Recently one of my ex-professors posted a blog about a church worship leader who at some casual hangout event dropped the f-bomb.  If this wasn’t shocking enough, there was alcohol involved in the incident.  My ex-professor presented a tactful call for holiness, particularly in leadership.  Following the post were literally hundreds of comments calling for the worship leader to step down, or questioning his ability to do anything good or godly with such compromise in his life.

I restrained myself from commenting.  I knew I would not add to the conversation, positively or negatively.

I believe that the fundamental issue was not about behavior modification, or the use of culturally unacceptable words or actions that we associate as sin.

I think we have the whole equation wrong.

The traditional argument has worked like this.  God made man.  Man made himself God.  Man committed sin.  Sin leads to death.  Jesus lived without sin.  Jesus died in the place of sinful man.  Men and women that accepted this mental construct and surrendered their right to rule their life to a list of prescribed behaviors were no longer bound to pay for their sin.

The problem with this theory is that it is puts all the focus on power of sin as the negative force within the equation.  Humanity has spent centuries analyzing behavior to determine what meets a standard of being bad enough to be called sin.  Man also fundamentally defined holiness as the absence of sin.  Thus the pressure to understand what constitutes sin, and how to remove it from our life has been a prominent focus within Christianity.   Furthermore, in periods of great evil, hate, racism, greed, abuse, and murder have been masqueraded as acts of making the community more holy (by removing the source of sin from our midst).

If we journey back to Adam and Eve, it is clear that prior to the moment of consuming fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that humanity had the ability to choose to fundamentally obey or disobey God.   Choice to obey or disobey was not the product of sin.  Rather, we see that the motive in the garden was to “be like God”.  The immediate response to consuming the fruit was that Adam and Eve hid, used their skills to hide what they were ashamed of within themselves, and shifted blame when they were confronted by God later.

Guilt, deception, shame, and the use of the skills and materials from the world around them (clothing made of fig leaves in this case) replaced the security they had known by learning of the world and themselves under the shadow of the love of God.  Their sense of identity forever shifted from listening to God and the world He gave them, to listening to a fearful voice within themselves that spoke of shame, guilt, and the need to control and use the world to hide their insecurity.

I believe that this is sin.  Sin is the state of being that all men and women find themselves in where we are compelled by a voice inside that speaks of fear, guilt, inadequacy, and shame.  We reach out to the world around us, and like Adam and Eve, we make clothing out of wealth, food, possessions, friends, religious posturing, social attainment, and so much more.  Sin was the displacement of God from the defining role of our world and life, not the choice to disobey.

In the centuries since, we have become experts in classifying sin.  We are adept at comparing our normal behaviors and best intentions to the failures of others.  We freely grade others on a scale of our own creation, and assign shame liberally to elevate ourselves above our neighbors.  We freely greet sinners with more shame, and somehow believe this will lead the world to salvation.  We have claimed to run houses of healing, when secretly we carried the sick and wounded out to the shed and put them down for the sake of maintaining the perception of health in the community (or the sick learned to apply makeup and act like they weren’t sick for the sake of being a part of our spiritual community).

If we see sin as a state of being, then acts of sin are merely a reflection of where we have not yet silenced the internal voice of shame.  Redemption is then not primarily about controlling behavior, but is about restoring humanity’s broken sense of identity.

I also believe holiness is not then about the absence of sin.  Rather it is a characteristic unique to God and would be better defined as the fullness of all that is good.  Scripture instructs us to be holy as God is holy.  So either we are asked to chase some attainable goal for the sheer misery of being constantly reminded how sinful we are, or we are being invited to a place of a restored identity, a new state of being.  It is a whimsical kiss to invite us to find new hope and believe there is something more than the constant drone of judgment and shame.

So back to the story of the controversial worship leader:  I think you could debate that our treatment of language and alcohol is more cultural than biblical.  But that is not the argument I think that needs to be made.  I think the most tragic thing was not that young man’s actions but the wave of superiority and the dose of shame that hundreds lined up to add to the judgment of this man.  Not worthy.  Not worthy.  You have not right to worship, to lead, to hear the voice of God, to speak on behalf of God.  Not worthy.  You have not mastered your behaviors yet.  We still see your sin.  Not worthy.

I can only imagine the same shame and judgment rumbling in their own hearts and minds.  The greater tragedy is that many have become so deafened by the voice of spiritual judgment, that they associate it with the voice of God, and believe that in sharing it they are doing the work of God.

We all bear the stain.  We all carry the disease.  We all need to be restored, redeemed, and made holy.  We need the fullness of good, not the absence of bad.  We need love, not guilt disguised as love.  We need security, not shame-motivated self-discipline.  We need the kiss of hope, not the stain of judgment.

Yes, we need holiness.  Oh how we need holiness, but the fullness of good will never be ours by eliminating the bad (as we cannot brighten a room by sucking out the darkness).  We will be made holy as we see Him bit-by-bit and find ourselves surrendering to his voice of love more than our voice of shame.

Our response to sinful acts is just as much a sign of the sickness as the acts themselves.  None of it brings life, hope, or restoration.  We will judge as we have always judged if we are changed/motivated by our internal voice of shame.  We will love differently if we have been changed by His love.

