What is the biggest threat to the Christian in our day. You might say it is falling in some terrible sin. Surerly the devil himself, with the hordes of hell, must be at the top of the list. But I am here to tell you the biggest and most widespread threat of our day and it is…
Being lukewarm.
Jesus talked much about the lukewarm church in Revelation 3.
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither [k]cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” (vv.15-16)
Charles Spurgeon gave a powerful sermon on the topic. He talked about the lukewarm Christian. It would do us good to pay attention to this and see if any personal repentance is needed.
“They were not cold, but they were not hot; they were not infidels, yet they were not earnest believers; they did not oppose the gospel, neither did they defend it; they were not working mischief, neither were they doing any great good; they were not disreputable in moral character, but they were not distinguished for holiness; they were not irreligious, but they were not enthusiastic in piety nor eminent for zeal: they were what the world calls “Moderates,” they were of the Broad-church school, they were neither bigots nor Puritans, they were prudent and avoided fanaticism, respectable and averse to excitement. Good things were maintained among them, but they did not make too much of them; they had prayer-meetings, but there were few present, for they liked quiet evenings at home: when more attended the meetings they were still very dull, for they did their praying very deliberately and were afraid of being too excited. They were content to have all things done decently and in order, but vigour and zeal they considered to be vulgar. Such churches have schools, Bible-classes, preaching rooms, and all sorts of agencies; but they might as well be without them, for no energy is displayed and no good comes of them. They have deacons and elders who are excellent pillars of the church, if the chief quality of pillars be to stand still, and exhibit no motion or emotion. They have ministers who may be the angels of the churches, but if so, they have their wings closely clipped, for they do not fly very far in preaching the everlasting gospel, and they certainly are not flames of fire: they may be shining lights of eloquence, but they certainly are not burning lights of grace, setting men’s hearts on fire. In such communities everything is done in a half-hearted, listless, dead-and-alive way, as if it did not matter much whether it was done or not. It makes one’s flesh creep to see how sluggishly they move: I long for a knife to cut their red tape to pieces, and for a whip to lay about their shoulders to make them bestir themselves. Things are respectably done, the rich families are not offended, the sceptical party is conciliated, and the good people are not quite alienated: things are made pleasant all round. The right things are done, but as to doing them with all your might, and soul, and strength, a Laodicean church has no notion of what that means. They are not so cold as to abandon their work, or to give up their meetings for prayer, or to reject the gospel; if they did so, then they could be convinced of their error and brought to repentance; but on the other hand they are neither hot for the truth, nor hot for conversions, nor hot for holiness, they are not fiery enough to burn the stubble of sin, nor zealous enough to make Satan angry, nor fervent enough to make a living sacrifice of themselves upon the altar of their God. They are “neither cold not hot.”
Jesus has some counsel for those who have found themaselves in a lukewarm state.
“I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” (Rev 3:18-19)
Gold represents true riches. The lukewarm Christian thinks itself as wealthy but its poor – even destitute, without Christ. The white garments speak of the purity that only comes by daily washing of the Word. The anointing of the eyes enables healing so spiritual vision can be restored.
Now, Jesus counseled the lukewarm Christian to “buy” the gold, garments and eye salve. This is not buy as in the sense of earning. We can’t but help think of Isiah 55.
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
Why do you [a]spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.” (vv.1-2)
The buying is more like an exchange. The only value we have is giving of ourselves. The Lord doesn’t need my money or talent. What He wants and longs for is my life.
After the strong word to the lukewarm church Jesus ends with a beautiful and warming statement.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Rev 3:20)
Notice where Jesus is in relation to the lukewarm church? He is on the outside asking to be let in. Today, we can open the door to Him. And let it be known that opening that door is the cure to being lukewarm. it is impossible to be near Jesus and remain lukewarm. It would be like standing near an erupting volcano. You can only be burning hot.
Last Updated: December 9, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Holy Spirit – the Helper
Jesus said to His disciples “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:21) Sounds like a tall order. The nation of Israel had been breaking the commandments of God from the days of Moses. How did Jesus expect things would be any different for the disciples?
The Holy Spirt.
Right after the above verse Jesus said “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—” (v.16) Jesus was saying “Yes if you love me keep my commandments. I know you cannot do it on your own so I am sending you the person of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the paraklētos, which literally means “called to one’s side, esp. called to one’s aid.”
