The Hezekiah Treatment

    Been thinkin’ this week about the division and downright hatred among our citizens.  Wondering at the threats and insults hurled across our congressional floors.  Shocked at some of the social media posts that pop up in my news feed. 

   Reading through Isaiah, the Full Life Study Bible calls chapters 36-39 a “historical interlude concerning Hezekiah”.  Hezekiah ruled the Israelites from 700-680 BC.  Like many of us, Hezekiah starts out strong.  He was a Godly king who trusted and served the Lord.  He stood up to the lies and insults of the King of Assyria.  When he faced trouble, he “tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord” (Isaiah 37:1) He sought Godly counsel and inquired of the Lord.  In the face of continued persecution, he prayed.  The time came when a wicked king sent Hezekiah a rather intimidating letter outlining the victories the king had against other nations.  He goes as far as to warn Hezekiah, “do not let the god you depend on deceive you” 37:10 (I was nervous just typing that).

   Hezekiah responds by going to the temple of the Lord. Take a closer look at chapter 37:14-18. He has a targeted plan as to how to respond to this letter. 

    First, he acknowledges who God is.   He calls Him the “Lord Almighty, God of Israel”.  Then, he asks that God see and hear.  

    Hezekiah takes the letter and spreads it out before the Lord.  He points out the parts of the letter that are true with a sidebar about that truth.   He ends with the faith statement he began with.  Hezekiah acknowledges who God is.

   This earthly king give us a three-point plan to deal with the lies, insults and harassment that is being aimed at Christians today.  

1.     Bring the issue into a place of prayer.  State the facts of what’s being said and/or done.   In the temple, Hezekiah pointed out the obvious. Sennacherib was mocking and ridiculing God.

2.      Acknowledge any truth but consider why there is truth.   Assyria had taken over other countries and defeated their gods, BUT those gods were wood and stone.  Hezekiah says, “not gods at all”.

3.     Proclaim who God is and what He has promised. Hezekiah proclaimed that “you alone, oh Lord, are God.

Think about that divisive, hurtful issue that is interrupting your life today.  Give it the Hezekiah treatment and watch the God, who is God alone, work it out.    Thinkin’ ‘bout that today. 

Donkey or Elephant?

   One of my 2021 goals is to read the entire Bible.   I've done the chronological one year Bible for several years now,  in a couple of different translations.  The Genesis to Revelation plan bogs me down in Chronicles.  In an effort to find a new way,  of course,  I went to google.  I was intrigued by a  Genres weekly Bible Reading Chart  from IntothyWord.org.  That's how I found myself reading Joshua and Judges, studying the history of the Israelites last week.  

  I started thinkin' of how the America of today  mirrors this history.  Repeatedly, we can note two of the same trends:

1..They did not inquire of the Lord

2.  Israel sinned in the sight of the Lord.  

    As you read these chapters, verse after verse repeats these two sentences.  Every battle lost happened when the leaders made a plan without consulting God. When Israel and it’s leaders sought "the Lord's counsel"  they were successful.   Clearly asking for God’s opinion on the battle was paramount for His favor.   

   These chapters record that Israel would win the battle and be at peace until " the people of Israel did again what was evil.”   Back to war,  over and over again.  It’s easy to judge these people.  They had Moses’ testimony,  they had Joshua’s leadership,  they had the promise of victory.   They had seen miracle after miracle in their wilderness.  There was no doubt they knew how to live in prosperity but “they did again what was evil.”  I wonder what was wrong with them that they couldn't get it together.  Then,  I watch the nightly news.

  During the last election, both sides of the aisle claimed to be “Christian”.  Many  politicians claimed to be “born again”.  The church became divided due to the arrogance of both sides. During a battle in Joshua 5:13-14,  Joshua  encountered the angel of the Lord. “Are you one of us or one of our enemies?”  he asked.  Hear the answer and imagine God speaking it today,  “Neither one!  I am here as the commander of the Lord’s army."   God is neither for the donkey or the elephant.  He is here for himself.  

