 What do you do when you’ve had your quiet time, prayed, and you come away with a sense that you’ve basically gotten nothing from the Lord for the day? This is a question I wanted to tackle because it is my guess that just about every Christian has mornings like this.
First of all, let’s address this from the sin point of view. If we are in known sin from which we have yet to repent - this will be the norm. If we think we’re going to have a wonderful time alone with God when we are in conscious known sin, we are kidding ourselves. The Word of God is very clear on this matter. “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” (Psalm 66:18) Not only will He not hear - but usually when He speaks - it will only be to deal with the area of rebellion until repentance is embraced. Something I feel the necessity of saying is that He does this because He loves us. Scripture says God disciplines those He loves. But when this is ruled out we are still left wondering why it seemed like God did not do anything at all in our time alone with Him. Second, let’s address this from the emotions point of view. We all want emotions - at least when we think that they are going to be good. But life is not a series of incredible emotions that are guaranteed every day. The emotion with which I loved my wife on my wedding day and subsequent honeymoon was a very high point in our marriage. The emotion we had at the birth of each of our six children was a high point in life. The emotions I had when I went up to preach my very first sermon to Calvary Chapel was a high point. But there have been many days as a husband, father, and pastor that were not equally as high. In fact, to wonder why every day isn’t that high, emotionally speaking, is ridiculous. I still love my wife - love my children - and love the congregation I pastor when I have average emotional days - and even when I have bad and horrible days emotionally. That is called living. Too often we paint the Christian life as one high after another - or like some kind of trip to an amusement park with thrill ride after thrill ride. That is a disservice to others on this path. A normal person has a normal range of emotions - up, down, and often - somewhat blah at times. To have a continuous high cheapens who we are to be in Christ. Jesus knew highs and lows and everything in between. To have a somewhat blah-zay time alone with God is not horrifically abnormal. This takes me to the third thing we need to consider. Third there is the matter of faithfulness. Sherie and I do not have daily earth-shattering conversations. Most days we talk - and it is fairly normal, run of the mill, how was your day honey - kind of conversations. Because there is not a rush of emotion every time we speak does not make me doubt either her love for me or my love for her. We are faithful in really emotional times - and in times when the emotions don’t run as high. One of the things we need to remember is that God wants us to be faithful to Him. Therefore, when we have a really average time alone with God, or worse, a series of those average times - do we stop making time to be alone with God? The only way to build faithfulness in a life - is for there to be times when little more than faithfulness is why we keep going. We have things we value - regardless of whether they come with daily warm fuzzies or not. I value God - and value the relationship He has given to me through Jesus Christ. Whether I leave my time alone with Him high as a kite - or feeling very “non-feeling” will have no effect on whether I will continue to seek Him in the future. I seek Him BECAUSE I love Him - and I love Him because He first loved me. He values faithfulness - therefore I, too, will value it - with Him - with my wife - with my children - and with God’s saints. Truly - valuing faithfulness helps often with reaching out to the lost - because very often I get little back in response at first when sharing the gospel. But God calls me to love them and to share His Word with them - which requires (shocker alert) faithfulness. The last (but certainly not exhaustive) matter is that of the silences of God. There are times when all seems to go silent in our spiritual lives. I’ve read many biographies of godly men and women who all testify to these times. Some call them the dark night of the soul while others refer to them as the silences of God. Whatever they are called, they are disturbing when they come. David spoke of one of these when he said these words: How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. Psalm 13:1-4 The silence of God disturbed David - it spiritually freaked him out. He wondered where God was. He had a longing to see God’s face. He desired God’s counsel - and the way that God would enlighten