BREAKING THE SPIRIT OF BARRENNESS! (PART ONE)

Has God quickened to your heart promises that you have not seen fulfilled? Are you in the midst of a very dry period in your spiritual life? Does it seem that your prayers get no higher than the ceiling? Has there been a withering to little or nothing of an area of your spiritual life or ministry that in the past has been extremely fruitful? If you answer yes to any of these questions, then the prophet Isaiah has a word of instruction and help for you!

      “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
            break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
            you who have not been in labor!
      For the children of the desolate one will be more
            than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD.

                                                                        (Isaiah 54:1, ESV)

When we hear of barren areas, we tend to think of landscape such as the surface of the moon or perhaps the hot, dry sand of the deserts throughout the world. Actually, those thoughts are accurate. In the Bible the word barren means “sterile, no forthcoming life” or it means “to be rendered useless and unfit for work.”

When the prophet Isaiah tells the barren to sing, to break forth into song, he is not suggesting that we burst out into a medley of our favorite pop music or a rousing chorus of our favorite college fight song. No, he is exhorting us to sing exuberant praise to the Lord in a ringing cry of exaltation, joy and rejoicing. 

When we are in a battle against fruitlessness, breaking out and singing is an act of faith that releases the power of God to work on our behalf. Worship and praise will lead the way to victory!

Many of us are reserved and we immediately think, “How could this ever work? Surely I have done something that has caused this unfruitfulness and I really should do penance for my mistake.” Singing and shouting praise and worship, we think, is just too simple! The answer must be more complicated than this. And then, our mind tells us, “Wow, singing and worshiping just doesn’t seem too classy!” That’s just the point.

The breaking of the barren spirit is typified in the destruction of the walls of Jericho. In Joshua 6:20 we read, “The people shouted a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city . . . and they took the city.”

The shout spoken of here is the shout of joy and rejoicing. It is the “faith song” of triumph over barrenness and resistance. There was nothing classy about what the people of Israel did. Their conduct defied good sense but they were obedient. Then when they were instructed to, they broke forth in a shout of joy that broke the back of the resistance that had held them back from possessing their inheritance.

The story of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail is well known (see Act 16:19-40). “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God . . . and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s bonds were unfastened” (verses 25-26, ESV). The apostles were not amusing themselves by singing “Let’s cheer up and have a good attitude” songs in the midst of their confinement, but they were praying and worshiping Almighty God. As they sang and worshiped, God’s power was released and they were set free to continue their miraculous missionary journey.

  

Take a careful look at what the prophet Habakkuk says about barrenness and securing the victory through praise and worship.

      Though the fig tree should not blossom,

            Nor fruit be on the vines; 

      The produce of the olive fail

            And the fields yield no food,

      The flock be cut off from the fold,

            And there be no herd in the stalls,

      Yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
            I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
     GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
            He makes my feet like the deer’s;
      He makes me tread on my high places.

                                                                        (Habakkuk 3:17-19, ESV)

In other words, Habakkuk declared that when barrenness surrounded him, by faith he began to sing and rejoice. The prophet knew that praise and worship would bring the presence of the Lord and with it would come His strength. Further, the prophet understood that it would be the strength of the Lord that would establish the breakthrough and set him to walking in victory! Can you say AMEN?

A higher level of loudness on the decibel scale is not important or necessary. We are just to stay intently passionate and focused with our singing of praise and worship. “I will rejoice . . . I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

I think it is time for the choir known as “The Barren, Broken and Needy Chorale” to sing! Are you ready? Come, join me, and let’s sing our songs of praise and worship!

SALTY CHRISTIANS

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet” (Matthew 5:13, ESV).

What image immediately springs to mind when I say “salt”? Perhaps it’s a saltshaker; salty french fries; saltwater going up your nose when you are swimming in the ocean; putting rock salt on icy sidewalks in winter; rings of salt on your clothes after you have been sweating. We all have different images that pop up.

What was Jesus saying when He said that “you are the salt of the earth”?

In Bible times salt had several common uses:

       1.  Preservative — Salt was used to preserve meat, for example. When things were rotting around it, meat was preserved by an ample application of salt. Salt has cleansing and preservative qualities. On long  trips, travelers carried meat packed in salt.

          2.   Seasoning — Salt was put on food of all kinds as an agent of taste enhancement. Most people think food tastes better with a just-so-subtle use of salt as a seasoning.

          3.   Medicinal — Salt also has medicinal qualities. For hundreds of years it has been a common home remedy for a lot of things. Often people with a sore throat will gargle with saltwater. Salt is sometimes used to treat minor burns, infections, bee stings, bug bites and even poison oak and poison ivy.

