All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable
for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:16-17

Paul tells Timothy that all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for our usage to become mature people of God. When Paul wrote these words in about 65 AD, the only Scripture known universally to the church was the Old Testament. Of the New Testament, only the Epistle of James and the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke would have had any circulation and it would not have been widespread yet. Paul’s definition of “Scripture” in this verse was what we call the Old Testament.

When John the Baptist, Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, James, Jude, Paul and the writer of Hebrews quoted from the bible, they quoted almost exclusively the Old Testament. When they spoke of the “Scriptures,” they were usually speaking of the Old Testament. That is why it is hard for me to hear people imply or outright say that the Old Testament is no longer valid or is somehow of lesser value than the New Testament.

St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, one of the church fathers and a major expositor of the Bible in the 6th century AD said, “The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.” What he meant was that both testaments are embedded in each other and it is almost impossible to fully understand one without the other. The modern day western Christian’s chronic and widespread spiritual anemia is due largely to the fact that they have a Biblical diet that is woefully lacking in Old Testament study. It is like a boy being raised by a mother without having a father figure. It often leaves them soft in their character, insecure in their manhood and feminized in their approach to life.

Mathew’s Gospel written to the Jews sometime between 45 and 60 AD quoted almost 160 Old Testament prophecies that are fulfilled in the life of Jesus proving him to be the Messiah. All other New Testament writers quote the Old Testament as being authoritative, including Jesus and Paul. When Jesus was a boy and trying to understand the plan of God for His life, He had only the Old Testament to guide Him. The same was true for all of the other people we read about in the New Testament.

The first person who seriously challenged the validity of the Old Testament was Marcion, the bishop of Sinope, in about 144 AD. Marcion taught that the God of the Old Testament was a Jewish created “demiurge” (lesser god) given to harsh punishments, not the Father of Jesus who was benevolent, loving and forgiving. This dualism reflects itself today in some respects in the teachings of the Mormons and the Muslims. Marcion’s Bible was limited to the Gospel of Luke and 10 letters of Paul. He was widely and openly treated by the church fathers of his day as a heretic and his anti-Old Testament teaching is just as heretical today.

Why does this confusion prevail in our modern Biblical thinking? Part of the confusion for some people is in their failure to understand that some things in the Old Testament are no longer needed because they were fulfilled in the New Testament. No longer needed does not render them invalid. Part of it comes from a failure to understand types and shadows, and part of it comes because some things were just plain changed. Let’s look at some examples of all three of these things.

Many things in the Old Testament were prophetic in nature, promised before hand and fulfilled in the New Testament. One hundred and fifty-seven times we are told in the New Testament that certain events are fulfillments of Old Testament promises. Fulfillment is neither the end of something nor the negation of it. The prophecy in Micah that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem was fulfilled when God directed Joseph and Mary to go there from Nazareth at the time of the census of Quirinius. Jesus’ birth there in that stable fulfilled the prophecy of Micah. The prophecy was no longer germane because it had come to pass, but it was still true and valid Scripture. Last year’s newspapers are no longer needed but they still contain valid truth, and if we go back and look at them, we can often gain better insight of present reality. Chief among these “no longer needed but fulfilled” items are the Torah Laws of the Mosaic Covenant. Contrary to popular opinion, nothing in the Torah Law was ever abolished as Jesus plainly tells us.

Matt 5:17-20 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. 19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. NASB

The Pharisees taught that the way to please God was to keep the Torah Law. Jesus said, “Yes, but one must do more than that. One must surpass the Pharisees in right relationship to God and to neighbor. One must keep the spirit of the Law, not just the letter of it. The letter of the Law kills us, Paul said, but the Spirit of the Law gives us life. We must do what the Law requires in our hearts. Even if we no longer keep to the letter of a Law, the Spirit of the Law is still required of us, because the intent of the Law was always meant to be upheld.

2 Cor 3:5-6 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter , but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. NASB

Take circumcision as a prime example. It was given as a Law to signify (typify) our unique, personal and intimate relationship with God. (Believe me, ladies, it does not get any more intimate or personal than that ?.) Once the Holy Spirit comes and enables us to actually be intimate and personal with God, the symbol is no longer required, but that does not make circumcision invalid or bad in any way. Paul tells the Romans that the Torah Law has great value still IF one is keeping the Spirit of it through relationship. It still functions as a powerful teacher of the requirement for personal intimacy with God. How personal and how intimate do you want me to become, Lord? OHHH, THAT personal and THAT intimate. I got it!

Rom 2:25-29 For indeed circumcision is of value, if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 If therefore the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 And will not he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. NASB

The prophets told Israel that in time God would replace physical circumcision with circumcision of the heart, representing the cutting away of excess flesh. Jeremiah quotes God as saying that real circumcision is circumcision of the heart.

Deut 30:6-7 Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live. NASB

Jer 9:25-26 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised — 26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the sons of Ammon, and Moab, and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”
NASB

Ezek 36:24-27 “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. 25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 “And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. NASB

Biblically speaking, relationship with God is compared in both Old and New Testaments to marriage. Unfaithfulness to God is compared to adultery and the emotional intimacy of lovers is often the biblical metaphor for praise and worship.

Let’s talk about types and shadows, a theological term for metaphors that are given before they happen. If I tell you my wife’s disposition is “like a sunny day,” I am comparing her to something you have already seen and understand in order to give you a good picture of her. That is a metaphor. But if I tell you that my wife disposition is typical of the way angels act in Heaven, I am comparing it to something you have not yet seen so you can understand how angels will behave when you eventually meet them. That is a type or a shadow of something that is yet to come. Paul says that this can include Sabbath, feast days and certain food laws. We no longer practice them because they are types and shadows fulfilled.

Col 2:16-17 Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day — 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. NASB

For reasons only God knows, it was not appropriate for the Messiah to come until forty-four centuries after the fall of Adam and Eve. Jesus came, we are told, “in the fulness of time,” at the appropriate time to fulfill the plan of God. But God predicted the coming of the Messiah as early as Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve had just fallen. He began to require animal sacrifice, the shedding of blood, as an atonement for sin. Cain tried to offer some perfectly good fruits and vegetables from his garden, but God insisted on the death of a lamb as the only valid sacrifice.

The shedding of the blood of the lamb was a type or a shadow of the shedding of the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, forty-four centuries later. Throughout the Old Testament, God required the shedding of the blood of lambs as atonement for sin. Then Jesus was slain on the cross “like a lamb led to slaughter” and the type or shadow was fulfilled. Hebrews tells us that Jesus’ shed blood was a “once and for all times” sacrifice, no longer needed ever again. So we stopped shedding animal blood. The type or shadow of the slain lamb was no longer necessary because that which it typified in the future has now arrived, but it was still true and valid Scripture. It has not been invalidated nor made wrong. It has just been fulfilled. As a training metaphor, it is no longer necessary, but as an explanatory metaphor it still has great value.

Let’s take a look at the explanation of types and shadows given us in the Book of Hebrews. When persecution of Christians began to be a serious issue, many Jewish converts to Christianity decided to abandon Christianity and go back to Judaism. This was a mistake that would give them a temporary respite from persecution but would cost them their salvation. The writer of Hebrews wanted the people of Israel to understand that they were leaving the real and fulfilled call of God and returning to types and shadows. In chapters 8-10 he explains why many things from the Old Testament were no longer necessary. They had been types and shadows (advanced copies) of things which were now fulfilled. It was as if these Christians had arrived at a destination, found it to be temporarily difficult and gone back to Judaism as if it was also a valid destination. Judaism without the shed blood of Christ for atonement and the Resurrection for redemption sits on the moral high ground, but it cannot save us.

Heb 8:1 Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a minister in the sanctuary, and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. 4 Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; 5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

The writer to the Hebrews tells them that the Mosaic priesthood was an advanced copy, a pattern, a type or shadow of the priesthood of Jesus. He goes on to say that His New Testament ministry is more excellent than the Mosaic priesthood rendering it obsolete, no longer necessary, but fulfilled in Jesus. It is still valid as a teaching tool to help us understand. He speaks of the tabernacle/temple as a type for the throne of God in Heaven which Jesus re-opened to us by His death on the cross. We no longer need to find God in a house made with hands because He is here in our hearts and available to us in Heaven.

The Tabernacle/Temple was merely a pattern of God’s Heavenly throne and His throne in our hearts, if we are believers. To abandon these thrones and go back to the pattern is like throwing away the dress or suit and attempting to wear the pattern. The Old Testament is seen also as a pattern of the New Testament.

Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant (testament) had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. 8 For finding fault with them, He says, “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when I will effect a new covenant (testament) with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; 9 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in My covenant, and I did not care for them, says the Lord. 10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them upon their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 “And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest of them. 12 “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” 13 When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete (no longer necessary). But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

The writer to the Hebrews tells them that salvation is no longer based on the Old Testament Torah Law with a nation, but in a new covenant involving an intimate relationship between each man and God personally. He will be “in our hearts” and “in our minds” and we will “know Him” personally and intimately. This makes some of the Mosaic Law obsolete (no longer necessary) because, as a type or shadow of what was to come, it has been fulfilled. But it still remains as a valid and true teaching guide for us. The word “obsolete” here is “palayo” in Greek, and it means “no longer necessary.” It is like the difference between a permanent road sign and a temporary sign indicating where a family picnic is being held. The permanent road sign will continue to be needed but the temporary family picnic sign is “obsolete” or no longer necessary once everyone has arrived. It is the circumstances for which it was intended that has rendered it obsolete.

In Hebrews chapter 9, we are told the tabernacle/temple on earth is an advanced copy in symbolic form of the throne of God in Heaven, and that the many rituals surrounding the earthly temple are symbolic forerunners of the things accomplished through the shed blood of Jesus. Now that Jesus has come, the symbolic rituals (types and shadows) are no longer necessary, but that does not render them invalid as teaching tools. In fact our entire earthly life is still symbolic of our heavenly one, so while we have seen some of the Old Testament fulfilled, it is not yet all fulfilled until we stand face to face with God.

Hebrews 9:8 The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, 9 which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, 10 since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.

We are told that the temple (and our church buildings) are mere symbols of the place where God dwells but are useful as symbols until we get there. In the same way the sacrifices were useful as symbols but are no longer necessary now that Jesus has died for us. They are still valid as metaphors for us, but they cannot cleanse us from sin. Truth is, he says, they never really could do that anyway, but only pointed to Jesus’ death in the future.

Heb 9:23 Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 nor was it that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood not his own. NASB

The earthly symbols (types or copies of what was really in Heaven) had to be cleansed with a symbolic sacrifice of animals, but the real thing was cleansed by the shed blood of Jesus previously typified or foreshadowed by the slain animals.

Heb 10:1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. …9 He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

The Torah Law was also a type or a shadow of the expressed will of God that can now be embedded in the hearts of men through intimate personal relationship with God which had not been possible before the death of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit. (It was this Spirit of God that was driven out of Adam and Eve when they fell causing them to die spiritually and eventually physically as well.) The Law and the sacrifices were an older covenant to remind us of our sins year after year. But Jesus took away the older covenant in order to establish the second newer covenant so our sins could be forgiven and forgotten “once and for all.”

Heb 10:10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, and upon their mind I will write them,” He then says, 17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

This is why Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them. He goes on to say that just because He has fulfilled the Law is no reason for us to abolish it. The Law is still valid, but functions now in the Spirit, not in ritual. We keep the Law because of our intimate personal relationship with God (and only by the power of the Holy Spirit), not because we will be punished if we do not.

Matt 5:17-20 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. 19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. NASB

Finally, there are some things that changed because their symbolic nature is no longer needed or they have become culturally unnecessary. Food laws were designed to teach them the difference between “clean and unclean,” to demonstrate that the people of Israel were set apart unto the Lord. In Acts 10, when God tells Peter that He is going to now make Himself equally available to the Gentiles, He sets aside the food laws as a symbol no longer needed or valid. That is why some things were never required of the Gentiles that were required of the Jews, things like circumcision, which had been required of the Jews simply to show that they were set apart unto the Lord. In the absence of modern food preservation, the food laws were often helpful and sometimes necessary. In spite of modern hygiene, the practice of circumcision still has some physical validity and usefulness as well.

Then there were laws that were culturally necessary that are not necessary in our culture today. These include things like head coverings for women and dress codes in general. When we go to Africa, women must cover their legs (but not necessarily their breasts) due to cultural differences. Rules about hair length for men and women and many other things were culturally derived and no longer necessary. However, it is still biblically necessary to not offend other cultures in our attempts to represent God.

When the Old Testament Law was fulfilled or modified as types and shadows, it did not relegate everything in the Old Testament to be invalidated or changed. And many Old Testament commands predated the giving of the Law of Moses in 1450 BC and/or the fall of man in Genesis chapter 3. These include things like tithing and the definition of marriage. Jesus constantly referred to this when He said, “You have heard it said that …., but I tell you that from the beginning it was not so.”

Consider this: The Mosaic Law (which is often what is meant when people think of the Old Testament) came to us in about 1450 BC. Adam was created about 3000 years earlier. That means that the Old Testament people of God had a relationship with God for 3000 years BEFORE the Mosaic Law was even given. The principles of that pre-Mosaic relationship have NEVER changed. Abraham (as well as Adam, Noah, Enoch, Jacob and countless others) believed God and it was counted to him (them) as righteousness. Put another way, prior to the Mosaic Law, all salvation was based in relationship with God and all relationship with God was based in trust (belief or faith). The entire Book of Genesis pre-dates the Mosaic Law and the principles revealed there are still fully valid and unchanged. The Hebrew name for Genesis (bereshith) is translated as “in the beginning.” Jesus’ comments that “in the beginning it was not so” are referring to the pre-Mosaic timeframe as represented in Genesis and cover fully 2/3rds of the Old Testament.

There are some things only found in Old Testament that are obviously still binding upon us, such as, the laws concerning fornication which are not mentioned in the New Testament (vs. the laws on adultery which are referenced in the New Testament), capital punishment, just war and “faithfulness to the wife of your youth.” It is not valid to infer that because something is only mentioned in the Old Testament and not in the New Testament, it is no longer binding upon us.

There are some things that are not referenced in the Bible at all that are still binding upon us because they are extrapolated from biblical principles. This would include things like speeding laws which go unmentioned in either the Old or New Testament. Our careful study of the Old Testament provides us with perspective, color and an explanation of our present reality like a study of our family’s genealogy. It is hard, if not impossible, to know who we are and why we do what we do without a valid understanding of from where we have come.

