There is a simplicity about what the Lord requires of us. It is spelled out in Micah 6:6-8. “He has told you oh man what is good, and what does the Lord require of you. But to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with our God”. If we could live by that alone, it would impact the world we live in.
Posted in Worship, Praise and Music | Tagged Micah 6, with what shall i come | 1 Comment »
“Behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” Matthew 27:51
No mean miracle was wrought in the rending of so strong and thick a veil; but it was not intended merely as a display of power—many lessons were herein taught us. The old law of ordinances was put away, and like a worn-out vesture, rent and laid aside. When Jesus died, the sacrifices were all finished, because all fulfilled in him, and therefore the place of their presentation was marked with an evident token of decay. That rent also revealed all the hidden things of the old dispensation: the mercy-seat could now be seen, and the glory of God gleamed forth above it. By the death of our Lord Jesus we have a clear revelation of God, for he was “not as Moses, who put a veil over his face.” Life and immortality are now brought to light, and things which have been hidden since the foundation of the world are manifest in him. The annual ceremony of atonement was thus abolished. The atoning blood which was once every year sprinkled within the veil, was now offered once for all by the great High Priest, and therefore the place of the symbolical rite was broken up. No blood of bullocks or of lambs is needed now, for Jesus has entered within the veil with his own blood. Hence access to God is now permitted, and is the privilege of every believer in Christ Jesus. There is no small space laid open through which we may peer at the mercy-seat, but the rent reaches from the top to the bottom. We may come with boldness to the throne of the heavenly grace. Shall we err if we say that the opening of the Holy of Holies in this marvellous manner by our Lord’s expiring cry was the type of the opening of the gates of paradise to all the saints by virtue of the Passion? Our bleeding Lord hath the key of heaven; he openeth and no man shutteth; let us enter in with him into the heavenly places, and sit with him there till our common enemies shall be made his footstool.
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Acts 4:13 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and “untrained” men, they were marveling and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus”. The Greek word for “untrained” is “ἰδιώτης” (idiōtēs), which originally referred to a private individual or layperson, contrasting with someone in a public or official role. Over time, it evolved to imply a lack of education or skill, leading to its modern connotation of “idiot” as a foolish person. In Jesus’ day, the ruling class was made up of the educated upper class, the priests, scribes, lawyers, Pharisees, Sadducees, etc. These were the learned and the educated, in contrast to Peter and John.
So, in Acts 4:5 we have Peter and John, unlearned men, being used by the Holy Spirit. They were brought before “the rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family”. This ruling class was amazed at Peter and John, some translations say they “marveled” at them. Can you imagine the indignation they had for Peter and John? These lower class men? But the Lord had just used them to heal the lame beggar, and their speech and knowledge had been “quickened” by the Holy Spirit. They realized that Peter and John had been with Jesus.
There is much to say about all of this, but I want to hit home that fact that there is a huge difference between these learned rulers and the unlearned disciples. The power of the Holy Spirit surpasses the highest education, it surpasses your status in life. A W Tozer has a chapter in one of his books entitled “Bible Taught or Spirit Taught” that speaks about this. Click this link to read it.
The Apostle Paul had been part of this ruling class of Jews. When the Lord appeared to him and he received the Holy Spirit, he was never the same. We are told in Philippians 3 that Paul counted “all things as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus”. He walked away from the ruling class; the Spirit had given him something better! So in God’s kingdom, if we come to Jesus, it doesn’t matter our education or status in society. The Spirit is given to all! People can know that we “have been with Jesus”.
On a side note- Over the years, we have helped create a “ruling “class of preachers, ministers and prophets that have captured the attention of the modern church. We have elevated the teachers that have PhD’s, the so called prophets that have written many books or have a huge internet following, ministers that are getting rich off the gospel, convincing us that God has blessed them because they supposedly have some anointing from the Lord. Their ministries are viewed as successful by worldly standards, we forget that unlearned men, like Peter and John, can have an anointing that surpasses the status and so called success of the Christian world. Some of them have fallen into sin and have been exposed. We have seen some of the most educated leaders and apologists be exposed in recent years. People that we have elevated to a high status because of their knowledge and training. They may have started in the Spirit, but now they have a hard time being honest or accountable, they resort to lies and covering up their sin. Their ministries have become so large, that protecting that ministry takes priority, to the point that these leaders cease to walk by the Spirit. It ought not to be so!
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A great chapter by A W Tozer in The Root of the Righteous.
It may shock some readers to suggest that there is a difference between being Bible taught and being Spirit taught. Nevertheless it is so.
It is altogether possible to be instructed in the rudiments of the faith and still have no real understanding of the whole thing. And it is possible to go on to become expert in Bible doctrine and not have spiritual illumination, with the result that a veil remains over the mind, preventing it from apprehending the truth in its spiritual essence.
