A
Template
(My
Position and Identity)
Before
the God of Heaven
As one…broken…
As one…redeemed…
As one…commissioned…
(My Mission) In This Life
…walking with God…
…in my place…strengthening family
…reaching out…as a channel of grace…
…to fellow believers…
…to unbelievers…
For most of us, life is not likely going
to become less busy any time soon. So, while we are going down the highway of
life at 70 to 75 mph, we need to figure a way to still handle the forty issues
of life coming at us, and, asking God to help us do two things with more
intentionality…1) to enlarge our scope of God consciousness, and 2) to be
proactively pursuing our God given mission (three areas). Let’s ask God for his
enabling grace to 1) walk more closely with Him, 2) strengthen our earthly and
forever family, and 3) to be reaching out, being a channel of grace to those
around us.
This material is not intended to become a
regular type of book. This material will not just pass along information to you
that once you have taken it in, you are done with it and then you can just lay
it down and keep moving. This is a template. It is a spiritual GPS. No, the
twelve gates are not twelve lessons or sermons. They are navigational checkpoints,
if you will. Just as a sailor continually checks his compass, charts, and
position, or a pilot repeatedly consults his instruments, the believer
continually comes back to these gates and asks: 1) What does God desire? 2)
Where am I right now? 3) What course correction is needed?
Each of these gates does not just bring us to common
terrain, but to very special, consequential, places. You may wonder why we are
using the idea of gates. Let me explain. Even in our culture, there are “Gated
communities.” Farmers and some businesses use fences and gates. Security is one
issue. Protection of valuable property is an issue. Fences and Gates communicate
a separation between what is public and what is private. A gate may communicate
that you are about to enter a place that is important and that accessibility is
a privilege not a right.
Here, each unit is introduced as a Gate that has a
designation that characterizes the aspect of life that we are about to bring
attention to, and to demonstrate, coming here is not just a common place, but
rather a special place to be shown respect, for it has great impact on lives,
our own, and on others, as well.
The question is not, what chapter am I reading today? The
question is, before the God of heaven, which consequential aspect of the
Christian life am I tuning into today, as I navigate God’s universe? Gate
One – Heart, Life, Legacy, Gate Two – Integrity – Before the God of Heaven, Gate
Three – Brokenness on Display, Gate Four – The God of Grace – Redemption, Gate
Five – Commissioned by God, Gate Six – Integrity # 2 – His purposes or mine? Gate
Seven – Integrity #3 – My mission on Earth, Gate Eight – Walking with God, Gate
Nine – In My Place…Strengthening Family (Earthly), Gate Ten – In My
Place…Strengthening Family (Forever), Gate Eleven – Reaching Out…as a channel
of Grace to Believers, Gate Twelve – Reaching Out…as a channel of Grace to
Unbelievers.
At
each of the twelve gates we will ask three questions.
What does God Desire?
Before the God of Heaven, where am I presently?
How, by His grace, do I move toward what God desires?
We are all navigating God’s universe. And we do so before
the God of Heaven. He is not a casual observer. It makes a difference for now
and all eternity how we deal with the important matters within the twelve
gates! These are twelve places we should revisit often so as to
remind ourselves of God’s navigational “checkpoints,” and ask ourselves 1) what
does God want from me? 2) where are we right now, and,
3) by God’s grace, how can I move toward where He wants me to be?
The template, the GPS, the navigational guide found here
uses Nehemiah as someone who was tuned in to God, His purposes, people, truth,
taking an honest and open look, not satisfied to just let things go, was
willing to get out of his comfort zones to go motivate others to do what they
should have been doing on their own. Before the God of Heaven, was exactly
where he lived his life.
PLEASE
STOP! WAIT A MOMENT!
BEFORE YOU ENTER THIS GATE
A FEW THOUGHTS TO KEEP IN MIND
YOU ARE BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
HEART, LIFE, LEGACY DETERMINED HERE
KEEP YOUR HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE
“Keep thy heart with all
diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life.”
(Proverbs 4:23)
Ponder for a moment the wisdom of that proverb.
An epic heart battle, pride vs.
humility, first within Lucifer, had devastating consequences on us all.
Lucifer was not content with the place God had for him. Pride prompted him to
want to exalt himself above the throne of God. Also, Adam and Eve fell for
Satan’s lie, rather than holding to what God had said to them. Again, note the
eternal consequences.
So, as we enter the Heart, Life, and Legacy Gate,
think about the importance of what happens here for each of us. We will look at brokenness as
Paul speaks of it in Romans chapter one. Then, we will examine another critical
aspect of heart life, our human affections. Understand temporal treasures
are ok, in their place, until they have the ultimate place, God’s place, in our
heart. Also, we note fourteen epic battles of the heart,
one we just mentioned, that can become a huge trouble spot within our heart
life. For these epic battles of the heart, you need to bring
truth to the deliberations.
Also, we will look at how the heart is won
over to anyone or anything. It determines who or what you put before God.
We will note there are three undergirding principles to
this growth and development initiative. All of them can be activated in our
heart life. And they work together. They
are about Heart, Life, and Legacy.
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
We can, with God’s help determine that we will do what we
need to do, to make sure God has our heart. There is a sequence of seven
actions that make that possible.
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked.”
Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what you get.”
By example/emphasis, when God has our heart, what we honor,
dignify, emphasize, pay attention to, and reward, will be God, and the things
of God.
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
I have simply noted for you some of the key aspects of
heart life that we will focus on in this tour of our
heart life. Let’s begin!
Gate One
Heart, Life,
Legacy
What God Desires
Run to Jesus,
love Him with all my heart
Honor Him
and His Word by my example and emphasis
Purpose in my heart to embrace His purposes as my own
Three
Universal Principles
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
######
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked”.
Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what you get.”
#####
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
WHO
CREATED HEART LIFE
1In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning
with God. 3All things were made by him; and without him was
not anything made that was made. (John 1:1-3)
BEFORE
THE GOD OF HEAVEN
13The
LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth
all the sons of men. 14From the place of his
habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the
earth. 15He fashioneth
their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
(Ps 33:13-15)
“Keep thy heart with all
diligence; for out of it are the issues
of life.” (Prov. 4:23)
From these passages there are some important things we
need to note from the Bible. 1) In the beginning God, through His Son, the
Living Word, made the universe. 2) God makes it clear that from His habitation
he sees all the sons of men. All of them, and he knows intimately everything
going on in an individual’s heart, because He fashioned it. 3) Our heart, our
Command-and-Control Center, needs to be guarded.
Please understand that this is only a survey tour. As you
will see, each aspect of heart life that we see here could have books written
about each one. There is a clear connection between what happens here and the
flow of human history.
GUARD YOUR HEART
Our heart needs to be guarded from outside, and
inside, influences. It needs to be understood that the heart itself is already
sin tainted.
“The
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who
can know it?” (Jer. 17:9)
Through Lucifer’s fall, and his influence on Adam and
Eve, the whole human race is sin tainted all the way to our DNA. The apostle
Paul, in setting forth the doctrine of the depravity of man, in Romans 1 and
through to chapter 3, interestingly gives four phrases in chapter one that
capture at our core, how sin works in our flesh.
“…who
suppress the truth in unrighteousness,” (v. 18)
“Although they knew God, they did
not honor Him as God or give thanks” (v. 21)
“They exchanged the truth of God
for a lie” (v. 25)
“Worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator” (v. 25)
So, having just begun our tour, we have great cause to
not trust our own heart. It is sinful to the core. This is a devastating
reality with which we have to contend. I am addressing
believers in this navigational guide, and yes, we have been redeemed, but not
yet glorified. We still have to deal with our flesh.
When we get to the third gate, Brokenness on Display, we will
elaborate more on what this all looks like in this life.
There are eight components of our heart life.
We all have a human spirit, volition (free will),
emotions, intellect/mind, conscience, imagination, memory, and human
affections. I like to describe our internal heart deliberations this way. It’s
as if these aspects of our heart life sit at a conference table, and as life
situations, both from the outside, and from within, come to us, there is a
deliberation that takes place within our heart. And we make choices of how we
will act or react in these situations. Books have been, and should yet be,
written about the deliberations that take place within the human heart.
HUMAN
AFFECTIONS –
TREASURES OF THE HEART
There is this ongoing battle within us between
focusing on temporal treasures and spiritual treasures. We live in a temporal
world. There is part of us that is made to exist and operate in the temporal
world. As temporal beings, we are tuned in to the temporal treasures that are
needed and wanted in this temporal existence. There is nothing wrong with
temporal treasure, if it stays in its proper place. Understand temporal
treasures are ok, in their place, until they have the ultimate place, God’s
place, in our heart.
For most of us life is not likely going to become less
busy any time soon. So, while we are going down the highway of life at 70 to 75
mph, we need to figure a way to still handle the forty issues of life coming at
us, and asking God to help us do two things with more
intentionality…1) to enlarge our scope of God consciousness, and 2) to be
proactively pursuing our God given mission (three areas).
Let’s ask God for his enabling grace to
1) walk more closely with Him, 2) strengthen our earthly and forever family,
and 3) to be reaching out, being a channel of grace to those around us.
As children of God, there is now a whole different level
to our existence! And now we need to give spiritual/eternal treasure greater
priority than temporal things.
So, we are conflicted. Will I be able, while doing the forty necessary temporal
things of life, to have a greater level of God consciousness, so that I do not
neglect my walk with the Lord? And, our spiritual
obligations to family, church, and individual believers, unbelievers, need
their place in our lives as well.
TEMPORAL
VS. ETERNAL TREASURE
Where
we have been so far addresses the reality that human beings are made with the
capacity to tune in to the temporal world. And yes, we need the capacity to do
this. And in this world, we come to ascribe value to what we call temporal
values. You saw the list, possessions, position, power, prestige, pleasure,
popularity, praise of men, and passion. There is nothing wrong with having
temporal treasure, as long as these temporal things do
not take first place in our heart. If we treasure them more than we
treasure/love our redeemer, Jesus, then that treasure has taken God’s place in
our life. That is idolatry. That is a big problem.
21For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also. 22The light of the body is the
eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of
darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that
darkness! 24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one,
and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matt
6:21-24)
There
are three points Jesus makes in this passage. There are two kinds of treasure,
temporal and spiritual. As we have ascribed value to these two kinds of
treasure, whoever or whatever has been ascribed the higher value will have the
heart of that person. Nothing should be treasured/valued more than God. If it
is, it has taken God’s place. So, guarding the heart takes discernment,
integrity, and determination. Our DNA is strong and it is easier sometimes to
suppress the truth rather than embrace it. It is possible to find ourselves
honoring ourselves, and being in control, more than
honoring God, and letting Him be in control. We can quickly find ourselves
buying falsehoods that allow us to rationalize doing what we want to do. And, we can find ourselves worshipping and serving self
rather than worshipping and serving the Creator.
Some of the most epic of battles
on planet earth take place within the human heart. As I note these, take a
moment and recall how some of these you know have had great impact in your own life, and the lives of family members, friends,
and people that have been in the world around you.
EPIC BATTLES OF THE HEART
Truth vs. Falsehood
Good vs. Evil
Integrity vs. self-deception
Humility vs. Pride
Purpose vs. Nihilism
Meaning vs. Emptiness
Selflessness vs. Self-centeredness
Spirit vs. Flesh
Divine calling vs. Desire
Spiritual/Eternal vs. Temporal
Love vs. Hate
Faith vs. Fear
Hope vs. Despair
Passion vs. Illicit Passion
Intense, draining, numbing, deliberations play out at the
conference table of the heart. Guard your heart. Life and Legacy play out from
what’s in the heart.
HOW
THE HEART IS WON
Contact — The Beginning of Influence
“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.”
(1 Corinthians 15:33)
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the
wicked…” (Psalm 1:1)
Dwelling With — Repeated Presence Deepens
Attachment
“He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the
companion of fools will suffer harm.” (Proverbs 13:20)
“Abide in Me, and I in you.” (John 15:4)
(This
is why Scripture places enormous emphasis on fellowship, family, church life,
companionship, meditation, and abiding.)
Communication — Exchange Builds Connection
“Faith comes by hearing…” (Romans 10:17)
“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
(Matthew 12:34)
Knowing — Familiarity Produces Internalization
People
naturally move toward what becomes familiar,
and, repeated familiarity reduces resistance, and,
intimate knowledge creates emotional attachment.
Valuing / Treasuring — The Heart Attaches
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(Matthew 6:21)
Influencing
— What Captures the Heart
Begins
Directing the Life
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are
the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
“My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe
my ways.” (Proverbs 23:26)
Embracing — Full Identification and Ownership
At this point there is connection, loyalty, and oneness.
ISRAEL
AND THE RECHABITES
The
Bible gives contrasting illustrations of how the heart was won over within two
groups in totally opposite directions.
Throughout
the Old Testament, God wanted the children of Israel to not go dwell among the
idolatrous people of the surrounding pagan cultures. They did not obey. As they
followed the seven steps given above their hearts were won over to the people,
the cultures, the pagan gods within those cultures. And so, God did not have
the hearts of His chosen people. God would use pagan nations to bring judgement
on his people.
17Therefore
thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon
Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have
pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not
heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered. Jer. 35:17
In
Jeremiah 35 there is an amazing story. God is moving toward judging Judah for
their waywardness. But He wants to point out to them, and us, that there is a
group that went the completely opposite way.
1The
word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of
Josiah king of Judah, saying, 2Go
unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the
house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.
3Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah,
and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites; 4And I brought them into the house of
the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of
God, which was by the chamber of the princes,
which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the
keeper of the door:
5And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full
of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.
6But they said, we will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of
Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither
ye, nor your sons forever:
7Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor
have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many
days in the land where ye be strangers. 8Thus
have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he
hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor
our daughters; 9Nor to build houses
for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:
10But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to
all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
11But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up
into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the
army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at
Jerusalem. 12Then came the word of
the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 13Thus
saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my
words? saith the LORD. 14The words
of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are
performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's
commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking;
but ye hearkened not unto me. 15I
have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and
sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend
your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in
the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not
inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me. 16Because
the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their
father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me: 17Therefore thus saith the LORD God of
hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them:
because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called
unto them, but they have not answered. 18And
Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts,
the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your
father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath
commanded you: 19Therefore thus
saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not
want a man to stand before me forever. (Jer. 35)
God had the prophet bring the Rechabites to the house of
God and had them set wine before them and they were commanded to drink. They
did not obey because Jonadab the son of Rechab had commanded them not to drink
wine. They kept their distance from the surrounding cultures. Thus, their
hearts were kept loyal to their leaders’ directives.
Contact
The
descendants continually remained connected to the teachings of Jonadab. The
commands were not forgotten.
Dwelling With
Their
entire communal structure reinforced those convictions. They lived inside a
culture of remembrance. Environment reinforced identity.
Communication
The
commands were continually repeated from generation to generation. The family
narrative stayed alive. This parallels Deuteronomy 6:
Knowing
The
descendants knew who they were and where they came from. They knew why they
lived differently.
Valuing / Treasuring
The
commands became treasured traditions rather than burdensome restrictions. The
family honored Jonadab’s vision. Their loyalty became affectionate and
voluntary.
Influencing
The inherited convictions governed their lifestyle,
habits, priorities, boundaries, and social behavior. Their worldview shaped
conduct.
Embracing
Finally, the Rechabites fully embraced this identity
as their own. What began as Jonadab’s commands became the descendants’
convictions. This is one of the most powerful examples in Scripture of
multigenerational loyalty.
18And
Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts,
the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your
father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath
commanded you: 19Therefore thus
saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not
want a man to stand before me forever. (Jer 35:18-19)
THREE UNDERGIRDING PRINCIPLES
This first navigational guide puts at the
foundation the importance of knowing that we must guard our heart,
and keep it from so many influences that want to be in first place in
our lives. Our hearts are broken, sinful, and easily won over to temporal
treasure that then takes God’s place in our life. Yes, these three heart
purposes pursued Before the God of Heaven with integrity, by
God’s grace, should be how we navigate God’s universe… Heart, Life, and
Legacy.
Heart
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
Run to Jesus,
love Him with all my heart
I want to make you aware again, as we begin to illustrate the battles
that rage within our sinful hearts, that this is all happening Before
the God of Heaven. Psalm 33:13-15 reminds us,
13The LORD looketh
from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 14From the
place of his habitation he looketh upon all the
inhabitants of the earth. 15He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. (Ps 33:13-15)
1(To the chief Musician, A Psalm of
David.) O LORD, thou hast searched me, and
known me. 2Thou knowest my
downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my
thought afar off. 3Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art
acquainted with all my ways. 4For there
is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it
altogether.
(Ps 139:1-4)
Let’s take a close look at just
how much our flesh, our sinful flesh, suppresses the truth, just beyond our
awareness. “We see what we want to see. And we hear what we want to hear.
Because we want to do what we want to do. Because we treasure what we
treasure.”
Numerous times a day we, in a
moment, realize we have a minute of discretionary “free” time on our hands.
