EDISON MACUSI Distress upon the seas
TheSurpassing
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GOD :DONLQJ LQ WKH SHDFH RI *RG WKDW VXUSDVVHV DOO XQGHUVWDQGLQJ 1
TheSurpassing
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GOD :DONLQJ LQ WKH SHDFH RI *RG WKDW VXUSDVVHV DOO XQGHUVWDQGLQJ
Other resources by the same author Unmasking evolution Kicking evolution Restorers of the breach Freedom from religious government The ransom Dreaming with God
EDISON MACUSI TheSurpassing
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GOD :DONLQJ LQ WKH SHDFH RI *RG WKDW VXUSDVVHV DOO XQGHUVWDQGLQJ Eaglestar Publications 22 Tabuk, Kalinga 3800 Philippines www.takethelandministries.org
The Surpassing Peace of God By Edison Macusi Copyright Š 2009 Published and distributed by EagleStar Publications a division of Take the Land Ministries 22 Tabuk, Kalinga 3800 Philippines Preparing the way of the King visit us at: www.takethelandministries.org E-book ISBN: 978-971-0561-13-1 ISBN: 978-971-0561-04-9 Book cover design and layout by the author
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Š Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bold or italics in Scripture are for emphasis only.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.
All rights reserved. Printed in the Republic of the Philippines.
Contents Preface
8
Chapter 1 God is shaking the nations
10
Chapter 2 Distress upon the seas
22
Chapter 3 Finding God’s rest
42
Chapter 4 Divine Shift
54
Chapter 5 Following God’s Presence
70
Chapter 6 The dwelling place of God
82
Chapter 7 The anchor of the soul
96
Chapter 8 The peaceful mind
106
Chapter 9 Rock solid foundation
120
About the author
142
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Dedication This book is dedicated to my friends Robert Katikiro and Felix Iboji who have been my constant companions during the times I stayed in Germany, Likewise it is also dedicated to my friends Rene and Ophie Tabangin, Chester Dabalos, Reginald Cordial, and Gideon Binobo and Jun Viernes
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Preface
The peace of God is one of the most popular and important Christian literary topics around the world but few have touched on how this can be relevant to today’s emerging issues. The aspects of God’s salvation and making peace with our Maker have been covered by many others but one missing piece where I want to contribute is how we can reconcile this peace to events that happen around us and how our new found peace can be useful to us. I hope that through this study, our perspective of God’s peace will help transform the way we view things around us. Some of the topics covered are not new, though I tried to expand and expound a bit on them. Others though are new. But what matters most is we receive the message of the Lord and use it to overcome evil with good. The more we can receive, the greater our role to stand as well as to apply them in our lives. The greatest value of God’s peace is not just the stability it brings but the power of His presence that transforms our personal lives into His mighty fortresses! It is this power of His presence that changes lives. There can be no lasting peace that man can produce on earth. We have manufactured everything we needed but we cannot fake peace. If it were so, there would have been no single incidence of war, battles, quarrels and violence in the past one hundred years or even in one year. This proves how petty, how shortsighted we 8
are and how vulnerable our human laws and agreements are without the Prince of Peace. Only the Lord can bring healing to our divisiveness and it begins with His peace residing inside the hearts of everyone. The Scriptures are clear that the day of the Lord is fast approaching when His army prepared in battle shall be exactly as depicted in Joel 2:28-31: “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.� This day of the Lord shall be great for those who have prepared for His coming and it will be dreadful for those who have scorned, disregarded or were indifferent to it. This army shall stand because they have learned to abide in His peace. Edison Macusi Bonn, Germany
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Chapter 1
God is shaking the nations “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 ‘And I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations; and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Haggai 2:6-7) Today we can’t afford to live in extravagance. We are all living in a world whose economy had just been shaken from the 1997 Asian financial crisis to the American mortgage crisis this year…the economic woes and recessions that the world is facing right now can tip the balance of power and set in events that could bring a deeper depression and hardship to everyone. Almost all people have complaints against their governments, but this is clear that not even the world’s most powerful government can solve its own people’s problem. The Katrina debacle to the present financial crisis in Wall Street proves that no government could eventually pay for all the entire financial burden that companies whose wrong decisions and actions brought it into this mess. All governments built by men will always be fragile without the strength and protection of Christ. Every time an economic downturn occurs, companies and individuals alike will either experience pain or gain. Those who will survive the downturn will 10
God is shaking the nations be stronger when they will come out but those who will not survive will be gobbled up by those who will. Those who have foreseen it coming would have gotten ready ahead and prepared for such events as economic recession. They would have been quick, ready and sell out their stocks and pack up. Investments in land as well as its development would be seen as one of the most stable ones during these times. Immunity to recession in the global community is not easy unless one has been living in isolation or one has already experienced one in the past and has laid down strong financial muscles in place. We might ask why do recessions occur and why does God allow it? Recessions do not simply imply shrinkage of money or stocks. It can imply shrinkage of all other businesses too such as the fast food industry or the cosmetics industry. It is truly revealing that the Lord would want to bring economic recession to the whole earth today in many ways we might not have seen. The whole earth today is in agony for the fulfillment of the revelation of the sons of God. Recession or economic shaking will release many people from the captivity of thinking that they have it all; an insurance of the present economic system. This shaking of God brought about by our false belief systems will show the true colors of many nations, friends and alliances will be made and wrong friendships will bind many into future conflicts which they have never imagined to come; while the right decisions will bring out the best of friends in the hard times. It will purify and cleanse the people prepared by the Lord to be used by Him in His vineyard. Others will have to start anew and build a deeper foundation. 11
The surpassing peace of God When one passes by a construction site and sees the whole block covered, there is no doubt that a whole new structure will be built over the area. Deep foundations are required for those whose works would be as extensive as their roots. We begin to do that by believing that apart from Jesus Christ, there is really no salvation for everyone else “for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Therefore He too is the One who casts fire upon the earth that sifts men, testing their hearts and innermost beings, “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!” (See Luke 12:49.)
God tests the hearts Every skyscraper is tested by the strength of its steel trusts and beams, how deep its foundation and the quality of cements used to bond the materials together. When you build a skyscraper, you won’t be using a loamy or clay soil to build on it. You will look for the bedrock. You will dig deep enough to anchor the trust beams into the bed rock. Once an earthquake occurs, a skyscraper which is unanchored on the bedrock will not only sway and dance in the sky, it will break and fall away ending the lives of thousands. A great team of dedicated engineers and architects would see to it that if they are to build one, it won’t simply last for a few earthquakes—they design it to last for 500 years. Likewise, the shaking of God is like a furnace of fire. This fire will burn up chaff in its path and consume the hay and stubble in many Christians who have been hiding in the promises of earthly wealth. No one will survive it except the gold, the silver and the bronze. 12
God is shaking the nations “…each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:13-15) We can rephrase “each man’s work” to mean each man’s heart. It is the heart of man that determines the quality of his job and the strength of his character. A work with gold seal speaks of the quality of workmanship which has been approved of Christ. When we think of gold, we think of the highest value in precious metals. Precious metals are in fact measured by how much they compare to a gold standard. Before paper money and credit cards were in use, gold and silver coins are the means to buy and sell in the market. Gold in the Bible does not only symbolize purity but also an exquisitely radiating character. In fact the items in the Holy of Holies are covered with beaten gold. Gold is symbolic of the purity and holiness of God which means above reproach or blemish. When Jesus Christ walked the earth, he often mentions, who convicts me of sin? Attesting to His integrity that no one can besmirk, not even the most righteous of the Pharisees or the Sadducees. A silver quality may not completely depict the holiness required of a gold standard but still a silver quality means purity. Silver is also purified by fire. The longer it has been put on the fire, the clearer and shinier it becomes. Mirrors of today may be made of lustrous 13
The surpassing peace of God glasses, but before, these were mainly made of polished high quality silver which can reflect better the image of a person. Matter of factly, a silversmith will not stop the fire until he has seen his own image cast on the molten silver. The Lord will not stop either until He sees His image stamped on us because we were shaped to be that way, we were destined to bear His image. The prophet Malachi wrote, “And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.” (Malachi 3:3)
Dross and corruptions What is dross? The greatest enemy of bronze works is corrosion. Corrosion can easily erode the beauty of metal sculptures and works. This is why high quality silver is used in dental works and kitchen utensils so that they won’t easily corrode. Even so, unused metal works through time when unmaintained still corrode. Reactive oxides in the air or fungi can form a layer on bronze and silver works which can degrade its value. Gold does not. Could this be why the Holy of Holies was coated with gold and not silver? Jesus said, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6). Leaven is yeast which symbolizes sin in the Scriptures. Christians who carry a lot of dross can only be refined through the fiery furnace of affliction. Thus, economic recessions which are not limited geographically depict this godly shaking occurring all over the globe. It is a godly shaking taking place all 14
God is shaking the nations over the world to prepare the hearts of the people of God for His coming. Jesus will not come as a beggar asking people to receive Him. He will come as a King for a lovely queen—His Bride, awesome in deeds and beauty. The continuing verse in Malachi says, “He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord” (verse 3b). Hardships can sometimes be the only way by which God can talk people into action. Godly shakings in whatever form they may come should not be misconstrued as evil, but received and prayed for that we may understand what He wants to accomplish in us. Sometimes we accomplish this by our own greed, taking more than what we can actually purchase or releasing toxic wastes in the air, in the sea and even on land. These wicked schemes such as buying forbidden things and withholding the Bible to the common man has the effect of turning the great light of God to darkness are consequences of sin which is spoken of as a corruption of the flesh. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8) This godly shaking right now is both a consequence of our sin and the corruption in the market place. We are living in the end of the age. We shall reap what was sown, both good and evil. Haven’t you observed the increasing degree of depravity of man in crimes, drugs, syndicate, death, riots and unrests? This is the reason 15
The surpassing peace of God for the shaking, to call forth into repentance every erring believer and to drive the unrighteous to the cross of Jesus. He will purify every one of us so that we will come out of the shaking stronger and able to offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. When the Lord spoke, “Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea,” He was not joking! He had spoken in a serious tone that warns us of His impending judgment. He had shaken this world before to such a magnitude that Noah’s generation perished except for himself and his family. The Lord is making clear a demarcation point between the righteous and the unrighteous, the obedient and the disobedient, the faithful and the betrayer. The sea swallowed the people of Noah and all their monies and valuables perished with the flood. The sea represents God’s shaking not just the literal sea but also the sea of peoples in the earth today. We just had a real experience of what happens when God wakes up the sea; He has indeed hidden a vast armory beneath the earth that can shake and cause trembling to anyone if they learn about how precarious we really are. The 2004 tsunami tragedy was just like what happened in Noah’s day…fault lines and deep sea volcanoes snapped causing a massive damage and carrying with it not just a few lives but more than two hundred thousand that perished instantly. The question is, are you ready for the fire? Has the fire of God consumed your heart? Fire is also symbolic of purging. Take gold again. Gold like silver is refined through the fire where dregs separate from the precious metal as it passes through the fire. Our present afflictions, sufferings, trials are meant to do just that, to refine our character and to form in us a needed de16
God is shaking the nations pendence on God. These are sometimes circumstances which God uses to teach us and lead us into the right directions. God does not author evil in our lives, but He uses circumstances meant for evil and turns them into good. He uses them as a tool to cleanse our lives. When gold comes out of the fire, it is red hot and pure. Likewise when we come out of a fiery trial, we are consumed with a passion for Jesus. We do not come out weak but strengthened and able to succor those who will undergo the same circumstances as we had. This passion for Jesus is the fuel that will ignite the fire and consume any evil in our lives. We must learn to receive not just the blessings of God or the victories that we have wrought with Him, but also welcome God’s purging with a character of resolve and strength. God sits as a judge and tells when things should stop through. Have you wondered why trials seem so long at times? Have you wondered why it seems so hard? The Scriptures tell us why… “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4) The end goal of any trial in our lives must be seen as a chance or opportunity to grow over in any areas needing attention. In fact, God does not send any trial that does not have an equivalent of character that needs refining. Every time I have a trial I always ask what is God teaching me here? What do I need to learn from here? The goal of the Lord in trials we experience is not to punish us but to transform us into His im17
The surpassing peace of God age. Trials are useless when we don’t get out renewed with clearer visions, stronger resolve and transformed in our character. We must therefore learn to ask ourselves what aspect of Christ’s character we are presently learning from. We must all do this if we want to be true Ambassadors of Jesus Christ on the earth. When we avoid these opportunities to straighten out any lacking character in us, we will end up weaker and our journey becomes longer and harder. The apostle Paul gave an advice that is apt for everyone to follow especially when we are in the midst of a trial, “do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world...” (Philippians 2:14-15). He wrote this epistle for the Philippian church while imprisoned which makes it all the more compelling as the apostle in spite of a grim environment manages to even console and give advice to his disciples and children in the Lord. This is a classic study providing evidence that a Christian is not to be controlled by what is happening around him but by what is happening inside him. Paul’s true strength comes into play in his trials as it shows who he really is. It shows his character, his longings and his selfless care for the churches of God. You may not believe it but when the Lord sees our reactions to opportunities he sends to us, He weighs them on how they measure according to a Christ like character, and when we pass, He tags it, “quality check-pass on to the next stage.” “And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wis18
God is shaking the nations dom, that we may present every man complete in Christ. And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” (Colossians 1:28-29) “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:19) “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) All creations expectantly wait for an army of God that exhibits the very nature of Christ. It cannot be done without the shaking happening in our lives. We all are delivered to every trials and tribulations so that we can have a share in Christlikeness. Ambassadors are sent to represent his country’s interest. If we do not learn how to be citizens of heaven now, how can we more fully represent Him before other people? We have been bought with a price, the shakings will come but how we go through the shaking will determine if we have buried our foundations deeper into the Rock. The deeper we anchor ourselves into the Rock, the more secure and the higher we can go up. It is also true that the more sufferings we go through, the more authority we can be trusted with and the more people we can save and disciple. “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11) 19
The surpassing peace of God “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20) “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4) Just as Jesus suffered the most terrible fate, and agonized over the most excruciating pain one can go through in this world, God trusted Him, with the Highest authority because He was proven, tested as not only the Son of God but also the Son of Man. For this reason, it was not any different that the Lord entrusted the greatest message to His servants such as Moses and Elijah because these prophets were able to endure sufferrings for the sake of the Lord and Israel, the prophetic type of His bride in the New Covernant. Therefore James the Just tells us that we must rejoice, because all sufferings “perfect us,” conforming us not just in the very character of Christ Jesus but also in His power and resurrection “lacking in nothing.” This could be the greatest reason why Paul the apostle desired more than anything else, to be “conformed to His death” (Philippians 3:10). Because in death, there is release of resurrection life and the knowledge of His will just as Jesus showed us. Without the death of the Lord, there would have been no Pentecost, and the church would not have been birthed.
