Glorious Ministry For Every Believer

By Zac Poonen

Melchizedek appears in only three verses in the entire Bible and yet our Lord is called a High Priest after his name (Genesis 14:18-20)! What did Melchizedek do that was so wonderful?  Abraham was returning from a battle where he had just defeated 14 kings and their armies and rescued his nephew Lot and his family, whom those kings had captured. So Abraham stood there that day, physically exhausted and facing the twin dangers of pride and covetousness.  But God
cared for Abraham and spoke to another servant of His, to help him. Melchizedek met  the needs of  Abraham  without knowing anything about those needs, because He did what God told him to do.

First of all, he took some food for Abraham. Melchizedek was a sensible man! He wasn’t one of those super-spiritual types who feel that spiritual people must be ascetics! He didn’t tell Abraham to fast and pray but gave him a good meal! That’s a good example for us to follow – to take a meal for some tired, exhausted brother or sister.  After giving him the food, Melchizedek helped Abraham spiritually too – not by preaching to him, but by praising God for Abraham’s
victory – in two brief sentences. He said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” (Gen.14:19,20). Melchizedek probably spent two hours feeding Abraham and his servants and then spent 15 seconds praising God. But in Melchizedek’s brief expression of praise, Abraham realised two things. First of all, Abraham realised that he belonged to a God Who owned the heavens and the earth. That delivered him from coveting the goods of the king of Sodom that he had just recovered. Even though Sodom’s riches must have been considerable, since Sodom was a very wealthy place, Abraham now saw that all that booty was like worthless garbage compared to the heaven and earth that his God owned. Melchizedek helped Abraham to see clearly Whom he belonged to. Secondly, Abraham saw clearly that it was not he and his 318 servants who had defeated those kings, but God! That was another revelation – and that saved Abraham from pride. Again Melchizedek succeeded in turning Abraham’s attention away from his victory to God! The best preacher is the one who can turn our attention away from ourselves and our accomplishments to the Lord Himself.

And now we come to the best part of this story. Melchizedek disappeared after blessing Abraham. We never read of him again in the Bible. His name appears only as a type of Christ. Melchizedek must have been praying in his tent that morning, when God spoke to him and told him what to do. He didn’t know Abraham, but he knew God. And that was enough. God told him what to do and made him a blessing to many. What a ministry we priests of Melchizedek’s order are called
to!  We are to bless people, physically and spiritually – and then disappear before we are even thanked!

Do you want people to think you are a great man of God or do you want them to know that you have a great God. Therein lies the difference between a religious ministry and a spiritual one. Therein lies the difference between the priesthood of Aaron and the priesthood of Melchizedek. Aaron constantly appeared before people and got honour from them. Melchizedek served people and disappeared!

This is how Jesus Himself ministered during His earthly days. He went around meeting the spiritual and physical needs of people who were beaten in life’s battles. And He never wanted anyone to advertise His healings. He never wanted  to be known as a Healer. He never wanted to be a king.  He came to serve others and to lay down His life for them.  He didn’t want to be famous. He didn’t even want to prove to Herod, or Pilate, or Annas, or Caiaphas, that He
was the Son of God, by appearing to any of them after His resurrection. He never appeared to a single one of the Pharisees or Sadducees after His resurrection, because He didn’t want to justify Himself before men. He knew that the opinions of men were fit only for the garbage bin!  Alas, where shall we find such preachers and leaders in Christendom today?

Just think what would happen if we began to live like Melchizedek, listening to God and seeking to know from Him what we should do, each day.  It would be the most useful way any of us could live on this earth. The psalmist says, “Goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life” (Psa.23:6).That is the way to live. Wherever we go, we must leave behind us some act or word of forgiveness and goodness.  When Peter described the life and ministry of Jesus to Cornelius, he summed it up in one sentence in Acts 10:38 : “Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and He went about doing good and delivering those who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him”. This is the result of being genuinely anointed with the Holy Spirit :  God will be with us and we will go around blessing people and setting them free.

You couldn’t come in contact with Jesus in His earthly days, without some good emanating from Him to you that would bless you – both spiritually and physically. The woman who had a haemorrhage for 12 years discovered that, when she touched the hem of His garment.  Aren’t we too called to live such a
life where those who come in touch with us are blessed – physically and spiritually?  We are all called to be priests according to the order of Melchizedek.
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Be A Good Example For Others

By Zac Poonen

When Paul called the elders of the church in Ephesus to bid farewell to them, notice what he told them in Acts 20:17-35. He reminded them that he had been with them for three years (Acts 20: 31) and that he had preached to them night and day. Three years is more than 1000 days. And so if Paul actually preached twice every day, as it seems to imply here, he must have reached over 2000 sermons there.

