The Net

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47-50 KJV)

 The casting of the net is the preaching of the gospel. This gathers both good and evil into the church. When the mission of the gospel is completed, the judgment will accomplish the work of separation. Christ saw how the existence of false brethren in the church would cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of. The world would revile the gospel because of the inconsistent lives of false professors. Even Christians would be caused to stumble as they saw that many who bore Christ's name were not controlled by His Spirit. Because these sinners were in the church, men would be in danger of thinking that God excused their sins. Therefore Christ lifts the veil from the future and bids all to behold that it is character, not position, which decides man's destiny.

Both the parable of the tares and that of the net plainly teach that there is no time when all the wicked will turn to God. The wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest. The good and the bad fish are together drawn ashore for a final separation. Again, these parables teach that there is to be no probation after the judgment. When the work of the gospel is completed, there immediately follows the separation between the good and the evil, and the destiny of each class is forever fixed.

God does not desire the destruction of any. 'As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?' (Ezekiel 33:11). Throughout the period of probationary time His Spirit is entreating men to accept the gift of life. It is only those who reject His pleading that will be left to perish. God has declared that sin must be destroyed as an evil ruinous to the universe. Those who cling to sin will perish in its destruction.

The lost secret of the kingdom of heaven is the characteristic of the gospel which forces individuals out into the open where they manifest what they really are. There is an element of the gospel, this radical message of Christianity, which exposes people when they come into contact with it. It makes known what they are, just as a great dragnet sweeping through the seas gathering fish of every kind ultimately exposes whether they are good or bad, as our Lord makes clear. This has been happening throughout our age. The radical truth of the gospel is like a net seining through the tides of restless, surging humanity, and whoever is caught in it is forced to declare himself, forced out into the open to reveal whether he is bad or good.

Now do not misunderstand. Obviously, people are not simply born bad or good. We are all part of a fallen race. We are all born into lost humanity. We all have evil at work within us and that evil will create in our character a resistance to truth, if God does not intervene. We are all in that condition. Bad or good, in this parable, refers to how we respond to truth, to what happens when we come into contact with reality. That is the whole issue. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the basic truth, the ultimate reality, the fundamental secret of life, the way things really are. The good are those who deal honestly with this reality, who when they learn something real and genuine about it respond to it, act on it, do something about it. The bad are those who, at best, turn their backs to it and say, "No, I don't like that and I don't want to believe it; therefore I reject it," or else, at worst, play the hypocrite and say, "Yes, I'll accept that," but yet allow it to make no changes in their life and remain essentially evil within although outwardly they put on a pious garb of sanctimonious self-righteousness. That is what this parable is talking about.

Life presents many illusions. We do not always perceive the difference between truth and falsehood. All of us, even the youngest among us, have learned that you cannot trust everything you see. Many ideas are propounded today as being delightful and capable of bringing you happiness. But when you grasp them they are like cobwebs and they crumble to nothing, to dust in your hands, and you are left frustrated, disillusioned and disappointed, shattered and defeated. Life consists of trying to sort out the illusions from the truth, of attempting to distinguish between fantasy and the real thing.

The truth is that man was created to be indwelt by God. The only way we can fulfill our humanity is to be filled with God and to understand that we are to live, to operate, by faith in him. The gospel message, this good news about the lost secret of humanity, about the fact that Christ in you is able to restore to you all that God ever intended you to have, is like a great net sweeping through the tides of humanity. Whoever is caught in it is made to reveal what kind of people they are, to reveal whether they will deal honestly with the truth or whether they will reject it and turn from it. You can see this process in your own life, in your own experience. You can see it in the record of church history. You can see it working itself out in human events today. The gospel has this radical character about it.

You remember that when Paul spoke to the Athenians on Mars Hill, to the thinkers and philosophers in that great pagan city where the people were given over to superstition and to the worship of false gods, he said to them,

"The times of ignorance [the foolish worshiping of false ideas and following after false gods] God overlooked [he ignored it because he does not ever condemn people for ignorance], but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man [Jesus] whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31)

What did he mean by that? Well, Paul's phrase "but now" does not refer to a moment in history before which men were allowed to live in ignorance but from which time on they all have to believe. He is referring to a point in the experience of each individual. We are all born into ignorance. We all grow up following false gods, committed to wrong ideals, and operating on false principles. Ah, but when you hear the truth of the gospel, when the reality of Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, strikes you and you understand that, in the resurrection of Jesus, God has demonstrated before all the world that there is available a wholly different way of life, that there is a new provision for man, and that in Jesus Christ is found the lost secret of our humanity. When you learn that, then you have arrived at a crisis point, then you have to do something about it. You have to act on it or reject it, one or the other.

And then you will be different. It will drive you one way or the other. If you believe it, and act upon it, you will never be the same again. It will change everything about your life, gradually, little by little, as you see it applied to various areas. If you reject it, you will never be the same again. You will either be constantly playing the hypocrite, becoming more pious outwardly and more devilish inwardly, or you will turn your back on Christianity altogether and go your own way to become a blatant atheistic philosopher, spreading propaganda against God everywhere you go. That is what Jesus is saying. His dragnet exposes the attitude of your heart toward the truth.

