October 20, 2017

"Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men." Joshua 5:13-6:2

This interesting but almost incidental account of Joshua's encounter with this mysterious sword wielding man occupies just a few verse of this story but captured my curiosity.

It is natural to wonder who this fellow was. He could have been an angel. He could have been a theophony - a preincarnate appearance of Christ. 

No one knows. But whoever he was he had Joshua's full attention and respect because:

1) Joshua removed his sandals and bowed low before him.

2) Joshua received the message given him by this man as a word from God.

We can add this to the list of unanswered questions we can ask Jesus when we get to Heaven.

Rather than speculate on the unknown, I would like to takeaway a truth from the story that I believe will bless you. Here is that truth: You need someone like this in your life to help you knock down your walls.

Let's begin with what we know about this man. He had a sword in his hand. And He had a word from God on his lips.

What does the sword represent?

It is a symbol of battle. It shows a warrior ready to do battle in defense of his cause.

And the word he spoke represents the Word of God that gives guidance and direction.

So my takeaway from this encounter is this, in your life you need someone to protect you and someone to direct you. That could be one person or it could be two but if you need to bring down walls in your life, you will greatly benefit by having someone to protect you and someone to direct you.

I have benefited from having both in my life. God has helped me to bring down some walls over my years of knowing Him and serving Him. Most of those walls were inner walls of shame, insecurity, self-doubt, shyness, low expectations and lack of self-confidence.

At crucial periods in my life, just like Joshua, God was faithful to intersect my path with men who could protect me, and defend me not so much physically but emotionally and spiritually. In those times my walls could have been reinforced by bullies or negative and abusive voices in my ear.

I hope you have someone like that in your life, too. Someone to defend you and protect you and guard your heart and mind. While I know you can count on Jesus to do that, you need someone with "skin on".

I hope that you will find as Joshua did and as I have, that God knows just who you need and when you need them for the walls that He wants you to destroy. 

If you have no one like that I am willing to be that person for you.

Also, like Joshua, God has been faithful to bring people into my life to give me direction. I have had a few missteps along my journey but not many. That is a testimony to the goodness of God providing me with wise people to give me direction.

God will do that for you if you ask Him. He promises to direct your path through His Word but also through wise and godly people He will place strategically in your life.

There will be walls to be overcome in your life. Some will be inner walls while others will be outer walls. But I want to encourage your from Joshua's example and from my experience that God is faithful to place those you need to protect you and to direct you until those walls crumble in your path!

Your Walls Between You And The Promised Land

"Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in." Joshua 5:13-6:1

Jericho was the last big barrier between God's people and the Land of Promise. And it was an imposing barrier to be sure!

You probably are familiar with the fact that Jericho was surrounded by thick and impenetrable walls. But maybe you didn't know that it had TWO layers of walls! Yes! There was an outer wall where Rahab the Harlot most likely lived and then there was a higher and taller inner wall that guarded the actual city.

There will always be walls between you and your promised land! It's just the way life is! Those walls will have to fall if you ever hope to get to your Promised Land.

There will be inner walls and there will be outer walls.

The inner walls are the ones no one else sees but they can entrap you and hold you hostage. You will have no shot at bringing down walls until these walls fall.

Inner walls can be constructed of shoddy materials such as guilt, shame, insecurity, feelings of inadequacy, self-doubts, addictions, unforgiveness, anger, vindictiveness, selfishness, fear, feelings of failure, negative parental messages or an attitude of arrogance.

Those are the walls to bring down first but they can be the hardest to fall. For many of these walls it will require extensive time in the Word and in prayer along with sound counselling from a trained godly counselor.

And then there are the outer walls that will have to fall. But until you tear down your inner walls you will have little success bringing down the outer walls.

Outer walls can be made of things like prejudice, intimidation, poverty, hatred and greed.

These walls are high, thick, strong and menacing. At times you wonder if they can really be brought down.

The truth is that the outer wall exists to force you to deal with your inner wall.

Some questions to consider when faced by your walls:

Has God promised to give me new territory?

Is He able to break down my walls?

Does His Word have promises that apply to my wall?

Will I believe His promises?

Will I pray and assault my wall with His promises?

