Blinding, Binding, and Grinding

“And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.” (Judges 16:21).

Blinding, binding and grinding – such are the consequences of sin. Samson is a tragic figure — a type of fallen man — so full of promise because of the presence of God’s Spirit in his life and yet such a sad end because of the unchecked effects of sin.  His life serves as a warning to the believer about sin’s destructive nature. First it blinds. Then it binds. And finally it grinds.

Sin blinds… This is signified in the gouging out of Samson’s eyes. Sin dulls and desensitizes us over time. When we first engage in some particular sin, it is a great struggle because sin violates our conscience and leaves us feeling terrible afterward. The next time we still feel bad; just not quite so bad. Over time it becomes easier to do and causes us to feel less and less distress. Eventually we no longer feel guilty at all because we have not repented and turned away from the sin. At this point our conscious is seared.  Such was Samson. He had no remorse. He didn’t even realize that the Spirit of God had left him.

Sin binds…This is signified by the bronze shackles on Samson’s wrists. He simply could not get free from that which once was no hindrance to his functioning. Sin works that way. Ask Samson. His insatiable desire for sexual pleasure led directly to his being bound in shackles by the Philistines. Ask the alcoholic who started with just one drink at a party in high school but is now hopelessly captured in the grip of the bottle. Ask the man who intended to “borrow” money from the company “just once” and now is deep in lies and embezzlement. Ask the woman, who feeling lonely and forgotten by her husband, responded to the flirtation of the man in the office and now has left her family. Her children wonder as they cry themselves to sleep, “Doesn’t mom love us any more?” Sin has an extraordinary way of gripping our lives and dragging us toward the pit of  hell.  Notice also that Samson’s shackles were bronze — bronze in Scripture often represents judgment (remember the bronze serpent on the pole that Moses held up in the desert?). The binding effect of sin is the judgment that comes upon us because of our unrighteous actions. As the Scripture says, when we “sow to the wind, we inevitably reap the whirlwind.”

Sin grinds…This is signified by Samson in prison fastened to the heavy stone mill working like an ox grinding out grain. Over time, sin grinds us down. It dehumanizes us. What was once pleasurable takes a terrible toll upon our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual being. It becomes a rut that can’t be escaped. Our peace and joy are replaced with sorrow, disappointment, and shame.

Perhaps you have been toying with sin. Know that sin always ends in destruction. Just look at Samson. First it blinds you. Then it binds you. And finally it grinds you.  But the good news is that Jesus Christ can set you free. He has the power to save and deliver those who call upon his name.  As Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:35).

Maybe Later

“Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” (Acts 24:25b)

Such was Felix’s response to the apostle Paul. Paul was speaking to Felix and his wife Drusilla about faith in Jesus Christ (verse 24). Felix’s response was, “Maybe later.” It’s a sorrowful thing to be under conviction by the Holy Spirit and yet to resist. It’s a tragic thing to put off the incredibly Good News of Christ and God’s offer of peace, and yet many people do just that. While Felix said, “Maybe later,” what he meant was, “I’m not willing to change.”

Paul, “reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgement,” and “Felix was alarmed,” (verse 25). This means Paul shared the Gospel.  He spoke to Felix about righteousness. Righteousness is living the right life and doing the right thing all the time. God’s Law requires that we live in right relationship to God by putting Him first in every aspect of our living (every moment of every day including every thought and every word and every action for our entire lives). God must be number 1. To be righteous is to do that. Felix had not done that. Neither have I. Neither have you. No one but Jesus has done that. God’s Law also requires that we live in righteous relationship to other people by not stealing, or lying, or lusting, or hating, or dishonoring, or wanting their things (every moment of our lives). Again, Felix had not done that. Neither have I. Neither have you. No one but Jesus has done that. Felix was under conviction of being unrighteous – that is, not in right relationship with God or man. This is the intention of God’s Law. It shows us our despicable state and our desperate need for a Savior because none of us has perfectly kept the Law. And to fail at one point of the Law is to break it all.

