More Testing

In South Africa, we’ve had an interesting week! One of our female athletes at the World Games was suspected of being, in actual fact, a man! Oh my, how we had a laugh with the commentaries this way and that way. We’re also experiencing multiple union organised strike actions and we are yet again reminded that the global financial recession is tough on everyone. One of my close friends and brothers in Christ is a business owner whose employers will be on such a strike this weekend, their busiest weekend of the month! To top it off, his ‘home away from home’ [a lovely property on a Game Farm] was burgled and they lost everything except the heavier furniture. These are truly trying times; we are challenged more than ever before to keep our focus on Christ.

In the previous post, we discussed such challenges or tests and I’d like to repeat one of the verses we used in the first chapter of James:

“(2) Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. (3) Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. (4) But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.”

In the previous post we came to the conclusion that these tests or trials are there to help us clearly see our true identity in Christ; that we live and move according to His revelation to us and in us. James mentions that these tests are specifically ‘designed’ to bring about steadfastness in our faith – we become more and more convinced of and understand it more and more clearly what Christ had finished for us in his death, burial and resurrection.

What does Paul have to say on the matter? 2Corinthians 13:5 "Put yourselves to the test and judge yourselves, to find out whether you are living in faith. Surely you know that Christ Jesus is in you? - unless you have completely failed."

Paul reminds us to ask ourselves the question: “What am I to see in this test, Lord?” The moment I ask this question, I am reminded of the answer: “You”. In any and all tests I am reminded of ‘Christ in me’; I am reminded of my own human frailty and tendency for unbelief, I am reminded of the fact that I was designed that way so that Christ could be my strength and by faith. When I am steadfastly focused on Christ (the perfect and wise one) I cannot be distracted by the things of this world. Colossians 1:27 confirms my identity in Christ with a fitting picture: we are hewn from the Rock, which is Christ.

You see, when we fail to see ourselves as included in Christ, we cannot hope to live a life of fullness and peace, we cannot serve others and we cannot ‘please’ God. We, in our human essence, are not enough… we cannot obtain these things by our mere human effort. It is only Christ within us who brings forth these things… NATURALLY!! Because it comes naturally for Him. Christ in you is everything you need to be what God created you to be and to live a full and happy life that is pleasing to Him.

In The Message we read the following: Romans 8:29 “God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.”

So the test is something that happens, to bring out something specifically: a greater revelation or a greater realization of who I am in Him and Who He is in me! We must understand that God is very interested in us, in actual fact, He longs for us to know Him – and by know we are saying ‘to understand my inclusion in Christ’. In fact, when Jesus speaks to His followers about the Sower in Matthew 13, He says something very significant: Matthew 13:21 “Yet it has no real root in him, but is temporary (inconstant, lasts but a little while); and when affliction or trouble or persecution comes on account of the Word, at once he is caused to stumble [he is repelled and begins to distrust and desert Him Whom he ought to trust and obey] and he falls away.”

The test comes on account of the Word to create a steadfastness in faith, which in turn produces the fully developed, lacking in nothing and being perfect, part. So, when the test comes we must ask: “Lord, what am I to see in this?” But this is not in the same way that Job’s friends did. Our question should look more like Paul’s: “Do you not know that Christ is in you?”. Our question is to remind us of our true identity: Christ is more than enough in me, in this situation.

God doesn’t want you to live in a mediocre conviction of how He feels about you and what He has done for and in you, but to see and understand the full impact His love for you!

Think on this: He loves you more than you could possibly imagine!

Testing, testing....1,2,3

How time flies! I can’t believe my last post was on 4 August! It’s been a good couple of days. Last week Monday we had a public holiday, which resulted in an awesome long weekend! Mariette and I decided to squeeze everything we could out of this weekend by taking our bikes out on the road again. As you’ve probably already read; I am a little ‘out of balance’ and have stopped cycling outdoors and was stuck to the trainer indoors. Going out on the road again was glorious! We rode our old route of 40km without any incident. We’re very excited about the big progress I’ve made thus far and are thrilled to start training for the ‘Momentum 94.7km’ race on 15 November 2009.

