Category: Narrow Way

Narrow Way  with Steve Phillips Stinging Power

 A scorpion’s barb is affixed to the tail of death. None rest in peace. We delude ourselves with full-page banners of transitions to glory accompanying the demise of souls who have departed. We imagine that our confident proclamations will ensure that a better state awaits them. But we have ignored the Sting.

“The Sting of death is sin” -1 Corinthians 15:56. There yet remains a wage to be paid for our lifelong labors. We toiled night and day to earn it, and now payment will be meted out in full. “The wages of sin is death” –Romans 6:23. Some will receive but little; others will cash in bountifully: but all will be paid.

It is what is due, and is only fully handed out once we cross from this life to the next. It is stored up for all there. “Because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God: to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation” –Romans 2:5,8. Stinging.

We say R.I.P. because death terrifies all “who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” –Hebrews 2:15. And why are we terrified of death? because in the deep recesses of our hearts we instinctively know that there is a scorpion’s barb of sin attached to death: and we know we are condemned.

And because we love sin, God abandoned us  “to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done: unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, greed, evil, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, haters of God, violent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving: we encourage others to do them also” –Romans 1:28-31. Hence the Sting of death is sin; thus we tremble before the grim face of death.

“He was a good man.” And so we attempt to salve our troubled unspoken uncertainties. Truly we don’t know what his fate will be and where he abides now. But, we hastily scramble to silence troubling doubts by assurances that: “He was a good man: Was he not a good citizen, a church goer, and respected?”

“All must be well” is our tentative groundless conclusion spoken with bold face through guilty lips. We feel better when we say so. But it is not better; for we have also ignored the Power behind the Sting.

“The Power of sin is the law” -1 Corinthians 15:56. Failing flesh cannot overcome sin’s Power. Law is impotent to deliver because flesh is impotent. Jesus’ verdict is: “The flesh profits nothing” –John 6:63. Paul’s verdict is: “In my flesh dwells no good thing” –Romans 7:18. What is your own verdict?

The law demands of us what we do not possess. It sets standards but supplies nothing. Law requires but makes no remedy. It commands but can only condemn because we are corrupt. All attempts fail. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all” –James 2:10.

Hence the Power of sin is the law. Law is the stern constable enforcing its penalty upon all transgressors. “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the Law” –Galatians 3:10. No law has “been given which was able to impart life” –Galatians 3:21.

Baptized as an infant? Condemned. Confirmed and a communicant? Condemned. Attend church meetings regularly? Condemned. Pay tithes faithfully? Condemned. Pray in the night vigils? Condemned.

No codes, regulations, creeds, and religious duties can save you from the Sting and Power of sin.

Enter Christ. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having been made a curse for us” –Galatians 3:13. “You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your empty way of life handed down by tradition from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ” -1 Peter 1:18,19. “The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all unrighteousness” -1 John 1:7. There is a remedy.

And where we do greatly go astray is in attempts to appendage law to the grace of Christ. “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace” –Romans 4:4; 11:6.

Which will it be then? Christ or Law? You cannot have both. Law earns you a wage you cannot afford to receive. Christ offers forgiveness at a price He alone could pay. There can be no mixture.

“The Sting of death is sin and the Power of sin is the law” -1 Corinthians 15:56. Law has no Power to amend the deathly Sting of Sin. Only Christ Jesus the Lord can eradicate that Stinging Power.

 

 

 

Narrow Way  with Steve Phillips Self Subdued

 Self is the shadowy usurped landlord, now tenant, who lays claim to permanent lodging in our earthly dwelling; and he cannot be evicted. “For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these two are fighting one another” – Galatians 5:17. Self will not pack his bags.

Self would take over: lounging on your most comfortable sofa, requiring cool drinks and entertaining videos. He entices you, the lawful owner and resident, with his lusty paramours, promising all manner of illicit pleasures. Belligerent insults are belched forth boldly should you repulse his demands.

And thus regularly from within, Self assaults: “Each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own lust” -James 1:14. Though the devil in making his rounds may visit you from time to time, Self is the resident house-devil within the breast of every man. “Nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh” –Romans 7:18. That proud thing of Self elbows his way into every corner of life unless subdued.

