Who can turn God from His Purpose?

Isaiah 14:24 “The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:”

Can anyone win an argument with God?

Is there any Christian that believes that they can have the last word with God?

These might seem like odd questions….after all we believe in the Sovereignty of God….

…..to accept the Sovereignty of God is to take our place as His creatures…..before the Creator…..and agree that He can do what He will with His own.

Do we?

Hear the Word of the Lord…

Isaiah 14:27 “For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?….”

(Who shall break God’s purpose….who can set it aside?

None.)

“…..And His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”

(When He is ready to judge…..or ready to bless…..who will be able to stop Him?)

Romans 8:35, 37-39 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Do we believe this for ourselves? I see it quoted….and hear it,…often..but do we believe it?

If God has saved you…..He will not give up on you….

Psalm 138:8 “The Lord will perfect (complete) that which concerneth me: Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever: forsake not the works of Thine own hands.”

(He may leave us in our sins for a while, because we are slow to leave them……to show us the terrible defilement of them.

He may be silent…..making us feel His absence [even though He never really leaves us].

He may use circumstances to awaken or correct us….

….but everything He does…..is to bring us to Himself….the only place of safety….because He loves us.

Hebrews 12:5-6 “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children,

My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou are rebuked of Him:

For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son who He recieveth.”)

The same principle of God’s faithfulness to us…..to see us complete in Him….

…is spoken of by the Apostle Paul:

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it.”

(When we consider that Paul was a Persecutor, and a blasphemer, yet found mercy from our Lord Jesus Christ….

….who then became persecuted, and slandered,…for Christ’s sake…..gladly!

He was someone who could say that Jesus will “sanctify you wholly”…..

….for Christ did this for Paul.)

Wherever we are at in our spiritual growth…

(and if you are born again….you are called to “grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 3:18)

….there is more. As long as you live….He has more for you to accomplish….to experience with Him.

Who can know all of His mercy….or grace….or blessings?

Are there not people you know, who do not know Him…..or who have “fallen” on hard times, as the prodigal?

Then let us seek His purpose for them….by prayer, and witness.

And in doing so….let us remind ourselves of His great patience, mercy, and love to us.

The mercy of God finds us wallowing in the muck and mire of the world….and shines a light on Christ.

The grace of God brings us out of the muck and mire of the world….in Christ’s power and gives us joy.

The patience of God works His Will in us….HIs character in us….and His love in us.

Amazing God we serve.

Let us yield to His purpose (which includes correction and blessing)…..His call for today….His leading, even though we do not know the Way….and His love for ourselves, and others.

Of His Fulness

John 1: 16 “And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”

As born again ones, we have received…of His fulness.

What does that mean?

There is the fulness of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”

As Jesus said when He was here….about the filling of the Spirit…

John 7:38-39 “He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

(But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive:…)”

In scripture the “belly” signifies our innermost life…and it is an amazing prophesy of the way the Holy Spirit works through believers….from the inside out.

He does not require works for God….without love to God.

And that goes into the next “fulness” we receive….(and notice it is again in the inner man)…love

Ephesians 3:16-17 “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,”

God is love, and therefore when we are born anew….He places by His Spirit, love for Himself…..and love to others.(Eph. 4:30-32)

The next fulness is grace…..grace for grace. The grace applied, sets the stage for more grace. The grace that we use is never lost….but added to, by more grace.

For it is God, giving of Himself to us.

We should always be filled to our capacity, to our overflowing.

Romans 5:17 (Williams Version) “For if by one man’s offense, death reigned thru that one (Adam)

to a much greater degree, will those who continue to receive the overflow of His unmerited favor and His gift of right standing with Himself, reign in real life thru One, Jesus Christ.”

To continue to receive of His fulness….we need to continue to receive Himself (Jesus Christ)….certainly as Savior….but also as my Lord, as Just and Holy, as Merciful even to His enemies, as a Rebuker of evil, as Mediator, as my Counselor, as the Word.

His fulness here is….the overflow of His grace and His righteousness.

The grace we receive from Christ Jesus changes us into the same image.

2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

But we all, who have an “open face”…..one which will continue to receive the grace given.

As the Holy Spirit creates within us the desire for true spirituality….God’s goodwill works a good work in us (Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.)….

…qualifying us for more tokens of His goodwill and grace.