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God is shaking the nations
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Chapter 2
Distress upon the seas “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18) All the people that drowned in the judgment of God during the days of Noah cried for mercy. None of them received one except those living inside Noah’s ark. King David wrote, “Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him. Thou art my hiding place; Thou dost preserve me from trouble; Thou dost surround me with songs of deliverance” (Psalm 32:6-7). When disasters strike and we have been forewarned to leave the area before hand, it would be foolish to expect another kind of mercy. God’s mercy is never intended for carelessness. Noah’s generation was offered warnings for one hundred years but they ignored the words of God through this great prophet. As He did before, the Lord does continue to reach us but there will be a clear demarcation line after several ways that He has already reached unto us and we rejected His offer of help. The judgement of waters came 22
Distress upon the seas because man hardened his heart and chose death over life. The distress of the seas that will come upon our times will become more evident as the days unfold and as we move nearer to the end of the age spoken of in Matthew 13:39, “the harvest is the end of the age” which will be characterized by great harvest of all things from righteous acts to wicked works of darkness. Just as mentioned, there will be messengers from God who will pick up the wicked and throw “them into the furnace of fire [where] there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:50). “And when you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.” Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven…” Woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people, and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the 23
The surpassing peace of God expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:9-11, 2327) “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.” (Matthew 24:21) The end of the age will be the culmination of good and evil. It will be the harvest of everything sown in the flesh and in the spirit. There will be great distress in the nations and great earthquakes, roaring waves and seas. As these things occur one after another, it signifies the end of the age and we have seen some forewarnings of just how it will look like in the coming days…the death of thousands unequalled in history for any catastrophe marked the undersea quake that cast its death spell upon thousands in the Asian tsunami catastrophe last 2004. Sadly this catastrophe is just a sign of what might take place again when people do not repent of their sins. In fact the American economic crisis this year will be remembered not only as a recession but it will be a depression just like the economic depression of 1929. Though this maybe the case, there is a way out. Distress does not have to only mean physical disturbance but includes economic disturbances as well. Anything today which causes distress will not actually lessen as we approach the end of days, rather, it will increase in degree and magnitude because God has to judge the earth for the sin of man. When the personification of 24
Distress upon the seas the sin of man who is called the Man of Sin appears, the last judgments will be poured out by God. This is not to merely kill humans, but rather judgment is the last resort of God to forewarn mankind of the paths and consequences of their decisions. His mercy will be the time to prepare, it maybe a hundred years from now or five hundred years more but that does not make any difference, it will still come. “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now — and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect — if that were possible.” “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; And they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other 25
The surpassing peace of God left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24:21-24, 35-42)
Lies and false gifts The Lord saw our times just as He saw Abraham even beforehand since He is the Alpha and the Omega—knowing the end from the very beginning. This makes Him different from any impostors, accuracy and precision is one hundred percent. His words as He mentioned will never pass away though we may leave the earth and though the earth maybe destroyed by water or by fire. He characterized this age to be filled with deceivers even preaching that, “He [Jesus Christ] is indeed the Christ” using His name to proclaim another gospel. Isn’t this rampant today? There are many sects professing He is the Christ but do not believe in His deity nor in His doctrines. Some even proclaim their gifts come from Him but then what? Use it to manipulate and gain advantage of ignorant people deceived by their clever and subtle prevarications. These are the modern Pharisees and Scribes who look handsome on the outside but are full of lies and deceit inside. These men devour the properties and wages of widows to spend it on their vanities. It is no small matter that these darkness of the hearts grieves the Lord and could only be exposed in His light. Lies will be exposed by the truth and a false gifting will be exposed by a real one just as Paul the apostle exposed the false gifting of Elymas the sorcerer (see Acts 13:8-12). Only a real teacher can expose a false one and only a true apostle can expose those who are 26
Distress upon the seas not. This is why Paul and even John the beloved mentioned and warned the churches about false apostles in their epistles. Only those who truly know the person of Truth could discern the error of the deceivers. Wayward believers who have known Jesus Christ but have come back to their wallowing mires will become especially the target of these errors as they have greater access before the Lord to actually cast accusations before His people. Most often times, those extraordinarily gifted could become so deluded and perverted that it will only take His grace to restore them back. It happened to Samson and when he compromised with sin, he paid dearly for his indiscretion. It has happened to many others since because we all walk in a precarious path that could only be navigated by His grace. As it is written in Matthew 24, let us take heed that no one deceives us, that we should be aware that many false prophets will rise up deceiving many (verse 11). It is to be noted here that Satan can come like an angel of light as he did with Adam and Eve, with Samson and so many other saints who were distracted by his guile. Some believes that this enemy could come from settled teachers who would suddenly pull out and bring many into error. Often, the greatest good can be used as a cover for the greatest evil. To be saved from such, we must love the truth enough to be willing to die for it. Only those who lack this fervent love will be overtaken by the elements of lawlessness and delusion (2 Thessalonians 2:10). “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a 27
The surpassing peace of God branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.” (1 Timothy 4:1-3) Deceptions and marked false gifts will abound as described but our refuge shall be the fortress of Truth. The Lord shall be our guide. His Holy Spirit will always be more powerful than any lies or lying wonders of the enemy since Jesus has already overcome the world! We will understand those who are false because we will know they glory not in Christ nor have the true glory of Jesus Christ residing in them. Above all, a passion for Jesus Christ will always consume every sin hiding in nook and crannies in our lives because “our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). The fire of God will consume even the false Christs and prophets. Lies are easily disarmed because the fire of God will consume all darkness. His truth will set free even the most unyielding and resistant of all men. No lies can hide when exposed under His searching light.
Arising glory Our everyday lives would be different if we could catch a glimpse of this glory shining upon every Christian. But the truth is, it is in fact shining in the spirit but we do not see it physically with our own eyes. The glory we carry in this fallen vessels are indeed aromatic and we can only understand that it is indeed scented with a Christlike life when we are touched by His hand, His healing, His truth, His love and His compassion through other vessels. This is why the Lord is very patient to each one of us because the renewal of one person’s life can change 28
Distress upon the seas and influence the attitudes, behaviors and perspectives of others. You can change the world, you can reform it but what does that mean to you when you are not reformed yourself ? Thus, we experience, “light afflictions,” for the Lord wants to bring about this glory in earthen vessels, the glory of a Christlike character which is more precious than refined gold or any earthly possession. Our spiritual gifts and talents and character will always be more valuable than any treasures this world can give us. This makes it reasonable enough why even Solomon said that a dead dog is not any different from a dead man because both are dead. Could someone who is dead praise the Lord? Could someone who is dead feel pain, joy or elation? Our destiny will always be far more valuable than simply being a CEO of the largest company in this world or in this country. Your destiny in Christ Jesus cannot be valued more because it is priceless! Our trials therefore are meant to bring purity and mastery…this is one way the Lord is refining and purifying our character to bear His glory, “For everyone will be salted with fire” (Mark 9:49). Through the fire, pretenders will soften and either repent or leave the fellowship, discarded just as chaffs are thrown away, blown by the wind.
The greatest life Many are preaching Christ but the greatest preaching anyone can have is a Christlike life; this life is a greater witness than an apostle who does not exude the inner life of Jesus Christ. The fire of trials will reveal those who have true devotions from those who do not. In a desert biome, seeds of flowering plants sprout only after being cracked open by fire. Hard life or poverty does not have to serve as a de29
The surpassing peace of God bacle to any people. Rather, it should motivate us all to strive for the best that we can reach for, living for Christ everyday. This should not drive us to imagine quick relief, because if we do so, we might end up in the dungeon of a tyrant named IMMEDIATE. Life to be more fulfilling needs to be cracked open, like the seed of a desert plant, the fires of this life should drive its roots deeper into the nourishing soil, take in the water and sprout to renewed vigor and vitality.
Jealousy and quarrels “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.” (James 4:1-2) What started the first war was jealousy. Cain killed his brother Abel because he was jealous of God’s acceptance of his offering. This was the first apparent consequence of the sin committed by Adam and Eve in their offsprings. The Lord did not take this lightly and in fact branded Cain as a killer. James describes this evil as a desire within man to have more and to be jealous of what others have. Jealousy is rooted in the predicament of man, that he too needs to possess what the other has. This enemy tries us to focus on our needs by getting this need from the others and not from the Lord. When I had this desire to look on my neighbor’s progress to be far better than I am, the Lord told me to look from above and not from the person. He told the same to Cain, but he simply cared too much for himself that 30
Distress upon the seas he did not receive the implanted word of the Lord that could have delivered him from evil. It is an uncontrollable greed. In the global economic arena, this is what motivates big companies to devour other smaller ones, simply to survive, and to take more and more and be the dominant player in the scene. The success of Microsoft does not only mean at the expense of others but rather that it will continue to play the rat race because this is what capitalism is. God did not make nor implement the first capitalism; he also did not consider communism. His is a Kingdom based on principles of love and justice which could be both expressed in capitalism and communism but as long as we are on this earth, capitalism may yet be the best way to do business to protect the liberty of individuals which is more precious than the type of government or market principle. Nevertheless having mentioned about this, God’s kingdom is similar to many free market principles. His kingdom is composed of sort of aristocracy (remember it is a Kingdom and He is the King, the Church is His Queen). His disciples are mentioned as kings and lords (Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19: 16); He provides estates and dukedoms (Luke 19: 17; Matthew 25:15). He gives rewards according to our deeds here on earth and they are stored in our houses in heaven, which he said He has gone first to prepare a house for us. Simply, the Kingdom of Heaven does not operate in many ways as the way capitalism or socialism does or even communism but it has its elements in these various types of governments. In capitalism, we have the reward system which is embodied also in God’s kingdom‌if you do well the Lord has a great reward for you and if not you face the consequences. In communism, there is collectivism and equal dis31
The surpassing peace of God tribution while in God’s Kingdom He gives a commensurate grace to each one of us according to what we need and He treats all of us as His children regardless of heavenly ranks so there is a community of sharing. In socialism, we bear the burdens of those who do not work; in heaven, the Lord has borne all our burdens through the cross while on earth. He has subsidized all our needs being the Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides and fill up that which is lacking. Moreover, the appearance of different types of governments on the earth was not without any reason. Rather, it would be to show us that ultimately, man’s government will not succeed though some will be transformed into the Kingdom of God when the Lord returns (Revelation 11:15). Just as prophesied by Daniel, this stone which the builders rejected has already struck the foot of the body of this world (see Daniel 2:44-45). This is our confidence that we have why the Kingdoms of this world has already fallen. It began when Jesus Christ, who is the rock and the stone which the builders rejected have ascended on high and released the Holy Spirit to the fledgling church on the Pentecost. The power and significance of this could not be discounted by the princes of this world and whenever the seed of God sprouts in a place, it is quickly trampled by the world. But the seed is not only hidden and some even sprouts a hundred fold that grows into a mighty tree able to crack and destroy the systems of this world. For example when the Moravians were persecuted by the Catholics in Bohemia, it was thought that they would never survive again as any entity. But when a rich young ruler took them in as refugees in his estate in Dresden, they quicky revived and they too through the wise leadership of Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf quickly sprouted again in many places 32
Distress upon the seas where most are afraid to go and preach the gospel. Persecution of the seed of God, the church has always been a normal process and the more demented it becomes, the faster its multiplication. Wherever the church has multiplied so much, like a leaven, it has overtaken the whole structure so that it has been said to be a community that closely resembles that of the kingdom of God. Although mankind has experienced the age of civilizations and empires, the age of feudalism, exploration and colonialism, the age of communism and capitalism and now the age of knowledge and technology, it can be said that there is always something more to be desired. This desire for greater closeness and common vision towards one whole body or community is rooted in what the Lord has placed in us, to be intimate with Him while at the same time we fellowship with each other. Just as the time for His coming draws near and the age of His Kingdom on earth comes, human governments are feeling these drumbeats though but a whimper. Therefore they have a lot of movement towards common government and economy, but just as the Tower of Babel demonstrates, when we build communities for the sake of human fellowships, it will ultimately fail. True communities will not be built on the principle alone of human gathering or community, it needs to go higher than that. To maintain true life flow, it cannot focus on itself alone, when it does, it becomes stale until it self-destruct. Nature teaches us that no single unit of living thing or population could live by itself alone. It derives its being by being dependent wholly or in part with other smaller or bigger communities. In the same way, human communities on earth depend so much not on itself or with its fellow creatures but on the Creator. All communities on earth derive their life 33
The surpassing peace of God flow from the Lord, the fountain and renewer of life. Like Abraham and the saints of old, we must all desire to be part of the city whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10). In this way, we can bring renewal that would so transform the world until they too become the kingdom of God. That said, our desires to impose on others what we may think of as ours or what we may think as theirs have resulted to devastating wars and violence.
Wars and rumors of wars Rumors of wars which are mentioned as precursor to the cataclysmic event of the end of days can come as a consequence of such events. When the disciples asked the Lord about signs of the end of days, He mentioned that “such things must happen but the end will not yet be in sight.� So what will be the end? It would be when nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Yet this is not the end but the beginning of the end. I have lived in a province where tribal wars have been a way of life for many generations among our people. Even more than one hundred years since the Americans have landed in the mountains of Cordillera in Northern Luzon, this savagery still happens in Kalinga and Apayao. One tribe will be the target of another for the sin of one of their member. No peace can be set on such kind of enmity and compromises are often forged on such struggles to end the fighting. In the coming days, this will not just be in provinces but rather kingdom to kingdom and nation to nation. Another example of this happened in the Rwandan genocide where one tribe wanted to annihilate another with such savagery unimaginable these days. This happened when the enemy sees such differences and vents 34
Distress upon the seas off his anger towards another group of people using unhealed differences and old wounds between the two tribes, attracting the lord of the flies like a magnet to ignite the fire of enmity between the tribes resulting to massive destruction and loss of lives. Such loss becomes inescapable when one does not know the Lord, when one has resigned his will to fate and forgot that our destiny have to be charted by our own hands. God works but He has chosen these days to work through us. One businessman visiting the vast field of banana plantation quipped to the farmer, “you could not have produced such bananas without the Lord.” Smiling at his visitor and a bit feeling chagrined, the farmer pointed to a vast field at his left hand, look at those fields, he said, “God’s plantation will be all weeds without me.” Like this farmer, all men are called to do His work but only those willing to go and do it will also be the sent ones to make a difference in this world. The Lord can only be there to guide us but we make the decisions. Solomon was given the gift of wisdom but he has to decide when and how to use it; his first try was when asked to chose between two prostitutes whose baby is the one alive. God gives but we decide whether to use our gifts properly or simply misuse or neglect them. But any impending disaster can be averted if only we learn to focus on Jesus. Just as a woman who is about to give birth focuses on her husband, we all need to focus on Jesus, the heavenly Solomon who imparts righteous judgement and wisdom to discern the times and the tasks at hand so we can learn and do as He did. The Bible exhorts us, that when “troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance 35
The surpassing peace of God has a chance to grow”(James 1:2-3 NLT). More than having relief and pleasures in this world, the greatest joy one could ever feel is when we have brought joy to the One who is ever watching and caring for all of us. “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.” (2 Timothy 2:3-6) So no matter what kind of trial comes our way, no matter what kind of distress it would be, let us put our hope on the living God who only cares for our own good. Hope is the anchor of our soul (Hebrews 6:19) and it is hope that the enemy wants us to lose. For once we despair, we will lose the good fight of faith and be easily tossed to and fro.
The throne of grace and our daily needs When problems and daily burdens come upon us, we should learn to face them squarely. The best preparation one can do is to face the day with a prayer. Only the kneeling Christian could ever make a difference in this world. We must learn to “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). When we have the presence of the Lord, His presence soothes the pain, soothes the toil and gives us fresh perspective and understanding of 36
Distress upon the seas what needs to be done. One does not need to understand all things at first so one can do them. But faith brings us to do things that can matter for life and death and we may understand them later. This is contrary to the world’s thinking that we need to understand everything before we can do them. In the spirit, the physical realm is subject to the spiritual realm and what happens behind the spiritual realm manifests in the physical. This is why we are called to have faith because faith believes all things, it is the conviction that things exists though they may yet be seen physically. In Physics, no one has seen an electron or atom with the naked eye, nor has there been anyone who has seen the structural formula of water. Both physicists and chemists unknowingly apply the principle of faith in their day to day work as do many of us. Yet we know that the very properties of light and water keeps us alive and well on planet earth. Without the wave properties of light, how can it travel? How can it enlighten our darkness? Without its particle properties, how can we explain its heat generating capacity? In the same way, without the ingenious bonding of the molecules of water, it would be impossible to imagine its usefulness or versatility. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:1, 6) It is the presence of the Lord that lingered on leaders such as Moses, Aaron, Samuel, or Isaiah or Paul. 37
The surpassing peace of God His presence cleanses us like a stain remover so that we can do our work each day filled with hope and faith. Is this not what the Lord wants for every one of us? Is this not what he desires? “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10) “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” (1 Peter 3:15) Trials in our lives are not measured by their intensity or magnitude of troubles. God measures them by how we respond to them. The more Christ-like our response is, the better prepared we are in facing trials that would come our way. Our afflictions too become very light when we ponder of the Lord, when we thank Him and praise Him for who He is instead of complaining. There is a general thinking that whenever trouble comes our way, the first reaction should be to think about the problem or put the blame on someone else. But the right reaction should be to pray for the solution that the Lord will give us clear mind and whole understanding of the matter. Problems do not come alone. Part of the consequence of the fall of man is that we 38
Distress upon the seas react to problems. Only, our basic reactions are often motivated by fear and self-preservation which yields to demonic rage or sensualities. When Jesus was facing the crucifixion, He did not go to the Priests and Pharisees and paid a consultation fee just to jump and mumble inaudible words to the air. Nor did he go to a medium to consult them if He can simply evade the cross. Rather, He showed us a better way, He consulted the One who ordered it all, and He went with a select group of disciples and then prayed alone. The prophet Daniel did the same. When faced with the biggest crisis in his life, he presented himself before authorities and asked them time to figure out the problem. In order to solve the crisis, Daniel and his friends knelt before God and prayed what was the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. “He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?� So Arioch told him all that had happened. Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant. Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. He said, "Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He 39
The surpassing peace of God gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.” (Daniel 2:15-23 NLT) Daniel and his friends did not only save their lives when they asked God what was the dream that bothered King Nebuchadnezzar, they even spared the lives of the wise men of Babylon because they dared to ask God. The Lord will protect those whose lives are given to Him, those who have committed their hearts to follow Him. When we learn what it truly means to love the Lord, we will not only pray to Him when a need arises but we pray because we wanted to be with our Friend and Big Brother. Fellowship does not have to mean worship without camaraderie, companionship and brotherhood. The word fellowship evolved from “two fellows in a ship.” Basically we have a relationship with Jesus that is worth developing and strengthening; this is our quest as long as we live.
