Your Heart! – Part 3

17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.

18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;

19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride foolishness:

23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. Mk. 7:17-23

The freedom that we have in the Spirit can only be accessed through the cross. The cross working in our lives, that is. Any freedom outside of the cross of Jesus Christ is of the flesh. True faith, whereby this freedom is found, states with the Apostle Paul:

“19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live to God. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:19-20)

Notice the things that Paul says about himself. He is

1. “dead”;
2. “crucified with Christ”;
3. “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me”;
4. “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the Son of God”.

Paul’s life was crucified! Paul no longer lived! On the contrary, Christ lived in him.

What profound facts! What a profound place to be! What an entirely different lifestyle from the humdrum and tepid Christian lifestyle that most believers live. We are so carnal, so selfish and so self-centered, and therefore we are deprived of the beauty and the power of the Kingdom of God.

Notice Paul says that because he was crucified with Christ, therefore Christ lived in him.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me”.

The two cannot exist together. You cannot be alive and at the same time have Christ live in you. If Christ is to live in you, you must go. That was the revelation that Paul received from Christ.

And yet, as we see here, the truly wonderful thing about Paul was that, as he says in Acts 26:19,

“I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision”.

It is all about obedience. Paul could have received the revelation and sit there and begin wringing his hands and mulling over how he would one day crucify his life. He could have said, “What a wonderful revelation! I am now going to lay me down and sleep and I can come back next year and look at this revelation in a different angle. After which I will work out how to approach the cross. Oh, what a wonderful revelation!”

But no. Not this man, Paul. When Paul received the revelation of the cross, he crucified his life. He crucified his life with Christ, to the end that the life of Christ might be found in his mortal body.

This reminds us of Abraham who, when God told him to circumcise himself and all the men in his house, the Bible says:

“23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him… 26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.” (Gen. 17:23-26)

On the very day that God told Abraham to circumcise himself, Abraham obeyed God and did so.

God is pleased when we obey Him instantly, as Abraham did.

The need for obedience is the reason why, in our key scripture, Jesus swoops in on the heart. It is such a waste of time, energy and resources to approach the things of God through form and the other natural avenues that we attempt to. The reason for all this preoccupation with these things is because we are nursing our disobedience. For this reason we will never arrive where God wants us to arrive at: His throne room of power, grace and wisdom.

But Jesus wants to help us to go directly to God and to receive from Him. We do this through obedience.

In speaking to His disciples about the heart, Jesus was in effect saying, “Circumcise your hearts; that is enough with God”.

When we fail to circumcise our hearts, we are just going round and round in the wilderness like the children of Israel. They did so for 40 years and in the end they all died there!

What a tragedy. But yet, again, what a lesson for us.

We are to look at our hearts. Forget about form. God’s attention is fully centered on our hearts.

If you take a toothpaste tube written “Colgate”, although the tube is beautifully and ‘loudly’ adorned with all kinds of writings and drawings, yet you know full well that the “Colgate” (the toothpaste) is inside. You have to squeeze the tube to bring out the real stuff – the “Colgate” toothpaste.

In the same manner, God allows many circumstances into our lives to squeeze whatever is inside us out. Whatever we have inside of us is the life that we have in us, and that is what comes out when God brings people and situations to squeeze us. And so it is that when we have not the cross working in us, whenever we are squeezed we give out the “evil things” that Jesus stated here. These are the things that you will find in an un-crucified heart.

“evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride foolishness”. (Mk. 7:21-22)

Jesus said,

“All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” (v.23)

What troubles God, therefore, is not the food we eat but, rather, on the contrary, it is when we have these “evil things” in us. These things are the result of a disobedient heart, a heart that does not want to be circumcised. A Christian who does not want to crucify his/her life.

But when we are crucified with Christ, whenever a situation squeezes us, we give out the aroma of Christ.

God be praised for the Apostle Paul who could write,

“I am crucified with Christ”.

These are the most beautiful words ever! Whenever the Apostle Paul went through a situation, he left behind the aroma (the knowledge, the grace) of Christ. He did not leave behind the putrid stench of the flesh.

Like fighting for his rights, etc.

We are to crucify the flesh. We are to crucify the rights of the flesh. We are not just to understand the revelation of the cross as Paul and the other saints understood it; we are to get ahold of our flesh and actually crucify it. We will never really get anywhere in the Spirit until we do that. The Apostle Paul said,

“I am crucified with Christ”.

Paul was a man on the move.

