Transcendent Praise

Psalm 50:5 “Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

To be consecrated means there has been in effect a slashing and burning of past indulgencies or attitudes, a reordering of priorities. Sometimes that does not come about willingly but often is birthed by crisis – having to choose between one thing and another, or surrendering your rights. Consecration forces you repeatedly to make a decision to move ahead with God’s agenda for you as opposed to the plans you have for yourself.

Since the relationship with the God you believe in is a growth experience, ever stretching you, it follows that at the outset the conviction you experience will be about small things but as you yield, the challenges become greater. The Holy Spirit will focus your attention on how you are handling issues you did not even imagine was of any concern to God. It may be the illness that is consuming you or your loved one and the demands that places on you, difficulties in your marriage or other relationship, the employer who constantly oppresses you, the tenant you would love to see disappear at the snap of your fingers, or the child that makes your heart bleed. Get the picture? You may have thought that these things are separate areas of your life having nothing to do with your faith, but they are not separate. God wants you to bring those issues to him and let him show you that he can purify your thoughts and attitudes about them in a way that will uplift you and bring glory to his name.  I am learning this daily.

What if God told you that instead of letting the problem irritate you, he wants you to reckon the illness as part of your identification with him, or to take the position of servant and deal with the other situations as if you were ministering to the Lord Jesus? Why? Because serving the Lord requires sacrifice, not of bulls and goats in our day but of self in the context of: “He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30).

“I am the Everlasting God and as I have sacrificed my Son to redeem my children, so I expect that my children respond to my love by their sacrificial living. That is the covenant. It will cost you something to serve me. I am the Eternal God and I am not blind or deaf or insensitive to your suffering. Count it all joy to be in obedience for I will yet glorify myself through your suffering. Think not that I will ever leave you or forsake you. I will always be with you to care and guide.”

Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Worry is the besetting sin of every human being. For those of us who are children of God, if we are honest, it is a sin which we have to repent of every day. Often we express it: “I worry that ….” But usually we worry even when we do not realize that is what we are doing. That is the deceit of it all. I have been waging a battle in my thought life about this ugly habit. I have gained some ground because I have become sensitive to the Holy Spirit who has been dealing with me very forcefully telling me very specifically: “Worry does not please me. It has no place in your life.”

So what are some of the practical steps you can take to kill off this habit? Firstly, preach to yourself what the Word says: “We live by faith, not by sight.”  (2 Corinthians 5:7). Our faith is in a loving Heavenly Father who sees and knows each of his children and their circumstances. Recognize that pretty much everything we worry about has to do with the future. We have no control whatsoever over the future because that is God’s prerogative. We cannot see one minute ahead.

Secondly, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3: 5 – 6).  I have learned a lot about trusting the Lord for the issues that concern my own life, but when it comes to the life of my children, I confess that has been harder to do. Why? Honestly, it is because even though they are fully grown, I have been trying to get them to see and accept that my recommendations as to what they should do in certain situations is the best thing for their future. There it is!  I have confessed! What do I know about their future? Absolutely nothing! So I must trust the Lord with that too and simply pray for them. Philippians 4:6 – 7 is instructive in this regard. Friend, identify the focus of your worry and trust the Lord with it. Find words to express it.

For those who are parents of grown children, pray this prayer with me: “Lord please forgive me for worrying. Help me to daily kill off this habit of wanting to control the future and the lives of those you have allowed me to love. Help me to release them to live the lives you have ordained for them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3). Eternal life begins now. It is not just about where you will spend eternity. Being in the presence of God and seeing Christ face to face after death is the ultimate reward but just as Jesus Christ had a guiding light while he lived in the earth, so do you. He knew His Father and what his Father’s will was. That was what kept him on course. Hebrews 12:2 tells us in part that Jesus “… for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” That is his reward.

If you know the Lord Jesus, you will know his Father also. Jesus taught his disciples: “I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30). So, just as Jesus focused on accomplishing his Father’s will, so must we. When Jesus’ disciples asked him one day “What must we do to do the works God requires?” his reply was simple: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”  (John 6: 28-29). Once you believe in the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit helps you to perceive God’s agenda and how you fit into it. You begin to understand that you are not “doing” to be saved but that what you now feel compelled to do is because you have been saved. That should bring you great joy now and is a reward in itself. The Psalmist David also lists practical, beneficial principles which he says are precious and in effect sweeten life. Not only are we warned by them, but if we embrace and live by them there is great reward. (See Psalm 19: 7 – 11).

Jesus in his teachings was also careful to address the principle of eternal rewards: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5: 11-12) And in his final pronouncement on the subject in Revelation 22: 12 Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”

John 17:11 “…Holy Father protect them by the power of your name – the name you gave me – so that they may be one as we are one.”

