2003-04-25
Good Morning Dear Ones,
At long last, we are ready to embark upon a new series of messages. It is my hope that the time we spent on Spiritual Warfare before this has been a blessing to you, as it was to me. The Holy Spirit has been very generous in giving me these messages to share with you, and I have been praying that He will continue in this new series. I am led to delve into the subject of what constitutes true faith. To do this, it is quite necessary to spend time looking carefully at the Sermon on the Mount from MT 5-7. So, we will have the joy and blessing of seeing where the Holy Spirit takes us on this journey of discovery.
One of the first questions that is always good to ask is: Where would we find ourselves if our spirits left our bodies? This is a good question to open a conversation with someone who has never had faith before and wants to see for himself the value of it. It doesn’t hurt for those of us who want to build on already existing faith to ask it either. I love Les Feldick’s definition of faith. He calls it “taking God at His word.” Of course, the most famous definition of faith is found in HE 11: 1, “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.” Either way, we are dealing with intangible phenomena, things we can’t see but believe to be true. Now, let’s return to the question at the beginning of this paragraph. To deal with it, we have to decide to examine our lives to see if they conform with what God’s will is. And, if we don’t know what God’s will is, then what? Those of you who have been reading my writing know what I’m going to say next. Daily study of God’s word and prayer are the ways we can learn that. Let me repeat my definition of prayer. Prayer is two-way communication with God, where we listen to Him speak first.
Each morning, I listen to Les Feldick’s program, “Through the Bible,” for a wonderful 30-minute lesson. He is the best teacher I know, and I’m not saying that just because he is a personal friend. So, I’m not ashamed to admit that his teaching has greatly impacted my faith life. Les teaches directly from the Bible without any denominational spins on it. Just this very morning, Les was discussing 1 THESS 4: 11-12 [KJV]. “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.” The reason that I bring this up is the phrase, “that ye study to be quiet.” How can we hear what God says to us in prayer or at any other time, if there is always excessive noise in our lives? God often speaks to us in a still, small voice. How can we not think of the story of Elijah from 1 K 19: 11-12, when he was on Mount Sinai? [God speaking], “’Go out and stand before Me on the top of the mountain,’ the Lord said to him. Then the Lord passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks-but the Lord was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then there was an earthquake-but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire-but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the soft whisper of a voice.” The eastern religions encourage meditation, but Les argues (and I think correctly) that it allows all kinds of thoughts, most especially evil ones, to enter a person’s head. He makes the distinction between that and study, which he describes as allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture. This is the basis I use in my deep belief that God can best explain Himself, and that we should always use cross-references in any good study of God’s word. Thus, we are giving God a chance to reveal Himself and His will to us.
Having said all of this, those of us who have studied God’s word know that there are only two possible outcomes at the time a person’s spirit departs his body. Either it will be the Kingdom of Heaven or the lake of fire, depending on how one’s life compares to God’s will. The lake of fire has been described as eternal conscious torment with no escape. To me, such an outcome is unthinkable. Christ wanted us to have a clear understanding of the alternative to that, namely the Kingdom of Heaven, so He spoke about it in the Sermon on the Mount. So, beginning here and going into next week’s message, we will take a good look at exactly what He had to say. MT 5: 3, “Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them!” If we stop and think about it, everything that is good comes from God. PS 34: 8, “Find out for yourself how good the Lord is. Happy are those who find safety with Him.” Recognizing our own spiritual poverty without the influence of God’s goodness is the first step toward allowing Him into our lives. When we find out what His response to this is, we are blessed. PS 34: 17, “The righteous call to the Lord, and He listens; He rescues them from all their troubles.” Christ, Who, after all, is the second personality of God, is making a promise in MT 5: 3. He is saying that if we recognize our utter need for Him and His goodness in our lives, we will gain the Kingdom of Heaven. And, that, Dear Ones, is no small promise! Nor, is it the only wonderful promise He makes to those who endure in faith in Him. Think about that this week, and we’ll continue this discussion in the next message.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are so undeserving of the grace You extend to us. Grace is defined as “undeserved merit.” We bow our heads in thanks that Your heart is so loving that You chose to make us Your friends. RO 5: 9-11, “By His [Christ’s] death we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by Him from God’s wrath! We were God’s enemies, but He made us His friends through the death of His Son. Now that we are God’s friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life! But that is not all; we rejoice because of what God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has now made us God’s friends.” Because You love us this much, You wrote through the authors of the Scriptures specific instructions for how we should live in order to conform to Your will and insure that we receive all the wonderful blessings You are so eager to give us. Not only that, Dearest Abba, You have allowed us to through the Scriptures to see the consequences of the choices we make through the experiences of those people found within them. Today, we dedicate ourselves to examining our own lives to see how they meet with Your will. Furthermore, we pledge that when we find sin in our lives, we will do all we can to get rid of it. We make this pledge freely and of sound mind, not because we have been coerced into it. None of us is without sin until such time as You have completed our sanctification. So, the battle with Satan must go on. We come to Your altar to express our love and affection for You. But, that is not all. We acknowledge You as our Supreme King and offer You our heartfelt praise, using David’s words in PS 96: 1-2. “Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing to the Lord, all the world! Sing to the Lord, and praise Him! Proclaim every day the Good News that He has saved us.” We humbly confess our sins and offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, listening ears, open hearts, trust, obedience, glory, honor, thanks, and utmost praise. In Christ’s name, amen.
I’m led to go on looking at what Christ has told us about the Kingdom of Heaven in the next message. When we look at the world around us, as believers we find ourselves not always fitting into it. That’s not a bad thing, but we have been told that we will have to deal with opposition and disrespect of God. The Lord made us strong enough to withstand that and then, through Paul, made this wonderful promise in RO 8: 18, “I consider all that we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” Moreover, we are given this promise in 1 COR 10: 13, “Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps His promise, and He will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, He will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.” These promises showcase the goodness of God, because He never breaks His covenant promises with us. We are left with the need to see how and if we are keeping our covenant promises to Him. When we do, He gifts us with the “peace that goes beyond human understanding” [PHIL 4:7] even amidst the turmoil that Satan can bring into our lives. Now, that’s love! Peter and I send each of you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn