I'm a little slow sometimes to learn. Not that I'm mentally slow, although one might be able to put up a good argument even for that. I've been reading the Word of God for many years now and I find that I'm still learning. Sometimes it takes me quite a few trips back to the Word for God to show me what I need to learn.
What I'm writing about today isn't really something I found in the Word; it's more of a question that grew out of my limited knowledge and understanding of faith.
What if I had "walked on water" as Peter did? Would I be different spiritually? Would doing something as unnatural and illogical as walking on water with Jesus have changed my whole course in life?
I'm writing this because I just realized … before Peter raised the lame man at the Temple, he had already "walked on water." He wasn't afraid of failure, or even looking the fool, even with things that looked impossible; yes he did sink, but he got out of the boat when Jesus said "come," which is more than most of us are willing to do.
This leads me to wonder … will I ever do great things for the Lord if I never get out of the boat, which is my comfort zone and walk on water like Peter did.
Would Peter have been able to raise this lame man had he not already walked on water? I know … Peter didn't raise him, God did. But it was Peter's hand that reached out; it was Peter's voice that said … "Such as I have I give unto you."
What did he have that we don't? Was it more faith than we have that made him believe or at least think he could do it? Was it because Jesus had prayed that Peter's faith wouldn't fail him? Did Peter have a special anointing of power that we today don't have? It had to be something.
I wonder; did it have something to do with Peter having already experienced … "walking on water" … or was it because he just went with his heart again without thinking as he did when he jumped out of the boat knowing … no … believing that Jesus would be with him and if need be would save him from sinking.
Knowing relates to a fact … believing relates to faith; there is a difference.
I want to look at just what did happen in Acts 3:6-7 with Peter and the lame man. As Peter and John were about to enter the temple a lame man asks them for money as he no doubt had done for years. Look at Peter's response to him …
"Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.' And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength."
I really hadn't paid too much attention to what Peter physically did after he spoke to the lame man. Notice the order of things …
1.) Peter responds knowing he has been given use of "the Name of Jesus" and all the power and authority that His name proclaims.
2.) Peter responded the same way that Jesus did when He saw a need; Peter put a voice to his faith and gave a command … "Rise up and walk."
3.) Peter then reaches out and takes the lame man by the hand.
Now here is what I didn't notice before …
4.) Peter physically lifted him up by the hand … before … the lame man was healed; before … "his feet and ankle bones received strength."
Luke states that it is immediately after Peter's action; the lifting up of the lame man that he is healed. The way it reads to me, the lame man was already standing before God healed him through the power that is in … "the Name of Jesus."
Peter, when lifting this man up, wasn't planning on him sitting back down … he believed the lame man would walk away … healed.
I guess James must have known what he was talking about when he said … "faith without works is dead" (or useless). Peter's faith wasn't useless; he put his faith to work; he didn't wait for the healing to come first. He reached out first.
So I go back to my earlier question, did Peter have a special anointing of power that we today don't have? Was the anointing on Peter or on the name he used?
I'm not sure how much, if at all, the lame man's faith played in obedience to the command of Peter to … "rise up and walk" … which he did after being healed.
Was it Peter's faith that he had in the Name of Jesus; was it because he had a special anointing; or did it have something to do with this fact … he knew that he had "walked on water" with his Lord; and to do that again, here with this lame man, he had to step out of his comfort zone just like he did when he stepped out of that boat onto the water. This was the same thing … an act of faith.
Was this just Peter being willing to step out, taking a chance that it might not work, that he might sink once again? Or was this one of those "God stop" moments we hear about when the Lord just takes over, when He just does it … it is … God's anointing you know. It's never us. Jesus just works through us.
A little later Peter tells the people who gathered around this man who is now healed why and how he was healed. Peter speaking of Jesus said it was because of … "His name through faith in His name hath made this man strong …"
When we use "the name of Jesus" as a declaration of faith, what we are actually saying is that we are exercising "the power of attorney" that Jesus gave His followers when He told them in Mark 16:17-18 … "In my name you shall …" and then He lists some things they should do.
If you have been appointed someone's power of attorney … when you speak … you speak with the total weight of their authority as if they were speaking. It was with this understanding of the authority he had in "the name of Jesus" that Peter spoke as he did to the lame man.
I don't know for sure what caused Peter to reach out this time to this lame man that had begged at that same gate for years. I wonder; could it be that even Jesus entering the temple as many times as He did, had walked past him without ever reaching out to him as Peter was moved to do? Beggars were assigned certain stations or places where they were allowed to sit and beg; this being his spot, I am convinced that Jesus must have walked by him many times.