The prophet Ezekiel talked about the day when we would be enabled by the Holy Spirit to keep the commandments.
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, [a]though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their [b]hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Ezekiel 31:31-34)
This revelation should free us from feeling like we must somehow keep the commands of Jesus. We have a helper, the Holy Spirit, who is happy to come along side us. He gives us strength, teaches us, leads and guides us. I encourage you to get to know the person of the Holy Spirit beyond the wonderful gifts He gives. He is an ever-present help.
Now see the promise to the person who keeps the commands of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21)
We will be loved by Jesus and He will manifest Himself to us. To “manifest” means “to cause to shine.” There is a difference between the omnipresence presence of God and His manifest presence. God is at all times and in all places. But He chooses how He will reveal His manifest presence. Think about, for example, when Jesus was transfigured before the disciples in Matthew 17. That was His manifest presence while on earth. We can and should be asking for His manifest presence in our lives.
image credit: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holy-spirit/what-does-it-mean-the-spirit-of-the-lord-is-upon-me.html
Last Updated: November 24, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Prayers of Paul – Power Toward Us – Part 5
The third thing that Paul prayed in Eph 1 was that the believer would know the “…exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.” (Eph 1:19a) It is impossible for our minds to comprehend God’s exceeding greatness of His power toward us. This is where we must rely on the person of the Holy Spirit to make it real to us. But let’s take a look at the whole potion where Paul talked about the power of God. We’ll then dig into some of the Original language for some keys to understanding.
“and what is the exceeding greatness of His power (dynamis) toward us who believe, according to the working (energeia) of His mighty ( ischys) power ( kratos) which He worked (energeō) in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power (exousia, authority) and might (dynamis) and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” (Eph 1:19-21)
In just those few verses we find 5 distinct Greek words. Each word in its place has something for us top learn. But before we look at those pay attention to the words “exceeding greatness.” Exceeding is from hyperballō, meaning to “surpass, transcend.” And greatness is megethos (think of our word mega!) meaning “great, mighty, loud.” Most of us would settle for just simply God’s normal power but His power (in its many forms) is surpassing and mighty! That should encourage and strengthen us.
First, exceeding greatness of His “power” toward us is the Greek dynamis. We get our word dynamite from it. It is explosive power that gives us supernatural abilities.
Now, Paul said that this dynamis power is “according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” What a string of words!
“Working” is from energeia, meaning “active energy.” It can be likened to the engine that powers a car or more appropriately the nuclear reactor that powers a submarine.
This working (active energy) is the “mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead.” We find two more Greek words for power – “mighty” – ischys, meaning “ability, force.” It can be said this power is a show of force like when a mighty army invades another country. Then we have the word that is simply translated as “power” but it is kratos, meaning “dominion.” This is the rule of God’s government.
We are finding that all this power in its many beautiful forms is directly related to the resurrection of Jesus. See it:
The dynamis (explosive power) of God was worked (active energy) in Christ when God raised Him from the dead. This power was according to the working of his mighty (ability, force) power (dominion rule of His government).
Now, all this power is toward us who believe. It may sound too simple but that is the way God established it. It is by faith alone. We are saved by faith and we know God’s mighty power by faith.
Notice what God did with Jesus after raising Him. “…far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”
We learn right after this verse that we too are seated with Christ. “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:6) That means that the same power that raised Christ also resides in us. We have been raised WITH Christ.
FATHER, Your power in its many forms is hard for us to comprehend. But we know we only can understand it and allow it to flow in our lives through faith. We ask that we would know this exceeding greatness of Your power that is toward us who believe. We ask for more faith. Open our eyes. Flood us with wisdom and revelation. In Jesus’ name.
Last Updated: November 5, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Prayers of Paul – Knowing our Value – Part 4
We are continuing with the prayers of Paul. I don’t think we can ever come to an end of them. Layer after layer keeps unfolding new truth and depth. Today we will focus on the value that God has placed in us. He has invested everything in us – His very own Son – Jesus Christ.
