A Practical Religion

Romans Chapter 1, Verses 22 to 25 provides the basis for this thought, as well as the definition of the word Practical.

Rom 1:22-25

(22)  Professing to be wise, they became fools,

(23)  and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for a likeness of an image of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and reptiles.

(24)  Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of the own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies among themselves,

(25)  who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Practical

PRAC'TICAL, a. [L. practicus.] Pertaining to practice or action.

1. Capable of practice or active use; opposed to speculative; as a practical understanding.

2. That may be used in practice; that may be applied to use; as practical knowledge.

3. That reduces his knowledge or theories to actual use; as a practical man.

4. Derived from practice or experience; as practical skill or knowledge.

People today are looking for a practical religion – one that they can practice.  One that they can use every day, in all situations that they find themselves in.  What use is a religion that is not applicable in day to day life?  A practical religion explains things - to many people this is the foundation of religion.

A practical religion that fits in with what they know to be true.  Any religion requires an element of faith, and faith is much easier to follow if it does not contradict proven scientific facts. So, humans are looking for a religion that fits in with what they know already.  Why? Because everybody wants to be accepted by others.

So, a practical religion is one that can be practiced without separating people from their group. They can still be one of the company.

And in the past, people have worshipped at the temples and the shrines of their practical religions.

If we were living in the times of the Greeks, maybe we would find people there who worshipped Zeus.  This was the father God, and well known for his unfaithfulness to his wife.  And so there would be people who were unfaithful to their wives, who worshipped Zeus, excusing their behaviour because of their God. They could justify their actions based on their religion.

So their religions became the justification for human behaviour.  As Paul said in his letter to the Romans, they changed the glory of God into something less glorious. Their Gods were not gods, but human inventions of the divine – and so could excuse human behaviour.

And old mythology and religions are rife with Gods that are unfaithful, angry, jealous, dishonest and badly behaved.  We know that this is because all these Gods are based on the same characters – Nimrod and his wife – who were humans who enjoyed all the excesses of the flesh.

And people take those Gods as gods because it is a very practical thing to do.  It is far better to have a God who will excuse some of the excesses of the flesh that we live in than to have one that condemns each part of the flesh as unholy.  Its practical to live in a way that is “good enough” and be assured of salvation, because humans enjoy living that way.

They want to have their “inner peace” and still feel righteous about getting angry when someone does them a wrong.  They want to have their Gods approval in all that they do – to they picked a God with human traits – who’s priests and prophets would excuse their weaknesses.

And this is a very practical religion.  Not only is it easy to put into practice, it is also based on the experiences and practices of mankind.  And traces of this false religion are still with us today.

Today, people still want a God that meets their expectations.  They want a God that will judge themselves in the same light as they see themselves.  They want a God that is all good, and all love (to them) and will smite down the child abusers and murderers that they despise to stop them harming anyone.  At the same time, this God of theirs will make sure that no tsunami or earthquake ever kills thousands of people.  Because "if God is real, that is what he would be like".

A very practical religion.

The biblical approach is slightly different.  From the Scriptures we learn that God is God, and his ways are past understanding.

1Co 3:18-19

(18)  Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

(19)  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

The wisdom of this world – the practical religions of this world - are foolishness to God.  They are as children playing “hospital” and pretending to be doctors.  They don’t really know what is going on, but they think they do.

There is only one practical religion – Seek ye first the kingdom of God.  Follow God, and do what He says, for that is the most practical way to be saved.  It is proved to be the most practical by God coming down as a human and living it among His people.  It is practical the fact that it can be carried out, and practical in the fact that it has been proved by experience to work.

But most people do not want to embrace this religion.  Why?  Because to follow this, you have to deny yourself and the world.  And to most people, that isn't practical.  It isn't something they want to practice. They want to have God in a way that does not impact their lives. Human behaviour does not change, and we find examples of this in the Gospels.

Luk 9:57-62

(57)  And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

(58)  And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

(59)  And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

(60)  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

(61)  And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

(62)  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Thinking humanly, not having a house isn't practical.  Not saying goodbye, or burying a father int practical!  It is not something that you would actually want to do.  Christianity, in its true Biblical sense, is not a humanly practical religion!

