Persevering of hope and faith

Article text:
Rom 5:1-5 – 1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.  5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

This Romans 5 text is a follow-on from Romans 4 where the author, believed to be the Apostle Paul, talked about the persevering faith and hope, of our Father of Faith, the patriarch Abraham.

Starting from Rom 4:16, we can see Paul held up Abraham as our Father of Faith.  God told Abraham that He was going to make him the father of many nations.  In Rom 4:17, Scripture tells us that Abraham believed the God whom he believed, to be “the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not”; in other words, he believed his God (and ours, too) was/is almighty God who is the creator of all things, that nothing was/is impossible with God.

Some people noted that this Romans 5 text started with hope and then ended in hope (character produces hope [v4])!  It is right to say, we believers already possess a hope and a faith, to begin with (if we have indeed accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior); in Rom 4:18-21, it is said the same, of Abraham.  Rom 4:18 (NIV), Paul said “Abraham IN HOPE believed, and so became the father….”  In fact, there was the phrase “against all hope” preceding “Abraham IN HOPE believed ….”; what does it imply?  It was meant to say, despite many challenges to his hope over time, Abraham continued to believe.  He did NOT lose hope despite the odds staring at him.  Hope is made stronger and persevering when it “has survived” challenges thrown at it. 

Again, was Abraham with some faith already?  Yes, Rom 4:19 (NIV) said this, “WITHOUT WEAKENING IN HIS FAITH, he [Abraham] faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah’s womb was also dead”.  As is the case for hope, faith too, is made stronger and persevering when “it has survived” challenges thrown at it.  That is what Rom 4:20 said, “Yet he [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but WAS STRENGTHENED IN HIS FAITH ….” V21 – “being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised”

The Apostle Paul went on to explain how righteousness is accorded (counted/credited) to us.  In Rom 4:22, Paul explained, “This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.””  How? Righteousness is credited to Abraham in his persevering of hope and faith, giving up, NOT.  And Paul said how (in v23) “it was credited to him” were written not for him [Abraham] alone, (v24) BUT ALSO FOR US, to whom God will credit righteousness— ….”.  It is the same for us, through our perseverance of hope and faith, and it begins with our initial faith (salvation faith) [that the works of Christ Jesus wrought us our justification], and with our hope of going to Heaven (salvation hope/hope of glory).  That was how Romans 4 ended, and in Rom 5:1, we read, “Therefore, since ….”. 

The “Therefore, since …” is what links the Roman 5 text we are looking at, to Paul’s talking about we need to be persevering of hope and faith as illustrated by the patriarch Abraham’s life (Romans 4).

Paul was in this Romans 5 text saying, therefore, we, as believers, we have had also righteousness counted to us, and we will continue to have righteousness counted to us, just as we could expect it to have happened to Abraham, that God continued to count righteousness to him, when a life of persevering of hope and faith is being pursued.

“Initiation” has a place in God’s scheme of things or His ways.  What it means is that from then on (from “initiation”), you are counted as ……. whatever the counting is for.  So, for our entry into salvation, we are counted righteous, we counted as citizen of Heaven, we are counted as children of God, we are counted as disciples of the Lord, etc. 

The idea is similar to (metaphor only) when we are recruited into a company, as (say) the Accounts Manager (Accounting Manager) of the company.  So, when you report for work, after the recruitment process (“initiation”), you are introduced as the Accounts Manager of the company.  Now, you have then to function as the Accounts Manager of the company.  You are in name or status, the Accounts Manager of the company, and you are to function as such.  Now, suppose you made a mistake and the company (the recruiter) also made a mistake; you were a Sales Account Manager (previously), but you are recruited as the Finance Accounts Manager.  Now, you do NOT know and cannot perform your role; you may be the Accounting Manager in status, it is a matter of time, you will be discovered of your unfitness for the position, and you will stripped of your position, and asked to go.  What would have made you fit for the position that you have been named into?  The accounting schooling and experience thereof would have fitted you for the position; you have none of it, actually; but you got in, first. (I am NOT suggesting, though, that we can easily have our names erased from the Lamb’s book of life – this is a metaphor. But justification and sanctification are both required for you to get into the company of Heaven, so to speak).

That is why we can find such texts in Scripture:

1 John 3:7 (NASB) – “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one WHO PRACTISES righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous,” and

Rom 8:14-17 (NASB) - 14 FOR all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, IF INDEED WE suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Phil 2:12 -  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my [Paul] presence only, but now much more in my absence, WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION with fear and trembling.

The notion (of some) that all we need, is righteous standing, and there is NOT the necessity of right living is incorrect.  If it were just right standing only is necessary, the NT Bible needed NOT be that thick, loaded with so much the “dos and don’ts”, and the “hows”; 6-7 pages will do, isn’t it NOT, if all is needed is justification, which is by grace (God’s part anyway). 

Yes, when we entered into salvation, we are counted (adopted) as sons, yet Rom 8:14 said that (truly) sons of God are the ones led by the Spirit of God.  The adoption or conversion is the “initiation”. We still need to walk worthy of the counting or crediting (or calling); and how is that ever able to be accomplished?  Rom 8:14 said it, by being led by the Spirit of God.  If you are no longer being led by the Spirit of God (not referring to occasional lapses), you are no longer the sons of God.

People like to jump to Rom 8:16-17, and say we are children of God and heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ Jesus, of the Kingdom of Heaven, but many just imagined the last bit away – the “IF INDEED WE suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”  This is NOT the right way to handle scriptures.

I will NOT go into what suffering is, here, but it suffices to say that, it, at least includes sacrificing, even though that, sacrifice, may need to be explained for some to understand.  We do need to make some sacrifice (for sacrifice is part of love, that we love God), so that we may share in the Lord’s glory.  The Apostle Peter painted for us the same picture of suffering-participation (or sacrifice for Jesus) as being part and parcel of our salvation walk.

