September 14
Today's Reading: Proverbs 19-21; 2 Corinthians 7
Today's Thoughts: Choose to Love
These things I command you, that you love one another. John 15:17
As a child, one of my favorite words was "why." I know it drove my parents crazy when I used it repeatedly. Why do I have to brush my teeth? Why do I need to eat those green things? The answer was always the same, "Because I told you so." There are times when we must submit and do as we are told. Children have little choice in the matter, but as adults we can choose our own course. Jesus tells us to "love one another." And even in this command, we have a choice. Have you ever found yourself wondering why you have to love that person who seems so undeserving? The answer is because Jesus says so.
Love is so important to Jesus that He summed up all Ten Commandments into tw love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. The Apostle Paul says in First Corinthians 13 that nothing we do really matters without love. But in today's world, we are confused about love. Movies and television lure us into fantasies about "true" love using sex, guilt and manipulation as tools to obtain love. When we are hurt by someone who says they love us, we begin to wonder if love really exists at all. Is love a feeling or is it an attitude or a behavior? Jesus knew exactly why He had to command us to love each other. Because we would not do it based upon our own feelings. We are human and our nature is sinful.
The only way to keep this commandment is to pray. Pray for God's love to fill your heart. Pray that you will love your enemies as well as your neighbor (the good and bad). Pray that you will love Jesus more everyday. It is only when we stop asking "why" and start asking "how" that we can truly know what love is.
Our mission is to evangelize the lost and awaken the saved to live empowered lives by the Work of God and His Holy Spirit. Daily Disciples Ministries makes a difference for the kingdom of God by teaching and training believers how to be in God's Word, how to pray and how to walk with Jesus every day, as His daily disciple.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
On taking a stand - Jeremiah - Prophet of the last days by Art Katz
FROM ART KATZ MINISTRIES
http://artkatzministries.org/jeremiah-%E2%80%93-prophet-of-the-last-days/
Jeremiah – Prophet of the Last Days
The absence of persecution in the church is a statement to our shame. There is something wrong in the character of the church when it does not evoke any opposition to itself. It means that the church has been found quite acceptable in the same world that is at enmity with God. It is this contradiction that we want to examine in an account from the life of Jeremiah.
Chapter 38 of Jeremiah gives the account of Jeremiah being placed in a muddy cistern, a hole in the ground. Zedekiah was the King of Israel in those days, and in refusing to heed Jeremiah’s warnings, Jerusalem was conquered.
Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own life as booty and stay alive…This city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it’ ”(Jer. 38:1-3).
The prophecy foretold the defeat of Israel, Judah, and the city of Jerusalem. Those who seek to resist such a word are warned that they are going to perish. If we were living at that time, many of us would have considered Jeremiah to be a false prophet. We would have said that he was saying things that were not in the “national interest,” or that he was “giving aid to the enemy,” or “harassing the church.”
It was exactly that indictment that came to Jeremiah, and I suspect may well be the distinguishing certification of God for the true prophet in the last days. In other words, the prophet’s message must necessarily be subversive to the vested interests of men and their traditional notions of God, and what they think is right. The message may well contradict all that they suppose is true about God and His way: “Would God destroy His own city? Would God destroy present-day Israel, having established it in 1948?”
Then the officials said to the king, “Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm.” So King Zedekiah said, “Behold he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you” (Jer. 38:4-5).
A king like that who abdicates his own responsibility to make ultimate judgments, particularly about prophets of God, deserves judgment. Nothing has changed. The leaders of this world are very much of the same spirit. They work according to the polls, i.e., “Which way is the wind blowing? What are the people saying? What do they want?” And the answer to those questions is what they will do.
Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud (Jer. 38:6).
There was no whisper to Jeremiah of, “Hey, this is only temporary. Stick this out for a day or two. We will be back and get you out.” That pit was intended for Jeremiah’s death. There was no food, no water, no light and no warmth. That was to be his end. There was no thought that he was ever to be retrieved. I do not think that Jeremiah was given any encouragement that there would be a future escape from his predicament. He had the full expectation that this was his end. This needs to sink into our spirits. As far as we are concerned, we should have a realistic anticipation that when the end seems to come, that that in fact is the end. Except it pleases the Lord, it will be the end. But if it pleases the Lord, then there is no pit too deep, too remote or too hidden that He cannot find and rescue us from.
The prophet is suffering the consequences of his obedience to God. He could have been saved this fate had he been more decorous and politic, and careful what he said and how he said it. But in the kind of simple obedience that he rendered, “Thus says the Lord, ‘This city is going to be captured….,’ ” he was inviting this kind of reaction. He did not have his own self-interest at heart, but was bringing upon himself the logical response that his statement would make in his obedience to God. Persecution is proportionate to obedience. God does not call us to the things that are trifles, but to obedience in the things that necessarily will antagonize and run across the grain of the world and what men want to hear.
There was no illumination in that cistern. It was not something made for human habitation. At that time, all the water was gone, and there was only mud remaining. Can you imagine going into that mud and ooze? Where do you find a place lay down for some kind of momentary comfort? The mud is in your eyes and teeth and hair. It is absolutely wretched! I think I would rather be shot, maybe even burned at the stake, than be lowered to die from starvation and thirst in a mud hole.
But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, while he was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. Now the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin (Jer. 38:7).
“Ebed” means “servant” and “Melech” means “king.” He was a black man and the servant to King Zedekiah. He was also a eunuch. In those days, they fixed a man so that he could render service that would not in any way threaten the harem of these nobles and kings. He was a man of lowly circumstances, being black, a eunuch and a servant. Yet this was God’s provision to bring the prophet up out from death. The lowliest social cast-off is the one that God had chosen to be the instrument of Jeremiah’s deliverance.
This episode may well be a picture of the remnant of Israel in the last days; that its last experience is to be cast off and out and thrown into a pit for death. Her dispersal will again be into the nations and into the dungeons of imprisonment in the last days. And God will save them out of those pits, dungeons and confinements by some lowly thing of His choice like, for example, the predominantly Gentile church. There is a place for the despised of the world in the last days’ purposes of God, and it has to do with the final, ultimate salvation and redemption of His people Israel. This is the way of God from all eternity. It is so much the statement of His wisdom. The thing that the world looks upon as foolish and despicable is the thing that He employs for a most glorious use: to save His ancient people out from death.
And Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and spoke to the king, saying, “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city” (Jer. 38:8-9).
As a eunuch, you do not just go to a king and say, “Hey, buddy, can I make a suggestion?” What an effrontery! For this eunuch to even approach the king and to make mention of a prophet, who is in dishonor, was a remarkable act of courage in itself. And he was not even a Hebrew! The lowly and despised have a greater sense for God and righteousness than the supposed people of God who will be looking the other way. Where were the faithful of God who knew that Jeremiah was going to suffer such a fate? Yet here was a man willing to take the risk of aggravating and endangering himself by encountering the king.
What one does to the prophet is what one does to God. The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. When you touch the prophetic man, you are touching the heart of God. The prophet is nothing in himself. It is neither his wisdom nor his words that are being exhibited. He is the mouthpiece and expression of very God Himself. To touch him is to touch the very God who sent him. To do him disservice, or assault, is to lay your hands upon God.
Then the king commanded Ebed–melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take thirty men from here under your authority, and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the prophet the cistern before he dies” (Jer. 38:10).
It is clear that the throwing of Jeremiah into the cistern was not a momentary vacation. It was intended for his death, and probably the king’s conscience was bothering him, having given those men permission to do it. And so he was no doubt relieved that someone took the initiative to give him the opportunity to save himself from a wrong decision.
So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority and went into the king’s palace to a place beneath the storeroom and took from there worn-out rags and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah (Jer. 38:11).
This is not a trivial detail. God’s deliverance is carried out by employing the lowest of the low, the thing that is the least prestigious, the most insignificant, the poorest, the most despised. In this case, it is worn-out rags! Didn’t they have a decent rope harness in the kingdom appropriate to a prophet? No, they let down some old clothing and rags to pull the prophet out of the pit. This is prophetic from beginning to end. The Lord Himself has got to be our dependency, and it is He who always chooses the foolish and weak thing.
Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes”; and Jeremiah did so.
So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse (Jer. 38:12-13).
The king then sends for the prophet.
Then King Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; do not hide anything from me.”
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”
But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret saying, “As the Lord lives, who made this life for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over to the hand of these men who seek your life.”
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘If you will indeed go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will survive.
