For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not be to repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
— 2 Corinthians 7:10

When Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, he addressed many problems that existed in the congregation at Corinth, including strife, ambition, and drunkenness. However, the most notorious problem was an act of immorality by a brother in the church who was committing fornication with his father’s wife (see 1 Corinthians 5:1).

Paul was so stunned by this blatant act of immorality that he told the Corinthians that this kind of immorality didn’t even exist among unbelievers — an amazing statement considering he was writing to the church located in Corinth, a city that was known worldwide as a citadel of some of the most vile sexual perversions in human history. In this city, the goddess Aphrodite was worshiped, and moral decadence was widespread. Yet inside the Corinthian congregation was a type of fornication so revolting that it couldn’t even be found on the sex-laden streets of Corinth!

When Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, he rebuked them for various acts of carnality that were raging in their midst. In fact, out of all Paul’s epistles, his first letter to the Corinthians was the harshest, sternest, and most severe. The Corinthian church also had many wonderful attributes, including a great number of spiritual gifts that were in manifestation. Paul himself had started this church, and from its inception, God’s grace had been poured out on these believers in a powerful way. Paul loved this congregation, and he didn’t want to see his work in Corinth jeopardized. Therefore, he adamantly urged these believers to take immediate action against these spiritually poisonous activities before the whole church was contaminated.

It is clear in reading Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians that this congregation took Paul’s orders very seriously. They must have been embarrassed and saddened by the fact that Paul had to rebuke them, because the apostle told them, “…I made you sorry with a letter…” (2 Corinthians 7:8).

The word “sorry” is from the Greek word lupeo, which describes pain or grief. Apparently Paul’s first letter caused the Corinthian congregation to feel deeply pained and grieved. Paul knew this had been their response so he went on to tell them, “…I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry.…” Twice in Second Corinthians 7:8, Paul acknowledged that they had been embarrassed and pained by the previous letter he sent them.

However, Paul continued in Second Corinthians 7:9 by saying, “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner….” When Paul said, “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry…,” the word “sorry” is again from lupeo. Therefore, an interpretative translation of the first part of this verse could read, “I don’t rejoice because I caused you to feel pain and grief….”

Paul went on to say that he was glad they “…sorrowed to repentance….” The word “sorrowed” is once again from the same Greek word lupeo, denoting pain or grief. The word “repentance,” however, is metanoeo, the word for “repentance” that refers to a complete, radical, total change. It is a decision to completely change or to entirely turn around in the way that one is thinking, believing, or living. By using this word metanoeo, Paul revealed that the Corinthians didn’t just listen to his earlier message — they heeded it completely and made the decision to change. In fact, they had obeyed him so entirely that they had experienced a total transformation, making them unrecognizable from the sinful condition for which Paul rebuked them in a previous epistle. Thus, the entire phrase in Second Corinthians 7:9 could be interpreted, “I don’t rejoice that I caused you to feel pain and grief, but I do rejoice that my letter made you want to change….”

Paul went on to elaborate: “…For ye were made sorry after a godly manner….” This phrase “godly manner” in Greek is kata theon. In the context of this verse, it could be translated “your pain was in response to God’s dealing with you.” The Holy Spirit had used Paul’s eariler epistle to prick their hearts, and Paul was quick to acknowledge this. Although the sorrow the Corinthian believers felt may have been initiated by his letter, the truth was that their hearts felt pained because God’s Spirit was dealing with them about the sinful activities going on in their midst. Thus, the verse could be rendered, “I don’t rejoice that I caused you to feel pain and grief, but I rejoice that my letter made you want to change. Your pain was your response to God’s dealing with you….”

Paul continued in Second Corinthians 7:10 by saying, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” When Paul wrote about “godly sorrow” in this verse, the Greek actually reads he gar kata theon lupe, which could be translated: “…the pain you feel in response to God dealing with you….” The word “worketh” is from the Greek word ergadzomai, meaning to work or to produce, and as we saw earlier, the word “repentance” comes from the word metanoeo. Finally, the word “salvation” is a translation of the Greek word soterion, which can mean salvation in the eternal sense, but in this context refers to deliverance from their past carnality.

When all these words are taken together as one complete phrase, the first part of Second Corinthians 7:10 could be interpreted:

“The pain you feel in response to God dealing with you has produced a real change and deliverance….”

The Corinthian believers were prompt to respond to God’s dealings with them. In fact, they acted so swiftly and seriously to obey Paul’s instruction that in his next letter to them, the apostle declared, “For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter” (v. 11).

Not wanting to grieve the Holy Spirit any longer, the believers in Corinth had moved with indignation and fear to purge themselves of sin and carnality. This was proof that genuine repentance had occurred in their lives, for as we have seen, true repentance produces an indisputable transformation of one’s behavior. The change in the Corinthian church was evidence enough for Paul to say they were now completely “clear” in the matters where they had previously been wrong! They had been completely exonerated!

Have you ever felt sorrow because of a sin you committed that grieved the heart of God? Did you allow that sorrow to do its full work in you and produce a desire to change within your heart? Or did you merely brush it off and thereby resist God’s dealings with you?

