The longer I live, the more I am convinced that we just don't know what we need. I mean we just don't know what we *really* need, what our needs *truly* are.
That's just one reason why it's so important to trust God's Word, when it says, "...my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
If we ever think our needs are not being supplied, then we simply don't know at that time what our needs really are. But our loving God does, and He has promised to meet them.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Brokenness - Part 6 of 6
Recognizing Brokenness
The following are some evidences of brokenness. They are worth thinking about, one by one, not for the purpose of being discouraged because we fall short, but for the purpose of humbling ourselves before the Lord, that He may lift us up.
Dealing with issues of brokenness should never distract us from our wonderful Savior, and should never cause us to try to earn His love and favor by our Performance. He loves us unconditionally. He loves us because He chose to love us, even while we were His enemies.
Nothing can separate us from His love, including our lack of brokenness!
And while that wonderful thought alone might help us desire brokenness and surrender to Him, I repeat that His love and favor for us are not dependent on that love and brokenness.
Having said that, here are some evidences of brokenness:
1. All rights surrendered
2. Willing to be rejected
3. Transparent - willing to share weakness
4. Vulnerable - willing to share failures
5. A sense of total inadequacy in self strength - 2 Cor. 3:5, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God..."
6. A sense of adequacy in Christ through His strength - Phil. 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 2 Cor. 3:6, "...who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
7. Trusting God whatever - resting even with external turmoil
8. Obedience out of a love motive because I want to, not because I have to
9. Recognizing the power in weakness
10. Willing to be weak
11. Willing to fail
12. A readiness to let others receive credit
13. Genuine humility
10. Placing value upon those who have little or no value to yourself
15. A readiness to affirm (build up) others
16. Teachable
17. Willing to be out of control
18. Willing to be misunderstood
Another phrase for "brokenness" is "dying to self". I wrote the following in my Bible in 1985. I regret I don't remember who to give credit to, but it has been a great blessing to me over these many years:
WHEN you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely provoked, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ – that's dying to self.
WHEN your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence – that's dying to self.
WHEN you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any impunctuality, any annoyance; when you stand face-to-face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility – and endure it as Jesus endured – that's dying to self.
WHEN you are content with any food, any offering, any climate, any people, any raiment, any interruption – that's dying to self.
WHEN you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good words, when you are uncomfortable with commendations, when you can truly love to be unknown – that's dying to self.
WHEN you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy, nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances – that's dying to self.
WHEN you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart – that's dying to self.
Part 1
The following are some evidences of brokenness. They are worth thinking about, one by one, not for the purpose of being discouraged because we fall short, but for the purpose of humbling ourselves before the Lord, that He may lift us up.
Dealing with issues of brokenness should never distract us from our wonderful Savior, and should never cause us to try to earn His love and favor by our Performance. He loves us unconditionally. He loves us because He chose to love us, even while we were His enemies.
Nothing can separate us from His love, including our lack of brokenness!
And while that wonderful thought alone might help us desire brokenness and surrender to Him, I repeat that His love and favor for us are not dependent on that love and brokenness.
Having said that, here are some evidences of brokenness:
1. All rights surrendered
2. Willing to be rejected
3. Transparent - willing to share weakness
4. Vulnerable - willing to share failures
5. A sense of total inadequacy in self strength - 2 Cor. 3:5, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God..."
6. A sense of adequacy in Christ through His strength - Phil. 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 2 Cor. 3:6, "...who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
7. Trusting God whatever - resting even with external turmoil
8. Obedience out of a love motive because I want to, not because I have to
9. Recognizing the power in weakness
10. Willing to be weak
11. Willing to fail
12. A readiness to let others receive credit
13. Genuine humility
10. Placing value upon those who have little or no value to yourself
15. A readiness to affirm (build up) others
16. Teachable
17. Willing to be out of control
18. Willing to be misunderstood
Another phrase for "brokenness" is "dying to self". I wrote the following in my Bible in 1985. I regret I don't remember who to give credit to, but it has been a great blessing to me over these many years:
WHEN you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely provoked, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ – that's dying to self.
WHEN your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence – that's dying to self.
WHEN you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any impunctuality, any annoyance; when you stand face-to-face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility – and endure it as Jesus endured – that's dying to self.
WHEN you are content with any food, any offering, any climate, any people, any raiment, any interruption – that's dying to self.
WHEN you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good words, when you are uncomfortable with commendations, when you can truly love to be unknown – that's dying to self.
WHEN you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy, nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances – that's dying to self.
WHEN you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart – that's dying to self.
Part 1
Brokenness - Part 5
The Part of Prayer In Brokenness
Few things are as important to our brokenness as prayer. All kinds of prayer.
