More Than Earthly Riches

Job 22:23-25 (Eliphaz) If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. ²⁴ Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. ²⁵ Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

Job 23:10 (Job) But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold

Eliphaz counseled Job, stating that if he will just repent and return to the Almighty, that he will be blessed with the riches of gold and silver.  How often do we here that today from the pulpit or on Christian TV?

The riches that God has promised us are far beyond the riches of gold and silver.  Job understood this.  In Job’s response to these comments by Eliphaz he stated, But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.   Job knew that the true riches were a life that was as pure as gold, a life that God had formed and conformed into His image and likeness. 

Job did eventually have his earthly riches restored, but more importantly he maintained his integrity and was purified by the trial that he went through. 

Only A Foundation

1 Corinthians 3:11-15  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; ¹³ Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. ¹⁴ If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. ¹⁵ If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

 Far too many in the body of Christ only have a foundation, and nothing built upon it.  Having Jesus Christ as your foundation is a very good thing. We must have Jesus in our lives to be saved, for there is salvation in no other.  But it is also important to build on that foundation with something of quality.

We can build on the foundation with wood, hay, or stubble and still be left with only a foundation in the end.  These all will be burned up and we will be left with a pile of ashes, when we are at the judgment seat of Christ.  I do not want to stand there with only a pile of ashes to show for the life I lived on this earth.  Wood, hay, and stubble all grow on the surface of the earth.  None of them is very costly to buy.  Nor does it take too much work to harvest them for use to build with.

On the other hand gold, silver, and precious stones will not burn up when fire is put to them.  They will last.  Gold, silver, and precious stones are all costly.  They will cost us something, such as time invested, denial of certain earthly pleasures, embracing of the ways of God, etc.  Gold, silver, and precious stones are found under the surface of the earth.  They are found in the deep, dark mine shafts of the earth.  Sometimes the gaining of these will come through times of darkness.  Sometimes it will take a lot of effort to gain them.  Then to be able to build with them there is the purifying and molding process for gold and silver.  Precious stones will need to be cut and polished. This also takes time and effort.  But the end result will be well worth the cost.  The result will be something of eternal value.  It will last for all eternity. 

God Shelf

Recently I was thinking about something I was told by someone who had ministered in India.  They said that often the “converts” in India just add Jesus to their god shelf.  In India they worship many gods and so Jesus just gets added as one more god in the multitude.  But Jesus is not just one more god.  He is the Supreme, Almighty, Most High God.  When we say “yes” to Jesus, we are saying “Yes, I want You to be the Lord of all in my life.”  There is to be no other, for in Jesus alone do we find life.  Jesus is the only way to God the Father.  Salvation is only found in Jesus.  No other god has taken on human flesh and died to redeem mankind from their sin.  No other god can claim the role of Creator. 

We as Christians know these things about Jesus.  But how often do we just add Jesus to the god shelf of our lives?  How many other gods do we serve?  Entertainment?  Pleasure?  Education?  Work? Possesions?  Self? 

2 Kings 17:33 They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

 

John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² The same was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

God Delights in Mercy

Micah 7:18-19  Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. ¹⁹ He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

The Lord God Almighty delights in showing mercy.  Religion has taught that God is looking for a reason to punish.  But that is not true.  God is looking for a reason to show mercy.

As an example I think of Ahab, who was a very wicked king of Israel.  (1 Kings 16:30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.1 Kings 21:25  But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.)

One day Elijah, the prophet, was sent to give a message to Ahab concerning judgment that was coming upon his family because of the wickedness that he had engaged in and that which he was about to do.  Ahab responded by repenting before the Lord.  Repentance attracts God’s mercy. Immediately God brought Ahab’s repentance to the attention of Elijah and pushed back the judgment until the day of the sons of Ahab.  My guess is that had his sons also repented it would have been pushed back again, because God delights in mercy. 

1 Kings 21:27-29 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. ²⁸ And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹ Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Knowing that God delights in mercy is a comfort to me. 

Living the Message

Hosea 1:2-3 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD. ³ So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.

