God is Enough – God uses nobodies, the stones in the desert

All around was desert – the prophet’s voice boomed out over the wasteland at the ruling elite, the Pharisees, he warned them thus-

Matt 3:9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.”

These were the leaders of the nation, the political elite – at their disposal were political connections –they were connected to Herod the ruthless king (bringing Jesus to his palace to condemn Him), they had their own military power – the temple guards, they had wealth and influence and position as the esteemed religious elite of their day.

The prophet was likely to be pointing out at the rocks in the wasteland furiously as he shouted about the stones that God could use to raise up Children of God.

Stones in the desert – sunbaked, parched, dry, in the barren wasteland, the home of scorpions and lizards, a wasteland of death and desolation.

From the nothingness of a desert God could and would raise up men, apostles, prophets, men who turned the known world upside down (acts 17:6), challenging the entrenched power structures, filled with the word, truth and power of God. John the Baptist was one such man arising from the desert nothingness and challenging the kings and leaders of his day.

Of Elijah the prophet, also interestingly – there is no origin story in the bible – no credentials of high birth, nor illustrious education nor political privilege or stellar lineage. All it says in 1 kings 17 is the location where he is from. Another nobody from the desert raised as a prophet.

The apostles were also of a similar cut and pattern:

Acts 4:13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

Fishermen, uneducated, not having the right network, lucrative career or political connections turned the world upside down.  How much education do we need to do God’s work? God apparently does not think that much is needed.

How? God raised them up. They were in the presence of Jesus. They sat at His feet and heard His word.

An impossible task lies before us – to preach the gospel in all the world and to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey the commandments of God.

Do we in the middle class, westernized society sometimes we say – we don’t have the resources, we don’t have the connections, we don’t have the prestige, we don’t have the political connections, we don’t know the right people?

We are looking to man and the arm of flesh to accomplish that which God already promised which He would do – to go with us and give us all His power and His authority to do what He commanded. 

Are we not common people as the apostles were? That is enough. Only be surrendered to Jesus Christ and it will prove the biblical pattern that God uses the weak, the nobodies of the earth that He may be made famous, glorified that His person and character and gospel may be preached in all the earth.

Matt 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 [e]Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you [f]always, even to the end of the age.”

HE promised His power and His presence. It is enough. And that is all that is needed to complete the enormity of the works of kingdom and to finish these works in our day. Let us not look to worldly means to finish that which he promised. Only stand still, believe and keep only Jesus in our hearts as the one we rejoice in, and as the one who is able to do impossible things for the glory of His name. God is enough!

What is success in God's eyes?

If we think about it, God has a drastically different idea of success compared to us who live in the middle class 21st Century. John the baptist was born not rich, spent decades in the desert, had a huge impact preaching the gospel for a few years, had little by way of finances, discipled a small band of people and died alone in prison, poor and with his disciples scattered to the wind. His ministry had no lasting legacy to his own name - except that they were subsumed to a greater legacy- to become disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. By all criteria which we would evaluate professional ministers today, he would be an abject failure if he lived in our age. Zero possessions and finances, not much clothing to speak of, massive following - viral success but only for a for the briefest time - but no successor and no organization to continue his work - his own disciples did not carry on his teachings, they updated their beliefs, and so he had no lasting legacy in the world, he possessed zero material comforts of a home, or even a bed. Earned the wrath of the political elite by speaking truth to Herod and his wife. Died by execution, alone, poor, and abused in a prison cell. No name, no possessions, no fame.

Yet Jesus declares - Matt 11:11 ‘among those born of women, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist’ - Jesus says - here’s the greatest prophet who had ever lived, greater than Elijah, greater than Moses. Apparently John achieved the will of God for his life - which was to prepare the way of repentance and holiness by turning many to Jesus. His whole life was pleasing to God and though he might have been regarded by many to have been insignificant in the world - poor, despised and persecuted, to God, he played a vital and essential part fulfilling his role faithfully in bringing repentance, in the plan of God - and in the history of the gospel on earth.