In summary, there is no valid separation between the Old and New Testaments, and our requirement is to know and obey them both. Without a firm foundation in the Old Testament we are adrift and unanchored as New Testament Christians. The principles and requirements of the Old Testament are fully incumbent upon us today at least as it relates to the spirit of the Torah Law. Some requirements we obey differently because Old Testament laws, types and shadows have been fulfilled, but it is all “the Scriptures” which Paul told Timothy are

“inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, for training in righteousness;
17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

The ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is crucial. First, the Holy Spirit is the life force that keeps us all alive. Second, He is the spiritual force that causes us to be born again. Third, He is also the mechanism for conviction and repentance in our lives and, fourth, the Holy Spirit is the mechanism for our sanctification after our regenerating “born again” experience, if we let Him. All of this is covered at length in the blog, The Ministry of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is also the giver of special gifts that we use to navigate our life here on earth as we walk with God. There are nine specific gifts the Holy Spirit gives to those who seek to walk with Him. They are recorded in 1 Corinthians 12.

1 Cor 12:4-11 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. NASB

Much has been made of these gifts and sometime too much is made of them. We will try to define them and put them in perspective in this communiqué. We are told that there are a variety of gifts that have a variety of purposes. We can all participate in these gifts if and when the Holy Spirit endows them upon us. They are not merit badges, nor are they symbols of our maturity. They are given to assist in the ministry as they are needed, and the Holy Spirit gives them to us individually as He wills. We cannot demand them. They are gifts, not rights. They are given for the benefit of the body of Christ, not to make us superstars. They are given as they are needed and usually show up where the church is emerging or growing and in need of special assistance from God or where the people of God are seeking His will and wisdom and need similar divine assistance. They are also seen predominantly in times of revival in the church.

These nine special gifts are listed in three groups of three that are interrelated and often work in conjunction with each other. The first grouping is words of wisdom, knowledge and faith. All three of these, as common virtues, are available to all of the saints at all times, but as listed above in 1 Corinthians 12, these gifts are about special uses of wisdom, knowledge and faith.

A “word of wisdom” is a specific, prophetic supernatural understanding about what someone should do in a certain circumstance. It is particularly employed to find answers for knotty problems. People are in a conundrum and do not know how to solve a problem. They pray for God to show them an answer, and it suddenly occurs to them by revelation just what will work in their particular circumstance. Perhaps your child is rebellious and unreachable and you have tried everything you know. You ask God for a word of wisdom and He shows you an answer you never would have thought of. You employ it and your child is miraculously turned around.

Solomon is famous for his wisdom. The story is told (1Kgs 3:16-27) of two prostitutes who lived under the same roof and who each had a new baby. One night one woman overlaid her baby in the night and the child suffocated. Discovering this before the morning light, she switched babies with the other woman. When the true mother of the living child realized the swap had taken place, she came to the king to get him to adjudicate between the two women. It was a typical “she said/she said” scenario. The Lord gave Solomon a word of wisdom for how to ferret out the truth. He decreed that the living baby should be cut in two and half given to each mother. The true mother’s love for her child caused her to relinquish her claim in order to save the child’s life. The false mother was quite willing to see the child divided. Solomon discerned who the real mother was by their responses and gave the child to its true and compassionate mother. This is a “word of wisdom” as referenced by Paul above in 1 Corinthians 12:8.

A “word of knowledge” is similar, but it relates to a fact or piece of information rather than how to do something. Your child is missing and you cannot find him or her anywhere. You have exhausted all ideas that are likely and normal. You and your friends pray and ask God of a word of knowledge about where the child is, and God shows you specifically where he can be found. Maybe a picture comes into your mind or a location revels itself to you. It is not a place you ever would have looked in 100 years. It is a supernatural revelation of information needed.

Jesus encounters a woman at a well in Sychar in Samaria. The Holy Spirit reveals to Jesus that this woman is living unmarried with a man and that she has had five husbands before that. He had had no prior relationship with or prior knowledge about this woman. He had never been in Sychar before and knows no one there. She is a total stranger to Him and He to her. The purpose is ministry-related, not to make Jesus look like Kreskin. This is a word of knowledge as referenced in 1 Corinthians 12:8.

The “gift of faith” here means a sudden spiritually derived ability to trust God for something that is usually outside of your experience. All of us operate in faith at some level, but this is unique and definitely supernatural. You just know, that you know, that you know you can do something or that God has things under control. You are confident and at peace and you do not understand why. Many martyrs have exhibited a supernatural and specific faith to endure the experience of martyrdom. Stephen shows us this one in Acts 6. Less dramatically, you may not ordinarily be able to talk to people, but you want to share with someone who intimidates you, so you ask God for the faith to pull it off. Your testimony is that the Holy Spirit just empowered you to do what you never could have on your own.

The prophet Elijah journeyed to the Phoenician city of Zarephath (1 Kgs 17:6-16) and there he encountered a woman who had fallen on hard times. She was about to prepare a meal with her last flour and oil after which she was expecting her and her son to starve to death. She was at the end of her rope and of her resources. This woman is not an Israelite and has no loyalty to Yahweh or Elijah in any way. Elijah, in obedience to God’s direction, makes the highly unlikely demand that the woman take her last flour and oil and make the cake for him, Elijah, to eat. Elijah promises that if she will do that, her flour and oil will miraculously not run out until better times have returned to her and her son. For reasons known only to the lady, she believes this stranger from another country and does as he asks. As Elijah promised,

16 The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty,
according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah. NASB

It is just as surprising that Elijah trusts God to go to a foreign country and ask a widow for her last food, but he does. Both of these are examples of a gift of faith as referenced in 1 Corinthians 12:9.

The second grouping of three special usage gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 is healing, miracles and prophecy.

The “gift of healing” is similarly an inspired revealed ability to pray for someone to be made well that is outside of or beyond your usual comfort zone for praying for and believing for healing. Some people have had a ministry of healing and operate in this gift on a regular basis, but this gift can be given for a specific and infrequent use as well. In Luke 10:1-20, Jesus sent 70 fairly new and untested disciples out two by two into villages and gave them the gift to be able to heal people. They were quite surprised when they were successful. It was not yet a part of their ministry. The Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on them. They were not yet born again. This experience is an example of the gift of healing as referenced in 1 Corinthians 12:9.

The “gift of miracles” in 1 Corinthians 12:10 is similarly described except it extends beyond just healing. The Bible has stories about food that miraculously appeared or supplies such as oil that miraculously lasted abnormally long times. I once had a miracle in Africa whereby I was able to breathe on my own and sleep without mechanical assistance for 11 days in spite of the fact that I have a paralyzed diaphragm and cannot breath lying down without a breathing machine. My machine broke and there was no way to fix it until I got back to the US eleven days later. I really needed a miracle from God and He answered my prayers and the prayers of hundreds of others who were praying for me. For the next eleven nights, I was able to breathe as I slept without the use of the machine, a physical impossibility. My breathing problem is structural, not psychosomatic, as my doctor will attest.

The “gift of prophecy” is another spiritual gift of the Holy Spirit that is sometimes exercised on a regular basis by someone like Isaiah. However, there are instances when an ordinary Christian is inspired to prophesy. Remember that the prophets convict the sinners concerning their sins and comfort the afflicted and sometimes, in doing so, they foretell the future. The way this would work in most of us is that in the process of comforting someone or warning someone, we get a mental picture (a kind of vision) or hear a word in our minds that is used to back up or verify our message. For instance, you might find your son in depression over his lack of direction and malaise. As you begin to encourage him in a general way, you get a strong message in your spirit that he is going to become a great salesman or a skilled administrator. You can see it clearly in your mind. You just know it in your spirit. So you tell him and the message imbeds itself in his psyche. It is not just fluff. It is a message that carries a supernatural power and it changes his whole demeanor. It gives him hope. It is “revealed” to him more than being understood intellectually. He believes it because it has dunamis (authority and strength). He will remember it for the rest of his life as a turning point in his life’s direction.

On the other hand, you may be confronting your son on his wayward behavior and God tells you that he is about to get into some serious trouble with the law or at school. You just know it. So you tell him and you offer to work it out with him when it happens. He does not believe it, but it comes to pass and he realizes that what you said was true. It was revelation more than just logistical insight. When our son, Benjamin, was caught up in drug usage, we were unable to persuade him to even want to get out of it. Having tried everything we knew, we gave him to the Lord to discipline him. Then we waited for the police to show up because it was revealed to us that it would come to that before it got better. That is exactly what happened and it was no surprise when it happened. That is what Paul means by the gift of prophecy in 1 Corinthians 12:10. It is specific revelation usually associated with confronting or comforting someone. It is what we see the prophets doing in the Bible.

The third grouping of three special usage gifts as listed in 1 Corinthians 12 is discernment of spirits, speaking in tongues and the interpretation of tongues.

The “discernment of spirits” is a supernatural revelation concerning the activity of demonic spirits or angelic spirits in the physical world. Typically, it shows up when we are confused about someone as to whether or not they are a good guy or a bad guy. If we ask the Holy Spirit, He will often tell us. Maybe someone is offering a financial deal that is too good to be true and your spirit warns you to avoid this person. “He made my skin crawl,” is a common way it is described. Alternately, someone comes to your rescue from out of nowhere and you discern that you have been assisted by an angel of God. It happens, in the Bible and in real life, more than we know.

Heb 13:1 Let love of the brethren continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. NASB

Discernment of spirits is often associated with spiritual warfare and the casting out of demons. Our enemies on earth are the world (the culture), our flesh (sinful and selfish desires) and the devil. Sometimes our sense of foreboding is just natural circumstances and sometimes it is a direct spiritual attack by Satan. You cannot counsel a demon away or talk yourself out of an attack of spiritual oppression by the devil. You must rebuke him to get him to flee. Jesus gave us that authority and we are meant to use it. However, you must first “discern” that your oppression or your oppressor is demonic and not just natural circumstances – not just “an underdone potato or a cold piece of beef.” Jesus knew when to pray for healing in someone and when to cast out a demon that was causing the problem. That takes discernment of spirits and the Holy Spirit will give that to us if we ask. It is true that not everything is a demon, but it is also true that demons (evil spirits) still operate among us and we need to discern the difference.

James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. NASB

2 Cor 10:3-4 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. NASB

Eph 6:11-13 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. NASB

The “discernment of spirits” is a particularly useful gift and one we should seek. Deception abounds in Satan’s world and people are not often what they seem to be. Candidates for public office promise the moon and are good at appearing to be sincere. Dangerous men and women will try to capture us in relationships. The results are often expensive lessons and can be fatal. We need discernment as to what spirit, if any, is operating in the people we encounter. Is it the Holy Spirit or a demonic spirit? Our well-being and the well-being of our loved ones often depend on us getting this right.

The “gift of tongues” and “the interpretation of tongues” are subjects which have often generated more heat than light. I will tell you what my 40 years of study have taught me. Others may not agree with me. It happens. We are not authorized by the Bible to fight over it. I am sure of that.

Some want to use “tongues” in a manner that suggests it is the miraculous ability to speak in or understand a known human language that you have never studied. For instance, a missionary is suddenly able to speak Siswati or Swahili without having been taught it or a native is able to understand a sermon being preached in English without having ever been taught it. I am sure this has occurred some and God can certainly cause this to happen if needed. This can fall under the heading of a miracle, if nothing else. However, this is not what I think is meant here.

The Greek word for tongues hear is “glossa.” It usually refers to a special, non-standard language and, in this case, a spiritual language. It is referred to in the Bible as the language of the angels and it implies to me that it is made up of nonsense syllables as has been claimed by much of Christendom for 2000 years. On Pentecost Sunday, a number of Galilean fishermen were praising God in the temple after the Holy Spirit had come upon them in an upper room of a house. They appear to have been doing so in a glossalalia – an unknown tongue made up of nonsense syllables (as Paul describes later in First Corinthians 14:14-19). The second miracle was that some men from numerous countries were able to understand them in their own language. God apparently gave these listeners the ability to interpret these tongues.

Five times the book of Acts describe events where the Holy Spirit fell upon new believers. In three of those events, the new believers spoke with unknown tongues. Just as important to note is that in two of them they did not appear to do so. The Bible does not say that every new believer receives the gift of tongues (as some have implied). It does say, however, that some did and my experience is that some still do. I have known many solid Christian believers with both experiences. My observation from reading Christian history as well as the Bible is that the widespread outpouring of the gift of tongues is prevalent in times of revival and is often used to support or prove that the Holy Spirit is acting in renewal. Many good Christians ask for the gift of tongues and do not receive it.. Others seek the gift of tongues and receive it. Still others (like Cornelius’s family in Acts 10) do not specifically ask for it but receive it anyway. God is sovereign and gives to whom He will whatever He will

The story of our American revivals, the First and Second Great Awakenings, the Azusa Street Revival of the early 1900’s and the Charismatic Renewal of the 1970’s all were accompanied with the outpouring of the gift of tongues. It is one of the hallmarks of modern Pentecostalism. However, there have been other revivals where this has not been a predominant feature. You cannot put God in a box. He does not always do things the same way. Many who have not had the experience want to proclaim that it is not valid. Others who have had the experience want to proclaim that anyone who doesn’t speak in tongues is not a valid or a mature Christian. Both are equally in error. Paul is clear that tongues will someday cease, but love is an eternal component of Christianity. Let us love one another and allow each man to walk with God as the Lord will lead him. Let us neither be jealous nor be critical of another man’s gifts.

It should be noted that Paul says that he spoke in tongues frequently. His main teaching on this subject can be found in 1 Corinthians 14 and every Christian should be familiar with it. Corinth was the home of many mantic prophets and prophetesses of many different religions. It was a town given to excesses and spiritual esoterica – unusual manifestations. Some of his comments are related specifically to those excesses and esoteric experiences as they were brought into the Corinthian church by converts from paganism. His comment about women being silent in church is a good example.

However, Paul is not against speaking in tongues per se. He thinks it is a valid gift that must be managed properly. (Probably no gift of God had been used more improperly over time than the gift of human sexuality, but I am not planning on giving it up just because other people have misused it ?.) Paul says that he wished that everyone could speak in tongues. He told his churches they should not forbid speaking in tongues. Paul made a distinction between tongues used in a public church service and tongues used as a prayer language.

1 Cor 14:18-19 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind, that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue. NASB

1 Cor 14:5 Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying. NASB

1 Cor 14:39-40 Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. 40 But let all things be done properly and in an orderly manner. NASB

Paul was clear that tongues used in a public service can be confusing and must be handled in an organized manner providing an interpretation. It is my experience that many churches, like the one Nancy and I met the Lord in, are organized in such a way as to make the use of tongues valuable and edifying. However, many churches do not prepare people to handle the use of tongues in a public service and Paul would speak against their use in those public services. Usually a prophetic message in the common language will be as useful and less disruptive as a message in tongues.

The real benefit to the gift of tongues, in my opinion, is as a private prayer language. Paul has much to say about that in recommending it for people who have the gift. He points out that we often are unsure about how to pray about something. In those cases, he says the Holy Spirit who knows the mind of God can pray through us with “groanings to deep for words.”

