The Watchman at the Gate

Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord. Proverbs 8:33-35 (ESV)

I think we forget that our most important role as followers of Christ is listening.

Well, let me rephrase that. We do a lot of listening. We just don’t recognize our need to quiet ourselves and listen to Jesus.

We seek His favor. We seek the abundant life He offers. But we usually ignore the means.

Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.

Listening to Jesus is how you will find your way into His abundant life and favor.

You’ve probably heard Jesus described as the Good Shepherd. He actually gave Himself the name in John 10:11, just before He revealed what He had come to earth to do.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Let’s take a look at how Jesus describes His relationship with His sheep.

“But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10:2-5

Verse 5 always pierces my heart. For many of us, Jesus’ voice is the stranger we never follow. We hardly recognize it. We’re so used to listening to the call of the world, we can’t hear the voice of the Shepherd beckoning us to safety and abundant life.

But when we choose to seek it, verse 3 makes an amazing promise. The sheep hear the voice of the Shepherd.

Do you ever wonder if God still speaks? There’s your answer, dear one. Jesus’ sheep hear His voice. Period. Not some of them. Not the special ones. All His sheep have the ability to hear Him. And we need to learn to recognize His voice if we want to follow Him to life.

Verse 4 reveals the intimacy Jesus desires with each one of us. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Then He promises to go before to set the path. But only the sheep who know His voice will be able to follow Him.

Do you know it, dear one? Have you learned to recognize it by spending time alone with Him in His Word?

If that hasn’t been a priority for you, perhaps this gem from verse 3 will get you thinking.

To him the gatekeeper opens.

I can’t tell you how many times I skipped over this seemingly insignificant piece of information. But when I asked God to teach me about prayer, this verse leapt from the page.

Notice something with me.

The Shepherd doesn’t open the gate for Himself. He waits for the gatekeeper—or watchman, depending on your translation— to open it for Him.

What does that mean for you and me?

We often imagine that Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, simply does as He pleases on this earth. After all, He’s a sovereign God, working His sovereign plan. But we forget that God in His sovereignty chose to work in agreement with man when He gave man dominion.

Beloved, Jesus waits to be invited through prayer before He intervenes.

That’s what the watchman does, dear one. His prayer shuts the door on the enemy—the current prince of this world—and opens the door to Jesus—the rightful King— to enter in.

You see, unlike the enemy of our souls, Jesus never forces His will upon us. 2 Peter 3:9 makes it clear that He desires for none to perish.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Yet many will perish, because they choose not to hear the truth He proclaims.

But even knowing that they will reject Him, Jesus still knocks at the gate.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

The prayer of repentance responding to the call of God opens the door for Jesus to enter in and alter the outcome of a life through salvation. Once we’re saved, Jesus continues to call out at the gate, seeking vessels who will hear His voice and come into agreement with Him through prayer to see His divine power intervene in the circumstances of life.

Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.

Even now, He knocks at the door of your heart, dear one, seeking to manifest His power. Will you be the watchman who opens the gate?

Free to Choose

But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive. Jeremiah 13:17

For reasons beyond our understanding, God chose to hand the earth He created over to the dominion of man (Genesis 1:28). It pleased Him to give us a say in what happens here rather than force us to cooperate with His desires. You see, love is only love when it’s offered freely.

So He set His perfect will in place over His creation, and He gave man the authority to choose whether he’d walk in those blessings or live according to his own plans.

He chose poorly.

I sure wish Adam had taken hold of the truth revealed in last week’s opening scripture.

“For the simple are killed by their turning away… but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” Proverbs 1:32-33

Adam turned away from the protective counsel of His Creator and walked straight into disaster for us all. Why did He do it? He followed the wrong voice. He chose to trust the serpent instead of trusting God and found himself caught by the terrifying reality of Romans 6:16.

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

The moment Adam did what the serpent desired of him and bit into that forbidden fruit, he became a slave to the one he obeyed. Sin entered his heart and took control of his will, tainting his desires with a bent toward destruction.

