Spiritual insight – Wisdom From the Word

Deepening Discernment Part 2

In my last post I focused on the process of discernment, which I anchored in Hebrews 5:13-14. I also noted that, “…the two obvious levels of discernment are knowing and paying attention to the scriptures and knowing and paying attention to His voice.” Here we will delve deeper into that process.

To actually develop and deepen our discernment we begin with shifting our focus beyond outward appearances. It is easy to see behaviour; it is hard to discern hearts. This is the first area to grow in. We must head Paul’s admonition to stop judging by outward appearances.

¹⁶ Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 2 Corinthians 5:16 (NKJV)

I am certainly not saying we should not address clearly sinful behaviour. I am saying in general we need to look beyond behaviour to try to see hearts.

Here is an example. I read of an experience a man had on the subway. He saw a man get on with two young children. The children seemed ‘out of control’ and were bothering other passengers. He judged the man a poor parent and decided to point out his negligent parenting. When he got the man’s attention he said, “Sir, I don’t know if you have noticed but your children are bothering the other passengers?” The man seemed to come around to greater awareness and responded, “I’m sorry, we just came from the hospital where their mother died.” What do you think happened to the man’s assessment of this father as a neglectful parent? Did judgment turn to compassion?

To discern rightly we need to seek to suspend judgment and try to understand hearts. We also need to consider whether there are things we need to lay down that colour our discernment. Do we have a history with someone that we need to lay down? Do we disagree with their doctrine? Is their doctrine our measure of their hearts? Most importantly, are we actively listening to the Holy Spirit and seeking His viewpoint as we seek to discern truth and life?

When it comes to discernment our call is to embrace the truth at a heart rather than head level. We pursue not a unity of belief in every single point of doctrine but unity around intimacy with Jesus (this will sort out a lot of our doctrine over time). Paul provides a goal for us.

¹³till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; Ephesians 4:13 (NKJV)

When we lay down our judgments and pursue His heart He will correct us, after all, the Holy Spirit is a faithful teacher!

²⁴ These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, and those who complained will learn doctrine. Isaiah 29:24 (NKJV)

I think our greatest aid to discerning accurately is walking closely to Jesus. Consider the following passage.

⁹ And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, ¹¹ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9–11 (NKJV)

Here Paul is saying that when our love for Jesus abounds, we are able to discern and approve the things that are excellent. An encounter with Jesus’ heart is something deeper than information about Him. It is a pulling back of the veil over our hearts so that we can experience more of His heart and see clearly. Loving Jesus produces love for one another and aligns our heart with His heart.

What happens if we have this prayer answered? As we receive a revelation of His heart, we know how He feels about us, which brings release and freedom, and as our ear gets near to His heart, we can also hear how His heart beats for others! The caution of course is simply assuming our judgments are accurate discernment. Thus, we need a way to test what we believe we are discerning.

To practice discerning, I offer something I learned many years ago and have taught a number of times. The distinction between intuition and insight, recognizing that intuition is a spiritual function while insight is a function of the mind.

¹¹For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. ¹²Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:11-12 (NKJV)

In the verses above, in the original Greek, the word ‘know’ refers to perceiving or being aware of something. The same Greek word is used in passages that refer to Jesus intuitively perceiving, becoming aware of, or knowing something.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” Matthew 12:25 (NKJV)

When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you?” John 6:61 (NKJV)

Now, unlike Jesus, who was always accurate, when we perceive or become internally aware of something we need to test it. In essence we become aware of or discern something in our spirit but need to test it with our mind. The process is that we discern something via intuition, a ‘gut feeling’ in our spirit that initiates a process. We then engage our mind to test it and the ‘aha’ experience, insight, completes the process. In essence, to test our discernment there needs to be a marriage between our spirit and our mind.

How does this work in practice? In ministering to people, I have frequently shared with people things about their lives that I had no natural intellectual way of knowing. For example, I remember sharing with someone that the Lord wanted to dance with them. I only knew the person’s name and nothing else about them as they had showed up to our small group for the first time that evening. There were 15-20 of sitting on chairs in a circle worshipping when I shared what I ‘perceived’ or ‘became aware’ of. The woman was deeply emotionally impacted by what I said and it was confirmation of the accuracy of what I shared. The way I ‘heard’ this from the Spirit was simply a growing internal sense that I needed to tell this lady that the Lord wanted to dance with her so I stopped the worship and in front of everyone said something like, “I think the Lord wants you to know that He wants to dance with you.” She responded with tears, good tears and verbally share the significance of the impact of what I had said. I don’t recommend doing this in front of a group unless you are accustomed to hearing Him speak this way, which I was, and thus was confident it was Him.

On another occasion, when leaving a job, I shared with the manager two things I sensed in prayer that morning. At the time I wasn’t praying for him, I was in prayer and these thoughts arose in my spirit. He was not a believer but was interested and asked me about them later in the day so he could write them down. The things I shared with him both took place within a few months.