The early church had that same problem – people wanted to have their religion, but in a way that suited them.  A practical way.  A way that let them give everything to the church, but keep something back.  A way that let them celebrate the Lords supper, and have their own supper at the same time.

And we see the results of that in this day and age.  People have gotten so far away from the Bible in the way they do things, the way they believe – why?  Because it is impractical today to say certain things.  It is impractical to do things certain ways.  It is impractical to believe that Jesus is returning, and live that way from day to day.

So we need to ask ourselves – what are the things that we still practice that are not according to Gods practical way?  Are we trying to excuse those things by saying we need a practical religion? 

Recorded Sermons?

Someone asked me if I would post a recording of my sermons to them. I declined, and wrote out my reasons in an email to them. I am going to post most of that email to this blog, as I think it contains some interesting thoughts about that kind of ministry.

It is true that I have expressed my thoughts on the things of God in the public domain. I have great confidence in the teaching ministry that the Lord has given me, and am sure that the things I do publish will be a blessing to those that read and hear them. But there is a difference (in my mind at least) in the things I publish and the messages that I preach.

The things I publish I can have total control over - I write what I write, and say what I say, knowing exactly the thoughts that I am trying to express. I can put things in such a way as to present certain doctrines and thoughts using only scriptural references, and so keep my ministry open the widest range of readers possible. In the radio broadcasts that I have recorded, I am reading from a prepared script, for similar reasons.

This is different from the ministry of preaching, in which I believe that in addition to the main message that I have, the Lord drops in many small thoughts and comments that will be addressing particular needs of people who are listening. Because of this, a sermon may be quite wide ranging in the doctrines and situations it addresses. Contained in that kind of ministry are many more things that have the potential of causing controversy and (if I am honest) be wrong, or come across wrong. If you understand, I may say something one week that is taken out of context by a listener, or said wrong by myself, and people can question me after the meeting. Then the next week I can give an appology, correction or clarification to those that were concerned or confused by what I said.

Now, everybody should go to a church and have a pastor. But there are many different branches of Christianity, and a great potential for disagreements in areas that some believe are the most basic of doctrines. I wouldnt want to be the cause of a disagreement coming into a church. I believe that you, the reader, are a wonderful, God fearing person, who serves in your church and family just as the Lord would have you. I do not think that you are looking for a new pastor, or even new or different revelation to what your church has there. If you wanted to hear one of my sermons, I believe you would be looking for additional blessing, and perhaps to get to know me a little better through my ministry. But because of the potential for misunderstanding, I do not record and send out sermons.

Now, I do not believe that I have an inferior ministry to any preacher in the world - I have the ministry that God gave me, and it is unique and vital in the position he wants me. If he ever wants me to visit your church, I know that He will bless you all through me. But my ministry is not a "tape" ministry. There is one great tape ministry, lead of God, for this day - we know this. And because it is a God given tape ministry, listening to those tapes will not have the same potential for problems that listening to my tapes may have. The devil will find it so much easier to slip into the gaps in my ministry than that of those called to outreach by sending out their sermons..

There are also other ministers in this day and age who believe that God has given them a similar kind of tape (or recorded, or streamed, or mp3 download) ministry. And those that have this ministry, the Lord will bless. Those who think they have this kind of outreach ministry but in reality do not will cause the kinds of problems I am trying to avoid. If the Lord ever lays on my heart to record and send out sermons, then I will do so. But until then, I want to avoid the potential for problems. I believe it is much greater than the potential for blessings that such a thing will bring.

I believe that every minister who sends out his sermons, and every person who listens to those sermons, should be aware of this, and should be in prayer that what they are doing will not cause problems. The last century has brought about changes in technology that allow preaching to be heard long after the voice of the preacher has fallen silent. Martin Luther, preaching in Germany all those years ago, would publish the notes of what he preached and lectured on. But it has been noted that the "released notes" varied from what the students recorded he said. Paul the apostle also considered what he wrote to the churches, so that no inadvertent error would come in. In recorded ministry, even the smallest comment is there for all to ponder over and maybe draw the wrong conclusions from. A person may change their mind concerning something they preached strongly years ago. But recordings of their mistakes last for years after they repent! I wouldnt want to be found in this kind of a situation, of to listen to a preacher who has this problem. Do you?