If we will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and listen to His voice, we will hear Him speak to us when we do something that grieves the heart of God. In that moment, we have a choice: We can harden our hearts and turn a deaf ear to God’s Spirit, or we can allow the Holy Spirit to deal deeply with us and produce a desire in us to never transgress in that particular way again. God is willing to work in us and with us, but we must have hearts that want to positively respond to His dealings, as the Corinthians exhibited so well.

If God’s Spirit has been trying to deal with you, can you honestly say that you’ve allowed a godly sorrow to have its full effect in you, thereby producing a strong desire to change and to never fail in the same way again? Regardless of what you have done, God offers you forgiveness, and He will give you the strength needed to enact powerful, permanent change in your life if your heart is truly repentant. It’s up to you!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I ask You to please forgive me for the things I’ve done or tolerated that are offensive to You. I know that when I willfully sin or tolerate attitudes that are wrong, it grieves the Holy Spirit. I ask You to help me feel the pain of my sin so deeply that I will never want to cross that line again. I never want to be hardhearted or stubborn toward You when Your Spirit speaks to me, so please help me keep my heart soft and pliable and remain tenderhearted to the dealings of the Spirit.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that my heart is soft and pliable in the hands of God. I want to please the Lord, and I never want to grieve the Holy Spirit. I receive the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to strengthen me with His might and to guide me in life, because He is the last Person I would ever want to offend! The Lord creates in me the desire and the ability to do His will and good pleasure, as He conforms my thoughts to be in agreement with His will. When the Father’s heart is grieved, my heart is grieved too. From this day forward, I will be quick to hear and to obey the Lord’s voice, and as a result, I expect it to go well with me in all the affairs of life.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Can you think of an exact moment in your life when you knew inwardly that you had grieved the Holy Spirit? Did that realization bring great pain to your own heart? When was that moment? When that happened to you, how did you respond?
2. Can you recall a time when the Holy Spirit tried to deal with you about something that was grievous to Him, but you didn’t listen? What was the result of not listening and paying heed to His voice?
3. What area is the Holy Spirit trying to deal with you about right now? Are you responding to His counsel and direction, or are you ignoring His tender work in your heart? Based on your past experience, is your present response leading you on a path that will end well?

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
— 1 Corinthians 4:2

When the Holy Spirit first told us to begin our TV ministry in the former USSR, Denise and I had no idea what we were doing. We had never done a TV ministry before, and television equipment was not available to purchase in the Soviet Union. But with a small staff and a tiny budget — and a single home-video camera — we began to film the first programs of Good News With Rick Renner.

At that time, television programming on Soviet television was dark and bleak. Some of it was still broadcast in black and white. So even though we were filming with a home-video camera, the low-budget programs we produced looked at least as good as the other programs being broadcast on the Soviet stations. Although we started in such a primitive fashion, I had great expectations for what God was going to do through this new television outreach.

Adding interest to the program was the fact that there were no Americans broadcasting on Soviet television at the time. When our faces appeared on TV sets across the huge region where we first broadcast, it was a breakthrough that had never occurred before. People were mesmerized that Americans were on their televisions, and people began to tune in to hear what we had to say. Most often, I was the only one on the program, but from time to time, Denise joined me as well.

At first, we began to notice that people recognized us when we went to the open market to purchase groceries for our house. They thanked us for our programs and reached out to touch us in a tender way, trying to express their thanksgiving for what we brought into their homes. Then the letters started to pour in, taking us completely off-guard. We had not anticipated such a huge mail response! The first book we printed and offered as a free gift on television was Dream Thieves — and when we made that offer, boxes upon boxes of mail poured into our offices. It was the beginning of a TV ministry that has continued for decades uninterrupted, right up to the present day.

My team and I had little knowledge of what we were doing. Our equipment was just an old, used home-video camera, and the lights we used to light up the “set” (our living room) were the lamps from our house. Yet God used the simplicity of it all and began the process of opening entire nations to the teaching of God’s Word via television! It was a small beginning, but it was a beginning. Today this outreach has blossomed into a TV ministry that reaches not only the Russian-speaking nations of the former USSR, but people all over the world through satellite and the Internet.

When you start out with a new assignment from Heaven, you have to start with what you have and with what you know. Whether it is a business, a church, a ministry, or some other pursuit — you can only start at the level where you are and with the amount of money you have at your disposal. You must measure where you are, what stage you are in, and move cautiously and smartly as you proceed to obey and fulfill the call of God on your life. Denise and I weren’t thrilled about starting our TV ministry with an old home-video camera and living-room lamps, but that is what we had and what we could afford. And because we were faithful with what we had, God blessed it and increased us over time.

In First Corinthians 4:2, Paul talked about faithfulness and people who are charged with overseeing projects, saying, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” As we were slowly building our TV ministry, my mind often went to this verse, because it clearly teaches that God watches to see if we are faithful with what has been entrusted to us. Being faithful wouldn’t have been demonstrated by complaining that we had to use a home-video camera. Being faithful was making the decision that we’d cheerfully use that camera to its maximum potential! Faithfulness has a lot to do with attitude — it is not based only on performance.