[The Apostle Paul: a man on the move]

The Battle Against The Flesh – Part 2

25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. 1 Cor. 1:25-31

Although we are particularly thick-headed, yet verse 25 is trying to tell us something. In the natural state of affairs, everything, man included, wants to go only up. We grow up, not down! But in the Spirit, we are to take the opposite route. We are to go down. We go down with Jesus. We are to accept to be weak and foolish in this world. Philippians 2:5-8 says:

“5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Now, we cannot hope to fathom the weakness and folly that attended Jesus’s actions here. The folly and weakness – the denial of self – that He exhibited here is incomprehensible to the human mind. But we are to follow Christ in worldly weakness and foolishness.

Notice, now, verses 27 and 28. Why would God choose the foolish things of this world, and the weak, and the base and despised? And why does the Bible expressly state that

“not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called”?

Maybe God does not like problems. And, in the natural course of things, educated people and the rich and those with positions are, to say the least, a bit of a problem. They know things; they have things. It is very difficult for man to humble himself, so these kinds of people tend to be a bit dificult. Scripture declares:

“Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” (1 Cor. 8:1)

It is no secret also that most white people have a superior view of themselves against other races. Whether rightly so or not, that sort of thing ought not to happen in the church. But the cold fact is that the minute natural man latches onto something, he wants to use it to elevate himself. The Bible says so.

That is why, when the authority of Christ is not in the church, men bring titles and everything else of the world into the church. But where the authority of Christ is at work, no one wants to be recognized for who they are. Rather, God’s people will desire only to reveal the fruit of the Spirit through the cross working in them. This was the singular thing the Apostle Paul desired to have in his life.

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Gal. 6:14)

Paul counted anything he might have had in the natural as dung! In Philippians 3:7-8 he writes:

“7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ”.

Paul had a lot to lose in the natural. But he realized that these things are of no value in the Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit matters!

Is God really against the wise of this world, and the moneyed and them who have positions?

The answer, unfortunately, is yes. God wants the people He has called not to glory in these things. God does not want you waving your Ph. D in church. Go throw that in the dustbin and bring your circumcised heart into the church!

God wants us to glory in the things of the Spirit. But the flesh craves the glory of this world.

But… are we really weak when we accept to follow Christ in His weakness?

No, we are not. The Bible says of the exact moment that Jesus died on the cross,

“51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” (Mat. 27:50-53)

Great power attended Jesus’s shameful death.

It is the same with us. Great power attends a righteous man’s death. In weakness, we release great power in the Spirit. And in worldly folly, we become wise in the Spirit.

It has been one of the greatest privileges for me to minister amongst people who have little worldly education or wealth in central Tanzania.

It is wonderful to see how quickly faith builds up in such people, and to see the humility of their hearts.

[One of the purest sources of joy in my life is working with these humble men of God]

Of Apostles And Prophets – Part 3

1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit Eph. 3:1-5

Finally, let us look at the New Testament. In John 21:18-19, Jesus told Peter,

“18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.”

First, let us consider verse 19.

I used to think Jesus was talking about Peter’s physical death. But scripture here is talking about how Peter would glorify God. It is so banal to think of Jesus telling Peter, “When you grow old, someone will come, bind you and go kill you” even if Jesus wanted to communicate such information to Peter.

But scripture is no ordinary writing. So there must be something more to what Jesus was saying to Peter. I believe He was telling him, “You will glorify God by dying to self. By surrendering your life (and rights) and allowing the crucified Christ to fully live in you. You will glorify God by dying to your own selfish ways and desires.”

Which brings us to Jesus’s words in verse 18:

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

Who is this “another” that Jesus was talking about?

It is Jesus Himself. We are to be prisoners of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Which brings us to the Apostle Paul and the great work that he accomplished in the Spirit.

Remember that Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:10:

“But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

Paul says that he labored more than the other apostles. That word, “laboured” as we shall see below, could better be translated “loved”. But Paul does not give himself credit for his accomplishments; on the contrary, he credits the grace of God. In clearer terms, Paul had more grace than the other apostles.

So how did Paul come to have more grace than his counterparts?

It was because he allowed himself to become a bond-slave of Jesus. He allowed Jesus to bind him hand and foot and to lead him where he would not want to go. In Ephesians 6:20 Paul says:

“I am an ambassador in bonds…”

Bonds are not the most comfortable thing for one to be in. Which means that Paul was forced into that situation. Willingly? Yes. And this brings us to 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.