There may be a half dozen things we could choose to do. Rather than listing all
of them, I will just list two…pick up my phone, or
pick up my Bible. Why is it, that most Christians, in that moment will opt for
the phone. A temporal treasure that influences us more than we realize is
comfort, taking it easy, relaxing. There are many moments in our lives
where treasuring comfort rules the moment over treasuring time communing with
our God.
Another illustration of
treasuring our pleasure (comfort zones), over treasuring spiritual things would
be that moment in our busy day when someone moving in our sphere, who does not
know Christ, and in the moment, the Holy Spirit prompts us to start an exchange
with them with the intent to make it a moment of a verbal witness to them
regarding Jesus, and our need of His redemption, we shrug it off, rationalizing
that surely it wasn’t a good time after all (when we just wanted to stay in our
comfort zone).
Treasuring our pleasure (a big
category of temporal treasure…a lot more than just our comfort), has to be one of the predominate categories of temporal
treasure that has a higher priority than spiritual treasure much of the time,
in the life of believers. Ask God to help you become more aware of this, and
ask His help, in the moment, to opt for going after the spiritual treasure
rather than the temporal one.
So, I have chosen one of eight
categories of temporal treasure to illustrate the battle between focusing on
temporal treasure or spiritual treasure. Added into that is the brokenness that
is woven into our DNA, just wanting to suppress truth so that we can just do
what we want to do.
Please note that we illustrated
from our core brokenness, and from temporal treasure. We did not choose to
illustrate how any one of the fourteen Epic Battles listed can consume a lot of
heart energy and focus.
Jesus desires that above all
others, and temporal things, He desires that our hearts treasure Him and things
spiritual above all else. Because human hearts, treasuring temporal things,
come to worship temporal things. Only Jesus is worthy of our worship, not
things temporal.
19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: 20But lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves do not break through nor steal: 21For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be
single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23But
if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore
the light that is in thee be
darkness, how great is that darkness! 24No
man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one,
and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
######
Life
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all
his servants are wicked”
Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what
you get.”
Honor Him and His Word by my example and emphasis
If Jesus has our heart, then we will follow His ways. If He
has our heart, then our life will show that above all else, we want to honor
Him. Someone has said, “A man’s life will be lived in light of the treasure
he is seeking.” Our life demonstrates what we treasure. The apostle Paul said, “For
me to live is Christ.” Phil 1:21
Clearly, as you read the New Testament, including the
epistles that Paul wrote, you will see that both in example and emphasis
he honored, dignified, emphasized, paid attention to, and rewarded, lifting up Jesus Christ!
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what you get.”
#####
Legacy
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
Purpose in my heart to embrace His purposes as my
own
For a long time, I have loved this passage in Isaiah 46.
8Remember this,
and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye
transgressors. 9Remember the former
things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I
am God, and there is none like me, 10Declaring
the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that
are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all
my pleasure: 11Calling a ravenous
bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel
from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I
have purposed it, I will also do it.
God is making it clear that He alone is God. He declared the end from
the beginning. He will use heathen nations to discipline His people. God is the
God of history. He is in control. He says, “I have purposed it, I will
also do it.” This is an awesome statement. God has divinely decreed purposes, and he
will carry out what He has purposed. He will do it. There is purpose and there
is integrity. Before the foundation of the world God purposed creation,
redemption, and His eternal reign. He will do it.
God has given to mankind the capacity to purpose in heart what we will
go do, and the capacity, to will, to act with integrity to go do what we have
purposed to do. Athletes purpose to go to the Olympics, and focus and work to
get there. Other’s purpose to become business owners,
preachers, etc., and they pursue these ventures with determination to go accomplish it.
We can purpose as a believer to…
Run to Jesus,
love Him with all my heart
Honor Him and His Word by my example and emphasis
Purpose in my heart to embrace His purposes as my
own
May we appropriate
the grace, the enablement, He gives to live for Him!
RUN
TO JESUS –
LOVE
HIM WITH ALL MY HEART?
So, we come
to these Gates, important navigational guides, these important aspects of
Christian life. See what’s here. Understand what God wants. Give serious
thought to these questions. Where am I presently with regard
to heart life? Does my life honor God? If I were to die today, what
would be my legacy?
What does God
Desire?
Before the God of Heaven, where am I presently?
How, by His grace, do I move toward what God desires?
HONOR HIM AND HIS WORD –
BY MY EXAMPLE AND EMPHASIS?
What does God
Desire?
Before the God of Heaven, where am I presently?
How, by His grace, do I move toward what God desires?
PURPOSE IN MY HEART -
TO EMBRACE HIS PURPOSES AS MY OWN?
What does God
Desire?
Before the God of Heaven, where am I presently?
How, by His grace, do I move toward what God desires?
PLEASE
STOP! WAIT A MOMENT!
BEFORE YOU ENTER THIS GATE
A FEW THOUGHTS TO KEEP IN MIND
YOU ARE BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
GOD SEES WHAT IS REALLY, REALLY REAL
WILL I AGREE WITH WHAT GOD SEES?
13The
LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth
all the sons of men. 14From the place of his
habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the
earth. 15He fashioneth
their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
(Ps 33:13-15)
In gate one we looked at
the tremendous importance of the heart. We saw that the heart is continually
deliberating, choosing, treasuring, honoring, and embracing.
Now we must ask another
important question:
Will we be truthful about
what is really going on within our heart?
Every moment of our lives
is lived Before the God of Heaven. There is nothing about us that
He does not see. There is no circumstance He misunderstands. There is no motive
hidden from Him. Psalm 139 reminds us that He knows our downsitting and our
uprising, understands our thoughts afar off, and knows our words before we speak them.
God sees what is really, really real.
Integrity begins when we are willing to agree with what God
already sees. In this Gate we will look at integrity in four important ways:
Speak the truth.
Take an honest and open look at what is in front of you.
Purpose to do the right thing.
Do the right thing you have purposed to do.
We will also look at Nehemiah, a man who lived with an
extraordinary awareness that his life was unfolding Before the God of
Heaven. He prayed, depended upon God, faced reality honestly, and acted
with integrity, and embraced God’s purposes and blueprint.
So, before entering this Gate, ask yourself:
IF God already knows the truth about my heart, my motives, my
circumstances, and my choices, am I willing to agree with Him?
Let’s begin!
Gate Two
Integrity – Before the God of Heaven
What God Desires
Navigating - Before the God of Heaven
Integrity - Before the God of Heaven
With Integrity - Embracing His Purposes as my Own
Three
Universal Principles
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
######
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked.”
Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what you get.”
#####
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
NAVIGATING-BEFORE THE GOD OF
HEAVEN
13The LORD looketh
from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 14From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 15He fashioneth
their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. (Ps 33:13-15)
For the last five decades, in the American culture, there
has been a concerted effort on the part of the godless to suppress the truth
that every human being through every period of history has lived their lives Before
the God of Heaven.
There are seven arenas of life that all of us navigate,
even if we want to pretend some of these don’t exist.
Six arenas we cannot deny, the seventh, some will try to deny, but the
universe is real. And the universe speaks of an awesome God. In Romans 1:18-20
Paul makes this truth clear. The magnificent design of the
universe, instructs us as to the awesomeness of our Creator God. Where
there is intelligent design, there is an intelligent Designer!
18For the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold (suppress)
the truth in unrighteousness; 19Because
that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath
shewed it unto them. 20For
the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power
and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:…(Romans 1:18-20)
The godless believe that true freedom is possible when
they can suppress truth, put it aside, and do what they want to do. So, they
want the idea of God and the Bible to be suppressed and held down, so that they
do not have to deal with being accountable to God. But,
them trying to push aside the reality of God won’t work. In the verses cited (Ps
33:13-15) God makes it clear that from his dwelling place He sees all the sons
of men. You can’t escape the presence of God. Also, this passage makes it clear
you can’t hide your heart life. He is the one that fashioned
heart life. He understands what transpires there. So, truly, our every move is
before the God of Heaven. And, in Romans 1:18-20, God makes it clear, the
evidence of a Creator God is written in the sky…enough so, Man is without
excuse!
God not only sees all of mankind from His dwelling place,
the scriptures make it clear that he sees every
movement in His universe! Besides Psalm 33:13-15, Psalm 139 in its entirety
speaks to the reality that God is aware of every movement in His universe.
1(To the chief Musician, A Psalm of
David.) O LORD, thou hast searched me, and
known me. 2Thou knowest my
downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my
thought afar off. 3Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art
acquainted with all my ways. 4For there
is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it
altogether. 5Thou hast beset me
behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too
wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. (Psalm 139:1-5)
So, on any day, to wake up, walk outside and look up into
the sky, we are hit with the evidence that God is real, He is present, and He
is active in His universe and in the affairs of mankind. The scripture also
says in Colossians 1:17 “…by Him all things consist
(hold together).”
If you camped out on the equator you would be moving at a
thousand mph as the earth rotates. In twenty-four hours, you will have rotated one time. You can set your clocks by the
consistency of that rotation. The earth is orbiting the Sun once every year. It
goes about 585 million miles in that year. The earth is rocketing at 1.67
million miles a day. That’s about 67,000mph. Jesus, the Creator, by his awesome
power keeps things right on time. Our orbit is spaced just right so that we
don’t get to close to the Sun and burn, or too far
away and freeze. The spacing is just right to sustain
human life on planet earth.
NEHEMIAH-BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
Let’s take a look at a man in
scripture who lived daily with the constant awareness of God being active in
the affairs of mankind, and more specifically, in his own life.
1The words of Nehemiah the son of
Hachaliah. And it came
to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the
palace, 2That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he
and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that
had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the
province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem
also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. 4And
it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and
mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of
heaven, 5And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great
and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for
them that love him and observe his commandments: 6Let thine ear now
be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy
servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of
Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we
have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. 7We
have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor
the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst
thy servant Moses.
8Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst
thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you
abroad among the nations: 9But if ye turn unto me, and
keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the
uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and
will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. 10Now
these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy
great power, and by thy strong hand. 11O
Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy
servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and
prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of
this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
Before the God of Heaven is where
Nehemiah’s heart is as he has an exchange with his brethren from Judah, …
“I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the
captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3And they said unto me, the remnant that
are left of the captivity there in the province are in great
affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down,
and the gates thereof are burned with fire.”
Nehemiah walked
with God, and he knew his God. When he heard this report, he sat down and wept,
and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of Heaven.
There were some truths about his God, that he spoke in this moment, to his God,
because they were applicable in the moment. 1) God
is transcendent and sovereign (1:5)
“…O LORD God of heaven…” God is above empires (Persia), He
is above kings (Artaxerxes). Artaxerxes looked powerful. But Nehemiah knew who
held the higher throne. 2) God is great and awesome,
“The great and awesome God” (1:5) Nehemiah’s God is not
small, He is majestic. God is Holy, Fearful in power, Worthy of reverence. 3)
God keeps covenant, “Who keeps covenant…” (1:5) Judah failed, but
God stayed true to His word. 4) God is merciful and loving, “…and
lovingkindness for those who love Him.” (1:5) Although judgement had
happened, mercy was still active. God responded to their repentance. 5) God
hears prayer, “Let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open…” (1:6)
Nehemiah knows God listens. He is not praying into nothingness. Heaven hears! 6)
God forgives repentant sinners, “We have sinned…” He brought no
excuses, no blame shifting…God sees me. He has missed nothing. Self-deception
weakens. Integrity is possible.
Integrity is learning to agree with what God
already sees.
Integrity speaks the truth! God sees and knows the
truth!
Integrity is willing to take an honest look,
because the God of heaven sees it all as it really is…nothing is hidden from
Him. He hears it all! He sees it all!
God is present, and He is not a passive observer,
He is active in the affairs of mankind!
When you read the first six or seven chapters of the book
of Nehemiah, you can’t miss that as Nehemiah is facing situations, in the
moment, he talks to his very present, active, caring God!
I am going to note a few of these moments…
As soon as Nehemiah heard the report about how things
were back in Jerusalem, he prayed before the God of Heaven.
3And
they said unto me, the remnant that are left of the
captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach:
the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are
burned with fire.
4And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and
wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God
of heaven,
In chapter 2 when
he is before the king, and the king asks what he wants, in the moment, he talks
to God…
“So, I prayed
to the God of heaven. And I said to the king…” (2:4)
In chapter four, Opposition comes.
Sanballat mocks. Nehemiah responds:
“Hear, O our God, for we are despised” (4:4).
When nobles
oppressed the poor in chapter five, and Nehemiah is handling it, toward the end
of the chapter he says to God…
“Remember me,
my God, for good…” (5:19)
May our awareness
be elevated to the constant reality that our God is present, active, caring,
orchestrating, moving in the hearts of those around us!
INTEGRITY –
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
Stop and ponder this…at this point in history
approximately seven billion people are on planet earth.
Many people just get up and go do what is right in front
of them and never give thought to the questions around how did all of this get
here? For some, they don’t care about the answers to those questions. For
others, they don’t want to go there, because their life has been filled with an
awful lot of pain, and they can’t understand, if there is a God, how could He
allow such pain in this human existence? This premise is flawed, but that at
least keeps them from dealing with the issues.
Then you have others who believe there was, out of
nothingness, a big bang, and here it all is…and, others, still want us to
believe that over billions and billions of years everything evolved.
Then there are those who see, by observation, over and over again, that wherever you are
seeing wonderfully designed things coming into existence, that you can with a little research find out the identity of
that designer! Intelligent design demands an intelligent Designer! So, when the
Bible speaks to God being the creator of the universe, it’s easy to see, “The
existence of God is the most obvious truth in the universe!” What other possible designer could have possibly designed and
created this magnificent universe? If you look through the James Webb
telescope, or through the strongest microscope, the intelligent design of it
all demands an intelligent Designer!
So, as seven billion people navigate the universe, there
is an epic battle within the hearts of human beings…will I seek to take an
honest and open look at what’s in front of me, and ask the questions, What is truth? What is of value? How then, shall we live? Or, will I just leave that alone, and do what I want to do?
So, for many, there is this epic battle in the heart, “Integrity vs. Self-deception.”
INTEGRITY DEFINED
Integrity is at least four things…1) speaking the truth,
2) taking an open and honest look at what is in front of me, 3) purposing to do
the right thing with what is in front of me, and, 4) doing what I purposed to
do, with what is in front of me.
Nehemiah was a man of integrity. The king saw it and made
him his cup bearer. Nehemiah navigated the universe before the God of
Heaven. He understood God’s eternal purposes, and His purposes with the
people of Israel. He took an honest look at the state of these people’s walk
with God, after they came back from the captivity, and saw they still were not
getting it right. Jerusalem was still in ruins, and they were not functioning
in their families the way God intended either. So, Nehemiah, when told how
things were going back in Judah, determined to take the honest look at what was
happening. He asked God for the stewardship of going back and leading the
people to do the right thing God’s way. He took the time to scout out the ruins
of the wall around Jerusalem. Before the God of Heaven, he came
up with a plan and came to the people and communicated the plan. As recorded in
Nehemiah chapter three he organized the people by family groups and ended up
with 41 work groups. They would build the wall in their own back
yard, so to speak. In Nehemiah 4:13, Nehemiah says, “I stationed
the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows…remember the
Lord…fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your
houses.” Nehemiah knew God’s
purposes and blueprints. Family is God’s basic unit in a community. Nehemiah
put them to work in a way that he saw to it that families had to be strong
together, or the enemy would attack in their back yard.
Indeed, today, the church needs to come back to
that same default, and strengthen families, to do the work of the ministry.
Nehemiah had answered the basic questions, because he
wanted truth, to speak truth, to see what was really real right in front of
him, and he purposed in his heart to do the right thing with what was really
real right in front of him, and he then did what was right. He navigated with
integrity!
It is very important that our generation of believers in
the United States know the answers to the questions regarding truth. What is
truth? What is of value? How then, shall we live?
When people suppress the truth in their unrighteousness,
and throw off truth, there is no limit to where they can go in moving away from
truth. My generation can name the list. I will give just a couple of
examples…homosexual marriage, transgenderism, and biological males in girls’
sports.
Integrity and Truth fit together like hand in glove…
Navigating God’s universe before the God of Heaven aligns with what is really, really real!
There is a connection between the three core questions,
and the outworking of our answers into the seven levels of our belief and
behavior. As in the example of Nehemiah, his view of God, and the scriptures,
moved him to purpose to embrace God’s purposes for his life.
“People see what they want to see, and they hear
what they want to hear, because they want to do what they want to do, because
they treasure what they treasure.”
The atheist worldview throughout is permeated with
wanting to suppress truth, because they are driven by wanting to just do what
they want to do.
WITH
INTEGRITY -
EMBRACING HIS PURPOSES AS MY OWN
Remember, Integrity is at least four things…1) speaking
the truth, 2) taking an open and honest look at what is in front of me, 3)
purposing to do the right thing with what is in front of me, and, 4) doing what
I purposed to do, with what is in front of me.