But if you will not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given over to the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and you yourself will not escape from their hand.’ ”
Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I dread the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldeans, lest they give me over into their hand and they abuse me.”
But Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, that it may go well with you and you may live.
But if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word that the Lord has shown me:
Then behold, all of the women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and those women will say, ‘Your close friends have misled and overpowered you; while your feet were sunk in the mire, they turned back’ ” (Jer. 38:14-22).
This is a prophecy of what would befall the king, his entourage, his family, and the nobles if he refused to surrender. He did in fact refuse, and everything that Jeremiah said came true. The city was burned with fire; all of Zedekiah’s sons were killed before his face, and then his eyes were gouged out. The last thing he saw was the murder of his sons, and then in chains and fetters, he was taken to Babylon to live the rest of his life in humiliation and degradation as a prisoner.
When you ask for the prophetic word, make sure you have an intention of obeying it. To hear the prophetic word, and then ignore it, will bring spiritual blindness upon yourself. In this case, the king’s eyes were actually gouged out. You cannot hear the word of God and the prophetic word casually, as if there is no consequence. Either it is going to open your eyes to greater illumination, or it is going to bring a deepened darkness. This episode is charged with remarkable significance. The Chaldeans did not know this conversation, but they plucked Zedekiah’s eyes out nevertheless. So the remarkable judgment of God took its full sway, even through Gentiles, who had no knowledge of that God, let alone of being instructed by Him.
So complete is the sovereignty of God in honoring the prophetic word that it was fulfilled right to the letter. The king was told, “If you surrender, your family will be preserved, the city will be preserved, and your own life will be preserved.” He chose not to surrender. It was the fear of man and what might fall on him through man that kept him from obedience to God. The fear of man was greater than the fear of God.
You can just read a glimpse of that judgment in chapter 39, which is the fall of Jerusalem in the tenth month. The city of God and the temple were burned, the nobles were killed. Nobles are the people of culture, refinement, education and intelligence. When you destroy them, there is not much left. In fact, the only ones who were allowed to remain in Judah were those who had no distinction, no qualification and no especial ability. But the cream of the crop that distinguished Israel as a nation of significance was destroyed. That has always been the tactic of victorious, triumphant armies; they break the back of a nation by destroying the heart and the quality of it, leaving just a residue of the poor and undistinguished. Israel could have been saved that had they heeded the prophet.
Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying, “Take him and look after him, and do nothing harmful to him; but rather deal with him just as he tells you” (Jer. 39:11-12).
The Gentiles “enemies” of Judah were more respectful to the prophet of God than God’s own people. Special instructions were issued from the very king of Babylon himself to preserve the prophet and to decently care for him.
Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was confined in the court of the guardhouse, saying, “Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day.
But I will deliver you on that day,’ declares the Lord, ‘and you shall not be given in to the hand of the men whom you dread.
For I will certainly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as a booty, because you have trusted in Me,’ declares the Lord’ ” (Jer. 39:15-18).
God went out of His way for this black man to inform him that he was to be preserved. What a statement of how much God honored that self-initiated thing that preserved the life of his prophet, and therefore became life for that black man himself.
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains, among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah, who were being exiled to Babylon.
Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “The Lord your God promised this calamity against this place;
And the Lord has brought it on and done just as He promised. Because you people sinned against the Lord and did not listen to His voice, therefore this thing has happened to you (Jer. 40: 1-3).
Imagine the captain of the guard, a Gentile Chaldean, recognizing the prophetic truth, and even the cause of the judgment. It is like God was punctuating the message of judgment out of the lips of a Gentile, who would have been completely removed from the understanding of the God of Israel, yet recognizing nevertheless that this was a judgment for sin against that city and nation.
So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ration and a gift and let him go.
Then Jeremiah went to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land (Jer. 40:5f –6).
Though Jeremiah had been thrown into the pit, a most shameful and degrading way for man to end his life, yet he was preserved. The Lord brings him out, spares his life, gives him honor even with the enemy, and is released from chains, given food, a present and told to take his liberty as he felt led and directed. The fact that the thought would come to a Gentile to give a gift to the prophet has got to be the inspiration of God to a man who is not even regenerate. It is almost like God is saying, “Look, you were obedient to me and took every risk, and it came close to requiring your life, but I have saved you out of the pit, and I have set you free, and here is a final token of My esteem, My affection and appreciation for your uncompromising devotion to Me.”
There is nothing that men can do, however fierce and bitter their anger, against the servants of God that can in any way triumph over God’s own will. He can undo the most diabolical intentions. For those saints whose lives were not spared death, the reader may raise a question, “Was He unable to do for them what He did for Jeremiah, or was their death in His will?” My answer is that they were not to be delivered from it, but delivered in it. The testimony of many who have been burned at the stake is a visible demonstration of joy in their final suffering.
Jeremiah’s time in the pit did not in any way compromise him. In that, we are given a glimpse of what makes a prophet a prophet; his character has a selfless unconcern about his own life. It did not matter what befell him. Two value systems are demonstrated. The one seeks its own life, the material thing, and the benefits of this life, as against the prophet who disregards what the consequence would be for himself.
The Lord is gracious and gentle in giving warning of His judgments. They come in installments, but when people keep refusing to hear, there remains only sudden judgment: Zedekiah blinded and losing his sons, the nation itself destroyed, the temple and city burned, and the final survivors being pursued with the sword and famine and pestilence into Egypt.
We are either going to live from every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, or we will perish. The people did not live by the word of the Lord from the mouth of the prophet. Had they heeded it and received it, it would have been life for them. The rejection of it was their death. They calculated their security along other lines, which is, in the last analysis, idolatrous and God-rejecting. It must bring judgment, especially being the people of God. They were under a double indictment because they had the greater responsibility—the knowledge of God and His provision for them throughout all their history. They had forsaken the Law and the commandments, despite the warnings that God had sent them through His prophets of what the consequence of that rejection would be.
Jeremiah was obedient to God despite any visible evidence that he was being heard by God’s people or being received. It is an excruciating form of suffering. It is like having your guts torn out. There is something in our humanity that cries out for some recognition, “Well done, brother, I appreciated that word.” But for Jeremiah and any true prophet, there was nothing. He had to bear that, though it was death for him.
The two great prophets of restoration are the prophets who brought the words of doom and judgment: Ezekiel and Jeremiah. They were given the privilege of speaking about a last days’ restoration: “It shall come to pass in the last days that God will…” That honor was given to those who had to bear the dishonor and shame. Only a true prophet is willing to bear the reproach of it in the suffering of it. The question for us as the church is whether we will be identified with something that is true in the last days, and that speaks of the judgments to come.
http://artkatzministries.org/jeremiah-%E2%80%93-prophet-of-the-last-days/
Jeremiah – Prophet of the Last Days
The absence of persecution in the church is a statement to our shame. There is something wrong in the character of the church when it does not evoke any opposition to itself. It means that the church has been found quite acceptable in the same world that is at enmity with God. It is this contradiction that we want to examine in an account from the life of Jeremiah.
Chapter 38 of Jeremiah gives the account of Jeremiah being placed in a muddy cistern, a hole in the ground. Zedekiah was the King of Israel in those days, and in refusing to heed Jeremiah’s warnings, Jerusalem was conquered.
Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own life as booty and stay alive…This city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it’ ”(Jer. 38:1-3).
The prophecy foretold the defeat of Israel, Judah, and the city of Jerusalem. Those who seek to resist such a word are warned that they are going to perish. If we were living at that time, many of us would have considered Jeremiah to be a false prophet. We would have said that he was saying things that were not in the “national interest,” or that he was “giving aid to the enemy,” or “harassing the church.”
It was exactly that indictment that came to Jeremiah, and I suspect may well be the distinguishing certification of God for the true prophet in the last days. In other words, the prophet’s message must necessarily be subversive to the vested interests of men and their traditional notions of God, and what they think is right. The message may well contradict all that they suppose is true about God and His way: “Would God destroy His own city? Would God destroy present-day Israel, having established it in 1948?”
Then the officials said to the king, “Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm.” So King Zedekiah said, “Behold he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you” (Jer. 38:4-5).
A king like that who abdicates his own responsibility to make ultimate judgments, particularly about prophets of God, deserves judgment. Nothing has changed. The leaders of this world are very much of the same spirit. They work according to the polls, i.e., “Which way is the wind blowing? What are the people saying? What do they want?” And the answer to those questions is what they will do.
Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud (Jer. 38:6).
