IN THE DAY CALLED SATURDAY

I am captivated by the artistic simplicity of the statement, “He brought us out . . .  that He might bring us in” found in Deuteronomy 6:23 (ESV). The full verse reads: “And He brought us out from there (Egypt),that He might bring us in and give us the land that He swore to give to our fathers.”

Deuteronomy is a series of farewell addresses given by Moses to the Israelites as he prepared to die and they prepared to enter into the Promised Land. Moses reminds this new generation of the faithfulness of God and details for them the covenant relationship between their nation and the Lord God Almighty. Moses goes on to describe for them the blessings of obedience to God and the destructive nature of disobedience.

Moses’ statement sounds so simple, so victorious and so complete. There is no doubt that the principle is absolutely true but the statement is a condensation of a more elaborate understanding—in other words, it omits a lot. It leaves unspoken the struggle and the uncertainty of the journey that has to be undertaken in order to see the completion of the promise.

Scripture is filled with stories that illustrate this promise:

·       Joseph was brought out of a pit where his brothers had thrown him to become the adopted son of Pharaoh and the savior of his family and his nation.

·       David was taken out of the fields and the lonely life of a shepherd to become the greatest warrior king in the history of the Jewish nation.

·       Daniel was taken from his home in Jerusalem to the courts of Nebuchadnezzar where he rose to prominence as one of the most influential men in the Babylonian empire.

·       Esther was taken from obscurity to become the wife of the Persian King Ahasuerus and became a savior of her people.

What we come to understand in each of these stories and in many others in the Bible is that intense struggles make up the middle ground between the coming out and the coming in, between the start and the finish.

In his book The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey finishes his last chapter by talking about where we are living today. In Yancey’s view, and I repeat it here because it resonates with me, much excitement is generated over the Easter story. The death of our Savior on Good Friday was followed by His resurrection on Easter Sunday. Salvation for us was accomplished through that great act of sacrifice. But for the Church, for the Christ follower of today, Yancey says, and I agree, that we are now living as a Church that looks back to the work of Christ on the cross and forward to His Second Coming. In fact, we are living in the middle, in the day that is never mentioned in the Easter story. We are alive in the “no name Saturday” where we look back to Christ’s work on the cross and forward to the final event. But we are stuck in the intensity of living out the day of fog and uncertainty between two cataclysmic events—in the day called Saturday.

For most of us the Christian life is a struggle; the rewards are real but the struggle is, too. There are battles to be fought, time to be used wisely, failures to be overcome, losses to be grieved for, and wounds to be healed on our journey to the fulfillment of the promise.

Salvation is a gift from God; in an instant we are taken from our old life and, through faith, we are “born again.” Growing in our new life of faith is a fight and some of those who receive Christ by faith never do grow very much. Some simply receive Christ and then, because of the struggle, end up living their spiritual lives just a few feet or a few inches from the starting line of the race.

Besides the struggle of moving from “the coming out” to the “coming in,” there is also the unspoken issue of timing. When you read a promise like Deuteronomy 6:23, it would seem to indicate that it all happens in a tight sequence, but the reality is that that is not so! In our age of instant gratification and microwave concepts of Christian growth, this is not a happily embraced understanding. As I have written in the past, “But you have need of patience after that you have . . .” (Hebrews 10:36)—but I’m going to stop now because I hate it when I preach myself under conviction.

SILENCING THE OPPOSITION

The blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the little children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant. They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise’” (Matthew 21:14-16, NLT).

 

Jesus silenced these critics and those who were challenging His authority with this quote from Psalm 8:2: “You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength (to praise), silencing your enemies and all who oppose you” (NLT).

 

The critics of Jesus were deeply upset. The word indignant does not mean they were mildly irritated at Him, it means they were violently upset. They were not just upset that Jesus was healing the sick and doing the miraculous in the Temple. What really upset them was what the people were saying, what the children were saying and doing. They were worshiping and praising Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of David, and that brought out the rage-filled accusations. The critics were trying to cut off the praise because, I think, they understood what its power would accomplish.

Throughout the book of Psalms David continually referred to those who opposed him, some violently, some verbally. With people after him and conspiring against him all the time, David learned the secret of dealing with these attacks. He did not try to employ the brilliance of his intellect or all the collective wisdom that he had acquired over the years. Instead, David brought the power and presence of God against his accusers, and that led him to victory and took the enemy to defeat.