As if this wasn’t enough excitement for one weekend, our eldest son brought home his girlfriend for the first time. Ivan is nineteen and completely smitten for the very first time. Oh, what a wonderful time for all of us! Our son has a constant smile on his face and his girlfriend is an absolutely beautiful person. Obviously Ivan is on Cloud No 9, our other son’s are enjoying the love-sick changes in their brother and we as parents are both elated and miserable. It is a bittersweet thing to see your children grow up and become adults. It is wonderful to see them come into their own and to surprise you with their wisdom and unique outlook on life, it is also heart-rending to realise that your job is done and that it’s time to let go… God has a magnificent plan in place for this son of ours, as He does for all three of them…

Ever noticed how awful it is when your smack in the middle of a trial or test, and how immense the joy is when you’ve passed through it and have gained so much because of it? These past few days I’ve really been thinking about these tests that we are constantly faced with, times that all of go through at some time or another, or in some way or another. One of the best explanations of testing I found in James 1: 2-4:

“(2) Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. (3) Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. (4) But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.”

Understanding now that our true identity is not determined by our fathers to the flesh, but is determined by the Rock, Jesus Christ, the Firstborn of the whole of creation (Col 1:17), we need to understand that the testing of our faith has to do with this truth. (To get a better picture of this, please read “Hewn from the rock”). To start off with, let us quickly look at what faith is and what it is not: faith is not something that is generated by my emotions, will or mind; it is a spirit conviction of my true identity in Christ, because of His Finished work on the cross, through the burial, in the resurrection and in the ascension. And the way that I become more and more aware of this, is through tests and trails, together with hearing the Word. (Rom 10:17)

This is so important to understand because this is the way we in which we, the righteous of God, will live in this life, by faith. (Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17; Gal2:20; Heb 10:38). So why is our faith tested? To be what we were created to be, perfectly and fully developed, lacking in nothing. This is the way in which God sees us in Christ, and by seeing as He sees through His Spirit, we can be what He created us to be in reality (in time)! Read the following few Scriptures:

John 1:16 "For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift."

Colossians 3:11 " [In this new creation all distinctions vanish.] There is no room for and there can be neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, [nor difference between nations whether alien] barbarians or Scythians [who are the most savage of all], nor slave or free man; but Christ is all and in all [everything and everywhere, to all men, without distinction of person]."

Colossians 2:9-10 "For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature]. (10) And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead--Father, Son and Holy Spirit--and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power]."

There are a few more Scriptures I can give you, but I would like to challenge you to trust the Holy Spirit to lead you in exploring your true identity in Him! This is why we are tested – so that we can clearly see who we really are, as revealed by the Word of God. It is also very important to see that when the Bible talks about grace, it is clear that grace is not a reward, but a gift. This might sound as if this is just another repeat of what we know, but we have been taught that we have to do certain things to deserve it, but God has given us His grace, freely!

There is so much more to say about the testing of our faith, but I will stick to this subject for a while. May this help you to see Him better, and understand that He really loves you!

I understand that some have tried to leave comments without success, you can e-mail me at warrengraham@mweb.co.za- but please do not stop trying!

On a personal note

After a few weeks of training on the cycle trainer, I took my bicycle out on the road today. Even if it was just for a short distance, it was great to be able to do it without much effort. For those who do not know what I am talking about, I have written in this blog about my outward condition, under the heading "Light affliction". Although there were some with a lot of questions, about me being in this situation and being a Christian, sharing what I am sharing, I must say that this is a wonderful experience- God has been showing me some awesome Truths in His Word, and above all, encouraging me to stay in His Rest! I am so very grateful to Him, the Giver of all good things, and the One Who has healed me, although it is not yet completely visible in the natural.

Philippians 3:20 "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:"

This has become so real to me- we are not of this world, we are citizens of heaven- and yes, we are here on this earthly journey, to be what He created us to be- the picture of Him, the light of the world, the salt of the earth- and this is who we are in Christ! And it is really all about Him, and not about me- I was fortunate and blessed to be included in His Finished Work (1Cor 1:30)!