There was no whisper to Jeremiah of, “Hey, this is only temporary. Stick this out for a day or two. We will be back and get you out.” That pit was intended for Jeremiah’s death. There was no food, no water, no light and no warmth. That was to be his end. There was no thought that he was ever to be retrieved. I do not think that Jeremiah was given any encouragement that there would be a future escape from his predicament. He had the full expectation that this was his end. This needs to sink into our spirits. As far as we are concerned, we should have a realistic anticipation that when the end seems to come, that that in fact is the end. Except it pleases the Lord, it will be the end. But if it pleases the Lord, then there is no pit too deep, too remote or too hidden that He cannot find and rescue us from.
The prophet is suffering the consequences of his obedience to God. He could have been saved this fate had he been more decorous and politic, and careful what he said and how he said it. But in the kind of simple obedience that he rendered, “Thus says the Lord, ‘This city is going to be captured….,’ ” he was inviting this kind of reaction. He did not have his own self-interest at heart, but was bringing upon himself the logical response that his statement would make in his obedience to God. Persecution is proportionate to obedience. God does not call us to the things that are trifles, but to obedience in the things that necessarily will antagonize and run across the grain of the world and what men want to hear.
There was no illumination in that cistern. It was not something made for human habitation. At that time, all the water was gone, and there was only mud remaining. Can you imagine going into that mud and ooze? Where do you find a place lay down for some kind of momentary comfort? The mud is in your eyes and teeth and hair. It is absolutely wretched! I think I would rather be shot, maybe even burned at the stake, than be lowered to die from starvation and thirst in a mud hole.
But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, while he was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. Now the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin (Jer. 38:7).
“Ebed” means “servant” and “Melech” means “king.” He was a black man and the servant to King Zedekiah. He was also a eunuch. In those days, they fixed a man so that he could render service that would not in any way threaten the harem of these nobles and kings. He was a man of lowly circumstances, being black, a eunuch and a servant. Yet this was God’s provision to bring the prophet up out from death. The lowliest social cast-off is the one that God had chosen to be the instrument of Jeremiah’s deliverance.
This episode may well be a picture of the remnant of Israel in the last days; that its last experience is to be cast off and out and thrown into a pit for death. Her dispersal will again be into the nations and into the dungeons of imprisonment in the last days. And God will save them out of those pits, dungeons and confinements by some lowly thing of His choice like, for example, the predominantly Gentile church. There is a place for the despised of the world in the last days’ purposes of God, and it has to do with the final, ultimate salvation and redemption of His people Israel. This is the way of God from all eternity. It is so much the statement of His wisdom. The thing that the world looks upon as foolish and despicable is the thing that He employs for a most glorious use: to save His ancient people out from death.
And Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and spoke to the king, saying, “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city” (Jer. 38:8-9).
As a eunuch, you do not just go to a king and say, “Hey, buddy, can I make a suggestion?” What an effrontery! For this eunuch to even approach the king and to make mention of a prophet, who is in dishonor, was a remarkable act of courage in itself. And he was not even a Hebrew! The lowly and despised have a greater sense for God and righteousness than the supposed people of God who will be looking the other way. Where were the faithful of God who knew that Jeremiah was going to suffer such a fate? Yet here was a man willing to take the risk of aggravating and endangering himself by encountering the king.
What one does to the prophet is what one does to God. The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. When you touch the prophetic man, you are touching the heart of God. The prophet is nothing in himself. It is neither his wisdom nor his words that are being exhibited. He is the mouthpiece and expression of very God Himself. To touch him is to touch the very God who sent him. To do him disservice, or assault, is to lay your hands upon God.
Then the king commanded Ebed–melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take thirty men from here under your authority, and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the prophet the cistern before he dies” (Jer. 38:10).
It is clear that the throwing of Jeremiah into the cistern was not a momentary vacation. It was intended for his death, and probably the king’s conscience was bothering him, having given those men permission to do it. And so he was no doubt relieved that someone took the initiative to give him the opportunity to save himself from a wrong decision.
So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority and went into the king’s palace to a place beneath the storeroom and took from there worn-out rags and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah (Jer. 38:11).
This is not a trivial detail. God’s deliverance is carried out by employing the lowest of the low, the thing that is the least prestigious, the most insignificant, the poorest, the most despised. In this case, it is worn-out rags! Didn’t they have a decent rope harness in the kingdom appropriate to a prophet? No, they let down some old clothing and rags to pull the prophet out of the pit. This is prophetic from beginning to end. The Lord Himself has got to be our dependency, and it is He who always chooses the foolish and weak thing.
Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes”; and Jeremiah did so.
So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse (Jer. 38:12-13).
The king then sends for the prophet.
Then King Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; do not hide anything from me.”
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”
But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret saying, “As the Lord lives, who made this life for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over to the hand of these men who seek your life.”
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘If you will indeed go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will survive.
But if you will not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given over to the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and you yourself will not escape from their hand.’ ”
Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I dread the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldeans, lest they give me over into their hand and they abuse me.”
But Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, that it may go well with you and you may live.
But if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word that the Lord has shown me:
Then behold, all of the women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and those women will say, ‘Your close friends have misled and overpowered you; while your feet were sunk in the mire, they turned back’ ” (Jer. 38:14-22).
This is a prophecy of what would befall the king, his entourage, his family, and the nobles if he refused to surrender. He did in fact refuse, and everything that Jeremiah said came true. The city was burned with fire; all of Zedekiah’s sons were killed before his face, and then his eyes were gouged out. The last thing he saw was the murder of his sons, and then in chains and fetters, he was taken to Babylon to live the rest of his life in humiliation and degradation as a prisoner.
When you ask for the prophetic word, make sure you have an intention of obeying it. To hear the prophetic word, and then ignore it, will bring spiritual blindness upon yourself. In this case, the king’s eyes were actually gouged out. You cannot hear the word of God and the prophetic word casually, as if there is no consequence. Either it is going to open your eyes to greater illumination, or it is going to bring a deepened darkness. This episode is charged with remarkable significance. The Chaldeans did not know this conversation, but they plucked Zedekiah’s eyes out nevertheless. So the remarkable judgment of God took its full sway, even through Gentiles, who had no knowledge of that God, let alone of being instructed by Him.
So complete is the sovereignty of God in honoring the prophetic word that it was fulfilled right to the letter. The king was told, “If you surrender, your family will be preserved, the city will be preserved, and your own life will be preserved.” He chose not to surrender. It was the fear of man and what might fall on him through man that kept him from obedience to God. The fear of man was greater than the fear of God.
You can just read a glimpse of that judgment in chapter 39, which is the fall of Jerusalem in the tenth month. The city of God and the temple were burned, the nobles were killed. Nobles are the people of culture, refinement, education and intelligence. When you destroy them, there is not much left. In fact, the only ones who were allowed to remain in Judah were those who had no distinction, no qualification and no especial ability. But the cream of the crop that distinguished Israel as a nation of significance was destroyed. That has always been the tactic of victorious, triumphant armies; they break the back of a nation by destroying the heart and the quality of it, leaving just a residue of the poor and undistinguished. Israel could have been saved that had they heeded the prophet.
Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying, “Take him and look after him, and do nothing harmful to him; but rather deal with him just as he tells you” (Jer. 39:11-12).
The Gentiles “enemies” of Judah were more respectful to the prophet of God than God’s own people. Special instructions were issued from the very king of Babylon himself to preserve the prophet and to decently care for him.
Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was confined in the court of the guardhouse, saying, “Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day.
But I will deliver you on that day,’ declares the Lord, ‘and you shall not be given in to the hand of the men whom you dread.
For I will certainly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as a booty, because you have trusted in Me,’ declares the Lord’ ” (Jer. 39:15-18).
God went out of His way for this black man to inform him that he was to be preserved. What a statement of how much God honored that self-initiated thing that preserved the life of his prophet, and therefore became life for that black man himself.
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains, among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah, who were being exiled to Babylon.
Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “The Lord your God promised this calamity against this place;
And the Lord has brought it on and done just as He promised. Because you people sinned against the Lord and did not listen to His voice, therefore this thing has happened to you (Jer. 40: 1-3).
Imagine the captain of the guard, a Gentile Chaldean, recognizing the prophetic truth, and even the cause of the judgment. It is like God was punctuating the message of judgment out of the lips of a Gentile, who would have been completely removed from the understanding of the God of Israel, yet recognizing nevertheless that this was a judgment for sin against that city and nation.
So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ration and a gift and let him go.
Then Jeremiah went to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land (Jer. 40:5f –6).