1 Pet 4:12-19 - 12 Dear friends, DO NOT BE SURPRISED at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

If you look closely at this 1 Peter text, in v18, the Apostle Peter did imply it is NOT as easy as some think, we will get to Heaven (like we just need to accept Jesus as our Saviour by saying the Sinner’s Prayer).  Reading v18 with v17, the “righteous” of v18 should be referring to the believers (God’s household); not so easy for righteous to be saved!  Why? Because many do NOT love the Lord enough, for their version of love has no suffering and no sacrifice for the Lover (God) of their life.  Perhaps, rather, they suffer and sacrifice for other reasons other than as a “participation in the sufferings of Christ”. 

What does the v19 mean by “those who suffer …  should commit themselves to their faithful Creator ….”?  It implies we have to persevere in hope and faith in our Creator God (Also, as a side, it is to be noted that it is NOT God must lead you by His Spirit, but that God is faithful (to lead you); the two are NOT the same; and some people are erroneously holding out to us that it is “God must”; God owing us!  No.).

The Apostle James also highlighted the same -

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

It is in the trials of many kinds, that our posture and actions tell on us, whether or NOT, we are still holding on to our faith and hope.  When the trials call for participation in the sufferings of Christ or sacrifices, will you still hold on to your faith and hope?!  Will you persevere and continue to do good?  Will you consider it pure joy, with the understanding that the development of perseverance of hope and faith, is part and parcel of our Christian character development; joyous that God could use the trials to develop our holiness and godliness, which are necessary for us to of, to go to dwell with Him, in Heaven.  Why is it NOT joy to know that one is progressing (onwards to Heaven)!

In 2 Cor 1:5, the Apostle Paul said this: “For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” 

And he went on to say that if they (Paul and his company) get comforted, it was for the Corinthians’ comfort, which would produce in them (Corinthian) patient endurance of the same sufferings they (Paul and company) suffered.   What Paul said was that we can expect to be comforted by God, in our present life (if NOT, in our after-life, when we come into the sharing of the glory of our Lord), when we do participate in the sufferings of Christ.  

When Paul and his company did get comforted by God, then they would have a (positive) testimony for the Corinthians to take comfort in, and to help them (testimony “encourages” hope and faith) in patient endurance of the sufferings they, too, might have to face (believers, generally, may have to, too).

Phil 2:12, that “work out our salvation” is a reminder to us, that salvation is NOT a one-off incident of saying the Sinner’s Prayer; if it were, there is no “working out” to talk about.  Salvation is justification followed by a life of sanctification before culminating in sharing of the glory of our Lord, in Heaven.  In that life of sanctification, there is testing of the faith and hope, “that it may prove genuine”. In 1 Pet 1:6-7, we read this: “6 In all this [inheritance in Heaven] 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 the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

I return to the Romans 5 text; again say, therefore, we, as believers, we have had also righteousness counted to us, and we will continue to have righteousness counted to us, just as we could expect it to have happened to Abraham, that God continued to count righteousness to him, when a life of persevering of hope and faith is being pursued.

Through justification, by faith, we are initiated back into peace with God (Rom 5:1), but it does NOT stop there, unless you die straightaway!

For Rom 5:2, some Bible translation use the word, “introduction” in place of “access”, and I think that word is a better word.  Through the works of Christ Jesus on the Cross (and the resurrection thereof), we obtained introduction into this grace in which we stand.  What is this “this grace in which we stand”?  It is the state of God’s favour.  What is this state of God’s favour?  It is the favour of God counting out righteousness to us as we continue to persevere in our hope and faith. 

What is so important about this God’s counting of righteousness to us, you may ask. It is most important, for without it, righteousness (being counted to us), we lose the reconciliation with God, or we, ill-able to stand before God.  Righteous believers stand tall before God (unrighteous ones dare NOT look up, so to speak!)

Through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, we get into this – the grace of God counting out righteousness to us.  But it is God continues to count to us righteousness as we continue to persevere in our hope and faith.  If we do NOT continue to hold on to our hope and faith, we disqualify ourselves from this counting out of righteousness to us, by God. 

Paul said (Rom 5:2) we rejoice in our salvation hope (the hope of glory), which the works of Christ has secured for us; but why? Because it (hope) lets us see we can be led to the end-point of sharing in the glory of our Lord in Heaven.  Paul, in v3, said it is NOT only that, that we rejoice that we have that hope, we rejoice in our sufferings, too; but again why? Because it (sufferings), when we go through them, it builds up in us, perseverance (of hope and faith), such perseverance defines us, what we will and will NOT do, or our character (One’s character characterises him); and the character from perseverance of hope and faith, is NOT an anyhow character, but a tried character of hope.

Some find it astonishing this Romans 5 passage seems to start from hope and then, in a round circle comes back to the same – hope! I have said, from hope (and faith), through perseverance through sufferings where our hope (and faith) are stretched and tested, we develop of a tried character of hope.  And this tried character according to Rom 5:4 produces hope! 

How are we to understand this (the tried character produces hope)?  One way, discernible from the above exposition of mine, is that the resultant person will be one NOT easily persuaded from his hope and faith; in other words, he will die, die persevere in his hope and faith.  Another way of looking at it, is that after perseverance, in sufferings, has finished its work, the person will NOT just be a person of hope (and faith) but a person with persevering hope (and faith).

I believe it is more than that (above), it is also that Hope has taken hold of him.  What is Hope?  Or who is Hope?  In 2 Cor 4:7-12, we read this:

7 But we have this TREASURE in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life [hope] is at work in you.

The treasure in this 2 Cor 4 text, has been said to the Gospel, God, Spirit of God or Spirit of Christ; they are all NOT incorrect.  I say, it is also Hope.  What do we say Christ is?  Yes, He is hope of glory (Col 1:27 – “Christ in you, the hope of glory”). 

Such a tried character, NOT only the hope in him will be able to see him through the harshest scenarios, some of which was given us in 2 Cor 4:8 (see above), Christ (the hope of glory) lives out of him; he becomes the hope, because Christ or the Spirit of Christ or the Gospel lives through him; he becomes the bearer of light, the bearer of hope.

Lastly, we find the last verse, v5, of this Rom 5:1-5 text said that (the tried) salvation hope, it will NOT shame us, or disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us; what does it mean? To understand this, we need to go back to the Rom 8:14-17 text I have given above. The understanding is like this:

Rom 8:15 tells us that upon entry into salvation, we (our spirits) get counted or adopted as sons of God. But when we take the whole text together, we will realise that, with vv14 & 16 & 17 in, it is, as we are being led by the Holy Spirit, including when we do suffer with Christ (participate in sufferings of Christ), the Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.  As we let the Spirit leads us through all the good times and the bad times we face and pass through, we become knowing (ginosko-knowing) of God’s love as it is showered into our hearts through the Holy Spirit as He leads us.