Ephesus was the place where they had once had a great revival and where Christians had burnt their old books of magic and witchcraft costing nearly half a million rupees. It was also the place where handkerchiefs that had touched Paul’s body were used to heal the sick and deliver the demon-possessed. God did some amazing miracles through Paul in Ephesus on a scale that hadn’t been seen anywhere else (See Acts 19:11,12,19).  At the end of all this, what does Paul remind the elders of? Does he remind them of his sermons or the miracles? No.

He tells them to remember the humble way he had lived among them, from the first day they had seen him (Acts 20:19). Even if they forgot his sermons, they could never forget how he lived among them. His life had made a permanent impact on them. They could never forget his compassion and his simplicity. They’d remember that he had worked hard with his own hands as a tentmaker to support himself and his coworkers – so that he would not be a burden to them and also to be an example to other Christian workers (Acts 20:34,35). They would never forget that during all those three years, Paul never desired money, or gifts, or even a new set of clothes, from any of them (Acts 20: 33)!

Paul also reminded them how he had proclaimed the WHOLE counsel of God to them uncompromisingly (Acts 20:27). He hadn’t been a man-pleaser, seeking popularity for himself. He had preached repentance and every other unpopular subject, if it was profitable for his hearers, even if some got offended thereby (Acts 20:20, 21). These are the things Paul pointed out to them.

If you pastor a church for three years like Paul did at Ephesus, and then leave, what will your flock remember you for? Will they remember you as an impressive preacher or as a humble man of God who showed them by your life, what Jesus was like. Will they think of you as one who drew them closer to God and challenged them to be more Christlike or as one who taught them how to distribute tracts?.

We have a very great responsibility to demonstrate to the next generation what Christlikeness really means. People who look at us – the way we live, preach and serve – should be able to see in us what it means to be a true servant of the Lord, in the style of the apostles and prophets of old, and not in the style of 20th-century film-star-like evangelists. Whether we realise it or not, we’re leaving behind us an image, wherever we go – an image that’s going to remain in people’s minds long after we’ve gone away and long after they have forgotten the messages that we preached to them.

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For more information write to: wftw@cfcindia.com
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Prophet Elijah

By Zac Poonen

In 1 Kings Chapter 17 the first thing I want you to notice about Elijah are his words to King Ahab: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand”.  These true prophets did not fear kings because of one reason : They stood before the Lord. Kings were mere specks of dust before God. The great need is for young men who can be prophets like that. Knowledge of the Bible is important. But more important than that is this: You must live before God’s face. To live before God’s face, you must keep your conscience 100% clear – not 99%, but 100%. And you must humble yourself totally. Your face must be in the dust all the time. That’s how Elijah lived.

If God can’t find young men like that, I hope He will find some young sisters who live before God’s face and be a voice for Him. You may not stand in a pulpit, but you can influence people from your homes. God needs many brothers and sisters in our land who live before His face.

Elijah was a man who was instantly obedient to every little thing that God said. God told him one day to go and hide himself by the brook Cherith – and he went at once (1 Kings 17:3). There the ravens brought him bread and meat and he drank from the brook (1 Kings 17:6). At 8 o’clock every morning, a raven would bring him some food. Again at 5 o’clock in theevening, another raven would bring him some food. These crows would bring him meat. If the crows had brought him vegetables, that itself would have been a miracle. But for a crow to bring meat (which it loves) is a greater miracle. That’s how God provided for Elijah. But gradually, after a few days, Elijah began depending on the ravens and not the Lord!

Many servants of the Lord start out trusting the Lord for their financial needs. But after a few years, they are no longer depending on the Lord, but on some ravens – human beings who send them regular support! That is exactly what happened to Elijah. So what did the Lord do? He stopped the ravens. God wanted to shake off Elijah’s dependence on ravens and to teach him once again to depend on the Lord. So thank God when the ravens stop coming – when the promised support doesn’t come. Then you will learn once again to trust the Lord alone for your needs. I have been through experiences like that. I thank God for the times when He has turned away my eyes from ravens to Him Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and Who has said that He will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus.

The Lord then changed His method and  told Elijah now to go to Zarephath. Zarephath was outside Israel. Elijah may have imagined that some rich businessman there would take care of him. But when he reached Zarephath, what he found was not a rich businessman, but a poor widow who was just about to have her last meal! And the Lord told Elijah, “She will support you”! God’s ways are truly amazing. God does things like that, because He is a jealous God. He wants us to trust in Him, and not in ravens or rich businessmen. He will use a weak person whom you least expect to be able to help you, and use him, so that no flesh may glory in His presence.

The widow said, “We were just about to have our last meal and die.” Elijah told her, “Don’t be afraid. Make me a little bread cake from it first. The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.” (1 Kings 17:13,14).  And the bowl of flour was not exhausted and the jar of oil did not become empty.