his eyes like He previously had in days gone by. He looked at how his being shaken in his confidence in God would cause those who hate God to rejoice. Now, I have to confess that I purposely left out verses 5-6 of this Psalm. David was shaken somewhat by what he thought was God’s absence - or at least disinterest in fellowship with him. In a way I believe that this was by design. The design behind it was for David to see how futile life was without God. The design was for David to recognize that there was no other God for him but Jehovah. That threw him even more dependent and needy upon God. Such words are not written because a person is disinterested in God or had an apathy about his or her spiritual life. These are the words of the true believer who is “desperate for God!” Peter spoke such words in John 6 when he said, “Where else can we go? You alone have the words of life!” Now I’ll share the rest of Psalm 13. But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:5-6 David goes from despair to trust - i.e. faith! One can almost hear him lifting these words to the heavens. “I’ve trusted your covenant-love.” Even as he lifts them there - he speaks them also to himself deep within his heart. This first phrase speaks of God’s covenant with Israel - and later His covenant with David. God made promises - and He WILL keep them. David turns from emotion to the Word. He turns from feelings to faith. I have trusted in Your promises. But next David says, “My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation” He turns from God’s promises to God’s prior works. He remembers the salvation of God - how God worked in him and he again shouts to the heavens, “I’ve trusted what You promised - and I will choose to rejoice in what You’ve done.” It is wise in our blah moments to remember the mercies and grace of God given to us in salvation. As we remember His salvation - we need to speak it to our heart - and speak it with our heart as well. Then David finishes with a song. “I will sing to Jehovah, because He has dealt bountifully with me.” Please note that exclamation points are not used here. I’m glad they were not - because I believe David is not speaking from excess emotion within himself. He is speaking truth TO himself. Remember what God has both promised and done requires singing. But what if we don’t feel like singing? Sing anyway, because deep down that is probably what David was doing. He sang of how Jehovah had dealt “bountifully” with him. The word for “bountifully” is the Hebrew word “gamal” which means to recompense or to bring to a good completion. But it can also mean, “to wean.” It was this meaning that grabbed me when thinking of my dry, blah moments in my time alone with God. There are times when what God is doing is weaning us from the constant call for an emotional experience. The child who is weaning may feel that he or she is getting a raw deal. There was plenty of food and a nearness - even an intimacy with mom involved. Where has that gone? But the mother is not removing love from the child - she is preparing the child for a thousand different foods to come. We need to grasp that at times our loving Father in heaven is weaning us from the glut of “feelings” so that we can be ready for mature food. We are being moved from milk to meat. Also - when these times come - God is allowing us to do what is truly in our hearts. That can be a painful moment - if all you have in your heart is “religious obligatory practices” and not a deep love of God. In those moments many turn away from God. If this is how it is going to be - I’ll just go somewhere else! That is a statement made by someone who has yet to be ruined by God. They have been ruined by God so that nothing else satisfies except God. His silences - or even our lousy quiet times can remind us of this. I am not here to fulfill a checklist of religious obligatory practices! I am here to meet God! Since nothing but God Himself will satisfy that longing - I MUST HAVE HIM! So - you’ve finished your time alone with God. You “feel” as if nothing has happened. You wonder why? Maybe its unconfessed sin - but that is not God’s only reason from allowing such a thing in your life. He loves you and wants you weaned from “emotionally-dependent Christianity” where life is one awesome experience to the next. He also loves you and wants to build faithfulness into your life. And He may love you enough to be weaning you from such things so that you can move on from milk so that you may begin partaking of the meat of the Word. Whatever it is - let Him drive you, not away from Himself, with such difficulties. Let them drive you further into His arms - further into His promises in His Word - and further into a relationship of trust and faith in His Son.