The third part of integrity is purposing…it is one thing
to see truth, it is another to determine with the human will, that I am going
to purpose to act accordingly!
“I have purposed it; I will also do it!” Embracing
God’s purposes as my own is integrity in action.
That statement, “I have purposed it, I will also do
it!” by the God of heaven, and
recorded in Isa. 46:11c, trumpets the heart of God from the beginning. He
purposed, before the foundation of the world, creation, redemption, and human
history culminating with the roll out of the end time events given in the book
of Revelation. And what he has purposed, He will also do! You can take that to
the bank!
Nehemiah had discerned God’s purposes, and
blueprint, and determined to embrace God’s purposes as his own. That is godly
wisdom in action!
What were some of the purposes he recognized as being
what God would have him embrace? He navigated God’s universe Before the
God of Heaven. He acknowledged his brokenness, was thankful for redemption,
and requested being commissioned, to be used by God with his people.
Before
the God of Heaven
As one…broken…
As one…redeemed…
As one…commissioned…
My Mission In
This Life
…walking with God…
…in my place…strengthening family…
…reaching out…as a channel of grace…
…to fellow believers…
…to unbelievers…
Integrity –
Before the God of Heaven
What God Desires
Navigating - Before the God of Heaven
Integrity - Before the God of Heaven
With Integrity - Embracing His Purposes as my Own
Three
Universal Principles
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
######
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked.”
Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what
you get.”
#####
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
We can purpose as a believer…
Navigating - Before the God of Heaven
Integrity - Before the God of Heaven
With Integrity - Embracing His Purposes as my Own
May we appropriate
the grace, the enablement, He gives to live for Him!
NAVIGATING –
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN?
“Thou God seest
me.” — Genesis 16:13
Integrity is learning to agree with what God already
sees.
We will not grow and develop spiritually, if we refuse to
see as God sees us.
Speak the truth in your heart.
Navigate life, more and more,
Before the God of Heaven.
What does God
Desire?
Before the God of Heaven, where am I presently?
How, by His grace, do I move toward what God desires?
INTEGRITY –
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN?
What does God Desire?
Speaking the truth
in my heart
Taking an honest and open look at what is in front of you
Purposing to do what is right with what is in front of you
Doing the right thing you purposed to do
Before the God of Heaven, where am I presently?
How, by His grace, do I move toward what God desires?
WITH INTEGRITY -
EMBRACING HIS PURPOSES AS MY OWN?
What does God Desire?
Before
the God of Heaven
As one…broken…
As one…redeemed…
As one…commissioned…
My Mission In
This Life
…walking with God…
…in my place…strengthening family…
…reaching out…as a channel of grace…
…to fellow believers…
…to unbelievers…
Before the God of
Heaven, where am I presently?
How, by His grace, do I move toward what God desires?
So, we come to these Gates, important
navigational guides, these important aspects of Christian life. See what’s
here. Understand what God wants. Give serious thought to these questions. Am I
speaking the truth in my heart? Will I take an honest and open look at the
realities in my heart life and whether or not I am
walking before the God of Heaven with integrity? Have I purposed to do right with regard to integrity and embracing God’s purposes for my
life? Am I living a purpose driven life…having embraced God’s purposes?
PLEASE
STOP! WAIT A MOMENT!
BEFORE YOU ENTER THIS GATE
A FEW THOUGHTS TO KEEP IN MIND
YOU ARE BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
BROKENNESS IS REAL
WE MUST SEE WHAT SIN HAS DONE
“For all have sinned,
and come short of the glory of God.”
(Romans 3:23)
In
Gate One we looked at the battlefield of the heart. In Gate Two we considered
the importance of integrity—looking honestly at reality Before the God of
Heaven.
Now
integrity requires us to look at something we would rather not see:
Human
brokenness.
Why is the heart such a battlefield? Why do we struggle
with truth and falsehood, humility and pride, Spirit and flesh, and spiritual
and temporal treasure? Something has gone terribly wrong.
In this Gate we will go back to Lucifer’s rebellion and
then to Adam and Eve in the Garden. We will see what happened when God’s truth
was challenged and the creature chose to reject the Creator’s authority.
Then Romans chapter one will put brokenness on
display. Paul describes mankind:
Suppressing the truth.
Not
honoring God or giving Him thanks.
Exchanging
the truth of God for a lie.
Worshiping
and serving the creature more than the Creator.
We will also look at the Seven Inescapable Realities
of God’s Universe. Brokenness does not make those realities disappear.
Man may reject them, suppress them, or ridicule them, but he still lives every
moment Before the God of Heaven.
And remember—we are not entering this Gate merely to
examine the brokenness of somebody else.
This
is our story.
Seeing more clearly what sin has done should cause us to
love our Redeemer more, hate and run from sin, love and run to Christ, and
desire to make much of Jesus and make Him known.
We
are going to look at the darkness—but so that we might better understand the
glory of the Light.
Let’s
begin!
Gate Three –
Brokenness on Display
What God Desires
See Brokenness –
Increase Gratitude and Love for God
Hate and run
from sin – Love and run to Christ
Make much of Jesus, and, Make Him known
Three
Universal Principles
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
######
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked.”
Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what you get.”
#####
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
WHAT GOD DESIRES
Before we look into the Brokenness on Display Gate, I want to assure you that
our purpose is not to discourage you. Some will ask if there can ever be a
redemptive benefit of looking into the trash can of brokenness?
Genuine conversion not only changes our standing before
God, but also fundamentally changes how we view our former life. I believe
there are three responses that can come from looking at the brokenness we have
been rescued from, through a biblical lens.
First, when
we comprehend the magnitude of what redemption has rescued us from, it should
evoke a very deep response of overwhelming gratitude and love for God.
Before salvation we were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1–3),
condemned already (John 3:18), an enemy of God (Romans 5:10), and without hope
(Ephesians 2:12).
After salvation we cannot help but say, “Amazing
grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me." This is why
Scripture repeatedly connects salvation with thanksgiving. Peter says, “Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant
mercy has begotten us again unto a living hope...”
(1 Peter 1:3)
Secondly, when we realize the horrible consequences that
ultimately people pay in an eternity in hell, because they are so bound by
their brokenness and darkness, and they reject salvation through Christ, and,
when we realize the consequences that believers deal with because of sin, we
should hate, and run from, sin – love, and run to, Christ.
Thirdly, when we think of what we have been rescued from,
the amazing redemption provided, and the horrible price that had to be paid,
and that Jesus, in love, was willing to pay that price, we owe Him everything.
Indeed, we should with all our being make much of Jesus, and, make Him known!
16Hereby perceive we the love of God,
because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay
down our lives for the brethren. (I John
3:16)
“For
the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us
that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who
gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
(Titus 2:11–14)
Those are the first three responses that come to mind when I think of why it
is at times beneficial to ponder that I have been liberated from the penalty
and power of my brokenness.
I also want to give you a look at three aspects
of our brokenness that we deal with regularly, and to do so in a way as to help
all of us to understand how characteristically it works in these areas so that
we can be more discerning, and wiser, in dealing with our flesh. I want to look
at, 1) four phrases that Paul makes in Romans chapter one while expounding the
doctrine of the depravity of mankind, 2) dealing with how our heart is won, our
focus regarding temporal and spiritual treasure, and 3) dealing with the
fourteen epic battles of the heart mentioned in the first unit.
LUCIFER –
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
12How art thou fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou
cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13For thou
hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,
in the sides of the north: 14I will ascend above the heights of the
clouds; I will be like the most High.
15Yet thou shalt be
brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. (Isa. 14:12-15)
Lucifer occupied one of the highest ranks among God's
created angels. At some point after Lucifer's creation, and
before humanity's temptation in Eden, rebellion arose within his heart.
Lucifer coveted God's authority, God's glory, and God's rightful place of
supremacy. He wanted to be in God's place and was not satisfied with the place
God had placed him in. He decided to “exalt his throne above the stars
of God.” And, not satisfied with his place, he decided, “I
will be like the Most High God.”
Lucifer at some level, at some time, had to know that
there was only one God, and that he himself was not on the same level with God.
But, in pride, and desire, he wanted to be like God, and have what was God’s. How
did that work out for him, and all of mankind?
This is an extraordinary reality. We have
to stop and ponder this…what does it say about brokenness…? Before the
God of Heaven stood one of the highest of God's created heavenly beings.
Endowed with extraordinary beauty, wisdom, and privilege, he was given a place
of honor by his Creator. Yet, rather than being
satisfied with the place God had assigned him, pride arose within his heart.
Desiring God's glory, God's authority, and God's throne, he declared five
times, "I will." The first rebellion in God's universe began,
not with outward action, but with the deliberation of a proud heart.
15Yet thou shalt be brought down to
hell, to the sides of the pit. (Isa. 14:12-15)
What a choice, what a consequence…
SEVEN
INESCAPABLE REALITIES-
OF GOD’S UNIVERSE
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
Every person
who has ever lived, has lived before the God of Heaven. Because of Lucifer’s
fall, whether someone chooses to acknowledge it, or not, there are certain
realities that cannot be escaped. Men may reject them, suppress them, or
ridicule them, but they remain as true today as when Adam and Eve sinned in the
Garden of Eden. These realities are woven into the very fabric of God's
universe. Every decision, every relationship, every success, every failure, and
ultimately every eternal destiny is shaped by them.
God and
Satan
Good and evil
Truth and falsehood (right and wrong)
Universal Laws and Principles (established by God)
Personal Responsibility
Choice and Consequence
Life and Death, Heaven and Hell
These seven realities are not isolated truths. They form
the framework within which every human life is lived. Every person lives before
the God of Heaven, in a world where good and evil contend, where truth
confronts falsehood, where God has established universal laws and principles,
where choices inevitably produce consequences, where life moves toward death,
and where every soul is traveling toward an eternal destination. Wisdom begins
by recognizing these realities; faith responds by submitting to the God who
established them.
GOD
AND SATAN
The first reality is that there is a living God, and there
is a real personal adversary. Scripture begins not with an argument for God's
existence, but with the declaration, "In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) God is eternal,
self-existent, holy, sovereign, Creator, Judge, Redeemer, and King.
The Bible also reveals a created being who rebelled against
God. Lucifer became Satan, the adversary, deceiver, accuser, and destroyer. Peter
warns believers, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he
may devour." (1 Peter 5:8) Jesus described Satan as "a
murderer from the beginning...and the father of it
[lies]." (John 8:44)
Every human being lives within the reality of this great
conflict. There is no neutral ground. We either belong to God's kingdom or
remain under the dominion of darkness (Colossians 1:13).
GOOD AND EVIL
Good and evil are not human inventions or cultural preferences. Good
originates in the very character of God. “There is none good but one,
that is, God.” (Mark 10:18) Evil entered creation through rebellion
against God. Isaiah pronounces woe upon those who reverse these realities: “Woe
unto them that call evil good, and good evil.” (Isaiah 5:20) Paul
exhorts believers, “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is
good.” (Romans 12:9)
The struggle between good and evil is seen
throughout Scripture—from Eden, to Calvary, to the final judgment. Every human
heart must decide which kingdom it will embrace.
TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD
(RIGHT AND WRONG)
Truth exists
because God is true. Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the
life.” (John 14:6) God's Word is truth. “Sanctify them through
thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17)
Satan, however, traffics in deception. Jesus
said, “When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of
it.” (John 8:44)
Human beings cannot escape truth simply by
denying it. Reality remains unchanged. Paul explains fallen humanity's
condition: “Who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” (Romans 1:18)
Every
life is ultimately built upon either truth or falsehood.
UNIVERSAL LAWS AND PRINCIPLES
(established by God)
God governs His universe through both natural laws and moral principles.
The physical universe operates with remarkable order because God faithfully
sustains it. Likewise, God's moral universe operates according to fixed
principles. Jesus taught, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap.” (Galatians 6:7) Proverbs repeatedly demonstrates
that diligence generally leads to fruitfulness, honesty builds trust, humility
precedes honor, and pride precedes destruction. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an
haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)
These are not merely observations; they are reflections of how God governs
His world.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Paul reminds
every believer, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to
God.” (Romans 14:12) And again, “For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may
receive the things done in his body...” (2 Corinthians 5:10) Those
apart from Christ will likewise stand before God. John writes, “And I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God...and they were judged every man
according to their works.” (Revelation 20:12–13) No one will ultimately
answer for another person.
Every person
will stand individually before the God of Heaven. This reality is both sobering
and liberating. It is sobering because we cannot shift blame for our sinful
choices onto someone else. Ever since Adam said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me...” (Genesis 3:12), fallen humanity
has sought to excuse itself. Yet Scripture continually calls us back to
personal accountability. It is liberating because, by God's grace, we are not
prisoners of our past. Through repentance, faith in Jesus Christ, and the
enabling power of the Holy Spirit, we may choose obedience, pursue integrity,
and walk in God's purposes.
Personal responsibility is therefore the bridge
between truth and obedience. God reveals truth; we are responsible to respond.
God gives commands; we are responsible to obey. God extends grace; we are
responsible to receive His Son by faith.
CHOICE AND CONSEQUENCE
God created
mankind with genuine moral responsibility. From Eden onward, people have been
confronted with choices. Moses challenged Israel, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore, choose
life.” (Deuteronomy 30:19) Joshua declared, “Choose you this day
whom ye will serve.” (Joshua 24:15) Every choice we make produces
consequences. Sometimes they come immediately. Sometimes they come years later.
Sometimes throughout eternity. No one escapes this principle.
LIFE AND DEATH – HEAVEN AND HELL
Every person
experiences both physical life and physical death.
Scripture also reveals spiritual life and spiritual death. God warned Adam, “In
the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die.” (Genesis 2:17) Paul explains, “For the wages of sin is
death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
(Romans 6:23) Jesus came that sinners “might have life, and...have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
The great question is not whether we
shall die physically, but whether we possess eternal life through Christ.
History is
moving toward an eternal conclusion. Jesus spoke often of both Heaven and Hell.
He promised His disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)
He also warned, “These shall go away into everlasting punishment:
but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matthew 25:46) John describes
the final judgment before the great white throne (Revelation 20:11–15),
followed by the new heaven and the new earth (Revelation 21–22).
Every human being will spend eternity in one of
these two destinies. The most important question any person can answer is this:
Have I been reconciled to the God of Heaven through His Son, Jesus
Christ?
ADAM AND EVE –
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
Genesis 1 and 2 reveal perfect
creation. Everything God made was “very good.” There was no death, no shame, no
fear, no guilt, no broken relationships, no disease, no curse. Most
importantly, God and man walked together. Adam and Eve walked in fellowship
with God.
Then, as
recorded in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve sinned.
This is the
beginning of Brokenness on Display…every funeral, every war,
every broken marriage, every guilty conscience, every tear, every temptation,
every hospital, every prison, every cemetery, every idol, every false religion,
every rebellion against God, and ultimately why Christ came into the world.
Adam and Eve
sinned Before the God of Heaven.
Nothing was hidden. Psalm 139 becomes vividly illustrated.
“O LORD, thou hast searched me,
and known me...”
Psalm 33:13-15 becomes reality.
“The LORD looketh
from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men...He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth
all their works.”
The first sin was committed under the all-seeing
gaze of the Creator. The issue was never that God did not know.
Genesis 3
explains why mankind is broken, why the heart is a
battlefield, why the Seven Inescapable Realities exist as they
do in human experience, and why redemption through Christ is absolutely necessary.
It explains why the human heart became
desperately corrupt.
“The heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
SATAN’S HEART AND STRATEGY
Lucifer/Satan wanted to be in God's place and was not
satisfied with the place God had placed him in. He decided to “exalt
his throne above the stars of God.” And, not satisfied with his
place, he decided, “I will be like the Most High God.”
The first rebellion in God's universe began, not
with outward action, but with the deliberation of a proud heart.
Satan attacks God’s word. “Yea, hath God said...?”
(3:1) Truth is no longer treated as absolute. It becomes negotiable.
This is exactly where every temptation begins. Every sin starts by entertaining
the possibility that God's Word need not be obeyed. Brokenness begins with
questioning and suppressing truth.
Then open
contradiction. “Ye shall not surely die.” (3:4) Now truth is
replaced with falsehood. This is the first lie ever told. Jesus later said,
“When he speaketh
a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and
the father of it.” (John 8:44)
Then Satan attacks God's goodness. “God
knows...” (3:5) Satan implies that God is holding out on you. The good
stuff is just beyond God’s boundaries. God cannot be trusted. God is keeping
you from happiness. So, who is telling you the truth…God or Satan?
The fall of mankind is the beginning of what Paul was
describing in Romans 1 in the four phrases.
“…who
suppress the truth in unrighteousness,…” (v. 18)
Brokenness … truth suppressed and resisted
God had spoken clearly. Adam and Eve intentionally
rejected it. Truth was suppressed.
“Although they knew God, they did
not honor Him as God or give thanks” (v. 21)
Brokenness … ingratitude toward
God and refusal to honor Him as God
God’s authority was no longer honored. Instead of honoring
God…they elevated themselves.
