Fruit of the Vine

Gaining Approval

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:40:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

We would all like to know that God approves of us but how can we be sure that we are pleasing to Him? When we examine the Bible, and particularly the book of Hebrews, we find that it is impossible to please God without faith. We read, 'Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.' Heb 11:1 -4.

The word 'gifts' in this verse is the same word, 'doron', which is used almost exclusively through the New Testament epistles for 'offering'. Faith is not just the positive protestations of highly proactive people. That would mean that God is disengaged from the average person so that the rich just get richer, the strong get stronger, and the poor are cast off. That would be a ludicrous proposition. It would mean that we are only ever the outcome of the advantage or disadvantage that we have experienced through the course of our lives. There would be no divine initiative toward you or me to bring us to the place where we need to be.

Because of his faith, Abel obtained a good report from God, a testimony that he was righteous. This means that he was justified. God approved of everything that Abel did because it was the expression of his identity and predestination. He was saying, 'Good on you; keep moving!' Abel offered a better sacrifice than his brother Cain. For whatever reason, God did not approve of Cain or his offering. He said to the young man, 'Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted?' Gen4:6-7.

God testified about Abel's gifts, about who he was! Our testimony involves more than our public confession of Jesus Christ, although this acknowledgement is implicit to our testimony. God has a particular set of attributes and He makes statement concerning Himself in the Scripture. But He also has a statement about you and me. He testifies about us! He has given us a 'name' which includes everything about us: our temperament, abilities, gifts, grace capacities and our predetermined works. He wants our offering to be consistent with the 'name' that He has given us. Abel did well because he offered in faith, in accordance with his unique name as a son of God.

There is an interesting verse in the Psalms that reads, 'Gather My godly ones to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice'. Psa 50:5. We enter a covenant or agreement with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit when we make offering by faith. He becomes our ally and we find ourselves in the ultimate safe place where nothing can touch us, regardless of our circumstances. We are untouchable and unassailable; but not in the sense of an independent and lawless recalcitrant who is doing their own thing.

When we make covenant with God by sacrifice, our mistakes and successes are no longer of any moment; the Lord is only concerned with our 'sonship 'which is His testimony concerning us. God was pleased with Abel because he offered in faith. In the book of Exodus in the Old Testament, we read that no one should appear before Him empty-handed. Ex 23:15, 34:20. And we read in the book of Hebrews that it is impossible to please God without faith and that 'he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him'. Heb 11:6.

In the original text, 'reward' is actually translated as 'wages'. So we should read, 'He is a payer of wages to those who diligently seek Him'. That is an interesting transaction. When we offer in faith, God attributes to us something commensurate with the offering we are making. He adds something substantial so that our gift increases and multiplies. That is the miracle of offering. However, we cannot protest that we are offering in faith when we are just doing the thing that weapprove in accordance with our expected outcomes and aspirations. Our offering needs to be in accordance with the 'name' He has given us.

'By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of the things that were visible.' Heb 11:3. In like manner, when we offer, something is attributed to us out of the things which are invisible; out of the things which do not exist. That is the miracle of offering! It brings something from nothing. 'Faith is the assurance of things hoped for.'

In the book of Hebrews Chapter 11, there is a long list of men and women, Noah, Abraham and Sarah to name a few, who gained God's approval and a 'good testimony' through the exercise of their faith. They all died without receiving the promises but they obtained an eternal reward. Heb 11:16, Heb 11:39. We begin to see a definite connection between 'approval' and 'reward' in these Scriptures. And if we leave out the arbitrary distinction between Hebrews Chapters 11 and 12, we read that this group of faithful men and women have become a 'great cloud of witnesses' who surround us. Heb 12:1. It is interesting to note the similarity between the words 'testimony' and 'witness'. Witnesses bear testimony to a fact or event. The witnesses described here are those, who through offering and suffering have obtained a reward that is completely commensurate with the will of God for their lives. Therefore, God testified about them. They fulfilled their 'name', their works and inherited their 'sonship' in accordance with the promise of the everlasting covenant wherein God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit agreed together to bring many sons to glory. Heb 2:10-11, 13:20-21.

It should be our goal to come to this same place through offering where God testifies about our 'gifts'. The apostle Paul said, 'Don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner'. 2 Tim 1:8. Paul was imprisoned both figuratively and literally to the testimony of the Lord concerning him. It completely governed the pathway of his life.

We can conclude from Hebrews chapter 11, that faith is the means of gaining God's approval. Faith is 'the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen'. Heb 11:1. At the beginning of the next chapter, we see the process finished. We perceive a great cloud of witnesses who bear testimony to the reward of faith. As we study the Scripture, in particular Psalm 50 and the books of Malachi and Hebrews, we will find that there is an interesting interplay between offering, covenant and testimony. To the degree that we offer rather than trade, we attain wages and eternal reward. God testifies about our gifts. We fulfil our 'name' and inherit our sonship. Over the years, I have watched people offer and attain, but I have also observed those who don't offer and don't attain. So, because they don't attain, they don't offer. It is an ever-tightening circle. Those who offer catch the miracle of multiplication; those who don't offer get tighter and tighter and more afraid to offer. They think they will suffer lack. Somewhere, you have to cross the threshold and begin to offer and prove God.

'By faith the men of old gained approval.' Heb 11:1. They were not sitting before God with confused and peculiar machinations about whether God was for them, with them or against them. They moved forward proactively in faith, in the knowledge that God was with them. That is the attitude and behaviour that offering produces.

When we offer, our self-worth is no longer dependent on our success. In fact, our monumental failures may be our best teachers. We are not approved on the basis of how well we do. A bad outcome is irrelevant when our offering is in harmony with our predestination and we are having a go!

However, there is a line between striving for a good product and a 'slap dash' approach. This is the dilemma for those who oversee or deacon a project or event. If they lean too far one way and make excellence the primary goal, the identity and predestination of those involved will be compromised to achieve a good outcome. Alternatively, if there is no endeavour to present what is 'good and acceptable' before the Lord, we are in danger of presenting a 'defiled' offering. Rom 12:1. Mal 1:7, 8.

In the book of Malachi, we read an admonition to a group of people who had lost sight of what it meant to offer. They had spent seventy years in Babylon and were completely secularised by the time they returned to their homeland. So the Lord broke in on them through the prophet Malachi and said, 'You are robbing Me, the whole nation of you'. And with some confusion, they asked, 'How are we robbing You?' And God replied, '"In tithes and heave offerings … Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this … if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. And I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes," says the LORD of hosts.' Mal 3:8,10-11.

Each component of offering has a clear and definitive purpose. In the Old Testament, the tithe provided for the needs of the priests who served in the temple. In the church today, the tithe puts food into the houses of the messenger group who labour in word and doctrine, to feed the people who gather in His house. Those presenting heave offerings in the Old Testament lifted up a bull's shoulder or thigh to the Lord. When we present a heave offering today, we come under the burden of the Lord's work to allow it to progress. The Lord asks us to prove and test Him in our tithes and heave offerings. If we offer in faith in accordance with our name, He will pour out a blessing until it overflows and He will rebuke the devourer so that our fruit will remain. Mal 3:11.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

Prove Me Now, Seek Me First

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:43:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

On the final evening of His life and just before He became the sum of all offering, Jesus Christ told His disciples that He earnestly desired to eat the Passover with them. Luke 22:15. In his letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul explained that we participate in Christ’s offering when we eat and drink the bread and wine in our communion service. Paul said, ‘The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion [or participation] of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion [or participation] of the body of Christ?’ 1 Cor 10:16.

Our participation in Christ’s offering is not substantial just because we attend church, although Paul certainly directed us to gather together to exhort one another. Heb 12:25. He said the cross of Calvary allowed us to appear before God and to go boldly to the throne of grace where we are able to find mercy and help in time of need. Heb 4:16. Paul also said that we have an altar which was not available to the priests of the Old Testament. He stated that ‘we have an altar from which those who serve the Tabernacle have no right to eat’. Heb 13:10.We can assume that this altar exists to receive our offering before we proceed to the throne of grace.

The gospel of Christ is about fellowship and participation, rather than just a judicial exchange. The Lord is not obliged to look after us and do whatever we want, just because we become Christians. You and I have no particular rights before God but we do have the righteousness that He attributes to us when we seek first His kingdom and put Him first in our lives. In his letter to the Colossians, the apostle Paul encouraged them to give the Lord ‘first place in everything’. Col 1:15. However, it is interesting to note that the word ‘place’ is not found in the original script where it simply says to ‘make Him first’. This reference to ‘first’ pertains of course, to His position or status as the firstborn Son or firstfruits which were very relevant in the Hebrew context. Col 1:15, 18. James 1:18. And in the New Testament, we are told that all believers belong to the church of the firstborn. Heb 12:23.

Our offering is the means by which the kingdom of God grows, but it is also the evidence of our reliance on Him. When we offer ourselves to the Lord as a living sacrifice, it will include our time, money and resources. In this way, we make Him first because we are not serving our own needs or agendas before we serve Him. Nevertheless, our provision is ensured because all our needs are answered in offering. We find that we do not need to engage in spiritual warfare by rebuking the devil or demons who might otherwise devour our supply. In the Gospel of Luke, we read that everything that is ‘first’ is holy to the Lord and belongs to Him, so we can assume that we are protected when we become part of the ‘first’. Luke 2:23.

When we give Him first place or make Him ‘first’, it goes without saying that we should also seek Him first in our time of need. There is an interesting account in the second book of Chronicles about Asa, the king of Judah. When he was under threat from the king of Israel, Asa turned to a pagan king for help instead of calling on the name of the Lord. We read that Hanani, the prophet came to King Asa and reprimanded him saying, ‘Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand’. 2 Chron 16:7. Obviously, the prophet was making reference to a future event and he was saying in effect, ‘You have not relied on the Lord’. Prophets spoke constantly to kings, priests and all the fathers of Israel, admonishing them to put the Lord first; not just in their heart but in all their practices, behaviour and life. Because prophets compel us to do something that is fundamentally contrary to the ‘good’ management of life, they are constantly being beaten up, slandered and slain.

Hanani came to King Asa and reminded him that the Lord had already wrought an amazing victory on his behalf against a previous foe in the face of immeasurable odds. But the prophet explained that because the king had turned to an enemy for help and was now in his debt, Asa would never be able to overthrow the king of Aram. Hanani said, ‘Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand.’ 2 Chron 16:7-8. But in the middle of his reprimand, Hanani injected a surprising and very encouraging statement regarding the miracle that God is willing to perform for His people. He declared, ‘For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His’.

Hanani continued to address the king saying, ‘You have acted foolishly in this. From now on, you will surely have wars’. 2 Chron 16:9. We read that Asa became so angry with the prophet that he put him in prison and oppressed the people. Despite the troubled times that the king endured, it would appear that he still did not learn his lesson because we go on to read that ‘in the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. So Asa slept with his fathers having died in the forty-first year of his reign.’ 2 Chron 16:12. We read that his son, Jehosophat, became king in his place. King Asa lost his life and his throne because he refused to prove God. Although, Asa had proven God once in the battle with the Ethiopians, he refused to prove Him a second time.

In the book of Hosea, we find another interesting account. It concerns Joseph’s son, Ephraim, who represents the ten northern tribes of the divided nation of Israel. We read ‘Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgement, because he was determined to follow man's command.’ Hosea 5: 11. If you are over eighteen years of age and live in an adult world, you will know that nobody gives you a command. The police don't give commands when you drive down the street, although they will certainly give you a penalty if you violate the law. We can do what we like when we like, which is the benefit of living in a free democracy.

So in what circumstances, would we follow man's command? At the crunch points of life, do we seek the Lord first? Of course we do in attitude! We would definitely testify that we are committed to Christ and that He is first in our lives. But in practice, do we offer ourselves continually as the morning and evening sacrifice? In his letter to the Romans, Paul told us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice and in the book of Proverbs we read that those who seek Him early will find Him. Rom 12:1. Prov 8:17. Are we giving the first of our time, income and resources as the representative portion for all that He has abounded to us? In the book of Proverbs, we are commanded to honour the Lord from our wealth and from the first of all our produce so that our ‘barns’ and ‘vats’ will overflow. Prov 3:9, 10.

The burnt offering is tied to all offerings because it is continual. Although it was only offered twice a day, it had a continual effect from morning to evening and from evening to dawn. There was always an aroma ascending to the Lord which meant that He was always acknowledging them as they were continually before Him. David said, ‘I was continually before Your face’. Paul urged us to present our bodies a living sacrifice so that we might prove the good, the perfect and the acceptable will of God. Rom 12:1, 2. We are to be continually before Him, morning and evening, lifting up our hands in prayer. Just as the temple, the house of God was a house of offering, so the church is to be a house of offering today. We bring offering so that we obtain an access, an entry, to a throne of grace; to find mercy and help in time of need.

When we continue to study the book of Hosea we read, ‘Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like rottenness to the house of Judah. When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jareb but he is unable to heal you or cure you of your wound.’ Hos 5:13. We then learn that Ephraim was severely disciplined by God because he was determined to follow man's command. It says, ‘For I will be like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away, I will carry away, and there will be none to deliver. I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.’ Hos 5:14, 15.

In chapter 6 of the book of Hosea, we find the people’s response to the Lord’s rebuke. ‘Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day that we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.’ But the Lord replied, ‘What shall I do with you O Ephraim? What shall I do with you O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud and like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them with the words of My mouth; and the judgements on you are like the light that goes forth.’ Hos 6:1-5. The nation of Israel sought assistance from a pagan king rather than seeking mercy and help from God. They were severely chastised for their disloyalty and disobedience so that in their affliction they might repent and seek Him with sincerity of heart.

In the book of Malachi it says, ‘Prove Me now’. Mal 3:10. It is the only statement that I can find in the Scriptures where God is categorical about the miracle which He will perform. But He makes the miracle dependent on offering. He says, ‘“Prove me now. Bring Me My tithes and heave offerings”.’ Your translation might just say ‘offering’ but the correct translation is ‘heave offering’. The heave offering was the way God’s people lifted up the burden to participate in the carrying forward of His work. We read, ‘“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this”, says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes”, says the Lord of hosts. “All nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land”, says the Lord of hosts.’ Mal 3:10-12.

What do you default to when you come under pressure in life? Do you cast yourself on God and dig into your resources, time and motivation to bring an offering? If you do, God will meet you because He answers offering. That is what the Scripture teaches. We read in the book of Hebrews, that Christ was the one offering for all time. ‘For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.’ Heb 10:14. Paul was not negating the breadth of offering taught in the Scriptures. He was simply saying that there was only one sacrifice of Christ required to activate all those offerings. If you need to control your circumstances, you will never be a person of offering. The crunch will come. Indeed, the pressure will come and your resources will dry up. God is laying out a tapestry under all our lives, so that we can cast ourselves upon Him and prove Him by offering. We read, ‘Ephraim is oppressed and crushed in judgement because he determined to follow man's command’. Hos 5:11. If we simply follow the advice of a financial advisor in our time of need, we are following man’s command and we will never know the miracle that comes through offering.

I completely believe in the proposition of offering. It was the mode of the prophets, Moses and the apostle’s Peter and Paul. The Lord told Moses to instruct the people to raise a contribution which actually means ‘heave offering’. Ex 25:2-8. They were to bring gold, silver, bronze, gem stones, fine linen and other valuable materials which would be used in the construction of the tabernacle. It is interesting to note what happened after the infilling of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. The first action of the new converts was to sell their properties and lay the proceeds at the apostle’s feet. Acts 4:34-35. We cannot find a specific direction from the apostle Peter to the believers but the outcome is evident. This offering initiative produced the seven deacons in Jerusalem and it produced Barnabas who laboured with Paul in Antioch. Their first venture together was to take up an offering for the Christians in Jerusalem who were experiencing severe hardship.

