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Resist and Submit

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:39:35 +0100

"Submit to God, resist the Devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
James 4:7-8

Most of us know this verse well enough; but do we really know it?

I was pleasantly enlightened by God today as I was reading in First Kings Chapter 20. I discovered an example of the above verse played out in the Old Testament. I’ll admit that it isn’t the ideal example for this verse, but it does show the beautiful truths that this verse tries to portray. Let me do a quick run down for you to see what I saw.

Reading in 1 Kings 20.

In this chapter we see a war between two kings: king Ben-Hadad of Syria and king Ahab of Israel. It is important to know that king Ahab was not a God fearing king even though he was the king of God’s people. Infact he did evil in the sight of the Lord more than any other king before Him (1 Kings 16:30).

In this chapter Ben-Hadad is besieging Israel. It seems his armies are doing a good job because when he sends word to Ahab, to surrender all his silver, gold, wives and children, he disgracefully obliges. It seems Israel had been defeated and the terms of treaty was that Ahab give Ben-Hadad what he wanted.

As we read on, we see the haughtiness of Ben-Hadad as he intensifies his demands of Ahab. Ben-Hadad saw how quickly and submissively Ahab had responded to his first request, so this time he asks for more. However, this time, Ahab rejects his second request. As you can imagine Ben-Hadad wasn't impressed and declared all out war against Israel claiming victory before the war had even begun.

Soon after Ahab chose to resist Ben-Hadad, a prophet came to Ahab telling him that God would give him the victory over his enemy. Ahab, obviously out of options, submits to the orders of God and thus gains victory over his enemy, causing them to flee for their lives, as God had previously declared. Although Abah was not a God fearing man, his fear of his enemy caused him to submit to God.

The sad part about this story is that Ahab never drew near to God. As you read on in chapter 20 you see that God gives Ahab victory over Ben-Hadad a second time, causing Ahab to eventually spare Ben-Hadad's live and made a treaty with Him. This angered God, as God had ordained Abah to destroy Ben-Hadad and his army, and God cursed Ahab and his posterity.

Here are the key points that I noticed in this story:

1. Ahab did not fear God nor did he consult God in his dealings as king over God’s people

2. Ahab, after being attacked by his enemy, quickly submits to the enemies requests

3. Ahab’s brisk submission to the enemy gave Ben-Hadad an opportunity to request further submission from Ahab

4. Ahab’s refusal to submit further to Ben-Hadad caused a heightened attack from the enemy

5. Ahab’s poor predicament caused God to intercede and Ahab submits to God’s authority (albeit reluctantly)

6. Through Ahab’s submission, Israel defeated their enemy and Ben-Hadad fled from them

I can see those scenarios played out in my life (and probably in yours too):

1. I often go about my business without consulting God

2. Because I’m not in tune with God as much as I should be I often find myself giving into the enemy when he attacks

3. I don’t see it at the time, but that initial submission gives the devil a foothold for further submission

4. When I do finally see that I’m under attack from the enemy, I try to resist, only to find that I’ve now got a war on my hands

5. God usually sits in the background waiting for me to realise that I need His help

6. When I do finally submit to God, He stands with me and fights for me

So what do we learn from this story and how do we apply this to our lives?

To begin with, don't think that you can live your life in opposition to God and then expect Him to run to your rescue the moment you get yourself cornered by the enemy. It is true that God gives grace to the humble (James 4:6), but we must first be sure that our humility is genuine and life changing. We can't just humble ourselves when we need God's help, knowing only too well that we will return to our proud and independent life after He saves us. Remember, God knows your heart even better than you do. <

I have spent many months reciting that verse (James 4:7-8) to myself trying to believe that the Devil will run if I resist him, only to find that he didn't. So what does that say to me? Is God a liar? Absolutely not! It tells me that I am deceived. It tells me that I don't quite understand what it means to submit to God and/or resist the enemy! In my case it was both.