If you remember, in the Ephesians 1 prayer (Eph1:15-19) Paul was praying for the believers to receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. As Paul layed out, that illumination would have three major results for the believer. 1. They would know the HOPE of His calling. 2. They would know what are the riches of the glory of the INHERITANCE of the saints. 3. They would know the POWER that is toward those who believe. We are putting our attention on number 2, our inheritance or value to God.
“…what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” (Eph 1:18b)
What a loaded statement! Paul was not only asking that they would know their inheritance but what are the “riches of the glory” of them. We cannot simply gloss over these words. God has placed within each believer an immense treasure of riches. In fact, we are those riches! Jesus paid the full price with His body so that we could be redeemed. Is anything more valuable than the life of Jesus?
In Matthew 13 Jesus told the parable of the pearl of great price.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (vv-45-46)
You are that pearl! I am that pearl! Do you see it?
I grew up in a household that struggled with finances. I also grew up without a father. As a result I had a lack of confidence in my life. I felt I had little value as a person. God was not real to me and as a result I knew nothing of His love. This lack of knowing my value led to many poor choices. But! At the age of 20 or so I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Slowly, as I began to learn (by revelation) what God thought of me, my opinion of myself changed. I learned that He deeply loves me. This kind of knowledge is available to all people, not just a select few. He will reveal His love to you if you ask. In fact, this is really what Paul was asking in Eph 1 and especially in Eph 3. Paul asked that they would “know the love of Christ which passes knowledge.” (v.19)
Let’s go back to Eph chapter 1. By the way, I would highly recommend getting well acquainted with Eph 1:1-14. In it Paul lays the foundation of our position in Christ. More importantly it lays our our value to God – how much He loves us! Look for key words like chose, adoption, redemption, sealed. There are more! Ask God to reveal its depths to you.
In verse 11 we find a profound statement:
“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.“
And what exactly is that inheritance? Paul reveals it in the following verse.
“that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.” (v.12)
Therefore, our inheritance is that we would “be to the praise of His glory.” Notice the word “be.” It is not something we do but rather who we are. And we know from verse 6 that it is by grace alone. “…to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”
Now, the person of the Holy Spirit plays a vital role in our inheritance. Continuing in our Ephesians 1 passage.
“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” (v.13)
During salvation we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. It is the seal of approval and possession. We are loved and belong to God. The good news gets even better!
“who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” (v.14)
The word guarantee can also be translated “down payment.” The Holy Spirit is our down payment of what God will complete. What will He complete? Our complete redemption! “…until the redemption of the purchased possession.” Jesus paid the full price for our lives. Now, our inheritance is the complete outworking of His redemptive work in our lives. It is like the declaration of John the Baptist: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) The word “must” is not in the original, rendering the verse “He must increase, but I decrease.”
Jesus, I thank you for your redemption. I thank you that you chose us before the foundation of the world and that you love us. Oh you love and value you us enough to die for us. We ask that you make us into the praise of the glory of your grace. We ask that you increase in our lives and we know we will decrease as a result. Lord, you are Lord. Take all of my Your purchased possession. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Last Updated: November 1, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Shalom to the Storm
Last night I attended a powerful little meeting at a local church. The visiting minister, Angelo Parisi, a prophet/minstrel, spoke about the storm that rose against Jesus and the disciples. It was not your average storm. It was called a “great windstorm.”
The first thing to note about this account was that the storm came after Jesus said “Let us cross over to the other side.” (Mark 4:35) When Jesus is intent on taking us to the other side in our lives we can surely expect great storms to arise in our lives. The enemy is afraid of our spiritual advancement and will create chaos around us in order to prevent us from advancing.
But where do we find Jesus when this great windstorm arrives? Asleep in the stern of the boat. This so concerned the disciples that they accused Jesus of not caring for them. “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (v.38) Sometimes Jesus does not show up in the time that we think. He has his perfect timing, just like when He raised Lazarus from the dead. We must trust Him despite the storms that may rage around us.
What was Jesus’ response to this demonic storm? He said three words:
“Peace, be still!” (v.39)
Being that Jesus was Hebrew He would have said “Shalom, be still.” The Hebrew word shalom is powerful and it actually means “destroyer of chaos.” Take a look at the breakdown from Michael Jackson (not that Michael!) from the Yah’s Messianic Fellowship.
—-
Shalom – (Peace) – tranquility, safety, well-being, welfare, health, contentment, success, comfort, wholeness and integrity.