A very important factor is that when I share this way, and I encourage others to do the same, I always share it as my sense of something I believe I am hearing from the Lord as I offer it to them. I often preface what I am sharing with, ‘This may sound odd.’ I share in this way because we need to test what we discern and present it as something for others to weigh (1 Corinthians 14:29). I only remember one occasion of being insistent on something I was sensing from the Spirit and when I pressed the issue the person became angry with me. A week later the same individual came back, apologized, and affirmed that I had been correct.

So, discerning requires paying attention to what we are hearing in our spirits and then testing that discernment with our minds in line with scripture. This idea of understanding intuition and insight lays a basic foundation for knowing how to test what we believe we are discerning. Malachi said it well.

Therefore take heed to your spirit. (Malachi 2:16)

Deepening Discernment Part 1

In recent years the Lord has exposed a great deal of sin by well known church leaders and movements. In recent weeks it seems to have significantly increased, particularly in charismatic circles. There are varying opinions and assertions found in many places on social media, and in reading about it and listening to opinions it seems some would like to throw the baby out with the bathwater. When this happens there has been a departure from discernment to judgment.

From my perspective the events of recent years and the very fresh present example, is a call for us as His body to walk in a deeper level of discernment, to separate the wheat from the chaff. I say deeper because I believe that discernment operates at more than one level, so here we will delve into it a bit.

Discernment has long been an important subject to me and I first wrote about it over three decades ago. At that time, I defined discernment as follows, and still adhere to this definition, “Seeing the reality which lies behind appearances.” On the surface this may suggest that we require some mystical spiritual gift to exercise discernment if we need to discern the reality behind surface impressions. Yet my goal is just the opposite. I want discernment to be both practiced and practical. While 1 Corinthians 12 lists the gift of discerning of spirits, which I think can be useful in exercising discernment, the primary New Testament text on discernment is in Hebrews.

¹³ For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. ¹⁴ But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:13–14 (NKJV)

This passage makes it plain that discernment is not some mystical gift but is in fact the logical outgrowth of using our senses in submission to the Spirit.

To better grasp the process of discernment we will break this passage down a bit. First, the writer of Hebrews informs us the undiscerning are those who are ‘unskilled in the word of righteousness.’ An obvious reference to the scriptures. The clear implication being that a key aspect of discernment is developing the ability to rightly divide ‘the word of truth,’ the scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15). As the writer of Hebrews puts it, our discernment deepens through ‘reason of use.’ The phrase is one word in Greek and refers to habit or practice. Our discernment deepens as we practice discerning!

Here is an example that happened to me recently. I am a member of a few Christian Apologetics groups on Facebook. Someone posted an idea about the blind man Jesus healed who first saw men like trees walking then was able to see clearly after Jesus prayed for him the second time. Ostensibly the post was just an idea but then the writer quickly shifted into presenting his ideas as fact. While some of his ideas were plausible, I challenged the post on the grounds that it was eisegesis rather than exegesis. A reading into the text what seemed like a clever idea, rather than drawing out what the text actually said. The poster took offense to my comment and challenged my view. I then broke the text down and showed how some aspects were not only not supported by scripture, they were in fact in opposition to scripture. The poster responded with further offense and accused me of ‘nit picking’ rather than simply accepting things. My final response was that I broke things down and highlighted the errors because I take a high view of scripture. This experience highlighted the need to get at the reality behind the nice appearance.

My discernment process here was that I recognized the error in the post, even though I liked the idea presented, because it didn’t align with scripture. This is the fruit of exercising my spiritual senses and weighing what was being said against scripture.

An older example for me was reading a book in recent years by a popular leader from a popular movement. Something the author said didn’t sit right with me event though the book sounded good, felt good and was very popular. When I examined it in the light of scripture, I thought it plausible to draw the conclusion of the author but it still seemed at odds with the weight of scripture and the Lord’s heart. Something felt ‘off’ so I sat with it and literally set the book on a shelf. This was a few years ago. Then in the past year or so I listened to a podcast by some pastors I deeply respect. They were discussing the book and highlighted the damage it was causing in the body of Christ. They touched on what I had seen and other areas where the book was fostering the very types of sin being exposed in recent weeks. At this point I took the book off my shelf and threw it out. In both examples above my discernment was rooted in two things, a knowledge of the scriptures and an awareness or sense in my sprit of something being off, not sitting quite right. I then took the time to further examine what seemed off to discern where the error actually lay. This is the process of deepening our discernment. The Spirt will bring passages to mind to lead us into truth and will quicken things in our spirit that we need to pay attention to if we have developed the habit of listening to His voice. So, the two obvious levels of discernment are knowing and paying attention to the scriptures and knowing and paying attention to His voice. I encourage you to develop the habit, the practice of walking this way. It guards His body, can save us a lot of heartache, and is what He calls us to walk in, discernment.

