Labor Pains

The Parable:

The two mamas were sharing stories—and what is the most deeply embedded story in each of their minds?  The birth of their babies!  Every birth mother knows there’s no comparison to it in pain, anticipation, trauma and drama.  One of the mothers said, “The pain was so bad, I couldn’t take it anymore!!”  “Yeah,” said the other, “I didn’t even get a break between contractions for hours!  There’s no words for the seemingly endless agony with my firstborn.  But my second one was so different; at least I had 30 seconds in between contractions to catch my breath.”

“Well, when I was at that point of agony that I couldn’t handle, the nurse got hysterical to find the doctor, because the baby was peeking through!”

The Discussion:

Do you feel like your life is like the final stages of labor?  It might feel like a hopeless and endless barrage of pain and trial, but God actually has good news for you.  He likens the work of sanctification to a woman in labor.  And if you’re in a place of desperate pain, at the end of your rope, going insane with emotional and even physical agony, then take heart!  You’re at the point of giving birth!  God knows what it is.  Maybe it’s the ultimate birth of entering the glory of heaven; maybe it’s a major breakthrough in sanctification; maybe it’s a big life change that God wants you to be ready to enter.  Whatever the case, God is a God of truth.  The baby is coming, and its entrance will mean the sudden end of your unbearable agony.

Micah 4:10: “Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.”

Jeremiah 4:31: “I hear a cry like a woman in labor,

a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child—

the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath,

stretching out her hands:

‘Woe is me,

for my soul faints before the murderers!’”

Isaiah 42:14-17: “For a long time I have held my peace;

I have kept still and restrained myself;now I will cry out like a woman in labor;I will gasp and pant.15I will lay waste mountains and hills,and dry up all their vegetation;I will turn the rivers into islands,and dry up the pools.16And I will lead the blindin a way that they do not know,in paths that they have not knownI will guide them.I will turn the darkness before them into light,the rough places into level ground.These are the things I do,and I do not forsake them.17They are turned back and utterly put to shame,who trust in carved idols,who say to metal images,“You are our gods.”

Aged Wine

The Parable:

Connoisseurs of wine prefer what is very old, very aged, very fermented—not to mention a certain selection of grapes.  God is a connoisseur.  His wine has been fermenting for 6,000 years…

The Discussion:

There are bowls of fermented wine in heaven from the winepress of the wrath of God.

Revelation 15:7: “And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.”

Revelation 19:11-16: “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”

After this meditation, I immediately thought of Jesus’ words, "No one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good" (Luke 5:37-39). So what is the wine that has been fermenting in the New Covenant of new wineskins? Jesus himself defined the wine at the Last Supper: "And likewise [he took] the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.'" The blood that saves and cleanses those who put their hope in Jesus Christ is the same blood that has been fermenting in the wrath that is stored up against all wickedness for the day of wrath. How much stronger and more potent is that wrath now that it has fermented for so long! And how much stronger and more powerful is that blood as we drink it at the marriage supper, that we might be drunk and fully satisfied in the goodness of the wine of Jesus Christ!  For Ephesians 5:18 says, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit." At the end of the age, the perfectly fermented wine will be ready to be poured out upon the Earth in wrath and poured into His elect Bride in power and consummation of our marriage with the Lamb!  Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!

Mark 14:25: “Truly I say to you that never will I drink of the fruit of the vine again, until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.”

The Beam of Light

The Parable:

The cavern was so dark you could practically feel it.  Not a shadow could be seen through the blackness, but Faith could see a beam of light filtering down far in front of her.  It appeared to be breaking through a hole or crack in the top of the cave.  She began to feel her way along the wall toward the light.  It grew brighter and brighter, as the sun was clearly directly overhead.  As she entered the light, its warm rays flowed over her like a waterfall.  She covered her eyes with her hand, for the light was overwhelming in contrast to the darkness in which she had been engulfed.  She began climbing the wall for a way through the hole.  The sunlight seemed to pull her upward.  Once she had reached the top and poked her head through the hole, it was like entering heaven.  Oh the contrast!  From darkness everywhere, with a beam of light offering a way out--to light everywhere and no darkness!  It was clear from the beauty of nature around her that the light meant life.  Not a thing grew in that cavern.  It was cold, hard, rocky, and dead—except where the light met its floor through the hole; there, it was alive!

The Discussion:

John 12:46: “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”

John 8:12: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

Jesus is as the beam of light, and the dark, sin-filled world is like the cavern.  If we depart from Jesus, we plunge ourselves into a blackness of blindness and death.  We are cast into “outer darkness” as Jesus described it (Matthew 25:30).  The further from the light we venture, the blacker our way becomes.  The light pierces through Jesus Christ, the only gateway into heaven.  He is like a window that breaks into the cavern of darkness our sin has created.  Our only way into the glorious light of God and His holiness and beauty is through the window of Jesus.  The light is a narrow shaft with one entrance.  We cannot presume to find our own ways into the Kingdom of Light.  We must pursue the one place where it enters our darkness.  We must seek the Lord while He may be found, even while it is still day.  When the sun sets, the light stops shining through.  We must reach the window of heaven before the setting of grace!  Jesus said, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:4-5).

The Final Purim

The Parable:

Roya saw that there were two groups of people, and she was in one of them.  It was a time of war, but not a traditional war; it was a religious war, and it was a time of great culmination for the church of Jesus Christ.  It was a time of evangelism explosion!  One group was what Roya perceived to be perhaps Islamic or some sort of radical religion. The other group represented Christians. The Christians had the sense that they needed to act fast to try to convert the other group.  Roya and her Christian friends had the confidence that God was going to work.  Some people were very afraid to expose themselves as Christians or were pretending to be Christians but were not.  For some reason, Roya was able to perceive who were the imposters.  The Christians knew from God’s Word that those who were not wholeheartedly sold out to Him would completely succumb to the sinful tendencies of their hearts.  “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for the day of Redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).  Roya’s mother was with her, and she was extremely afraid of sharing the gospel because it was dangerous.  The Christians knew that those who were not for them were also murderous.  Roya told her mom, “Remember God’s Word, and fear the Lord!  You have to confess that fear to God and get rid of it or else it will completely consume you.”

There were people who were converted to Christ, and Roya knew what was going to happen to them.  She thought back on a time when she was holding one of these elect ones named Abel as a baby because she was related to him by adoption, and while she was holding him, he was attacked by a dagger on the upper shoulder but survived.  The memory moved her deeply, as a mother would feel if she saw her baby being attacked.  But Roya had a peace knowing that what was happening was completely all planned out by God.  She knew that now that he was a grown man, it was his destiny to be murdered by the sword.  The day of war had come, when the evil forces were going to charge the people of God in Esther style—the way Haman in the book of Esther in the Bible had ordained a day to completely annihilate the Jews.  Yet, God was greater than the plan of the wicked then, and Roya and her fellow Christians knew that He was going to do the same thing again: turn the tables on the wicked.  Roya went to Abel and encouraged him, reminding him that his martyrdom was God's plan and to be courageous.

The time came that all the Christians were all anticipating--a time when they knew that God's enemies were going to be let loose on the Christians. There were some people that came in with swords and daggers and ran through two people at once, one of whom was Abel.  Roya had to witness it.  She had a broken weapon in her hand and began doing hand-to-hand combat with one of them.  (She had grabbed the weapon off the enemy.)  The person she was fighting with was so incredibly murderous that even after she had stabbed him multiple times, he was still coming at her.  He seemed to have a supernatural vengeance that kept him alive.  But she cared more for his soul than her own safety, because even as she was fighting him in self defense, she was witnessing to the man and pleading with him to come to Christ before he died.

Later that day, she began witnessing to a boy.  He embraced the gospel wholeheartedly.  She told him that he had to take on a certain Jewish name that was given to him but that he could also keep his other name.  There were significant meanings to both names.

In all the events of the fateful day, Roya was completely at peace and had the sense that it was just all a script that was being played out and that she had nothing to fear.  Even though she knew that the enemies of God were dangerous and were going to kill some people, she also knew that God was going to turn the tables and be victorious.

The Discussion:

Apocalypse is a misunderstood word.  It does not mean “the end of the world” by definition.  It means, “An uncovering.”  Romans 8:19: “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.”  In Esther’s day, it felt like the end of the world for her people the Jews.  But it was the true definition of the Apocalypse—the revealing of God’s power in His people, the overturning of evil’s best day.  God’s people are even now waiting for the revealing of Jesus’ best-laid plans for His church—ultimately, the revealing of Jesus Christ Himself in the clouds with power and great glory!  But it’s an unwrapping of a present that we seek.  It starts with the glory Jesus will send to His people in the undoing of evil’s best-laid plans, when the glory of Jesus Christ is manifest on His Kingdom warriors to bring in the harvest of souls saved up for the end of the age.  Oh what a day!  Those warriors know who they are.  They are chomping at the bit, longing for the command and authority and endowment of their King, their Captain, their Savior, their glory, their hope, their never-ending reward.  They have been preparing for the day of apocalypse.  They have been in God’s training camp, for He will not allow any of His people to straddle the fence.  The Day of the Lord is a day of revealing sides.  No one will be allowed left in the lukewarm camp.  There is no middle ground.  People will instantly scurry to where they find it most comfortable.  If they have already been dancing with the world, they will look to the world’s savior—the antichrist and the powers of darkness—to escape the great destruction that looms over them as war and chaos ensue.  If they have wholeheartedly turned their back on sin and the world and have embraced Jesus Christ as both their savior and Lord, longing for nothing more than His appearing, then they will run to Him on His great and glorious Day.  They will seek Him and find in Him all their purpose and strength.  They will perform all that He commands of them—they will act in His play, doing what He has written in His script before the foundation of the world.  If that means giving their bodies to be martyred, then so be it.  If that means fighting for truth, then so be it.  If that means evangelizing the great harvest ready to be reaped, then so be it!  And with joy will all God’s army go forth on this great day of His battle!  When Satan thinks that he has reached the culmination of all his well-laid plans to conquer and overcome the earth, to snuff out all the remnant of Jesus, to destroy the light, to convert and control the heathen, and to make the earth the abode of his unhindered reign, then will the great tables of God’s providence overturn his schemes!  Then, will the light rise up in the power of Jesus Christ that He purchased for His church, His bride, when He shed his blood and conquered the grave!  Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever!  Jesus shall reign where’er the sun!

“No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand”

 (Keith Getty and Stuart Townend: “In Christ Alone”).

Those who come to faith in Christ in the final harvest will be transformed by a new birth—and thereby given a new name; yet, they will keep their old name, for the man God created them to be will remain—being sanctified in Christ Jesus.

Church of God, be awake and alert, “your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for whom he may devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9).  Do not use the enemy’s weapons to try to fight him.  It’s easy to use the fleshly responses, verbal argumentation, and frustration to lunge at our enemy, but his weapons are broken and useless to us.  Only the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God can overcome our enemy.  Otherwise, he will just keep coming at us.  When we resist him, we must resist with the armor our Captain, Jesus Christ, has given us.  Then, he will flee.  God is good, though.  Even when we fail by taking up the wrong arms, God still works by His Spirit in us, giving us a heart of love for our enemy.  God will overcome our frailty and our failings.  He is faithful when we are faithless, for He cannot deny himself (2 Timothy 2:13).

Church of God, let us continue to ground ourselves in the Word and truth and presence of Christ Jesus so that we are ready for all He commands of us in every and any circumstance.  When the final Purim comes, let us be useful vessels for the Master to plunder our enemy.