The exercise of faith in raising that offering produced prophets and teachers in Antioch. It was here that the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Paul and Barnabas for the work to which I have called them’. Acts 13:2. From a basis of offering and as a consequence of their missionary endeavours, the whole of the Gentile church was born.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

Strong in His Grace

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:55:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

The Scripture has a great deal to say about the subject of ‘grace’. Church reformers defined it as the unmerited favour of God and no one would disagree. This definition certainly applies in the Old Testament where the word ‘grace’ is often translated as God’s ‘lovingkindness’. In the New Testament, we are told to come boldly to the throne of grace to find help, and the apostle Paul wrote that God’s grace was ‘sufficient’ for him. Heb 4:16. 2 Cor 12:9. We get the sense that grace is tailor-made, directed, scripted and allocated to us in exactly the right portion for our time of need. 2 Tim 2:1. However, as we apply ourselves to study grace, we find that it is not just an ethereal or vague force and nor is it simply the countenance of God smiling upon us, although we certainly hope this is so.

The apostle Peter told us that grace does four things; it strengthens, perfects, confirms and establishes us. 1 Pet 5:10. In the book of Hebrews, we read that ‘it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods’. Heb 13:9. In his letter to Timothy, Paul said, ‘The Lord stood with me and strengthened me’. 2 Tim4:17. We find another reference to ‘standing’ in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. He encouraged them to ‘stand firm therefore in the liberty [or freedom] wherewith Christ has made us free’. Gal 5:1. We need to stand! And as we stand in the presence of God, He will stand with us.

As we read the Old Testament, it is fascinating to observe that believers over thousands of years have lent on the strength of the Lord. The Scripture records that both the orphan and those who were weak in this world, have found His strength to be sufficient for their needs. In the book of Proverbs and Jeremiah, we read, ‘Their Redeemer is strong, the Lord of hosts is His name; He will vigorously plead their case’. Jer 50:34. Prov 23:11. And in the book of Psalms, David asked, ‘Who in the heavens is comparable to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord?’ He then told us that He has a strong arm, His hand is mighty and His right hand is exalted. Psa 89:6, 13.

In the New Testament, Paul told us to ‘be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might’. Eph 6:10. He also spoke of ‘the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, in accordance with the strength of His might’. Eph 1:19. In this verse, the word ‘might’ means ‘force’ or ‘vigour’. We can, therefore, determine that His strength is His capacity to exert force on a matter, and we know that His power comes from His authority. John 5:27. The word that is translated as ‘strength’ in the New Testament has four literal interpretations. It can mean ‘authority’ excusia; ‘power’ dunamis; ‘vigour’ cratos; or simply His ‘strength’ ichsus. There are some passages where Paul used three or four of those words in the same sentence. These are remarkable statements but our English language doesn't really do them justice.

Although our translations tend to use these words interchangeably, we can see four distinct attributes of the Lord; His authority, power, strength and might. Jeremiah wrote, ‘He will vigorously plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth’. Jer 50:34. The power of God brings us to peace. He can quieten our heart and bring us to rest; to a place where we know that our Redeemer is strong. I do not consider myself to be weak physically or mentally. Nor do I consider myself to be emotionally fragile or frail. But as the years go by and life rolls over me, I am learning and I’m starting to feel like a babe in the woods regarding my understanding of the Lord’s strength.

I think of another verse in the book of Jeremiah which says, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength’. Jer 17:5. At the age of 50 plus years, I am learning to stand in the presence of the Lord and am finding the testimony that He is standing with me. When the Scripture says, ‘Their Redeemer is strong’, it is layered with meaning. When He is redeeming us, He is doing two things. Firstly, He buys us back from the dead because that is the meaning of ‘redeem’ or ‘ransom’. In the Old Testament, the firstborn of man and beast was redeemed by a financial transaction. Our redemption is not transacted in human monetary terms, but we know the Lord has the capacity and the resources to purchase us, to bring us back to Himself. And secondly, He redeems us to the place of a firstborn son. In the book of Hebrews we read that we are to be the church of the firstborn. Heb 12:23. The Lord exerts His power or His grace to bring us back from the dead; but He does not put us in a neutral position where we are content to be simply alive, but takes us to a place where we can stand in His presence. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we read that He transforms our bodies into conformity with the body of His glory by the exertion of His power. Phil 3:21. If we were simply made alive again, we would be like a prisoner who has spent a long time in jail but who is not repatriated when released; we would not be recovered in any way. And we know statistically, that a very large percentage of long-term prisoners go back into custody because they have no capacity to assimilate into society. The grace of Christ is the exertion of His power as our Redeemer, and it brings us right across to our individual place as a son before Him.

There are a number of verses which speak of the Lord’s strength or vigour. We read in the book of Ephesians, about ‘the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe… in accordance with the working of the strength of His might’. Eph 1:19. Paul also encouraged his readers to ‘be strong in the Lord, in the strength of His might’. Eph 6:10. And in his letter to the Philippians, Paul said, ‘I can do all things through Him who strengthens me’. Phil 4:13. In Peter’s first letter, he stated, ‘Whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies’. 1 Pet 4:11. As I read these verses, I have an image in my mind of His inherent authority and His capacity to be powerful. He exerts His strength or force on something and, thereby, demonstrates His vigour. As Christians, we are to rejoice in weakness, because we know that when we are weak He is strong. 2 Cor 12:10. However, I don't believe that we are to remain in a state of weakness. We can be confident that He is at work in our lives exerting His might and power; He is engaged with us and our Redeemer is strong.

We read in the Gospel of John, ‘In Him was life’. John 1:4. Because Jesus Christ overcame the grave and ascended, we know that His life is more powerful than death; therefore, His life is more powerful than our weakness. Grace is the substance of His life coming to us and it comes firstly as a word. In the book of Acts, Luke called it ‘the word of His grace’ and it comes as a message proclaimed. Acts 14:3. We hear the message, believe it, apply faith to it, and grace becomes active in our lives as the authority, power, might and strength of God. We know the weakness of God is stronger than men and the foolishness of God is wiser than men. We come to know the life of God by the foolishness of the message preached. Think of the logic of that! If the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and preaching is the foolishness of God, then preaching the word of His grace is still wiser than men.

Grace comes as a word. And when it comes to us, we are commended or committed by it to the grace that is coming in that word. That puts the matter very simply. Anyone of any intellectual level can hear the word of the message preached; they can hear the word of grace coming to them as individuals. The apostle Paul said that this word of grace was spreading to many people. 1 Thess 1:8. Of course, the grace that came to him was to proclaim the message and his desire was to get the word of grace out to as many people as possible. When they received his message and believed, Paul could commend them to the word of that grace. It was the authority, power, might and strength of God for their particular work. Acts 14:26. Grace comes as an abundant supply but not as a overarching cloud that covers us all. Acts 4:33. It is the composite of every quota of grace that rests on each individual. Peter called it ‘manifold’ or ‘varied’ grace. As we stand in the grace with others, we will know abundant grace which Paul said was ‘sufficient’ for him. 2 Cor 12:9. ‘Sufficient’ grace or ‘abundant’ grace implies more than the minimum necessary for survival but it is a plentiful supply for everything that we will need or do. This means that the grace coming to us is exactly the authority, power, might and strength that we need for the whole of our lives.

One of the Greek lexicons defines grace as ‘the ability of God requisite for the work’. In his letter to the Romans, Paul said that ‘we each have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us’. Rom 12:6. He said that he was a minister or deacon in the church by the grace given to him; it was his individual grace for an individual work. Eph 3:7. But he also reminded them of the grace that was in Macedonia; that is the grace to a whole church. 2 Cor: 1. On the news recently, I was interested to watch a segment about a Christian group of ex-bikies called ‘The Tribe of Judah’ who were giving out hundreds of thousands of dollars in food parcels and goods. There is no doubt in my mind that they are moving in the grace that God has given to them. Many churches could try to do the same thing but may not be as successful because they have not been given that particular mandate, although the Scripture teaches that we are all responsible for the poor. Nevertheless, we each have gifts that differ according to the grace given, just as the church in Corinth had a different grace to the church in Macedonia.

The next step in understanding this subject of God’s grace is to recognise the grace in other people. To do this, we really have to slow down and observe one another and see who God is making each one to be. We have to observe the authority that God is giving to each person and we have to perceive the power that He is exerting toward them. Then we need to recognise where each individual is bearing fruit, in the strength of His might. This new understanding will be cause for great rejoicing! Paul said, ‘I am what I am by the grace of God’. 1 Cor 15:10. We are defined by grace and should not define ourselves. If we are self-defining, we may be preoccupied by our successes or failures. I don't want to be defined by my intellect, physical strength, age or stature but I do wish to be defined by the authority, power, strength and might that are coming to me daily.

We are to stand in the grace and grow in the grace that is coming to us. When Paul told Timothy to ‘be strong in the grace’, he was not asking him to be strong in an ethereal or vague force. 2 Tim 2:1. Paul was encouraging Timothy to stand in the particular gift of grace that had been given to him as part of God’s manifold grace. Paul also told Timothy to ‘stir up the gift that is in you by the laying on of my hands’. He was saying, ‘Don't lose your confidence. Don't be weak in faith.’ 2 Tim 1:6. When we are doing a work and people are relying on us, we must not cast away our confidence. Different things make us cast away our confidence. We may feel unappreciated or weary. Sometimes, we may wonder whether we've run in vain. This is the time to ‘draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we might find mercy and grace to help in time of need’. Heb 4:16. In the book of James, we read that He gives ‘more grace’. He ‘resists the proud but gives grace to the humble’. James 4:6. Wherever we have a need, He gives ‘more grace’. When we respond to the Lord, He gives more grace. He gives more than we had before because we are doing more or we are doing differently than we did before. He is giving to you and me a different and greater grace.

When we hear the word of His grace, we are immediately obliged to Him as a bondslave. We might say it is the contract of the battlefield where the prisoner is obliged to the victor. Paul called his fellow workers in the gospel, ‘fellow ministers’ or ‘deacons’. We need to change our thinking about deacons. In the Bible, a deacon was not someone who mowed the grass! The twelve apostles were the ‘deacons of the word’. You and I are to deacon the grace of God which has been given to us as the capacity to do a work. In nearly every letter of the New Testament, almost everyone and particularly Peter, Paul and John, introduced their letters by saying, ‘Grace and peace to you’. Occasionally they said, ‘Grace, peace and mercy to you’. I think they understood our need when they wrote to us. They were not just trying to keep us positive and motivated but they were reminding us of the grace that has been given.

Peter stated that each one has received a gift from Christ which should be used to serve one another. 1 Pet 4:10. We could say that grace is the ground, platform or context in which we can stand and serve. In the book of Hebrews, we read that we are to ‘draw near with confidence to the throne of grace’. Heb 4:16. We know that Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, ‘having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time’. Acts 2:33. Heb 10:12. His throne is not a chair but describes His authority and, therefore, His capacity to exercise that authority. The throne of grace was the mercy seat in the tabernacle and temple of the Old Testament. Heb 9:5. Paul said that we are also seated with Christ in heavenly places. Eph 2:6. Therefore, we can draw near to the throne of grace boldly and with confidence. The Scripture warns us, ‘Do not cast away your confidence which has great reward’. Heb 10:35. We can be sure that our Redeemer is strong and He will vigorously plead our case.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

The Word of His Grace

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:57:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

Grace is a word which is used frequently in the Scriptures. Church reformers defined it as ‘the unmerited favour of God’ and we often find it translated as ‘lovingkindness’ in the Old Testament. But for many people, grace has come to mean survival after a very challenging time. We regularly hear people comment that ‘God's grace was there’ and, of course, we do experience His unmerited favour and lovingkindness in difficult situations. We would all agree that grace produces an exceptional effect in our lives, and we know that we do not have grace until the Lord gives of His own ability.

A Greek lexicon defines grace as ‘the power and capability requisite for the office’, and Paul told the Romans that grace gave him the authority to address their church. He wrote, ‘By the grace of God given to me I say to you’. Rom 12:3. He wasn’t talking about the favour that God had given to him, nor was he referring to a momentary infusion of power. Instead, the apostle was speaking about something resident within him that had been commended or entrusted to him. Like Paul, we can also receive a word which commends us to the grace for our specific work. This is not our 9-to-5 occupation, nor is it what we do in the church. But it is the mandate that God has prescribed for the whole of our lives.

In the book of Ezra, we learn of the favour and lovingkindness of the Lord to the Jews who returned from captivity in Babylon to rebuild the temple. We read, ‘But now for a brief moment grace has been shown to us from the Lord our God to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage’. Ezra 9:8. Because the priests ministered in the temple, they provided a peg or an anchor point for the Jews by tying them to the presence of God. The Scripture records that the Jews were afflicted for seventy years in Babylon because the land itself ‘spewed’ them out when they refused to observe its Sabbath rest every seven years. Lev 18:25, 25:4. How would our accountants respond in our modern agricultural society if we said we were going to let the land lie fallow for a year! The Jews obviously felt that the Sabbath year was economically unviable and decided not to follow God’s instruction. They probably said, ‘Yes, we will’, but they never did!

God gives grace but are we receiving it? I don't mean, ‘Do we wake up feeling good everyday?’ But rather, are the various aspects of our lives working? I'm inclined to think that many churches don't grow because the key people are not operating according to the grace coming to them. One man can lead a group of about seventy people but once the church grows bigger than this number, it must diversify. If a leader does not have the grace to put the necessary structure in place, that group of people will only grow to a certain level. In a business, the director can be a CEO or a micro-manager who has his hands on everything? If he chooses to be a CEO, he will not have time to be a micro-manager. And by definition, if he is a micro-manager, he won't need a CEO because the business will not be able to grow past him. To be a CEO, a leader must know how to trust people, how to train people, how to open doors for them and how to live with the mess they make while they grow. This principle also applies in a church or in any grouping of people.

The ministry of Paul and Barnabas was launched from Antioch not Jerusalem. Acts 14:12. We read in the book of Acts that Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in every place and commended them to the Lord. After preaching in other towns, Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch where they ‘had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had accomplished’. Acts 14:23, 26. This was a cycle of grace. Before I was involved in full-time ministry, I worked in secular employment and preached many times a week. When I studied my Bible, I experienced a constant flow of grace in the word, which I assumed was normal. But the day I went full-time, this style of compensating grace ceased and I had to labour in word and doctrine. When we go into a new business, we might also find compensating grace; like the Jews, we may be shown grace for a brief moment or season. Compensating grace brought the Jews from Babylon to Palestine but their experience was different once they arrived. The same thing happened when the children of Israel came up out of Egypt. For forty years there was a style of grace and provision which carried them to the land of Canaan but then it changed. It was no better or worse than before; it just wasn’t compensating grace any more.

In seasons of total despair, many people staunchly declare, ‘His grace is sufficient’. But I look on and say, ‘No it’s not! His grace is limited because you are not appropriating the grace that He wants to give you. You have the wrong shoes on. You're in the wrong place. You are doing the wrong thing. You're thinking the wrong way. He wants to give you more grace.’ There are cycles of growth in which God wants to commend grace to us for a work. But when that work finishes, the grace may no longer be available to us. There is also a grace that resides within each one. Paul said that grace was given to him to be ‘a wise master builder’. 1 Cor 3:10. This was not a grace for a particular work in an increment of time but it was Paul’s life-long mandate. There were, of course, many other circumstances in his life where a particular grace came for a season. For some of us, grace may have come for a season which is long past and is not adequate for the place where God wants us now. We need to find ‘more grace’. James 4:6.