Spiritual Rest Part 2: Persecution

Persecution

Persecution is one of the ways in which a Christian often looses spiritual rest. This should come as no surprise to us, as the trials and troubles that come on us are often designed in the very pit of hell. But many times when we encounter a fellow believer in great distress, we are surprise to see them down and depressed. And often when great troubles come on us, we feel the need to keep the pretence of a cheerful, joyful face, forgetting the scripture that reminds us to rejoice with those that rejoice, and weep with those that weep. I would like to look at persecution from a Christian point of view for a while, and see what the Bible says about it in the context of Spiritual Rest.

What is persecution? Well, here is a Dictionary definition:

Persecution
PERSECU'TION, n. The act or practice of persecuting; the infliction of pain, punishment or death upon others unjustly, particularly for adhering to a religious creed or mode of worship, either by way of penalty or for compelling them to renounce their principles.

We can see from this definition, persecution is the infliction of pain, punishment or death on others unjustly, particularly for believing on God. This is a much broader definition of persecution than many of us picture of right away. We may tend to think of how the Roman Empire threw Christians to the lions, or the Jews beating and imprisoning the early church. In this day and age, there are many governments all over the world that actively seek out and suppress Christians in their countries. This is certainly persecution for your faith, and we should be in prayer that the Lord would strengthen and support our brothers and sisters in these situations.

But when we truly consider how many of us have suffered persecution in the light of the definition, a wider picture becomes apparent. We may not think that we suffer persecutions, but we should be aware that any unjust suffering for our faith comes under this heading. We can find this principle clearly shown in the Scriptures that show us about the life of the Apostle Paul. We know that he suffered many things for his faith, but among them he counts a certain messenger from Satan, which was a cause of physical distress.

2Co 12:7
(7) And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

Was this persecution? Certainly! It was a problem that caused him unjust pain, from the devil, because of his life and revelations of Jesus Christ. So there are persecutions that come on us from the Devil because of our beliefs, and these cause us worries, pain and troubles, just as they caused Paul problems. The Bible warns us to defend ourselves against the fiery darts of the enemy with the shield of faith. These are not problems in the physical, but in the spiritual, for we are told to take the shield of faith, breastplate of righteousness and helmet of salvation with which to defend ourselves.

These fiery darts come in many ways. Evil thoughts, depression, worry and doubts all come from the wicked one. God is not the author of any of these things, for they do not spring from love, but from fear. And if we have made the decision to live Godly in Christ Jesus, the adversary will be sure to send all of his evil messengers against us. Can these messengers of the enemy take our spiritual peace? Certainly they can! Just read the book of Job. He was such a wonderful example of a believer that the Lord himself took pride in pointing out his conduct to Satan. Is it any surprise then that the Devil took a personal interest in trying to bring Job to the point of turning away from God?

As Satan's fiery darts started to strike home in the life of Job, how did he react? We know from the testimony of the Scriptures that he didn't sin with his mouth. But he did curse the day that he was born, and wish for the day of his death. These are not the actions of a man in Spiritual Rest, but rather one sinking in the depths of despair. However, through all his trials he had peace with God in his soul – even to the point where he demanded to see God, where he would approach him as a prince, confident in his position. But this peace in the soul was accompanied by great trouble in the spiritual and physical realms.

I hope that you can see from these scriptural examples that persecution and trials from the Devil are a natural part of the life of a Believer. Although this sounds unpleasant, we have the promise from God that all things work together for our good. These trials are very grevious to us at times. Often we can go though them with a song in our heart, as Paul and Silas did when they sang in the jail at midnight. But sometimes the trial is so heavy we can only cry out to God as our spirits are overwhelmed with despair and pain. This does not mean that we are lost, or even separated from the love of Jesus. Indeed, we know that nothing can separate us from Jesus' love. But it does mean that we have lost our spiritual peace, and have been separated from our spiritual rest.

Persecution is only one of the ways in which we can loose our spiritual rest. Sometimes the Lord himself can take our peace away for a time. We are going to look at that in the next part of our study.

Saying Good Things

Mat 12:35-37
(35) A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
(36) But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
(37) For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

In this day and age, we are all encouraged to give our opinion. There is a right to free speech, and an expectation that everyone that can speak has something useful to say. And the world is encouraged to speak its mind.

