Manifesting the Character of God - A Test of Faith

Mat 5:39 But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

Not striking back when hurt or insulted is an opportunity to display the character of Jesus Christ. In the life of a Christian, such opportunities will inevitably arise and it is up to us to choose whether to react in a manner worthy of the Sermon on the Mount, or not.

We glorify God by displaying or manifesting His character. We cannot do so in difficult situations if Jesus is not present in us. We cannot manifest Jesus without His very presence.

Failure to manifest Jesus during an opportunity is not necessarily an indication that Jesus is not present in you, although it could be. It may be an indication of some poor teaching, or poor modeling by those whom we respect. It may be an indication of something wrong in our relationship with the Lord, something that we have not yielded to His lordship.

One of the most important things that we must yield to His lordship is our idea of what a Christian really is. Jesus will mold us into a person capable of displaying His character in every circumstance, if we let Him. But too often we have our own idea of how a Christian should behave, and it may not resemble Jesus at all. When that is the case, we will miss opportunities to manifest Jesus Christ. The more opportunities we miss, the fewer opportunities we get. Are you getting those chances to display the character of God? If not, you must ask yourself why, and the answer is often that we won't manifest Christ anyway, so He won't create the opportunities for us.

One of the biggest reasons we have for failing to manifest Christ is that we have become far too politicized. Jesus was never political. He took absolutely no interest in the difficult political circumstances of His day, and for 1st century Jews, it was a far more egregious political landscape than anything any western Christian has endured for more than half a century.

Jesus interests were entirely spiritual, and until our interests turn away from the political and back to the spiritual, we will have few opportunities to reveal Jesus in us to a lost world. We will be failing the Great Commission.

Politicalism in western Christians is a distraction at best and an indication that we are far off-track at worst. Christian political activism has to do with creating a kind of Heaven, or Christian Utopia in our country. That will only happen during the Millenial Reign, and attempts to make it happen on Earth will not only fail but greatly impair the work of God - ie the salvation of souls.

Our political attitudes display a character which is anything but godly, and cause resentment by those whom we should be leading to Christ. But instead of manifesting Jesus and drawing lost souls to Him, we are turning them into our enemies. We are doing the very opposite thing that we should be doing.

I pray western Christians will repent of our worldly fascination with politics and turn back to spiritual fascination. Only then will the opportunities to display Jesus arise again. And when they arise, we must yield completely to Christ and allow Him to work through us. Then we will see miracles, and we will see many come to the Lord, including some we would never expect.

"Never look for justice, but never cease to live it". Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 14.

Free Will or Predestination - a Brief Insight

In My Utmost for His Highest, June 7th devotional, Oswald Chambers remarks that, ‘The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and his apparent free choices are God’s foreordained decrees.’

This is, of course, Calvinist theology, which raises the question of freedom of choice or predestination. Does God predestine our very steps or do we actually have free will? My quick and dirty answer to that question is ‘yes’.

After reading the above devotional and while I was praying, I saw in my mind’s eye a complex maze with only one way from the outside to the centre. Then it seemed God was saying to me that that’s not how He works.

In God’s economy there are myriad ways to reach the centre. God is so huge that He is not limited to accomplishing a goal by a single method. He can provide us with numerous choices and still accomplish His plan for our lives and those affected by us.

The ultimate goal is ‘oneness’ with God – we will not be fully prepared for eternity otherwise. If that is not our goal it should be. But is that predestination? Not really,  many people die in their sins, which is all one needs as proof that we are not all predestined to a single outcome. God would prefer that none perish but many do every day. Also, many Christians are happy just to get one foot into Heaven and are not willing to suffer the self-destruction and self-denial necessary to be one with God.

What happens to such Christians? Watchman Nee suggested that they would be limited in what they can do in Eternity. John Wesley believed that one would suffer through illness or some other affliction before they die until they have completely surrendered every part of themselves to the Lord. C.S. Lewis wrote that he suspected such people would undergo some unimaginable process between death and Eternity.

Whatever happens, it will cost us something, perhaps something very significant, to be satisfied with mere salvation when oneness with God is the real prize.

