God, Save Our Generation!

1 Timothy 2:3-4 'For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.'

Ephesians 4:13 'till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ'

If it is God's will that we be saved and grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, why is it so hard? If God is working with us, should this not be easy? Our first response to this is very likely, "Well, I guess it's just that I am so evil"; "It must be human nature"; or "I'm so bad God must not be hearing my prayers." Some get so weary with the difficulty that they say, "God will just have to take me as I am."

All these justifications may indeed be factors, but they are not precisely correct because most of us have some besetting sin or sins that we fail miserably to overcome time after time. Why, if it is God's will, do we not overcome them more easily?

The sin need not be easily recognizable by others, as Paul writes to Timothy that "some men's sins are clearly evident" (I Timothy 5:24). It can be a hidden sin, though we are well aware of it, know it is evil, and feel constant guilt and self-condemnation because of our weakness before it.

It can be a sin of omission and not a sin of commission, in which one is directly guilty of bringing loss or pain upon another. Perhaps the failing concerns acts of kindness or mercy that we have frequently and consistently failed to do to relieve another's burden, but we know of it and are convicted of its seriousness.

This is the key to understanding why spiritual growth is so hard. Consider one's original conversion. Why did this even occur? Romans 2:4 says, "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance." This happened only because God was revealing Himself and making us conscious of factors of life we had never before felt with that force. It moved us to repent and throw ourselves on His mercy. In reality, it was the only option He held open to us because we felt powerless to go in any other direction. Can we overcome death? The key is our awareness of powerlessness as the first essential element to spiritual growth.

In II Corinthians 12:10, Paul makes this point. "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." In chapter 13:4, he adds emphasis to this by saying, "For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you." Just as a prerequisite to conversion is recognizing and acknowledging our utter failure in the face of sin and death, so also is a deep consciousness of our frailty required in the face of overcoming and growth in following God's way and glorifying Him.

Without this overriding sense of dependence, we will never turn to God in the first place. Without this sense of need, we will not continuously turn to Him because our passivity in this will declare that in reality, like the Laodiceans, we think we need nothing and are sufficient unto ourselves. We will be like the confident Peter, who, boasting that unlike others he would never desert Christ, immediately fell flat on his face in spiritual failure. The secret of growth in Christian character largely lies in realizing our powerlessness and acknowledging it before God.

Perhaps John 15:5 will now have more meaning. Jesus says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." It does not mean that without Him we could never design an automobile or send a rocket to the moon. It means that we could produce nothing of a true, godly, spiritual nature within the calling of God that truly glorifies Him.

Just in case we think He is saying more than He really means, think about the following commands. Jesus says in Matthew 5:44, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." He adds in Matthew 6:31, "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'" If these are challenging, try I Corinthians 15:34: "Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame."

We have a long way to go. It is time to stop playing church—realizing that judgment is now on us—and turn to God with all our heart. He promises that, if we do this, He will hear from heaven and respond. We must constantly keep in mind that God is the Potter with the power to mold and shape as He wills. As the clay, our job is to yield, realizing even the power to submit comes from Him.

To understand this from an even broader perspective, we must consider how mankind has acted in its relationship with God beginning with Adam and Eve. They said, "God, stay out of our lives. We don't need you. We will do this ourselves." Therefore, rather than choosing from the Tree of Life, they chose from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. All mankind has copied this approach down to the Laodiceans, who say they are rich and increased with goods and need nothing. It will continue even to those who will curse and blaspheme God during the final plagues in the Day of the Lord (Revelation 16:21).

adapted from The Berean

I see the King of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes
The whole earth shakes

I see His love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing
The people sing

Hosanna
Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees
We're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me

Break my heart from what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdoms cause
As I go from nothing to
Eternity

Hosanna (Live) - Hillsong United

Life Without Limits Is Not Life Without Boundaries

Looking at recent news articles, browsing through different blogs, walking down the streets, observing what is going on around us in the world today, I can't help but wonder what Jesus would think at his second coming. It appears that the story of Samson has been lost on this generation. Samson, who was born with so much potential but died with such disgrace, it is as though the story is unfolding in so many lives today.

Samson was born a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, called by God to begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines. (Judges13:5) In Biblical times, a Nazirite is someone who sets himself apart for the glory of God. The Nazirite law can be found in Numbers 6. Let us go through the Nazirite law.

Numbers6:3-4 - 'he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins'. This part of the Nazirite law deals with the private life of a Nazirite. When no one is watching, do you have the integrity and will to do what is right? When no one is watching, do you still consider the law of God and the vow you made to Him?

Numbers6:5 - 'During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long'. This part of the Nazirite law deals with the public image of a Nazirite. When someone does not cut his hair for a long period of time, everyone notices! A Nazirite's long hair was public declaration that he/she has been consecrated to God. It was a sign of holiness and pure devotion to the Most High God. In the same way, God is still calling out for His people to boldly declare of their consecration unto Him in a radical manner! Will you do it? What will make you do it?

Numbers6:6-7 - 'Throughout the period of his separation to the LORD he must not go near a dead body. Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies, he must not make himself ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of his separation to God is on his head'. This part of the Nazirite law deals with the heart issue. How much of you is devoted to God? Luke14:26 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.' This were the very words of Jesus. Jesus is not calling us to hate our loved ones. Rather, he is calling us to love God to the point that our love for our loved ones pale in comparison to our love for Him. Comparing your love to God, your love for your family must be as though you hate them. That is the degree of love for God to which Jesus is calling us to! Our hearts must be fully yielded to God.

As I examine the life of Samson, I find a few learning points.

