- araratchurch
- May 5, 2023
- 3 min read
“It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.””
Isaiah 6:1, 3, 5 NLT
On old-school detergent commercials they would often have a comparison between a white sock washed in some other detergent and a white sock washed in their detergent. Looking at them together, you immediately saw that the one that may have looked white on its own, in comparison to the one that was “truly” white (having been washed in the detergent being advertised), now looked dingy. It was that comparison that told the story.
Even on our best days, our own righteousness, our good deeds, those things in which we may pride ourselves, in comparison to the Lord suddenly seem hopelessly futile, immeasurably worthless.
You are probably familiar with the story of Job. His life fell into shambles as the devil set out to prove that—if persecuted—he would not remain faithful to God. As Job suffered, he accused God of not being just, of persecuting him without cause. In essence, he made his righteousness and holiness equal with that of the Lord. But, after the Lord gave him a nice little “Sunday school lesson,” he realized the error of his ways and repented for his ignorance.
“I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.””
Job 42:5-6 NLT
The apostle Paul once prided himself in his own righteousness. As they say, “he was high on his own supply.” But, coming face-to-face with Jesus and His righteousness, His holiness, His glory, Paul recognized that his only hope was to be righteous through Jesus Christ; everything else, everything he could offer, was nothing but garbage.
“I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.”
Philippians 3:6-9a NLT
In our opening scripture we see that Isaiah, when exposed to the holiness of God, felt doomed, wrecked, yes, hopeless!
Yesterday we discussed the aspect of holy despair that is experienced with correction from the Lord.
Today we consider the aspect of holy despair having to do with the sudden awareness of our personal sin when exposed to the holiness of God.
You see, the Lord’s holiness reveals everything about us that is unholy, unclean. But what this aspect of holy despair is meant to produce is complete surrender into His holiness, complete surrender into His righteousness, complete surrender into His glory.
Indeed, if we allow the holy despair of seeing who we are as compared to Who He is, drive us to Him, rather than away from Him, He will make us white as snow. He will make us clean. He will make us holy.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- May 5, 2023
- 3 min read
“Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the Lord by doing this, your child will die.””
2 Samuel 12:13-14 NLT
Biblical Corinth was steeped in paganism and sexual immorality. So, as Paul ministered to the church at Corinth he had to dispense some very strict reprimands concerning their tolerance of pagan practices and sexually immoral behavior. Apparently, on one occasion, Paul had rendered a particularly harsh rebuke to the Corinthians over which he initially had regrets. However, it seems that the letter (given to them through Titus) was well-received and led to godly sorrow and repentance.
In Paul’s referencing of the harsh letter he reminded them of the reason sinful behavior must be challenged:
“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.”
2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT
He then explains why he no longer regrets sending the harsh letter:
“I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.”
2 Corinthians 7:8-10 NLT
Paul was now glad over the harsh letter because—not only had their godly sorrow led to repentance—now they were on fire to do the right thing!
“Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.”
2 Corinthians 7:11 NLT
Yesterday we promised to provide further definition of “holy despair.” What Paul is explaining here in terms of godly sorrow is a key part of the definition of holy despair. And, we will look at another aspect of holy despair tomorrow.
Tragically, many possibly well-intentioned pastors are denying people the opportunity for godly sorrow, repentance, and good works because they have rejected the teaching of holiness as being too restrictive and a “nonstarter” in today’s world.
Well, that’s not working out very well. Those with the philosophy that everything must be their definition of “positive,” are producing Christians so mixed with the world, they don’t know the difference between the two.
In our opening scripture we see David‘s response when the prophet Nathan confronted him about his sin. This confrontation of his sin led to David’s sincere repentance we see reflected in Psalm 51 (written after Nathan‘s visit to David).
“For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.”
Psalms 51:3-4 NLT
Child of God, do not run from the correction of the Lord. Rather, let the correction hurt and lead to the repentance which produces newness, holiness, and good works!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- May 4, 2023
- 3 min read
“In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa developed a disease in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his illness he did not seek the Lord, but [relied only on] the physicians. So Asa slept with his fathers [in death], dying in the forty-first year of his reign.”
2 Chronicles 16:12-13 AMP
Over the next few days we will be looking at a word the Lord gave us concerning “holy despair.” We will discuss what that means tomorrow. For today we look at the danger in “self-sufficiency.”
Many years ago the Lord shared with me concerning two dangerous mindsets.
The first dangerous mindset is “sufficiency outside of God.” In other words: thinking you can find your own way, make your own decisions, fix your own messes, etc. without help from the Lord. Some people pride themselves as being “self-made.” This mindset is dangerous in that it separates you from the Lord by not surrendering to His rule over your life. As well, isolating yourself from Christ’s rule leaves you vulnerable to influence—if not control—over your life by the forces of evil. You will be doomed to walk in darkness!
“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.””
John 8:12 NLT
The other dangerous mindset is “insufficiency in God.” In other words: although you have submitted your life to the Lord’s rule, you still have anxiety and fear concerning your life. This is a dangerous mindset in that it displeases the Lord by indicating a lack of trust in Him. In failing to put your trust in the Lord you can miss your purpose, have no peace in this life, as well as imperiling your eternal reward!
“Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way]. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil. It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts] And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones.”
Proverbs 3:5-8 AMP
Trusting in the Lord and relying on Him leads to peace and power in this life and great reward in the next.
In our opening scripture we see the sad ending of a life otherwise well-lived because of a lack of trusting in the Lord.
King Asa of Judah did good things by getting rid of the worship of false gods in Judah. But, when he got sick he tried to do things his own way and died as the result.
Indeed, before the event described in the opening scripture, Asa—when facing a threat from the king of Israel— turned to the king of Syria for help rather than turning to the Lord. Hanani the prophet told him that because of his failure to trust in the Lord he would be in wars from then on; and he was. Instead of repenting when confronted by the prophet, he put Hanani in jail and began to mistreat some of his own people.
“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth so that He may support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this; therefore, from now on you will have wars.” Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison [in the stocks], for he was enraged with him because of this. And at the same time Asa oppressed some of the people.”
2 Chronicles 16:9-10 AMP
The Lord wants to help us; but He will not force Himself on us. As long as we refuse to submit to the Lord’s rule, we cannot access the abundant life found in joining Him under His yoke.
Make no mistake, help from the Lord will not come until you are at the end of yourself, having finished with trying to do things your own way.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for him!