Notice that Paul spoke of “stewards” in this verse. It comes from the Greek word oikonomos, which is a compound of the word oikos and nomos. The word oikos means house, and nomos means law. When compounded, the new word means the rule or administration of a house. It could also be used to denote the administrator of any project.

Such “stewards” had control of household finances and personal information about their employers; therefore, they had to be highly trusted individuals. Many “stewards” were highly educated and trained for years to attain such positions. However, most started as lowly servants and advanced to higher ranks over a period of time as they proved themselves faithful. Their superiors learned to trust them immensely because they had proven themselves faithful time and time and time again. Thus, a valued steward was generally thoroughly vetted and time-tested.

But First Corinthians 4:2 says, “…It is required in stewards that, a man be found faithful.” The word “found” is the word eurisko, and it depicts a discovery that is made after a long period of study and investigation. The idea this word carries is that of a successful conclusion to a diligent search. After performing a long and arduous study of a person, carefully examining his behavior and ability to work and fulfill responsibilities, at last one determines that this person is “faithful.”

The word “faithful” is the Greek word pistos, which in this particular case denotes one who is utterly reliable. It is one who shows unchanging affection or support in the face of difficulty. It is allegiance to a superior or employer. It is unwavering support to a cause, person, or assignment. This is a person whom an employer can depend on — and a person God can count on to carry through an assignment to the end.

So if you are starting a project on a small level, as Denise and I did with the beginning of our TV ministry, I urge you to be faithful to the core. Be utterly reliable with what God has entrusted into your hands. What you demonstrate to God will determine whether He finds you prepared for advancement or deems it necessary to keep you at your current level.

Today I see the vast impact our TV ministry is having, especially in the Russian-speaking nations of the world. But I have not forgotten that we started with a home-video camera and house lamps in our living room. Rather than complain, we used what God provided and made the most of it. God saw our efforts — and eureka! — by His grace, He found us faithful, advanced our TV ministry, and gave us better equipment to reach a larger audience. We give all the praise and glory to Him, because it was His grace that even enabled us to be faithful!

What is the task before you today? Are you starting small, as Denise and I did when we started our TV ministry in the former USSR? Never forget that Zechariah 4:10 admonishes us not to despise the day of small beginnings! So start where you are, use what you have, and be faithful to the task the Lord has given you. And as God watches you over a period of time and sees that you are utterly reliable to complete with excellence the tasks He gives, He will advance you; He will entrust more to you; and He will promote you! That is a biblical principle found throughout the Word of God — and you can be guaranteed that it’s true for you!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, help me to keep my eyes fixed on the task You have assigned to me. Help me to not complain that my beginning is so small, and teach me how to use this opportunity to learn everything I can before my venture grows larger. I know that You are with me — and You are watching to see what kind of steward I will be. So Holy Spirit, I draw upon Your mighty strength within me to rise up and help me be the best I can be. Most of all, I want to be found pleasing to the Lord and be one whom He can trust with much!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that I am committed to be utterly reliable in every task that Heaven entrusts to my care. I will be faithful to use what I have to the best of my ability and to demonstrate to the Father that I do not despise the day of small beginnings. I take this beginning time as an opportunity to learn, to excel, and to prove to God that I am a man or woman He can trust!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. What is the task before you right now? You can only start out at the level where you are and with the cash that is available to you. Be faithful with what you have — stretch it as far as you can make it go, do excellently with what is entrusted into your hands, and believe that God will see it and give you an upgrade!
2. What Bible character had a small beginning but ultimately made a huge impact with his life? If you have time to do it, it would be good for you to make a list, because there are quite a few of them. This would be quite an encouraging assignment for your heart and soul!
3. Can you think of someone you personally know who started a dream on a small level, but worked and worked at it until it grew and became significant? Who is that person? What character traits does that person demonstrate that added to his or her success and that you would like to see added to your life?

I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.
— 2 Corinthians 2:13

Many years ago, I developed an uneasy feeling about a longtime member of our team who worked in a leadership position in our ministry. However, because this person had always been faithful during his years with our organization, I tried to shrug off this uneasiness and ignore what I was feeling. Naturally speaking, there was no reason for me to be suspicious of him or to question his activities. All outward signs said he was doing an excellent job; yet I kept getting a gnawing feeling in my spirit that I should no longer trust him. To put it simply, I was deeply troubled on the inside and knew something was wrong.

When an occasion would arise for this man and me to be together, I’d look deeply into his eyes when he spoke to see if I could detect whether there was something he was trying to hide. When he spoke, I’d listen carefully to his words to see if there was anything misleading in what he told me. I took notice of his gestures, trying to ascertain whether or not he was acting nervous in my presence because he had something to hide. From all outward signs, everything seemed normal — yet inwardly I was still extremely disturbed.

I would tell Denise, “I don’t know what it is, but I sense that something is wrong with that person. Is God speaking to my spirit, or am I just being suspicious and untrusting of someone who has been faithful for a long time?” Because I could never put my finger on anything this man had done wrong, I decided that I was the problem — that I was being overly suspicious and needed to stop being so skeptical and wary of this devoted employee.