When you understand shalom then you can posses shalom.
Let�s look into the word peace in the Hebrew for a better understanding.
Shalom – ooo mwlv � Remember Hebrew is read right to left and each letter has a different meaning or combination of meanings.
The first letter is Shin v pronounced (Sheen) the Shin represents a tooth, it means to destroy.
The next letter is Lamed l. It can mean to control, authority and the tongue.
Why do we use the tongue as a meaning of Lamed?
The tongue �controls� people, it�s manipulative, and it can be deadly. That�s why scripture says �The tongue has power over life and death; those who indulge it must eat its fruits.� Proverbs 18: 21
Now from these two Hebrew letters; there is destroy, authority and control.
The third letter is Vav w. Its meanings are to secure or nail. It means to secure something, establish something, bring something together or join something.
The last letter is Mem m. Mem can mean mighty, big, large and massive.
—-
Interestingly, the Greek word for peace in that text is siōpaō and means “From siope (silence, i.e. a hush, properly, muteness, i.e. involuntary stillness, or inability to speak, and thus differing from σιγή (G4602), which is rather a voluntary refusal or indisposition to speak, although the terms are often used synonymously).”
So when Jesus spoke “peace” to the storm he was silencing the chaos. He put a gag order on it! In our lives Jesus speaks shalom to our storms. He silences the rage and chaos of the enemy. And now what does it say was the result of Jesus hushing the storm? “And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” (v.39)
In these Bible accounts we often find little details that tantalize and intrigue us. They often gives us little to go on but can also give us much revelation. Before the storm approached we get these little details: “Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.” (v.36)
What is the significance of these “little boats?” We can’t know for sure. But hear this: we often feel alone when our storms come. But it usually turns out others are in the same boat (pun, yes) as us. They are observing and learning from how we dealt with the storm. I imagine those in the little boats learned a thing or to about speaking to a storm. Maybe they practiced it on their own on another day. We do not know who is watching and what they are learning from our storm.
One last thing to notice is that Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith. Was Jesus being harsh here? Well, the disciples prior to the storm had witnessed many miracles, signs and many wonders. It also seems Jesus had wished THEY would have spoken shalom to the storm. Likewise, Jesus expects us to speak shalom to the wicked storms that approach us and those in our circle.
Shalom
Last Updated: October 22, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Not Moved from Hope
Paul reminds us of our sad state before salvation and the good news that followed:
“And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.” (Col 1:21)
Think on that – before coming to Christ we were alienated and enemies of God because of our wicked works. But God reconciled (reunited) us to Himself through the death of Jesus and presented us as holy (set apart), blameless and above being accused by the devil. How awesome is that? Think on those truths for a minute.
Now comes the “if.” There are many if’s in the Bible. For example Jesus said “If anyone hears my voice…” (Rev 3) Don’t think of if as a good works thing but more as an open invitation. Say I sent out wedding invitations to many of my friends and family. On the invitation I placed a box named “yes” for coming to the wedding. That invitation could be responded to or ignored. Either way, the only ones that will be allowed into the wedding hall will be those who checked yes.
Now to the “if” part, which is our part.
“if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” (Col 1:22)
We know it is impossible to please God apart from faith (Heb 11:6). So, in faith, we are to be grounded and steadfast. Then it says we are to be “not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” The Greek word for “moved” is metakineō and means “to move from a place, to move away.” It is found in the passive tense, meaning it is something happening to us. We are not to be passive in the kingdom but rather ever pressing forward and sinking our roots deeper. The enemy is and will be increasing his attacks in order to move us from the hope of the gospel. But no, oh no, we will remain in faith, rooted and steadfast.
Posted: October 8, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Prayers of Paul – An Illuminated Understanding – Part 3
Continuing our study on the prayers of Paul we find ourselves still in Ephesians 1. In the last article we learned about the true knowledge of God that Paul prayed we would have. Now we find Paul praying for light to flood into the deepest parts of the way we think. Let dive on in.
“the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” (Eph 1:18) Now see it in The Passion Translation:
“I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling[v]—that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones!”
Paul was praying for the believer’s “understanding” to be enlightened. The Greek word for understanding is dianoia and means “the mind, understanding, way of thinking.” The word is strong and means the way one thinks, perceives things. It can be called one’s frame of mind. Ed Corely, a wonderful Bible teacher, has written extensively on this word (and much on Ephesians!) and had this to say about the meaning of the word.
