Author: Steve Phillips

Jesus the Light 19:    Christ our Priest

Since we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High  Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, But One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, So that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need –Heb.4:14-16

Dear Listener, Heb.9:11-24 says: “When Christ appeared as a High Priest of the good things to come…through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption…now to appear in the presence of God for us.”

Christ has done what none other has or could ever do. He offered one sacrifice for sins, His own body and blood. That once for all settled the problem of sin. Heb.10:10-22 tells us: “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…He offered one sacrifice for sins for all time…For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus…and since we have a great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.”

Heb.7:21-28 continues by saying: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: ‘You are a Priest forever.’ Jesus, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

“For it was fitting for us to have such a High Priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

“For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.”

Yes, heaven is open to the least and weakest true believer. Christ is there to support, encourage, strengthen, and dispense mercy to meet every need of our hearts. He lives forever to represent each before the throne of grace with full acceptance in full affection.

Christ, the Living One, approved and appointed by the Majesty on High, is our Priest in the holiest of all, heaven itself. No man on earth is your priest. No man can secure everlasting access for you before the King of glory; Jesus alone can do that work. 1 Tim.2:5: “there is One Mediator between God and man, the Man, Christ Jesus.”

And He is full of sympathy for us in our weakness. He bears our every affliction and brings comfort for our every distress. Isa.53:4 tells us: “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried.”

This is why we are repeatedly directed to “draw near to find help in time of need.” There we find our great High Priest who is full of grace and truth. Come to Jesus, and then come again to Him. Never weary of drawing near to Christ, for He never wearies of being your great Priest.

His supply for the distress of our hearts is endless, for He ever lives to intercede for us. He is able to save to the uttermost because He is a Priest forever. And He will never turn any away that His Father has given Him. No, welcome awaits any who will draw near to God through Him.

Yes, He is both merciful and He is faithful. He will not reject the least of His flock, and will never fail in His great work of representing His own people with uninterrupted acceptance.

Exodus 28 illustrates for us how this is done. There the high priest of Israel had glorious garments whereby He represented the people of God before the God of Glory. On his shoulders he carried 2 identical precious jewel stones. One had the names of 6 tribes engraved on them. The second had the names of the other 6 tribes.

Ex.28:12 says: “You shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for a memorial.”

There they were carried about with full access and acceptance wherever the high priest moved in the presence of God. None were missing. No names were blotted out. None were carelessly cast to the ground.

On those strong shoulders each represented tribe had equal access, equal acceptance, equal grace, equal privilege before the Majesty in the heavens. The power and might of the high priest guaranteed their welcome without partiality.

Dear Listener, Christ supports each and every real believer continually in the presence of God. We are accepted because He is accepted. We are sustained because His power has gained us access and supply.

None have greater privilege. None have a superior portion of grace. The provision and power of Christ is available to one and all through our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. But that is not all.

Israel’s high priest also wore a type of apron with a pocket at the front. Into this were placed 4 rows of different highly valuable jewels. Each precious stone had its own special value and characteristics. Each represented one tribe from Israel.

This apron was worn over his heart whenever he entered the presence of God. Ex.28:29 states: “Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the Breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.”

Dear Listener, every believer in the Lord Jesus is valued by Him. He bears you in deepest affection and love upon His heart forevermore. With all your individual and peculiar qualities, you are loved by Christ.

And this memorial is before the eyes of the Almighty continually. Christ holds us, each one, in everlasting love as the security and guarantee that God the Father will never cast us out.

How could He? For we are upon the heart of Christ forevermore. Christ, raised and ascended, is our certainty of welcome in heaven. He is there, and He is standing in the place of each and every one of His followers.

The power of Christ is yours. The love of Christ is yours. The acceptance of Christ is yours. Draw near and abide there. You will not be denied. Christ died to secure this.

Heb.8:1,2: “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.”

His name is Jesus, and He ever lives to make intercession for you. Heb.4:16: “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Copyright Steve Phillips 2020

 

Jesus the Light 18:    Christ our Life

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed,

then you also will be revealed with him in glory -Col.3:3,4

 

We have good news for you. The sentence against your evil has already been executed and fully paid for. You have a free pardon for all your moral crimes. Christ Jesus has paid for every sin and satisfied all judgment against you.

You can collect your pardon by coming directly to your Benefactor, the Lord Jesus Christ. He knows your name and every terrible deed you have ever thought or done. And He is willing and ready to forgive.

But you must come to Him. No one else can rescue you from that judgment which will surely break upon your head otherwise. He has purchased release, and He alone can dispense it.

Those who never come, never receive. Those who think they can be accepted some other way, neglect and even despise the grace of Christ. They will receive nothing, but will abide in spiritual death and enter everlasting ruin.

Rather, why not receive the life of Christ as risen from the dead? 1 Cor.15:45 describes Christ as a “life-giving Spirit.” Christ becomes our life and supplies to the trusting heart all that is needful for spiritual life and godliness. He does what we never could. But we must come to Him for that supply.

Suppose a self-righteous man entered heaven by reason of his works and religious deeds. His own efforts then would gain for him access to that glorious place. But he would arrive as having never known God, God’s life and love, God’s Spirit, or God’s light.

For God is all of these things, yet the man entered apart from them. He would be there because of his own light, life, and goodness. He would be an unknown and uncomfortable stranger in that place. This could never be.

God is the source of all that is good, right, and true. That man would have nothing but his own dirty rags of human effort. Isa.64:6 says: “All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags.”

Righteousness is already available in Christ. He Himself is our righteousness, to everyone who comes to Him. Pardon is full and free, for His purchase price has cancelled every stain and obligation against us. But none of this is ours if we do not come to Him.

And coming, we not only receive pardon from punishment and removal of guilt; no, that is not all: Life is offered as well. Eph.2:1,2; 4:18: “You were dead in transgressions and sins, living in the desires of our flesh, being darkened in our understanding, being alienated from the life of God.”

Yes, what we need is Life: a new and different kind of life that can only be found and supplied by Christ Himself. Jesus said this in Jn.15:4,5: “Abide in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing.”

He is the living root of all things good. From the Lord Jesus flows a constant supply of all that is good, right, and true. Eph.5:9: “The fruit of the Spirit consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.”