Because we mis-diagnose the source of our calamity, we attempt to treat a shame-fueled behavior with shamed-fueled spiritual judgment and no one is redeemed, no love is fostered, the sting of the our self-judging voice continues to dominate and set the tone for how we see ourselves, our neighbors, and God.

Josh Burton works for his state government supporting the community development and neighborhood revitalization efforts of local nonprofits across his state. He carries a deep-seated belief in God’s capacity to lovingly restore and redeem. Visit his personal blog at: Sacred Salvage

“I Love You, Lord…”

~Psalm 18.1

It’s a Friday night and five burning Gospel preachers are downtown to communicate and demonstrate the love of God to the lovers of this world. The smell of cigarettes, alcohol and perfumes mixed with the night air combined with the unique scent of cooling asphalt and car exhaust; this is the aroma of the city nightlife of downtown Orlando. Nearly every time we engage men with the Gospel we are met with that confused man leaning back on a concrete wall, lusting after passing dresses, smoking a cigarette with his friends, who says, “Jesus? I love Jesus.” He honestly believes that he loves Jesus. According to him, loving Jesus is the same as knowing who He is, and having nothing negative to speak about Him. Or due to the lack of looking into the Scriptures himself, there is a real disconnect between loving Jesus and obeying Jesus. Though he says he has nothing against Jesus, he must realize that Jesus has something against him, namely, the fact that he has rejected the rule of God in his life by ruling his own life. For the rule of God is received in our lives in exact proportion to our love for Him.

For most of us reading this article, this detailed scene has nothing to do with the way we are living. Let me describe another situation, with a vastly different backdrop, that can be–and in many cases is–just as corrupt.

I can hear the upbeat rock band skillfully playing the newest mainstream worship single. I can smell the new carpet and the electronic equipment heating up in the “life center” of the local successful church. I can smell the lingering of coffee from the foyer, very much like the local Barnes and Noble with a Starbucks on the inside. I can see the young adults smiling at each other as they socialize, wearing their modern outfits and holding their designer Bibles. As I indirectly eavesdrop on their conversations before the service starts, I hear passionate talk football and celebrities, the newest blockbusters and favorite stores or video games, only to then watch as hands are lifted high to sing, “Jesus, I love you. You are everything to me.”

In many hearts there exists an honest belief in God and a convinced mind that they are genuine lovers of Jesus. Not all of these believers, but many profess with their lives that loving Jesus is the same as knowing about Him and attending meetings in His name. Or due to the lack of looking into the Scriptures themselves, there is a real disconnect with the daily experience with the person of God in the midst of a form about Him.

Let me ask you a question; what does it mean to “love Jesus”? I intended to write to you concerning this question. Really…what does it mean to love Jesus?

I submit to you that a professed love for Jesus that lacks affection, desire, commitment, time and preoccupation is sadly lacking and is more likely than not, a product of having been misled into a shallow or even feigned connection with God. The first of these indispensable qualities of love that we will look into is affection. Affection by definition is inseparable from feeling. Desire is the next point; so let me make a distinction between affection and desire just to clarify how I will be using them to express my thoughts. Affection is a genuine feeling that rests deep inside of the emotions. It is so deep that the same word actually has a connection to physical results and actions.

How could anyone ever separate affections and love? Can two possess burning affection for each other and not feel deep inside of them the fire of such an internal emotion? It is an emotional connection. Exodus 20.5 and Deuteronomy 5.9 undeniably show us that God jealously wants our affections to be only His. Affection is very important to God. He wants you to have an emotional connection to Him. I tell you that He has an emotional connection to you (Philippians 1.8). Brothers, it is imperative that our God’s affection for us is met with an exclusive affection for Him. Love without affection is a farce.

The second point is desire. The difference between affection and desire as I want to present it is this; a man may have a desire for a donut and yet have no affection for that donut. He may have a real craving for a certain thing, yet if that thing was taken from him he has no emotional connection to it. Though desire can be had without affection, affection cannot be had with out desire. Everyone knows what desire feels like. From infancy we felt its yearnings; the convincing that we in fact need or extremely want something that we do not have. We must posses a desire for the Lord if we are to ever claim a love for Him. Love is the combination of emotional affection and our desire for something. Our God wants our affections to be His and our desire to be for Him.

The third point is commitment. If there exists no commitment to the Lord, how can a man actually claim to love the Lord? If a man says that he loves a certain woman, yet has no loyalty to her he is a liar. To not dedicate our lives to the Master and still profess a love for him is to live a lie. It is in our dedication, commitment and loyalty to the Lord that our love is made manifest. In marriage, part of the culmination of love, we give our lives to each other and each other only. “Only yours forever,” I am committed to you and no one else for the rest of my life. Love without commitment is incomplete if not a farce.

The fourth point is time. Time is the most valuable thing in the world, for once it is lost it cannot be recovered. Money cannot buy time. Gifts and favor are feeble next to the value of time. Time is the most precious thing to us frail human beings. In the giving of it, we give ourselves. To say that we are giving our lives to Jesus and spend no time with Him is absurd. To say that we love Him and yet give Him no time is just as absurd. You can tell me how much you love Jesus, but your time will tell me your values more than your mouth. When a man loves a woman, he has no greater desire in the world than to be alone with her. When I love Jesus, I have no greater desire in the world than to be with Him. Though He is with us all the time, the unbroken and intense attention of solitude is the craving of the soul for a lover of Jesus.