1. The grace of God is abundant
If we study the life of Samson, we realize that Samson broke every part of the Nazirite law, except one, which was his long hair. Surely as a man set apart by God from birth he should know better right? WRONG. Why did Samson eventually break almost all the parts of the Nazirite law? The answer is simple. Samson only did what he did because of what his parents placed on him. What he did did not come out of a willingness, but out of falsehood. Friend, you and I, what we do must flow out of who we are. It must come out of a personal relationship with God, out of a willingness. We cannot live on someone else's spirituality. What we do must flow out of who we are, not what we must do, but who we are! A religious Spirit will kill us. We must live our life out of our love for God, not of a wanting to be blessed (Greed Spirit). We must be careful of the way we live our lives. Samson lived dangerously. He broke almost all of the Nazirite law, but his strength remained. Likewise, God's grace is abundant for all of us. It is the grace of God that allows us to be successful. The Bible tells us that all our righteous acts are like filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6), we must be destroyed! BUT the grace of God has allowed us not only to survive, but also to live in abundance, experiencing the prosperity of Heaven. BUT friends, we must remember the story of Samson. We cannot take the grace of God for granted. We must remember that while God is a God of grace, God is also a God of judgment. Samson lost his destiny and died together with the Philistines because he failed to embrace God's calling upon his life. The Bible tells us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1Peter5:8). The devil prowls around looking to rob us of our 'abundance' destiny, and we must stand guard against him! Take up our spiritual weapons, and be watchful! Don't let the enemy have his way. We need to learn to hate that which is unholy.

2. Ownership of our destiny
Studying the life of Samson, it is obvious that Samson did not have any ownership of his destiny. He most probably knew what God had set him apart, as seen from his following of part of the Nazirite law of having long hair. But although he knew, he never took ownership of his destiny. Samson lived dangerously. As I ponder upon this point, I can't help but wonder if we in the church are taking ownership of our salvation. Are we also living dangerously? The Bible tells us that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. And faith without deeds is dead. What kind of deeds are we doing today? Are we like Samson, living dangerously? Do we understand the difference between a move of God and plain emotion? Are we plain sensual creatures, the same as everything else in the world? Many of us are not standing guard. We receive everything that the world throws at us. I'm talking about sensual things.
a)Are we being a good steward of our speech? We talk sensually, using vulgarities in the same breath we use to worship God. Don't think that God doesn't understand you just because you curse and swear in Hokkien. God understands more languages than you, He knows heavenly language, you don't. Friends we need to be good stewards of our tongue, which holds the power of life and death. The Bible tells us that what goes into a man does not make him unclean; what comes out of a man makes him unclean. (Matt15:11)
b)Are we being good stewards of our clothes? Clothes were meant to be a frame for our faces, but in this generation it is becoming a frame for our bodies. Instead of covering our bodies, we're covering our faces. And I'm talking about those in the church community as well. We dress the same as the world does! For guys, clothes are getting tighter and tighter. For girls, your blouses are getting lower and lower, your skirts are getting higher and higher! If Jesus were to come today and walk down the streets, I tremble at the thought of what he'd say about us and the way we dress, believers and non-believers alike.
c)Are we being good stewards of our technology? We visit sensual sites, watch sensual movies, watch things we're not supposed to. What do our blogs tell people about God?
d)Are we being good stewards of our emotions? The spirit of anger and hatred has consumed this generation so much that we're numb to it. We take it as okay. We even have labels like 'emo'. Why are we practicing such lawlessness? Our emotions must be brought under subjection, lest we will be controlled by them. That's what the devil does. He will play with your emotions so much till you think you cannot control it anymore and then suddenly you are brought under its subjection. Don't let that happen.
e)Are we being good stewards of our relationships? Divorce cases are increasing. Abortion stats are going up. Teen pregnancy is becoming more prevalent. Casual sex is becoming a 'norm'. There is something serious going on, and we need to do something about it!
Friends, you and I, we need to take ownership of our salvation. We need to be in the world but not of it. We've been called to be world changers, not world followers. If we are to live in the abundant life of God, we need to keep away from death. Stay away from people of death, from places of death, from foods and drinks of death, from games of death, from sites of death, from objects of death. One thing that I'm talking about is our emotions. A lot of us get emotional breakdowns easily. We get angry and feel hurt easily. We cry so much not out of conviction of the Holy Spirit but out of self-pity. And then we vent our anger everywhere, on our blogs especially. This cannot be! Our blogs desperately need to be a testimony unto God! If we are to love the life of God, we need to hate the death of the devil. The truth is, if from today we truly hate the things of death, many of us will be turning our homes upside down. We'll be throwing much of our wardrobe, throwing away our computers, throwing away some of our books, some of our games. Today we need to start searching deep within our hearts. Right where you are, do it.

Friends we need to understand that having a good start does not guarantee a good ending. Samson had a great start. But he didn't finish well. The Bible tells us that the door is small and the path is narrow. (Matt7:14) You've gone through the small door, good! Now walk on the narrow path, and be careful not to be thrown off-course. You and I have a responsibility to follow as the Holy Spirit leads, to live our lives with fear and trembling. The world has promoted humankind so much that we have grown to love ourselves so much and think ourselves as infallible. Wrong thinking! The truth is, we need to live our lives with fear and trembling before God, because the day and the hour is unknown when the Son of Man will come. We need to be good and faithful servants, watchful day and night, in and out of season. (Matt24)


Everyone needs compassion,
Love that's never failing;
Let mercy fall on me.

Everyone needs forgiveness,
The kindness of a Saviour;
The Hope of nations.

Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.

Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

So take me as You find me,
All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again.

I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in,
Now I surrender.

My Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

Shine your light and let the whole world see,
We're singing for the glory of the risen King...Jesus

Mighty To Save - Hillsong United