Every one abiding in Him has Christ’s very life flowing in himself. And that produces lasting fruit; fruit that glorifies God.

Gal.5:22,23: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. Against such there is no law.”

All external attempts to secure righteousness, life, and peace are worse than useless. How can a guilty and corrupt man remaining apart from Christ have either the will or power to please a holy God? He cannot.

Rom.8:7,8: “The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Christ does not exact holiness from us by insisting we obey the law while still in bondage to sin. He rather produces holiness in us by the power of the Holy Spirit that we might ‘walk in the Spirit and thus not fulfill the desires of the flesh’ – Gal.5:16.

Christ sets us free from bondage to Self. That freedom brings a new nature that loves to obey. Christ’s life delivers our hearts from the power of sin. Christ supplies liberty to serve others in love.

Gal.5:13: “For you were called to freedom, brethren, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” The flesh uses liberty, not to bring life, but to ensnare into bondage and corruption by satisfying its own desires. The flesh uses the law unlawfully; not to convict of sin to lead to Christ which is its proper purpose, but to attempt to obtain righteousness.

But Christ has resolved the confusion and corruption of our own failing efforts. He has set us free from impossible demands of holiness while we are still abiding in the flesh. Jn.6:63: “It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing.”

Rom.8:2-4 says: “The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. What the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did; sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

The Spirit will lead us into holiness, goodness, and truth because the Holy Spirit of God is all of these things. His very life which is the life of Christ cannot fail to produce these things in every true follower of the Lord Jesus.

Gal.5:18: “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.” Why are we not under law, that principle of self-effort to comply with codes? Because what God demands, He supplies in Christ. For all that He requires, power to perform is provided in Jesus.

A man who loves from his heart, will not commit murder. He who does not look at women and lust in his heart will not commit adultery. The person who does not covet, will not steal. If you are devoted to God in your heart, you will not turn to idols.

Gal.5:16: “Walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.” Gal.5:25: “If we live by the Spirit, let us walk by the Spirit.”

Dear Listener, Walk. Move from where you are and come to Christ. But to walk you must have a purpose in your heart to motivate your steps. Determination is called for followed by a decision to arise.

Steps of obedience must be taken one after the other. Move towards the desired goal of abiding in Christ and you will make progress. As you walk, new perspectives will enlighten your heart and you will arrive at your destination at last.

Don’t stop. If you stumble, get up and continue. Don’t stray onto other paths that will lead you elsewhere. And when Christ who is our life is revealed, you will be revealed with Him in glory.

Copyright Steve Phillips 2020

 

Jesus the Light   17   So Great Salvation

How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? –Heb.2:2

In the fullness of time, when we were without strength, God demonstrated His love towards us and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save sinful men.

The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s solution to the Problem of man. He has satisfied the wrath of God against sinful men and delivers from the punishment of hell. Everything outstanding against man that hindered his being accepted by God has been cleared away by the Lord Jesus.

The Solution is not in religious ceremonies and systems, or by external practices and techniques to improve one’s behavior. No, Christ Himself provides all that we could never do and is to us all that we could never be. Christ has solved every aspect of man’s Problem before God.

He is the justifier of the condemned and guilty. His fullness of resurrection life cleanses the corrupt and relieves the miserable. Slaves to sin are set free from their bondage by the redemption of Christ.

Those without power are strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man. His life replaces sin’s death. Enemies are reconciled and transformed into friends and servants.

The Light of Christ scatters the darkness of sin while the captives of Satan are delivered and transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son.

Righteousness, once hated and feared, now is the portion and delight of all who receive Him. Hell’s horrors no more await to swallow in its ruin and destruction. Instead, the bright joys of heaven have been secured and opened as an eternal hope.

Yes, it is Christ Himself that we need, not religious codes and practices. Jn.3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

This is a glad Gospel indeed. Let us now consider the most important ways in which Christ is our Solution to the Problem of sinful men before the holy God.

Substitution means in the place of/in behalf of.  The Lord Jesus suffered in our place the judgment that we all deserve: 1 Pet.2:24: “He bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” Christ was treated as sin on the cross that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [2 Cor.5:21].

Propitiation is to appease/to satisfy. The Lord Jesus satisfied every righteous demand of the holy God against sinful man [Rom.3:25].

This is the bedrock of our salvation. If God Himself was not satisfied with what the Lord Jesus did in paying the price of our sins, then no one will ever be accepted into God’s presence.

Redemption is to set free by paying a ransom. The death of the Lord Jesus has fully paid the price to purchase us for God and to cancel our sin, guilt, and judgment.

Redemption is to buy back or remove from a slave market: 1 Cor.6:20: “You have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” It effects a complete release: Eph.1:7: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.”

We have been redeemed by God, the price paid for our release being the blood of Christ which satisfied the claims of Divine justice. Man chose to revolt against God in the Garden of Eden and has been held captive by the devil ever since.

But Jesus Christ bought us back by His blood. Dear Listener, are you God’s possession and set free from sin?

Deliverance. Col.1:13,14 says: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” No curse, no ancestral sin, no juju can afflict you there if truly you are in Christ. 1 Jn.4:4: “Greater is He [Christ] that is in you than he [Satan] that is in the world.” Are you delivered from the power of darkness?

Reconciliation: to restore friendship between people who were enemies. God has taken the initiative to make His enemies into servants and friends through the death of Christ. Fellowship with man has thereby been restored: 2 Cor.5:19: “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.”

Rom.5:10 says: “We were reconciled to God through the death of His Son.” Reconciliation restores fellowship and transforms enemies into friends. Are you God’s friend and in fellowship with Him?

Justification. God declares righteous all who put their trust in Christ and His righteousness. Justification is a once and for all act by which God declares a man righteous on the basis of faith alone. God, the righteous Judge, declares a man “not guilty/ righteous” because of Christ’s payment for our sin [Rom.3:20-30]. Are you right with God?

Regeneration. God imparts His life by His Spirit through being spiritually born again. Regeneration comes by the Holy Spirit through the receiving of the Word of God. Tit.3:5: “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

1 Pet.1:23: “You have been born again through the living and abiding Word of God.” Do you have the life of Christ within you? Are you born again?

