The Heaton File

Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.” And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. And the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim). Then the land had rest from war. (Joshua 14:6-15)

He Wholly Followed The Lord

When the children of Israel first came to Canaan, their hearts melted within them because of the giants in the land. Ten spies returned from surveying the land telling the people there was no hope to conquer Canaan. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh had a different story. Along with Joshua, they had pleaded with the people to trust in the power of God gaining victory over the inhabitants of a land promised to them. Because of their unbelief, God punished the nation with forty years of wandering in the wilderness as the rebellious generation died. Caleb must have been heartbroken. At the age of forty years, the promised land was an invitation to enjoy the blessings of God. He would have to wait forty-five years to live out his dream. At the age of eighty-five, Caleb still had fight left in him.

The Anakim were giants in the land. A greater giant stood among the people of God. Caleb was not just a man who stood with the Lord. The Holy Spirit makes emphasis that this man of Judah wholly followed the Lord. This was not just a Sunday-go-to-meeting kind of man who served God when it was convenient. Caleb was a man who at the age of forty wholly followed the Lord and continued to do so at the age of eighty-five. He wholly followed the Lord God of Israel because his life was immersed in the power of God. He had seen the affliction of the people while living in Egypt. His eyes saw the wonder of the Lord’s power inflict destruction upon the nation of Pharaoh. The parting of the Red Sea never left his mind. Sinai thrilled Caleb to hear the thunderous majesty of God’s presence. The book of the Law was his delight. When he spied the land with Joshua, he could only see the word of the Lord coming true in victory over the people of Canaan. His trust remained in the Lord as he had to endure forty years of trials and tribulations. Victory at Jericho and the conquering of the land guaranteed his faith in the promise of his God. Old age did not diminish his faith. He wholly followed the God that saved him.

We need the faith of Caleb. It is one thing to be a follower of Christ but there is something different about wholly following the Lord. It is easy to become a Christian of ‘once-in-a-while’ service doing as little as needed to keep our membership active. What separated Caleb from others was he lived the Lord God, he breathed the Lord God, he spoke the words of the Lord God, he dressed for the Lord God, he thought about everything in the word of the Lord God. Everything about his life – everything – was service to the Lord. Can we do less?

Jesus died on the cross. He wholly followed the Father. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must bear a cross. One thing is certain when you bear a cross for Christ. You have to be committed. You are going in one direction. Whatever happens is no longer your control. Crucifixion is wholly following the Lord. Whether we are forty or eighty-five, our hearts must be entirely focused on serving the one who died for us. It is time to be serious about our commitment to Jesus Christ.

Faith is more than intellectual acceptance of the revelation in Jesus Christ; it is whole-hearted trust in God and His promises, and committal of ourselves to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. (Walter M. Horton, Christian Theology, 1955)

Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?” Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph. And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come. So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him. Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him.

Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!” But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” David said furthermore, “As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.” So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them. And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Do you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you, calling out to the king?” So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.”

Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” And he said, “Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand? Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.” Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.” And David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it. May the Lord repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.” Then Saul said to David, “May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still prevail.” So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place. (1 Samuel 26)

Respect For The Lord’s Anointed

David was a man after God’s own heart in many ways. His courage before Goliath is legendary. The prose of his poetry has lifted spirits for generations. Infidelity  marred his story with the affair of Bathsheba and murder of Uriah, her husband. The stories of his sons rebelling against him are tragic. There is one story that shows the deep love he had for the Lord God when he is being pursued by Saul. The king is seeking to kill David. Jealousy has destroyed the heart of Saul and he chases the son of Jesse through the countryside like a partridge in the mountains or looking for a flea. It is story that will end in the death of king Saul and his sons. In a contrast of characters, David refuses to harm the man who is trying to kill him.

This will not be the first time David has come so close to Saul to kill him. Earlier, the king was sleeping in a cave and David slipped in cutting off a corner of Saul’s robe. He restrained his men from killing Saul for the same reason he now refuses to harm the king. David understood what it meant for the Lord to choose Saul as king. He was the “Anointed One.” The Anointed One was the chosen of God. David also waited for the will of the Lord to be accomplished. It was not David’s place to go ahead of the Lord to decide how Saul would die. He had told Abishai the Lord would strike Saul and David would not presume to act on God’s behalf. Judgment came later when the Philistines fought against Israel killing Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. Mortally wounded by archers, Saul fell on his sword and died. After the death of Saul, an Amalekite came to David seeking fame in the death of Saul. He claimed to have killed Saul and David had him executed for putting his hand against the Lord’s anointed.