Who then is our greatest and most grievous foe, the single most pernicious stumbling block to spiritual advance? He stares at you unflinchingly daily in the mirror; it is Self. How then can such a beast be conquered? By relentless vigilance and unwearied assault: Self must be slain, and you must do it.

Christ will not do this for you. The campaign against Self must launch forth at your command. Jesus indeed will help you; yea, He will strengthen you in the conflict, but you must wield the sword against Self. None other can do that for you. You must subdue Self, and victory is not automatic.

O, what a tyrant is this wretched usurper Self! Self-love, and advantage, lust and longing: Self-gain, and exaltation, comfort and convenience: Self-insistence, and envy, pride and foolishness: and who can enumerate the 1000’s of other malignant, defiling, and hateful enticements by which Self assails the soul!

While it is true that we “have been crucified with Christ” –Galatians 2:20, it is equally true that those who are Christ’s must “crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts” –Galatians 5:24. Even though “we have died with Christ” –Colossians 3:3, we must nonetheless “put to death the members of our earthly body” – Colossians 3:5.  Self must be subdued, and it is you who must hate your own Self to do so.

“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own Self-life, he cannot be My disciple” – Luke14:26. O how deep is the mystery of you, yourself, denying Self! But this is God’s way: Hearken to the unwavering decree: “He must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” – Matthew 16:24.

The commands are uncompromisingly stern; they could not be otherwise if Self is to be subdued. “Deny,” “Crucify,” “Hate,” “Put to death,” are the watchwords that constitute one being a disciple. Give Self no quarter. Afford him no comfortable accommodation in your earthly home.

Send him into dark corners. Do not harbor him who schemes your demise and revolts against your Lord. Drive him from your comfortable sofa; grant none of his corrupting desires. Cast out his wanton women and all of his wretched demanding rogues. Take up sides with God against Self. Subdue him.

“Live by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh” –Galatians 5:16. “Present your bodies: alive, holy, and pleasing to God as a living sacrifice: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” – Romans 12:1,2. “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God” -1 Peter 5:6.

“Destroy speculations,” those lofty ravaging thoughts “raised up against the knowledge of God; Take every thought captive to make it obey Christ” – 2 Corinthians 10:5. This is the arena of conflict.

This is war, and battle requires outfitting: not only for defense, but for assault. Hence, we are afforded “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” –Ephesians 6:17. With that truth, we slay the temptations and thoughts of the flesh: this Self-life, ever insisting on its will and desires being done.

And the conflict abides as long as suns rise and set. “Do not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we shall reap, if we do not give up and faint” – Galatians 6:9. Arise: Subdue Self.

 

 

Narrow Way  with Steve Phillips 1 Shimmering Drop

 Boil out everything from the kettle of humanity, and the singular scum remaining is Pride.

It was the original downfall in unseen realms amidst once bright spirits, now darkened demons. Pride entwined its serpentine coils around the soul of our first father, Adam, though surrounded by Eden’s unsullied splendor. Pride is that distorted confidence in self, an inflated sense of self-esteem.

Pride is a delusional self-sufficient orientation that accounts itself as adequate to assess matters of life without recourse to God. The proud person consults with self preeminently; God is in none of his thoughts. It is the opposite of sound judgment; it stems from thinking more highly of self than one ought to think. The terse summation is this: “As for the proud, his soul is not right within him” –Habakkuk 2:4.

Pride warps everything within the inner man. Perception is dulled, values are clouded, understanding is darkened, aspirations are skewed, volition is weakened, and delights are perverted: all because of 1 Shimmering Drop of pride. And the consequences do not end there.

Pride issues in everything that Christ is not. The Lord Jesus emptied Himself, stooping to the level of the creature and assuming the lowliest station among them. Abject humility in performing the will of Another characterized Christ. This the proud soul repudiates with disdain. Pride is the embodiment of the antichrist spirit by insistence upon its autonomous will. Pride leads to lawlessness which issues in violence. Pride’s self-assertiveness manifests itself in the ugliness of self-insistence. And that inflated autonomy spills over in unmitigated aggression.

When self is raised to the level of autonomy, we have lawlessness: the arrogant stiff resistance and rejection of any outside influence attempting to influence or govern the life. The lawless soul is defiantly determined that nothing and no one besides self will direct it. Any who would curtail its insistence upon self-will must face rebuff or worse in the pursuit of its chosen course. And pride is at the helm.