How are we evaluating our lives? Are we depressed because we are using worldly measures of success? God has a different way of measuring success - even in prison when there was no sign or visible outward indicator of fruitfulness, John was successful. Are we doing what He wants us to do and faithful in it? That is the only definition that God uses for us today.

Fatal Error : “God only works within the box of my preferred denominational belief system”

Denominationalism: making God in our image

JB Phillips expressed the heart of the error of ‘denominationalism’ succinctly:

It is this: that humankind has a bad habit of projecting our personal denominational pet beliefs, preferences, sacraments and slants, onto God.

To illustrate, it could mean that God, to a card-carrying member of the church of England, would be the deified and glorified image of an ideal Anglican man.

His argument follows: that we, at once, see the how totally ridiculous that notion is – how small we are making God and how we are taking the infinite wisdom, power, and freedom of God to act and stuffing Him within our limits. Saying that ‘God only works within the box of my preferred system of denominational belief.’ We limit God to only work within what we say He can do, and do things the way we think he does, according to our preferred interpretation of the scriptures.

This is just one of many techniques we have of shrinking God to a man-sized level so that He takes the form of the familiar, He becomes something that we can be comfortable with. It works for nationalities also – people create God in the image of their nationality. But God is not American, Australian or Singaporean and He doesn’t hold sacred any of the tenets of those national philosophies.

God’s free agency, choice or will to do as He pleases is too unpredictable and man, being fearful of a God with that much power and freedom to act rushes to a secure place of belief.

Instead of keeping to the scriptures which clearly say that ‘He who has seen Jesus has seen the Father’ keeping God to the person, character and image of Jesus, we create a God who is in the image of our denomination – predictable, safe and limited – such a God will never go beyond the OB (out of bounds) markers of our own human belief system. God has become a tame and domesticated Lion.

I have been immersed and participated in three distinct faith traditions and regularly there appears this belief in churches of denominational exceptionalism (the belief that we are special). Even worse is this belief that our denomination ‘is the only true path.’

This is further compounded at times by the bad habit in churches to is regularly emphasise that which makes them ‘right’ compared to other denominations – emphasizing the ‘wrong’ of other belief systems. They sometimes develop sophisticated logic, hermeneutics (bible interpretation systems), and arguments to justify why they are unique and have a unique (and correct) product offering compared to other belief systems. Plausibly this is a method to differentiate a certain church belief from the others to gain followers of like mind and to stand out (for all the wrong reasons).

In emphasizing our unique denominational beliefs, division and scepticism towards other evangelicals grows.

We should instead of focus on the beliefs and truths which cause believers to grow up into the image of Jesus, beliefs which cause people to want to walk in faith, in purity and simplicity of devotion to Jesus.

The ideal approach would be to aspire to be as 'transparent' as possible - to not draw attention to our church name, tribe/community, our own fame, but to truly and plainly introduce Christ to people, presenting the truths in the scripture and then getting out of the way as people form intimacy with Christ Himself.

False teachings and lawlessness

The Fine Balance between the Law, Legalism and the Grace of God

The danger of the current age

Jesus pointed out the danger of the current age – lawlessness in his prophecy of the end of the age in matt 24:12.

Matthew 24:11-12 NASB

[11] Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. [12] Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.

It is a fair assessment to say we are at the end of the age- because this warning is being fulfilled before our eyes today - the end of the age will be marked by teachings which promote lawlessness. It is so now. What then is lawlessness?

If we were to look at the scripture, Lawlessness in part is a form of teaching which attempts to rationalize away the need for the 10 commandments.

Freed from the Law by grace?

There is a teaching prevalent currently which states that believers are freed from all moral obligations because the forgiveness of the Blood of Jesus and the grace of God and the obedience of Jesus which covers and acts as a substitute for the believer in Christ. Therefore there is no more need to be obliged to live by any moral standard as all has been fulfilled by and through Christ.

The teaching is in part correct, that we are not saved by self effort to be on our best behaviour. We are saved only by Jesus perfect forgiveness and grace, and the Righteousness of Jesus – His morally perfect and completely God honouring life has acted as a substitute to speak for the believer when we stand before God and put faith in His finished work for us.