Did Jesus give him only the alms, the money, what he was begging for, instead of healing him? Did He leave him for Peter to show to the Church and the world the power that is available to us when we make a declaration of faith as Peter did when he said …"in the Name of Jesus?"
I guess I've said all of this to try and make this point … When we are confronted with a request or a need by someone who wants us to pray with them or for them; when the request in the natural looks impossible … let's say "terminal cancer," how do we pray with faith when the doctors give no hope?
We need to do the same thing Peter did … step out of the boat, your personal comfort zone, right out onto something like water that you know is impossible on it's own to support your weight. When you start praying for the impossible … that's when you start "walking on water" spiritually.
I do want to tell you "reality" will set in. You will begin to sink. Reality … the wind and the waves that Peter looked at all around him caused him to fear and doubt as he was walking to Jesus. But he was … walking on water.
I want you to remember this one important point … Peter started sinking before he reached his goal; reality splashed him in his face and he took his eyes off Jesus. Even though Peter never reached Jesus; as he was in the process of sinking, not walking … Jesus reached Peter … before he went under and drowned. He will do the same for you.
I still can't help but think there was something about "walking on water," doing what is physically impossible that Peter remembered the rest of his life.
I still wonder if we would ever get over … "walking on water."
I don't think Peter ever did.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Out of the Net
Psalm 25:15 …"Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net."
This metaphor is taken from fowlers, who spread nets, into which they allure and draw birds and catch them. The allurements, snares or nets, which Satan lays to catch the people of God in, are the riches and pleasures of this world, the sin of pride, lust of the flesh and so on.
Psalm 10:9 …"He lieth in wait secretly … he draweth him into his net."
As does the fowler, Satan carefully lays his plans; he conceals his purposes and his plans are hidden. Next he has his victim, who is taken by surprise and has no power of defense or escape. Satan doesn't always do the work … he has others do it for him. He doesn't care who he snares, sinner or saint; the sinner has no one to turn to for help; but the believer can look to the Lord.
"Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord" … This is an indication of the heart and mind set of the psalmist David. He had said that God leads and guides him; and now he says this was his habit. He "ever" looked … meaning he constantly looked to God as he sought His direction. In questions, doubt, difficulty, danger, even in view of future death, he looked to God as his guide.
"Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord" … Not only in the same sense that the eyes of all creation wait upon Him for their daily food and supply, in that He is the God of nature; but rather as God with whom he had a blood covenant. All his expectation was in Him alone.
David speaks of this again in …
Psalm 91:2-3 …"I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence."
Psalm 121:1-2 …"I will lift up mine eyes … My help cometh from the LORD …"
David believed … "if at any time I get entangled, the Lord will pluck my feet out of the net." The "net" were the traps which had been laid for him by Satan, whose name means …"one who lies in wait." The word "pluck" as it is used here means to "bring forth"… out of the net.
"… He shall pluck my feet out of the net …" the net, the snares, the nature of fallen man, as the writer of Hebrews 12:1 said …"every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us …" the desires that ensnares and takes captive; out of which we cannot escape … on our own.
I want to look at the word weight … "Every weight … which so easily beset us."
Weight is not speaking of sin. Sin is mentioned in the next phrase. The weight most likely today is the heaviness, the things in life that weigh us down, the things which cause us to pray in the first place. And even then the answer to prayer is slow to come; more weight. I don't know why that is, but it just is. Perhaps, God is adjusting things, changing what needs to be done in the lives of others first; even testing your faith as you wait.
God knows what He's doing. Maybe He's proving to you that you have what it takes, so you can say like David … "Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net."
The net doesn't have to be sin. It can be anything that has taken you captive, like fear or doubt, which will keep you from growing in faith and moving forward with trust in the love and peace of God.
Do you ever feel like it's all up to you, that the burden for the answer to prayer is all yours, it's up to your faith alone?
A loved one that I know was praying for "a mess" that someone she cared about was in, and asked God the following question.
"How do I pray for this particular thing?" She went on to say …
"God spoke to me and said, 'Child, do not concern yourself with how to pray over this thing. It is not for you to tell Me what needs to be done. I already know. Just come to Me with a pleading spirit and need of My hand, and I will move. Do not burden yourself with the how.' It brought such relief to my spirit. God knows it's a mess. And He already knows how to fix it."
Then she said …"Then God dropped this verse on me. Psalm 25:15b …'only He will release my feet from the snare.' Confirmation that again … it's not mine to fix."
This is why I'm writing this paper; because of what the Lord spoke to this young woman's heart as she turned her eyes to the Lord, even as David did. We need to learn this same lesson … it's up to God. Let's keep our eyes on Him.
Paul also speaks of these snares in …
2nd Timothy 2:26 …"And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."