Rom 8:26-27 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. NASB

Paul refers to this kind of praying as praying with the Spirit versus praying with the mind. Paul says he does both (prays in the Spirit and with the mind), but in church he prefers that people pray with intelligent words.

1 Cor 14:14-19 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What is the outcome then? I shall pray with the spirit and I shall pray with the mind also; I shall sing with the spirit and I shall sing with the mind also. 16 Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. 18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind, that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue. NASB

The ninth spiritual gift listed in 1 Corinthians 12 is “the interpretation of tongues.” Once again there are those who want to define this gift as having a particularly easy time learning known foreign languages. It may be, but I do not think so. In every case in the New Testament where the words “interpret or interpretation” are used in conjunction with “tongues,” it refers to a supernatural understanding of a nonsense language.

This gift is usually used in a public meeting when someone brings a message in tongues. A message is offered in tongues and then all wait for someone to offer the interpretation. Paul tells the Corinthians that no one should bring a public message unless there is someone there who can interpret it. As with prophecy, the interpreter should have a proven gift and be acknowledged by leadership as having a valid gift in this area. The “spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, for God is not a God of confusion” (see verse 32 below). These gifts used in a public meeting must be humbly offered and submitted for testing. They are usually followed by some acknowledgement from the leadership that this was a valid message. A blueprint for this public meeting activity can be seen in Paul’s instructions below.

1 Cor 14:26-33 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and let one interpret; 28 but if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. 30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. NASB

Ultimately the purpose of these gifts is to edify (build up) the church, to inspire people. God uses them to offer insights to benefit those present. These gifts involve an active participation by all present and are not found when the meeting is led by a few “professionals” while everyone else is sitting back being entertained. They are employed where the people as a group have a relationship with God and not just as individuals. These public meeting gifts require maturity among the people as well as understanding.

These nine gifts of the Holy Spirit are not the only gifts given by the Holy Spirit. The Bible also mentions gifts of administrations, helps, intercession and the fivefold ministry gifts: apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists and teachers. Gifts are important, but not more important, Paul tells us, than love. It is interesting to note that nestled between the two chapters on gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Corinthians 14 is the great chapter on Love, 1 Corinthians 13.

1 Cor 12:28-31 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues . 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way. 13:1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. NASB

Many Christians become too focused on spiritual gifts, especially on the gift of tongues. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are, first and foremost, gifts, not entitlements. God gives them to whomever He will. Such a gift does not make us superior. The underlying Greek word for gift (charismata) is also the word for grace (charis) and it means “unearned favor.” It says more about the goodness of God, the giver, than the deservedness of us, the receiver. There has been too much pride and arrogance on one side and envy and resentment on the other side, none of which blesses God. The best way to tell if a man or woman is “of the Holy Spirit” or spiritually mature is not by reviewing his gifts. It is by reviewing his fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control, etc. Let us seek these things and our gifts will take care of themselves.

Gal 5:16-26 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace , patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. NASB

I am often asked what is the Job Description of the Holy Spirit. What does He do and what is His purpose? Some segments of the church have a well-developed understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but much of even the evangelical church today has so ignored or underemphasized the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that many if not most of their members are at a loss to define or understand Him. And yet his ministry is vital to developing Christian maturity.

The Holy Spirit as a distinct being is discussed throughout both the Old and New Testaments where He is often referred to as the Spirit of the Lord or the Spirit of God. If the translators have capitalized the word “Spirit,” they mean us to know that this is the third person of the Trinity – the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit has many ministries as seen in the Bible. He is also seen as the life force that sustains life in all living things. (Sounds like Obi Won Kenobi describing the Force ?.) If God the Father is our Creator and God the Son is our Lord and Redeemer, the Holy Spirit is our life force. The Holy Spirit sustains both physical and spiritual life as seen by the Scriptures. He is, therefore, both God’s spirit (the life force or the breath of life) and God’s Spirit (the third person of the Trinity).

Our Physical Life Force
Ecclesiastes 12:6 describes what happens physically when a man dies.

Eccl 12:6-8 For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street. 6 Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. NASB

The “golden bowl,” a metaphor for the human body, breaks down or dies. Semitic writing uses repetition for emphasis as is seen in the equivalency of “the golden bowl,” “the pitcher” and “the wheel.” They all mean the same thing and they mean that man’s physical mechanism stops, fails, or dies. The silver cord is the connector between the physical body and the life force (the spirit) in each man. As such, it is a metaphor for the soul. It is sometimes lauded as “the human spirit,” but it is the spirit or “breath” of God. That spirit of God (lower case “s”); i.e., the life force, then returns to God who gave it. The physical man is now dead.

But when did God “give it,” embody us with His life giving spirit? Well it depends on who you are. If you are Adam and Eve, it occurred at their creation when God breathed the breath of life into them and they became living souls.

Gen 2:7 Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being or soul (nephesh in Hebrew). NASB

The Hebrew word for the breath of God is neshamah and is translated divine inspiration, vital breath or life force. Let’s tackle what is meant by divine inspiration. If the second person of the Holy Trinity is often personified as “Wisdom,” the third person is often personified as “Insight” or “the mechanism of revelation.” In His role as “Insight,” the Holy Spirit gives all creation meaning. He makes sense out of it. He reveals it to us. He is the agent of “revelation.”

Physically the Holy Spirit manifests itself as energy and life (la Chayaim). His is the ministry that makes us alive. The Holy Spirit is the agent of all life, the life force. He is God within all of us implanted at conception and enduring in us until death.

So if we are not Adam or Eve, when did God breathe the breath of life into us? Actually, I already gave it away. The answer is that it happened at conception. In my blog on God Created You Personally, I gave a more thorough explanation of this process, but suffice it to say that the process of conception involves the mother who provides the ovum, the father who provides the sperm and God who determines which swimmer wins. The coming together of sperm and egg at the divine impulse of God is the moment the life of God is breathed into each person. Death is the moment when the life of God leaves each physical body.

The story of the conception of Jesus in the body of Mary gives us a good look at it. The conception was accomplished when the Holy Spirit overshadowed her. That same divine impulse was at work. The Holy Spirit entered the ovum of Mary, but instead of implanting the seed of Joseph, He implanted the Word (or seed) of God. The conception of Jesus worked like yours and mine did making Him fully human except that His Father was the Living God.

Luke 1:28-35 And coming in, he said to her, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end. ” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. NASB

Jesus the man died in exactly the same way as we do. He died when the spirit (life force) of God left His body. Had it not been so, had His body not really died, His death would have been a fraud and we would still be in our sins.

Luke 23:44-46 And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 the sun being obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit.” And having said this, He breathed His last. NASB

If you had looked into His tomb Friday night or any time on Saturday, you would have found His dead body. His soul and spirit were alive in Sheol overthrowing the power of Satan and setting his prisoners free, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, David and a million others. (For more on this, see the blog Three Days That Changed It All.) It was not until early Sunday morning on His way to Heaven with a host of captives that He re-entered His body (resurrected), the first true resurrection of a man, but not the last (1Cor 15:20-23). Then He rolled away the stone from the mouth of the tomb and left death in the dust. It was then that He encountered Mary of Magdala and told her not to touch Him yet because He had not yet presented the completed unblemished sacrifice to the Father (Jn 20:17). It was then that He led this host of captives (Lk 4:18, Eph 4:8) and challenged the long locked gates of glory to open in His name (Ps 24:7-10). After He presented Himself, the risen Christ (Messiah) to the Father, Jesus returned to us, walked through closed doors and offered us “hugs all around.” And Jesus did all of this by the power of the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that inhabits the believer even today.

Jesus told His disciples (including you and me) that everything He did we would do and more because He was going to send us the Holy Spirit.

John 14:12-17 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father. 13 “And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. 15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. NASB

Jesus lived and operated in great authority and power, both of which He bequeathed to us through the coming of the Holy Spirit. In the 40 days between the Resurrection and the Ascension, Jesus taught His disciples and did many things, so many things that John tells us there are probably not books enough to contain them (Jn 21:25). Many of these things are not written down, but one thing Jesus taught was so significant that it is written down and emphasized. He told them to go to Jerusalem and wait until the Holy Spirit came upon them so that they might receive the power to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. The Greek word for power is “dunamis” from which we get the words dynamite and dynamic. The word means both strength and authority.

Acts 1:6-9 And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” NASB

The Book of Acts tells us that one of the disciples apparently did not go and wait in Jerusalem as instructed. His name was Apollos. He was a good man and an uncommonly good teacher, but he did not know about the coming of the Holy Spirit. He had returned home before the feast of Pentecost and began to lead people to Christ, but he only understood the baptism of John. Acts 18 tells us that he lead 12 Jewish men to Christ in Ephesus. It was only after this that he ran into Prisca and Aquilla who told him about Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit. After this the taught the full gospel including the role and purpose of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 19 then tells us that Paul came to Ephesus where he ran into those Christians led to Christ by Apollos, but he noticed they were lacking in their understanding of the Christian life. They were missing dunamis, the power of the Holy Spirit. So he asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered in a way many Christian people today would have answered, “We did not know there was a Holy Spirit!” There is a significant difference in our lives as Christians when we try to live it in the absence of the Holy Spirit. It just lacks strength and authority. (And to be clear, this is not about speaking in tongues. Many dynamic, spirit-filled Christians do not speak in tongues, but more on that later.)

Acts 18:24-19:7 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; 26 and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he helped greatly those who had believed through grace; 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. 19:1 And it came about that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus, and found some disciples, 2 and he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 And there were in all about twelve men. NASB

If we feel we lack strength and/or authority to live like Jesus and act in His name, it is always because we have not obeyed His commandment to go and wait upon the Holy Spirit. Too often we try to live the Christian life with our brains by too much focus on knowing right doctrine or with our flesh by trying to be good. Both of those lack the strength and authority of Jesus. Both of those can only be done well by the power of the Holy Spirit.

8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” NASB

The call from Jesus to be His witnesses here, there and everywhere is not a call to say anything. It is a call to be something. We are called to be His witnesses, to live a life of strength and authority in the Holy Spirit. St. Francis is credited with saying that we should witness at all times and, if necessary, use words. Jesus’ call upon our lives is to be like Him and to live like Him and this we can only do by the power of the Holy Spirit as He tells us in Acts 1:8 above. This brings us to the second ministry of the Holy Spirit – to be our spiritual life force.

Our Spiritual Life Force
In addition to giving us our physical life force in this world, the Holy Spirit is the agent that gives us eternal life, spiritual life. That is a second separate ministry of the Holy Spirit, what Wesley called “the second blessing.” Adam and Eve were created already filled with the Holy Spirit. When Adam and Eve sinned, the Holy Spirit left them and they spiritually died. It took much longer for them to physically die because God did not at the time remove His life force. After the Fall, man became spiritually corrupted and sinful, having less and less spiritual understanding with each successive generation. It was not until Jesus came and gave us the power to come “born again” that the Holy Spirit once more came into human beings and remained with them day by day.

Between the Fall of Adam and Eve and the coming of Jesus, the Holy Spirit visited men from time to time, came and went, to empower them for certain tasks and ministries. He was “on them” or “in them” at times, but not all the time. No one in the Old Testament had the Holy Spirit on them or in them all the time. How do we know that? The Old Testament often refers to the Spirit of God as coming upon a certain person for a certain purpose. One has to be “born again” of the Spirit to have the Holy Spirit all the time. No one in the Old Testament was born again. Then there is the testimony of John the Baptist. John wanted to be able to recognize the Messiah. God told John that the person on whom the Holy Spirit remained was the Messiah. The word remain in Greek is “meno” and means abide or continually dwell in.

John 1:29-34 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 31 “And I did not recognize Him, but in order that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32 And John bore witness saying, “I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 “And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 “And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” NASB

John clearly did not recognize Jesus naturally. Even though they were cousins and their mothers were great friends at the time of their pregnancies, it does not appear that John and Jesus ever saw each other growing up. John was raised as an Essene in the Qumran desert and Jesus was raised early on in Bethlehem and Egypt and then in Nazareth. Verse 31 above clearly says, “I did not recognize Him.” It was only when John saw that the Holy Spirit permanently remained on Jesus that he knew Jesus was the Messiah.

Jesus makes the point that while no one in the Old Testament was greater than John, the least person in the kingdom of Heaven (the least of those who are born again) are greater than John.
The difference is that the born again man is baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Matt 11:11-12 “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. NASB

King David was a man who seemed to have the Holy Spirit a lot in his life. He wrote many Psalms under the influence of the Holy Spirit. His walk with God was at times particularly anointed and insightful, but not always. David realized that his sin drove the Holy Spirit from him and prayed that God would not let it happen permanently.

Ps 51:10-13 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee. NASB

David knew that he was able to enjoy the presence of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. David knew that the presence of the Holy Spirit caused him to walk properly before God and gave him joy. David knew that the presence of the Holy Spirit enabled him to lead others to God and away from sin.

Jesus is our best source of information about the Holy Spirit. Jesus is “the baptizer in the Holy Spirit.” It is our relationship with Jesus that allows us to be born again, renewed in the Spirit and/or to have eternal life. The Bible tells us that while John baptized people with water, it was Jesus who baptizes people with the Holy Spirit.

Matt 3:11 “As for me (John the Baptist), I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (fire speaks of purging). NASB

Jesus spoke often about the Holy Spirit, but He got very focused on the discussion just before his crucifixion and resurrection. He began to tell the disciples that He was going away to a place where they would not be able to find Him. They, of course, were dismayed that they were about to lose His presence in their midst. Jesus assured them that it was necessary for Him to go away so He could send “another helper like Me” –the Holy Spirit. The coming Holy Spirit would have two very important tasks from God. He would convict them of sin and He would teach them about Jesus.

John 16:5-16 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. 12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 “He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you. 15 “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose it to you. 16 “A little while, and you will no longer behold Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.”NASB

It is the Holy Spirit’s main job to lead us into sanctification (hence the purging fire referenced above), to help us become like Jesus in this lifetime. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. Our first encounter with Him is one of which we are unaware. It is in the working of our conscience. Even the heathen is convicted of his sins by the Holy Spirit. But after we are filled with the Spirit or baptized in the Holy Spirit after we are born again, the Holy Spirit will reveal our sins to us fully if we will ask Him. Even David understood this somewhat as we can see in Psalm 51. Having come under conviction for his sin with Bathsheba, David realizes that he has not been listening to the Holy Spirit as in the past. So he begs God to “not take the Holy Spirit from me.” He asks for God to send the Holy Spirit to keep him under conviction so he can serve God better.

John 14:16-17 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. NASB

The second ministry of the Holy Spirit is to teach us the truth, to teach us how to become like Jesus. This, too, is centered in the process of sanctification. If we wish to become like Jesus, we need to ask the Holy Spirit and He will help us. He is the “another Helper” Jesus promised us. It is to our advantage to have Him working in our lives. He will enable us to become righteous, that is, rightly related to God and to our neighbor.