   The Pulpit Commentary suggests that when God arrives for “neither’,  it is because the battle is so intense, only God himself could save now. The battle for Jericho was going to be intense.   God appeared to Joshua as a man of war.  He had never appeared to anyone in that capacity before. 

    The battle for America is intense.  Only God can save us now.  As never before, the people of God are "pressed on every side by troubles, perplexed,  hunted down, and knocked down." (2 Cor. 4:8-9 NLT)  The battle is intense,  but " we are not crushed,  we are not driven to despair, never abandoned by God, we are not destroyed."   What's next?  We don't know, 

Thinkin' about inquiring of the Lord.  

Supernatural Wedding Plans

   A recent sermon by Jim Cymbala of Brooklyn Tabernacle NYC grabbed my attention. In full disclosure, I frequently catch his sermons, I listen to his daily 8–10-minute devotion every morning.  Cymbala stated there are reasons we do not see a supernatural move of the Holy Spirit in our churches.   I thought it was because we’ve lost our first love, become compromising and totally inclusive. Maybe, but he takes his points from scripture.

  Come to the wedding at Cana, Jesus’ first miracle on earth.  Watch episode 5 of The Chosen for a modern look at the miracle but I always digress when I start writing about the Chosen.   Pastor Cymbala said there are 3 specific things that happened in that miracle that we do not see happening today. 

1.      Jesus was invited.  He wasn’t a wedding crasher, he didn’t just pop in.  He was an invited guest at the wedding.  He knew the bridal couple and he came to celebrate with them. 

2.     His mother approached him and stated the need.  She didn’t ask him to do anything.  She just told him the problem.  She didn’t make any suggestions as to how he could fix this.  Here’s the problem. Period.

3.     His mother told the SERVANTS to do whatever they were told.  Again, she didn’t tell Jesus what to do, she ordered others to follow his directions. 

Every one of us would say Jesus is always invited into our services.  We start with prayer every time.  Of course, Jesus is invited into every service.  Few of us would think  Jesus was unwelcome in our services.  

“Yes, Come on in, Jesus. Just one thing, we’re on a timetable here, people don’t want to stay over an hour.  So, we’ve got 20 minutes of ‘praise and worship’.  The team has practiced their songs so don’t lead anyone to sing a chorus we didn’t plan.  There will be five minutes of announcements and 35 minutes for the preaching. The speaker may throw in a prayer sometime during that. We’re in a series right now, so don’t try to lead Pastor down a rabbit hole.  Come on in, we want you in our service.”

   Don’t be offended, it’s true.  It’s true every day as we try to fit Jesus into our agenda.  Tony Evans called that “an add on”.   We plan, we execute, and we add Jesus in where we can.  We invite Him to be part of our day, our life, our church, within our parameters. 

  We bring our requests to Him and tell Him how we think this can be fixed or worse, we try to fix it ourselves and then ask him to bless it.  We really don’t want Him to do it His way.  It might hurt, it might inconvenience us.  Nobody likes the unknown. 

   The servants did what they were told.  They must have because Walah!  Wine in the ceremonial washing jars. Filling them with water must have seemed crazy, but servants don’t question a command.  They probably filled those jars thinking this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.  God seems to delight in asking us to do things that are quite out of the ordinary.  This servant is a frequent naysayer.    I want the supernatural in my church, but I’m selfish.  I want it in my life too. 

Thinkin’ ‘bout tellin’ Jesus what I need today and doing whatever He says. 

5 Lead Points

    The final goal in this series is the one I most aspire to.   In Romans 8:4&5 “Only those people who are led by God’s Spirit are his children.  God’s Spirit doesn’t make us slaves who are afraid of him.  Instead, we become his children and call him our Father.” (the msg). More than anything this year, I want to be led by the Spirit.  The Fire Bible says that means to “think, speak and act according the Word of God”.  Sounds like a mighty tall order.   Thankfully, Pastor Cooper gave 5 tips on how to be led of the Spirit.

1.      Read the Word of God.   I’ve written before about the necessity of knowing God’s Word.  The very first sin committed by Eve came about because of not remembering what God had said.  Satan craftily asked her “Did God really say?”  and totally misrepresented what God had said.  We must read and know the Word of God.