In Christ-like godliness, humility leads to submission issuing in peace. Pride leads to self-insistence issuing in conflict. The Beatitudes of Jesus are the antithesis of Lucifer’s ambitious revolt of self-ascendency prefaced by his 5-fold blatant “I will” as recorded in Isaiah 14.

“Sin is lawlessness” -1 John 3:4.  Lawlessness is not merely transgression, a violation of codes and commandments, rituals, and regulations. It is much more than that. It is the self-absorbed disposition that refuses any other contributing or controlling influence. Self is conceived to be sufficient in wisdom, ability, and purpose apart from all others, especially God. And that desperate conceit arose from 1 source.

What is pride but 1 Shimmering Drop of poison that pollutes the whole well?

In Paradise man opted for devilish delusion. And thus Satan’s insurgence invaded Edenic innocence, being invited knowingly and willingly by our first father who drank from that polluted fount.

Pride is the spoiler of the inner man. Pride is the independent lawless perspective that accounts self as sufficient in wisdom, power, and resources and thus needing nothing. It is the antithesis of dependence. By it God is accounted as irrelevant and His truth as benighted opinion. It is devilish.

God is at war with this polluting poison. The Almighty acts “that He may turn man aside from his conduct, and keep man from pride; He keeps back his soul from the Pit” -Job 33:17,18.

But why does God not eliminate evil trans-globally? Because to do so He must eliminate pride. And should He do that, He must eliminate man altogether; for pride has so entered the collective soul of humanity like water permeates every fiber of their being. If God would purge the world of evil, the earth will become one vast wasteland of human carnage, heaps of corpses littering the then purged landscape.

Pride leads to lawlessness. Lawlessness leads to self-assertion. Self-assertion leads to repudiation. Repudiation leads to violence. O how pervasive is the ruin of pride!

“Those that walk in pride He is able to humble” –Daniel 4:37. But will we allow Him to do so?

The continuing involvement of the devil dragon king in the affairs of man is a consequence of Adam’s moral, spiritual, and intellectual revolt. By that choice, his moral nature was corrupted, his spirit gasped its last, decay set in within his body, and his understanding was obscured by darkness and delusion.

Pride is the polluted cesspool from which all evils have flowed. Utter annihilation of every proud soul is the prospect if evil abides: that is, if pride remains, even if only 1 Shimmering Drop.

 

 

Narrow Way  with Steve Phillips Iron Cage

 You are crafting your own Iron Cage. Standing on steel plates of hatred, bronze bars of bitterness are welded tightly around you. They are reinforced with grates of grudge and metallic malice.

And you are fabricating on the inside as rods of revenge shut the voids with vengeance. You are surrounded. All too soon your project will terminate, and your Iron Cage will have become your tomb.

You have built it for yourself, even boasting of your progress. But successively, each bitter bar shuts out more of the light, makes you more of a prisoner of your own creation. You are never at peace as you weld. Joy has long since fled your miserable merciless cell. You have become your own captor.

Finally there remained not one centimeter of space that had not been filled with your fury. No cheering ray entered your dark and deathly dungeon. You have shut them all out. And now you expire.

Descending into outer darkness, you continue to rage in bitterest hatred. It is what you chose, what you wanted, and what you created. Torment shall be yours unendingly, and that worm will never die.

There is only one key to release you from your Iron Cage: forgiveness. You never experienced it upon earth; you never received it from Christ nor extended it to others. Throughout your futile existence, you breathed out malice, grudge, bitterness, hatred, contempt, and vengeance; and thus you perished.

There is no remedy then. Forgiveness is a matter for the present, not a hastily sought after commodity once plunged into the pit of fury and flame. Yes, you must forgive now; you cannot hereafter.

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

Bitterness in the heart blocks forgiveness from heaven. Malice against man means mercy is missing. Holding grudge withholds a Father’s pardon. Seeking vengeance brings Divine wrath to your door.

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 other’s blessings along with the smoldering desire to see them deprived of it, has vanished. You have forgiven. Nothing burns in your heart against others.

That is forgiveness. But beware lest the erection of your Iron Cage continue. “‘Should you not have had mercy upon your fellow servant as I had mercy on you? Hand him over to the torturers.’ So shall My Father do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother his sins from his heart” –Matthew 18:33-35.

“Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul abusive speech” –Colossians 3:8 are the things real Christians have laid aside being joined to Christ, the One who forgives. Retaining them is rejecting Christ.

“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” –Titus 3:2,3. Yes, once we were so, but not now: if we forgive.

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor 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” –Ephesians 4:31,32. This is the standard and the measure of forgiveness. Do not fail here.

“Hatred stirs us strife, but love covers all transgressions” -Proverbs 10:12. “A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression” –Proverbs 19:11. “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins” -1 Peter 4:8.

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 any thoughts of punishment and harm against offenders.

And how is this possible? “We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” -1 John 4:19,20. That’s how that is done: by loving the forgiving Christ.

But if you do not forgive, throughout all eternity you will be the prisoner of your own Iron Cage.

 

 

Narrow Way  with Steve Phillips Sick, Sick, Sick

 I’m sick as I write this. No, it is not well. I am weak. No, I’m not strong. I’m sick, sick, sick.

Paul, who performed extraordinary healings, confessed this: “Trophimus I left sick at Miletus” -2 Timothy 4:20. Curious. Christ Himself has left me sick in Nigeria. Yet we must not question or quarrel Paul or Christ for lack of compassion or inability to relieve affliction. Neither is lack of faith the cause.

At least not in the case of Trophimus, nor of Timothy. This same Paul advised him to “take a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent illnesses” -1 Timothy 5:23. Curious. No handkerchief was sent to lay upon his abdomen. No reproof for failing in faith. No appeal to healing in the atonement.

Paul did not urge Timothy to claim healing by faith as provided in the atonement, because there is none. Paul directed him to take a remedy for his bodily illness. It’s not a lack of faith to use natural or medical means to heal sickness. It may actually be disobedience not to do so.

O, yes, I did make a startling statement: That’s right; there is no physical healing obtained for all believers for every ailment in this life by Jesus’ death on the cross. He died for sin, not for sickness.

So just erase “healing in the atonement” from your mind. “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His stripes you were healed” -1 Peter 2:24. Sin was borne, not sickness. We are to die to sin and live to righteousness, not die to sickness and live to health. By the death of Christ we were healed: not of bodily ailments, but of iniquity.

“Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You” –Psalm 41:4. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” –Psalm 147:3. Jesus said: “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” –Luke 5:31,32.

It is why Peter quoted: “By His stripes we are healed.” That does not refer to sickness, but to sin.

“He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our peace fell upon Him” -Isaiah 53:5. Peter knew that Isaiah clearly spoke of sin, not of physical wellness.

In Matthew 8:16,17 we learn that Jesus “took our infirmities and carried away our diseases:” not on the cross, but during His earthly ministry when He “cast out spirits, and healed all who were sick.” That was to fulfill Isaiah 53:4: “Surely our sickness He Himself bore, and our pains He carried.”

Not every bodily disease and problem are relieved in the present time. Many remain sick, sick, sick.

Moses’ “eye was not dim” though living to 120 years old -Deuteronomy 34:7. But “when Isaac was old, his eyes were too dim to see” -Genesis 27:1 Curious: Same God to both of them who equally were His servants. And the Lord regularly refers to Himself as the God of Isaac, not the God of Moses.

Elijah was taken up in “a chariot of fire and whirlwind into heaven” -2 Kings 2:11. Elisha, with a double portion of his spirit, slowly suffered from “the sickness from which he died” -2 Kings 13:14.

“There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; yet none of them were cleansed except Naaman the Syrian” –Luke 4:27. The rest were sick, sick, sick. Healing for all was not God’s will.

Even Paul the apostle reminded the Galatians: “You know that it was because of a bodily illness, a weakness of the flesh, that I first preached the gospel to you” –Galatians 4:13.

He later confessed that he had a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, sent by God to afflict him. After praying 3 times, it still remained [2 Corinthians 12:7-9]. Curious. Paul, the healer, is sick, sick, sick.

Make no mistake: there is no automatic healing in the atonement to simply be “claimed by faith.” No, far from it. “The sufferings of this present time cannot even be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” -Romans 8:18. Yes, it is here on this earth that we suffer; sickness is part of that.

But, there is relief for all in the next life. “And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death will not exist anymore; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things are passed away” -Revelation 21:4. Not here below, but there above: none are sick, sick, sick.