We do not want to resist the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It can be lethal. The only unpardonable sin is to be unwilling or unable to repent from our sins. A long as we can repent, we can be forgiven. Repentance is the ministry and grace of the Holy Spirit and He gives it to those who seek it. Resisting the Holy Spirit prevents us from finding repentance and, therefore, forgiveness.
Resisting or rejecting the ministry of the Holy Spirit is called blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

Matt 12:31-32 “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 “And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come. NASB

As with all interaction with God, our hearts must turn to God voluntarily. God does all the work of salvation in us once we invite Him to do it. We cannot save ourselves, nor can we sanctify ourselves as Paul told the Galatians.

Gal 3:1-4 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? NASB

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman in His approach to us. He will not force Himself on us. Like the Father, He woos us to hear and obey Him. Like the messianic Son of God, He is not loud or raucous. He is gentle, unaggressive and non-controlling. He will not put out a smoldering flax or break a bruised reed.

Isa 42:2-3 “He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street. 3 “A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish…NASB

Someone has said that the Holy Spirit is like water. He comes down from above, takes the path of least resistance and freezes when He meets a cold reception. These are good images for us in understanding how He works. Sanctification must be a voluntary process or it will not happen to us at all. We need to invite the Holy Spirit to change us to become pleasing to God, to become like Jesus in this lifetime. The deeds of the flesh are natural to us and evident, Paul tells the Galatians. But the fruit of the Spirit is supernatural and only comes into our lives through our relationship with God’s Holy Spirit. If we want to abandon the deeds of the flesh and live in the fruits of the Sprit (and become like Jesus), we must ask the Holy Spirit to change us.

Gal 5:19-26 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. NASB

Nancy and I met the Lord in a spirit-filled community of believers. We were taught and expected as were all believers to walk in the Spirit, in other words, to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our day by day lives. We were taught and expected to do away with the deeds of the flesh. If we were acting in the ways of the flesh such as enmity, strife, jealously, envy, anger, etc., someone would gently and lovingly suggest to us that we were “out of the Spirit.” It was an immediate reminder to re-orient our thinking and our ways to become more Christlike – at once. By becoming Christians in that community we had already agreed to live in the Spirit. They were just holding us accountable to our commitment as we would have held them accountable. It was understood that if I was not operating in the fruit of the Spirit as partially listed above, I was wrong – at least about my manner.

The Holy Spirit has been working in all of our lives from the very beginning even before we knew God in a personal relationship. The Bible says that God loved us before we knew Him and while we were yet His enemies. The Holy Spirit is the dispenser of God’s grace. By giving us a conscience, He dispenses convicting grace. By guiding us before we knew God, He dispenses pre-venient grace. By leading us to repentance, He dispenses regenerating grace. By causing us to continue in our repentance after being born again, He dispenses sanctifying grace. The Holy Spirit is our Guide and our Regenerator. That is His role. This is the main ministry of the Holy Spirit. Pray to Him to do His work in your life. That is His desire and His goal for you.

In closing, we need to understand that the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives is vital if we want to grow spiritually in obedience to God’s call on our lives. The main ministry of the Holy Spirit it to convict us of sin and to teach us to become like Jesus. That is a process the bible calls Sanctification. It is a process that is meant to follow hard on the heels of salvation. Bob Mumford used to tell us that if it was all about dying and going to Heaven, we should shoot people right after Baptism?. But the call on our life is to become entirely sanctified in this lifetime and only the Holy Spirit can cause us to get there. In the same way that we cannot save ourselves by good works, we cannot sanctify ourselves by good works either (as Paul told the Galatians). Both salvation and sanctification require the full-throated ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is time for us all to embrace the Holy Spirit and His ministry as fully as we have embraced the creative ministry of the Father and the Lordship of Jesus, Our Redeemer.

1 Thess 5:23-24 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. NASB

(For more on the process of Sanctification, see the writings of John Wesley. Also the author of this blog has written a book on the subject, entitled Restored in God’s Image, as well as a smaller pamphlet entitled Sanctification. Both are available for free as eBooks at this time or in soft cover for purchase to cover the printing costs.)

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Prophets in the Bible are men and women who operate in certain gifts of the Holy Spirit to represent God to mankind, particularly to His people. The prophetic ministry is not just an Old Testament thing. Paul tells us that Jesus gave us prophets in the New Testament (along with four other gift ministries) so we would “grow up into a mature man” (or mature woman) in God.

Eph 4:11-16 And He (Jesus) gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. NASB

One of the reasons modern western Christians lack biblical power and maturity is because we fail to receive the ministers of God as emissaries from God. We critique our pastor rather than honor him as God’s shepherd over us. We do not seek out classes on the scriptures where God’s teachers can help us learn maturity. And we reject the message of the prophets both from the past and those that prophesy for God still today. We do not realize or accept that the prophets, pastors and teachers represent the Holy Spirit of God to us.

It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, according to Jesus, to convict us of sin and to “teach you of Me.”

John 14:25-26 “These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. 26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. NASB

Bob Mumford used to say that the ministry of the Holy Spirits is “to afflict the comfortable and to comfort the afflicted.” When we grow cold to the Lord and become comfortable in our sin, the Holy Spirit confronts us, and afflicts us in our conscience and circumstances to motivate us to seek God and repent. When we are oppressed but are humbly seeking the face of God, the Holy Spirit comforts us in our tribulation and empowers us to go through it with ”a peace that surpasses understanding.”

When the Holy Spirit wants to speak to the church or to the people of God as a group, He sends prophets who speak in His behalf. To reject the prophet is to reject the Holy Spirit. The only unpardonable sin is blaspheme of the Holy Spirit – to reject the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Put another way, the only unpardonable sin is to be unwilling to repent. We cannot be forgiven if we will not repent. As long as we are able and willing to repent, we can be forgiven at any time, including at the hour of our death.

Mark 3:28-29 “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin ” NASB

So even though the message of the prophet may make us uncomfortable, it is imperative that we invite and receive it if we are to enter into or remain in God’s kingdom. Once again, to reject the prophet is to reject God and His Holy Spirit. Central to our relationship with God is to receive His messengers. The Latin word for messenger is “angelos” (the Greek is “aggelos”) from which we get the word “angel.” We need to receive our pastors, our teachers and our prophets (if they are godly) as special messengers, emissaries sent from God.

Matt 10:40-41 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 “He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. NASB

Isa 52:7 How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” NASB

Because the town Nazareth did not receive Jesus as a messenger from God but chose to view Him as the local carpenter’s son, even Jesus was unable to do the works of God in their midst. Even God cannot save us if we do not receive Him and His Holy Spirit.

Mark 6:1-6 And He went out from there, and He came into His home town; and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his home town and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He wondered at their unbelief. NASB

The Holy Spirit is like water, someone said. He flows down from above, takes the path of least resistance and freezes when He meets a cold reception. Jerusalem also came under special criticism for failing to receive Jesus as a prophet or messenger from God and it cost them dearly. It will keep on costing them until they repent and say “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Matt 23:37-39 “O Jerusalem , Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 “For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, ‘ Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” NASB

Jesus came down strongly on the side of the prophets and their message. He reserved some of His harshest criticisms for those religious people who had rejected the message of the prophets.

Matt 5:17-18 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. NASB

Matt 23:29-36 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say,’ If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets. ‘ 31 “Consequently you bear witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 “Fill up then the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell? 34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 “Truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation. NASB

This has broad implications about how we receive the men and women of God who pastor us, teach us, and speak God’s truth to us. It is spiritually dangerous to criticize the pastor whom God has sent. They, like all the prophets that have gone before them, are never perfect, but they Do come representing God to us and speaking to us in His name. If we are receptive, the Holy Spirit will speak to us through them. If we reject them, not even Jesus could teach us anything. We may say that this one or that one is more gifted in some areas than in others, but we must always remember that regardless of their gifts and skills, they are gifts given us from God. Keep in mind that they are always, by definition, human, and there is never a perfect husband, a perfect wife or a perfect parent either. Men will persecute the prophets and messengers of God, but let it not be us.

Matt 5:12 “Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. NASB

Isa 52:7 How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” NASB

Prophets in the Bible come in several varieties. Anyone who speaks for God can be called prophetic (including Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Charles Colson, C.S. Lewis, etc.). Some men and women were so often operating in this ministry that they were called prophets, such as, Moses, David, Samuel, etc. even though they had other more central roles and ministries. Moses was a divinely appointed leader. David was a king and a psalmist. Samuel was a judge.

Other men actually operated in the office of the prophet as the main ministry in their life. Of these men, there are two types as well; – those who wrote and those who did not. Among the prophets who did not write are: Elijah, Elisha, Nathan and Samuel. Samuel was the last of the judges and the first of the Old Testament prophets as defined by office.

Then in the 8th century BC, God began to send men to us whose message was so important for future generations, that He inspired them to write it down, provided a mechanism for it to survive them in writing and caused the forefathers to include them in the canon of the scripture. They must, therefore, be important messages to which we must incline our ears and hearts.

There are Two Great Commandments according to both the Old and New Testaments. They are that we must Love God and Love People.

Matt 22:35-40 And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” NASB

The non writing prophets from Samuel through Elisha focused on the first Great Commandment. The thrust of their prophetic message was against idolatry, the violation of the “Love God First” rule. The penalty they decreed for this violation was that the people would develop “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” Paul calls this condition “a depraved mind.” Art Linkletter referred to it as “stinkin’ thinkin’.” People who give themselves to idolatry and put anything ahead of their relationship with God will sin freely and insist that it is okay.

Rom 1:18-32 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. NASB

The non writing prophets who spoke against man’s idolatry from the 12th to the 9th centuries BC allowed their messages to be recorded in the historical writings of the Old Testament, namely, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. Their message is there for all to see as they study the written biblical history of God’s relationship with His people.

Then in the 9th and 8th centuries BC, a set of circumstances occurred that was so onerous to God that He sent prophets to speak against it and to record these messages for future understanding – for our understanding. It is this commissioning by God for written prophecy that underlines and emphasizes the importance of these messages for our day.

The message of the 8th century written prophets was against the violation of the Second Great Commandment – “Love People.” And the penalty for this violation, a repetitive violation in the face of many warnings and a system-wide violation infecting the entire culture of Israel, was that “whatever we do unto others will be done unto us” – the Golden Rule. After repeated warnings, pleadings and lesser penalties, the unrepentant people of Israel were hauled of into exile for this sin. The same messages can be heard in our culture today. Will we listen?

The message of 8th century BC written prophets was about social justice. God intended for His people to prosper at some level. He means for us to have all we need and enough left over for good works. The Bible supports a compassionate capitalism. In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus tells us that we all have different capacities and resources. We are all expected to multiply the resources God gives us to steward. We will all be rewarded and punished based on our faithfulness or lack of it. We are meant to feed our families, support the work of the ministry and assist the poor, the orphan, the widow and the least of these, My brethren.

1 Tim 6:17-19 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. NASB

Matt 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. NASB

Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. NASB

2 Cor 9:7-12 Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9 as it is written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness abides forever.” 10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. NASB

God has no bank account, and yet all resources under Heaven belong to Him. God “banks” His money in our accounts along with the money He gives us to manage our own lives. When He needs to assist someone, He comes to us and asks us to redirect some of His funds stored in our accounts to the assistance of others. As stewards, we just need to comply and administrate His funds faithfully as directed.

God gives some, but not all people, the power to make wealth. He gives other gifts to other people. Those to whom God gives the power to make wealth have a special responsibility to care for others with that wealth as God directs. The problem begins when we think that our wealth is “our” wealth rather than “God’s” wealth. The problem grows as we redirect funds intended to care for others to our own personal usage. In civil law, we call that embezzlement and God does not like it any more than we do when someone steals our identity and/or embezzles our money.

The Torah Law of Moses contained a number of regulations designed to insure that there was no permanent underclass in Israel. Land was given to everyone and they were meant to steward it for the benefit of their succeeding generations. The loss of land was injurious to succeeding generations, so the Torah Law made provision for it to be returned to the family after some time.

If a man lost his land, he could also go to his Kinsman-Redeemer, the head of his tribal unit, the pater familias, to enlist his help in getting his land back. If the Kinsman-Redeemer was of sufficient strength to recover the land, he would do so and work out an internal arrangement with the one who lost it. Women in Israel could inherit land. If so, they were encouraged to marry within the tribe so the land would not be lost to the tribal unit. God meant for everyone in Israel to have their own land either individually or as a family.

The Torah Law allowed the poor to work for their relief by gleaning the edges of the harvest. The land owner harvested the bulk of his crop, but he left the edges for the poor to glean. The poor could eat the grain they gleaned or sell it for cash.

Beginning in the 9th century and on into the 8th century BC, corrupt business men colluded with unjust judges and wicked kings to change the Torah Laws allowing them to capture large land tracks for their permanent use. Kings and judges would scheme to steal land from the poor and powerless. Large agribusinesses emerged that pushed the small farmer off the land and into the cities to work for little or nothing creating a permanent underclass for the first time in Israel’s history, a situation that was neither pleasing to God nor economically or culturally healthy for Israel.

A classic example is told in the story of King Ahab’s theft of a vineyard that belonged to Naboth of Jezreel in the twenty-first chapter of First Kings. Ahab wanted it for a vegetable garden (in which he was probably never going to lift a finger). Naboth refused to sell on the basis that is was family land. Ahab pouted over Naboth’s refusal until his Sidonian witch wife, Jezebel, told him how to falsely accuse Naboth of a crime, get a crooked judge to execute him and take over the property upon his death. This act so angered God that He sent the prophet Elijah to tell Ahab that God would strike him down in battle and the dogs would lick up his blood in that same vineyard.

Ahab’s behavior only encouraged worse behaviors in other godless men in the kingdom. Soon the gleaning of the fields by the poor became a thing of the past, leaving families, widows and orphans without a place to live or a means to earn a living. This injustice became so widespread and pervasive that God decided to send the nations of Assyria and Babylon in to capture the people of Israel and then Judah and to haul them into exile as slaves. “You have enslaved your neighbors and stolen the property of your fellow man, so that will be done unto you – in spades,” God said.

The driving force behind all of this corruption was coveting and greed. It was not enough to be well off. People began to covet more wealth and seek to become ever richer at the expense of the poor and the powerless. Like the man Jesus spoke of in Luke 12:16-21, the wealthy people of the 9th and 8th centuries BC thought only of hoarding their excess and not of caring for their neighbor.

After the prophets rebuked this behavior for decades with no resulting repentance, they began to do the thing for which prophets are most famous. They began to foretell the future. First, they foretold whether or not repentance could still be found and judgment avoided. Then, when the answer was “No,” which it often was, they would foretell about short term punishment and restoration. Usually they would also foretell about long term repentance and final restoration under the kingship of the coming Messianic King.