You can listen to the radio – it is full of phone ins, where people who's only qualification to speak on a subject is that they feel emotional enough to call the free-phone number. You no longer need to be educated, informed or even intelligent to speak out – you just need to be enthusiastic! It is even to the point where the Time person of the year is – YOU! and all of the good things that you say and do.

And most of what you hear has very little to do with God and Godliness. And in this day and age, a scripture comes to mind

Pro 10:19
(19)In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.

So it is becoming of us, who would be the wise sons and daughters of God to watch what we say. We should guard our lips, so that we are not found speaking sinful things before the Lord that we serve. But there is more than this. We know that the words you speak effect your life. And we need to consider – how are we effecting our life by the things we are saying?

Pro 16:24
(24) Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

In this day and age, when almost everything that we hear is full of criticism, emotion, foolishness and selfishness, we should be speaking good things. We should be saying pleasant things, not hurtful and nasty things. This is because we are called in this day and age to give up our rights to express our mind in order to express the mind of Christ.

The Bible tells us that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So you can tell what is in your heart from the words that you hear yourself saying. And we need to judge the things we are saying by some kind of spiritual, scriptural filter, so that we can know if what is coming out of our lips is of God or not.

Gal 5:14-24
(14) For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
(15) But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
(16) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
(17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
(18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
(19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
(20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
(21) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
(22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
(23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
(24) And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

So if we find in our mouths words of unkindness, words of gossip, words of lust and envy, we have been speaking from the heart of our flesh. If we find that our conversation is the same as the conversation of the world – we are living according to the same standard as the world. And this means one of two things. Either we have evil in our hearts or we have been allowing the flesh to overcome the Spirit of God that dwells in us.

Neither of these two things is a desirable state for a Christian to be in! If we recognise either of these two states, we should immediately turn to the Lord and repent. If we are not willing to do this, but prefer to keep the rights that are so firmly pushed on us by society, we have chosen not to give God the position he deserves and desires in our life.

I believe that the best thing for us to do is only speak positive things. May times we find ourselves thinking negative thoughts about people and situations. This is perfectly natural – but we are not called to be perfectly natural humans. We are called to have the mind of Christ, and display the life of Christ. We know that we are in a battle between the flesh and the spirit. When we speak the things of the flesh, we give power to them. When we speak the things of the spirit, we give power to them. So in our lives we should make every attempt to only speak the things of the spirit – the things that are pleasing to God.

Phi 4:8
(8) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

This scripture gives us a good guide as to the what the mind of Christ should be dwelling on. And if the heart of a believer is producing these things in abundance, and the mind of a believer is dwelling on these things, then the lips of a believer should be producing these things. And if your mind is not producing these good thoughts, you know that you are thinking in the flesh and not in the spirit. And then if you are speaking the discouraging thoughts of the flesh, you are giving power to the part of you that is opposed to God. What should we do in this case?

Jam 4:7-11
(7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
(8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
(9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
(10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
(11) Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

So we should submit to God to purify our minds. And we also need to purify our lips – and let the words we speak come from the Spirit, not the flesh. If we are truly follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, and have been converted in our hearts, we should speak those things that are becoming to believers, not those things that come from the Old Sinful nature that dwells within us. It no longer controls the heart, but it certainly can influence the mind. The Bible speaks in many places about the battle we face to overcome the flesh living in our bodies. It is full of encouragement and wisdom in this matter.

Eph 4:20-32
(20) But ye have not so learned Christ;
(21) If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
(22) That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
(23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
(24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
(25) Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.
(26) Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
(27) Neither give place to the devil.
(28) Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
(29) Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
(30) And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
(31) Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
(32) And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

So there is the battle for us. There is the fight for us in this day and age, when we are encouraged now, more than any other time, to speak our minds, to dare to say things which will offend, because we know that we have the right to. We shouldn't be this way, but we should talk about others the way that we would like to be spoken about. You should say only nice things about each other, for we'd all prefer to be spoken about in nice ways. There are certainly times when we should approach someone with the problems that we have with them, but we shouldn't speak to others about the same problems, unless we are seeking counsel. And if we hear things about others, we shouldn't repeat them!

This is our greatest battleground today. The Scripture is clear on this.