Intercession.  Christ Jesus Himself now represents us forever before the throne of God as the one Mediator between God and man. 1 Tim.2:5: “There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the Man, Christ Jesus.”

Heb.7:25 says: “He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Who is representing you before the throne of God? Is Jesus your mediator and Him alone?

Sanctification. Christ has completely set us apart unto His Father with an everlasting acceptance [1 Cor.1:30]. Sanctification is also the transforming process whereby we become outwardly in our lives what we are inwardly by God’s grace in Christ. By it we develop conformity to the moral and spiritual excellence of Christ, becoming like Him in every respect. 2 Thess.2:13: “God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” Are you becoming more and more like Christ?

Glorification.  The ultimate purpose of God is to conform every believer to the moral excellence of Christ’s character with each one having a glorious resurrected body. Rom.8:30: “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” 2 Thess.2:14: “For this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Are you showing forth the excellence of Christ?

Dear Listener, the Lord Jesus alone is our salvation. No one and nothing else can save. And His salvation is sufficient and complete, lacking nothing. You cannot be saved any other way: not by attending church, being baptized or taking communion. Reciting memorized prayers will not save you; only Jesus can save.

Have you come to Him? 1 Tim.1:15: “It is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Have you accepted Him and the great salvation He brings? “Behold, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation” -2 Cor.6:2. How shall you escape if you neglect so great a salvation?

Copyright Steve Phillips 2020

Jesus the Light 16:    Christian Home  [part 3]

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Let the wife respect her husband –Eph.5:22,33

The wife, as well as the husband, has specific ways to honor the Lord as a godly woman. Eph.5:22-24: “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the Head of the church. And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands just as the church submits itself to Christ.”

1 Pet.3:1-6: “You wives should submit to your husbands. Then, if some husbands do not obey God’s teaching, they will be persuaded to believe without anyone’s saying a word to them. They will be persuaded by the way their wives live. Your husbands will see the pure lives you live with respect for God.

“It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. No, your beauty should come from within you: the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that will never be destroyed and is very precious to God.

“In the same way the holy women who lived long ago and followed God made themselves beautiful, submitting to their own husbands. Sarah obeyed Abraham, her husband, and called him her master. And you women are true children of Sarah if you always do what is right and are not afraid.”

Tit.2:3-5 adds: “Teach older women to be holy in their behavior, teaching what is good. Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be wise and pure, to be good workers at home, to be kind, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then no one will be able to speak evil of the teaching God gave us.”

It is here, in her home, to her husband and children, that is her primary area of service unto God. 1 Tim.5:14 directs: “Therefore, I want the younger women to marry, bear children, keep the house, and give the adversary no occasion for reproach.”

1 Tim.5:5-10 summarizes the qualities of a godly woman’s life well spent: “She is faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble, devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds, and continuing night and day to pray and ask God for help.”

The Lord has neither called nor equipped her to teach men, have authority over them, or to lead in the church. 1 Tim.2:11,12 says: “A woman must learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, she must be silent.”

Gentle, quiet submission with diligent labor and kindly teaching of children and other women are her admired and godly qualities. It is a great work that shall never lose its reward from Christ.

As husband and wife, the man and woman are one. There cannot, however, be two leaders, two heads. Chaos would result. Yet they must not act independently from one another, each in their own isolated realms, or living apart in separate houses or villages.

Two become one in heart. As planned and commanded in the Bible, the home is harmonious. Each partner glorifies God in their appointed areas. They share all. Nothing is secret between them.

There is openness. Their private existence has ended as the two have become one with nothing hidden. Decisions are discussed between them. Together, as one, they teach and train their children in the ways of the Lord in His Word. Prov.1:8: “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.”

This godly training involves two main things:  Discipline and Instruction. Prov.29:15: “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself, brings shame to his mother.”

The rod is a cane used for beating disobedient children on the buttocks. Prov.23:13,14: “Don’t hesitate to discipline a child. A good spanking won’t kill him. You shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell.” The children are to hear the reproof and instructions of their parents and learn from their discipline.  Any child who does not is a fool.

Prov.6:20-23: “My son, keep your father’s commands, and don’t forget your mother’s teaching. Keep their words in mind forever. They will guide you when you walk. They will guard you when you sleep. They will speak to you when you are awake.

“These commands are like a lamp; this teaching is like a light. And reproofs for discipline are the way of life.”

Believing parents are the ones who are to teach the truths of God’s Word to their own families. It is no one else’s responsibility. This is what God commands:

Deut.6:5-7: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. Always remember these commands I give you today. Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

It is not good for the fathers and mothers to leave their children alone. A father cannot train his children when they sit at home, walk by the way, or when they lie down and awaken if he is not present in the home. A mother cannot instruct her children if they are left to themselves. These are shameful ways.

Obeyed, the teaching of the Word of God brings great blessing to the entire family. This is what the believer’s home is to be like in 1 Pet.3:8-11:

“Finally, all of you should be in harmony, understanding each other, loving each other as family, being kind and humble. Do not do wrong to repay a wrong, and do not insult to repay an insult.

“But repay with a blessing, because you yourselves were called to do this so that you might receive a blessing. The Scripture says, ‘A person must do these things to enjoy life and have many happy days. He must not say evil things, and he must not tell lies. He must stop doing evil and do good. He must look for peace and work for it.’”

But not everyone obeys God. Not everything in the home is done according to the Word of the living God. Instead of truth, there may be lying and deception.

Cruelty, hatred, and abuse may chase love from the home. Purity might be spoiled by fornication and lust. Money in the home might be wasted on the evils of palm wine and beer while the wife and children suffer for lack of food. Hear well these words of God: “Do not be drunk with wine, which will ruin you” -Eph.5:18.

Quarreling and fighting, laziness and neglect, and other evils like these may be found in the home. It is not good. The Lord of heaven and earth is not happy with things like these found among His people. This is what He says in Eph.4:30-32:

“Do not make the Holy Spirit sad, do not be bitter or angry or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil. Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.”

Dear Listener, the Christian home is a parable of spiritual realities as a testimony to the world of the love of God. The husband pictures Christ, the wife shows the church, and the children the individual believers making up the household of God.