I have learned a couple of things in the recent week about what it really means to submit to God and to resist the Devil.

Here’s what I have learnt:

1. Submission to God is ACTIVE not PASSIVE

2. Submission to God and Resistance to the enemy go hand in hand

Submission is ACTIVE

I have literally spent hours in prayer to God trying with all my might to submit myself to Him and His will. I've recited lines like "Lord I want to be in your will, help me to submit to you" or "I give this trial to you, I don't want anything but you." They were all heart felt prayers on my knees with tears streaming down my face but my trial never lifted or eased; in fact it only seemed to intensify.

I'm not sure when or how, but I'm supposing that my other prayers for wisdom finally opened my eyes. You see, I wanted to submit to God but really didn't know how to do that, or perhaps I did know but it was all too hard to put into practice.

Let’s have a quick lesson about the difference between active and passive submission…

Passive = Accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance

A prisoner who is in shackles and is forced to kneel and bow before the king is under passive submission. He has no real choice and can’t actively resist the orders.

Active = disposed to take action or effectuate change

A free-man who sees the king coming down the street and willingly runs and bows before him, asking of how he can be of service, is an example of active submission. This man had a choice and chose to act on it by honoring his king.

When James tells us to “submit to God” he is not forcing us to let God rule in our lives, nor is he telling us to sit back and wait for God to intervene. In fact, James is telling us to be like the free-man and willingly take guidance and instruction from God.

To be actively submissive to God means that you agree with Him and you activate your will in that agreement. It took me a while to realise that submitting to God meant that I had to actively move in a certain direction: i.e. agree with His written Word and put it into action. Sitting down in prayer telling God that I submit did nothing at all. God wanted to see me submit my will to His. He wanted me to acknowledge that His Word is truth and then take that Word and claim it. When the Devil tried to tell me that my trial would never end and that it was all too much for me, God wanted me to know His character and His truths and choose to agree with Him.

Resistance = Submission

The other important thing I learned is that I am not able to resist the Devil without submitting to God. I can tell Satan that he’s a liar until I’m blue in the face, but that’s no skin off his nose unless I tell him by what authority I can say that!

If I am going to try to resist the Devil, I need to know what his attacks look like. We know that whatever is not of faith is sin, so that’s always a good place to start. If Satan is telling me that my trial is all too much for me, how do I know that’s not true? I know this by knowing and believing the Word of God. God says that He will not allow us to be trialed beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). Faith tells me that what God say’s is true even though I may feel otherwise. Sin, on the other hand, rejects God’s Word and clings to how things feel.

Hopefully you can see how resisting the enemy requires submission to God and His Word and vice versa.

Summary

God’s word tells us that if we submit to, and draw near to, God and resist the enemy that He will draw near to us. Drawing near to God requires some action on our part. Drawing near to God is done but acknowledging Him and agreeing with Him. Submission then follows suit with more action, i.e. standing on the Word of God in resistance to the lies of the enemy. Resistance and submission both take faith.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
(Hebrews 11:6)

God wrought all in me and for me

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 04:13:58 +0100

As a child that travels in his father's company, all is paid for, but his father carries the purse, not himsef, so are we Christians in the care of God.

-William Gurnall-

Growing in Grace

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 03:14:23 +0100

We are told in 2 Peter 3:18 to grow in grace. I was a little stumped as to how I'm supposed to do that since God is the the one who gives us grace. As I lay in bed I had this analogy drop into my mind, as clear as day; so here it is...

Growing in grace is a little like growing into new shoes. God gives us a measure of grace to get us started on our walk with him. Then, as we learn to use the grace that He's made available, we begin to grow out of the bounds of that grace. Kind of like when your feet grow and don't fit in your shoes anymore.

To enable you to continue to grow, He then has to give you more grace. I know that all of his grace is available to us but it's not useful to us unless we have learned how to engage it.

