Two levels of belief

When you think about it, it seems there's two levels of trusting and believing God, particularly regarding sin and our proclivity towards idolatry. At the first level, you understand that God has set certain things off limits and he says 'no'. But you still desire it, you're very much tempted, and you struggle and strive to be obedient. You grit your teeth and you desperately want to obey God, but the thing still looks good. It still has a certain power over you. In one sense, you strive to be obedient without really believing. You don't fully trust God, but you know he should be obeyed.

The second level is when you genuinely start to believe and trust. When God says a certain thing is bad, and not what he intended, the thing itself looks tainted. When you truly grasp that God is the great designer, you know that nothing can work outside his design. Everything else leads to death. Opposing God has the stench of a rotting corpse.

In this sense your believing and trusting changes your perceptions and desires. Sin loses it's power as you get closer to God. The way you think really starts to change.

King David's word really start to make sense in Psalm 119:

11  I have stored up your word in my heart,
         that I might not sin against you.
12  Blessed are you, O Lord;
         teach me your statutes!
13  With my lips I declare
         all the rules of your mouth.
14  In the way of your testimonies I delight
         as much as in all riches.
15  I will meditate on your precepts
         and fix my eyes on your ways.
16  I will delight in your statutes;
         I will not forget your word.
...

19  I am a sojourner on the earth;
         hide not your commandments from me!
20  My soul is consumed with longing
         for your rules at all times.
...

34  Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
         and observe it with my whole heart.
35  Lead me in the path of your commandments,
         for I delight in it.
...

77  Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
         for your law is my delight.
...

92  If your law had not been my delight,
         I would have perished in my affliction.
93  I will never forget your precepts,
         for by them you have given me life.
...

97  Oh how I love your law!
         It is my meditation all the day.
98  Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
         for it is ever with me.
...

174  I long for your salvation, O Lord,
         and your law is my delight.
175  Let my soul live and praise you,
         and let your rules help me.

Authentic Talk: Inch By Inch Growth

My second talk at 'Authentic' students and 20s group at Kings Church Eastbourne. Not especially eloquent, but gets the job done!

Inch_By_Inch_Growth.pdf

Authentic: Inch By Inch Growth from Sam Arnold on Vimeo.

Abiding

"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you"
John 15:7

That word 'abide' means to dwell within, to consistently live in Christ and have his words living in us. It's a call to consistency, on a daily basis. It's not a fluctuating obedience or discipline, it's total trust in Jesus, in our hearts and minds, and backed up by our actions. It's an unshakeable belief that every word of God is true, right and good. What I believe this verse is saying is that as we enter into this state, our prayers become more inline with God's thoughts. What we ask for, how we ask and why we ask will be more Christ-like, and perhaps our prayers will have a greater degree of success.

Difficult vs Impossible

It occurred to me that when you say a particular task or goal is 'impossible', you effectively remove any obligation to try. I know I often think certain things are impossible when really they are just difficult. There's quite a distinction between the two.

One state of mind requires no effort what-so-ever, while the other you have to try, train, pray, problem-solve and persevere. I know I have to be really careful in mindlessly substituting the latter for the former. In one sense they're similar words, but the distance between them is incredible.

Fear

Last thursday at Life Group we watched the Francis Chan 'Basic Series' on the fear of the Lord. The week leading up to it I was chewing it all over, and it's been really good. I've done a few talks on the fear of the Lord before but this DVD has thrown some extra verses into the mix and shed further light. As it happens, the fear of God plays out in some quite unexpected ways.

One of the things that really strikes you from the DVD is how fearful of God we should really be. My gut reaction is this: I have a certain level of fear, but nowhere near enough.

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead"
Revelation 1:17a

Francis Chan relates to all these biblical characters that had an encounter with God and were absolutely terrified. Even when people see Angels in the bible they're nearly scared to death. All of this leaves certain questions spinning round your mind:

Should I have that terrifying level of fear?
Is it even possible?
Is it even appropriate for daily life?
Does it not conflict with all the hope and promise we have in Jesus Christ, that we are in fact reconciled to God, and can boldly approach his throne? (Hebrews 4:16)

On the one hand you would have to conclude that the appropriate level of fear would probably kill you. Like in Exodus 33:18-23, Moses isn't allowed to see God's face, only his back, because no one could survive that. Part of my speculation on the hiddenness of God is that it's not his plan to terrify us on a daily basis.