Respect is such an important part of the relationship with God. When men begin to presume they know what God’s will is without seeking the counsel of the Lord they fail in showing honor to the word of God. David honored the Lord by respecting the will of God. He did not go beyond His word. Understanding that Saul was the anointed one governed the actions of the man of God. We can do no less to follow only the word of God. David trusted in the word of God to be accomplished in its own way without forcing the question. He could have killed Saul on two occasions but he had no authority from God to do so. Respecting the word of God is letting the will of the Lord be the only guide. Religion today is misguided by the principles that men know more than God. They think they have a better way and God approves. The word of the Lord remains unchanged. Respecting the word for its foundational truth of obedience is necessary to be pleasing to God. It matters not what I think. It matters everything what God says.

Now that is a great story.

And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste.’ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God; ‘it shall become plunder for the nations. Also her daughter villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’ “For thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people. He will slay with the sword your daughter villages in the fields; he will heap up a siege mound against you, build a wall against you, and raise a defense against you. He will direct his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. Because of the abundance of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen, the wagons, and the chariots, when he enters your gates, as men enter a city that has been breached. With the hooves of his horses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people by the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of the water. I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more. I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,’ says the Lord God. (Ezekiel 26:1-14)

His Word Is Still True

Prophecy is one of the greatest proofs of the veracity of the Bible. These are not mere guesses or conjecture. Bible prophecy is the word of God seen in its fulfillment, the force of its argument is confirmed year after year, and the clear evidence that can be seen with the eyes. Ezekiel writes about the many nations surrounding Israel and reminding the people of God those who deal harshly with His people will be punished. The city of Tyre was no exception. Judgment would come hard upon these people as her strongholds would be destroyed with many nations coming against her. Originally, the city was inland. Nebuchadnezzar is named as one of the kings who would cast battlements against the city razing it to the ground. One of the remarkable parts of the prophecy is when the ruins of the city are cast into the sea.

When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, he came to Tyre and laid siege to the city for thirteen years. When the city fell, the inhabitants fled to a small island about one half mile from the coast. The people were secure on their island fortress until the arrival of Alexander the Great in 333 BC. Refusing to capitulate to Alexander, the Greeks took the ruins of the old city of Tyre and threw them into the sea building a causeway gaining access to the city walls. After a seven month siege, the city fell in July 332 BC.

It would seem improbable when Ezekiel wrote the prophecy about Tyre the events would unfold in exact detail. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the word of God is true to every detail. The city ruins were cast into the sea and her foundation was scraped bare. In any generation, travelers will marvel at the causeway that remains – leading out to the ruins of the tiny island; and there in plain sight are nets spread across the rocks. Ezekiel’s prophecy remains fulfilled today.

Looking at the Bible through the evidence of present truth should impress upon the reader that everything else in the Bible is true. Fulfilled prophecy is of the highest caliber of proof to the message of God. If what is said about Tyre is shown to be true in every detail, everything else in the Bible will find its fulfillment in the words God spoke to all men. There is a man called Jesus who is the Son of God. Sin is real. Salvation is real. Hope is promised and truth is absolute. There will be a day of reckoning and judgment. Nothing is to be left out when we read the Bible. Believe it and obey it. The grace of God infuses its pages with the promise that His word is true.

To declare a thing shall come to be, long before it is in being and then to bring about that very thing according to the same declaration – this or nothing, is the work of God. (Justin Martyr)

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God. (Romans 1:1)

First Things First

Paul, James, Peter and Jude share a common bond. They each begin their epistles with the designation of themselves being “bondservants” of God. This word has little significance to our modern minds that are horrified by the idea of slavery. It was a very common word in the New Testament times because it was normal to see a servant or slave carrying out their duties under the hand of a master. Some became slaves as the Romans conquered nations subjecting the citizens to slave labor. Others became slaves because of debt and served under temporary conditions. No matter the reason, a slave was a person who gave up all their rights to serve to the wishes of the master.