Hosea was a man who was willing to live the message of God’s love before the people of Israel.  Many of the prophets were asked to do unusual things as prophetic demonstrations of the message that God had for His people.  Just as today we have television/movies/internet where we can see and not just hear or read a message, these men were asked to show the message.  Jesus spoke often in parables using examples of things that the people were actually seeing as they were their listening to Him.

Hosea’s demonstration of the message was quite costly personally.  He was to take a woman of “whoredoms and children of whoredoms.”  Some have said this was just an allegory and Hosea really did not marry this woman.  That is not what the scripture says.  It says that he was to take her as his own and then when she went back to her other lovers, he bought her back when she was being sold into slavery.  Hosea was a living demonstration of the love of God for His people.  He was a living demonstration of God’s heart for His people Israel and for each one of us personally. 

The obedience of Hosea is an example of a man who was willing to live the message of God no matter the cost.  Marrying a prostitute and then buying her back must have brought tremendous reproach upon him personally.  It must have been incredibly painful to obey God and then be hurt so deeply by the rejection of Gomer.  It must have also been costly in the natural having to pay the price to buy her back.  But Hosea’s love for Gomer, for God, and for his nation caused him to walk in obedience no matter the cost. 

Am I willing to suffer such reproach and heart pain in obedience to God?  Am I willing to live the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ no matter what it may cost me?  The message Hosea lived demonstrated the tremendous longsuffering love of God.  It demonstrated God’s heart of compassion for the backslider.  Will I live the message by demonstrating God’s love to the backslider?  Will I live the message in whatever way He asks?  These are question I ask myself as I contemplate the life of Hosea, prophet of God.

By Many or By Few

1 Samuel 14:6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.

Will God save by many or by few?  In this case it was just Jonathan and his armor bearer.  There came a day when Jonathan was tired of the stand-off with the enemy.  So he took his armor bearer and started out to see what he could do to deal with the enemy.  He and his armor bearer began to move forward and sought a word from the Lord as to whether to continue moving forward.  Once the confirmation came they scaled the very steep incline up from the valley to the high country where the enemy was camped.  The enemy was confident that they could not be reached.  But Jonathan was confident in the Lord and the confirmation that he had been given.  He was confident in the Lord God Jehovah with whom he had a covenant relationship.  The enemy was uncircumcised, not in covenant with Jehovah. 

God gave Jonathan and his armor bearer victory. As they began to slaughter the enemy, God sent an earthquake. In the confusion it caused, the enemy forces began to fight against each other.  By the time Saul rallied the rest of the army, what they witnessed was the enemy in disarray.  Then the Israelites pursued the enemy chasing them from their land.

Because of the victory won by the forward movement of Jonathan and his armor bearer, the rest of the army was encouraged and rose to go after the enemy to finish off the battle.  Even those who had given up and gone home or even defected to the enemy side were encouraged and rejoined the army of Saul.

As we go forward in victory, it will bring encouragement to others that they too can have a victory over the enemy in their lives.  Once we have one victory under our belt it encourages us and others to move forward to take more territory from the enemy.

This was land that belonged to Israel, but the enemy had it in his possession at that time.  What land in our own lives does the enemy now have possession of that really belongs to us?  We need to take it back.  What land in the lives of those around us needs to be recovered?  Where has the enemy been camped that he needs to be removed from? 

God please show us your plan for taking back that which is ours.  Please let our victories be an encouragement to others to join the battle and win the victory over the enemy in their lives.  God will give victory whether it be by many or by few. 

Rooted and Grounded in Love

Ephesians 3:16-21 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; ¹⁷ That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; ¹⁹ And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

 Some time ago as I meditated on the phrase “rooted and grounded in love” a picture came to my mind of a plant sending its roots down into soil.  The soil was labeled “God’s love.”  As we send our roots down into the soil of God’s love we pull the nourishment of that love up into our being and the result is the manifestation of the fruit of that love in and through our lives.  The Greek word translated as “rooted” means to root or become stable.  The root system of a plant gives stability to the plant as it grows upwards.  We send roots downward and bear fruit upward.

