Victory in the Place of Authority
…… and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. (Jdg 7:20)
Christ looks at the church as His body, in oneness both in joy and in suffering. Jesus prayed that we would be one as He is one with the Father, because this is the reason for the world that they may believe that the Father has send the Son (John 17:21). In that sending of Jesus is the testimony of the Father’s love (John 3:16) for the world which cannot save itself. Beyond saving us is that ‘God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh’ (Rom 8:3). This is the victorious Christian life that Christ has conquered sin (the ‘factory’ of sins) for us and the church glorious (Heb 2:10), no longer bond (Rom 6:16). There is a freedom from as subjects under the authority of sin to the Divine Authority of Christ.
If Gideon’s army merely cried out ‘the sword of the Lord’ and no further, they could not have realized their victory over their enemy who enslaved them. As with soldiers (2 Tim 2:3, 4), our victory can only be realized under authority. Paul and the other apostles had never taught rebellion to the oppressive Roman Empire but to be subject, giving thanks in prayer for the authorities (1 Tim 2:1,2). God has been sovereign to ordain even our government and employers regardless of they being hard taskmasters or not (1 Pet 2:13, 14, 18). Family order and spiritual authority also play important roles for our protection. It is easy to consider ourselves subject to the authority of Christ, but are we willing to come under authority that we may not view as ‘spiritual’. Followers of the Way do not distinguish the spiritual and the natural. Oswald Chambers said that the test of our spirituality is not at the mountain top experiences, but down at the valley of testing.
God has laid out His divine order, are we willing to submit to both natural and spiritual authority? Or are we rebellious and our prayers, words and actions carry elements of witchcraft (1 Sam 15:23). Passing the test of the Divine order in the natural life is also the proof of submission in the spiritual; hence there is our cognizance of total victory in glorious Christian life.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Giving of Life
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God….. (1 Pet 4:11)
Have we ever considered that even our speech carries the authority, power and ambassadorship (2 Cor 5:20) in the representation of God? Representing the Almighty to the world shrouded with darkness without form and void of His love, blessing, coverage and Lordship. Out of that same darkness we who have been called out of the condition deficient of the Light of God have the authority to proclaim life as did God speaking ‘Let there be light: and there was light’ (Gen 1:3).
With this reasoning we have to jealously guard our mouths, but more so deal with the true condition of our hearts which out of it springs forth the issues of life (Prov 4:23). Our speaking betrays the cleanness and purity of our hearts (Matt 12:34). Do we speak our mind or does our speech derive from the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16)? Our tongue is either a pure spring of life or spewing the stench of death, discouragement, pride, condemnation etc, where both speaker and hearer can get defiled.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. (Psa 19:1-2)
If our speech were to be weight by the Lord, how much of it bears any eternal significance? Only the Word of God will outlast heaven and earth (Matt 24:35), think about the heritage as sons of God to be vessels to carry His Word to bring light to darkness, life to situations of death. Have we been sons of encouragement or agents of discouragement?
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God….. (1 Pet 4:11)
Have we ever considered that even our speech carries the authority, power and ambassadorship (2 Cor 5:20) in the representation of God? Representing the Almighty to the world shrouded with darkness without form and void of His love, blessing, coverage and Lordship. Out of that same darkness we who have been called out of the condition deficient of the Light of God have the authority to proclaim life as did God speaking ‘Let there be light: and there was light’ (Gen 1:3).
With this reasoning we have to jealously guard our mouths, but more so deal with the true condition of our hearts which out of it springs forth the issues of life (Prov 4:23). Our speaking betrays the cleanness and purity of our hearts (Matt 12:34). Do we speak our mind or does our speech derive from the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16)? Our tongue is either a pure spring of life or spewing the stench of death, discouragement, pride, condemnation etc, where both speaker and hearer can get defiled.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. (Psa 19:1-2)
If our speech were to be weight by the Lord, how much of it bears any eternal significance? Only the Word of God will outlast heaven and earth (Matt 24:35), think about the heritage as sons of God to be vessels to carry His Word to bring light to darkness, life to situations of death. Have we been sons of encouragement or agents of discouragement?
