The Heaton File

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)

It Is All About Perspective

Life is how a person views the reason they exist and what happens after death. Everything is measured by the reality of the brevity of life compared to the eternal expanse that all men will fill. Death is inevitable, and nothing man can do will change that. Life can be a harsh landscape to walk. With no choice in how a person comes into the world, choosing life courses is like walking through a vast minefield. It can be overwhelming. There are certain ideals everyone has in life, and few are attained. Suffering, tragedy, disease, and sorrow lurk beyond the horizon, often bursting on the scene without warning. Natural disasters destroy lives. Wars take the youth at too early of an age. Injustice pervades the streets with crime, murder, rape, and abuse. There is a lot of suffering in the world, and this can overwhelm the soul with despair.

God is not unaware of suffering. He created a world of perfection, desiring to dwell with men in harmony. It was the failure of humanity that brought so much suffering and despair. Jesus came to take away the world’s darkness, offering men the light of hope to live for greater glory. He did not take away suffering as it remains in every form, but the Son of God came to give men a means to live in a dark world of sin. Paul expressed that hope when he compared the suffering of this world to the glory revealed with the heavenly saints. Before Paul became a Christian, he lived a privileged life. After he became a Christian, his life was filled with suffering, yet he remained faithful to the cause of Christ. He understood the perspective of suffering in his life would not compare to the glory he would receive as a redeemed child of God. Paul told the saints in Corinth he had been beaten five times, left dead after stoning, suffered shipwreck, and faced dangers from rivers and robbers. The Jews tried to kill him. Paul knew hunger, thirst and often went without food. He was cold and did not have enough clothes to warm him. His perspective was those things were temporary, but glory was eternal. It all had to do with how he viewed his life.

Perspective is looking through the sorrows of life and seeing that God has prepared something much greater for His children. The world is filled with uncertainty. A pandemic of global proportions has changed the world. COVID-19 is a common yet dreaded word. There are few families (if any) that the tentacles of this virus have not impacted. Some have suffered death. The political world has created a world of fear and doubt. There is no unified spirit of patriotism with efforts to destroy law and order, teach ungodly doctrines that generate hatred and prejudice, disrespect for authority, road rage, and economic ruin. Arguments over a mask are destroying the church. Immorality has taken the high road of acceptability with homosexuality, transgender allowances, and crisis in the identity of males and females. It is a dark world, but perspective is how the child of God navigates the dark roads of life. The glory promised by God is not here but there. Few generations have not had their times of trial and despair, but the joy of eternal life is where the heart should remain. There is no comparison to what is coming for the saved with the present world.

If you are unhappy, it may be you have the wrong perspective. Looking at this evil generation can bring despair and hopelessness to the soul. Watching the news every day will destroy happiness. Change the view. Have a godly perspective that glory is not found here but awaits the faithful in the world to come. That glory is indescribable, without words, and far beyond the darkness of this world. Knowing what good things are coming will help us all to walk in this dark vale of life and know God is still light and joy, and He will not forsake His children.

And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that, he became very sorrowful. (Luke 18:21-24a)

Sorrow Does Not Change Truth

A young man came to Jesus wanting to know what good thing he should do to have eternal life. The young man was a ruler of the Jews and very wealthy. His life was characterized by all the blessings of God with success and glory. When his fellow Jews looked at his life, they saw an exemplary individual that any young Jewish boy would seek to emulate. The spirit of the young man was entirely devoted to the Law of Moses. He had striven to mold his life in perfect harmony of the will of God, zealous for righteousness, and a keeper of the law. Jesus had struck a chord in the heart of the young man, and it was the man from Nazareth that had shown His miracles and power influencing the young man to come to Him. As Jesus answered the ruler, his heart was filled with satisfaction and joy for the knowledge he had done everything needed for eternal life.

There is little doubt the rich young ruler was a model citizen of the nation of Israel. As far as he could see, he had accomplished righteousness to a high degree with meticulous and careful detail. When he asked what he lacked, it was more of a statement than a question. In his mind, there was nothing more he could do to assure him eternal life. His heart was filled with a righteous pride of self-satisfaction. Jesus faced a crossroad as He looked into the eyes of the young man. He could tell the assurance the young man felt about his place with God. Jesus could hear from his voice a confidence of faith. It would be easy to let the man go and live a full life of devotion to the Father, but Jesus knew the young man lacked one thing. Only one thing? Was it necessary to wreck his life over one thing? The ruler seemed to be all that God wanted His people to be – save one thing. There was a danger that if Jesus told him the one thing he lacked, he would walk away and never return. Could Jesus afford to tell the rich young ruler what he needed to hear?

