Galatians 4:4, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law.”

Interesting that Jesus came at the perfect time in history. This perfect time included His people’s being surrounded and suffocated by an occupying force. It was the perfect time because men would be less tempted to look around than up! He basically said little about the government, such as, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Why? In Pakistan I was scheduled to speak to a group of Muslims. I was asked before the sermon, “What will you be saying against Islam?” I responded, “I don’t teach Islam.” Again a question came, “No, but what will you be saying against Islam.” I said, “I don’t preach Islam. Brothers, to teach against Islam is the same as teaching for it. Islam would still occupy my mind and the minds of the listeners. I don’t have time. I will be teaching only Jesus.” I spoke for two hours on the way to live and then Who was the Way. Over 40 Muslims believed in Jesus. I don’t believe I would have seen those results had my sermon been against Islam. Jesus just didn’t have time for politics, which are of the world and will die when the world is destroyed. Why not talk about something that is permanent? Because of the expanded awareness of Christ in me, I am becoming more and more disinterested in the world of politics. To focus on it stirs my pride, angers me, makes me accuse men, fills me with fear, and has me debating facts—or, often, misinformation–and issues that in reality I don’t know about. I have watched the evening news reporting on a place to which I have been going for enough years to know there is very little truth in what is being said. The Koreans once said to me, “Do you know when the man representing the media and the news is lying?” I said, “No, tell me!” Their response was, “When his lips are moving.” This is not the age of information but the age of misinformation, and perhaps there has never been a time in history when there was less truth being broadcast throughout the world. Yet, we possess the TRUTH. We can speak about Jesus and don’t have to worry if we are lying or not. We can hear and read of Jesus and know that it is the TRUTH. Jesus came at the perfect time and the focus was on Him, the Father, and the Kingdom. We are finding ourselves in the perfect time for the focus to be on the same things.

I Corinthians 4:5, “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”

Peter’s statement that “a woman will be saved in childbirth” is confusing until the word saved is properly defined. The term saved, as used in the Bible, refers a majority of the time to deliverance in the present. Nothing hinders daily victory and joy as much as selfishness. Experiencing childbirth, a woman’s self-life is given a severe blow as she devotes her own wellbeing to the good of another, her newborn child. This very loss of self-centeredness allows her to be more susceptible to daily victory in Christ.

Peter’s statement is not meant to be a dig to women who have not borne children any more so than to men, who also have never borne children. He is pointing to a greater truth, and that truth is that selfishness needs a deathblow in order for mankind to find life. Childbirth seems to validate a woman’s existence (not all women, but many) in the sense that once a woman is a mother, the course of her life is believed to be set, and she therefore has validation and purpose. Men do not have such an experience, and I find that many are looking for purpose and validation. However, we seek for the things that can only be found in Him.

I have collected several suicide notes from men over the years (more men successfully commit suicide than women). The notes are predictable and often carry the same theme: “I am sorry that I did not amount to more”; “I should have done more with my life”; “I am a disappointment.” In short, they never found validation–or, rather, a fulfilled purpose–in living. Within the context of discipleship I often play a suicide game. I pretend that I am the person sitting before me wanting to commit suicide, and the person must take the name of Suicide. I say, “Suicide, why do you want to kill me?” The answer comes in various forms, but always with the same general thrust: “Because you are worthless, you have not accomplished anything with your life, and you have not lived up to your potential.” I then respond, “Exactly what is my potential? How will I know if I have accomplished enough or lived well enough to fulfill my potential? Will it be when I have made a medical discovery, become popular, obtained my own television show, gained the praise of my family, or memorized the whole Bible? The problem is that I know of men who fall into the previous categories of accomplishment that have all committed suicide, therefore proving that your definition of validation is faulty.”

