What to know about God from Psalm 139

Psalm 139:1-5 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all.

What kind of God God is

Today's post features one of the most magnificent Psalms in the Book of Psalms - Psalm 139. This Psalm in and of itself presents the major characteristics of God's very essence and being. Today's post is not about presenting a bunch of information. Rather the goal is to show the reader from this Psalm what kind of God God is and to demonstrate what there is to know about God from this Psalm, so as to affect transformation

1. God is One Lord that knows everything. Psalm 139:1-6

God's ability to know all things is referred to by Bible teachers as His "omni-science". The most wonderful thing about getting to know God is to find out that He knows me, through and through. Before I was every born, God knew about me in His mind. Every person born into this world in a general sense is shown in scripture to have had a particular ordained time of birth and time of death. (Psalm 90; Hebrews 9:27) In a specific sense, God in His mind knew before hand every believer and saw them as already complete in Christ. (Ephesians 1:1-4;Romans 8:29-31) Having in His imniscience seen every child of God in Christ in eternity, God decided to love them on the basis of His own decision to love them! (Deuteronomy 7:7-8; Ephesians 1:4-5) As the Psalmist says, there is more about God's knowledge that we do not comprehend than we do comprehend. (compare Romans 11:33-36). However, Biblical teachings on such truths reminds us to "let God be God" and "to keep silent on those areas wherein He does not speak" and "to worship Him Who knows all things."

2. God is everywhere. Psalm 139:7-12

God is without a doubt One God. Here in Psalm 139:7-12 we are given insight into the fact that God in regards to identity is not just One Person but Three Persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). In other words, God is "One what and three who's). The Person called here in Psalm 139 "God" (the New Testament uniformly refers to this First Person as "The Father") is distinct from a Personage called in Psalm 139:7 "Your Spirit".  The truth of God's plural identity is likened unto a faint outline in the Old Testament and presented in full vivid color in the New Testament. 

Why bring up the Trinity? because God's ability to be everywhere present (i.e omni-present) requires the teaching of the Trinity to ensure we don't mix up the distinction the Bible holds between the Creator and His creation. The Father in Heaven is able to affect everything everywhere because He is sharing the same infinite nature with the Spirit Who represents His presence both in Heaven and on earth. 

3. God is all powerful. Psalm 139:13-16

In the nature of the consistent portrait of God revealed in the Bible, we find that in talking about the plurality of His identity, we once again are brought back to the oneness of His being. All the pronouns for "you" in these verses are singular, demonstrating that the Psalmist here is talking about One God. This One God is all powerful (also called "Omni-potent"). God in His omni-potence has the ability to penetrate time, space and to orchestrate all things. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit share this ability equally and without division.

4. God is all good. Psalm 139:17-22

The Psalmist then says in Psalm 139:17 "How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!How vast is the sum of them!" Here we see the All-goodness of God. Theologians call this God's omni-benevolence. God is the fountain of all goods that we see in creation. To know that God has good intentions towards His creation carries a tone of sadness, since the realm of men spurn what is otherwise God's goodness. 

The Psalmist then makes this curious statement in Psalm 139:21-22 "Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? 22 I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies." What is meant by the idea of God hating? Why would the Psalmist express himself as "loathing those who rise up against you"? This truth, called God's perfect hatred, describes God's opposition in wrath against what sinners become in their sin, the hurt that is brought about and the attitude expressed in their rebellion against Him. God's hatred is not tinged with a vengeful, manaical bent like human expressions of hatred. 

The closest parallel I can think of to illustrate "perfect hatred" is of how a mother responds to a criminal trying to hurt their child. The mother responds in a form of "perfect hatred" directed at the crime being attempted and the criminal's lack of remorse. We hate what criminals have become and what they do. Such expressions of wrath are right and provide the foundation for retributive justice in our law and criminal justice system. All such expressions are based upon God's justice and wrath against sin, which alone is completely just and completely pure. 

Only God can perfectly distinguish between the person and the act, hating "what they are" while still holding out His redemptive purposes to the person themselves. God's goodness does not cancel out His justice, holiness and wrath against sin. If anything, such attributes highlight the fact that God is a good God. 