A person having through such, undergone perseverance of hope and faith through sufferings, will know (ginosko-know) the hope he is having will NOT shame and will NOT disappoint, ultimately. 

Have NOT you heard it being said, “If Christians are wrong about the Gospel (the hope therein), they would be most miserable people to have lived!”  By “miserable”, these people mean we, Christians, in their eyes, gave up all the liberties and so-called opportunities to indulge one-self, which they did NOT (as non-Christians).  If we are wrong, we have been stupid and “don’t know where to hide our faces”, is what they are thinking.  What do you think?  As for me, I say my hope will NOT shame or disappoint, for I know the love of God poured into my heart through the Holy Spirit indwelling and leading me (as I let Him to; you have to let Him lead you).

Anthony Chia, high.expressions

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Praying in the name of Jesus

Commonly, believers’ prayers are ended with “in the name of Jesus” (before the Amen); is praying in the name of Jesus, saying that we must end our prayer that way, “in the name of Jesus, Amen”?

A common text used to support our practice of praying in the name of Jesus is this:

John 14:13-14 - 13 And I {Jesus} will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

When we look at v14, we realize there is a case to say that there is meaning in the "in my name", otherwise, Jesus could have just said, "You may ask me for anything, and I will do it", making "in my name" superfluous.

What is praying (or asking) in the name of Jesus?

Praying in the name of Jesus is NOT about ending our prayer in the name of Jesus, as such!  But there is a place for ending our prayer in the name of Jesus.

What do I mean by praying in the name of Jesus is NOT about ending our prayer in the name of Jesus?

I often said Lordship is NOT blind, and by that I mean there is no such thing as calling somebody Lord when nobody is being addressed.  The Lord is NOT nobody, like “thin air”.  You don’t call “thin air”, Lord!  It is the same when it comes to prayer; you address your prayer to somebody.  The Christian faith is NOT “The Secret”.

“The Secret” is touted as the secret way to success, by its followers.  In this “The Secret”, the “theology” is that your thoughts attract the things you want; there is no God or Lord there; the universe will align itself to give you what you want if you keep thinking and wanting the thing that you want!  Subscribers purported no God (and so, believers CANNOT subscribe to this).  Well, if I may say, the subscriber himself is the “god”, and the universe is at his beck and call!

Coming back, we, believers, cannot be praying to “thin air” or the universe.  If an atheist still pray, maybe he prays to an unknown (body) {People of Athens, during the time of the Apostle Paul did pray to unknown god – Acts 17:23}, but we, believers, we have God (the Father, the Son [Jesus Christ], and the Holy Spirit).  So, when we pray, we are praying to our God.  There is only one (God), unless you have multiple ones, which of course, you are NOT supposed to have, if you are indeed a believer.  So, it goes without saying when we are praying, we are praying to our God.  And so, even if we mention NOT Jesus Christ in our prayer, if in your heart you are talking to the Lord, He knows. 

But of course, if you are talking to, say, your daddy or the President, it may be improper, NOT to address your daddy or the President?  And so, we don’t use “you” throughout our prayer or conversation with God.  For example, we would say, “Lord, I ask of you …..” (and NOT “You, I ask you ….”); or in emergency, you could straightaway say, “God, help me”.  The point is that there is the addressee, and NOT we address nobody or the universe. 

The concept of “unto” is important, but the issue is we, men, are often the ones who fail to do things as “unto the Lord”, but it is NOT the Lord does NOT know if you are praying to Him or NOT, or that, what you are doing, you are doing or NOT doing it, unto Him or in acknowledgment of Him.  But there is nothing wrong with us still naming Jesus, the Lord or God, in our own private prayers (praying alone, by yourself), even ending our prayers in Jesus’ name; I still do that, ending private prayers, sometimes, in the name of Jesus or “In your name” (when I have been addressing Jesus).  Again, I say, the point is NOT the Lord does NOT know if you are praying to Him or NOT.  Even, the one word prayer, “Jesus”, the Lord knows and would respond.  There are occasions where we are “choked” and only one word could be uttered, and that word, as testified by many (including myself), is the word, “Jesus”, and God’s help can come immediate.

What about in public; should we end our prayer in the name of Jesus? Firstly, if it is still NOT obvious to you, if you, a believer, do NOT end your prayer in the name of Jesus, it does NOT mean your prayer is any less effective than one that has the ending of “in the name of Jesus”, when in fact, your inward posture has been right.  But it is good to end that way or in a similar way, why?

When we say, publicly, it means there are other people around.  Now, if you are like me, hold to the word of Jesus in Scripture (Matt 18:19), “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”, by ending with “in the name of Jesus”, we hope to achieve these ends: 

1.   It is firstly a sign that you are ending your prayer, so that other CHRISTIANS can indicate agreement with you, by saying “Amen” to what you have prayed.

2.   In a mixed setting when it is NOT apparent that you who are praying, are a Christian, and you use only NOT, Jesus, in the body of your prayer, by ending the prayer in Jesus’ name, you are letting the people (both Christians and non-Christians) to know if they want to agree with you.  For example, for a (civic) community meeting, if a Chinese is asked to pray, he is NOT necessarily a Christian, he could be a Buddhist, and there could other Buddhists in the meeting.  But if you, a Christian Chinese given the honor to pray, you have to pray to God (your God – the “Christian God”), and NOT to any generic god, or you try to “NOT to disclose your faith”.  Also, we do NOT need non-believers or other religious people to mistakenly agree with us.

I do NOT agree with some believers who say that their reason (which they think is valid) is that they are right to be inclusive, to get as many people to “amen” to the prayer.  In substance, if you are doing that with that thinking, you are holding up God to be the generic god or the god behind all religions is the same God; it is an unacceptable insinuation of God.

