Stepping in the Light

 “And David enquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand. 

Therefore David enquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines. David therefore did as God commanded him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even to Gazer.” I Chronicles 14:10, 14-16

Before David went to battle, he would first seek guidance from the Lord. The passage above describes one instance when God told David to go up to battle followed by another where God told David to wait for a sound in the top of the trees. Both times, God gave David the victory. When I am praying about something, I am usually expecting a “stop” or “go” answer; but sometimes, God’s favorite answer is “wait.” God sees things that we cannot see and He knows things that we do not know. We become impatient when we have to wait. The Bible does not tell us how long David had to wait before he heard the sound in the top of the trees, but we know that he waited and won the battle. Seek the Lord in your decisions today and let Him guide you as to whether you should stop, go, or wait.

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63

The word quicken means “to make alive.” Jesus said that the words that He spoke were spiritual words and that they would give life. There are several ways that we can apply this thought to our personal lives. First, we need to be sure that we are regularly spending time in God’s Word. Jesus prayed in John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” Peter said to Jesus in John 6:68, “Thou hast the words of eternal life.” When we read the Bible, we are reading God’s words. That means the Bible is our ultimate source of spiritual words. Spending time in God’s Word will quicken and strengthen us spiritually. Second, we need to be sure that we choose to spend time with others whose speech is about spiritual things. The Bible teaches that we become like our friends. “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed,” (Proverbs 13:20). Third, we should always be sure to speak about spiritual things. This is a core principle in God’s formula for success that He gave to Joshua. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success,” (Joshua 1:8). If we read God’s Word, walk with spiritual people, and talk about spiritual things, it will make us spiritually alive.

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” John 6:35

We experience thirst when our body is telling us that we need more water. When we become hungry, our body is telling us that we need food. Food and water are necessary for the body to function properly. Without food and without water, a person becomes increasingly uncomfortable, grows constantly weaker, and will eventually die. Hunger and thirst are experiences that are felt rather than observed. We certainly can observe the effects of hunger and thirst in others, but they are completely personal experiences. There is also a spiritual hunger and a spiritual thirst. These spiritual needs cannot be met with the temporal things of this world. Buying a new house or a new car will not satisfy our spiritual hunger or quench our spiritual thirst. Joining a club or starting a hobby will not meet our soul’s deep needs. Jesus is the bread of life. He said if we partake of the bread of life, we will never be hungry again. Physical food certainly does not work that way. Even if a person were to eat a large meal, he or she would be hungry again a few hours later. But when we come to Jesus, believing in Him, He permanently fills us up. He completely satisfies that spiritual need. We no longer need to search for that missing ingredient to life. If you know the Lord as your Saviour, why not look for people around you who need to know about what Jesus, the Bread of Life, can do for them?

“Their brethren also the Levites were appointed unto all manner of service of the tabernacle of the house of God. But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.” I Chronicles 6:48-49

As we read through the books of I & II Kings, the focus is on the individual in power. The temple, the priests, and various prophets are mentioned numerous times throughout these books; but the emphasis in the narratives and historical facts that are presented is placed upon the reigning king. In I & II Chronicles, this pattern is reversed. The emphasis is placed on the temple. The same kings are mentioned and many of the same historical details are given, but I & II Chronicles are written from the perspective of the southern kingdom of Judah, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple of God. The first nine chapters are dedicated to genealogies that give the reader an understanding of who the Israelites are as a people and how they worship their God. The Levites are particularly important in this section because they were responsible for taking care of the temple and leading the worship that took place there. An entire tribe was dedicated to caring for the spiritual welfare of the people. Even with this much attention, the people struggled spiritually. On a personal level, what percentage of our time and resources do we dedicate to spiritual things?

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” John 5:39

Jesus had healed a man on the Sabbath day, and the leaders of the Jews were accusing Him of breaking the Old Testament law. Jesus answered them that His Father worked on that day, so it would naturally follow that He would work as well. The religious leaders became very angry because they understood this to mean that Jesus was making Himself equal with God. Jesus pointed them to the testimony of John the Baptist (who they did not like), the miracles that He had performed (many of which they were offended by because they were done on the Sabbath day), and the voice of God the Father that was heard at Jesus’ baptism (which none of them heard because they were not there when He was baptized). Then Jesus suggested that they search the scriptures. These were the Old Testament scrolls with which they prided themselves in being extremely familiar. They were the experts. Jesus was telling the people who had the greatest knowledge of scriptures that they needed to go back and start over in their search for truth. They had missed the main point; they failed to recognize the Messiah.