Loving Jesus is not a matter of profession, but of genuine affection given to Him and desire for Him. Loving Jesus has to do with the commitment of your life and where your time is given. We must have a clear understanding of what it really means to love Jesus or we will fall into a delusion that stems from a cheapening of the word love and all that it means. Jesus wants our love. He doesn’t desire love according to our understanding of what love is, but what love actually is. To give Him our love is to give Him our hearts. It is to give Him our lives. It is to set our affection upon Him. It is to desire Him. It is to be committed to Him. It is to spend our lives with Him. In the church today we have made it comical, acceptable and assumed that men will have an affection connection to something other than God. We laugh at how much of a man’s emotions are moved by sport scores or stats. We assume a man is knowledgeable about some sport or entertainment, because all consuming love for Jesus in the church is foreign. We accept that people spend more time before a TV than before the Lord. This is a problem. This is not love for Jesus but the product and outcome of having assumed that people understand what is meant in the words “loving Jesus”. They don’t understand. They make up their own definition, but it is time to get back to God’s definition – all our affection, all our desire, all our commitment and all our time. It was A.W. Tozer who said, “Our lives should be an endless preoccupation with God Himself.”

We can throw out all hopes of ever being the Jesus People, if we are not in love with Jesus. As St. Victor said, “We look like God to the degree that we love Him.” Such a statement I believe is true and the state of the church today is an exposing of the fact that we have failed to love Jesus. Though every mouth will say it, how many hearts are it? Though there is a profession, where is the obsession?

Check out this stirring message on intimacy with Christ, Mystical Union:

Eric Gilmour is an Associate Editor for Voice of Revolution, overseeing Revival & Evangelism. Visit his website at agonypress.podbean.com

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5, ESV)

What IS the Word?

First, I’ll ask a different, but related question: what is a book?

I was recently skyping with my mother, and encouraging her that she could save a lot by buying a Kindle (only an initial investment of buying the device) and then the ease of which taking your library with you everywhere you go would let her see that this is beneficial. At the time of writing this, I’ve currently got six free Bible translations I’ve been able to obtain for The Kindle. Anyway, she responded as I expected, and as I did when first told about e-readers:

“I like the feel of a real book in my hands.”

Lest you think this is a promotion for the Kindle, which I assure you it’s not, I have a direction I’m going with in my thinking for you. But, what is a “real” book? It wasn’t until the printing press was invented that it helped revolutionize the way information was spread. Historians even differ on if it was invented to help propagate the Bible and get it into the hands of the common man, or to help spread Catholic propaganda, like indulgences. But at any rate, for most of Church history, after the first century, the believer was not able to turn to a book and read the words of Christ. Only the elite few clergy and rich people had access to these types of materials. Is a book only a book if it’s on paper, or on an electronic device?

The Truth That Exposes Deception

Recently, at an English outreach/teaching ministry I’ve been volunteering with on a weekly basis now, I went out to eat with some of the Peruvian brothers who frequently come out. Because I’ve only been doing this for about six weeks, I don’t yet know which of them are believers, and which ones are benefiting from the English lessons, centered on and oriented around the Bible, but who have yet to make a life commitment to become followers of Jesus Christ. I got talking to one brother in particular as we ate, and talked in and out of English and Spanish. He can wax eloquent about the Bible and gives lots of ‘correct’ answers to questions, but the two ladies who run this ministry assured me is not a Christian (yet). So in this discussion I tried gauging where he was at by using the Word of God since the Bible states:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12-13, ESV)

You see, the Word of God is NOT a leather bound book. It is not ink on paper. It is the words and life of Jesus Christ through us. We manifest the Word of Christ, but it is not limited to being a book in our traditional physical formats. It’s not limited to digital methods of reading like on an iPhone or Kindle e-reader, either.

As I got talking to this Peruvian brother, who is a little bit older than me, I could locate where he was at by the outward reaction that he had to hearing these truths communicated to him. Does the sword cut, or bring life when I share it with him? I also let him read some of these passages for himself. Because he had shared with mm that my pocket Bible’s font was too small for his eyesight, I used my Kindle and zoomed in to a suitable font size he could read with ease, and shared with him the first 18 verses of the Gospel of John. It was in this moment I was having an epiphany for this post in particular, as I’m using a digital technology that didn’t even exist decades ago, to share with him the words written before even the printing press technology had been invented.

The Light That Exposes Darkness

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5)

The Word of God is living and active, and dwelt amongst us. To piece together statements from both Hebrews and John; the Word of God is a man. It is God. He judges the motives of the hearts and when He sets foot back on the earth again, the imagery used in The Revelation, also written by this Gospel’s author, it says that he had a sharp two-edged sword coming out of his mouth (Rev 1:16). This Man John looked at in all His glory was NOT some limp-wristed effeminate bloodied hippee nailed to a cross like some of the popular paintings and art work have portrayed Him to be.

The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. (Rev 1:14-17a)

THIS man, mentioned in all his glory in this passage at the end of John’s life, is the Word became flesh. And in His presence, the “disciple whom Jesus loved” fell as though dead at His feet.