The words fell like a torrent of unyielding water as Jesus answers the young ruler. If the man wanted to find perfection before the Lord God, he would need to dissolve his life of every privilege he held dear. He would have to sell everything he had with no exception and no holding back. All of his wealth would be given to the poor. He would be without the comfort of riches, the privilege of position, and probably held in derision by his peers. Only after selling all he had and giving everything to the poor could the young man have eternal life. Why did Jesus tell him to do something so drastic? This is not a requirement for everyone to follow Jesus. What Jesus saw in the heart of this young man was a covetous and greedy heart. The young man had exemplified himself as a model citizen of Israel, but there was a dark secret seen only in the eyes of the Divine. Salvation for the rich young ruler required walking away from everything he held dear.

Sorrow filled the heart of the young man as he walked away. Jesus was filled with His own sorrow to tell the young man what was required, but the Lord could not answer any other way. The one thing lacking was the one thing necessary. The sorrow of the young man did not change the truth. Jesus told Him what the Father demanded. Truth is a two-edged sword that brings hurt, sorrow, and despair. It is hard to inflict truth, but there is no other course a man can take but teach the truth. Preachers face the daunting task of preaching the truth and not shying away from the truth that will hurt. They must remember it is the word that brings sorrow because the heart is unwilling to accept the will of God. There will be many who stand before the judgment bar of a Holy God, who will appeal the task required asked too much, but it will not change the reality of truth. Sorrow does not change the truth.

The spirit of compromise comes from a refusal to teach the painful truth. Churches are filled with hearts deceived by the appeal of a kind and wholesome gospel. Sin is not condemned, immorality is not challenged, and truth falls by the wayside to the whims of human wisdom. If the rich young ruler were alive today seeking the same answer, most would accept him with great fanfare and confidence, assuring him of eternal life. Sadly, he would be lost along with those who refused to tell him the truth. Jesus said there are few saved. The gospel is narrow. Truth does not change to pacify the feelings of the entitled. There is one body of truth. If the truth hurts, accept the pain and repent. The rich young ruler walked away from eternal life. Do not make the same mistake. Sorrow did not change the truth. Jesus did not rush after the young man and apologize. Truth was the will of the Father.

Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. (Numbers 11:1)

Do Not Complain

The descendants of Abraham found themselves as an enslaved people in the land of Egypt for nearly four generations. They cried out to God for deliverance, and through the power of the Lord, Moses leads the people out of bondage into a world of freedom. Arriving at Sinai, the Hebrews became a nation and were given a law. Everything they would need is provided by the hand of the Lord. If they obeyed the commands of God, He would bless them as a mighty people. The Lord had already promised the land of Canaan to the children of Abraham as a land flowing with milk and honey. No enemy would stand against the might of the children of Israel who had the Lord God fighting their battles. There was nothing the people would lack, and through the miracles, signs, and wonders shown in Egypt and the journey to Sinai, the people could trust in the word of the Lord and His promises.

Shortly after leaving Sinai, the heart of the people grew tired. They began to complain about the hardships of their journey. Spending nearly a year at Sinai had settled the people in a place the Lord did not intend on them remaining. Now, the journey to Canaan was difficult, unsettling, and uncertain. The people began to complain, and God got angry. Ingratitude would become a constant character of the Hebrews for the next forty years. They wandered aimlessly for forty years because their reckless hearts of unbelief had more complaint than complying. They were not happy with God’s way of treating them as they viewed themselves as entitled people deserving so much more. Through the lying eyes of yesterday, the people longed for the fish they freely ate in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. It was as if the people dined on fine food while slaves in Egypt. The truth was the people were oppressed and their lives bitter with hard bondage. It was the voice of the desperate Hebrews that cried out to God for deliverance. It was not long after leaving Sinai the people complained, and God got angry.