Ralph Walker pointed out in a lesson recently the text of Romans 1 was significant because of the order Paul declared his pedigree. We all recognize Paul as the great apostle to the Gentiles who wrote most of the books of the New Testament. His missionary journeys fill the pages of Luke’s historical account of the early disciples. There were few men like Paul and fewer men today who measure to his stature. Writing to the Roman church, he begins his epistle in a manner characteristic of the humility of Jesus Christ. He does not boast of his place as an apostle or a man sent directly by God. His message is filled with admonitions of showing the Roman Christians the grace of God in perfect love. The readers will be startled to hear of the need to obey civil government and having a love for one another regardless of nationality. He begins his letter with servitude.

Paul sets the tone of the epistle in the verse few words. Paul was a bondservant. He did not begin with his apostleship. His message was one of humility. The pattern of service to the Lord must begin with servitude before it can show its true work. Everything begins with a cross. Other writers will use the same course in their letters expressing the need to be bondservants. This was not literary prose. The significance of Paul’s order was the feeling in the heart of his relationship with God and the importance of showing the brethren an example of true humility. There was much that Paul could boast as an apostle. He was a power broker in the community of Christians. However, to the heart of Paul, he was a slave to the mastery of Jesus Christ.

His letter shows that he was a servant and then he was called as an apostle. There is significance between the two. The first is what Paul was. The second was what he had become by God’s grace. He would not enjoy the second without the first. It was important to show to the brethren what must come first. The lesson still resonates with the hearts of God’s people today. First things first come from a heart of humility that knows the power of slavery to the Lord Jesus Christ. We serve a loving master who will care for us in every way. To be a faithful Christian we must first subjugate our whole lives to the will of the Father. First, become a servant. Then comes the work. Giving up our rights to the will of God is where we learn the heart of humility. Christians are bondservants. We serve. He rules. We obey. He commands. We hope. He promises. Thank God for the joy of being a bondservant of Jesus Christ.

True humility never makes a show of herself, nor uses many humble words. (Francis of Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, 1609)

I cried out to God with my voice – to God with my voice; and He gave ear to me. In the day of my trouble, I sought the Lord; my hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.

You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search. Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?

And I said, “This is my anguish; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the works of the Lord; surely, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds. Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; who is so great a God as our God? You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You, they were afraid; the depths also trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightning’s lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, and Your footsteps were not known. You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalm 77; To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.)

I Remembered God And Was Troubled

Life is filled with troubles that often seem to overwhelm. It is not uncharacteristic for people of God to be troubled by the calamities that try the soul as in the story of Job. These faith-building experiences temper the steel of one’s resolve to look more closely to the Father in heaven. Asaph was not a stranger to the heartaches of life. Whatever misfortune he was living through was so difficult he could find no rest in sleep. It was a long night with no answers. Pleading to the Lord would find comfort but only after a difficult road of measuring faith against the harshness of his troubles.

The psalmist could not sleep. Troubles overwhelmed him all through the night. He pondered the memories of his past seeking refuge in the knowledge of the protecting hand of the Lord. His trial causes him to question if the Lord will deliver him. Was the trouble from others or was it something he brought upon himself? He worries that God will cast him off forever and show no mercy upon his plight. The affliction of his soul is rooted in the knowledge of how severe the judgment hand of God is upon unrighteousness. Can it be that God is so angry with Asaph there is no more mercy? His heart is troubled. He is vexed sorely.

Asaph was a man of experienced faith. Facing the darkest hour of his trial and feeling abandoned, the psalmist knew the joy of God’s eternal mercy and grace. Whatever he was burdened by, the man of God remembered the love of the Lord in his life. Through the years, the Lord had never forsaken him. The works of God were profoundly impressed on his mind. Asaph secured his life on the word of God finding the answers to hope within its pages. Worship was key to his deliverance. He would not abandon the Lord because the Lord had never abandoned him. His ending was abrupt but the point had been made in this powerful psalm. Facing deep troubles, Asaph found courage in remembering everything about God. He remembered God’s love, mercy, grace, power and love. That is all he needed to sustain him.

All of us face trials and troubles in life. There are days that overwhelm. Everything seems to be crashing down around us and upon us. There is little joy. We may even question where God is when these days come. Asaph reminds us to remember the Lord. Take time to remember that God will never forsake us or leave us – He will never abandon us. The trials may be part of our character building to give us deeper faith and hope. Like fire tempering metal, our lives need those difficult days to remind us to remember the Lord. He has not changed and will always deliver us from the furnace of trial. Remember! Evoke the power of God in your mind to know He will never allow His children to be tempted beyond what we can endure. He will never allow this. Remember that!