--Petition (asking for things),
--Intercession (praying for others),
--Adoration (speaking lovingly to God about His wonders, attributes, goodnesses, etc.),
--Confession (telling Him what He already knows about our sins),
--Thanksgiving (is there any end to the list of blessings, not the least of which is His forgiveness of those sins we just confessed?)
--Praying the Scriptures (using verse-by-verse passages to prompt our praying, reinforcing our understanding of the mind of our Lord)
--Meditation (technically not prayer, but great to do in the same time-frame context, meditating for example on His attributes, His love, His Word).
This kind of prayer takes time, but how rich and blessed it is. As the saying goes, Prayer Changes Things, but just as importantly Prayer Changes Us.
If we pray with our brokenness and surrender in mind, we will be a long way toward truly "loving God and enjoying Him forever".
Part 6
Part 1
Few things are as important to our brokenness as prayer. All kinds of prayer.
--Petition (asking for things),
--Intercession (praying for others),
--Adoration (speaking lovingly to God about His wonders, attributes, goodnesses, etc.),
--Confession (telling Him what He already knows about our sins),
--Thanksgiving (is there any end to the list of blessings, not the least of which is His forgiveness of those sins we just confessed?)
--Praying the Scriptures (using verse-by-verse passages to prompt our praying, reinforcing our understanding of the mind of our Lord)
--Meditation (technically not prayer, but great to do in the same time-frame context, meditating for example on His attributes, His love, His Word).
This kind of prayer takes time, but how rich and blessed it is. As the saying goes, Prayer Changes Things, but just as importantly Prayer Changes Us.
If we pray with our brokenness and surrender in mind, we will be a long way toward truly "loving God and enjoying Him forever".
Part 6
Part 1
Brokenness - Part 4
2. The second thing that hinders us from being broken is self-centeredness. We want our own will, not His. We want things to go the way we want them to go. We are angered when our will is crossed. We will seek to escape or dodge the trial in our life, instead of letting it shape us. We want what we want, and we will jolly well do whatever it takes to "make it happen".
When we see this in others, we are repulsed. It sickens us to see this, whether it's a child throwing a temper tantrum, or an adult thinking only of themselves. We see its evil so clearly in others, yet sometimes we despise it in others only because of our own self-centeredness. Sort of, "How DARE you think you are the center of the Universe! Don't you know that *I* am the center of the Universe? What about ME?!!?" Of course we don't say this, we only think it.
There is no direct remedy for this self-centered, self-indulgent, self-ish, self-aggrandizing attitude, except the work of brokenness itself.
And so we see a circle of brokenness. The more we are broken, the more we can be broken, so the more we're broken, and so the more we can be broken.
We may want to keep this in mind before we make foolish vows to the Lord. For example, I heard a song on the radio the other day that went like this:
"The Cross demands allegience. I'll give nothing less than all!"
Yeah, right. All!!?? Nothing less than "All!!??" Get real. We've got some breaking to do.
Unless you're Jesus Christ, you'd be wiser to stick with Keith Green's musical thought,
"Just keep doing your best, pray that it's blessed, and He'll take care of the rest...He's gonna do it...He'll take care of the rest."
Part 5
Part 1
When we see this in others, we are repulsed. It sickens us to see this, whether it's a child throwing a temper tantrum, or an adult thinking only of themselves. We see its evil so clearly in others, yet sometimes we despise it in others only because of our own self-centeredness. Sort of, "How DARE you think you are the center of the Universe! Don't you know that *I* am the center of the Universe? What about ME?!!?" Of course we don't say this, we only think it.
There is no direct remedy for this self-centered, self-indulgent, self-ish, self-aggrandizing attitude, except the work of brokenness itself.
And so we see a circle of brokenness. The more we are broken, the more we can be broken, so the more we're broken, and so the more we can be broken.
We may want to keep this in mind before we make foolish vows to the Lord. For example, I heard a song on the radio the other day that went like this:
"The Cross demands allegience. I'll give nothing less than all!"
Yeah, right. All!!?? Nothing less than "All!!??" Get real. We've got some breaking to do.
Unless you're Jesus Christ, you'd be wiser to stick with Keith Green's musical thought,
"Just keep doing your best, pray that it's blessed, and He'll take care of the rest...He's gonna do it...He'll take care of the rest."
Part 5
Part 1
Brokenness - Part 3
There are two things that hinder us from being broken:
1. Not recognizing the hand of God in our trials, as a means of breaking and shaping us. Joseph, in Genesis 50:20, recognized that God had meant Joseph's awful trials "for good", even though his brothers had meant it "for evil". We would be wise to recognize our own trials and life situations as God's means to break and shape us.
I still remember a sermon I heard over 25 years ago, at a little Baptist church in Dallas, Texas. I remember it was a blue church. The walls were blue, the pews were blue, I think even the choir robes were blue. Anyway the guest preacher for that day was a guy named Jack Taylor, and he said something I never forgot.