I would consider doing this, instead, to be sensitive to other people’s feeling: Before I begin, I will, if the setting is such that it is mixed or it is NOT obvious that I am a Christian, to say, “Before I begin to pray, I would like to let you know that I am a Christian and so, I will be praying to my Lord and God (or to Jesus)”.  I will follow it with, “Is that alright with you?”  If there is objection, I can then turn to the “whoever” who put me up to pray for the occasion.  If there is no objection, then, really, whether or NOT, I end my prayer with “in the name of Jesus”, is no longer a matter of being inclusive or otherwise; or for that matter, whether or NOT, Jesus is mentioned at all, is no longer relevant (as the God I pray to, is already made known).

What if the “whoever” then ask if I could “pray generally”?  Now, if the context is such that it is referring to “if I could pray to a general god”, the answer is obvious - no.  I do have to be tactful, and so, one suggestion to resolve the impasse could be to suggest “we will have a minute of silence, and everyone can pray [each to pray to his own]”, so that I could get out of the situation of praying to a generic god or holding out that a Christian can “bend” to be praying to a generic god.  If there are other suggestions by others, it is then left to the “whoever” to decide.  The point is that we must NOT dishonour God, if it is up to us.  Other people, if they want to do whatever, that is up to them, but we cannot follow, if it is against our faith.

 

Then, there is this: That the prayer we utter or offer up, is offered with a certain posture, and so, we are NOT only looking for agreement of what we pray, we are also looking for agreement in the certain posture with which we are offering up the prayer and supplication, and so, it is in good order that we say it – “in the name of Jesus”.

What is this certain posture, and so, the embedded meaning, encapsulated in the “in the name of Jesus”?  For the context of prayer, it is that we are making supplication by faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ, trusting and depending on Him. 

In other words, we are petitioning with a humble heart, that we are posturing that the Lord is majestic, yet He is mindful of us and cares for us, when we are but works of His hands.  That we are saying we are relying on His authority, power and ways.  When we say “in his name or in the name of Jesus”, we are saying that we will hope against hope, and endure through troubles, meanwhile; that we are confident of His love towards us; that we trust His wisdom and ability, that He knows what is best, even though we are asking; that we do NOT doubt He is in control, and that He is dependable, for He changes NOT (of His character, key of which is holiness, and so, from that, righteousness and justice). 

It is in the same spirit of how Jesus prayed before he was captured to be crucified, Luke 22:42 - “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  We make supplication concerning our situation, because we believe the Lord is mindful and cares for us, yet we submit to what He wants or wants NOT, to do, or His will, because we believe His will is prefect, even if it may NOT appear to be perfect from our personal standpoint; we trust that ultimately we will be comforted.

All believers can expect ultimately they will be comforted, if NOT in this life, in after-life, when they have conformed to who God is.

 

 

I said above that, even if you did NOT include “in the name of Jesus” at the end of your prayer, it is NOT less effective, if your inward posture has indeed been right.  And so, what is also important to note, therefore, is that it is the inward posture that must first be there. 

The inward posture can manifest in more than one way, outwardly, and so, it is NOT one reverent outward posture to look for, and it is NOT by the absence of that one reverent outward posture that we can conclude that someone is or is NOT praying with the right posture.  Examples of reverent outward praying posture included these: some people kneel/postrate (Luke 22:41; Matt 26:39), some stand and look upward (John 11:41), some may spread out their hands (Isaiah 1:15), etc. 

Is it necessarily to pray with eyes closed or head bowed? No, it is NOT a must.  I often prayed with eyes open, for people, so that when they fall (slain), I know or could “break” their fall.  Prayers with eyes open, is NOT less effective!  Had I closed my eyes when I prayed for the person who had his leg grown longer by the Lord, I would have missed seeing a miracle (by my hand) with my own eyes!  When I pray with eyes closed or head bowed, it is for reason of minimizing distractions.

Having said that it is the inward posture that is more important, yet we must remember, if nothing shows up at all, outwardly, you got to check yourself if indeed your inward posture has been right.  Don’t engage in self-deception.  Just as an illustration, are you sure you love the Lord, if you go NOT, to church to worship Him, and you also worship NOT, in (good) works, and you read NOT, His Word, pray NOT, and you obey NOT, His commands habitually?  I mean you can be, NOT doing one or more of the right things here, once in a while, but you cannot be engaging NOT, in all of the right things here, on a persistent basis, and still insist that you love the Lord.  Also, there are the obvious contrary things, like people in the pews are praying, and you are nail-cutting in the pew!; how is nail-cutting (or playing game on your hand-phone) a reverent outward manifestation of a right inward praying posture?   Don’t laugh, it happened.

 

In His name,
Anthony Chia, high.expressions

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Praise and Worship is an invitation for God to come

There are 2 aspects to praise and worship:  One, we praise and worship God for who He is, and two, we praise and worship Him for what He has done for us.

We, for example, do NOT praise and worship Satan, although some people do(!), and the reason we don’t is because of who he, Satan, is.  We praise and worship God because of His character, and is good and unchanging character, and so, reliable and dependable.  We praise and worship God because of what He stands for (in fact, who He is), holiness.  This is apart from what He has or has NOT done for us, specifically, say, today, this week or this month. 

Because of who He is, we know already, He has done and is doing much in the “backdrops”, and what He did and is doing in such, were and are for our good.  It is absolutely right to say there is no day where God has NOT done good to me.  I woke up this morning, alive, God has sustained me; the sun is still in its place and shining, God has done good to me, even though, this good is also done for others, that the sun is still in its place and shining as before.  God has put the celestial bodies in their place, and that act of God is providing good to me, all the time. 

Many take such for granted, and they would NOT think they ought to be thankful to God, and so, won’t  praise and worship God (re Romans 1:19-21).   Some would NOT even notice it, if they have missed a heartbeat, so to speak; hopefully, something, and to different people, different thing, something/happening will make them sit up to the goodness of God. Some are so hardened of heart, I suppose, even when the sun drops from the sky, so to speak, they still don’t realise how God has been good to us, men, because of who He is.

David recognised the goodness of God towards us, men, can you? David’s psalm 8:3-4 -  “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

Oh, God, how we take for granted your quiet grace flowing out to us, all the time.

