DO NOT LOSE HEART!

There are so many evil, bizarre things happening in our world that some reading this article are staggering in their faith. The cold wind of iniquity is trying to extinguish the faith of all of us.  Jesus prophesied that this time would come: “And because lawlessness [sin] will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12, NKJV). In the very next verse He said that those who stand fast in their faith will be okay. Take heart! This word is for you!

Isaiah 7:1-9 is a powerful word of understanding and encouragement for many who read this blog. Here’s the story in a nutshell.

Ahaz was the king of Judah (also known as the House of David) whose capital city was Jerusalem. The Jewish nation was divided into two kingdoms at that time: Judah was the southern kingdom and Israel (also known as Ephraim) was the northern kingdom. Judah had been attacked separately by Israel and Syria (Aram) and was barely able to fight off these attacks—but then came the bad news. The king of Judah, Ahaz, received word that these two enemy nations had formed an alliance and jointly they would attack Judah.

When Ahaz was informed of this new alliance and their war plan, verse 2 says, “So the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.” Ahaz and his leaders were staggered at the thought of these two nations joining forces, and the military might and destruction that would be unleashed on them. Their world had been shaken and they were overcome with fear!

During the period of several centuries following the death of Solomon, the Jewish nation was in a dark and evil time. The nation separated into two kingdoms and for the most part both kingdoms were in open disobedience to God. God faithfully sent prophets to the rulers and the people of both kingdoms to call them back to Him, to call them to repentance. At times the southern kingdom responded to God’s call, but then would return to pagan debauchery. The northern kingdom never once heeded the message of the prophets and became increasingly evil.

Once again, as Judah was struck with the terrifying news of the impending attack, in faithfulness God spoke to one of the prophets, Isaiah, and told him to meet with Ahaz. God gave Isaiah a strong and clear word for the king and the people. Here is the essence of the word of the Lord for Ahaz—and it is for us, as well.

Verse 4: “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two” (NIV).

·      Be careful—Don’t let fear or fearful circumstances cause you to make rash and foolish decisions (Proverbs 19:2).

·      Keep calm—Don’t panic when you hear of tumultuous things happening. God is still in charge (Psalm 29:10-11).

·      Don’t be afraid—Fear paralyzes us and instead of doing the right things, we do nothing or we do foolish things; don’t give in to the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7).

·      Don’t lose heart—Don’t give up, don’t quit, no matter how difficult it looks. Don’t become fainthearted, weak or timid. Don’t lose your heart to follow and trust God. Proverbs says we are to “guard our heart” (Proverbs 4:23). The heart is where victory is established and quitting is birthed!

Verse 7 - The prophet thunders to the terrified leaders of Judah: “The Sovereign Lord says: It will not take place, it will not happen” (NIV). And, indeed, no attack took place. Ahaz and the leaders had responded in fear to the threat of an attack.

One of the primary weapons of “the terrorist of all times, the father of terrorism” is to try to build fear in the hearts of those he is attempting to victimize through threats and allusions. 1 John 4:18 teaches us that fear has torment—it is a form of terrorism!

I heard it said years ago that “fear is the down payment on 90 percent of things that never happen.” If we embrace the lies/threats of “the terrorist,” we will be weakened, our faith will lose its vitality, and we will be overcome.

Verse 9 - Isaiah finishes this word with this very potent statement that reaches across the centuries to where we are today: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9b NIV).

This is not the time to be putting your faith in anything but in Him. Faith in the church is not going to cut it; having faith in people is dangerous; having faith in pet doctrines about faith is dangerous. Our world is being shaken! Things we thought never would happen, are! People who we thought were trustworthy, aren’t. And because of all this, some are giving up; they have lost heart!

God’s word to us is, “Don’t lose heart, stand firm in your faith!” We are to love Him! We are to trust Him! God alone is our salvation!

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal” (Isaiah 26:3-4, NIV).

THE BEGINNING OF GUIDANCE

The couple was very unhappy. They had joined the staff of a megachurch but soon found the egocentricity of the pastor and his wife very discouraging. The politics, bickering and lack of loyalty among the staff only added to their discomfort. They were asked, “What are you going to do?” and their response was, “We’re not telling anyone on staff, but as soon as we can find another position equal to this or better, we’ll take it and move on.”

A mutual friend invited me to comment on the situation and I stumbled over my words for a minute before I spoke to the issue. “What they are planning to do is not the way of guidance in the kingdom of God,” I said. I am not saying it doesn’t ever happen that a door will open up and then you make the move, but it is not the pattern of Scripture. The way of the world is to find a new opportunity without telling your boss and then go in and quit. I believe this is what Jesus referred to as “the way of the Gentiles” and He told His disciples not to proceed in that pathway (see Matthew 10:5).

I went on, “Especially for people in ministry, it is vital that they get their direction from the Lord. If they clearly had a word from the Lord to take this position, then He will be the one to tell them when to leave. Has He spoken to them about this?” My question was greeted with silence.

There is nothing wrong with a good plan but let it be secondary to the direction the Lord gives.