“They exchanged the truth of God
for a lie” (v. 25)
Brokenness … exchanging truth for
lies
The serpent’s lie became more useful to them than God’s
Word, because it allowed them to do what they wanted to do.
“Worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator” (v. 25)
Brokenness … idolatry … worshiping
and serving self
Ultimately Adam and Eve rejected God’s plan and
substituted Satan’s and their own. Self was put in the place that belonged to
God. The creature replaced the Creator.
Consider also here how the Epic Battles of the Heart
were now in play for Adam and Eve.
Truth
vs. Falsehood –
will she believe God?
Good vs. Evil –
will she call evil good?
Integrity vs. self-deception –
will she honestly look at God’s
command?
Humility vs. Pride -
will she submit?
Purpose vs. Nihilism –
Whose purpose will govern her life?
Spirit vs. Flesh
Will she desire God’s will or immediate
gratification?
Divine calling vs. Desire
Will she follow God’s blueprint or her
desires?
Spiritual/Eternal vs. Temporal (Treasure)
Will she treasure pleasing God or
self?
The point here is that the epic battles within the heart
of mankind began here where man chose to suppress truth, not to honor God as
God, exchanged the truth for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature
rather than God.
THE APOSTLE PAUL
–
DEPRAVITY OF MANKIND DISPLAYED –
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
As one…broken…
“…who
suppress the truth in unrighteousness,…” (v. 18)
Brokenness …
truth suppressed and resisted
“Although they knew God, they did
not honor Him as God or give thanks” (v. 21)
Brokenness …
ingratitude toward God and refusal to honor Him as God
“They exchanged the truth of God
for a lie” (v. 25)
Brokenness …
exchanging truth for lies
“Worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator” (v. 25)
Brokenness …
idolatry … worshiping and serving self
Our brokenness hinders and blocks
our awareness of the God of Heaven
Romans chapter one reveals the universal collapse of
humanity apart from God. These four phrases speak to the anatomy of fallen man.
They speak of man’s heart condition Before the God of Heaven.
Mankind’s rebellion at the deepest level is a
resistance to God while existing entirely within God’s universe.
“…who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,…” (v. 18)
Brokenness … truth suppressed and resisted
The word suppress means to hold down, to restrain,
smother, or resist. Mankind is not ignorant as they search helplessly for God.
Mankind actively is resisting truth that has already been made plain to him.
Man pushes truth down because truth threatens his autonomy. He refuses to hear,
and respond, appropriately to God, because he wants to be in God’s place within
his own heart.
“We see what we
want to see,
And we hear what we want to hear,
Because we want to do what we want to do,
Because we treasure what we treasure.”
This is an active warfare against God, truth, and
reality.
To show just how broken this is, Paul, in making the
statement above, illustrates it. He makes it clear in the next two verses that
the most obvious truth in the universe is the existence of God. The
intelligently designed creation itself, which is right in front of you anytime
you have your eyes open, speaks of the attributes, divine nature, and power, of
the Creator. Therefore, mankind is without excuse.
God revealed truth. Though man wanted to push truth
aside, that was impossible. Man is without excuse. He is accountable in spite of every effort to not see truth. He has decided to
embrace self-rule against every evidence of our Creator-God.
“Although they knew God, they did
not honor Him as God or give thanks” (v. 21)
Brokenness …
ingratitude toward God and refusal to honor Him as God
Mankind
had enough revealed about God, that they rightly were obligated to honor,
reverence, and worship Him. But sinful man does not want to answer to God. So,
he refuses to put God in His rightful place in their heart and life.
This refusal to honor God creates a vacuum
immediately filled with substitutes.
Brokenness is revealed when man enjoys God’s gifts
while excluding God Himself.
Mankind did not misunderstand truth. They traded truth, they
exchanged truth, for a lie more useful to them than the truth.
“They exchanged the truth of God
for a lie” (v. 25)
Brokenness …
exchanging truth for lies
What was being traded was truth for illusion, revelation
for deception, God’s authority for self-rule.
The lie was, God is holding out on you...He is keeping
you from all the good stuff…
“You shall be as gods.” (Genesis 3:5)
“Worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator” (v. 25)
Brokenness …
idolatry … worshiping and serving self
Human
beings were created to worship God. If God is rejected, worship does not
disappear—it redirects.
Idols
can be good things turned into ultimate things. Self becomes the idol of choice
when God is rejected.
Whoever
or whatever the heart treasures most, becomes our functioning God of choice.
WHO OR WHAT WILL WIN OUR
HEART?
WHO OR WHAT WILL WE
EMBRACE?
WHO OR WHAT WILL WE
WORSHIP? –
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
For
believers, we understand that all of these temporal
things (possessions, position, power, prestige, praise of men, popularity,
pleasure, and passion) are ok, and not bad in and of themselves. The
problem is when the temporal take priority over our walk with God, or
treasuring these over spiritual, or eternal things.
Again…
Human
beings were created to worship God. If God is rejected, worship does not
disappear—it redirects.
Idols
can be good things turned into ultimate things. Self becomes the idol of choice
when God is rejected.
Whoever
or whatever the heart treasures most, becomes our functioning God of choice.
Let
me point out one Bible example. The story of Samson’s life can be summed up in
these statements.
“A man’s life will be lived
in light of the treasure he is seeking.”
“For where your treasure is,
there will
your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a
person’s heart,
is whose ways will be
observed.”
The temporal
treasures that tell the story of Samson’s life are power, pleasure, and passion.
When
people look in to see what drives your life and mine, will they see a life
lived more focused on temporal treasures, or spiritual, eternal treasures? And
which of the temporal treasures captivate our focus, when we are focused on the
temporal?
WHAT
GOD DESIRES
Remember,
genuine conversion not only changes our standing before God, but also
fundamentally changes how we view our former life.
There are at least three
major takeaways from taking this look at Brokenness.
See Brokenness – Increase Gratitude and Love for God
First, when
we comprehend the magnitude of what redemption has rescued us from, it should
evoke a very deep response of overwhelming gratitude and love for God.
Before salvation we were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1–3),
condemned already (John 3:18), an enemy of God (Romans 5:10), and without hope
(Ephesians 2:12).
After salvation we cannot help but say, “Amazing
grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me." This is why
Scripture repeatedly connects salvation with thanksgiving. Peter says, "Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant
mercy has begotten us again unto a living hope..." (1 Peter 1:3)
Hate, and run
from sin – Love, and run to Christ
Secondly, when we realize the
horrible consequences that ultimately people pay in an eternity in hell,
because they are so bound by their brokenness and darkness, and they reject
salvation through Christ, and, when we realize the consequences that believers
deal with because of sin, we should hate, and run from, sin – love, and
run to, Christ.
Make much of Jesus, and, Make Him known
Thirdly,
when we think of what we have been rescued from, the amazing redemption
provided, and the horrible price that had to be paid, and that Jesus, in love,
was willing to pay that price, we owe Him everything. Indeed, we should with
all our being make much of Jesus, and, make Him
known!
At each of the twelve gates
we will ask three questions.
What does God Desire?
Before the God of Heaven, where am I
presently?
How, by His grace, do I move toward what God
desires?
PLEASE STOP! WAIT A MOMENT!
BEFORE YOU ENTER THIS GATE
A FEW THOUGHTS TO KEEP IN MIND
YOU ARE BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
THE BROKEN STAND BEFORE HIM
BUT THE GOD OF HEAVEN
IS A GOD OF GRACE
“In whom we
have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins,
according to
the riches of his grace.”
(Ephesians 1:7)
We have just looked at brokenness. We have seen rebellion,
suppression of truth, idolatry, guilt, judgment, and the terrible consequences
of sin.
If
the story ended there, there would be no good news.
But
God!
Before
the foundation of the world, the God of Heaven had already purposed His great
redemptive plan centered in His Son.
In
this Gate we will look at that amazing plan.
Ephesians
chapter one will take us back before Creation and show us that redemption was
not an afterthought. God purposed His redemptive work according to the counsel
of His own will.
Romans chapters three through five will take us into what we
might call the Courtroom of Heaven. Guilty sinners stand
condemned.
But
Christ has come.
His blood has been shed. God is both just and the Justifier
of the one who believes in Jesus. Through faith in Christ
we are justified before God.
Then
Romans chapter eight asks:
Who
shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? Who is he that condemneth?
Christ
died. Christ rose again. Christ is at the right hand of the Father. Christ
makes intercession for us.
And nothing in this sin-cursed world, and nothing in all of
God’s universe, can separate His redeemed people from His love in Christ Jesus.
So,
do not hurry through this Gate.
Wonder,
Worship, and Gratitude, belongs here.
We
have looked honestly at what we are in our brokenness. Now let us look
carefully at what the God of Grace has done about it.
Let’s
begin!
Gate Four
The God of Grace –
Redemption
What God Desires
Love Jesus most
of all and Worship Him
Rest
securely in God’s Redemptive Work
Purpose to live for Christ and be a channel of His Grace
Three
Universal Principles
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
######
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked.”
Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what
you get.”
#####
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
AN OVERVIEW
As we approach The God of Grace – Redemption,
we are going to be focusing on three core passages of Scripture, Ephesians 1,
Romans 3-5, and Romans 8:31-39. As we expound the amazing truths of these
passages, it will become very clear why we have given the three stated desires
that we believe God would want from us, given what we see in these passages
that He has done for us.
In Gate One we focused on the importance of Jesus having
our heart. “Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart, is whose ways will be
observed.” Jesus said, “Where a man’s treasure is, there will his heart be also.” (Matt 6:21). So, it is
important for us to see from the passages we will be looking at, that our
response should be our heart treasuring Christ, and worshiping Him.
When we see in these passages that being saved gives us a
whole new identity, we are translated from the kingdom of darkness to the
kingdom of light (12Giving
thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in light: 13Who
hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” Col. 1:12-13), we have a new DNA (For
as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be
made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:22) We have a
new family. We are adopted into God’s forever family (Eph 1:5). When we see our
new standing in Christ, our response can and should be to Rest securely
in God’s Redemptive Work.
The third stated response which the truths in these
passages should evoke, Purpose to live for Christ and be a channel of His
Grace, is motivated by the reality of such amazing grace.
That progression—from heart,
to identity, to mission—is
deeply rooted in the passages we now will be looking into…Ephesians 1
establishes our identity in God's eternal purpose, Romans 3–5 establishes our
standing in Christ’s righteousness, and Romans 8:31-39 expounds our security in
the love of God. From there, the believer is prepared to walk “before the
God of Heaven” with a heart that treasures Christ, a conscience at
peace because of justification, and a life devoted to His eternal purposes.
The theme of this whole series, Before the God of
Heaven, is not just to remind us of the fact that we navigate God’s
universe before Him, but we need to be reminded that all of God’s redemptive
plan, He orchestrated, as purposed before the foundation of the world. Before
the God of Heaven, we were known before Creation. (Ps 139, Eph 1) Before
the God of Heaven, we stood guilty and condemned. (Rom 3) Before
the God of Heaven, Christ satisfied divine justice through His atoning
death. (Rom 3-5) Before the God of Heaven, the verdict of
“justified” was pronounced over every believer. (Rom 5, 8) Before the God
of Heaven, no accusation can stand, and no condemnation remains.
(Romans 8) Before the God of Heaven, we now live, walk, serve,
and fulfil the mission He has entrusted to us until we stand in His immediate
presence. That progression – from known, to condemned, to redeemed, to
justified, to secure, to commissioned, is what this first five Gates are all
about.
As a believer, navigating God’s universe, every day before
the God of Heaven, we can live knowing we are not a fugitive hoping to
escape judgement, nor a defendant awaiting a verdict, but as an adopted child
whose case has already been decided by the highest court in the universe. The
Judge is now our Father. The Advocate is our Savior.
The Spirit is our seal (Eph 1:13-14). Our citizenship is in Heaven, our
inheritance is secure, and our mission on earth is clear.
EPHESIANS ONE
“…before the foundation of the world…”(v5)
“…in the beginning, God…” (Gen. 1:1)
“…Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever
thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting, thou art God.” (Psalm 90:2)
“…Before me there was no God formed, neither shall
there be after me.” (Isaiah 43:10)
“I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me
there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6)
“I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.”
(Isaiah 48:12)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God…” (John 1:1-3)
The God of Heaven, before the foundation of the world, purposed
what He would do. He purposed Creation,
Redemption, and His eternal Kingdom. His statement given to Isaiah,
reflects his stance for all eternity.
8Remember this, and
shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. 9Remember the former things of old: for I am God,
and there is none else; I am God, and there
is none like me, 10Declaring
the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the
things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand,
and I will do all my pleasure: 11Calling
a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth
my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it
to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. “Declaring the end
from the beginning…” (Isa. 46:10)
“…I have purposed it; I will also do it.” (Isa.
46:11c)
Before time began, the one true God, eternal, all-powerful
God, declared from before the foundation of the world, what he would do from
the beginning to the end. Who else could do that, except the one true God?
A parenthetical note here…there is a universal principle
here. Everything is created twice. The first creation, here, was in the mind
and heart of God almighty. Amazing love and grace emanating from the essence of
His being, created such a plan of redemption, that
forever would be beyond man’s capacity to fathom. The second creation of this
plan of redemption, was rolled out in time and space, and history, as His Son,
came to earth, took on a body of flesh, and went to the cross to shed His blood
as an atonement for the sins of mankind, died on an old
rugged cross, rose again the third day, later ascended into heaven, and
has promised that He will come again and take us home with Him. What the God of
Heaven purposed, He will do! You can take it to the bank. What He has
purposed to do, He will do!
The same God, whose heart was moved with love and grace,
before the foundation of the world, is whose presence we stand in right now. Before
the God of Heaven is an awesome place to be!
EPHESIANS
1:4-14 –
FIVE ASPECTS OF OUR REDEMPTION
Just to be forgiven, or pardoned, of all my sin, and then
destined for heaven, and not hell, would have been redemption enough, I have
heard people say. But our God, rich in love, grace, and mercy planned for us a
redemption that we will spend eternity trying to wrap our minds and hearts
around. This redemption is all sufficient, far reaching, infinitely extensive, so as to cover for my brokenness, my depravity, my
sinfulness.
When you and I ponder our sin, this first component of
redemption listed here in Ephesians one, is simply awesome.
Presented to God as Holy and
Blameless
“…that we would be holy and
blameless before Him.”
(Eph. 1:4)
God’s redemption has God presenting to
Himself those who have accepted Christ’s payment for their sin, as holy and
blameless before Himself, the Judge of the Universe. Christ bore our sin on the
cross. He took our guilt. Our sin was put to His account. His righteousness was
put to our account. The righteous Judge of the universe has declared us
justified (just as if we never sinned). Christ took our sin on himself and paid
the penalty for our sin. The Father, declared us
justified, because the Just One paid the price for the unjust.
Adoption as Sons
“…adoption as sons through Jesus
Christ…” (Eph1:5)
When Paul is
using the term adoption, the meaning of that word, in his time, within the context of Roman adoption, was a strong construct. The
adopted child received the family name, the family inheritance, the father’s
protection, authority, affection, and permanent legal standing. The old life
legally ended. A completely new identity began. Paul intentionally uses this
picture.
Through Christ,
God does not merely pardon rebels, He welcomes them into His family. We become
sons and daughters, heirs, family members, co-heirs with Christ! This is
astonishing grace. The Judge becomes our Father. We
now belong to the family of God!
Redemption Through His Blood —
Forgiveness of Sins
“…redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses…” (v7)
This is the heart of the gospel! The
word redemption means to purchase, to release, to set free by paying a ransom.
In Bible times slaves were redeemed. Captives were redeemed. Christ became our
redeemer! Christ paid the price for our redemption through His blood being shed
on the cross. “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of
sins” (Hebrews 9:22). The cross satisfied God’s justice while
displaying God’s love. Forgiveness literally carries the idea of sending away.
Our guilt is removed. Our debt is cancelled. Our sins are remembered against us
no more. (Heb. 10:17) Psalm 103 describes this. “As far as the east is
from the west…” With regard to forgiveness,
notice the phrase, “according to the riches of His grace.” God
does not forgive sparingly. He forgives lavishly. Grace
overflows!
Obtained an Inheritance
“…we have obtained an
inheritance…” (v 11)
Because of Christ, our inheritance
is not merely escape from judgment but entrance into the infinite riches of
God's eternal kingdom. We inherit eternal life (John 3:16), the kingdom
prepared for us (Matthew 25:34), God Himself as our everlasting portion (Psalm
73:26), the glory of Christ (Romans 8:17), a glorified resurrection body
(Philippians 3:20–21), a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1), the
privilege of reigning with Christ (Revelation 22:5), unbroken fellowship with
God (Revelation 21:3), perfect righteousness (1 John 3:2), and everlasting joy
in His presence (Psalm 16:11). This inheritance is "incorruptible,
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away" (1
Peter 1:4), kept securely by God Himself. Yet the wonder is even greater: while
believers inherit God, God also calls His redeemed people "His
inheritance" (Ephesians 1:18), His treasured possession in whom He
delights (Malachi 3:17)
Sealed with the Holy Spirit of
Promise
“…sealed in Him with the Holy
Spirit of promise.”