Next, we also give thank-giving praise and worship to God, for what He has specifically done in our lives.  Is it enough to have praised and worshiped Him for who He is or even for what He has done for us, generically (with other people also receiving along with us)?  The answer is no; NOT enough.  I give a simple illustration:

You have good parents, and I hope you have or have had (if you don’t, I pray you can learn to look to the Father God, for He is the perfect father; and He can be that perfect father to you, if you allow Him to).  Good parents being good, they of course, do all the base things, like they will provide you (FOC) good food, clothing and shelter, and if possible, education, and if they are believing parents, teach you and encourage you in the things of the faith.  When you were small, the breakfast was made ready waiting for you to eat; your school uniform ironed and ready for you to wear, before you go to school, and when you come back home, lunch or dinner were also provided for you.  These formed some of the “backdrops” of your life.  Many of us then, did NOT think very much about how good our parents have been.  Some of us might have even considered it natural of them, the parents, to do all of those backdrops, for that was what they were – good parents and good parents do those things-what!

The more appreciative ones amongst us, might have thanked our parents from time to time, for all the goodness they did in the “background things”.  But over and on top of these, there are many other things good parents do for their children, which their children ought to have noted and expressed their appreciation, too.  For example, I did this:

My kids (or even your kids or any school kid) were supposed to take care of this: to bring whatever books, files, homework or project work, etc, to school according to their school timetables.  One of my kids, repeatedly, forgotten to bring this and that, to school, and he would be punished for the oversight.  Some of the times, I would separately bring the stuff to school for him; that was really NOT what I was supposed to do; it was the kid’s reasonable duty to take care of that.  Shouldn’t he, my boy, be thankful for my coming to his aid for the specific problems he got himself into, which reasonably he ought NOT have gotten into?! 

The process of him realising he was NOT doing his part, and then asking for help, and then learning, albeit over multiple occasions, to be appreciative and thankful, did him good.  Especially, the last bit of it, the appreciation and thankfulness bit, when he repeatedly did that (for he repeated his mistakes), it NOT only showed his attitude (that he took NOT, his father for granted, after some time), it tenderised his heart (heart gets hardened when we numb our conscience) as he was before his father, and expressed his appreciation, each time. 

I am NOT God, and so, occasionally, I would tell him I could NOT make it (can be that particular time, the punishment would NOT be too serious for the boy; or it could be I really I had something very important to attend to).  That too, he soon learned to be appreciative.  Do you know that God, sometimes, does the same, although NOT for the reason that He cannot be omni-present (or that He cannot send his angel); only I am limited, God is NOT; but God does want us to appreciate there is such thing as our reasonable duty that we ought to learn to take care.

Thanking God, praising Him and worshiping Him for it, the “He gone out of His way to help you, specifically”, is important.  First, we need to understand that thanking, praising and worshiping, they are NOT blind, meaning you cannot say you express thanks when you thank nobody, you cannot say you praised and worshipped when you praised and worshipped nobody.  Who do you express thanks, praise and worship to?  If you are sincere, God will be right there, to receive your thanks, praise or worship. 

When our child wants to express thanks to us, parents, do you tell your child, “My boy, when you express your thanks, just face any tree you can find, and say it to the tree, or if you cannot find a tree, just say to the grass!”?  No; the same is with God, when you thank Him, praise Him and worship Him, it is NOT you are here, in this church hall, and God is light years away, in some corner of the universe, can’t see or hear you!  When your heart is right, He is right there in the room with you, to give ear to your expression. 

Nowadays, on the internet many interpretations are written for various verses in the Bible, and NOT surprising, Ps 22:3 is NOT spared.  But I will still say Ps 22:3 fits right in here.  And the version that fits it in, is the KJV: “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”

Some people, being legalistic, they would say, “If God has to inhabit the praises of God’s people, then we are bigger than God!” or “If God lives on the praises of His people, then God is here when we praise, AND God is NOT here when we do all of the other stuff, like praying, etc”.  Some even suggested that mutual exclusivity of verses implied this cannot be translation, that God inhabits the praises of people, arguing that Scripture has this verse of, when 2 or 3 are gathered in His name, God will be in their midst, with no praise mentioned in this “gathering” verse!  Or another said, “If God inhabits the praises of the people, we could manipulate God!”

To me, what David was trying to express was that despite, he then, NOT seeing the hand of God for him (Ps 22:1-2) (NOT yet), God was righteous (I use a lesser word to holy, just to make it easier to understand), and God was always being praised (or thankfully praised) (by the Israelites, the people of God).  Was David saying God was present, “evidenced” by the praises of the people?  Yes.  The Tabernacle and the Temple with presence of God in the Tabernacle or Temple, it primed people to have that understanding, and David was with that understanding, and David came up with the Tabernacle of Praise.  What do you think motivated David to set up the Tabernacle of Praise; I say, it is because he understood God inhabits the praises of the people.  And where God is truly enthroned, there is bound to be praises as an element of His glory (I explain this a little further down this article).

Now if I eat plain bread always (like for every meal), it is either I love plain bread, like it so much, that when you say there is plain bread, I would come to devour it, or I really don’t like it, but it is about the cheapest stuff I can afford, so, I eat it so very often!  Now, God is NOT me, the latter (reason) cannot be the case for God; if He doesn’t like, He does NOT need to eat it, does He?!  Of course, NOT.  It (His inhabiting the praises) is because God loves it, the praises.  If He does NOT like it, He can, NOT eat it, silly; He is God! 

We just had Palm Sunday (and Easter is coming).  In the first Palm Sunday (Luke 19:37-40), when Jesus was entering Jerusalem, and when multitudes and Jesus’ disciples praised God, some Pharisees told Jesus to stop His disciples.  Jesus answered, “"I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."

Jesus said the very stones would praise God.  In other words, God wants the praises; if there was no praise, God would make the stones praise Him. 

True praises speak of who God is.  This scene was an “enthroning” scene.  Where God is truly enthroned, who He is, just necessarily “occupies” or “fills” the place or atmosphere.  The same was shown us of the throne in Heaven.  But before we look there, I remind that when Jesus first came, was born, there was praise; Luke 2:13 – “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,”

In the Book of Revelation, God was shown enthroned, and praise was in the air – the 4 heavenly creatures (although NOT stones) were praising God, 24/7 (day and night).  Praises and worship of Him show who God is; where He is truly enthroned, there you will find praise and worship.  It is so wrong to insinuate we, men, are bigger, because God “needs” us to praise Him, or that we could manipulate God!  So very silly, God “needs” you to share the Gospel or do the Great Commission, you are bigger than God; you can manipulate God?