“7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

The truly ‘abnormal’ thing about the Apostle Paul was that he realized that there was only one way to “labour” for God effectively. And by laboring for God it meant loving the church. Why do you think Paul wanted to be “strong”? It was for the sake of the church. Paul loved and cared for the church with everything that he had in him! And Paul realized He had to surrender self. He had to die to self in order to truly love and serve Christ’s Body, the church.

When Paul realized this, he happily stretched out his hands and allowed the Lord to bind him. He gladly gave his flesh over to the cruel messenger to be buffeted. And thus it came to be that Paul got filled to the brim with the grace of God. Grace to enable him to fulfill his desire to love the church as Christ loved it.

You can see the grace of God in Paul’s life written all over his epistles and in the Book of Acts. He was full of humility, compassion, and love towards God’s people.

And then, again, he was full of Godly wisdom. He could bring the revelation of the cross right up to any level you asked him to (1 Corinthians chapters 1 -4).

But Paul could also compassionately tackle issues which did not have a direct answer from scripture. He would therefore write the Corinthians,

“Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me… I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.” (1 Cor. chapter 12)

What humility! And what Godly advice without a “Thus saith the Lord!”

That was the Apostle Paul. Fully surrendered to God, and fully fulfilling the purpose and calling of God upon the church, which was to love it.

That’s who a true apostle is. He is one to whom the cross is revealed, to the end that he may love the church as Christ loves it.

[I do not know many things. But I do know I love the old Hillsong songs]

“Exercise… Unto Godliness” – Part 1

1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

7 But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. 1 Tim. 4:1-8

One of the most accomplished guitarists I have ever met, a man named Bryceson, once told me that there is a principle in guitar-paying that states that:

1. If you skip practicing for one day, you will notice the difference
2. If you do not practice for two days, your fellow artists will take notice.
3. If you fail to practice for three days, the audience will notice.

I believe it is even so with the church. Anything and everything requires practice in order to be perfected. And the Bible here tells us that it is no different with the things of the Spirit.

“Exercise thyself rather unto godliness.”

On our way towards perfection, we are to exercise ourselves greatly in the things of the Spirit.

There are many ways that one can exercise themselves in Godliness. As a young believer, I found myself immersing myself in the Word and in prayer. These things built up a strong foundation in my Christian life.

Something else happened in my life. I left off my old company. Actually, I did so in style. I used to hang out with a gang of three friends in college. When I got saved, I told them, “Guys, let’s go for a walk.”

We went out and I sat them down on a piece of rock. Then I stood in front of them and declared to them that I was now saved.

I will not go into the details of what followed next, but I can assure you there is no better way of saying bye to your former companions-in-sin. After preaching to them the little of salvation that I knew, I left them there, stunned and speechless, and I went my way to seek for brethren to fellowship with.

Those three steps are very important in our initial walk with the Lord. You cannot skip them in your growth in salvation. But as you grow older in your salvation, however, you realize that there is something else bothering you. There is another enemy: the enemy within. Yes, you begin to get acquainted with the greatest enemy of our souls: self.

That is when adulthood kicks in and you realize the battle has not been won yet. You are saved, yes; filled with the Holy Spirit, yes; you know the Bible, you’ve become a prayer warrior; you are probably casting out demons right and left; all your former friends are gone from your life (or you have managed to convert some); AND THEN, at some point in your life, you become aware of your own personal shortcomings and inner battles. This is where, if you are on the right foundation, the revelation of the cross comes in. You realize that you need to crucify your flesh.

It is mandatory that every believer arrive at this stage – the Pauline revelation of “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2) – otherwise he/she will remain a spiritual babe all their lives. Unfortunately, many believers do not arrive here. They never come to the realization that they need to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Christ. They follow after other gospels that veer off the narrow road. But self is our mortal enemy. The Apostle Peter exhorts us:

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Pet. 2:11).

The mature Christian realizes that the enemy of his soul is within, not without. He wars, not so much with the devil as with his flesh, and with sin. And there is only one weapon he has been given whereby he can win this battle: the cross. In the revelation of Christ crucified alone can the believer learn to “abstain from fleshly lusts”.

And he crucifies his flesh every day. That is his spiritual exercise.

“But refuse profane and old wives’ fables” (v.7)

The word “fables” is mentioned four times in the Pauline epistles; and all four times it is directed to Paul’s young disciples, Timothy and Titus. It is therefore evident that it is in the process of growing up in the Spirit, and especially as a preacher, that one can easily encounter and come under the influence of men’s wisdom, or fables.