Paul sought the Lord three times for the removal of the ‘thorn’ in his flesh but the Lord said to him, ‘My power is perfected in your weakness. My grace is sufficient for you.’ 2 Cor 12:9. Because of the greatness of his revelation, Paul needed that particular thorn to prevent him from becoming puffed up with pride. 2 Cor 12:7. It was not that Paul was lacking in any aspect of his life and the Lord said, ‘Well, you’d better live with lack and My grace will compensate for that’. Aparticular grace came to him so that he would not become a castaway. The thorn in his flesh was a style of grace which kept Paul measured to a certain reality. Therefore, it wouldn’t be helpful for you or me to say, ‘His grace is sufficient’, in the same way that it was sufficient for Paul. ‘Sufficient’ grace will mean something different for each one of us.

Paul and Barnabas commended elders to the Lord. In the book of Acts, we read, ‘When they had appointed elders in every place they prayed for them with fasting and commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed’. Acts 14:22. To the Ephesian elders, Paul wrote, ‘I commend you to God and to the word of His grace which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified’. Acts 20:32. Paul used the word paratithaymee which means ‘to place beside’. When Paul commended men to the grace of Christ, he placed them beside the Lord who gave them the capacity to do the work. This action superseded any human intervention which could disqualify them, but only if they walked in the grace.

Paul said that grace comes to us in a word. Acts 20:32. We are commended to the word of His grace which becomes the power and capability requisite for our office and work. If we are to prosper, we must align ourselves with the grace of God for our particular work. Grace is not just an amorphous mass which every Christian can reach into and pull down. God certainly answers prayer but sometimes He says, ‘No’. There are those who equate answered prayer with God giving them whatever they want, but that would be a dereliction of duty on His part. If we have a predestination and a pathway to walk, God is going to give us the grace for that pathway. Perhaps the Lord is putting His hand upon us even though we have been walking in His way for a long time. If He is trying to get our attention, we must not say that the word of grace is for someone else.

We also need to learn to recognise the grace in another. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul said that James, Cephas and John who were pillars in the early church, recognised the grace that was in him and gave him and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. Gal 2:9. These three men were pillars partly because they could recognise the grace in Paul. Do we recognise the grace that we need? Do we recognise our predestination? Do we recognise the pathway that we should walk? What kind of grace are we asking for? What kind of grace is being commended to us? There is a quotient of grace for each one. Paul referred to ‘the stewardship of God's grace that was given’ to him. Eph 3:2. He went on to say, ‘To each one of us grace was given.’ Eph 4:7. It is not just a random homogenous pool into which we can dip our ladle and pull out exactly what someone else pulls out. The grace that you are being commended to is that particular quotient which Christ gives for your work.

If there are aspects of our lives which are just not working, there may not be sufficient grace. Or perhaps we are not appropriating grace because we are not applying ourselves to our predestination. Paul wrote to the Romans, ‘Through the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think but to think so as to have sound judgement’. Rom 12:3. But nor should we think more lowly of ourselves than we ought.

Paul made an interesting comment to the Corinthian church. He said, ‘As God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no’. 2 Cor 1:18. We might think he would say, ‘His word to you’ but he said, ‘Our word’. Paul could make this statement because he had commended the grace of God to various groupings of people, individuals and churches. Not everyone has been given the capacity to commend grace to another. Paul warned Timothy not to ‘lay hands upon anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins’. 1 Tim 5:22. We should not go around laying hands on everyone and commending people to the grace of God! They are to be commended according to their predestination and ability to the grace for the work that God has ordained for them. I look at the work that someone should be doing and I ask, ‘Where do they fit and what grace do they need?’ Paul said, ‘As God is faithful, our word to you was not yes and no. For the Son of God, Christ Jesus who was preached among you by us … was not yes and no, but is yes in Him’. 2 Cor 1:20. The grace of God is the ‘yes’ of God to us. Peter stated that He has granted to us all things by His divine power and through His promises we become partakers of His divine nature. 2 Pet 1:3, 4.

Paul wrote, ‘For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us’. 2 Cor 1:20. If God’s promises do not resolve down to a ‘Yes and Amen’ in our lives, we need to stop and think why God is saying, ‘No’. Is it because we are not aligned to His promises which bring the divine nature to us? A key verse is found in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. It says, ‘Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God’. 2 Cor 1:21. The word of His grace establishes and anoints us. Oil is poured on our heads, just as it was poured on the heads of the priests in the days of the Old Testament, and it is our authority and capacity to proceed. The prophet Zechariah said that the Spirit of grace was poured out upon us. Zec 12: 10. The ‘No’ of God will not allow us to proceed.

Esau is an interesting character. He came short of the word of grace for his life and it produced in him a root of bitterness. When people do not realign themselves to the grace of God in the season when He urges them to shift, a root of bitterness can develop. They may say, ‘I've served the Lord and His people faithfully so why is this happening to me? I no longer have a part or portion here.’ Throughout the course of our lives, we will all need to make a number of major shifts so the grace of God will continue to come and equip us for the work of the coming season, which may be long or short. Paul said to the Romans, ‘For this reason it is by faith in order that it might be in accordance with grace so that the promise will be guaranteed’. Rom 4:16. I would like a guaranteed promise!

In his Gospel, John said that ‘we beheld His glory, full of grace and truth’. John 1:14. He continued saying, ‘For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace’. John 1:16. In the book of Acts, it says, ‘With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and abundant grace was upon them all’. Acts 4:33. And later we read, ‘Now when the meeting of the synagogue was broken up, many of the Jews and the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas who speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God’. Acts 13:43. This verse could mean that those following Paul and Barnabas urged the preachers to keep going in the grace. Equally, Paul and Barnabas could have been encouraging their hearers to continue in the grace coming to them.

Each one of us can give thought to where grace is not effective in our lives. We can then wait on the Lord and be willing to hear a word which will commend us to His grace for an effective work, knowing that He will open a pathway before us.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

An Acceptable Priesthood

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:57:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

In the book of Hebrews, we find an interesting verse about serving God. It says, ‘Let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and fear’. Heb 12:28. Another translation tells us to ‘offer to God an acceptable service’. The word ‘service’ literally means to bring priestly worship. It is the Greek word latreuo and it is used elsewhere in this book in relation to the priests who ‘served’ in the tabernacle under the law covenant. Heb 13:10. Our verse should read, ‘Let us have grace that we may priest to God an acceptable priesthood’.

I think of sportsmen and women who play their game properly and to the best of their ability, and I imagine that this is what it means to ‘priest an acceptable priesthood’. Of course, in the Bible this word ‘acceptable’ is always used in relation to offering. Like the Israelites, we present the ‘first’ and the ‘best’ to God; so an ‘acceptable offering’ is clearly not just the minimum that we need to give. Furthermore, an ‘acceptable offering’ implies that God is receiving us!

At the beginning of the Reformation, Martin Luther introduced a doctrine or a teaching which he called, ‘The priesthood of all believers’. It was written against the background of Catholicism where the priests performed all the religious duties. Depending on our church background, we will each have a different understanding of ‘priesthood’. In some churches, the priest is the person up the front doing all of the work. When I became a Christian at 17 years of age, I didn’t realise that I was becoming a priest; I just came to the Lord in a simple act of repentance. But as the years went by, it became clear to me that I was required to be a priest because, as Peter said in his first letter, all believers belong to a ‘royal priesthood’. 1 Pet 2:9. I came into the charismatic renewal and was amazed to observe that people took Bibles to church. I had grown up in a church where the only person who had a Bible was the priest, while the people had prayer books and hymn books. It took me a number of weeks to resolve that when the preacher stood up to preach, the people opened their Bibles to read the Scriptures. They lifted their hands and I wondered what on earth they were doing. They were priesting! They were bringing themselves; they were presenting their offerings. And it became clear to me that they were standing in the presence of God. He is able to make us stand in the presence of His glory.

The apostle Paul beseeches us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice which is our priestly service. Rom 12:1. We noted in the book of Hebrews that we have grace to priest to God an acceptable service or priesthood. The companion passage in Hebrews says, ‘We have an altar from which those who serve [or priest] the tabernacle have no right to eat’. Heb 13:10. This is the language of the apostle Paul in the New Testament. He wanted us to go in and stand in the presence of God. In the Old Testament, a verse in the book of Ezra clarifies the point. It concerns the rebuilding of the temple after the Jews’ return from exile in Babylon and says that Levites from twenty years of age were appointed to oversee the work of the house of the Lord. Ezra 3:8. The word ‘appointed’actually means ‘stood’ or ‘tostand’. Therefore, it would literally say, ‘They stood the Levites from twenty years to oversee the work of the house of the Lord’. In the book of Revelation, we read of the martyrs who stand before the throne of God in white robes. ‘For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His Tabernacle over them.’ Rev 7:15. We can catch the pictorial nature of these things. The book of Jude says, ‘Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless, with exceeding joy.’ Jude 1:24. This literally means that He will ‘make you stand’ in His presence.

If we receive grace in order to ‘priest an acceptable priesthood’ it is, therefore, important for us to understand what a priest is. Both Paul and Peter stated that we are to stand in and by grace. Rom 5:2 Heb 13:9. We know that a priest is someone who stands in the presence of God and comes in and out of that presence. As Christians, we also come into His presence to serve Him and then go out into the world to live our lives. Those who have not made a commitment to Christ, do not know what it means to stand before God or to come in and out of His presence. And because they have not received grace, they do not know how to bring an acceptable offering to the Lord or how to ‘offer to God an acceptable priesthood’. The ‘royal priesthood’ does not refer to any specific religious group but to those with the right and authority to go in and out of the presence of God. Although we are always in His presence, I like the metaphor of going in and out. As soon as I leave church on a Sunday morning, I'm not conscious of being in the presence of God. In a sense, I go ‘out’ to do various things but when I pray or study my Bible, I go ‘in’ to His presence.

In his letter to Timothy, Paul said, ‘The Lord stood with me and strengthened me’. 2 Tim 4:17. As priests, we must stand by day and through the night watches, in the presence of God lifting up holy hands. Paul said that men ought always to lift up holy hands without wrath or doubting. 1 Tim 2:8. This gesture is a symbol of our worship and surrender and is the mandate for every man. As we receive grace and authority to come into the presence of God, He answers our prayers but sometimes the answer is, ‘No’. If we think of the language and symbolism of the Scripture, we can't pray unless we are a priest, because only a priest can offer up incense which is the symbol of prayer. Rev 5:8. We receive grace to empower our priesthood; to give us the authority, the right, the enthusiasm and the confidence to draw near to the throne of grace. We read in Hebrews, ‘Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need’. Heb 4:16. In the Old Testament, it was the high priest who drew near to the throne of grace. We have the Lord Jesus Christ as our great High Priest who has gone before us and we are included in His priesthood. We come to the throne of grace through prayer. The Scripture says, ‘Let us have grace’; not, ‘Let us find grace’. Let us have it, whereby, we may priest to God an acceptable priesthood. He wants to empower our priesthood. An acceptable priesthood is governed by a number of things. We read in Exodus that we are not to appear before Him empty-handed and the book of Revelation tells us that we cannot go into His presence unless we are clothed in the robes of priesthood which are our righteous works. Ex 23:15. Rev 19:8.

Peter said, ‘This is the true grace in which you stand’. Paul told the Romans, ‘We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand’. 1 Pet 5:12. Rom 5:2. Paul wrote to the Colossians regarding Epaphras who was always labouring fervently for them in prayers so that they might stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. Col 4:12. In the book of Revelation, John said, ‘For the great day of His wrath has come. Who is able to stand?’ Rev 6:17. He wants us to stand in faith and grace in His presence. We need to lift up holy hands like Epaphras to pray constantly. Peter said that the God of all grace has called us and will perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish us. 1 Pet 5:12. He is calling us to be a priest. That’s not someone in black or white or red robes. It is a believer; someone receiving grace who has access to the throne of grace, which is also a mercy seat, when they have troubles, requests and needs. He is a merciful God. We just need to come into the throne room, the most holy place, and find grace. Heb 4:16. We are to stand in His presence and have confidence to make our requests known. As we stand before Him, He stands with us. I love the practicality of the verse, ‘The Lord stood with me’. We find another reference to ‘standing’ in the letter to the Galatians where Paul encouraged his readers to ‘stand fast therefore in the liberty [or freedom] by which Christ has made us free’. Gal 5:1. The throne of grace is truly marvellous because we can come and find more grace. He gives greater grace. James 4:6. If we wish to stand before the Lord, we need to find grace so that we might priest to God an acceptable priesthood because only a priest can go into His presence. And of course, when we go into His presence we will find that He is strong.

In the book of Revelation, John wrote concerning the woman who is the church. ‘It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.’ Rev 19:8. When we consider white robes, we often think of brides who wear white dresses to symbolise purity. But the white linen robes mentioned in the book of Revelation are robes of priesthood. This is the interesting anomaly of the book of Revelation. Never before had a woman been clothed in white robes or been permitted to walk into the most holy place and stand in the Ark of the Covenant! We are a kingdom of priests. We have works to do which He has appointed for us and we need grace to perform them.

The grace of Christ is the exertion of His power as our Redeemer. And it brings us right across to our individual place as a son, and then a priest, where we begin to have an active service in His temple. Therefore, grace is the means and the authority by which we serve God. The parable of the talents teaches us that God gives grace according to our ability. Matt 25:15. The literal interpretation of that word ‘ability’ is dunamis, which means ‘power’. It’s where the word ‘dynamite’ comes from. So the verse actually reads, ‘He gave talents according to power’. Therefore, it is not ‘ability’ at all in the primary sense of our language. But nor is it our personal strength. Some people may feel more powerful than others. There are those who are more aggressive, while others are more passive. We can be emotionally stronger or weaker than another. Our power is our predestination, life and natural ability. Although the Lord gives talents or grace according to our power, we find that He constantly wants to weaken us. He brings us to the end of ourselves because as Paul said, ‘Power is perfected in weakness’. 2 Cor 12:9.

Peter said that the God of all grace who has called us would establish us after we ‘have suffered a little while’. 1 Pet 5:10. Suffering is an interesting thing. Having been involved in pastoral work for a long time, I note that, mostly, suffering is the ongoing contradiction of life where things are not evolving as we thought they would. We are gradually disempowered because our morale drops, our expectations fall, our hopes are deferred and our heart becomes sick. Prov 13:12. There are, of course, many more extreme forms of suffering than this, but His grace is sufficient for them all. We may be severely suffering or we might be simply struggling. But He gives more grace so we can confidently go before the throne of grace. As our work increases and our confidence grows, we need more grace. We’ve found access by grace and were saved by grace, but we need more grace to exercise our priesthood. God is calling us to be men and women of prayer who tarry before the throne of grace and intercede for others. The definition that we have according to our ability, will diminish. As He gives more grace, the defining factor in our lives is His grace rather than our natural ability. Grace will overtake our ability and the percentage that is us and the percentage that is Him will eventually change.

The parable of the talents begins with, ‘A man was going to a far country and ‘he called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them’. Matt 25:14. We own our ability. It’s intrinsic; it’s inherent; it’s us. But grace is never us. It is the riches of His grace bestowed upon us. He is the Master. He hasgone to a far country and He has called His slaves together and committed His own possessions to them. Perhaps we are not coping; we may be struggling, downcast and losing heart. Or perhaps, we are confident and proceeding because of our ability and power. This, of course, is the greatest enemy of all. In either situation, He wants to bestow more grace upon us. He wants to equip us with His possessions according to our predestination but, at the same time, He is weakening us. Paul knew salvation by grace and he knew the grace of priesthood. He went in and stood in the presence of God. He prayed and fasted and sought the Lord three times concerning the thorn in his flesh. 2 Cor 12:7-9. We can also have an intrusion in our flesh; something stuck in our foot, hand or our side or as it says in the Old Testament, a thorn in our eye. Num 33:55 Josh 23:13. Paul sought the Lord three times concerning the thorn. But the Lord said, ‘It's all right. You’ll live. You’ll cope. No, I'm not pulling the thorn out. My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’

For Paul, this was not his first infusion of grace. But he gained more grace, where he learnt to receive it in a new way. He had been a very strong, powerful, articulate, confident and capable man but, all of a sudden, he was weakened. He had to find grace another way. We may also need to find grace in our weakness. Many of us have done things a certain way according to ability and that has been right and proper. But the Lord wants to bring an increase of grace. We, therefore, have to adjust our perception of our abilities to receive the possessions that Christ is committing to us. If we won the Lotto and received riches all of a sudden, we would have to adjust our life! We would live in a different way. This has been an ongoing journey for me through the course of my Christian life and service. I've had to adjust to the grace that has come to redefine me. We are no longer defined by our original ability but by our priesthood; by the right and authority to come into His presence and to stand there. This is the grace of life!