Though Jeremiah had been thrown into the pit, a most shameful and degrading way for man to end his life, yet he was preserved. The Lord brings him out, spares his life, gives him honor even with the enemy, and is released from chains, given food, a present and told to take his liberty as he felt led and directed. The fact that the thought would come to a Gentile to give a gift to the prophet has got to be the inspiration of God to a man who is not even regenerate. It is almost like God is saying, “Look, you were obedient to me and took every risk, and it came close to requiring your life, but I have saved you out of the pit, and I have set you free, and here is a final token of My esteem, My affection and appreciation for your uncompromising devotion to Me.”
There is nothing that men can do, however fierce and bitter their anger, against the servants of God that can in any way triumph over God’s own will. He can undo the most diabolical intentions. For those saints whose lives were not spared death, the reader may raise a question, “Was He unable to do for them what He did for Jeremiah, or was their death in His will?” My answer is that they were not to be delivered from it, but delivered in it. The testimony of many who have been burned at the stake is a visible demonstration of joy in their final suffering.
Jeremiah’s time in the pit did not in any way compromise him. In that, we are given a glimpse of what makes a prophet a prophet; his character has a selfless unconcern about his own life. It did not matter what befell him. Two value systems are demonstrated. The one seeks its own life, the material thing, and the benefits of this life, as against the prophet who disregards what the consequence would be for himself.
The Lord is gracious and gentle in giving warning of His judgments. They come in installments, but when people keep refusing to hear, there remains only sudden judgment: Zedekiah blinded and losing his sons, the nation itself destroyed, the temple and city burned, and the final survivors being pursued with the sword and famine and pestilence into Egypt.
We are either going to live from every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, or we will perish. The people did not live by the word of the Lord from the mouth of the prophet. Had they heeded it and received it, it would have been life for them. The rejection of it was their death. They calculated their security along other lines, which is, in the last analysis, idolatrous and God-rejecting. It must bring judgment, especially being the people of God. They were under a double indictment because they had the greater responsibility—the knowledge of God and His provision for them throughout all their history. They had forsaken the Law and the commandments, despite the warnings that God had sent them through His prophets of what the consequence of that rejection would be.
Jeremiah was obedient to God despite any visible evidence that he was being heard by God’s people or being received. It is an excruciating form of suffering. It is like having your guts torn out. There is something in our humanity that cries out for some recognition, “Well done, brother, I appreciated that word.” But for Jeremiah and any true prophet, there was nothing. He had to bear that, though it was death for him.
The two great prophets of restoration are the prophets who brought the words of doom and judgment: Ezekiel and Jeremiah. They were given the privilege of speaking about a last days’ restoration: “It shall come to pass in the last days that God will…” That honor was given to those who had to bear the dishonor and shame. Only a true prophet is willing to bear the reproach of it in the suffering of it. The question for us as the church is whether we will be identified with something that is true in the last days, and that speaks of the judgments to come.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Faith lika a 2 * 4 - http://lifehealingministries.com/?p=1125
Published by Jerry Baysinger on 06 Sep 2009 at 08:19 pm
FAITH LIKE A 2X4
This week I have been in my father-in-law’s old house that he is restoring, it’s likely over 100 years old. The high walls are plaster and lath, and it has solid oak floors. The 2×4s actually measure 2×4 in the original part of the house. But where it has been added onto through the years, the lumber dimensions just keep getting smaller and smaller. In one part, the “2×4s” measure 1 7/’8 x 3 ¾. In another part of the house, the “2×4s” measure 1 5/8 x 3 5/8. In the most recent additions, the “2×4s” measure 1 ½ x 3 ½ . What’s the problem? trying to get the new to line up with the old. The old is “full size” and full strength, while each successive downsizing is weaker than the original, not to mention smaller. So to make things fit, you have to shim and space and leave a lot of hollow spots, which of course have no strength. This is the problem carpenters face when trying to restore an old house, the new stuff we have available today just doesn’t measure up with the original materials the house was built with. It’s not only smaller and weaker and inferior to the original, to make matters worse, it costs more.
The Lord showed me this today, as I was ministering to a man on the phone, I was walking around the house looking at the wood, and noticing the different dimensions of the lumber. Here the Lord revealed to me why we often come up short when using our faith against trials we face. To put it simply, we are facing trials that require full 2×4 faith, and we’re trying to get by with 1 ½ x 3 ½ faith.
How is it the faith we are using today doesn’t measure up? We have spent too much time listening to preachers, and not enough time reading the Word. Through the years, God has remained unchanged. The original scriptures remain unchanged. The Hebrew language is a complex mathematical formula in which every word has a numerical value, and the sum total of each line of words must add up the same each time it’s copied, or it’s wrong. Therefore, the scribes were able to ascertain the accuracy of the words they copied. Sentences had to match, pages had to match, numerical values had to match, or they were discarded and they started over. How is that significant? Simple, the Word was passed down generation to generation full strength, and it was never downsized to save ink or paper.
However, some preachers and churches have “watered down the Word”, by making changes in the translations of certain words. Add to that error brought in by some claiming promises the original scriptures never included, or leaving out promises the original scriptures did include. That necessitates going back to the original text to verify what the Word truly says, and then adhering to that without wavering. Few people are willing to do that, being lazy.
Far too many times I have found the faith being preached today brings forth no real results. Oh, they holler and shout real loud and spew out a lot of religious sounding stuff, but there’s no power from on high to back it up. The true Gospel preached by Jesus and the original disciples brought forth results, real tangible healings and miracles. I’ll call it 2×4 faith. It was the real deal, industrial strength faith.
Add a few hundred years and we’re hearing a watered down gospel that is not backed up by God because it is not His Word, but merely the words and doctrines of men. And we wonder why when we’re hit with trials, we fold like last week’s newspaper? The Lord told me years ago that if I would preach HIS WORD, then He would confirm it and back it up from heaven. But if I add my own “gospel” to it, He isn’t obligated to back it up, because He’s only obligated to back up the promises HE made. And that makes good sense. If I find your checkbook laying in the street and start writing checks, once you notify the bank it isn’t your signature on them, you will not be obligated to make those checks good. The same goes for the Gospel. If it is preached like it is written, God will back it up, and you have no worries, period.
You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff I’ve heard preached out there, outlandish stuff that has its roots in “traditions of men”, and some of it sounds real good, and most of it caters to the lusts of the flesh, but has absolutely nothing to do with the Word. Here’s a real-life application of that: make a circle of twenty people, and speak three or four sentences to the person on your right, and have them repeat what you said to the person on their right. I promise you, by the time it gets all the way around back to you, it will be different. Now, if you had written it down and told the person on the right to read it and pass it down, when it comes back around, it would still be the same, by virtue of the written word.
People often get up and start preaching out of their head, and leave the Word laying there unread. Then gullible people hear that, and repeat it, adding their own version of their understanding to it, and by the time it’s been repeated a few dozen times, there isn’t much Word of God left in it, if any. Then someone will take what was heard and apply it to a trial he or she is facing, and upon finding it isn’t bringing any relief to the situation, starts to doubt God’s providence and Word. They pray claiming thus and thus, and it’s like the Lord says, Did I say that in my Word? I don’t remember saying that. Remember, God only backs up HIS Word.
Me, I like to read what God said in the Word, because that settles every issue with “IT IS WRITTEN”. You and I can take our personal opinion of what the Word says and a dollar and buy a cup of coffee with it, that’s how much it’s worth. But God’s Word works, everytime.
We can take 1 ½ x 3 ½ faith and call it 2×4 faith all we want to, but if our faith doesn’t measure up to the original, it will fall short of getting the job done every time, do you understand that? If it isn’t getting the job done like it did for the original disciples, then it isn’t the Gospel that Jesus preached, nor the full measure of what they had back then, but rather a down-sized economy version. People must stop listening to every “new revelation” preacher that comes down the pike with their promises that come up empty when the heat is on. There isn’t any “new revelation” out there, only the Word that was true in the beginning and it’s true today. When we build our faith upon the doctrines of men, it will fail us when we need it the most. That’s why Jesus warned us to beware of false prophets. The Word of God is the real deal, and if we stick with it, we are assured it will bring us victory in any situation.
When confronted with temptations and trials of the devil, Jesus said “It is written….” Evidently what was written in Jesus’ day was the real deal, because it worked. But are you sure that when YOU say, “It is written” that it is the same “It is written” that Jesus referred to? Because if it is, it will bring forth the same results for you that it did for Him. When the devil comes giving you trouble, and he will because that’s just his nature, be sure you have a 2×4 to hit him upside the head with, not just a stick.
