Knowing God

Prayer has to come from the bottom of our heart. We cannot pray merely with our lips. We have to put our heart and soul into our prayers. Especially when we pray alone. We need to groan and travail in prayer. Our prayer can be short, just 2 to 3 minutes, but if it is fervent and intense and from the bottom of our heart, I believe it touches the throne of grace. How many of our prayers merely hit the roof and bounce back! Oh, we need to get in touch with God. He hears prayer!

Prayer has to come forth like groaning. Oh, Lord, You must help me; You must deliver me; You must glorify Your name [as a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God]! I do believe that we must prove God through prayer. Lack of earnest intense prayer is the greatest drawback in our spiritual life. Everything has to come from God. We live in and by and through Him. That is why it is written that Christ is our life, Colossians 3.4. And that is why He said, ‘You have to eat Me and drink Me in order to experience eternal life.’ May we learn to groan in the spirit.

I find it difficult to pray alone. I believe this problem affects more than 90% of Christians. How can we find time for prayer alone? He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. We need to enjoy the presence of God every day in our lives. This is only possible through personal prayer.

I have found two ways to help me pray more. One: singing spiritual songs. When I sing these songs, my heart is at peace and I feel inspired to pray. The prayer is short and intense; behind it is the inspiration of the Spirit. Two: the alarm on my cell-phone! I fix up the alarm on my cell-phone clock at, say, 11 am in the morning. I’m in my office and the alarm rings. I’m busy; I press ‘snooze’. The alarm shuts down. But again after 5 minutes the alarm is ringing again. It’s buzzing me for prayer. “Get up and pray! Get up and pray!†it says. And I have to get up and go into my ante-room and pray, because the alarm is insistent. Lord, help me to pray more and more. Help me spend more time at Your feet in prayer. Then my heart is strengthened, my faith is made steadfast, and my thought-life is purified and I gain heavenly wisdom. It’s a great experience. I’m able to pray 3 to 4 times like this in my office. And I am able to do much more work, with a great amount of inner peace and tranquillity in my thought life.

Strengthen your spirit by prayer. Keep in touch with God. He is your life, your strength, your wisdom in Christ Jesus.

Joseph is a fruitful bough, Gen 49.22. When Jacob spoke these words of blessing, he spoke into the future. Jacob was aware of the failings of all his sons; some did not receive blessings, others got mixed blessings, and only two [Judah and Joseph] receive full blessing. While Judah received the sceptre, Joseph received something special - fruitfulness. The difference between Judah and Joseph was that the latter paid the ‘price’ for his blessing. Are we prepared to pay a price? The price is nothing but absolute surrender to the will of God, and that price only a few would dare to pay.

Joseph was a fruitful bough whose branches ran over a wall. Though he had but two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, their descendants grew into a numerous and powerful people. We remember that Joshua was an Ephraimite, while Gideon was from Manasseh. Manasseh received two portions of territory, on either side of the river Jordan. However, the historical explanation does not suffice. There is a spiritual explanation for fruitfulness. God is looking for fruit in us, but it is not in mere numbers. While ‘in the days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will blossom and sprout and will fill the whole world with fruit’ [Isa 27.6], it is the remnant of the house of Judah which shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.’ [Isa 37.31]

What is this fruit? How do we become a ‘fruitful bough’? Careful study of the Scriptures would show that there are seven ways to arrive at fruitfulness, and while this is explained to some extent in the Parable of the Sower and his Seed, I believe that the Bible explains this fruit to us in clear spiritual terms. We need the fruit of repentance [Matt 3.8], followed by the fruit that comes from the implanted word [Matt 13.23]. Then comes the fruit that we receive while walking in the light as children of light [Eph 5.9], and the more abundant fruit that comes from having the ‘fear of the Lord’. Perusal of Psalm 128.1-4 would show that by fearing the Lord and walking in His ways, the blessings flow into the family; the wife becomes a fruitful vine, the children olive plants around the table. And then there are the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which we read in Galatians 5.22,23, when we learn to walk by the Spirit or under the lordship of the Spirit. And then follow the fruit of righteousness [Heb 12.11], which comes from the discipline of the Lord and results in ‘good works’ [Col 1.10, Tit 3.14], whereby men may glorify the Lord. But deeper still is the fruit of travail.