It is not that we “earn” His fulness….but that we just receive them.

John 1:7 “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”

As we see ourselves in the light of Jesus Christ….facing the truth about what is shown us about ourselves….

….His grace will be applied…..which is God’s unmerited favor of power for our lives.

His power is what we need to do anything.

It gives us wisdom to know what to do and how to do.

It gives us sanctifying influences to keep us standing with Him, in this circumstance.

It gives us peace throughout the circumstances.

And mostly it gives us a knowledge of His Presence with us. This is indeed power to live and reign in the life He leads us in.

And then His fulness gives us Light to shine abroad.

2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, Who commanded light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Imagine being a light, which can not be hid…..so that “they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”(Matthew 5:14-16)

That Light can so shine thru us….

For “good works” in this world is the showing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, through us.

2 Corinthians 4:10 “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.”

When we deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Christ….His life also will be made manifest.

“Manifest” here is to render apparent, to publicly declare….in our mortal flesh! How wonderful that God could use me,….us….to render apparent to others the life and character of Jesus…..creating a hunger for the reality we have, in the hearts of others.

Let us lay aside our Weights.

Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”

First, let us consider these weights. Just what are they?

These weights are anything, and everything, that hinders us spiritually.

External things,……that we can drop or lay aside.

To run well, you should not be burdened with anything.

Good things or bad things. For often we can be entangled in “good” things, to our loss; as well as those “bad” things, which we know are not for us.

Those duties that God requires at our hand, cannot be considered weights.

Weights are those things we have a choice in.

These weights are things in our life that are not necessary for our walk in Christ Jesus.

They do nothing to help, and even though we may not see it at the time; they do a lot to hinder.

They get our eyes off of Christ and on to a goal that He has not sanctioned.

Some of our friendships may be weights.

Certainly, our failures from the past, present or future, may be weights……

…..For if we have confessed them, and forsaken them, they are to be set aside; and we are to go on with Him….we are not to be going over them in our minds, again and again.

1 John 1:7-10 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

Walk in the Light, confess your sin, and stay with it till you know you are cleansed.

This ” cleanseth” is for yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It is always there to be had of us. We are cleansed and made new, every time we come to the fountain of His precious blood.

Don’t try and run with the burden of your sins, for your race will be hindered.

And this is what the writer of this letter is saying to all who would be recognized in Heaven for there walk of faith.

Lay aside every weight.

Drop them, to run with patience the race that is set before you.

This race is not a hundred yard dash;…..but a long distance run.

So pace yourself, by knowing your Lord is running with you; next to you, in this race.

This is your race; not for someone else…..it is your faith He wants to increase in love, joy and peace.

It is you, He is interested in; for that is why He saved us.

It is those that complete the race, that are crowned.

He is not looking for speed, but diligent endurance. Perseverance…….going along, day after day.

Anything from the Holy Spirit will not burden you down.

If you have anything of God that is dragging you down, the devil has added to God’s will, in some way.

For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

We should all come to the Lord, and His light,….that He might show us what are the weights which hinder us.

And as He does, let us quickly lay them aside,….for they hinder our race, our fellowship with Him, and our receiving the promise of His liberty in our everyday lives.

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.”

Our speech does not save us…..our works do not save us…..Jesus Christ saves us,…

…but once we are saved, we are to do the will of God.

That is,…..we are to know it….and do it.

Matthew 7:16-17, 20 “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

Here Jesus contrasts a good tree, and a corrupt tree.

The good tree…is one that brings forth fruit of righteousness

(righteousness is right living before God…..not in men’s estimation……but before God.)

Romans 6:22”But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life.”

Hebrews 12:11 “Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yeildeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

Then there is the corrupt tree…..corrupt means rotten, spoiled.

(most of the Greek words when corrupt is used is warning of being spoiled….but here, it is already rotten….unable to produce righteousness….unable to bear fruit.)

Philippians 3:18-19 “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.”

Romans 16:17-18 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

For they are such that serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”

The “belly” here, means “hollow”…..it is the inward hunger to be satisfied with things of this world.

John the Baptist had said, “ the axe is laid at the root of the tree….every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down….”

(For the contrast is “good trees” and “corrupt trees”.

What the tree is……the fruit is.)

And how do we become “good trees”?

