The Heaton File

I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. (John 17:14-18)

I Am Not Of The World

Jesus is the Son of God. There can be no doubt of His divinity. Paramount to the acceptance of God’s scheme of redemption is the acknowledgment that He who was God left His place with the Father and became a man to die for the sins of humanity. Jesus was born in the natural process, but His conception was divine. He walked among men with the same burdens of the physical flesh when He hungered, thirst for water, grew weary and had to sleep. Everything about the visage of Jesus was as common as all those around Him. Many people of His day had trouble distinguishing Him as divine because He was so much like other men. His teaching was powerful and astonished the people, but this did not make Him as God. The Jews accused Him of blasphemy when He said that He was God and He knew the Father – and on the surface the Jews were correct. However, what the leaders refused to accept was that no man could do the miracles of Jesus unless He was God. They killed Jesus for envy and calling Himself God failing to believe the man from Nazareth was the Son of the living God.

In the final hours of Jesus’ life on earth, He spoke to the eleven apostles about something they had no idea was going to happen. As the eleven walked with Jesus to Gethsemane, Jesus poured out His heart to His Father and tried to explain to the disciples the impact His death would have on their lives. They could not imagine that in a short time Jesus would be arrested, tried, and convicted sentenced to death on a Roman cross. The garden was drawing near and the soul of Jesus was troubled. As He prayed to the Father, He acknowledged the will of the Father had been done through the Son to deliver the gospel of good news for them to carry to the whole world. Because they were followers of Jesus, these men would become marked opponents of the world. Judas had given into the wiles of Satan and was preparing to deliver Jesus to His executioners. The remaining apostles would take the gospel into the world in a little over fifty days when Pentecost came. Their lives would be in contrast to the world as they lived separate and holy lives preaching the gospel of salvation to the Jew and Gentile alike. This would make them hated by the world. Jesus knew they would accomplish the will of the Father because they were not of the world.

The truth of God is what sanctified Jesus from the world. His word conflicted with the wisdom of men. Jesus had never committed a wrong in His life and yet the world hated Him. He went about doing good and teaching a gospel of peace with a message of judgment. The world despised Him. He was not of the world as something more than being divine. His life contrasted with the carnal wisdom of men who sought to please themselves. Jesus left an example of holiness, purity, and dedication to the will of the Father. He was not of the world because He was of the Father. His example is what God desires of His children to be in the world but not of the world. The truth of the gospel sanctifies or sets apart the heart of those who abide by His will. No man can serve God and be like the world. Jesus was not of the world because He kept the word of God. The Christian cannot be of the world when he keeps the word of God.

Jesus came into the world to not become like the world but to die for the world. Every Christian must be in the world but not be like the world. This is found in obedience and servitude to the kingdom of God. The cross is the defining moment when a man chooses to not be of the world. His life, goals, desires, and plans become the will of the Father. While he walks an earthly pilgrimage, his soul is heavenward bound. Jesus lived with His eyes on the Father. The Christian must know this world is not their home and they are walking toward the Father. Everything about the life of a child of God is measured by the word of God. This will make them enemies of the world, but they are not of the world as Jesus was not of the world. To be a follower of Jesus is to walk the same path as he did. Jesus was not of this world. Are you?

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

What Is Your Goal?

An unknown author said, “In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia.” Everyone can achieve the goals they set for themselves. When a man has no goals, he will always reach what he has aimed at. Some goals take longer to attain but the purpose is not so much the goal but the journey that takes a person to that goal. Climbing a mountain may seem to be an impossible dream but if a man seeks to reach the top, his character will be forged in the spirit of the attempt. Even if he does not reach the top of Everest, his life is changed because of the purpose he possessed attempting the goal. The reality is that most people have no goals and they aimlessly go through life achieving little and having nothing to hope for.  