The Lord blessed Israel as no people on the face of the earth, and all they could do was complain. He brought them out of Egypt by His mighty hand, and they complained. The Lord gave them fresh water, bread, and meat to their full, and they complained. No army could match their power, and they complained. The Lord gave them a law to live by, and they complained. He promised to take them to a land that had cities prepared for them, vineyards, orchards, and gardens planted for them, and a land of incredible blessings; and all they could do was complain. Through the promises of God, the people would have increased in children, livestock, crops, and wealth, but they could only complain. The history of Israel is characterized by God blessing the people with every blessing from the heavenly storehouse. On every occasion, the nation complained against the benevolent hand that cared for them. This made God angry.

A complaining heart is an ungrateful heart. There is nothing more irreverent to the will and power of God than when a man complains to the Divine. It is easy to find fault with men, but how is it possible to find a complaint against the One who counts the stars and gives each one a name? The sun rises and sets by the will of the Creator, and the heart of men complain. For the most part, humanity is ungrateful. God has given them everything that pertains to life and godliness. They complain it is not enough. Life can be hard and is difficult at times, and people turn against God with anger. How can the clay complain against the potter? Why would anyone blame God for anything? The heart of complaint is something that angers God. Unbelief breeds complaint. The oxen knows the hand of the one that provides for it, and he does not complain. Birds sing because they have nothing to be ungrateful for while a man walks around grumbling with discontent.

The spirit of murmuring and complaint is a poison that can destroy a church. God hates it. He has given His people direction, purpose, and a way to find an abundant life, and there is nothing to complain or criticize. A heart of faith believes in the word of God. Abraham did not complain about his journey. Joseph had many reasons to complain, but he trusted in the God he served and was blessed. Moses was told he would not enter the promised land, and he did not sulk and complain but continued to lead the people to their destiny. The prophets faced many hardships, and they continued to serve the Lord. Jesus did not complain on His journey to the cross. Men like Paul gave their lives to teach others the gospel of Christ and did so with no complaint. What is there in my life that I complain about that becomes a spirit of ingratitude toward the immense blessings of God? I am not here to complain but to honor God and glorify His will in my life. Let others see my light of gratitude so they can find the peace that passes all understanding. This will bring contentment and joy. No complaints. Thank you, God.

But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. (2 Timothy 2:16-18)

Spiritual Cancer

False doctrine is not merely a different opinion or conflicting viewpoint; it is a cancerous disease that will kill the body of a child of God. The word Paul uses in his letter to Timothy describing a cancer is the word canker or gangrene. A canker is not as familiar as cancer, but it has the same result as something that begins small and, like cancer, spreads to the healthy parts of the body, destroying cells and inflicting death. Gangrene is the pervasive decay or corruption of the cells due to loss of blood supply. Satan has brought his doctrine of cancer to the soul of man from the beginning. His corrupt doctrines destroyed the world in a flood and brought down the nation of Israel. The early church began with great power but soon, the influences of a corrupt doctrine began to spring up. Some taught circumcision as a means of salvation. It became a cancer that needed to be cut out. Through the surgical wisdom of the Holy Spirit working through the apostles, elders of Jerusalem, and devoted brethren, the error of circumcision for salvation was nullified.

Satan did not stop his infectious pursuit of the souls of saints. Paul named two men who fell victim to the wiles of the devil. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul mentions Hymenaeus, who, along with Alexander, shipwrecked their faith. The storms of apostasy and false doctrine overwhelmed Hymenaeus. In Paul’s second letter, an unknown disciple named Philetus was included in the company of the one who had strayed concerning the faith. Whether through shipwreck or spiritual cancer, Hymenaeus and Philetus would be remembered as faithless disciples. There was an Athenian attitude toward scriptures that brought about false doctrine. Luke says the people of Athens and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but telling or hearing some new thing. This produced a cancer that would take men away from the inspired word of God to the doctrines and philosophies of men.

Profane and idle babblings are nothing more than godless and foolish discussions creating controversy and doctrines tending only to produce strife. The end result is more ungodliness as men leave the word of God to appeal to the nature of the carnal spirit. The root of the denominational world of division is that everyone can believe what they want to believe and teach whatever they desire. Their motto is “attend the church of your choice.” This doctrine is false and strays from the truth. Hymenaeus and Philetus taught the resurrection had passed. Whatever form of doctrine this was destroyed the faith of some of God’s people, like cancer. Satan does not attack with massive armies overwhelming the soul of men. He begins as a small and innocuous cell of false doctrine left untreated with replication to the rest of the body, where death follows.

