Greener Pastures
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His Names’s sake."
"’Verily, verily, I say unto you, I Am the Door of the sheep. . . . if any man enter in by Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.’"
There is today in the church great lack of understanding the needed further process of sanctification. We have a natural tendency to view this action of God’s Spirit as a heavy-handed, iron-fisted one. Not true.
One of our adversary’s greatest "weapon that is formed against [us]" is based upon his practice of not only accusing the brethren, but also accusing God Himself and then getting us to do likewise. If our enemy can get us into a position of sinfully questioning and judging God, then his work has a foothold in our lives.
Each of us as Christians has unknowingly placed God upon a fence, in a very precarious position. Were He not God, and thus with all the divine attributes that that entails, He would be unknowing as to which side of the fence a particular Christian should be pastured at any given time.
On one side is that Great Shepherd of the Sheep, Him actively involved in bringing forth Fruit in the lives of the sheep given Him – "some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold." On the other side of the fence are those who by their own devices have required their being allowed a place farther out into the world. When found wondering near the fence God can reach out and protect them to a degree. But as they wonder farther away, God’s arm, while presumed by us never-ending in length, is of necessity only able to reach so far before it is too late for the sheep.
Let us together look to Heaven and consider the determining factors and their effect, beginning first with those sheep not protected full-time by the Shepherd. (While the "one minute manager" concept would dictate that we begin first with the safe sheep, it seems good to end on a high note, with whatever hope that that may convey. For there is indeed great hope for all of God’s reborn children. In the Book of Revelation, after Jesus admonished the Ephesians for having "left [their] first Love," He then commands them to "remember" the Love from which they fell "and repent, and do the first works." Therefore hope is made alive and can be justifiably applied: "first works" again attainable by the wandering sheep.)
No sooner is someone born-again, when the Holy Ghost begins His further work of the process of sanctification in them.
Every person has obtained from life their own particular set of heart idols – some through inheritance; some through conditioning; some through personal choice – which need to be eradicated. One or more idols are likely ripped out when each person first comes to the Lord. But in His infinite Wisdom, God knows that He cannot remove all these embedded, unclean loves and indulgences in one initial fell swoop.
New believers are rarely instructed from the very beginning as to how to keep their heart guarded against past idols re-entering. When someone is delivered, but then over time forgets to "remember Lot’s wife" and dips their finger again into the world’s cesspool, the iniquity returns and replants itself: "and the last state of that man is worse than the first." So while the new convert may want to be quickly freed from all sin and please their Master, and if such were possible the Lord would of course like nothing better, Wisdom knows otherwise.
The next step after the New Birth, then, is for God’s Spirit to, one-by-one, allow the Christian to be faced with the consequences of their idols. These impurities are at work bringing theft, destruction, and eventually premature death to the life of their sponsor, and in turn hurts and the like to the lives of those around them. And such penalties are absolutely necessary.
(No country can safely exist without its laws and their enforcement, for otherwise there would be "only evil continually" and men would destroy one another. Well, the earthly is merely a pattern of the Heavenly, and in God’s overall Kingdom also, no man is an island: what someone does or does not do will always have repercussion for others. And God must Love and protect all His children.)
Again likely through incomplete or incorrect instruction, the Christian did not learn how to properly deal with the trials and tribulations of life, the result of their idols at work. Most, and nearly all today here in the Western world, do not realize there are additional, subsequent-to-salvation Graces available from the Throne of Grace, whereby these sins and their penalties can be correctly dealt with and overcome. The adversary also comes along with his accusations and condemnations, further disabling the believer through frustration and therefore, eventually, apathy.
The end result is that the Christian – because they are temporarily trapped in a body of flesh and in the world – usually applies the world’s and flesh’s resources that are available to put a Band-aid™, only a cover, over the problem. So these harden their hearts against the pain, take upon themselves whatever "fig leaves" are mistakenly thought of as being able to hide their sin from God, their peers and their own selves, grit their teeth and dig in their heels. Using the same methods that the unsaved use to get through each day and merely survive, the believer too has now fallen into a humanistic pit.
Now, the Lord will oftentimes intervene in the Christian’s life, and as a sovereign act temporarily withhold the full penalties of an idol’s sin. If He didn’t, likely most or all of His children would die within just a few years of their conversion. (We, of course, sinfully judge God when one of our brethren dies being only forty-five or fifty or fifty-five years old, not seeing as God sees, not knowing they were mercifully allowed to remain many years after what should have justly been their demise. But then, too, sin is not the only reason people die before old age, and is one more reason why we are commanded to judge only our own selves.)