There are many preachers today who use this incident to teach poor people to give them money. But that is a total misinterpretation of this incident. First of all, most of today’s preachers are not prophets like Elijah. Secondly, most of today’s preachers are lovers of money, unlike Elijah. These two facts alone put Elijah in a different class altogether, from most of today’s preachers who exploit the poor. Further, Elijah asked the widow for just a bare meal to survive in a time of famine; and he ate the same food that the widow and her son ate. Today’s preachers are not asking for money for them to survive, but for them to support their grand lifestyles. There are multitudes of false prophets around today.  Unfortunately, since most of God’s people do not know how to distinguish between a true prophets and a false one, they are deceived.

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For more information write to: wftw@cfcindia.com
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Being Mother is Calling

By Zac Poonen

There is a lot of difference between “a profession” and “a calling”. Let me explain what I mean. Suppose there’s a sick child in a hospital and a nurse looks after it for 8 hours on her shift-duty. That nurse then goes home and forgets all about that child. Her concern for that child was only for 8 hours. Now she has other things to do, such as going to the movies and watching television. She doesn’t have to think about that child again until the next day when she goes back to work. But the mother of that child doesn’t work 8-hour shifts! She can’t go to the movies when her child is sick. That’s the difference between a profession and a calling. If you apply that illustration to the way you care for the believers in your church, you’ll discover whether you’re a nurse or a mother!

Paul said, in 1 Thessalonians 2:7, “We proved to be gentle among you as a mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well pleased to impart you not only the gospel but also our own lives because you’ve become very dear to us”. Paul not only imparted the gospel of God to those Christians but his life as well. Any ministry that is not done in this way is not really Christian ministry. Paul served God like that because he had a calling to the ministry. He didn’t take it up as a profession.

It’s wonderful to serve the Lord. It is the greatest thing in the world. Nothing on earth can be compared with it - but only if you’re called. It cannot be reduced to a profession. God called me to serve Him (full-time) on May 6, 1964 when I was an officer in the Indian Navy. I handed in my resignation then to the naval authorities. But it was like Moses asking Pharaoh to let the Israelites go! The Indian Navy wouldn’t release me. It took two years and repeated applications before they finally released me – miraculously – in God’s perfect time. Being called of God has made all the difference in my life. First of all, it doesn’t matter to me now, what people think about me or my ministry, because Someone Else is my Master and I have to answer only to Him. Secondly, I can trust God to stand by me and give me grace whenever I face any trial or opposition in my ministry – and that happens often. Thirdly, it doesn’t matter to me whether I receive any money or not, and whether I get any food to eat or not. If I receive food and money, well and good. If I don’t get any food or money, that’s fine with me too. I cannot stop serving the Lord, just because I didn’t get money or food – because God has called me.

I can’t get rid of my calling. I’m not a salaried employee who can stop working when I’m not paid or fed! It’s like the case of the mother and her child. A nurse will stop working if her salary is not paid one month. But a mother can never stop.  She doesn’t get a salary in any case! And she’ll look after her baby even if she doesn’t get any food or money! That’s how the apostles served the Lord.  What a glorious thing it is to be called of God! You can never do the Lord’s work, the way God wants you to do it, if you do it as a profession. It has to be a calling or nothing. Every other job in the world can be done as a profession. But not a mother’s, or a father’s, or that of a servant of the Lord! All these are the result of a calling. Paul told the Corinthian Christians that even if they had 10,000 teachers, they still had only one father (1 Cor.4:15). Paul was both a spiritual father and a mother to his flock. His was not a profession but a calling.

“Take this child and nurse him for me and I shall give you your wages” is what the Lord has said to me (Exod.2:9). He said that to me first of all concerning my own physicalchildren. And then He said that to me concerning my spiritual children too. When we take care of God’s children He’s the One Who is responsible to give us our wages, not man. If we serve men, then let us look to men to pay us. But if we serve the Lord, then let us look to Him alone to provide us our needs, in whatever way He sees fit. And let Him also decide how much we should receive each month.

There is a dignity about a true servant of the Lord.  “Take these children and nurse them for Me”, says the Lord, “Bring themup for me and I will give you your wages”. Those wages will not be in terms of money, primarily. I believe the Lord takes care of our earthly needs, since He taught us to pray for our daily bread and He has ordained that those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel. So He will take care of all our earthly needs. But there’ll be a far greater spiritual reward, in addition. Paul wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica that they were going to be his crown and his joy when the Lord returned (1 Thess.2:19). He found his delight in them, just as a father finds his delight in his children.

An elder (who is a spiritual father) will be delighted when he sees that believers, who came as raw material to his church once, have now become men of God. This is something akin to the delight a sculptor has when he has fashioned a shapeless rock into a human form. He had to chip away at that block for many months and years before the face and figure of the man came out of it! That is the work that God has given us to do too. We must never be satisfied with merely having instructed people correctly. If the image of Christ has not come forth in their lives, we have accomplished nothing at all.
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For more information write to: wftw@cfcindia.com
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Crown from God

 By Zac Poonen

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write : He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this : `I know your deeds. Behold I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Behold I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews, and are not, but lie – behold, I will make them to come and bow down at your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it any more; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev.3:7-13).