(v 13)
Believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Because He
lives in us, we are guaranteed the resurrection, the glorified body, the new
creation, eternal fellowship. The Holy Spirit is our Guarantor of our
redemption!
God is the great
Initiator of redemption. Before the foundation of the world, He
purposed to have a people who would stand before the God of Heaven
as those who have been made holy and
blameless, adopted
into His family, redeemed
through the blood of Christ, heirs of an eternal inheritance, and sealed by the Holy Spirit until the
day redemption is brought to its glorious completion. These truths lift the
believer's eyes from the immediate struggles of life to the vast sweep of God's
eternal purpose, giving profound assurance that the God who planned redemption
before creation will also faithfully bring it to its consummation.
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN –
ROMANS 3:21 THROUGH CHAPTER 5
As we further walk through this Gate Four God of
Grace – Redemption, I want to help you see where we are going with
this…
1)
Genesis 3 – How mankind fell.
2)
Romans 1 – 3:20 – How deeply mankind is broken.
3)
Ephesians 1 – God’s eternal plan of redemption before the
foundation of the world.
4)
Romans 3:21 – 5:21- How God justifies sinners through Christ
alone by faith alone.
5)
Romans 8:31-39 – The unshakable security of those whom
God has justified.
We live every moment before the God of Heaven
who “fashioneth their hearts alike” (Psalm
33:15) and who searches and knows us completely. (Psalm 139) Romans 3-5 brings every one of us into His divine
presence, not merely as creatures observed by God, but as sinners summoned
before His holy tribunal. No one can hide. No excuse survives.
Every mouth is stopped. Yet, before the very God who
knows us perfectly, the gospel announces astonishing grace. The Judge who sees
every sin is the Judge who provided the Substitute. The One who fashioned our
hearts also redeems broken hearts. The One before whom we stood condemned now
declares, because of Christ alone: “Righteous.” This declaration is not based on what we
have done, nor on what we will do. It rests entirely upon the finished work of
Jesus Christ. Therefore, the believer can live before the God of Heaven
not in terror of condemnation, but in reverent awe, grateful worship, joyful
obedience, and confident assurance.
Imagine this…The holy God who had every right to condemn
us took the initiative to redeem us through the sacrifice of His own Son.
Jesus Christ became our Savior! Every sin was charged to
His account, and He paid it in full upon the cross. Our greatest debt became
Christ’s greatest burden.
The believer stands before the God of Heaven
clothed, not in personal merit, but in the flawless righteousness of Jesus
Christ. Christ’s perfect righteousness became our greatest treasure!
JUSTIFICATION –
THROUGH CHRIST ALONE
BY FAITH ALONE
ROMANS 3:21-5:21
GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH ALONE
Romans 1-3:20 has all of mankind standing in the courtroom
of heaven, before the God of Heaven, broken. The evidence was
presented. Every witness has testified. The Law has spoken. Conscience has
spoken. Creation has spoken. History has spoken. God Himself has spoken. The
verdict is unmistakable. “There is none righteous, no not one.” (Romans
3:10) “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God.” (Romans 3:23) Every mouth is stopped. Every person stands guilty
before the holy Judge.
“But now…” (Romans 3:21) God reveals the
only answer! Not man’s righteousness, but God’s righteousness! Not earned, but
received, not by works, but by faith! “But now
the righteousness of God without the law is manifested…” (3:21) This
righteousness is revealed by God, provided by God, received through faith,
accomplished by Christ. It is something God gives.
21But now the righteousness of God without
the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no
difference: 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God; 24Being justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to
be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance
of God; 26To declare, I
say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier
of him which believeth in Jesus.
Propitiation means that Christ completely satisfied God’s
righteous wrath against sin. God did not simply overlook sin. He judged it
fully. God’s justice was placed on Christ at Calvary. Very important for us to
note that believers never face God’s judicial wrath again. Justice has been
satisfied!
THE EXAMPLE OF ABRAHAM
As we move to chapter four of Romans, there are several
points I want us to note, very important points! First, Paul wants us to see
that justification comes through Christ alone by faith alone. He speaks of
Abraham… “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for
righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)
HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS TO MY ACCOUNT
MY SIN TO HIS ACCOUNT
There is a very important point I want to emphasize
because too many believers struggle with the judicial aspects of justification.
There is an accounting term that is used eleven times in chapter four. Paul
uses the Greek word logizomai,
an accounting and bookkeeping term repeatedly. It means to credit, reckon, to
count, to place to one’s account, to impute. There is a legal transaction that
takes place in justification.
Here are the eleven times the word is used in chapter
four… (counted 4:3, reckoned 4:4, counted 4:5, imputed 4:6, impute 4:8,
reckoned 4:9, reckoned 4:10, imputed 4:11, imputed 4:22, imputed 4:23, and
imputed 4:24)
Two accounts stand before God…Our account…filled
with sin, guilt, rebellion, selfishness, pride, lies, failures…Christ’s
account…filled with His perfect righteousness, perfect obedience, perfect
holiness, and perfect love.
When we accepted Christ as our Savior, two transactions happened.
Our sin was taken from our account and credited to Christ’s account. Christ’s
righteousness is credited to our account. Paul summarizes this magnificent
exchange: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
BLESSINGS OF JUSTIFICATION
In Chapter five, Paul moves from explaining justification
to celebrating its results. The justified believer now has blessings that could
never have been earned, and never can be lost because
they rest on Christ’s finished work at Calvary.
PEACE WITH GOD
We have Peace with God. “Therefore, being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” (Romans 5:1)
PERMANENT ACCESS
We have access to God. “By whom also we have access by faith into this
grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the
glory of God.
HOPE
“…and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. In verse five
we have hope of the glory of God.
PURPOSE IN SUFFERING
Tribulation produces patience, proven character, and
hope.
“3And not only so,
but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5And hope maketh not ashamed;
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is
given unto us.” (Romans 5:3-5)
CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY
"Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans
5:6)
GOD’S LOVE DEMONSTRATED
“God commendeth
his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8)
SAVED FROM WRATH
“Being now justified by his blood, we shall be
saved from wrath through him.” (Romans 5:9)
RECONCILED TO GOD
“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to
God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by
his life.” (Romans 5:10)
Standing before the God of Heaven, the
believer no longer stands as a condemned criminal attempting to earn
acceptance. Because of Christ, he stands as one whom the Judge has already
declared righteous. The courtroom is no longer a place of dread but of settled
peace, because the verdict has already been announced: "justified by
faith." The God who fashioned our hearts (Psalm 33:13–15) and knows us
completely (Psalm 139) also provided, through His Son, the only righteous basis
upon which He could forgive us while remaining perfectly just (Romans 3:26).
Our sins were judicially charged to Christ, and His righteousness was
judicially credited to us. That legal standing then becomes the foundation for
the transformed life that follows in Romans 6–8—a life of walking with God,
growing in holiness, and fulfilling His purposes. Justification is not merely the entrance gate
into salvation; it is the secure foundation upon which every other gate rests.
The one who is declared righteous is then empowered, by grace, to live before
the God of Heaven with confidence, gratitude, integrity, and joyful
obedience.
BEFORE THE GOD
OF HEAVEN
GOD’S LOVE UNCONQUERABLE
ROMANS 8:31-39
CONTEXT
This is one of my favorite
passages in all of Scripture! The apostle Paul, moved by the Holy Spirit, is bringing to a conclusion his thorough, stunning, thoughtful
exposition of sin, salvation, and sanctification.
It becomes clear that he is taken
in heart as he is before the God of Heaven, in awe at the amazing
grace and unconditional, unconquerable love of our God, ready to put pen to
paper to proclaim, to mankind for all time, the message of love which the
Triune God of Heaven will now proclaim to His forever children…
31What shall we then say to these things? If
God be for us, who can be against us?
32He that spared not his own Son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us
all things?
33Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.
35Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36As it is written, for thy sake we
are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38For I am persuaded, that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come,
39Nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
IF GOD BE FOR US…
“What shall we
then say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us?”
Romans 8:31
I am bringing to mind the passage in Isaiah 46 where the God of
heaven declares…
8Remember this, and
shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. 9Remember the former things of old: for I am God,
and there is none else; I am God, and there
is none like me, 10Declaring
the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the
things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand,
and I will do all my pleasure: 11Calling
a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth
my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it
to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
At this point you really have heard all you need to hear!
If God is for you, who can be against you? But He is not done! He wants us to
get this point! So, Paul, with delight, I can imagine, throws out another
overwhelming question.
HE THAT SPARED NOT HIS OWN SON
“He that spared
not his own Son,
but delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things?”
If God the Father was willing to give His only begotten
Son, to leave Heaven’s glory, to willingly give Him, knowing the horrible price
having to be paid, and exposing His Son to such agony, and, knowing that for a
time, He, God the Father, forever having been one with the Son, and Spirit,
would for a brief time turn His face from the Son, because of the weight of the
world’s sin on His Son, … if He would do that, there is nothing left in heaven,
that He would not give, to purchase our redemption! What amazing love is that!
Can we wrap our minds and hearts around that kind of love?
After those two incomprehensible questions, Paul will, before
the God of Heaven, take us to three scenes in the heavens. First, he
takes us to a scene in the Supreme Court of Heaven.
HEAVEN’S COURTROOM – CASE ONE
“Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect?
It is God that justifieth.”
Revelation 12:10 indicates that Satan has access to the court
of Heaven and day and night comes there and puts before God charges against us,
the Christians of the world. On one such day, he comes and files his charge
against me. The Father, chief justice of the supreme court of Heaven takes out
my file and says something like this…Satan, David, asked Jesus to save him when
he was five years old. On that day, I made a legal declaration, Justified, in
his record. His sin was taken and put to Christ’s account, and Christ’s
righteousness was imputed to David’s account. He has been justified. Your
charge will not stand! Get out of here.
HEAVEN’S COURTROOM – CASE TWO
Who is he that condemneth?
It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us.
On another day, Satan was back, and saying, “David should
be condemned, because he messed up.” Notice what Paul put in the
scriptures…four things about Christ…He died, He is risen, He is even at the
right hand of the Father, and He makes intercession for us. So, on this day,
Christ gets up from His place at the Father’s right hand, comes around to the
front of the judgement bar and addresses the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
of Heaven. He says, “Father, I died on that old rugged
cross, and shed my blood to pay the price of David’s
sin, and I rose from the grave on the third day, and now am ascended to sit at
your right hand and I serve as David’s intercessor (his lawyer). I took David’s
condemnation on the cross. There is therefore, no more
condemnation for David. The Father turns to Satan and says, case dismissed!
Christ took David’s condemnation on the cross.
God wants us to know that our standing with Him is
settled in the Court of Heaven. Give that a lot of thought. There is no higher
court in the universe to which Satan can appeal. Satan cannot exercise enough
power to overthrow God’s final decision. We are forever justified!
SCENE CHANGE –
THIS CRAZY, SIN CURSED WORLD
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written,
For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things
we are more than conquerors
through him that loved us.
It’s an evil world we live in and there seems to be no
limit to what evil imaginations can come up with to do to their fellow earth
dwellers. Christians do not live in a bubble of protection from the evils
around them. Besides the acts of evil, we are appointed once to die. We are
exposed to illness. We have bodies that are temporal. And everywhere you look
you see these things playing out all around us.
But, in all these things, we are more than conquerors
through Christ who loves us. Nothing can separate us from Him. Paul says
elsewhere, “to be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord.”
SCENE CHANGE –
THE UNIVERSE
“For I am persuaded,that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In the court of Heaven our standing with God is settled.
Nothing that can happen in this crazy, upside down, world that will be able to
separate us from the love of God. We are more than conquerors through Christ!
Now, Paul is in essence saying to us, in case you are
still concerned, there is nothing in all of the
creation that can separate you from the love of God!
GOD OF GRACE –
REDEMPTION
EPHESIANS ONE, ROMANS 3-5, ROMANS 8:31-39
PERSPECTIVE
As we have focused on these three core passages
(Ephesians 1, Romans 3-5, and Romans 8:31-39). it is clear what God would want
our responses to be, given what He has done for us.
When we understand that our redemption through Christ has
rescued us from spending an eternity in hell, and, that through the redemption He
has provided, we will spend eternity in Heaven with Him, our response should be
overwhelming gratitude, and treasuring Christ above all
else, and worshiping Him.
When we understand that salvation gives us a whole new
identity, and that we have been translated from the kingdom of darkness to the
kingdom of light (“… hath delivered us
from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom
of his dear Son:” (Col. 1:12-13), that
we have a whole new DNA (For as in Adam all die, even so
in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor.
15:22), that we have a new family, that we are adopted into
God’s forever family (Eph 1:5), our response should be to Rest securely
in God’s Redemptive Work.
When I Survey the Wondrous cross, on which the Prince of
Glory died… my heart’s response should be, Purpose to live for Christ and
be a channel of His Grace!
WHAT DOES GOD DESIRE OF ME
Can we speak the
truth here?
Can we take an honest look?
Can we see what purposes we have embraced in our daily lives?
Do we Love Jesus most of all?
Do we worship Him with all our heart?
Are we resting in His Redemptive Work?
Are we being a channel of grace to the people around us?
Love Jesus most
of all and Worship Him
Rest
securely in God’s Redemptive Work
Purpose to live for Christ and be a channel of His Grace
What does God
desire? Where do we stand right now?
What will we purpose to do to move in the right
direction?
PLEASE
STOP! WAIT A MOMENT!
BEFORE YOU ENTER THIS GATE
A FEW THOUGHTS TO KEEP IN MIND
YOU ARE BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
YOU HAVE NOT ONLY BEEN REDEEMED
YOU HAVE BEEN COMMISSIONED
“As my Father hath sent
me, even so send I you.”
(John 20:21)
We have traveled from brokenness to redemption. What
amazing grace! It seems we will never be able to wrap our minds around all that
God’s redemption has provided for us: Forgiven. Justified. Adopted. Secure. Going
to Heaven. All of these are gloriously true! But our Redeemer did not leave His
redeemed people here merely to wait for Heaven.
We
have an assignment!
We
have been sent!
We
have been commissioned!
In
this Gate we will listen carefully to Jesus.
In
John 17 He tells His Father, “As thou hast sent me into the world, even
so have I also sent them into the world.”
In
John 20 the risen Christ tells His disciples, “As my Father hath sent me,
even so send I you.”
And in Matthew 28, the One who possesses all authority in
Heaven and earth commissions His followers to go and make disciples.
We will consider what it means to be Christ’s witnesses,
His light in this world, and His ambassadors.
We will also begin to think carefully about three words
that will become very important as we move forward:
IN
MY PLACE.
Your home is not merely where you live. Your workplace is
not merely where you earn a living. Your neighborhood is not merely where your
house happens to stand. Your relationships are not merely social connections. God,
in His providence, has placed us among people.
So,
the commissioned believer begins asking:
Why
has God placed me here?
Whom
has He placed around me?
How
can Christ be seen through my life?
To
whom might I make Him known?
Redemption
gives us a new identity.
Commission
gives that redeemed life an assignment.
Let’s
begin!
Gate Five
As One – Commissioned by God
What God Desires
My Creator, my
Redeemer, has Commissioned Me
Commissioned
to Make Disciples
I am a Representative, an Ambassador sent by Christ
Three
Universal Principles
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
######
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked”. Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what
you get.”
#####
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
COMMISSIONED
– JOHN 17:18
“As
thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the
world.” (John 17:18, KJV)
The context of these words is profound. Christ has just
spoken to His disciples in what is referred to as His Upper Room discourse in
chapters 13-16. Jesus knows the cross is immediately before Him. He was
preparing His disciples for His crucifixion, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Then in chapter 17 is Christ’s
Prayer to the Father. He prays concerning Himself (1-5). He prays for His
immediate disciples (6-19). And, He prays for those
who will be saved through His immediate disciples’ testimony (20-26).
He makes some important statements regarding the
believer’s relationship to the world that they live in…
“out of the world.” (v-6)
“these are in the world” (v-11)
“they are not of the world.” (v-14)
“sent them into the world.” (v-18)
So, before He goes to the cross, He is praying to the
Father, for believers, and lays out our role, our purpose… “out of the
world…in the world…not of the world…sent them into the world.”
This means our continued presence in this world after
salvation is not merely an interval while we wait for heaven. We have an
assignment! We have been sent! We have been commissioned!
Christ saves us out of the world’s system, but He
deliberately leaves us here as Ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20).
Christ
accomplishes reconciliation
Jesus lived, “Before
the God of Heaven.” He was here on a mission from the Father.
I have been sent.
I have been given a mission.
I am here to accomplish My Father's will.
The Father → sent the Son.
“As
thou hast sent me…even so have I also sent them.”