Paul also spoke to Felix about self-control — that is temperance. To live self-controlled is to be moderate in indulgences of appetite or desires.  Felix and Drusilla had not done that. They were known for their excesses of life and attitudes. How many living today, perhaps even reading this blog, never think of the natural consequences of abusing their bodies? How many routinely overeat or eat unhealthily and never consider the long term effects on their hearts? How many smoke and never think of the damage to their lungs? How many drink to excess and never think of the damage to their liver? How many have promiscuous sex and never consider the emotional and spiritual and physical toll it will take on their lives? Not only do we live unrighteously toward God and others, we live unrighteously toward ourselves.

Lastly, Paul spoke to them about the coming Judgement. The scripture says, “It is given a man/woman once to die and then to face the judgement.” There is a pay day coming. And though we may walk through this life carefree, we will answer for breaking God’s Law. God would not be just were it any other way. And the penalty for sin is death. Not simply physical death but eternal death. Not cessation of existence, but eternal separation from God in a place where their is weeping and gnashing of teeth.  It is indeed a fearful thing and a fearful reality which too few take seriously or give careful thought. When Felix heard Paul’s words, “he was alarmed and said, ‘Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you,” (verse 25). Though Felix was under conviction recognizing that before God’s Law he was guilty, unrighteous and lacking in self-control — thus a sinner deserving wrath — his response was not immediate. He was unwilling to humble himself and repent to God asking forgiveness for his and intending to lead a new life following God’s commands. Instead, he put it off.

And how about you? Have you turned to God in repentance for your unrighteousness and lack of self-control? Have you fled from the coming day of judgment into the arms of the loving Savior? The wonderful, extraordinary GOOD NEWS is that all who turn to Jesus Christ in faith, trusting in his death and resurrection, receive forgiveness of sin and the gift of God’s life and righteousness. It is the great exchange! My sin for his holiness. My sorrow for his joy! My unrighteousness for his righteousness. Oh the wonders of grace! Please don’t put it off until later.

The Lord Stood By Him

“The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” (Acts 23:11)

Paul was in a dark place. Twice now his testimonies to his kinsmen ended in what must have felt like abysmal failure to him. In the midst of both messages, riots formed to kill him and he ended up a prisoner in the Antonio Fortress.

Paul longed to see his people become what we would call today, “Messianic Jews” or “Completed/Fulfilled Jews”.  That is, he desired that his people would come to believe in their Messiah Jesus, as he had.  He longed for this so much that he said in Romans that he would even be willing to be accursed of God if that would win them to Christ. But now his ambition to preach the gospel to the Jews has ended in utter chaos.  It must have been heartbreaking.

In the midst of his darkness, fear, and depression, the Lord entered in and said, “Take courage.” Jesus had spoken these same words to others. To the paralyzed man whose friends lowered him through the roof, Jesus said, “Take courage. Your sins are forgiven.” To the terrified disciples who thought they were seeing a ghost when Jesus came walking to them on the water, he said, “Take courage, it is I.”  In the midst of fear, Jesus often says: “Take courage.”

And then Jesus gave Paul encouragement.  He said, “For as you have testified of me in Jerusalem.” Jesus acknowledged that Paul had testified of Him in Jerusalem. Jesus was not looking at the outward results of Paul’s testimony. He was recognizing Paul’s faithfulness in testifying.  In my own life, I have occasionally been discouraged when my testimony (or teaching/preaching) has been met with apathy or even derision. In those times, I have been tempted to give up or wonder, “What’s the use? Does it even matter?” But God does not reward us for the results of our testimony. He rewards us for our faithfulness in testifying for Jesus.

Having encouraged Paul, Jesus then gave him hope for the future. He said, “So also you must testify in Rome.” Earlier Paul had expressed a desire to go to Rome. Jesus now confirms that Paul will indeed see Rome and there bear witness of Him. It will take more than two years for Paul to arrive there and the journey will be filled with trials and hardship. But through it all, Paul remains confident and hopeful that he will arrive at his destination because of this word of hope Jesus gives him.

The Lord stood by Paul in his darkness. Not to harangue him. Not to shame him. Not to say, “You failed!” Instead,  Jesus stood by him to comfort him and to give him hope and a future.

Who are you, Lord?

“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,'” (Acts 22:6-8).