5. God is all wise. Psalm 139:23-24

Theologian Charles Hodge defines God wisdom as: "Assigning of proper ends and means to meet such ends". God's dealings with us, situations and time is different from our approach. We deal with things from beginning to end, whereas God deals by working back from things as being completed back to their beginning. God's all-wisdom (also called "omni-sapience") includes the free decisions of creatures, both good and bad, circumstances and history itself. If God were not the all-wise God, then all the other attributes we have discussed in today's post would not be able to function in such perfect harmony as they do in God. 

Closing thoughts:

Psalm 139 gives us one of the finest and most perfect summaries there is about God. Though we can never comprehend God, we can know Him. This is what we can know about God from Psalm 139: All knowing, Everywhere present, All powerful, All good and all wise. 

Praying with power

Romans 8:26-27 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Introduction:

Today's post is all about praying with power. When we think about how God manifest His power in worship services, preaching or the daily Christian life, we think in terms of man's concepts of power. So often we are advised to center our activites around "felt-needs" or "marketing". We are told that such techniques will bring more "pull" and influence over our culture in the churches. Further counsel suggests that for the daily Christian life, making oneself happy is to be the priority for having a more fulfilled Christianity. 

As I am sure many readers have witnessed - such techniques utterly fail. Why? Because what constitutes powerful Christianity and church-life operates in the powerful prayer lives of Christians who walk with God. Our own sense of self-importance has resulted in a bloated American church that looks more like the culture and less like a counter-culture centered around the belief in the Risen Christ and the manifestation of the Kingdom of God in the Word of God and transformed lives. 

Romans 8:21-28 gives the list of ingredients necessary for having a powerful and effective prayer life. As one writer once put it: "a man (and for that matter a woman) of God can never exceed in their public life the level to which they are with God in their private life." If we can take note of the principles Paul lays out here for praying with power, then we will have the Christian lives and churches that are also marked with the Spirit's power and enduement.

1. Pray with expectation. Romans 8:21-25 

Romans 8:21-25 states: "that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.22 For we know that the whole creationgroans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 Forin hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it." Notice the underlined words in the text: "waiting eagerly" and "hope". Do we expect God to genuinely work when we pray? Are we expecting Him to act on our behalf. The tone of the Christian world and personal Christian living is often powerless due to the fact we don't believe God is powerful. We have tamed God and domesticated Him to operating on the same plane as we do. If God is powerful enough (and He is) to bring to a resolution the sin and decay of this creation through the redemptive efforts of His Son, surely he can act effectively on your behalf and mine. So to pray with power, we must pray with expectation, meaning we know God is able to do whatsoever His will in His Word says he can and will do. But notice a second necessary element...

Pray with weakness. Romans 8:26 

Romans 8:26 states - "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." If there is one thing missing in our church world and Christianity as a whole in America it is the sense of dependency on God. We like to come off like we have it all together. Showing of strength, human ingenuity, professionalism, cleverness, no problems, personality and the like make for appealing to the crowds and attracting more people. However, does such an envoronment foster the type of atmosphere wherein the Spirit of God will show up in supernatural power? 

Consider again what we learn in prayer, and apply it in your Christian life or the church world: "His power is made perfect in weakness". Admitting that I don't have the answers. Acknowledging to God we need help with this or that. Coming to our heavenly father as a little wee child comes to their daddy with upheld arms, moistened eyes and quicvering voice saying: Daddy, please help me! Would any decent father reject such a plea? Hardly! How much more our Heavenly Father will grant the co-equal, co-eternal Spirit in powerful aid to those crying out in prayer. Our strength lies in our weakness, a message so alien to our culture. Nonetheless this is what is called for in praying with power, namely praying in our weakness and dependance upon God. We need also to pray with expectation. But notice the last ingredient for praying with power...