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth unto destruction, and many there be that go in thereat:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

We must enter in at the strait gate. “Strait” here means “narrow with obstacles placed around it.”

That sounds hard to see and to enter.

Jesus says that “few there be that find it”….so it takes a diligent and willing heart.

We need a Guide….and Jesus sends His Holy Spirit to guide us into this Way….as we yield to His convictions.

Because there are obstacles are there, around the strait gate….obstacles put there by the world, and the Adversary of our souls….

…..and there are many things that get our eye off looking for God’s Way….

…..bright and shining things…..

…..piles of the newest things…..

…..emotional things…..which can get our eyes off God’s Way.

Many see in this strait gate…..a reference to repentance….and the laying aside the things we carry….

….burdens, giving up sins, etc….

repentance….which is a change in our attitude toward our sin….(we do not love it any more….it has become a burden instead of a delight)…

….I believe that this burden gets taken care of at Calvary….it is rolled away forever, there.

And the power of our sins is dealt with by the Holy Spirit…after we are born again….by denying ourselves….and being obedient to Him.

(I have mentioned before about Pilgrim’s Progress….So much practical instruction for those going to the Celestial City….and one of the first lessons is:

Christian has left the city of Destruction for he has read in the best of Books that the soul that sinneth it shall die…..and he knows he has sinned….he realizes he has a burden of sin, that would carry him to the lowest hell….

But where is Salvation from his sin?

He meets Evangelist who tells him of the Way of salvation….

…and by the instruction of Evangelist has headed toward the little light at “yonder wicket gate”….

He still has a great burden on his back, which Evangelist says will come off at the right time. [it falls off at the cross and rolls into Christ’s tomb…never to be seen again]

So Christian is going toward the light, but he gets “muddied” by falling into the Slough of Despond….a place where all the muck of sins we have done gathers in our minds….

……but he still diligently struggles toward the light….and “Help” comes and gives him a hand out.

Back on the way to the light….he meets a very finely dressed “gentlemen”.

Mr WorldlyWiseman.

Seeing Christian….and he wasn’t a particularly inspiring sight with mud still clinging to him, and a burden on his back….

Mr. WorldlyWiseman asks him where is he going in such a state. And Christian tells him….and he laughs!

“Don’t believe it”. He exclaims…..”it is a way full of trouble…look at what it has already done to you. You are a mess!”

Christian feels like a mess….and the burden is heavy….so he says…”but I am going to the wicket gate to get this burden off”.

[Really!? is that what he is doing? Is not salvation from his sins the reason for his going?

But he already has his eyes off salvation,…..and onto simple relief from his burden…how easy it is to get our eyes off of Christ.]

Well, Mr WorldlyWiseman tells him of another way of getting rid of his burden….

…….from a man in the town of Morality……a few towns over from Destruction.

Christians would even be able to bring his family…..it was a nice town….they could live well, and everything would be fine.

[There are many “fine” places in the world…..that have nothing to do with God, or His Word. Places that can trap those who live in them…..because they are so fine. There is only One Way to Eternal life….and that is through the strait gate….up to the Cross of Christ. He is Eternal life….and none other.]

So Christian had listened to Mr WorldlyWiseman (first mistake).

Then he stops and thinks about the relief from his burden (second mistake).

Then he turns from the Way he was sent and starts to follow his advice….but then….[Praise God] he begins to think that the he will die if he goes further…..

….but he is too scared to go back….or forward….

…till by God’s grace, Evangelist comes by…

….and he asks Christian….”how can you be out of the Way, already?”

[and have not some of us done the same? Praise God for His deliverance!]

Christian tells him what happened….

…..and Evangelist sharply corrects Christian….

….showing him the error of the speech of this WorldlyWiseman….”Anyone who leads you away from the light….or out of the way is an enemy of God.”

…..No one can take off your burden, except it fall off at the foot of the Cross.

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

Christian cries out, “Is there any hope that I may go back…seeing I have so soon departed from the Way?”

Evangelist tells Christian that there is forgiveness……and to beware those who would lead you to mistrust the Word….that anyone who seeks to do that, is an enemy of God’s good.

Then he sends him back….

……so Christian, with diligence, gets to the Wicket gate….and in the Wicket gate……and to the Cross where his burden falls off.)

There are many obstacles by and to the Strait gate. Some from others, some from the Adversary of our souls,…….and some from us getting our eyes off of the Light.