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 A Lot to learn in 2016 part 2 - Decisions
Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. Genesis 13:10-13 Lot had a problem. He did not have his own walk with the Lord. Abraham interacted with God - both hearing and speaking to Him - and Lot just followed Abraham. There is a problem with this kind of living. Eventually you will have to walk on your own. What will happen then? How will you know, follow, and experience an interactive relationship with God? What will counteract your heart - which according to Scripture is deceitful and wicked. This was Lot’s problem - and as we will see in this part of, “A Lot to Learn in 2016,” it does not go well for those who follow in Lot’s steps. Abraham and his nephew Lot were both in the business of raising livestock. When you prosper in this endeavor you will eventually have problems - and they did. Their herdsmen began go quarrel over pasture land. Rather than have a growing enmity between their servants, Abraham proposed that they separate from each other so that enough pasture land would be available for their herds. This was the moment where Lot would have to make his own decisions - and the first one is indicative of a man who does not know how to follow God himself - but who relies on other people to hear God for him. Abram offers him any of the land that was before them. Lot got first choice. What he chose was the land near Sodom and Gomorrah. He chooses a place where the people were wicked and sinning greatly against the Lord. He chose on the basis of what "he" saw. Scripture says that he looked and saw that this land was “like the land of Egypt” and therefore he chose it. In Scripture, Egypt is not considered a good place to be. In addition to this - we also learn from the passage that the place Lot chooses is “near” Sodom. The problem here is that we also learn that the men of Sodom were considered “wicked exceedingly and sinners against Jehovah.” Lot’s first choice was to live by what his eyes saw and what his selfish desires wanted. He didn’t consider that by doing this he was moving closer and closer to sin. He did not consider that he would be taking his family into a place where there would no longer be Abraham’s godly influence - but the influence of exceedingly wicked sinners. Lot moved his tents as far as Sodom. The phrase used here in Hebrew means he moved “near” Sodom. There was enough in Lot to know he shouldn’t go into Sodom - so he did the next best thing - he moved near it. Here is a lesson we need to learn from Lot. What you move toward in your life - is likely what you are going to become. Having followed a godly man (Abraham) Lot now was going to have as his strongest influence, ungodly, exceedingly wicked men. If Lot had his own relationship with God he may have done this to influence those men - but we know that what he saw was their prosperity - and the “good life” and place they lived. There is going to be more - much more to this in our next installment. But . . . before we go there let’s consider something in our journey together. There is a “Lot” to learn even at this point. What drives your decisions in life? If our decisions are made with what we see with our eyes as our primary information - we will wind up in a mess. If we are seeking “the good life” as defined by the world around us - we will once again wind up in a mess. If we joyfully grab first choice in things (and don’t consider others better than ourselves - Philippians 2:1-3) and want first place - we will surely wind up in a mess. Lot’s decisions were driven by the (1) Lust of his eyes; (2) the lust of his flesh; and (3) the boastful pride of life. By the way, these three things are all defined as sin and worldliness in 1 John 2:15-17. Lot made a choice that increased the worldliness in his life - and then deceived himself by thinking that only by moving “near” sin he would be fine. These kind of choices don’t bring blessing - except in the immediate gratification of our fleshly lusts. The long-term results of these kind of decisions - are disastrous in our lives. Let me state this positively though - so you will have something to do on when making decisions. First - make decisions by wisdom, which is defined as seeing life from God’s perspective. We look at things through His Word, His Spirit, and the wisdom that comes from spiritual sight. Don’t just seek an answer - seek Him and ask Him to give you His eternal perspective on your choices. Second - make decisions in light of long-term (honestly - eternal) joy and delight. Ask yourself, what is going to last? What is going to be an eternal blessing? What will benefit me spiritually - so that I can take it with me when I leave this world? Lastly, make decisions that move away from sin - not toward it. Consider the sins of your past - and the sins God wants to deliver you from in life. Don’t move toward those things - and especially don’t think you can get nearer to them without them influencing you. If God wants you to minister to someone or minister somewhere that is one thing - because that doesn’t move you closer to sin - it moves you closer to sinners - but only for God’s purposes of leading them to Christ and influencing them for godliness and the gospel. A parallel question to this might be, “Am I moving toward influencing others - or being influenced by them?” You can move toward sinners or sinful situations if the first is true - your seeking TO influence them. But if you are going to BE INFLUENCED - you need to move toward godliness and be sure that their influence brings you closer to God. May God help us to make good, godly decisions. May we be wise and seek and desire His perspective in all things. May we be seeking eternal benefit in life rather than a quick fix high. And may we truly learn from Lot in this situation (as well as in any we face this year) that there are much better ways of decision making than the ones he chose. May God work in all of us to give us hearts that are tender and sensitive to His Word and His working in us.