There are 16 written prophets in the Old Testament. Four are classified as Major Prophets. They are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. The other 12 are classified as Minor Prophets. They are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. They are considered minor only because of the length of their messages, not because of its content. The Minor Prophets pack a wallop and are as important for us to hear as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.

The prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel are widely known and frequently studied and quoted. The scope of their prophecies are wide and they were active in prophetic ministry over many decades of their lives. That is why they are known as “Major Prophets.” The messages of the “Minor Prophets” were smaller in scope but not in importance. A brief summary of their messages follows here.

Hosea prophesied between 755-715 BC addressing his message to the northern kingdom of Israel. He was a righteous young rabbi who was directed by God to marry the town prostitute, scandalizing all who heard of it. Having gotten the attention of the people by this most unusual alliance, Hosea began to tell Israel that God considers them to be to Him like a wife of whoredom. Ultimately, Hosea is a story of redemption and God’s compassion for his wayward people.

Joel prophesied to the southern kingdom of Judah sometime between 835-796 BC. Using the backdrop of a recent devastating locust infestation, Joel warns Judah of the coming exile to Babylon if the people will not repent. This exile does indeed occur between 605 and 587 BC. Joel calls this judgment on the people of Judah “the Day of the Lord,” a term that becomes popular with many of the succeeding prophets. Joel also speaks of the last days, the Eschaton. Peter quotes Joel on Pentecost Sunday to say that the coming of the Holy Spirit is a pre-cursor to those “last days.”

Amos is a shepherd and a fig farmer, and a businessman who prophesies to the northern kingdom of Israel circa 760 BC about their spiritual condition warning them of the coming exile into Assyria. He speaks against the hypocritical, ritualistic religion of the people and their violation of the social justice requirements of the Torah. He also pronounces judgment on the gentile nations immediately surrounding Israel for the same abuse of the poor, the orphan, and the widow. Amos promises that a remnant of Israel will survive and that ultimately a Messiah would come and restore Israel in the Eschaton.

Obadiah prophesies against the nation of Edom, the descendants of Esau, and tells us that we must support Israel. His message is the shortest of the prophets and the dating of it is in dispute, except that it fits in the timeframe of the 8th or 7th century BC. That Obadiah’s message is important can be seen in the fact that much of it was echoed by Jeremiah almost word for word (Jer 49:7-22). Obadiah has implications for how families were supposed to get along.

Jonah is famous, of course, for being swallowed up by a big fish. Jonah prophesied (contrary to his will) in about 760 BC against Nineveh, the capital city of Israel’s worst enemy, Assyria. His reticence to prophesy to them was caused by his fear that Nineveh would repent and God would spare them from judgment. Nineveh did indeed repent and was spared, showing that when we repent, God relents from judgment. Jonah shows us that God has love for all people, even the worst of sinners.

Micah prophesied in about 760 BC and focused on the issues of social justice. He condemned the greedy rich who failed to care for the poor in their day. Micah is best known for his succinct summary in Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” His predictions of judgment and other details showed remarkable specificity, including his prediction that the Messiah would be born in the unlikely town of Bethlehem. It was Micah the scholars of King Herod researched in order to inform the Magi concerning the Messiah’s birthplace. Micah also prophesies the eschatological reign of the Messiah in some detail.

Nahum prophesies God’s judgment on Assyria for its abuse of Israel demonstrating once again His commitment (and, therefore, hopefully ours) to support Israel.

Habakkuk prophesies in about 607-605 concerning the fall of Judah to the evil empire of Babylon. He complains to God that Babylon who is being used to chastise Judah is more evil than Judah, a charge that God does not deny. The first two chapters are a dialogue between God and the prophet on this subject. The third and last chapter is a psalm of praise to God in which the chastened prophet acknowledges God’s historic faithfulness to Israel and foresees its continuance. Its most famous revelation is that “the righteous are justified by faith and not by works.”

Zephaniah who prophesied from 630-625 BC reiterates “the Day of the Lord” theme of judgment. Zephaniah who addresses his message to Judah foretells of two “Days of the Lord,” one near term with Babylon as the agent of judgment and the other one in the Eschaton. In the end times, the Messianic King will bring judgment upon the eschatological descendants of the same Babylonian empire.

Haggai and his disciple Zechariah were 6th century prophets who addressed the returning Jews coming back from the Babylonian Captivity. Haggai’s message focused on motivating the returnees to be about the business of rebuilding the temple, an exercise that had stalled due to political opposition and too much focus on caring for themselves. He challenges all who live in “paneled houses” to make sure God’s temple has all it needs to do the Lord’s work in his day and ours as well.

Zechariah continues the theme of sanctification and calls the people to a real relationship with the Lord as opposed to a religiosity so common to man. Zechariah also has the most developed eschatology among the prophets with the possible exception of Isaiah. In fact, Zechariah is sometimes thought of as “Isaiah Lite.”

Malachi is the last written prophet of the Old Testament. He prophesies in 432 BC and after he speaks, the Lord does not say another word to Israel until John the Baptist comes out of the Judean desert with his call for scriptural holiness in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Malachi brings a scathing word of rebuke upon the worthless religiosity of Israel and a call to righteousness – right relationship with God and with our neighbor. Malachi announces the coming of both the Messiah and the forerunner, John the Baptist, who can be considered the last prophet of the Old Testament.

The fact that God made sure the prophetic message was written down and preserved is proof positive that its message is meant for us today and that we will be held accountable for it when we stand before Him in judgment. It behooves us then to read it, study it, understand it and obey it in our day.

HTSWL 3 Days That Changed It All Week 1
HTSWL 3 Days That Changed It All Week 2
HTSWL 3 Days That Changed It All Week 3
HTSWL 3 Days That Changed it All Wk 4
HTSWL 3 Days That Changed it All Wk 5
HTSWL Can Creation Story Be Literal
HTSWL Christians Should Not Fear Death
HTSWL 10 Commandments 1-3
HTSWL 10 Commandments 4
HTSWL 10 Commandments 5
HTSWL 10 Commandments 6
HTSWL 10 Commandments 7
HTSWL 10 Commandments 8 & 9
HTSWL 10 Commandments 10
HTSWL Reviling is Sin Week 1
HTSWL Reviling is Sin Week 2
HTSWL The Greatest Commandment Week 1
HTSWL The Greatest Commandment Week 2
HTSWL Self-Sanctification is Impossible Week 1
HTSWL Self-Sanctification is Impossible Week 2
HTSWL Self-Sanctification is Impossible Week 3
HTSWL Happiness is a Decision Week 1

Amos Chapter 1
Amos Chapter 2
Amos Chapter 3 & 4
Amos Chapter 5 Verse 1-15
Amos Minor Prophets Overview
Amos Chapter 5 Verse 16 – Chapter 9

I never met my great-grandfather Curtis on my mother’s side. He died before I was born. He used to walk the train tracks from Whitesville, Kentucky to Owensboro. He had no means of transportation and the tracks were the straightest path between neighboring towns. One day a train came up from behind him as he walked down the tracks and he was killed. My great-grandfather Curtis could no longer hear, so he did not know it was coming. God gave us five senses so we could navigate a sometimes dangerous world safely and efficiently. When we lose those senses, the dangers of life increase exponentially.

The Bible talks a lot about leprosy. We now call it Hansen’s disease and there are still about 100 cases diagnosed in America every year. We have medications to treat it now, so we no longer have leper colonies here, but there are hundreds of leper colonies still operating around the globe. Leprosy is caused by a bacterium that eats away the flesh and along with it the nerve endings. Lepers lose their ability to feel anything in their limbs. They don’t know that their hand is lying on the burner or too near the fire. They cannot feel it. Pain is often thought of as an evil thing. Chronic pain is toxic, but pain is necessary and good. It tells us when we are in danger by alerting our brains through the sense of touch.

Blindness is easily seen as a bad thing. We can learn to accommodate it but only by heightening the other senses we still have. Recently it was announced that Dame Judi Dench was going blind due to macular degeneration. Her response is noble, but I feel her loss. God knows how Helen Keller must have felt without the ability to see, hear or speak. She was trapped in a prison of darkness and deafness with no way to communicate or express her most basic feelings and needs. She was not always thusly impaired. She developed scarlet fever or meningitis like symptoms at 19 months of age that robbed her of her sight and hearing. Her “savior” was a woman named Anne Sullivan who taught her to read lips with her fingers. Anne taught her how to fully communicate by spelling words out on Helen Keller’s hand until she learned how to speak them. Helen Keller went on to be an author, a lecturer and a political activist. Can you imagine how liberated she must have felt?

There is another kind of problem people face in this regard. All of their senses work perfectly, but a brain injury or deterioration no longer allows them to accurately interpret the data presented by their senses. They have “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” The Bible tells us that this condition is the cause of the spiritual destruction of the human race. Mankind goes astray because they spiritually develop “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.”

We are born intact spiritually. We have a conscience and a functioning set of senses to teach us what is true. Paul told the Romans in chapter one of his Epistle to the Romans that “what can be known about God is evident within us having been revealed in all that has been created.” In the second chapter of Romans Paul goes on to say what can be known about right and wrong is implanted in all men in what we call their conscience. For these reasons we are, everyone of us, without excuse when we stand before God to give an account of our lives.

Rom 1:18-23 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. NASB

Rom 2:14-16 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. NASB

Theologians agree that those who die before they reach the age of reason and those who are mentally ill will not be held accountable for sin because they are incapable of choosing to do good or evil. Civil courts also hold that children below a certain age and those with mental defects cannot be held criminally accountable for their actions. The rest of us are subject to judgment in both civil and heavenly courts because we are created with “senses” that warn us and direct us to do the right things. Therefore, we are without excuse.

So why do we then sin so frequently and do so many bad things? Partly it is because we are self-willed and we knowingly rebel against God’s Torah laws. We push aside the dictates of our conscience in order to satisfy our desires. But largely we offend God because we quit seeing evil as evil and good as good. Like Helen Keller, we become infected with a” meningitis of a spiritual nature” that prevents our heart from recognizing what our fully functioning senses are telling us. We develop what the Bible calls “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” That spiritual illness is known in the Bible as sin or iniquity. Far too often we sin because we no longer think of evil as evil. Our spiritual blindness and deafness are caused by an infected heart, the “brain” of our spiritual being.

The specific sin that causes “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear” is idolatry – putting anything ahead of our relationship with God. Both Old and New Testament agree that there are Two Great Commandments. The first is to “Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind and body” and the second is like it, to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” From these two commandments flow all of the Law and the prophets, Jesus said. Under these two are ten sub-commandments and under them are 613 rules and regulations, about half of which are positive “Dos” and the other half of which are negative “Don’ts.”

The violation of the Second Great Commandment is to abuse, neglect or fail to assist our neighbor. The penalty is that “Whatever you do into others will be done unto you.” The violation of the First Great Commandment is idolatry, having anything as more important than God in our lives. The penalty for that is that we develop “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” It is idolatry that corrupts our heart and keeps us from understanding what our eyes see and what our ears hear.

We tend to think of idolatry as something that involves a statue or a physical object, but that is not the only way God sees it. Among the things that can and do become idols in our lives are our careers, our money, our personal goals and ambitions, our hobbies, our leisure activities, and everything from sexual activity to shopping. People are often idols in that they are more important to us than God is. Jesus said we must love God more than we love even our parents, our spouses, our children, even our very lives.

Idolatry is subtle like a virus or a bacterium that is not visible but takes us over and shuts down or alters our physical being often without us realizing it. When Jesus told the “rich, young ruler” to sell all that he had and “Come follow Me,” He was identifying an idol in that man’s life – his fortune. Religious behaviors and good works can and do become idols in our lives when they become more important or even substitutes for an intimate relationship with God.

If we choose something to be more important to us than is God, He will try to reach us through the prophets, through the Word and though the Holy Spirit. But if we insist on having our way, God will give us over to our own will and the resultant dulling effect it has on our hearts and minds. He will not force, coerce or compel us to good behavior. (Your mother might, but God will not ?.) Paul explains it in his letter to the Romans this way:

Rom 11:7-8 What then? That which Israel is seeking for, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; 8 just as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not, down to this very day.” NASB

When Paul was able to preach to the Romans in person, he said it again, this way:

Acts 28:23 So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Paul’s house. He told them about the Kingdom of God and taught them about Jesus from the Scriptures — from the five books of Moses and the books of the prophets. He began lecturing in the morning and went on into the evening. 24 Some believed and some didn’t. 25 But after they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul: “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, 26 saying, ‘Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; and you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; 27 For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I should heal them. ” NASB

Paul here is quoting Isaiah who is quoting God directly when God sent Isaiah to confront Israel on their constant and continuous decision to put other things ahead of their obedience to God. It had been 800 years since God delivered them from Egypt, met them at Sinai, provided for them in the wilderness and given them the Promised Land through miraculous victories over their enemies. They had been warned countless times, forgiven countless times and rescued from their consequences countless times. It was time to deal severely with their idolatry, so he sent Isaiah with the ultimate bad news. God is going to let them suffer the consequences of their persistent idolatry and the consequences would last until the Messiah comes at the end of time. And the consequences were, you guessed it, “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.”

Isaiah 6:8-12 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; keep on looking, but do not understand.’ 10 “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, houses are without people, and the land is utterly desolate, 12 “The LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. NASB

Isaiah, who frequently talks about “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear,” tells us just how stupid it gets. We cut down a tree and with one half we carve a god to worship and with the other half we cook our dinner.

Isaiah 44:12-20 The man shapes iron into a cutting tool, and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers, and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes, and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, so that it may sit in a house. 14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak, and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image, and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for thou art my god.” 18 They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 And no one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire, and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” NASB

Paul explains exactly the same phenomenon, again to the Romans.

Rom 1:21-32 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. NASB

Isaiah was not the only prophet to warn the people of this problem. The same theme was taken up by many of the Old Testament writers including Jeremiah, Ezekiel and David.

Jer 5:19-21 “And it shall come about when they say, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’ 20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah, saying, 21 ‘Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not; who have ears, but hear not. NASB

Ezek 12:1-2 Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house. NASB

The problem of “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear” was not just a problem for the people of Israel. It was as old as mankind and common in all peoples. David points out that the idols of men are deaf, dumb and blind and render us all the same way:

Ps 135:15-18 The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, the work of man’s hands. 16 They have mouths, but they do not speak. They have eyes, but they do not see. 17 They have ears, but they do not hear; nor is there any breath at all in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, yes, everyone who trusts in them. NASB

The problem with developing “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear,” is that we can no longer see truth objectively. We begin to believe that sin is okay and that the word of God is silly, old-fashioned, unsophisticated, puerile, out-dated, simplistic and just plain dumb. We easily violate the Torah Law and we “also give hearty approval to those who practice them,” because we can no longer see the truth. We then live in a confusion of our own making. Our spiritual blindness and deafness is self-imposed. Therefore, we are without excuse.