Friday, January 15, 2010
Our Anticipation
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
(Rev 22:20)
The Bible ends with a cry for the quickening of the Lord’s coming. Our forefathers in the faith lived with great anticipation as though Jesus will be coming in their generation, not with any other reason save in response to Christ’s promise that He will indeed come quickly. Paul’s prayer is that God preserves us unto His Coming not unto when our pilgrimage of earth ends (1 Thess 5:23), meaning there is a glorious anticipation for us in witnessing ‘the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory’ (Matt 24:30). James asks us to be patient with an established heart for the coming of the Lord is drawing nigh (Jam 5:8).
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. (Heb 11:15)
The Patriarchs saw with revelation of a greater inheritance beyond the temporal by embracing the eternal thus living an antithetical life of being strangers and pilgrims (Heb 11:13). Abraham the tent dweller saw beyond the temporal and physical for a city with foundations built by God (Heb 11:10), his life was lived in tents but desiring the eternal with permanent and unshakable foundations. God looks at such precious lives unashamed to be called their God (Heb 11:16). Do we live with the same perspective as our spiritual forefathers? Has the reality of God penetrated, intruded into our lives, turning it upside down, victoriously over sin and self; and we being conformed to the image of His Beloved Son? Perhaps the answer is in our anticipation.
The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer (Prov 30:25)
What differs between the ten virgins, five with and five without oil (Matt 25:1-13)? It is wisdom versus foolishness; where the former live in the state of preparedness. The Book of Proverbs teaches wisdom to avoid certain people and terrible circumstances (setting apart), and it teaches us preparedness in anticipation for the future. Our future hope in which we are to comfort each other is in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess 4:18) not for a better future on earth. May we have revelation as the Patriarchs did and share the same anticipation as the early apostles, for He comes in the night hour least expected where the unprepared will be caught unawares.
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
(Rev 22:20)
The Bible ends with a cry for the quickening of the Lord’s coming. Our forefathers in the faith lived with great anticipation as though Jesus will be coming in their generation, not with any other reason save in response to Christ’s promise that He will indeed come quickly. Paul’s prayer is that God preserves us unto His Coming not unto when our pilgrimage of earth ends (1 Thess 5:23), meaning there is a glorious anticipation for us in witnessing ‘the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory’ (Matt 24:30). James asks us to be patient with an established heart for the coming of the Lord is drawing nigh (Jam 5:8).
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. (Heb 11:15)
The Patriarchs saw with revelation of a greater inheritance beyond the temporal by embracing the eternal thus living an antithetical life of being strangers and pilgrims (Heb 11:13). Abraham the tent dweller saw beyond the temporal and physical for a city with foundations built by God (Heb 11:10), his life was lived in tents but desiring the eternal with permanent and unshakable foundations. God looks at such precious lives unashamed to be called their God (Heb 11:16). Do we live with the same perspective as our spiritual forefathers? Has the reality of God penetrated, intruded into our lives, turning it upside down, victoriously over sin and self; and we being conformed to the image of His Beloved Son? Perhaps the answer is in our anticipation.
The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer (Prov 30:25)
What differs between the ten virgins, five with and five without oil (Matt 25:1-13)? It is wisdom versus foolishness; where the former live in the state of preparedness. The Book of Proverbs teaches wisdom to avoid certain people and terrible circumstances (setting apart), and it teaches us preparedness in anticipation for the future. Our future hope in which we are to comfort each other is in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess 4:18) not for a better future on earth. May we have revelation as the Patriarchs did and share the same anticipation as the early apostles, for He comes in the night hour least expected where the unprepared will be caught unawares.
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Eradication of Self Effort
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. (Php 3:6)
There have been times when we can think that God calls us to service, but Saul found out that man’s best effort is not God’s requirement. We can also fall into a trap where we think that serving God is a sign of our holiness. On the contrary we have to reckon and come to conclude that the bottom line to those things we love and doing the Lord’s work as counted as loss. Not for loss and into ‘nothing-ness’ but a divine transaction to replace the things that we value so much and have become an integral part of us with the satisfaction of Christ alone. Paul says loss for Christ (Php 3:7), not just one thing to another but to a greater in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a leaving of one state to another (1 Pet 2:9 and John 3:30) to becoming a son with inheritance, we can’t maintain our current state and hope to have Christ formed in our lives (Gal 4:19).