God tells us that He won't allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to handle. But it is only His grace that enables us to handle that temptation. So if He was to give us all the grace that He has, in one hit, then essentially we would be 'equipped' to handle even the worst temptations and trials, which clearly most of us aren't. So having that grace without knowing how to engage it would only be setting us up for failure.

So what I figure is that He gives us a measure of grace and expects us to be studious in learning and practicing the art of engaging that grace to overcome current situations. After we have learnt how to do that consistently then we have outgrown that portion of grace and thus need more to continue to stretch and grow.

We don't give kids adult-size shoes because they simply can't walk in them and probably never would learn to walk at all. So we give them shoes that fit so they can learn to walk and practice. Then, when they are good at that and their feet outgrow those shoes, we buy them bigger ones and so on.

This could cause some people to sit back and say "Well I won't learn to overcome the small things so then I don't have to experience the harder things." But a real Christian wouldn't think like that. A real Christian wants to learn and grow.

That helps to keep the focus on the now. If we just learn how to practice engaging the grace we have now, then it's a slow and steady process that will always enable us to overcome no matter how hard things are.

We will all inevitably fail many times, but that's part of the learning process with each new measure if grace. When we fail we learn, and the more we learn the more grace we can handle.

My grace is sufficent - Video

Sat, 28 May 2011 08:02:52 +0100

Bolder than demons

Fri, 13 May 2011 08:51:08 +0100

I was reading in Mark the other day about the story of Jesus casting out the demon named “legion”. Out of all the times I’ve read this scripture, this time something struck my spirit. I couldn’t help but notice the boldness of the demon in this story. We read in Mark Chapter 5 verses 7 and 10 that the demon begged Jesus not to cast him out of the country (or into the abyss, as documented by Luke).

⁷ And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me." ¹⁰ Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.

It all sounds like quite a normal request; I’d probably make the same request if found in that situation. But the bizarre thing is that Jesus listened to the demons request and obliged. I thought to myself, “Didn’t Jesus come to destroy the power of the demons and their master? Then why would he grant them their request?”

I don’t actually have the answer to that, other than it provided another opportunity for Jesus to show not only His authority but His nature and sovereignty. God doesn’t miss a beat; every event is an opportunity to display His glory.

There could be several spirit lead interpretations and life application on this insight, but the one that slammed me in the face was just how ready and willing our beautiful God and Saviour is to listen and to pour out blessings on His children.

Sometimes passages such as Luke 11:9-13 become too familiar and eventually powerless when not held in true faith. Especially when our eyesight is dull to recognise God's answer to prayer and provision in life.

Luke 11:9-13 (Matt 7:7-11)

⁹"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

I think God wanted to show me that even the demons made requests and had them answered. I felt like He was saying to me, “This is the character of your God, displayed against His enemy!!” If God is able and willing (at times; seen also in job) to grant the enemy his request then how much more is He desirous to heed our requests and oblige, just because He loves us?

The demon new who Jesus was; his enemy, yet he had the boldness to ask of Him, even beg Him. How little we understand our God when we can’t even muster the boldness to enter into His presence let alone ask for something, knowing that it is His fatherly will to give us more than we could ever ask or imagine.

Now that’s incredibly powerful stuff from an awesomely powerful God.

How do I make You "my everything"?

Fri, 13 May 2011 07:50:21 +0100

Time and time again, the things of this world and the people in it have rejected me, deserted me and despised me. I dare not blink lest I loose something I had only a whisper ago. Gone again. Like a wife who has just lost the love of her life, her everything; I can not love again. I dare not open my life to another who will relish in it for a while then walk away when the thrill is over. Never again will I allow someone to creep into that place of ‘my everything’.

I turn to God and cry, “Lord, I want you to be my everything! How do I make you my everything?”

Silence.

Pain, affliction; God’s Word, prayer.

Agony, despair; a cry of desperation.

Floods of tears, sedatives and sleep; peace for a moment, only a moment.