Moulting

The Parable:

The long-haired, jet-black dog started moulting!  Yes, you heard me right.  I was stunned too.  Dogs moult?  Well, this one does.  What is moulting, you ask.  It’s when an animal loses its outer skin.  And?  Well, that’s it.  End of story.  The dog moulted—and I think we can assume it attained another fur; what color?  Well, let’s leave that to the imagination.  I like to assume white.

“She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table’” (Matthew 15:27).

“Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Revelation 22:15).

“Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil…” (Philippians 3:2).

The dogs are certainly descriptive in Scripture of those who are evil—that is, those who have hearts of sin, who do not fear God, who are not led by the Spirit of God, who have not been born again of water and the Spirit, who have not taken upon them the blood covering of Jesus Christ, their Messiah.  These dogs are covered in darkness—hence the jet-black hair of the dog in our parable.  They are incapable of doing that which pleases God.

As it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

-Romans 3:10-18

Why did the dog moult in our parable?  The dog, representative of sinful man in his sinful nature apart from the grace of Jesus Christ, is not in his natural self capable of moulting.  Dogs don’t moult in nature.  They do shed—just as the sinful man will always shed the evil that is in his heart—for from the depths of the heart, the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34).  Yet, though dogs don’t moult, they can be acted upon.  He who created them can change them.  Yes, God, the creator of man, who has justly acted upon mankind in their sin to give them the inheritance of their wickedness and has prevented them from shedding that sin—or rather—removing it from themselves of their own free will, has acted upon mankind by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus, to redeem man and enable him to be born again a new creature.  This new creature is not the dog in its innate nature.  It is an entirely new being.  Not only is the corrupt flesh moulted from off him, but the very inward parts have been changed so that he does not desire the wretchedness of a dog.  A dog returns to its vomit (2 Peter 2:12), but the redeemed man desires nothing of sin.  No measure of desire on man’s part will change his nature, yet the power of God is capable of all things!

“So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16).

“[Jesus said], ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God’” (Mark 10:25-27).

What then shall we do?  If we find ourselves more similar to the dog with the black hair than the moulted animal, what shall we do?  The Apostle Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Acts 2:38-39).

The Lord never turns away an act of true repentance and faith, and though He will immediately act upon such penitent dogs with the power to moult and with a heart that now despises the darkness of sin and loves the light of God’s holiness, that moulting process will take time.  Yes, the inward spirit has been changed, but the outward skin of sinful flesh remains and will slowly moult off the redeemed saints until they have been fully purified and given the new skin of Jesus’ radiant righteousness.

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Shaken

The Parable:

It’s wartime.  People are ready and braced for the worst.  Many are cooped up together in shelters that house them, with basements below for bomb shelters.  They have all their earthly goods in suitcases.  They stay together in large, open rooms with little privacy.  The times are rough.  The endurance level is at an all-time high.  The lookout is constant.  One who is posted as a lookout goes outside to gaze at the sky.  She sees a strange, cigar-shaped craft and immediately knows that the enemy has arrived.  As she is about to return to her people, she sees a huge banner across the sky that reads, “The writing is on the wall.”  Doubly horrified, she rushes back into the shelter and screams, “Everyone get downstairs!!”  People begin to flood into the halls with nothing but what’s in their hands.  There is no time for luggage, and no room.  They rush to the small door that leads to the basement.  It will take time to get them all through it.

Before she knows it, the watchwoman has been captured.  Perhaps she was knocked out; she has no recollection of what happened between the alert of attack and where she found herself: in a large cubical room, well-lit, with a gutter of clear water flowing in the middle.  She is informed by her captors that they are going to break her, not by any conventional means of torture.  No, this is a specially built room that can be violently shaken or gently rocked, all determined by the captors controlling it.  The woman does not have a concept of time in this room, but the duration is short enough that she is not starved to death; she realizes the only place to obtain water to drink, to bathe, and even to urinate is at the stream in the gutter.  The room begins to shake violently; the prisoner braces herself against the wall, trying to hold her stomach so she doesn’t vomit.  She thinks, “I know I'll get through this because God has taught me endurance.”  Time passes, and her captors grow impatient.  Perhaps they can terrify her into surrender.  They send a huge, muscular man into the room who is as tall as the room.  He marches toward her—not saying a word—and begins to press her against the wall with his body.  He presses harder and harder, as if to crush her, but she is not crushed.  She is wearing special armor that her captives know nothing about.  As long as they can’t mess with her mind, she is invincible.