We read in Isaiah 53 of the ‘offspring’ of the travail of the Cross, and how the Lord is satisfied with such fruit. Only a remnant will come to this level. Zion travailed and gave birth to her ’sons’, Isa 66.8. We remember the barrenness of Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel. They could produce no fruit of the womb until God visited them, and this He did in His own time, after much waiting. That waiting is a tremendous exercise, which brings with it a deep burden in the heart and a longing for the divine answer. The fruit produced by the travail of the soul is enduring fruit which will not perish, which will bring glory to the Lord and blessing to the world. Joseph was a blessing not only to his brothers, but to all Egypt, and in fact to the whole famine-stricked world as they came to him to receive bread from his hands.

The following are Andrew Murray’s comments on these words of David from 1 Chron 29.14, ‘But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You.’ [I have edited the message somewhat to make for easier reading.]

1. God is the Owner of all, and gives all to us. It is the glory of God to be always GIVING. There is nothing good outside of God. God does not live for Himself, but for His creatures. God is the great Owner and Giver of all. It is God’s delight to be always giving. Remember this: When God asks you anything, He must give it first Himself, and He will. Never be afraid of what God asks from you; for God only asks what is His own.
2. It is the glory of man to be always RECEIVING. We have been made to be each of us a vessel into which God can pour out His life, His goodness. His love. We are created to be a receptacle and a reservoir of divine life and blessing. Oh, the utter folly of being proud or conceited, and presuming we are self-sufficient. Everything we have is borrowed from God. Nothing is our own. Come as a receptacle – cleansed, emptied and humble – and God will delight to give. You know how water always flows into the lowest places. If we would but be emptied and low, what a blessed life we could live! God gives and we rejoice to receive! May we learn every moment to drink in the light and sunshine of God’s love.
3. If God gives all and I receive all, then the third thought is – I must give all back again to God. Oh, the happiness of pleasing God and serving Him! David felt it an unspeakable privilege to be allowed to give back to God what was His. [Read 1 Chron 29.10-20.] We say, ‘God gives us good gifts to enjoy [as if these were for our selfish pleasure and for us to retain].’ But the enjoyment is in giving back to God. Look at Jesus – God gave Him a wonderful body. He kept it holy and gave it as a sacrifice to God. We need to give our soul up to God. We need to give our will up to God. We need to give our mind up to God. We need to give our heart and its affections to God. We need to give all that we have to God. That is true consecration. We should say, ‘God can do with me what He pleases. I belong to Him with all I have.’ The highest life is the life of consecration – giving all to God.
4. The fourth and last thought is: God rejoices in what we give to Him. Have you not seen a mother give a piece of cake and the child comes and offers her a piece to share it with her? How she values the little gift! God longs to have you give Him everything. It is not the demand of a hard Master, but the call of a loving Father, who knows that every gift you bring to God will bind you closer to Himself, and every surrender you make will open your heart wider to get more of His spiritual gifts. God sees the ‘travail of His soul’ and is satisfied.

We need to abide in continual dependence on God. We need to understand that we are nothing but earthen vessels into which God will pour down the the treasures of His love. Blessed is the man who knows what it is to be nothing, to be just an empty vessel fit for the Lord’s use. We need to come to the place of deep, deep dependence on God, and take the place of child-like trust and expectancy, counting upon God to do for us everything that we can desire of Him.

Honor God as a God who gives liberally, and believe that He asks nothing from you but what He is going first to give. And then praise and surrender and consecration will follow. What are we going to consecrate to Him? First of all our lives: ‘Lord, I belong to You. I am absolutely at Your disposal.’ Be consecrated to the work of His kingdom. Let us give Him all the powers of our head and heart, our body and soul and spirit.

Some talk about the filling of the Holy Spirit. But you cannot expect to be filled with the Spirit unless you want to live for Christ and His kingdom. You cannot expect heavenly love and peace and joy to come into your life, unless you give them up absolutely to the kingdom of God and possess and use them only for Him. It is the soul utterly given up to God that will receive in its emptying the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Dear friends, we must consecrate not only ourselves, but all that we have.

Oh friends, our giving must be in proportion to God’s giving. Let us often say, ‘All that I have is His.’ You may not know how much you ought to give; but give up all, put everything in His hands, and He will teach you if you will wait. Whatever we receive from God, give it back and it will bring double blessing to your soul. Whatever we give to Him with a willing heart and a spirit of surrender will give Him infinite delight, and will bind you closer to Himself.

Church at Mirik

Originally uploaded by Prato9x.

I preached in this little church in Mirik, Darjeeling district, in the Summer of 2004. I was on duty, but God gave me time to speak the word to His children in this little place. Oh, the hunger they had for God’s word! God’s work is spontaneous; it can never be established by man; it requires the Holy Spirit. You can see from their smiling faces how much they love the Lord!
When will I return to Mirik? May God give me the burden in my heart to visit all those hill churches!