Praying with faith in God. Romans 8:27-28

Romans 8:27-28 "and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." In prayer the mind and the human spirit are linked together. The mind that has taken in the words of God from the Bible knows the will of God. The human spirit that is home to the Holy Spirit of God knows the will of God intuitively. Faith by its very defintion in Hebrews 11:1 is the substance of things hoped for and the certainty of things not yet seen. 

Fear says: "Maybe". Faith says: "He can". Fear says: "I'm not sure". Faith says: "I know He will". Prayer crosses over that invisible boundary between human half-hearted prayers vs Spirit-wrought powerful intercession by what we can call "certainty" and "knowing that we know that we know". Romans 8:28 is an everest in the Christian's prayer life. You can take that one verse and pull it over every area of your Christian life and whatever is lacking in our local churches. Praying with power will lead to living with power, worshipping with power and preaching with power. 

We need the power and Person of God in our lives. May we pray with expectation, weakness and faith. Those are the ingredients for praying in power. 

Knowing God is the heart of the Gospel

John 17:3 This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Introduction:

What is the goal and heart of the Gospel - the Goodnews of Jesus Christ? In the opening verse above the answer is made plain: to know God. Pastor John Piper wrote a book a number of years ago entitled: "God is the Gospel". On the back of the DVD study based upon the book, we find the following statement: "Some people say forgiveness makes the Gospel good news. Others suggest that being saved from hell or gaining freedom from a guilt conscience makes it good news. But the Bible tells us the Gospel is good news not because of its many peripheral blessings, but because it brings us to God - and to utter delight in Him as our all-sufficient and everlasting treasure." 

John 17:3 is the clearest definition we have in the Bible of what it means to have eternal life. John 3:16 is often quoted as the simplest definition of salvation: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Knowing God as the core definition of what it means to have biblical salvation will be the focus of today's post. Below are some other passages that aid in fleshing out this truth. 

Knowing God is the heart of the Gospel because unbelievers are defined as not knowing God
The ultimate bad news that the Gospel first brings to us is that we are born into this world alienated from God - and thus do not know Him. Ephesians 2:12-13 explains: "remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:4 explains it this way: " in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." The unbeliever outside of Jesus Christ knows about God according to Romans 1:21-23, but without saving faith, possess a non-saving knowledge about Him.

Knowing God is at the heart of the Gospel because it defines what it means to experience salvation
The change that occurs at salvation is explained as me going from knowing about God to knowing God and being known by God. Jeremiah 31:33-34 predicts what would be the current new birth miracle of regeneration in the human soul that works itself out in saving faith:  “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” When we come to the New Testament, salvation is described in terms of being brought to a point of knowing the true God: 1 John 5:20 "And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life."

Knowing God is the heart of the Gospel because only at the cross by faith do we know God
To say that the heart of the Gospel is equal to knowing God does not mean some generic concept of God. God is not an idea to be studied nor a formula, but a Living reality involving Three Persons in unending movement in and through One another. At the cross, we see the Second of those persons, Jesus the Son, dying in His humanity for the sins of mankind, especially those who are His from the Father by faith. (1 Timothy 4:10) If we try to know God by reason only, or by religious law keeping, we will be in the dark so-to-speak regarding who God is. Hebrews 12:18-21 notes - "For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, 19 and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. 20 For they could not bear the command, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.” 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I am full of fear and trembling.” So how do we gain access to God? The only place where He will meet and gain access to us: the cross. Notice Hebrews 12:22-24 "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel."

Closing thoughts
Today we looked briefly as to why the Gospel can be defined as being brought to the point of knowing God. We noted that unbelievers by definition do not know God. Thus salvation is defined as the point and time we are brought to a true knowledge of God, and that being at the cross. May we who know God make Him known to those who do not know Him. 

Four senses of knowing God

Jeremiah 9:23-24 "Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord."

