Acts 7:20 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months:

Acts 7:21 And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

Acts 7:22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

Acts 7:23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

Heb. 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Heb. 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

Heb. 11:28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

Heb. 11:29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

In the Western world, the Evangelical Church has worked so hard at becoming “relevant” to modern culture that the resulting Christian Culture is a distraction from Christ. In other words, you have to fight through Christian culture to get to Christ. One of the worst paradigm shifts that we have undergone, in the past 25 or so years, has been the transition from serving Christ to fulfilling self, as the goal of faith. Self-sacrifice made in the sincere service of Christ brings freedom. But living for self-fulfillment, in the name of Christ, leads to slavery. Jesus came to free us from the inevitable deadness of a self-seeking life. Consider carefully the trap that Paul warns us to avoid in his first letter to Timothy:

1 Tim. 6:3 If anyone advocates a different doctrine, and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness,

1 Tim. 6:5 …who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.

“Gain” here is a reference to financial prosperity. But by extension, there is an underlying assumption here that the goal of the believer is to be better positioned in life, as a result of his connection with God. The truth, according to Jesus’ teaching, is that being put in a position of blessing is indeed something that the Father promises. But it’s to those who seek His Kingdom and not their own fulfillment. Self-fulfillment is not the goal of our faith, but a result of our faith. Exalting Christ is our goal.

Matt. 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Matt. 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

Matt. 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

Matt. 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Paul continues in his admonition to Timothy, to conclude that the pursuit of gain results in slavery. So we can see that God isn’t condemning prosperity and wellbeing, but rather choosing it as the goal of our faith.

And now, this is where we have come in our discussion of Spiritual Revolution. In the 1970s and early 80’s, the Evangelical Church was a movement, a hunger-driven spiritual juggernaut that swept the social and political society of America (and beyond). In those days believers were driven by a great hunger to see Jesus exalted in the world. And they were willing to lay aside the pursuit of their own interests to see the Kingdom of God arise in their generation. And indeed, the Kingdom did arise. Churches flourished with unstoppable growth and the influence of the Evangelical and Charismatic churches seemed limitless, as even the political world lay defenseless before the advancing Church.

But something happened in the process of “possessing the land”. Something terrible. Instead of a glorious awakening that would bring blessing to the whole world, as the Gospel was unselfishly offered with great irrefutable testimony, the Church blew the dividend it had paid such a price to gain. The opportunity to really be an example of Jesus and bless the world, just seemed to fizzle to nothing and vanish, as one ministry after another was found operating for the glory of its own success. It was like the great “happening” that never happened. It wasn’t the sacrifices of the 70’s and early 80’s, but the successes of subsequent years, that sterilized us.

Right at the point where a great thrust could have occurred, a switch was thrown in the tracks and the juggernaut drove off into spiritual obscurity. We missed the mark. We shifted our aim and fell short.Somehow the Church began to lose sight of its true wealth, which rested in the ability of its members, to lay self aside in order to exalt Christ. Living by faith, and obeying the Holy Spirit’s leading had been the true joy of the average Christian. The Spirit had been moving, and the world was noticing.

But now, 25 years later, the movement has long since been ground into church-ianity and the disease of serving man has metastasized through the Body of Christ, bringing the Church under slavery to the goals of modern culture.  We’ve gone from a spiritual house to a social center of human resource.  The modern world views Christians like the Egyptian aristocracy viewed the Hebrews: “You exist to support us, so keep those bricks coming.”

Back when we were a movement, faith was our daily fuel. We prayed and sought and believed God for everything. It didn’t matter that we could do things under our own power, we were serving the Lord and so faith was needed to believe God for His provision, so that He was glorified. But once self-fulfillment became our objective – once pastors began assuming that every opportunity was theirs to seize, for the advancement of their ministry, faith became of little value. The Church has been making bricks to win the approval of modern culture, rather than being living stones for the glory of Jesus Christ.

And now, the church has set itself up for a great falling away from the faith. Whole denominations are splitting, and churches are fracturing, as the worldliness to which they have pandered now demands their service. One of the greatest prophetic warnings, poetically portraying the price that’s paid for accepting self-centered leadership, is found in Judges 9:8-15.

Judg. 9:8 One time the trees went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, Reign over us.

Judg. 9:9 But the olive tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, by which God and man are honored, and go to wave over the trees?

Judg. 9:10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, You come and reign over us.

Judg. 9:11 But the fig tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go to wave over the trees?

Judg. 9:12 Then the trees said to the vine (grapevine), You come and reign over us.

Judg. 9:13 And the vine (grapevine) replied, Should I leave my new wine, which rejoices God and man, and go to wave over the trees?

Judg. 9:14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, You come and reign over us.

Judg. 9:15 And the bramble said to the trees, If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

The message is clear, and history has born it out: when God’s people allow themselves to be led by self-serving leaders, or guided by self-centered purposes, the result is servitude to a purpose for which they were never intended. Faith is the heritage of free people, who serve God. But those who fall under the spell of church-ianity have little need of faith to make bricks. The world will tell you how it wants its bricks made, and once you’re committed to making them you’ll have to revolt to stop.

In Moses’ day, God’s people did not serve the purpose for which they were intended. They had become the slaves of Egyptian culture, and until God freed them they existed to bless and support the Egyptian lifestyle.

Today many churches have similarly become the servant of modern culture, and bogged down with serving the lifestyle of blessing and wellbeing, rather than living for the exaltation of Jesus Christ. As the Church increasingly employs its energies toward the prosperity of the world, faith is becoming unnecessary and an oddity, rather than our daily lifeline. Christians are turning more and more to human reason and strategic thinking, for decisions that should involve faith in God’s Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Paul warned of a day of deception coming upon the world, a time when the moral and intellectual climate of the world will be so unstable that it will be nearly impossible to grasp and hold onto the Truth. In this upside down world, where good will become bad and bad will become good, such a persistent state of spiritual vertigo will exist in the church that a great falling away from the faith will occur without even being detected by all but those who actually walk in the Light. As the rest of the Church and the world spin off together into delusion, you who are truly thirsty for God will spawn a spiritual revolution as you contend for the faith.

Revolutions happen when people with a non-negotiable ideal find the present state of things intolerable.Christians who fight the fight of faith will not settle for religious imprisonment. Spiritual revolution is not simply a rebellion against religion, but a quest for spiritual reality. It’s fighting through Christian culture in order to lay hold of Christ.

We are entering that day when Christians who live by faith will have to fight through the accepted goals of self-fulfillment, in order to obey God, and take their place in His Kingdom – and in history. Faith will demand that the accepted path of Christian Culture be rejected in order to choose the path of life.

Look at our text concerning Moses. He had to revolt against his Egyptian heritage in order to follow God’s leading in his heart. The first step of faith he took led him into a spiritual revolution that others would follow. God had created Abraham’s people for a purpose and serving Egypt wasn’t it! There was NO WAY that they could continue to serve the purposes of Egypt and be the People Of God. God called them to walk away and serve Him, but Egypt wasn’t about to let them go without a fight. The Children of Israel never struck in rebellion against Egypt. The revolution had nothing to do with seizing Egypt, but rather leavingEgypt. And likewise today, look for a spiritual revolution. It’s coming.  Millions of hungry Christians are going to get up and walk towards the sound of His Voice. They won’t fight against the institution. They’ll simply leave off making dead bricks for man’s glory, to be the living stones of Jesus’ Temple. It’s unavoidable. As large segments of the Christian Church surrender to modern culture true believers will be forced to God. Join the revolution!

Stay On The Path!

Dan. 11:32 And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.

…but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God]. - Amp. Bible

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

We are living in the day of Sampson-like leaders, who are gifted with natural abilities but possess weak souls. And they appeal to a Barabbas Generation - people who gravitate towards sinners and shun the righteous. Look at the preferences and allegiance of a Barabas generation…

Mark 15:6 Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested.
Mark 15:7 And the man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection.
Mark 15:8 And the multitude went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.
Mark 15:9 And Pilate answered them, saying, Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?
Mark 15:10 For he was aware that the chief priests had delivered Him up because of envy.
Mark 15:11 But the chief priests stirred up the multitude to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead.
Mark 15:12 And answering again, Pilate was saying to them, Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?
Mark 15:13 And they shouted back, Crucify Him!
Mark 15:14 But Pilate was saying to them, Why, what evil has He done? But they shouted all the more, Crucify Him!
Mark 15:15 And wishing to satisfy the multitude, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him to be crucified.