Mt.5:16: “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Copyright Steve Phillips 2020

Jesus the Light 15:    Christian Home 2

Husbands, love your wives as Christ also loved the church -Eph.5:25

The Christian home is to be like no other home. The believing man will love and care for his wife and the wife will submit to and help her husband like she was created to do from the beginning.

Eph.5:23-29: “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. He died so that He could give the church to Himself like a bride in all her beauty. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies.

“The man who loves his wife loves himself. No one ever hates his own body, but feeds and takes care of it. The husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the Head of the church.”

The Christian husband is to love his wife by self-sacrificing giving for her. He is the leader and head of the home whose responsibility is to direct his family in godliness.

Eph.6:4: “Fathers, do not make your children angry, but raise them with the training and teaching of the Lord.” Deut.6:6,7 says: “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”

He is to answer his wife’s spiritual questions at home as 1 Cor.14:34,35 says: “As is true in all the churches of God’s people, women should keep quiet in the church meetings. If they want to learn something, they should ask their own husbands at home.”

He is also responsible to feed and clothe them. She is not a slave to feed and clothe the man and children. 1 Tim.5:8: “If any man does not provide for his own, especially those of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Even though he is the head and leader, he is to be kind and respectful, not harsh and cruel. The Bible commands him, “Husbands, love your wives and be gentle with them” -Col.3:19.

The husband is to love his wife as his own body as Eph.5:28 commands. What would you say about a man who angrily slaps and punches himself in the face? Or what would you say about a man who stands in front of a mirror and shouts abuses at himself? Would you not say he is a madman? Yes, you would.

What would you say about a man who slaps and punches his wife while raging abuses upon her? Is he not also a madman? Yes, he is. He is hating his wife, his own flesh; he is abusing his own body; he is not like Christ.

The wife is to be honored, understood, and not mistreated since she is weaker. 1 Pet.3:7 says: “Husbands should understand and respect their wives, as the weaker partner and fellow heirs of the grace of life. Do this so nothing will hinder your prayers.”

If the man is not kind, gentle, and respectful, if he does not sacrificially give himself for her in genuine love, then prayers will be hindered. And if prayers are hindered, his belief in God has become an empty form only having no reality or power.

His wife is his God-given helper, not an animal used as a sexual object for pleasure and to simply provide children.

A Christian man is not a king and tyrant in his own home. No, that behavior is like an unbeliever who is still under the curse of God. When God said to Eve in Gen.3:16 that the man “will rule over you,” this was judgment upon her, not setting the standard for a Christian home. The Christian man leads by love, not by force.

The Christian man and woman are one. They are not to live isolated and separate lives. They are to share one home, one purse, and one bed. They share freely together and she is not excluded from the man and all his concerns; no secrets are covered up. They discuss and proceed with the affairs of their lives with oneness of mind. Her thoughts and desires are welcomed for consideration in making decisions as his helper.

Gen.2:25 tells us: “The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” There was openness, honesty, and trust. Nothing was hidden and kept from the other. This is a parable of how the marriage relationship should be.

Theirs is an intimacy and oneness like no other. The man and his wife have become a new and separate family unit, not to be shared or intruded upon by others. Adam declared before God this about Eve in Gen.2:23: “This is now bone of bone, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.”

The Lord responded and said this about this first marriage and every marriage thereafter in Gen.2:24: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”

Therefore, this new family unit is not under the authority of the extended family or clan.  They have no rights over the wife of their male relation. They should not interfere with this new marriage. They may give advice, but they have no authority to direct or compel either the man or his wife. This new home is directly responsible to God alone.

Since the wife is one with her husband, divorce becomes an act of self-destruction. It will leave one wounded, scarred, disabled, and possibly even dead. Divorce is a great evil that God hates. Mal.2:16 says: “I, the Lord, hate divorce.”

Religious men asked Jesus whether it was lawful to divorce a wife for any cause at all. Jesus replied: “They are no longer two, but one flesh; what therefore God has joined together, let no one separate” –Mt.19:6.

But like those evil men, people do not like this answer. They want to find some excuse to divorce. Jesus went on to say in Mt.19:8,9: “Because of the hardness of your hearts, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not this way. Now I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

Barrenness is no cause to divorce. There may be many reasons for a wife not conceiving. It may even be the man who is barren. The blessing of God upon His obedient people in Deut.7:14 says: “There shall be no male or female barren among you.”

If the wife has not given birth, it is not cause for divorce but for prayer, as godly Isaac did in Gen.25:21: “Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.”

Abraham did not divorce Sarah for being barren. Neither was Hannah divorced, but rather loved all the more. Zacharias did not divorce Elizabeth though she bore him no child even to old age. Let us follow these godly examples.

Sometimes out of desperation for a child, a man takes to himself another woman. This should never be done. From the beginning, God provided one woman for the one man. He did not bring multiple wives to Adam. Polygamy does not have God’s approval.

Jesus said: “A man shall be joined to his wife, and the TWO shall become ONE” –Mt.19:5. Marrying more than one wife is a departure from the Lord’s way. Deut.17:17 commands that “the king shall not multiply wives to himself.”

Dear Listener, let us glorify God in our homes. Let there be a bright testimony of the love, purity, truth, and grace of Christ seen in how we treat ourselves as husbands and wives. Then the world will know that truly the living God abides in our midst.

Copyright Steve Phillips 2020

 

Jesus the Light 14:    Christian Home

Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands. Husbands, love your wives and be gentle with them. Children, obey your parents in all things. Colossians 3:18-20

Purity of heart and body is to be in the life of every follower of the true God: 1 Cor.6:13: “Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.”

A man must not touch or look at a woman’s body in any way that might arouse unholy desires for sexual relations [1 Cor.7:1].

The Lord Jesus said: Mt.5:28: “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

1 Thess.4:3-5: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the nations who do not know God.”

Immorality brings harsh results. Heb.13:4: “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”

Choosing a marriage partner is not a matter of wanting to have sexual activity with another person. Sex is only proper between a man and his own wife after marriage.

The most important reason for choosing a person for marriage is that he/she is a genuine believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. No other person should ever be considered for marriage by a Christian.

2 Cor.6:14,15: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness…or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?”

