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Elijah Ministries - Upcoming Conferences Come join us this fall at one of these events! Family Conference at New
Life Bible Church in Winnebago, IL. Sept. 4-6. www.winnewlife.com Marriage
Conference at Christian Community Church in Murray, KY Sept. 25-26. www.murrayccc.org Father/Son
Retreat at Good Tidings Fellowship Conference Center in Cornwallville, NY.
Oct. 9-12. www.goodtidingsfellowship.com/fathersoncamp Equipping
Men Conference at Evangelical Institute of Greenville, SC, Oct. 16-18. www.eigonline.org. Chariot
August 2009 -
Norm Wakefield The
Gift of Scripture - Part 2
Of all the words in Scripture, I suggest that none are more important
than the words of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, the words of Scripture only
find their significance to the degree that the Holy Spirit uses them to
reveal Jesus Christ so we might know Him. The Pharisees had the
Scriptures, and they thought that having them (knowing them) was
synonymous with knowing God. Listen to what Jesus told them. "You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do
not believe Him whom He sent. You search the Scriptures because you think
that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and
you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life" (John 5:38-40). This helps us see that the gift of Scripture alone isn't
sufficient to have eternal life. Knowing the Scriptures isn't the same as
knowing the Father, God, and His Son, Jesus Christ. What else is necessary
in order for a person to experience eternal life? Eternal Life is knowing the Father and the Son.
"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3). Eternal life is knowing the
Father and the Son. To the degree that the Scriptures enable us to know
God by experience, we may say that we have life. Knowing Christ by
experience, or in our experience, lifts us above the academic and
religious which is common to natural man.
We hope and pray our children know God through Jesus Christ. We want them
to experience eternal life, but if all they see is parents conforming to
outward religious standards for the approval of men and reading the Bible
as a means of collecting religious, historical facts, they will look for
something else for which to live. Jesus has given the Holy Spirit that we may know Him in His Word. John 14 is an account of Jesus' last words to His disciples before His crucifixion, therefore they are important words. I think it is easy to miss what Jesus was communicating if His words are understood only in a physical sense. The gift of the Holy Spirit sent by the Lord Jesus upon His glorification enables us to understand His words in a spiritual sense. Jesus' sending the Holy Spirit was no simple matter. He first went to His Father in heaven with the sacrificial offering of His blood in order to make a way for believers to "go to His Father." Then He was raised to life as proof that His sacrifice had been accepted and "the way" opened. Finally, He was glorified in heaven after His ascension and seated at the right hand of the Father. Then the Holy Spirit was sent to those who believe that they might have a place in heaven to abide on a daily basis.
Let's read some select passages from John 14 and make some observations.
"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In
My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would
have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I
am, there you may be also...." Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the
truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John
14:1-3, 6). Faith in God and Jesus Christ comforts the troubled heart. Obviously Jesus knew Peter and the disciples needed
comforting and encouragement after telling Peter that he would deny Him
before the next morning. Their hearts naturally were troubled by the news.
What Jesus told them had direct application to the events that were to
follow, namely, His death and their denial and dispersion. What were they
to believe about God and Jesus? Jesus would provide a place of comfort with the Father. Let's not think Jesus was telling them about physical
houses and places in heaven in which they were to live when they died.
First, we know God doesn't live in a house, for it is written, "However,
the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet
says, ‘Heaven is my throne, and earth is the footstool of my feet; what
kind of house will you build for me?' says the Lord, ‘Or what place is
there for my repose?'" (Acts 7:48-49). So when Jesus uses the term "house",
he means metaphorically, the place where God is, namely, heaven. The place in heaven Jesus prepared is available now.
Second, the "place" (not room) Jesus went to prepare is a place that
offers and facilitates fellowship with Him in the midst of trouble. It is
a place in the Father's presence, and it is a place for believers to live
in Jesus' presence now. He was not telling them He was preparing a
place for them to go when they died. He was offering a source of comfort
through troubling events in life such as the death of their Master and
Teacher, their Messiah, who they thought was to usher in an earthly
kingdom and overthrow the Roman oppressors. What wonderful words of
comfort for them facing the trials of life. They were not to be left
alone. They could face these trials in fellowship with Jesus and His
Father in heaven. Jesus is the way to the Father in heaven and access to the place He
prepared. I believe the writer of Hebrews gave us clarity about
what Jesus meant in these verses when He wrote, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has
passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with
our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet
without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of
grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need
(Hebrews 4:14-16).