One of the "snares" Paul is teaching Timothy about in the previous two or three verses are the controversies over ignorant questions that foster strife and breed quarrels. He is praying that they will repent and come to know the Truth; that they will perceive and become accurately acquainted with the knowledge the Truth, the printed Word; for one way …"HE"… frees us from one of the devils "Nets"… is through knowing the Word of God.
The Amplified reads …"And that they may come to their senses [and] escape out of the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him, [henceforth] to do His [God's] will." (And may I add …"instead of their own will.")
The KEY WORD in the scripture we keep using, Psalm 25:15, is …"HE." Today when we speak of God, believers usually mean Jesus, the Son of God and our Lord. Not always but usually that's who …"HE" refers to.
But notice in all of these verses by David, "the LORD" is in all capital letters; which means it's not just one part of God … it's all three persons of the Trinity.
The "HE" in David's Psalms is JEHOVAH, Almighty God, The Most High.
One of the greatest promises in the Word of God can still be claimed today; for the spoken Word of JEHOVAH GOD has been recorded in …
Isaiah 49:25 …"But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children."
I'm so glad that it's not really our fight … it's God's. He said He would "contend" with the one who lays or sets the "Net."
I believe the only fight we need to contend with is the "Good fight of Faith."
Faith; not to believe that we can change things; but rather faith that even though we can't "fix" anything ourselves … we know our God can.
"Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net."
This metaphor is taken from fowlers, who spread nets, into which they allure and draw birds and catch them. The allurements, snares or nets, which Satan lays to catch the people of God in, are the riches and pleasures of this world, the sin of pride, lust of the flesh and so on.
Psalm 10:9 …"He lieth in wait secretly … he draweth him into his net."
As does the fowler, Satan carefully lays his plans; he conceals his purposes and his plans are hidden. Next he has his victim, who is taken by surprise and has no power of defense or escape. Satan doesn't always do the work … he has others do it for him. He doesn't care who he snares, sinner or saint; the sinner has no one to turn to for help; but the believer can look to the Lord.
"Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord" … This is an indication of the heart and mind set of the psalmist David. He had said that God leads and guides him; and now he says this was his habit. He "ever" looked … meaning he constantly looked to God as he sought His direction. In questions, doubt, difficulty, danger, even in view of future death, he looked to God as his guide.
"Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord" … Not only in the same sense that the eyes of all creation wait upon Him for their daily food and supply, in that He is the God of nature; but rather as God with whom he had a blood covenant. All his expectation was in Him alone.
David speaks of this again in …
Psalm 91:2-3 …"I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence."
Psalm 121:1-2 …"I will lift up mine eyes … My help cometh from the LORD …"
David believed … "if at any time I get entangled, the Lord will pluck my feet out of the net." The "net" were the traps which had been laid for him by Satan, whose name means …"one who lies in wait." The word "pluck" as it is used here means to "bring forth"… out of the net.
"… He shall pluck my feet out of the net …" the net, the snares, the nature of fallen man, as the writer of Hebrews 12:1 said …"every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us …" the desires that ensnares and takes captive; out of which we cannot escape … on our own.
I want to look at the word weight … "Every weight … which so easily beset us."
Weight is not speaking of sin. Sin is mentioned in the next phrase. The weight most likely today is the heaviness, the things in life that weigh us down, the things which cause us to pray in the first place. And even then the answer to prayer is slow to come; more weight. I don't know why that is, but it just is. Perhaps, God is adjusting things, changing what needs to be done in the lives of others first; even testing your faith as you wait.
God knows what He's doing. Maybe He's proving to you that you have what it takes, so you can say like David … "Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net."
The net doesn't have to be sin. It can be anything that has taken you captive, like fear or doubt, which will keep you from growing in faith and moving forward with trust in the love and peace of God.
Do you ever feel like it's all up to you, that the burden for the answer to prayer is all yours, it's up to your faith alone?
A loved one that I know was praying for "a mess" that someone she cared about was in, and asked God the following question.
"How do I pray for this particular thing?" She went on to say …
"God spoke to me and said, 'Child, do not concern yourself with how to pray over this thing. It is not for you to tell Me what needs to be done. I already know. Just come to Me with a pleading spirit and need of My hand, and I will move. Do not burden yourself with the how.' It brought such relief to my spirit. God knows it's a mess. And He already knows how to fix it."
Then she said …"Then God dropped this verse on me. Psalm 25:15b …'only He will release my feet from the snare.' Confirmation that again … it's not mine to fix."
This is why I'm writing this paper; because of what the Lord spoke to this young woman's heart as she turned her eyes to the Lord, even as David did. We need to learn this same lesson … it's up to God. Let's keep our eyes on Him.
