God Gives the Increase

Archive for the ‘Christian’ Category

“He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.” Song of Solomon 2:4

The rose of Sharon experienced such great love that by comparison other love was like thorns. “As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters” Song of Solomon 2:2. The world has no taste for the fruit God offers, however His love changes the tastes of His people, “I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste” S o S 2:3.

The banqueting house of God is to partake of His holiness, and that which sets Him apart from His creation is offered to His beloved. “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” Romans 6:22.

Christ is the Banner over His people, and that Banner is love. When God ordained that He should make a people who would partake of His holiness, He set a plan in motion that would cost Him everything. In order for God to create He only had to speak, but to redeem He had to bleed.

Concerning the greatness of His love Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” John 15:13. The love of Jesus is for the purpose of partaking of His holiness and bearing His fruit. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain” John 15:16.

The Christian life is a shared life! The mind, will, purpose, and character of Christ become woven into the Christian identity, so that no one knows the Christian from Christ. “He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him. As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats me, even he shall live by me.” John 6:56-57

The Christian is on a path that leads to Christ likeness, or else he is not a Christian at all!

“And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah nissi: For he said, because the LORD has sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” Exodus 17:15-16

In America, when we see the flag, we remember the brave soldiers that endured a night of bombing from enemy ships to secure freedom for a nation. Moses understood that God, as The LORD our Banner, makes war with Amalak, and as such, He is our motivation to live for His purposes, and by faith.

Amalak were the descendents of Esau, who according to Hebrews 12 sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. His priorities were earthly, worldly, temporal, and when he did not receive the blessing, he could only cry tears of selfish remorse and not godly repentance. It is on this type of fleshly living that God makes war from generation to generation.

The LORD’s method of warfare is to lift a Banner that inspires but also accomplishes the very end He has designed. Jesus spoke of this banner when He said, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.” John 12:31-33

Jesus’ crucifixion accomplished victory over Satan and this world system that is in bondage to sin; it is for the Christian to walk in Christ’ victory.

Faith in Jesus Christ our Banner is the victory that overcomes the world!

Oh Christian, to what sins in your life might Christ’ victory be applied?

“And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah nissi.” Exodus 17:15

The book of Exodus declares the going out of the children of Israel from the land of their bondage; God brings His people out so He might bring them in to the land He promised them.

The scriptures declare there is a war in the process of bringing God’s people out of bondage, in Exodus 17 we are told, “God would make war with Amalek from generation to generation. In this war there is, as in all nations, a standard, or banner by which the troops are rallied. In our county, we have the stars and stripes, which every American is aware, stood through the night, though the bombs were bursting in mid air.

In Israel, each family was to have their own banner, and there was to be a banner on each side of the tabernacle. When Israel camped at Rephidim Amalak made war with them, and at that time, Moses lifted his hand and became the banner for Israel. As God’s man Moses led the people out of Egypt, then in Exodus 17 the sight of him, with his hand raised gave victory to God’s people.

Moses was only a man, and as such, he pointed to the God/man who would one day come and die for the sins of His beloved. Christ sets the captive free, makes their hearts ready for war, and makes clear the enemy.

The Christian is to keep looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of his faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” Psalm 23:1

In America, our roots produce independent people, self-starters, entrepreneurs, business tycoons, and an all around spirit of self-sufficiency. Dependence on others is for wimps, a real man does not ask for directions.

Pride is the governing factor of all thinking in a fallen world. When a sinner becomes a Christian, they find themselves in a fallen world at odds with a biblical world-view that honors God as the provider of all things.

The bible never speaks of man as self-sufficient except in a sinful sense, and uses the most horrible terms to describe him, such as, wicked, self-willed, and willfully ignorant. Jesus referred to people as sheep, which are stupid animals, easy prey, which cannot find food, and allow themselves to be so dirty they can die.

The sovereign God of the universe chose to make Himself a shepherd to His people; He had to, because God alone is the source of all things. The idea that God makes things and then sets them on their way to care for themselves, as if they could, is ludicrous. Speaking of Jesus the Bible says, ‘He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” Colossians 1:17, it is Christ who keeps all things from coming apart.

The Christian is given a new awareness of his dependency on God for life, sustenance, intelligence, purpose, direction, and most of all cleansing from sin.

The Christian can say with assurance, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; thy rod and Your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” Psalm 23.