If we would objectively consider the lack of influence upon the world the church is having today, and the lack of personal success that exists in its members, each finding ever-fleeting the touted "victorious Christian life," we might understand why the consequences of disobedience are rarely considered, much less dealt with: it’s too frustrating; too painful; too overwhelming.
So God must express His Love and intervene, allow, direct.
The Heavenly Father knows when a given individual will harden their heart instead of allowing themselves to be broken upon the Rock. So for most, early-on in their walk when the first "fiery trial" tried them and they hardened their heart, God knew the process of sanctification would have to come to a screeching halt in their lives. For Him to allow yet another opportunity, through another greatly trying time, He knows would only lead them to further hardening against Him and His efforts for their eternal salvation.
So do we see how we ourselves have tied God’s Hands, how we ourselves have perched Him upon that fence, how we ourselves have closed the Gate that keeps us from the presently, and eternally, profitable pasture?
But on the other side of the fence is greener pasture. And there is a Gate, however "narrow" and hard to enter through, "and few there be that find it," but through which there is hope of passage from the side of sin and death to the side of zoë Life, prosperity of soul and safety.
Within the protective fence of the Great Shepherd are those who correctly reacted to the inevitable-for-all trials and tribulations of life. They are those who in their times of suffering were given a Way to the foot of the Cross where they found additional "Grace to help in time of need." These were enabled by sovereign Grace; these possess a heart kept soft by God. Otherwise there would most likely be no examples and testimonies of same whatsoever.
Just as today’s cosmopolitan mind thinks merely superstitious the notion that unclean spirits are at work in lives and in the world, so too do the straying sheep also deny that their problems are due their own disobedience and remaining love of the world. Such rather choose to judge God as being harsh and unfair, or even just inactive. But the blessed sheep are so blessed because their spiritual eyes were able to be enlightened as to true cause and effect ("whatever a man sows, that will he also reap," and "we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God").
So exactly what events transpired in these who are of Jesus’ flock?
As was stated, some precious few who came to the Lord and received the New Birth were then allowed to fall into traps of their own making, the results of heart idols at work. For whatever reason(s) of Grace, they did not harden their hearts to the situation but rather tearfully fell into the arms of the Lord, crying out in their anguish and seeking only His comfort. Because they "we[pt] and howl[ed] for [their] miseries," through their broken condition the Lord could then give them full revelation as to their sin and how much its consequences hurt both Him and them (and perhaps others as well). Such divine illumination prolonged their state of brokenness, so then added could be the God-given Grace of true "godly sorrow" and remorse.
It sounds painful, correct? It would be deceitful for any to suggest otherwise. But it may have all taken place over the time span of just a few seconds or minutes, when soon to follow was yet another granted Grace, that of repentance. The tears then wiped away by the Comforter, or at least turned into tears of clean-feeling Joy from once again experiencing the Mercy and forgiveness and Love of their Heavenly Father, their soul prospers once again.
As whatever heart idol was to blame is recognized by the beloved child of God and ripped out by the hand of God, a void is created that God desires to fill with the fullness of some virtue of Christ.
Whether fully ripened Love or Joy or Meekness or Peace, or whatever Fruit of the Spirit or of Wisdom God ordains be given at that point in their walk, the delivered saint is not left empty. "The greatest of these is Love," or perhaps only seemingly so for this scripture is quoted somewhat out of context.
Regardless, the fullness of God’s agapé Love is key to the successful Christian life. After Love is instantly bestowed upon the repentant believer, eventually all other commanded facets of their being (heart, mind, soul and strength) will be brought into compliance with the New Testament’s Laws of Love. And then, finally, the Love of the Father will be found perfected in our heart. This is the ordained method for our further sanctification. This is the Way, and not mere self-righteous works of the flesh, whereby the "cup" is cleaned from the inside out, by Grace and Grace alone. For it is upon the Cross of Grace where are found hanging the Laws and Commandments of God.
When we are delivered from Love’s enemies, whether they be frustrations or "any root of bitterness" or unforgiveness or whatever, and are given in its stead the fullness of unconditional Love; as the years then transpire and the recipient is found faithful in allowing themselves to be brought into compliance with Love, simply by not resisting its divine, supernatural flow; one day such will find their heart perfected in the Love of the Father, will not be found ashamed at Jesus’ reappearing, and can justly expect the fullness of eternal rewards on the Day of Judgment.
"And we have known and believed the Love that God has to us. God is Love; and he that dwells in Love remains in God, and God in him. Herein is Love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment: because as He is [perfect in Love], so are we in this world. There is no fear in Love; but perfect Love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears [the Day of Judgment] is not made perfect in Love."
brother jim
Brother jim is an interdenominational Christian itinerant speaker and writer.