An acceptable way of viewing praise and worship is that it is part of or an element of His manifold glory.  Scripture speaks about us to ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name.  How do we do that?  Ps 29:2 gives us one important way – “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”  It is part of God’s glory, if you don’t give it, He may make the creatures or even the stones, to cry out the praise and worship.  So, it is right and proper for us, and we should do it, to ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name, whenever there has been a specific works God done for us, and the way we do that includes giving thanksgiving praise.

What we are to go away with, on this (this revelation on “God inhabits the praises and worship”), is: Where God is enthroned, praises and worship will most likely to be present, as a manifest of His glory; and when there are praises and worship done in spirit and in truth, God is most likely to come there.  We don’t manipulate Him (and don’t do that, please); we invite Him to come to take the seat of highest honor in the house, so to speak, with our praise and worship, and He will come.

Bro Anthony, can you give us a precise example from Scripture where praise and worship was employed to usher the coming of God, and God came and acted in favour? Yes, I can:

There was a time when Judah, under King Jehoshaphat, was about to be invaded by a vast army made up of men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir; and the King was at a loss of how they could defeat the enemy.  The King and the Israelites went before God, and a prophet received the assurance that God would be on their side and that they should NOT be afraid to face the enemy, the next day. 2 Chronicles 20:21-22 reads,

“21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.” 22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”

Have you heard it said, praise and worship is for our good? Why praise and worship is for our good!  One angle to look at this, is: Because He is invited, and when He comes, who He is, is here.  One manifest of who He is, we have talked about, is praise and worship is present when He is present (praise and worship itself can be spirit-lifting for those present; that too, is a reason why I praise and worship God like there is no tomorrow, in church services; blessing to the body); other elements of who He is, are likely to manifest, too, and it will be good and goodness to us. 

If you cannot picture it (how it can only be good to us), picture the horrible Satan gate-crashes your party; what would happen.  Now, think about God is here, in your party. 

Now, if you still cannot get the picture, think of yourselves as children having family time with our parents; what would the loving parents do? Their love manifest forth.  The mother will go to the kitchen and see if she could come up with some food and drinks.  Dad may say, “Son, I remembered you wanted this nice backpack that you could use to go mountain-climbing.  Here, I did get it for you.  I thought I will give it to you sometime, but well, you can have it now!” When God is here, who He is manifests; His glory manifests, His holiness manifests, His love manifests, His goodness manifest, His grace and mercy manifests.  How can you be in all of these, brought on, because God is here, because you have invited Him by your praise and worship, when the sweet aroma of it reaches Him, but will NOT be touched by God, if you allow Him to; and that (allowing) must include allowing God to “do to us” what He considers best for us.  The good parents, when they know how certain food is NOT good for you, they would bring out, none, to you, for they stock none of it, in the fridge!  Only good can come to you when you truly praise and worship Him, the good God, because He comes.

You want God to come; you invite Him, by praising and worshiping Him.  You don’t manipulate Him; rather you give Him the seat of highest honor.  And you wait upon Him, and you can petition consistent to His will.

Anthony Chia, high.expression - Lord, I learn, even as I pen this article.  Thank you, Lord. Amen.

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There is a Creator God I can identify with, says the cichlid fish, what about you?

Preamble: This article, the bulk of the content comes from my own comment for a blog entry by a US pastor, Ps Prentis.  Ps Prentis’ article can be accessed here: Hardened hearts won’t understand

My understanding of the finches (subject) of Charles Darwin from which all of the various evolutionary hypothesis and theories “evolve” from, are different species of the same kind.  The kind is finch, and there were many different featured (eg. different beak shapes or sizes) finches, but they were still finches. 

Human being or Man, is a kind.  And so, although an “ang mo” pastor (referring to the US pastor, Ps Prentis) and I share many common features, we do have different features, for I am a Chinese man and he is “ang mo” man, but we are both man, NOT monkeys.  Monkey is another kind. 

On the Galapagos islands (the location of Darwin’s study), there were tortoises, iguanas, even mocking birds, apart from the species of the finches.  In fact, each island was dominated by particular finch(es), but there were of course, “cross-living”, just like, we do find “ang mo” men in Singapore, and a (the) US pastor could find Chinese men in his state.  But there was no such thing (NOT even hypothesis of it, then) like iguanas were evolved from the tortoises or the other way round, or that any of birds of air, somehow were evolved from the land kinds.  There was not even the hypothesis, then, of the finches could have evolved from the mocking birds or vice versa.  So much for evolution of Man from monkey!

As to questioning of miracles, we can say the same thing, too, of the evolution (evolutionists commonly claim that there is no duplication of the miracles of Jesus, like feeding of 5,000, and Jesus’ walking on water), that no one has duplicated the evolution of a monkey into a man, either!  Bible has account of oil that did NOT run out (until all the containers were used up); I have heard of testimony of little food or petrol that did NOT run out too (until certain event happens, like when additional provision has arrived).  It is NOT uncommon to hear of testimony of cars running on almost empty tank driven by believers, could still move for many tens of kilometres until a petrol source is reached.  Well, I have seen legs grew just by my prayer to the Lord for it to grow!  Can one explain how it can be humanly possible for me to have accomplished it, based on my own ability!  If such miracles still happen today, why is it NOT possible, in the days of Jesus walking the earth, that those miracles recorded in the Word, did happen?

All of these “gravity defying” scenarios are possible because there is a Creator God.  God is the Creator of all of the universe, and as the Creator, He could modify and change things around, for, as the El Shaddai, the all powerful, He has the power and means to accomplish anything and everything.  Scripture recorded for us, that He could simply speak things, including living things, into being.  Well, if there had been one initial “Big Bang”, why is it NOT possible that, that initial big bang was work of God, the Creator, or used of, by God (I am NOT necessarily supporting the “Big Bang” theory).