I want to thank all my friends for praying and encouraging and just being there, some who I have not even met yet, I really appreciate you! Mariette and I are really looking forward to what God has in store for us in the future in terms of the fellowship He has called us to minister to, the building we are busy with in obedience to Him, our children (our oldest is bringing home his girlfriend on Sunday, can't wait!), our friends and the things we dream about! (and of course the cycle race in November!)

My prayer is that the eyes of your understanding will be flooded with His light, that you might be able to see Him like you have never seen Him before!

Be blessed! And, He really, really loves you!

Hewn from the Rock!

We live in a wonderful time! God has deeply favoured our generation and we are seeing and experiencing an even greater revelation of Him. We tend to miss this wonderful revelation of God when we remain focused on ourselves. We are in fact, obsessed with ourselves; we tend to think that everything is about us when in actual fact the Word of God says that it’s all about Him! In ministry I’ve met countless people who have difficulty in hearing the voice of someone else (whether it be mine or someone else’s), because their hearts and minds are filled with their own voice. They are set in their way of thinking and in their interpretation of Scripture. Their lives are arranged according to these set ideas and they (more often than not) tend to fall flat on their faces because of these ‘theologies’. Can we just get away from our prejudices and earnestly seek the Truth in God’s Word? In the book of James (1:21) we find the following: "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls."

You see, the heart of the Gospel truly is the GOOD NEWS; we cannot save ourselves nor can we change ourselves. The life changing Spirit of God (who now abides in us) is the one who changes us (gradually). These changes are not the result of our own doing, we can only fake these changes and therefore certain fruit tend to be only seasonal (they do not last and more times than not, depend on our circumstances). In order for us to be transformed (changed without the possibility to return to the old way of existence), we need to allow the Spirit of God to do the changes in us. The only way this is possible is if we receive (take up, embrace or hold on to it until we become one with it) the engrafted Word (according to James 1:21), who is none other than Christ (who is the Word according to John 1:14). James goes even further and describes in what attitude we should do this: with meekness (without resistance)!

I am reminded of the story about the woman at the well (in John 4). Jesus speaks with the Samaritan woman and after only a few minutes, she realises that she is talking to the prophesied Messiah. In their conversation she realises that she is not merely a woman at a well, but that she is a woman with a well! You see; she struggled to find Mr. Perfect, someone who could meet certain expectations or fulfil certain needs. And this constant struggle for the right companion became her identity; the woman who had five husbands and the man she was with, was not her husband. But when Christ spoke to her about true worshipers who worship in Spirit and in Truth, she saw that she could not be defined by outer things, but that she is defined by inner things… her true identity lied in the One whom she was talking.

Isaiah 51:1 "HEARKEN TO Me, you who follow after rightness and justice, you who seek and inquire of [and require] the Lord [claiming Him by necessity and by right]: look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the hole in the quarry from which you were dug;"
Let the Holy Spirit open the eyes of heart and look to the Rock, from which you were hewn! The same thing happened to Peter when he realised who Jesus was:
Matthew 16:17-18 Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven. (18 )And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros--a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, Petra--a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].

The moment Peter saw his true Origin, his name was changed from Simon (who came from Jonah), to Peter (who was hewn from the Rock)! Dear friends, the end of an era has arrived. You are not who the world or who other people say you are – your true origin lies Christ. “It is of Him [God] that you are in Christ” (1Cor 1:30), He is the Leader, the Source and the Finisher of your faith (Heb 12:2), you are His Handiwork (Eph 2:10) and, you are the branch and He is the Vine (John 15)!

Keep on looking in the Mirror (His Word, according to 2 Cor 3:18), and become who you are, in Him! Your Source will sustain you! Be blessed, because you are! (Eph 1:3)

Please feel free to make a comment, leave a message or ask a question- and remember: you are absolutely and completely loved by God!