The Lord’s promise to the church in Philadelphia was, “I will keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world” (Rev 3:10). Here the Lord warns them in advance of a time of trial that was going to come upon the whole world at that time (at the end of the first century or in the early second century). The church in Philadelphia was promised Divine protection during that time of testing.  How did the Lord “keep them from that hour of testing”? It was certainly not by rapturing them out of the world. No. They were KEPT SAFE IN THE MIDST OF THE TRIAL. They experienced the Lord’s protecting hand in the midst of their tribulations.

This is a word of encouragement for us too – for the Lord will similarly keep us also safe from evil in the midst of the great tribulation during the time of the Antichrist. He will keep us exactly as He kept the church in Philadelphia in the second century – on earth, safe from evil, even though we may have to suffer for His Name’s sake. Jesus has said,
“You will be hated by all on account of my Name…..but do not fear those who kill the body…….for the very hairs of your head are all numbered…..Not a hair of your head will perish” (Mt.10:28,30; Lk.21:18).  Even during the tribulation, not a hair on our head can be touched by anyone without the Lord’s permission. So we can be at rest.

The Lord then tells the church at Philadelphia that those who are going to be tested during “the hour of testing”, are “the earth-dwellers” – those who have made this earth their home, whose minds are set on earthly things, and who pursue after wealth and seek the honor of men (Rev 3:10).

No over comer is such an earth-dweller, for His mind is set on the things that are above. The Lord goes on to tell the church here to hold fast to what they have until He comes back to earth, so that they may not lose their crown (Rev 3:10). It is possible therefore for someone else to get the crown that God meant for you.

God has planned a task and a crown for you. But if you are unfaithful in fulfilling that task, you won’t get that crown. God will raise up someone else to fulfill that task and he will get the crown that was meant for you.

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For more information write to: wftw@cfcindia.com
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It's Forbidden

By Zac Poonen

God had great plans in mind for Adam and Eve, when He created them. But these plans could not be fulfilled apart from their being tested. And so He placed in Eden an attractive tree with luscious fruit called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And He forbade Adam and Eve from eating of it. The failure of Adam and Eve in Eden was primarily a failure of faith. Faith is the total leaning of the human personality on God, in total confidence in His perfect wisdom, love and power. Eve failed to have such a confidence in God and was thus lured by Satan into disobeying God’s command.  Satan suggested to Eve that there was a flaw in God’s wisdom in not allowing them to eat of that tree. God had not given Adam any reason why the tree was forbidden. Faith never needs to have a reason for obeying God. It is our intellect that demands to know the reason first. Obedience to God must always be the obedience of faith, not the obedience of reason.

Paul said that he had been called “to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles” (Rom.1:5). He also said that the “preaching of Jesus Christ had been made known to all the nations, leading to the obedience of faith.”(Rom.16:25, 26) Our intellect is the enemy of faith, as is clear from Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart (not `head’) and do not depend on your own intellect.”  The wisdom of God is hidden from the clever and the intelligent and revealed by the Spirit to those who simply believe like little babes. Jesus said, “I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes.”(Mt.11:25). The intellect is a good servant but a bad master; and so its proper God appointed place is as the servant of the spirit in man – the spirit itself being subject to the Holy Spirit.

God gave Adam no reason as to why he could not eat of the forbidden tree, because He wanted to develop Adam’s faith in Him. And this is the first area where God tests us too. Can we obey Him even when we cannot understand why He calls us to do something? What about when God calls us to do something that our reason tells us is unnecessary?

When Jesus asked Peter to step out of the boat and to walk on the water that command was contrary to everything that Peter’s reason told him. But if he had followed reason, he would never have experienced that miracle. One could quote many such instances from the Scriptures. And here lies the reason for the powerlessness of many Christians and why manybelievers never experience the supernatural workings of God in their lives. They live by reason and not by faith.

Faith is also a total confidence in God’s love. Satan suggested to Eve that God did not love them sufficiently and that this was why He had kept that lovely fruit out of bounds for them.  If Eve had been living by faith and not by reason, she would have replied, “Well, Satan, I don’t understand why God has told us not to eat of that tree. But I am certain of one thing – that God loves us intensely; and
so I am sure that He will never withhold any good thing from us. So, if he has forbidden this fruit, there must be a very good reason for it, that has our good in view.” That would have been the answer of faith. But instead she fell for the Devil’s lie. It is only the shield of faith in God’s perfect love for us that “can extinguish every flaming missile of the Evil One.” (Eph.6:16).