Good beginning bad conclusion

The conclusion of this teaching however, is erroneous- that we are freed therefore from every moral obligation to keep the law. This error falls into what the scriptures call licentiousness or lawlessness. Licentiousness means giving free pardon and approval for a sinful lifestyle. Lawlessness achieves its result through removing the word of the law and its requirements from the heart of the believer. 

Such false teachings produces licentiousness. One is the cause of the other. Going back to the core scripture of matt 24- it is the massive emergence of flase Teachers, producing false teachings which produce lawlessness not in the world, but in the church- the church has lost its testimony becaus it has lost Gods word which preserves Godliness.

Consider this scripture in which Jesus asserts the importance of the Law, the 10 commandments in the heart of God and its relevance to the believer.

Matthew 5:17-20American Standard Version (ASV)

17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.

The Pharisees had legalistic behaviour – outward obedience and compliance towards God but their inner lives were sinful – greed, lust, the hunger for power and influence and position. Most glaringly they did not love God or love others. 

The Pharisees condemned outwardly sins like adultery, prostitution and were careful that they were not guilty of these, however their pride, arrogance, and corrupted hearts which could not see their own wrong were an abomination to God. Probably a greater abomination than outward lust because these sins prevented them from coming to Jesus.

Jesus New covenant teachings gives some recognition to what the Pharisees did well – outward obedience and Behavioural conformity- however what it lacked was a true change of heart or the exercise of true love.

Jesus added on to the standard for believers – our righteousness must exceed the Pharisees to qualify to enter into God’s Kingdom fully.

What does this mean?

#1 Legalism is out!

Jesus is not advocating devotion and adherence to the law as a means for heart transformation. The Law and devotion to it and the worship of human effort to keep the Law was the Pharisees’ way which only produced death. 

Men do not receive the grace of transformation by trying harder to be good. Legalism – depending on the law and your effort to be good is out!

#2 Intimacy and transformation through faith

By faith, in a relationship of depending on God, Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit when He comes and lives in the heart of the believer, when God is welcome when the work of the spirit to change and transform is embraced, in intimate and whole dependence on the part of the believer on God - produces the Christ-birthed and Spirit-sustained life. This is the path to Godliness, which leads away from lawlessness. It is also different from the false teachings today that do not require any life or heart transformation as evidence of a life touched by Gods grace and changed by encountering His presence. 

#3 the completeness and beauty of the God born life

#3 This Christ-birthed life not only outwardly conforms to the laws of God – in terms of outward behaviour - it does not envy, it does not commit adultery, does not murder because if one is truly full of the generous love of God and blessings of God’s fellowship, sinful desires will be stopped. 

And we are gradually changed by God’s impulse to bless, build up, to serve  and love others. 

"I have not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it" matt 5:17

The Christian life as outlined in Matt 5:17 keeps the outward standard of the law in behavior and exceeds it by #1 providing pure heart intentions which are the good and pure desires of love and #2 it has works of blessing and love to others. When Christ comes into your heart, it is not our power that keeps the law, it is the presence of Christ that fulfills the law through us.

Be wary of teachings which strive to either place the law as important – "be good! Strive to keep the law, strive to have better behavior by your own effort." This is legalism – it ignores the grace of God, and the fact that men cannot change except by the power of God. These teachings are not about Jesus and the power and work he comes to do in our hearts.

Truth in the middle of extremes.

Also be wary of teachings that minimize the importance of the law – that we are freed from all the demands of the 10 commandments.

Wise bible teachers all say that truth is found in balance – the Law is important – yet do not major on it and fall into legalism – We are free from legalism, but also be wary of going too far so as to declare that the Law is irrelevant, because if you do, you will create lawlessness. 

Stay in the middle path between all stay clear of the drains and ditches on either side of the road, focus on the Love of God, on building up a relationship with God above all, and he will transform you and you will be kept safe from both legalism (self effort and striving) and lawlessness (a destructive sinful lifestyle).