The Barabas generation is easily manipulated by a political clergy and strangely attracted to rebels. The righteous are not secure at all in the hands of the Barabas generation. Jesus wasn’t. Even though they had welcomed and hailed Him, they quickly threw Him over for a popular anti-establishment radical.

2 Th. 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 Th. 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away (departure from the faith) first,

In studying the social chemistry of the Great Falling Away, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, the Barabas Generation meets the Sampson Leaders. Today’s modern Christian Culture provides a breeding ground for adulterous Pastors. Like Sampson, they have no resistance to the practice of adultery. “Gifted” church leaders who commit adultery, and remain in power, inspire immorality. It will become impossible to prevent the Great Falling Away when the stewards of the Covenant and its people have lost their sacred reverence.

Dan. 11:32 “And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant.

The pastor of a very large independent evangelical church in city recently left his wife & family, ran off with a woman in church and simply never came back. To the shock of his congregation and family, he was just “gone” one Sunday morning.

Another pastor of an old large Evangelical church within miles of the other, also ran off with a woman in the ministry there, and started another successful church a few miles up the road.

Our metro area also has one of America’s large, fast-growing churches, with a Pastor who left his first wife, while pastoring, years ago, to run off with the woman who is his current wife. Now their ministry is flourishing and his current wife is a leading women’s international conference speaker.

These guys ditch their wives WHILE IN THE MINISTRY, to run off with other women, and it only seems to boost their ministry. And all you seem to hear whenever an objection is raised against this behavior is, “You can’t judge! or, “He’s only human.”

Adultery among pastors is barely a bump in the road to success anymore. People seem absolutely willing to overlook on-the-job-adultery, as a disqualifier for ministry. Many people today gravitate towards pastors who are adulterers and seem to better relate to them.

The fiery faithless preacher is an encouragement for compromised Christians who are fed up with confrontation and instead, only want to be supported.  From among these ranks will the Great Falling Away take place.   this very hour, true Christians are being convicted, and the people who know their God will display strength and take action. A spiritual revolution is brewing…

More tomorrow…until then…

Stay On The Path!

Dan. 11:32 “And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant,but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.

…but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God].  – Amp. Bible

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The Bible talks of a day of deception – a time when the moral and intellectual climate of the world will be so unstable that it will be nearly impossible to grasp and hold onto the Truth. In fact, such a persistent state of spiritual vertigo will exist in the church that a great falling away from the faith will occur without even being detected by all but those who actually walk in the Light. It will seem as though those who really know their God have become the defectors, as the rest of the Church and the world spin off together into delusion. Clear-thinkers and Truth-tellers will appear to be outcasts in a world where all authorities will become polluted with lies and no one will even seem to notice.

Only those who know their God will have the ability to take action in the day of deception.

In such a time as this true Christians will be forced from the beds of compromise in a revolt of sincerity.Their hearts will not be able to find comfort in modern Christian culture, and it will become intolerable to them.

Christians will find prayer, Truth and the Presence of the Lord, as their only reliable access to reality, and will emerge from the sleepy social norm in pursuit of it.

We are headed into a great apostasy, which will provoke a revolution…a spiritual revolution.

Revolutions happen when people with a non-negotiable ideal find the present state of things intolerable. It was the stalemate between Saul and Goliath that brought David to prominence. And the stalemate between the modern church and the World will force the manifestation of those who know their God.

Christians who know their God will not settle for religious imprisonment. Spiritual revolution is not simply a rebellion against religion, but a quest for spiritual reality. It’s fighting through Christian culture in order to lay hold of Christ.

As institutions and churches fall into the fog of relativism, the individual Christian himself will have to take action on behalf of his own needs. Each true believer will have to challenge everything and no longer drink from the unfiltered streams. Christians who know their God will become the portable church in the day of institutional delusion.

Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend (fight) for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Jude 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow we will continue on the road to spiritual revolution. Until then…

Stay On The Path!

Heb. 10:35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us:

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Confidence is one of the greatest gifts in life. The ability to speak and move forward with certainty is the indicator of a healthy soul. True peace and happiness is reflected by confidence. Confidence is the heart-condition of one who knows he’s loved.

The opposite is true also, that uncertainty and indecision are like a virus to the soul and leave everything weak and sickly. If confidence is the fruit of being loved then torment is the byproduct of fear and uncertainty.

Everything you do requires confidence. Confidence is the voice of faith. The position of your confidence indicates the state of your heart.

1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity).

1 John 3:19-20 By this we shall come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we are of the Truth, and can reassure (quiet, conciliate, and pacify) our hearts in His presence, whenever our hearts in [tormenting] self-accusation make us feel guilty and condemn us. [For we are in God’s hands.] For He is above and greater than our consciences (our hearts), and He knows (perceives and understands)everything [nothing is hidden from Him].

1 John 3:21-22 And, beloved, if our consciences (our hearts) do not accuse us [if they do not make us feel guilty and condemn us], we have confidence (complete assurance and boldness) before God, and we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we [watchfully] obey His orders [observe His suggestions and injunctions, follow His plan for us] and [habitually] practice what is pleasing to Him.

1 John 3:23 And this is His order (His command, His injunction): that we should believe in (put our faith and trust in and adhere to and rely on) the name of His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and that we should love one another, just as He has commanded us (the simple focus of faith and love; and not the heavy burden of serving regulations).

Notice the ability of your heart to be self-condemning in spite of your practices or God’s assurance.

The Condemning Heart…

Your own heart can be out of phase with God’s thoughts towards you. Your own heart can be scarred by a thing called “sin-consciousness”, and be in need of healing.

Heb. 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.

Heb. 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

The consciousness of sin can linger long after you’ve been forgiven. The human heart has a natural tendency to recoil in fear of the imperfections it feels when it comes into the presence of God. Those fears can be legitimate or just the result of flawed imperfection encountering perfect holiness. Sometimes our heart simply hangs on to the sense of guilt after forgiveness has already been obtained. From our text we can see that it’s possible to have a heart that sinks in self-guilt even though God, who “Knows all things”, has not condemn you. This is a condemning heart that needs to be rehabilitated to think according to God’s mercy. You cannot simply allow your heart or emotions to drive you with sin consciousness when God wants to lead you with mercy.

Your own heart’s attitude about yourself (before God) has the greatest impact on your confidence.

Though your heart will tell you something is wrong, its ability to discern the problem, if there is any, must come from God.

1 John 3:19-20 By this we shall come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we are of the Truth, and can reassure (quiet, conciliate, and pacify) our hearts in His presence, whenever our hearts in [tormenting] self-accusation make us feel guilty and condemn us. [For we are in God’s hands.]

What to do if you suffer from weak confidence:

1. Know who God is, really – understand His ways – rightly divide the Word. Don’t just allow yourself to have a lop-sided view of God. Because your understanding of God will dictate how much you are able to receive from Him and how much of a block you will make for yourself. For example, most people view God as having an equal balance of judgment and mercy. But if that were the case we’d have a 50/50 chance of catching God in the right mood. But in fact, God’s mercy is above His judgment, and His inclination to offer forgiveness and grace surpasses His need to execute justice upon the guilty. Knowing this paves the way for confidence.

2 Cor. 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Psa. 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

Psa. 103:9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger forever.

Psa. 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

Psa. 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

Psa. 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Psa. 103:13 Like as a father pities his children, so the LORD pities them that fear him.

Psa. 103:14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

2. Be a doer of the Royal Law: Love God and your neighbor.

3. Do not over complicate your faith. Stay focused on the basics – avoid the trap of legalism.

4. Pray effectively. If sin has damaged your confidence rehabilitate it through repentance in prayer. Don’t drag a self-destructive heart around with you. God’ wants to purge your sin-consciousness.

