Our Peculiar Passage

Entry text
Ex 13:17-18 - 17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.

The Exodus is a shadow of the believers’ journey to the Promised Land, Heaven.  Putting it in another way, the Exodus is parable or metaphor to our salvation journey.  It is also a kind of passage.  Do you see the initiation in there, and then the passage proper?

Whether we like it or NOT, we are in a sort of “adulthood passage”.  No father would want to see his child stops, abandons or fails eventually, in the passage.  All such passages have some “rules”; otherwise, we may as well NOT have them.  As much as the father would like to help his child, even if the father is the village chief (for example), he cannot break this rule or that rule to ensure his child make it through.  Now, the reasons for such passages are that it is good for the child, and it is good for the community.  Although such passages are sometimes handled like an initiation, it is rather, the passage starts with an initiation.

People do NOT undertake the passage without the initiation, and those who undergo the initiation, undergo it with the intent to complete the passage.  In other words, it is similar to what Jesus said concerning we have to “count the cost” before we begin:

Luke 14:27-33 –

27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

Saying the Sinner’s Prayer or the act of coming into salvation is equivalent to initiation.  As in the adulthood passages, no one goes into the initiation, and stops there or regards that (initiation), as all there is to it, to the adulthood passage; there is necessarily the passage or journey to be undertaken, unless the person somehow, drops dead, immediately after initiation.

So, we can metaphorically regard the salvation as a passage.  It begins with “Entering into Salvation” (acceptance of Jesus Christ as is commonly said), and continues on with “In Salvation”; we, believers, are in salvation, and the Apostle Paul said of the “In Salvation” this way (Phil 2:12): We are to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling”.

But unlike men’s common adulthood passage, our salvation passage has its peculiarity.  If we “play by the rules”, we have unlimited access to a leader, the Leader, who leads us IN the passage.  The Leader is our Lord Jesus Christ, by His Spirit (same as the Holy Spirit or Spirit of God).  The role of the Lord is to lead us through the passage, NOT He has to undergo the passage.  Unlike men’s adulthood passage, the “obstacle course” is dynamic and can be different, for different individuals.  The Leader wants to help you and can help you, but core rules, He does NOT break. 

For example, if you engage in evil, stubbornly, he is NOT with you.  He may be there (present), but He is NOT with you (He does NOT go along with you; agree with you and work with you {in your evil}).  When we say, you have to “play by the rules”, this is what we mean.  Another example of breaking the ground rules, which we must avoid, is this: You don’t hold Him as your Leader, but hold another; that can be idolatry; rebellion; even apostasy.  Sorry, there is no such thing as salvation without embracing Lordship; that is apostasy.

The Leader (the Lord, Jesus Christ) wants you to make it, but you cannot insist He do what He would NOT do!  You still have your free-will and you have to exercise it rightly, but the Leader does NOT conform to your volition; He goes by His will; He teaches us; we don’t teach Him; He does NOT learn; He is arrived; we are NOT.  It is NOT He, undergoing the passage, we are. 

As He assesses your progress, he wants to help you, encourage you, comfort you, and will lead you, if you allow Him to.  He knows how to lead you if you allow Him to.  He wants to lead in such a way that you should NOT stop, abandon, or fail eventually, the passage; and of course, the purpose of the passage is that you grow, to come to stature; but it is NOT His job to do the passage for you; as in a men’s adulthood passage, the father or the village chief cannot do the passage for the children.

There is work to be done by us; the passage does NOT end with Initiation.  First of all, we need to trust the Leader.  We need to believe if we follow His leading, we will pass the passage; it is like He has every conceivable blueprint there is, of the obstacle courses in the passage.  It is NOT “a piece of cake”, maybe you will hit a dead-end, a wall, but He knows where to punch a hole in the wall, and you can move on.  When the time runs out, you are to pass, and that means you reaching the “land of adulthood”, Heaven; and so, you have to keep moving forward. 

Second, we need to know the Leader and His ways, because we cannot bend Him to conform to our volition; instead, it is best for us, when we work with Him.  If we want to work with Him, we need to know Him and His ways.  Among His ways are (1) there is no wickedness in Himself whatsoever; and so, you got to conform to that; He is holy; (2) He has His commission, to lead as many of us, through the passage, as possible; and so, if you want to work with Him, be part of this Great Commission; and (3) He moves in love, and His love is of this kind, in keeping with His holiness and righteousness, love unto righteousness (a specific `ahab love); and so, we have to move in that way, too. 