Something very depressing to many is that they have “made it” in the world’s sense and wake up in the morning being their same old selves. Validation from yourself, the world, or others is like taking a dry dishrag and wringing it for a full, thirst-satisfying, glass of water. When man cannot find validation, he will live to the world, others, and self in an attempt to justify his existence on the earth. I have not mentioned the things that we do that actually, in our minds, do the opposite of validating us. There are the outbursts, the deeds of the flesh, the old habits that return, the failed marriages, and more. Men more than women need to stop looking for validation in any place other than the Lord. Naked you entered the world and naked you will leave. Frank Sinatra died and Las Vegas dimmed its lights for a short time. Wow! What a tribute. They then turned them back on full blaze and went on gambling.

If the Lord validates you, you no longer must live to the world, yourself, or others. You will be free, free indeed. He validates every man with a simple statement, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” That is enough. With that statement echoing in my heart, I am as happy sitting on a tractor turning up the grubs and watching the seagulls eat them as I am preaching before five thousand. I am as expectant in defeat as in victory. I am not watching myself obsessively, nor does the affirmation or rejection of the world or others change my day.

As you wait in faith, He will meet your need.

“Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own?” In Matthew 20 Jesus tells a story now known by one and all. A man hires workers at different hours of the day; some work a long day and others a short one. In the end, every man gets paid the same. However, those that worked from the beginning were expecting more than the late men got, and they were rebuked, for the Master was free to pay what he wanted, and what was it to them if he wanted to be generous? Every man, from the one that arrived early to the one that arrived late, got exactly what he needed! The Master was much fairer, compassionate, and generous than anyone imagined; he knew the need was the same for every man, so he met the need accordingly. Since the first men were in need of a job, wouldn’t they have worked for less than their need? Couldn’t the Master have squeezed them and given them less than was needed? I believe so. The Master was generous with his initial offering to the men who worked the longer day. All the men were looking for a job; some found it in the morning and some in the afternoon. Which would you rather be? I would want to be the one that found it in the morning and knew my need would be met. Think of the stomach turning that the men hired last had gone through wondering if the day would end and their need would go unmet. Think of their having to go home to hungry children. These men of the afternoon were rewarded because they had a greater faith. They’d had to learn to trust in God and lean on Him all morning, while the others worked in the fleshly confidence that they would feed their families through their own labors. God rewarded the faith of the men who worked only a few hours by meeting their need, also. The story centers around men who had to wait with faith in God. “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.” As you wait in faith, He will meet your need.

He enjoys living in you!

Col. 1:27, “to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

My unbelief astounds me! The fact that it astounds me is a revelation that I still think that in my flesh dwells some good thing. You see, I knew that Christ could live in the flesh of a man and conquer all things, but I never believed that He could live in my flesh and conquer all things. What was I thinking, that somehow, when Jesus moved into my flesh, His power was stripped away? What unbelief. Actually, when I had my last birthday, I just stopped and pondered. I never thought I would make it to that age. I didn’t think that He who had begun a good work in me would complete it. I didn’t think that He would prove to me that He was love. It was all proof of my unbelief. Well, I want to testify that He can live in your flesh. He has lived in thousands of people’s flesh, and He is more than able. And I will tell you one more secret: He enjoys living in you!

In these times we are not creating hearts as much as watching them be revealed.

The Revelation of the Heart
Romans 2:5, “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” In these times we are not creating hearts as much as watching them be revealed. It is the time for the revelation of hearts. The heart is being revealed all around us. When someone says, “I can’t believe in a God that allows suffering,” that person’s heart is being revealed. They know that God didn’t cause the suffering, but they are taking occasion to blame Him. If He did take away suffering, do we honestly think that such a person would immediately repent and turn to Jesus? No, the statement or the event is simply a revelation of the heart. We will be surprised in heaven to discover all that God has done for suffering people. Just as the heart of His own Son was revealed in hardship, so have many others’ been. It is amazing to be in a place where there has been persecution, because that type of suffering accelerates the revelation of the heart and allows us to see men for what they really are. “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around,” said the man being healed from his blindness. Do you know the hearts of those around you? They are not revealed in comfort. One day you will see that those you thought were enemies are friends and those believed to be friends were enemies. It is the time for the revelation of hearts.

The flesh can continue to develop after we believe in Jesus.