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Chapter 3
Finding God’s rest “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”(Psalm 32:7) One of the greatest revelations I found and that kept me from living an insecure life and appeals of the flesh is the understanding that Jesus Christ died for me and loves me. With this love, I find rest and peace that I do not need to struggle to find someone to love me unconditionally. I do not need to put my best foot forward and do many stunts and lies to cover up who I am. In Christ, I feel secure and free because He has paid the price for my freedom. Today many people engage in activities that can lull the mind, pull them into addictions and make them hallucinate. Things like drug addiction, eastern religions, yoga, transcendental meditations, occult readings and new age has only pulled many into a false sense of security and false safe haven. The so-called New Age movement has everything but Christ and a true lasting peace. Many Christians also engage in horoscope and fortune telling which God forbids that no one who calls himself a Christian should dabble with. “Don't dabble in the occult or traffic with mediums; you'll pollute your souls. I am 42
Finding God’s rest God, your God. "I will resolutely reject persons who dabble in the occult or traffic with mediums, prostituting themselves in their practices. I will cut them off from their people. "Set yourselves apart for a holy life. Live a holy life, because I am God, your God.” (Lev 19:31; 20:6-7 THE MESSAGE) The apostle Peter also wrote that we are to be discerning because of the nature of the events that would transpire in these last days. He succinctly puts that we are to “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water” (2 Peter 3:3-6). When knowledge abounds, it is finding the right information that would most benefit us, which one to accept and which one to reject. It takes lots of practice to sharpen this skill of knowing and discerning the right from the wrong. Just as anyone who wants to compete in the Olympic games does not merely practice without proper knowledge and equipment, everyone should beware to do the same in our spiritual lives. We are to endure hardships as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. In science, there are many published papers on many issues, but in everything we write, we need to cite the references which we think does not only justify our position but expounds on the truth of our findings. 43
The surpassing peace of God In every book I write, I do not merely justify my position when I am called to stand for that issue, but seek ways to understand why this must be the truth and why it must be biblical too. In other words, we can simplify things by seeking only those knowledge and wisdom that best conforms to what Jesus has shown us in the Bible or whether it rightly conforms to the word of God. This is the way we judge sound practices as well as sound living. Just because someone from a megachurch does this, it does not mean it is applicable to everyone’s churches. No, there are certain practices that are applicable for big churches and some which are only fit for the small ones. Both are needed to impact our communities in ways we may not have even imagined. For example, it is harder to actually know how deep is the foundation of the people attending our churches when we suddenly explode in numbers compared to when we just started small and patiently anchor our roots deeper into the foundation of Christ. Even so, we cannot continue to remain bound to the powers of darkness or to open ourselves into this kind of practice just because we attend a big church and no one seems to pay attention at us personally.
The knowledge of truth The greatest enemy of most Christians today is not Satan, but our lack of knowledge of the truth (Hosea 4:6), this is in spite of the explosion of knowledge in many areas. We have hardly scratched the whole treasure load of the Bible. Only we have become superficial in the way we deal with it and the way we dispense knowledge arising from it. The Lord does not have to be an elusive Being called the “Old Man upstairs,” He must become your Father, your best Friend, your Com44
Finding God’s rest forter, and your Rock of refuge. He called all of us to come to Him and to find rest for our souls’ need. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. “For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) Since the Lord called everyone of us, our excuses are not acceptable. None could really find true peace or true rest apart from the Prince of Peace, the everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6) for He decreed that we will only find rest for our souls in Him. Problems and pressure from work and everyday living does not mean that He condemned us or judged us to this condition. This is the meaning of toil, part of the wages of sin (Romans 6:23). Salaries are paid to anyone who works for a job; so are the consequences of sin which has been likened to salaries or wages. From the very beginning since the fall of man, sin has continued and increased in magnitude today until its personification in the Man of Sin will be revealed to this world. The Christian life is not for cowards. It is one of confrontation with truth and reality. Problems should not drive us away from God but towards Him who has all the answers that we are seeking. He is the Light of the world. No matter how different, how big your problems are, His everlasting light could shine through your night. The radiance of His light will always be stronger than any foreboding darkness just as light pierces the darkest night of the soul. The first century Church understood that sufferings and trials are part 45
The surpassing peace of God of the life that we have in Christ; they understood that we must go through tribulations to enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). They have learned that through much tribulations, God is teaching them the Kingdom lifestyle. He is purifying them from imperfections of character. Daniel’s story tells us how he made the Lord his refuge and how the Lord preserved him and his companions from certain death.
The rock of refuge When we make the Lord our refuge, He will find ways to do so. David’s life was marked with both joy and sorrow. Even though he was anointed as a king in his teen years, he did not become the king of Judah and Israel until the death of King Saul. With constant battle and being on the most wanted list by the government, his life was always on the verge of death, often hiding and persecuted. It was this kind of preparation that exactly made him the greatest king of Israel. King Saul became the choiced tool whom God used to shape the character of David and prepared him for kingship. His greatness lies in his forgiving heart and trust in the Lord that no matter what circumstances he was in, he knew the Lord would protect and keep him. “My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, Thou dost save me from violence.” I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; And I am saved from my enemies. “For the waves of death encompassed me; The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me; The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The 46
Finding God’s rest snares of death confronted me. “In my distress I called upon the Lord, Yes, I cried to my God; And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears.” (2 Samuel 22:3-7) “O Lord my God, in Thee I have taken refuge; Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me…” (Psalm 7:1) “Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in Thee…” (Psalm 16:1) “For Thou hast been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; For the breath of the ruthless is like a rain storm against a wall. Like heat in drought, Thou dost subdue the uproar of aliens; Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is silenced.” (Isaiah 25:45) Like David and the prophet Isaiah, we must make the Lord our hiding place, our refuge and strength because He will deliver us from any sickness, from any problem, from any distress or from any foe or bondage in this life. The word of God simply says, “is anything too difficult for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14). It was not hard for Him to remove Saul from kingship or even to give an Isaac to Abraham; it was not hard for Him to bring revival in such hard places as Wales, a little known place in Great Britain at the turn of the previous century. And it won’t be hard for us to invite the 47
The surpassing peace of God Lord in our schools, offices and places because God is able and God is great. It is only our own perceptions that limit what God can do through us and in us. When we truly believe in faith, we will trust, and we will believe there is nothing impossible with God.
The right response The biggest setback can be turned by God into our biggest victory. He gives abounding grace to even the chief of sinners and when we are weak, God will be our strength, “and God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (2 Corinthians 9:8). This abounding grace is for us. We can become vessels of His grace if we respond the right way. Paul’s secret for every encounter of problem is not hidden, for he has written it for us, “rejoice always, pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). When we think of the word rejoice, what emotion does it evoke in us? Does it mean laughter? Or does it mean an inner sense of joy? When the word of God says REJOICE, it means exaltation regardless of the circumstances we are in. It means we worship the Lord even in the most desperate of circumstances we are in. Paul and Silas demonstrated this truth when they were beaten and dragged in Philippi. “And the crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them, and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows 48
Finding God’s rest upon them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened.”(Acts 16:22-26) Although both of them were tired and needing medical attention, Paul and Silas stood up and praised the Lord. They did the very thing that few of us would dare to do, to focus on God and solve the problem. Since the fall of man, mankind resorts to looking at himself more than to God for any solution. And the very first thing that we learn as disciples is to remove our eyes off ourselves and focus on the Lord. Some of us think that by focusing on God, we waste our time but the end result of those who use carnal means compared to those who overcome by the Spirit of Jesus Christ would attest to their superficial understanding of the ways of God. Faith is not abstract nor beyond reach to anyone. Faith in God means knowing your Lord and Savior as He is…the all powerful Almighty God. He is the, “Great I am.” The meaning of I am cannot be possibly listed for everything that it stands for. It is limitless in power, beauty, magnanimity, character, love and truth. Paul and Silas knew that God could set them free even inside the most secure prison of their times. 49
The surpassing peace of God To be fettered does not only evoke humiliation but also to be counted as the most dangerous criminal of the land. Yet, the Lord’s power could not be limited by any human authority, even by the highest authority in the land. When we call on God, He shows Himself strong in behalf of those who trusts in Him. When we pray and believe in what we pray for, trusting in the Lord, there is no limit to what He can do. God hears every prayer that we utter. “So there was great joy in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel. Then the Levitical priests arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard and their prayer came to His holy dwelling place, to heaven.� (2 Chronicles 30:26-27) Though Paul and Silas were constrained by human authority, their authority with God could not be hindered by even the powers of human or demonic agencies. Their worship ascended to heaven and God could not disregard any true worship arising from the human heart. He seeks worshippers! When we pray and thank the Lord, we enter His gates but when we worship the Lord, we enter His courts (Psalm 100:4). Gates refer to doors or openings of either earthly or heavenly authority while courts refer to reception held by a sovereign. By way of our thanksgiving we are ushered into the heavenly gates but when we come and worship the Lord, we are ushered into His presence. It is being in His presence that will open our hearts and minds to our true conditions. This is also the time that we adore our Father no matter what is happen50
Finding God’s rest ing around us. At first, Paul and Silas may not even be aware that their chains already fell! When we come before our Father, He knows what we need, the Sovereign King of the universe extends His scepter to us and asks, what do you want my son? What do you want my daughter? Is this not the reason why we are supposed to be spending time with the Lord? Many have removed this personal element of our relationship with God, for though we worship in adoration and praises, that does not negate our needs. We are also encouraged to pray that God fill up our needs apart from praying that “His Kingdom come and His will be done.” We are to also ask that He give us bread and that we be delivered from evil! This is why the Lord encouraged us to pray without ceasing and to always be thankful in everything because God inhabits the praises of His people. The word “inhabit” here certainly means He comes to us, and when He does, there is no lack that He could not provide for, there is no problem or sin we cannot be delivered from. We are then to devote ourselves “to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). Praying without ceasing does not have to mean we do a formal prayer, rather, we should understand this to mean a way of entrance into a holy communion with the Lord throughout the day. This seems silly to me and how can a man pray that it never ceases? The Lord answered my question and said,“set your affections to the most High.” It is not really praying, but communing or entering into a “common union” with the Lord that this verse or any prayer is addressed. Just as there would have been many events transpiring in the days of Enoch, yet the Lord focused on this one man and they walked in such common union 51
The surpassing peace of God that even world events could not disturb their walk until Enoch has to be taken away without tasting death. He desires nothing less with us. In fact, the rapture events that would come will come because His church have made herself ready and have such a close walk with the Lord that only His coming could take them away. Our Father by then could not restrain Himself but to take us with Him. By saying this, I do not mean that our motivation of getting close with God should be to escape this world, no, but we draw close to Him because our desire is nothing else than by becoming one with Him in purpose, life and works. This is why the overcomers in the Laodicean church in Revelation 3:14 which describes our generation will be ruling with Him, sitting down with the Lord on His throne. Because in such great darkness, they became sources of light that shine out. To begin to walk in this, we all need to rise up beyond our petty boundaries and desire to walk up higher, to keep on seeking things from above. Just as no swine will ever soar because it always looks on the ground, only the eagles will fly because they cast their vision above. “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3) “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually ap52
Finding God’s rest praised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.� (1 Corinthians 2:14-15) Communion with God is necessary if we are to overcome this world. There is no saint that has not done violence to himself without having called on the Lord. To deny ourselves, we must let our eyes off from us and focus it on Jesus. This is the life that overcomes, it is focused to the One who has already overcome the world! Because His Kingdom is not with words but of the demonstration of power and love, there is no powerless citizen in the Kingdom of God, the least of the saints should be even as David! This is not hard thing to do considering that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. In fact, serving the Lord and worshipping Him must not even be considered a job because it should be a pleasure to give all to the very One who loved us even to the point of death.
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Chapter 4
Divine Shift “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit. ” (Jeremiah 17:7-8) There are instances in our lives when changes happen and set a milestone. These events become so memorable because their impact could not be hidden even when we try to hide them. The repercussions of change and its effects become so dispersed that even the most ordinary man knew that it happened. One of these so called milestones in our lives includes tests we overcome in the Lord. We can count that our very own salvation in Christ is one, the deliverance from bondage and curse is another, as well as our high school and college graduation day. Events like these could be divine shifts because of their impact in our lives. I count my salvation in the Lord to be the first of the major shifts in my life because of the way it has impacted my perspective and career. Bringing salvation to mankind is not an easy task for the Lord and neither an easy task for any evangelist to save souls. Apart from the need of prayer as well as new fellowships for the young believers, discipleship is necessary if they would ever grow in Christ. Salvation 54
Divine shift is the very first step in the stairways to God’s intimacy. The Lord does not want us to remain in any steps apart from moving up and being found in His throne. This is described in Ephesians 1:20, where Christ was set up at the Father’s right hand far above any power or principality and the most surpassing revelation of all is to know and understand that as we composed His Body, so we are also set far above any power or principality in the heavenly places. “…which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:2023) This is why we are inscribed in the palms of His hand (Isaiah 49:16), secure and free, well provided with love and care by the Father of Lights. The same reason holds why we are always admonished in the Bible to set our affections above because the Lord has made us to dwell in the heavenlies by virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection. This is like a virtual reality where we are both living in two worlds, only it is not virtual but in fact very real. Our connection to God is through our spirit while on earth, we have our body so we continue to exist in the natural. When Paul wrote that he desires to depart 55
The surpassing peace of God and be with Christ but it is better that he remain for the sake of the church, he meant that he is a conduit through which God can continue to bless the church (see Philippians 1:23-24). All messengers of the Lord can become conduits of His grace to impart not only understanding of His “dark sayings” but also the wisdom to build up His body and to maintain order and array the church as an army ready to be commissioned and do its part in this world. Our first call is as one family but ultimately, this family is also an awesome army with banners to restore the earth from man’s depravity. To do that, we need to remain connected to our source, our connection in heaven is our spiritual life while our connection on earth is the fact that we are not dead yet and whatever blessing and revelation we receive from heaven, we bring here on earth by our deeds.
The ladder of maturity and revelation So just how do we do this effectively? In the Old Testament, we are told of the story of Jacob’s ladder that reaches to heaven, as he dreamed, he saw a stairway stretched from the earth up to heaven. He also saw that the angels of God were ascending and descending through this stairway and at the top of it stood the Lord, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants” (Genesis 28:13). Jacob’s dream was not only significant for him but also for us. Every rung of the ladder could have been events in his life leading to his encounter with God; nevertheless he did not persist to ask God about it. But for us, every rung of the ladder represents the milestones of trials we learn in this life for every step of the way, we are learning God’s characters that bring us 56
Divine shift nearer to the knowledge of Him. We are told in 2 Peter 1:5-11, that we need to learn while we are here on earth, “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins” (2 Peter 1:5-9). Here we are given promises that we shall never be “useless nor unfruitful” or blind or short-sighted. In the succeeding verse it says, when you continue to practice these things “you shall never stumble” (verse 10) and “an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord” or in short, God will amply provide us access into His kingdom. The apostle is not talking about our salvation here. Because he is talking before saved believers already, but he is pointing to us that if we continue to do these things and practice these qualities, we shall not lack any provision from the Kingdom of the Lord. God wants every one of His children to be able to open the door and enter through in His presence (Revelation 4:1). He wants us all to experience Him deeply because that is where we are called to, deep calls to deep: “Deep calls to deep at the sound of Thy waterfalls; All Thy breakers and Thy waves have rolled over me. The Lord will command 57
The surpassing peace of God His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.” (Psalm 42:7-8) Just as Peter, James and John started from scratch, being ordinary fishermen and common folks but were so transformed and became extraordinary ambassadors and apostles of Christ after being with the Master, their lives show us the way of discipleship and life in the Kingdom. When we follow in their paths, it shall not be long when the church shall march forth as the greatest epitome of change and one who in one day was reborn again! Do we see this happening around us? Or is there a church so blessed that even the world has beaten its path to its doors? Until we see all churches experiencing this normal life, our work is not done and our passion continues to call the church into passionate love with the Lord. There is no limit to how far this passion goes, just as there is no specification to how deep and how far the river of life can go. Thus, when King David described his experience of “deep calls to deep,” he meant his very whole being flooded and swallowed up in the River of Life. When this experience comes to us, it would be natural to feel and see the pulsating glory of God. But we are not after these signs or even at these wonders, beyond it, we look to Him who dwells between the Cherubims. We long for Him that He may abide with us, that His presence shall not only overshadow us but we are caught up and kept in His presence. Let us not waste our daily struggles but use them to move up by simply calling on the Lord as deep calls to deep. This is part of our quest.