Introduction:

I will never forget the first time I was introduced to the most wonderful human being this side of eternity - known then as Deb Gray. We had a mutual friend who had been attempting to formally introduce us to one another. At the Bible College we attended, I had heard about Deb and had seen her on the campus, but I did not know her. After our friend had shared with me some additional information, I had to write her name down as my friend was bringing me to meet Deb. Soon after sitting down beside her, she and I began to talk to one another. To make a long story short - Deb and I started dating a few days later. We were engaged in six months and got married over a year after the engagement and after my graduation. I had known about Deb and got to know her more and more as we spent time in our courtship. After we got married and she became Deborah Emily Smith, I made it a point to get to know my wife, and she shared this same goal with me. For 18 years our adventure in knowing one another has only blossomed our love for one another. If such a focal point describes what marriage should be all about, then what or Who is the One that we should know Who explains the whole point of life and salvation? God of course! 

J.I Packer in his classic book: "Knowing God" begins with this statement on page 29: "What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we set ourselves in life? To know God. What is the Eternal life that Jesus gives? Knowledge of God. 'This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent' (John 17:3). What is the best thing in life, bringing more joy, delight, and contentment, than anything else? Knowledge of God." 

Four senses of what it means to know God

To one extent, it is accurate to say that everyone knows something about God, however, the scripture makes it plain that only believers in Jesus Christ can truly know God. The following four senses of knowing God are spelled out by scripture to explain how people know God to one degree or another.

1. Knowing about God in a general way  Creation

Psalm 19:1 states - "The heavens are telling of the glory of God;And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." Everyone born into this world has the knowledge about God hardwired into their consciences, their minds and their hearts. Even the most hardened Atheist may claim to believe there is no God, however they cannot explain why they have compassion for another human being or why they believe it is wrong to murder within their worldview. Romans 1:21 gives this indictment: "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." 

Everyone knows about God and everyone knows there is a God. This general knowledge is what we call "general revelation" and is accessible and innate in all people: believer and unbeliever alike. To know about God does not equate to a saving knowledge of God, but rather shows that all people are accountable to God. God Himself imprinted information about Himself in the laws governing the universe and in the very fabric of life itself. 

2. Knowing God in a specific way - The Bible

It's one thing to know about generally in general revelation, however how do we gain specific and accurate knowledge of God? God has chosen to not only reveal knowledge about Himself in creation, but specific details about Himself in One book: The Bible. Being that God has chosen to reveal Himself specifically in a Book, Christian thinkers refer to this form of revelation as "special revelation".  

Psalm 119:134-135 states: "Redeem me from the oppression of man,That I may keep Your precepts. 135 Make Your face shine upon Your servant,
And teach me Your statutes." Jesus Himself, being Immanuel, God with us, God in human flesh, said these words in Luke 24:44 - "Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 

It is by the Bible we come to know the God of the book and in knowing the God of the book we most clearly understand the Bible. God in the Person of the Holy Spirit co-authored the Bible with 40 other human authors. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21) To know the Holy Spirit personally is tantamount to and equated with studying, memorizing and meditating upon the Bible, being that He through it illumines the Christian's understanding to the things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10-13)  We come to know God in the Bible, however unless saving faith is united with the testimony of God's special revelation, we only possess head knowledge about God and are even more accountable to Him. 

3. Knowing God in a full way - Jesus Christ
To know God in a general way by the general revelation of creation and the conscience results in knowing about God but not necessarily knowing God. To know God specifically entails going to the one Book He has moved upon men in Divine inspiration to write that reveals specific things about Him. The Bible as God's written revelation about Himself is His "specific", His  "special revelation". 

Now what is it that the Bible is specifically revealing? The what is expressed in terms of the language of "promise" in the Old Testament and in the Person of Jesus Christ in the new Testament. Hebrews 1:1-3 explains: "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things,through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, andupholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." When Jesus was on this earth He said to His disciples in John 14:6-8 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 

Jesus as God in human flesh is the full and complete revelation of the invisible Father. Together with the written word of God - the Bible, Jesus and the scriptures present a "stereo view of God" in both high definition sound and video. To separate Jesus Christ from the Bible and vice-versa is like listening to a video without sound or trying to make out what is being seen in a video with only the audio. Many people in Jesus' days on this earth saw His miracles and even on the surface expressed admiration about Him. 

However, like with God's special revelation the Bible, unless faith is tied to Jesus' full revelation, there is only head knowledge about Him but no saving knowledge. 