This is part of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples before he went to the cross. He was satisfied that they finally understood who he was, that he was sent by God and that they now believed in Him. Furthermore he was satisfied that they had a good grasp of all He had been demonstrating and teaching them. (See John 16: 31) He knew the intensity of the trials and challenges they were about to face leading up to his crucifixion and afterwards. So he prayed to His Father for their protection and their unity with Him in the same manner that he was united with His Father. Then Jesus prayed the identical prayer for all who would believe in Him in the future through the message which the disciples would later share. (John 17: 20 – 26).

It is recalled that when the angel Gabriel had appeared to Mary he had announced: “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High…” (Luke 1: 31- 32) This was confirmed to Joseph by the angel who told him: “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1: 20 -21) This is why we pray to the Father in the name of Jesus. The Father and the Son are united again in heaven – the power of the name is undivided and the Holy Spirit bears witness to that power in the earth when believers pray.

“There is protection in my name for those who are mine. I protected the Lord Jesus while He was in the earth long enough for Him to complete the work I gave him to do. Likewise my children are under my protection every day in every circumstance so that their lives are preserved to complete assigned tasks. This applies to everyone who is truly mine not to those who though saved are still stiff-necked and are going their own way with their own agendas.”

Jeremiah 39:18 I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the Lord.

Read the entire 39^th chapter of Jeremiah. It is an amazing demonstration of how God singles out one of his servants for deliverance. An enemy army was invading Jerusalem. The order of things as it citizens knew it was collapsing. There was bloodshed and chaos everywhere, and they were being taken as captives off to a strange land. Sounds so much like the news today with the ever growing problem of refugees from war and hunger. Many will die in their fight for survival.

In the midst of the chaos surrounding Jeremiah, God revealed to him what his will and purpose was for his own life. This is a demonstration of God’s sovereignty. God sees and knows what is happening in the individual lives of each of his children and he determines what your course will be depending on his plan and purpose for each one. As a believer you must get to the place where you understand that you are not alone and therefore it is safe to surrender yourself to God and believe for the best outcome. Listen for his voice at every turn. The Holy Spirit affirms:

“I am the everlasting God. I AM that I AM. I have all things in my power. The things that seem to bewilder men are perfectly plain to me. For I design the end of those who trust in me, so that my will is done when and in the manner I purpose it. It is not a mystery, it is by design that I can separate and sift the good from the evil and reward each man according to his works. I am never confused nor do I make mistakes. Everything works out according to my plans.”

John 11:43 – 44 Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Has something terrible happened in your life that has left you sad, broken, angry and unable to function? Are you completely bound or paralyzed by this turn of events? What do you do? How do you regain your perspective?

Begin at the beginning. Confess to God where you fell short. Tell him what you did or should have done but did not. Tell him what your intentions were because even though he knows you need to say it – it might surprise you. Were you seeking your good, the good of others or were you deliberately trying to undermine someone and it has backfired?  Ask God to forgive you. He is bound by his word to do so. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  (1 John 1:9). Feeling stronger already? You should, because the grave clothes are falling off you and resurrection life is taking hold. There is nothing like the renewal and freedom that comes from being cleansed and forgiven!

Or is it that someone has hurt you? You are innocent of wrongdoing but you have been accused anyway. God knows that too. He is just and will vindicate you in due time. Get deeper into his Word. Have conversations with him. He will begin to show you a way forward. Seek help if you think you need to share – your Pastor, your spouse, perhaps another believer, someone whom you can trust. Remember, Lazarus needed someone to unwind the grave clothes. Ultimately though it is God you need to trust to resurrect you from within. Seek to forgive. It is God’s will that you do so.

“I am the Lord God Almighty, the God of now and forever. My people who are called by my name are always before me. Nothing happens to them of which I am not aware. I order their steps. They may fall into disobedience and earn chastisement. But once that is executed, it is my joy to restore them, wash them, make them clean and start all over again. My grace and mercy toward them is everlasting but I need them to always repent of wrong doing.”

Hebrews 4:12 – 13 For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

The Bible, the Word of God, is the book that conveys to us what is in the heart of God concerning us as his creatures. The Bible was written by men upon whom the Holy Spirit moved. That same Holy Spirit interacts with men and women today to empower us to do what God would have us do to further his Kingdom in the earth.

The very fact that the Bible was written by many over time and now reads as one book, loaded with truth and each part is united in content with the rest is evidence of its divine inspiration. Moreover John 1:1 – 2 tells us that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” In verse 14 of the same chapter we read that the Word took on human form: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us….” Why? God came to us in the person of Jesus Christ so that today when we read the Word of God, and believe in Jesus who died on the cross in our place, we get a glimpse of God’s glory and the magnitude of his love for us. We begin to understand that God rules and his Word, the Bible is not in competition with any other book.  The Holy Spirit enlightened me further:

            “The Word of God is irrefutable. He inspired it. He had it written so that men may know Him. He has not hidden the way to himself neither has he left it to mortals to work their way out of their dilemma. The Word is specific about the way of salvation that leads us back to God. Other books, by whatever names they are called, spring from the imaginings of mere mortals, beings I created but who set about to devise their own way to me by their works. These books will amount to nothing in the end because I alone am eternal and I determine what the end of man shall be depending on his response to the death of my Son. Thus says the Lord, the Almighty.”