 

 

 

Narrow Way  with Steve Phillips Biblical Heresy

 All heresy comes from the Bible. It’s true, but it’s false. Confused? Don’t be. Observe:

A radio preacher quotes from Genesis 1 regarding day 3 and day 4 of creation. Not bad so far. He then says day 3 repeatedly mentions seeds and day 4, signs and seasons. OK, that’s obvious; we’re still with you Mr. Preacher-Man: Go on. So now comes his grand finale, the moment we’ve been waiting for.

“Plant your seed and change your season.” Whoa! Wait a minute! No, no, no: that’s Biblical Heresy.

His “seed” is money paid into his ministry. The “season” is your present circumstance. That’s not Genesis 1; neither is it found anywhere else in the Bible. Message and meaning are two different things.

Heresy is self-willed opinion which is substituted for the power of truth. And the devil is the master.

See him carry the Lord Jesus into the holy city and to the apex of the temple. That was the scene for monstrous Biblical Heresy. Yes, that’s where you will find it: in holy places, in the very house of God.

Was the Bible quoted? Yes, very well, just like our radio preacher. Was the message correct? No, not at all, just like our radio preacher. And hence the Bible which is true becomes the source of falsehood.

But how does that happen? Allow the devil himself to tutor us in this twisted craft. “Throw Yourself down, for it is written…” –Matthew 4:6. Here conclusion precedes quotation, but was not derived from it. Meaning is attributed to the text but not obtained from it. A predetermined agenda dictated his message.

The Bible was merely a prop to lend credence to the act. The message was Bible buttressed but not Bible based. The quotation cited from Psalm 91 does not contain the phrase: “Throw Yourself down.”

It was added as if it were part of God’s Word; but it is not. And those 3 words changed the entire meaning of the passage. What is Biblical Heresy? Adding to what has not been written in the Bible.

But that is not all. Equally deadly is leaving out what has been written. And that is what the devil also did. He quoted Psalm 91:11,12 relatively ok: about angels bearing Christ up so as to prevent harm.

But you will not find the devil quoting Psalm 91:13: no, not at all. It reads: “You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra; the great lion and serpent You shall trample underfoot.” Satan hates verse 13. The devil who prowls about as a roaring lion, that serpent of old, is defeated and ruined by the Lord Jesus.

So what is Biblical Heresy? Simple: Add what you wish and leave out what you don’t like. It’s how the devil uses the Bible, and it’s how his ministers use it as well: graduates from Devil Bible School.

Did I say his ministers? Yeah, I guess I did. “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.  And no wonder! For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his ministers also masquerade as ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds” -2 Corinthians 11:13-15. Yep, Satan has his ministers.

It’s nothing new. Biblical Heresy is not a recent invention. “The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests rule on their own authority” –Jeremiah 5:30. “I listened attentively, but they do not speak aright” –Jeremiah 8:6. “How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the Lord is with us,’ when the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie? They have rejected the Word of the Lord; so what kind of wisdom do they have?” –Jeremiah 8:8,9. Quoting the Word of God without its true meaning is Biblical Heresy.

But in this treacherous jungle of tangled error, what is the way out? Actually it is simple: Listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd. “His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger, but flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers” -John 10:4-5.

“They received the Word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” -Acts 17:11. But who will be your instructor? Who can you depend upon and trust? God.

“The anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you, but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as He has taught you, abide in Him” -1 John 2:27. Jesus will not mislead you; the Holy Spirit will not deceive you; the Word of God carefully considered and revealed by the Holy Spirit will keep you from Biblical Heresy.

 

 

 

Narrow Way  with Steve Phillips This Same Jesus

 Blessed is he who does not stumble over Me –Matthew 11:6

John descended into Herod’s dark and dank dungeon. The blaze of heaven’s light bursting forth from him was then plunged into obscurity. Multitudes who once rejoiced in this burning lamp [John 5:35] thronged to him no more.  The voice that had cried in the wilderness was silenced behind the confines of cold castle stone. John is alone. And the heralded Messiah of the coming kingdom sends no relief.

Jesus the Christ makes no visit to his cell. No word of cheer reaches his ears. Christ, the One that John’s whole life had been prepared for and was devoted to, does nothing, says nothing. Confusion reigns.