I look to the starry night and beg God to teach me, show me, how to make Him my everything, so that everything else fades into nothing. I see the moon and I ask God, “Tell me how the moon makes the sun it’s everything.” I hear a feint whisper in my soul, answering, “It doesn’t make the sun it’s everything, the sun just is it’s everything. That’s how I made it.” “What do you mean,” I think to myself? He answers, “The moon can’t make the sun it’s everything, just like it can’t make the grass it’s everything. I designed the sun to be everything the moon needs. The moon doesn’t get a choice if it is to be what I’ve created it to be.”

Such a soft whisper continues, “I am your everything. You can’t make me your everything, I just am. Just like the moon fails to shine when it hides behind the world so too you will fail to shine when you step aside from my light and hide behind something in this world. The moon shines at its fullest when it has full reflection from the sun, so too its light diminishes as it begins to hide, until it’s not longer able to be seen.”

He goes on, “If all the starry hosts of heaven one day fell from above, would the sun cease to be all that the moon needs?” I answer, “No.” Again He asks, “If the most beloved person in your life rejected you and walked away, would I cease to be all that you need?” Again I answer, “No.” He gently replies, “Then I am your everything.”

A small smirk of joy comes over my face as my beautiful and gentle Father teaches me about us, yet I’m still perplexed. I ask Him, “If You are my everything, why are you not enough at times when I feel rejection from the one human that I love so much?” No response; and I never got one.

I'll let you know when I get one. Until then, keep talking to your Father in Heaven. He is listening. Are You?

He who Endures

Thu, 12 May 2011 22:50:47 +0100

Matthew 24:13
But he who endures to the end shall be saved

Comforting, yet daunting words, spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ; one who knows all too well the endurance that is needed if we are to survive on, and beyond, this earth. My question is "what is endurance"?

Firstly I think of an endurance race...I think of the Ironman Triathlon. Triathlon was my sport many a year ago (back in 'young' days) so I know some of what it takes to go from one painful experience and straight into another. Why we people choose to push ourselves to such extremes is beyond me, I guess it's the outcome of racing, enduring and finishing that gets people into it.

Finishing...I think that's the key. Those that have a one-off go at a Triathlon put themselve voluntarily into that gruelling event for no other reason than to say that they did it and finished. Notice the key word there "voluntarily". Those of us that have chosen to follow Jesus have done so voluntarily; there is no other way to do it. We have chosen to put ourslves into this gruelling life of separation from the world and push on from one painful event to another while those less adventurous watch from the sideline. Why do we do it? To finish.

Some of us are more spiritually conditioned than others, thus they feel energetic enough to push themselves harder in the event of life in the hope of a 'crown' at the end...probably a bigger crown than most of us will get. But there are others like me who would be grateful enough just to make it over the finish line.

There are many definitions that attempt to describe the word 'endure' but the one that I relate to most closely is this...

Endure: (verb) to continue to exist

Believe it or not "continuing to exist" is a verb...meaning it is something that you "do". For me, existing is a hard ask. Take today for example, I wanted to kill myself; tears welled up in my eyes at the thought that I would have to endure one more day of my life. Doing nothing (ie. not killing myself), is a sign of endurance. I'd love to have other more encouraging signs but that's the most frequent one. For some, endurance is resisting the all too familiar temptations of the world, for others it's living with family who reject their faith in Jesus, but for me living is the thing I struggle with the most everyday.

Yes this blog is sounding a little depressing, but this is the grind of life. You either choose to read it or you don't, but I refuse to fluff it over and say that things are fine and dandy when the truth is that everyone everywhere is suffering in this life. My life is far from nice, despite the blessings that God continues to lavish on me and I know that this is the same for everyone else. But I aim to point out the rubbish of life and make it worth something.