His Nature

The other day I was laying in the bathtub and thinking about the Lord when my mind went to epistemology and ontology. They are branches of philosophy that address knowledge and existence. I know, those may not be your first thoughts in the tub! It is however how my mind works. The Spirit has spoken to me many times in the bathtub when I am relaxed and not focused on some particular purpose. Now, on to why this is important, we will focus on ontology, more particularly that of Yahweh.

We begin with some definitions. Ontology is about nature or being, the essence of something and epistemology is about knowing or how we acquire knowledge. For example, ontologically a tree is a tree, a rock is a rock, the nature of a predator is predation. Each simply does what it does or is what it is. When we turn to Yahweh our understanding of His ontological status is obviously more nuanced. We will examine it, but perhaps not in the way one would expect. As a brief interjection, being (ontology) must precede knowing (epistemology), which is why for example, Darwinian and neo-Darwinian beliefs are built on sand, not substance. They assume being with no explanation.

Now back to Yahweh. First, we need to understand His character, which means we must turn to His self revelation, scripture. We begin with a long passage from Exodus 33.

¹² Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ ¹³ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” ¹⁴ And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” ¹⁵ Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. ¹⁶ For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” ¹⁷ So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” ¹⁹ Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” Exodus 33:12–19 (NKJV)

Here Moses is interceding with Yahweh to know His way, that is His character. Eventually he asks to see Yahweh’s glory and Yahweh responds with a yes and says He will unveil His character to Moses. This takes place later in Exodus 34:6-7. Through these two chapters we can see that Yahweh’s glory is His character and it is expressed in a unique way. It is after his encounter with Yahweh’s character/glory that Mose’s faces is shining when he comes down the mountain.

Paul addressed this in 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 and says that the more we behold His glory the more we reflect it. He is more explicit in chapter 4.

⁶ For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NKJV)

We see here the association between light and God’s glory/character. Which takes us back to ontology. Yahweh’s nature is light.

⁵ This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 (NKJV)

²³ The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. Revelation 21:23 (NKJV)

Which takes us to the transfiguration. In His incarnation Jesus kept His nature/glory/character veiled. When He unveiled it, Matthew described it as follows.

¹ Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; ² and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Matthew 17:1–3 (NKJV)

Here we have Jesus’ ontology revealed. Which tells us something about what is in us. Once more, we have wisdom from Paul.

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

This is now, and Paul reveals to us what will happen in the future.

⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. ⁴² So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:41–44 (NKJV)

Paul says that when we receive a spiritual body like Jesus what now has, we will shine with His glory that has been worked into our character here. What we have ontologically become in our Christian journey will shine forth. This is worth meditating on and pursuing.

PS – enjoy your next bath!

NOTE – my book is nearing completion and should be ready in the next 2-3 weeks. The subject areas are below and it is set up with reflective questions and can be used as a learning tool or approached as a devotional book.

Reflective Leadership: Thinking About
Steps on our Journey: Walking with Abraham
Prayer and Spiritual Warfare: Standing our Ground
A Prophetic Perspective: Seeing Differently
Discernment: The Church’s Great Need
Understanding the Kingdom: His Perspective
Intimacy with Jesus: The Capstone

Prayer and Distraction

Many long years ago, okay, 1990, I was pastoring a little church in the country. We regularly sang a song with the following line, ‘Enter into Canaan and possess your possessions for I will go before you saith the Lord.’ What has often come to me over the years is the question of whether we possess our possessions or they possess us. Now in the age of social media I believe that question is more urgent. Social media apps are designed to capture and keep our attention to make money for those who run them. Their presence in our lives is both pernicious and pervasive.

In line with this, years ago, I read some material from Dr. Carolyn Leaf about brain function and attention and she referred to the idea of multitasking as a myth. She called it ‘milkshake multitasking’ and her point was that neurologically we can’t focus on more than one thing at a time so when we attempt to do so everything is shaken up and done poorly. More recent research has demonstrated the cost of trying to multitask. A simple example. If you had 20 minutes to do a task at work and 5 minutes to check your personal email or other social media messages it could be done in 25 minutes, if done sequentially. If you attempted the same task by working for 5 minutes on your task, engaged for 1 minute glance with a social media app, then went back to your work task you lose time. Your brain takes time to refocus and transition from one task to another so your process takes longer than the 25 minutes allotted. Over a day it adds up to a lot.

Think of applying this to prayer. You begin, get distracted by something, come back, get distracted, and on it goes. Do you every really focus on the subject at hand – communion with the Lord?

Another issue is reading. If we do most of our reading on electronic devices we tend to skip over words more than reading on paper and we retain less information. Kindle devices seem to be a bit better and are more like reading a hard copy.

With this brief overview we can now look at how we can approach prayer and scripture. If your first impulse is to turn on or check our phone when you awake, resist the temptation. The social media apps on your phone are designed to capture and keep your attention. One of the inventions coming from the social media companies is infinite scrolling. When you finish one page another one automatically loads. They don’t have to function that way, they do because again, this helps to capture and keep your attention. With what they track and gather I am confident that for most of us the social media giants know much more about us and our likes and habits than our nearest neighbours!