All discouragement and depression are the result of living by reason and not by faith. All anxiety and fear also have their roots in the same cause. God allows us to be tested – to be tempted to doubt His love, when He withdraws from us the `feelings’ of His manifest presence with us – so that we can be strong in faith and thus come to the place of maturity where He can fulfill His purposes through us.

God made that tree of knowledge of good and evil attractive because it was only thus that Adam and Eve could be tested. Would they reject something so attractive, in favour of God? Or would they reject God and choose what pleased themselves? This is the choice that faces us too in the moments of temptation. And that’s why God has permitted temptation to be so attractive. It is only when we reject some forbidden thing that is really attractive, and to which we feel tremendously drawn and which we know can give us pleasure, that we prove that we love God wholeheartedly.

It is also thus that we prove our faith in God’s perfect love – believing that what God has forbidden He has done in perfect love for our very best. Thus every temptation to sin and to disobey God becomes a trial of our faith. To live by faith is to believe that every commandment of God has come from a heart of perfect love that desires the very best for us.

When God gave the Israelites the ten commandments, Moses told them, “God has come to test you” (Exod.20:20). It says in Deuteronomy 33:2,3, “At God’s right hand there was a fiery Law for them. Indeed (this proves that) He loves the people”. Would they believe that this fiery law was a proof of God’s love for them? That was the test. Where Eve failed to trust God, the Israelites also failed and they too disobeyed the commandments.

But it is just here that Jesus overcame. He lived by faith. Every temptation that Satan brought to Him in the wilderness was refuted by the simple reply, “It is written…..”. Jesus lived in obedience to every word of God.

God’s Word was given in perfect love for man and Jesus obeyed it in faith. Thus He has become a Forerunner for us. If we are to serve God’s people effectively, it is essential that we too live by faith – and manifest our faith by total obedience to God’s commandments. Thus alone can we be examples to others.
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For more information write to: wftw@cfcindia.com 
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We can never enjoy deliverance from our self-life before we see something of its total corruption. Let us look at the elder son (in the parable in Luke 15), for he illustrates, perhaps better than anyone else in the Bible, the utter rottenness of the self-life.  The younger son in the parable is usually considered the worse of the two boys. But as we look a little more carefully at the elder brother, we will discover that in God’s eyes, he was just as bad, if not worse. True, he did not commit the same sins as his younger brother. But his heart was crooked and self-centered.

The human heart is basically the same in every individual. When the Bible describes the human heart as deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9), it refers to every child of Adam. The refinements of civilization, lack of opportunity to commit sin and a sheltered upbringing may perhaps have kept us from falling into the grosser sins that some others have fallen into. But we cannot, on that count, consider ourselves better than they. For if we had had the same pressures they faced, we would have undoubtedly ended up committing the same sins. This may be a humiliating fact for us to acknowledge, but it is true. The sooner we recognize this fact, the sooner we shall experiencedeliverance. Paul recognized that no good thing dwelt in his flesh (Rom. 7:18). That was his first step to freedom (Rom.8:2).

Men look on the outward appearance and call some good and others bad. But God Who looks at the heart sees all men in the same condition. The Bible teaches the total depravity of all men. Consider Romans 3:10-12, for example: “There is none righteous, (and just in case we think that is an overstatement, it continues to say), no, not one. There is none that understands, there is no-one who seeks after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable. There is no-one who does good, no, not one.” Romans 3:10-20 is a summing-up of the guilt of all humanity – of the irreligious as well as the religious. In Romans 1:18-32 we have a description of “the younger son”-the externally immoral and godless man. In Romans 2, we have a portrayal of “the elder son” – the religious man who is just as bad a sinner. After having described these two categories of people, the Holy Spirit sums up the case by saying that both groups are alike guilty. There is no difference between one and the other.  Man is indeed totally depraved; and if God does not reach down and do something for him, there is certainly no hope for him.

The elder son (Luke 15:25-32) can be taken to symbolize a Christian worker. If the father in the story is a type of God, it would be legitimate to consider the son as a type of an active Christian – for we see him in the parable coming home after a day’s work in his father’s fields. Here was no lazy young man, sitting at home and enjoying his father’s wealth. Here was one who worked hard for his father, one who apparently loved his father more than his younger brother did – for after all, he did not leave home and waste his father’s wealth, like the latter. He was apparently more devoted, but actually, as we shall see, just as selfish as his younger brother. It is the picture of a believer active in the Lord’s work and apparently full of devotion to his Lord but still centered in himself.

God created this world with certain laws built into it.  If those laws are violated, there will be some form of loss or injury. Consider one law for example: God has ordained that the earth should revolve around the sun. If the earth had a will of its own and decided one day that it would no longer be centered in the sun, but would only revolve around itself, there would be no change of seasons and soon all life on earth would perish. Death would enter in.  In the same way, Adam was created to be centered in God. The day he refused God as his Center and chose to be centered in himself – this is what was implied in his choosing to eat of the tree that God had forbidden – he died, as God had said he would.