The study of God’s Word is just as important today as it was in the days when Jesus was here on earth. If we really want to know about Christ, we need to become familiar with His Word. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15).

“And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.” II Kings 25:9-10

For hundreds of years there had been a king in Israel. Solomon’s Temple was the place where God had directed His people to worship for centuries. Beginning with Moses, God repeatedly promised to bless His people and protect them as long as they obeyed His commands. He promised them peace and prosperity if they would remain committed to keeping His law. In the books of I & II Kings, we see one king after another take the throne. The Bible gives us various details of their kingdoms and the things that they accomplished, but the most important aspect of each king’s life was whether or not he led the people to worship the Lord. So many of the kings were half-hearted in their commitment to following God’s law. The Lord often sent prophets to warn the people that they must turn back to God or suffer the consequences. The words of the prophets were largely ignored by the kings and the people alike. The destruction described in the final chapter of II Kings could have been avoided if the people of the land had turned to the Lord. We can learn from reading through I & II Kings that disobedience leads to defeat. The same is true for us in these New Testament times. God is looking for people who are willing to trust in Him and obey His Word.

“In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” John 4:34

Jesus and His disciples were travelling through Samaria. Jesus waited at the well while the disciples went to buy food. While they were gone, Jesus had a conversation with a woman who came to the well to draw water. As they talked, she came to the realization that Jesus was the Messiah. She immediately left her water pot and rushed back into the city to tell everyone about Jesus. While she was gone, the disciples came back with food and offered some to Jesus. Jesus told them that He had meat (food or sustenance) that they did not know about. This statement confused them a little, and they wondered whether someone had brought food to Jesus. The Lord explained that this sustenance they did not know about was doing the will of the Father.

We all have a natural desire for food. There are certain kinds of food that are more satisfying than others, but Jesus was teaching us that doing God’s will is far more satisfying than any physical food. The Lord has a work for each of us to do. Life will be so much more satisfying when we learn the joy of occupying ourselves with the work that He has given us to do.

“And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.” II Kings 19:15-19

King Hezekiah received a letter from the captain of the Assyrian army threatening to destroy Judah. Hezekiah went up to the temple, spread the letter before the Lord and prayed the prayer above. Hezekiah approached God with praise and reverence and then presented his predicament. The Assyrians had destroyed so many nations that served so many different false gods that they were now putting themselves above the one true God, the Creator of heaven and earth. Hezekiah did not simply ask God for deliverance. He asked God to save His people as a way of showing everyone in the world that He is the one true God. God answered Hezekiah’s prayer and delivered Judah in a miraculous way. Our prayers become more effective as we align our requests with God’s priorities.

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30

John the Baptist had been preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, and many people had come to hear him preach. His message was clear and simple: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Those who believed what John was preaching were baptized. Many people came to hear him, and sometimes the crowds who sought to hear his message were quite large. Of course, John’s purpose was to introduce Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Christ. Soon after John had begun pointing his followers to Jesus, crowds were thronging to see Him and hear His teachings. Some of John the Baptist’s followers came to John wanting to know what he thought about the fact that the crowds following Jesus were growing. John said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John knew that his purpose was only fulfilled as people began follow Jesus; and he knew that in order for Christ to increase, he had to decrease.

The purpose of every Christian is to exalt the name of Jesus Christ. We should have the same goal that John the Baptist had. We should want Jesus to increase—to have more followers. We know that He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but we need to remember that He is depending on us to let other people know about Who He is and what He has done in our lives. Are we willing to decrease (to focus less on ourselves) in order for Him to increase?

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:17-18

Most people believe that they are inherently good, and the idea that they are sinners is offensive to them. Some reject Christ because they believe that their good works will take them to heaven, and they feel that they have done enough good things to merit eternal life. Others feel that the message of Jesus condemns their sin. Jesus made it clear in the passage above that He did not come to earth to condemn sinners, but rather to save them. Jesus said that those who do not believe are condemned already. We all are sinners, and there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. If we refuse the gift of eternal life that Jesus purchased for us on the cross of Calvary, we are already headed for eternal punishment in hell. Believing in Jesus Christ is the only thing that can make the difference. As we absorb this truth, we can begin to grasp how great the sacrifice of Christ on the cross was. Every person is born a sinner. We are all already condemned; but when Jesus died on the cross, He paid for every person’s sins. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me,” (John 14:6). It is non-negotiable; either you are a believer, or you are condemned already. When we see our situation as sinners, it makes our decision to accept Christ an obvious one.