This morning I read about King Josiah in my time alone with the Lord. Josiah was a godly king who decided to follow the Lord like David his many times over great grandfather. What is fascinating about this is that at the time Judah did not have a copy of the Scriptures from which to learn about the Lord. Yet Josiah went about seeking God the best he could at the time. That led him to have the temple restored and repaired. It was during that renovation of the temple area that one of the priests found a copy of God’s revelation of Himself – what we call the Word of God. When this happened it quickly rose up the ranks until Josiah Himself was able to hear God’s Word, maybe for the first time. His reaction to God’s Word was priceless and very instructive for us today. Josiah, according to God’s own rendition of this event, responded with a tender and broken heart as he listened to God’s Word. Scripture tells us that he tore his robes in grief and wept before the Lord. Here is what God sent the prophetess Huldah to say to Josiah concerning that event. But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus you will say to him, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel regarding the words which you have heard, "Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you," declares the LORD. 2 Chronicles 34:26-27 (NASB) Josiah responded to God’s Word with a tender heart. He did not respond with pride or arrogance against God – and neither did he reject God’s Word outright as he heard it. Scripture says that he humbled himself – tore his robes – and wept before God. When Josiah heard the Word he knew that Judah was in serious trouble for their rebellion against the Lord. They had disregarded God’s Law and had chosen horrific levels of disobedience to God. He knew from the words that were read to him that God did not think lightly of this rebellion and sin. In fact his own thoughts were that God’s wrath was upon them. I want to take a few minutes and reflect on Josiah’s tender heart – and how we should aspire to have one much like his. Josiah took God’s Word as a Word from God. That may seem a little redundant at first – but it is one of the signs that someone has a tender heart. Too often today there is not a respect for God’s Word. We’ve seen too much written and heard too much said that denigrates God’s Word. Too many people have the attitude that they can pick and choose what they want to be His Word – be authoritative in their lives – and then set the parts they don’t like to the side. That would have been easy for Josiah to do. He could have thought that it wasn’t his fault that things had deteriorated so badly. That was his father’s and grandfather’s doing. He just inherited this mess. He could have argued that he was just hearing the Word for the first time – and that God shouldn’t hold him accountable for everything he just heard. Josiah did not take any of those routes – because his heart was already tender toward God. He wanted to hear God – and know Him and His will. The moment such things were made known to him – he wanted to submit to it. That is the heart which is tender toward God. He acknowledged that God was the One in authority and that His place was surrender and submission to His will – another mark of those with tender hearts toward God. Josiah also responded with distress and brokenness to what he learned about the Lord. A king’s robe distinguished him from everyone else in the kingdom. This was a royal robe – and yet his first response was to tear that robe and grieve the situation that his and his kingdom’s rebellion had caused. His concern was to embrace humility and a truly broken and repentant heart before the God he and his kingdom had offended. Repentance, instant repentance, and brokenness are a sign of a tender heart before God. David did not care about his position and authority – because he knew that an infinitely more important authority had been scorned. His place was in broken, weeping repentance before God. Finally we see that David was not just concerned about what God had said through His Word – but he wanted desperately to know what God was saying NOW. He immediately sent representatives to the only known ones who could answer that question – Jeremiah and Huldah, who were the only prophets in that area at the time. Neither of these two had that great of a place within the kingdom. Huldah lived in the third quarter of Jerusalem – which was a much poorer section of the city. Her position was a common one – and yet Josiah recognized her heart for God and gift as a prophetess. Josiah wanted to know what he needed to do to remedy this situation. How could he lead Judah to return to God? This is another sign of a tender heart. The tenderhearted man or woman wants to know God right now – and lives to see Him honored and glorified. Huldah did not have a very encouraging message for Josiah. Judgment was coming and Josiah would not be able to stop it. He himself would be gathered to his people in peace – but the kingdom of Judah was going to be judged. What I find fascinating is that even with this diagnosis Josiah still sought God and did what was right and best for Judah. He returned to God with a passion and desire that was unrivaled. He not only turned to God, but endeavored to lead Judah to do