I once heard the story about a pastor who was greeting parishioners at the door of the church following the morning service. Looking back into the building, he noticed a woman kneeling at the altar rail sobbing. She was a member of his church and a recent widow. Once everyone else had departed, he made his way back to her. When her tears had subsided he asked her, “Do you miss your husband?” And she answered, “Yes, but that’s not why I’m crying.  I’m crying because I realized this morning that after 39 years of marriage, I never really knew him.”

Can you imagine that? After 39 years, all she could say was, “I never really knew him.” After courtship and marriage; after pregnancies and babies; after long nights and diapers and vomit; after children and teens;  after college and marriages and grand-kids; after countless meals and sharing the same bed all those years; her realization was, “I never really knew him.”

And yet, how many church goers sit in the church; perhaps in the same pew or seat year after year; maybe even serving on committees or ushering or leading on vestries or boards; throwing a dollar or two in the offering plate each week; listening to countless sermons and having data about God and the scriptures; and yet, at the end of their lives will say of Jesus; “I never really knew him.”

Such was Saul until that day on the road to Damascus. Saul had tremendous religious pedigree. He had the right religious credentials. He had all the facts about God’s Law and he was zealous for purity to the point that he was heading for Damascus to persecute the Christians.  Saul knew a lot about God, but until that day, he did not know God personally.

When that light shone round about him on the road, Saul knew it was God. You can tell by the fact that he addresses the light as Lord.  But his true ignorance of God is revealed through his question, “Who are you, Lord?” Saul thought he was serving God by persecuting Christ’s followers and yet he discovered that he was actually persecuting Jesus himself.  Saul’s real war was with God. Oh what blindness exists in the human heart through pride and self-righteousness! Oh what blindness exists in every heart until there is a revelation of Jesus Christ as Lord of all.  Saul knew much about God, but he did not really know God until he saw and he heard for himself. And how about you? Have you had a revelation of Jesus Christ as Lord? Have you encountered him personally? Have you met him whether through a “Damascus road” type of event or through the slow and gradual dawning of his light in your heart?

Make no mistake. It is not enough to know about God. We must know him personally or we know him not at all.  And that is where the wonder of his grace comes in. It is already his desire for you to know him. He has known you from before the foundation of the world. He is the one who puts the desire within you for him. Therefore, you can be assured that you are in his will when you ask him to make himself known increasingly to  you. Why not make it your daily prayer beginning now and continuing throughout each day from now on, “Lord, by your wonderful grace,  I want to know you and the power of your resurrected life.”

The Most Worthwhile Thing in the World

“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles,'” (Acts 21:11).

I once heard a teaching by Pastor Chuck Smith wherein he asked the following questions: What is the most worthwhile thing in the world?  To be rich?  To be famous? No, the scriptures tell us serving Jesus Christ is the most worthwhile thing in the world. What is the most enduring thing in the world?  Not our riches or fame. Rather, it’s our labor for Jesus Christ . Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth… but instead lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”  What is the most secure thing in the world?  Certainly not our possessions or bank accounts – mine seem to dwindle daily. Instead, it’s our life in Jesus Christ. Where lies the greatest fulfillment in the world?  In winning the Super Bowl?  In owning a new home or car or boat?  Many people sacrifice and give far more for these things than they do for Jesus Christ. No, doing the will of our Lord is the most worthwhile, most enduring, most secure, and most fulfilling thing in the world.

In Acts 21, we see Paul heading toward Jerusalem where he will face imprisonment and eventual death for the name of Jesus Christ. He is a man who will not be deterred. His course is set and his destiny is sure. His life is fully dedicated to Jesus. He knew that his life was not his own, but that he had been bought at a price (the blood of Jesus) and that because of the resurrection of Jesus he need not fear what any man did to him.  Paul knew that to be absent in the body through death was to be present to the Lord in eternal life. And therefore he would not be deterred even though it would cost his life. The martyred missionary Jim Elliot made a remarkable statement prior to his death at the hands of the Auca Indians of Peru. He said, “He is no fool who gives away that which he can never possibly keep in order to keep that which he can never possibly lose.”