There are many blessings for the child of God in Christ. One of the joys for the Christian is the ability to lead a goal-oriented life in service to others and God. The apostle Paul was an extraordinary worker for the kingdom of God. His life is a pattern of a person driven by a single goal and the fortitude to seek nothing else in life but that goal. Paul’s goal was to reach the end of his life and to receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, called him to seek. His highest desire was eternal salvation. Every day of his life was tuned into the cause of grace, the purpose of the gospel, and the building of his character to imitate Jesus Christ. He had a goal. There were many things in his past that could hinder his journey because as Saul the persecutor, he had violently sought to destroy the church of Christ. Those things were put behind him as he enjoyed the forgiveness of a loving Father. He pressed forward with a purposed vitality of a certain goal promised by a faithful Lord.

Paul lived with a goal and that changed his life. His goal was to please God. He was not concerned about the praises of men and his preaching reflected Christ crucified and nothing else. In his ministry, he sought to live a quiet life and to work diligently in the cause of Christ. His aim was measured by the daily goals he set for himself to be an example to others. He left an example for Christians to follow. The child of God must have goals to work toward the goal of eternal life. Like Paul, life must be measured by the desire to please God, showing no concern for the whims of men and to live quiet lives filled with godliness and righteousness. This cannot be done if the heart is not focused on those goals.

Michelangelo said, “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” Too often the Christian has no goal in life and meagerly serves God at the minimum. Bible study becomes humdrum, worship is boring and there is little joy in the life of the Christian. Why? There are no goals. When life has no goals – those goals are always met! Make it your aim to put aside anything that hinders you from accomplishing growing in Christ and longing for eternal life. Your life will change incredibly. What is your goal?

Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (1 Peter 2:1-3)

Have You Tasted What The Lord Offers?

There are five basic senses of the human experience. They are taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing. Each of these sensory systems responds to stimuli that produce a response to the brain helping to understand the world around them. The five senses are necessary for the experience of life provided in the material world by the Creator. Taste is a gustatory sensation resulting from materials passing over the tongue and throat producing an experience of pleasure or pain. Through the mechanism of taste, conclusions are derived that will tell the person whether the ingested portion is good or bad. Those things that are most pleasant are desired and sought after. Tasting sour or distasteful things will immediately have a negative response. This is necessary to keep a man safe from harmful things that might enter the body without the warnings of taste.

In a spiritual parable, the five senses of the human experience replicate themselves in knowing God. Faith begins with hearing that moves the spirit to feel a need to change the heart. Seeing the word of God and the grace of God, the aroma of the will of God produces a change in the soul of man to touch the hem of the Lord’s garments for forgiveness. All these senses draw the open heart to taste or experience the wonderful love of a forgiving Father who shares His blessings abundantly to His children. The experience of taste is to discover the nature and quality of the character of God. Nothing is nobler for a man to seek than to experience the heavenly gift and enjoy the feast of God’s love.

The character of taste is to immediately recognize something unpleasant to the tongue or throat. To digest, a sour lemon brings about an immediate reaction. Tasting something that might be poisonous can easily be discerned as saving a life. Peter shows the two-fold character of the spiritual senses found in the Christian. Some things should be distasteful, disgusting, and revolting to the taste of the discerning child of God. Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking should be spewed out of the mouth as repugnant. These are things that should be rejected by the ‘spiritual taste buds’ of those who speak words of grace and live lives of devotion to the Lord. The heart filled with evil will show a life guided by wickedness. Rather, desire the wholesome milk of the word, to grow in the grace of Christ.

Newborn babies love the taste of milk and are one of the first things they experience in life. A baby long without milk will become irritable and unhappy. Without the proper amount of nutrients, the baby will die. Taste is one of the first noticeable experiences of a newborn. Like newborn babies, the Christian will crave the pure spiritual milk so they can grow into a full experience of salvation. No matter how old a child of God is, they still cry out for this nourishment. Those things that are distasteful are rejected and spewed out of the mouth.