But on the other hand a certain level of fear is prescribed. Without it, you wouldn't even be a Christian.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."
Proverbs 1:7

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise."
Psalm 111:10

Some musings

These two verses highlight some really interesting points. Firstly, why is the fear of God the beginning of knowledge and wisdom? It must lay the foundation for everything else. If we don't understand that the universe and humanity was designed and created by an awesome God, all of our knowledge runs astray.

You can be really, really intelligent in the same way that you can run really fast in completely the wrong direction. All these scientific, social, biological, philosophical theories are constructed, but they miss vital ingredients and it changes everything.

Secondly, in the first verse, why does it say 'fools despise wisdom and discipline'? Surely it should say 'fools despise the LORD'. I would guess that wisdom and discipline both imply a change of lifestyle. It feels restrictive. Fools hate the idea.

But this has some personal implications. To what degrees, as Christians, are we fools? What areas do we despise wisdom and hate discipline? We've all got areas where we accommodate all sorts of sin and disobedience, lack of discipline, lack of fear. It's so easy to read about 'fools' in the bible and not think you're one of them.

Fear of God equals faith

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."
Matthew 10:28-31

This concept of fear is not just an Old Testament, Old Covenant thing. Here Jesus himself, in the New Testament, tells us to fear. But the theme develops.

He says “be afraid” and then “don’t be afraid”.

We have one type of fear that conquers all others.

And this seems to rather aptly answer the question 'what level of fear is appropriate?'. Our fear of God should quench all others. When we're on the same team as God, when eternity is secured, even death is now an upgrade. In the verse above, the threat of murder is completely annulled. Fear of God equals faith in God.

The fear of the LORD is the weight behind us

"What, then, shall we say in response to this?
If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Romans 8:31

It’s not just Christians who should fear God. It’s everyone. If we could really grasp how terrifyingly awesome our God is, we might understand the depth of our confidence in Him.

And finally...

The fear of the LORD equals life

"The fear of the LORD leads to life: then one rests content, untouched by trouble."
Proverbs 19:23

That sounds unbelievably good. Life, rest, contentment, peace – untouched by trouble even if surrounded by it.

Pain, Suffering and Sanctification (Part 2)

Very apt and made me laugh:

"Sanctification is a dirt path that lasts until God kills you."

Matt Chandler, 'What Are We Doing Here?', preached 31/10/2010.

Pain, Suffering and Sanctification

Nothing exposes your heart like pain and suffering. When you hit it, your heart is totally exposed. All the things you never realised were there are suddenly revealed. It's a very scary and sobering thing. I would guess that one of the reasons God allows pain and suffering is sanctification. It also forces you in one of two directions: anger against God, or throwing yourself into His arms. I would also guess this is one of the ways he sorts the sheep from the goats, how he brings people to salvation or forces them away.

Pain and suffering are necessary. Nobody looks for a saviour if they don't believe they need saving. Nothing reminds you of your need for salvation like pain, suffering and the presence of evil.

In all of this it's good to remind ourselves that God is totally good, and it's Satan that is evil. Like in the book of Job, God permits suffering, but it's Satan that causes it. And he can only go as far as God allows.

Expendable (Part 2)

Following on from a previous note on being expendable for Christ (link) often, it's not our physical life that is required (i.e. martyrdom), but various little portions of our daily life. Finances, work, comfort, hobbies, fitness, luxuries, time... all of these need to be labeled 'expendable'. We give them up as and when required for the cause of Christ.

Expendable

I've just finished reading this book – Through Gates of Splendor – about five missionaries who set out to reach the savage Auca tribe in Ecuador. These guys gave themselves to a specific task, spent years in preparation, and then got massacred on pretty much their first point of contact with the tribe on the ground.

As far as the book details, no Auca ever became a Christian, or even had the gospel presented to them in an intelligible, meaningful way*. But thousands of Christians were struck by their sacrifice, commitment, and all out abandonment for Christ. Lives were changed and redirected through their testimony. And the story was big news in the secular press at the time (1950s).

So all in all, as far as it is visible to us at the present time, their life and mission bore much fruit. Just not in the way they had planned or envisioned.

Their story also stands out in direct contrast to that of Hudson-Taylor, John Wesley, and all the guys that spent long, fruitful, gifted lives working incredibly hard for the cause of Christ. It stands in contrast because they were very ordinary people, they were young and their story was so utterly short. And yet they were prayerfully led by God throughout it.

It seems this was His will, His way. Their sacrifice, their story, was one He permitted and intended.