As I stated in a post of mine called The Recovery of Sharpened Proclamation,

The passage (Heb 4:12-13) used at the outset states how when our thoughts and intentions are held to the standard of the Word of God–a living sword, we are as though naked and exposed. We are stripped of any defense we can hide behind when our darkness is exposed by the light of the ultimate standard–God’s standard–His Word.

And also in my post, Jesus’ Eyes of Fire,

King Jesus doesn’t merely examine our hearts, but He tests and evaluates our true spiritual condition, and then brings His fire to effect a greater purity and usefulness in our lives…

…Jesus desires intimacy with us; He longs for a people who intimately know Him face to face, but in order to get closer to Him, those eyes of fire are going to test the pure motives of our heart and let us know that He is committed to burning up the chaff in our lives. He will remove the dross, for it’s impossible to get closer and closer to the heat source without things getting brought to the surface in our lives and removed.

The Word of God does this in our lives. Seek greater intimacy, dear saints, with the Word became Flesh. Study the Bible, yes, and develop intimacy with the Son of Man. But, remember, whether it’s something you’re reading on an electronic device, or on paper and ink, it doesn’t matter. Get it in you!

Back to the Peruvian brother. The reason I found myself thinking off the top of my head to show him this passage, was he had told me he considers himself to be a Christian. He told me that he has a relationship with Jesus (a very works-oriented understanding, by the sounds of it listening to him share with my why he felt he was one). And when I suggested to him one surefire way to know what God was like, was to read His will and testament (the Bible), I showed him this passage and watched it give him watery eyes. I am not sure what seed was planted, or how much closer this brother is, but when you read this pray for him that the scale would be tipped all the way and in the near future I’ll post a positive story of a commitment to Christ.

Fellowship With God is NOT Studying a Book

But for the meantime, remember: The promise of the Father was the Holy Spirit, not a Bible. The written Word, the Bible has replaced the Holy Spirit in most Christians’ lives. The promise of the Father was the Holy Spirit, not a book, and the book as it has been printed and gotten into the hands of the multitudes over the centuries has replaced intimacy with the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit and the Word are one. Don’t exclude one (the Spirit) at the expense of only adhering to and studying the book.

Steve Bremner is a missionary to Peru, called to raise up disciples who flow in the power of the Holy Spirit. He is general editor of Fire Press, and also produces & co-hosts its podcast called Fire On Your Head. Visit his personal site at http://stevebremner.com 

John 2:17 NASB “His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR THY HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”  (Psalm 69:9 quotation of the LXX version)

I saw this verse referenced the other day on John Piper’s wall and it was further fueled by the Holy Spirit.  I was suddenly reminded of Paul’s references to the temple of the Lord in 1 Corinthians in chapters 3 and 6, one to the Body and one to the individual.  Then my mind raced back to the scene in the temple where Jesus is known to have constructed a “scourge of cords” and proceeded to let all Holy Ghost fire break loose.  Out with the beasts (some blind and maimed), out with the money changers (with their false weights and measures) and out with their tables.  OUT!

Wow, really?  Jesus?  Little-kids-sit-on-His-lap Jesus? And how about this word “zeal”?  It has broad application depending on context but comes from a word that has the idea of being hot enough to boil liquid or make solids glow in its heat.  It burned in Him to the extent that commonly held institutions and public opinion from the powers that be could not have sway with Him.  This is a relentless passion and drive for the sanctity of The Father’s house and most importantly for its intended purpose.  He got to the point where He was unperturbed by the possibility of any backlash or consequence and He simply had to do what He did.  Keep in mind, this is a building made with human hands.  Yes, assembled at the command of God but still a human construction…and this is Christ’s zeal for this place because of what it was meant to be as a witness to the nations.  When His witness is tarnished even by institutions that He Himself has decreed should exist, He will stop at nothing to clean it up or perhaps destroy it, as this temple was 40 years later, but I digress.  I have hope of glory for the Church at the end of time rather than an expectation of cataclysmic judgment upon it, though I’m not deaf to the warnings in Revelation to the churches listed there who were told to repent “or else”.

So how should this affect us, this knowledge of Christ’s zeal for His house?  Let me begin by stating that the temple of the Lord is now the individual and the corporate Body of Christ according to statements made by the apostle Paul (Eph. 2:22 in addition to the previously referenced verses in 1 Corinthians 3, and 6).  I believe that this was always God’s intention.

Now, if Jesus is “the same yesterday, today and forever”, then has His zeal waned?  If His zeal for a house of stone and gold and nicely woven curtains of extravagant physical beauty that was sanctified by the blood of animals was this intense, then how much more the temple (you!) that has been sanctified by His blood and Spirit?  Consider Hebrews 10:26-31:

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY ” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (NASB)

Indeed, Jesus is still very much about the business of temple maintenance.  He paid a very heavy price for each and every temple of His.  I would like to consider, briefly, a few moments in Israel’s history that show us how His tabernacle/temple was defiled and how God dealt with it.

First Samuel 2:12-17, 22 shows us a shocking bit of activity in God’s tabernacle.  Eli the priest had two sons who had sex with the women who served at the doorway to the Tent of Meeting and were not eating the portions of sacrifices that were set aside for them in the Law of God but instead were in essence asking for the filet mignon.  If anyone protested or desired to stick with the protocol of God they were threatened.  God’s response to Eli was grave:   “You will not have an old man in your lineage and I’m going to kill both of your sons on the same day and in their place I will raise up a faithful priest.”  How ironic that this faithful priest was the young boy Samuel whom Eli had charge over and did himself also issue a stern prophetic word to Eli regarding his wretched fathering and what was to come of it.