Not everyone that says, “Lord, Lord”….shall enter into the kingdom of heaven….

….but he that does the Will of My Father in heaven.

And it is the Father’s Will that we follow after Christ….and His Word….all the Way.

For strait is the gate that leads to Everlasting life…..and few there be that find it.

By their fruits you shall know them….

What sort of fruit are we bringing forth?

Believers, and the “big” men of the world

I believe wholeheartedly that we must become rooted and grounded in the Lord, Himself (Ephesians 3:17)…..in this age we are living in….

….we must learn to rely on Him…..to trust Him with our whole being….

…in spiritual things,….in reasonable or emotional things…..and with our physical well-being.

I am going to use David, the shepherd, as an example.

He kept his father’s sheep. Day and night, through cold and heat, and from wild beasts,….David watched for the well-being of the sheep.

David had been secretly anointed king of Israel, yet had left the working out of this promise to God.

He had gone back to the sheep….the flocks of his father, Jessie.

But one day, things change……forever for him….and through him, the nation of Israel….

…and all this comes from a very simple command from his father….nothing fancy, or dramatically…….just go bring food to his brothers who were in the army with Saul.

(Sometimes the way the Lord leads us may be step by step…..nothing fancy or dramatic….just guidance, which followed will help us in the most important decisions of our lives.)

Once there, David hears the challenge of one of the most “big” and powerful men of the world he lived in…..Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:4, 8, 10 “And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? Am not I a Philistine, and ye the servants of Saul? Choose you a man of you and let him come down to me.

And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”

Goliath was a “champion”…..he was no novice, in the killing business.

He was a giant….approximately 10-11 feet tall.

He had a helmet of brass, and a coat of brass plates overlaid like scales of a fish,….he wore brass boots, and had a brass corselet around his neck….his spear was too large for most men to carry or put their hand around.

He was pretty much unconquerable,…..and he knew it.

This conversation was a mocking challenge….to Saul….to any Israelite who believed in their God,……Who was a Shield to protect their army.

David took this challenge very personally….for Goliath was attacking God….the Living and True God….not just His army.

No one else seem to mind Goliath’s mocking….nor the sneer in his voice as Goliath called on the “servants of Saul”….instead of the servants of the Living God.

But David did…..and asked immediately…

1 Samuel 17:26 “And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the Living God?”

This Philistine “reproached” them everyday… (forty days…1 Samuel 17:16)

“Reproach” here means “to pull off, strip of dignity, to disgrace”.

But David would not have Goliath continue…..so he looked for a way to see about defeating this giant….

So in front of Saul…

1 Samuel 17:32 “And David said to Saul, Let not man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

And here we come to the second “big” man of David’s time…..the king Saul.

(As believers, we come into contact with all sorts of people.

There are believing friends,….

….out-right enemies…..

….and hypocrites…..many who are head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to human ability 1 Samuel 10:23-24.

Saul was that kind of man. Israel had wanted a king, like the other nations, that could lead them in and out of battle,….and Saul was head and shoulders taller than them all.

Yet, here, when the army is at a stalemate…..Saul does nothing. He is as afraid and dismayed as all Israel….1 Samuel 17:11.)

Saul’s belief in the God of Israel has always been just because he was a Hebrew…..not because he knew God personally.

(though for a time Saul was taught such knowledge through Samuel….but he never got to the point where he loved and obeyed God personally. 1 Samuel 15:22-23, 30 notice “thy God”)

But Saul does “believe” and trust in worldly means….and if David is determined to face this Philistine….

….he will give him the best in his kingdom…..his armor.

(Now as believers, we are to beware of using worldly means to gain spiritual battles….2 Corinthians 10:3-5……it does not work…and can entangle us in snares.)

1 Samuel 17:38-39 “And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.

And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he assayed to go, for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.”

Now David, was going to yield to Saul….”he assayed to go”…..and go out with these….

…..but God’s wisdom reigned over him….

….and he, instead, he told Saul….”I cannot use these….I have not proved them in battle, like I have my sling and staff.”

And he took them off.

Many times we are given opportunities for God’s glory….but it is as important how we stand and fight….as well, as that we do.

As we all know…..Goliath fell under the weight of the Living God….using a simple stone,…a sling,….and a willing, believing servant.