The Greek word translated “grounded” means to lay the basis or foundation for something.  The foundation of a building is extremely important.  The taller the building the deeper the foundation must be.  God will dig deep into our lives and pull out the hinderances to love, in order to lay the foundation of love within our lives. 

Just like roots and foundations the work takes place in the unseen areas of our lives before fruit is seen in outward.   A foundation never goes away and roots are continually drawing sustenance into the plant.  So we continue to stand in love and draw on the love of God on a daily basis. Love is an essential part of the Christian life

1 John 4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

 Galatians 5:6  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.  (NKJV)

Do Not Follow

Deuteronomy 12:29-32 When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; ³⁰ Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. ³¹ Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. ³² What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

God’s admonition to not follow after the practices of the nations or peoples around them still stands today.  Today within much of the church worldly practices have been incorporated.  Too much of the time, we as the body of Christ, both corporately and individually, have our eyes on the world rather than on Christ.  We need to be “Biblically correct” rather than “politically correct.”  Often the worldly mindsets and practices come in subtly because of the environment in which we live and because of the worldly stuff that has not been worked out of us yet.  I believe we need to diligently seek the Lord for His leading and His correction. 

The word translated church is ἐκκλησία ĕkklēsia, which means “a calling out.”  We are called out of the world into Christ.  Our new home is in Christ, a place of separation from this world and the things of this world.

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, ¹⁸ And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

We cannot walk in all that God has for us while seeking after the things of this world or walking in the ways of the world. 

Governmental Authority

In what we call the Lord’s Prayer it says, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”  (Matthew 6:10 ) The kingdom is where God’s will is done, where we submit to His government within the earth of our own lives. As Jesus rules within us, He will also rule through us. As a result we will exercise His governmental authority over all the powers of darkness that have ruled in our lives.  We will also have governmental authority over the powers of darkness around us in the earth realm where we live, in our churches, homes, communities, etc. as the Lord Jesus directs.  With the government of God comes the authority of God. 

As we submit to the government of God more and more in our lives, we can be entrusted to exercise more of His authority in the earth realm, both now and in the future.  This exercise of His authority is not that of lording over another.   It is the loving exercise of God’s authority, at God’s direction, for the God’s best in the situation. 

We are learning to rule now so we can rule effectively in the millennial kingdom.  This is our training ground.  But our rule is not really our rule, it is Christ ruling through us.  It is Jesus Christ governing through us.  That is why the fire of God is purging us of our own pride, envy, striving, etc., that can get in the way of the pure exercising of the authority of God.  God is looking for and preparing vessels that He can entrust with greater levels of His governmental authority. 

As we get closer to the end of this age, more of God’s people will have to be functioning in this governmental authority.  As the powers of darkness ramp things up in these last days, God is also bringing forth a prepared people to stand against the dark powers in governmental authority. 

Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Matthew 28:18-20 (AMP) Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19  Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20  Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be).

Ephesians 6:10-11 (AMP)  In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. 11  Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.

Governed From Within

Our King has given laws for living within this world that He created. These are laws for the proper governing of this creation.  It is kind of like an owner’s manual of how to best function within this creation.  The boundaries laid out within it are for our protection.  Just like a loving parent lays out boundaries for the children they love for the protection of the children.  In religion these laws are hard to keep because they are legislated from without.  But when we are in relationship with Christ, He now lives inside of us and the ability to keep the law is within us in the person of Christ, who is the governor or the law giver. 

The man Christ Jesus kept all the law when He walked the earth.  He also simplified it to two basic commandments, 1) love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength 2) love your neighbor as yourself.   In and of ourselves we are unable to do this.  The enabling comes through Jesus Christ who lives within us as we submit to His government.

 Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

The government of God is exercised from within by the Spirit rather than from without. Government from without is legalism and it has never worked.  Legalism can only ever lead to more sin and ultimately to death.   God wants us to function by the Spirit who resides within us as Christians.  Only a life lived through Christ’s life giving Spirit governing our lives from within produces life. 

When Jesus rules within us we then keep the law.  It is a keeping of the law from within, rather than try to put it on without.  The enablement to live the law comes from Christ within as we submit to His government.