Jam 3:2-10
(2) For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
(3) Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
(4) Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
(5) Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
(6) And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
(7) For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
(8) But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
(9) Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
(10) Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

So let us try to put these thoughts into action in our lives. Let us make the attempt to avoid saying things that could be misunderstood, or things that are misleading about other people. Let us guard our tongues, and control them in prayer and submission to the Lord. We must make sure we are not giving power to the thoughts of the flesh by speaking them. If we are to be judged for every idle word, let us be sure that our idle words are things of good, not things of evil, and that every conversation we have is something that we can be proud of before the Lord.

Eph 5:1-4
(1) Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children:
(2) And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor.
(3) But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
(4) Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

We are his followers, and let us walk and talk in a manner pleasing to Him.

 

Spiritual Rest Part 1

Spiritual Rest

Rest is a wonderful state to be in. It means that you are free from worry, free from trouble and turmoil, relaxed and happy. We all long to be at rest from our labours and enter into the perfect peace and bliss that Jesus promised. But what exactly did Jesus promise us? Was it a freedom from all worry and trouble, or was it slightly different? Can we ever enter into a state of rest while we are living on this world, or could we be looking for a solution to our problems that Jesus didn't promise us? We are going to take a scriptural look at rest now, and I trust that you will be blessed and encouraged by the outcome.

In order for us to understand rest, I would like to take a little look at how a human is made up. We are not simply beings of flesh and bones, but have a spiritual side to our lives as well. Not only this, but inside the heart of every human dwells their soul – the part of a person that is at the core of who they truly are. To help understand this concept, here is a diagram:

Here we can see that we are made up of Body, Spirit and Soul. The seat of the Spirit is the mind – the place where we do all of our conscious thinking. But the seat of the Soul is the heart. This is the innermost part of our beings, the place that defines who we truly are. Our Body is the building that we live in, but it is not really us. It what we live in, and we interact with our surrounding world with 5 bodily senses. Our Spirit is our mind, and it also has 5 senses with which it interacts and thinks. But in our Soul there is only one way of interacting. This is to believe something or disbelieve it. It either accepts or rejects an idea, it welcomes or turns away a thought.

We know that the body is at rest when the 5 senses are not under stress. Your body relaxes when you sleep. Your eyes can relax when you close them. Sometimes your body can relax while the senses are at work; for example, listening to music is a wonderful way to relax, even though your sense of hearing must be active in order to do so.

We also know that your soul comes to rest in God, when it has faith in the work that Jesus did on Calvary. When we receive salvation and become settled in it, our heart knows peace, and our souls trust in the Lord. Whatever else happens in our lives, we know that God has saved us. We can rest, as Job did in all his troubles, and say “though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”. This kind of faith is independent of any situation that you find yourself in, because it does not depend on the outward conditions of your life, but rather on the inward peace and rest that God has given to your Soul.

But our Spirit has 5 senses also, and they are not always at rest. Now, we know that our bodies can be at perfect rest, yet our spirits troubled. For example we may have bad dreams as we sleep. What causes this? It is something happening in your spirit to disturb you. The senses in your body are not involved as they are at rest – asleep. And we can also find places in the scriptures where people have rest in their souls, yet are troubled in their spirits and bodies.

We can take as an example the Apostle Paul. Here is a scripture from Second Corinthians where he describes his situation on coming into a new area of work for the Gospel of Christ:

2Co 7:5-7
(5) For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.
(6) Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;
(7) And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more.

So, here is Paul. We know that he is sure of his salvation and his relationship with God. This is the rest that he has in his Soul. But at the same time he is admitting to being troubled by many fightings and fears. This is clearly not spiritual rest, but spiritual warfare! And the sources of Spiritual warfare and spiritual trouble are many. We are going to examine a few of them a little later on. But we should be encouraged that there are also sources of spiritual comfort. Paul finds comfort from his troubles when Titus arrived, and also by his news of the prayers and thoughts of others.

So we can see by this that Spiritual rest is not something that is promised to a Christian for their earthly life. If we are looking for rest in our minds as a sign that God is pleased with us, or that we are on the right track with the Lord, then we are looking for something that God didn't promise us. We know that He promised that He would not leave us comfortless, but how can He comfort us until we are in trouble?