the same. His life was a labor to see God’s people repent and return to Him. This is what the tenderhearted live for in their lives. Their greatest longing is for God to work not just in their hearts, but also in the lives of others as they turn to Him as well. The more I read of this tenderhearted man of God, the more I desired that same kind of work in my own heart. The more I thought about the marks of that heart – the more I saw where I lacked it in my own. Oh to be a man of God who is so tender-hearted toward the Word, toward the honor and glory of God, toward any manifestation of sin in myself or among God’s people. Oh to be a man of God who responds with a broken heart, a tear-stained face, and a life turned wholly toward God. Oh to be among a congregation of people who embrace the same things as together we seek God’s face and favor in the midst of a generation that has turned from the Lord so hard and so completely. My prayers, dearest saints, is that this will be true of me as your pastor and of each of us as we walk in these days. Josiah is not just a great example of a tender heart – but is also a wonderful example of how we should respond in a time of darkness to seeing our sins and the sins of our culture in the light of God’s Word. May He grant us that honorable work of broken hearts, tear-stained altars of prayer, and repentant, pliable, surrendered, submissive lives passionately pursuing Him. May we seek Him first, seek to see His favor return to His church, and hopefully see a revival in our church, city, state, and land.  Last week we began to answer the question, “What does God say about cussing?” It is an interesting subject considering the coarsening of our culture over the last couple of decades. But it is also a subject that can easily turn into a majoring on the minors. That is why last week we began by seeing that whatever words come out of our mouths verify what is in our hearts. God makes it clear from the Scriptures that He desires for Christ to rule our hearts. We also see that He wants the Word of God to dwell richly within us (Colossians 3) and for the Word of God not to depart from our mouth (Joshua 1:8). That is why we should honestly consider the words that we allow to flow from us as we speak. We want those words to represent Jesus Christ in a way that brings glory to God. When those words do not - it is NOT a matter of words just being words, or of a difference between the way we talk in the world versus the way we talk at church. There is definitely something in our hearts that results in this kind of language flowing from our hearts.
I want to make one important distinction before I continue this week’s article. The things I am writing here are for believers. It is of little or no value for us to convert a person’s speech without seeing them brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Our purpose as believers is not to become the speech police. We are living in a post-Christian culture in the United States and it concerns me that some believers are far more interested in converting the culture than they are seeing people genuinely converted to Christ. It would be more comfortable for us if the culture followed a set of rules on speech and cussing that conformed to the Christian world view, but that would only benefit us. What we should pray and work for is to see people truly converted to Christ. Therefore as I write these things, I am writing to those who know Jesus Christ. The issues being addressed here are issues of our transformation and sanctification. We are talking about holiness - and having a life that is radically different from the world around us. We are to live lives that draw people to Christ - when they see lives of purity, godliness, and a goodness that makes them desirous of knowing why we live like we do. So please know that this is not meant to be a tirade against the prevailing culture and the world system. It is meant to be a rebuke for the church that we’ve so adopted the culture around us when it comes to our speech and words. It is also meant to be a call to return to godly, holy lives and words that will attract others to the beauty of Christ within us - all to the glory of God. One of the arguments that I hear commonly used to justify using bad language is that these are just words that “people” have turned into bad words. When that is said, it is said without a knowledge of the actual meanings of the words used - or the interesting things that are being said when using them. One of the things I learned from my parents is that most people cuss because they are either ignorant or angry. What was meant by that was this. The use of cuss words is primarily as adjectives or modifiers. Next time someone cusses around you - think about what they are actually saying. It actually is a very ignorant use of the English language. There are times when I hear someone truly unleash a string of these words that I wonder if they even know any adjectives - or if cuss words have come to replace modifiers in our current culture. The other part of that statement refers to the fact that many use this kind of language when they are angry. Their anger is expressed in using cuss words to denigrate the person or thing with which they are angry. Now, before you shrug your shoulders and