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

Abide in Him

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:03:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

We have found ourselves in an interesting season. After a time of economic prosperity in the western world, the tide has turned and many who have been naturally very capable people have become fearful and unsure of what the future may hold for them. When times are good we are confident. But when the situation changes and we find ourselves in a difficult and challenging environment, we may lose our peace.

However we read in the book of Hebrews that we are not to cast away our ‘confidence that has great reward’. Heb 10:35. In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul said that the kingdom of God is ‘righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit’. Rom 14:17. Therefore, we need to think differently in difficult times because if we belong to His kingdom, we can respond in faith. We can live in the love of God as He pours it out to us. It is futile to place our confidence in our own ability, but there is great reward when we put our trust in Him.

There are three absolutes in the Scripture concerning the Lord. In John’s Gospel and in his first letter, we learn that God is Spirit, love and light. John 4:24, 1 John 1:5, 4:8. Love describes the essence of God. Jesus said, ‘If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. For by this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Abide in my love.’ John 15:7-9. If we abide in Him, we are to abide in His love. It is comforting to know that as we abide in Him, Jesus also actively works to keep us in His care. He prayed to the Father regarding His disciples, 'While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name, which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition.' John 17:12.

We cannot find the love of God in the world. When God’s love is poured out upon us, we receive the three components of His love which are His righteousness, peace and joy. The emphasis here is on His righteousness, His peace and His joy. It is not a righteousness, peace and joy that we manufacture ourselves. Paul stated that ‘the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us’. Rom 5:5. It is significant to note that the correct translation of this verse is through the Holy Spirit and not by the Holy Spirit.

The Lord pours out His love to you and to me but His love is not an amorphous ‘thing’. If I look at a tree outside and enjoy the ambience of God’s creation, this pleasant experience does not equate with the peace of God. I might be honouring God's creation, but I have not necessarily received His peace. And so it is with His love. It is real and substantial. Likewise, Jesus told His disciples that after a time of grief, they would see Him again and rejoice and no one would take their joy away from them. John 16:22. As we abide in His love, His joy becomes our joy. When Jesus said, ‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you’, He was not saying that we will always feel peaceful. John 14:27. After He rose from the dead and walked into the room with the disciples, Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you’. John 20:21. I doubt whether they all felt relaxed, happy, or settled in spirit at this time but He still gave them His peace. In the same way, His righteousness is a gift to us. It gives us somewhere to walk, something to do, and justification as we do it. In the first letter of John, we are told that God is bigger than our hearts when our hearts condemn us. 1 John 3:20. We are justified as long as we receive His love, His peace and His joy. The book of Hebrews states that Jesus was anointed with the ‘oil of gladness’ above His fellows. Heb 1:9. As He pours out His love upon us, we are also being anointed with the oil of gladness above our companions.

In the Gospel of John, we read much about ‘abiding’. Jesus is recorded as saying ‘I am the true vine. My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch that does not bear fruit He takes it away. But every branch that bears fruit He prunes it so that it might bear more fruit.’ John 15:1. Sometimes, a plant may be pruned right down to its stump which will cause it to go into hibernation for a season. At other times, the plant may only be tip-pruned to allow it to keep growing. On other occasions, the pruning may be somewhere in between these two extremes. If we have borne fruit, we can be sure that He is going to prune us. Jesus then said, ‘Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.’ John 15:4-6. We should rejoice if He is pruning us as we abide in Him, because we can be sure that new growth will come and we will be fruitful again.

Jesus told us to abide in Him and allow His words to abide in us. John 15:7. We abide in His love by abiding in the word that He continues to bring to each one of us. Many who are in business will need to understand the season, and find wisdom by abiding in His word. Some may need to prune hard; but for others, less pruning will be required. We each need to know the season and judge ‘righteous judgements’. We must not judge by economic indicators alone, although we certainly need to consider them. By knowing the joy of the Lord, we can rejoice in tribulation. Of course, we do not have peace as the world gives. That would not make any sense. If we are in trouble, why would we feel at peace? But peace comes in a word. Jesus told us to let His words abide in us. John 15: 7. As we seek the Lord and receive His love, we will receive His word and we must abide in it. This means we stay there; we remain there. As we abide in His love, He will give us His righteousness and then we will receive His peace and His joy. Righteousness, peace and joy reside with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and they are being poured out upon us. But the world cannot receive these things. If we do not cast away our confidence but abide in His love, we will bring forth fruit.

The Lord will prune us with a view to the ‘winter’ ahead. In a sense, the whole world is being pruned and it is affecting everyone, because the rain falls on the just and the unjust. Matt 5:45. We are being pruned along with the economy of the world, and yet, our hearts are filled with joy because growth is coming. There is no contradiction here. We can see His pruning hand in both the micro and macro sense. The Lord is working with us individually and collectively as congregations of people. But He is also working in the whole world. These things are not at odds with each other. The Lord is speaking to each one of us and He is pouring out His love upon us.

If you are facing difficulty in your business or your life generally at this time, the key to success may not be in expansion. It may be in pruning and contraction. In a grapevine, the leader vine must be pruned back on its trellis or it will keep growing and not bear fruit. If the Lord is pruning you, rejoice! Abide in His love. No one can take your joy from you. Jesus said, ‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ John 14:27. Abide in His joy. Let Him anoint you with the oil of gladness above your fellows. Heb 1:9. Nothing will be lost. Not one hair of your head will perish. Luke 21:18. As the prophet Isaiah said, ‘No weapon that is formed against you will prosper’. Isa 54:17. We can abide in His love, knowing His righteousness, joy and peace regardless of what is happening around us. We remember the words of Jesus, ‘These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full’. John 15:11.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

No Longer our Own

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:05:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

When we consider the parable of the prodigal son in the Gospel of Luke, we gain an understanding of Christ’s redemptive work in our lives. Luke 15:11-23. This parable tells the story of a young man who asked his father for his share of the family estate before leaving home and travelling to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance with loose living. If we are to assume the son was the second of two brothers, his inheritance would have amounted to one third of the capital value of the family enterprise. It would have been a difficult scenario for the father to divide up his property in this way and yet he still managed to give the young fellow his share.

When he had spent everything, and had become impoverished because famine gripped the land, the prodigal came to his senses and returned home saying, ‘I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men’. Luke 15:19. But the father had compassion on his son and welcomed him back into the family, restoring all that he had lost. The father reinvested in his son and gave back to him. When Christ redeems us with His blood, He also gives back to us by restoring our inheritance. The first portion of our inheritance is our ‘sonship’ and it includes the natural abilities that He has ordained for us.

We must never undersell or under-rate our redemption; nor should we presume upon it. When we were redeemed, it cost a portion of His precious blood to buy us back from our state of squandered destruction. We may have grown up in the church all our lives, but it still doesn't change the fact that we were dead in our trespasses and sin. Every person from the age of sixteen through to about twenty years must negotiate this crisis of salvation or redemption. We are not our own and, therefore, our abilities are no longer our own. They were purchased by Christ when He paid the price to ransom and redeem us. The free gift of God is eternal life but salvation isn’t free at all; it has a capital value. It cost the Father, Son and Holy Spirit everything to buy us back. Of course, we are all delighted to be redeemed. But it means that we no longer have the freedom to do what we like with our lives or our abilities, although we must manage them as ‘good stewards of the manifold grace of God’. 1 Pet 4:10.

In order to become good stewards of God’s grace, we must firstly be trained. In the four years after becoming a Christian, my whole life was turned around. I went from someone who did no work at school, and was not scholastic in any way, to someone who spent most of his spare time studying the Scriptures. Of course, I was blessed by certain people who took an interest in my training, but in the end I had to do the hard work myself. Whether we are young or old, we are obligated to be trained. Christ wants to give us our eternal reward which is a double portion of His blessing and the second portion of our inheritance. We received the first portion when He redeemed us and gave back to us what we had squandered.

In his first letter, Peter wrote, ‘Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one who is in authority … For such is the will of God that by doing right you might silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.’ 1Pet 2:13,15,16. It is interesting to note, that Peter defined ‘free men’ as ‘bondslaves of God’. Paul also wrote about freedom. He said in his letter to the Galatians, ‘Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh’. Gal 5:13. It is obvious that our freedom is not like the freedom of the world. The world’s freedom is in fact bondage because people are clinging to a squandered possession. But that is not our scenario. We have been bought with a price and, therefore, we are accountable for our freedom. We are bondslaves.

In his second letter, Peter speaks about false ministers of the gospel who speak ‘arrogant words of vanity’ and ‘entice by fleshy desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error’. 2 Pet 2:18,19. We would all agree that this was the mindset of the prodigal son. He was certainly drawn away by fleshly desires and sensuality and he ended up in a pigpen. But the mercy of the father restored him back to his place in the family. The father paid the redemption price by giving back to his son all that had been lost. Peter went on to say that false ministers lived in error, promising freedom while they themselves were slaves of corruption. He explained that a man is enslaved by the things which overcome him.

In Galatians, Paul also talked about ‘false brethren’. Gal 2:4. There are many gospels with false promises, intoxications, enticements, and inducements. We have to know the nature of our freedom because ‘it was for freedom that Christ set us free’. Gal 5:1. He paid a price for our freedom and we are no longer our own. Therefore, we have to be accountable for the freedom that we have. We may in fact be using our ability, the gift of Christ, as an opportunity or occasion for the flesh. We may be using the portion that Christ has committed to us to build up our fleshly life. Instead, we should be building ourselves up on our most holy faith. Jude 1:20.

After a number of years, Paul went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas to give an account of his ministry to the other apostles. Many were not happy with what he said and became his opponents. But James, Peter and John embraced him and gave Paul the right-hand of fellowship and said, ‘Yes, you're on the right course’. Paul wrote to the Galatians, ‘Not even Titus who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. But it was because of the false brethren … who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.’ Gal 2:3-5

The irony of Paul’s teaching is that we have been set free only to become bondslaves. He called his fellow brethren ‘fellow doulos’ which means ‘fellow slave’ or ‘fellow servant’. When Paul referred to the false brethren who were trying to spy out his liberty, I think they were seeking to understand how grace worked in Paul’s life. The more they persecuted Paul and tried to close him down, the more effective his ministry became. He received ‘a greater grace’ or ‘more grace’. James 4:6. Many people are not yet walking in the freedom of Christ in a sustainable and continuous way, but are finding themselves reverting to old ways and using their liberty as an opportunity for the flesh. Christ has restored to us our abilities and the freedom to use them as we choose, as long as we remain a bondslave.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul wrote, ‘It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm, and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.’ Gal 5:1. This is a very categorical statement. ‘It was for freedom that Christ set us free.’ He laid hold of us by paying our ransom price. It was like the contract of the battlefield. He won us and we became His prisoners. In fact, we are only free when we are His prisoner. In the book of Hebrews, it says, ‘Remember the prisoners as though you yourself were imprisoned’. Heb 13:3. Of course, we know that he was talking about those who were literally in prison. But he was also suggesting that those who had been bought with the purchase price of redemption are equally in prison because they are not their own.

This was the amazing thing about Paul’s liberty. He was locked away in a prison, and yet produced a legacy that we would not have if he hadn’t been severely incarcerated. That is the mystery of grace. If he hadn’t written those letters in prison, we would not have a large part of the New Testament or an understanding of redemption. The apostle John was on that Alcatraz type island called Patmos. In his most extreme imprisonment, John wrote the book of Revelation. You and I need to experience the same thing. We are going to be most effective when we are imprisoned by Christ. Like Paul, we are His prisoner. Paul wrote, ‘I the prisoner of the Lord’. Eph 4:1. He also referred to men like Titus and Timothy as fellow prisoners even though they had never been behind bars.

In the book of James, we read that He gives ‘more grace’ or ‘greater grace’. James 4:6. This is the evidence of His investment in us. When Christ paid our redemption price, He gave our abilities back to us as the first portion of our inheritance. But because we are now His prisoners, we invest those abilities in Christ who then gives us ‘more grace’. In the parable of the talents, we read of a master who entrusted talents, which were a measure of wealth, to his servants. ‘For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.’ Matt 25:14,15. The parable of the talents teaches us that He gives grace or ‘talents’ according to our ability.

The only people who receive grace in this way are those who steward their abilities as prisoners of Christ under the contract of the battlefield. Then the Lord begins to give ‘more grace’. If we are not getting ‘more grace’, we need to consider how well we are stewarding our abilities. Perhaps we have become distracted and need to make an adjustment. After beginning well, what has hindered us? Gal 5:7. We may not be going off to perdition or destruction, but what about our eternal reward? I want the maximum eternal reward that has been deemed for me, because I want to be part of that glorious bride of Christ which will multiply forever.

Christ is constantly laying hold of us to make us a prisoner. We are in difficulty if we find ourselves kicking against this process, because this is the gospel and it is the only freedom that Christ has promised. I am absolutely certain that the prodigal, having been freely restored, was able to be retrained. I have no doubt that he was repatriated and gave much consideration to what made him rebel in the first place. In the same way, we need to consider the nature of our abilities and determine if we have committed them to Christ as a slave or prisoner.

Perhaps we have committed them in the past but have begun to deviate? Are we using our freedom as an opportunity or occasion for the flesh? I haven’t seen anyone in the world receive grace according to ability. However, I've seen many Christians who have received grace but taken it out and multiplied their ability in the world. What kind of judgement awaits the one who uses their ability for their own freedom? Of course, this would include all of mankind. And what kind of judgement awaits the person who, having become a prisoner and slave of Christ, received ‘more grace’ but used it to build himself up?

When I was seventeen, I took the kingdom by force. I studied my Bible for an hour every day for seven years and I began to teach and preach. I didn't determine to go into the ministry, but I did determine to study the Scriptures. But now I know that I must preach the gospel because He has invested in me in the same way He has invested in you. As Paul said to the Corinthians, ‘Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel’. 1 Cor 9:16. The Lord gives grace according to our ability. He then asks us to ‘go and trade’. For me that means more study, more meditation and more prayer. If we don't study our Bible, we will find ourselves diminishing whilst others increase in grace.

When He gives ‘more grace’, we need to be dynamic and adapt. We may need to do things differently to how we did them before. However, it doesn't mean that we throw everything out and start again. And as He adds to us, His grace will eventually far exceed our ability. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus told a parable about minas. A certain nobleman gave ten minas to ten servants and told them to do business while he travelled to a far country. When he returned home he wanted to ‘know how much every man had gained by trading’. If the servant had made five minas, he was given authority over five cities, and if he made ten minas he was given authority over ten cities. The one who refused to trade had his mina taken from him and given to the one who had ten. Luke 19:12-25. Minas are a measure of authority. We learn from this parable that we cannot step forward to assume authority if we have not been stewarding our ability. That would be presumption.