October 17, 2017

"Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites. At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcisethe Israelites again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth. Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan." Joshua 5:1-12

Commitments are tough to make and even tougher to keep. When you make a commitment you have no way of knowing what it will cost you to keep it.

For instance, when you speak your marriage vows, "for better , for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health" you specify a few conditions that could challenge your commitment and promise not to let them deter you from your commitment.

But saying so and doing so are not the same thing!

Wouldn't it be nice to know what your commitment will cost you before you make that commitment? 

Actually, God is good about letting His followers know what it will cost them to follow Him. Case in point, as the Israelites were preparing to go up against the formidable fortress of Jericho, He lets them know what He expects from them.

He expects a commitment to intimacy.

The last big barrier that stood between God's people and the Promised Land was the well fortified city of Jericho. But before they could go up against Jericho and into Canaan He required them to be circumcised.

Why!

The act of circumcision is powerful illustration of the intimacy God desires from His people. Joshua declared God's call for the young men to be circumcised because it is pleasing to God. Circumcision would allow them to enter God's presence and into His Promised Land. The call to circumcision was the call for them to offer their most private and personal part to Him and withhold nothing precious from Him.

He also expects a commitment to vulnerability.

When God called his young men to offer themselves to be circumcised they were situated between the Jordan and Jericho - aka - enemy territory. When you are in enemy territory you want to be at your strongest and most alert.

But with all the young men of fighting age healing from the pain of having their foreskins removed with a flint knife, they were in no condition to go to work. They were lucky to be able to walk.

No savvy military leader would place his army in such a vulnerable situation behind enemy lines. But Joshua did and He did it because God told them to do it.

Joshua found himself, his fighting men, their families, and all of God's in an extremely vulnerable place where if they were attacked by Canaanite armies they would not have had all of their fighting forces ready to fight. Their only option in their vulnerability was to trust truly and totally upon God's protection.

Finally, God expects a commitment to dependency.

This generation had never known anything except manna in the morning. It had been their breakfast, lunch and dinner all their lives. But that was about to change!

After their circumcision brought them into God's favor they celebrated the Passover, the vivid reminder of God's miraculous deliverance of His people from the Angel of Death. They remembered a night that they were totally dependent on God and the blood of a lamb to save their firstborn sons.

Following the Passover celebration it says that the manna stopped and they began to eat from the fruit of the land.

The big question now was, "Would they choose to continue trusting God when they didn't have to?"

What would it cost God's people to take this new territory known as Canaan a land "flowing with milk and honey".

It would cost a commitment to intimacy.

It would cost a commitment to vulnerability.

It would cost a commitment to dependency.

So, what?

These are the very same commitments God demands from you if you want to take new territory.

It will cost you a commitment to intimacy with God. He wants you to trust Him with the most personal and private issues of your life. Intimacy means nothing between you and God!

Is there anything that is keeping you from intimacy with God?

It will also cost you a commitment to vulnerability with God. Will you be completely honest before God? Nothing hidden? Nothing held back? Holding to Him in your weakness?

And it will cost you a commitment to dependency.

Will you trust God to care for you and provide for your and express gratitude when He does?

October 16, 2017

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

We know this portion of Scripture as the "Great Commission" - the famous last recorded words of Jesus on earth. It is His mandate for the Church then and today. Had not the church then headed that mandate there would not be a church of today. If we, the church of today fail to honor this mandate there will not be a church of tomorrow.

Jesus was resting a lot on our obedience. In fact, He bet everything on it. God had no plan "B". The "Great Commission" could have easily become the "Great Omission" had these eleven chosen not to obey.

There is an interesting statement that Jesus made about obedience - "teaching them to obey everything I commanded". That IS obedience, obeying "everything". You can't obey "some" and be obedient. You can't obey "most" and be obedient. Partial obedience is disobedience. Obedience is not a multiple choice test! There are no part-time disciples or sometime disciples or almost disciples.

Discipleship is a decision. A choice to obey God and act on His will. Once you know what God wants you are immediately responsible to act according to His desire. To do less is disobedience and disobedience is sin. Disciples don't live in sin.

This is radical stuff! Discipleship requires bold actions resulting from a transformational change that God has produced in your heart and mind. There is a line to be crossed. There is a death to die. There is a surrender to be made.