Jesus was about to perform His high priestly duty of taking the ultimate
once-for-all sacrifice, His own blood, into His father's presence. This
one righteous act justified for all time all of God's people at one time
so they could live in the presence of God and His Son, Jesus, from the
first moment of faith throughout eternity. Surely Jesus' disciples
interpreted His words the same way the writer of Hebrews interpreted them.
When the storms of life rage, we have a place prepared for us in heaven
where we can anchor into the great unchangeable, unshakeable One and find
mercy and grace to help in time of need. This "dwelling place", a place in
which to live, is always available. Going there when the heart is troubled
is proof of faith in God and faith in Jesus. The abiding place is where we
find peace. It is where we experience God and Jesus Christ and thus where
we know the Father and the Son. Jesus' words (the Scriptures) are the "many dwelling places" in which we
enter into fellowship with the Father and the Son. Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me,
he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him
and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My
words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent
Me. These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the
Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will
teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you"
(John 14:23-26). With the context of troubled hearts and times in mind,
Jesus told His disciples the importance of keeping or guarding or valuing
His words. To keep His words is to love Him! Additionally, keeping
and abiding in His words have a purpose: they facilitate the Father and
the Son making the heart of the believer their "dwelling place".
The words of Jesus are a gift to us so we might have many places in which
to dwell in the midst of the storms of life. Furthermore we have the
confidence that as we dwell in those many places, we will find fellowship
with the Father and Son in them. And that is the only way to endure
trials–in fellowship with the Father and the Son through the gift of His
word. The Holy Spirit's role is to bring us into His word so we find and
experience eternal life. Notice Jesus' explanation of the Holy Spirit's role in
the verses above. The Holy Spirit, the "Helper" or "Comforter", brings the
words of Christ to mind so we can have a place to dwell in times of trial
and trouble. The believing heart is comforted by the Holy Spirit
through the Word of God. It is the Holy Spirit who makes the presence
of the Father and the Son real and experiential.
Let's grasp what Jesus meant when He said,
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may
be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because
He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I
will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me,
but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you
will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you" (John
14:16-20).
Why must Jesus go to the Father with the sacrifice of
His blood? So a place of fellowship might be prepared in which His
disciples could live. How was this spiritual place in heaven to be
accessed and experienced by men who were bound to the natural and physical
place on earth? When Jesus' intercessory work was completed which
qualified Him to ask the Father for the Holy Spirit on their behalf and
qualified them to receive the Holy Spirit, the Father would send the Holy
Spirit who would make the words of Christ (the Scriptures) a "living"
place. Without the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures are powerless to produce
spiritual life and only become knowledge that puffs up. With the Holy
Spirit, the words of Christ become "dwelling places" full of life and
fellowship, bringing mercy and grace to help in time of need. Abiding in Jesus through the gift of His word and Spirit bring peace. Jesus specifically said that abiding in His words and
in Him would result in peace, His peace. "Peace I leave with you; My
peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let
your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful" (John 14:26). It is the
combination of Jesus' intercessory ministry as our high priest, the gift
of the Holy Spirit, and the gift of His words that provide for us a
dwelling place in heaven to which we may go when our hearts are troubled.
If we love Him, we hold His words in high regard and abide in them knowing
that at any moment of need, the Holy Spirit will make them into a dwelling
place where we may find comfort and peace. Blessed is the man, woman, boy,
or girl who in troubled times flees to the place of comfort Jesus has
prepared with His Father! We must have both the Spirit of Christ and His word. In these postmodern troubled times, these words of the
Lord Jesus are vital. Two dangers exist. There are some who say there is
no need for the word of Christ or Scripture. They say they have the spirit
of Christ and to have to keep and obey the word of Christ is to break from
grace and live under law. If this were true, then Jesus, who was the fullness
of grace and truth, would not have said what we read in John 14. To think
one can have the Spirit of Christ without the word of Christ playing a
prominent role in fellowship with God is to abide in a dangerous place–a
place of deception, darkness, and loneliness. Ultimately self becomes the
abiding place and the result is a troubled heart and inability to love
others. They are in danger of creating another Jesus fashioned in their
own image.