Taste is the precursor to the enjoyment of what is digested. A hot cup of coffee warms the body. Enjoying a fine meal brings great satisfaction to the spirit. The sense of taste is fully realized when the experience is felt by the whole body. Tasting the grace of God is the most wonderful experience a man can ever know. Forgiveness is the sensation of pure joy knowing that God promises to wash away all sins (no exceptions) with the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no condemnation to those in Christ and what a delightful taste of joy to know the grace of God. Tasting that the Lord is gracious is to dine at the table of Lord daily counting all the blessings of what it means to be a child of God. There is no greater sensation than when a man comes to the table of the Lord and looks upon the feast of eternal grace. Have you tasted the Lord and found Him gracious?

And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy. Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. (2 Chronicles 36:15-17)

Despising The Word Of God

The word of the Lord is how the world was created. God spoke and the universe containing the earth and all heavenly bodies were formed, established, and determined by the counsel of His wisdom. Everything that exists in the world is held together by the word of God. Adam and Eve disobeyed the word of the Lord and suffered the consequence of sin. When the early world turned away from the word of God, the Lord destroyed all life except Noah and his family. In every generation, the word of the Lord has determined whether a man would live or die. God made a promise to Abraham to make of him a great nation and that his descendants would possess the land of Canaan. Through him, all nations would be blessed in the promise of a son through whom the divine Word would come into the world. Jesus was the Word that died for the sins of all humanity and in His blood, redemption was offered to those who would believe and obey.

Israel was the example of God’s grace, mercy, and love. The people of God also became the pattern to warn men of the consequences of rejecting the word of God. Israel had become an exalted nation among all nations. The Lord blessed them beyond measure, but the heart of the people turned away from God. Following the death of Solomon, the nation of Israel was divided into northern and southern tribes. The northern tribes of Israel immediately rejected the word of God and were destroyed by the Assyrians. In the remaining two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the people of God struggled to keep faith in the word of God. The ultimate failure of Israel came when after repeated warnings from the Lord through His prophets were not heeded and the Lord sent the Chaldeans to take the remaining tribes into bondage.

The fall of Jerusalem came about because the people would not listen to the messengers of the Lord. God sent the His prophets night and day pleading with Israel to change their heart. His love for Israel was full and He had no desire to punish them. Instead of repenting, the people mocked the messengers, despised the preaching of the prophets, and ridiculed the preaching of the word. The wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people. So, the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them who killed their young men with no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. Then Nebuchadnezzar sent his armies taking the people captive to Babylon. The reason this calamity fell upon Israel is that they despised the word of God.

There has never been a time in the history of man that God has not revealed His word to them. From Adam until the coming of the Lord, the word of the Lord is the foundation of truth to save men from their sins. Jesus came as the word to show the way to the Father. He is the truth of the word of God and only in Jesus Christ will a man find eternal life. Through the revealed word of God (the Bible), a man can read and understand the mystery of God leading him to salvation. Yet, most men mock the messengers of God who preach the truth, despise the preaching of the word, and scoff at those who would declare the whole counsel of the Lord. Preaching against sexual immorality is frowned upon. Suggesting there is only one truth or one church is ridiculed. Showing from scripture the New Testament pattern of authority is reviled as out of date and antiquated for the modern world. Sadly, most people today do not accept the word of God as truth.

Israel faced the wrath of God for rejecting His word. There is no hope for those who fail to honor the Bible as the whole counsel of God. Denying the necessity of baptism does not change the word of God. Rejecting the belief the Lord will punish the disobedient in eternal fire will not make hell go away. There is a coming judgment on all those who despise the word of God. Nothing man can do will change the word of God. It is settled in heaven. Adding to the word or taking away from the word will only bring the anger of the Lord. There will be no mercy and no hope. That is how serious God takes those who trifle with His word. There is compassion in the heart of God as He desires all men to be saved. He has given His word to guide those who believe in Him and are willing to obey His word. Man must accept the word of God and obey.

Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he has caught nothing? Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth if it has caught nothing at all? If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it? Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy? (Amos 3:1-8)

The Lord Does Not Roar Without Cause

It was the golden age of the northern tribes of Israel as the nation prospered with great luxury and indulgence. The moral fiber of the people filled with greed and corruption with the rich getting richer and the poor become more impoverished. There was a sense of ease in the land of Zion with the opulence of a haughty spirit that had no time for God. Worship was nothing more than a ritualistic exercise of empty promises filled with the paganistic pursuits of a carnal world. Entering upon the landscape of moral corruption came a shepherd farmer prophet who was outraged and appalled at the decadence he saw among the people of God.

Amos was a man of fiery temperament who despised the hypocrisy of the priests, the corruption of the leaders, and the injustice of the people against one another. He came to the history of Israel in the providential time of God’s wrath upon a rebellious and disobedient people. Within forty years the nation would be destroyed by Assyria. The Lord sent His “angry prophet” to warn His people of the impending doom. Israel was the apple of God’s eye. They had been chosen above all peoples on the earth to serve as an example of grace, love, and mercy. No people were more blessed and privileged than the Hebrews rescued from the bondage of Egypt and yet they were rebellious, defiant, wicked, and unthankful for the blessings of God. Amos declares that Israel will receive a heavier judgment above all nations because they were the chosen of the Lord.

At Mt. Sinai, the Lord and Israel had come to an agreement. The people declared their faithfulness to the covenant established with God through Moses. Less than 700 years later, Israel stood on the threshold of annihilation. Their hearts had turned away from the word of God. None of the kings of the northern tribes served the Lord. The corruption of the land had become a cesspool of idolatry, immorality, debauchery, and carnality. Through the prophets, the Lord sent warnings of impending doom to the people, but they did not repent, and they would not listen. Judgment was coming.

In a series of rhetorical questions, the Lord declares His judgment on Israel. When a man hears a lion roar in the forest, it is because he has caught his prey. A young lion will cry out in his den because he is about to feast on his victim. When a bird falls into a snare he does so because someone set a trap to capture the bird. A city will hear the trumpet warning of an approaching enemy bringing fear to the hearts of the citizens. They know danger is near. All these questions point to the warnings the Lord has sent to Israel to repent and turn back to Him. There will be no excuses offered when the Assyrians march in and take Israel captive. They were warned but refused to change.

The Lord roars today and the young lion is heard through the voice of His word. Through the message of the Bible God has revealed His divine will for humanity yet most men will refuse to acknowledge the warnings. There is a great day coming when the world ceases and all men will stand before the judgment seat of God. All those gathered before the great I AM will not have any excuses to offer of not hearing the roar of God’s wrath upon disobedience. Like the prophet Amos, men have sounded the warnings of doom to those who refuse to obey the word. Most will not hear, and most will be lost. The Lord does nothing unless He reveals his plans to the world through the voice of His word. The lion has roared. Who isn’t frightened? The sovereign Lord has spoken.

Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:24-26)

He Is The Resurrection And The Life

Death is the unwelcome guest of humanity. There is nothing more profound in the joys of life than the reality that life is measured by death. All men die and no matter how hard men have tried to preserve their lives for a future world, the end becomes nothing more than dust and bones. The Egyptian empire is a living testimony of the futility of trying to take the treasures of life through the vale of death. There is no hope in the grave. It is final. Darkness surrounds death. Man is hopeless over the power of death. His mortality is his greatest fear.

Jesus enjoyed a special relationship with His close friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. One day He received an urgent message that Lazarus was sick unto death and that He should come quickly. Rather than leaving immediately, the Lord remained two more days in the place where He was. Finally arriving in Bethany near Jerusalem, Jesus was told that Lazarus had died and had been in the tomb four days. Martha and Mary were distraught at the passing of their brother. Martha knew that if Jesus had arrived earlier Lazarus would not have died yet she believed that anything was possible with God. She had a glimmer of hope that good would come out of the death of her brother. Jesus assured Martha that Lazarus would rise again.