It just makes you think – anything that we could accomplish or do with our lives is all in the hands of God. It's His story, not ours. He writes the script, and we're utterly expendable.

––––––

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God."
Jim Elliot, p11

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
Jim Elliot, p173

"During the last war we were taught to recognize that, in order to obtain our objective, we had to be willing to be expendable ... This very afternoon thousands of soldiers are known by their serial numbers as men who are expendable ... We know there is only one answer to our country's demand that we share in the price of freedom. Yet, when the Lord Jesus asks us to pay the price for world evangelization, we often answer without a word. We cannot go. We say it costs too much."
Nate Saint, p53

"A call is nothing more nor less than obedience to the will of God, as God presses it home to the soul by whatever means He chooses."
Pete Fleming, p13

"The old life of chasing things that are of a temporal nature seemed absolutely insane."
Nate Saint, p62

––––––

* 7th August 2011: I've just read in Randy Alcorn's book Heaven that some Auca's (or at least one) did become Christians:

"Mincaye, the Auca Indian who speared Nate Saint, is now a follower of Jesus. When Mincaye was asked what he's going to do when he meets Nate Saint in Heaven, he replied, "I'm going to run and throw my arms around Nate Saint and thank him for bringing Jesus Christ to me and my people." He added that Nate Saint would welcome him home."

Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page 336

Single-Mindedness

I've been thinking about the nature of single-mindedness this week, which I've never really thought about before. And interestingly it also popped up in Andrew Wilson's sermon today at church. As a topic, it's quite rare to hear in a sermon, or just in life. So I think God may be speaking.

Single-mindedness is when you set your sights on a goal and you walk straight and fast. It's very different from narrow-mindedness, although the two appear to have much in common. The single-minded man may have very good vision: he's aware of everything around him and what's up ahead. He knows where he wants to go. He plots a path, and he sticks to it.

The narrow-minded man, on the other hand, appears to have very limited vision. Perhaps even tunnel vision. He may walk straight, and stick to one trajectory, but he has no idea what's around him. He's easily lost and run over.

On the surface you can easily mistake one for the other. If a man is single-minded, he will reject many opportunities, paths and routes in favour of his chosen course. He may even upset and offend others who would unwittingly divert him. An outsider, or even a friend, may see this as narrow-minded as such action is typical of those with limited vision. But should we really be worried about that?

As such, it's got to be very important to be single-minded in the things that God's called us to. We have to know the course and know what's around us. We have to see the diversions, obstacles and difficulties for what they are – things to be overcome along the way.

Weak Enough for God to Use

"All God's giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them."
Biography of James Hudson Taylor, 1973 edition, p349

It seems, rather than being strong enough for God to use, we need to become weak enough. A person fully aware of their weakness and fully aware of God's strength is one who relies totally on Him. They are less likely to push in their own strength, but rather cry out to God continually, knowing that they are destined to fail by themselves.

I do often wondered if God deliberately chooses people who aren't the obvious choice for this very reason. And I wonder if He may pick me for some task which I feel totally ill-equipped to complete in my natural self. My faith better be real enough!

Another quote from the biography of Hudson Taylor on this point:

"I myself, for instance, am not specially gifted, and am shy by nature, but my gracious and merciful God and Father inclined Himself to me, and I who was weak in faith He strengthened while I was still young. He taught me in my helplessness to rest on Him, and to pray even about little things in which another might have felt able to help himself."
p487

"For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.""
1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Notes on Proverbs 3

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
   and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
   and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
   fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
   and refreshment to your bones.

Honor the LORD with your wealth
   and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
   then your barns will be filled with plenty,
   and your vats will be bursting with wine.

My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline
   or be weary of his reproof,
   for the LORD reproves him whom he loves,
   as a father the son in whom he delights."
Proverbs 3: 5-12

Absolutely packed full of goodness! So much there. Here are my own thoughts on this passage of Scripure:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."

It says to trust with you heart. Interesting that it says 'heart' and not 'head'. If we trusted with our head, our trust would be based on knowledge, rationality and understanding. But we are denied all three. Instead, we are commanded not to lean on our own understanding, which is another way of saying we may have no clue what's going on.

Quite liberating in a way, because we're not then limited by our own IQ, but rather God's, which is infinite.

I would describe the heart as your innermost convictions, beliefs and desires that underpins your entire person. In this your heart is much deeper that your head. It's the 'wellspring of life' (Prov 4:23). If this heart is set trusting in the Lord, you are anchored well.