But before they fought….David gave this testimony…

1 Samuel 17:45-47 “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, Whom thou has defied.

This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand;….that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and with spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

This is the believing obedience we need in these days….for don’t we face many “big” and powerful men who mock and refuse to believe our God?

David and Saul’s armor

David and Goliath

Both were “big” men in their time….

Saul’s armor had to be rejected because David had not proved it….it was not for him

Goliath was huge…..yet fell under the power of God, used through David, it is true….but in God’s name and by His power.

(Yes, we have an armor of God, but He has given it to us…..which is:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might”….

……truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, with the Spirit’s help in the Word of God, and prayer. Ephesians 6:10-18)

We are not to use the methods of this world….that would be like fighting Goliath with a sword….against his sword and spear.

We are not to use the methods of someone else….they may give good advice….even believing in their advice….like Saul….but that will fail,….for we have not proved them…

….instead, we are to use the power of God’s might….what we have,…….in His Name….stand and be delivered.

Are we hiding behind our Wall, because we are afraid of the next step?

Song of Solomon 2:8-9 “The voice of my beloved! Behold, He cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, He standeth behind our wall, He looketh forth at the windows, showing Himself through the lattice.”

As we go on with God, we come to many places where we are given difficult problems to overcome….some harder than others.

Some are mountains of difficulty….impossible things for us, in our own strength, to overcome….

And some hills….not impossible, but hard going.

But, these are the experiences the Lord often calls us to. Not alone,…..but with Him. That is what is set forth in these verses.

The Lord is seen as a Roe or a Young Hart….ever vigorous, and ever victorious leaping over any obstacle for us,…..calling us…on with Him.

Seen through a window, with lattice over it. We know it is the Lord, for we heard His voice…went to the window, to see Him….but He is outside, ready to go on….but we are still behind our wall.

Song of Solomon 2:10 “My Beloved spake and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.”

This is personal…”said unto me”. He is not calling His church, but “His love, His fair one”; His personal call to you…..to come away.

But from what are we to come away?

We are to “come away” from “our wall”; for He has come and found that we are behind a wall.

I believe that this “wall” is our spiritual experience up-to-date. It separates us from the world….

…..but, when we continue to stay behind it, it can also separate us from going on with the Lord.

(It is wonderful to know how far we have come with Jesus; we can rejoice in what we have! But He is calling us on,…..to keep going with Him)

It is safe, here. I know I am saved….I go to church…I love the Lord.

I see those mountains up ahead…and they are too much for me.

I see those hills,…and when I think I could, maybe, go out and walk them….I worry about….what if I fall?

But Jesus calls again.

He has already shown me that He is able to surmount any of the obstacles that stand in our way…..He leaps mountains, and skips hills…..and He is asking me to do the same….in His strength, with Him.

Song of Solomon 2:11-14 “For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle(dove) is heard in our land;

The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, My love, My fair one, and come away.

O My dove, that art in the clefts of the Rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let Me see thy countenance, let Me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.”

The Lord shows that the winter conditions of the soul are past (I have heard His voice)…..new life is springing up (my heart is moved to answer His call)……now is the time to arise, and leave the good that I have, for the better He calls me to…..with Him.

What is this next step He is calling us to?

I know He is calling me to come out completely…to be seen as His, even in the difficult and impossible times of my life….to trust His might.

I know He is calling me to speak to Him more,…..and of Him.

Jesus calls us:

“Arise, My love, My fair one, My dove, and come away. Don’t be afraid, but come out from behind our wall,….trust Me, and come with Me,…into what is next.”

Naaman

2 Kings 5:1 “Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.”

Leprosy in scripture is a type of the deep depravity of sin in someone’s life….it is contagious to others (how many times bad friends influence thoughts?)…and

…how quickly it spreads to other parts of the body.

It strikes the rich and poor, and the strong and the weak….beginning like a small sore ( it seems nothing)….yet it grows, widening it’s influence…till fingers fall off and the body is destroyed.

Like sin, it “eats” away at you, until you are consumed.

(Now there is a medical treatment for leprosy…but not then. Only God could cure from it.)

Naaman was a leper. Still he was a “mighty man of valor”, and head of the army of Syria.

God had purposed to use this army upon Israel…to show them their sin.