God has always told the faithful there would be a day of resurrection. Abraham believed in the resurrection when he was told to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. Martha knew about the day of resurrection and she believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Her faith in the living God gave her hope that death was not final. She held out hope that Jesus could do the impossible, but she was not certain. When Jesus comes to the tomb and tells them to remove the stone, Martha tells Jesus that Lazarus had been dead for four days and he would be in a state of decomposition. The stench would be clearly felt. Her doubt is confirmed by Jesus when He assures her that if she believed He was the Son of God she would see the glory of God. Calling Lazarus by name, the Lord tells him to come forth. Amazingly, the dead man walks out of the tomb bound in the burial clothes but very much alive. Lazarus has risen from the dead on the fourth day.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life through the power of God who has power over the realm of Hades. God made Hades and one day God will destroy Hades. All men share in the consequence of sin when death passed upon the world. There is nothing man can do to stop death. He can try to live longer but even Methuselah lived to be 969 years and died. Jesus came to bring life in a world of death. It is hard for the human mind to grasp the idea of life after death. No man has gone beyond the vale of death and returned apart from the will of God. The last time anyone was raised from the dead was two thousand years ago.

Life is not a desperate and final journey to nothingness. There is hope in Jesus Christ. Life after death is greater because Jesus is the renewal of the spirit of man to a wonderful world of God’s glory. The greatest miracle man has ever seen is when Jesus died and rose from the dead – and He has never returned to the grave. Lazarus was raised from the dead but then died again. The hope of Jesus as the resurrection is that life after death is eternal. It is real. Jesus is not just the resurrection – He is life. Death is defeated by life and in Christ, there is no condemnation of death. The promise to Martha of life after death is the eternal plan of God to assure the desperate hearts of men that the sadness of this world cannot be compared to the glory of eternal life. Jesus is the resurrection because He lives. The Son of God brings life because He is the resurrection.

The joy of resurrection comes to those who believe that Jesus lives and reigns with the Father. Facing death can be a frightening experience but standing at the vale of tears with open arms is the Son of God who gives the eternal assurance that all who believe in Him will not taste the sting of death. Death for the child of God is a time of joy. Life is filled with tears and sorrow but death for the people of God is when the Father wipes away all the tears. Do you know a child of God that has died? Do not sorrow as those who have no hope. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Our loved ones who have died in Christ live in the eternal joys of Abraham’s bosom. They live and they have no tears. If you believe this then you can find that same joy in your obedience to the word of God. He has promised life. Come to the only one who is the resurrection and the life.

A PSALM OF THANKSGIVING. Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name.

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100)

A Time Of Thanksgiving

Two of the most powerful words in any language is “Thank you.” It is a simple phrase yet powerful in its meaning. There is a feeling of gratitude given with an acceptance of grace received. When a kind deed is done followed by the expression of thanks, it creates an atmosphere of peace and harmony. In human language, to offer thanksgiving is the highest compliment shared between two people. The deepest expression of thanksgiving is discovered when the heart opens the portals of heaven to see the love and kindness of the Lord. There is nothing higher, nobler and completely filling as accepting the gifts of a benevolent God who created, formed, and fashioned every part of humanity. Without the blessings of the Lord, life would not exist. It is not by chance the sun rises and sets. The precision of the universe is determined by the counsel of the Creator. Perfection is found in nature from a perfect designer. The breath of life comes from the hand of God. Nothing in the existence of man continues without the will of the One who formed men from the dust of the ground. He is God. Man is a creation. Thanksgiving is the spirit of those who know the difference.