My recommendation, set aside time in the morning to focus on prayer and worship, read a hard copy of your bible. Taking a few minutes doing it on your phone may seem more efficient, it isn’t, and will do more to fracture your attention. Scripture calls us to do a couple of things.

¹⁰ Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)

¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians 3:15 (NKJV)

These things require our attention and focus. The context of Psalm 46:10 is warfare and the message from Yahweh is to be still, relax and watch Him work. The context of Colossians 3:15 is setting our thoughts and affections on heavenly things and the result is His peace.

Doing these things require intentionality on our part. Distractions have always tried to turn us away from individual prayer and worship and our current culture works harder than any other time in history to draw our thoughts and affections to other things. If you are struggling, it a cultural battle not just an individual one. Seek His face for help and seek out help from godly friends.

Practically I know I check my phone and social media regularly during the day. I do this because I keep my notifications on mute 99.9% of the time. I only turn on the ringer on my phone on if I am expecting a call. Otherwise, I call people back. I know many years ago when I first had a work BlackBerry about a week into my having it, I walked across the street to the Rogers store and asked them how to turn off the vibrate on my emails. The staff person I spoke with was shocked. I explained that I received plenty of emails and I didn’t need to know every time I received one, I could simply check regularly.

These were simply strategies I used. I don’t know if this is an issue for you, I do know research says it is a growing problem in our culture so, commit some time, seek His face and decide if you need to make any lifestyle adjustments to focus your heart on Jesus.

A Heart of Wisdom

I am returning to regular posts as my book is progressing well. For the next bit I am posting some articles I wrote over 30 years ago that are very relevant for today. In the early 1990’s I did a monthly article called The Apostolic Gospel and later compiled them into a booklet. Below is an excerpt.

THE APOSTOLIC GOSPEL: A HEART OF WISDOM

“So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” Ps. 90:12). In this hour the Holy Spirit desires to stir up in our hearts the reality of Moses’ prophetic cry to Yahweh. In this passage the Hebrew word translated as gain is bow or boh; it implies movement and means to gain or bring forth or carry. The Holy Spirit is teaching us that at the end of our days we will bring, gain, or carry the contents of our heart to the Judgment Seat. Moses’ desire is that each of us will bring to the Judgment Seat a heart filled with the fruits of wisdom. The Holy Spirit desires that we understand the requirement of presenting our hearts to Jesus when we stand before Him. Just as we can bring nothing to merit salvation, neither will we be able to present our own works at the Judgment Seat. All we can present is our hearts. All creation will know in that hour whether the treasure we have been carrying in our hearts (Matt 6:21) consists of gold, silver, and precious stones; or wood, hay, and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12-15). As the contents of our hearts pass under the fiery gaze of Jesus’ eyes (Rev.1:14) all that is not of Him will be consumed. That which sprang from faith will remain as our dead works are consumed (Heb. 6:1).

Gaining hearts of wisdom is an area where we, the church, greatly need to be exercised, and it is one of the many areas in which the Holy Spirit desires to lead us “into all truth” (Jn. 16:13). There is a great need for us to understand the scriptural reality that “He has put eternity in their (our) hearts.” (Eccl. 3:11). When we understand that the foundation of eternity has been laid in our hearts our first choice is whether to spend that eternity in heaven or hell. If we choose heaven, we must further decide whether to truly live out of the eternity dwelling in our hearts. It is only in embracing this mode of living that we can ever hope to “gain a heart of wisdom” because our hearts are the centres of our value systems and the centres of our needs. They colour and touch every area of our lives. Wise hearts are those that have learned to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33) and come into agreement with Jesus and His values, “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.” (Lk. 4:8).

To live this way, we need to understand that there is much more to the walk of a believer than simply being born again. The New Testament is filled with the truth that we have been empowered and are responsible to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4) and that we will be judged in terms of how well we have walked out that new life (2 Cor. 5:10, Rom. 14:10-12, Eph.2:10, 4:1, Phil. 2:12). Sadly, most of us in the church are either ignorant or terribly neglectful of these truths because we are so conformed to the world (Rom. 12:2, 13:11-14, 2 Cor. 5:15, Eph 4:1, 17).

A heart of wisdom recognizes that Jesus commissioned us (anointed, gave us authority and ability) to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I (He) have commanded (us)” (Matt. 28:19-20). This passage is pregnant with possibility and importance in terms of our calling, commission and responsibility as believers. We need to awaken to our responsibility! Paul said, “it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” (Rom. 13:11).

To carry out the “Great Commission” we need to understand that not only are we called to make disciples of individual members of all nations (Greek ethnos, ethnic groups or nationalities, people groups), but we are called to disciple entire nations. The Lord has called the church, not democracy, communism, humanism, or any other created thing (Rom. 8:37-39, Matt. 5:14-16), to be the light of the world. With the calling we have both the authority and responsibility to speak to the situations and institutions affecting our nations, and to provide the light to lead them out of darkness (Eph. 5:8-14). I am not suggesting that the church should use political power to take over countries of the world, because His kingdom is not of this world (Jn. 18:36, Matt. 6:9-10). We are however called to give light to our leaders and to set an example for the world to follow, rather than us following the ways of the world.