“In the same way, a husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself. A husband who loves his wife shows that he loves himself. None of us hate our own bodies. We provide for them and take good care of them, just as Christ does for the church” Ephesians 28-29. (Emphasis added)

God who provides for His people is the Lord Jesus Christ. Of Christ, John the Baptist said, “…the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” All the blessings recorded in the New Testament to God’s people come through the Lamb of God, which takes away their sin. Sin is the reason Christ came, which is why sin should never be excused for some Freudian psychoanalysis of a socially derived childhood condition.

In a fallen world where sin is not recognized as the problem, Christ is not seen as the answer. When Christ loved the church, He gave Himself for it, so that, “…he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word…” These terms signify Christ dealing with sin to provide and love the church best.

As the man provides for his own body, he is to care for his wife, which is a reflection of how Christ provided for the church out of sacrificial love and devotion equal to self-interest. All that Christ now provides He does through the sacrifice of Himself at Calvary, where His substitution for sin was accomplished.

All the love the Christian receives from Christ in his physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, financial, and social condition is received through the work Christ accomplished on the cross.

How then should the Christian view the problems he faces?

“And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, in the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.” Genesis 22:13-14

From a human point of view, it is unimaginable that a loving father who believed his greatest blessing in life would come through his son would put that child to death. Yet, that is exactly what Abraham did.

When Isaac his son asked about the sacrificial lamb Abraham’s reply was, “the Lord will provide,” whatever else Abraham may have believed about killing his son, one thing he knew to be true, in Isaac lay the blessing of God. In Hebrews 11, we are told Abraham offered up his only begotten son or in Greek ‘the only ordained to be,’ therefore, “in Isaac shall your seed be called.”

Abraham made a crucial mistake years before when he allowed himself to father a child by a woman not his wife in an attempt to fulfill the will of God. He had to live with that mistake and its consequences for many years, he would not allow that to happen again, but would follow God’s instructions to the letter without question.

The great lesson of this story is not that Abraham had great faith, but that God provides what men need to bring Him glory. God and not man provided the sacrificial lamb that accomplished the will of God, “…and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.”

“Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked and behold behind him a ram…” The God who gave Him eyes to see also provided the lamb, and changed his heart so that he might trust. "For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" Philippians 2:13.

Christian, what works of grace in your heart can you praise God for?

“And Abraham called the name of that place the LORD your Provider (Yehovah Yireh): as it is said to this day, in the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.” Genesis 22:14

The name Yehovah reveals God as the Great I AM, the self-existent God by whom all things came to be. When Yehovah is combined with another name, such as Provides, it becomes the compound name the LORD your provider or I AM your Provider.

God is seen from Genesis 1, “In the beginning God…” through Revelation 22, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” as the source of all things, and that by Him all things are created, sustained, and for His ultimate glory. “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” Romans 11:36, “God that made the world and all things therein… For in him we live, and move, and have our being…” Acts 17:24 & 28.

The natural progression of such thinking is that man is a poor beggar before Almighty God, which is why Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

Unless men understand their true state, which is needy and dependent upon God for everything, pride will surely be their undoing.

Christian, what do you depend on God for?

Men get angry and even if they do not forgive, they cool down given enough time, likewise men love but in time their love diminishes. God is different!

“And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.” Jeremiah 23:40

“The LORD has appeared of old unto me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you.” Jeremiah 31:12

If we understood the previous words to be spoken by men, we would partially believe them because we know that men cannot do anything forever. When the Everlasting God makes a statement that He will never forgive, or His love is Everlasting that is exactly what He means and what will happen. God possess the power, will, and character to hate and love forever, His sense of justice will never cool down, and His loving passion will never chill!

The Christian understands that He is loved eternally because of who God is and what He has promised.

“So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose, he intervened with an oath, so that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.” Hebrews 6:17-18

It is unimaginable to think of God’s anger never ceasing and without any hope of reprieve.

“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men…” 2Corinthians 5:11

Audacious means the trait of being willing to undertake things that involve risk or danger; impudent aggressiveness; "he had the audacity to question my decision."

Nowhere in all of life is audacious behavior more plainly seen than in the way men behave toward God. In one such case, Job who was more righteous than all living at his time said, “Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God” Job 13:3.

In the book of Isaiah God says, “Come, let us reason together…,” however, He did not mean we should have the audacity to tell Him why we think He is wrong and we are right. In God we live, and move, and have our being, and upon contemplation God is too big for us to fathom, so only the audacious would reason with God as though He were a man.

“Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said, Shall he that contends with the Almighty instruct him?” Job 42:2.

The only prudent behavior concerning God is humility; God is always right – period. Whether circumstances or relationships the Christian should never ask, “Why did you allow this to happen to me,” as if to say, “I do not deserve this!” One may ask, “Why did you allow this to happen to me,” as if to say, “What do you want to change in me?”