Our preparation There is a saying that goes, “those who failed to 58
Divine shift plan, planned to fail.� None of us can do time travel and move through the space time continuum or even have a precognition of impending events. Unless you have a prophetic gifting, there are simply too many physical laws you have to break in order to do that. At least this is our condition on earth, but the fact that we hear stories of angels, stories of how God delivered people from certain death through interconnected events are strong enough to warrant our attention and how we should order our day. God is a good planner, there is no question to that. In fact the things that are happening to us have been planned long time ago by the Lord. Planning therefore must be one of the skills we should be the best to reckon with because we are His children. Just as there were no instant genius who were never taught, we are being taught to be so good, skillful and obedient by the trials we undergo and the schools we are being trained with. Consequently, those who persevered and patient enough to be discipled also end up with better education and decision making later in life. Surveys of top achievers in schools are usually children who are not only gifted intellectually or diligent readers but also because they learned how to make plans and schedule their activities well before-hand. They also have the discipline that it takes to accomplish what they planned to do. Just by these two characteristics, most educators could predict who would be the achievers and those that would usually end up as failures. There is therefore much to be desired in being a good planner apart from the fruits of good planning. The Lord has told me that if I were to study, I must study diligently, for only the diligent can be rewarded and who has no cause to be ashamed with. Planning must be one of the best skills I should possess if I were 59
The surpassing peace of God to achieve anything in this life. I must plan to do well and to work hard in it, even to stay the course when storms broke out and to steer it clear when my vision clouds (see Proverbs 14:22-23; 2 Timothy 2:15). Even history testifies that those who did most in this world did only so rarely as a serendipitous discovery, but most by virtually forcing their way to reach their goals. Galileo has to invent his own telescopes in order to peer through the solar system; Newton has to invent calculus so he could easily calculate distances and Pasteur has to experiment so that he could debunk the theory of spontaneous generation. Each of these scientists are celebrated figures who in their own ways have helped mankind move forward in giant strides. They could not have done so without careful planning and analyses involved. Their main difference with us is the passion and devotion to excellence involved by which they have stayed their course until they have achieved their goals. Should we who believe in the Lord not do the same, even excel them far more than they did? If these men ran for the wreath of glory that perishes, should we who run for the eternal wreath of glory not be more passionate and excellent?
The trap of old wineskins God’s timings are always right. We may be tempted to sometimes think that it is slow or too fast, but it just comes right no matter what. We certainly think of time in terms of a chronological order. Just think about your daily routines and schedules and you know that it must go by this order. Though this is good, when we are bound by the present appointments or by the past, we forget to receive new things or to allow flexibility in our schedules. It is this set of mentality that 60
Divine shift basically distrusts things that are unexpected because it simply forces our schedule to keep changing. To bring the needed changes force us to consider the cost. But when we don’t allow these changes we become like the Pharisees who were obstinate and recalcitrant to the point of killing any would be reformers. In the days when the Lord walked the earth, Jesus was sent to battle their folly and thwart their wisdom. Man’s wisdom is to behold the Lord in his own ideas and interpretations forming religious convictions that hid in the recesses of our minds but do nothing to change the heart. When man believes with his mind but not his heart, we have human parrots playing religious games. It is only when we believe with our hearts that our religious convictions result to righteousness. Those who walk in this vision do not only bring changes in their families but also in their communities at large. Apart from avoiding the trap of the Pharisees, unreasonable and unbiblical obstinacy of our position that does not give merit to new insights, revelations and movements of God will in the long run only foolishness. The Lord therefore gave a statement that we are wise to consider for our own sake, “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved” (Matthew 9:17 NLT). Old wineskins refer to people who have become so hardened and so tough on their positions that they literally become explosive when suggested with new ideas. They want to continue going in their trajectory even when it is unwise to do so. Those who do these things have lost sight of the real value of their existence or walk with God. Doctrines will never be the center piece of our walk nor only our experience even if both 61
The surpassing peace of God are needed. It will always be to love the Lord our God and to walk with Him in such closeness that we too are transformed day by day. To old wineskins, what they have is enough and okay. This kind of people cannot be entrusted with new revelations lest they cut it off or simply ridicule it. Old wineskins have become familiar with things around that they have forgotten the God they serve. They do things around because it is their routine. They have lost their passion for their first love. When things go berserk and we forget God, we endanger our relationship with the One who loved us most. The spiritual state of the Pharisees can be the ultimate state of delusion and hypocrisy that any Christian can fall into and this happens when we forget our first love. Revelations of the things of God have been likened to a wine because they are intoxicating; apart from the new knowledge we receive, we are imparted with new strength and spiritual faith muscle that we can use for the things we need to do. When we stop communicating with God, we stop receiving His revelations. Revelations are products of our relationship; it comes naturally as we grow in His likeness. God’s revelations may come by seeking them but no believer will leave empty handed who does not seek the face of the Lord. As believers we therefore seek to balance the way we plan things and the way the things of God come or appear. It does not have to go disorderly or in confusion because God is not the author of confusion or disorder.
The Lakeland revival When the Lakeland Revival first occurred, many believers were confused whether what was happening was real or under false pretense. Most of the old wineskins simply labeled the young revivalist as false. Since 62
when did the Lord taught us that to figure out someone as false was because of his tattoes? Or because of the signs and wonders happening around Lakeland? Revivals like what has happened in Ontario as well as in Lakeland should always be acceptable to Christians who love the appearing and fellowship of the Lord. Genuine revivals are the mark of God’s last outpouring before He returns again and this will not be limited in a few pockets of cities but it will happen in many places around the world just before the Lord will come again. In addition, we also need to always remember, that God’s Kingdom is not the United States of America, nor will it be because this is far too small to picture or typify the Lord’s Kingdom but we are sure that as the days go by, there will be countries that will become Kingdoms of the Lord because they have been so transformed by the salt and light in these countries (see Revelations 11:15). One way of producing such kingdoms will be revivals and communities that walk in true love and vision of the Lord.
Persecution is rooted in our lack of brotherly love Criticism of others and persecution is rooted in our lack of understanding and brotherly love. The first recorded murder in the Bible happened because the older brother could not understand nor accept his own younger brother. Though their story revolve mainly around the sacrifice offerings to God, it can be safe to conclude that the older persecuted the younger because he could not understand nor discern why the favor of God rests upon his younger sibling. Both of them knew that they need to sacrifice but Abel went the extra mile by giving his best for God. He is therefore remembered for his sacrifice offerings as a better sacrifice, more ex63
The surpassing peace of God cellent than Cain because he understood that he is offering this not merely to a stone or wood but to the God of the universe, the Maker of man and animals. All persecutors in history have this basic premise that because they were first, or knew something, they could impose their will on others at their whim. When this is not enough, their hatred could lead them to murder just as it happened to Cain and Abel. Most religious movements, including politics have this tendency to commit murder in order to keep the others out of the way. Jesus was persecuted by the religious establishments of His day, and so were the apostles. When the Church grew into the most powerful and feared institution of the world, it gave birth to a new movement that she also wanted to kill because of differences in standing or positions. And again, when this new movement called Protestantism came to a halt and fast approaching to becoming stale, it too, persecuted the other movements that were sent to renew her. This tendency to persecute others is rooted in our insecurities and lack of vision to give grace to others. It has become the demise of many other movements in history. By our lack of brotherly love, we have withold the affections due our Brethren, and in the process, instead of love, we nurse bitterness, envy and wrath until when it is full, it gives birth to death. We shall still see a movement or a church that would not try to kill her children but nurture them in the admonition of the Lord, preparing them till they reach the stature and maturity of Jesus Christ; a church which won’t be self-centered but Christ centric in passion and devotion so that she will be just too happy to help prepare the others. They will be the John the Baptists whom the Lord honored and said to be the greatest man born of woman because instead of persecuting Jesus, he was so 64
Divine shift willing to give way. He allowed the Lord to increase and then he decreased. A testimony of the power of brotherly love, which is able to bind us perfectly as one, though we maybe utterly different in purpose or view.
The grace of accepting new things Some have given themselves to the view that there is indeed nothing new under heaven. They cite Solomon’s views written in Ecclesiastes to persuade others into their misunderstanding. Even so, is there really nothing new? The Scriptures need to be understood as it is—“The SUM of Thy word is truth” (Psalm 119:160). Or all of the Word of God is Truth, when we view only the Word of God using the lense of Solomon’s in Ecclesiastes, we will fail to actually hold on to this principle of summing up His whole Word as Truth. The main reason why this book of Solomon was canonized as Scriptures is because of its valid observations of life and at the same time, a testimony of what happens when an extraordinarily gifted man of God falls to depression. The meaning of seeing things “under heaven” and “under the sun” literally means seeing without the light of God. Anyone who will view things in the lense of this world will find himself continually panged. We are therefore exhorted to always set our sights above, to set our eyes on Jesus, to set our minds on things above because when we do otherwise, we will see as Solomon saw the world, “vanity of vanities,” a “chasing in the wind.” Nevertheless, the Lord also said that He shall do a new thing, that He shall create a new thing (Jeremiah 31:22), and even proclaim new things (Isaiah 42:9; 48:6). It is always wise to inquire of the Lord, and also test if the new things we see happening are truly from 65
The surpassing peace of God Him. We must not fear to be involved or to participate in these things of God because if these were truly His, it shall bear fruit exuding the qualities of the Lord. God’s works are not apart from His character that is why the fruit is always one test that never fails. All trees will be known by their fruit whether these are planted by the Lord or simply wild trees that were planted by the enemy. In science, new revelations and discoveries have not been always welcomed, but because of its ability to evolve, innovate and change through times, it has become a force to reckon with in all communities around the world. Because of its almost uniform methodology and conduct of inquiry, it basically allows most discoveries and inventions to continue to impart useful technologies and be adopted into commercialized ventures. The fruits of these inquiry may not have been consistently good at all times, but having the basic framework allowed science to continue to push the limits of our knowledge of nature. It is understood by all practitioners of science that continuity is basic into the fabric of discovery, without which there is no foundation to build upon or we will be repeating the same errors made 10 years ago or 100 years ago. This shames us who believes the Lord because this is contrary to His basic nature of being creative or the Creator-God, Elohim. For one to believe He is, one just needs to look at the majestic mountains of the Himalayas, or the meandering rivers of the Amazon, or the stars that twinkle above. Has anyone duplicated these natural wonders yet? It shows the testimony of how far more superior, creative and powerful our God truly is. If so, we should not limit Him or His works to be mainly past in nature because if we do, we have made Him very minute and falsified the claims of the Bible 66
Divine shift of who truly is the “Great I Am.” Some leaders today are always looking for ways not just to hinder the new but to even crucify it. There has been no area in church advancement that has not come under the scrutiny of critics and false brethren. Nevertheless, every trials and victories we go through could either make us better or bitter. We have to choose which way we must go, to be agents of His creative force, or to be hinderers.
The victory The ultimate preparation we have would bring us the ultimate victory we need. When I was in college, as far as I can remember, my goal was to graduate as a Cum Laude. Unfortunately every time I targeted a high grade at the beginning of the semester, I then begin to lower it by the end of the semester which only resulted to hope deferred. The results of our being with Christ should never result to defeats because He has always been an Overcomer; there are times however when defeat comes because we have lowered our guards and did not look towards the Master. “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” (2 Corinthians 2:14) If God is leading us in His triumph why do we learn defeats in life then? Unfortunately we have forgotten that we are not yet perfect, so we have to learn this way. Our time of preparation is important just as any unprepared army will ultimately face defeat, the better our preparation, the better the outcome of our training. The best preparation in this life depends also on the desired results. While everything can depend 67
The surpassing peace of God on the amount of preparation, the grace of God could also succeed where man fails. I shall never forget an example from Bob Jones who recounted one from his dreams. It was the last inning in a baseball game and the Lord’s team was on bat while Satan was the pitcher; all the bases were full and the score was still 0-0. The name of the batter was Grace, and when Satan threw a swerve ball, he hit it and it was a home run! We may have all the best preparation we can do but still we must remember that everything comes by the grace of God. It is indeed tragic to see unprepared students take their exams only to expect a failing mark by the end of the semester. But what could be more tragic instance than to find a Christian who has not prepared himself for any task in the Lord and when their time of opportunity comes they fail to do anything of value for the Kingdom of God. Joseph’s great promotion came as a result of his ability to endure hardship in the heat of trials. He was sold as a slave to a master who was subservient to his wife. He was tempted by a seductress and imprisoned; he gave his service for free to Pharaoh’s cup bearer but was forgotten. What could be a more unfair treatment and situation that a man could endure? And yet, Joseph never complained or ridiculed God; in all of his sufferings, he acknowledged the hand of God so that He trusted him with the highest authority in the most powerful country. And who could forget the richest man from the east? Job who was accused by his thoughtful and concerned friends and a bitter wife never forgot that from God comes good times as well as trials. In all of his sufferings, he never surrendered to baseless accusations or allowed his wife’s bitterness to influence his perspective on God. 68
Divine shift “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen... And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:1, 6) “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5)
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Chapter 5
Following God’s Presence “Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found favor in Thy sight, let me know Thy ways, that I may know Thee, so that I may find favor in Thy sight. Consider too, that this nation is Thy people.”And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:13-14) Moses asked for it and the Lord gave it. How many thousands of Christian leaders are wasting their time asking for other things but not the presence of God in their congregation, parishes, families and offices? Many ask for general blessings from new cars to new houses but all of these fail comparatively in measure to His marvelous presence. What makes babies attractive are because they are born with God’s resplendent presence surrounding them. Matter-of-factly, this is why most of us whether we like children or not are compelled to look at them either because of their teeny voices or their lovely faces. We may ask, what is in the presence of God that all leaders should be asking for? “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My 70
Following God’s presence name is in him. But if you will truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them.” (Exodus 23:20-23). This is the presence of God; He goes ahead of us, we follow closely from behind and we obey anything He says. Does it go as literal as that? For some this maybe the case but for most it may not be as literal as that. To have God’s presence in our midst could mean many things but to have Him abiding with us is another story. It is God’s presence that will compel many followers to obey true Christian leaders because His presence comes only in the hallowed and devout life of a disciple. When we have His presence we will not only have peace but also rest. Real peace emanates from those who have the Prince of Peace living in us and with us. This is why the first step always involves making peace with your Maker. Without this step, you will always be in want trying many things to bring your inner self into peace but finding nothing. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. “For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) “And He said, “My presence shall go 71
The surpassing peace of God with you, and I will give you rest.”(Exodus 33:14) Here we find, that asking God’s presence is not after all a presumption as Moses did but rather it is an act that God is also waiting for us to do so. It is the Lord’s presence that can heal a broken heart, a broken relationship or a divided family. His presence can bring refreshing and quickening to our mortal bodies (Romans 8:11). Diseases, infirmities and mental oppressions could not stay long when we have His presence abiding with us. As we spend more time in His presence, this is transferred not just into our beings but also in our physical bodies. This is why the face of Moses shone brightly before the Israelite congregation after 40 days and 40 nights spent with God at the top of Mount Sinai. Today we don’t often see this kind of physical manifestation but we do see its equivalent today in lives changed and touched by people of God who has His presence indwelling them. This is what makes an effective leader, the indwelling presence of God which provides strength and wisdom necessary to serve a congregation or body. The life that we now live, if lived for the Lord, we will also enjoy the abundant life just as Moses did. He was so filled with the presence of God that even at the day the Lord would take him to heaven, his strength and eyesight was never diminished. God had to take him anyway so He just buried his body somewhere so that succeeding generations will not find out where and use it for idolatrous worship. Likewise, Enoch was so filled with His life so that God has just to take him intact without tasting death. To both men, think about it, all of science is trying to find a cure for age72
Following God’s presence ing but the secret is a life lived in communion with the Lord. Living in communion with the Lord does not need to mean stern looking, fist pounding preachers or disciples. To change the world, we do not need to be another copy cat of a revivalist or apostle. We simply need to do the part God has for us. It begins by simply obeying the Ten Commandments and praying daily for your family, nation and yourself. When we fall in love with His presence, the time spent with God increases. This time does not need to be all intercessions or supplications; it could simply be your story and the Lord hearing what you have to say. It could begin as that and end up hearing what He has to say to you. “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:2-3) “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Living the balanced life Living a balanced life should always be our goal whether we are in a heavy or stressful situation or simply enjoying a vacation. Jesus always lived a balanced 73
The surpassing peace of God life that’s why we do not see his character sketch in the Bible tainted with any nervous breakdowns or neglect of his family members. Well it is easy to judge Him and say because He was God so these things did not happen to Him when He walked the earth. But the truth is, just as we are flesh and blood, so He became so that He could save us and succor those who suffers in the same way. He suffered more than we could ever try to bear so that we do not need to remain poor, forsaken and dead. But anytime during His sufferings He could have easily reclaimed His deity but He did not because He did all things for our sake. “But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.” (Hebrews 2:9-10) These Scriptures simply tell us why He was made flesh and blood, and that was to make Him suffer for mankind’s sin, to “taste death for everyone.” Thus, no one could simply reason out that He did suffer it but did not feel it because He was God. For us, the application is clear, we could live a fruitful and healthy life in Christ not just by watching our diets but more than these, we actually spend more time with Him during our prayers. When we do so, we will be so transformed just as the Korean Church did. When complaints arise 74
Following God’s presence in our hearts due to our situations, we would know what to do. Before we go to our offices, business meetings, or our daily tasks, asking for His presence will always be a better choice for a Christian to do. It is by abiding in the Lord’s presence that Moses was able to lead a stiff-necked and stubborn generation from defeat to victory, from bondage to freedom. Because of this, his name will forever be remembered in the annals of history for setting free and leading a generation full of bitterness and complaints that any leader would better leave of and set out alone. There is something big and evil in complaining which is why the Lord punished the Israelites severely for their complaints. Complaining reveals the state of one’s heart…it is a heart without faith. It shows how weak we are and how disconnected we have been with the Lord. The reaction of the Lord to the Israelites during their complaints can be gleaned as a similar reaction when we complain against Him about our situations, our spouses, our teachers or our leaders. “And Moses said, “This will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning; for the Lord hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the Lord.” (Exodus 16:8) “And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people.“Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them, and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.” (Exodus 32:9-10) 75
The surpassing peace of God He was against complaining because this shows our lack of faith in His ability to deliver His promises. When we complain, it is evidence that we have given up hope which is the anchor of our soul. Now we need to understand that the Lord’s goal for the Israelites was not simply freedom from Egypt as much as deliverance from Egypt’s influence within their hearts. He allowed them to march through the wilderness because the trial will bring about the best or the worst in man. The Lord bets that it would give the best in man; the first generation actually failed to be the generation that would be completely free from the influence of Egypt, for their bitter complaints led them into 40 years of trials in the wilderness. Although this was a tragic case, a newer and bolder generation arose from this that fully obeyed the Lord and conquered the Promised Land so that in the end it did not frustrate the Lord’s hope. Thus, when we have a complaining heart, it really shows who we are, that we do not really trust Him that He is in control. When we lose this perspective, we will lose everything and begin to blame everyone. We can only do one thing at a time, either to complain or to trust the Omnipotent and Omniscient God.