For example, one time I listened to a “Christian” radio program talking about a talent contest for “worship” bands. Concepts like this make me wonder if we as the church have drifted so far away from the Lord that we are not even able to recognize or discern when we have embraced the ways of Satan? Have we invited him right into our midst, as Saul did by bringing king Agag back to Israel, thinking he could control the enemy he had conquered? Would we exercise any more discernment if we thought about having contests for the sermon of the week in our local assemblies? Do we not understand that our weapons are not carnal?

Our foolishness in these areas demonstrates an ignorance of the Lord, of His ways, and knowing the power of the cross. This is but one example of our many failures to walk out our commission to teach the nations His ways. The scriptures are clear that there will come a time when “the law shall come forth out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Is. 2:1-3). I believe there will be a literal fulfillment of this in Jerusalem, and through Israel, when Yahweh gathers His people back to their land. There is, however, also the reality that this prophecy speaks of the commission of the church to be a standard for the nations. This means that we have a responsibility to come to maturity and then teach individuals, people groups, and nations to discern between good and evil (Heb. 5:13-14).

To walk in this reality and truly walk out our calling in the earth we need to function in a much greater level of anointing then that which is presently observable in most aspects of the local church. We need to learn to go beyond our programs and ideologies and into the Holy of Holies to dwell in His presence and draw on His wisdom. All the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and the love that motivates them in 1 Corinthians 13 need to be drawn out from behind the veil so that they transition from hope to reality. We also need the fivefold ministry of Ephesians 4:11 to function in individual members of the body if the body is to be properly equipped to come to maturity. Much of the present day church is functioning in the spiritual gifts to a limited extent and some segments have discerned the need for the fivefold ministry. We are beginning to wake up to and walk in these job descriptions. With these signs of hope and life in this time of darkness, let us press in to see the glory of the Lord manifest to a needy world through a mature body (Is. 60:1-2).

I say these things not to condemn, but rather to encourage and exhort us to search the scriptures and follow after the exhortations in them. Jesus was very clear that our eternal position in His kingdom will be based on how we walk out His teachings (Matt. 5:19) and the words of Paul strongly exhort us, “Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15).

The Place of Intervention

The Lord has a plan. We see the loss of the garden in Genesis 3 and the restoration of the garden and the city of God in Revelation 21-22. In regard to His planning scripture makes the following comment.

¹¹ In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, Ephesians 1:11 (NKJV)

Let’s linger on this phrase, “who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” God will accomplish His ultimate purpose in all of creation. Our hearts can rest confidently in this reality. At the same time, we have no guarantee that we will accomplish all He has prepared for us or how others will respond to His call.

¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

The ‘should’ in this verse implies something obligatory, in line with the famous Romans 12:1-2, an exhortation to present ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice to serve His purposes. We also have Peter clearly stating Yahweh’s heart toward the lost.

⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)

Knowing this we still know that many will be lost because they choose to not respond to His calling. As noted at the beginning we began in a garden and we will end there. Yahweh will fulfill His overall purpose but who will be part of it is the open part of scripture that depends on the exercise of our will in response to His drawing.

I remember decades ago Rick Joyner sharing that he asked the Lord why he used John Wimber that way he did. The Lord responded along the lines of, “When I knocked on his door he answered.” Think of Ananias, in Acts 9:10-18. Yahweh appears in a vision and asks Ananias to go and pray for Saul of Tarsus. What if Ananias had rationalized that this vision wasn’t from the Lord because he knew the danger? The answer is Yahweh would have sent someone else and Ananias would have missed a deep and powerful blessing. What if those who rejected the outpouring of the Spirit at Azusa Street had said yes earlier? Who else would now be in the kingdom? What if Wilberforce had rejected his commission by the Lord to end slavery in Great Britain? It would have eventually happened through someone else.

What does this have to do with my title, The Place of Intervention? Where He first intervenes is generally in the calls and nudges to obedience. When our heart responds correctly, He offers more. A good scriptural example, one I encourage you to look up and read, is the broader story of Saul and David. I have heard many assert that Saul was the people’s choice and David the Lord’s choice. We can see from scripture that isn’t true.

¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 1 Samuel 13:13–14 (NKJV)

Here the covenant that Samuel said Yahweh wanted to give Saul, to establish his kingdom forever, was the covenant that David received. Why? Saul’s heart stopped responding to Yahweh and shifted to responding to the people instead.

The place of intervention is the place of our meeting with Him and choosing to walk with an obedient heart. May we always choose obedience.