Another danger is to think one can have the word of Christ without the
Spirit of Christ. Without the Holy Spirit one can have fellowship with the
Father and the Son and thus cannot have eternal life. To have the word
without the Spirit results in Pharisaism, legalism, and religion without
eternal life. Without the Spirit, the words of Christ become merely
academic. They are not a "dwelling place". They are tools used to make
them feel good about themselves and intimidate others to conform to their
standards of performance. But this is not what Jesus had in mind in John
14. Abide in Christ and let His words abide in you. As you live in heaven in the presence of the Father
and the Son during your stay here on earth, you have fellowship with the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This relationship is very attractive to
people with troubled hearts. Whether troubled by sin, disturbed by
circumstances, or in despair over seemingly hopeless relationships, the
peace of Christ and the grace of God are available. If they will go to the
Father through the Son and dwell in the words of Christ that the Holy
Spirit brings to mind they will find help in time of need.
May God give fathers a vision for living in the grace of God through the
gifts of God's word and His Spirit. Mothers are often troubled by many
things, like Martha, and are in need of one thing–sitting in the
presence of Christ, at His feet, abiding in His words. Children and teens
also need the mercy and grace that comes from the throne of grace in
heaven. Therefore the more of the word of God we can place before them and
in their minds, the more potential places the Holy Spirit can inhabit and
transform into dwelling places of eternal life and peace. Application 1.
Ask the Holy
Spirit to bring to mind some words of Christ from John 14, and then
practice dwelling in the presence of God with those words in mind. 2.
Discuss with
your wife and children how important it is to know the words of Christ (or
Scripture) and to ask the Holy Spirit for help when one's heart is
troubled. 3. Spend time in prayer
with the Father and Son talking with Him about your attitude and use of
His words in the past. Would
you like to be on the Elijah Ministries Prayer Team? The backbone of Elijah Ministries is the prayer team who pray diligently for God to turn the hearts of men to Himself, their wives, and their children. Before I leave to speak, I send out a prayer team invitation to those who will intercede for God to work for His glory in us as a team for the Kingdom. Not only is it a blessing to those whom I speak and myself; but it is also a reminder to the team about the direction of their own hearts. If you would like to enter into the labor together with me, you may go to my website and click on "Prayer Team". Has Norm's Chariot or other resources been an encouragement to you? As a nonprofit organization, Elijah Ministries needs support from people like you in order to function. If God has ministered to you through Elijah Ministries and Norm Wakefield, would you consider supporting the work? You can do so here. (Elijah Ministries is a tax-deductible 501c3 and is financially accountable to an overseeing board of 8 non-paid members from around the country.) The Chariot is also available as a podcast. You can automatically receive the Chariot each month in iTunes by subscribing here. (An RSS capable browser such as Internet Explorer 7 or Safari is required.)
If you haven't visited our website, www.spiritofelijah.com,
please stop by sometime. You'll find: * Resources to equip you and your family * Previous Chariot articles * Norm's speaking schedule *
Free MP3 downloads * Subscribe to the Chariot Podcast here. * Various resources/pages translated and available in Spanish * An online store to purchase resources and make tax-free contributions by credit card
I invite you to be a part of the
moving of the Spirit of Elijah in your church, community, and the world.
How?
1.
Send this article to other men or families that you know would
benefit from it. You might inform them of the previous articles
available on-line at our website.
2.
Share resources from the Spirit of Elijah Ministries with others.
If Equipping Men or Rising to the
Call have been a blessing to you, then you know it will be
beneficial to others. Either share your resources, tell them about the
resources, or purchase a set or two as an investment in their lives. 3. Share with others what you have learned and put into practice in turning your heart to God, your wife, and your children. If God has done this in you, then He wants to affect others through you.
4.
Join the Elijah Ministries email prayer team and make
intercession for others that their hearts would be turned in revival to
the Lord, their wives, and their children. This can be done on-line at www.spiritofelijah.com.
Norm
Wakefield 08.09 To unsubscribe, click here.
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