(I want to mention the reason for Naaman coming to Israel, to seek cleansing in a land that was an enemy.

A captive Israelite girl, and her testimony.

She was taken away in a raid on Israel…taken from her family, alone in a foreign land…yet we see her belief in God ….and she testifies of His power and His prophet, Elisha.

2 Kings 5:2-3)

So Naaman comes, with gold, silver and expensive clothes. All, what the world would consider wealth…to Elisha’s door.

2 Kings 5:9-10 “So Naaman came with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.”

And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.”

Here is this important person….waiting at the door of Elisha’s house. Waiting…waiting…

…then a someone comes out and simply gives him a message…

“Go wash in the Jordan seven times and you will be cleansed.”

(Very simple directions…amazingly simple. So is the gospel: “Whosoever believes on Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

“Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and you will be saved.” Romans 10:9-10)

2 Kings 5:11-12 “But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

Are not…rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.”

How often we are the same!?

God’s way of doing things is so different than what we are expecting….or planned.

“Behold I thought that he would surely come out and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place…”

When you look at what Naaman thought….it seems almost funny. He wanted a show as well as healing!

But Elisha was not the miracle worker…..God was.

It was God’s Word, obeyed,…alone that would give the cure….and Elisha was making that perfectly clear.

Naaman would have to submit to the Word of the Lord to be cleansed.

So Naaman “turned”…and went away in a rage.

To turn from the Way…is dangerous…

…thankfully this man had kind servants.

2 Kings 5:13 “And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather than, when he said unto thee, Wash, and be clean?”

I rejoice in these servants!

How this shows the impact of…a word in due season!

They showed respect… “my father”…when speaking to him.

But they reminded him of what should be most important to him….his cleansing from leprosy…

…not his pride!

(Pride is a fearful thing. It can keep us from God’s Word and Will. For it places what we want…or the way we want things for ourselves or others, before anything else.

Many people are kept from salvation….because they do not want to submit to the Word of God. Even when their need is great…pride can push in, and “turn” them from the Truth.

How precious is a friend or a word to remind them of what is really important…the salvation of their souls.)

2 Kings 5:14 “Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”

(“Then he went down”…a very telling word. He humbled himself..he went down…that God could raise him up. James 4:10)

Amazing miracle! A leper cured when he simply followed the Word of God.

How grateful he was!

Clean! Free from the terrible disease and wasting death, he would have had.

(And so is the freedom from sin by Christ’s salvation.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”)

2 Kings 5:15-16 “And he (Naaman) returned to the man of God,….and came and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.

But he (Elisha) said, As the Lord liveth, before Whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.”

Notice the difference in attitude. “thy servant “….Naaman was not there as one in charge, or as someone important, but as a servant.

Though he wanted to give a gift…

…yet he was not angry about Elisha refusing it. There was no pride….simply submission to God’s Will.

2 Kings 5:17-19a “And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? For thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord.

In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself…the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing.

And he (Elisha) said unto him, Go in peace….”

Here is the desire to worship only the Lord. Truly there was a cleansing of his heart was well as his disease.

Notice: “…the Lord pardon your servant..”. Twice.

Once, before he explained that as the king’s servant he would have to bow before the kings god, because he would be with the king.

And once at the end.

He then waited…

…and Elisha said….”Go in peace”. There was peace between Naaman and the Lord…amazing mercy and grace.

Salvation from a rebel against God and His Word and Will….to one who bows before the Lord Christ, and loves Him, is true salvation by grace.

And now the sad part of this (2Kings 5:20-27)….a servant of Elisha’s…Gehazi, felt that Naaman had gotten off without cost!

With greed in his heart, he seeks some of the wealth that Naaman had brought…a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.

And he uses Elisha’s name to get it!

As a servant of Elisha, and the Lord…he should have known the magnanimous provision of the Lord…but greed (like all sin) swells with in his heart and mind…and he runs after it, instead of turning to the Lord…or even to Elisha.

Nothing changes for Naaman, he is glad to help….not to buy his cleansing, as he thought to do…but as a fellow servant of the Lord.

Returning to the house, Gehazi tries to hide his sin….lying about it…but is first rebuked:

“Is it time to accept money and garments…and the things that they can buy? We will be at war…there will be famine….now is a time for prayer and preparing the hearts of our people…not for greedily seeking things for ourselves.”