Babies, Birth and Revival Part 2

We continue looking at babies and birth in the context of revival and reformation. I last referenced our need to respond to His leading to see the Spirit move. One way to understand this is to consider things that get in the way. The birth of a move of the Spirit can fail to be conceived, miscarry, or it may in His timing be delayed due to our response.

Think of the failure to conceive. The woman in the gospels with the issue of blood could not conceive and in her culture a lack of children would have been a source of shame. If we apply this to ourselves, we can reflect on whether there are issues in our personal lives, or in the fellowship we attend, that prevent the conception and bringing to fruition of His purposes?

What about miscarriages? I previously referenced what happened with Azusa Street and how the movement started and was stopped on more than one occasion because people were offended by how the Spirit began to move and so shut it down. In scripture we read about the people who said yes, that doesn’t mean we have a record of all the people Yahweh asked. When I began this blog years ago, I started with a series I titled Journeys with Abraham where I showed how it appears that Yahweh called Terah, Abraham’s father and he started his journey and stopped. Abraham continued to say yes and fulfilled his calling. Thus, Abraham rather than Terah is recorded as the father of faith.

In reference to timing, how many generations was it between Isaiah’s prophecy about the virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14) and Jesus’ birth? How many people died believing the prophetic word had failed? What about Psalm 2, written about 3,000 years ago.

⁷ “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. ⁹ You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’” Psalm 2:7–9 (NKJV)

This is a prophetic Psalm looking forward to Jesus ruling and reigning on the earth as the great Messianic King. It hasn’t been fulfilled yet. However, while knowing this Jesus Himself said the following.

¹ Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, Luke 18:1 (NKJV)

The writer of Hebrews said something equally important in this context.

¹¹ And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹² that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:11–12 (NKJV)

We also have what Paul wrote in Galatians. No matter how things may look to us, God is working in the background.

⁴ But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, Galatians 4:4 (NKJV)

In light of these factors, it is incumbent upon us to seek His face and heart and respond in prayer as He leads. We may not see revival and reformation quickly; He may have it sitting in the heavenlies waiting to release it in response to our intercession or later in response to the intercession of others. Our calling is to be found faithful.

This perspective of course takes us back to our faith and patience verse in Hebrews. The patience part is like a shower. Between the time we adjust the water and the time that the temperature changes, there is a delay as the adjustment has to travel the length of the water lines. While we don’t need to wait 3,000 years for the shower temperature to change, as we have for some prophecies, we do need to wait! We inherit His promises through faith and patience. During the waiting period something is happening even if we don’t see it. Thus, if He stirs our hearts to pray for revival and reformation let us continue to do so while we await the fulfillment! After all, scripture clearly exhorts us to be found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2). Let’s do that!

In the Presence of our Enemies

Here we continue to engage in looking at our walk with Jesus because it is the most important thing we can do. As part of that process, we will look at portions of the most famous Psalm in the world. I am not going to go over all of it, though I do highly recommend Phillip Keller’s book; A Shepherd Looks at the 23 Psalm it is older but very sound. In addition to looking at Psalm 23 there are some New Testament passages I want to consider. Now to the 23 Psalm.

A Psalm of David. ¹ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. ³ He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. Psalm 23 (NKJV)

There are two key things to consider, the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ and a table prepared for us, ‘in the presence of my enemies.’ These phrases both imply that our spiritual walk will involve challenges. Now, I confess, I want a regular unencumbered comfortable life. Some may think of it as boring but I like my routines and structure, my prayer and study area at home and workout area in our basement. I don’t particularly like to travel, unless it involves things like mountains, hiking or Pickleball (don’t ask why I am writing this from Portugal!). Though I have mediated conflicts for three decades I don’t like conflict, I do however recognize the value of engaging in it for a greater purpose. Which is one reason I am an administrator in a Christian and Atheist debate group on Facebook. I think defending our faith is important.

I say all that because we need to recognize that Jesus never called us to the life I desire – the comfortable life. He called us to advance His kingdom, which means we need to live in a fallen world demonstrating a character often at odds with the values of this fallen world. Jesus said the path is narrow and that in this world we will face trials and troubles but that He has given us His peace to endure them

³³ These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NKJV)

Given all of this one way to assess how we are doing is contained in something Paul wrote.

¹⁷ for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17 (NKJV)

While there is a broader context a key point Paul was making was that if we are walking as we should be then our life should be manifesting righteousness, peace and joy. If these things are not evident then we have either wandered off the path of life or given in to a spiritual attack and been sidelined in our walk. If this sounds a bit harsh, let me point out that I am merely highlighting scripture. This is our calling. If I am walking in intimacy with Jesus then how can I not think righteous thoughts, demonstrate righteous behavior and manifest peace and joy?

I encourage you to spend some time reflecting on this and next time we will look at how we engage in spiritual warfare to walk in righteousness, peace and joy.

People, Pace and Presence

While hiking in the mountains with a group of people this past summer I was at the front and in conversation with someone near me I said, “When you are leading you need to pay attention to two things, people and pace.” The idea here being that you need to make sure everyone is okay on the hike and you need to set a pace that people can follow. Now, you likely noticed that I added the word presence to my title. I will explain why.