Everyone knows how to be resigned amid the joys and happiness of prosperity, but to be so amid storms and tempests is peculiar to the children of God. (Francis of Sales; 1567-1622, Consoling Thoughts of, ed. Huguet)

Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John–where was it from? From heaven or from men?” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. (Matthew 21:23-27)

The Necessity Of Authority

It was clear that Jesus of Nazareth was not like any teacher the people had seen. His teaching was with the voice of authority that no man could challenge. He did not seek to please men. Jesus spoke the way of God in truth caring not about anyone or regarding the person of men. When the Jewish leaders came to Him, they recognized the power of His teaching as one of authority. They also recognized the two elements of authority necessary to establish truth: first, the need for authority; second, the need for authority to be given by a higher power.

In the Roman world, authority was very clear. The only way the officials could hold together the empire was to establish clear boundaries of authority. Kings and governors ruled over the land of Canaan because authority had been given to them by higher powers in the Roman government. The Jews felt the sting of this authority as it had subjugated the nation of God under the rule of harsh taskmasters. Roman rule was evident in every part of life and going beyond this authority was the peril of death.

Answering the question of the Jewish leaders, Jesus establishes the character of authority. There are only two kinds of authority: that which proceeds from heaven and that which comes from man. No other kind of authority exists. The rule of law among men is necessary for nations to exist. Men have established boundaries since the beginning of time as they carve out their lands to distinguish them from their neighbors. Rule of law establishes the conduct of the citizens. The Jews also recognized the law of God and the need for authority in matters of worship to the Lord. However, they had changed the law of God to fit their own desires corrupting the will of the Lord to carnal desires.

Jesus placed authority on its proper level. Authority is necessary. Without it, there would be anarchy. Heaven established the first authority as the word of God was spoken to man. The Lord allowed man to establish a body of authority to properly govern the people. There can be no other authority. The baptism of John was either from God or from man. Not willing to be shown ignorant, the Jewish leaders simply refused to answer. This did not change the fact of authority and that John’s baptism was from God. Jesus taught a powerful lesson on the requirement to establish everything by authority.

The religious world is filled with every imaginable denomination of faith devised by man. In blind ignorance, many act as if religious diversity is pleasing to God. In churches throughout the land, there is no understanding of authority or the need for authority. The beliefs, practices, organization and plans of the church are not based upon what the Bible says but what the whims of the people want. When authority is removed from the teaching of God, it becomes the authority of man. Why are there so many churches? Simple. There is no authority. When there is no authority, anarchy reigns. Anarchy is disorder or chaos and it is easy to see with so many different kinds of churches why the Bible is so hard to understand. Man refuses to establish authority from the Bible alone.

Authority is necessary. The basis of judgment will be on one authority – the word of God. All of the authority of man will be gone. There will be nothing left to appeal to but the word of God. It will be then that most people will recognize the importance of authority.

Authority permeates, guides, shapes our lives. The acceptance of authority is the acceptance of what is given by those who have more than we. (Paul Tillich, The New Being, 1955)

They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him. And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” (John 9:34-39)

Jesus Went Looking For Him

Being born blind is a sad life in many ways. On the first level, there is no knowledge of what the world looks like so they never know what they are missing. There is no reference point to use if someone describes what he or she sees. A person born blind is not as handicap for the same reason because their world has always been in darkness. The greatest tragedy is the blind cannot see the beauty of God’s creation. There are many reasons why a child can be born blind and this would be especially difficult in the Bible times. Not understanding the science of blindness, people were treated harshly.

While in Jerusalem Jesus and His disciples came upon a man born blind from birth. The disciples used the poor man as an object lesson to inquire who was to blame for his condition. Always the teacher, the Lord took the opportunity to show His power among His disciples and healed the blind man; anointing the eyes with clay and saliva and telling the man to wash in the pool of Siloam. To the amazing joy of the man, he came back seeing. It is wonderful to consider what he thought of as he first viewed the world with his new eyes. There can be little doubt the first person he wanted to talk to was the voice that healed him. To his disappointment, the man called Jesus had left.