I am NOT saying we are gods (as in Jesus is God, or God is God; god in Scripture can mean judge or magistrate) but we are creators after God, though of a lesser degree.  A simple illustration or metaphor I can give, is this: 

Imagine there is a cichlid fish (a very common and “hardy” fish) in a large aquarium.  When it first came into the tank, it saw there were some other fishes it had NOT seen before.  Every day it would find food in the tank (dropped in by the owner - you), and it would eat it, like we eat vegetables or fruits from the plants of the earth.  It also find that it needed to carve out a territory for itself (cichlids are very territorial), and would fight for its space and food.  Occasionally, it would find worms in the tank (again, dropped in by you), and it would eat them, too, like we eat meat from animals of the earth. 

It would, at times, fight with other fishes, and even managed to kill some of them.  But typically, it does NOT eat up the entire carcass, but would devour the eyes of the dead fish(!), leaving the carcass to pollute the water. And so, from time to time, it finds the water in which it lives becomes refreshed (water-change by you), and its enclave got “wrecked” (by you, when you were changing the water and cleaning the tank).  Occasionally, it could see this peculiar but powerful thing moving about in the tank; that is your hand! And then, it found new plants appeared; and new fishes, too, and even some others, of its kind, cichlids.  And some of the cichlids looked every different but they were of the same kind, cichlids.  By the way, there are over 1,400 species of cichlids in the world.  And “bless its soul”, it finds one cichlid it likes, and mates up with her.  It brings her into his enclave, and jointly, they beautify their home (Cichlids would pick up tiny objects with their mouths, and then spew them out at specific area or target).

Did the cichlid create the entire environment that he has found himself to be in?  No, he, being in the environment, explored it, and then carved out a place he called his own.  You are the creator of its environment, just like God created the entire environment that we are in.

Did the environment of the cichlid remained constant?  Not really.  Did it, the cichlid, contribute to the instability of the environment?  Yes, it did, with its own discharge (its own shit, high in certain chemicals which when reached certain level would be harmful to the fishes themselves), and with its other activities, like killing and leaving carcasses in the water.  Who was monitoring the going-on in the environment of the cichlid?  You - as the creator and owner of the aquarium.

Then, does NOT the cichlid find new lives, it cannot account for?  What do you think should go through the “head” of the fish?  “Some “God” created the universe, all that there is, here, including lives.  He has given me a mate, too, and now I, too, can produce my own kind.  How great is this “God”, that He could defy gravity, so to speak, miraculously, have the water refreshed, for example! ….”  Who is this “God”?  You!

See, to the cichlid, things were bigger than life, so to speak, but as suggested in the preceding para., it has the heart {or mind of its soul} to know there is a “God” - you!  And there were miracles it could NOT explain.  Do you have your heart so hardened you can perceive no longer, there is a God?  Is your heart so hardened that you would NOT give Him, the honour and glory due Him? Romans 1:20-21 put it this way:

20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  (I encourage you to read my separate exposition of Romans 1:20 - “We are without excuse”)

Is there no way out for the ones hardened of heart?  The posture of God concerning this, can be gleaned from these words of Jer 29:12-14:

12'… call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 … seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
14'I will be found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will restore …

Today, begin to call upon the God of the universe.

Today, pray to Him. He will listen to you.
Today, seek Him with all your heart.
He will allow Himself to be found by you. And He will restore you.
He will change your heart of stone to the heart of flesh.
He will cause the scales on your eyes to fall off.
He will allow you to know Him (ginosko-know – know Him in a personal way).

Anthony Chia, high.expressions

PS1: “Bro Anthony, you don’t believe in evolution at all?”  My current position is along this line:

My position is CLOSER TO what has come to be termed as "biblical evolution", where I believe that God created a set of "kinds" of plants and animals at the beginning.  The many kinds and species have passed through some biological changes with the passage of time and changes to the environment or habitat.  There has been, and nature will continue to have, adaptation or “micro level evolution”, but central to my belief is still that human beings or Man was literally created in God's image, as given us in the Book of Genesis. My view rejects any evolution theory (and there are many evolution theories put forward by people) that claims that Man is evolved from monkey.

Central to my rejection above is that Man and animals are unlike in that Man is tripartite (spirit, soul and body), whereas animals are only with soul and body (life + form).  An animal cannot evolve to be a man.  Man is a special kind of its own, a special life-form that has a spirit that came from God, the Creator (Unlike for animals or plants, for Man, God breathed His breath into Man at Creation [For clearer understanding of this, read this article of mine: Man is Tripartite]).

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NOT just right standing, live right

Today, I want to latch onto a blog entry of a “long-distance friend” of mine, in the States, Ps Prentis.  The link to his article is this:
http://prentis-createdtogivegodglory.blogspot.sg/2014/03/afraid-of-light.html

I do encourage brothers and sisters to follow his blog, for as far as I know his core theology is sound.  His entries are much shorter than mine, and easier to follow because mine are tended to be backed up by lots of scriptural supports.  In fact, I appreciated his allowing my “preachy” comments on his blog; no insecure person allows that.

This is the scripture text that Ps Prentis used, and I will start with it, John 3:19-21 (KJV) –

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

The light here was Jesus (John 8:12) - When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

The light here was also God and holiness (1 John 1:5-8; v5 – God is light) - 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.  7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

The John 3 & 8 texts were the words of our Lord, Jesus.  The 1 John 1 was the writing of the apostle John who of course wrote the Gospel of John. 

The audience there, of Jesus, was largely the Jews; many of them were of the same inclinations as the Pharisees.  John 8 detailed out the exchanges between Jesus and those Jews.  I will put down a couple of verses from there (John 8), here:

19 Then they {the Pharisees} asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

23 But he {Jesus} continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” 34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father {the devil; re v44}.”

What am I trying to tell here? God is light, Jesus is from God; He is God (Son of God); He came from above (v23).  Jesus has come; the light has come (John 3:19, 8:12).  Of course, non-believers, they are outside of the light; they have NOT come into the light.  John 3:20 actually said everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light.  Now, non-believers are in there, in the “everyone”.  But the “everyone” cannot be just be referring to the non-believers.  There is a teaching going round implying that (only non-believers); and it is WRONG.  The “everyone” can include the children of God or believers or Christians.  