Paul also speaks of these snares in …
2nd Timothy 2:26 …"And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."
One of the "snares" Paul is teaching Timothy about in the previous two or three verses are the controversies over ignorant questions that foster strife and breed quarrels. He is praying that they will repent and come to know the Truth; that they will perceive and become accurately acquainted with the knowledge the Truth, the printed Word; for one way …"HE"… frees us from one of the devils "Nets"… is through knowing the Word of God.
The Amplified reads …"And that they may come to their senses [and] escape out of the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him, [henceforth] to do His [God's] will." (And may I add …"instead of their own will.")
The KEY WORD in the scripture we keep using, Psalm 25:15, is …"HE." Today when we speak of God, believers usually mean Jesus, the Son of God and our Lord. Not always but usually that's who …"HE" refers to.
But notice in all of these verses by David, "the LORD" is in all capital letters; which means it's not just one part of God … it's all three persons of the Trinity.
The "HE" in David's Psalms is JEHOVAH, Almighty God, The Most High.
One of the greatest promises in the Word of God can still be claimed today; for the spoken Word of JEHOVAH GOD has been recorded in …
Isaiah 49:25 …"But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children."
I'm so glad that it's not really our fight … it's God's. He said He would "contend" with the one who lays or sets the "Net."
I believe the only fight we need to contend with is the "Good fight of Faith."
Faith; not to believe that we can change things; but rather faith that even though we can't "fix" anything ourselves … we know our God can.
"Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net."
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The Whole Matter
I've heard it said that Solomon's final writing (Ecclesiastes) can't be used as Bible Doctrine because of the idolatry which he had fallen into through the heathen women he had taken for wives and concubines.
Solomon had received wisdom from God and knowledge of all things in nature; had seen all the works that are done under the sun; had experienced all of life's pleasures; but it was after he had been ensnared by women (which he confesses to), that his description of old age seems to be made; not merely in theory, but from personal experience.
The period of time in which Ecclesiastes was written, seems to have been in his later years before his wives turned his heart away from God. Although there is no testimony of his repentance before his death; it is my hope that Solomon, being a wise man did repent before leaving this world.
I believe Ecclesiastes can be and should be used as good doctrinal material; it's in the Bible. Paul speaks to this issue in 2nd Timothy 3:16 …"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness …"
In fact, if one would like to split hairs, the Scripture Paul was referring to that he wanted Timothy to study was the Old Testament, the only Word they had.
I like Solomon's teaching; I think he was a wise man, his inspiration coming from God, and then by adding his own observation of life, he basically writes things down as they truly are. There is nothing in this book that speaks to grace or even redemption, but only the experience of this present life which he called … vanity.
In this short study I want to look at what this so called fallen man has to say about God's time and how we waste it on our vanity.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 …"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die …"
A season, and a time … God governs the world by His Providence, which is His foresightful care and guardianship; and He has determined and purposed certain things and operations to certain times.
God has given to man a certain duration or amount of time; the space in which all the operations of nature, animals, and intelligent beings are carried out; and while nature continues as God intended, and animals follow their instincts; men devote their time to a great variety of things; but very often the time used is for seeking things which God never intended the time to be used for in the first place.
We will say though, that in all man does with his time, there are two things which man has little influence over; and that is the time of his birth, and the time of his death, which are in God's hands. But all other things are left to the option of man, although God continues to rule over them by … His Providence.
Ecclesiastes 3:14 …"I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever; nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it; and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him."
Whatsoever God doeth … when God does anything, unlike us, if He so chooses, it will last forever; it is complete, we can't add to or take away from the work that He does.
Ecclesiastes 8:16 …"When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth … how neither day nor night some men's eyes sleep …"
I applied my heart to know … God governs the world; but we cannot see the reasons behind His conduct, nor do we know why He does what he does. We may study night and day, and deprive ourselves of sleep … but we shall never understand all that is involved in the government and Providence of God; but all is just and right as He has purposed and proclaimed it.
Ecclesiastes 8:17 …"Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun; because though a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it."
The work of God … I saw it to be of such a nature, that a man can not find it out. Even though he labors to find out the work God does, man will not succeed in his effort. Though he is wise, the most intelligent among His creation, it is yet beyond the wisdom and power of man to understand and comprehend why God does what He does.
God's Providence … guardianship, control and care over our lives. There is no space, distance or time constraints with God; therefore He knows past, present and future exactly what, where, how and why we need certain things. You will not be able to understand it and you can not comprehend it. We may be able to see some of what God does for us; but as to the why, we'll just have to trust Him and His wisdom, knowing that everything God does proceeds from … a heart of love.