1 John 3:19-20 …whenever our hearts in [tormenting] self-accusation make us feel guilty andcondemn us. [For we are in God’s hands.] For He is above and greater than our consciences (our hearts), and He knows (perceives and understands) everything [nothing is hidden from Him].

Stay On The Path!

Phil. 3:12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Passion is a great thing. It seems that so much that is done, is accomplished through passion. People with passion have always egged me on. I get fired up around them. When I meet someone like that I just want to take them home, and keep them around me all the time. Sometimes we call it, “being on fire”; and tend to see it as simply being consumed with God. When I meet people who are in that state, it draws me into that place of abandon with God. I’m definitely not one of those people who get jealous, threatened or condemned by the presence of someone who’s burning in their zeal for God. Just the opposite; I become highly motivated by them. I guess I’m pretty “easy”.

However, there is an interesting side to passion that usually doesn’t show up in public. And that is emptiness. It’s as strange a condition as passion itself. And it seems to also occur in the lives of everyone who is possessed by passion. From Abraham to David; from John the Baptist to Paul; every passionate follower of God experiences emptiness. Passion is a renewable commodity, but it’s not perpetual. No one gets “set on fire” and then just goes-for-God the rest of their life. Paul describes a more realistic view of the pattern in our text:

“Not that I have already obtained it…but I press on in order that I may lay hold…”

The man motivated by passion has to exert effort to turn from his goal. He has to make an effort to fail. But apparently he also has to climb those mountains before he can just jet down the other side. In short, there are plenty of times when he has to make an effort to succeed; times when he must “press on”.

So where does the motivation to press on come from? David, Elijah, John the Baptist and Paul, all experienced times when they just seemed adrift, disillusioned and anything but passionate. Where do you go when passion’s fire isn’t burning?

The secret rests in one word Paul used in his text:

“…but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that …”

“That” is a reference to the calling of God upon your life. All true servants of God understand “that”. It is the thing that keeps them moving forward when the passion isn’t burning. It is the invisible fuel of faith, the inexplicable power of obedience, propelling you forward, not allowing you to quit, and pursuing the passion when the fire isn’t burning.

The ugly secret that every high-octane evangelist hides, isn’t concealed immorality, but emptiness; and how they deal with it. It is the true secret to passion. For passion is the result of pursuit.

“That (call)” has already taken hold of you. Paul basically said that he pursued that call with which Christ had taken hold of him. The call was not just on him, it was in him. It possessed him, and it possess YOU!

You can press against a lack of passion through the power of your calling.

Don’t base your ministry, your pursuit of Christ or your response to His commission, on passion; because passion comes and goes. Don’t make your walk with God dependent upon a “burden”, because what will you do when you don’t feel this burden? Base your obedience upon the call. It is the call with which Christ laid hold of you. And the call will keep you going, when all your personal reasons to follow Him have run out. No greater praise can you render than to love Him through your service, when you are stretched beyond your passion.

Stay On The Path!

John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The Christian straddles 2 different realities, in 2 different worlds: The reality of circumstances in the physical world, and the reality of God’’s Truth in the spiritual Kingdom of Heaven. For most people, circumstances seem more real and authoritative than the statements of God’’s Word, because they force themselves upon us. Life happens without having to go looking for it. But the promises and blessings of God’’s Word seem distant and unreal, because they must be sought and chosen; and they don’’t automatically fulfill themselves in our lives, just because they are God’’s will.

The same is often true of some of the natural advantages in this life. They are available, without discrimination, to whoever may pursue them. But most people never receive them simply because they either don’’t believe they can, or they’re more interested in other things. So it is, that just as many advantages in the world seem obscure and unreal to most people, so also does the reality of God’’s promises. Whether it’s the natural opportunities of life, or the wonderful blessings of God, the good things of life seem far less real to most people than life’’s unhappy circumstances.

1 John 4:4 Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.

The realities of God supercede the conditions of His created world. Yet it is not just God Who wills, but believers who insist upon the supremacy of His will, who determine that God’’s reality overrides the seeming tyranny of circumstances. To live under the benefits of God’’s reality depends upon you applying this simple progressive statement of truth:

1. Spiritual life is controlled by Faith…

2. Faith is shaped and controlled by Concept…

3. And no Concept is more critical to Faith than that of your Oneness with Jesus.

Eph. 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith…

Grasping the concept of HOW Jesus Christ lives in you, is the absolute most important understanding you will ever have in life. Everything of any eternal consequence will depend upon your grasp on that truth. If you properly understand the concept of HOW Jesus is in you, and you in Him, then your faith will truly bridge the gap between Earth’’s circumstances and Heaven’s promises. It could be said this way:

You will have to stand on the revelation of Christ in YOU, if you ever hope to reach, see and experience the glory of God, that is yours.

Col. 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Here is a simple, visual demonstration you can perform, to illustrate for yourself the proper understanding of our oneness in Christ.

The Egg vs The Kool-Aide

Jesus as an Egg……

You are a pitcher of water. Drop the egg into the pitcher. Jesus is now IN you but the natures (elements) don’t mix. Egg remains egg, and water remains as unaffected water. No matter how much you stir it there is no oneness. His purity remains intact, and so does your sin-conscious identity. In this model you are nothing more than a religious container. There is no oneness between you and God. You might as well be sack.

Jesus as Kool-Aide……

Pour the Kool-Aide powder into the water. The Kool-Aide and water are instantly blended, changing the water to “Kool-Aide”. If you drink from the pitcher with the egg, the water is the same. It tastes and looks the same. But if you pour a glass of the Kool-Aide you don’t get water. You get something new.

2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh andnew has come!

Tomorrow we’ll look at some of that newness, so until then……

Stay On The Path!

1 Pet. 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

1 Pet. 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Pet. 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

1 Pet. 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1 Pet. 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

If there was one truth that Peter carried away from his personal experiences with Jesus, it was that you can never glorify God in your own strength or power of reason.

Matt. 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

Matt. 16:22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”

Matt. 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

Peter’s good intentions were not enough to make his offering of help acceptable. Sometimes it’s a hard lesson to learn, but glorifying God isn’t an outcome-based exercise, designed for immature children in order to affirm their insecurities. It’s serious business. What glorifies God is never a matter of sincere intentions. But it’s always a matter of yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Peter knew better than and man, that there was a world of difference between honoring God with our sincere praise and good works, and glorifying Him by yielding to the demonstration of the Holy Spirit.Professing his undying allegiance to Jesus was commendable, and demonstrated the affect Jesus had on men like Peter. But lifting the lame man at the Gate Beautiful so that he was healed in Jesus’ Name, thatglorified God. Peter knew, when he wrote 1 Peter 4:17, that only the work of the Spirit can glorify God. Man can honor God, pay tribute, give praise, acknowledge and credit God; but the Holy Spirit, with His divine influence, actually MANIFESTS God. And that is the difference.

It’s just like the difference between the beautiful statue that memorializes a great man and the presence of that man himself. Many churches pay sincere tribute to Jesus Christ, honor Him with their worship and activities, but don’t necessarily manifest Him. Honor, godly character and good deeds are a credit to God, but Glory manifests God. There is the glory of man, and then there is the glory of God. Jesus prayed that the Father would glorify Him with the glory He had from the beginning. This was a glory man could not give Him. This Glory is God Himself, and only the Holy Spirit can give it.

John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

The glory of any being emanates from the “self” of that being, and is the function of the intention of its Creator. Man is in his glory when he functions in those things that God designed him to do. When he leads, increases and manages the world. God is in His glory when He does those things that are uniquely His function: creating, showing love and mercy, healing, delivering, judging.

Consequently, Peter tells us that the unique high purpose to which we were redeemed, is the giving of glory to God, through Jesus Christ. And he specifically points out that this is more than simply allowing the glory of our own virtues to shine to Jesus credit; but rather to allow the Holy Spirit to work directly through us, that work which we can not perform without Him.

1 Pet. 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,

Stay On The Path!