I can only imagine his horror as the tide of emotions brought on by his sudden knowledge of evil flooded his mind. Shame, guilt, fear, blame—all of which he’d never known—tumbled into his heart like a torrent.

I wonder if the realization even hit him in that moment that he’d lost his God-given position. One moment—one choice—diminished him from ruler over the earth to slave of the evil one, shattering his perfect world and altering the course of history.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. John 10:10

Indeed. The thief stole man’s dominion and claimed it as his own. There’s a reason evil increases with each generation. The reigning prince of this world manipulates mankind to see his agenda played out here instead of God’s.

And most of mankind blindly cooperates, powerless to stop it. Until Jesus . . .

God could’ve left us here to rot in our sin, dear one. After all, we chose it. But that isn’t what love does, and God is love (1 John 4:8).

So He sent Jesus—destined in God’s foreknowledge to become a perfect, sinless sacrifice— to bear our sin and conquer its power so that you and I could live free.

Do you see it, beloved? Jesus restored our right to choose. We don’t have to be carried away by the encroaching tide of evil. Instead, we have the ability to do what Adam failed to do. Set free by the blood of Christ, we can choose to embrace and loose the will of God.

That’s really what prayer is, dear one.

Prayer is the heart of a human vessel coming into agreement with the will of God and choosing to release it on this earth by faith.

That’s why Jesus instructed His disciples,

“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:9-10

According to Jesus, the primary objective of all prayer is to glorify the name of the Father and release His will on this earth as He has already prepared it in heaven. That’s why scripture can make so many extravagant promises about prayer, dear one. True prayer finds its source in Christ itself,

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:14

So let’s review. God gave dominion of the earth to man. Man handed it over to Satan. Jesus gave it back to the church. The only thing that can presently thwart the will of the enemy on this planet is the body of Christ releasing the will of God through prayer. That’s where you and I come in.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

And when you and I submit ourselves fully to the leadership of the Spirit, trusting God for His best for us instead of insisting on our own, miracles happen. When we willingly choose to agree with God and let loose His desires through prayer, blessings flow in Jesus’ name.

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

I’m game. Are you?

 

A Surprise Gift From a Sovereign God

“For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” Proverbs 1:32-33 (ESV)

Do you ever wonder where God is? What He’s thinking? Why He isn’t doing more to stop the spread of evil in our generation?

We love to blame God when bad things happen. We accuse Him of not doing His job and failing to protect us. Our anxiety leads us to doubt His goodness while our hearts tremble with fear.

I’d like to ask you to consider something with me.

What if God isn’t responsible for the increase of evil we see occurring? What if the blame lies a little closer to home? What if, in fact, you and I see one with the power to change things on this earth every time we look in the mirror?

I know the thought seems preposterous. After all, what can we do? Maybe we need to remind ourselves of Jesus’ words in Mark 9:23.

“All things are possible for one who believes.”

All things remain possible for the believer, and the impossible becomes possible through prayer.

God’s been teaching me a few things about the power of prayer, dear one. You and I have a role in holding back the tide of darkness. You see, here on earth that’s not God’s job. He entrusted that job to His church.

Jesus spoke some powerful words to Peter in Matthew 16:18-19.

“… on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Do you see it, dear one? Christ’s Church holds the power to prevail against the gates of hell. We have been given authority to bind the powers of darkness and loose the will of God on this earth. The problem is, most of us have no idea how to do it.

We’re going to spend the next several weeks unwrapping the gift God gave us in prayer.

Perhaps that doesn’t excite you too much. I’ll be honest with you. For a long time, prayer didn’t excite me either. It felt more like a burden than a joy.

I knew I was supposed to pray, but I didn’t really understand the reasoning behind it. Perhaps your thoughts have echoed the questions mine raised. If God is sovereign and is going to do what He wants anyway, why do I need to pray? Why should I spend my time in prayer if I can’t really change anything?

I have good news for you, my friend. God’s Word answers those questions. And I pray that what we discover together about prayer will not only move you to pray, but make you excited about it too!