David learned that when those who opposed him came with their accusations, lies, criticism and violence, giving praise and honor to God was the pathway to victory. This was the pathway that God had taught him to walk and David had carefully established it in his life. In the natural order of life, children and infants are the weakest of all. But when praise comes from even the very weakest, it is strong enough to silence the foe, the accuser, the opposition (see 1 Corinthians 1:27).

When we are under attack spiritually through lust, temptation, accusations or oppression, how do we silence these attackers? King David has shown us the way and it is by the power of praise. When our praise and worship reaches to God He responds (see Psalm 22:3). God’s presence silences the accuser just exactly the way the critics of Jesus were silenced when He quoted this verse to them. They had no comeback—they were stilled—and the attack became impotent.

To begin to praise when you are under attack is a discipline that you must work to get hold of if it is to be profitable in your spiritual life. The natural tendency when attacks come is to duck, run or fight back. I am not suggesting that you should not fight back; in fact, you should fight. But if you are going to raise the shield of faith, you have to learn to praise in difficult circumstances because true praise/worship is an act of faith. If you want to quench (silence) all the fiery darts of the enemy, you must begin to praise.

Men, when that spirit of fantasy and lust is on you and you begin to give time and space to it even though you know it’s wrong, you must take steps to break free. In order to do this, you must discipline yourself to thank and praise the Lord for who He is and for all He’s done in your life. This will not be easy—it is a discipline, a naked act of faith—but it works and it will silence the voice of the enemy. It will take time and effort to get this discipline established in your life but it will be worth it.

When those voices of doubt and uncertainty come—then it’s time to praise the Lord!

When those oppressive spirits come with their destructive thoughts—then it’s time to praise!

When those angry spirits come with their thoughts of violence and rage—then it’s time to praise!

When those proud spirits come to exalt themselves against all that is godly and holy—then it’s time to praise!

When those lying spirits come telling you it’s okay to compromise, cheat and steal—then it’s time to praise!

“Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength (praise) . . . to still (silence) the enemy” (Psalm 8:2, ESV).     

THE CHURCH THAT WAS DEAD AND DIDN'T KNOW IT!

The book of Revelation was dictated to the apostle John by Jesus Christ. Imprisoned by the Romans on the miserable little island of Patmos off the coast of Turkey, John had an incredible encounter with Jesus “in the Spirit.” What is it about painful circumstances that bring us close to the Lord? Why can’t they happen when I’m at Disneyland?

John had been the pastor/elder of the church at Ephesus and the overseer of the churches in Asia Minor. It was to the church John pastored and six others that Jesus had words of correction and commendation, but mostly correction. I can’t imagine that it was easy for John to hear what Jesus had to say about these churches that he was responsible for, but yet he had to know that what the Lord was saying was true.

The fifth church that Jesus addressed was the church of Sardis:

“I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember then, what you received and heard. Keep it and repent” (Revelation 3:1-3, ESV).

The ancient city of Sardis had seen its best days and was in decline. Sardis had a reputation for being a rather tawdry city that loved its luxury, apathy and immorality. It was still a wealthy city, situated at the junction of several important trade routes. The combination of wealth and pleasure-loving gave the city a notorious reputation for decadence.

The love of soft living and the lack of discipline were historical problems for Sardis. Situated on a mesa surrounded by cliffs, it seemed to be a city safe from attacking enemies.

About 550 B.C., Cyrus of Persia attacked the city but could not find a way to capture it. One of his soldiers studied the problem carefully and one day saw a defender accidentally drop a piece of equipment over the wall and down the cliff. The enemy soldier watched as the defender climbed down a hidden trail and retrieved the dropped item. The Persian soldier marked the location of the hidden trail and that night led a detachment of Persian soldiers up the trail and into the city.

When the Persians got to the top and came to the city walls, they found the city totally unguarded. The people and soldiers of Sardis were so confident in their natural defenses that they felt no need to keep a diligent watch. No one was on guard and the city was easily captured!

Jesus said of the church at Sardis, “You have the reputation of being alive but you are dead.”  This was a church full of activity—the calendar was loaded with activities and it was really a happening place. But the broken heart of the Savior said, “You are dead!” He then went on to say, “I have not found your works complete.” In other words, “What you are doing, the way you are living, is not pleasing to Me or to My Father.”