For the next year, I tried hard to shake off those uneasy feelings, but I just couldn’t do it. Even though I couldn’t identify a specific problem, I inwardly knew that things on the surface were not as they really seemed concerning this employee.

After a year of struggling with this issue, I discovered that this man had been acting fraudulently on many fronts. It wasn’t just a case of someone doing something wrong by accident; this was purposeful wrongdoing and manipulation of the truth for his own advantage. He had been conniving and deliberately misleading. I was shocked when I discovered the length and breadth he had gone to deceive me and our other leaders.

By the time I made my discovery of what this employee had been doing, severe damage had already been done in that department of our organization. But the truth is, the Holy Spirit had been warning me of the problem for a very long time. That inward uneasiness I had experienced was His warning to me to back away from this man!

God’s Spirit was trying to save me from the troubles produced by this employee who was conspiring against the work of the Gospel. If I had listened to my heart and followed what I sensed on the inside, I could have avoided the pain this man tried to bring about in our lives. I praise God that when I finally made this discovery, I had the courage to take fast action and terminate this attack!

From this experience that took place so many years ago, I learned the important lesson of paying attention when my spirit is inwardly disturbed. Very often this is God’s way of giving us an alert signal that something is not right or that something is not as it seems on the surface.

That’s why you must learn to pay attention when your spirit is inwardly troubled. Set aside some time to spend with the Lord, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you quiet your mind and emotions so He can reveal to you anything you need to know about the situation. Back up and take a good look at what is happening around you, and be willing to see the truth — even if it is something you’d rather not acknowledge! If you find that everything is fine, you can then move forward with the confidence that you did your homework. But if you find out that something is wrong, you’ll be thankful you listened to your spirit and slowed down so you could make this discovery in order to deal with it — for your sake and the sake of others who may be adversely affected by it!

So ask yourself these questions:

• Have you ever had an inward uneasiness or a lack of peace that you later wished you hadn’t ignored?
• Can you think of a time when the Holy Spirit tried to warn you of a problem, but you didn’t listen to your heart and therefore ended up with a problem that could have been avoided?
• Have you discovered that God is often speaking to you when you have a lack of peace in your heart — and that He is trying to tell you to back up and slow down, to take a more cautious approach to what you are doing?

This kind of inward disturbance must be what Paul experienced when he came to the city of Troas and didn’t find Titus waiting for him there. Although this exact event isn’t recorded in the book of Acts, Paul mentioned it in his second letter to the Corinthian church. On one of his missionary journeys, Paul came to Troas, expecting to find Titus waiting for him. Paul was so taken aback that Titus wasn’t there that he wrote, “I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia” (2 Corinthians 2:13).

The word “rest” that Paul used in this verse comes from the Greek word anesis, which means to let up, to relax, to stop being stressed, or to find relief. In the Greek world, this word anesis could denote the release of a bowstring that had been under great pressure. Hence, it suggests the idea of relief. When used on a personal level, the word anesis depicts a person who has been under some type of pressure for a long time but has suddenly found a release from that pressure. You could say that this person has decided he is going to shake off and let go of whatever that has been bothering him or the pressure he has been under.

However, Paul told us he could not shake off what he was inwardly feeling in his spirit. He was so restless or inwardly disturbed that he immediately left Troas and went on to Macedonia to search for his dear friend Titus. The phrase “taking my leave of them” is very strong in the Greek. It lets us know that Paul didn’t take a long time to respond to this inward disturbance in his spirit; rather, he took it as a God-given signal that something wasn’t right. Hence, Paul bade the believers in Troas farewell and quickly traveled into Macedonia to seek out his missing ministry friend.

Unlike my own scenario that I just related to you, the apostle Paul listened to his spirit. He knew that if he was inwardly disturbed, it could be a warning sign that something was wrong. Thus, he responded with urgency and took appropriate action when he had this kind of inner witness. How I wish I had done the same thing years ago! If I had listened to what my spirit was telling me, I could have avoided the many troubles that leader tried to create for me and for our ministry.

In light of all this, Second Corinthians 2:13 could be paraphrased:

“Regardless of how hard I tried to shake off a sense of inward disturbance, in my spirit I knew something was wrong. I tried to shake it off and let it go, but inwardly, I knew things were not right.”

As believers, we must learn to pay attention to the lack of peace we feel in our spirits. Sometimes that lack of peace or inward disturbance is God’s way of alerting us to something important or of telling us that something isn’t right. God lovingly tries to spare us from problems and catastrophes. However, if we don’t pay attention to the still, small voice in our hearts when the Holy Spirit tenderly speaks to us, we will end up with troubles that could have been altogether avoided or corrected before they got out of hand.

God is faithful to speak to you — but His voice can often be heard only by what you sense in your own heart. If you sense peace in your heart, it could be the Holy Spirit telling you, “You have a green light, so you can proceed.” But if you have a lack of peace or an inward disturbance, never forget that it could be God’s way of saying “Yellow light, so proceed with caution.” Or He may even be telling you, “Red alert! Stop! Something is wrong!”

