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Guidance chapter eleven
Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida, in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew went with Philip and they told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him." John 12:20-26
In many ways we have been like that grain of wheat which
remains on the shelf and abides alone. We're sitting on the shelf getting older. We're afraid to drop into the ground, to spend
ourselves. For what reason are we always conserving our strength? To get older and still abide alone?
Granted there are a lot of spent lives at the bottom of the
ditch. There are those who have spent themselves on dissipation. They gave themselves up to some passion, some lust, some
thirst, which consumed them. What's left of their wasted bodies can only think of one thing: that next drink, that next fix, or
that next orgy --- until even the flaming lust itself turns to ash.
There are those who have spent their lives on a delusion. They
believed they were destined to bring in the new order. They were ushering in the classless society. They were in the vanguard of
some rising nation, some new church. No sacrifice was too great. No labor was too hard. Until one day they discovered that their
ideology was based on a lie. They've spent themselves in a cause which turned out to be as corrupt as their most corrupt enemy.
There are those who have spent their lives on an idol. Like
the man who makes an idol out of his wife, lives for her as if she were the meaning of his existence. Then one day she leaves him.
Or the woman who makes an idol out of her child. Finally the child comes to his senses and escapes her clutches. Sooner or later
the idol dissolves and the idolator is left with nothing.
There are those who have spent themselves on some driving
ambition for riches, lands, power or fame. Gladly they pay the price of long hours, hard work, endless sacrifices. When they
achieve one goal they move on to another, until they're burnt out, and all they can do is sit and look at scrapbooks of their past
achievements while others enjoy their swimming pool.
"Thank God we haven't wasted ourselves on such
foolishness," we say. "We aren't burnt out! We still have our faculties and a fair bit of health. Here we are, still
unspent!" Then one day we wake up to the shattering truth that a life unspent is the most wasted life of all.
If we come to the end of our days never having sunk ourselves,
body, soul and spirit, into anything, our lives are far more pointless than the most dissipated drunkard that ever lived, or the
most deluded revolutionary that ever tried to hijack a plane. At least they spent themselves on something.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."
When a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it's
spending itself. It's sinking its whole existence into something beyond itself. That is what Jesus did and what he calls us to do.
He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in
this world will keep it for eternal life.
Spend yourself! Lose your life! ... in the one thing that
really matters and the only thing that satisfies:
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44
When he sells all that he has to buy the field he's spending
himself. How can we ever experience the life of God so long as we measure every ounce we put into it to make sure we get an
ounce-and-a-half back.
When Mary took that costly ointment and anointed Jesus' feet
she wasn't measuring. She was taking the best that she had and giving it, pouring it out. Oh, we don't mind taking the best that
we have and pouring it out on ourselves. We'll make great sacrifices to achieve great things for ourselves. But she was spending
herself for her Master --- extravagantly spending herself. Mary's life was in that ointment and her life would go for Jesus, just
as the ointment went. And as her life was being spent there would be an aroma like the fragrance of that ointment.
It might be easier for us to do this if we were now in the
throes of severe persecution --- if each week when we gathered a few more of us would be missing, thrown into prison or executed
for our faith. We could easily grasp what it means to spend ourselves if we knew that before the end of the summer we shall have
to make the decision which will cost us everything we have. Soon we will die and out of our death for the name of Jesus will come
life for countless others. One day we may very well have to live through such things and die such a death. But what do we do in
the meantime? Sit on the shelf and wait for the persecution? Surely we need to fall into the ground and die today, spend
ourselves, pour out what we have. In fact, if we're not freely and gladly spending ourselves now we'll never have what it takes to
spend ourselves when the persecution comes.
Am
I spending myself in prayer or am I conserving my strength for other things?
And he came out, and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation. Luke 22:39-46
Here we have a picture of Jesus putting his heart, soul,
strength and mind into prayer, draining himself, while the disciples sleep. "Oh, my prayer life just isn't any good!"
"I don't seem to have any joy! "My mind wanders!" "Nothing happens!" But what are you putting into it?
Are you dipping your toes in the pool of prayer?… or are you plunging in with everything you have? Life will verily come to your
prayers when you die to other things and sink something into it --- when you take hold of what it means to spend yourself before
the Throne of God.
Am I spending myself in the worship of God, or am I conserving
my strength for other things?
