The Impact Of Obedience

I look at Jesus' ministry and I marvel that, for the most part, it wasn't that big and certainly wasn't for very long.  The scriptural accounts of His ministry add up to about 3 years, plus a few months or so.  I look at Jesus and I think, "You are God.  You could have preached to a packed Roman coliseum day after day.  You could have saved and healed thousands upon thousands.  The whole world could have known about You and followed You.  Your ministry could have been the greatest of all-time."  But He didn't do that.  Nor did He seek to hobnob with or have influence over the political and religious leaders of the day, but He was tempted to.

When Jesus was in the desert, one of the devil's temptations was to promise Him influence:  "Then the devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  'I will give You authority over all these kingdoms and all their glory,' he said. 'For it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish.'" (Luke 4:5-7).  When I look at that temptation of Jesus in Scripture, I see this being played out over and over in churches everywhere-- the temptation to make an "impact".  I see how easily Jesus could have reasoned within Himself, "I could really make an impact for God if I had influence in these world systems." 

I see how so many fall prey to this temptation because of their desire to make an "impact" with the Gospel.  But we are sinful creatures and so easily lose sight of what Jesus was really trying to teach us through His ministry, which was humility and obedience, and trust in God's ways over man's ways, even when man's ways seem to make more sense and promise more fruit.  Yes, Jesus could have seemingly made much more of an impact for God had He used the world's systems to do it, but He knew that was not God's way because God doesn't need the world's systems to make an impact.  So when the devil tried to twist Jesus' desire to make an impact for God against Him and tempt Him into disobedience, Jesus recognized it for what it was and chose obedience to God, rather than acting according to what may have seemed like a better, more impactful way to accomplish God's work. 

When we really take a close look at Jesus' ministry, we see that it was less about immediate worldly impact and more about obedience.  Jesus exampled obedience to the Father more than anything else.  Something that keeps playing over and over in my mind is that God is less interested about the work He is doing through us, and far more concerned about the work He is doing in us.  That is because the truth is, God doesn't need us.  God doesn't need us to do His work because He is perfectly capable of doing it Himself.  In all honesty, it would be a lot less complicated and messy if He just did it Himself.  Like, when my six year-old wants to "help" me wash dishes and just creates more work for me with the giant watery and soapy mess she makes. 

God doesn't work through us because He has to, He works through us because He chooses to.  We really aren't doing God any favors with our work for Him because He could get things done so much better without us.  So why does He use us?  He uses us because He teaches us obedience and faith through our experiences.  The purpose of the work we do for God is not necessarily for accomplishment's sake, meaning, the purpose of God working through us is not for the sake of accomplishing certain tasks.  But rather, the purpose of God working through us is more for the sake of the work He is doing in us, which is teaching us obedience.  We see this truth when we look at Jesus' life and ministry.  That is what Paul is pointing out to us at Philippians 2:5-13:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to cling to, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross.

Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place, and gave Him the Name above all names, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God Who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good pleasure.

The subject of these verses is the obedience of Christ.  Paul instructs us to have a mind of obedience and humility like Christ, Who "became obedient" to the point of death.  And because of Christ's obedience, He was exalted:  "Therefore, God exalted Him..".  Paul commends the Philippians for their obedience, "just as you have always obeyed," and reminds them to continue to "work out" their salvation through continued obedience even though he is no longer with them.  Then Paul encourages them by reminding them that "it is God Who works in you" which gives them the power to be obedient.  The verse, "It is God Who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good pleasure" can be restated as "God's work in you and through you is to teach you obedience so that you act in a way that is pleasing to Him."

We are so easily betrayed by our own heart.  Our heart can convince us that our motives and intentions are pure.  Our heart can present the most convincing case based on our own reason.  But when we look at Jesus ministry, we see that He never got involved with politics.  He never joined an alliance of religious leaders for the sake of having a greater impact.  He didn't ask the Apostles to come up with new and effective ways to spread His Gospel and reach the world.  He just exampled obedience and He asked His Apostles to be obedient.  God can produce His own fruit, so it's not fruit that He's really after, it's obedience.

"Then the devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 'I will give You authority over all these kingdoms and all their glory,' he said. 'For it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. So if you worship me, it will all be Yours.' But Jesus replied, 'It is written: "Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only."'" (Luke 4:5-8)

"You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4)

"If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world." (John 15:19)

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-- the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life-- is not from the Father but from the world." (1 John 2:15,16)

What Does It Mean To Believe?

Scripture tells us that whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life, but modern Christianity seems to have an inaccurate understanding of what it means to believe (John 3:16).  Belief in Jesus is not merely the intellectual knowledge of Jesus.  We can know this because Scripture tells us that even demons have knowledge of God which causes them to shudder in fear (James 2:19).  We can also know because we are told that Simon the Magician believed, and yet his heart was still not right before God (Acts 8:13,21).  We are told that Felix the governor was "well acquainted" with Who Jesus was and with His teachings, yet he was not saved (Acts 24:22,24,25).  Even the rich young ruler followed Jesus for a time, going so far as to fall on his knees before Him and cry out, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Mark 10:17).  But when Jesus' answer required the young man to prove a genuine trust in Him, "he walked away grieving" because he wasn't willing to surrender (Mark 10:21,22).  So why does a proper understanding of what Scripture means when it says to "believe and be saved" seem to evade so many?  Perhaps because so many confuse belief with knowledge or with the simple assent to a set of facts.  But what, exactly, does Scripture mean when it says to believe? 

Believing is receiving.  The Apostle John said, "Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).  When we read this verse we see that belief in Christ is to receive Him.  To receive Christ, we must let go of one thing so that we can receive another, thus belief in Christ is a belief that will cost you.  It is the letting go of sin so that we can receive righteousness.  It is the letting go of what is false so that we can receive what is true.  It is the letting go of self, so that we can bear the image of Christ.  Ultimately it is the letting go of death so that we can receive eternal life as the children of God.  When your belief in Christ is one of trustful surrender that compels you to follow Him, you receive eternal life.

Believing is surrender.  When you let go and give your heart to Christ, you surrender.  A friend sent me a Facebook message a while back asking me about my thoughts in regard to a portion of an interview between Timothy Keller and a self-proclaimed doubting Christian.  The gist of the argument was:  Is it necessary for a Christian to believe the basic tenets of the Christian faith to be a Christian? which led me to meditate on the question, "What exactly makes a person a Christian?"  What sort of "belief" in Christ crosses us over the Rubicon into eternal salvation?  I find this question worthy of consideration at a time in Christendom when it seems that anyone who has an intellectual knowledge of Christ can call themselves a Christian.  A time in which people are told that simple acknowledgment of Christ and/or intellectual assent to a set of facts is enough to inherit eternal life.  When the reality is, true belief in Christ is a belief that compels us to cry out like Thomas, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28).  From that day forward, I am certain that Thomas was changed forever and he never looked back.  Genuine belief in Christ is a belief that compels us to surrender.

Believing is trust.  We surrender because we trust.  Jesus said, "...unless you believe I am He, you will die in your sins" (John 8:24).  He also said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You believe in God, believe in Me as well" (John 14:1).   Belief in Jesus is to trust in Who He says He is and to trust in what He says He has done and will do.  He is Lord and He has conquered sin and death and reconciled men back unto God through His atoning blood and He will give us the crown of righteousness and provide for us in the meantime (Rev 1:18; Heb 2:14; 1 Cor 15:56,57; Col 1:20; 2 Tim 4:8; Phil 4:19).  Belief in Christ is trusting in all of this, everyday, day after day.  It is trusting in Christ instead of ourselves or our own reasoning. 

We must understand that belief is not merely knowledge or acknowledgment, or even intellectual assent.  We must understand that belief in Christ is not simply our familiarity with His Name and His teachings, or our belief that He existed.  Belief is something that becomes a part of who you are and the foundation upon which everything in your life is built.  Belief is the compass that points the way and the rudder that directs it-- it begins in your heart and is shown by your actions.  Belief is not a simple affirmation, but trustful surrender.  Christ tells us that faith in Him is the only way to be reconciled back unto God, and the only faith that genuinely saves is one that receives, surrenders, and trusts.

"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Eph 4:22-24)

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life-- he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his cross and come after Me is not able to be My disciple....So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." (Luke 14:26,27,33)

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it." (Matt 13:44-46)

"Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him." (John 12:25,26)

"My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:27)

"Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again...Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit... Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him...Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." (John 3:3,5,14,15,20,21)

The Blessing Of Brokenness

Today is the National Day of Prayer and many people today will pray for unity, but I will pray for brokenness.  I will pray for God to break us, because then, and only then, will our unity truly be God-glorifying and utterly submitted to His will.  I will pray for God to break us, because if He breaks us then we will not have to pray for unity, because we will be irresistibly drawn together through our brokenness.  I fear that if we pray for anything other than for God to break us, we will only continue to vainly apply a Band-Aid over a gushing wound.  We must be broken.  We must cease striving and sit broken at His feet, in the ashes of our own efforts.  There must be nothing left of us and we must have nothing left but God.

We often refer to the account in Scripture at Genesis Chapter 32 as Jacob wrestling with God.  But Jacob didn't wrestle God, God wrestled Jacob.  And He wrestled with Jacob until He finally broke Him.  Jacob was returning to the land of his birth, fearful that his brother Esau would take his life if he dared show his face in the Promised Land again after swindling him out of his birthright.  As Jacob neared the Promised Land, he sent all he had ahead of him to appease Esau.  First he sent his cattle, then he sent his servants, then he sent his wives and children, then he sent all of his possessions, then Scripture tells us "Jacob was left alone" (Gen 32:24).  It was here, when Jacob was alone and had no earthly possessions left, that God took hold of him and finished the job-- completely emptying Jacob of himself. 

Scripture tells us that when God "... saw that He could not overpower [Jacob], He touched the socket of Jacob's hip" and Jacob was broken (Gen 32:25).  God wrestled with Jacob and could not get Jacob to let go.  Despite the wrestling, Jacob's faith was not overpowered.  Despite the struggle, Jacob would not succumb to discouragement and let go of his hope in God.  It was in this place of brokenness that Jacob became intimately acquainted with Who God really is, "because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared" (Gen 32:30).  Which is why even when God told Jacob, "Let Me go, for it is daybreak," Jacob said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me" (Gen 32:26).  Because Jacob had been broken and had become intimately acquainted with Who God really is, he was able to say, "Not only will I never let You go, but I believe that no matter what my circumstances are, Your love for me is true and You will bless me with Your eternal presence." It is the kind of faith that can only come when God breaks us so He can get to what's inside. 

In one of the multiple, parallel accounts of Mary anointing Jesus' head and feet with costly perfume, Scripture tells us that she broke the jar (Mark 14:3).  It wasn't the jar that was valuable, but what was inside.  The jar had to be broken because what was truly valuable was inside of it.  If the jar had not been broken, then the sweet smell of the perfume could have never been released.  If the jar had never been broken, then the anointing could not have taken place.  The sweetest fragrance of fellowship we can have with Christ comes only through brokenness, and there is a certain level of anointing that cannot take place unless our vessel is broken.  It was in the breaking of Christ's body that the sweet fragrance of eternal life was released.  

Christ had no possessions, He had been utterly abandoned by His friends, He had nothing left, and then God finished the job-- completely emptying Christ of Himself through death on the cross.   When Jacob wrestled with God, he was broken, because that is what happens with you wrestle with God.  When you wrestle with God you must break.  God breaks us so He can finish the job and reshape us into our new identity in Him.  God gave Jacob his new identity and said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome" (Gen 32:28).  God allows us to struggle because He wants to break us.  Because He knows that it is only in this place-- the place in which we have nothing left-- that we become intimately acquainted with Who He really is.

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to cling to, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross." (Phil 2:5-8)

"Then Jesus told His disciples, 'If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.'" (Matt 16:24,25)

"The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, O God." (Ps 51:17)

"'Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,' declares the Lord." (2 Chron 34:27)

The Good Part

We are consumed with our lives, but we seem to be consumed with very little Jesus.  We are consumed with our children.  We are consumed with our careers.  We are consumed with ourselves and our circumstances.  We are even consumed with our ministry.  But where is Christ in all of that?  Where is His quiet, abiding presence in the frantic pace of our lives?