Then the leprosy of Naaman is given to him.

For some, who submit to God’s Word….there is cleansing, mercy and peace…

…no matter what the background.

For others, who refuse God’s Will and Word…

…for jealousy, greed, or pride…sin will ultimately eat them up…unless they turn and repent.

Let us rejoice in the simplicity of the gospel message:

Jesus Christ came to seek and to save

all who will come to Him.

Romans 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

The Greatest Need for our day is a return to First Principles

Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”

The very first principle for all who would follow Jesus, is the message of the cross—our personal cross.

Luke 9:23 “And He said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

We will never have what Christ Jesus has for us in reality, unless we will deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him….

Bearing our cross to the place where we no longer resist His Will in anything….(This is not sinless perfection, but it is final obedience….you will obey what He wills.)

And He sits enthroned in our hearts, and lives.

What is our personal cross? This deals with our wills.

First, it is something you can say “no” to; for it is “whosoever will”, “ if any man will”.

Second, it is personal. My cross is not your cross, and visa-versa.

Third, it is any thing in God’s Will that crosses our wills; or brings up resentment and a feeling of wanting to run away from it.

[I usually feel a bristling in me. And as soon as I do, I know I need to talk to the Lord about this….

“I am not liking Your Will, for whatever reason, but I surrender right now, and ask that Your blessed Holy Spirit will help me, not just do this for Your sake, but change my attitude about it.”]

When we come to the willed decision that Christ is going to rule our lives; then Jesus calls us on to a more intimate calling:

Matthew 16:25 “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: And whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.”

This deals with our personality: that which is truly us.

You see, from children to grown-ups, we take on the mannerisms and habits and attitudes of the world around us.

What this call deals with is: Jesus freeing us from these entanglements; and giving us liberty to be us….the true us, He created.

He redeemed and saved us…not someone we think we would like to be like.

This is to “lose our lives in ourselves”.

We believe, our souls are the seat of our personality. We are unique, no two are exactly alike.

We believe also, that our souls are the most precious thing to God in all of His Creation….for Christ Jesus paid the Atonement price to save them.

When we are freed and under the liberty of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17-18), only then do we find our life in Christ.

As we continue to deny our self-life (our attitudes, our way of thinking things out, our affections, our reactions),…..so we may find our life in Christ.

Christ deals with us in His own way.

(I knew a child, that every time he became scared…..he would get angry. This was a “mechanism” he used, to cover his fear.

He would yell, he would stomp,….not for the reasons his parents thought, but because he was really scared.

Once they saw that, they were able to deal with him…..not as a brat, having a fit….but as a scared kid……trying to act tough. And that changed everything.)

You see it is only as we get past the “covers” of our attitudes,……that we can deal with the real issues.

Then our attitudes change.

We walk by faith and not by sight.

We “learn, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11). We learn discernment…what is good for us, and what is not.

And we gain confidence in our walk with God. We know…

Philippians 3:15 “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect (complete), be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.”

It is ever an onward walk with Christ….more and more of Him in us, freeing us from every sin and iniquity (anything unequal to your high calling in Christ Jesus)….

….till we are complete: there are no half measures with God.

Free from the bondage and influences of the world, and sin;

Obedient—having our obediences up-to-date;

Surrounded by His peace (Philippians 4:7), practically…..we are at peace with God, with the circumstances….and even, at peace with ourselves.

Rooted and grounded in His love (Ephesians 3:17).

He wants us to be fully free, and fully His.

Will we begin to “follow Him”, by denying ourselves and picking up our cross (those things of His Will that cross what we want,….how we think…..how we feel)…….till we no longer resist His Will in anything.

Then going on to lose “our life”, that we might truly be who He has created us to be….finding our life and purpose….in Christ Jesus.

Why must we lose our self-life?

Matthew 16:25 “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.”

Why must we lose our self-life?

Does not God love me? so why does God want me to change?

Sure, I can give up my sin….the bad things, but why “me”?

Would true love to Christ, ask such a question?

The “me” we give up….is not our true personality…..that is saved and brought into complete subjection to Christ, by His Spirit.

The “me” we give up…..is our way of doing things, our attitudes picked up from the world, our narrowness of self…..which always looks for “what will this do for me”.

When I first heard of denying myself, and losing my self-life…..frankly I thought that it would be easy.