wonder if I am a Bible teacher or an English teacher, let me get to my point. Cussing is a “perversion” of the English language. Each of these words are just words . . . but they are words that have a meaning to them. When we use them in the context of cussing, I can guarantee you that they are used in a way that has nothing to do with what they actually mean. Thus the one using them is speaking in a way that was described in earlier days as “perverse.” With that in mind let’s look at a few passages of Scripture. The Bible has a lot to say about those with a “perverse mouth” or who use “perverse language.” In Proverbs 6:12, we read these words, “A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth.” Here we have a person with a perverse mouth. The terms used to describe this person are that he is worthless and wicked. The word worthless is the Hebrew word “belial” which means, “good for nothing in a moral sense.” What is fascinating is this word also appears in the Greek New Testament in its Greek form as a name for the devil. This is not exactly the association I want with the words I speak. The second word, wicked, is “aven” which means trouble, sorrow, evil, and often speaks of those who pursue iniquity and sin. Therefore the one who speaks with a perverse mouth is speaking in a way that is very ungodly. In Proverbs 8:13 we read these words, "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.” God is saying here what the fear of the Lord does in life. We find the usual things here of having evil, pride, arrogance, and the evil lifestyle. But at the end we find that the fear of the Lord also hates the “perverted mouth.” If we fear God we will not pervert words - or speak in a perverted way. In Proverbs 17:20 we read how the one, “who is perverted in his language” often finds with that type of speaking a habit of falling into evil. Here is the text of that verse, “He who has a crooked mind finds no good, And he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.” Speaking as one who used to talk this way often before I was saved, I can confidently say that speaking this way never led me into righteousness or toward those who love the things of God. When I spoke that way in anger I can absolutely tell you that it led to me falling into evil. Consider this - and please be honest - have you ever felt that speaking in a perverted use of language led you closer to the Lord? Proverbs 19:1 says, “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity Than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool.” Speaking with a perverse use of language makes you look like a fool. I know the world has come to the point of valuing this kind of speech. It makes you look tough and more worldly. The opposite is true when you embrace a life of following and seeking after God. The Lord is the One I want to honor and impress - and He feels neither honored or impressed with someone who has a foul mouth. I heard of a time when a group of brothers who sought the Lord together were talking about the things of God when one of them used a cuss word in expressing himself. The whole atmosphere in the room changed - and things got awkward. It just was not appropriate. Not that there is a place where it is appropriate - because God is present in all conversations. The idea was that this was brothers speaking of their faith and wanting to help one another grow. Please understand that this was not a matter of judging the brother who spoke. I’ve often been in groups where newer believers were getting their start - and - there were times when flesh came out and growth was needed. You may hear that kind of language in the world regularly - but you hope the perverted mouth is something we want to lay aside as we grow in Christ. One last passage is Proverbs 10:31-32 which says, “The mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom, But the perverted tongue will be cut out. The lips of the righteous bring forth what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverted.” Here we see a contrast of the mouths of the righteous and the wicked. The wicked have perverted tongues and mouths. Their words are perverse. The righteous in contrast allow their mouths to “flow with wisdom” and to “bring forth what is acceptable.” Our goal, saints, is not to act and sound as much like the world as possible. Our goal should be to speak what is right and wise - especially among the lost. They know how their own speak and talk. We are to be different. Saints, I want you to know that it is not my desire to be your personal “Holy Spirit word monitor.” But it is my purpose to help us grow into people who first of all love the Lord and fear Him, and second of all surrender to God’s sanctifying work in our lives every day. Perverse words are not a part of God’s plan in sanctification. He wants to purify our hearts - which should result in a purifying of our speech as well. I long for all of us to be wise. It should be clear from what we’ve read again and again in God’s book of wisdom (Proverbs) that a perverse mouth is something we need to lay aside as we learn to walk closer with the Lord. May we all become people whose speech is gracious, kind, wise, and winsome - so that those who hear us speak know that there is something markedly different about our hearts. May that work give us ample opportunity to tell others about the One who changed our hearts - and in so doing - changed the way we speak as well. What kind of men are we? That was the question I had to ask myself after reading a couple of things today. The first was a quote by John Stuart Mill. He wrote the following about war,