DIANOIA is a word from the Greek New Testament sometimes translated mind, sometimes understanding. It’s one of several words used there to describe the workings of the mind. In particular, it describes it as it draws conclusions about right and wrong, and as it makes distinctions and forms opinions. It is the mind as it is designed to have insight and comprehension. It is from an enlightened dianoia that a person can say, “Oh, now I understand! Now I see!”
Our dianoia, prior to becoming born again, is darkened. It all started when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They chose to have their understanding darkened. Eph 4:18 gives us a glimpse into this.
“having their understanding (dianoia) darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.”
Its important to understand that when one becomes born again their understanding isn’t automatically filled with light. Darkness is still present. Otherwise, Paul would have not felt a great need to pray along these lines. Yes, we agree with Paul and pray for the illumination of our understanding. We praying this illumination for family, friends, leaders.
There is a wonderful passage regarding our dianoia found in Hebrews.
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind (dianoia) and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” (Hebrews 8:10)
No longer do we need to strive to keep the laws of God. God has put them in our mind. He has placed them at the seat of how we think and perceive things.
Paul prayed that our understanding would be “enlightened.” The Greek word is phōtizō and means “to give light, illuminate.” We get our word photograph from it. The first photograph ever taken was in the 1820’s by a man named Nicéphore Niépce in a commune of all places. The image took 8 hours to draw in enough light to etch an image that is called View from the Window at Le Gras. And by the way the word photo+graph comes from two words photo “light” and graph “something written.”
We are asking the light of God to flood the dianoia of our loved ones. We are asking for a permeant image to be etched into the deepest parts of our understanding. And we know from John 1:9 that this illuminating light is not some obscure outside force. It is Jesus Himself. He is the Light.
“That was the true Light which gives light (phōtizō) to every man coming into the world.” (John 1:9)
In the next article we will learn what this light illuminates – hope, the value of the saints and the power that is toward those who believe.
Father, we thank you for Jesus the Illuminator of our understanding. We ask that your light would flood with light the understanding of our loved ones. Flood us as well. Pierce past the darkness that has dimmed our understanding. We ask You to reach to the deepest places of the way we think. Shine Your light in Jesus’ name.
Posted: October 6, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Being a Good Soldier
“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.” (2 Tim 2:4-6)
Friend, it has never been more clear that we are in a time of war. Battles rage all around us. The enemy is hard at work bringing destruction and division. The Lord, the King of Kings, is also waging a battle through us. During a time of war one can wish war wasn’t at their door but no amount of wishing can change the fact. What are we to do? We are to “endure hardship as a good soldier” as Paul put it.
The above verse in 2 Timothy has some profound nuggets of truth in it. Jesus often said “He who has an ear let him hear.” I pray you hear. First, Paul makes the statement that “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life…” He was saying that the soldier does not get involved with civilian affairs. As believers who live on this earth we must involve ourselves with the normal happenings of life. But there are things we are not to engage in. For example, Eph 6 says we “wrestle not with flesh and blood but principalities…” Many Christians have taken the fight into the political realm. As much as I disagree with certain politicians they are not my enemy. Many find themselves entangled in such things.
The Greek word for “entangles” in the 2 Tim passage is worth our attention. It is emplekō and comes from 2 Greek words – ἐν “with” and plekō “to plait, braid, weave together.” The idea is that of braided hair. Therefore, as soldiers of Christ, we must be careful with the things we involve ourselves with. The thing that seems good at the start might very well turn out to be an entanglement.
Another of the Greek words to pay attention to is “enlisted.” We know it as a war term. Jake has enlisted as a soldier in the U.S. Army. The Greek word is stratologeō and also comes from two Greek words stratia “an army, band of soldiers” and legō “to say, to speak.” God has enlisted us as soldiers in His army. He has called us for such a time as this. We are assembled and ready to hear His orders.
After using the example of the Christian as a soldier Paul switches to the athlete who competes. I have run and completed in four marathons (26.2 miles) and I can tell you that during training my diet and lifestyle was not the same as others not in training. Ask any elite athlete and they will tell you they live a very narrow life. It is absolutely required.