Thirdly, we have to always return to the Leader, when we have gone off-course (strayed and sinned); this is what we say, “You got to get back right with the Lord”; otherwise, how is He to lead you again.  We got to repent; be humble, and confess we have done wrong (sinned), and ask Him to forgive us, and give us the “right hand of fellowship” again, and lead us.  That we have a leader to lead us in this passage is peculiar, but if you ignore this peculiarity or don’t want this peculiarity, chance is that you will NOT make it.  This is a peculiar passage, to make us a peculiar people, for the one and only God worthy of our devotion.  1 Pet 2:9 (KJV) – “… ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;”

In my view, those who teach along the line of “God got your butt onto the course, He got to get your ass to Heaven, regardless, on the ground that you merited it NOT your entry into salvation", they are seriously missing what God is trying to do.

Food for thoughts

Did all the Israelites who left Egypt after the “fanfare” (Initiation?), get into the Promised Land?  Did NOT all who left Egypt, went on the journey (Passage?)?  Did any left Egypt but did NOT go on the journey, like just remained there outside of Egypt or went back in? Was it “a piece of cake” to get to the Promised Land? Did NOT many of them, afterwards, have “regret thoughts” of embarking on the Exodus?  Were there NOT many obstacles, big and small, of varying sorts?  Can you see any deadly ones?  Was NOT the LORD with them in the journey?  Did the LORD NOT help them?  Did all make it?  Why? Do you think we can be like the adult generation who left Egypt, who failed in the deadly obstacles?  All believers should at some point, spend some time studying the Exodus.

 

Anthony Chia, high.expressions

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Be careful of pride

Preamble:  This entry stems from my pondering and commenting on two consecutive blog entries on pride, of Ps Prentis, writing on his blog of “Created to give God Glory”, which I follow most regularly.   

Below are the links to the 2 articles:

1.          Bowing at the Altar of Self

2.   Standing on the backs of others won’tmake you taller (I also encourage you to read my comment on this article; the points are NOT reflected in this article)

Article verse

Hab 2:4 - "See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright-- but the righteous will live by his faith.

It started with Satan

Satan’s fall from Heaven was due to pride.  Isaiah 14:12-14 gave us the picture:

12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!  13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.  14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." 

Ezekiel 28:12-18 is conflated with Satan.  Satan was most beautiful and perfect until Iniquity was found in Him.  Iniquity birthed from pride.  Satan wanted to be like God, be seated at the High Throne, and be worshipped by all.  He probably was below One, and above all others, possibly, was the one who orchestrated worship in Heaven; yet he wanted to equal God, if NOT above God.

Pride reaches its high level when, it matters NOT, to you, what others (including God) think of you; and what matters to you is what you think of yourself.  When it is like that, it is you are placing yourself above everyone else. 

In this regard, the author of Romans, in Romans 12:3, captured it well, warning us NOT to think more highly than we ought, but rather think of ourselves with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of us. 

Think about it, that was what happened to Satan; he stopped bothering with what God thought of him, rather he thought he ought be the one be worshipped by all (equaled God, or even instead of God being worshipped).  When we say we are NOT bothered with what others think of us, it is WRONG (pride), if that “others” included God.  We must have, and have, the highest regard for what God thinks of us. Micah 6:8 said of what is required of us; one of it, is we are to walk humbly before our God.

Replication into Man

Iniquity birthed in Satan from pride; to me, the same was replicated into men, in the Fall.  The snare was the same; Gen 3:4-6 –

4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.  5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

See, Satan was hinting to Eve, “You could do without God”.

Fellowship consideration

“Well, in that case, can I be ‘NOT bothered’ with what others think; I just give regards to what God thinks?”  If the others are in alignment with God, you cannot just ignore them either.  Remember, (1 John 1) if we are in the light, we have fellowship with God and with other believers in the light.  The yardstick of measurement has to be God’s words, will and desires, though.  Believers’ expectations of us, which are out of line with the yardstick, we can put aside, after we have weighed against the yardstick, but it is only after exercising sober judgment.

Romans 12 gives a good take of how we are to live it out in a community.  The point is still we are NOT called into isolation, but to live in fellowship in the light.  Life is NOT easy in such context, for where there are people, there is politics, and that is another thorny issue, and wisdom is required. We don’t bow to men, but to God; but it is NOT we bow NOT, to men and we bow NOT to anyone, NOT even God.  We submit to authority placed over us, by God.  Unhappy with leaders, and there is no higher authority?  Take your case to God.

Agreement with God

The straightforward and “easy thing to say” is to “Just do what God wills/desires you, to do; submit, obey, and follow His prescription for you”; in other words, be in agreement with God.  It is the right thing, but it is NOT necessarily easy to practise. 