The symbol of the (realistically, the actual) presence of God was the Ark of the Covenant.  Nothing in all of Israel was more precious than God Himself in their midst.  At least nothing should have been more precious.  As you read on in chapter 4 you will see God not allowing Israel to live in sin and use the Ark as a good luck token and He lets it go into the hands of the Philistines and hands defeat to Israel while carrying out the rest of His proclamation against Eli and his sons.  We know from Jeremiah that, in fact, this tabernacle known as Shiloh was eventually destroyed for Israel’s idolatry and Jeremiah points this out to them because of their protest that God could never destroy His own temple.  God was quick to assert that, in fact, you cannot have a dirty life and a clean temple at the same time: the former negates the latter.

Since I basically combined epochs from Samuel and Jeremiah together, I will end with Ezekiel’s vision in chapters 8-10 (be sure and take a look at chapter 52 in Jeremiah to see how that all went down).

In verses 5-6, 10-12, 14 and 16 we see the progression of idolatry in God’s temple.  In verse 14 there were women mourning, ritualistically, for the fertility god Tammuz.  In verse 16 they finally got to a place were they had actually turned their backs on God.  They had already in spirit but now the posture reflected it and their worship went toward the sun instead of the glory of God.  Moving into chapter 10 we then see the Lord, great in patience and mercy, moving out of His temple in degrees.  First, He left the Ark from between the cherubim and went to the temple threshold (vs 4).  Then, as if He had been waiting for repentance and change but saw none, He finally left altogether (vs 18-19).  Judgment is pronounced in chapters 11-16 but a promise of eventual restoration is given in verse 60-63 of chapter 16.  But we can see pretty clearly that God will stop at nothing to have a clean house, a clean people and hearts devoted to Him and Him alone.  He won’t have “roommates”.

Some may object to referencing “the Old Testament God” to speak about New Testament realities.  He is not a new God, this Jesus character.  He’s not an improvement upon that nasty old Yahweh.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  His character doesn’t change, His outlook on life doesn’t change, His righteousness doesn’t change, His belief that only He is worthy of praise, worship and glory has not changed.  Even in the old economy He was just as rich with mercy then as now.  It took Him an awfully long time to become offended and angered enough to banish His people and destroy His temple and its priesthood.  It wasn’t a whim, it was long suffering that finally reached a cut off point and then something had to be done for the sake of His name.

Do You Have Idols In Your Life?

So what about you?  Do you burn incense to other gods (what do you listen to or watch?)?  Do you weep over fallen gods?  Really, who gives a rip about these dumb “reality” shows and who is a singing/dancing star or who lost the most recent UFC match?  Have you turned your back on God to worship the sun?  If your heart affections were a pie graph, who/what has the largest percentage of your love?  Are you discontent with what God has given you and feel the need to connive for more through dishonesty as Eli’s sons did?  They had wives already, but took other women who were not theirs.  You may not transgress in that way, but do you cross boundaries like this in your heart?  Are you simply not satisfied with God’s design and construct for ministerial function and so you invent your own “cool, relevant” way that makes Jesus easier to accept?  The list of applications from these stories is endless, the principles are eternal and will always apply to some kind of situation in our daily lives.

God is slow to anger.  That was a huge part of the revealing of His Name to Moses.   Let us rejoice in this but let us not take it for granted as Israel did.  God waited for a long time before sending Jesus to cleanse that temple.  It’s not like it got dirty overnight, it had been on the decline for some time.  I deduce that fact from the fact that God is slow to anger and judgment.  But Jesus did go and handle some business.  I believe He actually did it twice; once at the beginning of His ministry and then right before His crucifixion.  While you may not agree with the entirety of this article, at least pay attention to the case he makes for the belief in 2 cleansings and the significance of the Levitical law of “leprosy/corruption” in a house.

So, rather than getting a fear trip out of all of this, pull from this that Jesus is serious about anything in which He dwells.  When He chooses to dwell in a thing/person, then the witness of that thing/person is of great import because it is directly tied to people’s perception of Him.  In times past we see God angered over His enemies being given occasion to blaspheme Him because of human conduct that is supposed to reflect the Real God.

To this day, the thing that is supposed to be The Church is impotent, largely….well, maybe just in U.K., Canada and America.  So if you’re in a third world country, nevermind all this, you’re probably okay.  For the rest of us, let’s make sure nothing in our lives/minds bears any resemblance to those things in Eli’s sons or in the temple priesthood of Ezekiel’s day or Jesus’ day.  Let’s not offer lame sacrifices.  Let’s make sure that all “exchanges” are fair and just whether they be verbal exchanges or goods and services.  Let’s give Jesus our best…our BEST!  He will give us His in return.

For a recent Fire On Your Head podcast related to the themes mentioned in today’s article, check out “Keeping Ourselves From Idols“

This week Dave Edwards and Steve Bremner sit down to talk about something burning in our hearts, but wind up having a spontaneous discussion on idolatry, and what that looks like in our society culture.