You can see that in the passage from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, He says,

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. (2 Corinthians 2:14-16a)

Everywhere Paul went he made an impact and an impression, and people could never be the same, because when they understood the great, thrusting reality of the gospel they had to make a choice. What they determined to do exposed whether they were honest or not, whether they wanted to deal with life as it is, or to fool themselves and kid themselves and go on dreaming about something that would never be. Christians are the aroma of Christ to all men. Wherever we go men must face a fact which changes them. And they go on either from life to life, growing in grace and freedom and liberty, or from death to death, ending in the death of eternal loss. That is what the gospel is like, Jesus said. It is like a net which captures people and eventually exposes what they are.

Our Lord foresaw that this would occur throughout the age. But at the close of the age, he says, there will be a public manifestation before everyone of this division among men. In other words, throughout the age, now almost twenty centuries long, the division has been taking place in the lives of individuals. Anybody hearing this message has been revealed in the eyes of God to be either bad or good, unrealistic or honest. But as the age draws to a close the time is going to come when this division between men, this frank declaration of where people actually are, will come clearly manifest into the open. Our Lord says,

"So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous." (Matthew 13:49)

It is very important that we understand what Jesus means when he uses the term "the close of the age." He is talking about a time which the prophets had specified would come at the close of the age of the Gentiles. Daniel said it would be seven years long and that during that time strange events would occur in human affairs. Jesus himself describes it in the twenty-fourth chapter of the book of Matthew. 

He tells us that the close of the age will be recognizable because it will be a time of "great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no and never will be," (Matthew 24:21 KJV). You students of history know that there have been some terrible times in the past, but nothing like this. And it is during that last seven years of this present age, before our Lord returns in power and glory and with all his angels with him, as he himself describes, that this judgment takes place and the angels separate the good from the bad.

We are not products of our own immediate life. We are tied to the past. We are the results today of what our parents were before us, and their parents before them. And the trend toward the disclosure of honesty versus dishonesty, fantasy versus reality, comes down through all the preceding generations in all of history. But it will all find its focus and its ultimate manifestation in a great and clear-cut division which will take place.

Now, Jesus said that this distinction would be accomplished by the angels, not by men. It is not the politicians who are going to promote this. So it really does not make a great deal of difference whether you vote Republican or Democrat. Neither party is going to be able to accomplish what our Lord is setting forth here. It is going to be done by angels. On the basis of the Word of God, I believe in angels. I have never seen one, but I believe in them nevertheless. The Bible teaches that angels are "ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who shall be the heirs of salvation," (Hebrews 1:14 KJV). I believe in recording angels who keep a record of what we are doing. I do not know how they do it, but I believe they do. I believe in guardian angels who protect us from serious disaster. I know I keep mine busy most of the time.

 When our Lord was here on earth, and at other times in history, angels have been visibly present among men and manifest in their activity. When the disciples went to the tomb they found angels guarding it and explaining the events of the resurrection. When Jesus ascended into the heavens two angels, robed in white, stood by to explain to the disciples what had happened. As we approach the close of the age it may well be that this kind of angelic visitation will be evident once again. I don't know how it will be received by people. Since it will be apparent that angels are beings of another kind than we, it is apt to be explained as some kind of invasion from outer space. I merely drop that suggestion into your fertile minds for you to mull over for yourselves.

At any rate, Jesus says that at the close of the age the angels will be active. Angels have never ceased to be active, but their activity has been behind the scenes. Wherever angels are at work there is unseen, invisible, divine activity with visible and yet otherwise unexplainable results. Oftentimes something happens in human affairs which cannot be explained by the people who make it their business to study and analyze trends in human reactions and thoughts. They can only record it, but do not know why it is happening. That usually is a manifestation of some kind of angelic activity.

Jesus says that is what is going to happen at the close of the age. Increasingly, inexplicably, there will be divisions into groups, either evil or good. This links closely with the parable of the wheat and the tares. There too Jesus said that the angels would divide men, that clusters of evil men would gather together and the righteous would do the same. Here Jesus says that the angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous and what people actually are will become plain to all.

In other words, as we draw near to the end of the age hypocrisy is going to be more and more difficult. It is going to be harder to pretend to be a Christian. People will be more and more driven into an open manifestation of the evil that is within and no longer able to cloak it with some form of outward righteousness. That will be the result of angelic activity, exposing the bad in order that it might be destroyed, and allowing the good to remain for the harvest of God, just as this parable makes very clear.

I am not at all certain how this is going to work out. Our Lord does not give us the details of how this will actually appear in history. But I am sure this trend will occur. In fact it may well be occurring right now, as the issues are becoming increasingly clear and it is not as easy as it used to be to hide behind a facade of counterfeit Christianity. The reality must be there. The whole trend in our day toward honesty, this cry of a whole generation for reality and genuineness, is probably the result of the activity of angels moving us toward this final manifestation.