He is a Southern fella, and so he said God "fixes fixes to fix us" (Yankee translation: God brings things into our life to mold and shape and break us. I'm qualified to translate, because I've been in Tennessee now since 1986).
Anyway, he said this profound thing that I've never forgotten:
"If God fixes a fix to fix you, and you fix the fix instead of it fixing you, then God will have to fix another fix to fix you."
One ol' boy preacher I heard just last week understands that (or at least his wife does). He laughed because some trial happened to them, and his wife said, "I wish you'd have learned that from the Lord last time, honey, so we wouldn't have to go through it again."
Part 4
Part 1
1. Not recognizing the hand of God in our trials, as a means of breaking and shaping us. Joseph, in Genesis 50:20, recognized that God had meant Joseph's awful trials "for good", even though his brothers had meant it "for evil". We would be wise to recognize our own trials and life situations as God's means to break and shape us.
I still remember a sermon I heard over 25 years ago, at a little Baptist church in Dallas, Texas. I remember it was a blue church. The walls were blue, the pews were blue, I think even the choir robes were blue. Anyway the guest preacher for that day was a guy named Jack Taylor, and he said something I never forgot.
He is a Southern fella, and so he said God "fixes fixes to fix us" (Yankee translation: God brings things into our life to mold and shape and break us. I'm qualified to translate, because I've been in Tennessee now since 1986).
Anyway, he said this profound thing that I've never forgotten:
"If God fixes a fix to fix you, and you fix the fix instead of it fixing you, then God will have to fix another fix to fix you."
One ol' boy preacher I heard just last week understands that (or at least his wife does). He laughed because some trial happened to them, and his wife said, "I wish you'd have learned that from the Lord last time, honey, so we wouldn't have to go through it again."
Part 4
Part 1
Brokenness - Part 2
Brokenness is seemingly never total. It's an ongoing process. But to the degree we are broken before God, to the degree that we are dependent on Him, to the degree that we are surrendered to His will, it's to that degree that we are able to walk by the Spirit.
And sometimes brokenness is a three-steps-forward and two-steps-back deal, which can be frustrating.
But the Catch-22 is, that the more we can rest in, and cooperate with, and accept the *process*, the better the process goes along.
Conversely, the more we are frustrated and annoyed at the process, or even fight it, the bumpier the process goes along. This is called "kicking at the goads", a reference to stubborn oxen kicking against the sticks used to prod them along.
Jesus has promised that His yoke for us is easy, and His burden for us is light. We may not feel that way sometimes, but it helps to remember it, and it certainly doesn't make it easier and lighter if we fight it.
Part 3
Part 1
And sometimes brokenness is a three-steps-forward and two-steps-back deal, which can be frustrating.
But the Catch-22 is, that the more we can rest in, and cooperate with, and accept the *process*, the better the process goes along.
Conversely, the more we are frustrated and annoyed at the process, or even fight it, the bumpier the process goes along. This is called "kicking at the goads", a reference to stubborn oxen kicking against the sticks used to prod them along.
Jesus has promised that His yoke for us is easy, and His burden for us is light. We may not feel that way sometimes, but it helps to remember it, and it certainly doesn't make it easier and lighter if we fight it.
Part 3
Part 1
Brokenness - Part 1
The word "brokenness" never appears in the Scriptures.
Yet we know by inference that it is one of the most important concepts to the Christian life.
It's expressed in such passages as 2 Corinthians 12:9...
..."My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
or Luke 22:42...
...not My will, but Yours, be done.
Brokenness is that state in which we recognize our own weakness and limitations before God, and rest in Him, rely on Him, lean on Him, and surrender to His will.
Don't miss this: "Surrender" is a big part of brokenness.
Part 2
Yet we know by inference that it is one of the most important concepts to the Christian life.
It's expressed in such passages as 2 Corinthians 12:9...
..."My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
or Luke 22:42...
...not My will, but Yours, be done.
Brokenness is that state in which we recognize our own weakness and limitations before God, and rest in Him, rely on Him, lean on Him, and surrender to His will.
Don't miss this: "Surrender" is a big part of brokenness.
Part 2
Thursday, March 15, 2007
This Week On Grace Walk Radio
This week's message on Grace For Life is:
What Else Happened At The Cross?
Grace For Life radio archives are here.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Being Led By The Spirit
I don't think the question of God's internal leading of us can be Biblically understood without a trichotomous anthropology. That is, without distinguishing the difference between
"body",
"soul" (comprised, loosely speaking, of mind, emotion, and will),
and "spirit".
When one is regenerated, or born again, it clearly is not our "soul" which is made new, since the Mind must still be renewed over time, the Emotions may still run amuck for good or evil, and the Will is still not tamed even close to perfection.
And if I'm any indication, our Body is certainly not made new either.