Today, in areas that get snow and ice in the winter, salt is used to melt the ice. It occurs to me as I write this that perhaps if there were more salty believers in our churches, just maybe it would warm things up a bit. (I wonder if they call that a revelation or could it be the chili cheese-dog I had for breakfast?)

So if we are salt, that is saying that we are to be salt-like in a decaying/rotting world. By standing for biblical truth we are acting as a preservative. As we display compassion for the sick and needy, in and out of the church, we are displaying the healing quality of salt. Salt as a flavor enhancer is quite subtle but “oh, so important!” We need more Christ-followers to live up to being salt—to be seasoning without being obnoxious—so that just as salt makes a taste difference so do “salty Christians.”

When we put these purposes together, we get a clearer picture of what Jesus had in mind when He said, “You are the salt of the earth.” Jesus was saying, “The salt is there but what are you going to do about it? Are you going to rise to the occasion and be what you should be or will you lose your flavor by sitting on the shelf?” Jesus is saying that it is the destiny of a follower to be salt. The power of salt is wasted and it might as well be thrown out if it is sitting on a shelf or resting in a shaker.

When we speak of salty Christians, we are talking about seasoned warriors who have been tried in the combat fields of real life. Over the years they have proven that they not only “talk the talk” but they also “walk the walk.” These are warriors who have weathered storms, gone through dry spells and been bewildered at times. They are believers who have experienced much and have grown and matured in their faith and in their walk with God through their trials. Their experiences have brought them to a level where their faith is not easily shaken by circumstances. They have been preserved in trials and times of wilderness wandering; they have struggled but have emerged triumphant. They are truly seasoned believers; the salt has been rubbed in and they have embraced their saltiness.

I personally believe that the Church is already in the early stages of a very stormy period. Some theologians and futurists that I read are talking about an approaching perfect storm. It will be the confluence of three or four major storms, including the cultural storm of post-modernity and the religious storm of post-Christianity (in the West).

Storms tend to have a purifying effect on everything they touch. In Texas we are assaulted by thunderstorms, tornadoes and the occasional hurricane, when everything that is not tied down or is without a good foundation seems to get blown away. Buildings that are solidly built with a good foundation may have some cosmetic damage but they normally survive.

So it will be in the “stormy weather” we are heading into. Those who lead and help others in this coming cataclysm will not be the “Sunday morning Christians” who just don’t have time to read and pray, to study and grow, and be active in their faith life. Most likely these foundationless friends will have difficulty surviving the winds and fury of the storm/persecution that is coming. The survivors will be the seasoned (read “salty”) saints who have already endured their own personal storms. They have been tried and didn’t fade, but instead they grew in grace and love. The “salty” ones will survive and lead in the coming storms.

I WANNA BE IN A PARADE!

I have a fondness in my heart for parades. As a boy in Vancouver, Canada, on New Year’s Day I loved to watch on television the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. Weather on New Year’s Day in Vancouver was often cold and wet and occasionally we might have snow. To sit at home and watch people along the parade route wearing lightweight clothing, with the temperature in the sixties or seventies, created a warm place in my heart for parades. But when we lived in Los Angeles, and we did for sixteen years, I never attended the parade in person—my preference was to watch it on TV.

When Carol and I lived in New York, I enjoyed watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade but, alas, I never went to the parade site, as my fondness extended only to watching it on TV.

But there is a parade that I am proud to say that I am in and I do mean IN. The Apostle Paul speaks of it in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16: “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to life, to the other a fragrance from life to life.”

Paul, of course, lived during the time of the Roman Empire. When he wrote this passage, he had in mind the Roman Triumph, which was the triumphal entry of a military hero into the city of Rome. In a Triumph, the procession of the victorious general marched through the streets of Rome to the Capitol. First in the parade came the officials of the state, then came the trumpeters, then soldiers carrying spoils from the conquered land. Soon followed the captive rulers and captured generals in chains, who would be executed before the day was over. Following them came the musicians and the pagan priests swinging their censers with sweet-smelling incense burning in them. All along the parade route you could smell the aroma of the burning spices. Finally in the parade rode the conquering general, followed by his army, all of whom were shouting, “Lo, Triumohe!”—a shout of joy or triumph.

This is the picture in Paul’s mind. He sees Christ marching in triumph and all His people marching with Him in the conquering troop. Christ is in the lead and we, His warriors, march behind Him enjoying the benefits of His victory. As His army, we fight not for victory but from victory. Those who march behind the Conqueror are emitting the sweet-smelling fragrance of victory, the sweet fragrance of the Son of God, the Conqueror.

This is powerful imagery to take in. I trust that in the days ahead you will take time to contemplate (meditate) on this wonderfully rich passage. It is worth your time to let the Holy Spirit bring this Word from the Lord alive in your life and your spirit. It is the sound and smell of victory!