Notice that our Lord closes with a very solemn word:

"The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." (Matthew 13:49b-50)

Weeping speaks of remorse and sorrow. Gnashing of teeth speaks of frustration and hostility and anger. It is all gathered up in the burning phrase "the furnace of fire." I do not know fully what that means. And I do not like judgment any more than you do. I have always been uneasy whenever I have had to deal with these passages which speak of hell and judgment, of death and of the wrath of God. I do not like them because I don't like to think that God will have to do this one of these days. But I have been helped greatly by recognizing that, in the New Testament, the one who speaks most often and most solemnly about judgment and wrath and flames, etc., is Jesus himself. The One with the outstretched arms, with the compassionate heart, who longs to heal sick and wounded humanity, is the One who speaks also about the ultimate end of those who turn their backs and refuse the healing grace of God.

So we must live with this passage the way it is. Our Lord is simply indicating that the issue sharpens as we draw to the close of the age and that at the end it will no longer be possible to hide. As he himself said in another connection, "That which is hidden shall be revealed. That which is spoken in closets shall be shouted from the housetops." That which has been hidden in obscurity and which we think we have gotten away with shall be exposed before the gaze of all. Nothing shall be hidden. Everything shall be uncovered. That is what this parable moves toward.

The final question which it leaves with us is this: Are you really changed by your contact with Jesus Christ and are you still changing? Everyone in this congregation in one way or another has had a contact, a touch, with Jesus, has heard his voice. What has it done to you? What has happened? Are you gradually moving more and more into wholesomeness, into health of spirit, into a departure from childish ideas and actions? Are you becoming genuine and loving and concerned for others? Or does your form of Christianity leave you unchanged within, outwardly pious and respectable, outwardly part of the Christian community, singing the hymns, attending the meetings, doing all the expected things, but inwardly just as bitter and resentful, just as self-centered and concerned for your own ends, seeking after prestige and favor and advancement just as much as you always have been, perhaps more difficult to live with at home? That is what this parable is driving at.

When we are dealing with God we are not dealing with someone who can be bought off. We are dealing with ultimate reality, striking deep into our lives and exposing whatever it finds. And the only way we can meet this reality with any possibility of survival and chance of acceptance is with honesty, simple honesty, just saying what we are. Because, when we say that, then the healing glory of Jesus Christ is able to take us and remove the evil from our hearts and restore the good, to change us into the kind of people that we want to be and which God wants us to be. As we come to the close of this searching parable we need to pray David's great prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalms 139:23-24)

 That is the only ground upon which ultimately we can stand before our Lord. The final, ultimate test is a searching one. Our Lord describes it again in Matthew 25 in his story of the separation of the sheep from the goats when he comes again. The test is, 

"Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me," (Matthew 25:40). 

Inasmuch as your inward motivation, your whole heart, has been awakened with compassion for those who are hungry and sick and in prison, etc., then you have been changed. But if your brand of Christianity is only that of mere outward form, of respectability, a certain moral standard, a degree of a "live and let live" attitude, and yet you have no compassion, no willingness to reach out and expend yourself to meet the need of someone else, then you have never been changed. God has yet to do a work of grace in your heart. This is where this parable leaves us.

As we bring this study to a close, we can see how our Lord has clearly and completely captured all the great trends of our day and our age. He brings us at last now to stand naked and open before him, and all that we are is made clear. Our only hope is to say, "Lord, here I am. I cannot change myself. I can only admit what I am and put myself in your hands. And you, Lord, can change me."

Today's Prayer:

We ask you now, Lord Jesus, to measure each heart and show each of us what our own heart is. May there be many who will pray, "Lord Jesus, change me. I am just what I am, and I cannot change myself. But I do not want to be what I am any longer. Lord, please change me." Many of us are Christians already, Lord, and we really have believed in you. But there are areas of our lives in which we are still resisting you, still trying to pretend that we are something we are not. So we ask you, Lord Jesus, to change those areas too, to redeem them. Help us to acknowledge them and claim your healing grace. We ask in your name, Amen.

The Worry-Free God

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? (Matthew 6:25 KJV)

Worry and anxiety constantly plague us. We worry about completing our to-do lists, what our bosses or co-workers think of us, or having enough money to make it through the month. It sometimes gets to the point where we don’t feel right if we’re not worried about something.

I know people who find part of their identity in being worriers and who actually define themselves by it. But when Christians do this, it seems like a major contradiction. Worry is another word for fear. And in God’s Word, the message is clear: do not worry (Matthew 6:25). Do not fear (Isaiah 41:10).

In 2 Timothy 2:7, Paul writes that God did not give us a “spirit of fear.” So if fear is not from God, then it can be defeated through the work of God’s Spirit in us and through the renewing of our minds in Christ. Changing our fearful minds is hard work, but the Apostle Paul challenges us to “work out our salvation” with the fear of God, not out of fear of the world around us (Philippians 2:12).

Our world is full of frightening things. We are all works in progress. But when someone becomes a believer in Christ, that person gains the power to overcome fear. We are children of the One who created the world and everything in it, and co-heirs with Christ who overcame the world (Romans 8:15-17; John 16:33).

Worry: The Enemy of Faith?
Do you know which sin is the subtle enemy of simple faith? Materialism and greed? Anger? Lust? Hypocrisy? No. All of these sins are certainly our enemies, but none of them qualify as subtle enemies.

The most notorious faith killer in all of life: worry. “For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25).

