Apostasy vs. Revival

As I am sitting here and pondering God's words in Matthew 13 I have often been wondering why God split up the speaking of the parable of the sower and the explanation of the parable with an exposition of Isaiah 6... and I think that it just began to hit me as I was typing out Matthew 13:18-19. Jesus' exposition of Isaiah 6 gives us an understanding of apostasy and how it begins to work in the hearts and lives of people, as well as a pattern for repentance.

According to verse 15, the first thing to happen with an apostate is that their heart waxes gross. It is out of the heart that cometh forth the things that defile a man, not the things that come from without (Matthew 15:18); wickedness begins in the heart and works its way out through words and actions (Matthew 12:34-35). It is because of these truths that God says in His Word all over the place that He desires our heart (Prov 23:26), and therefore it should be of no surprise that apostasy begins with the heart.

The next thing that happens in the progression towards apostasy is the ears become dull of hearing (vs 15). The word "dull" used in this passage has the sense of becoming heavy (Isaiah 6:9-10); it's almost as if something spoken is repeated over and over and over and over to the point where it no longer has any effect upon the listeners. The way we use dull today has the same kind of meaning; when a person takes a knife and uses it over and over and over without taking care of the blade, to sharpen it, it becomes dull and useless. Once the heart has become sickly and gross, the ears become heavy because the Word is not believed and received as it ought to be in order to turn the gross heart into a pure vessel fit for the Master's use (1Thess 2:13; 2Tim 2:21).

Lastly, after the ears become dull the eyes will close (vs 15). What is interesting about the way that Jesus speaks these words is that He says, "their eyes they have closed". At this point in time when the heart has waxed gross and the ears have become heavy, they will then choose to close their eyes out of their own will and desire. This is the point where rebellion has progressed to the point where it becomes very evident to all that fear God and desire to keep His ways. These individuals are no longer believing and receiving God's Truth, allowing their ears to take in God's commandments and statutes, and permitting their eyes to stay open to their own ways and the truth that is set so evidently plain before their face.

After Jesus lays out the pattern of apostasy in the beginning of verse 15, he then explains in the rest of the verse what cannot happen due to their unwillingness to repent: "lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand in the heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Here we can plainly see that the pattern for revival is the exact opposite of the pattern of apostasy. In order for someone to experience true repentance in the heart and life they must first open their eyes and see their life as it is in truth, according to God's Word. If they are unwilling to make the decision to open their eyes and acknowledge the truth for what it is as truth, there is no way that they can take any step away from apostasy and towards repentance. After opening their eyes and acknowledging the truth about their life, they must hear with their ears. We are not smart enough to know how to deal with our mess on our own and by our own wisdom; we need to hear the Word of God to know what to do and how to do those things that will produce the fruit in our life that is pleasing to Him. Once the eyes are open and the ears have heard, understanding needs to take place in the heart about that which was seen and heard. An individual must see what is wrong before their face, acknowledge the truth, hear additional truth from God's Word in order to know what corrective actions to take in their life, and then have the understanding and discernment in their heart to purpose themselves towards obedience. Then, after all these things will God be able to convert them and heal them from the chains of apostasy.

God's Word makes things so clear... I love it! He truly is incredible...

Focused... Driven...

This morning I really needed to hear a word from God, from His Word... There are times in life when we are just not doing the things that we know that we ought to be doing, when our focus isn't raptured by the magnificent truths of God's word and the reality of our personal and corporate mission, and when decisions are made that seem to be natural but end up being categorized as "unwise" once we take an honest look at the circumstances. For those of us that truly desire to follow after Christ as His disciples there are times when we do not find ourselves with the clearly focused, intensely driven, and passionate ambition for God's call upon our lives in this world. God really helped me see something from His Word that really moved me in the depths of my heart...

"But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" -- Luke 12:50

When Jesus made this statement He wasn't talking about being baptized again, He was talking about the consecration and fulfillment of His mission on earth, in the flesh; we know this to be the case because He makes similar statements to James and John in Matthew 20:22 and Mark 10:38. What really moved me was the fact that from John 13:15 and 1Peter 2:21 we know that Christ was our example, that we should follow in His footsteps. In fact, we were even commanded by Christ to go and teach all peoples all things that He commanded. Therefore it is very clear that we are to follow in Christ's footsteps, be like Him in word and deed, and teach everyone the things that He commanded the disciples; we are to be just like Christ in this world.

With this in mind I find it very valuable to think of verses like Luke 12:50 as something that we should follow after in Christ's footsteps. According to this verse we find Jesus consecrated to His mission and driven to see it through to its fulfillment. Jesus is "straightened till it be accomplished!" How often do we find ourselves like Jesus, "straightened till it be accomplished" in our own life? To be straightened means not crooked, not able to be bent in another direction, cannot be moved, cannot be swayed towards anything else, not distracted, cannot be adjusted, not diluted, not impure, and completely and totally faithful in all things that will advance His mission and discarding anything that will keep His mission from progressing. I am convinced that we (I included, most definitely!) do not remain faithful to this aspect of Christ example that we should be following each day. We allow the things of this world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1John 2:15-17) to get in the way of our mission and slow us down from completing it. We fall prey to the lie that convinces us that as long as we are making progress towards the end goal of our mission that we are doing alright, rather than realizing that we need to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and...run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1b-2)." This is also why Hebrews goes on to say, "For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Jesus' baptism was to endure the cross, pay the penalty for the sin of all mankind, provide a way of eternal salvation and restoration with the Father to all who would believe, and see it through till the end. To this mission He was "straightened till it be accomplished!" ...Amen.