One of the dangers of growing up as a young believer is the danger of being derailed by worldly wisdom. There are many people, especially religious leaders, who use more brain than the Spirit to try and understand the things of the Lord, and to lead others in the same. The more educated, the more this danger grows. The more weaponry the brain gets to fight the spirit with. That is why in 1 Timothy 1:4, Paul says:

“Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.”

The church is not a debating club. Nor is it a university where doctorates are offered. The church is a place where the Spirit of God is given full and free reign to reveal Christ, Christ crucified. This is what brings Godly edifying to God’s people.

Very educated people who are devoid of the Spirit love debating the Word of God and building un-Biblical doctrines. The Apostle Paul told Titus:

“Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.” (Tit. 1:14)

Much desire after education brings these things into one’s life; but Godly edification simply relies on a humble heart.

“For bodily exercise profiteth little…”

Christians use this scripture to justify physical exercise. But God is not bothered with whether you exercise or not. You can be the most un-athletic person in the world and still go to heaven. And scripture here is not talking about such bodily exercise, anyway. On the contrary, it is talking about all the worldly education that we are hearing today in church thinly veiled as the gospel. You hear someone say, for example, “I believe prospering for the believer means prospering in their spirit, prospering in the finances, prospering in their health, prospering in their marriage, prospering in their job…”

What a concoction! Here there is no Spirit. God’s people are simply being exercised in their minds. And if you exercise yourself in all those things mentioned there, you will end up with very little profit in the Spirit.

[I love the simplicity of village folks. Lacking in the education of this world, but mature in the Lord]

A Bewitched Church

5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:

6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.

7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. Ecc. 10:5-7

You may not understand what the Preacher was alluding to here; but then, everything in the Bible points us to Christ.

In my country, I have heard many stories of witchcraft. But probably the most startling aspect of this trade, according to the stories I have heard, is how these witches and wizards enter a victim’s house. They enter backwards. Apparently, the door cannot open “abracadabra” unless it is knocked upon with the buttocks. So the witches enter houses back to back and after that they are able to bewitch their victims.

The true sign that God’s people have been bewitched is when they begin to do things back to back. They do not know the right way to go about doing things in God’s Kingdom. Priorities are overturned and trivialities are given the places of importance. The Apostle Paul, astounded at this state of affairs with the Galatians, berates them in Galatians 3:1 with similar words:

“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you…”

When we begin seeing things other than Christ crucified in the gospel, then we have been bewitched. We have, in effect, set folly in great dignity, and the rich in low places. And notice the Bible says that this is “as an error which proceedeth from the ruler”.

The Preacher calls this state of affairs “an evil”. But this evil “proceedeth from the ruler”. The ruler is us. We have been raised to sit in high places with Jesus; and when we fail to appreciate the spiritual nature of our calling, the Bible calls this an error, an evil, on our part.

Today, a majority of God’s people are running after the vanities of this world. They do not see the great spiritual riches that are ours through Jesus Christ. Such believers see the trivial material blessings of this world – but not the things that pertain to true life in the Spirit, which can only be obtained by denying ourselves and taking up our cross and following Christ. In the process, they die spiritually for trivialising the cross.

In Galatians 5:19-26, the Bible shows us the things that are of importance in the Spirit. The true spiritual riches – the things that really matter – is the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

“19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”

[Below: The Preacher was an exceedingly wise man. What do you see when you read God’s Word?]

To Be Spiritually Wise

18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;

22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

23 And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s. (1 Cor. 3:18-23)

What does it mean to be “foolish”? It means to not be knowledgeable of, to know nothing of that particular situation. It means to be unwise to. We are called upon to be fools in this world, that we may be wise with God.

A few weeks ago our nation went through the heat of a national election and, as is normal with any election, there was a lot of passion going around. After the election, the temperature rose even higher, with claims of election rigging, etc.

All this is normal with any election, of course. What is not normal is born-again believers becoming engaged in such furores. But, unfortunately, I saw a lot of such engagement in our country during the last elections. Brethren-in-Christ were so partisan! It was shocking to see believers so engaged in matters of this world. It appears that, particularly when it comes to politics, believers want to be involved right up front.

But the Bible says that our partisanship should only be in Christ and His heavenly Kingdom.

Politics is worldly business, not heavenly. And politics has a lot to do with our earthly rights, the very rights of which Jesus said we should deny ourselves. When we engage in political partisanship, it nearly always has to do with protecting our rights. And we can hardly call these rights spiritual.