I find the term worry fascinating. To begin with, the word used by Matthew (translated here as “anxious”) is the Greek term merimnao. It is a combination of two smaller words, merizo, meaning “to divide,” and nous, meaning “the mind.” In other words, a person who is anxious suffers from a divided mind, leaving him or her disquieted and distracted.

Of all the biblical stories illustrating worry, none is more practical or clear than the one recorded in the last five verses of Luke 10. Let’s briefly relive it.

Jesus dropped by His friends’ home in Bethany. Martha, one of those friends, turned the occasion into a mild frenzy. To make matters worse, Martha’s sister, Mary, was so pleased to have the Lord visit their home that she sat with Him and evidenced little concern over her sister's anxiety attack.

As Luke tells us, “Martha was distracted with all her preparations”  But Martha didn’t have help, and that was the final straw. Irritated, exasperated, and angry, she reached her boiling point, and her boiling point led to blame. “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me” (Luke 10:40).

But Jesus was neither impressed by her busyness nor intimidated by her command. Graciously, yet firmly, He said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41–42).

Worry occurs when we assume responsibility for things that are outside our control. And I love the Lord’s solution: “only a few things are necessary, really only one.” What a classic example of simple faith!

All Mary wanted was time with Jesus . . . and He commended her for that. Mary’s simple faith, in contrast to her sister's panic, won the Savior’s affirmation.

Worry and faith just don't mix.

The Lies We Believe
“Do not worry about tomorrow.” (Matthew 6:34)

Most of us, from time to time or nearly all of the time, worry about something – our health, our finances, our loved ones, and so on. Yet the Scriptures say to take no thought for your lives and be anxious for nothing. Why is worry a sin? I know we consider it “only human,” but worry really implies a lack of trust in God. It is believing a lie. Identify the lie and you can quickly discover the Truth. What is the lie? That God is somehow less than sufficient, that perhaps He will not come through for us.


So you see, the enemy gets us to believe a lie, and then gets us to think that we are just being “human.” So then we accept something less than the normal Christian life – overcoming – and think that is just the way it is. Remember: satan has no power apart from our belief in his lie.

Let God Take Over
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

In every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Observe,

1. We must not only keep up stated times for prayer, but we must pray upon every particular emergency: In every thing by prayer. When any thing burdens our spirits, we must ease our minds by prayer; when our affairs are perplexed or distressed, we must seek direction and support.

2. We must join thanksgiving with our prayers and supplications. We must not only seek supplies of good, but own receipts of mercy. Grateful acknowledgments of what we have argue a right disposition of mind, and are prevailing motives for further blessings.

3. Prayer is the offering up of our desires to God, or making them known to him: Let your requests be made known to God. Not that God needs to be told either our wants or desires; for he knows them better than we can tell him: but he will know them from us, and have us show our regards and concern, express our value of the mercy and sense of our dependence on him.

4. The effect of this will be the peace of God keeping our hearts. The peace of God, that is, the comfortable sense of our reconciliation to God and interest in his favor, and the hope of the heavenly blessedness, and enjoyment of God hereafter, which passeth all understanding, is a great good than can be sufficiently valued or duly expressed. It has not entered into the heart of man.(1 Corinthians 2:9)

This peace will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus; it will keep us from sinning under our troubles, and from sinking under them; keep us calm and sedate, without discomposure of passion, and with inward satisfaction. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, (Isaiah 26:3). 

We all struggle with worry and anxiety at times. God promises that when we surrender our worry to Him, he will guard our hearts and minds and fill us with His peace. If you are struggling with worry right now, claim this promise. Recite this verse to yourself whenever you have anxious thoughts as a reminder that God will help you when you come to Him.

Sometimes people feel anxious all the time, even about little things that seem like they shouldn’t cause any worry at all. If this is how you or someone you know is feeling, prayerfully consider who you can talk to in order to help yourself or your loved one get the help they need.

Today's Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I recognize that worry is an attempt to control things over which I have no control. Fear rules in my mind when the things and people around me seem bigger and stronger than You. Forgive me and help me switch my thinking from fear to trust in You.  Lord, thank You for the ways You uphold us and care for us as we walk through times of difficulty. Thank You that You transform the pain in our lives into things of beauty, as we trust in You. Thank You that You love us in spite of our brokenness. Amen.

Understanding Spiritual Power

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to dumb idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus be cursed,' and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:1-3)

New life in Christ brought new freedom to believers in Corinth. However, like children or immature adults, they did not know how to behave responsibly to each other or to God. They needed to be taught, which was why Paul wrote this letter. The Spirit of God had given special abilities to different people, but instead of treating God's gifts as tools (for serving the Lord and spreading the gospel) they used them as toys to feed their pride.

Corinthian citizens and slaves were used to the idea of supernatural power: the mythical gods of the city were supposed to be able to command cosmic and earthly events. Many of the new believers in Jesus had previously grown up to think that the temple idols had personalities and authority (which was why they were worshiped and sacrifices were made to them). They now had to understand that the Holy Spirit has genuine power, but radically different from their indoctrinated ideas or demonic lies about idols. 