4. Knowing God personally - by faith
We have seen that to know God can be defined one of three ways: knowing about Him in creation, knowing Him specifically in the Bible and knowing Him fully in Jesus Christ. These first three methods of God's Divine revelation are outside and irrespective of us. However the Bible makes it plain that unless there is saving faith present to personally connect to Jesus Christ in the Word, there can be  no personal knowledge of God. Faith is a gift given by God to fully persuade sinners to embrace Jesus Christ as revealed in the Word. When a sinner trusts in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, salvation is the result. (Romans 10:8-10) 

To experience salvation by grace through faith is described as "knowing God". John 17:3 records Jesus saying: "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Furthermore, to know God personally is at the heart of ongoing growth in santifying faith following salvation. The language of "father-to-child" is used to explain this point in scripture. For example, Galatians 4:9  "But now that you have come to know God, or rather to beknown by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?" Romans 8:14-16 "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God."

Closing Thoughts:
We saw in brief today the four senses of knowing God. We know about God generally in the general revelation of creation and the conscience. We then discover that God was revealed speicifically in the Bible. Thirdly, Jesus Christ fully reveals God in regards to His person and glory. Then the fourth sense of knowing God is the most Personal, Faith. Faith grabs hold of and receives the truth revealed in the other three senses. May you and I make it our goal as believers to know God, as a spouse who makes it their goal to know their spouse. 

Great song: How Deep the Father's Love

1 John 3:1-3 "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

Today's post features a great link to a song that was mentioned to me by one of the readers of this blog. It so edified my spirit that I felt it deserved its own post. The musicians in the video are from the Liberty University Worship band and they sing the song: "How deep the Father's love". The above song is available on youtube at this address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBe2iRIYjW0

Tied together in the Spirit

Philippians 1:27 Only conduct yourselves in a mannerworthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.

Philippians 2:2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

Introduction to the idea of "tied together in the Spirit"

There is an interesting phenomenon that I have experienced over the course of my Christian life and ministry - a unique work wrought by the Spirit of God whereby He ties two or more people together in unity - a phenomena that I call "tied together in the Spirit". It amazes me how I will on rare occassions run across a man of God, regardless of station or social standing in life, I have never met, that within minutes we become "tied together" in a life long ministry friendship. 

The Lord over the years has given me such Godly men, such "ties", whereby that man and me are as David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel 20:17 "Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own life." As you scan the scriptures, you witness other such "tyings": Jesus and the Apostle John, Paul and Silas, Paul and Timothy, Peter and Mark. 

When the Spirit of God brings together God's people in this fashion, it is a ministry partnership that is never broken by time nor distance. Sometimes the "tying together" expresses itself as a brotherhood, a spiritual father and spiritual son in the faith (Like Paul and Timothy). You and I cannot manufacture nor predict when nor how the Spirit of God will do it. In my life, He has placed me in contact with men whose personality differed greatly from my own, and yet we meshed like gears in a clock. 

Personal examples of how the Spirit of God has "tied me" to other believers over the years

At times when I have needed spiritual parenting in my life, God has placed an older couple in my life. One such couple, whose names will remain anonymous, function in such a capacity. I can call upon them to pray for me, and they do. Its as if we have never apart when I call. At other times God has placed men of God who have been like a big brother to me. A dear pastor friend, whose word and bond and advice has helped me see my blind spots, is the closest thing I have to a big brother (apart from Jesus in the flesh, my "Elder Brother").

There is one man of God who functions for me like a mentor of sorts. His personality is different from mine, and yet we have a bond that can only be explained as a "tying together in the Spirit". 

There is another man of God, a younger man, whom I look at as a younger brother in the faith. He and I can talk about the things of God, give a big bear hug and intuitively know whenever God is prompting one another to pray for the other man. 

I could go on and on. This work of the Spirit of God is a work that only He can do. I cannot predict when or how He will do it. All I know is that this is His working, not my own, and I thank Him for it. 