The world tells us that sin is okay and we believe it because we idolize the world more than we love God. We become susceptible to the culture’s Jedi mind tricks. The world says, “It is okay to have sex outside of marriage” and we respond, “It is okay to have sex outside of marriage.” The world says, “Morality is subjective, cultural and changes over time,” and we respond, “Morality is subjective, cultural and changes over time.” The world says that, “Religion has no place in public life,” and we respond, “Religion has no place in public life.”

Jesus came to restore the truth of God to God’s people, at least to those who wanted to hear it. Jesus warned His listeners to listen carefully to what He had to say. He often finished his teachings by saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matt 11:14-16,
Matt 13:9, Matt 13:43, Mark 7:16, and many others.)

The Bible tells us that God reveals Himself to those who sincerely seek Him, but He does “cast His pearls before swine” – those who have no regard for them. If someone desires to NOT hear the truth because they love their false ways, God will not allow them to hear the truth, He will not force revelation down anyone’s throat. That’s why Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.

Matt 13:10-17 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 And He answered and said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12 “For whoever has, to him shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 “And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; and you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; 15 For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I should heal them.’6 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears , because they hear . 17 “For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. NASB

God’s truth is freely available to anyone wants to understand it. The purpose of the Bible, the words of the prophets, the words of Moses’ Law and the teachings of Jesus is that we might come to know God better, to serve him more correctly and to relate to Him more intimately. God’s message is given to be understood, but only by those who want to understand it, not by those who do not want to hear it.

Mark 4:21-2421 And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a peck-measure, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? 22 “For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it should come to light. 23 “If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.” NASB

Often we say we want to know the Lord, but what we really want is to stay out of trouble, to avoid Hell. This is the problem with the unbiblical emphasis of teaching people to accept Jesus as their Savior. It focuses on avoiding Hell. The Bible teaches us to lead people to accept Jesus as their Lord. It focuses us on obedience to God and to His king, Jesus. It focuses up on the fact that God is our Master and we are to be disciples, servants and obedient sons and daughters. Salvation does proceed from that relationship, but salvation is not the main focus of it. Lordship and discipleship are the main focus.

Jesus sometimes got frustrated with His disciples for focusing on the wrong point. They focused on miracles. He wanted them to focus on having a personal relationship with God from whom all miracles come.

Mark 8:17-21 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? 18 “Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, 19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” 20 “And when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to Him, “Seven.” 21 And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?” NASB

The question really is, “Do we in our day understand?” The Lord is always reminding me to make these lessons practical (and He usually uses my wife to tell me that ?). So why is this important to you and me? Are we just to understand how Israel went wrong in the olden times, or is there an important message for you and me now, in this age. You bet your sweet bippy!!! (Only those who have ever seen the TV show “Laugh in” will understand that remark ?).

Let’s get back to that train barreling down the track just about to clobber us from behind. If we do not know that the judgment of God is about to come upon us for our behaviors, and if we do not think we have any behaviors to be judged, that train will make an awful mess in our lives when it hits. We will be like lepers who do not know that our lives are going up in smoke. We will not be able to feel the fire, to smell the fire or understand that we are in trouble. We probably already do everything we think God wants from us, at least the big things He requires. But are we aware that we may be blind and deaf to things that are harmful to our spiritual well-being. Are we in daily conversation with God about the things He wants to change in us? Can we point to the recent work He had done in our lives, the recent changes that have been made in us? Are we actively engaged in focused Bible study, small group accountability and daily conversations with the Lord wherein we ask Him to show us our sin and send His Holy Spirit to take it out of our lives? Do we identify with David as he prayed in Ps 51.

Ps 51:1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, and blameless when Thou dost judge.

David was so repentant for his sin, that he wrote a Psalm about it and then published it. The Psalms were organized by David into a regular liturgy used in the Jewish Temple and synagogue worship. He created 5 divisions of Psalms and rotated them throughout the calendar year. He did not try to hide his sin, but instead, he acknowledged it openly as a part of his repentance and as an example to his subjects. He asks God to “wash him from his iniquity and cleanse him of his sins.” He is asking God to deal not only with this particular offense, but also his sin nature in general – his iniquity. We also should be asking God daily to take away our iniquity. David acknowledges that although he has sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba, his real offenses have been against the Lord. He also acknowledges that God is right to judge him for these sins. He does not justify himself in any way.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness. Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice. 9 Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

He points out to God that our sin nature is in us from conception as a result of the Fall. He has it. His parents had it. It is there from the beginning. He has a bias for sin. So do we if we will admit it. David pleads with God to wash him and cleanse him – to sanctify him – so that he will not operate in that sin bias but rather in the Spirit of God. Paul says that we are born into the fallen world but are born again into the Kingdom of God. We can dwell in either one, but it takes the power of the Holy Spirit to change us. We should ask God to kill (crucify) our flesh and renew a right spirit in us – the Spirit that Adam and Eve had before the Fall. He also asks God to forgive AND forget his sins once they are dealt with. So should we. David had a well developed theology for an Old Testament man.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee.

Here is the heart of his prayer and we should pray it ourselves as often as we pray the Lord’s Prayer. David asks for a restoration of relationship with God. He knows that all salvation is based in relationship and that all relationship is based in trust. He knows that it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that allows him (and us) to walk in ways that are pleasing to the Father. He knows that only the Holy Spirit in us can help us to “stop sinning.”

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation. Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Thy praise. 16 For Thou dost not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it. Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. NASB

Here David is asking God to not only remove his sin, but also his guilt. God will do that if we ask. Paul said so in Romans 8:1. Our inner joy comes from being no longer guilty as much as from being no longer sinful. David also realizes and acknowledges that God wants a broken spirit and a contrite heart, not sacrifices and other religious ritual. God seeks to have a right relationship with us. That is the definition of righteousness.

David sinful actions with Bathsheba caught him by surprise. Oh, he knew it was sin, but it had not dawned on him just how far he had strayed from God until he woke up one day and heard the prophet tell him the truth. Like a frog in the water, David was gradually being boiled alive in his iniquity, but he did not see it until it was too late. They say “It’s good to be king” and kings do have special privileges, but “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” unless we are in daily conversation with God about it. David had not been talking to the Lord for awhile and he developed “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” I am sure David’s conscience was screaming at him like a train whistle, but he could not hear it. Now he was hearing it, but it was already mowing him down. Like a top executive of a Fortune 500 company doing the “perp walk” on TV in handcuffs and an orange jump suit, David was asking “What happened?” So David asks God to help him not let that happen again.

Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, and blameless when Thou dost judge.

“Be gracious and merciful to me, O God,” he prays. Please blot out my sins and cleanse me from my sinful nature. I can now clearly see my sin and it is always before me – and it stinks! I have sinned against Thee and you are right to judge me for it.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness. Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice. 9 Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

Like everyone else, I was born with a sin nature. I had human parents who were themselves sinners. From my birth I tended toward sinful behavior. It is natural and common for us to sin. How could I possibly think I am sin free? But what you want for me, God, is inward righteousness – in this lifetime. However, you will have to work it out in me, because I cannot do it for myself. I will praise you for the discipline You just put me through. It means you are still with me and have not written me off (Heb 12:7-8). Please blot out my iniquity and my sins from your remembrance. Look upon me as the fully redeemed and justified man I will be, not as the sinner I naturally am.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee.

Do the surgical work necessary and the clean up process that only you can do so that I might have a clean heart and a steadfast spirit. Please do not stop talking with me and please do not take from me your convicting and comforting Holy Spirit. Let me be as happy as I was when we first covenanted to walk together. I was as giddy as a school boy and as light as a feather (like Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas morning) because I was restored, redeemed and renewed. Give me a willing spirit to always want your will for my life. Maybe then I can actually help others find you also.

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation. Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Thy praise. 16 For Thou dost not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it. Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. NASB

Lord, please remove not only my sin but also my guilt (Rm 8:1). Then I will be free to sing your praises again. Let us be rightly related so that I might be able to praise you honestly. I know what you want. You do not want the blood of the animals. If you did, I would give it. Rather you want me to have a broken and contrite heart and a broken, humble spirit.

Do you think it is not possible for a Christian to live in blindness to all spiritual truth? Think again and consider the man below as Paul describes him.

1 Cor 3:10-15 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each man be careful how he builds upon it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire. NASB

Once we become Christians, we all build on “that foundation which is Christ” in us. Some of us build on it things that have no lasting spiritual or eternal value (hay, wood and stubble). Others build on it with things of spiritual and eternal value (gold, metal and precious jewels). When judgment day comes the first man will show up in Heaven smelling of smoke because everything he built after his salvation was spiritually worthless. God was talking to Him all those years but he was not listening. He had eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear.

Another man began as soon as possible after salvation to seek the Lord about how he could become sanctified, set apart to God, dedicated to God’s service, made able to participate more and more in God’s service, cleansed of his sin and of his iniquity so He could be more pleasing to his Lord. That man built with gold, metal and precious jewels, things which survive the purging fire of God’s judgment. That man quickly asked God to give him eyes that could see the truth and ears that could hear the truth. So instead of a depraved mind, he obtained a renewed mind. He was not caught unaware of his sin or his judgment, because that discussion occurred daily in this lifetime. He showed up in Heaven smelling of the sweet fragrance of Jesus’ cleansing blood. Both men, as far as I can see, went to Heaven. This is not a message about going to Heaven or Hell when we die. This is a message for believers about how to live in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth in this lifetime.

Isaiah tells us what happens when the king of Heaven rules in the land or when we allow Him to rule in our hearts individually. He heals blind eyes and deaf ears, and He heals the hearts of those who have “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” Our minds will then be able to discern truth and our mouths can then speak it clearly. We will no longer have “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” We will then be able to walk more pleasingly with God.

Isa 32:1-5 Behold, a king will reign righteously, and princes will rule justly. 2 And each will be like a refuge from the wind, and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry country, like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land. 3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded, and the ears of those who hear will listen. 4 And the mind of the hasty will discern the truth, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly. 5 No longer will the fool be called noble, or the rogue be spoken of as generous. NASB

The story is told of a little country church where one Sunday morning the preacher is “waxing an elephant” (waxing eloquent), railing away at sin in the community. He speaks for several minutes against alcohol and an old man in the back yells, “Preach it, Brother!” Then he launches out against whoring and running around with loose women, and the old man again hollers out, “Preach it, Brother.” But when the preacher begins to speak against chewing tobacco, the old guy is heard to say, “Aw heck, he’s quit preaching and gone to meddling!” ?.

Some sins are obvious to us, but others are harder to see because they are too embedded in our culture and in our personal lives. We have excused ourselves for them for so long, that it does not even occur to us they might be sins. For over 100 years, the Christians of the antebellum south considered slavery to be morally right. Black and white preachers justified it from the pulpit to both black and white congregations. They were wrong.

Jesus told the Pharisees that they were long on keeping the Torah but woefully short on loving their neighbor. Moreover, they often saw their lack of love for their neighbor as righteousness. For instance, they claimed that their lack of caring financially for their parents was justified because they gave that money to God, a process they called “Corban.” Jesus told them they were wrong.

Mark 7:10-13 “For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death’; 11 but you say,’ If a man says to his father or his mother, anything of mine you might have been helped by is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that. ” NASB

Too often we come to see our sins as virtues. A good example is the vitriol and bitterness that has overtaken our public discourse when we speak about people with whom we disagree. Instead of just making our point, we feel that we have to demean or even demonize our opponent. Political commentators on television make a good living publicly excoriating their opponents. They call it “telling it like it is,” but the Bible calls it reviling, and Jesus calls it sin. It is wrong.

Matt 5:21-22 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder ‘ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. NASB

I always find it disheartening when God shows me my hidden sins, especially because they are unintentional and I thought I was doing so well. It never occurs to me that I am offending God by such behaviors until God reveals it to me. Then the problem begins. If I have obvious sin in my life, I am expecting to have to change some day. Hidden sin, on the other hand, requires significant changes I have not imagined or planned for. It requires a radical change in my behavior. In other words, I have to find its roots. That takes new focus and dedication to change, and it takes more time and effort.

In my opinion, the largest, most pervasive hidden sin in our American culture is the sin of “consumerism” – shopping as a regular exercise, purchasing as an addiction, buying things as a hobby or as a means to happiness. But why, you ask, is consumerism a sin? It’s my money! Why can I not spend it any way I see fit? But is it my money, or does it belong to God? Am I the owner of my resources or am I just God’s appointed steward over them?

As Americans, we have an overblown, culture-based, non-biblical notion about our resources and even our very lives. It is my life, we say! Why cannot I do whatever I please with it? However, the Bible tells us we are not our own. We are bought with a price. We belong to God who made us, and as Christians, we belong to Christ who bought us with His blood.

1 Cor 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. NASB

1 Cor 7:22-24 For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brethren, let each man remain with God in that condition in which he was called. NASB

Both Old and New Testaments taught and even the Pharisees agreed with Jesus who tells us that we exist here on this earth to “know, love and serve God with our whole hearts, minds and bodies.”

Matt 22:35-38 And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. NASB

As Christians we are twice bought. Every New Testament writer called himself a bond servant of Jesus and Jesus was called a bond-servant of God. A bond servant is a slave who was bought with a price to pay off a debt. The debt was our sin and the price was Jesus’ blood. I am not my own and my life does not belong to me. I cannot just do with it as I please.

Luke 1:38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.” NASB

Luke 2:28-29 Then he (Simeon) took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 “Now Lord, Thou dost let Thy bond-servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; …NASB
Rom 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, …NASB

Gal 1:10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. NASB

Phil 2:5-7 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. NASB

Col 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, … NASB

Col 4:7 As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information. NASB

2 Tim 2:24 And the Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, …NASB

James 1:1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings. NASB

2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: …NASB

Jude 1-2 Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you. NASB

Rev 1:1-2 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. NASB

Rev 15:3 And they sang the song of Moses the bond-servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. NASB

The Bible also contains a large developed theology of money, spending and resource management. People hate it when preachers talk about money, but Jesus talked more about money than almost any other topic. People are open to preachers talking against sexual sin, stealing, murder and many other things, but talking about money (giving money in particular) is “meddling.” Good pastors do not talk about giving because they want our money. They talk about it because they are watchmen responsible for our souls. They do not want us to be surprised by God on judgment day because we failed to be properly giving. We are not going to talk about giving here. We are going to be even more “rude” and talk about spending.

The theology of finances, money and resources begins with the principle of stewardship versus ownership. The first thing we need to see is that we are not owners of anything, including as we have seen our very lives. God owns everything and we are His designated stewards. The first commandment God gave mankind was to “be fruitful, multiply and steward the earth.” Truth is that God intends that we all prosper at some level. Prosperity in one time and/or place is different from prosperity in another time and/or place. Prosperity in Poland is different from prosperity in Alpharetta. Prosperity in 1812 is different than prosperity in 2012. Prosperity is not evil, just dangerous. It is God who gives us the power to make wealth and the desire to have it. If it is not properly understood and stewarded, it can destroy us.