Most of us are acquainted with churches that teach the Bible to their children from their tenderest years, give them long instruction in the catechism, drill them further in pastor’s classes and still never produce in them a living Christianity nor a virile godliness. Their members show no evidence of having passed from death unto life. None of the earmarks of salvation so plainly indicated in the Scriptures are found among them.
Their religious lives are correct and reasonably moral, but wholly mechanical and altogether lacking in radiance. They wear their faith as persons in mourning once wore black armbands to show their love and respect for the departed.
Such persons cannot be dismissed as hypocrites. Many of them are pathetically serious about it all. They are simply blind. From lack of the vital Spirit they are forced to get along with the outward shell of faith, while all the time their deep hearts are starving for spiritual reality and they do not know what is wrong with them.
This difference between the religion of creed and the religion of the Spirit is well set forth by the saintly Thomas in a tender little prayer to his Lord:
The children of Israel in time past said unto Moses, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” Not so, Lord, not so, I beseech Thee; but rather with the prophet Samuel I humbly and earnestly entreat, “Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth.” Let not Moses speak unto me, nor any of the prophets, but rather do Thou speak, O Lord GOD, the inspirer, enlightener of all the prophets; for Thou alone without them canst perfectly instruct me, but they without Thee can profit nothing. They indeed may utter words, but they cannot give the Spirit. Most beautifully do they speak, but if Thou be silent, they inflame not the heart. They teach the letter, but Thou openest the sense; they bring forth mysteries, but Thou unlockest the heart…. They cry aloud with words, but Thou impartest understanding to the hearing.
It would be hard to wrap it up better than that. The same thing has been said variously by others; however, the most familiar saying probably is, “The Scriptures, to be understood, must be read with the same Spirit that originally inspired them.” No one denies this, but even such a statement will go over the heads of those who hear it unless the Holy Spirit inflames the heart.
The charge often made against us by liberals, that we are “bibliolaters,” is probably not true in the same sense as meant by our detractors; but candor and self-analysis will force us to admit that there is often too much truth in their charge. Among religious persons of unquestioned orthodoxy there is sometimes found a dull dependence upon the letter of the text without the faintest understanding of its spirit. That truth is in its essence spiritual must constantly be kept before our minds if we would know the truth indeed. Jesus Christ is Himself the Truth, and He cannot be confined to mere words even though, as we ardently believe, He has Himself inspired the words. That which is spiritual cannot be shut in by ink or fenced in by type and paper. The best a book can do is give us the letter of truth. If we ever receive more than this, it must be by the Holy Spirit who gives it.
The great need of the hour among persons spiritually hungry is twofold: first, to know the Scriptures, apart from which no saving truth will be vouchsafed by our Lord; the second, to be enlightened by the Spirit, apart from whom the Scriptures will not be understood.
—The Root of the Righteous, A W Tozer
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Sometimes the Lord puts something into my spirit, a scripture, a melody or a certain sense. For me it is a deep thing. I then spend time and try to capture the essence of those things in song. Sometimes, it takes years for me to come to a place where I can put it all together. It doesn’t always take that long, but I want it to be more than just another song. When I sing it, it is a something coming out of my spirit. This song is dear to me, hope it touches you.
Posted in Worship, Praise and Music | Tagged Our Father, the Lord's Prayer, the Lord's Prayer song, The Our Father Song | Leave a Comment »
There are many who believe that there is no life after death. That once you die, you remain in death’s grip, meaning there is nothing more. Many base their lives on that belief and live their entire lives with no hope, living only to please themselves. This is not new to our culture, even Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:32 says “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”. That is the agony of death, that once we die there is nothing more. Death would keep us forever, and that is hopeless. It is in hopelessness that people decide to live only for themselves, to “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”. Philippians 3:18 tells us, “For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.”
We who follow Jesus, follow someone who actually defeated death. We are told in Acts 2:24 “But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep Him in its grip” BSB. God released Jesus from the agony of death. Because of the power of God, it was impossible for the grip of death to hold Him. Jesus also had the power to raise Lazarus from the dead! Jesus defeated death! Life after death!
Is that not a wonderful hope? That we too will be raised from the grip of death! There may still be sorrow in dying, being separated from loved ones, but that agony of death that we will go thru will not hold its grip on us! We will be raised to Heaven and there will be a new earth! There is life after death. We will be with loved ones again! We will be with Jesus. Philippians 3:20 tells us, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself”. All things, life and death, are subject to Him. Let us live with Heaven in mind! We are a part of the Kingdom of Heaven.
