You Don't Need to be Willing for God to Work (Controversies #5)

 

I mean, it helps. A lot.

But when people say someone has to be willing to be healed, or has to be willing to change, and so forth, that's often a coverup for "I don't have the faith to pray hard enough and long enough for this thing that I know is in God's will to manifest."

The devil takes it as "They're not going to fight me past a certain point, so all I have to do is hang on and they'll give up." 

Me, I'm not giving up. Failure to obtain God's will in a matter just isn't good enough for me. I'm not going to knowingly leave anything that Jesus died to purchase for me or mine on some "undeliverable" shelf in heaven to gather dust. 

How can I say this? Don't people have free will? Of course they do. 

But consider the man with the legion of demons, whose story is told in Mark 5 and Luke 8. When Jesus landed on the shore of the country of the Gerasenes (Gadarenes in some versions), he was met by a wild, naked man who lived in the tombs. The demons in the man were so strong that he could break chains. He screamed and shrieked night and day. He cut himself with stones. The only reason the demons yelled at Jesus in an intelligible language was that Jesus first said, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit." Jesus initiated the man's deliverance. The man didn't ask; he was in no shape to ask; the demons were in complete control and did not want to be cast out. Once the demons had been cast out (and gone into the pigs, which rushed to the sea and were drowned--beside the point here), the man was clothed, in his right mind, and sitting calmly. Had he asked, had he expressed willingness, to be freed from demonic possession?

He had not. Jesus just did it. And for a Gentile. This man, perhaps because he was a Gentile, was not allowed to go with Jesus as a traveling disciple, though this he did ask for, once he was delivered. Instead, Jesus sent him to his own home to testify to his family and community; in other words, Jesus called him to be a home-based evangelist. 

The man was healed. He did not ask. He did not express willingness. Jesus delivered him by a sovereign act. I believe Jesus did so both to help the man personally and because he knew what such an amazing report could do for the kingdom. 

Whenever anyone claims, "The Holy Spirit is a gentleman and won't interfere if we don't want him to," as another explanation for unanswered prayer, I always think of Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus. I could almost say 'nuff said and be done here, but I'd rather relate the story. Acts 9 recounts it. Saul was breathing murderous threats against the disciples of Jesus. He obtained from the Jewish high priest letters of authority to haul men and women in chains to Jerusalem. We know he had already been the coat-check guy at the stoning of Stephen. Saul was about as far from wanting Jesus as anyone could be. Then, as he was on his way to carry out his horrible errand, a light flashed around him that knocked him to the ground and Jesus spoke to him from heaven. The entire core of Saul's being was changed on the spot. Had Saul been seeking this kind of experience? Not remotely! Jesus changed Saul's life by one sovereign act of radical intervention. We know this because he asked, "Who are you, Lord?" Saul had been as sure as any high-ranking Jew that he knew who God was. He realized the instant God invaded his world that he didn't have a clue. 

Will God intervene in the life of someone without their permission? Yes! If we need further evidence, Proverbs 21:1 tells us that the heart of even a king is like a watercourse that God will channel as he pleases. Then how much more will God intervene if we are praying for a person according to God's known will? We need to keep asking, seeking, knocking, and thereby demonstrating to Jesus that he will find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8). Let's not shake our heads and say, "It's not going to happen if the person isn't willing." Instead, let's pray without giving up and watch our Father work. 

Why Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft

 Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft because both are, in essence, control. 

The Plan

 How can I know you

how become that one you know

how become that one who 

wears your presence

gleans your thoughts

clasps your bosom

breathes your heartbeat?

First by asking

then by listening

ears to hear

let me hear:

By being given

father to son

to be yours forever

which, itself,

is knowing you,

the only true supreme and sovereign

glorified together.

Finished work, finished plan

words received, words believed--

you are from God.

By being of that father-gift 

you pray for

and not the world,

for whom you don't. 

Because you do what you see your father do

you pray for those he gave you

and precisely those; 

you and he are separate in nothing.

By joining you in prayer 

that I be one with the father-gift

kept in the name he gave you

that not one may be lost

(except the betrayer).

By praying my heart overflow

with the very joy birthed in yours

your personal delight spilling into me.

Lord, protect me from the evil one

sanctify me in the truth of your word

preserving me holy for your purpose

sending me out with your message

to help gather in full the people of the father-gift

for whom you pray.

He in you and you in him and we in you 

because that's how the world believes

you are who you are

if indeed they will;

You in us and him in you and you in him

because that's how the world believes

you are from heaven

if indeed they will.

By joining you in prayer

that the fullness of the father-gift

may be with you where you are

that we might see your glory

given in love before the foundation 

of the world.

Lord, make your name known to us,

that the love with which he has loved you

may, along with your very self,

overwhelm our hearts.

How can I know you

how become that one you know

how become that one who 

wears your presence

gleans your thoughts

clasps your bosom

breathes your heartbeat?

By praying your heart

by praying your prayer

by praying

and living

the plan.

(Based on John 17)

Seedtime

 As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. -- Genesis 8:22  

Why Prophecy is For Today (Controversies #4)

 I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear [to hear] them now.

But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on his own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father--the message regarding the Son], and he will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].

He will glorify and honor Me, because He (the Holy Spirit) will take from what is Mine and will disclose it to you.

John 16:12-14, Amplified 2015

And there were many other things which Jesus did, which if they were recorded one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

John 21:25, Amplified 2105

In this passage from John 16, Jesus point-blank tells the Twelve that he has things to say to them that he will not, because they can't handle it yet. And as we know from scripture, there's a second reason, too: the crucifixion is upon him. Even his inner circle cannot mature enough in the time remaining in order to hear and receive all that Jesus would like to tell them.