Don’t make the mistake I made many years ago by ignoring that lack of peace in your heart. It will be far better for you if you take a little time to back up, slow down, and find out why you’re feeling uneasy on the inside. If you find that everything is all right, you will then be able to move forward with assurance. But if you learn that something is not right, you’ll be so thankful that you listened to your heart and got things in order before you proceeded any further and damage was done!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I thank You for Your Spirit, who is so faithful to alert me when things are not right. Please forgive me for the many times You tried to warn and help me, but I ignored Your voice and found myself in a mess I could have avoided. From this day forward, I am asking You to help me become more sensitive to my spirit. Help me pay attention to the peace or the lack of peace I inwardly sense so I can respond appropriately when You are trying to warn me that something isn’t the way it should be.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that I am sensitive to the Spirit of God. When He speaks to my heart, I quickly respond to Him and obey His instructions. I hear His voice indicating when I have God’s green light to move ahead; therefore, I step out in faith. When I sense God’s yellow light to move slowly and with caution, I am careful and cautious. When my spirit is inwardly disturbed and I have no peace, I know that this is God’s red light — one of the ways He alerts me that something is not right. Because I am sensitive to what God is telling me in my spirit, I am able to move forward with confidence that I am not going to make a mistake!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Can you think of a time when you were inwardly disturbed but you ignored it — and then later found out it was God trying to warn you about something? When was that, and what happened?
2. What did you learn from that experience when you ignored what you sensed in your spirit?
3. When you sense an inward disturbance, a lack of peace, or a restlessness in your spirit, how should you respond to it?

Being defamed, we intreat.…
— 1 Corinthians 4:13

When we were first starting our work in the former Soviet Union in the city of Riga, Latvia, Denise and I labored around the clock to teach people the Bible and get newly saved people established in the truths of the New Testament. We were working harder than we had ever worked in our lives!

However, as we poured our energy into seeing the Church established in this spiritually barren land, hostile forces began to resist our message of truth with insidious tactics. We were constantly engaged in intense spiritual warfare as we proclaimed the message of the Gospel to the people of Latvia. Those early years were a time of both great triumph and great struggle. Yet despite the best efforts of the enemy to thwart our ministry, we kept seeing the powers of darkness pushed back and the glorious light of the Gospel shine into broken lives that had long been held in the darkness of Communist atheism.

The church in Riga grew rapidly, and every week we witnessed numerous people give their lives to Christ. Once held in bondage, their lives were being made whole by God’s grace. It was a thrill to see families restored, sick people healed, and addicts set free from debilitating drug and alcohol addictions. Watching the work God was doing in this region was absolutely precious, and Denise and I were so thankful that He had called us to minister to this part of the world.

However, one day when I went to the store to buy a few groceries, I noticed a strange-looking article on the front page of a national newspaper that was displayed on a rack by the door. The artwork that accompanied the article looked so unique that I reached over, picked it up, and started to read to see what it was about. To my utter shock, the article was about me! Sadly, it was an article designed to attack, defame, and vilify the work that God was doing through our ministry in that city.

The artwork was an artist’s rendering of a man with a dazed, stupefied look on his face, mindlessly staring off into space with empty eyes. A massive hand rested atop his head with elongated fingers that curled over the front of his forehead and gripped his flesh like a giant claw. It looked awful. The bold words of the headline said: “DO WHAT I TELL YOU TO DO!” It was so compelling that I picked it up to see what the article was about. It was only as I began to read the article that I realized the claw-like hand was supposed to be my hand!

The article stated that I used hypnotism to control people who were coming to Christ, and that I even used hypnotism to control people through the television as they watched our TV programs. When I looked to see who wrote the article, it was one of our fiercest adversaries — a journalist and committed atheist who fought to resist us with every ounce of his being. This man despised Christianity and was even trying to make a name for himself by defaming us and our ministry. He was doing everything he could to smear our reputation and besmirch the Gospel. Once I had encountered this journalist on an airplane, where he approached me and in a condescending voice asked, “Are you still preaching those ‘fairy tales’ from the Bible?”

When I read what had been written about me in this national newspaper, I wasn’t thrilled, of course. It’s never pleasant to think that people all over a nation are reading derogatory, false, and hateful words about you. But on the other hand, I rejoiced because it put me in good company with countless other believers who have been attacked for doing the Lord’s work. My mind went to First Corinthians 4:13, where Paul wrote, “Being defamed, we intreat; we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.”

As believers, we live in a world today that is filled with scoffers who are becoming increasingly aggressive in their stance against those who preach the Gospel. More and more, we find our message and ourselves at conflict with the world around us when we espouse the principles of the Bible. In fact, if we take a stand that’s biblically right but not politically correct, we almost certainly will find ourselves on the receiving end of a vitriolic attack. Because this hostility is becoming ever more blatant, it is imperative that we as believers know how to respond when we are lambasted by attacks from the enemy.

Paul addressed this very issue in First Corinthians 4:13, saying, “Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.” When he wrote these words, Paul was speaking from his own personal experience.