Deut.7:3,4: “Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons.  For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.”

The person chosen to marry must be a godly obedient follower of the Lord Jesus. 2 Thess.3:14,15 tells us: “If some people do not obey what we tell you in this letter, have nothing to do with them so that they will feel ashamed.”

Prov.31:30: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty disappears, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Prov.12:4: “A good wife is like a crown for her husband, but a disgraceful wife is like a disease in his bones.”

So, careful consideration is to be taken in this life-long decision before any proposal is made. Prov.19:2,3: “He who hurries his footsteps, sins. People’s own foolishness ruins their lives, but in their minds they blame the Lord.”

Do not rely on prophets, dreams, or impulsive desires. These are useless ways to make this most important decision of human life. God never says that a pastor or even the person himself must receive a vision from God before you can marry.

Rather, seek the Lord patiently in prayer. Prov.3:5,6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on your own understanding. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way.”

Lam.3:25-27: “The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in Him, so it is best for us to wait in patience – to wait for Him to save us – and it is best to learn this patience in our youth.”

As children seeking to do the will of God, parents’ approval and blessing must be obtained long before marriage plans are made. Eph.6:2,3: “Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment that has a promise with it – then everything will be well with you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

Prov.15:20: “A wise son makes his father happy, but a foolish son disrespects his mother.” In some tribes, the parents even choose husbands or wives for their children. Some of the marriages in the Bible were done in this way.

Abraham sent his servant to find a bride for his son, Isaac.  He said in Gen.24:3,4: “Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

After discussion, her father and senior brother said, “Rebekah is yours. Take her and go. Let her marry your master’s son as the Lord has commanded” -Gen.24:51.

They then asked the girl if she was willing to be Isaac’s wife as they had arranged for her. Gen.24:57,58: “Rebekah’s brother and mother said, ‘We will call Rebekah and ask her what she wants to do.’ They called her and asked her, ‘Do you want to go with this man now?’  She said, ‘Yes, I do.’”

They traveled back to Abraham’s land. Gen.24:67: “Then Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent and she became his wife. Isaac loved her very much.” So, whether parents actually choose a husband or wife for their children, or if the children themselves choose a marriage partner, the parents’ blessing is to be had on the proposed union.

When Are People Married? Two things make a marriage according to the Word of God: [1] A culturally recognized ceremony which tells everyone that this man and woman are now husband and wife [2] The sexual union of the husband and wife after the ceremony.

This is seen from the very first marriage at the time of creation. Gen.2:22-24: “The Lord God brought the woman to the man. And the man said, ‘This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body.”

There is no single ceremony that God has given to all peoples in all places. The customs and ceremonies in your village may differ from others. Yours may be similar to Isaac’s marriage described before, or it may be like that of Boaz and Ruth’s, a public testimony before witnesses.

Ruth 4:9-13: “Then Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, ‘You are witnesses today. I am taking Ruth as my wife.’ So all the people and elders said, ‘We are witnesses.’ So Boaz took Ruth home as his wife and had sexual relations with her.”

Though the ceremonies may vary from tribe to tribe, each one makes it clear to everyone that this man and woman are now husband and wife. Each custom shows that they now have the exclusive right of sexual relations with each other and no one else.

However, Christians should not and must not include traditional practices in their ceremonies that are against the Word of God. No traditional idolatrous elements should be allowed or practiced.

These are the things that make a man and woman to be married according to the Bible. Having a marriage ceremony in a church building is one way to become married, but it is not the only way that is accepted by God. Getting married in the court registry is also a valid marriage.

It is not necessary to do both a traditional ceremony followed by a church “white” wedding. No weddings in the Bible were ever performed in a church building by a pastor or reverend. It is acceptable that way, but it is not required for God to recognize your marriage.                                   Copyright Steve Phillips 2020

Jesus the Light   13    Forgiveness 2

It is true that God’s people forgive as He forgives. Those are the true believers. It is also true that God forgives us as we forgive others. Mt.6:2: “And forgive us our sins as we ourselves have forgiven those who have sinned against us.”

But any who lack forgiveness, are blind or shortsighted, or have never encountered at all the Christ who forgives. Lk.6:37: “Do not condemn, and you shall not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Indeed, Jesus has taught us to pray: Lk.11:4: “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is has sinned against us.” In effect we are asking God to forgive us in the same way we forgive others.

Do we forgive quickly? Is our forgiveness complete? Are we holding grudge and malice? Is it our wish to see offenders against us punished? Are kindness and mercy extended to those we forgive?

Do we actually wish God to forgive us in the same way we forgive others? It is a prayer. How do we wish God to answer that prayer? In what way will God forgive us? Let us be freely forgiving.

But how often must we forgive? Lk.17:3,4: “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Mt.18:21,22: “‘How often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’”

Forgiveness of others is to be extended an uncountable number of times. Do we actually keep record? Are we taking note of any and every offense, however small it might be? How many sins has God forgiven us? Ps.40:12: “My iniquities have overtaken me…they are more numerous than the hairs of my head.”

How many hairs are on your head? How many sins has God forgiven you? How many times must you forgive others? If you will forgive as God forgives you, you must forgive an uncountable number of times. It is what God does; it is what true believers do. Forgive.

Rm.12:14: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Mt.5:44: “But I say to you, ‘love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.’”

A forgiving heart is at peace with obeying these commands. But a disobedient heart is never at rest. It is always vexed and discontent. It remains struggling and resistant against Christ and His forgiving purposes because that heart is unwilling to freely forgive.

Vengeance belongs to God. He alone knows the hearts of men. Only God truly knows the proper judgment and punishment. Our judgment may be too severe, or it may be insufficient. The Lord is the only One who can judge in righteousness.

Prov.20:22: “Do not say, ‘I will repay evil;’ Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.”  Prov.24:17,18: “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Or the Lord will see it and it displease Him, and He will turn away His wrath from Him.”

We dare not seek revenge; that belongs to God. We dare not delight in the calamity of others; that also belongs to God. Whether then we are either seeking harm or are glad when it occurs, our hearts are not right. Malice is present in both cases. Forgiveness is absent in either situation.

Rm.12:19: “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but give place to wrath, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” We are not qualified to avenge evil. We excuse what God condemns and we punish what God excuses. We are unfit for this work.