When a church is "tied together in the Spirit"

Now imagine such a work operating at a church wide level. Whenever Paul writes what he does in Philippians 1:27 and 2:2 above, I believe he is speaking of an entire church-body being "tied-together" in the Spirit. I have only ever witnessed this reality on a handful of occassions. 

To see an entire church operating as "one-person" is something which no man, no organization, no society can replicate. When a church is tied together in the fashion described by Paul, the bond is virtually indestrucible. The ministry level of that church will exceed size and geographical limitations. If that church body is committed to loving one another as Jesus prescribed in John 13:34-35 and if they are all about the Gospel, not grieving the Spirit and intercession for one another, the said phenomena of "tied together in the Spirit" will occur. The boyhood church at which I was saved was one such church. What unity. What fervency for God and genuine concern for one another. I could tell of a handfull of other churches I have seen over the years, but I must hasten. 

Such a reality in the Christian world is desired, and even commanded (as we see here in Philippians). But it comes at a very high cost, one of which many of us is unwilling to pay? The cost? Self. Lest we die to our agendas, ourselves - we will never witness what it means to be "tied together in the Spirit" across churches, denominations or as a people of God. When the wonderous life of the Risen Christ, His Word, His Spirit exceeds whatever life we perceive we need to make for ourselves, only then can the Spirit of God have free course to mend fences, heal hearts and purge us of fear.  May we strive and pray for God to "knit us together", "tie us together".

The Nine Faces of Revival

Psalm 85:6 "Will You not Yourself revive us again,That Your people may rejoice in You?"

What is revival? In the simplest terms: A revival is an extraordinary visitation by God's presence and power into the ordinary life of the church. Certainly Psalm 85 is considered to be a classic "revival" passage, being that it is the heart cry of the Psalmist that God would revive him and his people. The study of revival throughout the history of the church can prove to be a fascinating study, being that no two revivals are exactly alike. 

Elmer Towns and Douglas Porter wrote a book a number of years ago entitles: "The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever" (Vine Books, 2000). This blogger has found their book to be insightful in understanding the history of revival movements, and how in some cases there are common elements across any move of God. However each of the revivals they tell about are different. 

Today's post features what Towns and Porter refer to as the "Nine Faces of Revival". Porter and Towns write: "All people have the same basic facial features, yet these features are arranged differently. In a similar way, revivals display the same essential features as they reflect God's presence, yet they have different faces; that is, revival is expressed in different ways." (Towns and Porter, Page 17). Below is a listing of the different types of revival that they lay out in their book. I am sure you will find the following list both helpful and illuminating. To God be the glory!

1. The repentance revival emphasizes moral cleansing of individual lives and society as whole.

2. The evangelism revival focuses on winning lost souls to Christ

3. The worship revival centers on magnifying God

4. The deeper life revival emphasizes the experience of God's dwelling

5. The spiritual warfare revival devotes its energies to battling Satan and other demons

6. The Holy Spirit revival is characterized by extensive manifestations of the Spirit

7. The reconciliation revival leads to removal of barriers to racial and ethnic harmony

8. The liberation revival focuses on gaining freedom from corporate and personal bondage to sin

9. The prayer revival displays considerable efforts at intercession and other forms of prayer.

Towns and Porters listing acknowledges the possibility that God could, if He so chooses, blend two or more of the types together. However the reader may view this listing, it is based upon much research and I would recommend Towns and Porter's book as a resource for studying the history of revivals. May we all ever seek the face of God and pray that we would see a revival in our lifetime! 

Embracing the Great Physician, Jesus Christ

Luke 4:17-19 "And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

Introduction:
As Jesus was beginning His public ministry, the very first statement made about His public ministry in Luke comes on the heals of His temptation by Satan in the wilderness in Luke 4:1-14. Jesus' self-identifying statement connected Him to the prophecy of Isaiah 61. What Jesus would do in Luke 4:17-19 is summarized for his hearers in his own boy-hood hometown. Jesus' reading of the prophecy would serve to explain the exact nature of His pending earthly ministry. 