There is a lesson here for us: In the measure in which our Christian life and service are centered in ourselves, in that measure we shall experience spiritual death – in spite of our being born again and in spite of our fundamentalism. And all unconsciously, we shall be ministering spiritual death to others too. We may have a reputation as keen and zealous workers for the Father (as the elder son perhaps had),  but we may still merit the rebuke of the Lord, “I know your reputation as a live and active (Christian), but you are dead” (Rev. 3:1-LB). This is a tragic but dangerous possibility in Christian work. Many a Christian worker lives on the reputation he has built up for himself. Looked up to by others, he is often unconscious of the fact, that God sees him in an altogether different light. Never having been delivered from self-centeredness himself, he is unable to deliver others – even if he preaches beautifully!  And so, a warning is given for all of us in the story of the elder son.

God often allows times of pressure to come into our lives to bring up from within us our corrupt self-life, so that we begin to see ourselves as we really are. It is fairly easy for us to consider ourselves spiritual when our circumstances are easy. When we have no problems to tackle, when nobody is irritating us, when things are going smoothly and our co-workers are congenial, we can deceive ourselves concerning the real state of our hearts. But wait till we get a co-worker who irritates us, or a neighbor who annoys us all the time, and the veneer of spirituality disappears. Our self-life will then manifest itself in all its ugliness.

This was what happened to the elder son. When his younger brother was honored, he got upset. No one would ever have thought that this elder son could have behaved so peevishly. He had appeared such a nice person all along. But he hadn’t faced pressure like this before. Now, his real nature was manifested. It was not the provocation at that moment that made him evil. No. The provocation merely brought up to the surface what was within all the time.

Amy Carmichael has said, “A cup brimful of sweet water cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, however suddenly jolted”. If bitter water comes out of our lives and our lips, it is because it has always been there. It is not the provocation or the irritation that make us bitter or unspiritual. They only bring out of us what is already within. And so it should make us deeply thankful to God that He allows such times to come upon our lives when we see the corruption of our own natures. If it were not for such occasions, we might never realize that there is a fountain of corruption within us, and that not one good thing dwells in our flesh.

This also teaches us that suppression is not victory. One person may explode in anger in a trying situation, while another, (with a little more self-control), in a similar situation, may only boil inwardly, without any steam escaping through his lips! In men’s eyes, the second person may have a reputation for meekness. But God Who sees the hearts knows that both men boiled within and considers them
both equally bad. The difference in their external conduct was merely a result of different temperaments, which matter nothing to God.  If suppression were victory, then I think salesmen are among the most Christ-like people that I have ever met! No matter how much their customers tax their patience, they still retain a gracious attitude towards them, for the sake of their business – even though they may be boiling within! No. Suppression is not victory. God does not want us merely to appear delivered and spiritual – but to be actually delivered. Paul said, “It is no longer I, but Christ Who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). This is the point to which God wants to bring us.
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1. Encouragement And Admonition Are Two Of The Chief Ministries Of The Holy Spirit
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“Warn (admonish, urge and encourage) one another every day…..that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin….(Heb. 3:13;  Amplified Bible).

“Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together (as believers) as is the habit of some people, but admonishing – warning, urging and encouraging – one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the
day approaching” (Heb. 10:25 – Amplified Bible).

These commands are almost totally ignored by the vast majority of believers, yet they highlight two of our chief responsibilities as members of Christ’s Body. The word translated “admonish/encourage”
in the above passages is the Greek word parakaleo. The noun form of this verb is parakletos, which (translated as “Comforter”), is the word Jesus used to refer to the Holy Spirit in John chapters 14 to 16.

This would seem to indicate that encouragement and admonition are two of the chief ministries of the Holy Spirit. And if the Holy Spirit of God dwells in us as members of Christ’s Body, He will seek to express Himself through us to one another in a mutual ministry of encouragement and admonition. We shall therefore be quenching the Spirit if we fail to engage in such a ministry. Hence the Word of God exhorts us:   ”We earnestly beseech you, brethren, admonish (warn and seriously advise) those who are out of line…..encourage the timid and fainthearted….Do not quench the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 5:14,19 – Amplified Bible).

This does not mean that we shall be spending our time encouraging and admonishing others all the time. No. There is a time and place for exercising any ministry. We must, however, recognize our
responsibility in these areas.

It was probably to this ministry that Jesus was referring when He told His disciples at the last supper, “You also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). Washing the feet would both refresh and
cleanse them – after they had tramped the dirty roads, wearing only sandals.

Likewise, encouragement can refresh a weak and discouraged brother and correction can cleanse a straying brother. We must be willing to wash others’ feet and have our feet washed by them in return.