Do you have anything you’re setting up in your life “beside” or “near” the altar of God that is taking up your focus and time, in actuality AWAY from God? Do you have any seemingly holy and right ingredients you’re adding TO the Gospel’s power in your life, that are actually evil and subverting the role of the Holy Spirit in your life?

If you aren’t sure, and want to know how you can discern your spiritual condition, listen to this discussion and get challenged and encouraged.

This week’s intro: Sundown Motel, by Stavesacre.

Related posts that were mentioned in the discussion:

Undrinkable Water

Do You Have Stranglers In Your Life?

Counterfeit Mixed In With the Genuine (Matthew 13:24-30)

Also don’t forget to visit Dave’s new Daefire Ministries site at http://daefire.com.

If you’d like to subscribe to the Fire On Your Head Podcast, visit our directory in iTunes, or visit FireOnYourHead.com for more subscription options.

They have lost their view on the life mission given to us by Christ Himself to, “speak out the great message of the cross of Christ.” They have definitely not “pledged their heads to heaven.” Neither have they laid their lives down as true disciples saying, “my life for the gospel.”

The Power to Blush…

They have slipped away from their conviction of sin.  They say things like, “I wasn’t as mature in God as I am now.” But as Isaiah stated, “they have lost the power to blush over their sins.”

Their sight of Jesus is so limited that they are in desperate need for God to repair their view of Him.  For it is only in an accurate view of Jesus that we can have an accurate view of holiness, purity, love, power, God and His Kingdom.

Modern Christians have a greater knowledge of Hollywood than of Christ Himself.  They have set up their home to revolve around a flat screen TV, instead of setting up their lives to revolve around Jesus.  They have a greater sight for themselves than Christ. As Keith Green stated, “It is so hard to see when my eyes are on me.”  The only true and valuable sight is the seeing of Jesus.  Backsliders need their view of Christ restored. All issues in life return to vision, namely, the vision of Jesus.  Not necessarily what He would do, but what He is doing.  It is knowing His heartbeat.  It is an issue of knowing Him, right now.  Not in the past, or recent past, but today.  Do you see Him today? Backslider, regain your sight!  All issues of seeing are summed up in a seeing of Jesus. If there is no seeing of Jesus there simply is no seeing.  No matter the intellect and glory of man, men are blind till they see Jesus.

Looking for Guidance

As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. Luke 18:35-36 ESV emphasis mine

In this blind man’s state, he heard the commotion of Jesus and asked other people what was going on.  The blind backslidden Christian is a person who must look to others for sight.  So many Christians today are looking to a book, a minister, ministry or church to open their eyes.  They look to men for guidance. They cannot see rightly, so they have no other option.  Praise God these people pointed him to Jesus saying, “It is Jesus passing by.”

This blind man wanted his sight back.  He had the sense to notice it is gone.  I pray we would see our deficiency, for we are in a bad way if we lose sight of that.  Look at the heart of this blind man after seeing his deficiency… He cries out to Jesus!  A cry that comes from a revelation of our deficiency will be sincere and deep.  Oh for deep cries that go out to the deep of God!

And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me! vv 38-39

The people around him tried to silence him.  Know this dear reader, if you are blind and backslidden lacking what you once had in God, the whole world is seeking to silence your cry to God.  Worldly satisfactions are trying to bring you to a place of contentment with your blindness.  Lots of Christian things are trying to make you content with blindness and compromise.  Many complacent friends are indirectly seeking to silence your cry.  But you must not listen!  You must, like this blind man, push through and cry out to God for a restoration of what you know is available, the sight of a living Jesus.

And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. vv 40-43

After this blind man pushed through and refused to listen to the silencers, he met Jesus.  He was brought into Christ’s presence and Jesus spoke to him.  This is the only place of restoration, the only place of life; the experience of His presence and the hearing of His voice.  He was then, and only then, healed.  Nothing else will heal you. He received his sight back and he began to follow the Lord.

What do you See?

As he was glorifying God he was made a spectacle to everyone. If we are to be a testimony to the world, it is only as we glorify God with our lives by following Jesus, because we see Him.

Oh reader, do you see Him?

Do you see Him now?

Or are you lost, blind and clueless as to what has happened to you?

Are you wondering how you got to where you are now in life?

Do you look back and say, “Where did I get off?”

Brother, I will tell you where you got off:  you took your eyes off of Jesus and you lost your sight, for just as He is the only seeing, He is the only sustaining of sight.

CRY OUT to Him!

Oh blind one, who cannot see,  my heart breaks for you, as I know the Lord’s does… all out to Him!

If you cannot see like you used to and you have taken your eyes off of Jesus… Cry out to Him!

If in the name of liberty you have opened the door to lesser lovers… Cry out to Him!

If you are not more in love with Him now than ever… Cry out to Him!

If you know you are distant and you know something is between you and God… Call out to Him!

Maybe as you read this, you contrasted your hunger now with your hunger in the past, and have come up sadly lacking… call out to Him! Do not let anything silence you.  He will take you into His presence, speak to you and you will see Him again. At this point and no other can you begin to follow Him rightly.

Reader, look deep within. Are you blind today?  I am not asking you if you know the bible, go to church or profess Christ.  I am asking you… “Have you lost your sight?”