...And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to sing, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" Revelation 4:6-8
"Oh, but those are supernatural creatures in
heaven."
And there was a prophetess Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:36-38
Is Anna wasting her life doing nothing but worshipping with
fasting and prayer night and day? Are these four living creatures wasting their eternity? They are spending themselves in the most
meaningful, most worth while possible way: worshipping the true and living God.
How can it be called worship if nothing is spent? If we can't
even lift up our voices? …can't even spare the strength to concentrate on what we're saying? …or to enter into what somebody
else is saying, or singing, or praying? If it costs us nothing to sing, "Glory be to God on high and on earth peace good will
to me … we praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee" --- is it worship?
Am I spending myself in the pursuit of God's living word or am
I conserving my strength for other things?
... And behold, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a minister of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of all her treasures had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning, seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "How can I, unless some one guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Acts 8:27-31
Consider what this Ethiopian spent in order to get hold of the
living word of God. He spent years studying Hebrew so that he could read these Hebrew scriptures. He traveled hundreds of miles,
paid a considerable sum to buy this handwritten scroll of Isaiah. And now he's struggling to find God's word to him in these
scriptures. We've got it in English --- modern translations, easy to buy. Bible studies all over town. "Oh, I find the Bible
so hard to understand." "I get bored!" "God never speaks to me!" How desperate are you for a living word
from God? When you're desperate enough to spend yourself you will begin to hear God speak, even as the Ethiopian did that day.
Am I spending myself in serving Jesus or am I conserving my
strength for other things?
If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there
shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him.
Jesus is spending himself, seeking the lost sheep of the house
of Israel. Pouring himself out bringing good news to the poor and deliverance to the captives, healing to the sick, laying down
his life for people who have nothing to offer him but their desperate need of forgiveness.
To serve Jesus is to be with him spending ourselves with him
for these lost sheep who have no shepherd. "Oh, if only God would show me my ministry!" Open your eyes, friend, and see
these troubled, harried lives right around you and Jesus in their midst calling you to join him in touching them with God's
forgiveness.
One day soon each of us will be asked to give an account of
what we did with our life. Did we spend it? Or, did we wrap it up in a napkin and preserve it? How did we spend it? In whose name?
To whose glory?
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into
the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his
life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant
be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him.
Guidance chapter twelve
BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS
The first seven "blesseds" of the Beatitudes can be
viewed as a progression of seven steps from the time we empty ourselves of vain glory and enter the Kingdom of Heaven to the time
when we become servants of the Kingdom with something redemptive to give to someone else.
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Matthew 5:1-9
By the time we reach the seventh "blessed" we are
beholding a people who are called children of God --- who exhibit God's nature and give forth God's life. And what do they do?
'They make peace. Which does not mean that they run around like professional do-gooders, religious busybodies, butting into
other people's affairs.
Peacemakers are men and women who have the ability to open the
windows of heaven and bring the peace of God down into this troubled world of men. In one sense our Lord Jesus was the most
disruptive man to walk, the face of this earth. Wherever he went Jesus brought division.
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I
have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother"
Matthew 10:34-35
But in the ultimate sense Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
Wherever Jesus goes he brings with him the peace of God. Peace to the sick. Peace to the demon possessed. Peace to the blind.
Peace to the out-casts of this world. His name is Melchizedek, King of Shalom, King of Peace.
When we become one with Jesus he sends us forth with a gospel
which has peace to all who receive it. He ordains us to be peacemakers.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
sons of God."
A peacemaker is simply a person who is able to bring the
atmosphere of heaven into this world. If we were to step out of this world into the realm of heaven, the most striking thing we
would experience would be peace. Awesome peace. Peace you can almost touch.
After this I looked, and lo, in heaven an open door! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up hither, and I will, show you what must take place after this." At once I was in the Spirit, and lo, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne! And he who sat there appeared like jasper and carnelian, and round the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald. Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clad in white garments, with golden crowns upon their heads. From the throne issued flashes of lightning, and voices and peals of thunder, and before the throne burn seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God; and before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind… Revelation 4:1-6
And what is this sea of glass but tangible peace? Like the sea
which became still beneath the feet of Jesus so he could walk on it. Just as the underlying reality of everything that goes on in
this world is war -- war between nations, war between races and sexes and classes, war in our own hearts -- so the underlying
reality of everything that goes on at the center of deep heaven is peace, like a sea of glass.