Perhaps it’s time for this kind of dedication to emerge in the church.  Lives lived solely for the glory of God, though they will contain hardship (perhaps even death), always inspire others to live the same kind of lives.  Perhaps our children would be more inspired to live lives of faith, if they witnessed in us the kind of dedication to the cause of Christ that drove Paul and Jim Elliot and countless others after them.  And when we do live these kind of lives, dedicated to Christ despite the cost as we we seek after the most worthwhile thing in the world, things start to happen for the Lord and his Kingdom.  The lost get saved. The dead are raised. The sick are made well. The oppressed are set free.

Weak Things

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Corinthians 26-29)

God delights in using weak things to accomplish his purposes. In Judges 6-8 we will see the story of Gideon unfold. According to Gideon’s own words when the angel declared that he would be the deliverer of Israel, “Lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least in my father’s house.” Gideon was a man filled with fear who had no clue how to conquer the formidable obstacles before him. The Lord’s answer to him was simply, “But I will be with you.”  God did not tell Gideon at the outset how he would overcome, he simply reassured Gideon that it would be so. Not because of Gideon’s abilities but because of God’s presence. Remember in whatever you face today and in the days ahead, that God plus one person is always a majority.

 

 

 

God’s Constant Mercy

“And the people of the Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel…But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them…The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel,” (Judges 3:7-10).

Thus we see the cycle of sin, consequences, repentance, mercy, and deliverance. Judges is a book that continually magnifies humanity’s’ constant failure and God’s constant mercy. And while our pride would love for us to believe that humankind’s trend is ever advancing and improving, God’s word shows us that the human heart apart from him is desperately wicked, and the inevitable direction for civilizations’ which forsake him is descent and corruption. We see this graphically illustrated in Judges 3 and 4 through the apostasies of Israel.

And how did they forsake God? They intermingled with the corrupt nations around them by making peace with them, then by intermarrying with them, and this led them to serve the gods of those people (3:5-8). In prosperity, they became spiritually anemic and compromised (3:12). They abandoned the Lord (2:11-13). And in a graphic description: “They did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them.  They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord,” (2:17. Essentially, forsaking the Word of God led to compromise and spiritual dullness. This led to moral decline and idolatry (likened to a wife cheating on her husband) and this led to a wholesale departure from God.  It is summed up in the words: “They did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”

However, the GOOD NEWS comes in those little words, “But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer who saved them…” (3:9). The New Testament equivalent is: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our sins and trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved…” (Ephesians 2:4-5). God’s mercy is constant. His grace is available to those who turn to him. God is always near to his people even when they abandon him. He promises never to leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). We see in Judges his ever-ready willingness to forgive and restore when the people repent and return to him with their whole heart. What an amazing God!

Let me leave you with these words from Ephesians 2 in the Message bible. May they bring hope and peace and joy and perhaps even repentance to your heart today… “It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.” (Ephesians 2:1-6)

Doing Our Own Thing

“Doing Our Own Thing” could easily be the bumper sticker for the book of Judges which we begin reading today. Judges covers the period of time (approx. 350 years) in the history of Israel from the death of Joshua to the ascension of Saul as king. It is a book filled with tremendous failure, great exploits, and the continuing mercy of God.

As Judges begins, the people have moved into the promised land and begun the transition from nomadic wanderers in the wilderness to settlers in a land of their own.  And though they made a good beginning by consulting the Lord about how they should commence the final conquest, the people quickly disobeyed God. There’s a decided shift in them from utter dependence for their wilderness survival to an increasing self-reliance and compromise with the behaviors and practices of the people around them.  It’s a type (picture) of our lives in this world that we would be wise to pay attention to.  When we live as wanderers (strangers and pilgrims) utterly relying upon God in the midst of this world, as opposed to fixed and comfortable inhabitants, we will live stay true to Him. But when we begin compromising and taking on the practices of the world, we will find ourselves in deep spiritual danger. (We hear this echoed in the New Testament as Jesus said, “Be in the world, but not of the world” and James warns “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God,” (James 4:4).

Chapter one of Judges records a series of sins and disobediences by the people. Thus Chapter 2 is a chapter of defeat and failure. God gave them up to their own will. God said, “You shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars. Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you,” (Judges 2:2-3). The reason that God had told them to destroy the people of the land was not because God was cruel. The people of the land were utterly corrupt and worshiped false gods (Note: false worship (idolatry) always descends into sexual perversion and the eventual sacrifice of children — the Israelites quickly moved into these practices).  Contrary to the naive sentiment behind the “COEXIST” bumper stickers, not all religion is the same and not every religious path leads to the True God. The Israelites brought on their own judgement by disobeying God and walking away from his word to them. The book begins with compromise and will end with confusion. So it is with every unsurrendered life!