May we be fixed, focused, passionate, driven, ambitious, unwaivering, and "straightened" until our mission be accomplished in this world.

What Kind of Vessel are You?

A verse stood out to me today when I was reading the Scriptures, and I wanted to take some time and reflect upon it for a moment.

Proverbs 25:4 - "Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer."

In the Scriptures the word "vessel" is a word that is used to describe an object that carries or contains something, and this object has a specific purpose. The most logical thing that comes to mind when I think of a vessel is a cup, bottle, or container. For the sake of illustration, let's speak of a container; it is an object that we use to hold anything that can be contained therein, and it can hold anything that we wish to put therein. There are certain containers that are better equipped to hold larger objects, such as cargo ships, and there are other containers that are best suited to hold smaller objects, such as lunch boxes. There are some that can hold liquids better, such as tupperware, or there are others that are best to hold solids, such as boxes. There are many, many different types of containers that were made to fulfill many different types of things.

Just like containers hold, possess, and carry various things, we hold, possess, and carry various things in us and in our lives. This is exactly why the Scriptures identify people and groups of people as a kind of "vessel".

• David, in Psalm 31:12, states, "I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel."
• God describes Israel as a vessel in Hosea 8:8 when He states, "Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure."
• Jesus tells Ananias about Saul in Acts 9:15-16, "Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.".
• God is called the potter who shapes people as vessels in Romans 9:21 when Paul states, "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"
• Paul calls our the body a vessel in 1Thessalonians 4:4 when he states, "That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;"
• Peter calls wives a vessel in 1Peter 3:7 when he states, "Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered."
• Concerning purifying and sanctifying ourselves unto God Paul states in 2Timothy 2:21 "If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work."

In respect to the last verse, 2Timothy 2:21, and Proverbs 25:4, we must all come to realize something... If we truly desire to be vessels used by God in this world, in this life, for His glory, honour, and majesty, then we we must know that we all have things in our life that can be considered "dross" that we must "take away". When a precious metal (i.e. - gold, silver, etc.) is heated over flames the impurities within the metal slowly rise to the top. Once these impurities rise to the top they must be skimmed off, or "taken away" from the substance of the metal. If the impurities are "taken away" then what is left is substance that can be shaped into "a vessel for the finer", which is fit to be used in the hands of the King.

With this in mind, I had to stop and think: "What are the impurities in my life that I know ought to be "taken away" so I can be "a vessel for the finer"? We know from the Scriptures that God allows "divers temptations" to come into our life to try our faith (James 1:2), and that these trials and distresses are like the flames of fire (1Peter 1:6-7) that allow the impurities in our life to slowly rise to the surface as the heat gets turned up more and more, but are we taking the time to diligently skim of the impurities that rise to the surface? When God allows these distresses to unfold in our life He has a purpose of making us "perfect and entire, wanting nothing" through letting "patience have her perfect work" (James 1:3-4). Are we letting patience have her perfect work in our lives so we can diligently purify ourselves before our Holy and Righteous God? If not, then do we truly have the desire to live and give our lives wholly to Him? Are we truly His? If we are the sons and daughters of the Almighty then we will purify ourselves and feel convicted when we don't purify ourselves; 1John 3:2-3 teaches us this by stating, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."

So, what is the conclusion of the matter? -- If we truly desire to follow after our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and please the Most High Holy God, you and I will willingly and whole-heartedly "take away the dross" (Prov 25:4) each and every day as we find ourselves under the flame of trials and tribulations that come from being obedient to God's Word. When we do this, we "shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work (2Tim 2:21)."

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The Heartbeat of Christ

"...They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentence." - Matthew 9:12-13

God has really been pressing upon me the fact that a true minister of God is a person that deeply cares for the souls of men. In fact, a true minister of God will care more for the souls of men, both lost and saved, more than anything else in this world. I have found that it is very easy to get distracted by many things in this life, especially within the Laodicean church age in which we live. As Laodiceans (I know these things because I am one of them along side of you!) we are concerned about "our rights" and "our freedoms"; we don't have time to be inconvenienced by other people's lives, problems, needs, and distresses. If we happen to help another in need it is often to promote and advance ourselves to a better "status" than what we had before. It is a shame that we allow our selfishness to drive desires to fulfill the needs of the lost and the strangers around us... this is not the heartbeat of Christ.

Jesus Christ "came to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10)", He came not to fulfill His own will but to do "the will of the father" (John 5:30), and we must have the same desires if we are truly the children of the King. Jesus was not concerned about His life, His comforts, His needs, His rights, His wants, and His pleasures; He was concerned with one thing, and one thing only: to do the will of the Father - freely, willingly, and whole-heartedly give and spend His life for everyone else, so that they might be saved. This truth reminds me of something that a good friend of mine, Pastor Mike Blake, once said: God gave His only begotten Son so that the world might be saved, and He is still in the business of giving His sons and daughters for the world.

I have learned that we need to change... EVERYTHING. We need to recognize our Laodicean tendencies, and then repent from them. We need God to help change our hearts; we are not strong enough to do it on our own.

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