The right reaction What shall we do then when we are trapped? When we feel the need to vent off our anger at someone who did us wrong? What shall we do when we find our leaders seem to be slow in finding solutions to problems we referred to them? Shall we be bitter and complain? Our reactions to problems and situations are actually our reaction to what God is doing in our life. When we do the same foolish mistakes as the Israelites did, we are sure to end up defeated. There is however a better way 76
Following God’s presence than this and it promises sure victory. “Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “as I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.” (Hebrews 4:1-3) The doorway, the gate to enter His presence is no other than faith! Complaining is counterproductive to faith. It is a false faith. True faith is not founded on circumstances or based on people. True faith will always rest on this truth, God is powerful enough to be able to deliver His promises and omniscient to do it in His time. True faith will always be centered on what the Lord can and not on what we can or can’t do. To those who believe Him, he has a great reward because He is a rewarder of those who seek Him even though they do not see Him. If we will seek Him, we will always find Him. It begins when we stop trusting ourselves and we start looking at Him. If we believe that He cares, we will not waste our time and effort complaining of our situations but rather we start praying and giving our worries and anxieties to Him, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7 NLT). When we realize what the apostle Peter is saying we will stop worrying and spend the rest of our 77
The surpassing peace of God time praying before God. This does not mean that we should only pray our concerns during our prayer times as Muslims or Hindus do, but we pray wherever and whenever we can because Jesus said, “why are you sleeping?...Get up and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you� (Luke 22:46 NLT). Prayer should not be a religious duty as some of us counts, but it must be a tool and a way of life that is more powerful than any nuclear bombs and more travelled than any other path. Prayer alone brought deliverance from flood and famine, delivered Lot and his family, brought the promised son into this world, blessed the righteous man to rule Egypt, freed His people to live in the Promised Land, pulled down the walls of Jericho, stopped the sun, destroyed the temple of Dagon, strengthened the valiant man who otherwise feared, anointed a prophet and king, fulfilled the promises of a dwelling place for His presence, bound the mouth of lions, removed death in the bitter well and sent the lies of Satan back to the pit of hell, restored His temple and walls of Jerusalem and vanquished slavery and subdued communism. There is no limit to what the praying man can do. In fact, the word prayer, literally means pray-er or one who prays. Let us believe God even for the impossible because His hands are not bound, nor His mouth silent or His ears plugged that He could not hear our words and desires. Only the foolish would not enter into His presence because of his pride that he alone could weather all situations he faces. Our victory is rooted in this, by faith and patience. Faith to believe the best in everything, the hope in the most abrupt and pernicious events, and the sunniest in our dreams and the future. However, we too shall fall away without the patience and perseverance required 78
Following God’s presence to mature and ripen the seeds of prayer. In the Kingdom of Heaven results are not determined by simply looking at the beginning, but also having visions for the future and the end. Therefore, we are not those who withdraw because they are fixed into what they have in the present. Not so, for even the Lord showed that a tiny seed could grow into the biggest of herbs where even the birds of the air find shelter. In other words, patience and perseverance in watching our prayers not only produces endurance and the maturity required to receive the answer but also incubates and ripens the seed of heaven we are asking and desiring for. This is the reason we are called “to watch in prayer”not only to utter or speak prayer. I have not even seen any biblical inscriptions that says, “speak prayer” but rather, “to watch in prayer.” Again, let us not grow weary nor be impatient for the Lord because a blessing hastily received will not be much appreciated. It would also be a great disservice to us if at our will, prayers become like genie boxes to answer our whims and fantasies. “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end; while it is said, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.” For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they should not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? And 79
The surpassing peace of God so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:14-19) “That you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:12)
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Chapter 6
The dwelling place of God “However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is the footstool of My feet; What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord; ‘Or what place is there for My repose? ‘Was it not My hand which made all these things?’” (Acts 7:48-50) There is probably no greater desire to most believers than to find the next day when they woke up that the Lord has actually been with them all the time. All visitations of God are but foretastes of heaven where His throne is and His presence dwells. But God’s ultimate desire is also rooted in the very statement of the Lord when John asked, “where do you dwell?” of which He only said, “come and see” and the Bible declares that from that day, they “abode with Him.” (See John 1:39.) Many disciples are still seeking answers to that question, “Lord where do you dwell?” or “where is the place that You can indwell?” Just as David desired to provide the dwelling place of God on earth, there are very many who are not only asking for revivals or visitations but to be inhabited by God. Answers to these questions however do not only start up by building towers, or places where He should visit, but just as John first sought the Lord and desired to be with Him, it is personal vision rooted in seeking God and edifying each other that became the only 82
The dwelling place of God theme works of the 12 apostles. Even the desire of David to build Him a resting place, a habitation or a temple was only birthed because of David’s enduring vision of the King who inhabits the whole universe. There is probably no better sacrifice one should make other than to seek the Lord all the days of our lives. Comenius who set the course of modern education more than anyone else before or since has this to say, our earthly lives are but preparations for eternity. Those therefore who have become habitations of this world more than the Spirit of God only stored for themselves things that perishes by fire and water for the earth is perishing and it shall become new again but not of materials that are made of this world. This is why it is coming from heaven above. John who saw this said, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:1-5). It is clear from these verses that first, there would be the passing away of the old earth so that the new one could come. But simply waiting for these to happen will do us not one good thing, even the people of Noah understood that there will be a flood but none so 83
The surpassing peace of God believed and trusted the servant of God that they all perished except he and his family. In the same manner, we all are to wait expectantly, not as one with unbelief as the people of Noah did but one that trusts in the word of the Lord. Next, when the old earth passes away (2 Peter 3:13; Revelations 21:1), God recreates everything new, out of materials from heaven above. This is a proclamation that no earthly materials will be used, but only that which is from above, His dwelling place. Only those with visions of this new earth and new heaven could be used by the Lord because they are as one born from above who is coming down to renew the earth. Third, we must consider that though this is from heaven, yet it directly comes from God. Jehovah Elohim, the all powerful and wonderful God will always be the Source, the Raw Material and the Ingredient to bring changes on earth. The prophesied Joel’s army by the prophet could not have the power so great and mighty that it can scale the walls without overcrowding each one, and so well ordered that they can fix the desolate places and bring Eden in what is supposed to be a barren and wasteland. Fourth, as was His desire from the very beginning, God’s tabernacle is not with animals nor of immaterial beings nor of things—He made man for one purpose, to dwell and commune with him. And fifth, God’s power and ability will always be sufficient to renew us, even keep death at bay because He is the life-giving Fountain that nourishes everyone.
The place of community Most of us go every Sunday to fellowship with other believers, some who have thought that it isn’t needed panged themselves into diverse lusts to the point of wallowing back into the mire of their past lives. Sun84
The dwelling place of God day fellowship though imperfect is the beginning of building up our community. Just as heaven is a place or community for all believers from diverse backgrounds and tongues, our fellowship should be the same. We must all be increasing in common unity through which the real foundation of God’s visitation is imparted and kept. Since the debacle of the Tower of Babel (discussed more fully in my book Unmasking Evolution), men have become so insecure and distrustful of their fellows that we all have emptiness which could only be filled by fellowshipping with other believers. This is one reason why we avoid breaking fellowship with other believers because God commanded His life flow from where His body is located. Again the blessed apostle who knew and who probably walked the longest with the Lord always preached, even saying, that what he saw and heard, he proclaims, that we are to walk in fellowship with one another, to those who fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3-4). Adding more that those who do, walk in the light because He is light and “His blood cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:6). It is good to note here that we don’t merely fellowship with anyone, but those who fellowship with the Father and the Son for there are people who go to perdition for not holding on to the truth, even denying the Lord who saved them. It can also be said, that just as there were errors which crept into the church during which the apostle lived and he was correcting the understanding of the believers, his children, he addresses the same to us, for people who disbelieves in life together or a community of believers. These also are deceived, failing to understand that our purposes, our callings will not be fulfilled apart from the community of believers at large. 85
The surpassing peace of God When we break ourselves away from others, we are in effect proudly saying that as his eyes, we can stand away, alone without needing His ears, or His hands or His feet. Those who do these, have their visions steadily growing dim until such a time they become blind and taken away as captive by the enemy. Just as no single organ cut-off from the body will continue to live, everyone who do so will be cut-off from the very Source, the River of life.
Preparing communities The book of Acts shows a blue print for the life of a normal believer. As we are told, they were found as one, dwelling together, having things in common (Acts 2:44). Some who became idealists tried to copy these things to the point of becoming or having things in common. But true vision is not even rooted in mainly sharing what we have but foremost in having a vision of seeking the face of God together and making Him known to the ends of the world. This is what led to what became known as the Moravian Pentecost that set the tone of the Church in the coming decades and centuries. Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (17001760) changed the face of Christianity by saying yes to the Moravian pilgrims who became his flocks and congregation in his own estate in Herrnhut and Herrnhaag. He used all that he had for the sake of the gospel to reach out to even the farthest reaches of the known world at the time; there were missions to Greenland, Suriname, South Africa, Algiers, and among the North American Indians and even at stop points of the slave trade. Such passion and devotion to the cross could only come from the heart of a man who was so touched by the love of the Lord for the lost that he too 86
The dwelling place of God bear the burden of God for these people. If the count could have been mainly working out of zeal, he could not have produced and maintained such passion in all his life and the community which grew in his estate could not have lasted for many many years. In fact, their prayer vigils for 24 hours each day and for more than a century have become the hallmark of all prayer movements since. They were the soul and spirit that covered the missionaries sent around the world. Just as the count did not seek to bring communities mainly to have people around, their passion was born out of conviction that true fellowship grows from a genuine community of believers who are seeking the heavenly city and country whose “architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). Those who are truly seeking the Lord, He will gather and bring them together just as a hen does to her chicks to protect, nurture and keep them until the time to send them away. Had the communities of missionaries of which the Moravians became well known only sought to do their own works, they too could have been relegated and way laid easily by many human concerns; but because they have learned to navigate the River of life, to feed on its overflowing banks and to not stop at the shore and simply gaze at the passing river, they became the pilots and captains whose map of the river have been used by so many other movements since. But as the count clearly said, his greatest conviction came while looking at a painting of the Christ, “Ecce Homo.” While looking at this particular painting, the count said, “I have loved the Savior for so long but what have I done for Him?” His religious convictions were not born out of the mind but rather a heart religion that seeks to dispel the darkness of the mind through the enlightenment of the heart. Because of this, the 87
The surpassing peace of God count was able to draw out truths and wisdom not only from the Protestants but even from the Catholics. He rose above the petty politics that so often distracts and divert the purposes of many other movements. Theirs were a community that even John Wesley said could be the closest thing to heaven. Without much fan fare and ads, their missionaries traversed the whole wide world, often, even selling themselves so that they could reach the slaves. They took the cross that many preachers have left and not only used it as their rallying point but lived what it means so that more souls could be brought into the Kingdom. For every soul saved, one missionary died especially in hard struck areas. But they continued to blaze the path so that seeds of revival have been implanted whenever they have set their foot. This could have been the greatest definition of a Christian community since the first century, they were all singing Psalms, praising the Lord, breaking the bread and sending people to turn many from darkness into His marvelous light. When once again we behold and honor the King, we will not only find the blessing, but we too will have been so transformed that we are unified in Him. Community is really the result of common unity arising in every one’s heart as they behold and focus on the Lord rather than on their petty doctrines and differences. It is hard for heaven not to take notice for such people because from there, God commands the blessing of His life and fellowship. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, coming down upon 88
The dwelling place of God the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing — life forever. (Psalm 133:1-3)
Becoming His habitation In the beginning of this chapter I posed the question that John asked, “Lord where do you dwell?” And of which the Lord gave an answer, “Come and see.” The very start of becoming His habitation is not to build a place or to put bricks layer by layer. No, this is not the temple that God desired because He also said that if earth was His footstool and heaven is where His throne is, where is the place that we could build Him a resting place? None. But Jesus compels us to find the meaning of “Come and see.” Just as the Moravians did not merely produce missionaries at their whims, we could not bear that which we are not. The very first answer of the Lord is also the first step to becoming His habitation, that we first “come” and then “see.” When Nicodemus came to visit Jesus, he wanted to encourage the Lord, saying that He came from God for no one can do what He was doing unless He came from God. Knowing the main reason for his visit, Jesus told him he must be “born again” so that he could see the Kingdom of God. “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Him by night, and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless 89
The surpassing peace of God one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:1-3) All our endeavors in this life would be counted useless and without any value if we won’t be able to measure up or enter into the Lord’s Kingdom. The heart beat of God has never changed, it is still the same, to call a people submitted to Him, empowered to do mighty exploits in His name and called to bring the Kingdom of God on this earth. For us to start in this, we are all admonished “to come,” all men have been called, invited to the wedding feast of God but few would go on to write an acknowledgement or receive this invitation because they were too busy engaged in doing their own works. Therefore, when the Lord comes, some will be left out and the others will be taken away to be with the Lord (Matthew 24:40-41). Just as any invitation is the first step into walking into that event or feast, we too have been invited to become His habitation and that step is to be born again. Once a person is renewed, then he starts to see the Kingdom of God. We can all understand that new born babies do not start seeing not until a few months later. In the same way, those who are new in the Lord are understandably weak, needing shelter and care because they are simply helpless. But when a baby starts to see, then he also starts to grab and later on, to walk. All these basic human growth processess have spiritual equivalents that we need to learn so we can be more effective in ministering to other believers. The sense of vision have always been meant to be used to look far not mainly to look near. So when Jesus told John to “come and see,” He in effect is telling the young apostle to first enter, be with Him, spend time with the Lord and then he could see 90
The dwelling place of God His dwelling place. Enduring vision is therefore the result of seeing the Lord’s habitation, His dwelling place and none could ever do that not unless they too would come and see Him first. In building God’s habitation, it is a prerequisite to all master builders that they must first behold the Lord. Genuine ministry comes from genuine relationship and communion with God. Only a fool would not count the cost to follow Christ. As the Lord laid down His life for everyone and bore His cross, we too need to do the same. We all must bear our own crosses; we all need to deny our flesh and submit ourselves to His will. No one who truly loves the Lord would waste his time looking after worthless stones when he could actually mine the motherload of gold just found in his library. He must become our Gold and our exceeding Great Reward that Abraham partook. He can be your best friend now and it would be the best investment one would have ever done so. To be His best friend entails that we become His habitation, just as Peter James and John abode with the Lord, we too need to do the same thing. Because the Lord richly indwells those who keep His words, these are clues that God sticks closer than a brother only to those who also follow His commands out of a pure heart. As you have already seen, habitation, is more of a process than an instant grace that simply fell down from heaven. Every believer are given the chance to be His habitation but just as in a race, not everyone are awarded with gold, silver and bronze, there is a price to pay so that we could obtain a better report. Abel paid that price and everyone since who directed their paths into this have paid the price in order to get it. Paul’s advise could be the best apostolic rendition of this teaching of Jesus Christ, 91
The surpassing peace of God “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2) “But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3) Eagles fly high and they soar even through the midst of any storm because they were so trained to gain strength and prevail against any adversary. No storm is too big for any eagles because they rise above the updraft of the wind and use the opposition to speed her up or glide through the storm. All afflictions and troubles in this life are meant to bring us closer to God if only we approach these processes with the mind of Christ. Without any adversary, we will become weak even standing armies of the world know this principle that without constant exercise and battle, their judgement, agility, order and decision making could quickly deteriorate. Even as we desire for more of God in our lives, for His presence to follow us, we must all be determined to become worshippers and seekers of God. We all must look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. No one can truly produce a revival by their own methods because God only lit the tinderbox where there is coal, and firewood ready to be burned. He can only bless those who have emptied themselves and hungered for more, because it is the degree of our hunger that God can fill us to overflowing. Truly, blessed are those who 92
The dwelling place of God hunger for they shall be filled and those who desire to be God’s habitation for theirs is a true kingdom and house that stands forever.