A Mixed Response

“And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd,” (Acts 17:4-5).

There is always a mixed response to the gospel. In both Thessalonica and Berea, those who opposed Paul’s message stirred up the crowds and sought to harm him while many in Athens mocked him. The fact is not everyone will believe and some are openly hostile to the good news.  Sadly, it has always been this way.  But while there was opposition, there was also reception by both Jews and Gentiles.

As was Paul’s policy when he arrived in a city, he went first to the synagogue and began to open the Scriptures and teach God’s word. And what was his message? Verse 3 tells us: “He explained and proved that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and he said, ‘This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.'” Paul’s message was Jesus, the crucified and resurrected Lord of all. And this message was received with joy by many. In addition to the Thessalonian converts, we’re told that, “the word was received with all eagerness,” by many of the Bereans (Acts 17:11). In Athens, we read that, “some men joined him and believed,” (Acts 17:34).

And what is it about this message of Jesus as crucified and risen Lord that causes such mixed and polar responses, eliciting eagerness and joy in some and jealousy and open hostility in others? It is the fact that the message reaches the deepest needs of people: relationship with God, forgiveness of sin, relief of guilt, and fear of death and judgment. But in order for the message to become real, there is required for each person a definite and decisive turning from self-control to Christ. Without this yielding of the self to Another, there is no beginning. Whether it takes years for this to occur, or it happens quickly as in the case of the Thessalonians, Bereans and Athenians, there must be a decisive point when we give ourselves to Christ as Lord. There must be a yielding to Him so that we move from a self-directed and self-controlled and self-focused life to a life under the direction and control of Christ’s Spirit. Everyone who claims to be a Christian should be able to point to that time in which this occurred for them or it is still ahead. And what of you? Has the pivot of your life turned to Christ or is the self-life still in control?

Sensitive to the Holy Spirit

“Having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia…”

I love Acts 16:6-10. In these four short verses there is much spiritual activity going on and much direction from the Lord. As Paul and his companions seek to take the gospel out, they do so in concert with God. This is very different from what often occurs in churches today wherein we tell God our plans and ask him to bless them. Or worse, we don’t expect him to direct us at all. But Paul was very different than this. He was sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. He actively sought the Lord’s direction and empowerment for the work that they were to do. They expected, received, and followed God’s direction because they were surrendered to Christ’s Lordship.

We read in verse 6 that they were, “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (Asia Minor).  We don’t know why – perhaps it was an issue of God’s timing. Perhaps it would have been disastrous for Paul. Perhaps it would have been an unfruitful harvest field. Perhaps, in going east, the gospel would not have spread west toward Europe. Regardless in God’s sovereignty, the Holy Spirit stopped them from going to Asia. And they obeyed. In verse 7, we read that, “they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.”  Notice that the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus are used synonymously. To engage with the Holy Spirit is to engage with the Spirit of Jesus. (So if you love and trust Jesus, it’s safe to love and trust the Holy Spirit — same God after all!). God then gave Paul a vision in the night which instructed him to pass over the Aegean Sea to Macedonia. Paul was actively seeking the Lord. When he didn’t know what to do, he sought the Lord and waited for God’s direction. And God gave him a vision in the night (different from a dream though the scripture is clear that God often speaks through dreams also). Likely Paul was praying and fasting and God spoke through a vision in which a man from Macedonia urged him to, “Come to Macedonia and help us.” Paul didn’t second guess. Paul didn’t question. He had sought the Lord and the Lord responded. Verse 10 tells us, “And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

Paul was sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He knew the word of God. He had learned to listen to the Spirit’s promptings. He had learned to watch how the Spirit moved. And he was committed to following where the Spirit led. As such he was rightly guided.  So how about you? Are you growing in your sensitivity to the ways in which the Holy Spirit leads you? Why not ask Him to teach you his ways and commit to following his lead today?