"In all your ways acknowledge him" - it's a deliberate act. It takes a decison. We can acknowledge him in some of our ways, that's easy. We give the easiest things over to Christ's headship. Things we don't really mind, that we don't feel the cost of handing over control. But the more precious things, these we can hold onto in a fashion that's "off-limits" for Jesus.

"and he will make straight your paths." - what an awesome promise. The Lord will draw a line in front of you and show you the way. We will know where we're going. Our path will be a simple one. But simple doesn't mean easy. We could have many battles along the way. Perhaps our biggest battle is faith in God when it really counts.

"Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil."

Three specific commands that will safeguard our soul through life. All three require a conscious effort, and the reason they're listed must be because we have a natural inclination to do the opposite. Holiness will not happen on it's own, our flesh will not take care of itself. We have to walk humbly and make war on sin.

In the next verse we are given a serious incentive:

"It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones"

Love it! Who wouldn't want that? Having your bones refreshed - who else can give you that level of refreshment? Only Jesus!

"Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce"

Giving to God is honour to God. It's so easy to forget! We can fall into thinking that it's just something we're supposed to do. But no! It's personal, a display of love and service to our illustrious Master. Honouring God extends to the whole of our wealth, it's not just our giving. It's all of our expenditure executed as an act of worship.

"Firstfruits" - give to God before anything else. Slip the giving in there before the rent, the electricity bill, the weekly food shop. In this God is the number one priority. Other things can fall by the wayside. And this is one of the ways we acknowledge him.

A brilliant guide to giving is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

"The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

We are under no law as to what we give, but simply to decide in our heart. We should be lead by the Spirit and prayerfully submit it to God. We can give as much or as little as we want, in the knowledge that we will reap what we sow. Generosity is the issue, rather than a hardline legalistic percentage of your income.

Our giving should be a joy to us. Your heart, your desires and your passions need to be aligned with the Kingdom of God. Faith needs to override fear when money's tight. If giving is painful and a chore, we should get time to check our hearts, our faith in God, our true desires.

"then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine."

We see the same promises in the Old and New Testaments. And they're pretty amazing. It's the whole idea that you can't out-give God.

"My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights."

The beginning of Proverbs is like a father instructing a son. It's done in love. We all need discipline and correction from time to time. The question is, are we prepared to walk in humble repentance?

Proverbs 9:8-9 says

"Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
   reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
   teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning."

It's not easy to be a wise man. Sometimes a rebuke is like a slap in the face. Your gut feeling is to strike back, especially if they've touched on an area that's very sensitive. It takes a lot of self-control and humility to simply take the hit, and then thank the person.

The conviction of the Holy Spirit is similar. It pin-points the sore spots, like a surgeon with a scalpel. It's very sharp and is delivered with pin-point accuracy. Our natural reaction can be to wince, curl up in a ball and sulk.

Illusions and Giving

Randy Alcorn, in that little book, The Treasure Principle, says, "I’m convinced that the greatest deterrent to giving is this: the illusion that earth is our home" (p44).

Hudson Taylor: Jesus is Lord of all

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
Mark 16:15 (King James Version)

"You are not your own; you were bought at a price."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"
Luke 6:46

Hudson Taylor on Jesus as Lord of all:

"How are we going to treat the Lord Jesus Christ with reference to this command? Shall we definitely drop the title Lord as applied to Him, and take the ground that we are quite willing to recognise Him as our Saviour, so far as the penalty of sin is concerned, but are not prepared to own ourselves 'bought with a price', or Him as having any claim to our unquestioning obedience? Shall we say that we are our own masters, willing to yield something as His due, who bought us with His blood, provided He does not ask too much? Our lives, our loved ones, our possessions are our own, not His: we will give Him what we think fit, and obey any of His requirements that do not demand too great a sacrifice? To be taken to Heaven by Jesus Christ we are more than willing, but we will not have this Man to reign over us?

The heart of every Christian will undoubtedly reject the proposition, so formulated; but have not countless lives in each generation been lived as though it were proper ground to take? How few of the Lord's people have practically recognised the truth that Christ is either Lord of all, or is not Lord at all! If we can judge God's Word as much or as little as we like, then we are lords and He is the indebted one, to be grateful for our dole and obliged by our compliance with His wishes. If, on the other hand, He is Lord, let us treat Him as such. 'Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say?'"

Biography of James Hudson Taylor, 1973 edition, p439-40