There are abundant reasons for men to give thanks to the Lord. Gladness must fill the hearts of the grateful who see and know the power of God. As the creation and those formed by a greater hand, all men must acknowledge their place in the scheme of God’s design to form man for His glory. The Lord created man to sing the praises of the Creator. A thankful heart sees the thumbprint of God deeply impressed upon his life in every way. There is nothing that exists that is not established by the will of the Father. It is not the Lord God that comes into the presence of men but those who are formed appearing before the might and power of the potter who fashioned them from dust. Thanksgiving leads the soul to know that the Lord, He is God. He made man. There is nothing made by men that rivals the power of God’s creation. Throughout history, men have created great edifices and monuments. The irony is the world is the true wonder and man had nothing to do with its creation. All that men can say of themselves is they are sheep serving the will of the eternal Shepherd. Who can ascend into heaven to challenge the Lord? The greatest feat accomplished by humanity was to put a man on the moon. Big deal. God holds the universe in the palm of His hand. Who deserves more thanksgiving – God or men?

Knowing the power of God brings a man to enter the presence of his Maker with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. There is none so great as the Lord and man must know that. Worship is when the soul stands before the Lord and blesses the holy name of God. The Lord is good because He is goodness. All men should be thankful for the goodness of God. The mercy of the Lord is without end. It is everlasting. His unfailing love continues forever, and His truth has remained the same since the beginning of time. When the soul of man looks at God and sees His goodness, His mercy, and His truth; what else can a man do but express thanksgiving? The psalmist suggests this kind of thanksgiving is best served with a shout of joy and the sound should fill the earth. Happy Thanksgiving. Let God know what you are thankful for. Serve the Lord.

How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! (Isaiah 14:12)

Lucifer

A text without a context is a pretext. This is one of the most fundamental principles of Biblical exegesis. The Bible is written in such a fashion that requires diligent effort to examine the text in the framework of its context allowing the reader to conclude a meaning desired by God. It is impossible to consider the Lord giving humanity a book that could not be understood. The commandments of God are not burdensome or written in some vague language that few people can read and understand. What happens often is the wisdom of man clouds the meaning of scripture to fill some ideal or philosophy he is attracted to. This is the case with the identity of Lucifer in the book of Isaiah. Many believe Satan was a beautiful angel of God named Lucifer who rebelled against the Lord and was cast from Heaven. While this story fills the mind with fanciful images of intrigue and mystery, nothing is further from the truth.

Lucifer is found in one place in scripture. Isaiah is the only writer who refers to someone as the “day star.” Where the connection of the Lucifer of Isaiah and the devil first appeared is unknown. Some believe the correlation of Jesus’ remark to the returning seventy of how the Lord saw Satan falling from heaven connects the Lucifer of Isaiah with the devil. Nothing in the context of the gospel account says anything about Lucifer. Sadly, the label of Lucifer to Satan is an example of how easy the word of God can be distorted to teach something completely foreign to scripture. The context of Isaiah is clearly defined by a previous verse (Isaiah 14:4) that identifies the subject of the text as the king of Babylon. Whether Isaiah is speaking of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, or a reference to the Babylonian empire, it is clear the prophet is not speaking about Satan.

There are clear warnings against corrupting the word of God. In the Law of Moses, it was forbidden to add or take away from the Law. The apostle John warns in the Revelation not to add to or take away from his book. This principle is an abiding doctrine of God’s word that should not be tampered with by the philosophies of men. What is striking is how many things people believe and hold dear that is not found in the Bible. There is a long list of misguided and uninformed teachings readily accepted by most people. The following is a list of common doctrines never found in scripture: the Pope, a star over the manger of Jesus, wise men visiting Jesus at His birth, salvation by grace alone, salvation by faith alone, salvation by works alone, the names of almost every Protestant church, the early church using instruments of music; and a host of beliefs never found in the Bible too numerous to number.

