Transcendent Praise

Hebrews 12: 1 – 3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The focus of your struggle is to daily take back territory from the enemy, not just for yourself but for your circle of influence, whether it is your immediate family, friends, acquaintances, your church family or the body of believers at large. The ultimate goal is to fulfill your assignment and bring glory to the name of Christ. Few believers seem to realize that when Jesus taught his disciples to pray: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven” it was a directive to mobilize and play their part. The kingdom must first come in your life and mine as we seek to do the will of God.

Make no mistake though, you will encounter opposition at every turn, the important thing is not to focus on the circumstances but on Jesus your captain and listen to his voice. He leads by example. He endured for the joy set before him! That joy was to be at his Father’s right hand again and to bring many sons to glory, that includes you and me. Our faith is vested in the finished work of Christ and his promises. “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (Hebrews 10: 35 – 36).

Exodus 17: 8 – 9 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

The staff Moses was referring to is the staff described in Exodus 4:1 – 17, when the Lord was preparing to send him to the elders of Israel and then on to Pharaoh to demand release of the Israelites from bondage. God had transformed Moses’ ordinary shepherd staff into a secret weapon for miracles. “What is in your hand?”  Moses responded: “A staff”. The Lord ordered him to throw it down. It turned into a snake and Moses ran from it. But the Lord ordered him to pick it up by the tail and as he did it became a staff again.

You are a soldier in the Lord’s army so each day there will be challenges and battles to fight. Sometimes the enemy will be readily visible and identifiable as the Amalekites were to Moses and his army. At other times it may be plots and schemes of others over which you have no control. Sometimes you will be caught off-guard when the enemy is temptation, lust, greed, pride, envy, malice – the kind of things that sneak upon you and you don’t realize that they are just as capable of ruining your life and your walk with God.

The Lord does not expect us to fight battles without him any more than he expected Moses or Joshua to do so. God had ordained defeat for the Amalekites. (Read Exodus 17:13 – 14 and Deuteronomy 25: 17 – 19, 1 Samuel 15:1-3). Like Moses and Joshua we have to depend on God who knows the outcome he has purposed in each of our battles.

            “It is a principle in Scripture that I fight battles for my people. They never fight alone. It is my desire that they look to me, lean on me for the help they need in every circumstance. Often they do not comprehend how far reaching the opposition of the enemy is. It is never just a frontal attack – he comes from all sides and with many weapons. So it is pointless for you to fight alone. Commit the battle to me and I will fight for you.”

Revelation 18:20 Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.

Will good ever triumph over evil?  Yes, because God has the final word. The Book of Revelation was written to give us a panorama as to how our civilization will wind down. In the 18^th chapter we read of the final destruction of Babylon, the representation of the world system of commerce and all the evil and injustice that comes with it.

We now live in this parenthesis called time, and it gives us an opportunity to know God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son. If we accept this relationship, we become children of God and whether we live or die, our eternity in his presence is assured. God does not bow to anyone or any schemes that man invents. He alone is God and has the blueprint for what happens next.  All the noise and activity of our world is subject to his veto power. The Holy Spirit is always speaking to confirm God’s word:

“Alpha and Omega he has declared himself to be. It matters not whether men agree or believe that this is so. He has determined a set time to dismantle the system which the wisdom of the world has built. They have enshrined Satan the evil one as King, the one they worship in opposition to my will and plans for redemption of the souls of men. But it shall not stand. Its end is already determined and I will come in my time and make an end of it all. Then my redeemed shall rejoice and be exalted together with me as I have promised. Be not weary my beloved ones, you who trust in me for I will not fail you.”

John 6: 20 – 21 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

Life is so much simpler when Jesus is in the boat with you. If you have set out on some new plan, project or journey with a set goal in mind, you will get there a lot faster if you have consulted with your Lord. Have you told him about what has motivated you to undertake this enterprise of yours? Has he given his approval? Has he assured you that he is setting you up for success, meaning he will be glorified as a result? If your answer is yes to all the above, then he says: “Don’t be afraid.”

Jesus’ disciples had come to the end of a long day and decided they would cross the lake by boat to go to Capernaum? They had probably done this several times before. But it was evening and getting dark and this time they decided to go without Jesus.  Soon they were caught in a storm. We are so often like willful children who push the parent’s hand away with: “No, I can do it all by myself.” Well, as you know, sometimes that is true and sometimes not. Likewise, our Lord allows us to exercise our free will and do our own thing our own way. But just remember, he is always available to rescue you because he is motivated by his love for you, and he does know the way ahead and all the headwinds that you will encounter.

“It is I who will ensure that you get to your destination. I know the way and I know the hazards along the way. Whenever you are afraid, rest assured that I will come to you to ensure your safety. I have covenanted myself to my children. It remains only that they recall my promises to them in their hour of need and call on my name.”

Hebrews 12: 14 – 15 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Friend, you and I have been called to be peacemakers and to be holy. But if we are not experiencing wholeness in our lives we can be neither of those. Things happen from time to time which can be so tragic or discouraging as to leave you feeling that you can never recover. The result is likely to be that you have no joy, no peace, and instead of a healthy perspective on life all you see is gloom. Do examine what you are feeling. Be totally honest with yourself. Are you broken or bitter, or both?

God binds up the bruised and broken, sends help in time of need, heals the sick and brings comfort to those who grieve. “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.” (Isaiah 42: 3 – 4). God is not looking to crush the life out of you, instead he wants you to reach out in faith and grab his hand so he can lift you back up. If you are grieving he understands your pain. He has sent the Comforter for such a time as this so you can lean on him for sustenance.