Vengeance is His; forgiveness is ours. Ours is to forgive, to hold no grudge, to seek no calamity, to send away thoughts of disaster and harm. When we do that, we are free from guilt because love triumphs in our hearts.

Forgiving also gives “place to wrath.” It clears the way for God to judge properly. It commits to His justice the righteous judgment that He alone knows needs to fall upon evil men. When we forgive, God will act for the sake of His servants; He will act for the sake of His great Name.

Our part is to forgive. God’s part is to either forgive or avenge; that is His right. Ps.99:8: “O Lord our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to them, and yet an avenger of their evil deeds.”

Beloved, let us forgive. God forgives us when we forgive others. God judges us when we seek to judge others. Let us forgive; leave vengeance with the Lord.

Dear Listener, Heb.12:15 says: “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by this many become defiled.” The grace of Christ is the cure for bitterness, resentment, grudge, malice, vengeance, hatred, and anger. These evils defile not only you, but everyone you come in contact with.

But the fruit of the grace from God is forgiveness. That grace enables us to send these things away, to release those poisonous bitter roots in the heart, to freely forgive.

James 3:14-16: “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, there is disturbance and every evil thing.”

The glad gospel of Jesus is designed to set us free from these dark deeds of wickedness, to release us from being imprisoned by malice and rage. In Isa.61:1 Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.”

Those who do not forgive remain in dark dungeons of hatred, envy, and strife. Prison remains the portion of the unforgiving. Christ’s very purpose of coming to release you from malice and bitterness is to no avail; and you are the cause.

You are yet held captive in bondage to resentment and strife. Vengeance and thoughts of harm still run darkly in your heart because you have not forgiven. And so salvation is far from you, for you have not been saved from the very evil Christ came to redeem you from.

It is no small matter, this thing of forgiveness.

Dear Listener, so what are you waiting for? Uproot the poisonous defiling bitterness from your heart. Dismiss all hatred and resentment. Pour cold water on the smoldering fires of vengeance. Release the caged birds of malice. Be free.

Freely forgive and Christ’s freedom will be yours.

Copyright Steve Phillips 2020

 

 

Jesus the Light   12   Forgiveness

 Judgment will be merciless to the one who has shown no mercy -James 2:13

Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow servant, In the same way that I had mercy on you? -Mt.18:33

Bitterness in the heart blocks forgiveness from heaven. Malice against man means mercy is missing. Holding grudge against others withholds pardon from the Father above. Seeking vengeance upon people brings God’s wrath upon ourselves.

You cannot be forgiven by God if you do not forgive men. Mt.6:15: “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” This is the uncompromising decree of heaven.

The word “forgive” means to send away, a dismissal/release. Nothing is kept in the heart against another; it is released and sent away. No bitterness abides.

Malice, that vicious character wishing harm to others, is absent. Envy with its displeasure at others’ blessings along with the smoldering desire to see them deprived of it, has vanished.

You have forgiven; you are holding nothing in your heart for harm against another, because you have sent that away. That is forgiveness. The memory of a misdeed done may remain, but it is not remembered against them in anger, bitterness, and grudge.

In forgiveness there is freedom from an agitated heart, stirred by anger and fueled by resentment. If we have released our desire to see evil come upon one who has wronged us, then we have forgiven. We are free.

But the person who retains anger, resentment, bitterness, malice, and grudge is never free; he is a prisoner of his own disturbed heart and the sin lurking therein. And every time the bars of his cage are rattled by a memory, a mention, or an appearance of the offender, his chain tightens.

The eyes will narrow; the smile flees, darkness clouds his brow, lips curl in contempt, the neck stiffens, and the tongue is let loose with flames. One moment he may be blessing God above, the next he is cursing men who have been made in God’s image. My brethren, these things ought not to be [Jas.3:9,10].

And why is it so? Because he has not forgiven. The wound is fresh and bleeding still, and he wishes the other to bleed as well. And thus he forfeits forgiveness from heaven.

Mk.11:25,26: “When you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your sins. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your sins.”

Lack of forgiveness keeps us prisoners still and shows that we are yet captives who have not known the freedom of Christ’s glad gospel. Do not deceive yourself; in the final day, this will determine the verdict of the King against each one.

Mt.18:33-35: “Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you? And his Lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother his sins from his heart.”

Forgiveness is not optional if you wish to be forgiven. Our one new man in Christ Jesus is not characterized by “anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul abusive speech” -Col.3:8. No, these are the things that we have laid aside having been joined to Christ.

Those are the old things that have gone. Tit.3:2,3: “Slander no one, be peaceable, gentle, showing complete courtesy to all people. For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our lives in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”

Yes, once we were so, but not now. A wonderful change has taken place in the heart of every true believer joined to Christ. Things are different when forgiveness has come.

Col.3:12,13: “Therefore, as the chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”

These are the things that characterize every true believer in Christ Jesus. They are like that because Christ is that way. He does not hold grudge. He is not seeking revenge against us for our misdeeds. He does not retain anger against us for our sins against Him. He is not wishing evil to befall us. Jesus has forgiven us and so all those things have been sent away. Christ retains no wrath and condemnation against His own.

And so it is also with those within whom He dwells. Since Christ is living in the hearts of His people, they also have put away evil thoughts and desires against others. They forgive because Christ forgives.

And they forgive in the same way He forgives. Heb.10:17: “And their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.” He knows what evils we have committed, but He has sent away all thoughts of punishment or wishes of harm against us because of them. This is forgiveness.

Col.2:13: “God made you alive together with Christ, having forgiven us all our transgressions.” This is the wonderful forgiveness all real Christians have received and experienced. It is the same type of forgiveness that we are to extend to others.

Eph.4:31,32: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and quarreling and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

How? How are we to forgive even as God has forgiven us? Ps.103:10-12: “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities…As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

He has removed/sent away our sins; this is forgiveness, to send away thoughts of punishment and revenge so they are never seen or brought to mind again. It is what we are to do towards those who have offended us.

“You have cast all my sins behind Your back” [Isa.38:17]. Our sins are not before His face or kept in His heart against us; they are cast behind Him. There they cannot be seen or called to remembrance in vexation. Let us then forgive in this same way.