4 Costs of Becoming a Christian

Very much in keeping with Bonhoeffer's 'cheap grace', though it predates Bonhoeffer, this is a clear and concise summary of the cost of salvation. J.C. Ryle died in 1900 at the age of 84. He was a brilliant student at Eton and Oxford and became the first Anglican Bishop of Liverpool.

J.C. Ryle writes in his classic work Holiness that there are four things a person must be ready to give up if they wish to become a Christian.

J.C. Ryle

#1: Counting the Cost: Your Self-Righteousness

#2: Counting the Cost: Your Sins

#3: Counting the Cost: Your Love of Ease

#4: Counting the Cost: The Favor of the World

 Summary: Contemplating the Four Costs

[Before going through the four points] Let there be no mistake about my meaning. I am not examining what it costs to save a Christian’s soul. I know well that it costs nothing less that the blood of the Son of God to provide atonement, and to redeem man from hell. The price paid for our redemption was nothing less than the death of Jesus Christ on Calvary. The point I want to consider is another one altogether. It is what a man must be ready to give up if he wishes to be saved. It is the amount of sacrifice a man must submit to if he intends to serve Christ. It is in this sense that I raise the question, ‘What does it cost?’ And I believe firmly it is a most important one.”

What does it cost to be a true Christian?

1) It will cost him his self-righteousness. He must cast away all pride and high thoughts, and conceit of his own goodness. He must be content to go to heaven as a poor sinner saved only by free grace, and owing all to the merit and righteousness of another. He must be willing to give up all trust in his own morality, respectability, praying, Bible-reading, Church-going, and sacrament-receiving, and trust in nothing but Jesus Christ. Let us set down this item first and foremost in our account. To be a true Christian it will cost a man his self-righteousness.

2) It will cost a man his sins. He must be willing to give up every habit and practice which is wrong in God’s sight. He must set his face against it, quarrel with it, break off from it, fight with it, crucify it, and labor to keep it under, whatever the world around him may say or think. He must do this honestly and fairly. There must be no separate truce with any special sin which he loves. He must count all sins as his deadly enemies, and hate every false way. Whether little or great, whether open or secret, all his sins must be thoroughly renounced. Let us set down that item second in our account. To be a Christian it will cost a man his sins.

3) It will cost a man his love of ease. He must take pains and trouble, if he means to run a successful face towards heaven. He must daily watch and stand his guard, like a soldier on enemy’s ground. He must take heed to his behavior every hour of the day, in every company, and in every place, in public as well as in private, among strangers as well as at home. He must be careful over his time, his tongue, his temper, his thoughts, his imaginations, his motives, his conduct in every relation of life. He must be diligent about his prayers, his Bible-reading, and his use of Sundays, with all their means of grace. “This also sounds hard. There is nothing we naturally dislike so much as ‘trouble’ about our religion. We hate trouble. We secretly wish we could have a ‘vicarious’ Christianity, and could be good by proxy, and have everything done for us. Anything that requires exertion and labor is entirely against the grain of our hearts. But the soul can have ‘no gains without pains.’ Let us set down that item third in our account. To be a Christian it will cost a man his love of ease.

4) It will cost a man the favor of the world. He must be content to be thought ill of by man if he pleases God. He must count it no strange thing to be mocked, ridiculed, slandered, persecuted, and even hated. He must not be surprised to find his opinions and practices in religion despised and held up to scorn. He must submit to be thought by many a fool, an enthusiast, and a fanatic – to have his words perverted and his actions misrepresented. In fact, he must not marvel if some call him mad. “I dare say this also sounds hard. We naturally dislike unjust dealing and false charges, and think it very hard to be accused without cause. We should not be flesh and blood if we did not wish to have the good opinion of our neighbors. It is always unpleasant to be spoken against, and forsaken, and lied about, and to stand alone. But there is no help for it. The cup which our Master drank must be drunk by His disciples. They must be ‘despised and rejected of men’ (Isaiah 53:3). Let us set down that item last in our account. To be a Christian it will cost a man the favor of the world.