Job 6:11-12, What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should endure? Is my strength the strength of stones, Or is my flesh bronze?
The Bible makes the point that once we have believed in Jesus, the old man is crucified, we receive a new life, and what was true of us is no longer true, what we did we never did, what happened to us never happened to us, for “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.” The old man is gone but the flesh–the condition of being under the influence of something other than Jesus–has not changed and will never change; we just abide longer with it under His influence, so it may appear that it has changed. The flesh is not improving, nor does God intend for it to; it is His stronghold to drive us back to Him. In fact, once we have Christ within us, the flesh will make us more miserable than it did when we had Adam’s life in us, for now it doesn’t fit what we are. This brings me to an important point: The flesh can continue to develop after we believe in Jesus. All we have to do is walk after the flesh, and the flesh will find new idols, new ways of coping. It will continue to grow. In Fiji I got a fungus, a very tricky thing that started out very small, but when it would itch, it felt so good to scratch it, and it was in the itching that it spread; soon it covered both feet. The pain was intense in the center, but it always felt good to scratch around it. The flesh is the same. Scratch that itch it and it will grow. A perfect example of the flesh’s continuing to expand is its increase in those (men and women) who struggle with internet pornography. This was something unheard of 15 years ago, and now there are few families not affected. Actually, it is worse among believers than unbelievers, for if unbelievers want sex, they will generally just go for it. But the believer draws an invisible line in the sand and tells the flesh, “You can go this far and no further.” To them, porno is not the same as adultery and therefore allowable. There are many in ministry struggling with this new development in flesh expression. This awareness of the weakness of the flesh and its propensity to grow should not discourage us, but rather encourage us to remain near to Him. For we know the moment the Lord is not our focus, we will move into the flesh, which has not improved. God has orchestrated the whole of the Christian life to center on abiding in Him.

The facts of the earth and the faith of heaven blend perfectly without conflict.

Well, the Indians say it, and it is an obvious truth: If you go east long enough you will find yourself west, and likewise, if you go west long enough you will find yourself east. Maybe those in the West have yet to travel far enough east, and those in the East have not traveled far enough west. Eastern Religion, in the absence of fact, draws pictures. There was never a boy with an elephant head, and drawing it doesn’t make it so. Please, travel a bit further to the West. On the other hand, no one in the East would question the existence of God, and when I say that Jesus spoke to me, no one questions it, for God must be alive. However, in the West many have yet to believe that there even is a God, and to say one has heard Him is to border on insanity. Those in the West need to travel a little more to the East. In the East miracles are an accepted part of life, and yet they have opened the door to the false and the deceiving. In the West, those without an inner awareness that Jesus is actually alive and active IN them seek miracles OUTSIDE them as proof that He exists. Move east a little and discover the greatest miracle: Christ is in you. In the West it is believed that the flower must be dissected to be understood, and yet the beauty is destroyed. In the East the flower must simply be smelled. In the West a bridge made out of water is unthinkable; in the East many have walked on ice across a great river. In Christ East meets West. The facts of the earth and the faith of heaven blend perfectly without conflict. In Him everything created on the earth and in the heavens merges without contradiction. This place many believe is impossible to find–the place where East meets West–is not a place but a person, Jesus!

In the grace of God, we see him rise from the ashes with a new message, THE message of Christ.