He sought the lost
He spoke truth
He showed compassion
He confronted sin
He crossed social barriers
He taught patiently
He invested deeply in a small group of disciples
He served
He sacrificed
He obeyed His Father's will
And He could finally pray
“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have
finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” (John
17:4)
We proclaim the
message of reconciliation
“As
thou hast sent me…even so have I also sent them.”
The Son → sends His believers.
His believers → carry His Gospel into the world.
“Ye are the light of the world.”
(Matthew 5:14)
Think
differently about being “in my place” in the world
I am not merely here
I have been sent here
ordinary places have
extraordinary spiritual significance
My home is not merely where I live
My neighborhood is not merely where my house
happens to stand
My workplace is not merely where I earn money
My relationships are not merely social connections
My church is not merely where I attend services
These are spheres of providence
in which a commissioned believer lives
Before the God of Heaven.
Whom has God placed around me?
Who needs encouragement?
Who needs truth?
Who needs the Gospel?
Who needs discipleship?
Who needs to see Christ demonstrated
in the life of one of His followers?
COMMISSIONED – JOHN 20:19-21
“Then the same day at evening, being the first day of
the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear
of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be
unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them
his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad,
when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as
my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
The first passage had as its setting, Christ praying to His
Father, after seeking to prepare His disciples for the crucifixion that would
be happening within hours. This passage dealing with commissioning comes after
Christ has been crucified, and the disciples are assembled, out of fear, in a
room where the doors were shut and locked. It’s resurrection day! Jesus comes
and stands in their midst and says, “Peace be unto you.” He shows
them His hands and His side. They have the evidence! Jesus is risen! Jesus
proclaims, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send
I you.” Put off the fear, the greatest news ever is here! He was crucified;
He is risen! We have the evidence! Christ is with us! This news has to get out!
“As
my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
The
resurrection changed everything!
COMMISSIONED – MATTHEW
18:18-20
“And Jesus came and spake
unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18–20)
The context makes these words extraordinary. Jesus had been
crucified, buried, and now raised bodily from the dead. The disciples who
watched their hopes seemingly collapse now stand before the victorious Christ.
In the first chapter of Matthew, we are told of Jesus, “Emmanuel…God
with us” (Matthew 1:23). And now in the last verse, “I am with
you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
(Matthew 28:20). Yes, what an awesome reality, for the disciples
who were there and saw him crucified, buried, and risen, to hear Him assure
them… “I am with you alway, even unto the end
of the world.” For us, we walk Before the God of Heaven!
When
we look closely at the words of Jesus as he gave this command, which is
referred to as the “Great Commission,” it is interesting to see how Jesus began
his statement. He did not begin with what Christians must do, but rather, who
He is, and the authority given to Him as the risen Savior, and Redeemer. “All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” The Greek work exousia carries the idea of authority, right,
jurisdiction, or sovereign rule.
Notice
the comprehensiveness: All authority. Heaven and earth. There is no
territory outside Christ's rightful rule.
So,
there is no need for someone to ask if Jesus has the right, or jurisdiction, or
authority, to commission those he has redeemed. He has all authority in Heaven
and earth.
In
effect: Because I am Lord, go. Because I possess all authority, make disciples. Because the nations belong under My
sovereign rule, carry My Gospel to them.
IN
MY PLACE – COMMISSIONED
The church (believers worldwide) is not merely an
institution; it is Christ’s visible witness on earth. Part of what we are
commissioned to do is, 1) carrying truth into darkness, 2) carrying grace into
brokenness, 3) carrying hope into despair, and, 4)
carrying reconciliation into alienation.
“Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord…” (Isa. 43:10)
A
witness testifies about what they know to be true. The
believer witnesses…with words, conduct, priorities, worship, with endurance,
love, and with holiness.
Jesus
said, “Ye are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14)
“Let
your light so shine before men…” (Matthew 5:16)
As a commissioned believer, we are to bear witness in the
workplace, with family, in suffering, with integrity, in our speech, in
forgiveness, with compassion, in faithfulness. We need to make much of Jesus in
all of our everyday life.
We
are ambassadors for Christ!
“Now
then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us…” (2
Corinthians 5:20)
This is one of the highest descriptions of the believer’s
calling. As an ambassador we 1) represent another kingdom, 2) we speak on
behalf of our King, 3) we carry delegated authority, and,
4) we live in a foreign land while belonging elsewhere.
As a commissioned ambassador, we are involved in
evangelism, teaching, encouragement, spiritual growth and development, and
strengthening other believers. As Christ labored in humility, love, truth,
holiness, sacrifice, compassion, and obedience, as He sought to seek and save
the lost, so should we in the same spirit and power.
“In my place…” is a designation that I want
people to understand and embrace. Satan knew what his place was, but he did not
want to stay in his place. He desired to be in God’s place. How did that work
out for him and all the rest of us. Adam and Eve had a place that was theirs,
but they were deceived to believe God was holding out on them. So, they desired
to go outside God’s boundaries, and reject his plan
for them. Every creature, and every human being, has a place for which they
have been designed. All of us should understand “in my place” is
the place I need to occupy. There are so many ways in our world where people,
in defiance against God’s blueprint decide to lay aside God’s place for them, and decide to do their own blueprint. We all can list
areas of our world where humanity is trying to do this, and we see how that is
working out for them.
All of us have differing spheres in which we have been sent
as commissioned believers. We have family, interpersonal relationships
(believers and unbelievers), church family, and close Christian
friends, relationships in the marketplace, some hold leadership positions at
home, at church, in the marketplace, in the community and entities within the
community. Our spheres of influence vary greatly, but each of us should
understand “in my place” and the opportunities that are there to
be an ambassador for Christ. We should wake up each day understanding that I
belong to Christ. I am an ambassador for Christ. I have been sent by Christ,
and my life should affect people for all eternity.
“For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
INTEGRITY
REALITY AWARENESS
SEVEN INESCAPABLE REALITIES-
OF GOD’S UNIVERSE
COMMISSION INTENTIONALITY
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
Integrity, remember we
said, is first of all, speaking the truth. And, integrity is being willing and to take an open and
honest look at what is in front of us. Integrity is then purposing to do the
right thing with what I see in front of me. And,
integrity is then doing the right thing that I have purposed to do.
But, let’s be honest at
this point. Because of our spiritual dullness, and the characteristics of our
brokenness, as described in the four statements in Romans one, we don’t even
realize that our reality awareness is hindered. So, it is hard
for us to even tune in to the seven inescapable realities in front of us. To
that extent, then, our hearts are dulled to the ramifications of all that is
happening with mankind because of the seven inescapable realities,
and we are not moved with regard to our commission toward how people in our
lives are being impacted tremendously by the seven inescapable realities.
I believe that if driven by integrity,
we pursued an honest and open look, working around our
brokenness, the curtains of our reality awareness
could be opened and if we really saw these seven inescapable realities in
action, it would change our commission intentionality
and action.
The
central idea could be stated this way:
We often neglect Christ’s commission because we do
not live daily, and moment by moment, with reality awareness of the world as
God says it actually is.
If the curtains were pulled back, and if,
God and
Satan
Good and evil
Truth and falsehood (right and wrong)
Universal Laws and Principles (established by God)
Personal Responsibility
Choice and Consequence
Life and Death, Heaven and Hell
were as vivid to us spiritually as the material world is
physically—our priorities would change.
That connects directly with Romans 1. Fallen humanity
suppresses truth, fails to honor God, exchanges truth for falsehood, and gives
created things the place belonging to the Creator. Even redeemed people, while
no longer in that condemned state, can still live with a tragically diminished
consciousness of eternal reality. And when eternal realities fade,
commission intentionality and action fades as well.
Why should Christ’s commission produce intentional
action in the life of a believer? When we truly see reality as God says
it is, passivity becomes increasingly difficult to justify.
Commission intentionality and action grow out of reality awareness. The
problem is that we do not train our focus to continuously see the seven
inescapable realities that make the commission urgent. Instead, we have a tendency to have more of our focus on temporal
realities, temporal treasures.
God and
Satan
At the third Gate, Brokenness on Display, pages 49-54 we
laid out these seven inescapable realities and gave biblical references and
quotes to back us these realities. In this section our focus is on helping us
all to see the connection between reality awareness and commission
intentionality and action.
In Romans 1:18-21 there is a truth that is often not seen
clearly, which demonstrates just how broken we really are.
18For the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth
in unrighteousness; 19Because that which may be known of God is
manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20For
the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power
and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21Because that, when
they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful;
but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
There are several important truths in this passage…
1) The most obvious truth in the universe is the existence
of God! 2) Where there is intelligent design there is an intelligent Designer.
3) No matter which direction you look into this
universe, the evidence is written where you can’t miss it…intelligent
design…intelligent Designer…
So, mankind is without excuse…God is… 4) Man-kind,
broken, spiritually dull, actively resistant to truth, defiantly not thankful
to God, and will not honor God as God, will exchange the truth of God for a lie
(evolution), and will embrace a world view that allows him to worship and serve
self. (20-21)
There is a God! The universe is evidence! That’s called
general revelation. Then there is special revelation. God the Son, Jesus
Christ, said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to
the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) And I like His
statement after he had been crucified and had risen again, he approached his
disciples and said, as they worshipped Him, “All authority has been given to Me
in Heaven and Earth. Go therefore, and make
disciples…” (Matthew 28:18-19) Also, as special revelation, not only the living
Word (Jesus), but also the written Word. Jesus said, “17Think not that I
am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to
fulfil. 18For verily I say
unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise
pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matthew
5:17-18)
Go
back to Gate Three and read of Lucifer, and his fall and how he became Satan.
Yes, there is a God and there is Satan.
Commissioned saints, stir intentionality, and action!
Either the people you talk to today are listening to the voice of God, or, the voice of Satan. Whose truth claims will they heed?
Jesus said that those who are on the side of truth, listen to His voice. (John
18:37) and He said in (John 12:48) “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth
him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” It matters for
all eternity whether those around you accept or reject Jesus and the Word?
Jesus said, “What shall it profit a man if he shall
gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36) What does that
statement say about the value Jesus places on the souls of the people around
you?
Do you and I, as demonstrated by our actions, show that we
have ascribed that value to the souls of those around us?
Good and
evil
Earlier this year, Franklin Graham was quoted as saying,
“It seems as though all the demons of Hell have been loosed into the American
culture.” Even what we used to think of as moderate democrats now are
embarrassed and reject how far the radical democrat socialists have taken
social issues. I will leave it there. When people abandon truth, there are no
other lines. There is no end to where they are capable of
going in their depravity. We have been sent, commissioned to be light in
the darkness. Something is profoundly wrong with mankind, and only God
can make it right.
Truth and
falsehood (right and wrong)
God, in the beginning gave us His blueprint, His plan,
His truth claims. Lucifer challenged God’s truth claims and gave his own
claims. How did that work out for him, and how did that work out for Adam and
Eve? And, how has that worked out for the human race?
Just a couple statements from Jesus…
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no man
cometh unto the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)
Jesus said, “17Think not that I am come
to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18For verily I say unto you, till heaven
and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till
all be fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:17-18)
Jesus described Satan as "a murderer from the
beginning...and the father of it [lies]." (John
8:44)
Truth and falsehood really do matter eternally. Silence
on our part has eternal consequences. I cannot force anyone to believe. But I
can speak, explain, testify, answer questions, and I can point someone to
Christ. Because truth matters, I must speak the truth.
Universal
Laws and Principles (established by God)
God, in his grace and goodness to us, has given to us in
His Word, enlightenment as to the reality that, in the same way He has
established universal laws that govern the universe, he has established
universal principles that govern in the human realm. I love to see and share
these awesome principles. There are three that undergird
the foundation of this growth and development initiative.
Three
Universal Principles
These three universal principles fit hand in glove
with regard to how they give purpose, clarity, and
resolve toward pursuing godliness.
“…A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.”
(Eccl.
4:12)
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
At Gate One, Heart, Life, Legacy, it is clear that our focus there is on the command-and-control
center of a human beings’ Heart Life. Proverbs 4:23
says, “Keep your Heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of
life.”
So, we have to start with the heart. When you see, as
explained in that first section, what we treasure most determines where our
heart is focused. The principle is this… “Whoever, or whatever has our heart,
is whose ways we will observe.” God wants our hearts. He tells us that parents
should have the kids’ hearts and turn them to God. We better know how our heart
is won over to someone or something. That is discussed in the first section as
well. The history of Israel in the Old Testament was this principle lived out
in living color. They went in and dwelt within the pagan cultures, and their
hearts were won over to the pagan gods. In Jeremiah 35 God honors a family that
for at least 250 years demonstrated loyalty in heart to their family leaders.
The dynamics consistent with the principle were present in how they operated.
######
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked”. Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what
you get.”
A man’s life will be lived in light of the
treasure he is seeking. If you look at Samson’s life, three temporal treasures
that he had embraced and pursued were power, pleasure, and passion. So, what we
treasure in heart, is on display to those around us by our example. What do we
honor, dignify, emphasize, pay attention to, and reward, simply by how we live
our lives. Example is important. What we emphasize in
our speaking, teaching, training, sharing, will be consistent with the values
of our hearts, and the way we are living our life. Our example, and emphasis, will
have a lot of influence on those around us.
#####
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
This has to be one of my
favorite statements that God makes in all of scripture. God tells his people…
8Remember this, and
shew yourselves men: bring it
again to mind, O ye transgressors. 9Remember the former
things of old: for I am God, and there is none
else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10Declaring
the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the
things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand,
and I will do all my pleasure: 11Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a
far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I
have purposed it, I will also do it.
Yes, the immediate context is that God’s people are about
to be judged by God for their sin. He will use a heathen nation to accomplish
that task. He makes it clear that these false gods are not God. He alone is
God. There is none else like Him. He says, “I
have purposed it, I will also do it.”
My thoughts go to before the foundation of the
world…before creation…as God in His heart and mind, with grace and love we
cannot comprehend, he purposes His amazing redemptive plan, which later was laid
out in Ephesians one. Also, God purposes creation, and history. So, when those
three components are complete in detail, in thought, and blueprint, He could
say, “I have purposed it… then at the time God decrees He says,
“I have purposed it, I will also do it.” The God of Heaven spoke and created a
universe! History begins! Redemption’s plan is put in motion. And it will be as
He has purposed it. The last chapter of Revelation was already part of His plan
before the book of Revelation was written. Only God could do these things… “Declaring the end from the
beginning.”
Besides the significance of what we have just laid out, this
statement is also about purposing and then acting with integrity.
“I have purposed it; I will also do it.” I can rest my
soul, my everything, on this. God said what He would do. And then he assures us
that He will do what He has purposed. You can take it to the bank.
Now, stay with me…one more rich truth in this statement! Here
is a universal principle…everything is created twice. God, in mind and heart,
had the blueprints perfect for creation, redemption, and history. That was the
first creation. Then, God, by the power of His Word, spoke, and He is doing it,
and will accomplish it!!
In this world, if you are going to build a house, your
first creation is to in detail, draw a blueprint. When
you are going to plant a garden, you know before you sow the seed, how you will
lay it all out by rows. Almost all the products and services brought to the
marketplace were first of all planned in great detail, a business plan, and then it is rolled out.
Our IPhones, were first planned in detail, put to a
blueprint, (first creation) then taken to the factory (second creation).
And very importantly, we can purpose in our heart (first
creation) determine that God will have our heart, we can purpose that our
example and emphasis will be to honor Jesus, and we can purpose it to be how we
will live our lives, and, purposing that will be our legacy! All three
universal principles are active in purposing in our heart these things…
Gate One…Heart, Life, Legacy.
Universal laws and principles…these are such
important, inescapable realities. Actions have consequences. Seeds
produce harvests. What is cultivated grows. What is neglected deteriorates.
“Whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)
Personal
Responsibility
9Wherefore
we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of
him. 10For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the
things done in his body, according to that he hath done,
whether it be good or bad.11Knowing therefore the
terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and
I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. 12For
we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our
behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in
appearance, and not in heart. 13For whether we be
beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it
is for your cause.14For the love of
Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge,
that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15And that he
died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves,
but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Choice and
Consequence
“Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua
24:15)
Because choices have consequences,
And because I have been commissioned by Christ,
I have purposed to live as His Ambassador.
By His grace, I will do it.
Our Stance
8We are troubled on every side, yet not
distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast
down, but not destroyed;
Dying to
Self-Living at a different level
10Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord
Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.11For
we which live are alway delivered unto death for
Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal
flesh. 12So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
Confident in
the Resurrection-Emboldened in Mission
13We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is
written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe,
and therefore speak; 14Knowing that he which raised up the
Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with
you.
My
focus-Glorify God-Help others
15For all things are for your sakes, that the
abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of
God.
Don’t lose
heart-be renewed daily
16For which cause we faint not;
but though our outward man perish, yet the
inward man is renewed day by day.
Take the long
view
17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,
worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
Heavenly Mindedness
18While 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.
Life and
Death, Heaven and Hell
I want to bring this section about integrity,
reality awareness, seven inescapable realities-of God’s universe, and, commission intentionality, before the God of Heaven, to
a conclusion by giving you a situation I was confronted with in the summer of 1995.