How ridiculous to clothe ourselves with something clear, which could not prevent us from shame or embarrassment before others. Yet that is exactly what sinful people do before God who sees all things.

The root cause of this delusion is the blindness that comes from pride. “For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” Revelation 3:17. The lukewarm church is said to be naked. They are wretched but they do not know it, pitiable but are oblivious, poor and have no idea, blind and it follows they cannot see it. The nakedness of this church does not appear because they are blind, and they are blind because they think they are rich, affluent, and have need of nothing, which is pride.

The church is naked as are all creatures because God sees all things, “No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account” Hebrews 4:13. The remedy that God advises the church in Revelation 3 is to, “…buy from me gold refined by fire…”

That which is refined is pure, unmixed, uncompromised, and uncorrupted; the only place on earth where such purity reigns is the Word of God. The Christian must practice examination by God’s word, we do not judge it, but it judges us. “Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern both intentions and thoughts of the heart” Hebrews 4:12.

An unbroken, proud, and self-reliant man, who is willing to take matters into his own hands for his own selfish purposes judges God, himself and others wrongfully through pride, however a man humbled and shattered by God’s truth sees himself, others, and most importantly God correctly, to the saving of his soul!

“But the LORD said, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering” Exodus 3:7.

We are prone to avoid pain and suffering and when it arises, the Christian is tempted to question if God sees, and if so does He care. In Exodus 3:7, God sees the suffering of His people and cares.

The generation of Israel that God delivered was a stiff-necked, disobedient, complaining, backbiting, idolatrous, and unbelieving people, however, God loved them. He rescued them from the tyranny of Pharaoh and Egypt, the whip, taskmaster, and executioner, and still they would not believe in Him.

God is not like us, He loves unconditionally, and the worst of sinners. It is always best to view the condition of our own heart in its original state (before God transformed it through Jesus Christ) before we go off judging Him. When we judge ourselves rightly, we will not judge God wrongly; those who judge suffering through the lens of human sin ask, ‘why does God not send us all directly to hell.’

God, who has delivered the Christian from eternal wrath by the death of His own son, does not need to prove His love any longer; if He allows suffering in a life it is for a good purpose, the least of which is conformity to the image of Christ.

“Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” Psalm 100:4

Two of God’s names are stated in verse three, “Know that the Lord, He is God.” Another way of saying verse three is know that the LORD (Yehovah or I AM) is God (Elohim or faithful.

God is faithful to fulfill His promise to Abraham by providing a seed, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be” Genesis 15:5. One way the faithfulness of God can be measured is by the offspring He provided to Abraham.

We are told to praise God for His goodness and mercy, “Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting…” Psalm 100:4-5. Gratitude for the Christian begins with the truth that we are, “…His people and the sheep of His pasture” Psalm 100:3.

Why we are His people is stated in Romans 9:8, “That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.” God promised a seed to Abraham and it is the promise and not the gene pool that determines who the seed is. “For this is the word of promise“: At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son” Romans 9:9 (Emphasis added). God opens the womb because he is the author of life; it is also true in salvation, that man has no part in the fulfillment of God’s promise. Sinful men always seek to distort the simple and sublime reality that God fulfills His own promises; faithfulness is part of God’s divine character and it is revealed in His name and Word.

The Christian can, say with the Psalmist, “For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting” Psalm 100:5, because he knows that it is God keeping his own promise and saving a people whom He chooses, which makes God sovereign, merciful, and full of grace. God is not compelled to choose anyone, if He were He would not be God, and salvation would not be by grace, and grace by definition is without obligation.

“I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion” Romans 9:15.

Calvary

“And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:26

In the Gospels, whenever Jesus prays He prays to the Father; and as the only begotten Son of the Father He makes known to us – the Father character of God. As the Father begets the Son, so the Son becomes the Father. Herein is the unity of the Trinity, and the perfect love that binds them together.

Out of a love for the Son, the Father sent Him to redeem sinners so that He (the Son) might bestow upon the Son all the glory due His name. Out of a love for the Father, the Son condescended to become man and redeem sinners, and bestow upon the Father who sent Him the glory due to His name. The circle is complete, God is one, and we are loved in Him and them.

Apart from the redemption plan, God could never love man to the extent He does. “…that the love with which You loved me may be in them…” God loves Christ His Son for who and what He is, Holy, undefiled, separate from sinners, very God of very God, love incarnate, and if I could say all that could be said there would be no end. How could God love man as He loves His Son except the two be made one?