It is the same with worldly activism of any sort. Be it political activism, environmental activism, or black lives “matter” activism – any kind of worldly activism is of the flesh. During His lifetime, our Lord’s nation, Israel, was in virtual slavery to the Romans. But we never read one word of any form of activism, ‘civil’ or otherwise, coming from the Lord. And we all know that the Romans did not handle the Israelites with kid’s gloves.

Jesus did not engage in the activism of this world simply because His Kingdom was not worldly, but spiritual. This is the same Kingdom that we have been born into as born-again believers. We therefore have absolutely no business with the ‘rights’ of this world. When it comes to our rights in this world, we have nothing. Try talking about rights to the Christians who are being beheaded for the gospel’s sake in the Middle East. They have been stripped of any right that they have, even the right to life. But they have Christ, and that is enough. Indeed, we consider them blessed. Christ is our final reward, not anything of this world. Not even our lives. There are certain gospels, chief of which is the prosperity gospel, that teach that our reward is this world and its things, including money. That is a monstrous lie.

Notice the Bible says that all things are ours, including death. There are a lot of bad things that are ours also, including suffering – suffering of many different kinds. The Bible says that all things are ours.

Indeed, were we to understand it, we would realize that this is an incredibly glorious scripture. For, apart from present things, whether good or bad, this scripture talks of other, more glorious things. For example, “…things to come; all are yours”.

Do you know “things to come”?

Let us attempt to interpret “all things are yours”. Firstly, it is that believers will undergo both the good and the bad in this world. We are free to enjoy the good; but we should also be equally free in our spirits to persevere in the bad (Job 2:10).

Secondly, it is that all the things of this world, including the things that we might undergo, are under our dominion. We have victory over them! This is because our spirits – which have been surrendered to Christ – have victory over all these things, for Christ has won us the victory in the Spirit.

But how about us? We are Christ’s! There is nothing that is above us, except Christ. And Christ is God’s. Is it not wonderful that nothing above us other than Christ? Is it not incredibly wonderful that we are Christ’s and, ultimately, God’s? It is an incredible thought indeed.

Having the mind of this world, and being knowledgeable in worldly affairs is not of God. It is of the flesh, and of the world. It comes from the deep, carnal lusts of the flesh.

This lust after worldly knowledge and worldly involvement comes about because people have not crucified their flesh, or carnal nature. They want to know the world because, although saved, they are still men and women of the flesh.

These lusts are what need to be crucified. Such a man or woman will have many other lusts, because they have not crucified the flesh.

Brethren, we have an astonishing inheritance awaiting us in the Spirit. Let us crucify the flesh, and accept to be foolish in the ways of this world, that we might be wise in spiritual matters. We are to know nothing in this world – except Christ.

True knowledge – true wisdom – is to know the will of God. And you cannot know God’s will while you are in the flesh. Knowing God’s will means walking in the Spirit, bearing the fruit of the Spirit. That is why we need to crucify the flesh.

Personally, I thank God for our nation, Tanzania. There is so much peace and stability, in contrast to many other countries in the world. There is comparatively so little internal strife.

This is God’s desire for every nation. It is the Biblical standard for every nation on earth. The purpose is for all people to hear the gospel and be saved. The Apostle Paul writes:

“1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:1-4)

When I look at my country, Tanzania, I find I have an environment wherein I can share the gospel freely and peaceably. I pray fervently that God may continually grant this nation this state of affairs.

[Below: To be a Christian is to be foolish in this world]

 

 

God’s Work In Us!

“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” 1 Cor.1:25

This scripture here simply means that the littlest thing that God can do in a man is infinitely greater than anything that can be witnessed or accomplished in the natural, however big or powerful it might be. The word “men” in this scripture stands for supernatural manifestations, even if they originate with God. But the most important thing this scripture is saying is that the tiniest touch, the slightest change that can be effected in our lives through God’s hand working upon our hearts is infinitely more valuable than these manifestations.

In other words, God wants to draw a very strict line between the deep work of the Spirit and miracles (signs and wonders). This is because this work brings a transformation in a person, and it is this transformation that God is interested in. This is His real business with us.

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” Gal.6:15

By now, we know that the only way that God works upon a man’s heart is through the revelation of the cross, that spiritual circumcision, the stripping away of “the works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19).

People are easily moved by miracles and other manifestations of God’s power. There is nothing wrong with that, of course. But God’s working upon a man’s heart to transform them is more powerful than the greatest miracle; it is more important than the healing of our bodies; more needful than food on the table; and more exciting than any kind of prosperity agenda.

Ultimately, the things listed above only end up ministering to us in the natural realm. Their initial impact might be big, but it gradually peters out. If you received healing, for example, ten years down the road you might have forgotten about the healing, but you will still be required to take up your cross daily and follow Christ.