Hab 2:4 ends with “but the righteous shall live by faith”, but how is it contrary to prideful behavior or living?  I often say, the simple definition of being righteous is being in agreement with God, and so, the righteous are the ones supposedly in agreement with God.  The “in agreement” is about what God wants done, and the timing thereof, too; and it is NOT mental assent, it got to be lived out. 

Why the righteous shall live by faith; it is because we proceed and we are to proceed (to live), from a “right belief”; NOT any belief, but a belief in the words, will and desires of God. It is the norm that it is NOT “robotic”, in that it is NOT all pre-programmed in every single step that we are to take, and it is NOT executed entirely from facts.  And we do NOT have the full mind of Christ, like our mind has been hollowed out and replaced by Christ’s mind!  If you have such a mind, let me know! To be righteous in living, it is by faith. 

I like this, that Ps Prentis said (in his blog entry - “Bowing at the Altar of Self”):

“Listening to God and doing what He desires takes away all pride and all self-worship. It creates a person who loses himself in his work. His work is his worship because God has called him to it. He doesn’t worship the work but worships by working.”

Really, worship is more than we singing songs and praising Him; we worship Him in doing willingly and lovingly the works (including worship of Him) He has us do.  But sad, too often, works has been erroneously treated like leprosy, to stay away from (no thanks to overly grace preachers), with a 10 feet pole, so to speak. 

How is in agreement with God (being righteous), listening to Him and doing from that, by faith, takes away all pride and self-worship? It is because we know we are NOT the source of the whatever that people can be prideful about, God is; we merely follow His lead.

“Listening to God and doing what He desires” is NOT necessarily easy!  But who says, when it is hard, we are NOT to do!  If there is no hardness, from where would come faithfulness and perseverance; and where would come character building. 

The one who is NOT operating from “the righteous shall live by faith”, Habakkuk said, his soul is lifted up, or he is being proud.  And he who is proud, “uprightness” is NOT in him. To live by faith, one listens to God and does what He desires (both listening and doing, call for faith); when we are NOT doing that, we are saying we know better (than God); and this is being proud, is it NOT?!

My check of the Lexicon leads me to believe the right meaning to be assigned (there are several meanings) to the “uprightness” {H3474} is, that which is pleasing, agreeable; and obviously, pleasing and agreeability are from the perspective of God.  So, he who is proud does NOT have that which is pleasing or agreeable to God, or he is NOT pleasing or agreeable to God. 

In other words, Hab 2:4 could read as “Behold, he who is being proud (or prideful) is NOT pleasing or agreeable to God; whereas, the righteous lives by faith or in agreement with God”.

If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that

There is, of course, time and season (Eccl 3); and so, while we must remain faithful in our works for God, it is never we are indispensable (that is pride), or that God cannot retire us off, or rotate us to any other thing or nothing (for a season)!  He is the Potter, we are the clay; He will re-make or re-shape as he wishes (Jer 18:4-5; Rom 9:21).

The Apostle James left us these words (James 4:13-16):

13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."  14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."  16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 

Anthony Chia, high.expressions

Comments are welcome here. Alternatively, email them to me @: high.expressions@gmail.com Or just email me your email address so that I can put you on my blog (new entry) notification list. To go back to blog main page, click here. 

Issachar Spirit

Gen 49:14-15 -14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: 15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

First of all, Gen 49 was a prophecy by Jacob, including prophecy on his 12 sons, who would form the 12 Tribes of Israel.  Issachar was the 9^th son, and meaning of the name is recompense/reward (H3485). 

Gen 30:18 (KJV) - And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar (H3485).

The text was a metaphorical prophecy of Issachar, and the Tribe of Issachar.  It does NOT necessary mean the prophecy is “extendable” to us, but there could be good guides or principles we can apply in our lives. 

Issachar men were strong men built for work.  Gen 49:14-15 has been variedly interpreted, and there are people who said Issachar men were lazy, which I disagree.  I am NOT using the word, hardworking, but they were built for work or fit for work; perhaps, they were NOT proactive all the time, but when they took up a work assignment, they worked.  Remember, this was a metaphor, and donkey was a metaphorical object; some translation has it for “strong donkey”, “jawboned donkey”.  In other words, the well-built Issachar, could be men of battle (Scripture has a record of Samson using a jawbone of a donkey for battle, killing a 1,000 men).  Also, 1 Chronicles 7:2 tells us that Issachar men were valiant men of might in their generations. Gen 49:14 said that they were “caught” between two “burdens”; what were those two “burdens” or camps or “sheepfolds”? 