Deut 8:18 “But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. NASB

Prov 3:9-10 Honor the LORD from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce; 10 so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. NASB

Ps 112:1-3 Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments. 2 His descendants will be mighty on earth. The generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. NASB

The problem is not wealth. The issue is how we use it. Resources are from the Lord, but those resources are given to us for a purpose. THAT is the issue. Why has God blessed us? For what purpose do we prosper? Is it to spend it all on ourselves, or is it given for the sake of others as well.

James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. NASB

2 Cor 9:7-11 Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9 as it is written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness abides forever.” 10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. NASB

God intends to provide for us what we need, but not necessarily all that we want. It is often said that the gateway sin to all other sins is coveting – wanting what others have that you do not. “Thou shall not covet” is the tenth commandment, but often the first impetus that causes us to sin is coveting.

James 4:1-4 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust (covet) and do not have; so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. NASB

Coveting is often found in the list of “big sins” which are to be avoided and which will keep us from entering the kingdom of God, even the kingdom of God on earth. Coveting is seen as idolatry – loving something more than God.

Eph 5:5-6 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. NASB

1 Cor 6:9-10 Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. NASB

The biblical virtue that is the opposite of coveting is contentment and we are called to be contented with what God gives us in good times and in bad times.

1 Tim 6:6-10 But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8 And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. NASB

Phil 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. NASB

The world does not want us to be content. It wants to sell us goods and services, even goods and services we do not need, so it encourages covetousness is us. The marketing techniques of the world system are one large Jedi mind trick. “You need a new car!,” says the shapely blond on TV. “I need a new car!,” we respond. “You can’t be happy without a weed buster!,” say the ad man. “I have GOT to have a weed buster!,” we respond, “so I better buy a house with a yard IMMEDIATELY!!!” We are encouraged to covet, to want to have everything and to be like others. We are lured by the greed in our hearts and the fact that “it is on sale.” I know people who hearing that they can get a beating at half price will rush out and buy two ?.

Perhaps the clearest biblical passage on this subject can be found in the third chapter of Isaiah. The Lord starts out by telling Judah why it is going to be hauled off into captivity in the most egregious manner. The people have given themselves over to the sin of consumerism. Rather than care for the orphan, the widow and the poor, they have given themselves to excessive buying of things they want but do not really need.

Isa 3:1-5 For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support, the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water; 2 the mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, 3 the captain of fifty and the honorable man, the counselor and the expert artisan, and the skillful enchanter. 4 And I will make mere lads their princes and capricious children will rule over them. 5 And the people will be oppressed, each one by another, and each one by his neighbor. The youth will storm against the elder, and the inferior against the honorable. NASB

Gods tells them that He is going to bring their society to ruin! He will take away their provision. He will remove their skilled warriors. He will take away their wise judges and their insightful prophetic men and women. Honorable men will no longer be found in leadership, expert craftsman will no longer be found in business and trade, and their musicians and poets will no longer be skilled at lifting their spirits. Inexperienced men (lads) will be their rulers and “capricious children will rule over them.” Oppression, dishonor and conflict will grow rampant in their national life.

Isa 3:6-9 When a man lays hold of his brother in his father’s house, saying, “You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler, and these ruins will be under your charge,” 7 On that day will he protest, saying, “I will not be your healer, for in my house there is neither bread nor cloak. You should not appoint me ruler of the people.” For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their actions are against the LORD, to rebel against His glorious presence. 9 The expression of their faces bears witness against them and they display their sin like Sodom. They do not even conceal it. Woe to them for they have brought evil on themselves.

No good man or woman will want to govern this people. The society has become too self-centered to manage even by the wisest of men and women. God’s people, (whether it be Judah then or America today), have fallen and no longer bother to hide their sin. It boldly violates God’s commandments.

Isa 3:10 Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, for they will eat the fruit of their actions. 11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, for what he deserves will be done to him. 12 O My people! Their oppressors are children, and women rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray, and confuse the direction of your paths. NASB

Those who are rightly related to God and to their neighbor will survive (even in captivity), but those who have abandoned God and failed to care for their neighbor will get what they deserve – to include inexperienced leadership and female domination (a real slap in this patriarchal world). The society (culture) is leading the people astray!

Isa 3:13-15 The LORD arises to contend, and stands to judge the people. 14 The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people, “It is you who have devoured the vineyard. The plunder of the poor is in your houses. 15 “What do you mean by crushing My people, and grinding the face of the poor?” declares the Lord GOD of hosts. NASB

God now arises like a prosecutor in court and brings the official charge against Judah. The leaders of the society have “devoured the vineyard.” They have consumed the people’s inheritance. They were entrusted with wealth and prosperity to insure the well-being of all the people, but instead consumed it all upon themselves. That which was given to care for the poor has been plundered and is to be found stored in the rich man’s house. The rich man has excess goods while the orphans, the widows and the poor go hungry. The rich have second homes while many have no shelter over their head.

Having a second home is not necessarily wrong, but we better be actively working to also shelter the poor. If we bought the second home with money God designated to shelter the homeless (only you and God will know), we probably are in trouble with God. By their mismanagement of God’s provision, says God, the people of Judah are “crushing the poor, grinding their faces into the ground!” So now it will be their turn to suffer. God will haul them off as slaves into captivity where they themselves will become the orphan, the widow and the poor. OUCH!!

Isa 3:16-17 Moreover, the LORD said, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud, and walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, and go along with mincing steps, and tinkle the bangles on their feet, 17 therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs, and the LORD will make their foreheads bare. ” NASB

Rarely does God chastise the women in the bible because they have so little power and authority. But women in every age have influence and are required by God to exercise it for the good of the society. Historically, it is the women who lead the society to care for the sick, feed the poor, educate the children and leverage the culture for decency. But the daughters of Zion here are not influencing the society for good. They are, instead, leading the society away from righteousness by their attitudes and behaviors. They are caught up in the culture of seduction and hedonism as evidenced by their commitment to consumerism. This next little section inspired me in my book to refer to Isaiah 3 as the “Dillards’ chapter” because it sounds like someone has just bought out the women’s accessories department at Dillards.

Isa 3:18-23 In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, 19 dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, 21 finger rings, nose rings, 22 festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, 23 hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans, and veils.

The prophet paints a picture of conspicuous consumption – Imelda Marcos with more than just shoes. He accuses the women of consuming excessively upon themselves rather than caring for their neighbor. Then God speaks judgment and outlines the consequences.

24 Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp; instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty. 25 Your men will fall by the sword, and your mighty ones in battle. 26 And her gates will lament and mourn; and deserted she will sit on the ground. NASB

This is a picture of exile, and it is ugly! The men have been slain in war. The women are all gathered up, stripped of their finery, shaven and branded, clothed in sackcloth, roped together and marched into captivity. The ones who survive the death march will live as slaves. The party spirit has been replaced by lamenting and mourning by women sitting in the dirt each night on the march.

Is God against wealth? Is He opposed to us having nice things? Is he opposed to nice houses, second houses, nice cars, multiple cars, nice clothes and retirement plans? No, He is not. He gives us those things when our hearts are rightly related to God and to our neighbor. But God is opposed to consumerism – the spending (consuming) of resources upon our selves as a lifestyle with little or no concern for others. Let’s take a look at another well off woman that gets God’s highest marks. (Let’s also remember that these principles are also true for men.)

Prov 31:10-31 An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. 13 She looks for wool and flax, and works with her hands in delight. 14 She is like merchant ships. She brings her food from afar. 15 She rises also while it is still night, and gives food to her household, and portions to her maidens. 16 She considers a field and buys it. From her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong. 18 She senses that her gain is good. Her lamp does not go out at night. 19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hands grasp the spindle.

Here is a highly recommended woman who presides over a wealthy home. She is hard working and industrious. She provides for her household the best of things. She operates in significant authority even in her patriarchal society. She buys a field and purchases goods necessary for the well-being of her prosperous family.

Prov 31: 20She extends her hand to the poor; and she stretches out her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22 She makes coverings for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies belts to the tradesmen. 25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future. 26 She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

This lady cares for the poor and the needy, not just herself and her family. Her family eats well and is well dressed, but not at the expense of the basic needs of others. She is industrious and contributes to the family income. She is not afraid nor does she worry about what the future holds. She speaks wisely and teaches others around her to be kind.

Prov 31: 27 She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children rise up and bless her. Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: 29 “Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all.” 30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. NASB

This lady is praised by all who know her, especially her family. Her beauty is not just physical, but is reflected in her deeds, her reputation and her very being. She fears the Lord and He praises her also. Let her have the “products of her hands.” Let her enjoy what God had given her, because she knows how to care for others as well as to prosper.

We who live in America are blessed materially at many levels and have been given a life of freedom, opportunity and prosperity. Yet there are many among us who have not been able to share in all of that. God wants to reach out to those people and show them His love, but God always uses His people to reach other people. We are God’s hands and feet in the earth, His ambassadors of good will to men. Obviously there are many who have made themselves poor by unwise behaviors and God can and does deal with people at times by allowing them to suffer the consequences of their bad behaviors. But that is God’s role, not ours. For every person out there being “disciplined,” there are many more who are being “dumped on” by the ravages of our economy and the vagaries of life through no fault of their own. “There but for the grace of God, go I.” We are not called to bring everyone up to middle class standards (in spite of what some politicians say), but we are called to make sure people do not starve or die of exposure in our midst.

A wise man I know once said that we in America are being challenged by God to figure out what to do with our money. We have been given much, and some of us have been given very much, but for what purpose? Is it to spend it all upon ourselves or are we called to use some significant portion of our resources for God’s ministry to the world around us. God had no special funds, no physical bank in which to store the resources He plans to give to the poor. Everything God has for ministry is stored in the bank accounts of His people. For me to use God’s money stored in my bank account is misprision of funds, a felony related to embezzlement, fraud and theft. Consumerism as a national pastime assumes that all that we have belongs to us and can be used to purchase luxuries while others fail to get basic needs met. That is contrary to what the Bible teaches us.

When we underfund our churches by failing to tithe, we are robbing God and the people that are usually cared for by the church, the storehouse for our tithes. When we do so because we want more to spend upon ourselves, we are guilty of the sin of consumerism.

Mal 3:7-12 “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes, and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 “Will a man rob God ? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. 11 “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts. 12 “And all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts. NASB

(Beware false teachers who “tickle your ears” by telling you that tithing is an Old Testament commandment of the Law that is no longer binding upon us. The command to honor the Lord with our first fruits preceded the Law and the Fall. Jesus told the Pharisees that they should, as a minimum, tithe, but not neglect the weightier matters of proving for our neighbor. Jesus saw tithing as a starting point for stewarding our resources, not the upper limit of it.)

2 Tim 4:3-4For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. NASB

Matt 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. NASB

Paul teaches the Corinthians that the righteous man regularly and habitually gives to the poor, and he does it voluntarily and cheerfully. Why? The righteous man knows that such behavior pleases God. In addition to his own teaching, Paul is quoting Ps 112

2 Cor 9:7-11 Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9 as it is written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, his righteousness abides forever.” 10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. NASB

In Ps 112, David gives us a definition of what a righteous man looks like and how he behaves. Among his strong characteristics is his generosity to others, and because of it, the righteous man does not live in fear of the darkness nor of evil tidings.

Ps 112 Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments. 2 His descendants will be mighty on earth. The generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 Light arises in the darkness for the upright. He is gracious and compassionate and righteous. 5 It is well with the man who is gracious and lends. He will maintain his cause in judgment. 6 For he will never be shaken. The righteous will be remembered forever. 7 He will not fear evil tidings. His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. 8 His heart is upheld, he will not fear, until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries. 9 He has given freely to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted in honor. NASB

It has been suggested that if Americans quit buying goods and services, the economy would collapse. Once again the sin of consumerism is being portrayed as a virtue. It keeps others in jobs if I buy a fifth flat screen for my bathroom or my dog’s house. I am not recommending that we stop buying. In fact, I think we should spend more money, but spend it on others rather than on ourselves. We live in a land where it has become increasingly difficult to know what to give our friends and family for Christmas or birthdays, because they already have everything they want and more than they need. Many have discovered the joy and fulfillment of other-centered holiday celebrations like feeding the homeless and “gifts in lieu of” to the needy. Given the magnitude of the need in our society right now we need not fear economic collapse because we eschew consumerism.

No one, except God, can tell us how to spend our money, because it belongs only to Him. I cannot possibly know what you should or should not buy. I am not suggesting that I do. Some day we will stand before God and He will sort us out into two groups, those who are accepted into His eternal presence and those who are not. According to Jesus, part of the criterion is based on whether or not we housed, clothed, fed or nurtured “the least of these my brethren.” There is a causal relationship between caring for our neighbor and salvation. Simply put, if we do not care for our neighbor, we cannot have a saving relationship with Jesus. He will tell us that He never knew us.

Matt 7:19-23 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ NASB

Matt 25:41-46 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they themselves also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

1 John 3:17-20 But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19 We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him. NASB

James 1:27 This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. NASB

Nancy and I have moved 17 times and have bought 10 houses in the process. We are unstable, I suppose ?. Business related moves, family expansion and then reduction as well as the specific direction of God have taken us from here to there over 43 years of marriage. We are living in our dream home and our retirement home, we think! They have all been dream homes in their season. We moved for the final time two houses ago, we thought. God laughs at our plans ?.

Each home has a story about how God worked a miracle to get us into the exactly right spot at exactly the right time and/or stories of God’s work of grace. Sometimes the miracles of God happen in ways that get disguised as “coincidences,” but coincidences that happen regularly and with frequency soon become obvious designs of God. We have come to call them “Godincidences.”

We married in the summer between our junior and senior years in college and moved into a low rent apartment in an old section of town just across the street from a railroad track. The flyer came through every morning at 4am without fail, but we soon ceased to hear it. It was a great starting place furnished with the landlord’s castoffs which (except for the mattress) we were glad to have. We owned a roll top desk and not much else. The apartment was clean and safe and we were fortunate to get it, especially since we had no visible means of support. The older couple who owned it took a chance on us when few others would. Miracle number 1 was small but necessary.

After we both graduated and found jobs, we moved into a new apartment complex and bought all new furniture on the “90 days same as cash” plan. There we began to have everything we ever wanted except happiness. We did not know the Lord and the more we bought the more we felt empty. Circumstances turned against us. We lost our income and eventually almost everything we owned, but in that crucible, we found the Lord and that elusive happiness that we had sought for so long. Miracle number 2 was huge and very necessary. It changed our lives forever.