Jesus came as the great physician, demonstrating His power over emotional and physical ailments, and most importantly showing that He had the power to forgive sins. Author Ann Spangler in the book: "Praying the Names of Jesus", page 65, notes: "Jesus, the greatest of all physicians, performed more healings than any other kind of miracle. Nothing stumped him - not blindness, craziness, lameness, deafness, or even death. Every ailment yielded to his undeniable power, and every healing served as evidence that His kingdom was breaking into our fallen world."

Point of Application: As Luke 4:14-44 introduced us to the Great Physician, Jesus Christ, we will offer this main point of application: You and I must ever embrace and never reject Jesus Christ, the Great Physician. The following reasons gleaned from Luke's account will demonstrate why we must ever embrace and never reject the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. 

Medicine from the Great Physician. Luke 4:14-21

Any good doctor not only possess the wisdom to prescribe remedies, but also knows the best ones. What makes Jesus Christ so unique and worthy of the title "Great Physician" are the medicines He had to offer from His own, Spirit-endued reserve of power. Notice the list of medicines we find in Luke 4:18-19:

1. Spiritual Medicine. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor." 

2. Emotional medicine. We see this in verse 18 :"He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives....".

3. Physical healing medicine. Certainly in verse 18 we Jesus having the power to affect physical healing: "And recovery of sight to the blind...."

4. Supernatural medicine. Included in Jesus' ability to heal was the exorcisms He would perform, as explained in verse 18: "To set free those who are oppressed...." 

5. The medicine of the scriptures. Consider verse and then in verse 19: "To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” 

All five types of these medicines would weave their way throughout the earthly ministry of our Lord. He as the Great Physician is unlimited in what He can do. The Lord God near the beginning of the Old Testament identified Himself as "The Lord who Heals" (Jehovah Rapha) in Exodus 15:26. Equally significant is the fact that the Old Testament revelation closed out by predicting the 2nd coming of the Messiah with "healing in His wings" in Malachi 3:2. Clearly Jesus' ability to heal body, soul and most importantly the human spirit demonstrated His identity as God in human flesh. Jesus opens up His public ministry in His first coming by referencing a prophecy pertaining to His ability to heal. By the power of the Holy Spirit today Jesus still offers various remedies, with the first (spiritual healing) and last type of medicine (scripture) being His chief remedies that govern the other three. So we see the medicines of the Great Physician, but notice also...

Massive rejection of the Great Physician. Luke 4:20-30

Jesus then rolls up the scroll of Isaiah and declares in effect that He was the fulfillment of it. The people in his hometown were astonished. Luke 4:22 records their marveling at the gracious words and then saying quite irreverently: "Is this not Joseph's Son"? Jesus then responds in Luke 4:23 And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” In commenting on this proverb alluded to by Jesus (or what also could be translated "parable"), the great commentator Albert Barnes notes: "The connexion of this proverb, here, is this: 'You profess to be the Messiah. You have wrought miracles at Caprenaum. You profess to be able to deliver us from our maladies, our sins, our afflictions, etc. Show that you have the power, that you are worthy of our confidence, by working miracles here, as you profess you have done at Capernaum.'

This was undoubtedly a massive rejection of the Great Physician. He attempted to minister in His own Home town, and yet they rejected Him. Before long, virtually every town Jesus would go would turn Him away. Frighteningly the church itself, even in our day, can run the risk of rejecting the Great Physician's desire to want to come in and draw closer to His own people. Revelation 3:19-20 "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door,I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." And so again we must ever embrace and never reject the Great Physician Jesus Christ. Now consider briefly the next reason for embracing Him...

Miracles done by the Great Physician. Luke 4:31-41

Jesus ended up going down to the town that would become His ministry headquarters (compare Matthew 9:1). In keeping with His inaugural sermon in Luke 4:18-19, Jesus cast out demons and performed healings. All the miracles pointed to His authority. (Luke 4:32) Prior to Jesus, no one had performed a verifiable exorcism. Truly what Jesus did demonstrated what we read in Matthew 11:2-5 "Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

So we see the medicine of the Great Physician, the massive rejection of Him and the miracles He did. Again, you and I must ever embrace and not ever reject the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. Notice the final reason for this....

