Spiritual Change Requires Spiritual Power And An Accepting Heart

My Utmost For His Highest

They said to Him, "Rabbi…where are You staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." —John 1:38-39

{CHAMBERS}  “We stay with Him a short time, only to wake up to our own realities of life. Our self-interest rises up and our abiding with Him is past. Yet there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.  “You are Simon….You shall be called Cephas” (John 1:42). God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. […] When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don’t dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him— self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased. Pride is the sin of making “self” our god. And some of us today do this, not like the Pharisee, but like the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14). […]  You defy God to make you a saint, as if to say, “I am too weak and hopeless and outside the reach of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.” Why aren’t you a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe that God can make you into one. […] Put no conditions on your life— let Jesus be everything to you….”

{ELGIN}  If Oswald Chambers is describing you, there is nothing I can do for you.  Well, like him, I can tell you what the right is, but my words have no power to cause you to change your thinking or your ways.  That is the job of the Holy Spirit, to bring spiritual understanding to your spiritual-you, to bring conviction and enlightenment.  At that point, you must step out in faith.  There are so many people, family, even that agree with the words that I say, but do nothing in response to them.  It is only when my words are coupled with the Spirit of God and He pierces the heart of the hearer, does what I say make an eternal difference in the life of the hearer.  But the hearer must receive the truth, repent, and follow Jesus.  The parable of the seeds is probably the best explanation of this spiritual phenomenon. (Matthew 13:18-23) “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”” 

I cannot see the heart of a person, to know what kind of “soil” I am casting the seed, but that is not my “job”.  My job is to cast the seed.  Where I have trouble is when I think my job is more than that.  That it is somehow my fault that the soil is hard, rocky, or thorny.  It’s not.  Each person is individually accountable to God.  A hard fact to accept, especially when you are talking to a family member who you want desperately to hear and understand.  They must have a heart ready to accept the Truth.

Strength To Obey Comes From God, Not From You

My Utmost For His Highest

If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. —John 13:17

{CHAMBERS} “… If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself— begin to have spiritual discernment. When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it. But now you have no insight or discernment, and at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more. The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2. […] “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…” (1 Samuel 15:22).”

{ELGIN}  Wow.  Have you ever marveled at how God can orchestrate your reading and hearing something that is in perfect harmony with some event on your life. Almost as if He is speaking to you about the matter.  Anyone ever said, ”That is just what I needed to hear.”?  Why do we marvel at God’s handiwork?  On the one hand we acknowledge His attributes .. who He is .. and on the other are often surprised when we see the evidence of those attributes. To my point, I just had a conversation with a friend and Brother about the issue of our heavenly value and the effect that the weight of life’s circumstances can have on our willingness to obey God in the midst of those circumstances.

A.W. Tozer, a pastor, preacher and author, said “God does not use a man greatly until he has been hurt deeply.”  Think about that.  We often see the hurts of life as a reason to “not” do something.  Tozer suggests that God uses that hurt as a springboard to launch us into some work that God has purposed for us.  But we often struggle with our willingness to move beyond the pain of the circumstance, by faith, missing the glorious work that God has for us.  Pastor Rick Warren said “God never wastes a hurt.”  I often share 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 with people who are undergoing some difficulty in life, hoping to give them spiritual perspective on an earthly circumstance.  Don’t let your natural life limit your spiritual life and obedience to God’s voice and call.  Listen, I know that it is not an easy thing I am telling you.  That is because it is not natural thing … it is a “faith” thing.  If you are looking within to find the strength to do what you know you should do, you are looking in the wrong place.  Look up.  (Psalm 121:1-2)

What Really Dominates Your Life, The Natural Or The Spiritual?

My Utmost For His Highest

Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do… —John 14:13

{CHAMBERS} “[…] Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? If the central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear fruit for Him. […] “If you abide in Me…”— that is, if you continue to act, and think, and work from that central point— “you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). […] What is the greatest source of power in my life? Is it my work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it my striving to work for God? It should be none of these— what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on what we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power over us. We must make a determination to limit and concentrate our desires and interests on the atonement by the Cross of Christ.”

{ELGIN} When you think about the question of who you are, what is it that comes to mind.  I think you will find that most often it is words like a man, a husband, father, brother, sister, wife, daughter, American, or perhaps butcher, baker or candlestick maker. Now we don’t want it to be that way, especially if we are in a spiritual context.  But the natural life, and the roles we play in it, dominate us and motivate us.  But … the truth of the matter is … that all those descriptors might be true, they are not the dominant or central description of who we are.  Not anymore.  Not since our new birth.  Now, first and foremost, I am a child of the King, a new creation, Redeemed, secured for heaven and eternity, a joint heir with Christ, the list goes on.  The question is … Are you living with an awareness of that reality?  If you are, it makes all the difference in the how you live, how you interreact with others, how you respond to life’s events, both good and bad. It becomes the context in which you fulfill all of the natural roles in your life.   I am certain that you know by now, that does not just happen by itself.  It requires you to be intentional in developing your faith through the disciplines of the faith.  And that is where we often stumble.  We count on Sunday church as being sufficient when, in fact, Sunday church should be a capstone to a week of worship and intimate fellowship with the Lord.