Bold indeed must that man be who would dare to say that we may keep our self-righteousness, our sins, our laziness, and our love of the world, and yet be saved? I grant it costs much to be a true Christian. But who in his sound senses can doubt that it is worth any cost to have the soul saved? When the ship is in danger of sinking, the crew think nothing of casting overboard the precious cargo. When a limb is mortified, a man will submit to any severe operation, and even to amputation, to save life. Surely a Christian should be willing to give up anything which stands between him and heaven. A religion that costs nothing is worth nothing! A cheap Christianity, without a cross, will prove in the end a useless Christianity, without a crown.

Excerpt from Holiness by J. C. Ryle

What is Jesus to You? Questions and Answers from Ann Voskamp

This is an excerpt from Ann Voskamp's blog - A Holy Experience, posted yesterday. Even though she mainly ministers to women, she is closer to God than anyone I know today except for Jesus Himself.
Today's blog is just a powerful. See lower right column for connection.

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2014/01/the-most-important-skill-that-your-2014-really-needs/
And the wonder Christmas whispers it right into the pragmatism of my New Year:

Is Jesus merely useful to you — or is He ultimately beautiful to you?

When Jesus is useful to me, I’m looking for a genie in a bottle, to give me the life I want.

When Jesus is beautiful to me, I’m looking for His face in my life, to give Him the love I feel.

When Jesus is merely useful to me, I want Him to move my world.

When Jesus is ultimately beautiful to me, it’s my heart that is moved – and this begins to change the world.

When I see Jesus as useful, he’s a gadget to make my life better. When I see Jesus as beautiful, He’s a joy that makes my heart sing louder….

Am I a Jesus-user?
Or a Jesus-adorer?

In a new year, the only hope of a new me, is only Christ in me.

The most important life skill to have in 2014 is to live aware that Jesus is the only life I have.

Nothing will happen this year apart from Him. Nothing will be remade, nothing will be transformed, nothing will be satisfying apart from Him. Jesus is the only life I have. His shed blood is the only blood I have. His given heart is the only heart I have. His identity is the only real identity I have.

The most important skill to have in 2014 is paying attention to Jesus — nothing else is worth spending your one beautiful year on.

The only real self-help you can ever really muster is preaching Jesus to yourself.

I sweep needles out from under the Christmas tree, and it’s like finding the needle in the hay stack, finding what I need for a new year. It’s all getting simpler:

Just  be with Jesus. Listen to Jesus. Rest in Jesus. Wait for Jesus. Be Loved by Jesus. Wonder over Jesus. Live through Jesus.

When who Jesus is overwhelms you — nothing that happens can overcome you.

Steep your soul in Jesus and nothing is too steep to overcome.

Whatever you do, do it as Jesus.
Whatever you do, do it as to Jesus.

The New Year just got ultra-simplified:

Do everything as Jesus.
Do everything to Jesus.

Tozer on Lordship Theology

From No Saviourhood without Lordship – The Root of the Righteous

Are you saved? Is Jesus Lord of your life? All of your life? Modern evangelism teaches that you can receive Jesus as Savior without accepting Him as Lord of your life. Get saved first, then work on surrendering your life to Christ later.

Never one to mince words, Tozer calls this teaching extremely simple and quite popular, ready-made for both the hearer and the teacher, requiring no thinking by either.

Tozer poses that you cannot divide Christ in either Savior or Lord, He is both or neither. One has to understand that Jesus doesn't give salvation – He is salvation. He is also Lord. He cannot be one or the other but is always both.

“It is altogether doubtful that a man can be saved who comes to Christ for His help but with no intention to obey Him.”

The word ‘intention’ here is quite critical. Of course, we cannot obey Christ perfectly as soon as we are saved. Indeed, it may not even be possible to obey Him completely in this life. But if we ‘intend’ to obey Him and refuse to settle for anything less, then we have accepted Jesus as Lord.

Consequently, if there is some area of our life that dishonors God, that is counter to His Word, and we are not striving diligently to overcome it, then it is doubtful that we can claim Jesus as Lord or Savior.

I believe that we Christians should be manifesting the character of Christ every moment of every day and in every situation. Failure to do that should help us to see what areas of our life still require surrendering to His Lordship.