On the other hand, if you have allowed a root of bitterness to spring up against God, then you have work to do. You have to become a gardener – seek it out and pull it up by the roots. Bitterness against God is unbelief because it means that you have a form of godliness but you are denying his power to forgive and restore you. See to it that you do not miss the grace of God. His joy is your strength but you are wallowing in self-pity and will not let his light in. It is as though you are expecting God to apologize to you for what has happened. He will not because he is the Creator and you are the created. But he is standing in the wings waiting on you to release your pain to him.

Matthew 6: 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Jesus taught his disciples how to pray after he had been baptized by John the Baptist. At the time of his baptism the heavens had opened up over Jesus and the voice of his Father was heard to say: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” No sooner had this happened, we read that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. (See Matthew 3:13 – 17 and Matthew 4:1).

Is it because Jesus had gone through his hour of temptation why he taught his disciples to pray in this way? And why does it say “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil”? I found myself pondering this for a moment and became quite confused. Does the Holy Spirit lead us to be tempted? I wanted to be sure I understood so as not to mislead anyone. The Holy Spirit interrupted my thoughts and was quite emphatic with the following guidance:

“I have taught what I have taught. Listen, my Word is clear. My Son was sent to deliver mankind from the grasp of Satan. His unity with me guaranteed that he would be delivered from temptation. Those who identify with my Son have the same protection. I do not deliver them over to the devil to be tempted. I am on board with them. It is I who will bring them through their hour of temptation if they are truly mine and are depending on me for deliverance. My children should never think that they are capable on their own of surviving temptation. They must always look to me.”

Matthew 6: 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

It is said that forgiveness frees the one who forgives as much as it frees the one who is forgiven. It is absolutely true. Jesus makes forgiveness by God conditional upon our first forgiving others. (Matthew 6:14 – 15) Maybe you have said the Lord’s Prayer routinely but never let it dawn on you that action is required on your part. It is as though Jesus is saying ‘go and do’ and then come and pray.

I am assuming of course that as a believer, you make a habit of paying your debts. But how do you handle a situation where someone owes you and has not repaid or cannot repay the debt? Jesus is actually telling us that the debt must be forgiven. Ouch! Families have been ruined and relationships severed because of failure in this area of life.

The relationship most harmed by an unwillingness to show forgiveness and understanding is marriage.  In 1 Peter chapter 3 Paul counsels wives to be submissive to their husbands. But he also pleads with husbands to be considerate of their wives. He says “and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life so that nothing will hinder you prayers.”(Verse 7) Clearly husbands and wives have to be in “forgiveness mode” every day and the husband is expected to lead in this regard. So it’s time to shred the “list of wrongs” and to forgive so that God will hear your prayers and you can begin to not just survive but thrive together.

Matthew 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.

So it is okay to ask the Lord for stuff? Yes. He is Jehovah-jireh, your Lord provider. He knows that there are daily needs to sustain life. For each of us the level of need is different depending on our circumstances. In the Western world much of what we consider needs are absolute luxuries for much of the rest of the world.

So far as having what to eat, wear, or drink is concerned, Jesus assured his disciples in Matthew 6:32, that our heavenly Father knows we need these things.  However, Jesus also told them “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you as well.” (Mathew 6:33). There you have it again – kingdom business first. This is letting us know that, as believers, we ought not to be preoccupied with the race to the top as the world sees it, but rather to let God’s priorities be ours as well.

In this age of refugees and displaced persons, millions have nothing.  Each of us must now not just pray for our own needs, but for theirs as well. It is “kingdom business” to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and rescue the perishing. “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice, and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58: 6 – 7).

Matthew 6: 9 – 10 This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

These are the first few lines of Jesus’ guidelines to his disciples in his response to their request to teach them how to pray. In childhood and for many adults too, the focus of prayer seems to be: “Lord, please do this, please give me, please help me……….” It’s all about us, yet that is completely contrary to the pattern Jesus introduced.

Jesus’ prayer was firstly about his Father. He recognized his Father’s abode or dwelling place – far above the reach and activity of all principalities and powers. He recognized the power of his name – sovereign and supreme and worthy of praise. He recognized his kingdom – everlasting and all-encompassing and which will manifest itself in its totality when God’s will is fully accomplished in the earth as it is already established in heaven.

Jesus knew what part he would play in the establishment of that kingdom when he came to earth. He said: “But I, when I am lifted from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” (John 12:32). He has been lifted up – in the most painful way possible at Calvary. He was buried and then resurrected. He then ascended and sits at the Father’s right hand to intercede for believers. This is the truth of God’s salvation plan and why as believers we each must continue to point men to the crucified Christ. In so doing we play our part in seeing God’s kingdom come on earth, first in our own lives as he transforms us, and in the lives of others as he draws and saves them.

Romans 12: 1 – 2 Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.

We are redeemed to live out the grace which God has extended to us. No amount of verbal testimony can be a substitute for being an example of the goodness, patience, kindness and love Jesus showed while on the earth. He listened to people, he taught God’s truth, he fed the hungry, delivered the demon-possessed and healed the sick. He challenged those who oppressed the poor and he paid his taxes. He prayed for his disciples and remained connected to his Father. In the end he sacrificed his very life to save us. He was the one John pointed to when he said: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Jesus fulfilled his assignment.

We are called to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. Implicit in this is the avoidance of sexual immorality. (See 1 Corinthians 6: 18-20). It also means that although we are not all called to shed our blood, in following Christ we must be willing to deny ourselves by listening to whatever instruction the Holy Spirit gives and do what he says. It will cost something to be obedient. Out of that relationship will spring a desire to pursue God’s agenda instead of our own. Our lives will bear fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.