Hebrew 12:25-29

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

This is surely a day of great warfare for the church of God!  We who are saints of Jesus Christ feel the battle daily, hourly, moment by moment.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed, even as the woman in our story.  She was hard pressed by the giant that came into her place of confinement.  However, part of what makes us feel so hard pressed is because we see our struggles and trials sent by the ancient foe, the devil, as giants—insurmountable, overbearing, strong, mighty, greater than us.  Why?  Do we not understand ourselves as the warriors that we are?  We as God’s people are equipped with every piece of armor we need for the battle! (Ephesians 6:10-18) Are we confined in a prison of despair or pain or trial of every kind?  Satan cannot keep us there!  (Maybe he can in body but not in spirit—and only with God’s permission which He gives to bring about greater victory.)  Consider the TV show Hogan’s Heroes.  These prisoners of war had it made with such an advanced tunnel and communication system that they could break out at any time.  But they stayed in the prison camp to make a heavier inside impact on the enemy.  God has us here on the earth for just that reason, and He will receive all glory.  But if Satan can keep us convinced that he’s the captor and that we’re helpless, what good are we?  The sword of truth is buckled around our waist.  If we would but pull it out, we could break out!  We might feel as if we are being victorious by bracing ourselves bravely against the shaking of the devil.  Indeed, we are, and we are gaining more and more grace and victory and perseverance in our Lord Jesus, but we should not be contented to stay in confinement, unwilling to get out and fight an offensive battle.  God is using the confinement indeed to test our faith and our willingness to stand in the midst of intense and seemingly endless suffering.  But are we proactively using the truth that God has given us in His Word to speak against the lies?  The shaking is lies.  We feel undone because we have sinned, that we are unworthy to be in God’s army.  Lies.  Does not the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s son, sanctify us through and through (1 Thessalonians 5:23)?  Are we not covered in full atonement?  If we confess our sins, is He not faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness? (1 John 1:9).  Oh dear saints of God, do you feel the Spirit of Christ rising up within you?  “The writing is on the wall,” dear saints—the writing that God is giving over the enemy’s stronghold to His people.

Daniel 5:23-28

But you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

 “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed.  And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.  This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Have the not the kingdoms of this earth found in their own lusts the source of their strength?  Yet they are found wanting.  They have not served the God of Heaven nor given Him glory.  They have turned their backs on every manner of law that God established from the Creation of the world and have set up for themselves gods of gold and silver, gods of wood and stones.  Everything created by man for man has become man’s god—everything but the true and living God.  Now, God surely will bring to an end all that man has done for himself without giving glory and honor to the Creator.  The time for the Kingdom of Heaven to take over the kingdoms of this world is at hand!

All God’s people see the writing on the wall.  The craft is in the sky for the enemy to fight with all its power, and people will find themselves utterly dismayed, having lost all their earthly support.  Yet, what is Satan’s power compared to God’s?  What is his wrath compared to God’s wrath?  What are his miraculous wonders compared to the glory that will be revealed in the Sons of God?