Throughout his missionary travels, Paul had to contend with principalities and powers that constantly tried to thwart his ministry at every turn. Commonly, these attacks took the form of vicious smear campaigns that sought to destroy his name through false accusations. These malignant character attacks were a regular occurrence in the lives of Paul and his apostolic team. Therefore, we should pay close attention to Paul’s words in First Corinthians 4:13, for he told us not only how he responded to these attacks, but how we as Christians should respond as well.

Paul began by saying, “Being defamed, we intreat….” This word “defamed” is crucial to our understanding of Paul’s message because he carefully chose it to let us know what he had endured from his critics. It is the Greek word dusphemeo, which means to slander, to slur, to smear, or to vilify. It literally means to maliciously malign someone’s good name. In today’s language, we would say the Greek word dusphemeo depicts someone who deliberately does a hatchet job on someone’s integrity, character, or name. This attack is done with the purposeful intention of damaging someone’s reputation in the eyes of others.

By using the particular Greek word dusphemeo (“defamed”), Paul confirmed that he and his traveling companions had been victims of malicious and nasty character attacks on numerous occasions. But how did he respond when this occurred? Did he become bitter and wounded? Did he become angry and react aggressively against his attackers? Did he respond by waging a counter attack?

We find insight into how Paul carried himself in these situations in what he wrote next in First Corinthians 4:13: “Being defamed, we intreat….” The word “entreat” is from the Greek word parakaleo, a compound of the Greek words para and kaleo. The word para means alongside, as in one who comes up close alongside of another person. The word kaleo means to call, to beckon, or to beseech. But when these two words are joined to form the word parakaleo, it presents the picture of one who has something so important to say that he pulls right up alongside his listener, getting as close to him as possible, and then begins to plead with him to take some course of action. This person urgently calls out, pleading with his listener to hear what he has to say and to do what he is suggesting.

Because the word “entreat” — the Greek word parakaleo — is plural in this particular verse, we know that when these kinds of attacks occurred against Paul’s ministry, he and his team pulled together to “entreat” each other. That means they looked each other in the eyes and spoke words of strength and encouragement to each other. The word parakaleo in this context can even mean they consoled one another.

Carefully consider this fact: The caliber of people who surround you is especially important when you are under attack. The people you confide in during these moments will have great impact on how you respond. They will affect your emotions, your thinking, and your resolve.

• If you are surrounded by people who are angry and retaliatory, their words and reactions may incite you to react in anger or with other negative and non-productive emotions. Stomping, screaming, and making threats won’t help you. In fact, that kind of behavior always just makes situations worse!
• On the other hand, if you are surrounded by people who encourage you, saying, “Let it go! God will vindicate you. Forgive these people who are being used by the devil to assault you” — this will help you trust God and forgive the wrongdoing of your attackers.

Thus, the character of those you have around you is very important when you are under attack. That’s why you must take care to surround yourself with patient, steadfast, forgiving men and women of God.

There was another military usage of the Greek word parakaleo (“entreat”), which conveys a powerful message in the context of Paul’s message. In the ancient Greek world, before military leaders sent their soldiers into battle, they called the troops together in order to address them. Rather than hide from the painful reality of war, the leaders would speak straightforwardly with the soldiers about the potential dangers of the battlefield and the glories of winning a major victory. They came right alongside their troops and urged, exhorted, beseeched, and pleaded with them to stand tall; throw back their shoulders; look the enemy straight on, eyeball to eyeball; and face their battles with courage. This is the essence of the word parakaleo.

Because Paul used the word parakaleo (“entreat”), we know that when he and his team were assaulted with false accusations and vicious slander, they quickly began to encourage one another to be strong in the middle of the fight. Like fellow soldiers, they looked into each other’s eyes and exhorted and encouraged one another to remain faithful, regardless of the war raging around them. They knew that discipline and a steadfast, committed warfare mentality was required for them to come through the battle they were facing victoriously!

I can almost hear Paul and his team proclaim to each other, “This is warfare! We must be good soldiers and be faithful to the end regardless of what people say or do to us! Let’s not get bogged down with hurt feelings. We have to trust God, forgive these people, and let it go!”

Paul’s words in First Corinthians 4:13 could be interpreted:

“When people assault our integrity, our character, or our name, we begin to exhort and encourage one another….”

When this horrible article about me appeared in the newspaper many years ago, I was surrounded with the right team! Just as Paul’s team did with him, the members of my own team exhorted and encouraged me to let it go, overlook it, forgive the man who wrote the horrible article about me, and trust God to vindicate my name and character.

As a result of this God-honoring response, the article had little impact. But had I taken a different approach and retaliated against the journalist who wrote the piece, it probably would have stirred the waters and made the situation much more turbulent. Going through that experience helped put steel in my spiritual backbone. It was the first major attack, but certainly not the last! Taking this approach helped me stay on track regardless of what people said, did, or wrote about us. As a result, we were unhindered in taking the vision God had given us to the next level, again and again, no matter what opposition we faced in the following years.

It’s never comfortable to know that people are saying untrue or unfair things about you. If you are currently in this situation or have been in this situation before, you know how badly the flesh wants to rise up in defensiveness and fight back. But it’s your responsibility to respond according to God’s ways and His love. You must keep your heart free from anger so the devil cannot bog you down in an emotional battle.