Let me leave you with a few thoughts from my heart to yours:

1.     Who is leading your parade? If Jesus is not the ultimate source of leadership in your life, then why is He not? Who could possibly replace Him?

2.     Is there a distinctive sense of victory in your life? If we truly are to be living our lives based on the victory that Christ won on the cross, then why is the American church in retreat? Why are so many American and Canadian Christians living such dismal spiritual lives? How can this be? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

3.     Paul used the intriguing word picture that the army of the Lord is the aroma/fragrance of Christ to those who are perishing. That distinctive sweet smell is the Holy Spirit bearing His fruit in the lives of His believers. It is nothing less than the rich bouquet of the fruit of the Spirit.

There are Spirit-filled congregations and people all around the world who have the distinctive fragrance of the fruit of the Spirit encompassing them. Carol and I moved our family to Los Angeles in the mid-1970’s. As we looked for a home church, we visited The Church on the Way pastored by Dr. Jack Hayford. Sitting in the very first service, both Carol and I began to weep during worship as we were overcome by the fragrance of the Lord’s presence. We knew, as we sat there, that we were home—and, indeed, that fellowship became our church home for the next fourteen years. The hardest part of moving to another part of the state was leaving that church that was so permeated by the fragrance of the presence of the Lord.

My question to you is simple but is sure to rouse some emotions. What is the distinctive fragrance that surrounds your life? Is it the rich bouquet of the fruit of the Spirit or is it the bouquet of something else? Are you attracting people to the Lord? Is your life an encouragement to other believers? Do you need to check your fragrance?

WHO ARE THE HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND?

Just when I think I will not write any more on the book of Revelation, I am captivated by another of the Apostle John’s Revelation snapshots. John wrote down what he saw in the Spirit and it became for us a type of picture album called the Book of Revelation.

In chapter 14 John is given a glimpse of the Lamb (the Lord Jesus) and with Him the hundred forty-four thousand. Who were the hundred forty-four thousand? Well, there is a lot of conjecture about this among the prophecy teachers. I think it’s safe to assume that whoever this group is, they represent all those who are redeemed by the blood of Christ and will be with Him in eternity.

What captured my attention so strongly is what is contained in two of the verses describing the hundred forty-four thousand:

“It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless” (Revelation 14:4-5, ESV). Three things jump out at me from this passage:

1.     “It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.”

     

At this moment in the life of the Church one of the fundamentals of the faith has been largely forgotten. We are constantly being told through advertising, books, etc. that “God wants you to be a leader.” Leadership is continually being overstressed and the Church has lost sight of a very simple fact: “You cannot be a leader until you first have learned to be a follower and a disciple.”

When Jesus began calling His disciples into His service, in almost every case the invitation was, “Follow Me.” Often there was no other enticement offered. Once, in almost an overstatement, Jesus said, “Follow Me and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). The words “make you become” indicate a progressive, discipling process and that does not happen overnight.

I believe there is a reason why the Lord calls us to “follow Him” in such an abrupt manner. I know this was certainly true when the Lord first spoke to me about following His call. I knew it was the Lord speaking to me. His voice was clear, strong, loving and captivating but if He had said much more than “Follow Me” at that time, I would have been unable to process it. I knew I must follow and follow I did! I responded to the initial “Follow Me” direction, and focus came step by step as I pursued Him.

Fifty-two years later, I am still a follower and He is still my shepherd/leader. I will always be a follower—who cares about being a leader?

2.     “These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb.”

As I said above, there is a lot of speculation about the identity of the hundred forty-four thousand. I simply will not join in on the conversation on this. Are they all Jews? Perhaps! Are they a representative group of all those who have been redeemed from all time? Perhaps! 

What we do know is that this group is depicted in the words of Jesus as a type of firstfruits.

At the ancient Jewish harvest time, the first sheaf of the crop was offered to the Lord as the “firstfruits,” signifying the expectation of a much larger harvest. The firstfruits offering also communicated thankfulness and indicated that the entire harvest belonged to God.

This verse in Revelation tells us that whoever the hundred forty-four thousand are, as “firstfruits” they represent an immense body of followers of Jesus Christ that will make up the population of heaven. It is safe to say that all those we will join in heaven will number in the billions . . . and, indeed, I said billions!

I was talking with my wife about heaven’s population becoming so huge and she said, “Yes, there will be a lot of people there but it will never be crowded.” Well said, Babe, well said!

3.     “And in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.”

One of the fundamental issues being hotly debated even as I write this article is over the inerrancy of Scripture. Well-meaning, but misguided, highly popular Christian musicians suggest that Scripture has no relevant teaching on important issues of morality; that it needs to be reinterpreted in light of contemporary life and issues. Because they are well known, their statements quickly go viral and before others can restore sanity, great damage is done. Hundreds of thousands of young people and adults buy the unfortunate mistruth and for many of them their personal morality takes another step . . . downward and away from truth and away from victorious living.