John closes his gospel by writing that if it were possible to record everything Jesus did (in only 3-3.5 years!), there would be so many books of his deeds that the world couldn't hold them.  

Our scriptures are a but a cross-section of God's word. 

Don't get me wrong--the scriptures are complete, the canon is closed, it consists of what God wishes us to have in written form, no modern prophecy is to be added to it, and we have everything we need for life and godliness, although 2 Peter 1:3 says this is due to His divine power and through knowledge of Him, not through the written scriptures alone or the written scriptures per se, as some would imply. 

Jesus himself says, in the John 16 passage, that the Holy Spirit would come and guide His followers into all the truth, speaking what He hears from the Father, disclosing aspects of the future, taking from what is Jesus' (and the Father's) and thereby glorifying and honoring Them. 

So the Holy Spirit's role (besides as Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener, and Standby, according to John 15:26) is to teach us further (1 John 2:27) and reveal to us things Jesus couldn't say--things that come from the Father. He is also to glorify and honor the Son, taking from what is His (Jesus') to share with the followers He (the Spirit) indwells. In other words, He is to share the testimony of Jesus. And what is the testimony of Jesus? It is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). 

Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit is going to tell believers more things, new things, and future things--but every single morsel of it must and will conform to what we know of Jesus and the Father through our canon of scripture. If it flouts scripture, we know it isn't the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit speaks what He hears from the Father, and takes from what is Jesus' and discloses it to us.

What's more, Paul spends the balance of 1 Corinthians 14 exhorting the church to desire the gift of prophecy. Not merely accept that it's a thing, but want it. This gift edifies the church, Paul says, promoting spiritual growth, speaking words of encouragement and consolation. The sense of the Greek word translated "prophesy" also includes an element of foretelling the future. While I like to think of prophecy as primarily speaking the heart of God into a situation, the aspect of prophecy that is future-oriented lines up with Jesus' words: "He will disclose to you what is to come." 

Prophecy is for today. I don't understand how someone can study these passages and conclude it is not.  

Hell is the default.
 

The Prodigal and Repentance

 

The Prodigal Son is such a rich story, because it can be seen from several points of view--namely, those of the father, the older son, and the prodigal. 

Though the title character is the younger (prodigal) son, some scholars believe the focus is more correctly on the father. The father represents God, honoring the free will of his people to stay or go and then welcoming an errant believer home, no matter what kind of mess he's made since he strayed from his father's presence. The father doesn't merely accept him back, either. First, he spies him in the distance while he's still a long way off. Think about this. He (1) still recognizes his son, even at that distance, even after all the debauchery and famine, even after however much time has passed, and (2) has very likely been watching for him all this time. Can you imagine that father's hope? His prayer, day after day? Thank you, God, for answering that father's prayer. Thank you, God, for revealing how much you care about us. When we go astray, do you watch for us like that, desiring so deeply for us to return to you? Knowing this, how could I ever bear to leave you?

Then there's the older son. I've always felt for him, to be honest, perhaps because I was also an older sibling. He has faithfully worked for his father all his life, but has never even been offered a goat-roast with his friends. He says to his father, "And when this other son of yours arrives, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you slaughter the fattened calf for him!" I really rather love this line, and I can imagine how it sounds when the son speaks it. As the father responds, I hear his voice in my mind's ear as calm, soothing, reasonable. "You are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But it was fitting to celebrate because this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live. He was lost and has been found." We tend to remember the father's second and third sentences easily, but concentrate on his first sentence for a moment. "You are always with me, and all that is mine is yours." I hear two things here: "You're the heir. You're the one who's shown you're cut out for this work. You're getting the business when I die. And it's all yours even now." Doesn't this echo the fact that we have eternal life now? And because of these words, the second thing I hear is that the son could have roasted one, two, or five goats with his friends, if only he had asked. If only he had recognized who he was instead of being jealous and bitter over who his brother was. 

And now for the prodigal, the younger man who blew it all today and had nothing left in the entire world. In a last-ditch effort, he decides to go back to his father and work for him as a hired man. At least that way he won't starve to death. He rehearses what he will say. "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me like one of your hired men." Can you imagine him repeating this under his breath every now and then as he trudges along? As he gets near home, something happens that he doesn't expect. His father comes running toward him, wraps him in a huge embrace, and kisses him. 

Which brings me to the point that struck me when, the other day, I reread this parable for the nth time: the prodigal could have said to himself, "Whoa, I never expected this! He's glad to see me! He's greeting me just like I'm his son! Maybe I don't need to give that little speech I had planned and we can just go on into the house like old times..." In other words, the son could have decided he didn't really need to repent to the full. Aren't we sometimes tempted to think this way when, after a transgression, we get a better reception than we were expecting? We want to jump straight to "everything's cool" instead of going through confession and repentance. But the prodigal doesn't do that. He says to his father exactly what he'd decided to say--at least until his father interrupts him by calling for the best robe for the guest of honor. This is how we know the prodigal was truly repentant.

So to which of these three characters does the story really belong? Theories of story construction say it belongs to the character who undergoes the most radical change. That's not the God character; God never changes. We can't prove from the parable that the older son changes either, although if he was a real person I hope he did. Who changed radically? The guy who repented. The man who turned from his sin and confessed to the father he had sinned against, even when it seemed for a moment that he might get away without doing so. 

And so I conclude this parable is indeed rightly named. It's the parable of the Prodigal Son.