False doctrine is an insidious and odious cancer that has destroyed millions of souls. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation through the only Lord, Jesus Christ. God is the only living God, and there are no others. The Bible is the only book that expresses the mind of God. There is only one church as Jesus taught His disciples and the early disciples believed. Spiritual cancer is when men take the word of God and change it to fit their golden calves. Believing in a god of this world is folly. Accepting a book other than the Bible is an exercise in useless philosophy. Following man-made churches is allowing the cancer of false doctrine to destroy the soul. Hymenaeus and Philetus strayed concerning the truth, teaching what God had not approved. Their teachings were a cancer. Preventing spiritual cancer is abiding in the word of God. The Good Physician seeks those who desire the cure.

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:1-6)

God Is The Rewarder

Abram and Sarai had been married for many years but without a child of their own. It would seem Sarai would be barren until death, and Abram would never have a child by his wife. At the age of 75, the Lord comes to Abram and tells him a remarkable story. If Abram trusted in the promises of God, Abram and Sarai would have a child. The Lord tells Abram to leave his home and go to a place that he would be told. Without hesitation, Abram gathers his family and goes wherever the word of the Lord instructs him. For the next twenty-five years, Abram and Sarai wait for the promise of God. They trust in the word of the Lord and know that what God has promised, He will keep. Abram and Sarai maintain their devotion to the promise of God that a son would come through their loins. With each passing year, the reality of a child became less and less. Then, a day came when the Lord God came to Abram and told him that he would see his promised son within the year. At the age of 100, Abraham looked upon the face of his only begotten son, Isaac. Sarah was 90 years of age at the birth of Isaac, and she rejoiced.

Promising a son to a woman past the age of childbirth and a man whose body was dead to procreation was a sign of the divine power of God. The birth of Isaac was a miracle confirming the power of God to do the impossible. It also affirmed the character of the Lord God that what He promises will come to pass. God is a God of promises who is the rewarding God to those who believe in His promises. Many promises can be made with little chance of those promises coming to pass. Rewards are offered, but the rewards can fail or be diminished. The promises of God are true, righteous, and without reservation. Attached to the promises of God is the reward that He will accomplish what He says He will do.

God told Abram that He was his shield and his exceedingly great reward. Abram was uncertain how the Lord would bring to pass an impossible blessing of a son in his old age. The Lord took Abram outside and showed him the canopy of stars that filled the heavens. When God made a promise to Abraham, He promised him the reward of a son, and from this son, an innumerable host of descendants would come that could not be counted. The promise of God was incredible, and the reward was unimaginable. Abraham believed in the Lord, and God accounted Abraham’s faith to righteousness. There was a trust in the heart of Abraham that what God promised, He would reward.

Coming to the Lord requires more than faith. Many have faith in God but are unwilling to accept the terms of redemption. The Hebrew writer defines salvation with faith to believe that God is real and that His word is true. Going beyond a veneer response of faith, the true believer accepts the impossible, knowing that what God has promised, He will reward. God is the great rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. A reward is given to those who deserve to receive such a blessing. The reward of eternal life is not given to everyone. Jesus said few would believe in the promises of the Father, and as a result, few will see the reward of eternal life. Those who believe in the word of the Lord and obey the word of the Lord will enjoy the reward of the promises of God. There is ample evidence to persuade that God is a God of rewards. Having become persuaded with the faithfulness of the Lord, the believer will seek the Lord and endure to the end. Abraham waited twenty-five years to see the fulfillment of God’s promises, and he never wavered. He received his reward. True believers will receive the promises of God when they live faithful and devoted lives believing that what God promised, God will keep.

Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. (John 12:42-43)

Seeking The Wrong Glory

After nearly three years of ministry to large multitudes of people, healing thousands, and forming a band of twelve men to carry on His work, Jesus was facing great opposition. The forces working against Him were centered in the Jewish leadership, but a greater problem came from those who were tired of His teaching and were offended by His harsh doctrines. Many of His disciples turned and walked with Him no more. He had fed more than five thousand people in a single day with a young boy’s lunch, and when the Lord refused to replicate the miracle, He was condemned. Many rulers believed in Jesus as the Son of God. They accepted His teachings as that from the heavenly Father. Their hearts were moved to accept the man from Nazareth as the Word, God in the flesh, and Savior of the world. Tragically, their faith would not allow them to confess allegiance publicly to Jesus because they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

The word of God had pricked the hearts of many rulers, and realizing what they would have to give up accepting the teachings of Jesus, denied Him. It was a great conflict to be moved by the words of Jesus and then turn away from Jesus. The accolades of men with the honors of being a ruler among the people had more influence on their hearts than accepting the word of God. It was hard to give up the prideful positions of power, knowing they would lose their place of prominence and power. Pride is a powerful drug that traps the souls of men to believe in a false god and deny the only truth that will save them. They enjoyed walking the halls of power and are called by men as rulers with authority. The destitute heart fills itself with the selfish desires of the carnal man. Every evidence of truth is rejected so the pride of man can walk a deluded path of human wisdom to its own destruction. The peer pressure of the Pharisees prohibited believers from confessing Christ lest they should be kicked out of the synagogue. Loving the praise of men is a strong influence that damns the soul of the weak.

There are many peer pressures influencing believers today. The Pharisees are gone, but their influence remains. Many people believe that Jesus is the Christ and will fain allegiance to Him but in their hearts deny him lest they be labeled religious. Their lives will be measured by mediocrity, unwilling to let anyone know they are a Christian. They keep the same sinful habits following the same sinful crowd and may attend worship services but are never committed. There is pressure to keep a façade of religion on one side while maintaining the character of worldliness during the week. They want to keep their friends and have their fun refusing to confess Christ lest they be put out of the circle of friends. The influence of worldly friends is immense. Seeking the praise of men more than the praise of God is a constant battle. The praise of men wins, and the praise of God fails.

Serving Jesus Christ demands commitment and change. Refusing to be committed will never bring about change. Jesus said to be worthy of discipleship demanded carrying a cross. Many believe in Jesus as the Son of God but do not want to carry a cross. They want to have a relationship with Christ without the cost that He Himself had to bear. Heaven becomes a place for anyone to enter without commitment or expectation of obedience. Instead of few being saved, the majority are thought to be saved who never surrendered their will to the Father. Loving the praise of men is temporary. There is no hope of joy for those who refuse to commit to Christ fully. Those who seek the glory of men will be rejected by God and find eternal darkness in perdition. The reality of human glory is that it is short-lived. If a man lives his life attaining the greatest accolades of men with history filling its pages with his accomplishments; what does it matter when he dies? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Facing God is what life is about. Seeking the praise of God may not bring honor in this life, but it will bring joy in the next life.

So many waste their lives in the futile pursuits of the world, making no preparations for death. Death will inevitably come. All men face the mortality of their souls, and there will be no exceptions. Seeking the wrong glory will bring eternal heartache. It is sad to watch precious souls live their lives filled with their demands, their wishes, and the unwillingness to obey the word of God, and then death comes. What then? Outer darkness and eternal suffering. The praise of men will have no meaning then, and the soul will cry out in eternal hell for a second chance, and none will be given. Your life is measured by what you seek. Believing Jesus is not enough. It requires confessing His name in your life, even if it means you get kicked out of the synagogue. Let me be reviled by men now so that I may receive honor from God in death. Whose glory are you seeking?

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18)

Grow Where You Are Planted

Life never turns out the way it is planned. Someone said reading the book of Ecclesiastes is defined as “Life is hard and then you die.” There is truth to the idea that life can be an arduous journey fraught with many disappointments. From early childhood, certain ideals are hoped for and plans made to follow a certain course with definite expectations only to find the changing sands of time erase those dreams into a harsh reality. No book illustrates the uncertainty of life than the stories from the Bible. Adam and Eve could not have imagined how much their world would change by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Cain did not get up one morning and decide to kill his brother. Noah was not prepared for the message of destruction that would annihilate every person he knew and every human on the face of the earth. Abraham was 75 years old when he was told to leave his family and spend the rest of his life as a vagabond.