I was thinking today that if we are going to participate in this race called 'life' then we need to know what is involved in the race. Those contemplating to enter into a triathlon are aware of what that race will require of them. They know that they firstly will have to swim (till they can't swim any more); and just as they come to the end of that leg they then have to run into transition with their focus fixed on the next leg, 'the cycle'. Some say "at least each part of your body gets a break at different times"...those people have never done a triathlon, so we won't hold their comments against them! You get halfway through the cycle leg and you feel like you're going to die, but you think to yourself "there was no point in me doing this event if I just give up cause it hurts, I knew it was going to hurt and I decided I'd push through it". So you do. You get back to the transition area and can hardly stand up when you're ushered out through the next gate to do 'the run' leg. At this stage death is a ligitimate option. But you're nearly finished...that is, if you call a 10km run 'nearly finished'! The energy, excitment and logic of participating in such an event no longer exists. The only thing that keeps you moving is the fact that there is a finish line out there somewhere. This is the point where you honestly can't go a step further; but can't possibly stop either.

Does anyone else feel like they've been at that stage of the race 'all' their life? I don't ever remember, energy, excitment or logic in my choice to run this race nor in my entering into this race. I just seem to have found myself here. I thought to myself today, that half the problem with my struggle in life is that I think to myself "life shouldn't be this painful". Then I thought about the traithlon. When you choose to do a triathlon you choose to endure the gruelling events that it entails. I chose to enter this faith in Christ and my suffering is part of that gruelling event called 'life in Christ'. Maybe if I accept that this is how my life will always be and accept it as that final 'run leg' which ends at the finish line, then maybe the pain will just be one of those things that I choose to endure.

I refuse to stop getting back up. If that's not endurance then I don't know what is. For me, Jesus is the only reason I choose to exist, He is the reason I entered this race and He's the reason I race...He is the finish line.

Quitting is not an option

What we DO and DON'T want to know about our Salvation

Thu, 12 May 2011 22:49:57 +0100

How important is your Salvation to you?

Is it like a Christmas layby: No deposit, perhaps a few payments along the way and then just pick-up the eve before the big day? I think there are many people who see it just like that. They think that they can "choose" now, perhaps make some small payments along the way (like attending Church) and do nothing else until just before the big day (the coming of Christ). The sad thing for people like this is that, unlike a layby, their chosen eternity will not be there for collection just before the big day. I had a dream last night that a large group of girls and I were together listening to the song "East to West" by Casting Crowns. There was a moment of silence at the end and without even knowing what I was going to say, words just came to my mouth. I woke up telling the girls this one thing and I need to share it with you.

When Jesus came to save us He came to save us from 2 things.

1. From the consequences of our sin

2. From the sin itself

Most people already know this, but some don't. We all know that Christ, through the shedding of His blood, saved us from the wrath of God that was to be displayed against the sin that we have committed; the consequences for us would be an eternity in Hell. Most of us also know that Jesus conquered both "sin" and "death". "Death" is referring to our spiritual death in Hell and "sin" is referring to our rebellion against God.

The thing that we "DO" want to know about our Salvation is that all our past and future sins have been atoned for in Christ’s Death. The thing we "DON'T" want to know is that He also made a way for us to RESIST temptation that causes us to sin. I think many of us like to have Salvation on our own terms, by either remaining ignorant of the entirety of Salvation or refusing to comply, holding to the fact that God is a loving God and forgetting that He is also a Holy consuming Fire that must act justly against our sin.

The thing we don't realise is that God's road to Salvation wasn't just a quick fix for His people. He "had to" and "has to" provide Salvation with certain things in place and our response needs to be according to certain criteria. As much as His unfailing love would compel Him to want to let us in "by the skin of our teeth", His unfailing Holiness prevents Him from allowing such an occurrence. We are either saved or we're not. It's a defined line without any blurring, you either step over the line or you don't. Getting in by the skin of your teeth is not defined, it's subjective.

If you don't already know the path of Salvation that "God" has provided then it is essential that you find out what that is. Don't be content with "Your Own" ideas of the type of Salvation that God "should" provide: remember He Is God not you and there is a reason for that.