Micah 7:18: “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?” Yes, He passes over them, not rising up in wrath and rage, punishment and harm.

We must forgive as He has forgiven us; this is the repeated message of the Scriptures. How like our God are we in this? In what ways does our forgiveness resemble His own?

Prov.10:12: “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions.” Prov.17:9: “He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends.” Prov.19:11: “A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression.” 1 Pet.4:8: “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

Love does not stir up sin and evil; it does not keep digging it up to avenge wrongs done. Love and forgiveness send away offenses. Love releases thoughts of punishment and harm against the offender. Forgiveness is freedom indeed.

Copyright Steve Phillips 2019

 

 

Jesus the Light 11:    Prayer  [part 2]

If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear -Ps.66:18

Hindrances to genuine prayer are numerous, but the root of each is one and the same. Isa.59:2: “Your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” If one would pray in God’s will, he must live according to His will. Jn.15:7: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

If one is abiding in fellowship with the Lord Jesus by obeying His Word, he will ask according to God’s will and not his own. Self-willed people are neither abiding in Christ nor obedient to His Word. They therefore ask according to their own wishes, not from desires arising from communion with their Lord.

Ps.106:13-15 describes such people who forgot His ways. They did not wait for His counsel, but plunged headlong into repeated demands from the lusts of their hearts.

Their “prayer” was answered: “He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul” -Ps.106:15. Persisting in demanding our own will may be granted by the Lord; but it will be done so in His wrath and to our spiritual demise.

Prayer is not a technique to get things from God. It rather must be offered according to His will and for His glory, not from the unworthy motive of gaining for self. Such prayers are worthless words. James 4:2-4: “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?”

Spiritual prostitution best describes “prayers” arising from our own selfish desires.  It is what Israel did in the wilderness. It is what the church does through PC.

Only as we diligently seek to know and obey the Word of God will our prayers be ordered aright. It is from the Scriptures that we gain insight into the will of God.  Only with such knowledge can we properly present our requests. Prov.28:9: “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.”

Simply put, if we will not listen to God’s Word, He will not hear ours. If we have no heart to know, obey, and then to pray in His will, He has no ear for our useless words. Zech.7:13: “‘And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,’ says the Lord of hosts.” “Prayer” such as that is an abomination.

Such are the “decrees” of PC. Monstrous folly has arisen from twisting Scriptures from their contexts to “support” the delusion of PC as if it were actually prayer. The KJV of Isaiah 45:11 has become a stronghold for this deception: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands command ye Me.”

And thus deceived, demanding, and arrogant souls decree their destinies, confess their portions, possess their possessions, and command the Most High to bow to their decrees. What depraved wickedness.

Isa.45:9,10 asks these questions: “Shall the clay direct and dominate the potter? Shall the child question, guide, and reprove the parent?” God forbid; this could never be. But this is what PC presumes to do; it is not prayer; it is nothing more than proud presumption. Listen to the true sense of Isa.45:11 in the following translations:

NIV: “Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?” ESV: “Ask Me of things to come;will you command Me concerning My children and the work of My hands?’”

NET: ^“How dare you question Me about My children!How dare you tell Me what to do with the work of My own hands!”

No, PC is not prayer at all. Consider yourself rebuked. And there are many other deceptions surrounding our communion with the Most High in prayer.

Thinking that we will be heard by multiplying words over and over again is a delusion of stupidity. Jesus exposes this folly in Mt.6:7: “When you pray, do not keep on babbling like the pagans, because they think that by many words they will be heard.”

Here, the Lord Jesus rebukes the madness of our current practice of babbling in “tongues,” as if that multiplied noise actually qualifies as prayer: It is not.

In Accra, Ghana, a woman led in prayer points, saying the points in English, and then saying for 20 minutes: “O shuliO, baba ba; O shuliO baba, ba.” In New Karu, Abuja, the GO, Man of God, directed the prayer points understandably, followed by 30 minutes of: “Sum rabosk; sum rabbosk.” In Makurdi, for 30 minutes the only prayer coming from one self-appointed “Prophetess” was this: “breeet; breeet; breeet.”

Such things are not prayer at all; they are a form of insanity, of spiritual madness as the Apostle Paul clearly warns in 1 Cor.14:23: “So if the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues will they not say that you have lost your minds?” Yes, they will.

Likewise, a hypocrite’s expectation will perish along with his lengthy prayers. We cannot oppress and cheat men and expect the God of heaven to hear us [Mt.23:14].

We will not be heard if we regard others with contempt [Lk.18:9] or if we hold grudges against them. Mk.11:25,26: If we do not forgive men “neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”

Many prayers go unanswered because the man uttering them does not love his wife.  He grants her no honor. He disregards her as God’s given helper. Her weakness as a woman is ignored and unreasonable demands are placed upon her. Rather than being cherished she is abused. It is wickedness and cancels any prayers arising from such men.

1 Pet.3:7: “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”

“So that your prayers will not be hindered:” Hindrances abound in this most holy work of prayer. All of them revolve around the hub of self – selfish desires, self-promotion, self-gain, self-comforts, self-righteousness. Self is a sickening thing.

The glory of God is a thing forgotten in the church’s mad pursuit of its own ends. Self-conceived decrees and commands dominate the words of these positively confessed “prayers.” But those are not biblical prayer at all. They are abominations.

Rather, we are to pray as Christ instructed us in Mt.6. We are to pray as Jesus Himself did in Jn.17. We are to pray as Paul did in Eph.1 and chapter 3; Phil.1; and Col.1. Do you want to know how to pray? Study these passages well, therein are Spirit inspired records of what real prayer is.

Thereby you will learn to pray in the will of God: for His interests and kingdom to advance, for the spiritual progress, growth, and maturity of your brethren. The purpose of your prayers will be for God to be glorified on earth as He is in heaven.

Your focus will become that all might abound in Christ’s love, purity, and truth that Christ’s transforming power will be effective in one and all. If we will begin to pray according to what is contained in these inspired portions of the Word of God, the entire church of Christ will be transformed. You will be as well.