We had lived in the Indianapolis
area for about 18 years. We were going to be moving to the Kansas City area in
about a week. This was in July of 1995.
A friend of mine, Billy Lester, a businessman, came to
me, and this is the situation he presented to me. He said, David, I have a
friend named David that I have known a long time. I
have witnessed to him for a long time. He knows the
gospel as well as you and I do. It’s not that he disputes any of the details of
the gospel. He is a party man. He loves every aspect of night
life, loose living. That is why David does not want to get saved. He is
afraid God will take his party life away.
“Well, this is why I am coming to you, David. David has really bad health. He has a really bad
heart. It’s so bad they won’t attempt by-pass surgery.
He just found out that he has serious cancer, probably terminal cancer. He has
one foot in the grave. Will you talk with him?”
So, Billy arranged for us to meet at the local Sam’s club
snack area at lunch time. Billy was the last of the
big spenders. He was willing to treat us to a Sam’s club hotdog, while sitting
at a wire patio table, with the pole and umbrella.
It was just a day or so after he had come to me that we
met David at Sam’s club. We ate our hotdogs and
chit-chatted for a few minutes. Then I looked at David and I began to address
him directly, and kindly. “David, let me make sure that I understand your
situation correctly. Billy tells me you guys have been friends for a long time.
He also tells me that he has been telling you about him getting saved, and
telling you all about Jesus, and Him dying on the cross to save you. He says
you know the gospel as well as we do. He says you don’t misunderstand, or
disagree, with any of the details of the gospel. He also told me you have a bad
heart and that recently you found out you have serious cancer. He says you have
one foot in the grave. But, with all of that, you won’t accept Christ as
Savior, because you are afraid you will have to give up your party life. Is all of that true, David?” “Well, yes, it is.” he said.
So, I took out my Bible and asked him if I could share a
story that Jesus shared. I took him to Luke 16:19-31.
19There was a
certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared
sumptuously every day:
20And there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21And desiring
to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22And
it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was
buried; 23And in hell he lift up his eyes,
being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and
Lazarus in his bosom. 24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have
mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water,
and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25But Abraham
said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst
thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and
thou art tormented. 26And beside all this, between us and you there
is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot;
neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27Then
he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28For I
have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into
this place of torment. 29Abraham saith unto him, They
have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30And he said, Nay,
father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the
dead, they will repent. 31And he said unto
him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
“David, here is what you need to hear from this man’s
predicament is this, he found himself in Hell, tormented in the flames so much
that he asked Abraham if Lazarus could dip the tip of his finger in water and
touch it to his tongue, … just a drop, one drop of water… David, he would have
been willing to give up all the riches he enjoyed in this life, for just one
more chance to accept Christ as Savior. David, let me see if I understand
something. Billy tells me that you are not willing to give up your party life
to accept Christ as your Savior. So, let me put it to you this way. You don’t
know how much more party life you have left. Billy tells me you have one foot
in the grave. So, here is what you have to think about. Let’s say you have six
months to party. David, just five minutes in hell being tormented in the
flames, you’ll wish you could trade that party life for just one, just one drop
of water to cool your tongue. Or, are you willing to
party for the six more months, reject Christ, and spend an eternity in Hell?”
I will never forget what happened next…David pushes his
chair back from the table and crossed his arms on his chest, and sat there for
a moment, and looked at Billy, and then at me, and back at Billy. Then he said,
“That wouldn’t make sense would it. I need to be saved.” We were just a short
distance from Billy’s office, so we went there and he prayed and asked God to
forgive him of his sins and save him.
We moved to Kansas City area at the end of that week. A few
months later I had to go back on business to Indy. I went on a day that I knew
some of the guys would be having a bible study. I was late and sat in the back.
I recognized most of the men there. But I did notice that Billy was there, but
I didn’t see David. So, afterwards while visiting with the guys, I asked about
David. Billy looked at me realizing that I didn’t know. He said David had
passed away recently.
That happened in the fall of 1995. That was 31 years ago.
David has been with the Lord for 31 years, rather than constantly begging for
someone, anyone, to dip their finger in water and touch it to his tongue,
because he’s tormented in this flame…
WHAT DOES GOD DESIRE OF ME
Can we speak the
truth here?
Can we take an honest look?
Can we see what purposes we have embraced in our daily lives?
Do you embrace Jesus as your Creator, and Redeemer, and that He Commissioned
You?
Do you embrace being Commissioned to Make Disciples?
I am a Representative and Ambassador sent by Christ?
What
does God Desire of Me?
My Creator, my
Redeemer, has Commissioned Me
Commissioned
to Make Disciples
I am a Representative, and Ambassador sent by Christ
What does God desire? Where do we stand right now?
What will we purpose to do to move in the right
direction?
Three
Universal Principles
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
######
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked”. Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what
you get.”
#####
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
PLEASE
STOP! WAIT A MOMENT!
BEFORE YOU ENTER THIS GATE
A FEW THOUGHTS TO KEEP IN MIND
YOU ARE BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
A DECISION MUST BE MADE HERE
HIS PURPOSES OR MINE?
“…I have purposed it; I will also do it.”
(Isaiah 46:11c)
We
are Before the God of Heaven.
We
are brokenness on display.
Through
Christ we have been redeemed.
And
our Redeemer has commissioned us.
What
will I do with what I know?
It is possible to know great truths about God and still
organize much of life around ourselves. It is possible
to say Christ is my Savior and my Lord while giving most of my time to focusing
on schedules, ambitions, comforts, possessions, pleasures, fears, and personal
desires to determine the actual direction of our lives.
So,
integrity confronts us again.
God
sees what is really, really real.
And
the question becomes:
Am I embracing His purposes, or am I primarily pursuing my own?
Nehemiah
will again help us. When he learned what was happening in Jerusalem, he did not
merely feel badly about it. He sought God. He looked
honestly at reality. He prayed. He purposed. He acted. He persevered. He
embraced what God was doing as his own mission.
That
is integrity in motion.
Speak
the truth.
Take
an honest and open look at what is in front of you.
Purpose
to do the right thing.
Do the right thing you have purposed to do.
There is a life God desires. There are purposes God has
revealed. There is a commission Christ has given. And there is a heart capable
of being pulled toward a thousand competing treasures.
His
purposes or mine?
That
question cannot finally be answered merely by what I say.
My
life will answer it.
Let’s
begin!
Gate Six
Integrity - His
purposes or mine?
What God Desires
Purpose in your
heart that God will have your heart
By example/emphasis
I will Honor Him and His Word
Purpose in my heart to embrace His purposes as my own
Three
Universal Principles
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
######
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked”. Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what
you get.”
#####
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
A
Template
Before
the God of Heaven
As one…broken…
As one…redeemed…
As one…commissioned…
My Mission In
This Life
…walking with God…
…in my place…strengthening family…
…reaching out…as a channel of grace…
…to fellow believers…
…to unbelievers…
BEFORE
THE GOD OF HEAVEN
KEEP YOUR HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE
INTEGRITY – HIS PURPOSES OR MINE?
13The LORD looketh
from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 14From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 15He fashioneth
their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. (Psalm 33:13-15)
“Thou God seest me.” (Genesis 16:13)
Integrity is learning to agree
with what God already sees as really, really, real (truth).
“Keep thy
heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life.
(Proverbs 4:23)
Nehemiah clearly lived before the God of Heaven, embraced integrity, and embraced God’s purposes as
His own!
Will
you and I come to the “Integrity – His purposes or Mine?” gate, and 1) speak truth to
ourselves, 2) take an honest and open look at what is in front of us (desire to
see as He sees), and, 3) purpose to do the right thing (embrace His purposes as
our own)? 4) doing what we have purposed to do
(embracing and living out His purposes)?
REMEMBERING NEHEMIAH’S INTEGRITY
Let’s take a second look at a man in scripture who lived
daily with the constant awareness of God being active in the affairs of
mankind, and more specifically, in his own life.
1The words of Nehemiah the son of
Hachaliah. And it came
to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the
palace, 2That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he
and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that
had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3And
they said unto me, The remnant
that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great
affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down,
and the gates thereof are burned with fire. 4And it came to pass,
when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and
mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of
heaven, 5And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great
and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for
them that love him and observe his commandments: 6Let thine ear now
be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy
servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of
Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we
have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. 7We
have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor
the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst
thy servant Moses. 8Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye
transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: 9But if ye
turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you
cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather
them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set
my name there. 10Now these are thy servants and thy
people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. 11O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine
ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy
servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant
this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's
cupbearer.
Before the God of Heaven is where
Nehemiah’s heart is as he has an exchange with his brethren from Judah, …
“2I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left
of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3And they said
unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity
there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall
of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned
with fire.”
Nehemiah walked
with God, and he knew his God. When he heard this report, he sat down and wept,
and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of Heaven.
There were some truths about his God, that he spoke in this moment, to his God,
because they were applicable in the moment. 1) God
is transcendent and sovereign (1:5)
“…O LORD God of heaven…” God is above empires (Persia), He
is above kings (Artaxerxes). Artaxerxes looked powerful. But Nehemiah knew who
held the higher throne. 2) God is great and awesome,
“The great and awesome God” (1:5) Nehemiah’s God is not
small, He is majestic. God is Holy, Fearful in power, Worthy of reverence. 3)
God keeps covenant, “Who keeps covenant…” (1:5) Judah failed, but
God stayed true to His word. 4) God is merciful and loving, “…and
lovingkindness for those who love Him.” (1:5) Although judgement had
happened, mercy was still active. God responded to their repentance. 5) God
hears prayer, “Let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open…” (1:6)
Nehemiah knows God listens. He is not praying into nothingness. Heaven hears! 6)
God forgives repentant sinners, “We have sinned…” He brought no
excuses, no blame shifting…God sees me. He has missed nothing.
Self-deception weakens. Integrity is possible.
Integrity is learning to agree with what God
already sees.
Integrity speaks the truth! God sees and knows the
truth!
Integrity is willing to take an honest look,
because the God of heaven sees it all as it really is…nothing is hidden from
Him. He hears it all! He sees it all!
God is present, and He is not a passive observer,
He is active in the affairs of mankind!
When you read the first six or seven chapters of the book
of Nehemiah, you can’t miss that as Nehemiah is facing situations, in the
moment, he talks to his very present, active, caring God!
I am going to note a few of these moments…
As soon as Nehemiah heard the report about how things
were back in Jerusalem, he prayed before the God of Heaven.
3And
they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the
captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach:
the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are
burned with fire.
4And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and
wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God
of heaven,
In chapter 2 when
he is before the king, and the king asks what he wants, in the moment, he talks
to God…
“So, I prayed
to the God of heaven. And I said to the king…” (2:4)
In chapter four, Opposition comes.
Sanballat mocks. Nehemiah responds:
“Hear, O our God, for we are despised” (4:4).
When nobles oppressed the poor in chapter five, and Nehemiah is
handling it, toward the end of the chapter he says to God…
“Remember me,
my God, for good…” (5:19)
May our awareness
be elevated to the constant reality that our God is present, active, caring,
orchestrating, moving in the hearts of those around us!
INTEGRITY –
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
Integrity is at least four things…1) speaking the truth,
2) taking an open and honest look at what is in front of me, 3) purposing to do
the right thing with what is in front of me, and, 4) doing what I purposed to
do, with what is in front of me.
Nehemiah was a man of integrity. The king saw it and made
him his cup bearer. Nehemiah navigated the universe before the God of
Heaven. He understood God’s eternal purposes, and His purposes with the
people of Israel. He took an honest look at the state of these people’s walk
with God, after they came back from the captivity, and saw they still were not
getting it right. Jerusalem was still in ruins, and they were not functioning
in their families the way God intended either. So, Nehemiah, when told how
things were going back in Judah, determined to take the honest look at what was
happening. He asked God for the stewardship of going back and leading the
people to do the right thing God’s way. He took the time to scout out the ruins
of the wall around Jerusalem. Before the God of Heaven, he came
up with a plan and came to the people and communicated the plan. As recorded in
Nehemiah chapter three he organized the people by family groups and ended up
with 41 work groups. They would build the wall in their own back
yard, so to speak. In Nehemiah 4:13, Nehemiah says, “I stationed
the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows…remember the
Lord…fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your
houses.” Nehemiah knew God’s
purposes and blueprints. Family is God’s basic unit in a community. Nehemiah
put them to work in a way that he saw to it that families had to be strong
together, or the enemy would attack in their back yard.
Indeed, today, the church needs to come back to
that same default, and strengthen families, to do the work of the ministry.
Nehemiah had answered the basic questions, because he
wanted truth, to speak truth, to see what was really real right in front of
him, and he purposed in his heart to do the right thing with what was really
real right in front of him, and he then did what was right. He navigated with
integrity!
It is very important that our generation of believers in
the United States know the answers to the questions regarding truth. What is
truth? What is of value? How then, shall we live?
When people suppress the truth in their unrighteousness,
and throw off truth, there is no limit to where they can go in moving away from
truth. My generation can name the list. I will give just a couple of
examples…homosexual marriage, transgenderism, and biological males in girls’
sports.
Integrity and Truth fit together like hand in glove…
Navigating God’s universe before the God of Heaven
aligns with what is really, really real!
There is a connection between the three core questions,
and the outworking of our answers into the seven levels of our belief and
behavior. As in the example of Nehemiah, his view of God, and the scriptures,
moved him to purpose to embrace God’s purposes for his life.
“People see what they want to see, and they hear
what they want to hear, because they want to do what they want to do, because
they treasure what they treasure.”
The atheist worldview throughout is permeated with
wanting to suppress truth, because they are driven by wanting to just do what
they want to do.
WITH
INTEGRITY -
EMBRACING HIS PURPOSES AS MY OWN
Remember, Integrity is at least four things…1) speaking
the truth, 2) taking an open and honest look at what is in front of me, 3)
purposing to do the right thing with what is in front of me, and, 4) doing what
I purposed to do, with what is in front of me.
The third part of integrity is purposing…it is one thing
to see truth, it is another to determine with the human will, that I am going
to purpose to act accordingly!
“I have purposed it; I will also do it!” Embracing
God’s purposes as my own is integrity in action.
That statement, “I have purposed it, I will also do
it!” by the God of heaven, and
recorded in Isa. 46:11c, trumpets the heart of God from the beginning. He
purposed, before the foundation of the world, creation, redemption, and human
history culminating with the roll out of the end time events given in the book
of Revelation. And what he has purposed, He will also do! You can take that to
the bank!
Nehemiah had discerned God’s purposes, and blueprints,
and determined to embrace God’s purposes as his own. That is godly wisdom in
action!
What were some of the purposes he recognized as being
what God would have him embrace? He navigated God’s universe Before the
God of Heaven. He acknowledged brokenness, was thankful for redemption,
and requested being commissioned, to be used by God with his people.
Before
the God of Heaven
As one…broken…
As one…redeemed…
As one…commissioned…
My Mission In
This Life
…walking with God…
…in my place…strengthening family…
…reaching out…as a channel of grace…
…to fellow believers…
…to unbelievers…
When we truly see reality as God says it is, passivity
becomes increasingly difficult to justify.
LUCIFER –
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
12How art thou fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou
cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13For thou
hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,
in the sides of the north: 14I will ascend above the heights of the
clouds; I will be like the most High. 15Yet thou shalt be
brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. (Isa. 14:12-15)
Lucifer occupied one of the highest ranks among God's
created angels. At some point after Lucifer's creation, and
before humanity's temptation in Eden, rebellion arose within his heart.
Lucifer coveted God's authority, God's glory, and God's rightful place of
supremacy. He wanted to be in God's place and was not satisfied with the place
God had placed him in. He decided to “exalt his throne above the stars
of God.” And, not satisfied with his place, he decided, “I will
be like the most high God.”
Lucifer at some level, at some time, had to know that
there was only one God, and that he himself was not on the same level with God.
But, in pride, and desire, he wanted to be like God, and have what was God’s.
How did that work out for him, and all of mankind?
This is an extraordinary reality. We have
to stop and ponder this…what does it say about brokenness…?
Before the God of Heaven stood one of the highest of God's created heavenly
beings. Endowed with extraordinary beauty, wisdom, and privilege, he was given
a place of honor by his Creator. Yet, rather than
being satisfied with the place God had assigned him, pride arose within his
heart. Desiring God's glory, God's authority, and God's throne, he declared
five times, "I will." The first rebellion in God's universe
began, not with outward action, but with the deliberation of a proud heart.
15Yet thou shalt be brought down to
hell, to the sides of the pit. (Isa. 14:12-15)
What a choice, what a consequence…
SEVEN
INESCAPABLE REALITIES-
OF GOD’S UNIVERSE
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
Every
person who has ever lived, has lived before the God of Heaven. Because of
Lucifer’s fall, whether someone chooses to acknowledge it, or not, there are
certain realities that cannot be escaped. Men may reject them, suppress them,
or ridicule them, but they remain as true today as when God created the heavens
and the earth. These realities are woven into the very fabric of God's
universe. Every decision, every relationship, every success, every failure, and
ultimately every eternal destiny is shaped by them.