(Ephesians 1:17-21)  “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”  Amen

Who Are You Listening To, The Spiritual You Or The Natural You?

My Utmost For His Highest

…work out your own salvation…for it is God who works in you… —Philippians 2:12-13

{CHAMBERS} “Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a nature that renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord initially comes in contact with our conscience, the first thing our conscience does is awaken our will, and our will always agrees with God. Yet you say, “But I don’t know if my will is in agreement with God.” Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. What causes you to say “I will not obey” is something less deep and penetrating than your will. It is perversity or stubbornness, and they are never in agreement with God. The most profound thing in a person is his will, not sin. The will is the essential element in God’s creation of human beings— sin is a perverse nature which entered into people. […] With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out” what God “works in” you— not work to accomplish or earn “your own salvation,” but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposing will up against God’s will— God’s will is your will. Your natural choices will be in accordance with God’s will, and living this life will be as natural as breathing. Stubbornness is an unintelligent barrier, refusing enlightenment and blocking its flow. […] God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.”

{ELGIN} Most days, I edit the Chambers quotes down to its essence and then comment on it.  But, today, there was so much that he said that was right on point, I left most of the devotion in the quote.  As it happens, I had lunch with a Brother yesterday.  Our conversation focused primarily on the issue of will.  Knowing what God wants you to do and you not wanting to do it.  Not the spiritual you but the natural you.  The you that is in constant battle with the spiritual.  The you that Paul describes in Romans 7 that knows what the right thing is, but chooses the wrong instead.  Was there ever a ride at the amusement park that you feared, but one day you got on the ride anyway?  In spite of everything inside you stoking your fear that tragedy was looming ahead?  That is the essence of acting in faith.  Your flesh is saying “no”, but your spirit is leading you to a place where you will not be able to trust in yourself, but must fully lean on Jesus.  Will and pride, they are like two peas in a pod.  It is hard to distinguish apart them sometimes, but their influence nearly always has the same result .. I choose me .. not God.  I choose to stand on the ground and watch others be flung about, wide eyed, mouths open, hands raised .. I see fear and delight at the same time.  How is that possible?  It’s not natural it’s supernatural.  It’s faith in action.  What is it that you have said “no” to that you know is the unction from God?  As my friend said, he was feeling a bit like Jonah.  He knew the reason he said “no” did not have a good reason behind it.  It never does when it comes to faithing God. 

Showing Unexpected Grace And Mercy Reveals Jesus To The World

My Utmost For His Highest

He Himself has said….So we may boldly say… —Hebrews 13:5-6

{CHAMBERS} “My assurance is to be built upon God’s assurance to me. God says, “I will never leave you,” so that then I “may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6). In other words, I will not be obsessed with apprehension. This does not mean that I will not be tempted to fear, but I will remember God’s words of assurance. I will be full of courage, like a child who strives to reach the standard his father has set for him. The faith of many people begins to falter when apprehensions enter their thinking, and they forget the meaning of God’s assurance— they forget to take a deep spiritual breath. The only way to remove the fear from our lives is to listen to God’s assurance to us.[…] Are you learning to listen to God before you speak, or are you saying things and then trying to make God’s Word fit what you have said? […] Human frailty is another thing that gets between God’s words of assurance and our own words and thoughts. When we realize how feeble we are in facing difficulties, the difficulties become like giants, we become like grasshoppers, and God seems to be nonexistent. […] Are we continually filled with enough courage to say, “The Lord is my helper,” or are we yielding to fear?”

{ELGIN}  What is your first impulse when you are confronted with unpleasant situations in this life?  I had one such occurrence the other day.  I was challenged about something that was clearly my right, but was being told that I must yield to another.  The indignation swelled within me.  The feeling that I had to defend what was rightfully mine rushed to the forefront of my thinking.  Immediately I started formulating a logical argument that would defend my position and justice would be served.  But then, the Spirit brought Jesus' words to mind.

(Matthew 5:38-48) ““You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Suddenly the sense that I must protect my rights was overtaken by the Truth that I am a child of the kingdom.. This world is not my home.  I should not exchange the glory of God for a temporary earthly “victory” to prove that I am right and someone else is wrong.  I need to show them Jesus, who laid down his life for people who did not deserve it.  To show grace and mercy when it is not expected.  Am I willing to sacrifice my witness for the sake of being proven within my earthly rights?  In this case .. almost.