In carrying this idea over to our spiritual journey with Jesus I think these three elements are important. Who are we walking with? Are we able to walk together at a functional pace? Notice I said functional, not comfortable. At times we need our walk challenged. Lastly, and most important, are we walking in Jesus’ presence?

I enjoy hiking and I enjoy working with others. When I was working, at times I had staff who were open to having supervision while walking. It is hard to take notes but I found walking dialogue often more effective than sitting in an office. There is something about walking with others, which may be why Paul used the analogy.

¹ And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ² in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, ³ among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. Ephesians 2:1–3 (NKJV)

¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

Paul describes our pre-conversion life as a walk, but a walk, ‘according to the course of this world’ whereas after our conversion our call is to walk in the ‘good works’ that the Lord prepared before for us.

Thus, when people say ‘God has a plan for your life’ that is true. There is no guarantee however that we will ‘walk’ it out. This is where people, pace and presence come in. What helps us walk it out is those we walk with. We need to find those we can keep pace with and also those who will push us beyond things we think we are capable of doing.

When I was younger, I learned a good deal in a few months from a gentleman name Rene. He wasn’t a spiritual mentor nor do I think he planned to be a mentor, he just was. My first winter out of high school I spent working for a trucking company moving oil rigs, at times in brutally cold conditions. I worked mostly with Rene Bilidou, farmer in the summer, truck driver in the winter. I was the swamper, which meant Rene drove and I walked and ran around behind the truck (imagine a very large tow truck to try and get the image) while we tore down and put oil rigs back together on oil leases and hauled components to the next site.

That is the background. Rene taught me many things, pushed me to do things I didn’t think could be done, and was patient in teaching me when I failed. Being 19 at the time, I of course had plenty of great ideas on how to do things, most of them wrong. Rene had the wisdom to let me try and fail so that I was in a more teachable space and then he would show me how to do things correctly. Rene was a practical rather than a spiritual mentor. In our Christian walk we need spiritual mentors who are also practical and walk with us like that, mentors who allow us to make mistakes, help us learn from them, and keep pointing us in the right direction.

This leads us to presence. The key factor in our walking with others is pursuing Jesus’ presence. We need to pursue Him ourselves and we need to walk with others who both pursue Him and push us to do the same. The potential for failure is this endeavour is readily available, for example, consider the following verse.

²⁴ God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Acts 17:24 (NKJV)

Paul said Yahweh doesn’t dwell in material structures and he also noted in 1 Corinthians (3:16-17 and 6:19-20) that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, his point being to affirm what he said in Acts. In the Old Testament the temple was built and sacrifices were made to create sacred space and Yahweh dwelt on the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant. Yet at Jesus crucifixion Matthew, Mark and Luke all reference the veil in the temple being torn. This meant two things, Yahweh was coming out of the temple and would be available everywhere (think of Acts 2 and the Spirit being poured out at Pentecost) and that as Hebrews says, there was now free and bold access to the throne of grace, the mercy seat (Heb. 4:14-16).

Let me pull this back together. I am in Saville as I write this, and yesterday I visited an ornate old church building and as I left reflected on what I had been writing. Of note, I didn’t encounter His presence there. In terms of People, Pace and Presence, People walked together to build this and other amazing edifices (we have our own in North America) but at some point, they walked away from His presence and began following religion instead of Jesus. They reverted to thinking that buildings rather than His body, the church, could contain His presence. While we may use buildings to serve His purposes, it is people that host His presence. Thus, in our individual walks we need to find people with whom we can keep pace and with whom we encounter His presence.

Atonement Part 3

Since it is quite evident that scripture teaches Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA), that is, Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross. My qualifier regarding PSA is that God’s wrath against sin is not some capricious emotion, it arises from His inherent need to execute justice and punish sin given that righteousness and justice are the foundation upon which His throne rests. Now we turn to how other views relate to PSA followed by whether the church fathers endorsed PSA.

We begin with the other views from my first post on this subject.

• The Ransom Theory. In this view, the atonement was payment made by God to Satan, because Satan held mankind in bondage to sin and death. Origen in particular argued that the cross was a ransom payment equal in value to man’s sin debt, a debt accrued since Adam’s original sin. At the cross, the death payment of Christ, the devil was obliged to release man from bondage. COMMENTS this view doesn’t’ fit with scripture as our sin debt was owed to God not Satan. Satan brough humanity into bondage and brought about the corruption of creation through their sin.

• The Satisfaction Theory. This view of the atonement, sometimes called the “Latin view,” was primarily developed by Saint Anselm in Cur Deus Homo (Why God Became Man). This view sets God’s justice or honor against man’s immense sin debt. The satisfaction view is a reaction against the ransom view. Anselm argued that it was not to Satan but to God that man’s sin debt was owed. Now that man’s sin debt has been exacted from the Son, man can be reconciled to God’s divine justice. COMMENTS this is a variation of PSA.