In our last post we discussed Elijah and we saw the extent to which this man knew God in that he waited until he heard God’s “still small voice”, and that was when he went out, for he knew then that he would meet God. He wasn’t moved in the least by the outer manifestations of God’s power – the wind, the earthquake, nor the fire.

Had it been us, we most probably would have rushed out at the first powerful sign of God’s presence. We wouldn’t have known to wait for anything else. We wouldn’t have waited and witnessed the true power of God in His “still small voice”, which is the quiet working of the Holy Spirit upon the inner man of the spirit.

This assertion is confirmed today by the huge number of believers who are rushing after the outer manifestations of God’s power. Today, God’s people are running all over the planet looking for miracles. They are paying millions of dollars to cross vast tracts of sea and land, seeking for healing miracles in some far-flung “schools of healing” and assorted “ministries”.

And there are people who, if God does not heal them physically, or if God does not meet them at their point of need on some issue, they lose their hope and trust in God. They lose their joy. But that should not be so.

Let me tell you where the real miracle should be taking place: it is in your heart, if you will allow God’s hand to work in you. You don’t even need to leave your living room! You don’t need to pay hundreds of dollars to attend a “healing school”. The greatest miracle can happen right there, in your living room. This is because the real miracle is not a physical one, but a spiritual one; and the answer to you owning this immeasurable miracle lies, simply, in your heart!

People are sadly unaware that God wants to do a spiritual miracle in them. God doesn’t want to work on the body, He wants to work on the heart!

In 1 Cor. 14:22 the Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians: “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.”

Every outer manifestation of God’s power is for the unbelievers, that they might see and believe. But with us, these things are hardly meant to grab our true attention. On the contrary, the things that truly minister to us are things that deal with the issues of our hearts – as here Paul tells us in disclosing the importance of the gift of prophecy in church.

In other words, although miracles, healings, prophesyings, etc. are good and desirable, yet God expects us to see and to desire something incalculably more precious – the transforming work of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts and lives. The two are not mutually exclusive; and yet the one is decidedly greater than the other.

So, once again, where is God? Is He in the miracles? Is He in the healings and other powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit?

The bold answer is, Hardly. God is not there. God is in men’s hearts, working to transform them.

People dance with joy when they receive miracles from God. But that God can actually do a work in our hearts – that is what should throw us into throes of ecstasy.

But sometimes we are hard of heart, and we put our hands to our ears, not wanting to hear anything other than what we want to hear; having no desire to possess anything other than what we want to possess.
But it is in possessing a humble heart that we will receive “the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor. 2:9), the victory over sin

[Below: They might appear out of place on the sleek tarmac, but for the many otherwise inaccessible parts of the Tanzanian hinterland the Toyota Dyna is a much-valued and indispensable workhorse]

 

The Apostolic Message (Part 1)

You notice in the Bible that the word “apostle” is not there in the Old Testament. We find it only in the New Testament. That means that the ministry of the apostle begins under the New Covenant.

But before we get to that, let me first share something in connection with this.

We humans are wired in such a way that we want to understand things rationally. We want everything that comes our way to be explainable and to be understood by the human mind. That is okay as far as this world is concerned. We wouldn’t be where we are progress-wise without the great rational and deductive minds of this world.

But this human predisposition becomes a problem when we turn to God. Deduction and rationalization are hardly the ways to get to know God. God is Spirit, and the human mind is matter; how can it understand spirit? It is not possible. And man’s inclination to do just that has proved to be his undoing.

This is why especially intelligent people of the world have a problem understanding God. I can assure you that when we get to heaven we will find very few intelligent people up front. Now, I know someone is probably about to burst a neck vein over this statement, but notice I did not say there will not be intelligent people up front. All I said is that they will be very few, at least in proportion to the ‘dumb’ people that you normally find in church.

This is because it is the lowly people that God choses to be the heirs of His Kingdom!

The Apostle Paul tells the carnal-minded, intelligently puffed-up Corinthians: “26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”  (1 Cor. 1:26-31).

In James 2:5, the Apostle James also echoes Paul’s words: “Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”

Notice it is God who has chosen them.

Do you know the poor? Living in Africa, I know the poor. Being poor, of course, means, first, that they have nothing. Secondly, they are uneducated, and not very intelligent. Thirdly, they have absolutely no class. It requires a strenuous effort for someone who has class to even notice this group of people. These are people that no one has any need of.