1 Pet. 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

1 Pet. 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Pet. 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

1 Pet. 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1 Pet. 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

God receives the glory that “belongs” to Him, ONLY when we allow His Spirit to work through us. When we speak as the oracles of God; when we operate in the supernatural gifts that the Holy Spirit works through us; these are the avenues by which God glorifies Himself. This is very different from us utilizing our intellect and creative talents to honor God. For when we honor God by means of our abilities, God is indirectly glorified as the source of those abilities. In short, honoring God with the demonstration of our abilities, talents and intelligence, glorifies us as His creations. Giving Him credit as our Creator reflects our glory on Him. But when we yield to the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, or speak as the oracles of God, we are functioning as vessels, and God is literally glorified through us as we yield to Him. God is the only One who can actually glorify Himself. And He does this by demonstrating His nature through us.

Perhaps we need to understand glory. Glory is what happens when anything/anybody functions in its purpose. The Eagle glories when it soars. The Salmon glories when it climbs the watery mountain ladders.Man glories when he rules and manages creation. The glory of the Sun is it’s shining, the stars, their twinkling. God glories when He exerts His nature in His purposes. Therefore when we allow the Holy Spirit to put His words and power in our mouth and hands, God is functioning through us, and glorifying Himself in us. Speaking as the oracle of God, and delivering an impressive speech about God, are not the same thing. One glorifies man as he credits God. The other glorifies God and credits God. Allowing the Holy Spirit to demonstrate His Presence by the operation of His gift in you glorifies God. Why is this different than beautifully singing a song of praise or skillfully delivering a teaching? Because in the former case God is doing the work, but in the latter case, you are doing it. As a minor example:

Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

They began to speak but the Spirit gave the utterance (ability to speak). God is directly glorifying Himself when we allow Him to do things through us that are supernatural and beyond the scope of our natural abilities. The difference between this and speaking by our own intelligence is immeasurable. It doesn’t matter that under our own intellect and abilities we sincerely honor God. That is both good and commendable. But Peter clearly points to a higher expression of praise than simply honoring God. He speaks of glorifying Him. Many Christians and churches have lost sight of the difference. Some have never known the difference. And Peter was not the only one who understood this distinction:

1 Cor. 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

1 Cor. 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

1 Cor. 2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

1 Cor. 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

1 Cor. 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

If ever there were a man of brilliant ability, it was the man who spoke those words: the Apostle Paul. Yet he clearly saw that whatever he might gain for God, by applying his skills and native talents to the call, it could never begin to compare to the impact God Himself could make through Him. Let there be no misunderstanding; one must clearly choose to allow the Spirit to operate through him in utterance and demonstration. It will never be forced, but only sought and chosen.

1 Cor. 12:31 But covet earnestly the best gifts:

1 Cor. 14:1 Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

Consider plainly the principle of these verses. That the believer must yearn for a greater way to honor God than merely the reflected glory of his own expressions. For faith to rest in the power of God rather than the wisdom of men, a Christian must present the demonstration of the Spirit.

Today the growing dependence upon technology, drama, production, polish and performance, in the presentation of the Gospel, continues to lure the Church farther from dependence upon the demonstration of the Holy Spirit. The less Christians pray and seek the genuine manifestation of the Spirit (1 Co 12:7), the more we are left with only the bizarre, errant and flaky elements, giving a bad testimony to the power of God. The Prophet Jeremiah was surrounded by carnal false prophets and wanted to quit prophesying for fear of being identified with the flakes. But God still needed to be glorified, and that took precedent:

Jer. 20:9 If I say, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name, then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with forbearing, and I can’t contain.

I would to God that His fire would burn in our bones so that we become jealous for His glory, and like Paul, seek to be demonstrators of the Holy Spirit: glorifiers of God.

Stay On The Path!

1 Pet. 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

1 Pet. 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Pet. 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

1 Pet. 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1 Pet. 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Of all the elements that Peter lays out for a victorious Christian and a successful church:

Prayer

Fervent Love

Hospitality

Spiritual Gifts

Divine Utterance

There is none more neglected than the direct influence of the Holy Spirit upon the life of the church. We do lots for God but relatively little through God. If we were honest, we would have to admit that the Holy Spirit is more of a spectator than a leader in today’s Christian Church. Prayer, Love and Hospitality are usually the subjects of a fair amount of organizational attention and programming. But the church is largely designed to roll right along without the execution of spiritual gifts. And we are so mesmerized by academic prowess and clever oratory, that divine utterance is either immaterial or assumed. What percentage of our speaking and public address would be eliminated if we were suddenly forced to conform to Peter’s rule: If you’re going to speak, be certain that God is speaking through you? To many Christians it must seem down right unreasonable to have to have divine utterance in order to address the Church. However, consider God’s perspective (for a change). Peter says that the only way to truly insure that God is being glorified is for He Himself to be influencing the speaker and empowering the doer. Whatever is done for God’s benefit, but without His direct influence, is sure to fall short of glorifying Him. Jesus set up His Church so that we would come under the operational control of the Holy Spirit. All preaching, counseling, healing and helping was to be done through people being moved under the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,

1 Cor. 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

1 Cor. 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

And in those early years God gives us a record of men and women who were careful to present themselves under the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and not to simply run the church under the leading of assumption and the power of human reason.

Acts 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

Acts 13:3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

Acts 13:4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost,

Acts 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

Let’s consider this great statement once more:

1 Pet. 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

God is glorified directly through Jesus Christ, and Jesus is glorified directly through the work of the Holy Spirit. So we ought to reason that apart from the direct work of the Holy Spirit, God is never truly glorified.He may be remembered, thought of, celebrated or even believed in, but is He being glorified? The true objective of every Christian and of the Church, is to glorify God. How much then, of what we do, truly qualifies as glory to God; and how much is simply done in tribute to Him? If there were one single lesson that the Christian should carry over from the Old Covenant into the New Covenant; it’s that no sacrifice done for God will accomplish, what only the act of obedience to the Holy Spirit will.

Some years ago Charismatic and Evangelical churches began drifting into a period of Spiritlessness. The true moving of the Holy Spirit has been steadily replaced with the increase of music and theatrical programs. More time and energy is invested in audio-visual presentations that capture the imagination than Holy Ghost gripped messages that conquer hearts. There certainly may be greater methods of gathering crowds and filling churches than the deployment of spiritual gifts and issuance of divine utterance. But there most definitely is no other way of glorifying God.

1 Tim. 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

1 Tim. 4:15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.

Stay On The Path!

1 Pet. 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

1 Pet. 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Pet. 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

1 Pet. 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1 Pet. 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

As I was recently travelling from the jungle of the Niger Delta back to Benin City and Lagos I was struck by how dependence upon prayer drops off proportionally. The deeper we penetrated into secular culture the less dependent upon prayer Christians became. The more modern the environment the more interest in prayer dies off. We should remember that the architect of the first city was Nimrod, who collected people together into an urban environment for the purpose of combining their efforts to build a tower that would achieve spiritual independence.

Gen. 10:8 Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth.

Gen. 10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.”

Gen. 10:10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

Gen. 10:11 From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-ir and Calah,

Gen. 10:12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city….

Gen. 11:4 They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

Gen. 11:5 The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

Gen. 11:6 The LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.

Gen. 11:7 “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

Gen. 11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.

Gen. 11:9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.

God struck the tower, scattered the people and separated them into different languages so they couldn’t easily communicate together. This breakdown of communication would make it difficult for a long time to coordinate people again into such an effort. But alas, here we are again - one language and a global urban village. And a sense of spiritual independence is destroying the desire to pray. Christians are more apt to rely on their thinking then their prayer life with the Holy Spirit. Once again, we have come to rely on information more than inspiration. We have committed a serious error by letting information make us independent from God. The more people know what to do, the less they pray. It was never God’s will that His revelations should make us independent. We let intelligence replace our need for the empowering that only comes by prayer. Until what we know inspires us to pray we know nothing. Everything we build without His power will fall just like Babel did.