Mark 4: 37 -38 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

A normal life allows us to experience love, joy, triumph, success, progress and, occasionally, a feeling of invincibility.  But alongside all these come inevitable challenges that bring a feeling of being overwhelmed. Sometimes this feeling may be triggered by doubt, fear, failure, betrayal, stagnation, or significant tangible loss of some kind or even the impact of a natural disaster. In 2017 many Caribbean islands and parts of the United States were impacted by several hurricanes and flooding and the State of California was ablaze with fierce forest fires. A lot of people were hurting at the same time and many lost everything they owned.

When we feel overwhelmed by circumstances, the human response is very much like that of Jesus’ disciples caught at sea in the midst of a fierce storm. Many wonder or may even exclaim, “Does God not care what is happening to me?” Part of Jesus’ mission on earth was to demonstrate the heart of God for his creatures, so when the disciples woke him up he cared enough to immediately rebuke the storm and restore calm. Only then did he ask them why they were so afraid. “Do you still have no faith?” he asked.

When you find yourself in similar situations, know that the fear or panic you feel is rational, you are not crazy nor are you a coward. It’s a human response. Be patient and kind to yourself. But most of all, it is the time to trust Almighty God to help you find a way out of your difficulty. God does not abandon his children. He does care and his eyes are on you. Call on him not because you lack faith but because you have faith that he cares. It will surprise you how help will begin to flow in your direction. Friends and total strangers will come to your aid once they are aware of your situation. One of the greatest blessings of my experience with Hurricane Sandy was to see how people dropped everything and came even from far away States and counties to help sling buckets of mud out of my house. Aid agencies such as the Red Cross and Convoy of Hope showed up to feed and supply immediate needs. People of goodwill dig deep at such times to support such agencies. It is something I now do with conscious commitment.

The disciples had Jesus in the boat with them and so do you.

“I do not ask my children to walk alone. I go with them on whatever mission I send them. Life’s pilgrimage is full of pitfalls. The enemy sets traps along the way to the end that you should fall, yea even bow down and worship him. But praise belongs to me and me alone. He will not be allowed to rob my praise. I go before my children to demolish his snares and give them victory. Trials polish you so that you shine for me to the end that men glorify my name.”

1 Samuel 10:6 The Spirit of God will come upon you in power and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

God had a plan for the life of an impressive young man named Saul. (1 Samuel 9 and 10) His father’s name was Kish of the tribe of Benjamin. One day Kish sent his son on a mission with a servant to find some of his donkeys which were lost.  This search was fruitless for a long while because every direction they took in pursuit of the animals ended in failure. Saul decided to go back home but the servant had an idea. He recommended they visit a man of God named Samuel in the village where they were since he was highly respected and everything he said came true.  The servant had a quarter of a shekel to present as a gift to Samuel when they finally found him.

Little did Saul know that God had set him up for transformation and a special assignment!  Not only had God told Samuel that Saul would be coming but he had told him about his background, the time of day he would come and that he should anoint him leader over Israel. When they encountered each other Samuel assured Saul that the donkeys had been found but instructed him to stay overnight. He also revealed to him the plans God had for him and invited him to be the honored guest at dinner that night. Saul protested being called to leadership since he felt he was from the smallest of the tribes and least of the clans.

The next morning, before Samuel sent Saul on his way he poured oil on his head, kissed him and said: “Has not the Lord anointed you leader over his inheritance?” Then he told him that on his way back home he would meet 3 groups of people. The third would be a procession of prophets making music and prophesying. In that moment “The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.”  And it happened exactly as Samuel told him it would.

My friend, your life is not about the donkeys (distractions), the Spirit of the Lord alone can show you his higher purpose for your life.

            “For in God’s appointed time he brings forth change. When the Spirit of the Lord descends he brings forth change in circumstance, in personality, in people’s response to you. God makes things to happen in unexpected ways. You can never contain the awesomeness of what he will do. It is his prerogative only.”

Romans 8: 28 – 29 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Just as a potter molds clay, so is the believer in God’s hands. The central premise for growth in the life of the believer is a willingness to change. God has saved you so he can make you to be like Christ. No, not to look like Christ, because you already have your own physical characteristics, but to be pliable, willing to hear and do what he asks in the way he instructs.

Jesus came to do his Father’s will. Doing God’s will is seldom based on logic or convenience nor should you expect applause. It will often entail some element of sacrifice. The Lord Jesus told his disciples: “No servant is greater than his master.”  If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching they will obey yours also.”  (John 15: 20 – 21). So be aware that doing the Father’s will does mean that you will encounter opposition at some point.

In John 17 Jesus looks beyond his suffering on the cross and, in summing up his mission on the earth, prays to his Father.  In verse 4 he says: “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” Your purpose and mine is to bring glory to the Father in the earth by completing whatever he tells us to do.