God Loves Us, But He Won't Fix All Of Our Problems

My Utmost For His Highest

Who is the man that fears the Lord? —Psalm 25:12

{CHAMBERS} “A child’s awareness is so absorbed in his mother that although he is not consciously thinking of her, when a problem arises, the abiding relationship is that with the mother. In that same way, we are to “live and move and have our being” in God (Acts 17:28), looking at everything in relation to Him, because our abiding awareness of Him continually pushes itself to the forefront of our lives.  If we are obsessed by God, nothing else can get into our lives— not concerns, nor tribulation, nor worries. And now we understand why our Lord so emphasized the sin of worrying. How can we dare to be so absolutely unbelieving when God totally surrounds us? To be obsessed by God is to have an effective barricade against all the assaults of the enemy.”

{ELGIN}  Reading Chambers this morning, my mind went to the disciples in the boat as the storm raged and Jesus slept.  (Matthew 8:23-27)  I thought of Peter sinking beneath the waves after he had started out so well, but lost sight of who was standing on the water in front of him. (Matthew 14:22-33)  What was common in those two accounts.  The men struggled when life’s circumstances were too great for them to personally bear and Jesus was there with them all the while.  Jesus asked .. “where is your faith?” and “why did you doubt?”  The same can be asked of us.  I must make a distinction between what happens to us and what we cause to happen to us.  Often times we find ourselves in situations that we, ourselves, have brought upon us, because of our flesh and natural living.  Then we cry out to the Lord to save us, rather than endure the pain of what we have done.  In those cases, I believe that God is looking for a repentant heart and we, most likely, will have to endure the consequence of our poor judgment or sinful choices. 

It’s not God’s fault that I weigh 70 pounds more than I should and am beset with physical problems associated with obesity.  It is not God’s fault that I am a compulsive buyer and spend more money than I make so my credit cards are maxed out and each month I must decide what bills will “not” be paid.  It’s not God’s fault that I have made choices to be unevenly yoked with a spouse or with friends that have drawn me away from my faith and now I am facing sinful consequences.  I must bear the weight of those decisions and actions. At the same time, I need to look to Jesus with a repentant heart and seek forgiveness through Him from the Father.  So often all we are looking for is relief from the consequence and not spiritual restoration.   

Our Search For Perfection Is Found In Jesus Not In Self Effort - God Expects Nothing Less and Nothing More

My Utmost For His Highest

He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" —Ezekiel 37:3

{CHAMBERS} “Can a sinner be turned into a saint? Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer— “O Lord God, You know” (Ezekiel 37:3). Never forge ahead with your religious common sense and say, “Oh, yes, with just a little more Bible reading, devotional time, and prayer, I see how it can be done.” It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. […] Do I really believe that God will do in me what I cannot do? […] When God wants to show you what human nature is like separated from Himself, He shows it to you in yourself. […] My “grave” has been opened by God and “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18). God’s Spirit continually reveals to His children what human nature is like apart from His grace.”

{ELGIN} How real is your faith? How deep is your trust? Is it real enough .. is it deep enough to endure whatever might happen to you or people around you?  Does your faith depend upon “good” things happening in your life.  Have you decided that the proof of God’s presence and even blessing in your life is the absence of trouble, disappointment, sickness, heartache?  As I write these words, I wonder what proof I demand in my own life?  All I really have to do is look in the mirror.  There I see a life transformed. Transformed in the midst of trouble, disappointment, sickness and heartache.  Through it all God has shown His power and His love and His presence. 

We must be careful, it is so easy to neglect the good and focus on the bad, what is not right, what is missing.  As it happens, I have been leading an effort at work that has a lot of “moving parts”.  Very complicated with many hurdles to overcome.  That effort culminated in a meeting for the person in charge who needed to make a decision to proceed.  He did make the decision.  Everyone on my team made a valiant effort to make that happen.  After the meeting, someone, not in the chain of authority, asked the team to stay for a few minutes.  He then went on a tirade over the fact that there were some typographical errors on a slide.  This person demands perfection.  Even though the mission was accomplished and the decision maker was confident as to the correctness of his decision.  It really had nothing to do with the work done, the effort made, but the desire on the part of one person for perfection before he could be satisfied.  He effectively discouraged everyone on the team.  I had a meeting afterward to correct the new perception that we had somehow failed because a missing “-“ and space.

As a pastor of a country church we used to attend would say “God can hit straight with a crooked stick.”  The only one who is perfect is Jesus.  We are all jars of clay.  We may demand perfection.  We can certainly strive to be the best and do the best possible, but God is looking for willing hearts and devoted following.  Your new life in Christ will not be perfect, not saying we should be content with sin, but God can and will use a repentant hearted person for His purposes.  That was the essential difference between King Saul and King David.  He will use you, even with a few missing “-“’s and spaces.