FAITH LIKE A 2X4
This week I have been in my father-in-law’s old house that he is restoring, it’s likely over 100 years old. The high walls are plaster and lath, and it has solid oak floors. The 2×4s actually measure 2×4 in the original part of the house. But where it has been added onto through the years, the lumber dimensions just keep getting smaller and smaller. In one part, the “2×4s” measure 1 7/’8 x 3 ¾. In another part of the house, the “2×4s” measure 1 5/8 x 3 5/8. In the most recent additions, the “2×4s” measure 1 ½ x 3 ½ . What’s the problem? trying to get the new to line up with the old. The old is “full size” and full strength, while each successive downsizing is weaker than the original, not to mention smaller. So to make things fit, you have to shim and space and leave a lot of hollow spots, which of course have no strength. This is the problem carpenters face when trying to restore an old house, the new stuff we have available today just doesn’t measure up with the original materials the house was built with. It’s not only smaller and weaker and inferior to the original, to make matters worse, it costs more.
The Lord showed me this today, as I was ministering to a man on the phone, I was walking around the house looking at the wood, and noticing the different dimensions of the lumber. Here the Lord revealed to me why we often come up short when using our faith against trials we face. To put it simply, we are facing trials that require full 2×4 faith, and we’re trying to get by with 1 ½ x 3 ½ faith.
How is it the faith we are using today doesn’t measure up? We have spent too much time listening to preachers, and not enough time reading the Word. Through the years, God has remained unchanged. The original scriptures remain unchanged. The Hebrew language is a complex mathematical formula in which every word has a numerical value, and the sum total of each line of words must add up the same each time it’s copied, or it’s wrong. Therefore, the scribes were able to ascertain the accuracy of the words they copied. Sentences had to match, pages had to match, numerical values had to match, or they were discarded and they started over. How is that significant? Simple, the Word was passed down generation to generation full strength, and it was never downsized to save ink or paper.
However, some preachers and churches have “watered down the Word”, by making changes in the translations of certain words. Add to that error brought in by some claiming promises the original scriptures never included, or leaving out promises the original scriptures did include. That necessitates going back to the original text to verify what the Word truly says, and then adhering to that without wavering. Few people are willing to do that, being lazy.
Far too many times I have found the faith being preached today brings forth no real results. Oh, they holler and shout real loud and spew out a lot of religious sounding stuff, but there’s no power from on high to back it up. The true Gospel preached by Jesus and the original disciples brought forth results, real tangible healings and miracles. I’ll call it 2×4 faith. It was the real deal, industrial strength faith.
Add a few hundred years and we’re hearing a watered down gospel that is not backed up by God because it is not His Word, but merely the words and doctrines of men. And we wonder why when we’re hit with trials, we fold like last week’s newspaper? The Lord told me years ago that if I would preach HIS WORD, then He would confirm it and back it up from heaven. But if I add my own “gospel” to it, He isn’t obligated to back it up, because He’s only obligated to back up the promises HE made. And that makes good sense. If I find your checkbook laying in the street and start writing checks, once you notify the bank it isn’t your signature on them, you will not be obligated to make those checks good. The same goes for the Gospel. If it is preached like it is written, God will back it up, and you have no worries, period.
You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff I’ve heard preached out there, outlandish stuff that has its roots in “traditions of men”, and some of it sounds real good, and most of it caters to the lusts of the flesh, but has absolutely nothing to do with the Word. Here’s a real-life application of that: make a circle of twenty people, and speak three or four sentences to the person on your right, and have them repeat what you said to the person on their right. I promise you, by the time it gets all the way around back to you, it will be different. Now, if you had written it down and told the person on the right to read it and pass it down, when it comes back around, it would still be the same, by virtue of the written word.
People often get up and start preaching out of their head, and leave the Word laying there unread. Then gullible people hear that, and repeat it, adding their own version of their understanding to it, and by the time it’s been repeated a few dozen times, there isn’t much Word of God left in it, if any. Then someone will take what was heard and apply it to a trial he or she is facing, and upon finding it isn’t bringing any relief to the situation, starts to doubt God’s providence and Word. They pray claiming thus and thus, and it’s like the Lord says, Did I say that in my Word? I don’t remember saying that. Remember, God only backs up HIS Word.
Me, I like to read what God said in the Word, because that settles every issue with “IT IS WRITTEN”. You and I can take our personal opinion of what the Word says and a dollar and buy a cup of coffee with it, that’s how much it’s worth. But God’s Word works, everytime.
We can take 1 ½ x 3 ½ faith and call it 2×4 faith all we want to, but if our faith doesn’t measure up to the original, it will fall short of getting the job done every time, do you understand that? If it isn’t getting the job done like it did for the original disciples, then it isn’t the Gospel that Jesus preached, nor the full measure of what they had back then, but rather a down-sized economy version. People must stop listening to every “new revelation” preacher that comes down the pike with their promises that come up empty when the heat is on. There isn’t any “new revelation” out there, only the Word that was true in the beginning and it’s true today. When we build our faith upon the doctrines of men, it will fail us when we need it the most. That’s why Jesus warned us to beware of false prophets. The Word of God is the real deal, and if we stick with it, we are assured it will bring us victory in any situation.
When confronted with temptations and trials of the devil, Jesus said “It is written….” Evidently what was written in Jesus’ day was the real deal, because it worked. But are you sure that when YOU say, “It is written” that it is the same “It is written” that Jesus referred to? Because if it is, it will bring forth the same results for you that it did for Him. When the devil comes giving you trouble, and he will because that’s just his nature, be sure you have a 2×4 to hit him upside the head with, not just a stick.
Friday, September 4, 2009
SavedHealed http://lifehealingministries.com/?p=1122
Published by Jerry Baysinger on 04 Sep 2009 at 01:26 pm
WHICH IS EASIER: SALVATION, OR HEALING?
For some reason, people seem to be able to believe God for salvation, which they cannot see, but yet stumble when trying to believe for healing, which they can see. Why is that? When I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior, there was no coupon that came in the mail afterward which says “Admit one to heaven”. Maybe it got lost in the mail. But the point is, we receive salvation by faith, it is a gift of God freely given by an act of His sovereign will. Though mankind has desperate need for salvation, that need alone does not qualify us to receive.
When a gift is offered to you, even though in the eyes of the giver the ownership of that gift has already been transferred to you, the possession of that gift is not yours until you reach out and take it from the giver. Does that make sense to you? So therefore, it’s possible to own something and still not have it, by virtue of not taking possession of it. Think of it like a present sitting under a Christmas tree with the tag saying “To Johnny from Dad”. The present has actually belonged to Johnny ever since the day Dad bought it for him. During the weeks or months the present sat on the shelf hidden in the closet waiting for Christmas to come, the present was still Johnny’s. But Johnny didn’t have it, did he? When Dad finally put the presents under the tree Johnny could pick up the box and shake it and wonder what is inside the box, after all, it was his because it has his name on it. But until he opened that present and took it out of the box and used it, the gift did him no benefit, even though it was already his from the beginning.
So it is with the gift of God. It’s ours from the beginning according to the will and purpose of God, but until we take possession of it and put it to use, there is no benefit to us. Perhaps you’ve been taught that God has your “gifts” hidden away in His closet and they’re not for you to have right now, that you can have them later, when you get to heaven. And there are things that are for later, for example, Christmas presents are for Christmas, not the middle of May. But salvation and healing are for now, and God is not hiding them from you. Why now? Because now is when you have need of them!
The devil really doesn’t care if you want to get saved, as long as he can talk you into putting it off until “later”. In the meanwhile, he’s working his plan to keep you so occupied with other “stuff” that you never get around to giving your life over to God. To those of you who are sick and need healing in your body, the devil will do all he can to convince you God has done this to you, to punish you for something. The devil will do anything to keep you from earnestly seeking God, because he knows once you taste of the goodness of God, his days with you are numbered. And every day the devil is working his plan to bring you to your demise, hoping to keep you in ignorance of what God has so freely offered you for the here and now.
Now I’m going to explain another ploy the devil uses to rob us of God’s blessings. We will use Matthew 9:1-8 for the text:
Mat 9:2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
Mat 9:3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
Mat 9:4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
Mat 9:5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
Mat 9:6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
Mat 9:8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
Maybe you’ve never given much thought to this passage of scripture, but there is a treasure of information here for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Let’s look again at verse 5: For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? The religious people of the day got their shorts all in a knot over Jesus telling the man sick of the palsy that his sins were forgiven. They even accused Jesus of blasphemy, which was punishable by death according to the laws of Moses. After all, how could a mere man forgive sins? That was unheard of because they thought only God could forgive sins. Perhaps they forgot if someone sinned against them, they had the power to forgive them or not to.