Jesus’ challenge to His church in Sardis was, “Wake up and strengthen what remains. Remember what you received and heard (were taught).” The church was as lax in its vigilance as the defenders of the city were and the arrogant church was wide open to spiritual attack.

And then Jesus says something that sets on edge the teeth of those who over-emphasize the grace message. Jesus says to His Church, “Repent.” There is a deviant teaching going around right now that says if you have given your life to Christ and received Him by faith, you never need to repent again. Well, those who teach that have a problem, but not with me. They have a problem with the Lord Himself because He is the one calling His Church to repent.

Jesus was not speaking here to pagans but to His church at Sardis. He is calling them to repent, to stop their bad behavior, to turn around and live like they really are God’s children.

The church at Sardis was full of activity, probably full of people, but they had lost their way spiritually and there was very little of the life of the Lord flowing in their midst. Their casual attitude and their love of the “good life” made them easy prey for the intrusions of the enemy. To that the Lord speaks with authority, “Wake up! Repent!”

As I have studied the churches of Revelation at length, I do not hear an angry, vengeful Lord ready to damn His Church to hell. No, not at all. What I hear is a concerned and brokenhearted Savior who wants so badly to be active with His Church, all of them. He is deeply disappointed and sad at the deviant and bad behavior patterns that are seen in five of the seven churches.

Our Savior stands ready to lead His Church forth in victory: “He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” 

AN ISLAND OF CALM IN A SEA OF CONFUSION

^“Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:18-20, NLT). 

This may seem like an unusual passage to use when writing about “calm in a time of confusion.” Let me try to clarify.

Paul had challenged the Ephesian church to an increased vigilance about the conduct of their lives because, he said, “the days are evil” (5:16). Paul follows this challenge with (and I’m paraphrasing), “For pity’s sake don’t be getting high—that’s not going to solve anything! Don’t fill yourself with chemicals to try to find some calm. Instead, let the peace of God, through the power of His Spirit, continually fill your life!”

Do you think it’s possible that before Paul’s conversion, during the days of his terror campaign against the Church, he experienced first-hand the need to find a way to calm himself? Is it possible that he fueled his attempts to find personal peace by getting drunk? I realize this is conjecture on my part, but Paul seems to know what this is all about.

Our world is growing increasingly chaotic and difficult to live in. The “perilous times” (hard to live with, hard to bear) that Paul predicted in 2 Timothy 3:1 are here now!

Paul’s message in these verses is a vital truth for us to lay hold of. A lot of Christians in the contemporary Church are filling themselves with things other than the Spirit of God! The calm of “chemical peace” is short-lived, is often followed by pain, and can easily lead to ruinous behavior; the calm of the Spirit is lasting, free of pain and readily refreshed!

The filling of the Spirit Paul was talking about was not a one-time happening. That is not what he is saying. The original language here is that we are to “be being filled.” In other words, this teaching is speaking of a continual filling.

When Paul wrote this letter to his friends in Ephesus, the Bible as we know it did not exist. Yes, they had portions of the Old Testament and copies of some of Paul’s earlier letters to other churches. But a large portion of the early Church could neither read nor write and they were dependent on what they heard as others read Scripture to them.

 

Paul was attempting to provide some practical ways for his friends to continually be full of the Spirit of God. He knew that one of the ways was to stay “in the Word.” Why? Because “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable” (2 Timothy 3:16, ESV). The Word of God is full of and superintended by the Holy Spirit. This is why Satan fights so hard to keep people out of the Word and causes them to question its relevancy. Satan knows how powerful the Word of God is!

So Paul encouraged the Ephesians, “Take a psalm and sing it or speak it to yourself and those around you, or a Scripture-based hymn and do the same. Or get really adventurous and make up a new song based on Scripture and sing it to the Lord as an act of praise and worship.”

If I understand the intent of the writer here, he is underscoring the importance of Scripture set to music in the public and private worship experience. Here at home, Carol and I love to have worship music playing in the house during the day. The Word of God coming to us through music has a calming and yet uplifting impact on our lives.