I once knew of a certain rich man in my home town who would keep people – his own employees – standing outside his house the whole day waiting for him to get out and see them. And sometimes he would not come out at all.

Generally, however, worldly people are not so cruel. Most people do all sorts of kindly things for the poor. It is called philanthropy, and much of the time it comes from a true heart of compassion. More so in church we are taught to love others as we love ourselves. But let’s face it, there are very few even amongst the best of us who do not have a red line drawn somewhere deep in our subconsciousnesses where we do not allow certain classes of people to cross over.

But God is the great I AM, and He has no such qualms. He would laugh at our weak attitudes were it not for the fact they sadden Him so much. God is so rich in grace He can do things which we can only dream about. And to prove it, God reaches out and calls the very people that this world has no need of. Now, notice the Bible does not say that God first consults with the rich people of this world on whether He should call the poor, or which poor people He should call. No. Nor does He call up a panel of illustrious university professors and ask them to prepare a list of which uneducated folk He should share His deep mysteries with: (“Oh, y’know, I am not sure whether they can handle it.”)

God is above the high and mighty of this world, and He does not consult them.

God expressly calls and uses the ‘dumb’ and lowly. Some of the Old Testament prophets that we revere today were mere shepherds!

Even when God used educated people, in the spirit they first had to relinquish their stations in life. The great man of law, the Apostle Paul, says that he “suffered the loss of all things”! (Phil. 3:8) All!! When he says all, it means even his intelligence, his doctrines and beliefs, his high office as a Pharisee; and even his very identity. Remember Paul was once known as Saul. He lost even that.

And why does God call and use “the foolish”, “the weak”, “the base” the “despised”, and “things which are not” and not “the wise”, “the… mighty”, or “things that are”?

It is so “that no flesh should glory in his presence”!

The biggest thing that mankind glories in is their mind. But we cannot presume to know God by our minds, however fine they are. We can only know God through our hearts and for that a miracle must happen in our hearts.

As we study the apostolic message, therefore, it is good to pray to God to open our spiritual eyes that we might understand His heart for the church, of whom we are a part.

[Below: In order to interact with God we must have humble hearts]

The Cross Reveals God’s Glory

12 And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments…

18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? Jdg. 14:12-18

In the Bible, honey is a symbol of the revelation of Christ. In other words, therefore, according to this scripture, what is sweeter than revelation to the soul of man?

Moreover, the revelation of the cross of Jesus Christ is the single most potent force on earth, and, I believe, in heaven also. We know that one day, finally, Christ Himself will become “subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28); but at present there is nothing in heaven or on the earth that supersedes the work that Christ accomplished at Calvary.

Have you ever looked at the midday, or even the morning sun? Even a casual direct glance at this solar ball is enough to momentarily blind you, it is so bright. The sun is a testament to the power of God. And that is just in the natural.

At night also, in the natural, God awes us with the power and splendour of the starry sky. Astronomers tell us that this exquisite heavenly tapestry, the universe, is endless.

And have you ever seen the heaving ocean? It is formidable.

There are so many things in the natural that tell of the power and grandeur of God.

Now, just imagine this God who can amaze us so in the natural, just how much more can He accomplish in the Spirit? Much more, I believe.

But God amazes even more. For, in the Spirit, God in His wisdom chose to show forth His power through weakness, through the breaking of the flesh. Remember when we break bread during communion we are symbolically breaking the body of Jesus Christ. At the cross, Jesus showed the power of God by breaking His flesh thereon.

Today, the church teaches us to covet earthly riches, but in the natural, Jesus was not a rich man. Today the church teaches power and influence; but Jesus the Son of God was made baser than the most ignoble of us. When He was taken to Caiaphas’ house, even the house servants slapped Him in the face! (Mk. 14:65) Ultimately Jesus gave up His earthly life at the cross.

That is why the church needs to understand the cross. In other words, the church needs a revelation of the cross. Actually, that is all that the church needs.

The cross is where the power of the flesh is broken. It is where the spiritual man is formed and made whole.

And may God bless the soul of His servant, Paul, who would preach nothing else apart from this great revelation. Throughout the centuries, the enemy has tried to bury this revelation, and he has brought in “damnable heresies” into the church (2 Pet. 2:1).

But in our day, God is again bringing to light His wisdom and power through His servants the apostles and prophets – the revelation of the cross of Jesus Christ. If there is one thing of which I am absolutely certain today, it is that God’s plan and purpose is again gaining the ascendancy over these heresies that have held the modern church captive all these years.