Which is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? The Lord Jesus made it plain to the people that were there, that healing a person’s body is just as easy as their receiving forgiveness for their sins! Now, if Jesus says it’s as easy to receive your healing as it is to receive your salvation, then why do people today have so much trouble receiving their healing, as opposed to receiving salvation? What did Jesus do to answer His own question? He told the man who was lame of the palsy Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. By doing this, the Lord Jesus made it abundantly clear the man could have both forgiveness of sins and bodily healing, not in the “hereafter”, as some would have you think, but here and now! Some believe in the “hereafter”. I do too, I’m here after all the Lord has provided for us, and I’m not going to let the devil talk me out of any of it!
The problem begins when we start looking at circumstances. We will say a man comes to church who is quadriplegic in a wheel chair, having been paralyzed for twenty years. Can he be saved? Sure, we have no problem with that. He can ask the Lord Jesus to save him, and in the blink of an eye, his sins are forgiven. Can he be healed and get up and walk away and leave the wheel chair at church? Well now, that’s another matter altogether, or so we think. Did God say one was harder to do than the other? Not that I can find in the Bible, but man does. By doing so, man puts God in a box, and a little bitty man-sized box, at that.
The means whereby the devil uses to convince people that salvation is easier to receive than healing is not the issue here, but the fact that he does it is the issue. When we read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we clearly see the Lord Jesus healed all who came to Him, right then, right there, with no “someday you will be healed” ever being so much as mentioned by Jesus or any of His disciples. Don’t take my word for it, go search the scriptures for yourself! He commanded His disciples to go forth healing the sick, giving them power over every sickness and disease, and to cast out devils. And the disciples did not stop healing the sick when the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven. You can go on and read in the Epistles that Paul and the disciples healed the sick, and they continued to do and teach all that the Lord Jesus began to do and teach, according to Acts 1:1. The ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues being preached through His disciples (you and me) today, and will continue to be until the Lord Jesus comes back. And God will confirm the true Gospel being preached with signs and wonders today, even as He did then. Same Gospel, same God, just a different day.
Somewhere between Acts 1:1 and today, we’ve lost a gift that the Lord Jesus intended we have and use. Yes, the church still preaches salvation by the blood of Jesus, but some of the “benefits” have been stripped out of the Gospel by the doctrines of men. One of them I’m referring to is spoken of in Psalm 103:2-3; Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.
Are there other “benefits” the Lord would have us enjoy? He had them recorded in the Holy Bible, like precious treasures to be diligently sought out and taken possession of. They belong to those who will use them for the glory of God, and we can be sure the devil will try to conceal them from us. But God will reveal His truth to those who really seek to know it. Remember, every good gift comes from God, and He would have us enjoy and use them today, just as much as He did back then. However, as with receiving any gift, even though it’s yours by right of ownership granted you by the giver, you don’t get to use it until you reach out and take it.
So then, For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
That’s your cue……it’s time for you to make your move…God already made His!
WHICH IS EASIER: SALVATION, OR HEALING?
For some reason, people seem to be able to believe God for salvation, which they cannot see, but yet stumble when trying to believe for healing, which they can see. Why is that? When I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior, there was no coupon that came in the mail afterward which says “Admit one to heaven”. Maybe it got lost in the mail. But the point is, we receive salvation by faith, it is a gift of God freely given by an act of His sovereign will. Though mankind has desperate need for salvation, that need alone does not qualify us to receive.
When a gift is offered to you, even though in the eyes of the giver the ownership of that gift has already been transferred to you, the possession of that gift is not yours until you reach out and take it from the giver. Does that make sense to you? So therefore, it’s possible to own something and still not have it, by virtue of not taking possession of it. Think of it like a present sitting under a Christmas tree with the tag saying “To Johnny from Dad”. The present has actually belonged to Johnny ever since the day Dad bought it for him. During the weeks or months the present sat on the shelf hidden in the closet waiting for Christmas to come, the present was still Johnny’s. But Johnny didn’t have it, did he? When Dad finally put the presents under the tree Johnny could pick up the box and shake it and wonder what is inside the box, after all, it was his because it has his name on it. But until he opened that present and took it out of the box and used it, the gift did him no benefit, even though it was already his from the beginning.
So it is with the gift of God. It’s ours from the beginning according to the will and purpose of God, but until we take possession of it and put it to use, there is no benefit to us. Perhaps you’ve been taught that God has your “gifts” hidden away in His closet and they’re not for you to have right now, that you can have them later, when you get to heaven. And there are things that are for later, for example, Christmas presents are for Christmas, not the middle of May. But salvation and healing are for now, and God is not hiding them from you. Why now? Because now is when you have need of them!
The devil really doesn’t care if you want to get saved, as long as he can talk you into putting it off until “later”. In the meanwhile, he’s working his plan to keep you so occupied with other “stuff” that you never get around to giving your life over to God. To those of you who are sick and need healing in your body, the devil will do all he can to convince you God has done this to you, to punish you for something. The devil will do anything to keep you from earnestly seeking God, because he knows once you taste of the goodness of God, his days with you are numbered. And every day the devil is working his plan to bring you to your demise, hoping to keep you in ignorance of what God has so freely offered you for the here and now.
Now I’m going to explain another ploy the devil uses to rob us of God’s blessings. We will use Matthew 9:1-8 for the text:
Mat 9:2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
Mat 9:3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
Mat 9:4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
Mat 9:5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
Mat 9:6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
Mat 9:8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
Maybe you’ve never given much thought to this passage of scripture, but there is a treasure of information here for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Let’s look again at verse 5: For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? The religious people of the day got their shorts all in a knot over Jesus telling the man sick of the palsy that his sins were forgiven. They even accused Jesus of blasphemy, which was punishable by death according to the laws of Moses. After all, how could a mere man forgive sins? That was unheard of because they thought only God could forgive sins. Perhaps they forgot if someone sinned against them, they had the power to forgive them or not to.
Which is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? The Lord Jesus made it plain to the people that were there, that healing a person’s body is just as easy as their receiving forgiveness for their sins! Now, if Jesus says it’s as easy to receive your healing as it is to receive your salvation, then why do people today have so much trouble receiving their healing, as opposed to receiving salvation? What did Jesus do to answer His own question? He told the man who was lame of the palsy Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. By doing this, the Lord Jesus made it abundantly clear the man could have both forgiveness of sins and bodily healing, not in the “hereafter”, as some would have you think, but here and now! Some believe in the “hereafter”. I do too, I’m here after all the Lord has provided for us, and I’m not going to let the devil talk me out of any of it!
The problem begins when we start looking at circumstances. We will say a man comes to church who is quadriplegic in a wheel chair, having been paralyzed for twenty years. Can he be saved? Sure, we have no problem with that. He can ask the Lord Jesus to save him, and in the blink of an eye, his sins are forgiven. Can he be healed and get up and walk away and leave the wheel chair at church? Well now, that’s another matter altogether, or so we think. Did God say one was harder to do than the other? Not that I can find in the Bible, but man does. By doing so, man puts God in a box, and a little bitty man-sized box, at that.
The means whereby the devil uses to convince people that salvation is easier to receive than healing is not the issue here, but the fact that he does it is the issue. When we read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we clearly see the Lord Jesus healed all who came to Him, right then, right there, with no “someday you will be healed” ever being so much as mentioned by Jesus or any of His disciples. Don’t take my word for it, go search the scriptures for yourself! He commanded His disciples to go forth healing the sick, giving them power over every sickness and disease, and to cast out devils. And the disciples did not stop healing the sick when the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven. You can go on and read in the Epistles that Paul and the disciples healed the sick, and they continued to do and teach all that the Lord Jesus began to do and teach, according to Acts 1:1. The ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues being preached through His disciples (you and me) today, and will continue to be until the Lord Jesus comes back. And God will confirm the true Gospel being preached with signs and wonders today, even as He did then. Same Gospel, same God, just a different day.
Somewhere between Acts 1:1 and today, we’ve lost a gift that the Lord Jesus intended we have and use. Yes, the church still preaches salvation by the blood of Jesus, but some of the “benefits” have been stripped out of the Gospel by the doctrines of men. One of them I’m referring to is spoken of in Psalm 103:2-3; Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.