Lovers of Self

2 Tim 3:1-5
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
For men will be lovers of self,…
Holding to a form of godliness,…
Avoid such men as these.

Loving yourself, as discussed in the post “Loving Yourself”, requires action. Love in the Bible is usually an action verb requiring you to do something. Loving your neighbor means giving him drink when he’s thirsty, food when he’s hungry, clothes when he is naked, etc., etc. In loving ourselves we automatically do all those things for ourselves. But pop psychology would have us do much more for ourselves so that we feel good about ourselves; is that what Christ wants from us?

Matt 16:24
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

If Jesus loved Himself would He have spent 40 days in the mountains fasting? Would He have voluntarily suffered the pain and humiliation of the scourging and the cross? No! He endured such things because He loves the Father, not Himself – “nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done!”

2 Tim 2:11b,12a
For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.

Dying, enduring, these are not words of love unless the dying and enduring is for someone else. Dying and enduring are sacrificial acts – acts of agape love. But agape love takes no thought of self, it is selfless and sacrificial. Is it possible to be selfless for your self? It’s an absurd contradiction!

Definition: Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, it gives and expects nothing in return. It is the highest of the four types of love in the Bible.

The lowest type of love in the Bible is Eros. It might be better defined in English as lust rather than love. As Plato pointed out, Eros doesn’t have to be physical. We certainly lust for things that are not sexual – this is Eros. It has an element of selfishness in it and is the only one of the four biblical words for love that does.

In my opinion, loving yourself can only be accomplished as Eros, lust, the lowest form of love. It is the very thing that scripture teaches us to die to so we can live to agape.

I’m not saying you can’t love yourself and love others with a godly love. I’m saying that if you do, one has nothing to do with the other. The first is sin (according to A.W. Tozer); the second is God!

What Does God want from Me?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? Maybe you should. The Bible makes it very clear that we will all stand before God in judgment one day; wouldn’t it be good to know what He will be judging us on?

Actually, it is not God the Father that we stand before on that day, but God the Son – Jesus Christ.  “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son.” John 5:22.  Not only does the Bible say that, be the Koran also says it and the Talmud too. The Talmud doesn’t recognize Jesus as the Christ, or Messiah, but that’s Who He is and that is Who we will stand before on that day. Matt 16:15-17: And He (Jesus) said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God." And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." 

What are the consequences of judgment?

Judgment is the whole point of life. The entire purpose of our existence on this planet is to prepare ourselves and others for Eternity. God put us here to decide whether we will accept His Son as Lord or not. It’s really that simple!

If we accept Jesus as Lord, we will be tested on the reality of our decision. If we pass the test, we will be accepted into the Kingdom of God for Eternity. 1 Cor 3:13 -  2 Cor 13:5 - Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test? If we refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, or fail the test of truth, there is no place for us in His presence. We will be separated from Him for all Eternity.

What does that mean? That’s a murky subject. It could mean an eternity in Hell, something like Dante’s Inferno, or it could mean an existence apart from God. Literalists are emphatic that the former is true; CS Lewis, on the other hand, pours contempt on such people suggesting they shouldn’t bother trying to read grown-up’s books. Lewis proposes a futile existence apart from God in his book The Great Divorce. In it he describes an existence not unlike the Soviet Gulag, an existence with no God and very little hope or purpose.

The First Thing

So, in the process of becoming ready for judgment, Jesus, essentially, wants two things from us – the first, a relationship. Without a relationship with Jesus, we will stand in judgment on our own merits. But the Bible makes it clear that not one of us is deserving of salvation. Not one of us will be welcomed into the eternal Kingdom of God based on our goodness. The first qualification for eternal life is a relationship with Jesus Christ.

How do you know if you have a relationship with Jesus Christ?

Have you realized that you are a sinner and in no way deserving of spending Eternity with God? Have you recognized the suffering and death of Christ as payment-in full for your sins? Have you turned away from sin? Has the Holy Spirit changed you? Do you see some things differently – evil as evil and good as godly? Do you have a desire to read your Bible and pray – to know Christ better? Do you love Him? Do you love your neighbor? If you answer yes to all of these you are certainly in a relationship with Jesus. If you are missing some, you may have a relationship, but it needs work before you are ready to stand before Him.