2.     Prayer.  Real prayer.  For me, this means returning to the prayer of my childhood.  Those Wednesday nights or Tuesday mornings or whenever, where we met together and cried out to God.  Where we worshiped without the benefit of a timer or three song program.  Prayer that keeps me on my knees until I hear from God. 

3.     Godly preaching and teaching.  A friend recently suggested that we needed a class on a certain subject.  Another friend in the group said, “that’s what Sunday School is for”.  The first friend responded, “we don’t have that anymore”.  Nor do we have Sunday night or Wednesday night.   Thirty minutes once a week isn’t helping us live, grow, or be led by the Spirit. I’m grateful that Covid has brought a wealth of Godly teachers into my living room by way of the Internet.  WARNING:  Not everything on TV or online is of God, pray for discernment in your choices.  A word from God will line up with THE word of God. 

4.     Heed wise counsel.  Find one or two Godly men (for men), women (for women) that have proven themselves.  People who live Godly lives, exhibit the fruits of the Spirit, and know the Word of God.  Christians who have faithfully served the Lord for a period of time.  Completely trustworthy.  These people are your only real “accountability group”. 

5.     Exercise the gifts of the Spirit. For me, it means using my prayer language.  For all of us, it means opening ourselves to the gifts listed in  I Corinthians 12.  

I have never heard an audible voice of God, but I have been led by the Spirit on more than one occasion.  It’s always an unmistakable compulsion to pray, give, speak, do something that is in complete agreement with the Word of God. 

In 1965, Doris Akers penned “To be used of God, to speak, to sing, to pray, to be used of God to show someone the way.  I long so much to feel the touch of His consuming fire, to be used of God is my desire.” 

Thinkin’ how I can be used today. 

From the inside out

 Continuing my Spiritual goals for 2021, today’s goal builds on the previous two. It’s not enough to live in the Spirit, we must grow in the Spirit.  Stagnant water stinks and breeds bacteria. I confess, I tend to have growth spurts rather than consistent growth.  This year I’m striving for consistency. 

  Pastor Cooper talked about growing from Galatians 5:22-23.   A very familiar passage of scripture, the fruits of the Spirit.   These characteristics cannot sit and rot, the Christian needs to grow the fruit, pun intended.

The Amplified Bible says “But the fruit of the Spirit (the result of His presence within us) is love (unselfish concern for others) joy, (inner) peace, patience (not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such things there is no law.”   The fruit of the Spirit is the result of His presence within us.  It’s what is shown daily when one is filled with the Spirit.  Ellicott comments that “The fruit of the Spirit is that which naturally grows out of the operation of the Spirit, in which it naturally results.” 

This version of the verse hit me like a tomato in the face. (I couldn’t help it, a fruit reference).     “How we act while waiting”.   We were at dinner last week when my 6-year-old grandson lamented about the wait for dinner to arrive.  He rolled his head back and forth on the chair and moaned, “I’m starving, I’m starving,” When ignoring didn’t stop him, his mother took things in hand with some choice words and threats.  This adult, (who was also hungry) sympathized with his plight but never considered following his behavior.  I know how to act when waiting in a restaurant. I know how to act when waiting on God, but I am not sure I always wait well.

Once again, the growth of this fruit within me is dependent on the Holy Spirit.  If the past few months have taught us anything we cannot love on our own. Peace is hidden as we watch the siege of our Capitol.  The dearth of kindness among our citizenry, the lack of self-control among our highest office holders, the lack of truth among our media, and the absence of gentleness mock this scripture.  Our culture has robbed us of any joy.  These fruits are clearly out of season.  The truth is:  it is impossible to grow these fruits in our lives without the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Thinkin’ its time to pray. 

Empowered

    Last week I wrote about being filled with the Spirit. “Filled” is a past tense verb and I must caution my readers that being filled with the spirit is a present tense action.  We live in a world that requires us to continually seek God, repent daily and allow the Holy Spirit to be a part of our life.   When that’s happening, goal #2 becomes easy.