Are there other “benefits” the Lord would have us enjoy? He had them recorded in the Holy Bible, like precious treasures to be diligently sought out and taken possession of. They belong to those who will use them for the glory of God, and we can be sure the devil will try to conceal them from us. But God will reveal His truth to those who really seek to know it. Remember, every good gift comes from God, and He would have us enjoy and use them today, just as much as He did back then. However, as with receiving any gift, even though it’s yours by right of ownership granted you by the giver, you don’t get to use it until you reach out and take it.
So then, For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
That’s your cue……it’s time for you to make your move…God already made His!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
A devotional from Dr. K.P. Yohannan
When the Lord calls us to serve Him, our hearts are overjoyed. We are excited and eager to do our best. But very soon we discover that things would go a whole lot smoother if circumstances would be more favorable—if finances weren't so tight, if John Doe with his strange ideas wouldn't be in leadership, if we wouldn't have to work beside Mary Major with her overbearing personality.
As time goes by, our initial excitement wears off, and the irritations, disappointments and conflicts with others seem to grow stronger. Finally we get to the point where we can't take it anymore and we either start fighting for our rights or we quietly walk off with hurt and bitterness in our hearts.
Why couldn't we survive in serving the Lord, even though we began with willing and sincere hearts?
With the Same Mind
Could it be that we forgot we were in a battle that is not against flesh and blood? Instead, we end up fighting John and Mary instead of our real enemy. Did we arm ourselves correctly for the spiritual battle we entered as Paul describes in Ephesians? If our answer is yes, what are we still missing?
I believe our answer is found in the letter the Apostle Peter wrote near the end of his life: "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind" (1 Peter 4:1).
Have we armed ourselves with the willingness to suffer—to the same extent that Christ suffered for us when He was on earth?
I am well aware that the idea of embracing suffering does not fit our 21st-century concept of following and serving Christ. Yet the Bible teaches that suffering for Him is our privilege: "For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake" (Philippians 1:29).
Does that mean we all should seek out beatings and martyrdom? No, that's not what it means. The Lord wants us to arm ourselves with a mind to suffer just as He did, so the enemy has nothing to work with to get us out of the battle.
The Way to Obedience
We must never forget that Christ did not suffer just during His three years of public ministry or the last few days of His life when He was crucified. No, He suffered throughout His life on earth. He who was without sin lived daily with the corruption and sinfulness of lost humanity.
His own family members said He had gone mentally insane. The religious community misunderstood Him and called Him a demon-possessed man. His disciples didn't understand Him, and when He needed them most, they ran away. From birth to the cross, His life was full of pain, loneliness and constant misunderstanding. He is called a man of sorrows and grief. That's the Jesus of the New Testament.
In the midst of it all, He chose to suffer in the flesh by saying no to Himself. He never fought for Himself, argued His case or attacked anyone to defend His rights. And in the end, Jesus was able to say, "Not My will, but Thine," embracing the cross to fulfill His Father's will.
Suffering in the flesh became the means for Jesus to learn obedience to His Father. And His life is our model, says Peter: "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps" (1 Peter 2:21).
Finishing Strong
But what was the reason for Christ's suffering and death? To redeem mankind. And so it is with us. We can only become agents of redemption if we are willing to embrace suffering in the flesh—choosing to deny self and accepting death to our own desires
My dear friend, if you want to finish strong in your service to the Lord, then you must make a deliberate decision to arm yourself with a mind to suffer as Jesus did. It is never easy for our flesh when we choose to spend time alone in prayer, fast for several days, give up certain material possessions or perhaps follow the Lord's leading to a difficult mission field. But it's a choice we make for others.
Throughout his days as a disciple, Peter battled for his rights and the number-one position on the team. But in his letter, he tells us, in essence:
"Brothers and sisters, take Jesus as your example. The moment you remove yourselves from this reality, the devil will take advantage of you. And all of a sudden, relationships break down and revenge, bitterness and unforgiveness will take hold of you. Don't fight, don't argue, don't look for the first place for yourself. Don't look for anything. Always follow Him who suffered for you. This is the secret of staying in the battle."
And when we do this, nothing—no circumstances, disappointments, financial problems, misunderstandings or shortcomings of leaders and co-workers—will be able to take us out of the battle!
For the sake of Jesus and His kingdom, will you make this decision today?
Dr. K.P. Yohannan
Founder & President of Gospel for Asia
As time goes by, our initial excitement wears off, and the irritations, disappointments and conflicts with others seem to grow stronger. Finally we get to the point where we can't take it anymore and we either start fighting for our rights or we quietly walk off with hurt and bitterness in our hearts.
Why couldn't we survive in serving the Lord, even though we began with willing and sincere hearts?
With the Same Mind
Could it be that we forgot we were in a battle that is not against flesh and blood? Instead, we end up fighting John and Mary instead of our real enemy. Did we arm ourselves correctly for the spiritual battle we entered as Paul describes in Ephesians? If our answer is yes, what are we still missing?
I believe our answer is found in the letter the Apostle Peter wrote near the end of his life: "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind" (1 Peter 4:1).
Have we armed ourselves with the willingness to suffer—to the same extent that Christ suffered for us when He was on earth?
I am well aware that the idea of embracing suffering does not fit our 21st-century concept of following and serving Christ. Yet the Bible teaches that suffering for Him is our privilege: "For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake" (Philippians 1:29).
Does that mean we all should seek out beatings and martyrdom? No, that's not what it means. The Lord wants us to arm ourselves with a mind to suffer just as He did, so the enemy has nothing to work with to get us out of the battle.
The Way to Obedience
We must never forget that Christ did not suffer just during His three years of public ministry or the last few days of His life when He was crucified. No, He suffered throughout His life on earth. He who was without sin lived daily with the corruption and sinfulness of lost humanity.
His own family members said He had gone mentally insane. The religious community misunderstood Him and called Him a demon-possessed man. His disciples didn't understand Him, and when He needed them most, they ran away. From birth to the cross, His life was full of pain, loneliness and constant misunderstanding. He is called a man of sorrows and grief. That's the Jesus of the New Testament.
In the midst of it all, He chose to suffer in the flesh by saying no to Himself. He never fought for Himself, argued His case or attacked anyone to defend His rights. And in the end, Jesus was able to say, "Not My will, but Thine," embracing the cross to fulfill His Father's will.
Suffering in the flesh became the means for Jesus to learn obedience to His Father. And His life is our model, says Peter: "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps" (1 Peter 2:21).
Finishing Strong
But what was the reason for Christ's suffering and death? To redeem mankind. And so it is with us. We can only become agents of redemption if we are willing to embrace suffering in the flesh—choosing to deny self and accepting death to our own desires
My dear friend, if you want to finish strong in your service to the Lord, then you must make a deliberate decision to arm yourself with a mind to suffer as Jesus did. It is never easy for our flesh when we choose to spend time alone in prayer, fast for several days, give up certain material possessions or perhaps follow the Lord's leading to a difficult mission field. But it's a choice we make for others.
Throughout his days as a disciple, Peter battled for his rights and the number-one position on the team. But in his letter, he tells us, in essence:
"Brothers and sisters, take Jesus as your example. The moment you remove yourselves from this reality, the devil will take advantage of you. And all of a sudden, relationships break down and revenge, bitterness and unforgiveness will take hold of you. Don't fight, don't argue, don't look for the first place for yourself. Don't look for anything. Always follow Him who suffered for you. This is the secret of staying in the battle."
And when we do this, nothing—no circumstances, disappointments, financial problems, misunderstandings or shortcomings of leaders and co-workers—will be able to take us out of the battle!
For the sake of Jesus and His kingdom, will you make this decision today?
Dr. K.P. Yohannan
Founder & President of Gospel for Asia
A devotional from Dr. K. P. Yohannan
Keep Looking at What Jesus is Doing
John the Baptist sat in Herod's prison. Knowing that his life hung by a very thin thread, he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" (Luke 7:20). What had happened to the mighty, fearless preacher who called his whole nation to repentance and accused the Pharisees of being a brood of vipers?
John was born to elderly parents—an incredible miracle. Growing up, he must have heard them say countless times, "You are the one the prophet Isaiah wrote about, the one who will come in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way of the Lord." John had absolutely no doubt about his identity, and he knew how to answer those who asked if he was the Messiah. "I am not the Christ," he confessed. "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. . . . It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me" (John 1:20, 23, 27).