So how could they recognize the difference between the pagan preachers, demonic miracle-workers, and Christians filled with the Holy Spirit? Paul's test was simple; what did they say about Jesus? If anyone cursed Jesus or failed to recognize Him as the Lord God of eternity, then the Holy Spirit was not speaking through them. But whoever announced that Jesus is the Lord to be worshiped and obeyed, demonstrated that the Holy Spirit lived in them. It was a dangerous claim to make about Jesus, and one for which the apostles faced severe persecution (Acts 4:13,17-18), so no one would fake the claim that 'Jesus is Lord' unless the Holy Spirit empowered them.

Being willing to announce the identity of Jesus is the critical evidence that the Holy Spirit is resident in a human heart. Jesus is more than just a good man, a wise teacher and a prophet. When people confess that 'Jesus is my Lord', you know they are saved and have the Holy Spirit (Romans 10:9-10). Their public identification with Him is also the beginning of their gospel witness. Others will be drawn to Jesus, even though believers may face difficulties from unbelievers. "What do you think of Jesus Christ?" is still a potent diagnostic evangelistic question in the community or workplace. Those who are ashamed of Jesus need to beware because He will be ashamed of them on the Final Day (Luke 9:26). So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord (2 Timothy 1:8).

The Power to Share Christ
But we all...beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image...even as from the Lord Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses (Acts 1:8 )

If the inward aspect of the Spirit is more important than the outward aspect of the Spirit, why do we need the outpouring of the Spirit? Those who live a life of holiness and who know the Spirit as a person will have the strength to share this holiness with others once they receive the outpouring of the Spirit.... A man may have received something from God and may have accumulated something within yet not have the power to share it with others. Although others may admire or look up to them, they cannot get any help from them. Once they receive the outpouring of the Spirit, they will be able to share with others what is inside them.

Those who have the Spirit within are like a power plant. The plant may be full of light, but the whole city may be in darkness. There must be power lines to join the power plant to the city in order for the power to be conveyed to the whole city. If there is no power in the plant, nothing will happen. However, if there is power but no power lines, nothing will happen either. The power-conveying lines are a picture of the function of the outpouring. Many people have power lines, yet they have to light candles at night. They do not have anything inside them, yet they try to convey something to others. This will not work. We must have both the outward and the inward aspects of the Spirit.

Prayer for Spiritual Power

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You that Jesus Christ is Lord, to be worshipped and obeyed. Forgive me when I have not been willing to identify myself with Him, or when I have allowed people who deny His Lordship to have spiritual authority over my life. Please help me to discern the true voices from among those who claim to be spiritual, by applying the test, 'What do you think of Jesus Christ?' And help me to be an unashamed ambassador for Jesus Christ the Lord. In His Name. Amen. 

Waiting On God

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! (Isaiah 30:18).

Have you ever noticed that God is not in a hurry? It took forty years for Moses to         receive his commission to lead the people out of Egypt. It took Joseph seventeen years of preparation before he was delivered from slavery and imprisonment. It took Jacob twenty years before he was released from Laban's control. Abraham and Sarah were in their old age when they finally received the son of promise, Isaac; so why isn't God in a hurry?

God called each of these servants to accomplish a certain task in His Kingdom, yet             He was in no hurry to bring their mission into fulfillment until He had accomplished what     He wanted   in them. We are often more focused on outcome than the process that He is accomplishing in our lives each day. When we experience His presence daily, one day we wake up and realize that God has done something special in and through our lives. 

However, the accomplishment is no longer what excites us. It is knowing Him. Through those times, we become more acquainted with His love, grace, and power in our lives. When this happens we are no longer focused on the outcome because the outcome is a result of our walk with Him. It is not the goal of our walk, but the by-product. Hence, when Joseph came to power in Egypt, he probably couldn't have cared less. He had come to a place complete surrender so that he was not anxious about tomorrow and or his circumstances.

This is the lesson for us. We must wait for God's timing and embrace wherever we are in the process. When we find contentment in that place, we begin to experience God in ways we never thought possible.

Have you ever had to wait a long time for something to happen?

In John 1, Jesus delayed in responding to Mary and Martha when they sent word that Lazarus was sick. In fact, He stayed a few more days away and Lazarus died. The situation looked hopeless. Have you been waiting for God to answer some of your prayers, and the answer has not come? The situation may look hopeless from every human standpoint. But realize this: God uses delay to purify and prepare us for the harvest.

"God uses delay as one of His chief tools of refining human character. Those who are attuned to the heartbeat of the Holy Spirit in this hour also recognize that the Spirit is stirring an incredible urgency in the hearts of His people because the hour is so late. The harvest is ripe, and the need for laborers who will minister in the words and works of Jesus is of critical proportions. Jesus is returning very soon and so God is doing a quick work in His people today. He's preparing us quickly. To do a quick work, God is turning up the heat and pressure everywhere. It's happening the world over. Saints and leaders everywhere are testifying to shaking, fire, distress, persecutions, and afflictions. The hour is late, and God's people must be prepared quickly. To do the quickest work, God uses the hottest flame. Nothing purifies us faster than when we have to wait on God." - Bob Sorge

"To do the quickest work, God waits. The greater the wait, the greater the work."

