God's Grace in the Old Testament-Part 2

God’s grace is revealed in Gen 12 when God chose Abram and made him a promise that through him, all the families of the earth would be blessed. Abram did not choose God, neither was he immediately the man of faith that Hebrews 11 refers to.

It was a gradual transformation as Abram learned to trust in God’s grace. In Gen 12, God instructed Abram to leave  his country, kindred and father’s house and journey to a land which God Himself would show him. Abram obeyed God, but not totally. Instead of leaving everything he knew behind, he took his nephew Lot with him (Gen 12:1-4).

Many times Abram doubted God’s Promise. In Egypt, he was fearful and sought to preserve his life by lying that Sarai, his wife was his sister (Gen 12:13). Abram was still learning to trust in God. God was gracious, preserving King Abimelech from sin because He could see the integrity of his heart when he took Abram’s wife into his royal court. God was patient with Abram, blessing him with great riches, honour and favour despite his failures. When Lot chose the best land for himself, God in His grace reaffirmed His Promise to Abram. Abram became a generous and respectful man. He respected the property rights of others even though he knew that God would give his descendants the whole land. God’s grace was already changing him (Gen 13:10-18). He was learning that it was God’s great grace that made him a prosperous and successful man and he gave God all the glory for his success, attributing none of his success to others or to himself (Gen 14:22-24).

In Gen 15, God affirmed His Promise to Abram yet again. Abram had a crisis in faith, as he had no idea how God planned to fulfil the Promise; all he knew was that he remained childless and he couldn’t  see past his  circumstances. God was patient with Abram, conceding to his request for a sign or assurance that God would indeed give him the land as promised. God asked Abram to prepare some sacrifices and Abram fell into a deep sleep as God revealed in prophetic vision to him the things that would befall his nation.  The 400 years of oppression under Egyptian rule was revealed to him as well as the glory of the exodus from Egypt. God’s grace to the Amorites was also revealed to Abram; God was giving them time to turn to Him and repent of their evil. While Abram’s descendants were yet to possess their inheritance, the Amorites would have opportunity to turn to God.

God Himself passed between the slain animals. The Almighty Himself condescended to make a covenant, binding Himself on pain of death as an earthly king would bind himself when making a covenant with another. The difference was that it was a one-sided covenant. Abram did not pass between the animals for it was God alone who had made the Promise and He alone who would see it to completion through His plan of redemption by the blood of His own Son, “the seed of the woman”. Abram could not break the covenant for he had no part in the making of it. Neither his good works, nor the lack thereof could change the Promise and God’s plan to fulfil it. God’s grace was, and still is, beyond comprehension.

Revival and Reformation P7 - With God ALL things are Possible!

We have finally come to the last instalment in our Revival and Reformation series; how apt that it is the seventh instalment! In the Scriptures, seven is a very significant number which is often used in connection with God’s Church. I apologise for having delayed this message due to unforeseen circumstances which resulted in me going off on a bit of a “writing detour.”

Our previous message in this series was about being transformed by God’s Spirit. I have often heard people make excuses for why they behave a certain way. One of the most common excuses is : “I am sorry, but that’s just who I am. I am made that way and I can’t change.” To those who believe this, I pose a question to you. Why believe in a God who can’t change you? Once again, we try to put limitations on God.

In the Gospel of Mark, we find recorded three times Jesus’ words regarding what God can do. To the father of the boy possessed by a demon that His disciples could not cast out, He said: “If thou can believe, ALL things are possible to him that believeth.”  When the disciples thought that salvation was unattainable after the rich man had walked away from Jesus, they said among themselves: “Who then can be saved?” “If it is so hard for the rich among us to be saved, is there any hope for us?”, they must have pondered. Jesus replied to them: “With men, it is impossible but not with God for with God, ALL things are possible.” Faced with His imminent death on the Cross Jesus ,in praying to the Father, said “Abba Father, all things are possible unto thee…” (Mk 9:23, Mk 10:27, Mk 14:36)