The church would do well to desire to humble itself and to prayerfully seek out this revelation instead of continuing to rush to nowhere with its much-publicised wisdoms which are nothing but a manifestation of man’s pride.

[Below: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork…” (Ps. 19:1)]

The Grace of Jesus Christ

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 2 Cor. 8:9

I have yet to hear of a church which has a known thief for an accountant or treasurer. In our human weakness, we are unable to tolerate other men’s weaknesses. If we found out that our church accountant was taking money from the church funds, there is no question about the next step that we would take: we would hold a high-level board meeting; and we all know what would go on in that meeting.

I remember one time in our church organisation we thought someone was stealing from the church coffers. I am not saying we should not have confronted him. But the way we went about it, ultimately it is we who needed to repent!

But Jesus wouldn’t even bat an eyelid, let alone call any meeting, low or high level. I am sure that Jesus must have suffered in His heart for such a man as Judas and, even though He knew exactly what road Judas would take in the end, He must have beseeched God exceedingly on his behalf, hoping against hope that the man would have a turn of heart.

But Judas’ will was set in stone, and no power in heaven or on earth could turn him away from the path of rebellion he had chosen to follow. Judas is a lesson to all of us, just as Lot’s wife was. God has given us a free will and we have a responsibility to bear before Him.

Jesus had so much grace! He watched on as Judas repeatedly stole from the “apostolic fund”. And He wouldn’t say one word, nor lift a finger. Not a word about temporary dismissal or sacking of Judas. He stayed with the thieving Judas Iscariot until Judas voluntarily resigned from the job!

The team that comprised Jesus’ closest associates here on earth was a team that in the natural no one would desire to own. We all know about the “sons of thunder”. These two guys’ combined anger could have created a small nuclear bomb. Then there was Jesus’ top apostle, Peter, who had a sword permanently strapped to his side, ostensibly to “bodyguard” Jesus.

At no time did Jesus get fed up and call a council meeting, where He would have gone along the lines: “Now, you sons of Zebedee, you must control yourself! I am tired of all the ruckus you are creating around here. You are embarrassing us guys, can’t you see?”

And, “And you, Peter, my kingdom is a kingdom of peace and love, so I don’t want to see you with that sword”.

I often wonder about those other guys, the disciples about whom not much is written. You would be forgiven to think they were angels. But from what I know about human nature, they most likely were more problematic to Jesus than these three.

But I can assure you that even if there had been a million disciples, each with his own personal negative attributes, and had Jesus stayed with them here for a hundred more years, Jesus would never had changed His tune. He would still have had more than enough grace to bear with them.

Jesus was waiting. He was waiting for the time when God’s grace would be poured upon these men. He knew that once He had been sacrificed on the cross, God’s unlimited grace would be poured upon them and they would change. Jesus could wait.

The Man, Jesus, had grace! He was rich in grace!

Later on, after Christ had suffered and died and was resurrected, He poured His grace upon these same men and they also found themselves carrying the same grace that Jesus had. That was how they were able to manifest Christ to the world. They could even consider warning one another and talking of God’s judgement upon anyone who would take this grace in vain.

But do we ever consider the reason that Jesus had so much grace, something that is so elusive to many of us? I am sure that the reason Jesus had so much grace in His life while He was here on earth was because He carried a revelation of the cross in His heart. Yes, in His heart Jesus saw and understood the cross. He always talked to His disciples about His sufferings and His death.

But we also know that this thing was hidden from His disciples. That was the difference between Jesus and His disciples. He had a revelation of the cross; they did not.

And it is still the difference today.

We live in the most exciting time in the entire history of mankind, the period of grace. We should be going about our daily lives extremely happy and loving! But we should realize it is also the period of the revelation of the cross of Christ. It is the period where we are to gladly welcome the sufferings of Christ in our lives. It is the period where we are to die to self. This grace only comes where a death has taken place. That is when the power and wisdom of God is manifested in our lives.

There are probably people waiting to receive that grace in heaven. But we should have it right here on this rotten earth, just as Jesus did.

We are a generation that has no excuse for living any other life other than a life full of grace. We are not like the disciples of Jesus. Then they had no revelation. But today we have no excuse. The Apostle Paul puts it this way, “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7). Notice the word “is” there. In other words, ‘It is finished, it is done.’ We only have one option. We should strive, with all the strength we have, to walk in this grace that has been poured upon us.

The Bible says, “Charity suffereth long, and is kind” (1 Cor. 13:4). Love is patient and kind. Love is also many other things.

Are we any of those things?