Dear Listener, you can pray. Yes, you. Don’t be deceived into thinking that you require the prayers or need to pay money to some self-promoting “anointed Man of God” in order for God to hear. No. There is an open heaven above. Christ is there; He is your Advocate. Sympathy abounds from His heart for you in all your weakness. Therefore let us draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need –Heb.4:16. Copyright Steve Phillips 2019

 

Jesus the Light 10 Prayer

God hates the prayers of a person who does not obey His instruction    Prov.28:9

The Lord Jesus taught us to pray “After this manner” [Mt.6:9].  His instruction about prayer include these 4 aspects: Worship (Mt.6:9), Intercession (Mt.6:10), Personal requests (Mt.6:11,13), and Confession (Mt.6:12). This is what true prayer consists of according to our Lord’s instruction.

Throughout the Scriptures, no additional elements comprising true prayer are to be found. Anything added to these and calling itself prayer is not prayer at all. Anything that is not biblical prayer must be abandoned.

Twins, now grown men, journeyed from afar to greet their ancient father. A vast estate was their portion; an inheritance bounteous and blessed awaited them from their father’s gracious hand.

The first burst through the door of his father’s abode with agitated loud demands, and shrieked with authoritative shouts, right before his father’s face:

“I decree; today I will possess my possessions! I am the head, and not the tail! I bind any contrary spirit blocking my destiny! Father! I command; I shall prosper! I confess, I will not lack! Baba, I will enter and take the inheritance by force! Father! I no go suffer; I no go beg for bread! Am I not a god! Do I not have dominion! I decree; The portion is mine! The portion is mine! The portion is mine!”

The second son drew near with full assurance to his father’s inner chamber, yet in lowliness with deep appreciation and spoke thus:

“Father, I am come today because you are great and my heart is overwhelmed with your love. O, what can I render to you for your mercies, new every morning, unworthy as I am? There is none like you and I am so blessed to even be called your son.

“I do wish to bring up one matter to you, knowing your love and concern for my other brothers and sisters, which are my concerns as well. Please, will you attend to them in their needs? My heart is heavy that they might love you as you ought to be loved and I know you will lead them to yourself: to acknowledge and walk in your ways. Father, this is my heart’s desire. May you hear and do for the sake of your great name.”

Dear Listener, I ask you, which of these sons honored his father? Which one understood his father’s heart and concerns? Which of these twins prayed? It was the second one. Which one of these twins did not pray? It was the first.

The very nature of prayer is to ask.  Mt.21:22: “All things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” The fundamental attitude in approaching the throne of God is that of an unworthy servant presenting a humble request with fear.

The child who demands from his father shows he has no proper sense of honor or respect. It reveals a heart bent upon his own self-will. It is not for the son to command and decree, but to humbly request while awaiting His father’s good pleasure.

Thus, Positive Confession is the very opposite of true prayer. It is anti-prayer. It cannot claim to legitimately be placed in the ranks of prayer at all. PC does not ask.

Rm.8:26: “We do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us.” Since we do not truly know how to pray, we need to ask for wisdom as James 1:5 commands us: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God.”

Prayer is asking. Apart from praise, confession, and adoration, to pray is to ask. But “to pray” is never to command. We do not tell the Sovereign Lord what to do. Not even once can anything approximating the falsehood of PC be discovered in the Scriptures.

How then are we to pray? We are to ask. We are to ask according to the will of God. Jesus tells us in Jn.14:13,14: “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

Yet it is in this very thing that our sinful hearts rush to gratify self. The “Name of Jesus” is eagerly attached to our every utterance with the expectation that God is now obligated to honor our words and grant our desires.

Saying, “In Jesus’ Name” has become a carnal method to get what we want, really little more than a “Christian” incantation. We imagine that God must sit up and pay attention because we’ve used the correct technique and words that He cannot ignore.

Actually, this is nothing more than sorcery. The incantations are different but the approach is not. The procedure is the same for each. (1) Present whatever you want to get, (2) say the right words, and (3) receive what has been spoken.

This is the basic sorcery of African Traditional Religion. It has nothing to do with real prayer, nor does it have anything to do with praying in the name of Jesus.

Praying in the name of Jesus is a different matter altogether.  If a person is to request something in another’s name, he must present it for that person as if the person were doing it himself. It must accurately reflect the true interests and requests of the other.

David instructed his young men to greet Nabal “in my name” -1 Sam.25:5. David then directed the youths what to request when they did [I Sam.25:6-8]. When they came  “they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David” -1 Sam.25:9.

The request they presented was according to the will of David communicated to them by his word. Their petition had the approval and authority of David to back it up.  Their request was actually David’s request and accurately represented his will. Praying in the name of Jesus is quite similar to what these young men did in the name of David.

Dear Listener, God forbid that we should come to the Father with our own interests and present them as if this is what the Lord Jesus Himself wants to do! How will such “prayer” be received by the Father? Will He not verify with His Son if, in fact, these requests represent His purpose and will?

If they are found to be falsely presented “in Jesus’ name,” they will be thrown out, and we ourselves will be found to be false witnesses of Christ before the Majesty in heaven. God and Christ both will be provoked to anger and we will reproved in shame.

We must pray what the Lord Jesus Himself wants to accomplish if we are to identify His name with the requests we bring. His Word tells us what His will and purposes are so we can pray according to His mind. We then can ask that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven while confidently attaching the name of Jesus to our request.

Prayer that is truly in His name, is that “the Father may be glorified in the Son” -Jn.14:13. Thus any genuine prayer must arise from and be motivated by His glory alone.

Glory is the manifested excellence of God’s character: the outshining of His moral perfections. Self-will does not arise from or reveal the glory of God. Whether the words “In Jesus’ Name” accompany our prayers or not does not impress the God of heaven.  Only what accords with His glory and purpose does.

How does commanding the death of enemies glorify the God of love? It does not. Destroying enemies and lusting after wealth have nothing in common with the glory of God’s truth, holiness, and love.  Glory and greed, godliness and destruction cannot co-exist.

Self-focus is not “sanctified” by uttering the words “In the Name of Jesus.” It is an abomination and vain attempt to “use” God to get what we want: and one that provokes His wrath. It is not prayer.

The Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain -Deut.5:11.

Copyright Steve Phillips 2019