Ecclesiastes 9:1 … "For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God … no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them."
Here Solomon makes a conclusion from what he had seen, and from what he knows to be the character of God; that the righteous, the wise, and their works, were all in the hand of God, and under His power; but we cannot judge from the good or bad events which take place in life … who are the objects of God’s love or God's displeasure.
Ecclesiastes 9:2 … "All things come alike to all; there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not; as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath."
All things come alike to all … this is generally true; but God often makes a difference in the lives of His children, and comes to their aid with many interventions of Divine Providence in their behalf. There are general blessings and general natural evils that equally affect … the righteous and the wicked.
God's approval or disapproval shall not be shown by any of these occurrences that happen in life. But in this all is still right; the evils that are in nature are the effects of the fall of man; and God will not alter or suspend His laws of nature except on rare occasions; therefore … all things come alike to all.
The general state of nature including what are called the evils of nature is just as it ought to be. Generally, what the world suffers from is the fruit of their own making. The world, like it or not, operates on one of God's laws; both spiritually and naturally, and that is … You reap what you sow.
There is enough evil in the world to show that man has fallen from God, and enough good in the world to show that God deals with him in mercy. I cannot see that there is any rational cause for me to stumble in my trust and belief in God at the dispensations of Divine Providence on these accounts.
Ecclesiastes 9:3 …"This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that … they go to the dead."
The heart of the sons of men is full of evil … it is no wonder then that the curse of God should be so frequent upon the earth. The sentence of death is part of that curse.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 …"For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."
The living know that they shall die … this is so self-evident that none can doubt it; therefore all that have this conviction should prepare for death and eternity.
Ecclesiastes 9:12 …"For man also knoweth not his time; as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them."
As the birds that are caught … man with all of God's warnings and wisdom given to him, still acts so carelessly that he is often taken as a fish in a net or the bird by baited snare. And so … as the evil time in nature suddenly falls upon them; men are also taken in a moment of time and have no means of escaping.
How frequently we see these comparisons illustrated in man as he is caught in the baited traps of Satan and his works. Man confesses his ignorance … for beyond that which is seen, man can know nothing of his time on earth.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 …"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
Hear the conclusion of the Book of Ecclesiastes, the whole matter. The only rule of life, the whole duty of man is to fear God … who has our lives in His hands; who judges every action every day of our lives; and the living of life that Solomon calls … vanity … meaning it's futile, useless, empty and without purpose when lived … without God.
What Solomon wrote is pretty close to the true facts of life. May I also add these words about the whole matter …
We must come to understand that His purposes and thoughts, as He has shaped and drawn the image of things in His own mind; everything that is … is determined by the Lord; that nothing comes by chance, but everything is … as it is purposed by God; that everything comes to pass which He has resolved; therefore every solution, every answer to life … proceeds from Him, and is the product of His wisdom and Providence.
As Nicholas Herman; the seventeenth century Carmelite monk from French Lorraine once said …
"The greatest glory we can give to God is to distrust our own strength utterly, and to commit ourselves wholly to His safekeeping. I know not how or when God will dispose of me … therefore I abandon myself in His hands that He may do with me what He pleases."
The whole matter … our life … in God's time.
Solomon had received wisdom from God and knowledge of all things in nature; had seen all the works that are done under the sun; had experienced all of life's pleasures; but it was after he had been ensnared by women (which he confesses to), that his description of old age seems to be made; not merely in theory, but from personal experience.
The period of time in which Ecclesiastes was written, seems to have been in his later years before his wives turned his heart away from God. Although there is no testimony of his repentance before his death; it is my hope that Solomon, being a wise man did repent before leaving this world.
I believe Ecclesiastes can be and should be used as good doctrinal material; it's in the Bible. Paul speaks to this issue in 2nd Timothy 3:16 …"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness …"
In fact, if one would like to split hairs, the Scripture Paul was referring to that he wanted Timothy to study was the Old Testament, the only Word they had.
I like Solomon's teaching; I think he was a wise man, his inspiration coming from God, and then by adding his own observation of life, he basically writes things down as they truly are. There is nothing in this book that speaks to grace or even redemption, but only the experience of this present life which he called … vanity.
In this short study I want to look at what this so called fallen man has to say about God's time and how we waste it on our vanity.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 …"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die …"
A season, and a time … God governs the world by His Providence, which is His foresightful care and guardianship; and He has determined and purposed certain things and operations to certain times.
God has given to man a certain duration or amount of time; the space in which all the operations of nature, animals, and intelligent beings are carried out; and while nature continues as God intended, and animals follow their instincts; men devote their time to a great variety of things; but very often the time used is for seeking things which God never intended the time to be used for in the first place.