There must be a place where guidance begins, where it starts to flow in our lives. Far too often we want to know the end result first. We want to see fully where we are going and if the end goal is “good for me.” It is not uncommon for someone to pick up a novel and read the last few pages before starting on page one. That’s human nature.

It is important for us to realize that divine guidance is most often a progressive revelation and, like every process, every procedure, there is a beginning point. Every explosion has a point of detonation that sets the explosive power loose. Where do we find that in guidance?

Genesis 12:1 (see also Hebrews 11:8):

Now the LORD had said to Abram, “Get out of your country, from your family, and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.”

Abraham’s journey began with his act of obedience to the word the Lord had given him and it is the act of obedience that starts the miracle of divine guidance in your life.

This is the first part of God’s promise to Abraham (vv.1-3). The remainder was about what his offspring would become and how God would bless him and protect him. God did not tell Abraham exactly where he was going but He did promise him a progressive revelation, a step-by-step “I will show you.”

I can testify to the validity of this principle. More than once God has spoken to me about making a step that to me seemed, well . . . difficult to understand! More than once I have argued with the Lord that “just in case You have forgotten, I have a family, I have responsibilities. I am a man who works with a well laid-out plan, so tell me what’s in the future if I do this.” God’s response to my brilliant logic was, “Do you trust Me?” And He has proven His trustworthiness, over and over. As it was with Abraham, so it will be with us.

In Genesis 24 Abraham is now an old man. He calls his chief servant to him and gives him an assignment. The servant is to go to the country where Abraham was born and find a wife for Isaac. Not a difficult assignment, but where in the world do you start? The chapter recounts the successful trip that ended in the servant bringing back Rebekah to be Isaac’s wife. The testimony of the servant is very revealing about God’s faithfulness to lead His children, and it’s a testimony to the progressive nature of God’s, “I will show you.” 

“And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren” (Genesis 24:27, KJV).

One of the lessons I first learned when starting to drive is so simple that it’s kind of ridiculous to repeat it. It is easier to correct the direction of a car when it is moving than when it is parked. Simple, right? Just get the car moving, even very slowly, and you can refine the direction it is headed. The very same truth is applicable in how God guides our lives. Do we believe it? Not so much! Instead we rationalize and say, “God, show me where I’m going and I’ll make the move.”  How’s that working out for you?

“I, being on the journey, the Lord continues to lead me!” (David, 07/15, The New Living Amplified Version)

THE PATH TO A MORE POWERFUL CHRISTIAN LIFE

Christianity is under attack from without and from within. Terrorist groups are attacking Christians all over the world. Within the church we are seeing the rise of a variety of movements that are calling for Scripture to be reinterpreted or modified on serious issues such as morality. Some are even demanding the acceptance of leftist ideology as a part of the church’s message. Truly we are living in “the days of difficulty” that the apostle Paul prophesied about in 2 Timothy 3:1.

If there ever were days when we need God’s power to be clearly seen in our lives, I believe it is now! We need the power of God to stand against the evil flow that is coming against us.

Anticipating exactly where we would be in this hour, Jesus has given us a clear path toward a more powerful life.

In John 7, at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus cried out to the crowd:

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37-39).

In this passage we are given the path to a powerful Christian life. The path is marked out by four words.

1.      THIRST

Jesus uses the word thirst to express intense desire. This is not the casual, cultural Christianity that rarely prays, almost never reads and studies God’s Word, and is contented with a one-hour per week attendance at church.

Those that are “thirsty” cannot get enough of God’s Word. They love to spend time in His presence in prayer and worship and most of them find the brief weekly church service an affront to them and to God.

In Matthew 5:6 Jesus says, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

Spiritual thirst and hunger are the primary keys to all spiritual growth. Casual Christianity does not bring about growth or victory. No hunger, no thirst equals no growth, no power.

2.      COME

When Jesus called His disciples out of their old life into life with Him, He said to each of them, “Follow Me” (see Matthew 4:19, John 21:22) and His instructions to all His people have never changed. In this passage in John 7, Jesus says to the thirsty, “Come to Me.”

Attending Joel Osteen’s church, watching Kenneth Copeland on TV, or reading John Maxwell’s books is not going to impart to you . . . power! The power for an overcoming life, the power to face the future, comes only from Him. We have to get this right. His instructions are clear: “Come to Me.” How do we do that? We come humbly and honestly in prayer and through the Word.

3.      DRINK

Jesus then tells us what to do when we come to Him. What He says is so simple and we have a tendency to make it so complicated. Jesus tells us to “drink.” That’s right, He has called us to be drinkers! Thirsty people need to drink.

In John 4 Jesus met the Samaritan woman at a well where she was drawing water. Jesus said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (John 4:10). And then He said, “The water that I shall give will become . . .  a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (4:14).

In its simplest form the word drink means “take.” This is saying to the Lord, “I receive from You the promised power. I surrender to the Holy Spirit and give myself to His leading and control. I come to You to drink!”

4.      BELIEVE

The final key word in Jesus’ instructions is “believe.” We are to believe His Word that says, “out of our heart (inner most being) will flow rivers of living water.” We are to “believe” that the power of God will flow out of our lives. The clearest understanding of how this works will come as the need for power arises—and it will be there.