2 Corinthians 5:4 “While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life”. NLT
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged angony-of-death, bible, christianity, death, faith, god, jesus, new-bodies | Leave a Comment »
We I got saved in 1971, I left the secular band that I was playing in. I turned my life and my talent towards the Lord. It seems to me that the Lord honored that and helped me turn my music God ward. I met some other guys and we started a Christian band playing at churches and coffee houses around the Midwest. Those were exciting days during the Jesus Revolution, many people were coming to Christ. It truly was a wonderful time of revival and in gathering. I found myself putting scripture to music, trying to capture something of the Spirit of the Word. I have done this for many years with the help of the Helper. I put the Lord’s Prayer to music and entitled it Our Father, hope you are touched by it.
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I have always loved the KJV version of John 6:63, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth!”. It might be because my first Bible was a KJV (King James Version), after a while I switched to the NASB (New American Standard Bible). The NASB says “it is the Spirit that gives life”. The Greek word there means “To make that which was dead to live, cause to live, quicken”.
If left to ourselves, we could try to figure out what that means. But we do have examples in the Bible to help us. The first one is in Matthew 16 when Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do men say that I am?”. Peter was the one who said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”. Jesus commends Peter and tells him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven”. It was the Spirit that quickened Peter!
How long had Peter walked with Jesus before he had received this divine revelation? This for him was a foretaste of what was going to happen to him on the day of Pentecost. This revelation by the Spirit had not happened to any of the other disciples. Peter along with the other disciples would still abandon Jesus at the crucifixion. Peter himself would deny the Lord three times. But that did not mean that Peter did not still love the Lord. What a trial it was for them.
What changed at Pentecost? Peter and the disciples were completely “quickened”, they were made alive by what Jesus had promised. In John 14:16 Jesus told the disciples “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you”. What a difference! When Peter preached at Pentecost, he is a different person, he is a Spiritual man, quickened and helped by the Spirit. It says that three thousand were saved and baptized and filled with the Spirit. That promised Helper, the “Spirit of Truth” is still available to us today through Christ. Oh how we need help to walk the Christian life!
In John 7, Jesus tells us, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified”. At Pentecost, the Spirit became available to the disciples and to us!! The Helper that Jesus promised to send came!!
Think about it, Jesus tells us we can receive the Spirit, the Helper, and have “living water flowing out of our innermost being”! We will receive spiritual blessings, or communications of divine grace, in so great an abundance, that we shall not only be refreshed and comforted and helped ourselves, but we shall be instrumental in refreshing and comforting and helping others. Is that not why the Spiritual gifts are given, for the common good? It is not just for our own blessing; it is to flow from our innermost being to others as the Spirit leads.
If we can be reminded of this and ask the Lord to continually be a Help to us, would there be more outpouring not only on ourselves but outward to others? I encourage you to seek the Lord more concerning this, and to meditate more on His Word. Deepen your relationship with the Lord, “for out of your innermost being will flow rivers of living water”.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bible, christianity, faith, holy-spirit, innermost-being, jesus, rivers-of-living-water | 1 Comment »
The Psalms have been so important in my life! Our lives are filled with ups and downs! I have been so encouraged by the Psalms in my down times over the years, if the Lord had not been my strength, I would have failed. My enemies were too strong for me. Psalm 18:17 “He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me”.
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In Acts 1, we find Jesus giving final instructions to the disciples before His ascension into Heaven. They are still not quite understanding what is going to transpire when the Holy Spirit comes upon them. They are still thinking in worldly terms. In Acts 1:6-8 it says- “So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
It is interesting that they asked this question. It was the wrong question! It was not answered by Jesus. Did they not remember that earlier in His Ministry, Jesus had predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (Matt 24)? Did they not remember that? They saw His glory and power, and naturally thought about the restoration of the kingdom to Israel. They still had a natural mindset. Jesus did not answer them, and He did not remind them of what He had prophesied against Jerusalem. About 40 years later, the destruction that He had predicted came to Jerusalem. In 70 AD, Titus, the future Roman emperor, worked his way thru Israel, destroying city after city, and eventually destroying all of Israel and the temple.
After Jesus had ascended to heaven and before the siege of Jerusalem, the church age began. God used the Apostles mightily during those years. Heb 2:4 “And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever He chose”. The Gospel went out to Jews and Greeks, to ALL the nations! Never before had this happened! The kingdom of God had come!!!!
When they had asked Him if He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel, He told them that it was not for them to know the times or the seasons. Jesus’ teaching had been all about the Kingdom of God having come to earth, about the circumcised in heart, Jews and gentiles!! The true Israel. The promises of God are for those who are children of the promise– it is the work of the sovereign God, creating children out of what no human being can do. By faith in Jesus, all people can be reckoned as part of the Kingdom of God. I don’t think the disciples understood this till after Pentecost. But God used them to fulfill the great mandate, that all the nations would hear the Gospel message and the message of the Kingdom of God. Their understanding was opened when they received the Holy Spirit. Their mind was no longer set on natural things, but on Spiritual things. What a difference! What a Kingdom!
May we all have our hearts and minds set on the Kingdom of God!!
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