Paul and Barnabas strengthened the souls of the disciples in the churches they had established, “by encouraging them” – so the record reads (Acts 14:22).   We too can strengthen others through a ministry of encouragement – not only through the preaching of the Word, but also by offering appreciation where it is due.

Jesus was always quick to give a word of appreciation where due. He praised a centurion for his faith (Matt. 8:10), a repentant woman for her love (Luke 7:47) and Mary of Bethany for her devotion (Luke 10:42;
Mark 4:8,9). To His failing disciples, He said, “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials” (Luke 22:28).

Paul when writing to the churches – even to the most carnal ones – usually found something to appreciate in them. To the church in Corinth, riddled with factions, disputed and immorality, Paul began
his letter thus:  “I can never stop thanking God for all the wonderful gifts He has given you, now that you are Christ’s. He has enriched your whole life. He has helped you speak out for Him and has given you a full understanding of the truth; what I told you Christ could do for you has happened! Now you have every grace and blessing; every spiritual gift and power for doing His will are yours during this time of waiting for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. And He guarantees right up to the end that you will be counted free from all sin and guilt on that day when He returns. God will surely do this for you, for He always does just what He says, and He is the One Who invited you into this wonderful friendship with His Son, even Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:4-9-TLB).   Only then did he go on to say, “But, dear brothers, I beg you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing among yourselves’ (verse 10).

Paul tried to begin with something positive. So must we. This does not come naturally to all of us. Most of us tend to see the negative side of others first. But if we submit to the discipline of the Holy
Spirit, we shall find Him showing us something to appreciate in everyone.

A teacher once spread a large white sheet of paper with a small ink-spot in one corner, in front of his class and asked the children to write down what they saw. All of them described the small ink-spot and no-one mentioned the large area of un-spoilt paper. So too, in human relationships: We often tend to concentrate on people’s minor defects and do not see the good in them.   Altering one’s outlook requires determination but it is worth the effort. Gradually the habit of noticing people’s good qualities can be acquired. The next step is to tell them how much one appreciates those good qualities.
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Under the old covenant, people were exhorted to meditate on “the LAW of the Lord” (Psa.1:2). But under the new covenant, we are exhorted to meditate on “the GLORY of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).  If we look only at the letter of God’s Word, we will become Pharisees, and we will build a church of Pharisees.  But if we look at the glory of the life of Jesus, as we see it in the Word, we will be transformed increasingly into His likeness.

The secret of living a godly life (the Holy Spirit tells us in 1 Timothy 3:16), lies in seeing the example of Jesus, Who lived on earth with all the limitations of the flesh, and Who had no more resources than we can have – the power of the Holy Spirit, and Who yet lived in perfect purity in His spirit.

If He could live like that, so can we. “The one who says he abides in Him, ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” (1 Jn.2:6).We cannot blame the flesh any more for our sinning. For there was One Who walked this earth in the flesh and Who did not sin. He overcame through the power of God’s grace – and so can we. The measure in which we ourselves follow Jesus in an overcoming life will
determine the measure in which we can lead our fellow-believers also to walk as Jesus walked.

Immediately after speaking about the secret of godliness (in 1 Timothy 3:16), the Holy Spirit warns us about deceiving spirits who will come in the last days seeking to turn believers away from this way of godliness to a counterfeit way of becoming holy.  “The Spirit explicitly says that in the latter times, some will fall away from this faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits” (1 Tim.4:1). 

The primary mark of all deceiving spirits is that they “do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (2 Jn.7).  They will not acknowledge that Jesus overcame all sin in the flesh.  Through listening to such deceiving spirits, believers will finally be led to believe “doctrines of demons” ( 1Tim.4:2). Two examples of doctrines of demons are mentioned there : forbidding marriage and forbidding the eating of certain foods. Celibacy and fasting have always been regarded among heathen religions as ways to become holy.  But these demonic doctrines will find their way even into Christianity in the last days. We see that being fulfilled in our day. There are Christian groups today that teach that we can become more holy if we remain unmarried or if we fast regularly. Are these doctrines of demons? Yes.

Because they turn our attention away from the secret of godliness to asceticism. Instead of following Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, we then begin to seek after godliness through monastic self-discipline. There is nothing wrong with remaining unmarried or with fasting.  But when these are promoted as the secret of godliness, then the error is serious. In fact any doctrine that leads people away from “Christ manifest in the flesh as the secret of godliness” – is a doctrine of a demon. True holiness is attained, not by yoga or meditation or self-discipline, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In Colossians 2:20-23, Paul says that ascetic practices may have some external value, but they will not lead us to the Divine nature being manifest in our flesh. Only the Holy Spirit can produce that. In the church, we must set people free from religious asceticism. Otherwise we will be proclaiming only a Christianized version of yoga. The Devil is forever seeking to lead believers either to the one extreme of materialism, or to the opposite extreme of asceticism. Materialism is not so dangerous, because it is obviously worldly even to a carnal believer. But asceticism is more dangerous, because it appears to be leading to godliness.