As we continue through Paul’s admonition to walk out our “new life in Christ” in Ephesians 4:17-24 we now come to verse nineteen which reads as follows:

They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

Paul says that they (Gentiles who do not know God) have become calloused (lost sense of feeling and have a seared conscience). This is a very dangerous place to be spiritually. Again, we must remember Paul’s audience: recently converted believers in Christ. So, as I have already stated in part 2 of this article series; we too must take these warnings and admonitions to heart lest we too grow callous to God and his kingdom.

Notice that he says they have “become” callous. Another words, this is a process that takes place over time. This is not an overnight event.

So the question is how do we become calloused?

Well, a big part of the answer is found at the end of verse eighteen. Paul speaks of “hardness of heart.” A hard heart is the springboard to a calloused life. One major way this happens is by continual resistance of the Holy Spirit and his leading and prompting in our lives. The NKJV translates the phrase “being past feeling.” This description is so evident in the church today. It is as if we have been given a large dose of Novocain and are numb to spiritual things. This takes place primarily in the arena of sin (missing the mark). When conviction comes through the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Jn.16:8) and we continually turn away from it, something happens. As Paul says…”We give ourselves up to sensuality.” This is a good spot to speak of the dual work of God and man, which is both the sovereignty of God and human responsibility working together. We do “give ourselves up” but not by ourselves. Behind our “giving ourselves up” (Eph.4:19) God “gives us up” (Rom.1:24,26,28) just as behind our coming to Christ is the drawing of God (Jn. 6:37,44,65). Let’s take a moment and look at this spiritual principal in the letter to the Romans.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.  (Romans 1:24-32)

So we see here the three primary things God gave them up to and the fruit of it in their lives as listed in detail throughout the passages above. God gave them up to:

• The lust of their hearts
• Dishonorable passions
• A debased mind

The above passage is a clear example of where an individual ends up that as Paul says in Ephesians areb futile in their minds, darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart. These individuals are calloused and have given themselves up to sensuality. Greedy to practice every kind of impurity. All the sinful living as seen in Romans chapter one can be summed up in the one word that Paul uses in our text we are studying: sensuality. Peter touches on this topic as well. We see this in the following passage of Scripture where he too exhorts us to no longer live like Gentiles do. In this passage we see that when we do “take a stand” for what is right and do not go about living like the rest of the world, they take notice. However, they do not always applaud us. In fact Peter says they will slander and bad mouth you because of this:

For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you… (1Pet.4:3-4 ESV)

Elsewhere, Paul exhorts us in his letter to the Romans to be on guard of “sensual living.”

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Rom.13:12-14 ESV)

Paul goes on to say they are greedy to practice every kind of impurity (v 19) as we so clearly saw in Romans chapter 1. This next phrase really jumped out to me though. Paul says: “But that is not the way you learned Christ.” I thought to myself; how many today have been falsely taught about Christ in this very way? Taught that it’s ok to live in sensuality. There are some today that teach grace is a license to sin. They teach that because of Christ and what he did on the cross it does not really matter how we live. As long as we “simply believe.” I believe these are the types of people Jude warns us about.

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude 3-4 ESV)

Or as Paul said:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (Rom.6:1-2 ESV)

“But that is not the way you learned Christ…” Just meditate on this verse. Think to yourself, how did I and how am I learning Christ? Paul continues to say that we are to be taught “in him” as the truth is in Jesus. Again, we see Paul emphasizing the “in him” truth. All we are, all we have, it’s all in him. It is for this reason that Paul told the Colossians the following:

As you have therefore received Christ, [even] Jesus the Lord, [so] walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him. Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving. See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah). (Col 2:6-8, Amplified)

It is because “the truth is in Jesus” that it is important to be students of the Word. Jesus is the Word made manifest. His word is truth because he is truth. May we take to heart the words of Jesus himself on this matter.

31…If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. 32And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. (John. 8:31-32 Amplified)

Check out recent podcast episodes on related subject matter:

What Is Renewed Thinking?

What Is True Repentance?

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“His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.” (Revelation 1:14,)

“I have made you a tester of metals among my people, that you may know and test their ways. (Jeremiah 6:27, ESV)

The concept of Jesus’ eyes of fire mentioned when the apostle John stood before Him in his vision on the island of Patmos really fascinates me lately. John was the one who knew Jesus the most intimately of the inner twelve, and the only one who remained to witness His death on the cross when the others scattered. He often referred to himself as the one Jesus loved, yet in this moment when Jesus revealed Himself to him, he still fell at his feet as though dead (Rev 1:17).

Jesus is an assayer, or tester, of our hearts. An assayer is someone who tests metals or ore for its components and judges the value or worth of the metal based upon its purity of composition. The method is accomplished by using a combination of intense heat, dry reagents or fluxes, and special vessels that help separate the precious metals from the rest of the extraneous material, or dross. King Jesus doesn’t merely examine our hearts, but He tests and evaluates our true spiritual condition, and then brings His fire to effect a greater purity and usefulness in our lives. He sees through everything in the same way that fire penetrates metal. His eyes of fire penetrate to the core reality and the truth of everything that exists. He sees everything that is good and everything that is bad, without any bias or clouded judgment at all. He sees behind the scenes and below the surface. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13).

When the dross is removed from the precious metal, be it gold or silver, then the vessel is ready to use. When the tree is pruned, it can produce more fruit; when the wheat is separated from the chaff, then the wheat is ready to use.