Shortly afterward, John publicly declared Jesus to be the Son of God and Israel's Messiah, proclaiming, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). This declaration testifies of the deep knowledge, revelation, conviction and understanding John had about God's purpose.
How did Jesus respond to John's confusion?
In prison, however, he wondered whether or not he had made a fatal mistake. John the Baptist—of whom Jesus testified that he was the greatest man born on earth—went through the worst confusion and doubt anyone can entertain: He questioned whether he'd failed his mission and misled his nation by declaring the wrong person to be the Messiah.
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" - John 1:29
The reason for his confusion was that he expected Jesus to use His power to rescue him and set up His kingdom.
Amazingly, Jesus didn't condemn him. Neither did He say to John's disciples, "You mean John sent you to ask Me these questions? It shows that he has lost it completely. I never thought he would fall by the wayside like anyone else." Instead, Jesus responded with understanding and compassion. First, He healed many who were sick, blind and lame, and He delivered those afflicted with evil spirits.
Then He told John's disciples, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me" (Luke 7:22–23).
What Jesus was saying to John was this: "John, it's all right. You are expecting Me to snap my fingers and get you out of prison and vindicate you. You are a righteous and wonderful individual, but that's not what I am going to do.
"When you serve Me, you will go through times of deep struggles. But if you keep looking at what I, the Lord, am doing, you will see that you have a part in all of it.
"John, don't forget that these blind people now see, the crippled walk and millions who were lost and bound for hell are turning to the Father. John, it's worth it."
How do we deal with others when they go through struggles?
When I was younger, I remember how aggressive, proud and absolutely certain I was about everything. I used to be so critical and judgmental toward other brothers and sisters who were going through difficult times full of doubt and confusion. Some of them wanted to quit the ministry. Instead of showing compassion for them, I would come up with Bible verses to preach at them.
Sometimes I did the same thing to my wife. One day, when I came home, her eyes were all red, and I asked her what was wrong. But before she could answer, I told her five Scripture references.
"Can you please stop preaching at me?" she asked. "I know all these Bible verses myself. The whole day I struggled with the kids and things at home. All I want is for you to understand what I am going through."
Let us learn from Jesus!
The next time we see our brother or sister discouraged and confused, let us not say with our mouth, "I will pray for you," while in our heart we are saying, "You creep, don't you know better?"
Instead, let us encourage them to keep looking at what Jesus is doing and see the difference that their lives are making for the kingdom of God.
And one more thing: When Jesus talked to the crowds about John, He never mentioned John's doubt and confusion. Instead, He made the most amazing statements about John's life and ministry.
Can we do the same with our brothers and sisters? Let us be willing to forget their problems and times of discouragement and see only the amazing things God has done in and through their lives. And then let us believe that He will do even greater things through them in the future.
Dr. K.P. Yohannan
Founder & President of Gospel for Asia
John the Baptist sat in Herod's prison. Knowing that his life hung by a very thin thread, he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" (Luke 7:20). What had happened to the mighty, fearless preacher who called his whole nation to repentance and accused the Pharisees of being a brood of vipers?
John was born to elderly parents—an incredible miracle. Growing up, he must have heard them say countless times, "You are the one the prophet Isaiah wrote about, the one who will come in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way of the Lord." John had absolutely no doubt about his identity, and he knew how to answer those who asked if he was the Messiah. "I am not the Christ," he confessed. "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. . . . It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me" (John 1:20, 23, 27).
Shortly afterward, John publicly declared Jesus to be the Son of God and Israel's Messiah, proclaiming, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). This declaration testifies of the deep knowledge, revelation, conviction and understanding John had about God's purpose.
How did Jesus respond to John's confusion?
In prison, however, he wondered whether or not he had made a fatal mistake. John the Baptist—of whom Jesus testified that he was the greatest man born on earth—went through the worst confusion and doubt anyone can entertain: He questioned whether he'd failed his mission and misled his nation by declaring the wrong person to be the Messiah.
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" - John 1:29
The reason for his confusion was that he expected Jesus to use His power to rescue him and set up His kingdom.
Amazingly, Jesus didn't condemn him. Neither did He say to John's disciples, "You mean John sent you to ask Me these questions? It shows that he has lost it completely. I never thought he would fall by the wayside like anyone else." Instead, Jesus responded with understanding and compassion. First, He healed many who were sick, blind and lame, and He delivered those afflicted with evil spirits.
Then He told John's disciples, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me" (Luke 7:22–23).
What Jesus was saying to John was this: "John, it's all right. You are expecting Me to snap my fingers and get you out of prison and vindicate you. You are a righteous and wonderful individual, but that's not what I am going to do.
"When you serve Me, you will go through times of deep struggles. But if you keep looking at what I, the Lord, am doing, you will see that you have a part in all of it.
"John, don't forget that these blind people now see, the crippled walk and millions who were lost and bound for hell are turning to the Father. John, it's worth it."
How do we deal with others when they go through struggles?
When I was younger, I remember how aggressive, proud and absolutely certain I was about everything. I used to be so critical and judgmental toward other brothers and sisters who were going through difficult times full of doubt and confusion. Some of them wanted to quit the ministry. Instead of showing compassion for them, I would come up with Bible verses to preach at them.
Sometimes I did the same thing to my wife. One day, when I came home, her eyes were all red, and I asked her what was wrong. But before she could answer, I told her five Scripture references.
"Can you please stop preaching at me?" she asked. "I know all these Bible verses myself. The whole day I struggled with the kids and things at home. All I want is for you to understand what I am going through."
Let us learn from Jesus!
The next time we see our brother or sister discouraged and confused, let us not say with our mouth, "I will pray for you," while in our heart we are saying, "You creep, don't you know better?"
Instead, let us encourage them to keep looking at what Jesus is doing and see the difference that their lives are making for the kingdom of God.
And one more thing: When Jesus talked to the crowds about John, He never mentioned John's doubt and confusion. Instead, He made the most amazing statements about John's life and ministry.
Can we do the same with our brothers and sisters? Let us be willing to forget their problems and times of discouragement and see only the amazing things God has done in and through their lives. And then let us believe that He will do even greater things through them in the future.
Dr. K.P. Yohannan
Founder & President of Gospel for Asia
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Sin and redemption - from wikipedia on the Jesus prayer
The Eastern Orthodox Church holds a non-juridical view of sin, by contrast to the satisfaction view of atonement for sin as articulated in the West, firstly by Anselm of Canterbury (as debt of honor) and Thomas Aquinas (as a moral debt). The terms used in the East are less legalistic (grace, punishment), and more medical (sickness, healing) with less exacting precision. Sin, therefore, does not carry with it the guilt for breaking a rule, but rather the impetus to become something more than what men usually are. One repents not because one is or isn't virtuous, but because human nature can change. Repentance (Greek: μετάνοια, metanoia, "changing one's mind") isn't remorse, justification, or punishment, but a continual enactment of one's freedom, deriving from renewed choice and leading to restoration (the return to man's original state).[15] This is reflected in the Mystery of Confession for which, not being limited to a mere confession of sins and presupposing recommendations or penalties, it is primarily that the priest acts in his capacity of spiritual father.[7][16] The Mystery of Confession is linked to the spiritual development of the individual, and relates to the practice of choosing an elder to trust as his or her spiritual guide, turning to him for advice on the personal spiritual development, confessing sins, and asking advice.
As stated at the local Council of Constantinople in 1157, Christ brought his redemptive sacrifice not to the Father alone, but to the Trinity as a whole. In the Eastern Orthodox theology redemption isn't seen as ransom. It is the reconciliation of God with man, the manifestation of God’s love for humanity. Thus, it is not the anger of God the Father but His love that lies behind the sacrificial death of his son on the cross.[16]
The redemption of man is not considered to have taken place only in the past, but continues to this day through theosis. The initiative belongs to God, but presupposes man's active acceptance (not an action only, but an attitude), which is a way of perpetually receiving God.[15]
As stated at the local Council of Constantinople in 1157, Christ brought his redemptive sacrifice not to the Father alone, but to the Trinity as a whole. In the Eastern Orthodox theology redemption isn't seen as ransom. It is the reconciliation of God with man, the manifestation of God’s love for humanity. Thus, it is not the anger of God the Father but His love that lies behind the sacrificial death of his son on the cross.[16]
The redemption of man is not considered to have taken place only in the past, but continues to this day through theosis. The initiative belongs to God, but presupposes man's active acceptance (not an action only, but an attitude), which is a way of perpetually receiving God.[15]
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