There are multiple steps before we are given authority. Firstly, we recover our ability through redemption and we faithfully steward that ability. Of course, we will need courage if we are going to trade because there will be rises and falls in the market place with good times and bad. We then receive a quota of grace and we add it to our regime of skill. He asks us to be faithful in that which is least, and in something which belongs to another. We need to be a ‘flunky’, to get our hands dirty, to work hard, to labour, and to feel like a prisoner. Paul said that an heir who is still a child, is no better than a slave. Gal 4:1. He is no better than a slave until the day grace comes to him. To me, grace is like a highly potent chemical which changes the composition of everything, because it is a little quota of Christ Himself. We must, therefore, change our historic thinking about who we are and what we do. We need to let Him bring grace to our lives.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

Faith comes by Hearing

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:06:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

I think we would all agree that we cannot know each other unless we communicate; we need to exchange words. We may pass people on the street, but if we don't speak to them, there is no possibility of knowing them. This principle also applies to our Christian lives. The Scripture is quite clear. We read in Paul’s letter to the Romans that ‘faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ’. Rom 10:17.

It would seem obvious that our relationship with God the Father and with the Lord Jesus Christ, is based in a word. Of course, this would presuppose that we are communicating with Him and that He is communicating with us. However, there is often no spiritual engagement in our secular society. There is no word coming from God to you or to me but that is not because God isn’t speaking. It is because we are not listening and, therefore, cannot hear.

I have been considering the spiritual nature of many of the communities and societies around the world. In these communities, spiritual realities are an accepted part of each day. People in India, China and South America, for example, have a spiritual awareness that is second nature to them. But the Western world is largely agnostic and materialistic. We have become completely secularised in our thinking and our communication is only concerned with what we observe and what we perceive to be factual. Faith is regarded as a kind of ‘believism’; people believe in something that is ‘out there somewhere’.

But the Scripture makes it clear that we live in a spiritual world. There are things which are visible that are not eternal, and things which we do not see that exist in the spiritual realm. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote that there were ‘things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man’. 1 Cor 2:9. These are the things ‘that God has prepared for those who love Him’. There are certain realities which are not visible to our natural eye but we see the effect of those things. Jesus said, ‘The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit’. John 3:8.

We read in the book of Hebrews that without faith it is impossible to please God. Heb 11:6. We could define ‘pleasing God’ as ‘engaging, relating, communicating and knowing Him’. We get faith by engaging the Lord, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We must listen for His ‘word’ which is not simply found in the written Scripture. Jesus said, ‘You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; And you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life’. John 5:39-40. Jesus was telling them to engage Him in a dialogue. We can also engage Him by having an active and viable devotional life where we are waiting and listening. It is interesting to note that Paul said concerning salvation, ‘If anyone loves God, he is known by Him’. 1 Cor 8:3. When He speaks to us, He demonstrates that He knows us and this conviction brings us to faith or a belief in God.

We often use the word ‘belief’ or ‘believing’ in the same way that we would use the word ‘faith’. Of course, there is a problem with this definition because as James wrote, ‘Even the demons believe’. James 2:19. In our secular society today, there are many people who ‘believe’ in an afterlife without believing that God is engaging them day-by-day and is involved in their lives. And, of course, there are those who don't believe in an afterlife. From my late teenage years, my desire was to know God. This desire came from a creeping awareness from about thirteen years of age. Through my adolescence, there were times when I avoided this growing awareness and there were times when I came back to it. I became hostile and then amenable to it. But by one way or another, the gradual, emerging desire to know God permeated my life and by seventeen years of age He began, in various ways, to break in on me. In the same way that CS Lewis described in one of his books, ‘I gave up and believed’. I stopped pro-actively resisting the word that was coming to me.

When we are young Christians, the Lord often speaks to us in the night. He also speaks to us in song and in general communication. People will say things to us and be unaware of the impact of their words. When He begins to break in on our lives, He demonstrates that He knows us. To me, this is the word of God. It is the word that comes to us from Him. It is His word about us. And of course, everything in our lives must measure to the word that He is speaking about us. In this context, the verse ‘without faith it is impossible to please God’, begins to make real sense. God is not happy with those who refuse to believe, but He is also displeased with people who believe but have no relationship or engagement with Him. For those of us who have been Christians for many years, we can’t just put this verse in the past tense as if it belongs to younger people or to new Christians. We may have served the Lord for ten, twenty, thirty or forty years but might now be slowly drifting into a secular mindset where we no longer listen or wait daily. We need to commit ourselves devotionally to the Lord with the same kind of intimacy reserved for special friends. If we do not talk, we are at best, neutral in our relationships. Our relationships will not be growing.

The book of Habakkuk contains a pivotal statement regarding faith. Paul quoted it in the New Testament in both the book of Romans and Galatians. ‘The just [or the righteous] shall live by his faith.’ Hab 2:4. We often miss the personal pronoun in this verse and mistakenly read, ‘The just shall live by faith’. Rom 1:17. Gal 3:11. But the book of Habakkuk says, ‘The just shall live by his faith’. We note the small ‘h’ in his is significant. We can assume it means your faith or my faith.

It is impossible to please God without faith. And without faith we cannot live the life that He has predetermined for us. But if we decide to live by faith, we can be certain that an ever-flowing stream of righteousness will follow us. When we consider words like ‘righteousness’, ‘holiness’ or ‘sanctification’, we mostly think of ‘moral virtue’. However, a righteous or sanctified person is not more morally excellent than anyone else. Righteousness simply describes the justified pathway which each of us can walk. Righteousness is like a highway which has breadth as well as direction. In the book of Proverbs, we read of the path of the just or the path of the righteous. Prov 4:18. In his letter to the Romans, Paul said the ‘righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith’. Rom 1:17. Righteousness is taking us somewhere. Therefore, we are not referring to a static ‘believism’. Instead, we are talking about a dynamic engagement where the word of God comes to us and breathes on us.

His word makes us alive and brings us to faith. It is not a difficult thing to negotiate a belief in God. Even the demons believe. James 2: 19. For me, coming to Jesus Christ was not fundamentally a matter of believing. I had always believed. He broke in upon me with a word concerning my life. He birthed faith within me by that word, because ‘faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ’. Rom 10:17. When we embrace the word that comes, He opens up a pathway or a highway which takes us ‘from faith to faith’. We read in the book of Hebrews that ‘faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen’. Heb 11:1. Faith calls into being, things that do not exist. Rom 4:17. But these are not the things of our imagination, our goals and desires. God does not simply give us everything that we ask for. That would be a dereliction of duty. Why would He give us something that is going to harm us?

There are a number of things that the apostles said about faith. Paul told the church at Thessalonica that their faith was ‘greatly enlarged’ and their love was increasing. 2 Thess 1:3. Faith comes by hearing a word but it works by love. Gal 5:6. By faith, the dead are raised and mountains are moved. Matt 17:20. Faith is the power of God but love is the motive. The word of God comes to us as the expression of His love for us. He is engaged with us. If we ask for a fish, He's not going to give us a serpent. If we ask for bread, He is not going to give us a stone. Luke 11:11. But conversely, if we ask for a serpent I don’t think He's going to give us one!

In the Old Testament, the word for ‘faith’ is almost universally translated as ‘faithfulness’. This definition gives a lot of practical meaning to the verse ‘the just shall live by his faith’. It would now read ‘the just shall live by his faithfulness’. We are to be faithful to the word that He has said concerning us. Faith is also quite widely interpreted as ‘responsibility’. The word that comes to us creates in us a sense of responsibility toward the fulfilment of that word. ‘Faith’ also means ‘steady’. I think of Paul's letter to the Corinthians, where he encouraged them to be ‘steadfast’ and ‘immovable’. 1 Cor 15:58. And the final meaning is ‘trust’. Faith involves trusting in the word of God. This is both the written word and the specific word we each hear in our dynamic relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. As the word of God is coming to us, it is alive, powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword; penetrating our hearts and resonating true. Heb 4:12. The word of God touches us and creates faith in us. We need to trust because Jesus said it is only those who endure to the end who will be saved. Matt 24:13. If we don't have trust, we don't have anything. In the book of Proverbs, we are told to ‘trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not to your own understanding’. Prov 3:5. The nature of your faith and my faith is now better understood. The just or righteous man shall live by his faithfulness, responsibility, steadiness and trust.

In the language of the Old Testament, ‘faith’ was not a static concept. The Hebrews did not define their faith by their belief. They did not say, ‘I believe that God exists, therefore, I have faith’. Everything was dynamic for the Hebrews. Their language and their thinking were ‘circumlocutory’. Whereas our Grecian way of thinking in the western world is logical and linear, the Hebrews thought in a circular way. The good thing about a circle, of course, is that we can break in at any point and we will find ourselves at the beginning. This is the amazing thing about the Scriptures. We can start anywhere and it will become the beginning point of our understanding. Our Christian lives also begin this way. We can break into Christ and He into us at any time. Those looking on may be surprised because the circumstances of our conversion may defy logic. I remember one fellow who said he became a Christian when he heard a sermon about the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. After hearing about the red, white, black and dappled horses, this man gave his life to Christ. The word of God came to him and faith was born and began to increase. We each need to hear a specific word concerning our lives to enable faith to be birthed in us.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

Effective Households

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:10:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

When the Bible speaks of a ‘house’, it is not just referring to the buildings we live in. Our ‘house’ describes everything about us; our family, goals, direction, motivations and history. Joshua made the statement, ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’. Josh 24:15. Joshua was second in charge to Moses and took over the leadership of Israel when Moses died. We read in Judges that ‘the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua’. Judg 2:7.

After Moses died, Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for their elders, heads of houses, judges and officers. He reminded them that their fathers in ancient times had lived beyond the River and had served other gods. Josh 24:1, 2. He was referring to Ur of the Chaldeans where Abraham’s father had been a moon-worshipper. This is where Baghdad is to day and it lies to the east of the river Euphrates. Abraham was taken from ‘beyond the River’ and led through the land of Canaan where his descendents greatly multiplied. Josh 24:14. Joshua also made mention of the ‘gods of Egypt’ where the Israelites had lived for 400 years. And finally, he spoke of the ‘gods of the Amorites’. He challenged the Israelites, saying, ‘If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living’. Josh 24: 15.

There were more than 400 years separating Abraham and Moses but the cultural influence of life ‘beyond the River’ was obviously still evident. We are all the fruit of multiple generations of people who have made decisions and moved from place to place. As our forefathers changed location and employment it affected relational and cultural opportunities for those who followed. So, it is important that we appraise ‘the gods of our fathers’ because that is the history which has defined us today. If the ‘gods of our fathers’ are the influences which have been passed down through many generations, the ‘gods of Egypt’ are those things in our immediate past, in the last few years or the previous generation. Some people say that Egypt is a symbol or a metaphor for ‘the world’ which is building its ‘pyramids’; its towers, agriculture and industry. And that is true. But as far as God's people are concerned, ‘Egypt’ is mostly referring to recent cultural influences which are impacting us now.

As the Israelites were coming up out of Egypt, they grappled with their recent history. It was just behind them. They could remember the garlic and leeks. Num 11:5. They could also remember the hard labour of course, but at least it was something they knew and understood. This is our dilemma as well. We all know the saying, ‘The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know’. So, we look back over our shoulder and say, ‘Well, at least that was familiar. At least we knew it. Why are we here?’. The Israelites said to Moses, why ‘have you taken us away to die in the wilderness’? Ex 14:11. As they looked back over their shoulder they remembered ‘the gods of Egypt’ but they may not have been gods in the sense of deities. A lot of the Israelite nation would have been ‘agnostic’. Some statistics suggest that ‘believers’ amongst the Israelites coming out of Egypt were very much in the minority. Many brought their family idols with them. They also brought treasures and cultural artefacts with them because they intended to transpose the culture of Egypt to the place where they were going. Joshua also made mention of the ‘gods of the Amorites’ in whose land they were living. These gods represent our immediate situation; the influence of our goals, aspirations and cultural framework. It is the impact of our families, employment, church, sports club or community group.

I am suggesting that our ‘house’ has three prevailing and constant influences. They are our historic lineage; our recent history. And, they are the impact of ‘the world’; that is our society, community, family and present environment. When Joshua challenged the people, he said, ‘If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve’. For many people it is disagreeable to serve the Lord. It is disagreeable to have a Christian house. The Israelites answered saying, ‘Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve the other gods’. Josh 24: 16. The people had intent. They didn't want to serve other gods. They recounted how the Lord had brought them up from Egypt, from the house of bondage, how He had performed great signs, had preserved them in their sojourning and driven out the people who lived in the land. Then Joshua said to the people, ‘You will not be able to serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God … if you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good for you’. Josh 24:19,20. ‘Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst and incline your hearts to the Lord.’ Josh 24:23.

As we learn from this story in the book of Joshua, our ‘houses’ can be defined by many things. The Lord also has a definition for our houses so that they can bring forth fruit and have an effect on both society and the church. I can find four kinds of houses in the Scriptures. The first is a pastoral or shepherding house, which is a caring, tending and supporting house. The Scriptures say that men like Stephanus cared for the needs of the saints. 1 Cor 16:15. We also think of Onesiphorus who often refreshed Paul and was not ashamed of his chains. 2 Tim 1:16

The second is an evangelistic house, or a house of outreach that is reaching out into the community. I think of a man like Philip, who was called Philip the evangelist. Acts 21:8. A converted Jew called Jason may also have had an evangelistic house. Acts 17:4,5. We know he was targeted by the priests for welcoming Paul into his house after being converted by his preaching in the temple. We can assume he would have also brought people who were seekers into his home, hoping to convince them as he had been convinced. Both Philip and Jason would have shared the gospel with those who came to their houses. They were not necessarily people who stood preaching on street corners but they were ones to whom people were drawn. People migrated to their houses and they were shown hospitality. Many people were converted because of their love. The Scripture refers to the ‘households’ of these men. Were they married, single, old or young? Was it Jason and his wife? Or was it Jason and his mother and father? Was it Jason with his wife and his children? Or was it Jason and the tenants in his house? We do not know. But we do know they were effective households for the ministry of the gospel. We also read of the households of Simon the tanner, Lydia and Titus Justus. Acts 10:32, 16:40, 18:7.

The third kind of house that I can find in the Scripture is a teaching house. It would seem that a teaching house can become the platform from which a church can grow. A woman called Nympha, a man called Philemon and a couple, Priscilla and Aquila, had what appears to be teaching houses. Col 4:15. 1Cor 16:19. Phi 1:2-7. They obviously brought people into their houses and had Bible studies. They shared the Scriptures and they considered the scope of the things that were being preached and taught. In fact, the Scripture makes mention of the church in the houses of Nympha as well as Priscilla and Aquila. That is very interesting. We see the progression from a man or woman with a burden and motivation to make their houses effective. They were places where people came to share the Scriptures. Their houses evolved to a point where people began to gather and hear the word preached and taught. A church was established in these homes as a platform from which the word could spread out into that town or area.

Finally, there is a house of prayer. Interestingly, a house of prayer is not just a praying house. It is also a house of worship which becomes a house of prophecy. In the book of Acts, the house of prayer became a house of refuge. Jesus came to the house of Martha, Lazarus and Mary to find refuge, to wait upon the Lord and to be ministered to. After Jesus rose from the dead and ascended, Peter was imprisoned for preaching the gospel. When the angel opened the prison doors, Peter went to the house of Mary (not Mary the sister of Martha). I'm inclined to think that Mary’s house had the upper room where the disciples gathered to wait in prayer for the Day of Pentecost. Mary, the mother of Jesus and James, was there with all the other women. Acts1:13, 14. What an amazing house this was! It was the house where large groups of people came to pray and probably fast. It was also the house from which John Mark, Mary’s son, became the ministry travelling companion of Barnabas and Paul. Acts 12:25. When Peter walked out through the prison doors, he went straight down to the house of Mary. Acts 12:12. The Scripture accounts in the book of Acts, that they were all praying. The little maid servant went to the door and after opening it, exclaimed, ‘My heavens, it’s Peter!’ and shut the door again. She ran in and said that Peter was at the door. They all told her not to be stupid; she must have seen his angel. Peter was left at the door! He must have been quite bemused at the thought that he was probably being chased by prison guards and the little maid had locked him out of the house of refuge.