With this we have to understand the truth of ‘holiness’. Watchman Nee explains holiness as not the eradication of sin but set-apart, wholly belonging to Another. Leaving our old master to yield to the One Master (Matt 6:24) where often the old master concerns self, not just the devil. Jesus has dealt the death blow to the devil on the cross two thousand years ago; however the cross of discipleship deals with the master 'self'. The test of being set apart is at the times of loss whether it be loved ones (even our own children), money, possessions and time. Do we possess or are we possessed by them? If we possess as stewards than giving up doesn't end with any bitterness but demonstrated with thankfulness that we have been blessed and now it’s time to have others blessed. Loosing children is very hard as I have witnessed a loss of an 8 year old cousin to my uncle and aunt. But if the 8 years is seen as a blessing of 8 years of joy that the Lord has graciously given then bitterness won’t set in. Set apart lives live in true gratefulness that God is sovereign over all.
We can’t be super-spiritual to say that there is no pain in loss. Paul’s loss was very real for he had to leave everything that he lived for, believed in, born into and even dreams for the future... his past life was the sum total of 'him'. The Saul was the self that Paul painfully left behind. That is why he could say ‘for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus’ (Gal 6:17). The marks are left there as the scars of crucifixion for ourselves and also for others so that we can make the same Christ like invitation ‘Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing’ (John 20:27).
How often we ask Jesus ‘What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?’ (John 6:28). The Lord’s reply to us is ‘that ye believe on him whom he hath sent’ (John 6:29). Our setting apart for God is not that we called to missions, preaching, or whatever good works but child-like, unwavering believing Him. Our setting apart is His Lordship over us, when He does give us assignments it will done in His name and His grace, without an ounce of self effort.
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. (Php 3:6)
There have been times when we can think that God calls us to service, but Saul found out that man’s best effort is not God’s requirement. We can also fall into a trap where we think that serving God is a sign of our holiness. On the contrary we have to reckon and come to conclude that the bottom line to those things we love and doing the Lord’s work as counted as loss. Not for loss and into ‘nothing-ness’ but a divine transaction to replace the things that we value so much and have become an integral part of us with the satisfaction of Christ alone. Paul says loss for Christ (Php 3:7), not just one thing to another but to a greater in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a leaving of one state to another (1 Pet 2:9 and John 3:30) to becoming a son with inheritance, we can’t maintain our current state and hope to have Christ formed in our lives (Gal 4:19).
With this we have to understand the truth of ‘holiness’. Watchman Nee explains holiness as not the eradication of sin but set-apart, wholly belonging to Another. Leaving our old master to yield to the One Master (Matt 6:24) where often the old master concerns self, not just the devil. Jesus has dealt the death blow to the devil on the cross two thousand years ago; however the cross of discipleship deals with the master 'self'. The test of being set apart is at the times of loss whether it be loved ones (even our own children), money, possessions and time. Do we possess or are we possessed by them? If we possess as stewards than giving up doesn't end with any bitterness but demonstrated with thankfulness that we have been blessed and now it’s time to have others blessed. Loosing children is very hard as I have witnessed a loss of an 8 year old cousin to my uncle and aunt. But if the 8 years is seen as a blessing of 8 years of joy that the Lord has graciously given then bitterness won’t set in. Set apart lives live in true gratefulness that God is sovereign over all.
We can’t be super-spiritual to say that there is no pain in loss. Paul’s loss was very real for he had to leave everything that he lived for, believed in, born into and even dreams for the future... his past life was the sum total of 'him'. The Saul was the self that Paul painfully left behind. That is why he could say ‘for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus’ (Gal 6:17). The marks are left there as the scars of crucifixion for ourselves and also for others so that we can make the same Christ like invitation ‘Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing’ (John 20:27).
How often we ask Jesus ‘What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?’ (John 6:28). The Lord’s reply to us is ‘that ye believe on him whom he hath sent’ (John 6:29). Our setting apart for God is not that we called to missions, preaching, or whatever good works but child-like, unwavering believing Him. Our setting apart is His Lordship over us, when He does give us assignments it will done in His name and His grace, without an ounce of self effort.
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