At the cross of Calvary, Christ and man are made one in death, Christ having died for the sins of men; at the empty tomb Christ and man are made one in life, man having been made righteous by the resurrection of Christ. Henceforth, the Father no longer sees man for what He is apart from Christ, instead He sees man in Christ and Christ in Him.  Hence, the Father loves us with that love with which He loves Christ.

The Christian is one who receives love beyond comprehension, it exceeds unconditional love, and even surpasses a love had we never sinned. The love we receive belongs to the Son alone, and yet it is made available to us – sinful men that we are/were!

Best friends are intimate with each other; intimacy is the freedom to share who you are without fear of rejection. In – to – me – you – see is the dynamic of intimacy, that which makes sharing personal. True friendship is a gift from God.

It is difficult for sinful people to accept the fact that God is Lord, and all creation must submit to Him as slaves, it is equally difficult to believe that a holy God would call sinful people His friends. However, that is what Jesus said.

“Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not slaves; for the slave knows not what his lord does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” John 15:13-15

We have all heard it said, ‘You are on a need to know basis, and you do not need to know.’ In a Master slave relationship, you might expect to hear, ‘Do what I say, and do not ask questions.’ Jesus, however, welcomes His slaves into a fuller, richer, and more intimate relationship with Himself. ‘I do not only call you slaves but friends,’ and then He communicates all things that He hears from the Father.

We are not only privileged to be forgiven, adopted into the family of God, made heirs and joint heirs with Christ, but we are made to know God, intimately through His Son. “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

John 17:26 (Emphasis added)

The Christian is overwhelmed with the prospect of knowing Christ; to know Him is to receive the best in life, and to miss Him is to miss everything of value!

The Old Testament is the story of creation, the fall of man into sin, his guilt before the holy law Giver, and the unfolding of God’s plan to save man from sin. The prophetic message of the messiah is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, which explodes upon the pages of the New Testament. In Christ, truth was heard like never before, and love was seen as only God could personify it.

When we read the Gospels, we behold love, which is freely given, bestowed upon the wicked, and never withdrawn. Christ is the personification of forgiveness, mercy, and compassion, which culminated on a Roman cross as he suffered and died as the sacrificial lamb. As the Gospels close and the Apostles begin to write to their readers the things, which are needful for them to hear, they take up the cause for loving Christ, and not take him for granted.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Romans 6:1-2

John Newton understood the intent of God’s Grace when he penned the words, “twas grace that taught my heart of fear.” Speaking of guilty sinners in Romans 3, the apostle Paul said, ‘there is no fear of God before their eyes.’ Christ’s acts of love on the cross draws men to love, obey, and submit to God, not take Him for granted. “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” Romans 6:14.

Christ’s love is unconditional, incomprehensible, and without cost, yet it is anything but cheap.

The Christian is one who grows to appreciate the high cost God paid to love him, and shows his gratitude by word, thought, and deed.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” Ephesians 1:3

Blessing the older son is distinctly Middle Eastern having two basic ideas behind it. One, the Father would speak well of the older son, which meant he was worthy of his father’s respect. Two, the son would receive the blessing because he was worthy; his work, and character brought honor, protection, and prosperity to the rest of the family.

Paul in his letter to the Ephesian believers began with the profound thought that all believers are blessed, but how does a sinful wretch receive a blessing from God? The answer is found in two words, “in Christ.” Christ is the older son who is worthy of the Father’s praise, and when the believer is saved he/she is placed into Christ so the Father sees them through the prism of Christ.

Thought for consideration: this blessing makes possible victorious Christian living!

“To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful “in” Christ Jesus”:
Ephesians 1:1

After careful reflection of Ephesian chapter one, I noticed that the terms in Christ, in the beloved, in Him are used eleven times in twenty-three verses. Each time the Apostle Paul speaks of a different aspect of our salvation he emphases the fact that it is made possible as we are “in Christ.”

What is your identity, who do you believe yourself to be? The person who has repented of sin and placed their faith in the person and sacrificial work of Christ to save them from the wrath of God has been given a new identity – which identity is “in Christ.”

Our original parents (Adam and Eve) tried to mask their sinful identity with fig leaves as they sought to hide from God, which is the natural inclination of all sinful people because God has placed it within all of us to feel guilt when we break God’s law, which is written on our heart. This causes immense problems as we pretend to be something we are not. The first problem is the creation of false religions as men attempt to be religious while continuing to hide from the true God who will not accept men in their sinful condition.

In the upcoming Blogs we will consider the new identity the Christian is given “in Christ” and the practical effect this new identity is meant to have in their life.