Umbrellas, Dilli Haat, New Delhi

Originally uploaded by Prato9x.

At an exhibition in Dilli Haat, these traditional-design umbrellas look enchanting. The seller was busy trying to adjust them. Since the light was going down, I had to take a quick shot. That explains the hand in the right corner.

If you read the Book of Isaiah as a whole, and not in parts as we are wont to do, you will perhaps find the key that unlocks the Scriptures. In the Book of Revelation chapter 5 we are told of a scroll which nobody in heaven or on earth was able to open. John wept because nobody was found worthy to open the scroll. Different interpretations are given to the scroll, but I believe it speaks of the Holy Scriptures. Till today there are few who are able to unlock the mystery of the Scriptures. Our understanding of the Bible is very superficial. Our understanding of the gospel too is very superficial.

The Lamb was found worthy to open the scroll because He was slain; because He shed His blood on the cross for the remission of our sins. The Lamb was found worthy to open the scroll because of His great sacrificial work on Calvary.

Here was a Man who humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross. He emptied Himself. He did not seek His own glory; He did not live to please Himself; He lived entirely to do the will of God. Keeping this in mind, we can understand why Israel received double for all her sins [Isa 40.2]. The Lord hates pride; He will bring low the loftiness of man. He hates self-righteousness, the ‘holier-than-thou’ mentality. He hates hypocrisy and lies and deceit. It is the old evil of Babel. There is no fear of God. Man thinks he can reach heaven by himself. But there is a day when the towers will fall with a crash; and the loftiness of man will be humbled in the dust.

I must come to the realization that there is nothing, nothing, good in me. Even my so-called goodness and virtue is of no account. Every good work of mine was foreordained by God. There is nothing in which I can boast. Therefore pride in one’s intellect, one’s possessions, one’s skills, one’s beauty, one’s power and influence, one’s popularity, one’s virtue – anything which the world values – is reprehensible to God. Man must be abased in the dust; the cross has to bring us so low that we dare not boast in ourselves. On the other hand, we have to rejoice in our humiliation, glory in our infirmities and – most painful of all — praise God for shame and reproach. Man by himself is no better than a beast; which is proved by his belief in evolution and by the evidence of history. The wisest man in the world is but a fool in God’s eyes, if he has not received Christ into his heart. In fact, what is esteemed by God is not man, but Christ in him. Christ must increase and keep on increasing, and I must decrease and keep on decreasing. May we be kept hidden by God and kept hid in God. May Christ alone be seen in us.

I believe this is a book for our times. Isaiah is like a miniature Bible, having 66 chapters. The first 39 chapters deal with judgment [just like the 39 books in the Old Testament]. The 27 chapters in the second section deal with grace [just like the 27 books in the New Testament]. God is a God who judges; He judges His people, because He seeks not an outward or ceremonial righteousness but an inward righteousness. Holiness is the very character of God [Isaiah 6], and we must be holy, as He is holy [1 Peter 1.16]. God refines us in order to remove the dross and make us pure. There must be no spot or blemish in us [Eph 5.27].

The name Isaiah means ‘Jehovah is Salvation’. Salvation is the great theme of this book. But this is salvation of a deeper kind. When Isaiah talks about salvation he talks about it differently from what our gospel preachers speak of today. See chapter 12. He says, ‘Lord, you were angry with me…but now You comfort me…You have become my salvation.’ 12.1,2. This is a salvation which God’s people experience after God removes their reproach [25.8]. And after all the suffering and shame [which is the subjective experience of the cross], we will say, ‘Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation‘ [25.9]. God’s people have gone through severe chastening and judgment. But the result is: ‘The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted.’ There is a fracture, a wound, and then healing. ‘Israel has been saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; You will not be put to shame or humiliated to all eternity.’ [45;17] ‘Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction’ [48.10]

We have drunk the cup of reeling, the chalice of God’s anger [51.22]. ‘In My wrath I struck you.’ [60.10] ‘But the days of your mourning will be finished.’ [60.20]. The LORD has come to ‘comfort all those who mourn in Zion’ [61.2,3]. Instead of shame, we will enjoy a double portion of God’s blessing [61.7]. When we are humbled and come to the stage of a ‘broken and contrite heart’ [66.2] and the fear of God is implanted in us [8.13, 66.2], we shall enjoy the comfort of God in the heavenly Jerusalem. And God will wipe away all the tears from our eyes [25.8]

Being born again is merely the beginning of a great journey, which ends in the great and wonderful salvation that Isaiah speaks of.

