other. And this in the confines of a singular relationship with each other that remains unbroken until death separates them.

What Jesus says here is a statement of fact. When a man and a woman come together and are thus joined; when their relationship is consummated by the act of intercourse, they verily become, as it were, one flesh. Though two bodies are visible, the truth of God says they are one. And that is the way God intends they function. As a unit.

These days so much of this has become perverted. Not only has sexual sin become the norm, and marriage itself being seen as unnecessary, even a thing of past, the relationship between a man and a woman is more about two independents than it is a unified whole. For this reason, and because there is so little knowledge of Scripture and the fear of the Lord, divorce is rampant.

When Barb and I were first married, we were not in the Lord Jesus. And marriage to us, or at least as it was to me, was something you could step into–and right out of if it didn’t seem to work out. We were guilty of all the things I’ve said to this point. We both had, and were until September 18, 1971, engaged in fornication. Yet God in His mercy and foresight, saw ahead; He knows the end from the beginning. He knew we both would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, and so He kept our marriage.

That was nearly 49 years ago.

God’s intent for marriage is, “until death do we part.” His plan extends beyond the mutual happiness of the two parties; that being the production of godly offspring.

A man and a woman was never intended by God to be alone. Of course, at the first it was man, by himself alone. And God saw that that was not good, so He created the woman for him and to be with him. So the woman was for the man, and the man for the woman. They are made for each other.

I believe in God-ordained relationships. I don’t believe marriage partners are random; instead, as is seen in my life, He hand-picks who shall marry whom, each a perfect match for the other. Perhaps this is one reason there is so much divorce. People marry outside of the will of God. They marry for the wrong reason. And, once married, they do not acknowledge God in their relationship.

Barb and me are a perfect match. Who would have ever guessed? Though in sin before marriage and without Christ for three years after, our relationship was God-ordained. God joined us together, and God Himself has kept us together. For this I am extremely grateful.