John sent to ask: “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” -Matthew 11:3.  Multiplied anxious thoughts race through fevered imaginations in Herod’s dungeon. Rarely do such tumbling thoughts receive a satisfactory resolution. Prolonged suspense is one of the soul’s greatest disturbances.

No, this same Jesus left John in his cell until his head was “brought on a platter” –Matthew 14:11.

It is a blessed condition to not be offended when the Lord Jesus does not perform according to our expectations. We are blessed when His Word alone is sufficient to sustain us in the midst of distressing and grievous afflictions. Blessed are you when you trust what you know is true in the unrelieved grimness of Herod’s dungeon. The Word of God may be the only cheer ever received by the downcast.

Does that suffice for us? You say, “Yes,” but the heart still yearns for explanation: But when shall this end? When will He come to this, my dungeon? And to this, silence may be the only messenger sent.

The fact is that it may not be in this life at all that your distress is visited and relieved. Perhaps not until the day of vengeance will all of your woes, grievances, sorrows, and injustices be rectified.

By faith the servants of the Most High “escaped the edge of the sword” –Hebrews 11:34.  By faith others, equally His servants, “were put to death with the sword” –Hebrews 11:37. Same faithful servants, all of whom had glowing faith: some perished, some did not. Yet it was this same Jesus for both.

Elijah was ushered into glory in a fiery chariot sent from heaven [2 Kings 2:11]. His faithful companion, Elisha, possessing a double portion of his spirit, slowly expired in sickness [2 Kings 13:14].

By the mercies of God Epaphroditus was healed of his deadly ailment [Philippians 2:27]. But Paul’s beloved co-worker was left sick at Miletus [2 Timothy 4:20]. “God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them” -Acts 19:11,12.  But Timothy, Paul’s beloved son, his closest and dearest co-worker, had chronic bodily afflictions that were not healed in that way [1 Timothy 5:23].

God’s notable prophet, Jeremiah, was delivered and raised from a pit of certain destruction by the hands of merciful men [Jeremiah 38:4-14].  Yet the stalwart and fearless Micaiah was cast into prison and fed sparingly with the bread of affliction at the hands of merciless men [1 Kings 22:27].

Wicked men “laid hands on the apostles and put them in the common jail. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out” –Acts 5:18,19. But this same Jesus informed equally faithful brethren: “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison. Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life” –Revelation 2:10.

In days of famine, one desolate widow was miraculously fed while others foraged about searching for crumbs. The explanation from this same Jesus? “Elijah was sent to none of them” – Luke 4:25,26.

Dear Reader, lonely vigils night and day passed in the Baptist’s miserable cell in Herod’s dungeon of death before he was released. The prisoner was eventually set free. The prison doors finally burst forth from their squalor into the brightness of eternal day. It was the Lord’s doing.

At the malicious demand of Herod’s wanton consort, “he sent and had John beheaded in prison” –Matthew 14:10. And thus the captive was set free by Herod’s murderous sword; yet not even one hair of John’s head perished [Luke 21:18].

“‘Lord, and what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If I want him to remain, what is that to you? You follow Me!’” –John 20:21,22. And blessed is he who is not offended because of this same Jesus.

 

Narrow Way  with Steve Phillips Which Jesus?

 

Which Jesus? “By faith they escaped the edge of the sword” –Hebrews 11:33,34. Amen. This is the delivering Jesus. “By faith others were murdered with the sword” –Hebrews 11:33,37. Still Amen?

Which Jesus? “They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison and led them out” -Acts 5:18,19. Amen. This is the delivering Jesus. Jesus said: “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you may be tested; be faithful unto death” –Revelation 2:10. Still Amen?

Christ suffered as no other ever has, but without sin. Only He who has overcome can assist those who must also do the same. “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame” –Revelation 3:21. Yes, there are things to overcome: grievous pains to be borne, bitter to natural sensibilities, shameful to self-esteem, uncomfortable to soft flesh.

They come from Christ. He has designed them that thereby we might overcome: that we will learn obedience through suffering, and that we might experience fellowship with the Man of Sorrows.

Paul prayed that he might know the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death: that he might attain to the resurrection from the dead [Philippians 3:10,11]. To him, suffering was fellowship with Christ. Is it the same to you? Or are you serving a Jesus of softness and sweetness?