Let’s begin by asking God why we should pray. After all, Ephesians 1:11 teaches that God works all things according to the counsel of his will. Psalm 115:3 echoes that sentiment.

Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Scripture clearly paints God as a sovereign ruler that does exactly what He wants to do. The enemy often uses that truth to convince believers it does no good to pray. But what if God’s sovereign will provides the very reason we need to?

You see, God is the Creator and rightful Ruler of all things, but when He created this earth, He did something unthinkable.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He created man in His image, giving him a free will, and then He gave man the earth—not just to live on, but to rule over.

Think about the enormity of that statement. God chose to give man stewardship over His creation, entrusting it to his care. It pleased Him to give us a say in what happens here. And when God commits to something, He never goes back on His Word.

Check out what happened after God made the animals in Genesis 2:19.

Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.

The supreme Creator of those animals had every right to name them. Yet He chose to give that privilege to man because God had decided that earth would be his. Amazing.

Unfortunately, man didn’t keep his dominion for very long. A crafty serpent stole it and has been having his evil way on this earth ever since. I think it’s time we put an end to his reign.

You and I are about to learn how to claim the authority God intended for us and release the will of God through prayer. Are you ready to take back what the enemy stole and learn to release God’s blessing?

I hope so. As our opening scripture reveals, complacency only ends in our destruction.

No Offense, But…

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. Proverbs 10:12

Last week we looked at the power of forgiveness. Christ’s blood poured out from a cross at Calvary so you and I could escape the destructive power of sin. The promise of the cross doesn’t just pardon sin’s penalty, dear one. It conquers the present compulsion for sin in our day-to-day lives.

Beloved, you and I have been empowered by the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to live driven by Christ’s love rather than sin’s hate. We’ve been given a new nature—Christ’s nature—and that nature offers the power to dramatically change our present circumstances. When walking in that nature, we enjoy the beautiful fruit the Spirit provides.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

Sounds good, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t you love to live each day feeling your heart swell with love and bubble over with joy? Wouldn’t you love the peace of God to wash away your anxiety and worry? Don’t you long to find yourself empowered to patience instead of blowing up at the people you love?

Unfortunately, that isn’t where most of us live. Instead, we far more readily suffer the fruit of the flesh, spending much of our days tied up in knots, feeling frustrated, angry, depressed, and overcome by the circumstances we find ourselves in. Our families end up baring the brunt of our misery.

What are we missing? Perhaps Matthew 6:14-15 will shed some light on the root of our struggle.

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Powerful words. Jesus said if I refuse to forgive others, God won’t forgive me. Let’s put it another way. If I refuse to release others, God won’t release me.

No wonder so many of us feel stuck.

Harboring bitterness in your heart will keep you from experiencing the grace of forgiveness in your own life. That means the power God offers through forgiveness gets held back, and you’re left relying on your own strength.

You may have noticed. Your own doesn’t get you very far.

Dear one, God’s command to forgive those who wrong us isn’t about letting them off the hook. It’s about allowing God’s power to continue to flow into our lives. Bitterness blocks the flow of His love, and love empowers everything God does.

Love empowered Christ’s words as He hung from a bloody cross.

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34

The people screaming, “Crucify Him!” weren’t sorry. They hadn’t apologized. It wasn’t even over. They shouted insults while He bled for them. They celebrated His agony while He struggled to press His nail pierced feet into the wood of the cross, lifting His torso enough to gasp out the words, “Father, forgive them.”

The love released through that act of forgiveness shook the earth and tore the veil. It crumbled the barrier that separated man from God, and it made the way to conquer sin and death in the heart of man so love and life could flow in its place—love that empowers, love that redeems, love that transforms and heals.

When we choose bitterness, we embrace the spirit of the world—of hatred—rather than the Spirit of love Christ poured out. We choose our sin nature instead of Christ’s nature. Jesus always forgives.

You and I don’t deserve forgiveness, dear one. We’re guilty. Nothing we do can earn our way into it. But Jesus offers it anyway and asks us to receive it by faith.

Yet we don’t want to extend that grace to others. We want them to earn it. And we won’t offer forgiveness freely because whoever hurt us doesn’t deserve it.