To me this question actually has two answers. First, our responsibility is to judge the message, for it always takes precedence over the messenger. Paul makes this point repeatedly, such as in Galatians 1:8, saying no matter how beautiful the messenger is, the message is what counts. “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” Again, Paul sees the message as being much more important than himself, “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.” Even when it came to having a messenger who had wrong motives, Paul remained interested primarily in the message. Philippians 1:17, 18, “the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.” Therefore, if the message was correct when the writer or performer was walking with Jesus, the message is still valid today, and I won’t throw it out. David had a moral failure; I will not throw out what God had clearly given him before his failure. It would be my loss. When one takes the position to discredit everything that has been said by a fallen believer, he is walking on thin ice, for God may define for him anew what fallen means. In, Galatians 5:19-21, Paul gives a description of the flesh. Who can boast that at some time in their life they have not fallen into some of these things? Who can rightly judge the messenger? Now to the second answer:
some have not promoted the message, but rather they promote themselves. It is their plan that whenever we hear their music or read a particular paragraph, their picture, not Christ’s, flashes into our minds. Paul talks about such people. II Cor. 4:5, “For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” There are those in the business of riding on the back of Christ to create an image for themselves. They don’t make a distinction between the message and themselves. They are the proof of their message. They, in fact, believe they are propping up Jesus. The focus is constantly on them and their faith, their talent, and their cleverness. Their formula, writing, or music and how it makes them stand out is one with their image. “17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.” When such a believer falls, it is impossible to separate him from his message, for in reality he was the true message, with such a high standard set for himself and others that he will have trouble finding grace. Such a one is left having to clean up the mess on his own. In interview after interview he will try to separate himself from the message, so that the message can retain its integrity, but it is too late to separate himself from it. It becomes impossible to defend his message when it is revealed that it wasn’t THE message of Christ. People quickly abandon him. The books and the music will find their way to the trash bin, but though his reputation is also in the trash bin, the person is not! The blessing in all this is that God will use it to move him into clinging to the proper message. In the grace of God, we see him rise from the ashes with a new message, THE message of Christ. Well, amen!

“Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” (John 20:29b)

“1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2For by it the men of old gained approval.”
One day in my prayers I made a request, “Jesus, I would like to see You!” His response was, “Would you?” The normal way to enter into Jesus is through the unseen, that is, through faith. If we enter another way, we enter through the abnormal, the seen. Many could complain to God, “If you did for my relative what you did for Paul (strike him blind, speak to him, heal him, and teach him in the wilderness), he would believe, also.” However, is a knockout experience what we really want for our relatives? Is it what we really want for ourselves? Imagine a line that represents faith. One can enter into Jesus above that line that we will call the unseen. Once one has entered in through the seen, he must now go an equal distance below the faith line, into the unseen, just to bring him back to the place of faith. This principle is seen over and over again in saints’ lives that have experienced the spectacular. In the end, do you really want a vision or to be caught up to heaven? Such things bring great suffering only to take you back to the place of faith. Be content to be in a place of faith, in a place of the unseen, and in a place of believing. “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” (John 20:29b).

“And as for you, you meant evil against me, {but} God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”
Gen 50:20

I really dread bringing up my bible college days, those days when we sat around and discussed how ignorant congregations were, how they didn’t do what they knew was right, and how they could be so stupid. I can’t stand those memories primarily because all my judgments befell me.

It is so easy to stand on the work of others, carnal or spiritual, and make judgments. For years I actually believed that my thinking was my thinking, that I owed no one. I would read the anti-nicean fathers and think, “How could they believe that?” It was easy to look back through history and assess what was right or wrong with those believers.

Well, I am getting older and see that I stand on their shoulders, that what many did, in the light of what they had, has brought me into a greater light. I am not independent of them. I am not smarter. I was born in this age, with this education, all for a time to come. It is easy to look at some doctrine that a Luther or Calvin believed and judge them. However, I stand in my reality and judge them in theirs.

My point is twofold. First, all that the believers did before me, good and bad, has helped to make me what I am. I am indebted to them and not as independent as I would like to think. Second, I should never despise the work of God, which can be accomplished through the good or the bad in a saint.

Many are angry over the bondage that they lived under in legalism. They despise those that taught it to them, manipulated and controlled them through it. Don’t! Their teaching didn’t bring you into bondage. Their teaching revealed that you had a righteousness of your own. Only a self-righteous person would attempt such a journey with such a teacher. It’s your fault you were in bondage. You went along with it. God permitted it because He knew that you needed it! It was being in bondage that made you long for freedom. It was bondage that makes your freedom today so precious.

Therefore, bless those that used you, abused you, and brought you under bondage. God used them to make you long for a contrast.