The Faith of Quietness

 

“The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet."

Exodus 14:14

One of the most difficult spiritual disciplines is being quiet during turmoil.  When troubles break out in your life and Pharoah and his army appear while you stand backed up against the Red Sea, being quiet is the last thing you want to do.

The quandary is this: Do I act in a way that is consistent with Scripture and what I believe God is telling me to do, or do I stand quietly and let the Lord fight for me?

The answer to that is this: If you have learned to hear the voice of the Lord well, then act according to what you hear.  If you still wonder whether or not it is God's voice then follow Scripture.  Scripture is God's voice and if you are true to that Word you will not sin against the Lord.

Remember, there are many men who have learned how to immitate a famous person's voice.  It is a great show to hear an impersonator.   Sometimes the only way to know for sure the person is an impersonator is to see their face and feel their touch.  Then you know if the voice is really that of the famous person and not a sound-alike.

 
As you listen to the voice of God keep your eyes on His face and let Him touch you.  Then you will know for sure it is the voice of God and not a deception.

Then you can be quiet while the Lord fights for you.

The Result of Desiring Godliness

 

“But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from them all.  In fact, all those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

2 Timothy 3:10-12

Why does the world want to persecute those who want to live a "Godly life in Christ Jesus?"

What is threatening about a man or woman who is filled with the fruit of the Spirit and walks according to the Spirit's leading?

It is the classic struggle between light and darkness. One tiny flame dispels the darkness in a large room. Even a dim light is enough for people to see how to move about in safety. For darkness to exist at all it must extinguish all of the light. One spark can be the beginning of a large fire that dispels all the darkness.

One person seeking to live a godly life provides enough light for everyone around to see the truth. Godliness threatens the world like light threatens darkness. Persecution comes when darkness tries to put out the light.
As the children's song so appropriately says, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine."

Fan the flame because Jesus said "You are the light of the world!"

Sin is Evil!

 

But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people!

2 Timothy 3:1-5

When sin abounds life becomes exceedingly difficult. In the wake of sin even the righteous suffer. Lot suffered because of the sin around him. The poisonous snake of sin always bites with venom after the temptation is successful.

A man never really comes to hate sin until it has wrecked havoc among those he loves. Love indeed opens your eyes and heart to the pain and nastiness of sin.

As you seek the Lord with all your heart don't be surprised by the turbulence. Sin, all sin is wicked and evil and destroys even the most beautiful among us. Never forget that when Jesus died upon the Cross he paid the price for the first sin of Adam and Eve as well as the one that is wrecking your life! Let the Cross do it's work in you!

Special Instrument for God!

 

Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver bowls, but also those of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.

So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

2Timothy 2:20-21

We are not saved by our own works. That truth is worth repeating in a world that establishes our value by what we do and how well we do it. 

There is profit however in  purifying yourself from things that are dishonorable.  Daily choices that shun unrighteousness open the door for you to be a "special instrument" which is set apart and useful to the Master!

So when you are confronted with a choice that gives you an opportunity to stay away from something dishonorable recognize that when you do God is presented with a special instrument through whom He can work!  It is indeed a very motivating thought.

Jesus Loves Me

 

21 And just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to anyone He wants to. 22 The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son,

John 5:21-22

Do you remember the verse that says "Love covers a multitude of sins?" It is 1 Peter 4:8.  My sins are covered by the Love of Jesus.  Since Jesus loves me, He has made a way for me not to suffer the eternal consequences of my sin. Jesus said that He is the way to the Father.  If you love the Son, the door to Heaven is opened wide so you can come before the Father forever.  If you reject the Son there is no other way to God.

So many people try to come to God without Jesus.   It cannot be done.   You will be blocked at every turn.  Coming to God with anything but the blood of Jesus will mean that you will be turned away from Heaven.  You can try to come with theological degrees, good works, your own righteousness, scriptural knowledge, and any of dozens of other good things that might please God.  But He will not be pleased because you come without the Son.

If you love Jesus and accept His sacrifice for your sins, God will accept you and by the power of the Holy Spirit change you into the likeness of Jesus Himself.  That is how it works.  Come to Jesus and He will bring you to God.  Reject Jesus and you will be forever separated from the Father!

Jesus simply says, “I love you, do you love Me?”

The Master’s Apprentice

 

“Then Jesus replied, "I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way.”

John 5:19

Until you see what God is doing you will not be able to do what God wants done. That restriction even applied to Jesus. This simple rule applies in every area of life. If you want to be a great golfer you must watch great golfers as they play the game.

 
The fundamental definition of an apprentice is "someone being trained by a skilled master." If the apprentice does not watch the master work he will never learn the trade. Unless a man watches God work in the world around Him he will never learn to do the work of God in the world.

Turn your eyes on Jesus not just to see His glory, but also to learn how He works!

The Fog of Jesus

 

When I think of God I stand surrounded by a mist in the fog. I can feel the mist and see the fog, but my senses can only lay hold of God by faith. I cannot put the fog in my pocket or take some home for later. I am limited and protected by His presence. God is the ocean in which I swim. I can only see a short distance before the reality of God engulfs my view of the world. Like Adam and Eve before the Fall, I am increasingly oblivious to the “knowledge of good and evil.” My goal for the day becomes touching the Face of God like an overly excited dog licking the face of his master who gets down on the floor after returning from work.

The limiting factor in going after God is the simple word “about.” Great institutions of higher learning have been set up to teach men “about” God. Knowing about God is not the same as knowing God! “About” is a body of knowledge or a list of facts that can be mastered or recorded and consumed without commitment. “Knowing” is a moment by moment relationship. I speak. He listens. He speaks. I listen. I think and He already knows what I am thinking before I tell Him. God thinks and more and more I know what He is thinking before He tells me. The man who does not know God would properly render a diagnosis of “insane” for every vibrant follower of Jesus Christ.

The goal is for God to offer me fruit from the Tree of Life in Heaven. My preparation is to be released from the effects of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Jesus came to wash me from the effects of that sin so that I can eat and live forever with Him. Remember the Fog of Jesus is your friend.