If you are being attacked by what people are saying or doing to you, allow your friends or team members to exhort and encourage you to be faithful. When you are defamed, it is time for you and those around you to remind one another, “This is warfare! We must be good soldiers and be faithful to the end regardless of what people say or do to us! Let’s not get bogged down with hurt feelings. We have to trust God, forgive these people, and let it go!”

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I receive Your grace to help me mature to the point where I trust You to protect my name and vindicate who I really am when people say things about me that are untrue or unjust. I refuse to react emotionally with retaliation because of my hurt. Instead, I choose to obey Your Word by keeping myself in the love of God so my faith will not fail. You’ve promised me that no weapon formed against me shall prosper, and every tongue that rises against me in judgment or false accusation, I will prove or demonstrate to be in the wrong (Isaiah 54:17). Lord, You have assured me that if my ways are pleasing to You, Lord, You will cause my enemies to be at peace with me (Proverbs 16:7). So, I thank You, Father, for helping me to remember that this is warfare with Satan’s unseen forces. I will never forget that You are ultimately in control and that if I respond in a Christ-like manner when facing an attack, it will smother the fires and give You the freedom to bring about the outcome You desire in my life.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that when the devil uses people to falsely accuse me, malign my name, or to do injury to my integrity, character, or name, I will respond as Jesus did and pray: Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing. Just because others act like the devil doesn’t give me the right to react like the devil. I choose to yield to the spirit of life in Christ Jesus that keeps me free from sin. Therefore, I make up my mind that I will walk in love and forgiveness, regardless of what people do to me or say about me. I will be a faithful soldier, and I will stay in the fight regardless of any attack that comes to assault who I am. Jesus is in me, and He is greater than anything that could ever come against me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Can you think of a time in your own life when your integrity, character, or name was purposely and maliciously attacked by someone who wanted to hurt your reputation?
2. If this has happened to you, how did you respond to that attack? Did you trust God and let it go, or did you allow the devil to drag you into a war of words? If you fell into a war of words, what was the result?
3. Now that this situation is behind you, evaluate your reaction. What did you learn from your response to this situation? Did your reaction make it better, or did it make the situation worse?

But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the Gospel, even so we speak: not as pleasing men, but God, which tried our hearts.
— 1 Thessalonians 2:4

Have you ever felt like God was putting you through a test in order to prepare you for the next step in your life? These experiences can be trying, but they are necessary for your spiritual growth. Even the apostle Paul wrote that God tested him, and the language he chose clearly conveys that sometimes those tests felt like fiery experiences indeed. In First Thessalonians 2:4, he wrote, “But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the Gospel, even so we speak: not as pleasing men, but God, which tried our hearts.” Today I want to examine this word “tried” and its application in our lives. If you’ve been through a trial or are currently in the middle of one right now, I believe you will be encouraged by what you are about to read!

The word “trieth” is translated from the Greek word dokimadzo. This word was used to describe any kind of intense test that was intended to prove the quality and trustworthiness of a product. For instance, it was often used to denote an intense examination of individuals who were running for public office to determine if their character was fit for the job.

The Greek word dokimadzo also described the process of purifying and refining metal. In the ancient world, metal was put through multiple degrees of fire and heat to expose any impurities. Such flaws could significantly weaken a piece of metal; therefore, testing it to prove its purity and trustworthiness was very important. This refining process is referenced in Malachi 3:2 and 3, which states, “…For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like a fuller’s soap; and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” This passage clearly states that God — our Great Refiner — used fire to purify His people so they might offer up a righteous offering to Him.

Another application of the Greek word dokimadzo that is particularly relevant in the context of this verse is its use to describe the process of firing ceramic pottery in a kiln. This process is an essential step in the creation of pottery because it exposes defects within a piece that can then be corrected. My sister, Ronda Roush, an expert ceramic and porcelain maker, whose pottery and fine china grace the shelves of numerous statesmen and movie stars, provided the following insight concerning the inescapable need for fire when crafting a superior product:

The beautiful, artistic design that is enjoyed on a piece of porcelain or pottery is not a permanent part of the piece until the piece has been fired at the highest temperatures in the oven. Before fire is applied to the piece, the design is merely superficial and easily erasable. It is not an actual part of the piece until the piece has been placed into the oven at a very high temperature. The heat of the fire is what permanently fuses the design into the piece, causing the design to become a part of the permanent glaze.

The most desirable colors, such as deep, rich jewel tones, contain gold in their chemical makeup. However, the gold in the porcelain paint powder that makes these rich jewel tones so beautiful isn’t visible at first. It takes intense fire to cause the gold in those colors to really shine and make those tones deep and rich. Gold must be fired at a hotter temperature. At a normal firing temperature, these colors will turn out dull and lifeless, but hotter firing brings out the richness, which can’t be seen any other way. When working with pure gold, it is black and ugly when it is first applied to a piece. It is not until it comes out of the oven that it turns to rich patina, which is the crowning glory to most beautiful porcelain pieces.