The primary responsibility of continually being filled with the Spirit is not with our church nor with our pastor . . . it is with us! Paul is teaching us that the power and presence of the Spirit can be ours, continually. We are to cultivate the fullness of the Spirit through worship and praise, both corporate and private, and through our continual interaction with His Word!

A couple of other points about cultivating the fullness of the Spirit:

·     “But You are holy, enthroned in (or by) the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3, NKJV). We are the spiritual Israel and when we truly worship we are “enthroning” Him in our lives. God responds to our praise and worship and He graces us with the fullness of His Spirit (see Isaiah 57:15).

·     “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6, NKJV). The key to being Spirit-full is found in this verse. If you don’t hunger for it, you won’t be full. The word “filled” means “to satisfy” and “shall be filled” means “satisfaction guaranteed!”

UNLEASHING THE PLAN OF GOD

Does it seem to you that things around us are unraveling more quickly than ever? I’m not talking about just the economy and international affairs, I’m thinking more about how quickly violence seems to erupt in unpredictable ways; how quickly international tensions arise; how quickly weather patterns change. If you don’t think so then just watch the news for a couple of days.

As I have been praying and thinking about personally preparing for 2014 and mentally wrestling to understand what is going on in our world, I have found myself frequently going to the book of Daniel. Daniel and his friends had been kidnapped and taken from their homes in Israel and forced to live in a foreign culture. They were being prepared to live their lives in a world that was not their choice. It is in this scenario that we read these words: “Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine” (1:8, NIV).

I want you to familiarize yourself with two words in verse 8. The first is “resolved” which is sometimes translated “purposed.” The use of the word here means that Daniel had an opinion or a philosophy that was firm, well established, not negotiable. In some contexts this word “resolved” means to stand upright rather than to lie down.

The second word is “defile” and it means to be polluted or stained. Pollution is often invisible but that doesn’t make it any less deadly. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has provided us with righteousness, meaning we are seen by God as wearing clean, white garments. If there are stains on what we are wearing it is because we have put our hands in the dirt and rubbed it on our clothes.

Daniel’s resolve was not about food and wine. I repeat—this is not about food and drink but about the lifestyle that they symbolize. Daniel was not down on the culture he was forced to live in, as foreign as it was to him, nor was he advocating a specific dietary structure. He was just making sure that he did not get entangled in a philosophy of life that would destroy his relationship with God.

I believe that Daniel’s resolve was birthed out of the concern, “How do I maintain my life with God while living in this pagan community?” The conclusion Daniel arrived at is valuable for us today. 

While our society is unraveling and becoming more unpredictable, it also continues to become increasingly secular and the invisible pollution of secularism intensifies. This is the air we breathe every day! How do we continue breathing this and not become polluted?

Daniel saw what was going on around him and came to a simple point of resolve. He and his friends chose to put the Lord first in everything, but that choice would not be without its challenges. Daniel ended up being thrown to the lions because he would not compromise his resolve to honor God, and his friends were thrown into the fire because they refused to worship the prevailing idols of their day. However, all these young men experienced the protection of God that was released unto them because they chose to honor Him and put Him first in their lives.

Daniel and his friends continually saw the favor and blessing of the Lord upon their lives while they lived in Babylon. Their testimonies were not destroyed because they dwelt in a hostile environment; in fact, the opposite was true. These Jewish immigrants lived their lives honorably and made a great impact in the Babylonian culture. Nebuchadnezzar made this statement when the three Hebrews walked out of the fiery furnace unscathed: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants, who trusted in Him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies, rather than serve and worship any god except their own God” (Daniel 3:28, ESV).

I believe the key to Daniel’s success is found in Daniel 1:8. He purposed/resolved to honor God as first, and when he did, it unleashed the plan of God for his life. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33, ESV). When this Scripture speaks of “His kingdom,” it is referring to His kingly rule in our lives; “righteousness” means that we seek to do that which pleases Him. In response to this “resolve,” He pledges with covenant faithfulness to respond to the seeker.

I do not make New Year’s resolutions! What I do, however, is to refresh my commitment to make Him first in my life. The greatest security we can have in an unraveling and polluting world is the protection of God’s plan being fully played out in our lives. The toxic savagery of a world system falling apart cannot destroy the purpose for which God created you, and honoring Him and living fully in His plan for you brings His hand of grace and protection.