Psa. 127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it…

We must recognize that wherever humans gather they create a spiritual atmosphere of independence. And they begin to build religion to secure themselves. In our text Peter encapsulates the simple elements for a victorious Christian and a successful:

Prayer

Fervent Love

Hospitality

Spiritual Gifts

Divine Utterance

The very first element in our life is prayer. We are no more attached to God than our prayer life. It is our umbilical cord in the womb of life. Prayer is to thought what purpose is to existence. Prayer puts the LIFE in living. We are literally designed to be dependent upon prayer.

Luke 18:1 And he (Jesus) spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Peter warns, “be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.” The words, soundand sober refer to the fact that we must avoid the intoxicating effects of urban living. The noxious fumes of secular urban life are lethal to the spirit of prayer. The desire to pray quickly slips away unless you deliberately guard yourself against the influences of excess. Excessive labor, excessive recreation, excessive relaxation, without maintaining prayer to receive God’s power, strips the desire to pray and fills you with a sense of independence. Independence from many things is good, but not independence from God. There are many Christians building entire ministries upon information they have gleaned from God. Like the Tower of Babel, there is no dependence upon God’s moment-by-moment Presence. It’s all built upon the intellectual acumen of man. If the influence of urban life and secular culture has eroded your dependence upon prayer then PRAY! Pray till you tap God’s power and recover your dependence upon Him. As Peter said, “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.”

Stay On The Path!

Prov. 18:21 Death and life are in the power (hand) of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The hand that receives the blessings of God is in your mouth. God’s Hand is in His mouth. Jesus, who is called “The Word of God”, is God’s Hand of healing, salvation, Help and blessing.

Words, and the mouths that form them, from the hearts that conceive them, hold the greatest powers of the Universe.

In Proverbs 18:21, the translators used the word “power”, from the original ancient Hebrew word for “hand”; when describing the power of the tongue. From the Strong’s Concordance:

3027. yad, yawd; a primitive word; a hand (the open one - indicating power, means, direction, etc.)

A very simple and accurate paraphrase of the verse could read like this:

Prov. 18:21 Death and life are in the HAND of the tongue: and those who learn to use it will eat its fruit.

When God built the Universe He used His Hand - …the Hand in His mouth.

Heb. 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

God built with His Hand - …the Hand of His tongue. At 186,000 miles per second, light proceeded from the mouth of God, as He said, “Let there be light!”

So powerfully creative is the Hand of God in His mouth, that you never see in scripture, examples of Him speaking recklessly, or issuing meaningless words that He regrets saying. The reason is simple:

Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

God knows that His tongue is a hand. He knows every Word He speaks comes to pass. By the same token, we have been made in His image and likeness. In other words, we should act like Him and reflect His character. We’ve been designed by God to do so. And that’s why He says so much to us in His Word about our tongues. He knows that the hand in our mouth can build or tear down with greater force than the hands our arms support.

The words we speak form a hand that gives and receives. Think about it. Do you really want to give what your words declare? Do you really want to receive what your words state? What do you want to give? You must select words that are able to hand it out.

Prov. 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many…

Words that form a hand are found in the heart. Whether loving, angry, joyous, judgmental, blessing or complaining, these words come from what we believe. When we speak from our beliefs we speak with the force of a hand.

Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

It is with the hand in our mouth that we walk hand-in-hand with Jesus. Here is an amazing verse that makes this point so powerfully:

Heb. 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

The word, “Profession” is this word in the original Greek text:

3671. homologia, hom-ol-og-ee´-ah; from the same as 3670; acknowledgment:–con- (pro-)fession, professed.

In its simplest form, “profession” means to say the same thing as God. Jesus, as the great Apostle (Sent One) and High Priest of God, is the Hand of God joining with the hand of our mouth, when we say the same thing as God. That concept is powerful; because it transcends the limitations of education and social position, and places the great blessings of God before all men equally. Anybodycan now take hold of the endless mercy and powerful graces of the precious Lord Jesus.

Deut. 30:14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

Rom. 10:8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, in your mouth and in your heart”–that is, the word of faith which we are preaching.

Stay On The Path!

Heb. 12:1 Therefore, surrounded as we are by such a vast cloud of witnesses, let us fling aside every encumbrance and the sin that so readily entangles our feet. And let us run with patient endurance the race that lies before us,

Heb. 12:2 simply fixing our gaze upon Jesus, our Prince Leader in the faith, who will also award us the prize. He, for the sake of the joy which lay before Him, patiently endured the cross, looking with contempt upon its shame, and afterwards seated Himself— where He still sits—at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb. 12:3 Therefore, if you would escape becoming weary and faint-hearted, compare your own sufferings with those of Him who endured such hostility directed against Him by sinners.

Heb. 12:4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted so as to endanger your lives;

Heb. 12:5 and you have quite forgotten the encouraging words which are addressed to you as sons, and which say, “My son, do not think lightly of the Lord’s discipline, and do not faint when He corrects you;

Heb. 12:6 for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines: and He scourges every son whom He acknowledges.”

Heb. 12:7 The sufferings that you are enduring are for your discipline. God is dealing with you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Heb. 12:8 And if you are left without discipline, of which every true son has had a share, that shows that you are illegitimate, and not true sons.

Heb. 12:9 Besides this, our earthly fathers used to discipline us and we treated them with respect, and shall we not be still more submissive to the Father of our spirits, and live?

Heb. 12:10 It is true that they disciplined us for a few years according as they thought fit; but He does it for our certain good, in order that we may become sharers in His own holy character.

Heb. 12:11 Now, at the time, discipline seems to be a matter not for joy, but for grief; yet it afterwards yields to those who have passed through its training a result full of peace—namely, righteousness.

Heb. 12:12 Therefore strengthen the drooping hands and paralyzed knees,

Heb. 12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put entirely out of joint

Heb. 12:14 but may rather be restored. Persistently strive for peace with all men, and for that growth in holiness apart from which no one will see the Lord. (Weymouth Translation)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

So far we have looked at the fact that Christians in our culture live in the pursuit of happiness rather than holiness. But God makes clear in the text that He is more concerned for our holiness than our happiness, because true holiness leads to freedom from futility and fellowship with him. We have also looked at the fact that it’s our nature to avoid correction because it initially causes grief. Hence the warning from the text above is: “do not think lightly of the Lord’s discipline, and do not faint when He corrects you”. So today let’s consider the statement in verse 8, which says, “And if you are left without discipline, of which every true son has had a share, that shows that you are illegitimate, and not true sons.”

There should be no mystery about why so many Christians secretly fight strong feelings of spiritual insecurity. When the pressure of trials bring their influence to bear, a great deal of our theology immediately disintegrates. We believe much more than we practice, and the sieve of daily life quickly separates what is true from what is real in our faith. We profess many things that we have never consistently proven. And I say this not to cast condemnation upon us, but because it leads to a very important revelation:

Theology can not give you the sense of legitimacy that only divine discipline can produce.

Heb. 12:8 …discipline, of which every true (legitimate) son has had a share…

Our theology must never emancipate us from the Savior. God’s correction always reminds us of how dependent upon Him we are. But even more important than that, is the fact that His correction literally brings us into the inheritance of our sonship.

Heb. 12:7 …God is dealing with you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Our sonship will always be IN Christ and never beside Christ, or even behind Christ. We are legitimate only IN Christ. The New Covenant is a blood covenant between God the Father and God the Son. We are adopted not adapted. Therefore His disciplinary dealing will ALWAYS have this one directional influence in it. And that is, that His reproofs will always correct our relationship to Jesus and not just punish us for breaking a moral code. The Old Testament Law dealt with our relationship to a codified righteousness, and as such it revealed the impossibility of man ever being saved by relationship to law. That’s why the New Covenant embodies righteousness in the man, Jesus Christ, Who is God the Son. Him, we can have a relationship with.The Old Testament punished law-breakers in the futile hope that they would keep it. In the New Testament God chastens sons so they will be what they are: sons, and not act illegitimately.

Our sense of legitimacy does not come from how much we know or how convincingly we speak. In fact, our legitimacy cannot be maintained at all by the accumulation of truth. For the reality of faith is that it’s actually God Who makes us Sons through our obedience to Him.