Wives need to be empowered in their homes to step forward and minister in the grace that is theirs, according to the special kind of house that is theirs. It's interesting to note that Priscilla is always mentioned before Aquila; the woman before the man. That is significant culturally. It would have been quite jarring in those days. We need to give some thought to the kind of house that we have? If we want to, if it’s not grievous or disagreeable to us, we can choose to have a house which serves the Lord. Like Joshua we can say, ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’. Of course, that will be me and my wife with my children, until they reach a certain age. And then, if it's disagreeable to them to serve the Lord, they can choose whatever they like. Even if our children choose in their adult years not to serve the Lord, we can give them a good start by having a godly house. But at present, ‘my house’ is all who live under my roof until a certain point, because it is a certain kind of house. And so is yours. Not only will we serve the Lord, but our house can begin to take a specific shape. I think the nature of my house was quite difficult for my children when they were growing up because it was like Grand Central Station with people always coming in and out. It was probably a pastoral house. My children’s personal space was being invaded without them understanding what was transpiring. Nevertheless, that was the nature of my house. I believe young people who are living in a house together, or a divorced or separated man or woman, can seek to serve the Lord with a certain kind of house. Of course, fellowship, community and hospitality pervade all houses.

In the book of Numbers, we read that the Israelites were commanded to camp in family groups. ‘The sons of Israel shall camp, each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers' households; they shall camp around the tent of meeting at a distance.’ Num 2:2 . To the east was Judah, Issachar and Benjamin under the standard of the Lion; to the south was Reuben with Simeon and Gad, under the banner of the Man; Ephram with Manasseh and Benjamin were under the banner of the Ox; and Dan with Asher and Naphtali camped under the banner of the Eagle. Each of those four banners or flags typifies a certain aspect of the ministry of Christ. In the book of Revelation, they are called the four living ones which represent the four faces of Christ who is the living One. Rev 4:7.

I am so excited and motivated by the thought that every house can be effective for the gospel. I want to leave you with the thought that we can all have a house that serves the Lord. That is a marvellous thing. The frustration of many people is that their individual sonship and their household is not effective in serving the gospel of Christ. But we don't need a cue or someone to tell us what to do. We just need to camp by the standard of our own banner according to the nature of our household. We need to gather on the north, south, east and west of the tent of meeting. For us today, we gather around the communion table and come together family by family. And then, we go back to our houses and throw the doors open wide.

Some commentators say Justus Crispus was a Gentile; but others say he was the Justus upon whom the ‘lot’ didn't fall when the disciples were choosing a replacement for Judas. It was between Mathias and Justus, and the lot fell to Mathias. Wouldn't it be interesting if this Justus was the man to whom the lot didn't fall? We would note with amazement that he happily got on with doing his work? I have observed many people to whom the lot doesn't fall, and I have noted that they don't happily get on with doing their work. Why don't we all throw our doors open? In showing hospitality to strangers, we may well be entertaining angels unawares, as the Scripture says. Heb 13:2.

What kind of house would you like? What is your aspiration? If you're not sure, try something! Invite people in. Think about who you are. Can you share the Scriptures? Does your household pray together? Do you care for people? At the very minimum we can all show hospitality. We can reach out to our friends and to those in our work places and community. Will we say, ‘As for me and my house we will serve the Lord?’

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

Holy to the Lord

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:12:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

When we consider the work of redemption, we firstly think of the blood of Christ. We understand that His blood redeems us from sin. It is interesting to note, however, that sin is not the first emphasis of redemption. Sin is not the all-encompassing preoccupation of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It has been dealt with once and for all and will not mar the new heavens and new earth. The Eternal Covenant between Father, Son and Holy Spirit involves much more than redemption from sin.

By way of illustration, at the time of an accident, a husband will be preoccupied with his wife’s healing. But after she has recovered, his focus will shift to the future; to fulfilling their lives and living out their days. Similarly, Christ died to redeem us from sin so that we can come into the position of a firstborn son, and receive our inheritance in the new heavens and new earth.

Those familiar with the covenant history will know that the inheritance of the firstborn was the double portion of kingship and priesthood. This is the blessing of Abraham. Before this blessing could be imparted to Isaac, he needed to be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb on Mount Moriah. We recall the faith of Abraham when he was asked to offer his beloved son as a burnt offering. He declared, ‘God will provide Himself a lamb’. Gen 22:8. And indeed, Isaac was redeemed by blood on Mt Moriah when a ram was offered in his stead. However, his redemption was not only to do with his sin. First and foremost, it was bringing him into the position of a firstborn son so he could receive the blessing and inheritance.

In the following generation, Jacob earnestly desired this blessing and double portion inheritance. He sought the things which Esau disdained. We are told that Esau despised his birthright. He did not respect or regard his inheritance. It was always ordained that the elder would serve the younger; that Esau would serve Jacob. The blessing of Abraham was not the province of the natural firstborn, or those born according to the flesh. It could only be inherited by those who were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and placed in the position of the firstborn son. And so, we observe the principles of calling, election and adoption among the fathers of faith who beheld these glorious and magnificent promises.

In the book of Hebrews, we are told that the blood of Christ does more than redeem us from sin. It also sanctifies us. We must not regard as unclean the ‘blood of the covenant’ by which we are sanctified. Heb 10:29. Let us suggest that there are four steps in the covenant process. We are redeemed, sanctified, sealed and then revealed as sons. We see the process of redemption take place in the book of Revelation. We read that He has redeemed or washed us in His blood and made us king-priests to His God and Father. Rev 1:6. We are put in the position of a son and given the authority of a king-priest. We also see the whole multitude, by the work of Christ, collectively brought into the position of a son and made an heir of the covenant.

If you are a parent today, please don't allow your children to dictate the terms of their emerging life. Consider the absolute determination of Abraham toward Ishmael and then toward Isaac. We need to apply ourselves to Christ’s redeeming work for our children; for their individual sonship. Do not be slack in that transition period between adolescence and adulthood. This is particularly important if you are a mother with a husband who does not walk with the Lord. Sanctifying grace can come to you. The redeeming power of the blood of Christ is available to you. Pray for your children and communicate to them and about them. We can’t just sit as one whose hands are tied. Each one of us needs to help our children apprehend their redemption.

In the book of Revelation, we observe the ordination of a king-priest multitude. We hear the cry, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God the Almighty’. Rev 4:8. We remember that the high priests wore a gold-plated crown which read, ‘Holy to the Lord’. Ex 39:30. This means ‘Holiness to Yahweh’. When the four living ones in the book of Revelation cry out, ‘Holy, holy, holy’, they're not just speaking about His separateness. Rev 4:8. Holiness is not moral goodness. We think of a holy man as if he is ‘other’ than us and morally good. The Greek word for ‘holy’ is ‘sanctified’ which is more than being separated. It means, completely set apart and dedicated to the Lord.

In the Old Testament, blood and oil were involved when priests were ordained. Ex 29:21. The blood is the redeeming blood of Christ. And the oil is the symbol of the Holy Spirit; the oil of joy, the oil of gladness by which He was anointed above His fellows. Psa 45:7. The priests were redeemed when they came out of Egypt by the precious blood of a Lamb, which symbolised Christ our Passover who has been sacrificed for us. 1 Cor 5:7. But, they were sanctified on the day of their ordination when the oil and the blood were sprinkled.

The book of Hebrews talks about the blood of sprinkling and its many applications. But, the ‘Holy, holy, holy’ statement was made when the oil and the blood were sprinkled on the priest’s robes. There were four primary applications of the ‘Holy, holy, holy’ statement. It firstly describes the holy grain offering of the first fruits. Secondly, it describes the Most Holy Place, the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. Thirdly, it describes the priests who are holy to the Lord. And fourthly, it describes the Sabbath day rest.

It is interesting to note that Moses was told to go down to Pharaoh and say, 'Israel is My son'. He was speaking of a corporate, collective son. ‘Israel is My son, My firstborn … let my son go that he may serve Me.’ Ex 4:22. But Jeremiah spoke more firmly. He said, ‘Israel was holy to the Lord, the first of His harvest. All who ate of it became guilty; evil came upon them’. Jer 2:3. We can be both consoled and warned by his statement. We need to be careful about what we say, what we think and what we do. Israel was the corporate nation, the peculiar people, God's own possession. Peter superimposed that statement back to the church. We must remember that God is not interested in Israel apart from the church. He redeems us by His precious blood and we are part of the church of the firstborn. Heb 12:23.

We are holy to the Lord, the first of His harvest. Therefore, we need not fear. We only need to fear if we put our hand to touch that which is holy to the Lord. King David was an amazing man. David said concerning Saul that he would not touch the Lord's anointed; even though David knew that the kingship was going to come to him. 1 Sam 24:6. We must be very careful about what we say, to whom we say it, and what value judgements we make. We cannot always know what is holy to the Lord. Who has He redeemed? Who has He brought back from the dead? We need to walk carefully and with prudence concerning what we say about another Christian or another person. We cannot just say whatever we think, whenever we think it. We must be very careful that we don't touch that which is holy to the Lord. For all who touch it become guilty. And, this is how the Lord protects His people through all generations. This is the meaning of coming under the shadow of His wings, into that place of protection.

Christ has done a redeeming work and He is applying that to us individually. He is bringing us back from the dead to the place of a son. But, it doesn't stop there! We have been redeemed but there is yet a day of redemption; the redemption of the purchased possession. Eph 1:14. This is the final fulfilment. And this takes place after the redeeming work of Christ to make us king-priests, to give us a place in the church of the firstborn, and to establish our individual role and identity as a son of God in our own priesthood and kingship. From there, He wants to sprinkle the blood and the oil on our robes to anoint us. He wants to sanctify us. This begins with the cry, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’.

We know that the holiness of the Lord did not involve Him being completely separate or ‘other than’ His people. There are at least three accounts where the Lord said, I ‘brought you up from the land of Egypt to be Your God. Thus you shall be holy, for I am holy’. Lev 11:45. This means that we shall be appointed and given the authority of our sonship to be a king- priest in His house. That is our right. He is sanctifying us to our holy place in the body of Christ. What a joy it is to see people beginning to move in their sanctification or their holiness. This does not mean their ‘altogether-otherness’. It is not their moral veracity. That is all good and true. But our individual position of being ‘holy to the Lord’ is an authority to walk in His courts. That's why the priest Joshua in the book of Zechariah had his robes washed and the angel said, ‘I will give you places to walk’. Zech 3:7. We are being sanctified and the oil and the blood are being sprinkled on our robes.

In the book of Revelation, we see the great multitude sealed with the 144,000 who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Rev 7:14. Finally the statement is made, ‘His bride has made herself ready’. Rev 19:7. Are you making yourself ready? Are you laying hold of your position as a son? The redeeming work of Christ washes us from sin in an ongoing process that brings us into the place or position of a son. It then sanctifies us, giving each one of us authority or places to walk. The blood of Christ anoints and ordains us. On the day of their ordination, Aaron and his four sons had the oil and the blood sprinkled on their robes. ‘Holy to the Lord’ was written on the crown of their heads and all who touched them became guilty.

We belong to the church of the firstborn, just as Israel was the first of His harvest and holy to the Lord. ‘You shall be holy as He is holy.’ We shall be separated as He is separated. Do not count as unclean the blood of Christ by which we were redeemed. In the book of Deuteronomy, we read how the Lord redeemed Israel. ‘Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and enquire from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything been done like this great thing or has anything been heard like it? Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God.’ Deut 4:32-34.

These seven methods or steps that the Lord used to bring to birth the nation of Israel are His work of redemption. We can expect the Lord to intervene in our lives in many of those ways. It will be the work of God to bring us to Himself. The Lord said, ‘I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself’. You are ‘a peculiar treasure’. Ex 19:4-5. We find Peter said the same thing in the New Testament. We are ‘a peculiar people’, His own possession. 1 Pet 2:9.

Will you dignify your position as a son and will you go forward to be sanctified in that sonship? And further to that, will you be sealed and then finally revealed? In that day of final revelation, He comes to bring reward to those who have been sanctified, and to exclude from His presence those who have counted His blood an unclean thing; the blood by which we were sanctified and redeemed.

Some of us may be in a crisis of sanctification. We may know the path we should take but something is hindering us. Paul said to the Galatians, ‘Who did hinder you?’. Gal 5:7. Why are you so easily turned away from your sonship? For those who are quite young, the dawning realisation of your sonship may be coming to you. But, there are many distractions and many other things that are trying to take us away from the redeeming work of Christ. His redeeming work can be made null and void to us individually if we do not lay hold of our sonship. He wants to redeem each one to the place of the firstborn. He wants to empower us to be a priest to His God and Father. And He wants to sprinkle the blood and the oil of the anointing on us. As John said, we have an anointing. 1 John 2:27. We have an anointing to empower us to be holy to the Lord.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

Vow to the Mighty One of Jacob

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:14:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

We all make vows and commitments every day. But instead of making vows, we say, ‘I am going to do this or that’. When we come to Christ we are making a commitment. The psalmist said, ‘Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfil them’. Psa 76:11. Some may suggest that we no longer need to make vows because we are not under the law. However, the making of vows predates the law covenant. I would suggest that vows are part of the Everlasting Covenant and are still relevant to us today.

When Paul was in Cenchrea he shaved his head. This action marked the end of a Nazarite vow. It was a symbolic statement to the Jews around him that he had made a vow. Otherwise, how would they have known? Likewise, we cannot know another’s vow and commitment unless we communicate. For example, when we make a Christian commitment we need to let others know; in our families, schools and workplaces. Paul told the Corinthians that he did not vacillate in what he purposed to do. He said his yes was yes; it was not ‘yes and no’. 2 Cor 1:17. We also need to make vows without vacillating. A vow must not be an emotional response. In the book of Proverbs, we are instructed not to vow rashly. Prov 20:25.

We learn from the experiences of Jacob and David, that God Almighty will swear an oath concerning our lives if our yes is yes and our no is no. In the book of Hebrews, we read that God swore by Himself because He could swear by no one greater when He made His promise to Abraham. Heb 6:13. He was effectively saying, ‘I am not asking anybody else to do it. I swear I will do it Myself’. God swears an oath; we make a vow. But when we make a vow, the Lord swears an oath which enables us to fulfil it.

There are many men and women in both the Old and New Testaments who made vows. We learn from their examples that the purpose of the vow is to build the house of the Lord. Samson was a Nazarite from the womb which meant a razor had never been over his head. Judg 13:5. Samson’s strength was in his hair and he was made helpless before his enemies when his hair was cut. Samuel was also a Nazarite from birth because his mother Hannah was a devotee. A Nazarite is simply a devotee who may or may not be a Levite. Hannah said, if You ‘will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head’. 1 Sam 1:11. She was dedicating or devoting her son to the Lord in the same way that we dedicate our children today. Both Samson and Samuel were instrumental in building the nation of Israel which we could say was the Lord’s house at that stage.

Jacob made a vow in a similar way to Hannah. In a dream, God revealed to him a ladder which stretched from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending upon it. He promised to be with Jacob, to keep him, to watch over him, to bless him and multiply him. The Lord promised to bring him back to that place, the land of his inheritance. When morning came, Jacob said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place’. Gen 28:16. He knew God was present because he saw the ladder with the Lord God Almighty standing at the top of it. Hence, he called the place ‘Bethel’ which means the house of God.

Most importantly, Jacob made a vow using the words that God had just spoken to him in the dream. ‘If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my father's house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. Gen 28:20-21. Jacob was effectively saying, ‘If You will bring me again to this place, You will demonstrate that You truly are my God’. I don’t think Jacob was saying, ‘If You don’t, You won’t be my God’. Jacob was not making a bargain; nor was He calling out for help in a crisis. He was not in a boat in the middle of the sea saying, ‘If You’ll save me I’ll serve You, Lord’. That is not a vow; it is a cry for help! We do not want to make those kinds of vows.