After all, I am saved….I want the Lord’s Will…

…..that is all there is to it, right?

….but did I really want His Will? Do I really want to have His life, instead of mine?

Yes, actually I did….

…..and through this process, I learned that.

It is one of the wonderful things that comes from it.

So many,….like I did…..

…..think they have surrendered to the Lord’s Will for their lives, yet constantly reject the Way, that Will is to be brought to pass.

Surely, the Lord would not care if I do this…..this way…after all, it gets His Will done….

….when the reality of it all is, His Will is certainly HIs Way.

How many problems could we avoid, if we would be more attentive to the Lord’s way of doing things.

The whole objective in the Lord’s call to deny ourselves and pick up our cross…..the reality of it….is

……that we might lose our life in ourself….

And even that is not the end….although it is an amazing freedom from the narrowness of self….

….but the end is…..that we might find our life in Christ, which is liberty of the Spirit in all our days.

This losing our self-life is a step by step process of giving over to Christ…..my habits, my ways, and my opinions….and taking on His character….His ways….His thoughts…

…His gentleness,….no one was more gentle than Christ.

I am not talking about “wishy-washy, it is ok” stuff.

I am talking about bending down….and reaching out to those who suffered…and drawing them out to a belief in Him.

(The leper, the man at the pool of Bethesda..John 5:6-8, the Samaritan woman, the demon possessed living in tombs..Mark 5:2-15)

…His boldness in the face of evil.

Twice, driving out the money sellers in the Temple.

Accusing those that did not want Him to heal on the Sabbath of hypocrisy because they would pull one of their sheep out of a pit on this day.

Standing face to face with the mob and Judas, who came to arrest Him,….unlawfully.

…His truth.

He never excused sin…..He forgave it.

…His prayer life.

Many nights alone, all night with His Heavenly Father in prayer.

Praying for Peter when the devil would “sift him as wheat”

…His ministry of warning all that the kingdom of God is come.

Christ came to die…..but He was not silent…..nor did He do nothing, but wait His time.

He “fulfilled all righteousness”….in a world of sin, hatred, and illness.

We, too, need to fulfill all the righteousness we are called to.

And the only way to really finish our work….is to become conformed to Christ, and His character.

To lose our life….we need to come to the place that we see:

It is not Christ for me……unless Christ is formed in me.

That it is not our life we are living…..but an extension of His life, in my circumstances….to His honor.

This can only be by love. The willed tendency of our heart to yield, to give, to be completely His.

To love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, will….this is to lose our lives in our selves…..so we can find His life rising in us.

We will be what we will to be:

Romans 6:16 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whither of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

Will is our whole being active. Our minds are in it, our emotions are there, and our wills are the force within each person, which says, “I will do this.”

In this verse, “yield” is the action word.

Here, in Romans (Romans 6:13,16,19) it means: “to be at hand or ready to aid”.

It is a picture of a servant who is at the side of the master, ready to assist in any way.

(As David’s servants said to him,…

2 Samuel 15:15 “And the king’s servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint.”)

For as Christians, we have our blessed new nature which was placed within us at new birth. But we also have our old nature which would led us away from God. That makes the struggle (Galatians 5:16-17) we often feel within ourselves.

We forget, sometimes, that we are servants. (Some people think that they can rule their own destiny, but it is a false premise.)

We are all ruled by something, or Someone. For Christians, we should be ruled by Jesus Christ: His Will and His Word.

And this is what Paul is setting forth here:

We are servants of sin,….we choose some sort of sin,….and are under the power of that sin.

Or,

We are servants of righteousness,…..choosing to be obedient to the new life,……Christ’s life within.

And the way to choose His life, or righteousness; is to yield.

We yield to obedience to Him.

We must ask ourselves: Is Jesus Christ really necessary to me? Or could I get along without Him in my life?

Jesus Christ could change anything! But He desires most to change us into His likeness, and character.

He has given us our wills, and He has chosen that we must “yield” or be ready to give Him all the aid He requires to bring His Will to pass in, by and through me.

He would have us to be His servants and become the persons He will mold us into.

He wants heart-servants. Those that love Him.

Those that love to be with Him, in fellowship and in the work. (For He has a work of witness for all of us).

And to do this, we must exercise our wills, and be ready to do whatsoever the Lord says.