One of the great classic stories of the inequalities of life is found in the story of Jacob’s son, Joseph. As the privileged and much-loved son of Jacob, Joseph had an incredible life waiting for him. His father adorned him with a coat of many colors as his mother doted on him. It was a fateful day when his brothers sold him as a slave to a caravan going to Egypt. It would be twenty-two years before he saw his family again. During that time, he was sold like an animal in the slave market of Pharaoh, treated not as a boy of privilege but a slave, and then when life seemed to be turning around for the young Hebrew, he was framed by his master’s wife and thrown into prison. Joseph had every reason to hate God and despise his captors. Instead, Joseph grew where he was planted. His life had turned from the luxuries of a wealthy family to the harsh desert of human bondage. He loved and served God first, and the Lord blessed him. It took a long time for Joseph to understand why he was in Egypt, but he saw his life as a blessing from God.

Daniel and his three friends found their lives changed dramatically as they witnessed the fall and destruction of their beloved homeland and then the long journey of bondage in Babylon. Their early life saw the nation’s rebellion against the cries of the prophets to return to the Lord. They could not imagine they would be taken away from Jerusalem, never to return. The captors demanded they learn their language and culture and changed their names from honoring the one true God to the gods of the Babylonians. Part of the cultural training required they eat of the king’s delicacies, but they refused. This would have brought swift death by the hand of the captors, but God delivered them. Their faith would be tested again when the king built a large idol demanding his citizens bow down and worship it or suffer death in a burning fiery furnace. They refused and again were delivered by God. Daniel faced certain death many years later as an older man when his peers tried to destroy him by his faith. He held true to his practice of prayer and was cast into a den of lions. An angel of the Lord shut the mouths of the lions, and God delivered him. Life for these young Hebrews was nothing like what they would have imagined.

Twelve men were leading varied lives of fishing, government work, and one was a member of a radical group seeking the overthrow of the Roman powers when Jesus came along and called them to be His apostles. Their lives would never be the same. A young man devoted to the cause of the Lord God was intent on destroying a religious sect that denied the word of God found in the Law of Moses. He helped kill one of their disciples and then began a campaign of terror to destroy those of the Way. As Saul of Tarsus approached the city of Damascus, his life changed when the same Lord he sought to destroy called him to be his most ardent messengers of hope. As Paul was walking down the road or sailing in a ship during the midnight watch, did he ever stop and reflect on how different his life turned out?

In all the stories of these life-changing moments, the constant is how the men and women changed their lives. Peter admonishes those whose lives had been disrupted, turned upside down, and moved in a direction they could never have imagined, to do one thing that was important: grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Noah believed in the word of God and saved his household. Abram trusted in the word of the Lord and believed in the promises. Joseph grew daily in his knowledge of the love of God, as did Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. It was a tragedy that Judas killed himself, but the remaining eleven faced hardships and died the martyrs’ death and changed the world. Life can be hard and feel like a burning desert with no hope. An unlikely tree stands amid the seemingly endless dunes of the Rub’ al Khali desert in the Arabian Peninsula. It grew where it was planted. Wherever you are in life, grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God will bless you.

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:17-21)

Singing Is The Will Of The Lord

Authority is necessary for everything that is to be done in the church of God. Jesus was given all authority by the Father, who had the power to give such authority. The New Testament church established a pattern of authority through the writings of the disciples who were moved by the Holy Spirit directed by the will of the Father. Authority is necessary for the government as a structure of an organization to establish law. Without authority, anarchy would rule, and the people would suffer. Within the government of the church of Christ, authority is necessary to comply with the will of God, or spiritual lawlessness will reign. One such area of rule that is called the will of the Lord is the type of music authorized.

Paul wanted the saints in Ephesus to understand what the will of the Lord was concerning their worship. He reminds them God is a spirit and is seeking those who will worship the Lord in spirit and truth: this is the will of the Lord. True worship does not come from the satisfaction of the carnal nature like imbibing in wine but the spiritual experience of worship from the heart. When Paul discounts wine as a means of appeasing the Lord, he directly points to the desire of the carnal heart to find ways to appeal to the flesh. It was not uncommon in the pagan worship to make merry with loud music and drunken feasts. Entertainment was the highlight of the worship men would engage as they fulfilled their carnal lusts. Religion today has become cousins of the pagan worship of old as they seek to entertain, impress, and create an atmosphere of fun-filled worship to draw people to their numbers. Paul indirectly condemns the use of instrumental music in worship as the pagans would use in their worship.