Copyright © 2003 by brother jim, Box 124, Allentown, PA, 18105, USA, brotherjim@mail.com
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His Names’s sake."
"’Verily, verily, I say unto you, I Am the Door of the sheep. . . . if any man enter in by Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.’"
There is today in the church great lack of understanding the needed further process of sanctification. We have a natural tendency to view this action of God’s Spirit as a heavy-handed, iron-fisted one. Not true.
One of our adversary’s greatest "weapon
Each of us as Christians has unknowingly placed God upon a fence, in a very precarious position. Were He not God, and thus with all the divine attributes that that entails, He would be unknowing as to which side of the fence a particular Christian should be pastured at any given time.
On one side is that Great Shepherd of the Sheep, Him actively involved in bringing forth Fruit in the lives of the sheep given Him – "some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold." On the other side of the fence are those who by their own devices have required their being allowed a place farther out into the world. When found wondering near the fence God can reach out and protect them to a degree. But as they wonder farther away, God’s arm, while presumed by us never-ending in length, is of necessity only able to reach so far before it is too late for the sheep.
Let us together look to Heaven and consider the determining factors and their effect, beginning first with those sheep not protected full-time by the Shepherd. (While the "one minute manager" concept would dictate that we begin first with the safe sheep, it seems good to end on a high note, with whatever hope that that may convey. For there is indeed great hope for all of God’s reborn children. In the Book of Revelation, after Jesus admonished the Ephesians for having "left [their] first Love," He then commands them to "remember" the Love from which they fell "and repent, and do the first works." Therefore hope is made alive and can be justifiably applied: "first works" again attainable by the wandering sheep.)
No sooner is someone born-again, when the Holy Ghost begins His further work of the process of sanctification in them.
Every person has obtained from life their own particular set of heart idols – some through inheritance; some through conditioning; some through personal choice – which need to be eradicated. One or more idols are likely ripped out when each person first comes to the Lord. But in His infinite Wisdom, God knows that He cannot remove all these embedded, unclean loves and indulgences in one initial fell swoop.
New believers are rarely instructed from the very beginning as to how to keep their heart guarded against past idols re-entering. When someone is delivered, but then over time forgets to "remember Lot’s wife" and dips their finger again into the world’s cesspool, the iniquity returns and replants itself: "and the last state of that man is worse than the first." So while the new convert may want to be quickly freed from all sin and please their Master, and if such were possible the Lord would of course like nothing better, Wisdom knows otherwise.
The next step after the New Birth, then, is for God’s Spirit to, one-by-one, allow the Christian to be faced with the consequences of their idols. These impurities are at work bringing theft, destruction, and eventually premature death to the life of their sponsor, and in turn hurts and the like to the lives of those around them. And such penalties are absolutely necessary.
(No country can safely exist without its laws and their enforcement, for otherwise there would be "only evil continually" and men would destroy one another. Well, the earthly is merely a pattern of the Heavenly, and in God’s overall Kingdom also, no man is an island: what someone does or does not do will always have repercussion for others. And God must Love and protect all His children.)
Again likely through incomplete or incorrect instruction, the Christian did not learn how to properly deal with the trials and tribulations of life, the result of their idols at work. Most, and nearly all today here in the Western world, do not realize there are additional, subsequent-to-salvation Graces available from the Throne of Grace, whereby these sins and their penalties can be correctly dealt with and overcome. The adversary also comes along with his accusations and condemnations, further disabling the believer through frustration and therefore, eventually, apathy.
The end result is that the Christian – because they are temporarily trapped in a body of flesh and in the world – usually applies the world’s and flesh’s resources that are available to put a Band-aid™, only a cover, over the problem. So these harden their hearts against the pain, take upon themselves whatever "fig leaves" are mistakenly thought of as being able to hide their sin from God, their peers and their own selves, grit their teeth and dig in their heels. Using the same methods that the unsaved use to get through each day and merely survive, the believer too has now fallen into a humanistic pit.
Now, the Lord will oftentimes intervene in the Christian’s life, and as a sovereign act temporarily withhold the full penalties of an idol’s sin. If He didn’t, likely most or all of His children would die within just a few years of their conversion. (We, of course, sinfully judge God when one of our brethren dies being only forty-five or fifty or fifty-five years old, not seeing as God sees, not knowing they were mercifully allowed to remain many years after what should have justly been their demise. But then, too, sin is not the only reason people die before old age, and is one more reason why we are commanded to judge only our own selves.)
If we would objectively consider the lack of influence upon the world the church is having today, and the lack of personal success that exists in its members, each finding ever-fleeting the touted "victorious Christian life," we might understand why the consequences of disobedience are rarely considered, much less dealt with: it’s too frustrating; too painful; too overwhelming.