We will say though, that in all man does with his time, there are two things which man has little influence over; and that is the time of his birth, and the time of his death, which are in God's hands. But all other things are left to the option of man, although God continues to rule over them by … His Providence.
Ecclesiastes 3:14 …"I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever; nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it; and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him."
Whatsoever God doeth … when God does anything, unlike us, if He so chooses, it will last forever; it is complete, we can't add to or take away from the work that He does.
Ecclesiastes 8:16 …"When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth … how neither day nor night some men's eyes sleep …"
I applied my heart to know … God governs the world; but we cannot see the reasons behind His conduct, nor do we know why He does what he does. We may study night and day, and deprive ourselves of sleep … but we shall never understand all that is involved in the government and Providence of God; but all is just and right as He has purposed and proclaimed it.
Ecclesiastes 8:17 …"Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun; because though a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it."
The work of God … I saw it to be of such a nature, that a man can not find it out. Even though he labors to find out the work God does, man will not succeed in his effort. Though he is wise, the most intelligent among His creation, it is yet beyond the wisdom and power of man to understand and comprehend why God does what He does.
God's Providence … guardianship, control and care over our lives. There is no space, distance or time constraints with God; therefore He knows past, present and future exactly what, where, how and why we need certain things. You will not be able to understand it and you can not comprehend it. We may be able to see some of what God does for us; but as to the why, we'll just have to trust Him and His wisdom, knowing that everything God does proceeds from … a heart of love.
Ecclesiastes 9:1 … "For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God … no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them."
Here Solomon makes a conclusion from what he had seen, and from what he knows to be the character of God; that the righteous, the wise, and their works, were all in the hand of God, and under His power; but we cannot judge from the good or bad events which take place in life … who are the objects of God’s love or God's displeasure.
Ecclesiastes 9:2 … "All things come alike to all; there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not; as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath."
All things come alike to all … this is generally true; but God often makes a difference in the lives of His children, and comes to their aid with many interventions of Divine Providence in their behalf. There are general blessings and general natural evils that equally affect … the righteous and the wicked.
God's approval or disapproval shall not be shown by any of these occurrences that happen in life. But in this all is still right; the evils that are in nature are the effects of the fall of man; and God will not alter or suspend His laws of nature except on rare occasions; therefore … all things come alike to all.
The general state of nature including what are called the evils of nature is just as it ought to be. Generally, what the world suffers from is the fruit of their own making. The world, like it or not, operates on one of God's laws; both spiritually and naturally, and that is … You reap what you sow.
There is enough evil in the world to show that man has fallen from God, and enough good in the world to show that God deals with him in mercy. I cannot see that there is any rational cause for me to stumble in my trust and belief in God at the dispensations of Divine Providence on these accounts.
Ecclesiastes 9:3 …"This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that … they go to the dead."
The heart of the sons of men is full of evil … it is no wonder then that the curse of God should be so frequent upon the earth. The sentence of death is part of that curse.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 …"For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."
The living know that they shall die … this is so self-evident that none can doubt it; therefore all that have this conviction should prepare for death and eternity.
Ecclesiastes 9:12 …"For man also knoweth not his time; as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them."
As the birds that are caught … man with all of God's warnings and wisdom given to him, still acts so carelessly that he is often taken as a fish in a net or the bird by baited snare. And so … as the evil time in nature suddenly falls upon them; men are also taken in a moment of time and have no means of escaping.
How frequently we see these comparisons illustrated in man as he is caught in the baited traps of Satan and his works. Man confesses his ignorance … for beyond that which is seen, man can know nothing of his time on earth.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 …"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
Hear the conclusion of the Book of Ecclesiastes, the whole matter. The only rule of life, the whole duty of man is to fear God … who has our lives in His hands; who judges every action every day of our lives; and the living of life that Solomon calls … vanity … meaning it's futile, useless, empty and without purpose when lived … without God.
What Solomon wrote is pretty close to the true facts of life. May I also add these words about the whole matter …
We must come to understand that His purposes and thoughts, as He has shaped and drawn the image of things in His own mind; everything that is … is determined by the Lord; that nothing comes by chance, but everything is … as it is purposed by God; that everything comes to pass which He has resolved; therefore every solution, every answer to life … proceeds from Him, and is the product of His wisdom and Providence.
As Nicholas Herman; the seventeenth century Carmelite monk from French Lorraine once said …
"The greatest glory we can give to God is to distrust our own strength utterly, and to commit ourselves wholly to His safekeeping. I know not how or when God will dispose of me … therefore I abandon myself in His hands that He may do with me what He pleases."