The Jews were proficient in the use of instrumental music in worship. David had a choir of Levites who were singers and musicians to sing joyful songs to the accompaniment of harps, lyres, and cymbals when he brought the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to Jerusalem. God commanded instruments to be used in worship under the Law of Moses but never commanded the use of instrumental music in the New Testament church. The will of the Lord changed regarding music as much as the will of the Lord changed regarding salvation. Using an instrument of music is like requiring circumcision. Paul wanted the Ephesians Christians to understand what the law of God required in their worship. Ephesus was home to the Temple of Diana, and the citizens were familiar with the pagan rites and worship, including the loud music. The church in Ephesus did not use instruments of music in their worship because they were doing the will of the Lord.

Understanding what God required was submitting to each other in the fear of the Lord. Authority for the type of music defined whether worship was acceptable before God. Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs was the only authority of the New Testament church. Singing and making melody in the heart was the pattern of the early saints that desired to obey the will of the Lord. Hearts filled with thanksgiving sang the psalms of old as the first-century Christians followed the divine pattern of singing. Paul never suggested or hinted that instrumental music was a part of the early church. None of the other writers encouraged their readers to use instrumental music to worship the Lord. Historically speaking, it would be hundreds of years after the first century before the first hint of instrumental music was given and nearly fifteen hundred years before instrumental music was officially accepted in the apostate church.

Singing is the will of the Lord. The form of worship is opening the mouth and singing praises to the Lord. He is not interested in whether a person can carry a tune in a bucket but whether there is music in the heart. Refusing to sing is defying the will of the Lord. Music is at the heart of worship as an expression of the joy to serve the Lord God. Jesus said that salvation comes from doing the will of the Father. Singing is the will of the Lord. Praise God with the voice. Lift up the heart to sing praises to God until that eternal day when all God’s saints sing before His face the eternal glories of His majesty and beauty. And above all things, sing.

But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” (Luke 4:4)

Living By The Word

The devil began his attack on Jesus in the same way he attacked Eve in the garden. When the serpent spoke to the woman, he questioned whether the word of God was true. Satan knew if he could convince Eve to doubt the word of God, he would secure her heart to follow his deception rather than trust in the will of the Lord. The instructions to Adam and Eve were simple. They could eat of every tree of the garden, but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was forbidden. Eve understood the word of the Lord, going so far as to emphasize they should not touch the fruit. Sin came when the word of God was ignored, and life changed forever. As many thousands of years since Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden, one thing has never changed: the devil uses the same ploy to destroy souls as he has for millennia.

God has always given humanity His word to live by, obey, and subject their lives to His will. Life comes from the word of God. The word of God created the world, it is held together by the word of God, and one day the world will dissolve with fervent heat by the same word. God spoke His word through the patriarchs, and men like Abraham believed unto righteousness and obeyed His word. When Israel was separated as God’s own special people, He gave them a law written down in the code of the Law of Moses. Jesus came into the world as the word and the only way to the Father. The words that Jesus spoke were the words of His Father. Through the teaching of the word of God, the New Testament church was established, propagated, and confirmed throughout the ages as the divine pattern of God’s will. The Holy Spirit canonized the Bible to afford humanity every word of God so that all men could come to the only truth and know how to find redemption before a wrathful Lord. From the writings of Moses to the final message of the Revelation, the mind of God is revealed for all mankind to read and understand the mystery hidden before time but now revealed. The word of God is the spiritual manna of the Father that gives life to all who spend time in His word.

Jesus defeated Satan by reminding the adversary that man does not live by the things of this world. Salvation can only come when a man lives by the word of God. Jesus quoted from the book of Deuteronomy where Moses reminds the new generation preparing to enter Canaan that obedience to the word of God will give life. Throughout the forty years of wandering, the Hebrews learned to trust in the Lord and live by His word. God told them to be careful to observe all the commandments, and they would be blessed. He allowed them to be hungry but gave them the manna so they would not die. In a spiritual parable, Jesus shows the hunger of man can only be supplied with the manna of God’s word. Life is found in the manna. It comes from God and is all that is needed to sustain life. Like the manna of old, the manner of gathering the manna and consuming the manna was paramount to life. So it is with the word of God.