The first hours of his new life were very hard. He was taken before the Pharisees and grilled about his healing. His parents were brought in to confirm he had been blind. Finding no satisfaction to their questions, they cast the former blind man out of the synagogue. This must have been a horrible day for the man. He had been blind from birth. A stranger named Jesus had healed him of the impossibility. The first few hours of his sight-seeing life had been filled with anger and hatred. He may have wished he had his blindness back so he would not see the angry faces of the Pharisees. The Jewish leaders had ridiculed him and cast him out of the synagogue. How humiliating and sad he must have felt. Little did he know someone was coming to see him.

Jesus heard what happened to the man and here is where the story takes a powerful turn. The Lord came looking for him. Of all the people in the whole of the city, Jesus was looking for one man. Because Jesus had left before the blind returned from the pool of Siloam, he did not know what Jesus looked like. In a moment of great emotional relief, the blind man looked into the eyes of Jesus and saw his savior. Jesus came for him. Jesus came looking for one man and he was the one. What a joy to speak to the one who saved him. “Lord I believe,” he proclaimed and he worshipped Jesus.

This story is the revelation of God’s Son. I am blind but now I see. The sweat and tears of my Lord was mixed with blood and He anointed my eyes with His grace so that I can see His love. At the cross, Jesus bathed my life with the waters of life. He anointed me with His mercy to take away the darkness of my sin. He came for me. He came for you. His life will give you sight to see what cannot be seen without His power. We need to proclaim, “Lord I believe” and we must worship to one who gave us sight. He came to find us and to save us. Thank you Lord.

Now it is faith to believe that which you do not yet see; and the reward of faith is to see that which you believe. (Augustine; 354-430; Sermon XLIII)

As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.” They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. (John 8:30-45)

Three Fathers

Following the attempt to trap Jesus with the adulterous woman, the Pharisees challenged the witness of the Lord as being untrue. Jesus always deferred to the will of His Father and the Pharisees asked Him to declare who His father was. Throughout His teaching, He would speak of the relationship He shared with the heavenly Father causing anger among the Jewish leaders. They could not see the works He did as evidence of His Sonship with the Father. Their hearts were filled with the pride of the ancestral Jewish heritage rooted in being children of Abraham. It is interesting they told Jesus they had never been in bondage to anyone. Somehow they forgot the captivities of Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greeks and now the Romans.

Jesus acknowledges the Jews were the descendants of Abraham from the physical seed but they failed to see the importance of being the seed of Abraham in the spiritual sense. If they were the children of Abraham by faith, they would see that Jesus was the Son of God. Instead, they sought to kill Jesus. Their hearts were not guided by the word of truth but the word of their heritage. They boldly proclaimed that Abraham was their father and Jesus turned their argument against them saying Abraham would have accepted Jesus as the Son of God. The Jews respond by saying that God was their father and they had only one father. Playing on the use of ‘father,’ Jesus again tells them they are acting like another father – the devil. The end of this conversation angered the Jews so much they took up stones to throw at Jesus but He hid Himself and passed by.

The Jews prided themselves in being the children of Abraham more than being the children of God. They boldly proclaimed God was their father but their hearts told a different story. If they were children of Abraham, they would only be children of God. Abraham was never intended to be worshipped as a replacement for the one true Father. Physical heritage does not save a man. Being a child of Abraham did not save a person. Having the faith of Abraham would save a man. In the end, the unbelieving Jews were children of Satan because they built their hope on a heritage of man’s pride.

Salvation will only come to those who seek the one true Father – Jehovah God. Being born to a ‘Christian family’ does not save a person. The blessings of being raised in a home where God is the center will not bring about salvation simply because of a physical heritage. True faith comes from a heart that believes, accepts and embraces the love of the one true Father on a personal basis. Going to church services every week does not make a Christian. Doing all the right things in the right way does not make a Christian. Claiming a father’s heritage of the flesh will not save. Obedience comes from a heart devoted to the Heavenly Father. When we follow any other father – we really serve Satan.

Faith, like the whole Christian life, is an encounter in which God takes and keeps the initiative. (Eugene Joly, What is Faith, 1958)

For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. (2 Thessalonians 3:11-15)

Tough Love Is Hard To Do

The church of the New Testament was not a perfect group. Satan would not take long to inflict the early church with sinful practices, attitudes and actions that brought reproach on the work of the Lord. In the beginning, harmony filled the ranks of the first Christians. The church at Jerusalem was a model church to follow. Soon, the devil had his way with people like Ananias and Sapphira. Murmuring began among the Hellenists, prejudice against the Hebrews became a problem, false doctrines began to be circulated among the churches and places like the city of Corinth hosted many problems for the local church. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

Paul, writing to the church at Thessalonica, highlighted some of the challenges faced by the early disciples. People were not wanting to work and causing problems among the brethren. Busybodies were going from house to house causing dissension, division and disharmony. The church was being hammered by the attitudes of ungodly hearts seeking to turn the church of the Lord into a carnal group of self-seekers. It was taking its toll. Action was needed and Paul had the answer.