Soldiers of Christ, the church has been bound in a box.  They have seen the Kingdom from the perspective of a boxed existence.  They have perceived the light of the glory of God--even as the room in our story was bright--yet they have only perceived the box.  They have not been able to wrap their arms around the bigger Kingdom work God is doing.  They have drunk from the glorious streams of living water, yet they have not perceived its source so that they would follow that stream to the One who gives it, and drink deeply of HIM.  They have washed themselves and all their filthy waste in it, and though it has not grown muddied or soiled by the sins of the church, they have still found themselves captive.  They have been shaken to utter exhaustion, but they have not considered a way to escape.  Does not Scripture say, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it”? (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Note that it says with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape.  When Paul and Silas were in prison, they were fighting the enemy through songs.  They were not giving in to the feelings of the flesh, or bemoaning their state.  They were praising God, knowing that in spite of circumstantial evidence, they were victors.  A great earthquake came and shook that place.  The earthquake, as in our story, could have been a source of great trial, fear, trepidation, and illness on their part.  But instead, because they had a heart of hope, they saw their way of escape through it and even had their wits about them to save the life of the guard!  When we fail to see the way of escape in the earthquakes of trial, we get weighed down with overwhelming pressure as the giants of Satan’s lies enter in to trample us to death.  No, we will not be destroyed; we will not be crushed, but we must rise up victorious!  Satan cannot lay a hand on us; he can only put us in a room of virtual captivity and shake it up to make us feel as if we are helpless and he is king.  But it is the other way around!  In Christ, we have the victory! (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Church of God, Saints of Jesus Christ, Sons of God filled with and led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14), take your place!  You have the victory in Jesus Christ!  Yes, you will be bombed, you will be destitute, you will be hated by all men.  Did not our Lord Jesus say that the servant is not greater than his master?  Yet in spirit, you will win!  You will reap a harvest if you do not give up!  (Galatians 6:9) You will store up treasure in heaven (Luke 12:33, Matthew 19:21, 13:44, 6:20).  You will take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).  You will win souls (Luke 21:19, Mark 4:20).  You will gain a crown of glory that will never fade away (1 Peter 5:4).  Who are you, oh Son of God?  You are the Bride of Christ! (2 Corinthians 11:2)  Think about that, next time Satan tells you you’re worthless, hopeless, and never going to make it.  Jesus said, “No one can snatch you out of my hand” (John 10:29).

Throwing Off Rebellion

The Parable:

A writer orders his paragraphs in unity with the thesis statement and his words in unity with his paragraph theses.  What if the paragraphs came alive and decided to order themselves according to their own idea of what was good?  What if the sentences re-arranged themselves within the paragraphs?  What if the words re-arranged themselves within the sentences?  It would be nonsense and chaos!

Rebellion—the first sin—plunged mankind into a nosedive of mutiny and questioned God’s veracity.  Satan knew that all it would take is rebellion against one commandment to set the course.  All we have to do is doubt the authority, even a little.  “Did God REALLY say?” (Genesis 3:1) Oh the ramifications in our everyday lives!  People of God, Bride of Christ, I don’t know about you, but I’m fed up with Satan’s whispers in my ear or the prickling up of my heart when I hear an authority tell me to do something I don’t want to do or to not do something I do want to do.  Oh the remnants of that cursed mutiny!  Why does 1 Corinthians 11 tell women to wear head coverings?  (I’m not here to make a case for head coverings—just a case for what they represent.)  Why does Paul tell Timothy and Corinth to instruct women to remain silent in the churches?  “The women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says” (1 Corinthians 14:34).  “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness” (1 Timothy 2:11).  We know from the context of Scripture that women are equal to men in their dignity.  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).  Indeed, both men and women have been given gifts of the Spirit.  Certainly Jesus is equal to the Father in every way, yet He submitted Himself to the Father.  Why?  “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).  “Jesus answered them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?’” (John 10:32)  “Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me’” (John 10:25). “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me” (John 10:37).  The Holy Spirit is God, yet He also speaks only what He hears.  Why?  “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me” (John 15:26).  “He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you” (John 14:17).  “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13).  The authority structure that God has set up is everything.  He uses it to order His world and His people—and even His own godhead—for the perfect unity and function of all things.  A writer orders his paragraphs in unity with the thesis statement and his words in unity with his paragraph theses.  What if the paragraphs came alive and decided to order themselves according to their own idea of what was good?  What if the sentences re-arranged themselves within the paragraphs?  What if the words re-arranged themselves with the sentences?  It would be nonsense and chaos!  “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’” (Revelation 1:8).  “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host” (Psalm 33:6).  “You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, ‘He did not make me’; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’?” (Isaiah 29:16).  “When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).  “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).  “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50).  We see here that God the Father is the source and orchestrator of all truth, which includes the true and perfect purpose for which we exist in every aspect of our being.  “For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring’” (Acts 17:28).