When Hannah and Jacob placed a condition upon their vows, they were making them in faith. If You will give me a child, a razor will not go over his head and I will give him to You. Hannah committed Samuel to the Lord from five years of age. What an amazing faith Hannah had, and what a pain it must have been for Hannah to fulfil that vow. We find that she went up once a year to take him a little coat! And Samuel became an amazing man because he was the son of a vow.

When Jacob made his vow, he poured oil on the rock where he lay and called it a pillar. We know the church is the pillar and ground of truth. 1 Tit 3:15. And the rock upon which the church is built is Christ. He is the chief cornerstone as well as the stumbling stone. Eph 2:20. Rom 9:33. We make vows which say, ‘Lord, if You will meet me; if You will stand at the top of the ladder and allow me to go up and down and come into heavenly places and be seated with You; You will be God Almighty to me and You will be my God’. There will be angels ascending and descending between heaven and earth. The word ‘angel’ used in this verse just means ‘messenger’.

David also made vows and commitments and walked in the stead of Jacob. He wrote in the Psalms, ‘Remember O Lord, on David’s behalf, all his affliction; How he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob’. Psa 132:1. Just as Jacob walked in the stead of Abraham, we note here that David walked in the stead of Jacob. He said to the prophet Nathan, ‘I am dwelling in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under curtains’. 1 Chron 17:1. Nathan replied, ‘Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you’. 1 Chron 17:2. Accordingly, David swore to the Mighty One of Jacob, the God who fulfils vows, ‘Surely I will not enter my house, nor lie on my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob’. Psa 132:3-5. We see David’s tenacity and determination; the strength of his vow. The psalmist said, ‘For the sake of David Your servant, do not turn away the face of Your anointed.’ Psa 132:10. We know Jesus Christ, our Messiah, is the anointed One. Our goal is to know Him and to have His face toward us. This is the reason for our vow. If you don’t know Jesus Christ today, set Him before your face. If we seek Him diligently and put Him before our eyes; if we wait on the Lord, He will reveal Himself to us.

David made a vow that he would build the Lord a house. He gave from his own wealth, the king’s treasury and all the spoils of war. The captains of the thousands and all the people followed willingly. And the Lord responded by swearing an oath over David. ‘The Lord has sworn to David a truth from which He will not turn back.’ Psa 132:11. He said, ‘Yes and amen’ to David’s vow. Is this what you want to hear? He wants to say it to you and to me. This is comforting, encouraging, and strengthening for us all. We are told that David was a man after God’s own heart. 1 Sam 13:14. The word ‘heart’ in this verse means heart and mind. It is not just an emotional response. It is considered; it is weighed up. David’s vow was not made rashly. Because God takes no delight in the sacrifice of fools, we must carefully consider our vows through prayer and waiting on God. Of course, the Lord can only swear an oath over us and say, ‘Yes and Amen’ to our vows, if we are men and women after God’s own heart.

Hannah and David demonstrated tenacity and determination in their vows. We also see the tenacity of Bathsheba, David’s wife, who went to the king declaring, ‘My lord, you swore to your maidservant by the Lord your God saying, “Surely your son Solomon shall be king”.’ 1 King 1:17. It is evident that both David and Bathsheba had made a vow before the Lord concerning Solomon. In Proverbs 31, we read of a mother’s instruction to King Lemuel whom she calls the ‘son of my vows’. Prov 31:2. This was Bathsheba speaking to Solomon. We know she had some struggles, and because of her adultery with David she lost her first husband as well as her infant son. Nevertheless, she made recovery and became a woman of vows. Why did God ordain Solomon to be king and not a son from his other wives? There are many reasons for this but principally it is because Solomon was the son of a vow. We know God answers the vow of a mother.

When the church in Jerusalem was in financial difficulty, Paul asked the Corinthians to make a vow or commitment to help them. He asked them to set aside a monetary gift on the first day of every week for a whole year. I Cor 16:1. How were they going to do this? If we take out the chapter distinction between 1 Corinthians 15 and 16, we find Paul had just instructed them to be ‘steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord’. 1 Cor 15:58. He was telling them that they could make this vow because the Lord would enable their offering by making them abound in the work. And so Paul told the Corinthians to set aside their offering on the first day of the week.

We can also set aside on the first day of the week. We can give to the poor and bring our offering to the feet of the elders and apostles just like the believers in the early church. Acts 4:35. In doing this, however, we may feel like we are walking on water like Peter! When he looked around and saw the waves, the storm and the wind, he began to sink. When we make a vow we may also encounter waves, storm and wind. Will we believe in Jesus Christ and live by faith? Will we trust Him to enable our vow? Will we begin to make vows? The Lord says, prove Me now in this, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows?’. Mal 3:10. However, for many, the windows of heaven do not open, simply because He will not pour out His blessing upon ‘tares’. He will not pour the blessing on the thorny ground. And that is a mercy to you and to me. If He poured the rain on our thorny ground, we would have an even bigger job to remove the ‘tares’!

David served the purpose of God in his generation and then fell asleep. Acts 13:36. Our vows will also contribute to the purpose of God because we will be building the Lord’s house. However, we won’t see the fulfilment of these vows unless we are alive in the last hour. We will serve God in our generation and then we will fall asleep. Paul talks about those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 1 Thess 4:14. When the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ rise, those who are alive and remain will not precede those who have fallen asleep. He has given us 60, 70, 80 or 90 years to serve the purpose of God in our generation and make vows toward the Lord’s house. Like David, who was a man after God’s own heart, let us be those who vow to the Mighty One of Jacob.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

Devoted to Prayer

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:16:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

The believers in the early church were of one mind and continually devoted themselves to prayer. Acts 1:14. The apostle Paul told the Philippians that he was ‘always offering prayer’. Phil 1:4. He likewise exhorted them to ‘be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.’ Phil 4:6. Paul’s faith was clear. ‘My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory’. Phil 4:19. Prayer connects us with a God who does everything abundantly. As Paul encouraged the Ephesians, He ‘is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think’. Eph 3:19, 20.

Indeed, the love of Christ surpasses knowledge. When we bring our requests to God in prayer, He might bless us abundantly. Or He might answer our prayer in a different way. He may provide abundant trials which are far beyond our expectation. However, God is still answering our prayer!

Prayer is not simply a mechanism to get God to do what we want. Rather, we are joining ourselves to the God who sees all; to the fullness of His knowledge. Obviously, our minds do not presently have the capacity to encompass the whole will of God. But there will be a day when we will know as we are known and we will know in full. 1 Cor 13:12. When we pray, we are not just tapping into God’s ideas. His knowledge includes an over-arching will and purpose for our lives. As we learn to pray from the youngest years, He will bring us into His will for us. John said, ‘This is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us’. 1 John 5:14. If we are not sure what the will of God is, we need to be devoted to prayer.

We draw great consolation from the knowledge that Jesus Christ, who is raised and seated at the right hand of the Father, is continually making intercession for us. Rom 8:34. And He makes intercession for you and me concurrently. In fact, Jesus is interceding for all men everywhere. He does not desire that any man should perish, but that all men should come to everlasting life. 2 Pet 3:9. We need to join the heart of God through prayer. And we should encourage our little ones from the youngest years to pray, for God hears them. Jesus encouraged all the children to come to Him. Matt 19:14. I believe in the faith of a child. It's not a question of cognitive or intellectual development. Our prayers do not become more sophisticated as we get older and therefore more effective. Teenagers must also learn to pray. But we don’t expect that He will always give us the things that we seek. If we don't ask correctly, He will not answer our prayer in the way that we ask. Why would God, who is love, give us something that will harm us?

Prayer is an end in itself. In the Scriptures, prayer is likened to the sweet aroma of incense rising before Him. The Lord loves to receive our prayers. Many people question how God can answer the prayers of multiple millions and billions of people at once. As I considered this, I marvelled at the increase in computer technology over recent years. I remembered a time when a computer’s RAM or memory was measured in kilobytes not gigabytes! Since then I’ve watched with amazement how this capacity has increased. At times, I may have six or seven programs open on my computer and all are doing different things. If a computer is able to perform multiple functions simultaneously, why would we doubt the ability of a God who sees all and knows all? Of course we believe that He answers the prayers of all people.

King David instructed his son Solomon to ‘know the God of your father and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind for the Lord searches all hearts’. 1 Chron 28:9. When we are praying and seeking the Lord, we must remember that He is searching our heart. He is searching our heart even when we’re not doing well; when we're struggling; when our attitude is not good; when our heart is not at peace. He understands all the intent of our thoughts. Prayer will make the intent of our thoughts pure. We can't continue to pray with an angry heart or an impure heart. We can't pray with hatred in our hearts. When we begin to pray, the Lord will search us. He will plumb the depths of our inward parts.

We don't know at what age Solomon became the king in Israel. Statistics say that one in twelve children will break away from the things that they have been raised in. King David encouraged Solomon to know his God. As fathers, we must talk to our children about the Lord. In the book of Deuteronomy, fathers were instructed to diligently teach the ways of the Lord to their children. ‘You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.’ Deut 6:6-9. There is no need to force Scripture down our children’s necks! We just need to talk about the Lord and teach our children to pray. Children, as you pray, ask Jesus to be with you. Ask Him to keep you safe, to lead you and teach you about Himself.

The apostle Paul recognised that we presently ‘see in the mirror dimly’. 1 Cor 13:12. Another translation says, 'We see in a glass darkly'. At times, it feels like we are looking through a very thick fog! The Scripture says that sometimes ‘the heavens over your head will become bronze’. Deut 28:23. Jeremiah complained that the face of His throne was covered with a cloud and no prayer passed through it. Lam 3:44. Sometimes, we feel God is not there. We all need to learn to endure these difficult times for they will pass. There are definitely seasons in our lives when we find the Lord more readily. We find Him in seasons of adversity and trouble because we give Him our full attention. Paul understood this principle and desired to know the Lord in times of suffering. He said, ‘That I might know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death’. Phil 3:10.

In the book of Psalms, David encouraged us to pray to the Lord in a time when He may be found. Psa 32:6. The prophet Isaiah said, ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near’. Isa 55:6. He is near in our times of trouble and questioning; when there is financial difficulty, family pressure or health dilemmas. Many of our afflictions are common to man but they will sift and test our hearts to find out what kind of people we are. Paul said, ‘Now we see in the mirror dimly but then face-to-face. Now I know in part. Then I shall know just as I am known’. 1 Cor 13:12. This process takes place in prayer. We will be convinced when God answers our prayer. Maybe we have become stuck on a point. We may have goals, ambitions and aspirations which are contrary to His will for our lives. Give up and pray.

If we seek the Lord in a time of trouble, He will allow us to find Him. We need to seek Him diligently. Jeremiah prophesied the words of Jesus, ‘When you seek for Me with all your heart you will find Me’. Jer 29:13. If you seek Him, He will be found by you. Of course, God has already found you. He has searched for you and knows the thoughts and intents of your heart. But, we must seek Him. The Christian faith is about being convinced; not intellectually convinced by many arguments, but convinced by the brooding of the Holy Spirit who comes upon us. At eleven or twelve years of age, I remember my grandmother sitting with me and praying for me. I was not a Christian between the ages of twelve and seventeen. In those years I refused to pray. But when I gave up and prayed, the Lord met me. I believe in the faith of praying grandmothers. And I believe in the effect of devotion to prayer.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

Watching over your Soul

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:17:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

I have observed that King David, the great psalmist, constantly talked about his soul. He wrote concerning the Lord, ‘He restores my soul’. Psa 23:3. He also recognised, ‘My enemy has persecuted my soul’. Psa 143:3. The literal translation of this verse means, ‘My enemy has pursued my soul’. And the outcome for David was devastating. He continued to write, ‘He has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead. Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; my heart is appalled within me’. Psa 143:3-4.

To say an enemy has ‘pursued my soul’ is not language that we use today. You are more likely to come home from work and say, ‘They attacked me’ or ‘I feel under threat’. Nevertheless, the imperative to keep watch over your soul is the same as it was for the great psalmist.

So what is your soul? Your soul is your essential identity. And who is your enemy? It could be anybody at any time. We should not be too definitive about this. We cannot say certain people are our enemies and others are friends. Quite often, we may be having trouble with someone who is normally quite close to us and we begin to feel like we're being pursued. We may feel under assault and need some breathing space. Our identity as a person may be under assault and we are not coping. At other times, we may not need enemies at all because we war against our own souls. In many situations we do enough damage to ourselves. We can be ‘our own worst enemy’, as the saying goes.

Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians, ‘We were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within’. 2Cor 7:5. In many situations, there will be significant warfare against your soul. Nevertheless, in the final analysis, there is nothing that a man or woman can do that can destroy your soul. The only thing that can destroy you is the response that the warfare evokes in you. If you are provoked and rise up against an enemy, you will begin to be pursued by your poor response and you will eventually be crushed. David felt crushed to the point where he had no substance, integrity and viability as a person. He felt like those who have been long dead. He needed the Lord to restore his soul. And more than this, David asked the Lord to ‘keep a watch over the door of my lips’. Psa 141:3. He recognised the potential of destroying himself if he did not make a good response and keep watch over his soul.

In the book of Proverbs, we read that the godly woman ‘watches over the ways of her household’. We need to watch over our children at every stage of their development; at preschool, primary school, secondary school and university. Parents may need to offer guidance in the work place. In the home, a parent can watch over a child’s responses. Watching involves knowing when children are making good and bad responses. One child may be conducting themselves very well in a given situation. But another child, who is behaving in the same way, may be making a very poor response. This is because the response is not consistent with his or her soul, mind, emotions and will. It is not consistent with his or her intrinsic person.

We need to particularly watch when warfare is coming against our children’s souls. Those with older children can alert younger parents to these vulnerable times. If our children are to withstand such attacks, they need self knowledge. They need a sense of who they are and they need validity as a person. Warfare against the soul may erode a child in his or her fundamental identity. We might call it a loss of confidence. A child doesn't talk this language but parents should. We need to progressively teach our children to watch over their own hearts with all diligence.

In the church, Paul instructs us to obey our leaders because ‘they keep watch over your souls’. Heb 13:17. In the book of Acts, Paul told the overseers at the church in Ephesus to watch over the flock. He said, ‘Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood’. Acts 20:28. As the wise man said, ‘Know well the condition of your flocks’. Prov 27:3. Finally, this means to know each one by name. We obey leaders because they watch over our souls, not because they want to lord it over us. In our society today, we often hear the cry, ‘Who made you the boss of me?’ No one wants to submit to leaders any more. Nevertheless, the cohesion of every society is based on submission and obedience. To tell a generation of people that they don’t need to obey is to bring their end upon them.

The prophet Isaiah encouraged us to ‘stand together and watch’. Isa 50:8. We can apply that instruction to a church fellowship. It can equally be applied to a family. We must stand together and watch. We also read in the book of Isaiah that the Lord will bring out a host or multitude of people. It says, ‘He calls them all by name. By the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing’. Isa 40:26. The Lord is the watchman of your soul. He is bringing you out among a multitude of believers. But you are not lost in the midst of this great multitude. ‘He brings out their host by number and calls them all by name.’ Isa 40:26. When He calls each one by name, it means that He knows their fundamental person. He knows your soul and your soul should know Him well. The psalmist said, ‘I see Your works that they are wonderful. My soul knows it very well’. Psa 139:14.

You should also know yourself well. David said in another psalm, ‘Do not enter into judgement with Your servant. For in Your sight no man living is righteous’. Psa 143:1. He was appraising his own soul. He knew he would be found wanting if the Lord judged him. David was a wonderfully wise man who had jurisdiction over a large kingdom of people. At that stage it was a glorious kingdom. We know that because the nations all around were willing to go into debt to provide the resources that Israel needed to build the temple in Jerusalem. David was constantly referring to his soul, which was his fundamental person. He knew his strengths and shortcomings. But in all his self-appraisals, He remembered the Lord. ‘I remember the days of old, I meditate on all Your doings, I muse on the works of Your hand. I stretch out my hands to You. My soul longs for You, as a parched land.’ Psa 143:5.