The process of habitation “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne.” (Zechariah 6:13) As we have seen in the previous topics, becoming God’s habitation will entail us to come and see, then to sit and walk with Christ Himself. Just as what Solomon did is a prophecy of God building His people into His temple of habitation, He is in charge of His house. This is the reason why the prophet also said, “He will build the temple of the Lord.” So how did Solomon build the temple of God? Without any blueprint to build the temple, except the wisdom through which God endowed him, it was enough to make a difference. In fact, it was said of Solomon that God gave him “wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore. And Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was known in all the surrounding nations” (1 Kings 4:29-31). For a person to have a “breadth of mind such as the sand that is on the seashore” it means that he understood and has knowledge of the workings of nature, from trees, stones, the universe, animals, insects and every creeping things. One could just imagine the impact of such one man and we can also understand based on 93
The surpassing peace of God this why the Lord chose the son of David and not David himself to build the temple of God. Above other qualities, wisdom is required to build things up from nothing. This is the wisdom that God has in building His people into His spiritual temples. Because the temple of God is holy, the builders of Solomon hewed stones and cut timber from the mountains of Lebanon where they took all of these and then had all the things fitted and assembled in Jerusalem. None were needing polishing and planing for all of these materials were already finished and polished, “so there was no sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the building site.� What do all these things mean? We are the Cedars of Lebanon that the heavenly Solomon had plucked off from this world, separated by His grace and polished in the mountain of affliction, planed and shaped in the couldrons of His fire. Therefore as long as we live on earth, we expect that we will be finished and planed by the Lord ready to be fitted and assembled in heaven, fit to be placed in the city of New Jerusalem. No wonder all our afflictions and sufferings are bearing for us immeasurable weight of glory that though few among us appreciates what it is, they are basic to making us fit in His temple. Let us therefore not lose sight of this vision, that we may endure all afflictions that come our way and bear them without complaining but praising God that He is preparing us to be His habitation. To the degree that He sees us fit, the Master Builder will place us in His house, a tested stone, though burnt by the furnace of afflictions, yet ready to be used as His foundations, walls and beams. Let us therefore not waste a single trial that we have, for just as the apostles spoke, sufferings and afflictions will perfect us! 94
The dwelling place of God “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.� (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)
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Chapter 7 The anchor of the soul “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. � (Hebrews 6:19-20) Hope is the greatest force that this world will ever know as the days degenerate into chaos and confusion. The church is probably the only institution in this world that would have the answer to offer all human beings. This solution is not another law, nor is it another mind altering drug; no, but this will be the only hope and the only answer for all the problems that humanity will face in the coming days. When just the shallow portion of this message was preached and heard by the people of the most powerful country in the world, they voted him into office. It was not because he was the most qualified man for the job, for as we have heard him, he wants change and he wants to give hope to every man. Coming with a muslim name and from the most unlikely background, Obama became the 44th president of the United States. Hope can never be denied as the greatest need for this hour. Obama may not be the best president nor the man for the office but his election marks a sign for the Church that this message of hope, the glorious gospel of the Kingdom of God have just been released to be preached to all nations. Jesus did not just preach about the Kingdom of God, He demonstrated and brought 96
The anchor of the soul this Kingdom! Wherever his party went, He preached the everlasting Kingdom and brought hope to hundreds and even thousands who were captive of deceit and lies of the devil. We can see this in Luke 4:43-44, “But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” Jesus kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea, and even as far as in the region of Tyre, Sidon to the sea of Galilee and within the region of Decapolis (Mark 7:31). This is not to say that the Church at large forgot to preach the gospel of the Kingdom, but it has happened since the gradual lost of the different ministries of the church. The very first ministry that opened the church age, will also be the one that closes it and be used to preach this gospel of the Kingdom with such force and power that the world will come and take notice of it. The apostolic ministry that released all the other ministries into the church will also be the one that will gather them together and work as a team that shall bound the broken nets of the church which have become gateways of hell. By not understanding the place of gifts and anointing in the church, many have unnecessarily lessened their impact to the community so that they are not effective ministers of the gospel. “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who 97
The surpassing peace of God ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.� (Ephesians 4:7-13) As clearly written here, all the different ministries and gifts were given for the purpose of attaining into the full stature and maturity of Christ. Unless we have all become like Christ in everyway, we are not there yet, and basically we need not just pastors or teachers or evangelists but also prophets and apostles. The message of hope that we preach is much more than the hope for a change that president Obama talked about. It is the hope and miracle for the salvation and delivernace of man. It is the hope to live in the supernatural realm of miracles, signs and wonders so that we can touch the world like Jesus did. If we reject this aspect of the Lord’s ministry, we have not taken part of the lamb as a whole, but we only took His entrails, His inmost heart but not Him completely. It is those parts that we reject of Christ that will become stumbling block to us just as it was Him whom the Pharisees rejected because they neither want him in part or as a whole. The lamb of God should be taken as a whole. He is not torn into parts so that we can only enjoy His heart but not His feet or His hands. The purpose of the Passover Lamb 98
The anchor of the soul was for the salvation of man from debilitating sickness and death passed to this world. The lamb was the hope of the world, just as it was to Israel when they were about to be freed from Pharaoh.
Hope to live by There were stories of tragedies as well as hopes during the second world war just as there were also hopes of freedom during the reign of the Spanish empire. One of the greatest stories of hope that I heard of World War II was how both the American and Filipino soldiers fought the Japanese Imperial Army to such extent as to delay their time table of conquering the whole of Asia. The Japanese ambition remains to conquer Asia for their growing trades and burgeoning population during the last moments to scramble for colonies in the Far East. To do this, they first bombed Pearl Harbor in the early morning of December 7, 1941 so that the Americans will be crippled and could not mobilize by air or by sea. By cutting the communication lines of the U.S. in the Pacific, the Japanese could easily take over the colonies of Britain and Netherlands in British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies. However, although the Philippines was bombed in the morning of December 8, 1941, it did not capitulate as easily as thought by General Masaharu Homma. The fledgling state continued to fight until the official proclamation of surrender by General Jonathan Wainwright on May 6 of 1942. Because of their heroic stand in Bataan, the Filipino and American troops gained wide admiration the whole world over for showing what they are really made of. This tough stand by our fighters saved Australia and New Zealand from possibly falling into the hands of the Japanese Empire. One added dimension to what made the fighters stand 99
The surpassing peace of God the greatest atrocities of the war were the promises of hope that Douglas MacArthur stood for, “I shall return.� These three words were repeated often by the soldiers in the trenches, the gunners and the officials who were left to face the aggressors. Though it seems faint, those three words became their rallying cry even for the guerilla fighters. Day and night, those three words possessed their souls and their spirit to fight. To keep human spirits under such influence and guidance one needs to have the greatest light and hope to offer their agitated souls. It has been said that a hungry man will goble up anything...hope is the most contagious force that man needs during times of strain and hardship, the greatest hope we would ever need is the Lord. And the greatest message we can have is to live in His Kingdom, now. That kingdom does not consist of words nor of bricks and mortar but it is made of power and authority that is found under His rule. If the Filipino forces numbering more than 60,000 fought the fight because of that simple promise by man, how can we who have been given the most extraordinary promise not fight and move the darkness that so entangled us? How can we who have been valued more than the world not even give value to His Word that gathers dust in most libraries? The effectual working power of God is not lacking but we have only relegated it as past so that our present does not get any benefit. When man forgets that God can work in the present as He did in the past, it leads to apostasy. If we really believe that God is for us, where of are we afraid then? “Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, In the 100
The anchor of the soul Lord, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Thy vows are binding upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to Thee. For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, Indeed my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living.” (Psalm 56:9-13)
God is for us One delusion that many repeats in their foolish disensions is the thought that God cannot be for us, thus, we are left alone to fend for ourselves. When Jesus ascended on High, He indeed left us to do something for His Kingdom, “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8b) because “we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Just as Jesus Christ did not come to be served or to be idle, His church, He called to be the same as He was in this world, the light and righteousness that we are. We are indeed the children of God, and if children made of the very substance of our Father! We are supposed to be the radiant light already shining in this world. John the beloved wrote that “we are the children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be.” Yet because He is the Light of the World, we know that, when He also appears, we shall be like Him, “because we shall see Him just as He is.” To be transformed just as exactly as He is comes when we have our hopes fixed on Him. To fix one’s hope on Him is the same as the soldiers did waiting for the ful101
The surpassing peace of God fillment of the words of General Doughlas MacArthur, to do as what we are supposed to do, continue to fight, “to purify oneself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:2-4). This is what it means when we learn to abide in Him, sin will have no time to grow nor the time to multiply or spread on us, thus, “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous” (1 John 3:6-7). The present bickerings among many leaders is not the structure nor the look of an army of God. We have all of these bickerings and struggles that we have because we keep on navel gazing instead of looking for what we really are here for, to win souls for Christ, to establish people in righteousness and remove the darkness that have kept this world in much ignorance. Because there is not many who keep on sounding this alarm, though they must have seen it too, I want to belabor us all that our task is to shine the light that we have; train the people in righteousness by bending their hearts into truth. By first doing this, we avoid the mistakes of the past of having people bending their knees before us because of our arms and not because of true salvation. Doctrines have their places of emphasis but we are here not for doctrines but because of Christ and like Paul, we are to preach what we have been foremostly ordained of, to preach Christ! Again God is for us to the extent that we do His will, to preach Christ crucified! “Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the 102
The anchor of the soul world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:20-25)
Trials that shake the world There are trials that take the world by surprise such as during hurricane and typhoon attacks or during outbreaks of plague. Even so, the Christian soldiers should never be shaken of what is coming because all these things have been outlined in the Bible that we discuss during our meetings; it should surprise us however when we don’t discuss the Bible but we talk only of problems. All the coming trials will come because of man’s hardness. It should not be necessary but when one studies history, human nature resists change and tend to repeat itself in the path of destruction. The judgments of God will only come because the mercy of God has not been chosen by the people and the severity of judgment does come to the extent that it shows our very hearts. When Pharaoh received the judgments of Egypt, it only reflected his folly. For instance, the plague of death could have been averted had he agreed to Moses. But the 103
The surpassing peace of God Lord also said that He hardened the heart of Pharaoh to more fully reflect the kind of heart Satan has and the principalities of this world. Even so, no powers of the enemy could overcome and affect us not unless the Lord also allowed it. Therefore it is written that these common trials happen and is happening right now but will have no power over us, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it� (1 Corinthians 10:13). This way of escape, as mentioned before is to run and hide under the shelter of the almighty. The way is the hope that we are given, it is this hope that gives us anchor for our souls so that our minds are not blown away by news of disasters and plagues reported daily. We can be sure that nothing happens in our lives that God does not allow it for our good. This also means that everything that comes on our way, we will be able to handle not because we are a genius in solving our own problems but because He has ordained that there will be a way of escape which He will provide for us. There are no random or arbitrary trial in our lives but instead has a purpose—so that we can find the light in the dark times, and then be a light to others who are in the same darkness. Most trials in this world that we go through are not for condemnation nor destruction but to free us from delusions that this world is everything that we hope for, and everything that we should build for. The word judgment translated in 1 Peter 4:17 comes from the Greek word krisis which means turning point. The Lord only allows trials such as financial needs, emotional downturns, sicknesses and plagues so that man will turn to 104
The anchor of the soul the Point, or the Way of life. Even before there was an economic meltdown, many Christians suffered financial travails so that they can minister life on others who would go through the same travails later. The light and comforts that we received first from the Lord are for the sake of us and for the others so that we can all stand on solid ground, stronger than the earth itself. We have the sure promise of salvation and deliverance from all circumstances because our God is the One who is above all rule, authority, and dominion, He will never leave nor forsake us and â€œâ€Śthanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every placeâ€? (see 2 Corinthians 2:14).
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Chapter 8
The peaceful mind “The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in Thee.” (Isaiah 26:3) War is the result of lack of peace. Peace is the rule of light while war is the consequence of darkness. As Jesus has said, one of the prime evidence that we are currently living in the last days will be the rise of lawlessness. Because of this, the love of many will grow cold and will not anymore attend the feast of the saints nor the ingathering of the people of God. When the Lord said that “...nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Matthew 24:7-8), He was not joking; the root word of nation here comes from the Greek ethnos from which we derive our modern word, ethnic referring to tribes. Most nations around the world have in fact derived their existence from their tribal origin. France and Germany for example have come from the Franks and the Goths. While the Philippines were from an agglomeration of different tribes and religious convictions shaped by different colonial masters. The rivalries that have occurred and regionalistic divisions of most Filipinos are rooted in this crude structure, that we are mostly made of many tribes and races. Knowing how far different we are from each other should all the more make us thankful for president Manuel L. Quezon for his efforts 106
The peaceful mind in making us one and unifying the varied tongues that we have. Diversity is good but the lack of unifying factor can divide us and keep us all focused on problems rather than the very solution that could save us.