The Second Thing

The second thing God wants from us is perfection. Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matt 5:48. …that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. Col 4:12b. Not perfection in the sense of never having a sinful thought or ever doing something bad, but perfection in terms of maturity or completeness. Jesus, Himself, was made perfect through His suffering, but He was never imperfect in the sense of having sinned, He was incomplete in the sense of never having experienced the temptations and trials of fallen man. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. Heb 2:10. His incarnation and crucifixion took care of that; now He can identify with our sufferings on a deeply personal level.

CS Lewis, in “Mere Christianity”, I think, paraphrased Jesus in saying: “If you let Me, I will make you perfect – no matter what it costs you, no matter what it costs Me.” Personally, I believe, with Lewis, that it is extremely important to the Lord to bring His people to full maturity, otherwise, why the great suffering of Christians that is so obvious over the past 2000 years?

Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. Heb 12:14.

There is a sanctification that comes from Christ when we establish a relationship with Him, but this verse is talking about a process of sanctification that we begin when we become Christians. That process is one of separation from worldly lusts and ambition. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Rom 12:2.

To sanctify means to set apart for holy use. Christ sets us apart from the rest of the world for His purpose. We then need to separate ourselves by the power of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, from the power of the cares, the riches and the pleasures of life. That doesn't mean that we cannot enjoy riches and pleasures; it means that the pursuit of such should not be our motivation.

What should our motivation be?

Glorifying God! For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Cor 6:20.

And how do I do that?

Many Christians think glorifying God is standing in the congregation singing ‘glory to God’, and to a point that does glorify Him. But what He really wants is for those of us who have His nature to display it. That is to reveal the character of God to others. We do that by forgiving our enemies, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, visiting and caring for widows, the sick and elderly, and prisoners, and by interceding in prayer for our neighbors. Remember, in the 21^st century, everyone is your neighbor.

Again, motivation is important here. I can imitate Jesus by doing the things above but this will simply glorify me. If Jesus is in you, you will want to do such things because it is your new nature – then you will glorify Christ. It may not be easy; displaying God’s character will usually cost us something – time, money, pride. If it costs us nothing, then it is not likely glorifying God, for love is a profound part of God’s nature. God’s love is predominantly agape love – sacrificial love – love that gives expecting nothing in return.

Are we there yet?

It's Not Fair

How many times have you heard a child yell those words. Fairness is deeply ingrained into us even as a small child, but where did it come from? It's not something that we have to teach our children, they seem to be born with it. But how could we be born with an innate sense of fairness into a world that is patently unfair?

An unfair world should produce children without any expectation or even any sense of fairness, but that is not what we find. So where did the sense of fairness come from? It came from God, of course. Though, at times, it may not seem like it, God is completely fair. We may not see it on earth or even in our lifetime, but come eternity all will be seen as ultimately fair.

Our innate sense of fairness could come from no other source than a righteous God!  

Judgmentalism

Judge not, lest you be judged. For by the judgement with which you judge, you shall be judged.

Matt 7:1,2

I've been a Christian for 30 years and have read these words of Jesus countless times, and agreed with them, intellectually. You see, I'm an intellectual person, it takes a long time for things to get from my head to my heart – but 30 years?!!!!

Apparently, I never considered myself to be judgemental. Others would quickly disagree, I'm sure. In fact, I'm so judgemental that I don't even have to say anything and people feel the condemnation. That comes from being a head person, not a heart person, a thinker rather than a feeler. We need both, of course, to be balanced, but balance was never my strength, thinking was.

Of course, judgmentalism requires a certain amount of pride and arrogance. You can't judge someone who is equal or higher than you, you can only judge your inferiors. Hence, I put myself above those whom I judge, looking down on them. I've known that for a long time, God showed me that in the early 1990's. But it still didn't stop me from judging people, not everyone, but some people.