Discipline is never a pleasant thing especially when it involves the punitive side. The necessity of this action is understood from what happens if nothing is done. To allow the fracturing of the church in Thessalonica to continue would mean its eventual downfall. The apostle had heard of the problems in the church and commanded the brethren to take the appropriate action. His words were commands and exhortation but filled with authority. The busybodies were to be commanded to cease from their sinful practices and mind their own business. Love must fill the church in kind actions and words. Forgiveness was exhorted to build relationships of unity among the brethren. Attitudes of hearts must be changed to grow without being weary.

The toughest part of Paul’s admonition is the command to take action against those who refused to repent. After all else has failed and the saints refuse to stop their pernicious actions, they were to be disciplined by letting the congregation know of their unrepentant heart and the command to not have an intimate relationship with the rebellious brethren. This was not a choice. This was a command. The purpose of the action was to bring shame (if possible) to the hearts of the rebellious. Attitudes were important because the sinful brethren were still brethren – not enemies. However, until they repented, the brother or sister who refused to obey the command of God was to be disciplined. It was tough love but it was love from a heart seeking to save a soul.

Two thousand years has not changed the command as Paul wrote to Thessalonica. There are still times within the body of Christ that sin must be challenged and adjudicated in the proper manner of God’s will. We must seek to maintain the purity of the church by following the command of God – not the carnal opinions of man.

In times of prosperity, the church administers; in times of adversity, the church shepherds. (Fulton J. Sheen, The Priest Is Not His Own, 1963)

Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. (Proverbs 27:20)

Enough Is More Than I Have

It is hard to imagine the number of people who have died since the beginning of time. At present, there are a little over six billion people living on planet earth. With each century, millions of lives are lost to an endless parade to the grave. Wars, famine, disease, and natural causes all lend themselves to the constant flow of death. In a twist of observations, the wise man suggests that while the grave seems never to be full – so the desires of man are never enough. There has never been a time when men could truly say that all they ever desired or wanted was complete. The horizon always has a tantalizing appeal of seeking what is beyond. Oceans have been traversed seeking new lands, continents have given up age-old secrets and the heavens above are plumbed for every ounce of information. In the long quest of man seeking greater heights, he finds at the end of his journey an empty expanse calling him to look for more. There never is enough.

For the most part, the pursuit of the unknown has driven man to find more about the world he inhabits. Science has expounded the knowledge of the beautiful world created by the hand of God. Seeking answers is embedded in the need of man to know everything he can. Sadly, this same desire has destroyed man. The appetite of the flesh is insatiable. Failing to see the nature of sin as only a temporary pleasure, man pursues more and more of what he desires filling a bottomless cup with what he believes is enough. Working a lifetime to have enough money to be happy is like trying to fill the vast caverns of death with all the people who have died. It cannot be done. The lesson of the wise man is to realize the failed theology of getting enough is impossible. Having enough will always be a little more than we have. Pleasure will always drive the hungering passion for more.

The word ‘enough’ is a funny word because so often it never means what it says. “If only I can have enough of this or that I will be happy,” the reckless proclaim. The eyes of man are never full. They will always be looking for something more, something else, and something new, and something more exciting, and something … sufficient? Never happens. A lifetime can never make possible the filling of the desires of the flesh. Yet the aim of most people is to gain enough.

Jesus came to give us all we need. There is a way to have everything we seek in life and enjoy the blessing of unending happiness. It is found in a relationship with the Son of God. Jesus came to give peace and hope to the desperate hearts of men seeking the elusive dreams of enough. In Christ, we can be full yet never satisfied. A lifetime can never complete the full picture of who God is and the love of His Son. The greatest joy is to know that a day will come when we can truly say, “enough is enough.” Death will be enough because beyond the shadow of the grave is all we need. What a joy that will be to have enough in the presence of our Father.

What care I though I have not much, I have as much as I desire, if I have as much as I want; I have as much as the most, if I have as much as I desire. (Arthur Warwick, Spare Minutes, 1637)