It is abundantly clear from the Scriptures that when  we have done all we can and are at our wits end, frustrated and faced with failure, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD! Garbed in human frailty, you may not possess the strength to change yourself. The good news is that God is not asking you to change yourself! Don’t give up; you don’t have to accept second best for yourself or those around you who have to tolerate your character flaws. God can change you if you will just surrender to Him and ask Him to work in your life. Believe that He will complete the good work He has begun in your life, and WORK with His Spirit every day. The vicious cycle of shame and guilt, of hurting others and yourself doesn’t have to continue. You can end it by submitting to God’s authority today and He will grow His fruit in You. The world will see it and marvel at the power of God to transform lives. In this way, you can be a catalyst for revival in someone else’s life by testifying about how God changed you for the better.

You don’t have to give up in utter defeat. You are more than a conqueror in Christ. Let’s not blame God for the flaws in our character and our failure to deal with them appropriately. When God looked upon His Creation, He declared that it was “very good”. An unknown writer expressed it perfectly: “God does not make junk.”Like that demon possessed boy, God will help you face down the demons in your life if you engage actively with Him and work with Him in the process. 

 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Gen 1:31)

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  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. (Rom 8:37-39)

Revival and Reformation P6-Transformed by His Spirit

We have learned that reformation is the result of true revival, a vital and living connection with God that results in an unmistakable transformation in the life of the true Christian.

However, in order for reformation to occur in our lives so that the fruit of the Spirit is displayed, we need to surrender totally to God. We need to give ourselves totally to His Will and plan for our lives. He who resists will not be changed for the better. God will not impose change upon you unless you admit that you need things about you changed. It works the same as in the natural world; if you go to a psychologist, he can’t help you unless you first admit you have a problem and are willing to work with him to accept change in your life. (Rom 12:1-2)

The biggest hindrance to reformation in the life of professed Christians is hypocrisy which is satan pulling the wool over your eyes, deceiving you into thinking that you’re perfect and that other people are the problem. As long as you harbour this spirit and attitude in your life, you cannot be totally delivered and reformed. The Bible says that people will know you by your fruits. (Matt 7:16-21, James 3:11-18, Matt 7:1-5)

I often hear the debate about why it is that we find Christians in Church who are still held captive by the same behaviours and bad habits they had fifty years ago. The reason that this is the case is because each person needs to surrender totally to God in order for Him to work with us in the reformation process. We cannot surrender unless we’re willing to admit that we can do nothing apart from Christ. Only He can deliver us from our cultivated and inherited tendencies to evil. We must surrender our whole being to Him as the first work of every day. We must admit that we have problems that we need help with. For some this may just be undesirable character traits that you want refined.  Others may have habits that consume their lives and for which they need to pursue professional advice, attend a support group or other intervention while also engaging in a regular prayer life. God may choose to deliver some immediately while others are reformed gradually for His glory. (Heb 11:6, John 15:1-9)

It is said that a sculptor is no artist. He just chips away at a piece of granite revealing the beauty already hidden within it. How amazing that God’s Spirit is often alluded to or described as water or oil in the Scriptures. Rocks exposed to water for a long period of time always experience the effects of erosion where the sharp, angular edges are smoothed away and they become beautiful smooth pebbles, pebbles that a shepherd boy can use to slay giants with when God is with him. (1Sam 17:40). Oil causes objects to shine or a candle to burn, just as God intends us to shine for Him. (Matt 5:14-16)

The heavens declare the handiwork of God and all nature obeys His voice. Why do we, the pinnacle of His creation, resist Him? I invite you to write down all the things about you that you want God to change.  Then give them to God daily and ask Him to change you as you submit to His Will. (Ps 51:9-13)

Revival and reformation P5: The Fruit of Reformation

In the last few weeks, we have learned about revival and what we must do to ensure that true revival is ignited in our hearts. Revival does not start one church at a time. It starts with every individual. The Bible describes being in a  state of revival as being like a tree planted by rivers of living water, bearing fruit in season and whose leaves do not wither. (Ps 1:3)

Without revival, there can be no reformation for reformation is the fruit of revival. Jesus described Himself as the vine and all who believe in Him as the branches. We cannot have true revival if we are not maintaining a continual connection with Jesus Christ, the True Vine. We cannot produce the fruit of reformation apart from Him. (John 15:1-9)

What is reformation? Gal 5:22 describes for us what the fruit of reformation looks like. It is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance and not desiring vainglory. In summary, it is the character of godliness, the character of Christ.