Romans 2 tells us that the one who criticizes another is guilty of the same thing. You would think that would be a clue, but apparently not. Oswald Chambers in the June 22nd devotional in My Utmost for His Highest asks us if we believe that statement from the Bible. If we do, it must mean that the hypocrisy, fraud and unreality we see in others exists in us, if not outright, then, at least in possibility.

Ozzie also asks the question, “Who among us would dare to stand before God and say, 'My God, judge me as I have judged others'?” Not me, certainly. However, I am determined to change that. I'm repenting of my judgmentalism and asking the Lord's forgiveness for any damage I have done to His Name and His kingdom.

I'm also asking for the forgiveness of anyone out there whom I may have offended. I won't promise it will never happen again, but by the grace of God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, in time, I expect to remove it completely from my life, whereby I can be judged by the atonement rather than the arbitrary standards that I set for others.

God's Direction

One way God literally directs our steps is through timing and circumstance. Last night I walked my dog (yes, only one dog now, we loaned the other to our grandchildren for a couple weeks and never got her back – we’re in a shared custody deal now) on our usual route past the back of a small building next door and into the park in front of the Abbotsford courthouse.

As we returned, I noticed a card and an I-phone holster lying in the ivy on the ground. I looked around for more stuff as I suspected a robbery of some sort had taken place, but found nothing. Today, I walked through that path again as I took the holster and the CAA card over to the police office which is just a five minute walk from here. I hardly thought it worthwhile, especially since I had handled them both so much that fingerprints were unlikely, (obviously I wasn’t in NCIS mode) but did it anyway.

At the police station there was a line-up, and it did not move one person in 15 minutes. I decided that it really wasn’t worth my whole afternoon and left. On the way back home I took a different path through the small field of ivy and noticed some papers lying on the ivy. I scooped them up and examined them and found the same name on the papers as was on the CAA card.

I decided that there had to be a purse around somewhere and within a few seconds a glint of metal caught my eye and I found a large wallet under the ivy. I opened it just long enough to see that the driver’s license was in there, and it belonged to the same woman as the papers and card. I immediately returned to the police station where the line-up moved very quickly and was able to give them the items and get out of there in a few minutes.

Some people would call that coincidence. I might even call it coincidence if these kinds of things didn’t happen so often as to be statistically absurd.

Being Loved by God

On Feb26th, 2012, Pope Benedict tweeted: "If only everyone could experience the joy of being Christian, being loved by God who gave his Son for us!"

Yet even this simple, lovely prayer resulted in no-end of criticism, such as: " God loves everybody!"

Does God love everybody? Can that generality be applied to every single individual? God hated Esau and refused to forgive him though he sought it with tears.

But the big issue here is not whether God loves all of us, but whether we experience that love. If love is only a feeling then we can never know God's love. But with God's love - love is an action verb. He commands us to love our neighbours by feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, visiting the shut-ins, and clothing the naked.

When we 'experience' the joy of being loved by God, it is like being looked after by a loving neighbour. He takes care of our needs. He blesses us and you can feel His blessings and, at times, His very presence.

When you 'know' the Son of God for Who He really is, then you can 'experience' the love of God. Until then it is just a concept.

Charlie Chaplin or is it?

Pastor Bob Jones, NorthPointe Church, Edmonton, Canada, told this remarkable story this morning to lead off his sermon. He researched it to ensure that it was in fact a true story as hard as it is to believe.

In 1915, silent movies were playing in theaters and Charlie Chaplin was already a star. His “tramp” character may be the most enduring icon from the silent movie era, and one of the most imitated characters still.

Chaplin - The Tramp

In 1915, there were contests held in theaters for Charlie Chaplin look-a-likes; one of them was held in San Francisco. There were many entrants all dressed up with the baggy pants, clown shoes, one-button jacket and boler hat. Each paraded across the stage in that well-known wobbly waddle. After some deliberation three finalists emerged and eventually the winner was announced; his name was Bob Hope. Yes, the Bob Hope; a very young and aspiring Bob Hope.

But that is not the best part of this story. Charlie Chaplin himself heard of this contest and, without telling anyone, dressed up as himself and entered the contest. He waddled across the stage with the others probably expecting to be picked out of the crowd; but he wasn't. In fact, he didn't even make the final three! Later, the he asked the judges why they didn't pick him and they told him that he just didn't look like Charlie Chaplin!

The point of the story was to question whether we would recognize Christ if He were standing among us? Do we, like the judges at the Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest, have an image of Christ that is not at all Who He really is? Do we really believe in the God of the Bible? Do we dismiss some portions of the Bible because they don’t fit our image of Who Jesus really is?

We need to study the whole Bible to determine Who He really is, otherwise, how can we possibly be ready to face Him on that great and terrible day?

The Spirit Filled Life - A.W. Tozer (paraphrased)

Tozer
The Divine Conquest
The Spirit-filled Life

A brief paraphrasing of some excellent theology by A.W. Tozer.

Christians are all over the map when it comes to the filling of the Holy Spirit. Some will avoid the very idea like the plague; others think that you are as filled at conversion as you are ever going to be. (Ed: Some believe that all you have to do is ask and the Lord will fill you without any preconditions or prerequisites other than conversion.)

But, every Christian can have a dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit far beyond that received at conversion, or that enjoyed by most Christians today. God will not surprise a doubting heart or fill anyone who still questions the possibility of being filled. A reverent study of the Word of God should remove any doubts.

Before a man can be filled with the Holy Spirit, he must be sure he wants to be. Are you sure you want to be filled with a Spirit who, though He is like Jesus in gentleness and love, will nevertheless demand to be Lord of your life? Are you willing to submit your will to another, even the Spirit of God Himself? If so, He will expect unquestioning obedience.

He will not tolerate in you the self-sins even though they are permitted and excused by most Christians. By the self-sins I mean self-love, self-pity, self-seeking, self-confidence, self-righteousness, self-exaggeration, or self-defense. He will not allow you to boast, or swagger, or show-off. He will take the direction of your life away from you. He will reserve the right to test you, discipline you, or chasten you for your soul’s sake.

He may strip you of those borderline pleasures that other Christians enjoy, but to you are a source of refined evil. Through it all, He will enfold you in a love so vast, so mighty, so all-embracing, so wondrous that your very losses will seem like gains and your small pains like pleasures. Yet your flesh will whimper and cry out against a burden too great to bear as you are permitted the privilege of suffering to “fill up that which is left behind of the afflictions of Christ.” Now, do you still want to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Before we can be filled with the Spirit, the desire to be filled must be all-consuming. I doubt whether anyone has received such a filling without first experiencing a period of deep anxiety and inward agitation.

Religious contentment is the enemy of the spiritual life. The biographies of the saints teach us that the way to spiritual greatness has always been through much suffering and inward pain.

(Ed: Jesus said, in Luke 9:23, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”) The way of the cross has always meant, the way of rejection and loss. No-one ever enjoyed the cross, just as no-one ever enjoyed the gallows.

Complete self-despair need not be discouraging. Despair with self, when accompanied by faith, destroys one of the hearts most potent enemies and prepares the soul for the Comforter. If we resist the sense of utter emptiness, of disappointment and darkness (Ed: The dark night of the soul, as it were), we may miss nearly everything the Father has in store for us.


If we cooperate, he will tear away our natural comforts and that false thing the Chinese call “face” (Ed: read – pride) and show us how painfully small we really are. When He is done, we will know what “Blessed are the poor in spirit” really means.

Be sure that during this process the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us, but will keep us as the apple of His eye, and keep us under His wings. His love will never fail even while He is taking us through this experience of self-crucifixion so real, so terrible, that we can express it only by crying, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”

The value of the stripping experience lies in its power to detach us from life’s passing interests and to point us back to eternity. It serves to empty our earthly vessels and prepare us for the inpouring of the Holy Spirit. We must give up all and undergo an inward death; death to our self.

We must remember that the Holy Spirit is a person Who hears and sees and feels like any person. We can please Him, grieve Him, or silence Him. But to walk with Him, we need to continue in the Word, in prayer, in obedience, and in His purpose (will). And, we need to keep our thought-life clean and holy. If we do these things, He will make known to us the mystery “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”



God bless you.