Both these are cliffs that stand opposite to each other. But both lead to the bottom. Irreligious lovers of money and religious, self-disciplined Pharisees are both headed for hell. And as servants of God we must not forget that.

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Related posts:

1. Three Challenging And Comforting Thoughts
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1. God delights in honest people

“If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 Jn.1:9).  To walk in the light means first of all that we hide nothing from God. We tell Him everything, exactly as it is. I am convinced that the first step towards God is honesty. God detests those who are insincere. Jesus spoke against hypocrites more than He spoke against anyone else.  God does not ask us to be holy or perfect first of all but to be honest. This is the starting point of true holiness. And from this spring flows everything else. And if there is one thing that is really easy for anyone of us to do, it is to be honest. So, confess sin immediately to God. Don’t call sinful thoughts by “decent” names. Don’t say “I was only admiring the beauty of God’s creation” when actually you lusted adulterously with your eyes. Don’t call “anger” as “righteous indignation”. You will never get victory over sin if you are dishonest.

And don’t ever call “sin”, “a mistake”, because Jesus’ blood can cleanse you from all your sins, but not from your mistakes!! He does not cleanse dishonest people.  There is hope only for honest people. “He who covers his sin will never prosper” (Prov.28:13).  Why did Jesus say that there was more hope for prostitutes and for thieves to enter God’s kingdom than for religious leaders (Matt.21:31).  Because prostitutes and thieves make no pretence of being holy.

Many young people are turned away from churches because church-members give them the impression that they themselves have no struggles. And so those young people think, “That holy bunch of people will never understand our problems!!” If this true of us, then we are unlike Christ Who drew sinners to Himself.

2. God works all things for our good

“Who can harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?”(1 Pet.3:13) God is so powerful that He makes ALL THINGS work together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose – that is, for those who have no ambition on earth outside of His will for their lives (Romans 8:28). One who has selfish ambitions cannot claim this promise. But if we accept the will of God totally, we can claim this promise every minute of our life on earth. Nothing can harm us.  Everything that others do to us – good or evil, accidental or deliberate – will go through the filter of Romans 8:28 and will come through working for our very best – conforming us each time a little more to the likeness of Christ (Rom.8:29) – which is the good that God has planned for us. This filter works perfectly every single time for those who fulfil the conditions listed in this verse.

Further, 1 Peter 3:13 tells us that no-one can harm us if we are “zealous for what is good”. Unfortunately this is not as well known a verse as Romans 8:28 is. But we must popularise it now. However, this promise too is applicable only to those who are zealous to keep their hearts good towards all people. It will be impossible for any demon or human being to harm such a believer.

So whenever any Christian complains that others have harmed him, he is indirectly admitting that he does not love God, is not called according to God’s purpose and has not been zealous for what is good. Otherwise, whatever those others did to him would have only worked for his good, and then he would not have had any complaints at all. Actually, the only one who can harm you is you yourself – by your unfaithfulness and your wrong attitudes to others.

I can honestly say that no-one has ever succeeded in harming me in my entire life. Many have tried to do so, but EVERYTHING they did only worked for my very best and for the good of my ministry. So I can praise God for those people too. Those who have opposed me have been mostly so-called “believers” who have not understood God’s ways. I am giving you my testimony only to encourage you to believe that this can be your testimony too – always.

3. God detests all that this world considers great

“That which men esteem highly is detestable in God’s sight” (Luke 16:15).  The things that are considered great in the world, not only have no value in God’s eyes, but are actually an abomination to Him. Since all worldly honour is an abomination to God, it must be an abomination to us too. Money is something that everyone on earth considers valuable. But God says that those who love money and long to get rich will suffer the following eight consequences sooner or later (1 Tim. 6:9,10).

(a) they will fall into temptation,

(b) they will fall into a trap,

(c) they will fall into foolish desires,

(d) they will fall into harmful desires,

(e) they will plunge into ruin,

(f) they will plunge into destruction,

(g) they will wander away from the faith and

(h) they will pierce themselves with many a pang.

I have seen this happen again and again to believers everywhere.

One of the main reasons why a prophetic word from the Lord is hardly ever heard these days in our land, is because most preachers are lovers of money. Jesus said that the true riches (the prophetic word being one of them) would not be given by God to those who were unfaithful with money (Lk.16:11).
This is why we hear so many boring sermons and so many boring testimonies in church-meetings and conferences.
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For more information write to: wftw@cfcindia.com
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Related posts:

1. The Secret of Living A Godly Life
2. All Of God’s Commandments Are For Our Good
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