So God must express His Love and intervene, allow, direct.
The Heavenly Father knows when a given individual will harden their heart instead of allowing themselves to be broken upon the Rock. So for most, early-on in their walk when the first "fiery trial" tried them and they hardened their heart, God knew the process of sanctification would have to come to a screeching halt in their lives. For Him to allow yet another opportunity, through another greatly trying time, He knows would only lead them to further hardening against Him and His efforts for their eternal salvation.
So do we see how we ourselves have tied God’s Hands, how we ourselves have perched Him upon that fence, how we ourselves have closed the Gate that keeps us from the presently, and eternally, profitable pasture?
But on the other side of the fence is greener pasture. And there is a Gate, however "narrow" and hard to enter through, "and few there be that find it," but through which there is hope of passage from the side of sin and death to the side of zoë Life, prosperity of soul and safety.
Within the protective fence of the Great Shepherd are those who correctly reacted to the inevitable-for-all trials and tribulations of life. They are those who in their times of suffering were given a Way to the foot of the Cross where they found additional "Grace to help in time of need." These were enabled by sovereign Grace; these possess a heart kept soft by God. Otherwise there would most likely be no examples and testimonies of same whatsoever.
Just as today’s cosmopolitan mind thinks merely superstitious the notion that unclean spirits are at work in lives and in the world, so too do the straying sheep also deny that their problems are due their own disobedience and remaining love of the world. Such rather choose to judge God as being harsh and unfair, or even just inactive. But the blessed sheep are so blessed because their spiritual eyes were able to be enlightened as to true cause and effect ("whatever a man sows, that will he also reap," and "we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God").
So exactly what events transpired in these who are of Jesus’ flock?
As was stated, some precious few who came to the Lord and received the New Birth were then allowed to fall into traps of their own making, the results of heart idols at work. For whatever reason(s) of Grace, they did not harden their hearts to the situation but rather tearfully fell into the arms of the Lord, crying out in their anguish and seeking only His comfort. Because they "we[pt] and howl[ed] for [their] miseries," through their broken condition the Lord could then give them full revelation as to their sin and how much its consequences hurt both Him and them (and perhaps others as well). Such divine illumination prolonged their state of brokenness, so then added could be the God-given Grace of true "godly sorrow" and remorse.
It sounds painful, correct? It would be deceitful for any to suggest otherwise. But it may have all taken place over the time span of just a few seconds or minutes, when soon to follow was yet another granted Grace, that of repentance. The tears then wiped away by the Comforter, or at least turned into tears of clean-feeling Joy from once again experiencing the Mercy and forgiveness and Love of their Heavenly Father, their soul prospers once again.
As whatever heart idol was to blame is recognized by the beloved child of God and ripped out by the hand of God, a void is created that God desires to fill with the fullness of some virtue of Christ.
Whether fully ripened Love or Joy or Meekness or Peace, or whatever Fruit of the Spirit or of Wisdom God ordains be given at that point in their walk, the delivered saint is not left empty. "The greatest of these is Love," or perhaps only seemingly so for this scripture is quoted somewhat out of context.
Regardless, the fullness of God’s agapé Love is key to the successful Christian life. After Love is instantly bestowed upon the repentant believer, eventually all other commanded facets of their being (heart, mind, soul and strength) will be brought into compliance with the New Testament’s Laws of Love. And then, finally, the Love of the Father will be found perfected in our heart. This is the ordained method for our further sanctification. This is the Way, and not mere self-righteous works of the flesh, whereby the "cup" is cleaned from the inside out, by Grace and Grace alone. For it is upon the Cross of Grace where are found hanging the Laws and Commandments of God.
When we are delivered from Love’s enemies, whether they be frustrations or "any root of bitterness" or unforgiveness or whatever, and are given in its stead the fullness of unconditional Love; as the years then transpire and the recipient is found faithful in allowing themselves to be brought into compliance with Love, simply by not resisting its divine, supernatural flow; one day such will find their heart perfected in the Love of the Father, will not be found ashamed at Jesus’ reappearing, and can justly expect the fullness of eternal rewards on the Day of Judgment.
"And we have known and believed the Love that God has to us. God is Love; and he that dwells in Love remains in God, and God in him. Herein is Love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment: because as He is [perfect in Love], so are we in this world. There is no fear in Love; but perfect Love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears [the Day of Judgment] is not made perfect in Love."
brother jim
Brother jim is an interdenominational Christian itinerant speaker and writer.
Copyright © 2003 by brother jim, Box 124, Allentown, PA, 18105, USA, brotherjim@mail.com