John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Luke 3:16)

How many of us in our charismatic circles love that verse? How many messages and writings have we heard on this aspect of receiving the Holy Spirit and being baptized in fire? Let’s not forget to read the next verse:

His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (v. 17, emphasis mine)

Jesus desires intimacy with us; He longs for a people who intimately know Him face to face, but in order to get closer to Him, those eyes of fire are going to test the pure motives of our heart and let us know that He is committed to burning up the chaff in our lives. He will remove the dross, for it’s impossible to get closer and closer to the heat source without things getting brought to the surface in our lives and removed.

Mike Bickle states in a message on this subject and passage:

The more I understand that His eyes are on me, the more I walk in the fear of God, and, secondly, the stronger or the more mature my intimacy with God is. So the two practical applications are, we grow in the fear of God by the revelation of His eyes of fire, but we also mature in our intimacy with God. We see that He sees us; that He feels what we feel; that His eyes are always on us; that we move His heart. He moves our heart as well. The connection is the knowledge of His eyes being on us.1

 

 

Jesus is not testing us because He wants to punish us, but the opposite, He wants to make us better. He wants to purify us, and often times the way he does it is through trials and tribulations. We must not neglect to understand the ways of the Lord, as many forget that it’s His love for us that allows us to suffer for times and be prepared for His presence.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8)

But the word of God also says a fire goes before Him (Psalm 97:3). As we draw near to Him, the fire touches our lives. It touches our thoughts, it touches our motives, it purifies our minds. God knows we won’t be ready for His face when we seek Him, until we’ve been purified by His fire.

For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4:24)

It was only recently that I noticed for the first time that this verse in the Old Testament mentions God’s jealousy in the same sentence as mentioning that He’s an all consuming fire. But God’s jealousy is not the same as ours. He’s not insecure or incapacitated by immature thoughts in his jealousy like we our in our idea and concept of it. His is a jealous love for us. And it’s in our best interest, out of his love for us, that He brings the winnowing fork to the threshing floor of our lives.

Jesus tests us with his eyes of fire “…that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:13).

Purification of the Life of Zion

I’ve recently been re-reading the book The Fire Of Delayed Answers By Bob Sorge when I began making my notes for this post. Right away in the first chapter of his book he brings up the very same passage and concepts about the eyes of fire as I’d been planning on writing, but I came across something even more interesting that I best just quote for our purposes:

“Gehenna was a place outside Jerusalem where King Josiah, in his godly reforms destroyed the altars of idolatry. It became a place where refuse was burned. It was the city’s incinerator. The purpose of Gehenna was the purification of the life of the city. In time, Gehenna came to be the name for the fire of hell. Gehenna (hell) is set ablaze by the holiness of God. Fire destroys the perishable and perfects that which is imperishable.”

“Unless this holy fire burns within you now, bringing you to purity and peace, then you will have no escape from the fire of Gehenna which consumes forever.”2

Jesus said in Mark 9:47 we’d all be salted with fire. Salt is for retaining flavor, or purifying. Psalm 104:4 states that God makes His ministers a flame of fire, and Daniel 12:10 mentions that “many shall be purified and made white.” If we’re going to be a people after God’s heart who know Him intimately as ones who see Him face to face, then there’s no escaping the fire in His eyes!

Intimacy with God WILL result in righteousness and holiness pervading our lives. It’s impossible for the fire not to have a purifying effect. To quote Sorge again:

When hypocrites and the half-hearted can dwell in our midst without being convicted or made uncomfortable, then something’s wrong. God intends for His fire to so envelope the local church that hypocrites will not be able to stay, and the devout will not be able to remain unchanged.3

 

 

When a people after God’s heart are close to Him, it will result in the fire on a corporate level, and changed lives.

Eyes Like Doves

His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool. (Song of Solomon 5:12)

As a dove does not have peripheral vision, so is the Beloved Jesus – He has complete singleness of vision and cannot be distracted by anything that is unpleasing to his Father. His eyes are loyal to God and to us, His Bride. His eyes also speak of His ability to see and discern everything; he has perfect insight into every area of our lives and His perspective is absolutely pure.

The phrase ‘bathed in milk’ speaks of that which is white and nourishing, and speaks of the Lord’s purity of discernment. This basically speaks of God’s ability and great skill to see perfectly everything about our lives, and interprets everything about our lives through the cleanness of His own heart because His motives are always pure. He always knows what fire to put us through at what stage of our lives, and just how much we need.

He’s gentle, yet convicting–the same Jesus whom all it took was one look at Peter after he betrayed him and it cut to the heart and made him run and weep that he denied the Lord. Yet, when Jesus restored him, this is the same man who boldly proclaimed the Gospel and 3000 were converted at Pentecost. The deeper the piercing of His eyes, the deeper a work done in our hearts.

Will you look into His eyes of purging?

Steve Bremner is a missionary to Peru, called to raise up disciples who flow in the power of the Holy Spirit. He is general editor of Fire Press, and also produces & co-hosts its podcast called Fire On Your Head. Visit his personal site at http://stevebremner.com 

1. Click here to watch a video on the subject
2. The Fire Of Delayed Answers By Bob Sorge, p.19
3. The Fire Of Delayed Answers, by Bob Sorge, p.15