Finally, Paul uses the illustration of a farmer. “The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.” Farming is hard work. It requires getting up before the sun rises and working many hard hours. God calls us to labor for Him through the strength He provides.
As a soldier we are not to entangle ourselves with the things of the flesh. As a athlete in His kingdom we are to be in tip top shape spiritually. And as a farmer we must put in the hard, long work. But let’s remember in battle we fight from a place of victory, seated with Christ in the heavenly places. Our strength to run is from being strong IN Him. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” (Eph 6:10) Likewise, we do the hard work o the ministry with the grace and strength He provides.
Posted: October 4, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
The Cure for Lukewarmness
What is the biggest threat to the Christian in our day. You might say it is falling in some terrible sin. Surerly the devil himself, with the hordes of hell, must be at the top of the list. But I am here to tell you the biggest and most widespread threat of our day and it is…
Being lukewarm.
Jesus talked much about the lukewarm church in Revelation 3.
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither [k]cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” (vv.15-16)
Charles Spurgeon gave a powerful sermon on the topic. He talked about the lukewarm Christian. It would do us good to pay attention to this and see if any personal repentance is needed.
“They were not cold, but they were not hot; they were not infidels, yet they were not earnest believers; they did not oppose the gospel, neither did they defend it; they were not working mischief, neither were they doing any great good; they were not disreputable in moral character, but they were not distinguished for holiness; they were not irreligious, but they were not enthusiastic in piety nor eminent for zeal: they were what the world calls “Moderates,” they were of the Broad-church school, they were neither bigots nor Puritans, they were prudent and avoided fanaticism, respectable and averse to excitement. Good things were maintained among them, but they did not make too much of them; they had prayer-meetings, but there were few present, for they liked quiet evenings at home: when more attended the meetings they were still very dull, for they did their praying very deliberately and were afraid of being too excited. They were content to have all things done decently and in order, but vigour and zeal they considered to be vulgar. Such churches have schools, Bible-classes, preaching rooms, and all sorts of agencies; but they might as well be without them, for no energy is displayed and no good comes of them. They have deacons and elders who are excellent pillars of the church, if the chief quality of pillars be to stand still, and exhibit no motion or emotion. They have ministers who may be the angels of the churches, but if so, they have their wings closely clipped, for they do not fly very far in preaching the everlasting gospel, and they certainly are not flames of fire: they may be shining lights of eloquence, but they certainly are not burning lights of grace, setting men’s hearts on fire. In such communities everything is done in a half-hearted, listless, dead-and-alive way, as if it did not matter much whether it was done or not. It makes one’s flesh creep to see how sluggishly they move: I long for a knife to cut their red tape to pieces, and for a whip to lay about their shoulders to make them bestir themselves. Things are respectably done, the rich families are not offended, the sceptical party is conciliated, and the good people are not quite alienated: things are made pleasant all round. The right things are done, but as to doing them with all your might, and soul, and strength, a Laodicean church has no notion of what that means. They are not so cold as to abandon their work, or to give up their meetings for prayer, or to reject the gospel; if they did so, then they could be convinced of their error and brought to repentance; but on the other hand they are neither hot for the truth, nor hot for conversions, nor hot for holiness, they are not fiery enough to burn the stubble of sin, nor zealous enough to make Satan angry, nor fervent enough to make a living sacrifice of themselves upon the altar of their God. They are “neither cold not hot.”
Jesus has some counsel for those who have found themaselves in a lukewarm state.
“I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” (Rev 3:18-19)
Gold represents true riches. The lukewarm Christian thinks itself as wealthy but its poor – even destitute, without Christ. The white garments speak of the purity that only comes by daily washing of the Word. The anointing of the eyes enables healing so spiritual vision can be restored.
Now, Jesus counseled the lukewarm Christian to “buy” the gold, garments and eye salve. This is not buy as in the sense of earning. We can’t but help think of Isiah 55.
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
Why do you [a]spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.” (vv.1-2)
The buying is more like an exchange. The only value we have is giving of ourselves. The Lord doesn’t need my money or talent. What He wants and longs for is my life.