Couching down between two “burdens” there, in my view, was referring to a position of weighing set of two choices, and there could be various different two-choices sets.  I believe Jacob spoke about Issachar or Issachar men as men of astute choice maker.  Now, it is NOT necessary that his mother, Leah, her doing then, of making her choices (for reward), necessary means that Issachar would turn out to be a negative or bad choice maker, like it would be (choice) for material or vain or unrighteous reward; as are presented by some who write on this text.

What Issachar’s mother, Leah did, could be read from Gen 30.  When he was born, Issachar was given that name; the underlying scenario was that Leah weighed her two “burdens”, to be losing out to Rachel, not having children or enough children, or to be having her maidservant be intimate with her husband, Jacob.  Leah considered Issachar as recompense/wages for her, for her letting her maidservant to be intimate with Jacob.  Issachar took on the “trait” of weighing between two “burdens”, but it did mean that he or his descendants would be bad choice maker or bad in weighing of burdens.  In 1 Chronicle 12:32 we read of Issachar “were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do”; and they rallied behind making David, King of Israel.

For verse 15 (Gen 49:15), one may tend to say, there we have it - the two burdens, waging battles, and the other, tilling the ground; meaning they could opt to be men of battles or war, one sheepfold or cluster/camp, or farmers, another sheepfold or cluster/camp.  It may NOT be exactly it, for there was no noting in Scripture of Issachar men turned to be farmers.

The land was metaphorical representation.  There were 2 occasions in Scripture that helped explain this:

Occasion 1 - Judges 5:15 - The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes, Issachar was with Barak, sent under his command into the valley.

Deborah (woman Judge, from Ephraim Tribe) and Barak (of Naphtali Tribe) headed one of the greatest last battles of the Israelites over the northern Canaanite armies - the "Battle of Deborah" (12 BC); this completed the conquest of Canaan, tens of years after Joshua first led the Israelites into the Promised Land. Deborah had a problem then - to convince the tribes to send soldiers to the Israelite Army against enemy Jabin, king of Hazor and his commander-in-chief, Sisera.  In the end, only a few of the tribes sent their men into the battle. The Zebulun joined (Barak requested that Deborah will join him in the battle as a condition for his acceptance of the command); and we read in the above Judges 5:15, the Issachar Tribe gave full support and went into the thick of the battle under the command of Barak, a commander of Naphtali, (NOT of Issachar). 

The land in Gen 49:15 was therefore a metaphor for the Promised Land; and it was indeed a pleasant land; this was what was said by the spies when they first explored the Promised Land – Num 13:27 - They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. Of the fruit, from Num 13:23, “they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs.”

What about “the rest was good”?  By this time, the Israelites had entered and occupied much of the land, and they had rested, and that was why Deborah had the problem of convincing the Tribes to fight in one of the remaining fierce battles of the Promised Land.  The rest was good, but like we nowadays say it, “it ain’t over!” And the Issachar men knew it, and made the right choice of going into battle, instead of going about their lives, like what was being done by some of the other tribes; they might have searched their hearts, but still they did NOT go to the battle, leaving others to fight.  We are to note that the Issachar men were NOT lazy; they went to work (“bowed his shoulder to bear”); they went into the thick of the battle.  Yes, for what was good and pleasant – the rest and the land.  And they became a servant unto tribute; what was this?  They submitted to the leadership of Barak who was NOT of their tribe, and went to battle as servants of Barak and of the people; and Judge Deborah, we can read from Judges 5 (vv9-12), paid tribute to the volunteers – the Issachar men became servants unto tribute.  For an account of Judges 5, read this article of mine - Judges 5 - Song of Deborah.

Occasion 2: 1 Ch 12:32 - we read of Issachar “were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do”; and they rallied behind making David, King of Israel.  1 Ch 12:23 said these men (inclusive of others), “armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, as the Lord had said:” In 1 Ch 12:38, we read, “All these were fighting men who volunteered to serve in the ranks. They came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. …”

David was banished from the presence of (King) Saul (1 Ch 12:1); there were two burdens – Saul or David?  Issachar couched down between Saul and David?  Was the home (land), and therefore, rest, too, good and pleasant?  Was Israel, the Holy Land, good and pleasant?  It was; and still, choice had to be made, shoulders needed to be bowed to bear, and the Issachar men, chose to be servants to bear up David.  Again, Issachar men would NOT be “the” leaders, but would be servants unto tribute, to the Judah head, David.

What we can glean from the above:

1.   Prophecy does come to pass.  And so, we should NOT make the mistake of a writer or two, who brushed away this prophecy; even saying, the life of Issachar (we got to include his descendants) did NOT bear it out!  No, careful study, as above, shows, that prophecy did come to pass.

2.   Like the men of Issachar, we have to believe we are born for such a time as this, and we can be astute choice makers, knowing of the times or have understanding of the times; and we are to recognise “the rest” and the “land”.
 
3.   The Christian life is the rest and the land; we have entered it.  We have entered into the Kingdom of God, albeit the earthly phase of it.  The rest is good and the land is pleasant, but like I have said above, “it ain’t over!”  We still have to make choices, and right ones; and for the choices we make, for the “good rest and pleasant land”, we have to bow our shoulders to bear.  Yes, we have to work when we have made the choice(!); and we are “jawboned donkeys”; and we have what it takes to do the work (And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work – 2 Cor 9:8). We are called into the Servanthood that the Lord, Jesus, had come to re-establish, that we, believers, are servants unto tribute, serving the Almighty God.  Eph 2:10 tells us that we are saved for good works (unto the Lord).

As long as we are still living, we are to continue to be like Issachar, strong ass couching down between two burdens, and we have chosen (NEVER to deny) the Kingdom (as opposed to the world) and because the Kingdom rest is good, and the Kingdom is pleasant; we bow our shoulders to bear, to work for its interest, and continue to be a servant unto tribute, unto our King and God, until the day He brings us to the Kingdom in Heaven, for the most awesome, awesome, and awesome rest and land.

4.   My long distance friend, Ps Prentis, wrote an entry on his blog, touching on retirement issue, quoting this text – Gen 49:14-15.  There is no retirement, there is only we are called home to the Kingdom in Heaven, when God said we have finished.  May we all know the moment, when it is about to come, like Jesus did, in His moment, “It is finished”.  Until then, it ain’t over!  Yah, we should NOT get too comfy, even when we have passed any worldly retirement age, and NOT to forget our Christian “duties”.

 

Lastly, Elieen, if you are reading this, that some prophet prophesied that your husband has the Issachar spirit (you told me some years back; and I remember I said, “It means he needs to work with people, not alone”), it is NOT a negative prophecy; it is a great prophecy.  No, the Issachar spirit does NOT mean your husband will be mundane hireling or simply a man full of burden; it is a great honour to be a man of burden of the Lord; to be a servant unto tribute, to the Almighty God; to arise to the occasion, just at the right time, to step in, and be instrument of God for blessing and breakthrough. Yes, it may mean the one with Issachar spirit may NOT lead in the highest level, but there again, how many highest level leaders are there; must we be the one?!

May God bless the reading of this article.

Anthony Chia, high.expressions - Once a servant (of God), always a servant of God.
Comments are welcome here. Alternatively, email them to me @: high.expressions@gmail.com Or just email me your email address so that I can put you on my blog (new entry) notification list. To go back to blog main page, click here. 

 

Who are the overcomers? - Part IV (What can help you to overcome)

In this final part, Part IV, we will look at the means or ingredients at our disposal, or simply what we are to do, to overcome. 

Again, as in Part III, I will comment on a select of verses from Scripture.

 

Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

My comment – “feet” and “path”, these have the connotation of “a walk” or “an on-going life”. 

The Word is the lamp to unto my feet; it means that the God’s words illuminate where I put my next immediate steps; that I do NOT put my feet into a pot-hole, for example; that I do NOT step on a pointed nail (pointing up!); or that I do NOT tread on a brood of vipers!  In other words, the Word can help me to avoid many immediate dangers about me; and that is part of overcoming, in life.  

The Word is a light unto my path; it means that God’s words point to where I would go, like, I, to go to the east or to the west.  For example, the Word can be telling me that the road to the east leads to where I may be attacked or ambushed or to do some important work for the Lord, or that I should stay with a particular path for the season. 

The Word covers the far ground and the near ground.  It is like we are driving a car or navigating a ship, we have to look at the far ground ahead of us, and we also need to pay attention to the near ground ahead of us; and then we can safely arrive at our destination, Heaven, in this case.

Having said this, I am NOT saying that we would be trouble-free {remember we looked at John 16:33}; also 2 Tim 3:12 - In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

The point is that with the Word, you don’t go where the Lord would NOT want you to go.  There may be trouble at the place the Lord has you go, but if it is His will, you can expect Him to be there with you, to face the trouble. 

No crashing out or shipwrecking possible?  Really?  Scripture does have a verse about shipwrecking! Shipwrecking our faith!  It is found in 1 Tim 1:18-19.

18 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight,19 holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. (1 Tim 1:18-19)

The instruction here, in v18, to Timothy, was to oppose heresies (v3), and Timothy was told, in his good fight, to hold unto the faith and a good conscience. 

The Apostle Paul told Timothy, some have rejected the holding unto the faith and a good conscience with devastating result of them shipwrecking their faith.  Shipwreck carries the connotation of destruction, NOT just setback.  Having one’s name blotted out from the Lamb’s Book of Life, that would be destruction, that would be shipwrecking one’s faith! 

We will NOT go at greater length into this (about the importance of the Word), and it suffices to say that one needs to understand the Word well, have it abides in him, to (1) hold unto the faith, and (2) have his conscience always on the guard, so that it will always remain good. The Word is very important to us to continue to be an overcomer in life.

Acts 17:11 - Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

My comment – Rightly dividing the Word; this verse tells us what we should do with messages we hear; we should examine the Scripture daily to see if what were said are true. 

There are just too much heretic teachings out there; we need to be discerning, or we may end up like the two assistants of the Apostle Paul whom he referred to, who had fallen away (v20), in the 1 Tim 1 text to Timothy; the two became heretics. 

In fact, Timothy himself, we have seen above (1 Tim 1:18-19), was exhorted to be careful, lest he be ensnared by the heretic teachings, even as he was to oppose them.  Many heretic teachings are out to win you over, if you are NOT careful with the purity of your faith.

1 John 2:3-7 - 3 We know {ginosko} that we have come to know {ginosko} him if we obey his commands.4 The man who says, "I know {ginosko} him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know {ginosko} we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 

My comment – 2 things are underscored here:  One, continuing with the above, about the importance of God’s words, if we obey NOT His commands, we know NOT God, and the truth is NOT in us.  I ask us 2 simple questions:  Is God the truth?  If the truth is NOT in you, do you think you will go to Heaven to be where Truth is? 

Two, another angle to what is required: We need to be in Him, in the truth.  How do we know that – that we are in Him? V6 said it – we must walk as Jesus did. 

Is there a patterning after the Lord required, for salvation?  Yes.  What is key in the Lord’s earthly life?  He was sinless, righteous, and He lived and persevered in being sinless, being righteous; He overcame all that the world threw at Him; He overcame the world (John 16:33), and overcame death (Rom 6:9 - For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him). 

So what must we do?  What must we remember? It is we have to walk as Jesus did. What is Jesus’ pattern in regard to overcoming?  He had to live an overcoming life to the end; and so, must we.

Hosea 4:6 - my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.

My comment – Again, this is about the importance of the Word.  Though the setting was in the OT, then the law was the Word of God, and there was a focus on the priests, yet, its principle is still applicable to us, for we, NT believers, are the Lord’s royal priests. 

We can get destroyed from lack of knowledge or from our reject of knowledge; and the knowledge here is more particularly, referring to the knowledge of the Word or God (Hosea 6:6 KJV).  To overcome, one must aim NOT to be destroyed; and for that, we need to address our lack of knowledge of the Word, and we must avoid (us) rejecting the same.

It said there, if we ignore the Word (laws of God), God will even ignore our children.  When we are IN HIM, we have spiritual covering from the Lord; and we, as parents to our children, extends the covering {at least some extent of it} we have, from the Lord, to our children. Now, if we are NOT in Him, we have NOT, the covering from the Lord (that is why we can be destroyed), and if we have NOT the covering of the Lord, we cannot extend what we do NOT have, to our children; here said as “our children get ignored”.

Matthew 10:28 - Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

My comment – Who are the “those”, and who are the “One” in the verse? The “those” refers to Satan and his minions; and the “One”, God.  This is an example of knowledge talked about in Hosea 4:6, that we all must understand and receive in.  Which side do you want to be overcomer, for?

Now, this should be understood: Though Satan cannot directly destroy the soul, for He is NOT the one who would (in the last day) commit your soul to Hell, it is he, Satan, whom you can be counted with, and so, be going to Hell, just as he, Satan, has been destined to go.  It is God who can destroy both soul and body in Hell (the One there, in the verse is NOT Satan).

2 Cor 4:18 - So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

My comment – Again, this is an important knowledge that we should know, so that we persevere and overcome for the right things.  The world and the things in it, they will pass away; don’t persevere and overcome for such; over and above the same, persevere and overcome for the unseen things, the eternal things.  In the Book of Revelation, especially in the messages about the 7 churches, some of the unseen and eternal things have been recorded for us; overcome for those things; these were listed in Part III (of this series).

1 Cor 3:12 - If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,

My comment – What is the foundation of your living built on?  We must know from the Word, what we are to build the foundation of our life and living, with.  Again this is knowledge (Hosea 4:6), and it is important knowledge, and we must spend time building the right foundation, for if the foundation is NOT strong and built out of the right stuff, when the waters of testing come, it will collapse (Matt 7:24-25; also Luke 6:46-49).

James 1:2-4 - 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

My comment - Our faith will be tested.  If there is no testing, there will NOT be question of perseverance, and overcoming to talk about, would there?  This text explains how God sees the trials of many kinds that come your way.  The testing of our faith is in the will of God - 1 Pet 1:6-7 said this: 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Only when you have overcome, or perseverance has finished its work, that you may be mature and complete.  Think about the end result, and we can consider it pure joy to have to face trials of all sorts.  Trials can be expected in our salvation journey.  Face each one well, don’t just run away from it, and you will grow or mature as you go along, until the work started in you is brought to completion (Phil 1:6).

James 1:5-7 - 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.  

My comment – to overcome the various troubles, and trials in life, we need godly wisdom.  The text here said we should ask God for it.  But please also pay attention to the conditions given.  One condition given here, is that, you are to believe and NOT doubt.  Another is that you got to have the fear of the Lord, which is that you must hate evil {that which God hates} (Pro 8:13); for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, said Scripture (Pro 9:10).  Without hating evil and therefore, embracing holiness, one can have no godly wisdom given him!

Phil 4:8 - Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

My comment – think no evil, and do no evil, NOT only that, let your mind be occupied with the right thinking; focus on things that were listed in Phil 4:8.  The Christian meditation is NOT focussed on emptiness, but on the right things.

Eph 6:12 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Eph 6:11 - Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

My comment – Again, this is knowledge, we, believers, must have and NOT reject.  Don’t be like some people, believing there is God, but NOT believing there is also the Devil and his minions.  IN HIM, we can do all things (Phil 4:13), yet we are NOT to underestimate the enemy; for when NOT in Him, we are NOT more powerful than the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  

NOT in Him, you and I are NOT more powerful than Satan!  Stop kidding yourself.  Scripture said we are created a little lower than the angels.  We are stronger and more powerful than Satan and his minions when we are in Him.  Eph 6:12 explained clearly we are NOT wrestling against flesh and blood, but with evil principalities.  To fight the principalities and to overcome, we are exhorted to put on the full armour of God; Eph 6:14-18 gave us what the full armour comprised.

2 Thess 1:4-10 - 4 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 5 All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

My comment – 2 understandings here, we should embrace, in line with the need of knowledge as said in Hosea 4:6. 

One, our faith will be and is tested, and so, we have to persevere and overcome, so that we, at the end of day, are counted worthy of the Kingdom of God {so that our faith maybe proved genuine – 1 Pet 1:7}.

Two, don’t harbour the attitude that God is NOT just.  V6 said God is just.  There is no equality, but there is justice with God.  But it may NOT be now or at the time you want.  God judges, and He will judge when the Lord comes back again (2^nd Coming); and punishment according to His justice and righteousness will be meted out; it is entirely up to Him if He would mete out any punishment in the meantime.

Ps 89:14a - Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.

Ps 97:2 - Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

Ps 33:5a - The LORD loves righteousness and justice;

My comment – The first 2 verses tells us that the Kingdom of God that we have entered into, albeit, the earthly phase of it, are founded on God’s righteousness and justice.  And so, you and I must embrace the very foundation of the Kingdom – God’s righteousness and justice.  The point is we cannot expect God to be with us in our overcoming if we subscribe NOT to His justice and righteousness – the foundation of His throne and rule.

Matt 6:33 - But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

My comment – This was the Lord Jesus’ exhortation – that we seek first, God’s kingdom and His righteousness; other things can then fall into place.  Now, it does not mean there will NOT be trouble (John 16:33 already said trouble can be expected), still despite all difficulties, seeking first, God’s kingdom and His righteousness must be embraced.  If everything is always swell and well, there is NOT talk of overcoming applicable, is there?! 

We have to stay the course of seeking first, His kingdom and righteousness, and then we can look to His grace flowing out to us, from the head of righteousness.  God’s eyes are on the righteous.  Ps 37:25 said this: I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.  All who are righteous can take comfort in this.

1 Cor 13:12-13 - 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

My comment – The exhortation: Now, there is no perfect clarity, but at that time to come when we come face to face before God (end time), everything would be clear; for now, always live in FAITH, holding onto the HOPE of eternal life, and practice LOVE (be in the ever cycle of being loved, and be loving).  This is one of the wise prescriptions of the Apostle Paul, for Christian living.

Ps 91:14-16 - 14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

My comment – Love God always, and with all of you.  This is the secret to a believer’s well-being.  See all the promises of God in the above text for those who love Him – rescue, protection, answer from God, God’s presence in trouble, deliverance, honor, long life, and life eternal.

Matt 28:19-20 –

19Therefore go and make disciples {G3100 – mathēteuō} of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 and teaching {G1321 – didaskō} them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

My comment – This is the Great Commission recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. Yes, at that time, it was addressed to the 12 Apostle-disciples (11 actually {v16}), but it is taken as addressing all believers.  The commission given was to make disciples of all nations. 

Some translations use the word, “teach” (all the nations) for verse 19; no, that is incorrect, the Greek word used was G3100 – mathēteuō; and this has the meaning of making disciples, not teaching, simply. 

The Greek word, meaning teaching, simply, is the word, G1321 – didaskō; and it was used in its proper place in verse 20.  The word of Jesus quoted here, by Matthew, was clearly that disciples be made of nations.  What this means is that believers or Christians are disciples of the Lord; it is NOT some believers are disciples and some are NOT intended to be!

Can you claim the last bit of v20; you (and I) sure want to – that Jesus be with you always, to the very end of age?! (There are many other rights and provisions for the disciples, including authority and power {egs. Luke 9:1, Matt 10:1}).  Can you claim? 

Yes, if you are disciples, NOT merely believers, for the text was addressed to disciples (“to make disciples”).  When you are one of the ones made, and are a disciple, as I have explained here, you are also expected to carry out the Great Commission, and if you indeed do so, you are entitled to the “Jesus be with you always”; and when Jesus is with you always, you needn’t fear, do you?

So, if you agree that you are a disciple, live in keeping as one.  In short, how should a disciple live?  A disciple is one who is totally submitted to the teachings of the person who is disciplining him. So, as a disciple of Jesus, we are expected to obey Him, follow Him and serve Him.

Gal 5:16-17 - 16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.

Romans 8:14 - because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

1 Cor 6:19-20 - 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

My comment - Be led by the Spirit, NOT by your carnal flesh anymore.  The will and desires of the Spirit and the carnal flesh are conflicting.  Do NOT gratify the desires of the carnal flesh.  Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in us.

Summary:

What can help us to live an overcoming life?

The Word is very important; (a) we need to understand it; (b) have it abides in us; (c) through the Word, hold unto the faith; and (d) vis-à-vis the Word, guard our conscience, so that our conscience is always good.

The Lord commands that we be “IN HIM”; how? How do we know that – that we are in Him? 1 John 2:6 – we must walk as Jesus did. 

We should also fear God for He can destroy both soul and body in Hell (Matt 10:28).

You need to hate what God hates - evil.  You got to hate evil, and embrace holiness, in order to be given or be possessing of godly wisdom.  And you do need godly wisdom to overcome adversities of life.

Focus on the right things – that which are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy (Phil 4:8).

Take on the Kingdom (of God)’s value discernment, value the eternal things, the unseen, and NOT the worldly, the transient, the seen.

Consider the foundation of your life and living; build a right and strong foundation.

Understand that there would be trials of many kinds along our journey of life.  Face each one well, don’t just run away from it, and you will grow or mature as you go along, until the work started in you is brought to completion (Phil 1:6).  You grow in your faith, and you DON’T instantly mature upon entry into salvation. Our faith will be tested so that we can be counted worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, and so that it (our faith) is proved genuine.

Understand that there is a warfare going on, and we have taken side with the Lord; the other side is Satan and his principalities.  So, learn and be equipped for battles.

Don’t be upset with God, there is no equality but there is justice with God.  The timing and how justice comes, we have to leave them to God.  The foundation of God’s throne and therefore His rule, is unmistakably righteousness and justice.  In fact, if we embrace NOT His righteousness and justice, we are failing ourselves and putting ourselves at risk.

There is no perfect clarity in our present earthly life, but at that time to come when we come face to face before God (end time), everything would be clear; for now, always live in faith, holding onto the hope of eternal life, and practice love (1 Cor 13:13).

Love God always, and with all of you.  The protection and much blessings and promises of God are most assuredly, assured for those who love Him (Ps 91:14-16). 

Be a disciple NOT merely a believer.  As a disciple you are expected to obey the Lord, follow Him and serve Him. Live in keeping as a disciple. He promised, when you do so, to be “with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matt 28:20)

Be led by the Spirit, NOT be your carnal flesh anymore.  The will and desires of the Spirit and the carnal flesh are conflicting.  Do NOT gratify the desires of the carnal flesh. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

There we have it, what would help us in overcoming.  Of course, it has always been, and will always be, Jesus, who is the leader and helper of our lives; are you following Him?

 

Anthony Chia, high.expressions
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