The audience of Jesus was the Jews, we have established that, and from John 8, it was clear.  In fact, they (the Jews or Pharisees) insisted they were children or sons of God.  Were they not so?  Yes, there were people of God, children of God, sons of God, as a matter of standing.  But we got to understand that God looks at more than just standing or legality, God looks also at in reality whether or NOT you are one, a son or child of God.  

What does it mean “in reality”?  It is like someone has qualified himself as a medical doctor (and there are those letters behind his name!), but if he does NOT practise medicine, but are pursuing an artist career, painting or sculpturing, etc., he is no doctor in reality, in reality he is an artist. 

A good proverb applicable to this, is: The proof of the pudding is in the eating; and Jesus applied it here, in the exchanges in John 8.  Despite Jesus said in v35 (John 8:35), a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever, He actually concluded that those Jews who were not accepting Him and His teaching, were NO children or sons of God; rather they were sons of the devil (v38 & 44).  Jesus actually said to these people, they would go NOT to Heaven (John 8:21).  The people were sons, but not sons, in reality.

WHO THEN ARE THE TRUE SONS OF GOD?  I will answer that in a while, but let me stress that this teaching of Jesus was NOT just focussed on the non-believers who are obviously NOT living in the light for they never really entered the light; they might have “hopped in and hopped out”; they never really had any intention to linger at all, in the light. It was and is also speaking to the Jews (God’s people, by standing) and believers who hold NOT to his teachings (John 8:31). 

Jesus used the word, disciples, on those who would believe Him and hold to His teachings; what did it imply?  Disciples NOT only believe in their master; they embrace the master’s teaching, and live out the ethos of the master.  Now if the master is Jesus, and Jesus is light, then is it NOT believers or should I say, disciples, have to be living in the light? 

I like this word that I noted Ps Prentis used from time to time, “characterisation”.  So, what so characterises you?  For the non-believers, living in the dark, characterises them, they occasionally “hop in and hop out” of the light; they don’t live in it or “travel” in it.  For you and I, disciples of Jesus Christ, we must be characterised by our living in the light; occasionally, you found yourselves “hopping in and hopping out” of darkness; and that was when you and I sin, occasionally.  Living in the dark or sinning should no longer characterise us, disciples (believers necessarily be disciples, it is NOT an option), who should be characterised by our living in the light or obeying God and His commands and so, sinning NOT.

The 1 John 1:5-10 writing was, I believe, the Apostle John’s attempt to say the same.  It is that you have to get into or back into the light that you have true fellowship with other disciples and with God, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies you from all sin (1 John 1:7).  1 John 1:9 is the elaboration of how this, “the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies you from all sin” – you repent (turn back into the light), and confess to God your sins (for you committed sins when you are in the dark or darkness), and the Lord, Jesus, is just and faithful to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness (from the sins).  Once this is done, you are back in the light; you are NOT back in the light unless you are forgiven and cleansed (for greater understanding of 1 John 1:9, read these: 1 John 1:9 is for believers, and 1 John 1:9 - Q&As).

John 3:20 said that everyone who does wicked things hates the light, and does NOT come into it, lest his works should be exposed.  Why does he hate it?  It is because of fear.  Heb 10:26–29 reads,

“26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.  28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

Obviously, this Hebrews text was NOT talking to non-believers, but to believers.  Scripture is very consistent with a believer is having to live righteous.  Anyone who play-downs the call to live righteous, is against the Word, and against God, and has NOT, the right understanding of God’s kinda of love (For better understanding of God’s kinda of love, read this: ‘ahab love – love unto righteousness).

Scripture said, “Perfect love casts out all fear”.  1 John 4:18 Amplified Bible: 18 There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].

Do we have fear?  Many of us, including myself, we have fear.  That is real.  But why?  It is because we are NOT in the fullness of God’s love.  The fullness of God’s love or perfect love is always there, like a never-ending beam of light.  We have to get into and stay inside, this beam of love which is inside the beam of light (holiness). 

In this light (holiness), there can be no fear, for there is no punishment, for there can be no sin, for everything done in the light has been carried out in God – John 3:21 (When one sins, it meant he has stepped outside of the light; he has to get back in). 

Everything done in the light is righteous.  Everything done in the light is done in love.  In here, you experience God’s love for you, which love unto righteousness (‘ahab love); in here, you love Him back with the same love; in here, you love one another with His love, again, love unto righteousness; in here there is fullness of love, perfect love.  In here, there is forgiveness and restoration, if you would come back in, if you would confess your sins to God who is just and faithful to forgive you and cleanse you of all your unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), from meandering in the dark.

There is no other way out of our fear, except to come or come back into the light.  Embrace 1 John 1:9, it is for the non-believers and it is for the believers.  Know this truth, and this truth will set you free, and yes, free from fear.

Oh! WHO THEN ARE THE TRUE SONS OF GOD?  I said I will let you know.  Romans 8:12-14 - 12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh {sinful nature}:  13 for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.  14 FOR AS MANY AS ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THESE ARE THE SONS OF GOD.

Jesus is our master and model.  We have just looked at Jesus saying to those who believed Him that if they hold to His teachings, they would be His real disciples.  Disciples model after the master.  How did the Master live? 1 John 3:7 - Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he {Jesus} is righteous. 

Jesus was righteous, and He lived righteous or did what was right.  Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit in His ministry; He was baptised in water and Spirit, at the Jordan River, before He began His ministry.  Where did it say, in Scripture Jesus was led by the Spirit? After Jesus’ baptism, in Matt 4:1, we read it recorded for us that Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the Devil (Jesus was led to fast in the wilderness, first, before He was tempted).  Furthermore, we believed as Scripture said it, Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matt 1:18).  Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit in His life, and especially so, when the Holy Spirit had come upon Him without measure upon His water baptism.

A Spirit-led life is a righteous living life, why?  Because the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God (1 Cor 2:11), and is always only speaking and doing from the Godhead.  The Holy Spirit is always righteous, and so, when we are being led by Him, we will be living right; we will be living as Jesus did – living righteous.

Therefore, those who live right, those are the sons of God.  They are also those who love God, for love and righteousness are bounded together.

Anthony Chia, high.expressions

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