Living right is not a guarantee of spiritual rest. Infact, the opposite is true. Let us take a look at another scripture written by Paul, in which he lists some of the problems that has come to him while he was serving God.

2Ti 3:10-12
(10) But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
(11) Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
(12) Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

We find that the promise of God is this: if you live Godly in Christ Jesus, you will suffer persecution. What is persecution, and how does it fit into the life of a Christian? This is a question that we will look at in the next part of this study.

The New Birth: Part 3

The process that starts with a seed being impregnated in the womb of a mother lasts for about 9 months, and ends with the birth of a baby. This is when what has been hidden and developing inside becomes something that is known to the outside world. And the New Birth is no different. It is the point in the life of a Christian at which they decide to be open and show the whole world that what they are. They make their public stand for Christ, and give up all their old life so that they can have the new life of Jesus Christ. And the Lord God confirms that He has accepted their decision by giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit, and dwelling with them – giving them their new life.

When a baby comes to the point of birth, there is a process. I am the father of two children. My son was born prematurely, and I was unable to be with my wife at the time. But I was privileged to be at the birth of my daughter, and to take my wife to most of the appointments with the midwife. We men are encouraged to take part in the “birth process” in England these days. Because of this, we both learnt about the different stages of birth, and what to do at each stage. Although it is much more complicated than this, we know that there is water, then blood, and then the baby comes.

And just as the actual birth of a baby takes place in stages, so there is a “birth process” to the New Birth for a Christian. Once the seed in a Christian is ready to appear in their life, the first stage of the New Birth takes place. This is the confession of Faith in Jesus Christ, and the water baptism that Jesus commanded for all his followers. The second stage follows, where a believer is moved on by God in order to make them a suitable dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. And lastly, when a believer is ready to receive the indwelling life, receiving the Holy Spirit completes the New Birth.

These three stages can be called Justification, Sanctification, and Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Justification, by faith in the work of Jesus Christ is where the Believer is forgiven of sins. Sanctification is the cleaning up of the life of a believer. God works on the mind of a believer, showing them what thoughts and actions are acceptable to Him, and those that are offensive to him. And finally the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is God coming for the purpose of indwelling the believer – making his abode in the heart of man.

It may be helpful to consider the story of the man that found a gold cup in a pigsty at this point. When he finds it, he picks it up, and claims it for himself. This is justification. You no longer are your own, but you confess that your life belongs to the Lord Jesus. But this is not the end for the cup – it is still filthy from the muck and mud of the pigsty. So, what now? Not the man washes and re-washes it, until he is sure that it is clean enough to drink from. This is sanctification. The Lord wants to use us, but we may have certain habits that could be offensive to the Lord. So gradually we are cleaned of those things. Finally, the cup is clean, and it is placed on the table for use. And this last stage is receiving the Holy Spirit. We are clean and ready for service, and the Holy Spirit places us in the service of the Lord in a very real way.

The New Birth. Part 2

Here is part two of the New Birth Study.

Part 2: The Seed within.

The New birth Holy Spirit baptism is the last stage in the process of the new birth. But just as the first cry of a new-born baby is not achieved in an instant, so the birth of a Holy Spirit Christian is not an event that stands on its own. Both are the last and most notable event in a process leading up to new life coming into the world. But the actual start of this new life is something that is very rarely noted at the time of conception. After the seed of life becomes impregnated in the womb of a mother, there are no immediately notable changes. It may be several weeks before any indications of pregnancy are observable, and in some cases birth has been achieved without the mother-to-be knowing that she was expecting.

This first mysterious and wonderful starting of new life in a family is like the moment in a believer when something in their heart first starts seeking God. They may not even know the moment when the desire for a new way of life starts deep within them. But somewhere, something has triggered a small, dormant part of their heart that God will be born in. Somehow a seed of Gods Word has reached that point in their heart, and new life has started. It is the beginning of a long journey that should culmination in the birth of a new born-again believer.

As the small baby grows inside their mother some changes start to be observed. It is a time of change and turmoil, as the body of the mother adjusts to the life beginning to develop inside of her womb. And as the new life spiritual life slowly develops inside the heart of some unbeliever, so terrible conflicts and trials can come. The old life is not satisfying or fulfilling as they draw nearer and nearer to recognising Jesus Christ, the source of the new life forming inside their hearts. It is important to realise that this life is not born yet, and just as the baby in the womb is not seen until after the birth, the Christian that is to be born does not appear. There may be no outward confession of faith in God until the birth process actually beings.