Jesus said, ‘Take heed, watch and pray’. Mark 13:33. And likewise, ‘Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation’. Luke 22:46. What does it mean to watch? It is not a term that is commonly used today. But the Scripture refers to watchmen. They were people stationed on a wall or in a tower watching out for enemies. Temptation does not always come from outside ourselves but may also come from within. In Scripture we often find words like ‘behold’, ‘look’ and ‘watch’. These words convey an imperative or sense of urgency. They mean, ‘Keep your eyes open; pay attention to what’s happening around you; be aware!’ We need to watch and pray because there is warfare against our souls. In the book of Proverbs, we are encouraged to watch over our ‘hearts with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life’. Prov 4:23.

We also think of the account when the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Lift up your eyes from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward’. Gen 13:14. We need to look up from the place where we are, our circumstances, our places of trouble and stress. David said in the psalms, ‘My eyes are awake through the night watches that I may meditate on Your word’ Psa 119:148. Are we awake? Do we meditate on His word? Are we like David who meditated, mused and pondered on the works of the Lord? Jesus regularly rose early to pray and find guidance and strength for each day. The psalmist said, ‘Early will I seek you’. Psa 63:1. Isaiah the prophet said, ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found’. Isa 55:6. Are we looking up from the place where we are? Are we looking to the Lord in every circumstance?

When you watch over your heart you are watching over the deepest part of yourself where soul and spirit meet. When the Bible talks about our heart, it is not talking about our cardiac system or even the seat of our emotions. It is the very essence of our person. Paul said, ‘If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things’’ 1 John 3:20. The Lord our God is watching over us. He is protecting us for He is the keeper of our souls. David said of the Lord, ‘He restores my soul’. Psa 23:3. He wants to restore your soul but not because you are a broken-down person. You may have your life together very well. However, there will certainly be warfare against your soul if you have your life together; if you are watching over the ways of your household and walking in the ways of the Lord. How you cope with this warfare, your viability and success in life will be based on how well you understand yourself. When you rise early to pray, the Lord will restore your soul.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

A Measure of Faith

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:20:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

In his letter to the Romans, Paul said that ‘God has allotted to each a measure of faith’. Rom 12:3. I am reminded of something I recently read in a book. It was based on the concept of auto-suggestion which involves using visualisation to make something happen. The author proposes that if we keep visualising and thinking about what we desire, it will come to pass. There are many people who practise this kind of ‘faith’. However, I define faith as the ability of Christ within us to do the will of God.

Faith does not come from within us, rather it is the gift of God. We don't ‘get’ faith by waking up in the morning and thinking, projecting or focusing harder. That might be a kind of faith. But it's certainly not the faith of Christ. Paul said, ‘I have been crucified with Christ. The life I now live, I live by faith’. Gal 2:20. Most of the translations interpret that passage incorrectly. It literally reads in the original Greek text, ‘I have been crucified with Christ. The life I now live, I live by the faith of the Son, loving me and giving Himself for me’. The sense of the verse is continuous and dynamic.

We know that faith works by love. Gal 5:6. And in Romans we read that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Rom 10:17. If faith originates in us, it follows that the word we hear must also originate in us, which is most certainly not the case. Paul said we have been allotted or apportioned a measure of faith. Rom 12:3. It is a gift. Therefore, by definition, faith does not come from us. Paul also said, ‘By the grace given to me’. Rom 15:15.

Faith leads to grace which then leads to blessing. And blessing is the capacity to invoke. It is not auto-suggestion. It is not being persuaded about something by convincing argument. This is not faith nor is it the ministry of faith. Instead, a word comes to us which we hear and believe. That word stirs and generates faith in us. And as faith is generated, it becomes our capacity to do the will of God.

We are often told that we can be all that we want to be. We are encouraged to be the best person we can be. However, we cannot be whatever we want to be. If we are male we cannot be female. If we are old we can’t be young. We can't change our IQ. Nor can we change our physical stature. We can't by reason of thought add one cubit to our stature. Matt 6:27. This Scripture in the book of Matthew is addressing auto-suggestion. ‘Who by taking thought can add’ anything to themselves?

But, of course, the Scripture makes it clear that we can be added to. Paul said in Romans, ‘Through the grace given to me, I say … not to think more highly of himself than he ought’. He goes on to say, ‘To each one is given a measure or an allocation of faith’. If we have an allocation of faith that’s been measured out to each one, then we should not think more highly than that, and certainly not more lowly. We must think of ourselves according to the measure of faith given.

And of course, that faith will enable us to do the will of God. Faith will also be producing grace which is the favour and power of God. Faith is not the energy of God but rather it is the power to do His will. Grace is that sovereign exertion of His will which gives us the power to do the thing we are believing for.

Christ Himself believed for grace. He was in faith. He had the faith of the Son which is also our faith. Obviously, we are not the Son as He was. We are individuals born of a mother and a father but we have each been allocated a measure of faith.

When we consider the parable of the sower, we think of the four soils; the wayside, the stony, the thorny and the good ground. There is tremendous quality in the word that's coming to us. However, if the ground of our hearts is not broken up and our heart is not open, we’re not good ground and the seed cannot lodge. How is the ground of your heart? In the book of Proverbs we are exhorted to keep our hearts with all diligence. Prov 4:23. Let the word of God plough up your heart. Let the word of God penetrate your heart. Let the ground of your heart be broken up so that the rain of the word, the dew of the word of God, can penetrate. In the book of Isaiah we read that the word of the Lord comes like the rain and the dew. And the ground, if it's open, will receive that rain and the rain will return to God. The dew will return in its cycle but it will not return without achieving that for which it was sent. Isa 55:11. That is only possible when the ground is open and broken and receptive.

In the second part of the parable, the kingdom of God is likened to a man who casts seed on the soil. He goes to bed at night and the seed sprouts and grows up. But the next verse says that the man himself does not know how the seed grows. Mark 4:27. Faith is an amazing mystery. According to the measure of the faith allotted to each of us, the seed will grow. There are many kinds of seed. In Australia we have the very fine eucalyptus seed or spore. The wind carries it and often in Australia, we see a big craggy rock face with a sixty foot eucalypt growing out of it! The interesting thing is this; if we live by the faith of the Son this principle comes into play immediately. It's not about making things grow. It grows we know not how. Every seed has its own DNA and its own capacity to grow.

In my garden during times of drought, I often let the weeds grow up around the young plants. The weeds shelter the little plant as it's growing and help keep the moisture in the soil. As the weeds grow up they also push the plants up to look for the light. Once the plant is large enough, I can then spray the grass down. Likewise, every seed or measure of faith from God has within it an ability to produce the thing for which it was given. We don't need to worry about how it grows. We only need to worry about killing it! Think of the harsh environment in Australia. Plants grow with little water. Most people kill indoor plants by over watering not under watering. Most people kill things in their gardens, notwithstanding a drought, by over-fertilising. But if you put the right seed in its natural or right environment, it will grow. Life is resident within the seed so we should not be principally concerned with making something grow. Instead, we should not impede its growth.

The first phase of the parable of the sower addresses the good ground of our hearts. The second phase teaches that good seed will grow. ‘It grows we know not how.’ This passage has always been read in the negative. But I think it's meant to be read positively. Jesus went on to say, ‘If any man has ears to hear, let him hear’. Matt 13:19. He was saying, ‘Take care how you hear’, or as some translations suggest, ‘what you listen to’. He also told the disciples, ‘By your standard of measure it shall be measured to you, and more shall be given you besides this’. We sometimes interpret this verse to mean to take heed what we hear and be careful how we measure everybody, because if we measure them inappropriately we'll be measured the same way. But, I don't think it's saying that. If there is a measure of faith that has been meted to each one, then it's appropriate we hear in relation to that. It is quite simple. We don’t need to worry about anybody else. If we have been given faith for healing, we need to exercise that. If we've been given faith to preach the word, then we need to exercise it. There is faith for hospitality, faith for care, faith for every kind of gift. But, be careful how you hear. Be careful what you do with the allocation of faith that’s been given to you personally. So, by your standard of measure it shall be measured to you.

I get the sense that Christ Himself is standing at our side strengthening us by grace according to our measure of faith. He wants faith to promote grace which will then become blessing. He wants to bless the work of our hands. The final work of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was not faith or grace. Their final work was to lay hands on the next generation and to bless them. Blessing is the evident power of God in our life to bring forth fruit.

We can't ask for more faith in an area of our choosing. But we can find more faith where our measure is. And He continues, ‘And more shall be given you besides this’. Mark 4:25. For who ever has, to him shall more be given. And whoever does not have even what he has shall be taken away from him’. Matt 13:12. We also find those verses in the parable of the talents. Matt 25:29. There is a measure of faith.

The seed of faith grows ‘we know not how’, by loving and giving. There is nothing magical. There is no auto-suggestion. If we keep our heart with all diligence, we will love and we will give. In Galatians, we read of a Saviour who is now seated at the right hand of the Father and He is giving an allocation of faith to us. He is continuing to engage us while we live by His faith.

No one by reason of thought can add one cubit to their stature. A cubit is about 18 inches so it is a lot to add to your height! It is not going to be possible. We might be looking at someone with great ability and we might be of a moderate ability. But, that is of no moment for more can be given. Give yourself to your measure of faith. Think about it, pray about it and wait on your measure of faith so you can begin to bring forth fruit. This is the blessing of the fullness of Christ.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

The Word of Faith

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:21:00 GMT

by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

The nature of faith is easily misunderstood. For many Christians, faith is nothing more than the product of positive thinking. For some, it is that sense of certainty that accompanies success, as if to imply that when things are going well, they must be ‘in faith’. For others, faith is holding dogmatically to the literal promises of the Bible. However, in reality, faith has very little to do with things that impact upon our senses. Faith comes by hearing. It comes by a word of faith.

There is great benefit for the person who finds faith, and continually lives by faith. However, the apostle Paul said that if the word is not mixed with faith, it will ‘not profit’. We read in his letter to the Hebrews, ‘The word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith’. Heb 4:2. Most obviously, if it does ‘not profit you’, it has no benefit to you. However, more than that, it is the measure of how bountifully God deals with you. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, ‘He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully’. 2 Cor 9:6. When the word is mixed with faith, the Lord increases the harvest of your righteousness. He increases the profit to your account.

So, how does faith work? What does it mean to ‘mix the word with faith’? The Scripture refers to those that were ‘believing’ in Him. Or alternatively, it speaks of those who were ‘not believing’ in Him. Those who heard Him may have known who He was, or they may not have known who He was. Some may have understood His message. We suspect that most did not. However, these things are quite incidental. ‘Believing’ is not limited by our capacity to understand God’s purpose. The Lord says, ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts … for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways’. Isa 55:9. It would be a mistake to expect God to engage us in the way we think would be proper or appropriate. According to our judgements and expectations, we could be disappointed. According to our perspective, our commitment might waver.

When the word is coming to you, you may not understand it intellectually. Nonetheless, the word witnesses true within you. And while we may not always understand it, there is always an obligation to ‘believe’ it. How do we do that if we do not firstly understand? Quite simply, ‘believing’ the word is hearing, receiving, committing and obeying. That’s the key. That's what it means to mix the word with faith. You are hearing it; you are receiving it; you are committing to it, and you are obeying it. We can stall at any of these stages. Having heard the word, many did not receive Jesus. Some could not commit. And others did not obey.

The word coming to you, mixed with faith, will make you substantially more than you are. It is adding to you. You will begin to abound, because you are receiving life. And even more than receiving life, you are receiving it ‘more abundantly’. John 10:10. You are beginning to avail an abundant entry into an eternal kingdom.

However, this wonderful assurance comes with a sober warning. If the word is not mixed with faith, there is a negative outcome. When the word comes, there is no neutral ground. We either mix it with faith, or we must resist it. The word will keep coming to you and the more you resist the word, the more the word will have an effect upon you. The Scripture says, ‘So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to me empty without accomplishing what I desire’. Isa 55:11. The word has intent; it's going to do something. It is like a steam train coming down a hill. It has its cargo, its intent, and it’s going to achieve its goal. There is an effect, an activity of the word. And the momentum of the word is not disturbed by our perceptions. It is something that precedes and predates us. It's coming down from above. In all areas of our lives, we have to understand the activity of the word coming down from above. And we have to become commensurate with the word coming and mix it with faith.

Remember, we ‘walk by faith not by sight’. 2 Cor 5:7. Jesus said many times, in various situations, that He perceived certain things in people’s hearts. Something was happening as His hearers engaged the word. As the word was coming, they were hearing it, receiving it and they began to perceive something new. The word had an effect. Things were not as they appeared. The invisible was becoming visible. Things insubstantial were suddenly becoming substantial. The word of God is constantly calling into being things that are not, and giving life to the dead. We have to be receptive to this ‘other’ way of seeing things. We must align ourselves to the word coming to us. It is changing our views, changing our perceptions, and opening pathways.

We recall the words of Jesus to Peter, ‘When you were younger, you used to gird yourself, and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old … someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go’. John 21:18. When the word of God comes to you, it will confront you. It is going to change your path. It will not accord with the way you had planned for yourself. It's going to change your direction and your thinking. For some, this is an intimidating consideration. For one person a change of course, a change of direction, is something to rejoice in. For another person, it will shatter their whole world view. It all depends on the perception of the receiver.

The prophet Isaiah likened the word to the rain coming down from heaven. If the ground of your life is going to drink in the rain of the word, then the fallow ground of your life must be ploughed. Hence, the prophet Hosea declared, ‘Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you’. Hos 10:12. And this is exactly what happens. The Lord puts the plough into the ground of our lives and breaks it up. All our familiar, comfortable, historic traditions are met with the plough. These things hinder us from receiving the word of faith. To follow the analogy, when the ground is fallow and hard, the rain only washes the topsoil away. It washes away the fertility, and leaves an impervious surface such that the earth cannot drink in the rain. This is the outcome of resisting the word. You become impervious to it, and that word which you resisted will make you a sign and a wonder for judgement! The breaking up of fallow ground in our lives doesn’t need to be a trauma. In fact, it should be a time of rejoicing and expectation, for we know that the rain of the word is coming!

Jesus prayed that the faith of Peter would not fail, and He does the same for us. Why? Because if your faith fails, what are you going to mix with the word? You will mix unbelief; you will mix injustice, disadvantage, your sense of loss, and your expectations of the outcome. In contrast, when you mix the word with faith, often times you have no idea what’s happening. You just believe and obey. So, even without full understanding, things get clearer. There is certainty and confidence when you are in faith. There is no need to wonder if your faith is real. If you obey the word then you are evidently mixing it with faith. Do you know how you're mixing the word with faith? You hear it, receive it, commit to it, and obey it.

Every machination within you will potentially war against faith. It gives you reason to discount the word? When the word comes, do you dip down to unbelief, anger, or frustration? Do you slip into moroseness or exhaustion? In the moment of uncertainty, when the birds of the air might quickly snatch away the seed of the word, you must be ready. In that moment, you must immediately mix the word with faith.

And here is the good news! Even when you struggle to hear, to receive, to commit, and obey the word, there is help. Because all you need is a little faith like a mustard seed. Remember how the father of a sick boy cried out to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief’. Mark 9:24. If we cry out in this manner, our belief is helped with a little faith, able to grow into a mighty tree. All you have to do is cooperate with the word. You don't have to conjure up faith. Just quieten your heart and cooperate with the word coming. Keep mixing the word with faith. Then the word will profit you. It will benefit you. It will profit you, because it will begin to grow. It will begin to bring forth its own fruit and abundance. It will begin to bring forth its own increase, making you substantially different!

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Christian Resources

Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy