We Stand Upon Our Feet And Applaud Their Victory

As you wake up this morning in a nice warm bed, thinking about what you might have for breakfast; as you stand in your nice warm shower and think of what you might do with your friends; as you get dressed in your beautiful clean clothes and consider how much money you have to spend on your activities today, think of where some of your brothers and sisters in Christ are waking up. Because of the name of Jesus they are waking up in prison cells, cut off from their families, friends, churches. Some will face execution today, and no one will ever know. No one will honour them today. But they will be honoured by Jesus.

Not many of us realize how much of the Church is being persecuted in the world. Not many of us realize that more martyrs are being produced now than at any other time in history. And the world keeps on with its busyness without so much as a mention of those dying for the name of Jesus. I think even the Church is turning a blind eye whereas we should be leaping to our feet and applauding those who stand strong and go to the end of the matter in Jesus' name. Theirs will be a special reward, a special recognition before all of creation. We should also realize, they have been rescued.

During Isaiah's time there was a king who was so vicious, so terrible, so murderous that Scripture records him as filling Jerusalem with blood, from one end to another. Good, God-fearing people were being murdered, martyred. They refused to bend their knee to another god and they paid the price and no one defended them. Isaiah wrote:

The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
Merciful men are taken away,
While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from evil. (Isaiah 57:1)

Isaiah presents a perspective with which many of us may struggle. He puts forward the notion that the righteous were being rescued from the evil that was falling on Judah. Under the king, Judah was becoming a wretched place, filled with idolatry and all the evil that came with it and here Isaiah was saying that the righteous were being taken away from it. Perhaps to rescue them from temptation?

The problem is that we see death as robbing us of life. We see it to be the end of something instead of as a beginning. We see it as a door being shut instead of a door being opened. There is a reason that Jesus did not refer to people as being dead but simply as sleeping. Not everyone will escape the blow of death but those who are in Christ Jesus will escape the sting of death. Isaiah writes:

He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in their beds,Each one walking in his uprightness. (v. 2) 

The righteous of Isaiah's day were taken from the evil of the land, rescued, and brought into peace. Some who are reading this will also be rescued from the evil that is descending on our lands; evil that is being introduced by leaders set up to defend us. It is only the beginning and many will escape the full brunt of it through martyrdom. We cannot ignore the passages that refers to the great crowd of people who stood around the throne, dressed in white, the martyrs; those who died because of the name of Jesus. Scriptures say that they will have the honour of serving Jesus in the new Jerusalem. Their reward will be great.

If they are honoured there then they should be honoured here by those of us who understand. Perhaps in Isaiah's day "no man takes it to heart" but today, with the ease of the internet, we will take note of them and rise to honour them. We shall applaud and yell "Well done" because they have run their race and will enter their peace with Jesus. This place does not deserve the likes of them for they are too awesome for this world. They set for us a great example to stand up under persecution, to continue praising the name of Jesus, clothed in his righteousness. No matter the cost, we stand for Jesus, and as we forgive those who persecute us and love them to the end, may they discover how much Yahweh loves his enemies.

Getting Real With Jesus - A Call To Holiness

I think we have gone too far in the taming of our God, to make him appear more attractive, more salable among the cavorting nations. We have removed the bite from the Lion, or, I should say, we tried. At what point did we realize that the way of holiness was unattractive to the masses? When was that moment that we decided a benevolent Santa Claus type figure would be more acceptable? Who was the marketer that decided it was wiser to leave people happy in their sin in the pews than uncomfortably convicted at the Mercy Seat? I realize I am being harsh but I am being harsh on people like me: The Preachers.

Our God is not tame; far from it. However, he is kind, loving, forgiving and his desire is to see everyone saved from their intended destination of destruction. This does not diminish his glory; his righteousness; his holiness. Just because he reaches out in compassion to adopt us as his children does not take away from his glory:

Clouds and darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. (v. 2)

I don't think we preachers have done a very good job of telling people that a mark of accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord is change. We die to what we were. That is how our bondage to sin is broken. Then we are raised in our new life in Jesus, and he in us. It is true that all our sin is forgiven but it also means we are called to his righteousness. It is the foundation of his throne as it becomes the foundation of our lives. It means that we no longer desire sin, or self or anything but the will of the Father. Any other form of Christianity is a lie. Anything that allows you to remain in sin and your desire for sin and self is a lie. Remember that justice is also the foundation of his throne and all those who live by sin instead of the Spirit are his enemies:

A fire goes before Him,
And burns up His enemies round about. (v. 3)

Not so tame.

We need a better vision of Yahweh, a better understanding so that we know that we do not want to fall into the hands of the living God; not his hands of justice:

His lightnings light the world;
The earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples see His glory. (vv. 4-6)

We should fear to sin. We should fear to fall out of his grace. We should fear to offend our God. We should never take his grace for granted. We should never abuse his love. We should never try to manipulate his kindness and desire for us to our selfish advantage. We should desire to flee hard and fast from even any hint of sin, not use grace as an excuse to flirt with it or even to flaunt it. If we are saved we should have a longing for the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It should be our desire and when we fail, repentance should be our quick response.

Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,
Who boast of idols. (v. 7)

Indeed, let us feel the shame of our prostitution to the idols of this age. Let us feel deeply the shame and guilt of what we do against the Name above all names. Let us stop playing games with grace and get serious about loving our God. Let us throw off everything that entangles and ensnares our hearts and be thoroughly cleansed and set right in our service to our King. Let us discover again our fear of the Lord, the great respect that is due him and get up on his Highway of Holiness. Let us pursue him with all that we are and trust him to preserve us until the day of his return.

You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. (vv. 10-12)

Indeed, REPENT! REJOICE! GIVE THANKS! REMEMBER!

Strangers In Our Own Home

We are not bold enough. Often we try to be too polite with God. We act like visitors in a stranger's home, not wanting to offend or get anything dirty. There is a difference between how children react as a guest in someone's home and as a family member in their own. Why would we act like guests in the presence of our Father? Why would we treat him like a stranger? Why are we so afraid to act like family and why would we ever ask for something he has already promised to us?

Could you imagine this conversation:

"Mom, can I have some clothes? Can you give me some clothes please?"

"What are you talking about? Your closet is full of clothes?"

"Yes, but can I have them? Can you give them to me?"

"I already gave them to you. They are yours. Go ahead and wear them."

"Are you sure I can wear them? It won't offend you? I will clean the whole house if you let me wear them."

"What? Are you feeling okay?"

But we do it all the time. We treat our relationship with our Father like we are strangers in his house. We are afraid to touch what he freely gave to us. We don't act on his promises. It's like he has to give them to us again and again. They are ours.

There is nothing wrong with reminding God of his promises in boldness. It is not so much that we are reminding God as we are reminding ourselves. The psalmist stated it rather frankly:

Listen, Lord, as I pray!
    Pay attention when I groan.
2 You are my King and my God. (Psalm 5:1-2)

The psalmist comes with boldness, demanding the attention of God, not because he deserved it but because of the relationship: You are my King and my God. There is a lot he says in that declaration. God has made promises that have obligated himself to us. Because he is our Father he has bound himself to certain things.

You may think, "God, is Sovereign, he can do what he wants". True but our Father will never go against his character and his promises come out of that character. He is our Father. He has adopted us as his children through Jesus Christ. In doing this he has obligated himself to fulfill all the promises given to us, as we remain his children. Look at how the psalmist understood it even at that time, before Jesus:

You are my King and my God.
Answer my cry for help
    because I pray to you. (v. 2)

"You are my King and my God and as such you are obligated to answer my cries for help because I am asking my King." Jesus communicated with us the promises of the Father. He told us to go to the Father with whatever we needed. He told us to stop worrying about what we need here and concentrate on the Kingdom because our Father would look after what we need here. We don't need to come with hat in hand to our Father. We come in with the boldness of children who trust their Father to be who he says he is, one who loves us and pours out all his goodness on us. But remember that it is the parents who establish the rules in the house. The kids do not get to do whatever they want. There is correction:

You are not the kind of God
who is pleased with evil.
    Sinners can’t stay with you.
5 No one who boasts can stand
in your presence, Lord,
    and you hate evil people.
6 You destroy every liar,
    and you despise violence
    and deceit. (vv.4-6)

Our God is not a "genie in the bottle" who grants wishes. He is our Holy and Righteous Father who expects relationship. He loves us and wants us to love him in return. He wants us to consider what is important to him to be important to us. He wants us to walk in his footsteps, to reject evil and to cling to what is good. It is in this relationship of obedience that we have the boldness of any child to come into our Father's presence, to love him and to expect good things.

Stop acting like a stranger in our Father's house. To be honest, it is kind of creepy. It's like we don't know who we are. Stop it and be the child that you are. Princes and princesses in the Kingdom of God is who we are and our Father keeps us constantly in his presence. Live with boldness and walk in what has already been given to you.