In whatever you are waiting on God for, never give up for you shall see His resurrection power in your life, and every day of waiting shall be worth it. "The Lord responds, 'Wait on me. Look only to Me. Don't look to other human resources. Fix your eyes on Me, and wait for Me." Don't give up your hope. He wants you to believe that he can resurrect any dream, hope or impossibility. Look what He did with Lazarus. And it is all for His glory. So just as He said regarding Lazarus in John 11:44, God is saying to us: "Take off the grave clothes! Believe in me." God will come through for you in His timing. You have every reason to hope because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

"Then Jesus said, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"  (John 11:40).

Waiting on God for Instruction
“Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art the God of my salvation; On thee do I wait all the day.” (Psalm 25:4-5 KJV)

I spoke of an army on the point of entering an enemy’s territories. Answering the question as to the cause of delay: “Waiting for supplies.” The answer might also have been: “Waiting for instructions”, or “Waiting for orders”. If the last dispatch had not been received, with the final orders of the commander-in-chief, the army dared not move.

Even so in the Christian life: as deep as the need of waiting for supplies, is that of waiting for instructions. See how beautiful this comes out in Psalm 25. 

The writer knew and loved God’s law exceedingly, and meditated in that law day and night.   
But he knew that this was not enough. He knew that for the right spiritual apprehension of the truth, and for the right personal application of it to his own peculiar circumstances, he needed a direct divine teaching.

The psalm has at all times been a very peculiar one, because of its reiterated expression of the felt need of the Divine teaching, and of the childlike confidence that that teaching would be given. Study the psalm until your heart is filled with the two thoughts - the absolute need, the absolute certainty of divine guidance. And with these how entirely it is in this connection that he speaks, “On Thee do I wait all the day”. Waiting for guidance, waiting for instruction, all the day, is a very blessed part of waiting upon God.

The Father in heaven is so interested in His child, and so longs to have his life at every step in His will and His love, that He is willing to keep his guidance entirely in His own hand. He knows so well that we are unable to do what is really holy and heavenly, except as He works it in us, that He means His very demands to become promises of what He will do, in watching over and leading us all the day. Not only in special difficulties and times of perplexity, but in the common course of everyday life, we may count upon Him to teach us His war, and show us His path.

And what is needed in us to receive this guidance? One thing: waiting for instructions, waiting on God. “On Thee do I wait all the day.” We want in our times of prayer to give clear expression to our sense of need, and our faith in His help. We want definitely to become conscious of our ignorance as to what God’s war may be, and the need of the Divine light shining within us, if our way is to be as of the sun, shining more and more unto the perfect day. And we want to wait quietly before God in prayer, until the deep, restful assurance fills us: It will be given - “the meek will He guide in the way”.

“On Thee do I wait all the day.” The special surrender to the Divine guidance in our seasons of prayer must cultivate, and be followed up by, the habitual looking upwards “all the day”. As simple as it is, to one who has eyes, to walk all the day in the light of the sun, so simple and delightful can it become to a soul practised in waiting on God, to walk all the day in the enjoyment of God’s light and leading.

What is needed to help us to such a life is just one thing: the real knowledge and faith of God as the one only source of wisdom and goodness, as ever ready, and longing much to be to us all that we can possibly require - yes! This is the one thing we need. If we but saw our God in His love, if we but believed that He waits to be gracious, that He waits to be our life and to work all in us, - how this waiting on God would become our highest joy, the natural and spontaneous response of our hearts to His great love and glory!

“My soul, wait thou only upon God!”

God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life.

Prayer 
“Father, thank You for what You are doing in my life today. I receive the vision You have for me. I receive Your hope. I look forward with joy to all You have for my future in Jesus name. Amen!”

The Cornerstone for God's Building

Let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified and whom God has raised from the dead, in this name this man stands before you in good health.  This is the stone which was considered as nothing by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner.  And there is salvation in no other, for neither is there another name under heaven given among men in which we must be saved (Acts 4:12 )

Here we see that the crucified Jesus, the One whom God raised up from the dead, is the cornerstone rejected by the Jewish leaders. If we read these verses carefully, we shall see that salvation is in the resurrected Christ. Furthermore, this salvation is for God's building. The Savior in resurrection is the cornerstone for God's building, which is also in resurrection. By this we see that the Lord's resurrection is not only for our salvation but also for God's building. Both our salvation and God's building are in the resurrected Christ.

When Peter recognized that the Lord was the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus immediately said, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.” The name Peter means “stone.” From that day on, Peter was deeply impressed with the matter of building, and he became the first person after the Lord Jesus to speak about the building. Soon after the day of Pentecost, Peter preached that Christ was not only the Savior but also the cornerstone for God’s building (Acts 4:11). 

Christ is the Stone-Savior, the Savior for salvation and the stone for God’s building.