Phil. 2:13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Far too many Christians attempt to close the gap on their own sense of spiritual insecurity (illegitimacy) by learning something new. We tend to live from sermon to sermon, teaching to teaching. We think it, therefore we possess it. But the object of the New Testament isn’t truth. It’s Sonship. And our sense of legitimacy comes as we allow the Father to DEAL with us in the Truth. It’s the divine dealing we submit to, and not the knowledge we receive, that proves the legitimacy of our sonship. It is this very sense of legitimacy that forms the foundation for our daily operational faith, and that is why divine discipline is so necessary, because it frees us to believe what we believe in; to act on what we know; to live as Sons of God.

Stay On The Path!

Heb. 12:1 Therefore, surrounded as we are by such a vast cloud of witnesses, let us fling aside every encumbrance and the sin that so readily entangles our feet. And let us run with patient endurance the race that lies before us,

Heb. 12:2 simply fixing our gaze upon Jesus, our Prince Leader in the faith, who will also award us the prize. He, for the sake of the joy which lay before Him, patiently endured the cross, looking with contempt upon its shame, and afterwards seated Himself– where He still sits–at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb. 12:3 Therefore, if you would escape becoming weary and faint-hearted, compare your own sufferings with those of Him who endured such hostility directed against Him by sinners.

Heb. 12:4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted so as to endanger your lives;

Heb. 12:5 and you have quite forgotten the encouraging words which are addressed to you as sons, and which say, “My son, do not think lightly of the Lord’s discipline, and do not faint when He corrects you;

Heb. 12:6 for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines: and He scourges every son whom He acknowledges.”

Heb. 12:7 The sufferings that you are enduring are for your discipline. God is dealing with you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Heb. 12:8 And if you are left without discipline, of which every true son has had a share, that shows that you are bastards, and not true sons.

Heb. 12:9 Besides this, our earthly fathers used to discipline us and we treated them with respect, and shall we not be still more submissive to the Father of our spirits, and live?

Heb. 12:10 It is true that they disciplined us for a few years according as they thought fit; but He does it for our certain good, in order that we may become sharers in His own holy character.

Heb. 12:11 Now, at the time, discipline seems to be a matter not for joy, but for grief; yet it afterwards yields to those who have passed through its training a result full of peace–namely, righteousness.

Heb. 12:12 Therefore strengthen the drooping hands and paralyzed knees,

Heb. 12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put entirely out of joint

Heb. 12:14 but may rather be restored. Persistently strive for peace with all men, and for that growth in holiness apart from which no one will see the Lord. (Weymouth Translation)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The warning from the text above is: “do not think lightly of the Lord’s discipline, and do not faint when He corrects you”. And the reason for this admonition is because in our quest to be happy we don’t see God’s correction as gratifying. We like to try and get past it as quickly as we can, because it’s not a “happy” experience. In fact, God’s correction brings grief. But it’s the kind of grief that’s good and warns you that something is wrong. If you ignore it or simply try to get past it as quickly as you can you’ll probably keep heading right into trouble.

I remember years ago reading about David’s sin with Bathsheba, and the mess he created through his lust, by getting her pregnant and having her husband killed. But once it was “over” he married her and probably figured he was back “on track with God”. And when I read how Nathan the Prophet came in and exposed David’s sin (after it seemed to be a thing of the past), it struck me how that you can never put behind you want God hasn’t “put away”. David thought he had gotten past it all. I’m certain that he was very sorry for what he had done, and I’m sure he had no allusions about it being wrong. Yet like many of us, he probably figured, “It’s past. I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll stick close to God for now on…etc, etc.” But sin has a terrible and dangerous influence upon us, as it dowses our soul with it’s highly flammable solution. All it takes is a close brush with the flames of temptation. So God had to step in and deliver David from what he could not see, nor free himself from. When Nathan revealed the sin David thought he had put behind him, David was shocked and dragged down into a most grievous experience of repentance. And when his time of repentance was thoroughly completed the Bible reports that, “And David said to Nathan, Great is my sin against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord has put away your sin; death will not come on you” (2 Sam. 12:13). It is so important to realize how utterly impossible it is to put away your own sin. You cannot put behind you what God has not put away. We NEED God’s reproof and correction, and if it weren’t “grievous” we wouldn’t pay much attention to it.

In the letters to the Corinthians Paul reproved the Church for certain sinful behavior. His letter of correction pierced them with painful reproof. But after they wrestled with the issue, and went to God for correction over it, the result was thorough and produced a revival in them.

2 Cor. 7:8 For though my letter gave you pain, I have no regret for it now, though I had before; for I see that the letter gave you pain, but only for a time.

2 Cor. 7:9 Now I am glad, not that you had sorrow, but that your sorrow was the cause of a change of heart; for yours was a holy sorrow so that you might undergo no loss by us in anything.

2 Cor. 7:10 For the sorrow which God gives is the cause of salvation through a change of heart, in which there is no reason for grief: but the sorrow of the world is a cause of death.

2 Cor. 7:11 For you see what care was produced in you by this very sorrow of yours before God, what clearing of yourselves, what wrath against sin, what fear, what desire, what serious purpose, what punishment. In everything you have made it clear that you are free from sin in this business.

It’s human nature to resist God’s correction because of the sorrow it causes, but it’s divine nature that calls us into the Refiner’s Fire, knowing that it’s the door to deliverance and true joy.

Stay On The Path!

Heb. 12:1 Therefore, surrounded as we are by such a vast cloud of witnesses, let us fling aside every encumbrance and the sin that so readily entangles our feet. And let us run with patient endurance the race that lies before us,

Heb. 12:2 simply fixing our gaze upon Jesus, our Prince Leader in the faith, who will also award us the prize. He, for the sake of the joy which lay before Him, patiently endured the cross, looking with contempt upon its shame, and afterwards seated Himself— where He still sits—at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb. 12:3 Therefore, if you would escape becoming weary and faint-hearted, compare your own sufferings with those of Him who endured such hostility directed against Him by sinners.

Heb. 12:4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted so as to endanger your lives;

Heb. 12:5 and you have quite forgotten the encouraging words which are addressed to you as sons, and which say, “My son, do not think lightly of the Lord’s discipline, and do not faint when He corrects you;

Heb. 12:6 for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines: and He scourges every son whom He acknowledges.”

Heb. 12:7 The sufferings that you are enduring are for your discipline. God is dealing with you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Heb. 12:8 And if you are left without discipline, of which every true son has had a share, that shows that you are bastards, and not true sons.

Heb. 12:9 Besides this, our earthly fathers used to discipline us and we treated them with respect, and shall we not be still more submissive to the Father of our spirits, and live?

Heb. 12:10 It is true that they disciplined us for a few years according as they thought fit; but He does it for our certain good, in order that we may become sharers in His own holy character.

Heb. 12:11 Now, at the time, discipline seems to be a matter not for joy, but for grief; yet it afterwards yields to those who have passed through its training a result full of peace—namely, righteousness.

Heb. 12:12 Therefore strengthen the drooping hands and paralysed knees,

Heb. 12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put entirely out of joint

Heb. 12:14 but may rather be restored. Persistently strive for peace with all men, and for that growth in holiness apart from which no one will see the Lord. (Weymouth Translation)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

I am preparing to make one of my trips back into the jungles of the Niger River Delta. There I am bringing Jesus to people who have never heard the Gospel, and live a very remote and hard life. Their native culture and our “Christianized” society are sharply contrasted. Making the adjustment in my mind, in order to preach effectively there, I realize there is something fundamental to Jesus’ Gospel that we have forgotten here in America. And that is that God more concerned with our holiness than our happiness.

We are obsessed with the pursuit of happiness in post-modern culture. And it is a multi-billion dollar business; because the advertising industry knows that it can easily separate us from our money by convincing us that we are unhappy. Happiness depends on “happenings”. If we happen to get what we want, well then we’re happy…for a while anyway. However, the soul is not satisfied with happenings or happiness. Your soul seeks meaning, rest, revelation and purpose. None of which result from happenings: things going the way you want them to. The carnal desires of the flesh are always imposing themselves upon the soul. And the soul that isn’t disciplined in God will simply cave into the demands of the flesh. Isaiah the Prophet wrote:

Isa. 55:1 Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost.