God
and Satan
Good and evil
Truth and falsehood (right and wrong)
Universal Laws and Principles (established by God)
Personal Responsibility
Choice and Consequence
Life and Death, Heaven and Hell
These seven realities are not isolated truths. They form
the framework within which every human life is lived. Every person lives before
the God of Heaven, in a world where good and evil contend, where truth
confronts falsehood, where God has established universal laws and principles,
where choices inevitably produce consequences, where life moves toward death,
and where every soul is traveling toward an eternal destination. Wisdom begins
by recognizing these realities; faith responds by submitting to the God who
established them.
GOD AND SATAN
The first reality is that there is a
living God, and there is a real personal adversary. Scripture begins not with
an argument for God's existence, but with the declaration, "In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) God
is eternal, self-existent, holy, sovereign, Creator, Judge, Redeemer, and King.
The Bible also reveals a created being who rebelled against
God. Lucifer became Satan, the adversary, deceiver, accuser, and destroyer. Peter
warns believers, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter
5:8) Jesus described Satan as “a murderer from the
beginning...and the father of it [lies].” (John 8:44)
Every human being lives within the reality of this great
conflict. There is no neutral ground. We either belong to God's kingdom or
remain under the dominion of darkness (Colossians 1:13).
GOOD AND EVIL
Good and
evil are not human inventions or cultural preferences. Good originates in the
very character of God. “There is none good but one, that is, God.” (Mark
10:18) Evil entered creation through rebellion against God. Isaiah
pronounces woe upon those who reverse these realities: “Woe unto them
that call evil good, and good evil.” (Isaiah 5:20) Paul exhorts
believers, “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.”
(Romans 12:9)
The struggle between good and evil is seen
throughout Scripture—from Eden, to Calvary, to the final judgment. Every human
heart must decide which kingdom it will embrace.
TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD (RIGHT AND WRONG)
Truth exists
because God is true. Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the
life.” (John 14:6) God's Word is truth. “Sanctify them through
thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17)
Satan, however, traffics in deception. Jesus
said, “When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of
it.” (John 8:44)
Human beings cannot escape truth simply by
denying it. Reality remains unchanged. Paul explains fallen humanity's
condition: "Who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." (Romans
1:18)
Every
life is ultimately built upon either truth or falsehood.
UNIVERSAL
LAWS AND PRINCIPLES
(established by God)
God governs
His universe through both natural laws and moral principles. The physical
universe operates with remarkable order because God faithfully sustains it.
Likewise, God's moral universe operates according to fixed principles. Jesus
taught, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians
6:7) Proverbs repeatedly demonstrates that
diligence generally leads to fruitfulness, honesty builds trust, humility
precedes honor, and pride precedes destruction. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an
haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)
These are not merely observations; they are reflections of how God governs
His world.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Paul reminds
every believer, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to
God.” (Romans 14:12) And again, “For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may
receive the things done in his body...” (2 Corinthians 5:10) Those
apart from Christ will likewise stand before God. John writes, “And I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God...and they were judged every man
according to their works.” (Revelation 20:12–13) No one will ultimately
answer for another person.
Every person
will stand individually before the God of Heaven. This reality is both sobering
and liberating. It is sobering because we cannot shift blame for our sinful
choices onto someone else. Ever since Adam said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me...” (Genesis 3:12), fallen humanity
has sought to excuse itself. Yet Scripture continually calls us back to
personal accountability. It is liberating because, by God's grace, we are not
prisoners of our past. Through repentance, faith in Jesus Christ, and the
enabling power of the Holy Spirit, we may choose obedience, pursue integrity,
and walk in God's purposes.
Personal responsibility is therefore the bridge
between truth and obedience. God reveals truth; we are responsible to respond.
God gives commands; we are responsible to obey. God extends grace; we are
responsible to receive His Son by faith.
CHOICE AND CONSEQUENCE
God created mankind with genuine moral responsibility. From Eden onward,
people have been confronted with choices. Moses challenged Israel, “I
have set before you life and death, blessing and
cursing: therefore, choose life.” (Deuteronomy 30:19) Joshua declared, “Choose
you this day whom ye will serve.” (Joshua 24:15) Every choice we make
produces consequences. Sometimes they come immediately. Sometimes they come
years later. Sometimes throughout eternity. No one escapes this principle.
LIFE AND DEATH – HEAVEN AND HELL
Every person
experiences both physical life and physical death.
Scripture also reveals spiritual life and spiritual death. God warned Adam, “In
the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die.” (Genesis 2:17) Paul explains, “For the wages of sin is
death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
(Romans 6:23) Jesus came that sinners “might have life, and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
History is
moving toward an eternal conclusion. Jesus spoke often of both Heaven and Hell.
He promised His disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)
He also warned, “These shall go away into everlasting punishment:
but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matthew 25:46) John describes
the final judgment before the great white throne (Revelation 20:11–15),
followed by the new heaven and the new earth (Revelation 21–22).
Every human being will spend eternity in one of
these two destinies. The most important question any person can answer is this:
Have I been reconciled to the God of Heaven through His Son, Jesus
Christ?
One of our greatest hindrances is that we do not
train our focus to continuously see the seven inescapable realities that make our
commission urgent. Instead, we have a tendency to have
more of our focus on temporal realities, temporal treasures.
WHAT DOES GOD
DESIRE OF ME?
Purpose in your heart that God will have your heart
By example/emphasis I will Honor Him and His Word
Purpose in my heart to embrace His purposes as my own
Can we speak the truth? Can we take
an honest look? Can we see what purposes we have embraced in our daily lives? What
does God desire? Where do we stand right now? What will we
purpose to do to move in the right direction?
Three
Universal Principles
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
######
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked”. Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what
you get.”
#####
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you purposed.
PLEASE STOP! WAIT A MOMENT!
BEFORE YOU ENTER THIS GATE
A FEW THOUGHTS TO KEEP IN MIND
YOU ARE BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN
LOOK BACK BEFORE YOU GO FORWARD
NOW- WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE LIFE
GOD
HAS ENTRUSTED TO YOU?
“For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Before entering this Gate, look
back for a moment.
We began with the heart.
We were reminded that every
moment of life is lived Before the God of Heaven.
With integrity, we looked at our Brokenness.
Then we stood before the
God of Grace and His redemption.
We discovered that the redeemed
have also been commissioned.
And finally, we confronted the
question:
His purposes or mine?
Now all of
those truths come together.
We have arrived at a question
that will shape the rest of this journey.
What is my mission in this life?
Not merely: What is my occupation? What do I want
to accomplish? What do I want to own? Where do I want to live? How comfortable
can I become?
Those questions may have their place, but they are too small to define
the mission of someone created by God, redeemed by Christ, commissioned by the
King, and living every moment Before the God of Heaven.
In this Gate we will begin putting into intentional
words the mission that the remaining Gates will develop:
MY MISSION IN THIS LIFE
…walking with God…
…in my place…strengthening family…(earthly)
…in my place…strengthening family…(forever)
…reaching out…as a channel of grace…
…to fellow believers…
…to unbelievers…
Here the three undergirding principles become very
practical.
What do I treasure?
Whoever or whatever has my heart
is whose ways I will observe.
What do I honor?
What I honor, dignify, emphasize, pay attention to, and
reward will increasingly shape my life.
What will I purpose?
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you purposed.
And integrity asks me to take
an honest look at where I am now, compare that with what God desires, purpose
the changes that need to be made, and, by His grace, move toward them.
From this Gate forward, we become very practical:
Walking with God.
Strengthening family—earthly and forever.
Reaching out as a channel of grace to fellow
believers.
Reaching out as a channel of grace to
unbelievers.
So, before entering this Gate, ask:
What does God desire?
Before the God of Heaven, where am I presently?
By His grace, how do I move toward what God
desires?
Let’s begin!
Gate Seven
Integrity – My
mission on Earth
What God Desires
Live the life God has entrusted to me for His
purposes
Recognize “in my place” as a divine
stewardship
Intentionally pursue my God-given mission
Three
Universal Principles
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
######
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked”. Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what
you get.”
#####
“…I have purposed it. I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
What God Desires
Live the life God has entrusted to me for His
purposes
Recognize “in my place” as a divine
stewardship
Intentionally pursue my God-given mission
GATES
1-6 MY IDENTITY AND POSITION
GATES 7-12 MY MISSION AND PURPOSE
In the first six gates we address
the realities of my identity and position before the God of Heaven.
My position is that I exist before the God of Heaven, and
I represent completely the brokenness of fallen mankind. My identity is that I have been
adopted into God’s family by the grace of God. I have been redeemed
through Jesus Christ alone, and by faith alone. Every believer is commissioned,
sent into the world as an ambassador for Christ. We are either, with
integrity, embracing and living our life for His divine purposes, or not.
In gates seven through twelve we delineate the relationships involved in living out
the mission God has given us. We are to be walking with God, and,
being in our place, strengthening family (earthly), and, being in our place, strengthening our family
(forever). Also, reaching out…as a channel of grace…to fellow
believers, and, reaching out…as a channel of grace…to
unbelievers.
A
Template
(My
Position and Identity)
Before
the God of Heaven
As one…broken…
As one…redeemed…
As one…commissioned…
(My Mission) In This Life
…walking with God…
…in my place…strengthening family
…reaching out…as a channel of grace…
…to fellow believers…
…to unbelievers…
BEFORE
THE GOD OF HEAVEN
13The LORD looketh
from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 14From the
place of his habitation he looketh upon all the
inhabitants of the earth. 15He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. (Ps 33:13-15)
Integrity is learning to agree with what God
already sees.
Integrity speaks the truth! God sees and knows the
truth!
Integrity is willing to take an honest look,
because the God of heaven sees it all as it really is…nothing is hidden from
Him. He hears it all! He sees it all!
God is present, and He is not a passive observer,
He is active in the affairs of mankind!
Nehemiah knew that God is truth. He not only knows truth.
He is truth. What He has deemed as really, really real,
is what’s really, really real.
We will come back to this later, but the case can be made
that Nehemiah valued/treasured integrity because he saw that God was a God of
integrity.
GOD HAS ENTRUSTED ME WITH A LIFE
“For none of us liveth to
himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether
we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord…”(Romans 14:7–8)
Our lives are not ultimately
our own.
“What, know ye not that
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in
you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a
price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your
spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
“I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
(Romans 12:1)
“And that he died for
all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but
unto him which died for them, and rose again.” (2
Corinthians 5:15)
Jesus died and rose again,
not for us to just fill the space between our salvation and Heaven with
whatever we want to do, but that our lives should be lived for Him.
Therefore, the question is
not, “What do I want to do with my life?” It should be this, “Lord,
what do you desire to do with the life you have entrusted to me?”
CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS –
UNTO GOOD WORKS
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
(Ephesians 2:10)
Ephesians 2:8-9, the two verses right before the one we
just cited, give one of the clearest statements in the Bible that salvation is
entirely by grace through faith and not by our works. Our works
do not save us, but as a new creation, we were
ordained unto good works. There is purpose on this
side of redemption!
God has redeemed us, and
commissioned us! He has redemptive purposes for our lives. He has a blueprint!
Our life is about more than our occupation in the marketplace. We have been
given a mission Before the God of Heaven.
IN MY PLACE
God’s universe is awesome! The galaxies, the stars, the
planets, the animals, and plants all have their design, their place. It is
amazing to observe how God has created it all, and
holds it all in its place. The bible says, “by Him all things consist.” (Col. 1:17)
But consider the devastation that comes when creatures,
with free volition, decide that they don’t want to be “in my place.” God has a
plan, a design, a blueprint, a special place for each human being. But it is consequential
when someone is not willing to be “in the place” God has for them.
I have been commissioned to carry out His redemptive
purposes “in my place” as my divine stewardship Before the God of Heaven.
The ordinary places of life we move in every day become extraordinarily
significant when they are viewed as places of divine stewardship.
“…as
God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every
one, so let him walk.” (1 Corinthians 7:17)
We will revisit “in my place” when we move through the rest
of the Gates (8-12) dealing with God’s mission for us in the core relationships
of life.
MISSION IS MORE THAN OCCUPATION
We all ask others, “Well what kind
of work do you do?” And we all understand that to refer to marketplace
occupation. But, marketplace occupation should not be
the all-encompassing answer as to my mission in life.
Our mission in life is a much bigger matter. It answers the
bigger question, “Why am I here, and what does God desire me to do with the life
He has entrusted to me?”
Paul answered this question in a very simple statement, “For
me to live is Christ…” (Phil. 1:21) That was his mission from God, and
it looked a lot like what we are putting in front of you to consider making
your mission…
Walking with God
Strengthening family—earthly and forever
Reaching out as a channel of grace to fellow
believers
Reaching out as a channel of grace to unbelievers
MISSION
MUST BECOME INTENTIONAL
THREE UNDERGIRDING PRINCIPLES –
FOCUSED AND ENERGIZED TOWARD MISSION
For a long time, I have loved this passage in Isaiah 46.
8Remember this,
and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye
transgressors. 9Remember the
former things of old: for I am God, and there is none
else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10Declaring the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11Calling a ravenous bird from the east,
the man that executeth my counsel from a far country:
yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have
purposed it, I will also do it.
God is making it clear that He alone is God. He declared the end from
the beginning. He will use heathen nations to discipline His people. God is the
God of history. He is in control. He says, “I have purposed it, I will
also do it.” This is an awesome statement. God has divinely decreed purposes, and he
will carry out what He has purposed. He will do it. There is purpose and there
is integrity. Before the foundation of the world God purposed creation,
redemption, and His eternal reign. He will do it.
God has given to mankind the capacity to purpose in heart what we will
go do, and the capacity, to will, to act with integrity to go do what we have
purposed to do. Athletes purpose to go to the Olympics, and focus and work to
get there. Other’s purpose to become business owners,
preachers, etc., and they pursue these ventures with determination to go accomplish it.
We can purpose as a believer to…
“…I have purposed it; I will also do it.”
Isa 46:11c
Purpose it in your heart, then do what you
purposed.
Purpose in my heart to embrace His purposes as my own
We just now noted one of three undergirding principles to
this growth and development initiative. All three of them can be activated in
our heart life. And they work together.
They are about Heart, Life, and Legacy.
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:21
“Whoever or whatever has a person’s heart,
is whose ways will be observed.”
We can, with God’s help determine that we will do what we
need to do, to make sure God has our heart. There is a sequence of seven
actions that make that possible.
“If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his
servants are wicked”. Proverbs 29:12
“What you honor, dignify, emphasize,
pay attention to, and reward, is what
you get.”
By example/emphasis, when God has our heart, what we honor,
dignify, emphasize, pay attention to, and reward, will be God, and the things
of God.
So we come back to integrity.
What
does God desire?
Where
am I presently?
What
needs to change?
What
will I purpose?
And
then:
Will
I do what I have purposed to do?
THE RELATIONSHIPS OF MY MISSION
Walking with God
In my place…Strengthening family (earthly)
In my place…Strengthening family (forever)
Reaching out, as a channel of grace, to fellow
believers
Reaching out, as a channel of grace, to
unbelievers
THE
SEVEN INESCAPABLE REALITIES –
DEMAND MISSION URGENCY
God and
Satan
Good and evil
Truth and falsehood (right and wrong)
Universal Laws and Principles (established by God)
Personal Responsibility
Choice and Consequence
Life and Death, Heaven and Hell
If these realities are really, really real, then the mission cannot be treated casually.
Reality awareness should produce mission intentionality and urgency.
BEFORE
THE GOD OF HEAVEN –
WHAT WILL I DO?
The first six Gates establish what
is really, really real.
Gate Seven asks what I will do about
it.
The final five Gates show what that
intentional response looks like in the relationships God has entrusted to me.
All of
these sections are important, and demand our attention, as we navigate Before
the God of Heaven.
Before the God of Heaven - Heart -
Integrity - Brokenness - Redemption - Commission - His Purposes - My Mission -
Walking with God - Strengthening Family - Reaching Out as a Channel of Grace to
believers and unbelievers.
So, lets pause and see where we
are.
Look honestly.
Remember—you are Before the God of Heaven.
He fashioned your heart.
He sees your life.
He knows your brokenness.
If you are His, He has redeemed you through His Son.
He has commissioned you.
He has placed you somewhere.
He has placed people around you.
He has entrusted you with a life.
Now integrity asks:
What will I do with it?
Will I merely admire God's purposes?
Will I merely agree with God's purposes?
Will I merely intend someday to pursue God's purposes?
Or will I purpose in my heart to embrace His purposes as my own—and
then, by His grace, do what I have purposed?
WHAT DOES GOD DESIRE?
BEFORE THE GOD OF HEAVEN, WHERE AM I PRESENTLY?
BY HIS GRACE, HOW DO I MOVE TOWARD WHAT GOD DESIRES?