While those who are part of the Kingdom of Heaven are seeking to live in and under the authority of God through Jesus Christ, those in the kingdom of Satan are buying into his lies about God and undermining God’s authority by creating for themselves their own authority.  Women have thrown off the authority instituted by God under which they are to live as submissive to their husbands.  Employees have thrown off the authority of employers as far as they can get away with it.  Men and women have thrown off the authority of government.  Government has thrown off the authority of God as revealed in Scripture—all justified by this one line: “What is truth?” (John 18:38).  Let’s paraphrase: “If it suits me best, then it’s my truth.  If it helps me most as I see it, then it’s my best.  The authority doesn’t understand my situation.  The authority isn’t working for my good.”  But when we use these excuses, we forget or deny that God is actually in control of the authorities—yes, sinful—even evil—authorities.  Think King Pharaoh.  Do we believe God?  “And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’—and he was called a friend of God” (James 2:23).  So if we really believe God, then we believe that the authorities over us are actually being guided by God to lead us where He wants us.  Is the following favorite of Christendom just a nice ditty for our verse plaques, or does it mean something to us?  Do we believe God?  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

It’s all about truth.

“For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth” (2 Corinthians 13:8).

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

This is not just a nice thing to know for those who love God; this is the heart of the gospel!  This is what John 3:16 is all about.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  What does it mean to believe in him?  It doesn’t mean to say something with the lips alone; Jesus makes that clear.  ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”  Hmm, we’re back to authority, aren’t we?  We reveal who we believe by who we follow.  If we believe Jesus Christ, we will follow Him and all His commands.  If we believe the devil, we will continue our own way.  Period.  “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

Those who are born again, out of Satan’s kingdom and into the Kingdom of Heaven are working day and night to shake the remnant of Satan’s kingdom from their flesh and to learn and obey God’s truth.  That is why reaching a greater and greater level of maturity has to do with finding God’s truth—and applying it.  And if we desire to do that, it’s a good sign we have truly believed God, we have truly been reborn with a heart of love for Christ, and we are being led by the Spirit of Christ.  “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14).  Meanwhile, God is purging us from our own rebellious desires through pain.  If our perfect Lord and Savior had to learn obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8), then how much more do we?  “Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him” (John 13:16).  “And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’” (Luke 9:23).  This is why James looks like a book of salvation by works.  If we are truly converted from following Satan’s lies and believe God in Christ Jesus, then we will no longer follow the pattern of the flesh; our works will follow our mouth.  Faith without works is dead, because by works, faith is revealed to be genuine.  But don’t be fooled: it’s easy to produce works out of false motives or by fleshly effort.  Those works will dry up because they aren’t rooted in the good soil of love for Christ and by Christ (Luke 8:4-15).  We can produce counterfeit light for God, but without the oil of the Holy Spirit, we will be like the five virgins whose lamps had gone out at the coming of the Bridegroom (Matthew 25:1-12).

So I conclude with this question: saints of God, do you believe God—enough to follow and submit to the authorities He’s placed over you?  Our culture is all about self-gratification and throwing off authority and absolute truth.  Why?  Because the Father of Lies is the ruler of the kingdom of the air (Ephesians 2:2).  It’s time we revolt—the other way!  We revolt by living our lives with the authority of Christ and of God the Father, who has absolute control over who we serve.  That means reading His Word, and asking Him to apply it to us by putting His finger on what needs to be sanctified in us.  Let’s throw off rebellion, Bride!  We serve our Bridegroom, who Himself submits to the Father.