 Live in the Holy Spirit

  This goal is going to require an active effort on our part. The amplified Bible explains Galatians 5:25 this way.  “If we (claim to) live by the Holy Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit (with personal integrity, godly character and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit.”   

  To live in the Spirit requires us to imitate Jesus.  A popular chorus in the 70’s was “to be like Jesus, ….  All I ask, to be like Him.”   In college, a chapel speaker suggested we quit singing that because “all” you ask, is a big ask. Nonetheless, we should aspire to be like Jesus, knowing we will not attain that goal.  Notice the things mentioned above.  

Personal Integrity.   The first thing that struck me was “personal”.  This is about me, not about the Donald, Joe, or my pastor.  This isn’t about comparing myself with anyone else.  It’s about me; my character, my behavior.  Dictionary.com says integrity is “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.”  For the Christian, it’s also “adherence” or obedience to Biblical principles.  Living in the Spirit requires me to live according to the teachings of Jesus. 

Godly Character.  Character is the features and traits of your personality.  It governs how you talk, act, and think.  We are not born with this because “all have sinned”.  Becoming “Godly” doesn’t mean being a god.  It means we strive to live so God would be pleased with our actions. 

Moral Courage.  The nerve to stand up for what is right and speak out against what is wrong.  Silence is agreement. It’s never been more important for us to speak out against corruption. It’s never been more unpopular in our world that paints Christians as intolerant.   Jim Cymbala says, “There is a tolerance that is cowardly.”  Cowardly is the opposite of courage. 

So, ALL I need to live in the Spirit is be exactly like Jesus.  Before we throw up our hands in despair of that impossibility, let’s look at the end of the verse, “our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit.”  Empowered by the Holy Spirit,  filled with the Holy Spirit,  we can have integrity, courage and Godly character.   

Live,  Reside, Dwell, Inhabit, Exist, Breathe,  make your home in the Holy Spirit.  

Thinkin’ on that. 

 

 

Here We Go

   I mentioned last week that I’m a goal setter.  I don’t do resolutions, but I try to prayerfully set goals for areas of my life.  I start with Spiritual goals because I want all the others to be filtered through what I believe Jesus wants.  Sometimes it takes several days into the new year before I get them.  This year they came, unexpectedly, through an online sermon Sunday morning.

   Herb Cooper of Oklahoma City People’s Church was preaching about revival starters.  As my notes took shape, I immediately saw the overarching goals.  It took longer to break them up into practical aspects.  And I always want to dig deeper into the accompanying scriptures

   A successful 2021 is only possible as God deems it so.  However, he invites us to partner with Him in the success. So, to that end, I have four goals to share with you.  One each week for the next four weeks.

#1 Be filled with the Spirit. 

    Being filled with the Spirit starts with repentance. “Sorry” is thrown around as easily as leaves in the wind. True repentance brings a change in the way we act.  I cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit until I have asked Jesus to forgive my sin, shortcomings, failures AND change my behavior. The difference between “sinning” and “living in sin” is a change in behavior.  Only after I’ve repented and began to work on change, can I look at Ephesians 5:18.

    Which (NLT) says “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life.  Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.”   It’s interesting that Paul contrasts filling of the Holy Spirit with being drunk.  Scholars believe Paul used this phrase as “a reckless pursuit of excitement at any cost.”  The Pulpit commentary suggests that resorting to drink to “cheer and animate you” is the meaning here. One author suggests that Paul was speaking more positively than at first glance.  Drunkards are out of control.  They walk differently when drunk, they speak freely, they act in ways they would not normally act.   Could Paul be suggesting that when we are filled with the Spirit, we might walk differently, speak boldly, act different than our sinful nature would?   

When the Holy Spirit fills or invades our life, we become bold and courageous.  Our prayers become His will; His Word becomes alive. It convicts but also encourages. Assurance, peace, and confidence become our companions. 2021 demands this.

    Pastor Cooper challenged his listeners to list three things they needed to repent of and change in this new year.  I won’t share my list.   However, I challenge you to make your own list. What are things you might need to change to be full of the Holy Spirit?

Think on that.