The whole matter … our life … in God's time.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Moving Mountains
I've been thinking again. You might say to yourself … Oh no, now what? That's just it, I don't know; so I'm going to try and put my thoughts into words. I'm starting with a blank page … kind of like my mind most of the time when I'm dealing with things that require faith.
As I look back over my life since I started believing in Jesus, I have been trying to follow His teaching that I find in the Bible; as well as what Paul and the other Apostles had to say about faith, wisdom, testing, trials, healing; along with other lessons in life … and as I think about all these things based only on my own personal experiences, I find that something just doesn't seem right.
The lofty words of Jesus … if I dare call them that … the ones dealing with faith, seem to be higher than I can reach at this present time.
Oh, they are inspiring, and true, for God can not lie. Take for example …
Matthew 17:20 …"And Jesus said unto them … If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
Jesus went even further when He said in …
Mark 11:23-24 …"For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."
Luke 17:5-6 …"And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."
On paper it looks so simple … my small amount of faith, when planted and watered by the Word should grow; maybe not into a great big tree, but at least a twig with some kind of roots in the Word of God that will withstand the storms of life.
I have spoken to the mountains that have confronted me … and guess what … they never moved. I had to climb over them or walk around them. According to the words of Jesus, the mountain should have moved, for … "nothing shall be impossible unto you"… unless the mountain is not the problem we are facing.
What if the mountain Jesus was speaking about were … doubt and unbelief and not a literal material mountain at all. Doubt and unbelief come when we face something in our lives that seems insurmountable; a mountain sized problem that we know in and of ourselves we are not capable of overcoming because it's too big for us; so it brings and introduces fear into our heart.
So … let me run this through my mind again; if believing is faith, and doubt is the opposite of faith … then doubt is unbelief. Does this sound right? If it is, then when we doubt, are we not in a state of … unbelief.
Look back at Matthew 17:14-16. A man brought his son to Jesus and said to Him … "I brought him (the boy) to thy disciples, and they could not cure him."
Just before Jesus told His Disciples (in verse 20) to speak to this mountain to remove it out of their way; He called them … faithless.
Matthew 17:17 … "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him (the boy) hither to me."
I think the key here is the word … faithless, or without faith. The word is an adjective which means … likely to betray trust or confidence in something or someone.
I believe doubt and unbelief could possibly be the mountain Jesus was talking about. Wouldn't being without faith or being faithless really be the same thing as having doubt or unbelief? What mountain is bigger than doubt or unbelief when we are praying about a problem or need?
As I said before, at least in my life when I commanded a mountain to move, it has been my experience that it just stayed right where it was. In fact the more I looked at it, the bigger it seemed to grow.
I'm beginning to think that instead of speaking to the mountain, I should have spoken to the doubt … no, I'm going to call it what it was … unbelief.
I'm not saying the mountains we see are not real; they are. The trials and tests; sickness and death are real mountains. But the truth is we don't fix the problems ourselves anyway; God does … that's why we pray. The only thing I am sure about is that God isn't the problem. It's the unbelief in our lives.
Unbelief makes us think God won't answer us; that maybe He's teaching us something; perhaps testing us like Job for some reason or we believe some other lie of the Devil that's easier to except then the truth … which is, that we are just like He said His Disciples were … faithless, operating in unbelief.
Unbelief is the real mountain that stands between the problem and the answer.
Jesus said …"If ye had faith"… that's the only thing that moves God. Faith in Him.
Hebrews 11:6 …"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
Again … not only are the words of Jesus lofty, so are the words from the writer of Hebrews … "without faith it is impossible … believe that He is and that He is a rewarder…" God rewards faith, not unbelief.
Although I'm bending the meaning of this next verse a little, Paul wrote in Romans 14:23 … " whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Is unbelief sin?
James 1:1-7 also has something to say about both wisdom and faith during times of trials and testing …
"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; (various tests) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth (this wisdom) to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; (rail at or chide) and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."
I am of the opinion that the wisdom James is speaking about is the wisdom needed when we face these times of testing and even temptations; perhaps the temptation to quit and give up. This wisdom will help you really understand the problem, and will help you direct your faith to God. When the Disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith, He basically told them to plant it like a seed and it would grow; in other words put it to use. That's how your faith becomes … unwavering … you exercise it.
But I don't believe Jesus ever intended for us to change the landscape by literally moving mountains or plucking up trees by their roots. He did teach by parables you know; and I believe that's what we have here.
Concerning my personal mountain … praying for the healing of others; is it always because of unbelief … when nothing happens? If what I have suggested in this study is true; then the main reason we don't see every request for healing answered is because of the mountain of unbelief; if so then case closed, that explains it … but I don't think it's that easy.