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degrading state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." - John Stuart Mill - When I read this I honestly wondered about myself. In light of what we face as a nation, can I say that I am not guilty of a certain "moral and patriotic decay" that shies away from the war for the very soul of our nation at present? There is a battle for the soul of the United States and it rages every day. Some would have us move toward being a nation that is based upon a philosophy of Socialism where the state becomes the caretaker of all within it. We are walking in that direction and fast destroying the once great nation given to us by God and our forefathers. It is said that Socialism only works until the government runs out of other people's money to spend. That is quickly coming upon us each day that we do not rise up to the moral, social, political, and spiritual battles that surround us. Let me better define the war of which I speak. It is my hope that it will never descend into a war of weapons where the outcome is dependent upon which army destroys the other. But at present it is a war of ideas. A war that is fought with words and actions based upon those ideas. There is a greatly decayed moral state in America that must be addressed if we are going to survive as a nation. Nations fall not because of conquerors who fight from without - but because of moral decay and destruction within. We must first stand against the moral decay that is rotting us from the inside out. That means fighting the battles that rage in our flesh. It means once again valuing honesty, integrity, honor, hard work, faithfulness, and a host of other character traits which are far more often mocked by our godless society than glorified. It also means recapturing our homes as the primary place where education takes place. It is in the home where morals and godly character must be taught. More than this it is where moral character must be displayed by fathers. Such an endeavor will mean that we have to fight and war against some things. I will list several here. Please understand that we can either realize war is what MUST take place against these things - or we will lose. We can either fight in this war - or remain one of Mill's miserable creatures who live only for their own safety, security, and comfort. If we do, we will have to rely on other, more godly and principled men to maintain our freedom. My concern is that there are not many such men left in this hour - possible not enough to stem the tide of moral decay and political tyranny. First, we must fight and war against our own pacivity men! It is the easiest thing to start out days at the mercy of the clock. What I mean by this is that we get up so late that we do not have time to get quiet and meet with God. We must awaken early enough to spend time with Him - both in reading God's Word and in praying for ourselves, our family, and our nation. This is where is HAS to start. Men, we need to war against the moral decay in ourselves. If we do not, we will have nothing of substance to give in the war that rages all around us. Second, we must war for our marriages and our homes. I ask a simple question men. What is the state of your relationship with your wife? Do you cherish her? Do you nourish her with the Word? Are we patterning for our children and those around us a delight in God's institution of marriage? One of the most blighting scourges that is rotting our nation from within in the state of marriage and family in our land. We can either decry it and weep on the devastated landscape around us - or - we can begin to labor to restore the ancient foundations by loving our wives and loving our children. And that being said, what is the state of your role as "father?" Do YOU inspire your children with your lifestyle - and with your regular teaching. If we do not want a "nanny-state" we must then take on the rearing of our children and not leave it to the state and to the educational system. Do you speak to your children of the morals they should embrace? Even more - do you yourself display them to your children? Third, we must fight and war against the rule and reign of entertainment in our lives. I have nothing against entertainment - unless our devotion to it outstrips our devotion to God, our family, God's church, and our country. Too often we sit and decay simply by allowing the entertainment industry to speak to us - then for us in our homes. Think of their values men. Think of what you've seen and heard on television and in movies. Then realize that they not only reflect the moral decline in our nation - the urge it to continue to new heights. Lastly, are you warring for godly leaders in our land. I find it disturbing that over and over again we are told that morals in a man do not matter when it comes to electing our officials. A man can stand and say that he wants to lead our nation - indeed take an oath to do so - when he