Suffering, death, and resurrection: this is the necessary sequence. Christ became obedient unto death, even the cruelest and most despised, that of a cross [Philippians 2:8]. How did He learn such obedience? By enrollment in the school of suffering of which He is the Master of all would-be followers. “Even though He was a Son, he learned obedience through the things He suffered” –Hebrews 5:8.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” –Matthew 11:28.  But the manner in which He chooses to grant you rest, may be quite unlike that of your brother. The Lord Jesus individually tailors each of our situations for our eternal good and His unending glory.

Black despair burst into light’s glowing warmth in Herod’s dismal prison-house of death. Fierce guards and flashing swords were bypassed as if nothing by the liberated captive. Shackles and chains clinked powerless to the ground as Peter was escorted by his heaven-sent deliverer.

Acts 12:11: “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent forth His angel, and has delivered me out of the hand of Herod.” Those were the words of Peter.

This is the testimony of James: “Then Herod executed James the brother of John with the sword” -Acts 12:1,2. They were both apostles suffering in the same prison, bound by the same Herod, and serving the same Jesus.

Which Jesus do we want: the Jesus of Peter or the Jesus of James? Which Jesus will we love and serve? Which One will we not be offended with? Which Jesus has the will of God that we will embrace?

Shall we presume to choose, or even demand, our own means of deliverance? For, truly, both Peter as well as James were set free from Herod’s clutches, were they not? Neither remained in prison.

Peter was liberated by angelic visitation in a miraculous rescue. Amen: the delivering Jesus.  James was set free by a hateful monster in gruesome form. Still Amen? Who had the better portion?

Peter passed through midnight’s darkness tramping on Jerusalem’s dusty lanes. He eventually entered the house of Mary where many were gathered praying, persecuted and fearing.

James passed into unending light and tread on streets of gold where myriads more were gathered in everlasting jubilation where there is no more crying, pain, sorrow, or sin.

So, which Jesus do you wish to follow, the Jesus of Peter or the Jesus of James? Is He not the same Jesus to both, and to all who trust in Him? Yes, He is. And so Jesus says to each of His would-be followers: “Blessed is he who does not stumble over Me” –Matthew 11:6. Still Amen? Which Jesus?

 

 

 

Narrow Way  with Steve Phillips Orality & Writing

 In Orality [Oral Tradition], the ear is the gate to dominating subordinates. In Writing, the mind is the gate to liberating individuals. Orality fosters and creates hierarchy and tribalism, to look upon others as inferior or irrelevant. Writing places every individual on an equal plane. Orality keeps subordinates dependent. Writing liberates the individual from those shackles. “Truth” in traditional societies is the privileged portion of the elite. Truth via Writing exposes its message to all irrespective of status or station.

The written Word eliminates all basis for tribal superiority. All are equal members of a new family, a new community, a fellowship that does not take into account any man according to what he is in the flesh. “Therefore from now on we regard no one according to the flesh: He is a new creation; the old things have passed away” -2 Corinthians 5:16,17.  “All of you have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female” –Galatians 3:27,28.

A great cultural upheaval must occur for the truth of the Written Word of God to take deep root. It is not merely that the content of the gospel must be received. If it is mingled with the traditional paradigm of Orality, then that default mindset will twist even the Bible to conform to its presuppositions and world-view: The “Man of God,” the Ifa of the sanctuary, through Orality will cancel God’s Word by his words.

Biblical truth, in Writing, cancels hierarchy, ennobles the individual, liberates the mind, enhances reasoning, and transports beyond the narrow canyon walls of one’s own cultural experience. Through the written Word, he will realize that not only is he no more in bondage to others’ unquestioned directives, but that he also has a voice with something significant to say.

The Scriptures supplant Orality. That Word is external, objective, and verifiable. It is preserved in durable form available for all to read and judge whatever anyone says about it. Orality follows the crooked trail through the bush over centuries of time. Each individual is expected to walk in the same path established by the ancestors without questioning. Because it is passed on orally, manipulation and misrepresentation are easily achieved in the mouth of the one in authority who is relating it.

Orality is thus purely subjective, completely dependent upon the one speaking. The speaker can invent whatever he wishes to influence and control others: and the hearers have no way of knowing whether he has done that or not. This is what is meant by subjective: Nothing outside the man’s own report exists to verify his statements. And hence, the ear is the gate to dominating subordinates in Orality.