And so, when heaven breaks in upon this world you can
immediately recognize it because the atmosphere changes from war to peace.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:13-14
When Jesus said to the storm, "Peace be still!" an
atmosphere of heaven spread over the sea and instantly it became calm. His first words to the disciples after he rose from the
dead were, "Peace be with you." And it was so. The atmosphere of their hearts changed from war to peace.
One day you're standing at the window looking out at the rain
wondering how, in view of the problems which have crashed in on your life, you can go on living. Suddenly out of nowhere there
comes a peace which is almost physical and you know God's Spirit has visited you.
So on the day of Pentecost when the believers were gathered
together and they heard that sound from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind and saw the tongues of flame upon their heads and
spoke in other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance, one way of describing this experience is to say they were flooded with
the peace of God.
Later, when Peter was directed by the Spirit to go to the
house of the Gentile Cornelius, notice how he begins his sermon:
And Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the word which he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all) Acts 10:34-36
Before long the Spirit fell and they experienced that peace.
Always there is a reality which falls upon the people who
listen with open hearts. And that reality is ever the same: Peace.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been
brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of
hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place
of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to
an end.
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. Ephesians 2:13-18
This peace was so real to the apostles. They were so certain
that as they spoke the living word of God it would come to any one who would listen. And it was so consistently present in their
daily walk that they had little trouble convincing the God-hungry, peace-thirsty people of the reality of Jesus.
If you tell someone Jesus' death on the cross for their sins
was to release God's peace upon them, and that person seizes hold of the message by faith, and the peace of God falls on them, you
have proclaimed the gospel in the power of the Spirit. The Spirit has confirmed your message. Jesus has revealed himself.
Again and again as Paul calls people to the obedience of faith
he promises that as they answer the call there is one thing that will surely happen to them: they will be visited by the peace of
God.
Rejoice in
the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about
anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace
of God which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally,
brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians
4:4-9
Notice, we're not talking about the peace of this world, the
false peace of idleness, the false peace which numbs the mind that is drugged or deceived. We're not talking about the misleading
peace of tranquil circumstances --- in this world tranquil circumstances are often a snare -- but the peace of God in the midst of
all circumstances.
So God has called us to be peacemakers. We need to seek
God's peace in our own lives.
He that would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn away from evil and do right; let him seek peace and pursue it. I Peter 3:10-11
Many of as would like to have more of God's peace but are we
seeking it? Pursuing it? There are many things in this life we can't do a thing about. We can't change the weather. We can't
change our brother s heart. But we can find God's peace if we will seek it.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7
Every one who has ever sought to conform his life to this
simple word has found God's peace.
We need to let Christ's peace rule in our hearts
. It's possible to find God’s
peace and then go right on living outside of it in the old rat race.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which
indeed you were called in the one body…
Colossians 3:15
The peace has been given and is being given again today, but
we will only enjoy it as the atmosphere of our lives if we let it rule in our hearts. Do nothing to drive it away. The minute I
find myself taking a path or holding an attitude which jeopardizes that peace, I need to change. No pleasure, no gain is worth the
loss of it.
We need to practice peace to the point of joyful self-denial
. When the Lamb laid down his life
he was bringing peace back to this peaceless world. Each time we deny ourselves in his name for our fellow men, we are opening a
channel for that peace to flow. To be a peacemaker often means being "in the squeeze," despised and misunderstood by the
very people to whom the Master sends us and for whom we are pouring out our very strength. Our Lord never promised that it would
be painless. But even the pain is shot through with glory.
For one is approved if, mindful of God, he endures pain while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you take it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God's approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. I Peter 2:19-24
And, we need to proclaim the peace of God, which is offered to
all in Jesus Christ
.
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near… Ephesians 2:17
And he still preaches peace through you and me. What is our
gospel, but a gospel of peace? A gospel of great comfort! That God has taken our guilt upon himself, made peace with us at
Calvary, and now opens the door of heaven to all who will come.
The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let him who hears say, "Come." And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price. Revelation 22:17
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they shall be called sons of God.”
Matthew 5:9
God grant that we may be numbered among them!
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