A tongue for everyone Language barrier could be the biggest barrier of communication between two different people groups. This is just as cruel as racial discrimination because we are all tied with our identities in what we speak. For this very reason the whole of humanity was actually dispersed abroad from the land of Shinar in Babylon. I will not discuss much of this as I have already written it in Unmasking Evolution. Suffice to say that much of our differences came from language confusion because of the pride of man. As the Lord has pointed to us, the first counter to unity is to confuse the unity of the people so that they will disagree about much of everything. “And they said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there 107
The surpassing peace of God over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4-9) When people tried to reach God by their ways and efforts, the Lord rejected this folly and confusion was the result. Every other succeeding generation that tried to follow suit and build their towers of folly only resulted to further division and confusion. Everytime we try to build a name for ourselves in the guise of religion or reaching God, the Lord will scatter us from the earth, “and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Religious men can try to build the biggest church that reaches to the highest heavens but everytime the motive is to do it for selfish ambitions, the Lord topples down the tower and cuts it to its base. Some may survive the pruning and be scattered all over other denominations but the base is cut down for all to see that no one can build on the foundation of self righteousness and the name of man. It has happened to the Medieval Catholic church, and it has happened as recently as it did with the Praise the Lord Ministry of Jim Bakker. Most of the people of the Medieval Catholic church were scattered into many other Protestant denominations while those of PTL joined other charismatic groups and ministries. It is worth noting today that the ministry of Jim Bakker have been restored and continues to become a testimony to the power of God to change and restore the fallen. As Paul wrote, “...if a 108
The peaceful mind man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). In addition to restoring anyone who is fallen, the way to do it is to not condemn them but we are to “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ”(verse 2). We can only be used to the degree that we also have worked in the vineyard of Christ, able to succor others and keep them focused to what is real and lasting, their relationship with the Lord. Our ability to be used by God to unify and restore others is rooted in our availability to become His agents of grace. We can be used to do the greater good for all humans without needing much of the political and legal counsel of the government if only we also learn to trust the Lord, to be so requires that we do “...not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Galatians 6:9-10).
Connection matters It is true that there will be no lasting peace unless man will find peace within himself. The second factor that can lead to divisions especially within a lose agglomeration of many nations is the lack of roads connecting each sections or regions. The human body is an example of how a typical nation looks before the eyes of God. It has a head, heart, hands and feet as well as veins and arteries. The veins and arteries of a nation is typically represented by its network of roads and railways. It is the roads and highways that will eventually form the backbone of its trade and development, so a greater investment on good roads and highways 109
The surpassing peace of God will eventually pay off in handsome returns. Germany is connected throughout by railways and autobahns so that day and night the railways and stations never sleep, making Germany and its ports one of the busiest in the world. They were never satisfied of mediocre jobs so that they continue to bring breakthroughs and innovations in the field of science, technology and publishing. It can be said that the unity of the German people is made much closer by its single language and lack of disenfranchised groups but it can also be added that their roads and railways have brought all the cities and regions much closer together. During the ancient times, trade routes are the melting pot of life and exchange of goods and services that could mean the lifeline of a city or civilization. The Khyber pass for example have been the gateway of caravans and multitudes of ancient civilizations such as the Greeks, Persians, Mughals, Afghans and the British, keeping it busy and important as it was in the ancient days to this very day. This is the reason why roads are called the arteries and veins of a nation because it connects it to other countries and civilizations. Therefore improving services and the byways of our roads could actually bring greater development and interchange of information within a region making them as one.
The common goal Once we all walk in common unity, we form a true community. Because community cannot be simply defined as a geographic location of a unified people, we must add the missing dimension in most communities that we call today—the vision. Every living community must have one vision or it results to diverging evolution. A group of people with a single language and 110
The peaceful mind head will often form a tribe, since they are not as big as a collection of nations, the roads and highways are not that much a matter of contention, but it matters that a community must be moving somewhere else. The lack of vision for a community will make them a lose collection of people or tribes, therefore all groups that wanted to go somewhere else must be careful to build on a vision that could bring greater unity and satisfy the people of the group. We must note here that human liberty is often also a license to venture into the unknown and expressly to get as much benefit as we can in the pool of resources. Thus, we find that by giving lands to be tilled by the occupants will always make them the most productive members of the community, because men always tend to be selfish and motivated by self preservation. The common goal of a community then must be expressed as to seek that which edifies its members the most. In view of this, productivity can only be enhanced by giving people their own responsibility and the consequences which they must suffer for carelessness. It is for this very reason why the Chinese government did not follow the Soviet model of communism. They observed that people lack the motivation to work for their masters, the government. Finding this to be the main reason, they assessed that if they want to remain competitive and survive the economic minefield of this world, they have to change and allow all their farmers to possess their own land and give them the seeds to till the soil and cultivate it for the government. This way, they could reduce hunger and keep the people from idle chatter. This program have been the backbone of land reform in China making it one of the biggest in the world. If the Philippine government would just heed the cry of the farmers and give them 111
The surpassing peace of God land to till so they could feed their own families instead of tenants, they will be able to feed even the more than 90 million of population that we now have. It is exactly because of this oppression that binds many poor farmers to choose to fight and rebel against the government. Though there are two sides of this story, the land owner and the tenant, giving land to the farmer will in the end be better for the common vision of motivating the farmers of this country to become self sufficient instead of net importer of agricultural products. As it was written for us, we are to share all the burdens of each one. By keeping blind on these issues, many of those who were given voices will one day lose them and be given to those who are vocal and fighting for what is right and true. Our method of growth, development and obtaining the land cannot be forced by bloodshed. But it somehow always tend to go to bloodshed whenever the oppressors never tried to learn to give even just a tiny piece of land they have accumulated over the years. For example, the existing haciendas of many land owners could be given and divided to those who are truly deserving. But what made the former president Cory Aquino ineffective in starting this very revolution that could have relieved and benefited millions of farmers is her dilluted attempts of reforming land ownership and land distribution. Paul wrote that to the degree we are able to obey the rules set for us, so are we able also to have authority to make others obey and follow us. He said, “we are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete� (2 Corinthians 10:5-6). Here, it is clearly elabo112
The peaceful mind rated that we are only ready to punish all disobedience whenever our obedience is also complete. As to how we are able to know when our obedience is complete could be known when we take “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” This means that we direct every efforts that we have in a way that clearly shows and demonstrates that what we are doing or planning is biblical, just and true. Partial obedience is still disobedience and this cannot be compensated by working it out in other areas of our life. It is also true that there are good land owners in the sense that they build their farms into complex megastructures such as into a university, research complex, or factories that hire laborers and workers. This can be a good alternative if it benefits the workers and the town and not only the land owner or the factory. The Lord often reminds us that we are not to forget the poor, even Paul obtained money for them so that they could have capital and resources for building their lives. “For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” (Romans 15:26) “and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. They only asked us to remember the poor — the very thing I also was eager to do.” (Galatians 2:9-10) 113
The surpassing peace of God “And when Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.� (Luke 18:22)
Works and faith If I were a rich ruler, it would be difficult decision indeed to go and sell all my possessions and then give it all to the poor. But the promise of Jesus to this rich young man could have made it all the difference, he shall have treasure in heaven and be a disciple of the Lord. One such man did answer the call of God in his life, Count Nikolaus von Zinzendorf. He was a man destined to rule and sit in the high courts of Europe but deferred to do so chosing the high calling of a shepherd to care and nourish the Moravian refugees. He used most of his riches and wealth sending missionaries in the most remote missions outposts so that they can know Christ. The influence of such man cannot be contained in a single denomination so that most groups claim him to be theirs. Even so his greatest impact is in preaching a religion of the heart that not only placates the doctrines invented and placed by man on the footstep of the new believer but purifies his passion and desire to follow the truth and bear responsibility to live it in its truest sense. Such man believes that with the heart man believes and is counted to him as righteousness just as Abraham was justified by his acts and not merely by religious talk. Faith finds as its expression, to do all things for Christ because love motivates him to do more. The passionate man always desires to bring more and do more for the Lord. Because most men who do not understand the ways of the Spirit are al114
The peaceful mind ways insecure of the blessings or the goodness of God, they who think that human efforts are needed to please the Lord always invariably become the most intolerant of other believers. This intolerance do not just lead to self preservation and territoriality but also to our lack of cooperation and becoming a stumbling block to others. Those therefore who have become the greatest source of conflict and division are often the very ones who seem to profoundly express and know the truth, but their lack of depth is shown when they speak evil of others. Our justification do not come by our works because no works can justify us in the sight of the Lord. These are but rags in his eyes that are not even enough to buy our freedom from sin and debauchery. Man can only do two things in such case, to bend the knee and accept the truth that we can never buy God’s grace for our salvation and deliverance. Those who do otherwise walk in the grandest delusion, their works will save them. “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations shall be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith. “However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who prac115
The surpassing peace of God tices them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” — in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:8-14) Men can only be justified under the law if they practice all of what is written there. But we are not under the law nor is it applicable since Christ Jesus died for us so that the blessing of Abraham, that is justification by faith will come to us, “the righteous shall live by faith.” Gentiles are justified to practice what they do as long as they do it by faith in God. Faith is the law that supersedes the Law of Moses in their hearts. We should learn to respect this separation between the Jews and Gentiles who must practice their traditions to honor the fathers and observe the rituals in view of its prophetic foreshadowings. There are many lessons in Jewish traditions and rituals but Jewish Christians only practice them not as means of salvation or justification but to observe them and their meaning in the New Covenant. “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one” (Romans 3:28-30). It is also written that even before the circumcision of Abraham, the Lord reckoned that “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (see Genesis 15:6). This prophetically foreshadowed the engrafting of the Gentiles, 116
The peaceful mind that they too will receive the mercy of God because the Lord wants to save all men, both the circumcised and the uncircumcised. This is the foundation of our justification as Gentiles, we did not earn it but the Lord gladly gave it to us, a mercy and grace. “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:1-6)
The root of insecurity The only cure for our divisions and disensions could be found in the Lord’s statement for Cain’s problem, if he would only do well, will he not be accepted? “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:6-7). Cain’s root of insecurity is his problem of justifying the cause of the Lord’s action, how could the 117
The surpassing peace of God Lord bless the work of Abel but not his? But this portrays a much deeper sinister in Cain’s personality, he thought that by giving his best grains and wheat, the Lord will look to his sacrifice. No, that was rebellion for the Lord desires not the sacrifice of man but that which he prescribed as the way to approach Him, to shed the blood of a lamb or animal (see Genesis 3:21). Because Cain thought that his best will be better than what the Lord has told them to do, it became an affront before the Lord so that He did not accept his sacrifice. If He did accept it, it would rather cement his thought that the Lord could be approached his way and by his own efforts or works. In the same way, many today are trying to approach the Lord through their ways and efforts...God’s grace cannot be bought which Abel had earlier realized. It can only be received and by clearly accepting the Lord’s way, we too shall receive what we are asking of Him, without the need to buy because the cross of Jesus has made all the way possible, to be as close with God as possible. The Lord’s advice that Cain should do well is not for him to work harder and bring more wheat or grains into the altar, rather that he should follow the Lord’s way. If we too shall follow the Lord’s ways and learn from Him, can we like Abel not also experience the outpouring of His grace in our congregations? Can we really become the church so blessed that we indeed reign and rule with Christ in the midst of chaos and confusions? It must be because the promise that we are given far outweighs all the worries and anxieties that this world can heap upon us “for the Scriptures tell us that for his sake we must be ready to face death at every moment of the day-we are like sheep awaiting slaughter; but despite all this, overwhelming victory 118
The peaceful mind is ours through Christ who loved us enough to die for us. For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away” (Romans 8:36-38 Living).