In June of 1971, I was in a major car wreck, broke my jaw, knocked out most of my front teeth and we moved into our pastor’s basement. They had four children and one on the way. He made very little money but he had a great heart for God. She had polio and an indomitable spirit. They were really great parents and we learned more about marriage and parenting watching them than by any and all other methods available to us. It was there that the foundation for our 43 years of marriage was laid. Miracle number 3 was expensive but priceless.

Once we were back on our feet, we moved into a mid-priced one bedroom apartment while we tried to recover financially. Shortly after we moved in, Nancy found out she was pregnant with twins. They were born at only 8 months and were undersized and feeble. The doctors told us Todd (3 lbs 14 ounces) was going to die and although he spent 30+ days in one of the countries first neo-natal ICUs, he survived and flourished. We had no health insurance at the time of their conception, but the company I was working for decided to cover them fully even though they were a pre-existing condition. It was an expensive decision for them (low six figures). For us, it was Miracle number 4.

As soon as we realized our one bedroom apartment was too small for four people, we began to look for bigger housing. Because of the aforementioned car wreck, we had a down payment for a small house. The best we could find for our money was way out in the far suburbs in an “iffy” neighborhood, but we felt we had no choice, so we “settled” for it and placed a contract on an 800 sf ranch. The next morning Nancy saw an ad in the local paper for just what we were wanting to begin with and in the perfect location. (The first house was miles from anyone we knew. This house was within walking distance from my mom who proved to be invaluable in helping my young wife with twins. We could not have gotten through the first year intact without mom’s almost daily assistance.) Nancy called our realtor (her mother as it happened) who explained binding contracts to her. However, Nancy believed God wanted us in that area, so she persuaded her mother to see if anything could be worked out.

Nancy’s mother, who was already concerned about our new overtly enthusiastic, Protestant religious convictions (our families were all committed Catholics), was unsure how to convey “the will of the Lord” to her colleague, but she agreed to call him anyway. She called Nancy back stunned. The realtor who had received our contractual offer had “partied” a little too much the night before and failed to turn it in on time. We were free to look at the house in the paper. (Miracle number 6?) As soon as Nancy pulled up in front of the house, she knew it was where God wanted us. After touring it for all of 10 minutes, she agreed that we would buy it, but asked the owner (a Mrs. Clark, as it happened) to allow me to come see it after work before the offer was final. Mrs. Clark agreed. That very afternoon, Mrs. Clark got another offer for more money, but she kept her word and held the house for my inspection. (Miracle number 7). We bought it. It was in that house that we first began to teach Bible studies.

Within two years, the house became too small, so we started looking for a bigger ‘fixer upper’ to accommodate our growing family. We bought a 50 year old house in an older neighborhood made up largely of retirees. The house needed a lot of work and we were tapped out, but we thought we could endure it, because it had good bones and was ultimately large enough. The house was bought from an estate, so our realtor (my smart mother-in-law) put a $59 insurance binder on it in case the estate had not done so. A month before we were to move in, the tornado of 1974 that swept through Kentucky and Ohio hit the house.

Perhaps the worst room in the house was the kitchen which had nothing in it but a porcelain sink with a cloth skirt hanging down and one set of cabinets above the sink. Apparently God did not like the kitchen either, because the tornado picked up our chimney, threw it through the kitchen roof, knocked the cabinet off of the wall and smashed the porcelain sink. Greg Maddox could not have thrown a better pitch. There was no other damage to our house but hundreds of homes around us were badly mangled.
The resulting check allowed us to remodel the kitchen, rewire the house, put on storm windows and repipe the house from the street to the basement providing water pressure unseen over the last 3 decades. Miracle number 8 was a doozy!

The storm had so altered the landscape that the older people moved out and the yuppies all moved in remodeling as they came. The neighborhood suddenly caught a bullet and housing prices skyrocketed. Several years and several family members later we sold for over twice the original purchase price and moved into a very nice home in a much nicer part of town. It was here over a five year period that I realized my lifelong dream of becoming a fulltime ordained pastor. Since I had long given up on that dream, I consider this as Miracle number 9 for me. This house and the experiences associated with it allowed me to become the teacher and minister that I have become. It proved to be a special and fruitful time of study and revelation in my life.

Louisville, Kentucky, our home town was recognized by the Wall Street Journal with the dubious distinction as being the “Number One City in America for Unauthorized Work Stoppages” in the decade of the 1970’s. Translation: there were more strikes in Louisville than any other place during that time. Manufacturing industry fled the city and unemployment in the early 80’s reached 25%. The town was crushed under the weight of economic collapse. This was the era of the Megatrends phenomenon whereby employment opportunity fled the rustbelt North and Northeast sections of the country and boomed in the South and Southwest. A mass exodus ensued.

Our church of 700 people was hit hard by the economics of the day. Our support systems were fairly significant but insufficient to help everyone fully. Southern and Southwestern cities like Mobile, Alabama and Dallas, Texas were clamoring for qualified workers, so we sent dozens of resumes to our churches in those areas resulting in multiple job interviews followed by multiple job offers. Fifty-four families from our church ultimately moved to the Sunbelt. The first family to relocate was the Clark Family – that would be the six of us plus a single girl we had “adopted.”

Housing costs were about triple in Dallas/Fort Worth compared to Louisville’s prices. We moved into a smaller newly constructed three bedroom ranch for $800 per month. The builder was offering liberal terms to our many families moving down. He allowed us to rent this new home until our five bedroom two story sold in Louisville. That took 11 months and felt like 11 years. During that time it became apparent that we did not fit into the new Dallas home very well, but we were trapped, we thought. Then some friends came to visit in preparation for moving down and fell in love with the house. The builder agreed to let them take over our contract and suddenly our house in Louisville (remember 25% unemployment) sold for the asking price (Miracle number 10).

We bought a larger two story just three doors down the street and the relocation was accomplished without a truck. A team of people looking like an army of ants literally picked up our goods from one house and walked it three doors down in a morning’s time.
We traded in our $800 per month payment for a $1200 per month payment, and as you probably have guessed, that was more – a lot more. We were now paying five times more than we paid in Louisville and 1/3 of our take home pay went to housing. Somehow or another we managed to make the payment for a year. This was one of the many times in our walk with God that our income was less than our outgo but somehow God stretched our money to meet expenditures without putting us into debt. We have always attributed this to the transcendent economy of God for those who tithe. In any case, it worked and we consider it housing Miracle number 11.

After a year, I was feeling a lot of pressure to change jobs, but I dared not as long as I had such a huge house payment. Growing into the Texas economy would take all of us who moved from Kentucky some time. Then another church member moved to Dallas who wanted to build a large home nearby. He admired our home so I offered to rent it to him for a year for the $1200 while he built his dream house. This family moved in and we found a four bedroom ranch for $700 per month and took a significant load off of our financial situation. We were very grateful for Miracle number 12, a renter willing to pay so much for a house so we could get a break. One year later, we moved back into the $1200 house after our finances had improved. Then I got transferred to San Antonio.

I was commuting twice a week from Dallas to San Antonio. We needed to sell the big house, but we were competing with a building boom and a local builder with sweetheart deals. We needed to get our family to San Antonio in the worst sort of way. Our older children were entering high school. Jeremy was entering middle school and Benjamin was starting kindergarten. I was living half the week out of a suitcase in a hotel room. The housing market for re-sales was dead and deader. We needed a miracle – again! Ding Dong!

A realtor knocked on our door saying he was working with a client who was on his way to the airport so he could fly back to Bahrain (which was apparently somewhere in the Middle East). Could he see the house without an appointment? It was cleaning day. (It is always cleaning day with kids that age.) Nancy was babysitting another boy Ben’s age and they were both famous for peeing in the bushes at will. Stuff was everywhere, but… Sure, why not. What was there to lose? You guessed it. He bought the house. Can I chalk up Miracle number 13 here?

Just before school started, we bought a 4 bedroom home in San Antonio on a half acre of ground and stayed there for 7 years – our longest tenure anywhere. The three older kids went to high school and then off to Texas A&M. It was the most significant career move of our lives and resulted in everything that has since transpired, – and this in spite of the fact that the new president of my company tried for three years to get me fired. It was a time of many significant interventions by God to restore our financial fortunes and lay both business and spiritual foundations for our future, but we will just aggregate them all under the heading Miracle 14.

In early 1993, I followed my business mentor to a company based in San Diego, but my first job was to move the company to Atlanta, Georgia. It was a startup with no projected profit until May of 1994, but somehow I was able to persuade a company to lease us office space for the relocation. One Saturday morning in March, Nancy and I caught a plane from San Antonio bound for Atlanta and a planned 4 day house hunting trip, but we never made it to Hartsfield. No one did. The worst blizzard on record closed the Atlanta airport for the second time in its history and we spent the weekend in Dallas with friends.
On Monday we boarded an airplane for the newly reopened Atlanta airport to meet our realtor for a much shortened two day house hunting trip.

The airport was opened, but nothing else was. For two days we slogged through the snow looking at houses full of people, adults and children, as well as their pets and marooned out of town relatives. Probably one out of four that we saw had trees sticking out of the roof and other structural damage. People were begging us to ignore that pine in the living room. “It usually looks much nicer than this,” they assured us. Little children without TV saw us as entertainment and often begged us to please buy their house because “Daddy was in trouble at work and they really needed to move!” The kids apparently had forgotten their pig Latin, but we knew what the parents were telling their children, “Amscray!” and “Utshup!”

Oddly enough after only two days we bought a house on a hill with a snow covered 45 degree angled driveway and a naked boy taking a bath in a tub. He was not thrilled ?. (In order to keep the many houses we were seeing straight, we gave them code names. This one was “the naked boy in the bathtub” house.) Turned out to be a great house and because it was located in Spring Ridge in Roswell, we wound up at Mt. Pisgah. Had we bought any other house we saw, we would not have ever come to Mt. Pisgah. We will call that Miracle number 15 even if it only falls in the category of significant divine direction – probably the most significant direction we have received in the last 20 years.

In 1999 and three company’s later (with the same management team), we found ourselves wanting to go to Wilmore, Kentucky to attend Asbury Theological Seminary. Our son, Benjamin had gone to be with the Lord and we were empty-nested. Our path was open and our calling was clear. We went to visit friends in Carmel, California partially to get a respite for the emotional storm surround the passing of Benjamin and partially to seek God about the future. While were there we got a call from our realtor. Our house had only been on the market a short while, but we had a full price offer from a well qualified buyer. However, they needed to take possession in less than three weeks. Talk about fast forward!

We came back to Atlanta, drove to Wilmore and discovered that there were no good rental options. Someone told us about a new neighborhood and we drove through it hoping to find a rental house. Instead we saw a nice home for sale that “spoke to us.” We knocked on the front door and bought it on the spot. It turns out the owner was a youth pastor at the church we would attend and had been transferred. He was all but packed and about to go on a mission trip before he relocated. The house could be available almost immediately. Three weeks later we had moved in and I was in summer school. We will definitely call all of that Miracle 16. When we finished at Asbury two years later, we sold the house for full price within the same church without ever listing it.

In 2001 we moved from Wilmore to Flowery Branch, Georgia and bought a 3 year old home that we determined to be our final retirement home. It was a great home, a split three bedroom ranch that fit us to a tee. While we were there we tried unsuccessfully to start several churches and then took on the church from Hell. It was a time of significant dealing in my life and frankly, it was good to have a comfortable home in which to lick my wounds. While we lived there I was treated for both prostate and thyroid cancers as well. Eventually I went back to work with my old management team three days per week and served as the unofficial, unpaid associate pastor at the Flowery Branch United Methodist Church. It was a time in which God met us with a significant number of successes and also of failures that produced in us both strength and perspective that has proved to be invaluable in our lives. Our Flowery Branch home served us as a significant refuge from the storm, and we loved living there.

In 2005, the Flowery Branch United Methodist Church changed pastors and that meant the end of our term of service there. Since most of what remained of our activities centered by that time in Alpharetta, we decided to leave our “final and retirement” home to get closer to what God had us doing. I had been driving 1.5 hours each way three days each week and gas was breaking the $3 mark. (Remember when that seemed high?) We debated town homes (me) versus a home with a yard (she), so our realtor, Susan Craig, showed us virtually every home for sale from McFarland to Rucker Road from $150,000 to $250,000. She had nothing else to do I am sure ?. Then to throw me a bone we also looked at all the condo’s in the area. Ultimately God (and Nancy) said “yard,” so we bought our ninth house and relocated for the 16th time to Water’s Landing subdivision off Waters Road. It was three miles from work, three miles from church and three miles from the golf course. Echoing the man from “O Brother, Where Art Thou,” it was a geographical oddity. It was three miles from everywhere! ?. It proved to be another great place to live and from which to do the things God gave us to do.

Five years later (that was two years ago), Nancy had had enough of yard work. Then recently our realtor informed us that our condo of choice (the Orchards at Jones Bridge) had become very affordable. This time I felt that God wanted us to make the move, but God was going to have to tell Nancy the same thing. We have a rule that has stood the test of 40+ years of Christian marriage. We never make any big decisions or donations unless God specifically informs BOTH of us concerning the decision and/or the amount. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, we both get the same message or amount at once, but when that does not occur we wait until we do.

Seven years ago, I thought we should move into the Orchards, but Nancy (and God) did not agree, so we moved to Waters Landing. This time, seven years later, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was time to move to the Orchards, but Nancy’s thinking was, “NO and Heaven’s no!” or something to that effect. All of her initial responses were opposed to the move. “I feel like I would be living on a cruise ship!” were her exact words ?.

Miracle 17 is that when I gave it to the Lord, He changed her heart in short order. She went from total opposition to thinking of it as the best possible place for us, and I did not persuade her. God did. Ask her, she will tell you it is so. The main reason why it turned around is because she prayed honestly about it. God showed her all the previous miracles surrounding our houses, and this allowed her to see it from God’s eyes. Miracle 17 includes the very interesting process of selling the Sailmaker house in this buyer’s market. It has had more twists and turns than a colonoscopy but has not been nearly as enjoyable ?. But God is a miracle worker as we have so often found out.

Today’s world is requiring more and more an active faith in God’s goodness, and a sincere belief in miracles. Nowhere is that more true in our lives than in fighting cancer, finding jobs and selling homes. But we have a big God and He can do anything. We need to trust Him in all things and we must believe that God is good all the time, even when we need real estate assistance. One way to stir our faith in this area is to look back at all the times God has met us in the past when we thought it was just too big for even God to handle. It helps to make a list or keep a journal of God’s grace and faithfulness.

It may not be houses for everyone. Few people have moved and bought and sold as many times as have we, I am sure. But if we look carefully at the events of our lives that got us here, we will be able to see God’s miracles at work even in those days before we officially knew him. God loved us before we loved him and Jesus died for us while we were yet His enemies. Stir up your faith going forward by looking at God’s miracles in your lives in the past.

Heb 11:6-7And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. NASB

1 John 4:19 We love, because He first loved us. NASB

Rom 5:10For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. NASB