has not even honored his oath and covenant to his wife! Such men should be questioned much about these things. I understand that we all need God's grace - but do we not have men among us willing to run - who have not cheated on their wives . . . while being an elected official of our land. The Democrats defend President Clinton while he commits adultery in the White House - and the Republicans now defend Newt Gingrich while he does the same in the position of Speaker of the House. We must fight for principled men to lead us. If neither party is willing to put up such men should we not so war against them with our words, our financial contributions, and our direct involvement until such men are put forward? We will not see change - godly, moral, principled change - until we demand it. Men, I know this has been a long article - and I also know that many of us suffer from moral as well as family and patriotic failures of our past. But there truly will not be change until we passionately seek it. May we not be the pathetic, overindulged, and unwilling miserable creatures that John Stuart Mill described above. May we instead be the men who are willing to war against the culture - war against our own self-indulgence - and war for the reviving our our own hearts, marriages, families, churches, and nation. There are some things worth dying for in life. So I ask once again, "What kind of men are we?" May the Lord give you the same attitude He has when it comes to sin and wickedness. For the past couple of weeks we have been looking at the commitments of a godly man. This week we will look at Psalm 101:4. Here we read of a declaration by the godly man. "A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil." Let's take a closer look at this powerful declaration and learn of this commitment of the godly man.
The godly man is committed to watching over his heart, making sure that it is in not becoming perverse. The Hebrew word is "iqqesh" which means to be perverse or crooked. This word speaks of a perverting of religious truth that speaks to our morals. It describes someone who twists truth so as to redefine morals. This downward redefinition makes evil and godlessness far more acceptable. When this kind of perversion of truth happens, a society will be gradually dumbed down concerning biblical moral standards. The godly man departs from this kind of perverse heart. He wants to have such perversity leave, go away, or turn aside from him. This kind of intense statement cannot be toned down - or we will lose the seriousness of it. The godly man wants nothing to do with the kind of perversity and deception that attempts to change godly morals. He sees such a step for the complete evil that it is. Moral degradation abounds in our society - and has been for over 50 years. It has been championed since the fall - with varying degrees of success. We guard against it is by guarding our hearts. Israel tried to keep itself from sin - but it only resulted in the Pharisaic self-righteousness of Jesus' generation. They had ample laws to try to guard the people from sin, but laws alone will not accomplish this feat. There has to be a guarding of the heart on an individual basis for us to be delivered from evil. One must call upon the Lord - and ask Him to protect our hearts from such things. There must be a grace oriented change, not just dedication to stricter laws and rules. The godly man makes a strong commitment. He states that he will know no evil. The word “know” here is the Hebrew word "yada." This word means to know something relationally and experientially. There is no way that we can be free from any influence of evil. That would require us leaving this world. But when evil presents itself, we can refuse to learn more. We can refuse to experience evil or weigh whether we will choose it or not. The mind of the godly man is made up - because the Word of God guides him. He will NOT know any evil experientially. He will not embrace a relationship with evil where he seeks to understand it better. His commitment and his heart is steadfast. He will know no evil - period! Do you have the heart of a godly man? Do you have deep within you a bedrock of commitment NOT to listen to anything that will seek to pervert God's ways and God's Word? Are you standing with a heart and a head that says, "I will know no evil?" This is the heart of a godly man - therefore it is also his commitment too. He will not bend on this - for he knows that compromise with evil is how the truth is perverted - and sin raises its ugly head in his life. He chooses a strong stand here because anything less than a strong stand will most likely become a place where the wicked one will enter and eventually gain a stronghold. As committed as you are to Jesus - so also be committed to departing from perversity that mannifests itself in a twisting of the truth. Do this and you will also, in dependence on the Spirit and the Word, know no evil. |
Biblical ArticlesMost of these articles are taken from the Calvary Courier, a weekly newsletter that is sent to the folks who attend Calvary Chapel Jonesboro. Due to the response to these articles, we've decided to print some of them which proved to be very helpful to God's people at the fellowship. 
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