I won’t argue with you. Nobody really deserves forgiveness. The very fact that we need to extend it means that a wrong has taken place.

But God’s not asking us to let people off the hook when He asks us to forgive them. He’s asking us to let Him bear the burden. He’s asking us to trust His promise in Exodus 14:14,

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (NIV)

When we trust God to keep His Word and surrender our bitterness, a beautiful thing happens. He moves on our behalf. And trusting Him accesses the grace of God to provide the fruit of the Spirit in us. Love replaces anger. Joy replaces bitterness. Peace overshadows strife.

Forgive, dear one, so you can be forgiven. Release your captors so you can be free.

 

 

 

The Now Power of Forgiveness

. . . just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4

We’ve talked a lot over the last several weeks about the blessings of God. We’d be remiss if we didn’t zero in on our greatest blessing in Christ: forgiveness.

Sometimes I wonder if the word is tossed around so much it’s lost its potency. It’s so familiar to us in our Christian circles, we hardly appreciate the value of it anymore. We’re grateful for the ticket to heaven and we praise God for His gift to us, but beyond that, its power seems lost on us.

Beloved of God, forgiveness offers so much more than a free pass. It offers power for today.

You and I are carrying burdens we’re not meant to carry. We’ve spent our lives painfully bent under sin’s authority, and we’re still letting it rule us.

Sin still governs our thoughts. It convinces us to take offense, even when none is given. It leads us to make choices that bring us harm and even damage the people we love.

We don’t mean to. We can’t see it at the time. A veil of darkness blinds our view of consequence, dangling before us only the enticing lure of gratification. For the moment.

Then pain quickly follows, swallowing us in a tide of darkness that drags us bit by bit away from those we love.

Dear one, Jesus carried all of that sin to Calvary. He took it all. He didn’t just pay sin’s penalty. He bore the sin itself. And when they pounded the nails in His hands and feet, they nailed it with Him to that cross. It’s gone.

Jesus took our sin upon Himself and conquered its power. Do you know what that means, dear one? You no longer need to bow down to the rule of sin. You can stand in the authority of Jesus’ victory, with the power of that sin securely under your feet.

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6:14

Isn’t that an amazing promise? Grace has set us free from sin’s power over us.

You see, that’s what forgiveness really means, beloved.

Release.

Not just release from sin’s penalty and consequences, but freedom from sin’s control.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2

Do you see the present tense resting in the midst of that promise? Christ has already set us free from the law of sin and death. It’s not something He still has to accomplish. It’s already done.

You, dear one, are free from sin’s authority over you.

You may be wondering why you still struggle with sin. Let me share with you what God’s been speaking to me. You see, it comes down to faith. You and I are still struggling because we still believe we’re the person we used to be. We still view ourselves through the eyes of our old nature, the one that’s been tarnished by sin.

But Scripture is very clear that if we are in Christ, our nature has changed.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

There’s that present tense again. Do you see it, dear one? The new has already come. We don’t need to wait for Christ to make us a new creation. He’s already done it.

Now He’s asking us to believe it.

For years I’ve heard this expression tossed about within the body.

“I’m just a sinner, saved by grace.”

I’ve come to realize that phrase isn’t entirely true. Think it through with me.

If I have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, then I’m no longer a sinner. I was a sinner; that’s why I needed a Savior. But now I’m a redeemed child of God who has been set free from the power of sin and walks in the righteousness of Christ’s nature.

What difference does that make, dear one? You and I will always make our decisions based on what we believe.

If I still see myself as a sinner, I’m going to keep on sinning. If that’s what I believe I am, that’s what I’ll do.

But if I truly believe that I have a new nature given to me through Jesus Christ, my faith in choosing to walk that out will access the grace of God and empower me to live differently.

That’s the gift of forgiveness poured out to us through the cross, dear one. We are free. Free from sin’s destructive hold. Free to make different choices that produce life.

Will you see yourself as you are in Christ and let go of the person you used to be?

Unlimited power waits for the one who believes.