Isa. 55:2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.

Isa. 55:3 Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live;

The modern western church is steeped in the pursuit of happiness. Messages are tailored to appeal to the interests of every specific group. Preachers who use to write about the claims of Christ now write How-To best sellers. Yet the true need of our life is Holiness, not happiness. Holiness is the work of the Spirit of God, freeing us dependence upon carnal gratification. It’s the process of deliverance from distractions, addiction to entertainment the powers of selfishness. Holiness cuts away the thick fleshy bulk from our hearts and minds, allowing us to feel the love of God and see the worth of Jesus Christ.

Heb. 12:14 Persistently strive for…growth in holiness apart from which no one will see the Lord.

We see many styles of churches, thoughtful accommodations, impressive messages, talented productions, even spiritual “manifestations”. But we don’t see the Lord …really see the Lord. Christians would zealously follow Jesus if they saw Him, but instead, must be constantly coaxed into faithfulness.

People can be happy with things that take them away from God.

The pursuit of happiness has resulted from a misguided interpretation of the Gospel. The love of prosperity and the fear of losing it, has caused us to redefine the meaning of life and the purpose of ministry. And we have bought into some wrong assumptions. We believe that God wants us “happy”. But God wants us holy - knowing that holiness brings us into something that the pursuit of happiness can never deliver: fulfillment and the Joy of the Lord.

You can never be truly happy immersed in yourself. Our Heavenly Father loves us far too much to pour out His anointing upon us before we are redirected into the pursuit of holiness rather than happiness. He chastens us with conviction and reproves us till we respond to Him and begin to wholeheartedly seek His face. The pursuit of happiness (rooted as it is in our flesh) dulls our souls to God’s dealings. We become chronically unhappy, and can’t seem to find a satisfaction level. The pursuit of happiness becomes an increasing burden as we drag the weight of conviction along with us. But godly sorrow leads to repentance and awakens our hearts to higher joys and deeper purposes. Happiness without God is a cruel hoax, but the joy of the Lord works regardless of what is happening.

More tomorrow, so until then…

Stay On The Path

John 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

John 5:2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

John 5:3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

John 5:4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

John 5:5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

John 5:6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

John 5:7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

John 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

John 5:9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

(from the previous devotioanl, “Where There Is No Man”)

“It is the nature of sickness to be oppressive. In making us weak, it causes us to look to men for help. And when it drags us beyond the reach of men, affliction lays its seeds of hopelessness in our soul. But it is contrasted against the very backdrop of hopelessness, that Jesus’ presentation shines brightly.  Where there is “no man”, there is Jesus!”

“The attitude of Heaven had formed itself into Jesus. He clearly, and without conflict, spoke from His heart, from the mandate of His mission. “Will you be made whole?”

What is Jesus, if He is no bigger, no more powerful, no more willing, than our unbelief and doubts? Certainly we are confined by the limits of our faith. But Jesus has a will and ability that far exceeds our fear-formed theologies. Jesus said one thing:

Matt. 8:7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.

But then man has penned a million words of caution, restriction, exclusions and disclaimers. Well-meaning Christian teachers have surrounded these, and other such powerful claims of Jesus, with the quicksand of theological motes, all in an effort to protect God and people from disapointment and accusation. Most believers today no longer even expect God to heal, much less believe that He has already provided it in Christ. They are so conditioned by the words of men there’s no expectation towards God. Sadly, most suffering believers just gaze hopefully at the slim chance of an inexplicable stirring pool.

Let’s revisit the man at the Pool of Bethesda one last time. It’s probably the last time he himself will ever be there. He is stranded at this mysterious pool of limited healing opportunities. Not unlike our churches today. There’s the knowledge that people get occasionally healed, but one could hardly call it an expectation. The healings happen sure enough, but they are so unpredictable and arbitrary. It’s more like people get healed by accident rather than on purpose. I wonder if it’s easier on the Pastors and Teachers to have people mysteriously healed by the occassional stirring waters. That way, no one has to say anymore than, “Well, we can’t understand His ways, but God will choose, from time-to-time, to heal someone.” It’s easy then. There’s no responsibility to relate with Jesus and take Him at His Word. We can just leave healing in the realm of “providence” and “souvereignty”. Which is a fancy way of saying, “Don’t get your hopes up, because God hasn’t attached any promises to this pool.”

Well, that would be nice and tidy, except for one thing: you’ve got Jesus loose and roaming around the Temple. And there’s no controlling Him. Everytime He personally confronts the afflicted, He offers them healing and deliverance. How do you keep that under control?!! To show me the Jesus of exceptions, exclusions and disclaimers, you have to take me to the mountainous pile of man’s theological comentaries. But to take you to the Jesus of consistent Healing, all I have to do is take you to the Bible. We like to tell people that the Bible is for today. We tell them that Jesus’ words of salvation are potent and relavent today. But then we turn them away from His words of healing and the consistent pattern of His delivering power; claiming that those words were only relavent then. Yet there’s not one solid direction from the Master’s mouth, that authorizes us to discount His offer to heal the sick, or religate it to special people during a short period of time. How completely and utterly opposite of everything He said and did! What if we told people to forget about the Pool Of Bethesda and start dealing directly with Jesus? What if we told people to stop waiting for a “special anointing” and start seeking the common Savior. Do we have the courage to tell the truth about Jesus? The truth that He is Heaven’s “YES!” to our faith’s petition for help, healing and deliverance?

2 Cor. 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

There was NEVER any sincere petitioner, who faced Jesus with a need for healing, that was ever turned away. Whether He went to them, or they came to Him, the result was ALWAYS the same. Always. Despite our modern theologies, I think there is a stronger case to be made, based soley on the evidence of scripture and the direct statements of Jesus Himself, that the sincere can not but get healed in the Presence of the Lord of Life!

Stay On The Path

John 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

John 5:2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

John 5:3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

John 5:4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

John 5:5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

John 5:6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

John 5:7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

John 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

John 5:9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

After 38 years of being entombed in his infirmity, this paralytic’s vision had narrowed down to the slim hope, that someone with enough pity, might carry him into the randomly stirring waters, ahead of the multitude. Hope had fled and left him as a victim; dependent upon man for a shot at a chance. Most people would call that “hopelessness”. You need to appreciate the dark closet of despair that Jesus stepped down into that day, at the Pool of Bethesda. Coming from the Heaven of Healing, Jesus presented the man with the offer of transformation. It was an easy offer for Jesus to make. The attitude of Heaven had formed itself into Jesus. He clearly, and without conflict, spoke from His heart, from the mandate of His mission. “Will you be made whole?”

But the afflicted man was not anywhere near the regions of Heaven, from which his visitor had come. His entire world had been shaped by cruel circumstance, into a dead stare at the waters that may as well have been miles away. And his answer to Jesus’ simple offer, revealed the only level on which he could possibly conceive of a way, “(But) I have no man…”. If only I had a man, someone who would take pity. But look, they’re all in the same boat I’m in.

Mark 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

It is the nature of sickness to be oppressive. In making us weak, it causes us to look to men for help. And when it drags us beyond the reach of men, affliction lays its seeds of hopelessness in our soul. But it is contrasted against the very backdrop of hopelessness, that Jesus presentation shines brightly. Where there is “no man”, there is Jesus! And I think at times, until there is no man, then there is Jesus. Oh, how we dread drifting into “no man’s land”. How quickly is the light of hope snuffed and faith falls, when we’ve sailed beyond the shores of human help. Admittedly, it is frightening. But He who made the sea, and calms the waves, comes walking upon the water. The Light of the World, in the darkest night, upon the most unstable of conditions: here comes Jesus. What can hold Him back? What can keep Him from you? He whom death could not keep away, and the grave could not hold back from you. How will He not offer you the healing that has endured such a contest?! Sometimes we don’t see the Light of the world, until we’ve lost sight of the last man.