Lucifer is not Satan. The lesson is a wake-up call for true disciples of Christ to be diligent about what they believe and practice that is NOT found in the word of God. What is forgotten is the danger of going beyond the word or denying the word. Will the Lord hold a man guiltless who adds to His book or refuses to acknowledge His word? It has an eternal consequence. If you find you believe in something you cannot find in scripture, you must reject it. You must let others know what they believe cannot be proven by scripture. When honest hearts follow the Bible and the Bible alone, the religious world will be turned upside down. Let’s start a revolution. Teach only what the Bible teaches. Believe only what the Bible says. Accept only what the word of God declares. Shall we?

So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:6)

He Was Told What To Do

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus is one of the great stories of grace. Paul will later admit that he considered himself the chief of sinners among men. He tried to destroy the early church with every means given to him. Men and women were dragged off to prison. Paul persecuted the followers of Jesus to the death, punishing them in every synagogue and compelling the disciples to blaspheme. On the way to Damascus to bring bound any he would find of the church, the Lord appeared to Saul and warned him against the purpose of his mission. A light shone around him and a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Trembling and astonished, he asked the Lord what He wanted him to do. The Lord told Saul to go into Damascus and he would be told what he must do. He obeys and is led to the house of Judas where he remains three days without sight neither eating nor drinking.

There was a disciple of Christ living in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord comes to Ananias and tells him to go to the house of Judas and talk to Saul of Tarsus. At first fearful of why Saul had come to Damascus, Ananias is reassured by the Lord that his mission to speak with Saul is a divine calling and the persecutor of the church will become a chosen vessel of God before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. Obedient to the divine will, Ananias finds Saul in the house and tells him he would be a witness for Christ to all men. Then Ananias tells Saul to arise and be baptized to wash away his sins. Saul is obedient to the word spoken by Ananias and becomes one of the most influential preachers of the first century.

Saul of Tarsus would become known as Paul the apostle. He would author many letters the early church would use as a foundation to establish the kingdom of God among men. His missionary journeys would open the borders of the church to foreign lands reaching even to Rome itself. The work of Paul is foundational to much of the New Testament doctrine of Christ. His story of conversion is one of the greatest stories of grace. It would be difficult to find many early saints who would have thought Saul of Tarsus would become an apostle named Paul.

When Saul was approaching Damascus, God had a plan for him. The Lord appeared to him and told him he must go into the city and wait for someone to tell him what he must do. God could have told Saul at that moment what he had to do. Jesus could have appeared to Saul and like Nicodemus explained everything Saul needed to know about being a Christian. The Holy Spirit could have miraculously filled the heart of Saul with the power of the gospel. That was not the plan of God. Saul was told to go into the city and he would be told what to do. No angel told him. A man came and opened the word of truth and Saul obeyed. He was not coerced into going into the city. There was never a time he was forced to be baptized for the remission of his sins. Saul was told what to do and he obeyed the word of the Lord. Through his obedience, Saul of Tarsus became a Christian.

The pattern of faith comes from hearing the word of God is the fundamental character of conversion. The Treasurer of Ethiopia had a man called Phillip to come and open the word of God to him. Peter was sent to Cornelius and his household to tell him words by which he and his household would be saved. The avenue of words is how the gospel works. Saul was not saved on the road to Damascus. His salvation did not come until three days later when Ananias came and spoke words to him. The Ethiopian eunuch, Cornelius, and his household, and Saul of Tarsus were told words whereby they could be saved. They all obeyed the word of God because they believed and accepted the word as truth. No one forced them to obey the word. They were told what to do and with honest hearts, obeyed. Salvation comes through the teaching of God’s word. No angel will appear to tell you what you must do. Jesus will not come and speak to you in some small still voice. The Bible is the word of God given to you to read, understand, and obey. If you do not obey the word, you will not be saved. Like Saul, you must go into the city and be told what to do. Without faith in the word of God and obedience to the will of God, there can be no joy and no remission of sins.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not, therefore, be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years, the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 45:3-8)