The message of the Great Physician. Luke 4:43-44

Luke 4:43-44 states - But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea." What was the mission of Jesus Christ? We know that He came to provide salvation. (Mark 10:45; Luke 19:10) We see too that Jesus came for a second and closely related purpose: to proclaim the Kingdom of God. There would have to be a cross before a crown. Jesus' role as Great Physician, healer of the mind and body, but moreso the soul, testified that the Kingdom was breaking into our world and history. Matthew 9:35 records -  "Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness." In Acts 10:38-40 Peter states - "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 39 We are witnesses of all the things He did both in theland of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on across. 40 God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible." Thus we see the mission of the Great Physician.

Closing thoughts:

Today we looked at meeting Jesus the Great Physician. We must ever embrace and not reject Him. Why? His ministry, the massive rejection He underwent, the miracles He did and the mission for which He came all point to the fact that He is worthy of embracing. His accomplished work on the cross and resurrection from the dead demonstrated that the Kingdom did indeed break into our world. His primary work of definite salvation and ministering through the scriptures, as well as the secondary benefits of possible emotional, physical and supernatural healings issue forth from the exalted King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 

What is necessary for remaining on fire for God

Colossians 4:16-18  "When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea. 17 Say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you."

Note to the reader: For a more indepth version of this post, check out the other blogsite at: http://biblicalexegete.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/getting-revived-and-remaining-on-fire-for-god-some-exegetical-and-devotional-thoughts/

Introduction:

In yesterday's post we considered how a church or individual positions themselves to prepare for revival. We discovered from Colossians 4:2-15 that at least three necessary ingredients are required: prayer, evangelism and testimony. No doubt about is, the church at Colossae had begun with a mighty move of God - a Heaven sent revival. (Colossians 1:5-6) Furthermore, Paul prayed that the church would remain on fire for God in Colossians 1:11-12  "strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light."  We offered the following definition of revival: "A revival is an extraordinary visitation by God's presence and power into the ordinary life of the church". Today we want to understand how such a momentum is maintained once it has begun. When revival comes, what must we do in its wake? How can we keep on fire for God. Certainly continuing to practice what we looked at should be priority. 

What is necessary in remaining on fire for God? Colossians 4:16-18

1. Focus on the scriptures. 

We read these thoughts in Colossians 4:16 "When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea." Romans 10:17 reminds us that: "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." 1 Timothy 4:13 has Paul writing to Timothy: "Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching." Why is such a devotion to scripture so necessary? Notice what Paul explains to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16 "Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you." These similar instructions are found in Colossians 4:16, and speak of the supernatural life changing and sustaining power of the Word of God preached, read and taught. In the history of revivals, no revival has been started or maintained apart from a concerted effort to "get back to the Bible". However there is one other necessary component for staying on fire for God...

2. Follow through. 

Notice what Paul writes in Colossians 4:17-18 Say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you." The word translated in Colossians 4:17 "Take heed" can refer to being aware and taking careful effort to be watchful and alert. Should we not being ever in a state of "expectation" when it comes to what God can do whenever we get in order with Him in prayer, evangelism, testimony and the Word. This is all part of our "follow through" in seasons where maybe the excitement of revival has waned and the revival services have ended.

Following through in this context speaks of finishing those commitments that we made. Archippus, undoubtedly the pastor of the church at Colossae, is commended by Paul to "stay in the saddle" so-to-speak. Jude writes in Jude 20-21 "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holyfaith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life."

Closing thoughts

Today's post was all about working our way through Colossians 4:2-18 in consideration of how one prepares for revival and then maintains fervor for God. We saw that in preparing for revival, there must needs be prayer, emphasis on evangelism and testimonies with the outside world. Then in consderation of how we maintain our fervor and fire for God in the wake of a move of God, emphasis upon scripture and follow-through must ever accompany our church-lives and Christian lives. As Paul closes out in Colossians 4:18, may the same final word be what motivates and empowers us to apply what we saw today: "Grace be with you."