I think back to several years ago when God showed me that I was allowing ministry activity to replace my relationship with Him.  My error was so subtle and I would have never realized I was doing it unless He had taken mercy on me and pointed it out.  We can so easily get off course and allow what we are doing for Him to become more important than what He is doing in us.  We so easily sacrifice quiet time at His feet, for results and productivity.  We allow our desire to make an impact for Him and to bear fruit for Him to be our motivation, instead of allowing His work in us to be our motivation-- work that can only be done while we sit in surrender at His feet.  We get into a pattern in which our desire to bear fruit begins to smother our faith in the sufficiency of the Fruit-giver and we work according to productive methods rather than by the power of His Spirit. 

At Luke 10:38-42, we are told about Jesus' visit to Mary and Martha's house.  Verses 39 & 40 tell us that Mary was "seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations."  Martha was consumed with doing things that legitimately needed to be done.  She was likely organizing meal preparation for the Lord, so she asked Jesus, "Do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?  Then tell her to help me" (v. 40).  I'm pretty sure Martha expected Jesus to take her side, especially since she was busy and distracted doing things that were actually for Him.  But He didn't.  Instead He replied, "You are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary....Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her" (v.42).  So many of us are distracted and bothered about so many things, and we are in gross neglect of the only thing that is truly necessary.  We are too busy to stop and sit in silence at Jesus' feet, seeking the good part and intentionally surrendering to the work that needs to be done in us by His word.

Again at John 12:1-9, we see Jesus visiting Mary and Martha.  Jesus had come to their home for supper one night, and again we are told that "Martha was serving" (v.2).  Again, Martha was busy with things that legitimately needed to be done.  And again, we find Mary at Jesus' feet.  We are told that Mary took a jar of costly perfume and poured it onto Jesus' feet and then wiped His feet with her hair (v.3).  I don't know about you, but if I was in the kitchen doing all the work to feed a bunch of guests at me and my sister's house and she was in the living room pouring out my expensive perfume everywhere and rubbing her hair all over people's feet, I'd be like, "Jesus, take the wheel before I slap my sister upside her head."  But Martha didn't say a word.  Maybe she learned her lesson from the last time she complained to Jesus, I don't know.  What I do know is that she still hadn't learned her lesson about choosing the "good part," because we still find her busy and distracted.

This time, it was Judas that complained to Jesus about Mary.  He complained that Mary was wasting the perfume on Jesus' feet, when it should have been sold and the money used to help the poor (v.5).  From Judas' perspective, Mary was wasting her time at Jesus' feet.  From Judas' perspective, productivity was more important than relationship.  His desire to have control over his circumstances was smothering his desire to be transformed.  And once again, we see Jesus taking up for Mary and her willingness to invest her time in surrender at Jesus' feet when He tells Judas, "Leave her alone....you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me" (v.7,8).  The perfume she poured upon her Savior's feet was expensive, thus her devotion to Him was costly, just as transformation is costly, but it was an investment she was willing to make.  Judas was not willing to pay the price of transformation, he saw Mary's devotion as a waste of resources and time, and his lack of investment in Christ ultimately led him down the path of rejecting Him altogether.

Like Martha, so many of us are distracted with all our activity or our seemingly overwhelming circumstances (Luke 10:40).  Like Judas, many of us sacrifice the quiet, abiding presence of Christ as we bow down to the altar of results, productivity and control.  However, for us to sit at Jesus' feet, we must be like Mary, whose level of devotion was costly. We will have to sacrifice some activities that bring us or our children pleasure, so we can invest that time in Christ.  We will have to forsake some things that legitimately need to be done so we can choose the "good part" and spend that time sitting at Jesus' feet.  We will have to "cease striving" and trust God to be God in our circumstances, no matter how complicated or overwhelming they may be (Ps 46:10).  So many of us are moving along at the frantic pace of our lives, trying to get through each day without first having spent time in surrender at Jesus' feet.  So many of us are consumed with our lives, having comforted ourselves with thoughts about Christ or our service for Christ, at the sacrifice of seeking His actual presence. 

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch is not able to bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:4,5)

"Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." (John 6:57,58)

"But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him:  Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked." (1 John 2:5,6)

"In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God's presence with boldness and confidence." (Eph 3:12)