After the strong word to the lukewarm church Jesus ends with a beautiful and warming statement.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Rev 3:20)
Notice where Jesus is in relation to the lukewarm church? He is on the outside asking to be let in. Today, we can open the door to Him. And let it be known that opening that door is the cure to being lukewarm. it is impossible to be near Jesus and remain lukewarm. It would be like standing near an erupting volcano. You can only be burning hot.
Posted: September 9, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Proving Grounds (Prophetic Word)
This morning I heard the Holy Spirit whisper the words “proving grounds” to me. What I feel He is unfolding to me is that WE are His proving grounds. Think of say a plane that is produced for the United States army. There are stages the plane takes before it is assembled and is ready to fly. The first step is the development stage. This is where the many parts are put together, tested, etc. Before the plane can be certified to fly there is a proving grounds of sorts. The plane is tested in flights to test for safety.
I feel many of us right now are in the spiritual proving grounds. What is being tested is the Word that God has put within our spirits. Jesus was in the proving grounds when He was tested in the wilderness by the devil. Now, I do have some scripture to balance out this prophetic word. First, take note of Romans 8:18-19
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”
The “revealing” is the unveiling of those that have come out of the proving grounds.
Now, lets turn to the true, actual event of David and Goliath. You know the story well. Goliath, nearly 10 feet tall, stood on the battlefield taunting all of Israel. David, the shepherd boy, heard Goliath and something rose up in his spirit and he said: “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” (1 Sam 17:36)
You see, David had been in quite a few proving grounds defending sheep before he took on Goliath. God often works the same with us. He gives us smaller proving grounds (lion, bear) and then bigger proving grounds (giants!).
Something very interesting to note is that David refused the armor that was offered to him. His reason: “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” (v.38) David did not use the armor because he hadn’t “tested” them. In the same way we cannot use the full armor of God (see Eph 6) without first testing (proving) them.
Friends, God has you right now in the proving grounds. He will be putting the Word to test that is in you. The purpose of the proving grounds is to get you off the hanger and into the air – into the battle. Goliath is still standing there waiting for you to rise up, grab a stone and throw it
Posted: August 13, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Deep Diving with the Spirit
In 1 Cor 2 we learn that the Holy Spirit searches the deep things of God. If the Holy Spirit still has not yet exhausted the deep things of God then there is surely treasures for us to find. See it:
“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” (v.10)
Now for a little Greek. The word “revealed” is apokalyptō and means “to uncover, lay open what has been veiled or covered up.” It is found in the Aorist tense meaning it is a finished work. The Holy Spirit has uncovered all the mysteries of God to us. It is up to us to search out, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, the deep things of God. Think of it this way: the Titanic was discovered by someone. They uncovered its location, which had not been known for decades. They then relayed the exact coordinates for others to discover it for themselves. It is the same way with the Holy Spirit. He has searched and continues to search the deep things of God. He then leads us to the deep mysteries (treasures if you will!).
Paul says that God ordained for us to know the deep, hidden mysteries of God.
“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory.” (1 Cor 2:7)
Some say God doesn’t speak to them. Well I am here to say not only does God speak to you he ordained you to know the deep mysteries of God! That is amazing and should give us great encouragement.
In the Song of Solomon the Beloved (Jesus) gives a compliment to the Shulamite (Bride of Christ) that could easily be brushed over. But hear it in the context of knowing the deep things of God.
“Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon
By the gate of Bath Rabbim.” (Song of Solomon 7:4)
Heshbon was about fifty miles east of Jerusalem. During the reign of Solomon it was given as an inheritance to the Levites as a peaceful city of refuge for families of the priests. The pools were actually part of a deep reservoir system provided by springs. Carr, G. Lloyd in The Song of Solomon: An Introduction and Commentary describes the pools in this way: “The sense here is one of still, deep calmness rather than the sparkle and shimmer of flowing springs.”
The Beloved was saying her eyes reflected the deep reservoir of the pools. He was saying she had an incredible depth to her. Jesus is looking for a bride that knows the deep things of God. She has swam to the depths of God’s heart for treasure. She is very close with the Holy Spirit who reveals the deep things of God.
FATHER, I thank you for uncovering the deep things through the Holy Spirit. I know your Son Jesus is seeking a bride of depth. Let my eyes, my vision, reflect the deep pools of revelation. I look away from the world and its illusions and I am ready to dive deep today. In Jesus’ name.
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