In the place of sympathetic sufferers,

There’s “no man” to carry you into the stirring waters.

It’s a place of confinement and sorrow for you,

This house of healing for others,

There stranded by the ‘pool of limited healing’,

And isolated by impossibility,

Comes the offer to take you where “no man’ can go,

From the lips of Jesus, “Will you be made whole?”

Stay On The Path

John 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

John 5:2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

John 5:3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

John 5:4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

John 5:5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

John 5:6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

John 5:7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

John 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

John 5:9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

If you went to Heaven today, do you think you would meet “Blind Bartimaeus”, “Simon The Leper”, or “The Woman With The Issue Of Blood”? Of course not. Not only has God removed their condition of sickness, but also it’s no longer their identity. They’re now “Simon the Whole” and “20/20 Bartimaeus”. But God saw him as “Simon The Whole” long before he became whole. While he was still a leper, God saw him as healed and whole.

Rom. 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

The eyes of God see with the perspective of His Will. Is God wrong to identify us according to His view of us, rather than labeling us by our temporary conditions? Conditions that linger may take on a sense of permanence in our minds, but they’re still temporary in the mind of Him whose will usurps them.

Mark 5:39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.

I doubt seriously that you would accuse Jesus of irresponsible thinking. Yet you might accuse someone who thought and spoke like Him of irresponsible thinking. Why is it OK for Jesus to speak from Heaven’s perspective, but wrong for us? Surely it’s not because He’s Jesus and we’re not. Because if you take that position then how in the world do you then turn around and explain that we are called to think, act and believe as He did?!

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

This mind-boggling statement from Jesus is surely limited to those “mountains” which God has said should be cast into the sea. And that certainly includes the personal example He demonstrated without exception, that of healing sickness. Concerning healing, He has set a solid precedent.

The man at the Pool of Bethesda had a deep-seated, lingering disorder. This was no momentary affliction. It was a “Boundary-Setting Illness”. When people have such afflictions, the infirmities define the boundaries of their lives. The infirm and crippled person may courageously expand their limitations, by playing guitar with their feet, painting with their mouth or playing sports in a wheelchair. But still there are boundaries which limit their abilities. However sickness may control your living, it should never define your life. Jesus healed Bartimaeus because the Bartimaeus God saw wasn’t blind. Jesus just put him into the condition God saw him in. And Bartimaeus BELIEVED He would do it! Can Jesus put you into the condition God sees you in?

When Jesus went in to heal Jairus’ daughter, she had died by the time He arrived, so they told Him it was too late, she’s dead. But Jesus didn’t see her as dead, and he said as much:

Mark 5:39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.

And look at the reaction He got from the mourners. It’s the same reaction we get today from Believers when confronted with the same faith:

Mark 5:40 And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.

Sometimes you have to just put out the doubters, and get Jesus in there alone with you.

Mark 5:41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.

Just like Lazarus, Jesus talked to this girl’s corpse as though she were alive. Because in the mind of Him, whose will counts the most, she was alive. He had said so! What has He said about you? Check His Word, not the mourners’ opinions, but God’s Word.

Mark 5:42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the ageof twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.

Of course they were astonished. They defined her as ‘dead’, while He defined her as ’sleeping’. He defined Lazarus the same way:

John 11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friendLazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

And in the mind of Jesus, your condition is as temporary as sleep. He came to awaken you from your temporary condition. Sickness may control your living, but it should never define your life. It may describe ‘how you are’ for the moment, but it must never define ‘who you are’. Jesus communes with you on the basis of ‘who you are’, not on the basis of ‘how you are’. When Jesus visited the man at the Pool of Bethesda, his life had been completely controlled by his condition. And no doubt that in his thinking, his own identity was defined also by his illness. So Jesus approaches him with a most peculiar question:

John 5:6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

“Will you” be made whole? Not, ‘can you be’ made whole. ‘Can’ addresses the man’s ability, which of course, is overwhelmed by the condition. But Jesus engaged the man on the one level that his sickness could not control: his will. Of course the man didn’t possess the ability to make himself well. But now he was faced with Jesus, Who did have, not only the ability but also the will to heal him. Upon gazing into the compassionate eyes of the Son of God, the man lifted his own will from the paralyzing arms of sickness, and placed it into the Hands of Jesus. The sickness never had a chance!

Stay On The Path

John 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

John 5:2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

John 5:3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

John 5:4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

John 5:5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

John 5:6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

John 5:7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

John 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

John 5:9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

How great is the Lord’s goodness? How deep is your need? Perhaps the only way we ever know the measure of Jesus’ healing grace and delivering power is by the depth of the disability, from which He draws us.

This great story of Jesus’ visit to the Pool of Bethesda is like a perfect micro-drama, symbolizing our world today. In the middle of Jerusalem - a type of Christianity - there is this Pool where occasional healings occur. The conditions around these healings are like many today. There is an unpredictable “stirring at certain times”. And selective healings occur only for the first ones into the stirred waters. It’s completely arbitrary, without continuity, and contributes mystery to the subject of God and healing. In short, it’s too little and too inconsistent, to make a strong association between God and healing. Finally, sick and afflicted people, hoping to be fortunate enough to fall into the water when it stirs, surround the pool. There’s nothing in this picture that strengthens the seeker’s expectation that God would heal them.

In the crowd lies an unnamed man known only by the fact that he’s been there “trying to get healed” for nearly 38 years. The Pool of Bethesda was anything BUT a place of joy and hope. For most, like this man, it was the place of captivity, pain and disability. There is nothing quite like the misery of being afflicted when you’re seeking to be made whole. There are many believers who can’t stand the pain of seeking healing. It just makes it that much harder to resist caving into despair. Risking the hope of healing against the fear of giving up, becomes more than many are willing to bear. To them, it’s just easier to decide “God doesn’t want me whole”. When healing is a mysteriously ambiguous subject, where do you look for a clear line on hope? How can you have faith in a “stirring pool”? There’s no revelation of God in it, no message of promise to hold onto. That’s what healing is like for many believers today.

But Jesus walked right into this man’s place of captivity and disability and turned it into the very place of his testimony. We hate the affliction, until it becomes a testimony. Perhaps if we saw our afflictions as opportunities for God’s glory, our uncertainty would dissolve. If we looked at Jesus rather than some mysterious stirring, we would know our testimony was on the way!

Ex. 15:26 ….I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

Is. 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

1 Pet. 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

How long have you sat in the House Of God, waiting for that special stirring? God’s house has become a place of secret sorrow for you. But it is God’s will to turn your temple of secret sorrow into a cathedral of overflowing joy. Our testimony doesn’t begin when the answer arrives, but when the problem manifests. Our testimony begins in the depth of our despair, not on the plateau of our freedom. The valley is just the bottom of your mountain.

John 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

John 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Jesus view of your affliction is the right one. He sees that it exists, not as some demented school of torture, designed to teach you appreciation. Nowhere in His Gospel did Jesus ever endorse such a cruel idea. But Jesus did put forth the idea that your affliction exists as an opportunity for God to show mercy. Did you know that God wants to be known for showing mercy? Did you know that he wants people to see Him as the One Who raises the dead, heals the sick, cleanses lepers, and delivers captives?

Matt. 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matt. 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Luke 10:8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:

Luke 10:9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

Does Jesus not want us to believe that His Kingdom is a place of healing and restoration? Why preach that Jesus comes to deliver, to restore and heal, if we’re just going to leave everyone sick and dependent upon some unpredictable stirring? What in the world kind of testimony is that?! It makes it look as if Jesus speaks with His fingers crossed behind His back. We unleash our theologians on the chronically disappointed, with over-spiritualized explanations for why Jesus REALLY didn’t mean that they would “get healed physically”. In the end, we simply take the infirm and lay them back on the steps of the Pool Of Bethesda. Well, that may be where many of today’s teachers leave the sick, but thanks be to God, that’s not where the story ends. That’s just the place where Jesus goes to make a testimony.

Stay On The Path