God’s salvation is for God’s building. In Christianity today people preach Christ mainly as the Savior, not as the stone, because most people have seen the matter of salvation but have missed God’s building. In the past centuries, Christians have seen much concerning God’s salvation. However, not many know about God’s building. Salvation is not God’s goal; God’s building is His goal, and salvation is the process to accomplish the goal. The New Testament is a book of Christ, and it begins with Christ, but once people come to know Christ, He turns them to the building of the church. When Peter said, “You are the Christ,” the Lord Jesus told him that he was a stone, and that He would build His church (which is His Body)

Jesus Is Building His Church
“…upon this Rock, I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18b)

What is the “move” of God? What is God doing today? What is God saying to the Church? Here’s what is happening: Jesus is building His Church. There is no “new” thing to be seen, said, or done: Jesus the Rock is building His Church upon the foundation of Himself. He is faithfully gathering the living stones together and is assembling them into a beautiful structure of gold, silver, and precious stones (I Peter 2:4-9; I Corinthians 3:9-17).

There is nothing wrong with the Church! That is, there is nothing wrong with the Church that Jesus is building, though there is much to be desired among those who are following their own building programs and blueprints, and calling it “church”. Jesus is assembling the saints together into a spiritual house. The problem is that some things we have come to believe to be “church” are not necessarily the Church. Although there is nothing wrong with the Church, everything that is called “Church” is not the “Church”. So what is the Church?

Let us look at this statement: “I will build My Church.” The first thing that strikes us about this thing called “Church” is simply that it is that which Jesus is building upon the foundation of Himself. More specifically, the word “church” is “ecclesia”, the called-out assembly. It consists of those to whom God has chosen to reveal His Son. This revelation of who we are in Christ and who Christ is in us is the key. Without this firm foundation we cannot know, understand or experience being part of the Church. Quite frankly, our religious head knowledge or credal affirmation is of virtually no significance.

Even the repeating of the so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” means nothing apart from the revelation of Jesus Christ. May God give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ (Ephesians 1:17-23). 

Then, our prayer and confession will be based on Spirit and Truth revelation, not flesh and blood, second or third generation “knowing” (Matthew 16:17).

The Church is not built upon the individual Peter, but upon those who have been given revelation. Jesus builds His Church through revelation to individuals, the “whosoevers”. What revelation? The revelation of Himself. This revelation is sufficient to secure us as members of the Church that Jesus is building. When we understand that revelation is the only thing which matters we will cease trying to grow the Church or gain members through better preaching, musical entertainment, handsome facilities, demographic studies, and savvy marketing techniques. Instead, we will simply come to rely upon revelation and trust the Father to reveal the Son through the Spirit Who brings illumination to our heart. 

We are the Temple of God, a habitation for Himself, and this Church grows as a living thing (Ephesians 2:20-22).

Jesus is not building a denomination or founding a movement. The Church is not a denomination, but neither is it a non-denomination. It is not a steeple-house or institutional church, but neither is it a house church. Stated simply, the Church is a spiritual house of living stones, invisible to the naked eye, but clearly seen and known in Spirit. It is not an organization, but an organism. Who are its members? Those who have the revelation of Jesus Christ. Where are these members to be found? They are scattered in all directions, both inside and outside of Organized Religion.

What we have, both within Organized Religion and within the house church “movement”, is a mixture of people. Some of them have the revelation of Jesus Christ, and some do not. We affirm that this revelation is enough to establish the Church, regardless of the outward appearances. Where this revelation exists, THERE is the foundation of the Church that Jesus is building. Since it is an inward revelation, a spiritual seeing and entering into, we cannot classify everyone as being the Church merely because they are within a system of Organized Religion, or even if they have come out of a system. Nor can we include or disqualify them because of where or how they meet. The meeting together is only a small part of the total picture. The question is not whether we are in or out of a human system, or how we meet, or what doctrine we lay emphasis on.

The question is, have we seen the Lord? Do we have the revelation of Jesus Christ? We may be correct in outward appearance but have no inward revelation. Hence, not all who say, “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 7:21-23). 

We maintain that the Church exists where individuals have the revelation of Jesus Christ: for when this revelation takes hold of a person, Jesus Christ will have the preeminence in all things (Colossians 1:12-19). It is not enough to tell people, “Jesus is the Head of the Church.” We cannot make Him the Head while gathered together and then expect Him to remain in the background while we live out our lives individually. 

Either He is Lord OF all, or He isn’t Lord AT all. When we see Him seated in heavenly places we will gladly and joyfully allow Him to be the Head over all things, not only in the Church, but in our marriage, family, and work. We will at once see that the Church does not belong to us. We will discern that hitherto we have viewed “church” as something that we must attend, build, or grow. With the knowledge that the Church does not belong to us we will relinquish our claims to it and begin to co-labor together with the Lord (I Corinthians 3:9). Then, it is a natural thing to give up our titles and positions and merely concentrate on building one another up in love. 

To give up title and position within a group that has no revelation of Christ is to invite chaos. This is why man feels the need to have some organization and established leadership among the saints, running the steeple-house much like a business with mission statements and top-heavy organizational charts, paving a one-way street of submission to some earthly head – because there is no vision of Christ. It is not more organization or leadership training that we need. 

We only need more revelation, and no man can give us revelation. It is the gift of God. Once obtained, we will with much rejoicing and relief fall into place below One Head and allow Christ to have the preeminence. “The Lord is my Pastor: I shall not lack (Psalms 23:1).”