Sent By God

Joseph’s life is an extraordinary series of events that would crush the hearts of most men yet for the favored son of Jacob, he had a resilient spirit of faith. At the age of seventeen, the brothers of Joseph sold him into a world of slavery. Bound as a prisoner and no longer treated with great favors, Joseph was taken to Egypt where he was sold in the slave market to an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh. Life was harsh at first but changed for the better as the Lord blessed Joseph and the house of Potiphar. In time, Joseph was made overseer of the house. He enjoyed a respite from the hard circumstances of a slave until Potiphar’s wife began to cast longing eyes upon the handsome Hebrew slave. She tried to seduce Joseph but was rebuffed. This did not dissuade her until a day came when she tried to force herself upon Joseph. He ran from her but left his garment in her hand. Humiliated by the slave, Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of trying to rape her. Angered by the accusation, Potiphar threw Joseph into the king’s prison.

As a young man in his late teens or early twenties, Joseph must have reeled from the terrible circumstances that seemed to plague him. He had unjustly been abused by his brothers, treated like a slave, sold on the open market as nothing more than a piece of human flesh and when everything seemed to be getting better for him, he stood accused of trying to seduce the wife of Pharaoh’s captain of the guard. As he sat in the king’s prison it would be easy for Joseph to give up and curse God. He had tried to serve the Lord with all faithfulness, but every turn was against him. Languishing in prison did not lend itself to help the young man see his path in life. Joseph had experienced the joy of overcoming the plight of a slave in Potiphar’s house as he was elevated to one of authority but now his life came crashing down upon him again.

Prison was a difficult world. Joseph once again picked himself up, trusted the Lord, and did the best he could do. His earlier experience in Potiphar’s house was confirmed again. The Lord blessed him in his prison work and the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. Life for Joseph was better, but he was still an inmate falsely charged with no end in sight of his sentence. Sometime later, Pharaoh’s chief butler and chief baker offended the king and placed them in prison. Joseph was a caring man and noticed the new prisoners were upset. After learning they had had troubling dreams, Joseph interpreted the dreams for the men. The butler would be restored to his duties, but the baker would be hanged. When the butler was released from prison, Joseph implored him to seek the mercy of Pharaoh and find a way to get Joseph out of prison. It would be two years before Joseph would be remembered and through another series of divine events with Pharaoh having troubling dreams, Joseph is released and elevated to a ruler of Egypt under Pharaoh. When the famine came upon the world, the brothers of Joseph came to Egypt to buy grain. They could not know the man they spoke with was their brother. In time, Joseph revealed himself to the brothers and the family has reunited again with Jacob seeing the face of his beloved son.

It was twenty-two years from the time Joseph was sold into slavery until he was revealed to his brothers. They had treated young Joseph cruelly and terribly. Joseph had every right of human wisdom to hate and despise his brothers and to be angry with God. When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he revealed an important characteristic of his faith that saw him through the impossible years of Egyptian slavery. Joseph believed everything in his life was in the purpose of God. He tells the brothers that while they sold him out of hatred, it was God’s plan to send the young Hebrew to Egypt to save the world. They thought he was dead, but Joseph would save their lives. God sent Joseph to Egypt, not the brothers.

The kernel of faith where a man trusts in the will of God to move and direct his life is a story of Biblical proportion. Joseph maintained his faith in God without reservation. The Lord blessed Joseph because Joseph trusted in God. To think a seventeen-year-old would possess that kind of faith is not remarkable; it is something established in him by his parents. The life of Joseph is the power of believing that I am here with a purpose and as a child of God I want the Lord to use my life for His glory. Overlooked and forgotten is the power of a godly life in a community, on the job, in a congregation, and the light that shines in the world as a faithful and devoted servant of the Most High God. When death comes and life is fading away, may it be said of our lives that God put us in this world to lead others to Christ. You did not send me – God did.