Life comes from nourishment. No greater sustenance can a man find than the word of God that tells him everything he needs to know to live. This is the way a man will live by the word of God. Jesus reminded the devil to live by the desires of the world will only bring death. Life is found in living by the word of God. Only through the mind of God will a man know how to live and walk in the dark world of sin. Bread is necessary, but there is more to life than bread. A man can live all his life eating bread and die. If he has not been seeking the living word of God, his life is useless and without merit. The figure of bread is the essential part of life that consumes the soul. Often, more time is spent preparing and eating the manna with no time spent in consuming the word of God. Eternal life is not found in the bread. It is found in the word of God. Living for the word of God is seeking those things that are above. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled, they will never thirst, and they will find eternal life.

The answer of Jesus to the devil is the answer of where I find myself. Am I living from the word of God or seeking the bread of the world? Too often, souls are busy seeking the carnal pursuits of the world with no interest in the word of God. The Bible is the manna of God to a world starving from nourishment. Abiding in the manna of God’s word will bring life and give joy. Living by the word of God is an active and daily walk. The body requires nourishment every day of the week. If some people fed their bodies as much nourishment they feed their spiritual bodies, they would have died long ago. Grab a chair and have a seat at the table of the Lord. Prepare a feast of the word of God and live by every word. It is then – and only then – you will find life.

The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 3:6-10)

God’s Warnings Come From Examples

One of the most effective tools of learning is found in the examples of others. Solomon declared there is nothing new under the sun, and when it comes to learning from the mistakes of others, the examples abound throughout history. The mind of God has not changed from the beginning. When sin exalts itself, the Lord measures the will of man by the same rule and meting out the same consequences as before. This is clearly stated when the nation of Israel was divided, with Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Every king (without exception) of Israel was evil, and judgment would come against the people of God in 722 B.C. when Assyria destroyed Samaria. The prophet Jeremiah began his ministry around 627 B.C. With their northern brethren being gone for nearly 100 years, Judah was not learning from the mistakes of Israel.

Israel had embraced idolatry with full fervor. They rejected the word of God and despised all his warnings. The people worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves. Israel followed the example of the nations around them who worshipped the Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire, consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery, and sold themselves to evil, arousing the Lord’s anger. Prophets like Amos and Hosea warned the leaders of impending doom, but they took no heed. Finally, the Lord sent the army of Assyria and removed the ten tribes from His sight. There was none left but the tribe of Judah alone. The greater tragedy was that while Judah watched all that happened with her northern sister, Israel; they refused to change.

God begged Israel to repent, but they did not and faced the wrath of God. Judah saw it and refused to repent. The Lord showed Judah how Israel had backslidden with all her wickedness, and God walked away from her – Judah did not listen. There was a spiritual divorce between the Lord and Israel; warning Judah the same thing would happen to them – they did not listen. No matter what God did to His people, the remnant saw, took note, and refused to repent. One hundred sixteen years after Assyria captured Samaria, the Babylonians take away the first group of captives from Jerusalem. Twenty years later, Jerusalem is destroyed, and the Temple burned. If Judah had taken the example of Israel years before, they would not have suffered the same fate. Refusing to be admonished by the example of Israel, Judah would be crushed and nearly destroyed.

Examples are important lesson tools. The problem comes when examples are not used for their intended purpose. God has never changed His mind about the condition of man. When sin separates the will of the Lord, and the will of man, the examples of scripture help find the correct path to follow. If God punished Israel – His special people – what makes anyone think today that God will not punish them? No matter what version of the Bible a person reads, sin remains the same, and the way the Lord deals with sin remains the same. Judah should have learned from her sister Israel, but she did not believe God would do the same thing to her. They were wrong. To their surprise (and regret), the Lord brought the Babylonians and punished them. The only saving grace of Judah was the remnant of the righteous that preserved the seed promise of Christ.

The Bible is a book of examples. On every page is the will of the Lord exercised over the will of man. The stories of the Bible happened thousands of years ago, but the manner of God’s judgment remains the same. Failing to read the Bible is refusing to see the examples of God’s goodness and severity. He exalts a nation that is righteous and destroys a nation that forgets Him. The grace of God will save a lost sinner, and the wrath of God will condemn a sinner. There is an example for every motive of the Lord in the Bible. Examples teach. Listen and learn.