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Chapter 9
Rock solid foundation “As it is written, Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone that will make men stumble, a Rock that will make them fall; but he who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall not be put to shame nor be disappointed in his expectations.� (Romans 9:33 AMP) Except the foundation of Christ, there is none that will last on earth. The only lasting legacy one can have is a good name to be remembered and anything other than that will not stand the test of time. When one thinks of history, you can either remember the good name or the bad name of a person who shaped that period or era; we seldom here someone of distinction because of his fabled riches apart from the legendary King Midas or Solomon. The Bible exhorts us to be men who are seekers of a good name, not merely monies or fabled riches. The words good name evolved from the contraption of God’s name. It was the Lord who called the first man Adam, and since then man has begun using names. Suffice to say that having a good name is also a blessing from the Father above. Even today, God is seeking men endowed by God to provide not only monies and riches but mighty exploits that would leave legacies treasured for a long time. 120
Rock solid foundation “A good name is to be more desired than great riches, favor is better than silver and gold.” (Proverbs 22:1) “A good name is better than a good ointment, and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.” (Ecclesiates 7:1) “On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nations of the earth, as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Zephaniah 3:20 NLT) The leaning tower of Pisa is fabled precisely for its tower which tilts. Built on a soft soil, the foundation can scarcely hold the solid building of marble. Our lives can be much similar to this tower, though ornately adorned with Romanesque arts, the tower is basically useless these days for its purpose; no matter how luxurious our lives can be, the true significance of living is not built around what we have but what we can do with what we have. A precursor to a life of significance is living with the foundation of eternity and there is none better to provide that answer than Jesus Christ Himself. He is the eternal Rock by whom our lives should be built on. David wrote, “To Thee, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not be deaf to me, lest, if Thou be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit” (Psalm 28:1). The Lord became the Rock of King David; but just exactly what it means when the Lord becomes the rock of our lives, is a question not of security or vulnerability alone but of foundation. David sung, 121
The surpassing peace of God “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my savior, Thou dost save me from violence. “I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; and I am saved from my enemies. “For the waves of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me; the cords of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me. “In my distress I called upon the Lord, yes, I cried to my God; and from His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help came into His ears.” (2 Samuel 22:2-7) The meaning of Christ being our Rock according to David is when the Lord becomes our Savior where we find protection from our enemies. He becomes our shield from every accusation and traps; He becomes our Refuge and Safe Haven that not even death could get near us. Thus, our rock solid foundation can only be Jesus Christ for whom we shall find salvation and redemption. He must become our personal Lord and Savior because the Lord does not have grandchildren. It is by making peace with our Maker that we stay at peace within ourselves and without. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.” (Isaiah 28:16) 122
Rock solid foundation “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, and in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places; and it will hail when the forest comes down, and the city will be utterly laid low. How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters, who let out freely the ox and the donkey.” (Isaiah 32:17-20) When we make the Lord, the Eternal Rock, the true foundation of our lives, righteousness will flourish and there will be peace this is why His people will live in peaceful dwelling places and secure homes because He will be the lofty foundation by which their lives will be built on. The alternative for us will be judgment and condemnation, “...For when the earth experiences Thy judgments.The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” (Isaiah 26:9) “For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; and the earth will reveal her bloodshed, and will no longer cover her slain.” (Isaiah 26:21) “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, and He 123
The surpassing peace of God will have compassion on him; And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6-7) “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.” (John 3:16-19)
God connection We stand in this world only because of the grace of God. That grace was given to us when we first believed and were forgiven of our sins. Consequently, our enmity with God was broken and removed. Paul writes, we now have access through faith into God’s grace and we rejoice with God for this new standing that we have (see Romans 5:1-2). The cleansing of our hearts is one of the greatest miracles we could ever experience. We were unrighteous but He has made us righteous. We were undeserving but still He chose to forgive us. The only One who could only possibly do that is no other than the One who also died willingly for us. He was a King yet He left His first estate and took the form of a humble servant and was willing even to the point of death, to call all who are willing to be with 124
Rock solid foundation Him. He was in fact so full of love that He was so willing to die and give His life for us. Again it is written, that He “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8). Jesus became the sacrifice, the lamb which Abraham foresaw, the offering which Abel favorably received and sacrificed. Thus, when we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners and we know and understand that no one is willing to die for anybody, except for a good person, yet “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT). The apostle Paul writes that none are so much willing to die for a sinner though a few will do for a good man. Yet Jesus Christ volunteered Himself to actually die for us though we were still sinners. Think of that, He died for us, the unjust, even when He has seen us at our present ugly conditions. In the King James Version, Romans 5:8 speaks, “God commendeth His love,” which when translated plainly means He demonstrated, He proved, He showed His love while we were still sinners. He was willing to die disfigured, flogged, humiliated, and mocked all because of His love for you and me. When Paul had this revelation, that was the beginning of his revelation of Christ living in him. He wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). He realized that indeed this Jesus whom he tried 125
The surpassing peace of God to persecute and destroy His churches loved him very much and died for him. Not many of us realize how much God loved us in the first place because of the ambiguities in our mind of His Fatherhood. Many of us are raised up with a father figure who may seem to be too harsh for us to be truly a father. But God is much more than any human father we could think of, and though he may have semblance to human fathers, his fatherhood can be compared only roughly with even such Patriarchs who followed His heart closely like Abraham and David. Does that mean that all have failed as fathers because they did not reach the stature that Abraham or David had? Indeed no, the message here is that though we may have experienced harshness with the way we were treated by rude earthly fathers, we can’t generalize that God is so. I only compared Abraham and David because of the way they were expressive of their love to their children. In fact Abraham loved Ishmael and Isaac both and this is captured by the way Sarah seem to have mistreated Hagar when Isaac was born. He could not have been simply standing and doing nothing during those times when bickering inside his family occurred because of trouble about inheritance. We can take a glimpse of how Abraham could have loved his two sons by the way God tried him by asking the life of his own son Isaac. With David, even the death of Absalom was too painful for him, though Absalom was a renegade son, and yet he said, it would have been better that he had died instead of Absalom. The fatherhood of God is expressed in the way these two Patriarchs unselfishly showered love to their children. This is the same way that the Lord loved us and even more for He emptied Himself and died on the 126
Rock solid foundation cross for us. Jesus became human for our sake so He could be crucified and ransom us from the clutches of sin and death (Hebrews 2:9). This is one aspect that we should always be wary of, He became human so He can be crucified otherwise there could have been no crucifixion since a spirit could not be crucified. Without Him tasting death, there would have been no resurrection from the dead. How could He claim victory from death? And how could we be redeemed from sin and death? It is therefore required that Jesus has to go through much sufferings and death so He could be the Savior, Redeemer and Mediator of man. “But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.” (Hebrews 2:9-10) “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6) “[Just think] how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead 127
The surpassing peace of God works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” (Hebrews 9:14-15)
The Teacher As we start our journey with God, He must also become our personal Teacher and Pastor from whom we rely for everyday spiritual food to feed our souls and spirit with heavenly manna. Just as He fed the Israelites with manna during their 40 years of wanderings in the wilderness (see Exodus 16:1), the Lord has chosen to feed His people with daily manna from His Word, from the lives and writings of His servants as well as from fellow Christians. Just as a baby would always desire a bottle of milk, we must also desire the “pure milk of the word” that we may grow in the knowledge and wisdom of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:2). Personally before receiving the Lord in my life, the word of God sounded like a brass whenever I tried to hear from sermons; it’s just that I could not really understand what it means and why when I tried reading it, I just feel sleepy and dozed to sleep. But when I got saved, the word of God tasted differently; it has become a guide and a book that breathes out life to my body. Again, the prophet Isaiah makes this clear that our separation from God has blocked our understanding of Him or His Word. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short 128
Rock solid foundation that it cannot save; Neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2) “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” (1 Corinthians 2:12-14)
The goal We must understand that once we have grown and matured, the goal of the Lord is to release us to do ministry. This means we replicate the ministry which has been entrusted to us by the Lord. This truth is profoundly illustrated by the DNA molecule itself and shows to us the roadmap of our discipleship. Every single cell contains a core of DNA which in turn contains chromosome that mainly functions to dictate our genes. It is this DNA that will direct the overall arrangement of structures and function of the cell itself. When a DNA replicates, it unwinds itself from the bottom up. Once separated as single strands, each strand will form a new partner strand. Likewise, when we have undergone discipleship or been trained, it is 129
The surpassing peace of God part of our Christian duty to spread Christianity and disciple others too. Whether this happens inside our workplace, in mission outposts or in sports arenas you determine it. Even Paul the apostle advises this to every Christian soldier, “And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). And the Lord Himself taught this to us: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). Another amazing facet of DNA replication is that the old strand passes all the information it contains to the new strand, while at the same time it freely releases this new strand to also replicate itself. In the same manner, the person whom we disciple receives all that we have given him and he also passes this legacy to many others. Jesus did the first model by teaching His twelve disciples well and then leaving them to do as He did. An added lesson from here is to freely release our grip on others we have discipled; whether they remain with us or move on to other congregations or fellowships, we should be happy to release them knowing that the Lord will continue His work in their lives. In Christianity, there is no feudalism or territoriality for if this happens, we are not serving the Master but our own little dukedoms. Discipleship of others is a field not only for the mature or grown ups but a church paradigm model by which we grow in numbers and at the same time in130
Rock solid foundation crease in the knowledge of Christ. No one can do this better than the Lord Himself but He tasked us not because we are the best in the field but rather because He trusts the Holy Spirit will empower us to do.
Weeds and good seeds The advancement of the Kingdom of Heaven is likened to cultivating a vast field of wheat in the Bible. In this field, the land owner has hired His servants to prepare the ground and sow the seeds of the Kingdom. “He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. “But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. “But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. “And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’“And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ And the slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them.‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’ (Matthew 13:24-30) When the Kingdom of God advances, Satan does 131
The surpassing peace of God not lie in wait to merely watch; he also tries to bring distractions and hinder the work of God. He sows doubts, accusations, confusion and tries to bring bickering among leaders. Moreover the newly born babes of the Kingdom are the favorite target of the enemy to try to dissuade them from following Jesus Christ. He can do this by countless ways from simple distractions such as stopping attendance of fellowship, bringing persecution from family members, ridicule of others and even spiritual confusion; the enemy shows himself as a roaring lion who seeks to devour the new believer (1 Peter 5:8). The Scriptures above show how the enemy tries to accomplish his purpose; as the Lord plants the true seeds of the Kingdom, the enemy also plants weeds. Weeds are representative of his devious ways to choke the true seeds of the Kingdom. Just as real weeds try to suck the life out of a wheat plant, Satan tries to suck the life of Christ in every new believer. Who can even try to help the child of God then? How do we overcome the enemy? The answer to all of these is as simple as prayer. If we continue to pray, to hold on to God, our night shall become like the broad daylight. “Thou art my hiding place; Thou dost preserve me from trouble; Thou dost surround me with songs of deliverance.” (Psalm 32:7) “And when He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if Thou art willing, remove this 132
Rock solid foundation cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.” (Luke 22:4043) “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
Crushing the serpent’s head “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” (Romans 16:20) Do we really believe we can crush Satan’s head under our feet? The Bible says so. During these days, the revelations of the Kingdom of Heaven and darkness are both increasing. Though darkness increases, light is destined to overcome darkness. As we look around us, it would seem to be that darkness gets the upper hand just by basing our own observations from the dailies we read every day. But then the word of God declares that His children will overcome, “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of 133
The surpassing peace of God God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (1 John 2:13-14). I will show you how this happens. When the word of God indwells our lives, every pocket of lies that the enemy has purposely planted will be exposed. When truth resides in us we are not only set free but become the agent to expose the lies that bound many others too. Satan primarily brings corruption and death into this world through the lies he propagates (see John 8:44). For example, Hitler’s belief that the Aryan race is the greatest race comes from the lies that the enemy has entrenched in science such as Eugenics. This false science believes that wars are tools of natural selection where only the fittest and best human race survives. This was released through the idea of Darwin’s evolution where mankind is the result of primeval selection from outer space and there is no concept of a Maker whatsoever. When this concept is applied to our societies, there will be no need for religion, culture or concepts of morality. This will be in fact the utopian society of many Darwinists. But lies such as these are debunked by many natural examples and questions that demand answers. For instance in nature, cannibalism rarely occurs within a group of family. Mankind is supposed to be the family that it was called to be and an example to the smaller creation of God. In spite of our intelligence, mankind has not found a true solution to this problem; there has been no rest from war even in the last 100 years. We are still predating on each other; killing the vulnerable and hindering others we think are a threat to us! The Lord commands Christians to cast down such vain ideas and overcome them, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do 134
Rock solid foundation not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.” (1 Timothy 1:4 KJV) “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” (1 Timothy 4:7) “Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32) This study though we just passed by it cursorily deserves greater attention because of its demand that we explain and show the truth. Truth though it seems to be easily trampled in this world does exactly the opposite of what we see, it changes and breaks barriers in the heart of those that accepts it. But we have this testimony that though the enemy laughs at how the truth is much evil spoken of, truth shall prevail and those that trusts in it will not be dissappointed in the end because it leads to life. Lies will ultimately bring death and de135
The surpassing peace of God struction and the fruit of it can be seen in the lives of those that are captive. The sum of God’s word will always be truth and nothing more and nothing less. The Scripture, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet,” aptly expresses the deliberate truth that God has spoken long time ago, “He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:15). It was a prophecy spoken when Adam and Eve sinned; they did not ask for mercy or salvation but out of God’s abundant love, He pardoned them by believing the coming Savior who will redeem mankind from sin. And when the Savior came, He dealt a fatal blow on the serpent’s Head, a wound that cannot heal, because just as Satan thought he killed Jesus Christ, the act of His sufferings and death was a means to bring justice and redemption to mankind. Though we suffer persecutions and slayings, the blood of Jesus Christ was enough to pay for our sin and salvation just by looking at the cross of Jesus. If the patriarchs and people long time ago has to have faith in the coming redemption through a Messiah who would die by being crucified, we are redeemed by looking back to the time when Jesus Christ was crucified. It seems a paradox that it is the God of Peace who will bruise Satan under our feet and not the Lord of Armies or Hosts; what this really means is that beyond ammunitions and armory what brings true victory is the morale of the fighters. When the Christian soldier has peace inwards, he won’t be troubled by distress surrounding him but he can focus to do what his Master bids him to do. This was demonstrated during the Falklands war between Britain and Argentina where the Argentine army though more numerous, well equipped and po136
Rock solid foundation sitioned at a more strategic ground lost their will to fight and thousands of them surrendered to a fewer British commandos simply because they thought their government has forgotten them. In a similar manner, Christians who possess the inner peace of God in their hearts can profoundly impact their landscapes precisely because of their resolution to never surrender before the enemy. When the enemy thought he has surrounded us with his minions, we have him surrounded! And its time to raise this battle cry, to attack and take the land as Gideon did. Let us break the jars that veil our lights, and let the Enlightenment of God blow across the land!
Peace of mind brings victory in the battlefield When peace prevails within our hearts, it will be like a fortress that no arrows of the enemy can penetrate. This is why the apostle Paul confidently wrote, “[And] in no way alarmed by your opponents — which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God” (Philippians 1:28). When the enemy shoots arrows of accusations and confusion to a child of God, His peace will be a strong bulwark that will thwart the arrows of the enemy. “Cease striving and know that I am God...” (Psalms 46:10) “…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue the things which make for 137
The surpassing peace of God peace and the building up of one another.” (Romans 14:17-19) This too is the secret of the success of most victorious generals in the battlefield, they are decisive, strong willed and had hope that they will win. Admiral Horatio Nelson, the British naval hero who is worshipped by his peers, sailors and superiors alike is one whose primary duty is to love and defend his country from the aggression and plan of Napoleon to humiliate the English people. From the onset of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 the French and Spanish battleships were positioned in a single line heading north and far outnumbered the English ships. But number and resources does not always decide who will win the war, in a bold plan, having lesser number of men and ships, Nelson maneuvered his faster and more agile fleet to form two squadrons that would engage the enemy at right angle to their line. Then with his famous battle lines, he cried “England expects that every man will do his duty.” Then with his squadron of 12 ships, he attacked the van and center of the enemy’s battle lines. Unable to mount quickly and to move with speed and agility as the approaching English fleets, the combined forces of the French and Spanish ships went into disarray. Fear and distress easily struck their hearts so that they could not mount any single shot with precision. The majority of Nelson’s squadron broke through and shattered the lines of the enemy in a rapid gun fire and confusion. About six of the other leading French and Spanish ships were not involved at this first gunfight but later in the afternoon of that fateful day, they were able to turn about and aid those from behind. But the weak counterattack sealed the plans of Napoleon to invade Eng138
Rock solid foundation land leaving him defeated and bolstering the position of England as the “mistress of the seas.” Though far outnumbered, Nelson rode to victory and captured 20 ships of the original 33 ships and 14,000 men of whom half is said to have become prisoners of war. Even so, the cost of this victory was the death of Nelson who was mortally wounded by a sniper, but when he died at 4:30 PM he was certain of his complete victory. About 1,500 British seamen were killed or wounded, but no British ships of the original 27 were lost. Trafalgar shattered forever Napoleon’s plans to invade England and keeping the English power for another century. This decisive victory could have only come because of the clear thinking and peace of mind which the great admiral displayed and boosted the morale of his men. Even at his death bed, he only muttered, “Now I am satisfied. Thank God, I have done my duty.” Any general knows that resources are unthinkably most needed in any battle front but the rarity of which such superior planning could have been displayed anytime is the result of Nelson’s ability to focus on the problem and attack it using ingenious ways, given what he has. Such qualities of man made England the greatest naval power and assured her colonies around the world for more than a century. Ponder about that, if we too who have a heavenly country and who were sent by the Lord to take back the land for His honor and glory do likewise, can’t we colonize and explore more lands for Him? This colonization is not another imposition of one’s power over people, but we take the land and fill it with the knowledge of Him, who deserves all honor and glory. “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘Thou art My Son, to139
The surpassing peace of God day I have begotten Thee. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession. ‘Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, Thou shalt shatter them like earthenware.’” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” (Psalm 2:7-12)
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About the author
Edison was raised in Tabuk, Kalinga, in the northern part of the Philippines. He first learned abc and the rudiments of drawings from his mother who taught him during his primary years. As a young kid, he was a member of the protestant congregation of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. There he learned his basic Bible catechism so that as a young boy he knew more of Bible stories than legends taught in school. He finished his elementary and high school both as a Salutatorian and went on to study BS Biology at the University of the Philippines Los Ba単os (UPLB) with an NISGP scholarship. It was during his freshman year that he met the Lord Jesus Christ in a holy club meeting of the Students of Destiny and thereafter became involved in discipleship ministry with the Destiny and Lakas-Angkan ministries. After graduation, he held jobs as instructor and research assistant at several government offi ces. He recently received his degree of Master of Science in International Studies in Aquatic Tropical Ecology (ISATEC) from the University of Bremen with the help of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship. He believes in the full restoration of the five fold ministries of the church, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the apostolic mandate to disciple all nations. His main goal in life is to plant, establish and equip local churches so that they would be salt and light in their towns and cities amidst confl ict and distresses.
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Contact Edison Macusi Take the Land Publications and Ministries 22 Tabuk, Kalinga 3800 The Philippines www.takethelandministries.org
Freedom from Religious bondage How do we bring reformation in the society? How do we bring heaven’s revival on earth that never stops? Freedom is the cry of every human heart and there is only one thing that can fulfill that. It would be when love is released in our hearts, love that frees us to be grounded in truth.
Restorers of the breach Build your dreams. Fulfill your destiny. How do we build a nation of builders rather than a nation of takers and losers? How do we rise up from the ashes of shame and bondage? Change must come and it must be in the right direction. Or otherwise we will fail to take heed of the call.
Unmasking Evolution-tread down the serpent’s lie Build your foundation and be secure in your relationship with Jesus Christ and above all trust the validity of the word of God even in this age of relativism and postmodernism. Fill your vessel with truth and life that ministers refreshing fire to others.
Kicking Evolution-lifting Jesus up! Continuing from Unmasking Evolution, the author further tackles the question of true education and explores how one can become an agent of grace in transforming his community.
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Build a mighty fortress of peace in the midst of conflicts The greatest weapon on earth will not be the weapons of mass destruction but the presence of God that brings comfort, stability strength and courage. It is this power that comes from the abiding peace of God that shall bring transformation in our lives and in the lives of our families and communities. The peace of God works as the armory of the believer over all kinds of accusations, distractions and storms in this life. Without the peace of God built into our lives, we will never find true satisfaction and basis for our existence. Everything can be manufactured except with the abiding peace that comes from His presence. This proves how petty, how shortsighted and how vulnerable our human laws and agreements are without the Prince of Peace in our midst. Learn how to overcome fear, Abide in the victory of Jesus Christ, And become a fortress of His peace
Take the Land Publications and Ministries Tabuk, Kalinga 3800 The Philippines www.takethelandministries.org