Jesus provided a way for us to resist sin and be as righteous as we possibly can here on earth. However our earthly righteousness is not enough to usher us into the presence of God, but Christ’s righteousness is. Jesus did His bit and enabled us to do ours. Let's keep to our end of the bargain and serve God in love by denying ourselves and carrying our cross like Jesus did. Nothing less on our part or His constitutes Salvation.

Listen to Casting Crown - East to West

The Cross in the Tabernacle

Thu, 12 May 2011 22:48:47 +0100

For those who have no idea what this diagram is about you would find benefit in reading my study on The Tabernacle in the Bible Study Page. For those who have a fair idea of the Tabernacle, I'd like to explain this diagram further so that we can see the amazing hand of God in every minor detail of the Cross of Christ.

Enter through The Door
The door of the Tabernacle was the only way in. This signifies Christ as the only way to God.

Accept The Scrifice
The very first thing that you came to when entering the Tabernacle's Outer Court was the Brazen Alter. Notice the alter is at the foot of the Cross in this diagram. The very first place that we need to go after comming to Christ is the foot of the Cross.

Washing of The Word
Before entering the Inner Courts of the Tabernacle, the Priests were to wash their hands in the Brazen Laver. This signifies our role as members of the Royal Priesthood. After comming to Christ and accepting Him as our sacrifice and laying our own lives down as a living sacrifice for Him, we then need to allow the Word of God to wash our hearts and minds with His truths.

Fellowhip in The Light
Once the Priest has entered into the Inner Courts, he came to the Golden Lampstand. The Lampstand was the only source of light within the Inner Courts. Christ is The Light and His light illuminates our path and affords us fellowship one with another in unity of spirit.

The Bread of Life
On the other side of the Inner Courts was the Golden Table of Shewbread. This bread was for the Priests to eat. Jesus is The Bread of life. We are to partake of Him and His Word which gives us communion one with another and with Christ.

Offerings of Worship pleasing to God
The Priests were to ensure that The Golden Alter of Incense never ran out. The Alter of Incense burned before the Veil of the Most holy Place, which ascended to Heaven as an aroma of worship pleasing to God. We too, as holy Priests are to perpetually offer sacrifices of praise and worship before God through, not only our lips, but also through our actions the and motivations of our heart.

The Presence of God
Unlike the laws of the Levitical Priesthood, we as holy Priests through Christ have an open door to the very throne of God. In the OT only the High Priest could enter into the Most Holy Place once a year with a blood sacrifice. But when Christ died on the Cross the Veil that separated the Inner Courts from the Most Holy Place was torn in two. We now, have free access to the Throne Room of God. Well, when I say free, I mean free for us, but it cost Christ everything.

The thing that I like the most about this picture, is that as soon as we enter through the door into the Outer Courts, we come face to face with the foot of the Cross and the sacrifice that was made. We must find ourselves there before we can go any further. No one dared enter the Inner Courts, without first offering a sacrifice and washing their hands. What makes us think we are any different?

Find yourself at the foot of The Cross, wash yourself clean with His Word and then you will find fellowship with Christ and one another.

No one goes to God without following the Cross all The Way.

Where will it leave you?

Thu, 12 May 2011 22:47:55 +0100

If the person that you look up to and confide in is taken up to be with Jesus at the time of the rapture where would that leave you?

Would you be standing alone? Or would you be enjoying the reward of your faith with them in Heaven? The fact is that when you and your Godly role-model are standing and watching as Jesus comes in the clouds, you will be the last thing on their mind. They will have their eyes fixed on Jesus and their concern will not be whether you are left or taken with them.

This challenge lies before you...is your faith in Jesus yours or are you piggy-backing on someone elses? Will you be standing there on that day, more concerned about your role-model, and whether they stay or go, or will your eyes too be fixed on Jesus?

Be honest with yourself now - Be honest with God now - Be glad later

Don't be left behind without your support person...be in Heaven with them.