• Christus Victor. This view of the atonement argues—in the words of its best-known promoter, Gustav Aulén—that “the work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil” (Christus Victor, p. 20). This view is a reaction to both the ransom and the satisfaction theories. Instead of payment to Satan or to God, the death of Christ is seen as a conquest in a cosmic conflict. COMMENTS Christs sacrifice was a victory in a cosmic conflict but this view falls under PSA as a n aspect of it, it doesn’t replace it.

• Penal Substitution. This view is often associated with the magisterial reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin. Some studies have demonstrated, however, that key elements of the penal substitution theory are evident in the early years of church history. The word “penal” refers to the divine penalty enacted at the cross. This penalty is more than payment for sin to God (though it is that); it is also the site at which God expended his wrath against human sin. God can be just and the justifier of the ungodly because Christ was our substitute on the cross: he paid sin’s penalty. By his sacrificial death he “cancel[ed] the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands” (Col 2:14). Our sin, in this view, is imputed to Christ, and his righteousness is imputed to us.

• The Scapegoat Theory. René Girard, a Roman Catholic philosopher, is the figure most often associated with the scapegoat theory. He appeals to the motif of the scapegoat, the azazel, from the atonement rituals in Leviticus 16. In this theory, communal tension that would otherwise erupt in violence is dissipated by redirecting that violence toward a scapegoat. When in Christ God makes himself the scapegoat, directing human violence toward an innocent party, he reveals the error in scapegoating and breaks the cycle of violence. This theory has wide acceptance in those (typically mainline) Protestant circles that tend to shy away from or reject substitution theories. COMMENTS The overall theory fails to align with scripture with the exception that Jesus bore our sins as the scapegoat. Scripture says He suffered, ‘outside the gate.’

¹² Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Hebrews 13:12 (NKJV)

Just as the scapegoat carried the sins of the nation away from the nation so Jesus took sin outside of Jerusalem to Golgotha. However, this theory presents more as humanism than atonement.

• The Governmental Theory. Hugo Grotius, Charles Finney, and Wesleyan Methodism have championed this view. In the governmental view, Jesus did not pay a penalty for human sin; instead, at the cross he made a display of God’s displeasure with sin. COMMENTS certainly the Father is displeased with sin, we see this in PSA, but scripture is clear that Jesus paid the penalty for our sin.

• Theosis. This view is closely associated with Eastern Orthodoxy. It posits that the joining of man to divinity is the telos, the completion, of humanity. The cross makes theosis possible by its great act of transfiguration from death to life. COMMENTS partaking of the divine nature (2 Peter 1) is a fruit of Jesus sacrifice but as a stand alone theory it fails to deal with what scripture shows us about PSA.

• The Moral Influence Theory. In this view, man’s greatest need is not to be reconciled to God; rather, man needs an ultimate moral example, and Christ provides this via his self-giving life and death. COMMENTS there is no atonement here and thus no dealing with the problem of sin, merely humanism disguised as theology.

• The Solidarity Theory. This view argues that Christ at the cross identified with humanity’s suffering and overcame it. In doing so, he brought humanity into a new way of living according to divine justice. While considered newer, this view has roots within other, older views. This view most resembles Christus Victor, and N. T. Wright and the others who adopt the New Perspective on Paul have been this view’s most influential proponents. Jürgen Moltmann and his “suffering of God” theology, too, provide a variation on the solidarity theory.^[1] COMMENTS the primary problem with this theory is that while through the cross Jesus identified with us, and the suffering sin causes, it fails to address the need for justice and the penalty for sin being paid.

As a final point, I referenced the importance of looking to the church father. In his teaching on PSA Sam Storms has pointed out some of those who have held to PSA throughout church history, showing that it is not a product of the Reformation and Protestantism, it is a product of scripture and church history.

Justin Martyr (c. 100-165), Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 275-339), Hilary of Poitiers (c. 300-368), Athanasius (c. 300-373), Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 330-390), Ambrose of Milan (339-397), John Chrysostom (c. 350-407), Augustine (354-430), Cyril of Alexandria (375-444), and Gregory the Great (c. 540-604), all of whom advocated penal substitution in one form or another. Other significant figures who understood the atonement in this way include Thomas Aquinas (cf. 1225-74), John Calvin (1509-64), Francis Turretin (1623-87), John Bunyan (1628-88), John Owen (1616-83), George Whitefield (1714-70), Charles Spurgeon (1834-92), D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981), as well as Billy Graham, John Stott, and J. I. Packer. These are only representative thinkers and represents a small fraction of those who have embraced the truth of penal substitution.

Thus, we close with the famous John 3:16.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)

NOTE My next post will look at People, Pace and Presence. If there is a particular topic or subject you would like me to cover or address please let me know in the comments.

^[1] Mark Olivero, “Theories of Atonement,” in Lexham Survey of Theology, ed. Mark Ward et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018).