The word believe as it is used here means “to expect.” We are to confidently expect the power of God to be there when we need it. 

Power is shown in action. This is what James wrote about when he said, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). In other words, “Faith comes alive through action.”

Nearly fifty years later, when the apostle John was recording Jesus’ words, he added the statement in verse 39 that Jesus was speaking about the Holy Spirit being the agent of power. However, at the time Jesus said this, the Holy Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet ascended to heaven.

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

HE WENT BACK TO SODOM

  

God spoke to Abraham and he left his home and began a journey to a land that God promised to show him (Genesis 12:1). Abraham stepped out in faith and took his wife, Sarah, and his nephew Lot with him. Because Abraham followed God’s direction, God blessed both him and Lot and they became wealthy in livestock, silver and gold (13:2, 5). The blessing of God was so strong on the two that they needed to live apart because the land could not support both of them living in close proximity. Abraham allowed Lot to choose where he wanted to live and Lot chose the Jordan Valley and the city of Sodom, even though the men of Sodom were widely known to be very wicked (13:13).

Sometime later a group of neighboring kings invaded the Valley of Jordan and Lot was taken captive, along with his family. When Abraham heard about this, he mobilized his forces and rescued Lot and recovered all his possessions and family.

After his rescue, Lot went back to Sodom. The question one has to ask is, “Why would Lot return to Sodom knowing that it was a place of great evil?” Is it possible that the depravity of Sodom and Lot’s acceptance of it had gotten into his heart and soul and clouded his thinking?

Again, time passed and Abraham had an encounter with three heavenly beings (angels). A part of that encounter pertained to their journey to Sodom to see firsthand if it was as wicked as was thought and to destroy Sodom and all the towns around it (Genesis 18:16-21).

Abraham immediately began to intercede for God’s mercy to be displayed on behalf of any righteous people living in Sodom. After a lengthy and complicated time of intercession, the angel of the Lord left and  two other angels went on to Sodom. They met Lot soon after their arrival and he prevailed upon them to stay in his home.

Very shortly after the angels’ arrival in Lot’s home, the men of the city showed up and demanded that the visitors come out to them so that they could violate them sexually. Lot then did something that totally boggles my mind. Lot appealed to the men of the city not to touch the visitors and offered his virgin daughters to the mob, instead, for them to be abused in any way the men wished. What in the world was going on in this father’s mind?

Before I speak to the issue of what was going on in Lot’s mind, please let me paint this picture with some contemporary understanding. First, Sodom is a type of the corrupted world system and, second, Lot is a type of the compromised New Testament believer, a sad picture of the lukewarm Laodicean church (Revelation 3:14-22).

So what had entered into Lot’s mind and spirit that caused him to return to the notorious city of Sodom and then act the way he did when his guests were threatened?

The first thing I see is that Lot had found a place of prominence there; he was accepted as an important person, a leader. When the angels arrived in Sodom, they found Lot sitting in the gate of the city (Genesis 19:1). “Sitting in the gate of the city” was reserved for men of authority and prominence and it seems to show that Lot had been accepted there. The sad commentary on much of the contemporary church is that the more it has been accepted, the more it has lost its edge in witness and worship. Prominence and acceptance are addictive, constraining and corrupting, and are to be handled with extreme caution.

The second thing I see is that the perversion of the city had corrupted Lot. When Lot saw the visitors coming into the city, he knew they were not safe there and he rightly invited them into his home for the night. When the crowd came demanding the visitors, Lot’s corruption came out and he offered his daughters instead. No man living for God would ever make such an offer. This is the reaction of a man who had allowed the corruption of the world around him to taint his life and his soul. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).

The third thing I see is that Lot liked living in Sodom, he liked what he was doing and what he was involved in. When the angels told Lot what was about to happen and warned that Sodom was about to be destroyed, he did not want to leave — he liked it in Sodom. The angels had to take him by the hand and literally drag him out of the city (19:16). We do not hear much teaching anymore about the Second Coming of Christ, the rapture of the saints. Why is that? Could it be because so many in the church are very happy living in Sodom and are not too happy with the idea of leaving?

I wish Lot’s story ended on a happy note of joyous freedom and deliverance but it doesn’t. Lot’s wife was an unhappy participant in the exodus from Sodom. Even though the angels gave explicit instructions to move out and only look ahead, Lot’s wife did not follow the directions. She looked back and died! Lot and his daughters eventually went to a cave in the mountains to hide and the daughters got their father drunk so they could have sex with him and get pregnant. Out of their disgraceful behavior each daughter gave birth to a son, who became the fathers of two of the neighboring tribes that would attack Israel for centuries to come. The Moabites and the Ammonites were vicious foes of Israel and they were direct descendants of Lot and Abraham.

The lesson here is that when parents are casually accepting of sinful behavior, the consequences are more violently manifested in their children.

Lot went back to Sodom! He was enamored with the way it fed his senses and catered to his needs, and he did not understand the price he would pay to live there.

IT'S EVENING IN SODOM

Here's the link to the video message Its Evening In Sodom.

http://www.gracechapel.net/media/detail/its-evening-in-sodom