So we can see that there is a long period of inward growth and maturing before birth takes place. At first, for both a baby and a Christian-to-be, this development is hidden, taking place out of sight of all around. But later the process becomes more and more obvious to those surrounding the mother-to-be, or the person that God is dealing with. And during this time the seed that is developing needs special care and nourishment or it will perish. For a baby, this is provided for by the mother. But how about a Christian? What special provision does God have for insuring that His seed comes to its fullness?

I believe that the scripture show that God knows those that are his own, and works all things for their good. He provides the food and stimulation that the seed growing in the souls of those who are called to become his Children by bringing them into contact with his Word. There are many ways in which he can do this. In some cases this is via his Bible. In others, the witness of nature to the glory of God provides the nourishment needed to bring the child of God to birth. But I believe one of the most important ways is by contact with those who are already Christians; those who are manifesting the Word of God in flesh in these days. The example of Godly love and faith that a Christian should provide has been the source of inspiration for many people seeking the truth in this world.

If we can realise this, and see how the seed of God may be growing and maturing inside a person that we know, we will be able to have confidence in the work of God. We will be encouraged to continue to be a good witness in front of those who offend us the worse. Who knows if their reactions are an indication of some seed growing inside them, waiting for birth? We will still be able to praise him for our unsaved loved ones, believing that they are on the road to salvation.

The New Birth: A Spiritual Process.

This is the first part of the study that started this Blogging off - it was suggested that I posted it on the internet where more people could read it. So, here you are!

Part 1: What is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?

The new birth is the phrase that describes the series of events that lead up to a person receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in a permanent, indwelling way. There are three main parts to this process, which are justification, Sanctification, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Before I continue, I would like to share a few thoughts on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Every time that God comes into action in a person’s life, He comes onto that person in the form of the Holy Spirit. We can find examples of this in the Old Testament, where the spirit came on Saul the King and he prophesied. We also find Balaam being anointed of the Lord for prophecy, as well as Moses, David, and many other Old Testament prophets. We even know that John the Baptist was anointed with the Holy Spirit from his Mothers womb. But none of these anointings, or Baptisms, was the New Birth.

This is because by its very nature, a Baptism of the Holy Spirit is just another way of saying “an Immersion in the Holy Spirit”. So an immersion, an anointing, or a baptism are all ways of describing the Holy Spirit descending on a person for a particular work. That work may be an anointing for praise, for healing, for service or for prayer. There are many baptisms in the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian, and there are even baptisms in the Holy Spirit in the life of people who claim to be Christians, but are in truth anti Christ. Jesus showed this when he spoke of the people who would come to him in the judgement day and claim that they had done many mighty works in his name. Those mighty works are done thought the action of the Holy Spirit. But they are works of iniquity as they never knew Jesus in a personal way.

So, how does the Holy Spirit New Birth differ from the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? This is a very important question. To answer it, we should consider this. A baptism of the Holy Spirit is God coming down and anointing a person for a particular reason. The New Birth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that comes for the reason of dwelling inside a believer. It is Jesus and the Father coming to make their abode in a believer. It is not a baptism for the purpose of speaking in tongues, healing, praise or prayer, although all of these things may follow a New Birth experience. It is the most important baptism of the Holy Spirit that any Christian can ever have, and indeed, it is the New Birth Baptism that proves God has truly accepted a person as a Christian.

As we understand this, we can see how a person could be baptised with the Holy Spirit every day of their life, and go to hell. We can understand how it is that John the Baptist, filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, is less than the least of those in the Kingdom of God. For it is the New Birth that gains us entry into that Kingdom, and John never was born again. And we can also realise that when people talk about “the baptism of the Holy Spirit”, we must be careful to understand what context they mean it in. This is because sometimes that phrase applies to the New Birth, and sometimes to baptisms in the Holy Spirit for other purposes. And we should examine our lives in the light of this knowledge. We may have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit for speaking in tongues, mighty works of faith or great anointing of prayer or praise. But all of this will be of no use if we have not received the New Birth Baptism.