The second section of Isaiah, from chapters 40 to 66, has to be read carefully for a clearer, fuller and deeper understanding of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The message here is not about initial salvation, i.e. being redeemed from Egypt. But it is about redemption from Babylon, after the Lord has dealt with His people in judgment and chastening. After He has refined them in the furnace of affliction, Isa 48.10.

From an overview of the 27 chapters we gather an important message for our times. We are living in an age of shallow evangelism, of the preaching of a gospel rooted in emotionalism and sentimentality; a superficial gospel which seems to convey the impression that once you are ‘saved’ that’s all there is to it, and you have reserved for yourself a corner in heaven. And you can go ahead with all the preoccupations and pleasures of earthly existence.

The Lord in this latter section of Isaiah is talking about judgment; how Jerusalem has received double for all her sins, Isa 40.2. There are warnings against idolatry, uncleanness, hypocrisy, lies, deceit, mischief, rebellion and violence. The intention of the Lord in His severe dealings with His chosen people is that they should become humble and contrite, Isa 57.15, 66.2. The Lord hates the proud and self-righteous; He abhors the worldly and the carnal. This is a serious warning to Christians, not only those from established denominations, but even those from evangelical Christianity. The latter present the gospel as a formula; they do not know God in an inward way; they have not experienced judgment, chastening and brokenness. They ‘talk’ the gospel, but do not ‘walk’ with Christ.

The Lord condemns the deafness and blindness of Israel. This we see even in the last chapter of Acts, in verses 26 and 27. It is typical of human nature to walk in the flesh, to set our minds on earthly things, to be easily deceived. There is no conviction, no repentance, no turning from our carnal and wicked ways. Our faith is a kind of mental assent, entirely lacking in practical testimony. You are My witnesses! declares the Lord [Isa 43.10] How can we be true to Him who died, was buried and rose again the third day? Only by being true to the testimony of baptism, being identified with His death, burial and resurrection. Only then can we be ‘witnesses of His resurrection’ [Acts 4.33] It is the inward work of the cross that makes us humble, holy and transparent.

The Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, 2 Cor 1.3. This is the beautiful title that Paul gives God. He is talking through experience. He has experienced the great mercies and abundant comfort of God in all his trials and distresses.

The second section of the book of Isaiah from chapter 40 to the end has wonderful promises, which comfort us again and again in our trials. We have the ‘Fear not’ promises, the ‘Comfort’ promises and the ‘Rejoice’ or ‘Shout for Joy’ promises in this section.

I believe that God wants us to know the weight and the value of the blessings we receive from Him. It is not theoretical or head-knowledge, but practical knowledge gained by experience, that the Lord is seeking. Only the one who has gone through darkness will know the value of light. He who has suffered sickness will know the value of health. He who has undergone bondage knows the value of liberty. He who has gone through afflictions knows what real comfort is. He who has experienced sorrow will know the abundance of joy. He who has gone through suffering will know the weight of glory. So we go through the experience of being forgotten and forsaken [Isa 54.7,8], to taste the Lord’s compassion. Read Lamentations 3:19-23, which contain the famous words: ‘His compassions never fail’ . ‘If the Lord causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness.’ Lam 3.32. We come to know the ‘Father of mercies and the God of all comfort’ in a real, intimate and tangible way in all our trials and distresses.

In the light of the above reflections, we can understand the story of the Good Samaritan in a deeper way. The Samaritan had compassion and he reached for the stores of oil and wine that he carried with him; he was thus enabled to minister comfort, healing and blessing to the wounded Jew. [Luke 10.33,34]. By undergoing various afflictions, we are enabled to minister comfort to others. Job’s friends were ‘miserable comforters’, because they had no experience of suffering. Job, on the other hand, after passing through his great trial, was able to minister grace to his friends; his prayers were effectual and ‘availed much’.

The Lord wounds and then heals; He chastens and shows mercy; He breaks and then blesses; He takes us through death to bring us on resurrection ground. He refines us in the furnace of affliction. He shares in our sufferings [Isa 63.9], and we share in His sufferings [Col 1.24].  We drink the cup that He drank. At least, to some, fractional extent. Only then are we able to comprehend the meaning and magnitude of sufferings of the Cross. Only then do we experience and know Christ. This inward knowledge sustains us; He is a suffering and a travailing God, who from utter and incomprehensible barrenness brings forth abundant and astonishing fruitfulness. [Isa 49.19-21; Isa 66.8-11]