Who is the father of lies, the progenitor of this deception? Who was it who brought the first issue of deception into the Garden of Eden? Satan is the father of lies and lying is his native language (see John 8:44 and Genesis 3:13). It is Satan’s goal to deceive and mislead God’s children, to get them to fill their mouth with lies.

I believe the hundred forty-four thousand will be battle-tested children of God. Tested by the enemy, they have found their triumph through Jesus Christ and have refused to “bite the apple of the enemy’s lie.” If they did slip and bite the apple, they spit out the mouthful, repented and continued to walk in the victory of the Lord. Because of the humility of the hundred forty-four thousand and because of their dependence upon Jesus Christ, they are declared “blameless.”

All I can tell you is to spit out the lies of the enemy, ask God to forgive and restore you in those areas that were broken down and then, with the confidence of heaven, walk on in victory. When you do so, God declares you “blameless.”

COME OUT OF THE STRONGHOLD

  

Before David was actually crowned the king of Judah, he went through several years of testing.  It was during this time that David’s character was formed and his relationship with God was deepened.

This episode in his life begins when David had to flee because Saul was trying to kill him (1 Samuel 21:10-15). David fled into Philistine territory where he was quickly recognized as the man who had killed their hero Goliath, and this put him at risk. When David heard what the people were saying about him, his concern turned to fear, and to protect himself he pretended to be insane. The Philistine leaders observed his bizarre behavior and wanted nothing to do with a madman, so they wouldn’t let him stay.

David again ran and this time he ended up staying out of sight in a cave, also in Philistine territory. Somehow word spread that David was in hiding and some of his family came to be with him—but they were not the only ones. About 400 others who were in distress, in debt, in all sorts of trouble, came to join David. This is how David became the leader of an army of malcontents: angry, bitter people running away from their problems, running from their hurt and sickness.

After a time, David and his ragtag army left the cave and journeyed to the land of the Moabites where they dwelt in a stronghold. It was there that one of God’s prophets, Gad, came to David with a message from the Lord: “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go to the land of Judah” (1 Samuel 22:5, ESV). 

This is a pretty straightforward message: “Stop running around and hiding in enemy territory and get back to the country where you belong.” David took the message to heart and he and his “army” left Moab and went into one of the remote areas of Judah.

What does this have to do with us in 2014? Actually, it is a very powerful word for every believer!

Sometimes life beats up on us; we get hammered and beaten down because of disappointments, discouragement, sickness and a thousand and one other reasons. At times like these it is very easy to retreat, “hide in a cave,” and stop pressing on. Have you ever felt like that? I have—and I admit it. There are moments as I move through troubling circumstances that I find myself thinking, “I just can’t go on; I’m too tired and I’ve fought so long and so hard. I can’t keep doing this.” 

The word stronghold means “a net, a trap, a snare” and it also means “a position that has been fortified against attack.” When I give in to my feelings of discouragement, I am giving in to a snare, a trap, and as long as I stay there that’s exactly what happens to me . . . I’m trapped. Sometimes when we stay in such a situation we begin to erect defensive positions to protect ourselves from further hurt.

The prophet’s word to David was, “Go to the land of Judah” (1 Samuel 22:5). One of meanings of Judah is “praise.” And this is the word of the Lord to all of us today: “Don’t stay in the land of despair; get up and move into the land of praise.” It will take some effort on your part, as it has on mine, but you can do this!

I choose to live in the land of praise and rejoicing instead of giving in to feelings of despair and self-pity. When I feel despair beginning to rise, I respond by beginning to worship and rejoice.

Almost four years ago I went through a very aggressive treatment for throat cancer: thirty-nine radiation treatments and three and a half weeks of being on chemo twenty-four hours a day, five days each week. During my time in the valley of cancer I learned afresh the prevailing power of praise. In addition to my daily devotional times, whenever I sensed that anxiety or fear was beginning to rise in me I would begin to praise and worship the Lord. I’ve written on this before so I won’t deal at length with it here. God comes to His people when they are praising Him (Psalm 22:3) and fear and anxiety cannot exist in God’s presence.

The word of the Lord to David was, “Don’t stay in the stronghold; depart, and go to the land of Judah.” To get to Judah David had to “depart” and that meant he had a choice to make. To go or stay is the question David had to answer—and so do we. To depart means we are coming out of the stronghold we’ve erected for ourselves, and by learning to praise we begin to live in the fortress/stronghold that God has promised He would be for us.

“The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!” (Psalm 9:9-11, ESV).