If you view obedience as an option, you are living under the delusion of discipleship. Jesus' command is to "obey everything I have commanded". Discipleship happens at the point of obedience. How is it happening for you?

October 15, 2017

"All authority in heaven and on earth HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME" Matthew 28:18

Jesus certainly had authority. No one would argue that. It is not even debatable!

So, if God has all authority and Jesus is God's Son, He certainly could have given Him authority. But was that authority actually given to Him - or did He, in fact have to earn it?

The answer is, "Yes - and - no....."

What sort of an answer is that?

All authority in Heaven was God's and He did give it to Jesus. But the authority on earth belonged to the evil one who had wrested it from Adam in the Garden.

So, Jesus had to earn back that authority.

How do I know that?

I know that because of the three temptations that Jesus faced in the wilderness at the beginning of His ministry. Those temptations were about Satan trying to negotiate over the authority that he had stolen from the first Adam and was now trying to protect by deceiving the Second Adam.

Satan stole the authority he has and is not about to give it up. Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the debt for Adam's sin and had to rise from the dead to conquer death. That was how He got the authority back. It was given - it was won! And because Jesus won it back from the evil one He can now give it to us.

But to get that authority we have to get Jesus - by faith! And we have to surrender our authority, our will, our selfish nature to Him. We have to die like Jesus died in order to live in His full authority!

He wants to give His authority to us - all authority! We can receive it freely because He purchased it for us!

What do you need to surrender in order to receive His authority?

October 14, 2017

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me......And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18; 20

The disciples had been with Jesus 24/7 for three years. They had seen His authority over evil, over disease, and recently, over sin and death.

Then, there was that time that Jesus sent them out two by two into the region to minister in His name and with His authority. They had experienced what it was like to take authority over evil, over disease and even over death. The Bible tells us that they came back rejoicing over the victories they had been able to win with His authority.

So, it makes sense that as Jesus was preparing to leave the planet and return to His Father that they might wonder what would happen to His authority. Would His authority depart with Him? This divine mandate He had just given them would take much more that what they possessed in the way of power and authority. It was a God-sized assignment and it would take God-sized help.

What would you be doing if you were them?

Well, now you are them! Their mandate is your mandate. It is still a God-sized job!

We need to hear what Jesus told them. "ALL authority in HEAVEN and on EARTH" is His. It resides in Him! He had the authority of Heaven and when He died and rose from the dead He regained all the authority on earth! It is the authority that Adam had forfeited by his sin. But Jesus, the Second Adam, took back what Adam had lost! So when Jesus said ALL authority that is exactly what He meant!

In short, what Jesus is saying is this, "I have all spiritual authority that exists in the universe and when you have Me you also have this authority"! 

Think about that!

Jesus was not just giving them a mandate, He was giving them the power to become a movement! And the history of the early Church indicates that when the believers clung to Jesus and received His authority - it was an unstoppable movement! When they worshiped and ministered in Jesus' Name they also operated in all of His authority.

Does Jesus still have that authority? Has he experienced a power shortage? Do we still get ALL authority when we get Jesus or did that change somewhere in the past 2,000 years?

If you are in Christ, you are in His authority!

Act like it!

Vertical And Horizontal Worship

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness" II Peter 1:5-6

Recently I was honored when I read what one of my people had written about me. She referred to me as a "godly man".

That caused me to pause and asked myself, "Am I really a godly man? What does that mean? What does she see in me that brought her to that conclusion?"

Peter may have the answer in II Peter 1:6 - "For this very reason add to your faith.......godliness".

The word used for "godliness" conveys the idea of devoted worship of God. A godly person worships well.

But, it is more than that. As important as it is to worship well there is more to godliness. Godliness involves a disciplined witness or worshipping God so well that others notice.

Worship has a vertical relationship to it - from man to God. But it also has a horizontal relationship - from man to man. If you do not worship God well it will have a negative effect on how you relate to others. When your vertical relationship is strong it improves how you care about others. Likewise, if you are not treating other people well it will hinder your devotion to God.

Godliness then, is being devoted in both directions - upward toward God and outward toward others. If that is what she meant by  being godly, then I am deeply humbled and greatly encouraged.

I want to worship God well and I want to be a good witness for Him. That is the godliness I seek.

"Add to your faith........GODLINESS"!