It is our "spirit" which is not only made new (the new creation, 2 Cor. 5:17), but actually made one with the Holy Spirit, Who now resides in us (1 Cor. 6:17).
Now, with our spirit and His Spirit together, He is able to direct our steps through our spirit, not just in right-and-wrong issues, but in morally neutral day-to-day matters as well.
We can't say it's "verbal", however, but more akin to "instinct" in lower animals. I'm sure the Arctic Tern, unlike some prominent TV preachers, doesn't get a "word" from the Lord. Few Arctic Terns even speak English, though a few may have discovered the inspired 1611 :)
And because it's not verbal, it can't be considered "authoritative" in the same sense as the Word of God written or spoken by the Prophets and Apostles.
Since the Scripture clearly says that a believer can walk "by the Spirit", or walk "by the flesh", it is important for us to walk "by the Spirit" as much as we can, since it's in this area that we are a new creation which fully loves Christ, and hates sin.
"Hearing God", in that sense, may be mysterious, but it's not mystical. It's simply a product of walking by the Spirit, and being led by the Spirit, which is a mark of a believer (Rom. 8:14).
It's interesting that the Rom. 8:14 passage (which says that sons of God are led by the Spirit of God) is just two verses before the passage which says, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."
Bears witness? How? Ah-h-h, that's the mystery. But it's not mystical. It's Biblical Anthropology. It's part of how we're fearfully and wonderfully made.
"body",
"soul" (comprised, loosely speaking, of mind, emotion, and will),
and "spirit".
When one is regenerated, or born again, it clearly is not our "soul" which is made new, since the Mind must still be renewed over time, the Emotions may still run amuck for good or evil, and the Will is still not tamed even close to perfection.
And if I'm any indication, our Body is certainly not made new either.
It is our "spirit" which is not only made new (the new creation, 2 Cor. 5:17), but actually made one with the Holy Spirit, Who now resides in us (1 Cor. 6:17).
Now, with our spirit and His Spirit together, He is able to direct our steps through our spirit, not just in right-and-wrong issues, but in morally neutral day-to-day matters as well.
We can't say it's "verbal", however, but more akin to "instinct" in lower animals. I'm sure the Arctic Tern, unlike some prominent TV preachers, doesn't get a "word" from the Lord. Few Arctic Terns even speak English, though a few may have discovered the inspired 1611 :)
And because it's not verbal, it can't be considered "authoritative" in the same sense as the Word of God written or spoken by the Prophets and Apostles.
Since the Scripture clearly says that a believer can walk "by the Spirit", or walk "by the flesh", it is important for us to walk "by the Spirit" as much as we can, since it's in this area that we are a new creation which fully loves Christ, and hates sin.
"Hearing God", in that sense, may be mysterious, but it's not mystical. It's simply a product of walking by the Spirit, and being led by the Spirit, which is a mark of a believer (Rom. 8:14).
It's interesting that the Rom. 8:14 passage (which says that sons of God are led by the Spirit of God) is just two verses before the passage which says, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."
Bears witness? How? Ah-h-h, that's the mystery. But it's not mystical. It's Biblical Anthropology. It's part of how we're fearfully and wonderfully made.
Asking "What Is God's Purpose?"
To ask the question, "What is the purpose of God in that?" might be a valid and sincere question. But it also betrays the tiny limits of man.
Why?
Because it's likely that God, in His infinity, has thousands, or millions of "purposes" in every Providential act.
One may take a class in computer science for several different purposes. For example, to get credit for a degree; to prepare for a desired career; to impress their dad who thinks they're incapable of thinking digitally; to make more money in their uncle's company; to make their girlfriend happy; to run the Pyro graphics department some day; and just because they love computers.
Multiply that multi-purpose scenario by the factor of God-Head-ness, and to even think in terms of a single purpose is to not get it.
When the Hubble telescope took photos of what we thought was dark empty space between the galaxies that we had already photographed, vast new galaxies mysteriously appeared.
That's our powerful (and thankfully gracious) Lord who promises to work all things together for good to those who love Him, even when we can't fathom how.
Why?
Because it's likely that God, in His infinity, has thousands, or millions of "purposes" in every Providential act.
One may take a class in computer science for several different purposes. For example, to get credit for a degree; to prepare for a desired career; to impress their dad who thinks they're incapable of thinking digitally; to make more money in their uncle's company; to make their girlfriend happy; to run the Pyro graphics department some day; and just because they love computers.
Multiply that multi-purpose scenario by the factor of God-Head-ness, and to even think in terms of a single purpose is to not get it.
When the Hubble telescope took photos of what we thought was dark empty space between the galaxies that we had already photographed, vast new galaxies mysteriously appeared.
That's our powerful (and thankfully gracious) Lord who promises to work all things together for good to those who love Him, even when we can't fathom how.
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