If God so chooses … is still my answer. As I said in the beginning, something just isn't right. Not with God … the problem is with us.
As I look back over my life since I started believing in Jesus, I have been trying to follow His teaching that I find in the Bible; as well as what Paul and the other Apostles had to say about faith, wisdom, testing, trials, healing; along with other lessons in life … and as I think about all these things based only on my own personal experiences, I find that something just doesn't seem right.
The lofty words of Jesus … if I dare call them that … the ones dealing with faith, seem to be higher than I can reach at this present time.
Oh, they are inspiring, and true, for God can not lie. Take for example …
Matthew 17:20 …"And Jesus said unto them … If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
Jesus went even further when He said in …
Mark 11:23-24 …"For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."
Luke 17:5-6 …"And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."
On paper it looks so simple … my small amount of faith, when planted and watered by the Word should grow; maybe not into a great big tree, but at least a twig with some kind of roots in the Word of God that will withstand the storms of life.
I have spoken to the mountains that have confronted me … and guess what … they never moved. I had to climb over them or walk around them. According to the words of Jesus, the mountain should have moved, for … "nothing shall be impossible unto you"… unless the mountain is not the problem we are facing.
What if the mountain Jesus was speaking about were … doubt and unbelief and not a literal material mountain at all. Doubt and unbelief come when we face something in our lives that seems insurmountable; a mountain sized problem that we know in and of ourselves we are not capable of overcoming because it's too big for us; so it brings and introduces fear into our heart.
So … let me run this through my mind again; if believing is faith, and doubt is the opposite of faith … then doubt is unbelief. Does this sound right? If it is, then when we doubt, are we not in a state of … unbelief.
Look back at Matthew 17:14-16. A man brought his son to Jesus and said to Him … "I brought him (the boy) to thy disciples, and they could not cure him."
Just before Jesus told His Disciples (in verse 20) to speak to this mountain to remove it out of their way; He called them … faithless.
Matthew 17:17 … "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him (the boy) hither to me."
I think the key here is the word … faithless, or without faith. The word is an adjective which means … likely to betray trust or confidence in something or someone.
I believe doubt and unbelief could possibly be the mountain Jesus was talking about. Wouldn't being without faith or being faithless really be the same thing as having doubt or unbelief? What mountain is bigger than doubt or unbelief when we are praying about a problem or need?
As I said before, at least in my life when I commanded a mountain to move, it has been my experience that it just stayed right where it was. In fact the more I looked at it, the bigger it seemed to grow.
I'm beginning to think that instead of speaking to the mountain, I should have spoken to the doubt … no, I'm going to call it what it was … unbelief.
I'm not saying the mountains we see are not real; they are. The trials and tests; sickness and death are real mountains. But the truth is we don't fix the problems ourselves anyway; God does … that's why we pray. The only thing I am sure about is that God isn't the problem. It's the unbelief in our lives.
Unbelief makes us think God won't answer us; that maybe He's teaching us something; perhaps testing us like Job for some reason or we believe some other lie of the Devil that's easier to except then the truth … which is, that we are just like He said His Disciples were … faithless, operating in unbelief.
Unbelief is the real mountain that stands between the problem and the answer.
Jesus said …"If ye had faith"… that's the only thing that moves God. Faith in Him.
Hebrews 11:6 …"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
Again … not only are the words of Jesus lofty, so are the words from the writer of Hebrews … "without faith it is impossible … believe that He is and that He is a rewarder…" God rewards faith, not unbelief.
Although I'm bending the meaning of this next verse a little, Paul wrote in Romans 14:23 … " whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Is unbelief sin?
James 1:1-7 also has something to say about both wisdom and faith during times of trials and testing …
"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; (various tests) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth (this wisdom) to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; (rail at or chide) and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."
I am of the opinion that the wisdom James is speaking about is the wisdom needed when we face these times of testing and even temptations; perhaps the temptation to quit and give up. This wisdom will help you really understand the problem, and will help you direct your faith to God. When the Disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith, He basically told them to plant it like a seed and it would grow; in other words put it to use. That's how your faith becomes … unwavering … you exercise it.
But I don't believe Jesus ever intended for us to change the landscape by literally moving mountains or plucking up trees by their roots. He did teach by parables you know; and I believe that's what we have here.
Concerning my personal mountain … praying for the healing of others; is it always because of unbelief … when nothing happens? If what I have suggested in this study is true; then the main reason we don't see every request for healing answered is because of the mountain of unbelief; if so then case closed, that explains it … but I don't think it's that easy.
If God so chooses … is still my answer. As I said in the beginning, something just isn't right. Not with God … the problem is with us.
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