God’s mission in each of our lives is to restore the perfection of the image of Christ in each of us. This was the image that we were created to reflect in the beginning for we were created “in the image of God.” The process He follows in order to achieve this is “reformation” and the results of that process is the fruit of the Spirit which is the beauty of His character revealed in mortal flesh. (Gen 1:26-27)

Jesus said in Jn 4:14 that whoever drinks of the living water He gives shall never thirst for the water He provides will become a wellspring of living water springing forth unto eternal life. Jesus is restoring the “tree of life” in each of us who believe in Him and out of that tree will spring the fruit of reformation, which the world will taste and they will see that our God is good. (Ps 34:8)

The Bible describes the tree of life in Rev 22:2 as being “on either side of the river” and bearing “twelve manner of fruits and yielding fruit every month.” Does this not remind you of what God wants you to be right now? A tree planted by the living water bearing fruit all year round! The twelve different fruits reflect the completeness of the character of Christ, the image that He is recreating in us as we journey through life. The tree of life in Heaven is also a visual reminder, the culmination of a process that God has started in you today! Phil 1:6 reminds us that God is well able to finish the good work that He has started in each of us and bring it to a grand completion.

Nothing is impossible with God! Do you believe that God can transform your life? Jesus did not lie when He said that nothing is impossible with God. Nothing is too hard for him. All you have to do is take the next step and ask Him to transform you, to reform you. You are already a new creature in Christ. It is time to embark on the exciting daily adventure with God called “sanctification”. Let go and let God!

Calling God a Liar?

I struggled with the title of my message this week. It seemed like such an unconventional title, one that was a jolt of lightning in my mind when it arrived in my thoughts as I pondered on what I should write about. Calling God a liar? How exactly does one accomplish that? Are we even guilty of that?

We worry about the visible sins in our lives, but what about the invisible sins, the ones no one knows about but us and God? Because no one knows about them, we often find ourselves procrastinating when it comes to dealing with them, and while we delay we condemn the same faults in others that we ourselves are guilty of.

1 John 1:10 states that if we say are without sin, we are deceiving ourselves and also calling God a liar. Cherished sins, though often hidden from the prying human eyes, do not escape the eyes of the One who searches the hearts of men and reads them like an open book (Prov 21:2).  When mixed with pride, these invisible sins are a dangerous concoction brewing in our hearts leading to denial (a state of spiritual blindness where we refuse to acknowledge our sins) which further leads to the trap of presumption which makes our hearts hard so that we cannot admit our need of a Saviour. This is a very dangerous condition which often leads to a festering wound of hypocrisy, which destroys the credibility of our witness for Christ.

There is also the other extreme, where people have committed such heinous sins that they think they don’t deserve to be forgiven or cannot be forgiven. The Bible provides many examples of people in history who experienced God’s great forgiveness regardless of the “size or seriousness of the sin” in men’s eyes. King David was forgiven for lying, adultery and murder when he confessed it to God and was able to say: “Blessed is he whose transgression is covered and whose sins are forgiven.”

Both extremes lead to the deadly sin of calling God a liar. We call God a liar when we think we have no need of His forgiveness because we refuse to admit our failures. We also call him a liar when we underestimate His redeeming love for us and His ability to save to the utmost all who call on Him. (Heb 7:25) Some of us find ourselves hemmed in by a pattern of destructive, dangerous sinful practices. It’s one thing accepting the Lord and being baptized. That only leads to a greater confrontation with sin than ever before, a spiritual battle we will wage all our lives, but praise God that with Him ALL things are possible! (Matt 19:25-26) Jesus wasn’t lying when He said this! Old habits die hard, but deliverance is ours if we claim it in faith, asking Him to transform our characters every day.

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."-1 John 1:8-10

Scripture refs: 1 John 1:10, Prov 21:2, Heb 7:25, Matt 19:25-26