Since it is the Lord’s Church, and no man’s, and since we are the sheep of His pasture, not man’s, we will stop referring to “Pastor Smith’s church” and “Brother John’s congregation”. The pastor is not the head of the Church. But then, neither is the teacher, evangelist, prophet, or apostle. Apostles do not build the Church: Jesus builds the Church, for it is His Church. All anyone can do is co-labor with Him. 

Anything done apart from Him will fall apart, for there is no other foundation but what has been laid, and that foundation is Christ (I Corinthians 3:11). 

If the foundation is faulty, it matters not one whit how beautiful the structure is. The apostles and prophets lay the foundation of the Church, which is the revelation of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:20), but it is still based upon a revelation that no man can give! The Spirit of Jesus must make Himself known in you (Galatians 1:11-18). Then others will build upon that foundation, which is your personal revelation of Christ in you and you in Christ. But no one at any time may lay claim to the Church, or any particular fellowship, as his or her own. The Church does not belong to a denominational office, church board, circle of elders, founding apostle, or individual pastor. At least, not the Church that Jesus is building.

How do we know if a particular work is the true building of God, part of the genuine Church? All we have to do is see who has the preeminence there. If an apostle or pastor is considered the spiritual head then Christ does not have the preeminence (3 John 9). If the elected deacons are in charge then Christ does not have the preeminence. We may give Him lip service and acknowledge with our mouth that it is His Church, but apart from revelation these are empty words. When the moment of truth comes man will always seize control, demonstrating that Christ does not have the preeminence there, and indeed, probably never had it to begin with.

How then do we know who has the preeminence? We need only look to see who gets the credit for the work. Men talk about “this great denomination” and glory in the works of their hands. Of course, with their lips they draw near to God, but their heart is far from Him. They are only trying to build a name to themselves and reach the heavens. The end result is confusion and vain babbling (Genesis 11:1-9). 

They are not co-laboring with Christ in the building of His Church, they are asking Christ to co-labor with THEM in the building of THEIR church. “We have done many mighty works in Your Name! Behold what manner of stones and buildings these are (Mark 13:1)!” And surely, great things have been accomplished, insofar as organization, wealth, property, and numbers are concerned. 

“But Jesus said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God (Luke 16:15).” 

If Jesus is building His Church as His own possession, then we cannot take the credit for it. We can only marvel at what He does and bow our heads in humble gratitude for allowing us to be a part of it.

The Church that Jesus is building cannot be overcome by the gates of hell. Since it is built upon the revelation of Jesus Christ, nothing can stop it. Why? A sane man will not die for a tradition or a doctrine. But he will gladly lay down his life for the revelation of Jesus Christ. He cannot be disobedient to the heavenly vision (Acts 20:24; 26:19). He has found his Life (Christ) by giving up his life.

Yes, this world system, including man’s religious systems, is passing away: make no mistake (I John 2:15-17). The nations will be judged and will pass through the fire (Psalms 2). The earth will decay and finally dissolve altogether, consumed in the fire; the heaven’s will melt with a fervent heat (2 Peter 3:7-14). The outward things are fading, perishing, evolving downward in a state of entropy. Look around you, saint of God. See the steeple-house? It will not remain for long. See the cathedral? It too shall pass. See the oceans? One day they will be no more. Look at the mountains – they will all be removed. See the cities? They will be destroyed. Heaven and earth will pass away.

Today's Thoughts
The Church that Jesus is building will be the only thing which remains. 
The visible will make way for the invisible, the temporal will give way to the eternal, mortal will put on immortality (I Corinthians 15). A new heavens and a new earth will be made and the New Jerusalem, the Bride of Christ, the Church, will be completed (Revelation 21). We are that Building of God, built upon the revelatory foundation of Jesus brought by the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20).

We are the Temple of God, therefore we need no earthly temple, we seek no earthly kingdom, and we expect no earthly reward (I Corinthians 3:16,17). We look for a City whose Builder and Maker is God, and we are that City (Hebrews 11:10).

Jesus is building His Church!

Today's Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, 
We thank You for the church that Jesus is building,
Thank You for calling each of us to serve Your Kingdom through this wonderful church. Thank You for using our individual gifts and talents to manifest Your Kingdom here on earth as it already is in heaven. Lord, we are thankful for the freedom to worship You, our God.

Thank You for Your bountiful blessings. Thank You for increasing Your presence, power, anointing, and abundance in our Church Family. You are great and greatly to be praised. You are to be feared above all gods. The earth is Yours and everything in it; the world and all its people belong to You. You laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.

Lord, no pagan god is like You! None can do what You do. Loving Father, we declare that we will love You with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. As a Church Family, we confess that we will love one another, as ourselves. As Your children, we proclaim that we have all put on Christ, like putting on new clothes and we will walk in unity and love with one another.

It is because of this love that we exhibit for each other that people will know that we are Your disciples. Your Word tells us that if we love You, we must also love our Christian brothers and sisters, too. Therefore, we declare that we will not look out only for our own interests, but we take an interest in each other’s needs. We declare that we will live in harmony with each other and resist division. We will be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

We declare that as a Church Family we will turn away from evil, and do good; we will search for peace and work to maintain it. We confess that we will encourage and build each other up. Above all things, we decree that we will put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

In Jesus mighty and glorious name, this we pray, Amen!