Writing, however, places every man on the same level. Each must interact with the message and decide for himself. The Word judges every man, both elder and youth alike. And at the same time, the reader is judging what is written in order to understand its content. And so Paul can boldly say: “I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say” -1 Corinthians 10:15. The mind is the gate to liberate by Writing.

In Writing, the Scriptures carry us beyond everything known here below on earth to now view life from a higher, heavenly, and eternal standpoint. “As it is written, ‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man:’ to us God revealed them through His Spirit; not in Words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Holy Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual Words” -1 Corinthians 2:9,10,13.

In Orality, the entire traditional culture mitigates against development of personal opinion and inventiveness. Independent reflection and assessment is discouraged and even forbidden. Ancestral tradition handed down via the elders must prevail. Any deviation is punishable.

Writing presents an external, objective, and verifiable referent for ideas and truth.

Orality is entirely subjective and non-verifiable.

Only in Writing is the individual a participant. Writing asks the question:

“What do you think?” Orality poses no such query.

A re-orientation to the Written Word of God must take place or the weeds of Orality will choke it.

 

 

 

Narrow Way  with Steve Phillips Silent Sharing

 Sammy is quiet. Sammy just listens. Talk, talk, talk; listen, listen, listen.

Sammy rides the Sunday Carousel. Round and round he goes smiling silently.

Babylonian hierarchy of authoritarian rule does not invite mutuality of brotherly equality. Passive observation of ritual prescribed by custodians is all that is expected. Programs are fixed from the top down without solicitation or participation. Consumers are served up a menu of the custodians’ preparation.

Passive observation of ritual ceremonies is not the NT reality of the priesthood of all believers [1 Peter 2:5,9]. Having equal access to the Throne with each actively participating to build up one another is given lip-service to by some, but rarely practiced by any. Why? The custodian is terrified by it.

His fear is that he may become irrelevant to the Church shrine. Recognition and dominion in his petty kingdom may begin to slip through his desperate grip. The pride of life will never allow him to actually practice NT directives. The distinction of being above and in charge of the Church shrine and those under his authority holds sway in his heart. He must rule and direct and control; he is the custodian.

So, Sammy sits and listens. How could someone like Sammy have anything worthwhile to contribute anyway? Sammy is not a custodian: he is unlearned, uninitiated: he’s not in charge; he’s not one of “us.”

“The king said to him, ‘Have we appointed you a royal counselor?  Stop!  Why should you be struck down?’” -2 Chronicles 25:16. “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us? And they cast him out” –John 9:34. “As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed because they were teaching” -Acts 4:1,2.

But the enforcement of Babylonian hierarchy is not the Pattern of Christ. 1 Corinthians 14 is: “Pursue love, especially that you may prophesy. One who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation. I wish that you all would prophesy. What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation; let all things be done for edification.

“Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted” -1 Corinthians 14:1,3,5,26,29-31.

This is participatory fellowship that is the NT norm. Passive observation of the custodian’s performance, ritual, and ceremony is Babylonian, but not Christian. What characterized NT gatherings?

“Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another” –Hebrews 10:24,25. We are to encourage and stimulate one another to love and good works when we assemble: not Share Silently.

Gathering is to be participatory. It is mutual. Each one has something to contribute to the encouragement and building up of one another in love. We gather purposefully with the intent of being a blessing to others. True Christian gathering is quite in contrast to meeting together in order to get, to gain for self, to build up myself. “Treat one another as more important than yourself” –Philippians 2:3.

“But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what 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” –Ephesians 4:15,16. Every member’s function is vital to the life and service in Christ’s body, the church.

“We…the whole body…every joint…each individual…building itself up:” This is the “one another” dynamic of NT gathering. Everyone has something to contribute. Each member’s participation is necessary if the body is to be built up in love. There is no such thing as Silent Sharing in the NT.

And it is commanded. It is not optional. No substitutes accepted. No rationalizations are approved.

And Sammy’s Sunday morning program fails on nearly every account. Babylon’s legacy has injected its evil virus into entire generations of passive, irresponsible, self-seeking consumers at man-made religious shrines. And so Sammy sits silently and shares in what is dished up to him: Silent Sharing.