Invisible flaws in the porcelain only become visible in the firing process. As a piece is being fired, one can look into the oven and see all kinds of things during the firing process that were formerly invisible to the naked eye. This process purifies in ways that we don’t even know are needed. But at the end of the firing, the flaws are gone, and a perfect, mirror-like finish shines back at us from the bottom of the kiln.

The firing process is necessary, and it has to be done a certain way. There are no shortcuts. It has to go all the way through the cycle. Trying to circumvent is risky business. Removing a piece from the oven before it has gone the full circle can cause the piece to crack, or even break apart. This process is so important that when the piece is finished being fired, it has to completely cool down before it is removed from the oven. Rushing the process can ruin the piece.

What looks like a mistake may end up being the greatest part of the design. Early in my career, a porcelain painter explained to me, “Once when I was working on an exquisite piece, a hairline crack developed. I painted vines and flowers over that crack and added another dimension to the piece, which totally changed it, and made it so much more beautiful. Some of the most beautiful elements to a design are discovered due to flaws that show up in the firing process.

One firing is not enough with the most exquisite and intricate pieces. Designs are layered, one upon the other, and they must be fired again and again, sometimes up to 20 times for a very valuable piece. When I take a finished piece out of the kiln that I am pleased with, I know it will find a special place in someone’s home, where it will be enjoyed or used to serve some kind of purpose. Firing kilns every day serves as a constant illustrative reminder to me that refinement is vital if I want God to use me, to take me off the shelf and do something with me. God isn’t finished with me yet, nor will He ever be! To understand that truth is both humbling and thrilling at the same time. What a relief to know that if the needed changes are not quite there yet, God can take us back into the kiln to refire us and fix the flaws.

It is important to note that when the apostle Paul wrote, “God…tried (dokimadzo) our hearts,” the verb tense used here indicates the testing was ongoing. Even after Paul’s many years in the ministry, God still regularly put him through the fires in order to test his heart.

Tests are a necessary part of life that allow you to move onward and upward in your spiritual walk. The finest porcelain product must be fired to bring out its richest colors and prove its trustworthiness before it is put on display or sent out to serve. If this is how a human artist tenderly works to create a high-quality product, think of how wonderful Jesus, your Great Refiner, is! He doesn’t test you to hurt you; rather, He wants to glaze truth onto your heart and bring out a richness of color that you otherwise would not know.

Our God is indeed a consuming fire (see Hebrews 12:29)! The refining fires of testing actually clear away debris within us so the fire of the Holy Spirit can perform a deep and lasting work of transformation from the inside out. Then He sets us ablaze with His glory so we can obey what He asks us to do and reveal His nature and power to others through our lives!

So as you move forward in your spiritual walk, realize that Jesus’ fires will continue to test you. But I want to encourage you to decide today that you’re going to be receptive to His purifying process. Let Him expose and remove your defects. Allow Him to teach you what aspects of your life need to change. As you do, those refining fires will make you spiritually richer, stronger, and more qualified to be used by the Lord for His glory!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, instead of resisting the changes You are trying to make in my life, I choose to willfully surrender to Your holy fire that exposes my flaws and brings correction. It is clear that Your refining fire is for my good. I know that You would never send a test that is abusive or hurtful. Your work in me produces strength, even as You guide me through situations designed to reveal and remove the flaws that need to be purged from my life. Therefore, Holy Spirit, I ask You to help me understand what You are teaching me. I choose to cooperate with the process so I can get out of the kiln and be placed in Your service!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that the Lord is the Potter, and I am the clay. Jesus is molding me into the vessel that He wants me to be. He has every right to expose and remold what needs to be corrected and then put me in the kiln and turn up the heat. And when He brings me out, I know I will be freer than I’ve ever been before because the flaws that once hindered my walk with Him will be removed!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Is God currently putting you through a test to see if you are ready to move forward in your life?
2. Are you cooperating with Him or prolonging the process by resisting?
3. Why don’t you take a few minutes and write down several things you learned about yourself during the times God has tested you that you needed to change so you could expedite that testing process?

So that from his [Paul’s] body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
— Acts 19:12

We saw in yesterday’s Sparkling Gem that the Bible explicitly tells us that Paul experienced a level of God’s power that had been previously unknown to him when he came to the city of Ephesus, resulting in dramatic healings and deliverances of all sorts. Today we’re going to examine the types of supernatural occurrences that accompanied that flow of supernatural power.

In Acts 19:12, there is a specific list regarding the various categories of people who were healed and delivered as a result of the divine invasion of power that accompanied Paul’s ministry in Ephesus. It says, “So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.”

To gain a better understanding of these three categories of people, let’s consider the Greek words in this verse for “sick,” “diseases,” and “evil spirits.” In the Greek text, these are three very different words that tell very different stories about the various categories of infirmed people that were changed as a result of the Holy Spirit’s manifested power.

First, Acts 19:12 refers to the “sick.” This is the Greek word astheneo, which is a word that generally describes a person who is frail in health. This word astheneo commonly referred to people who were so physically weak that they were unable to travel — in this case, to the location where Paul was teaching the Word of God. It carried the idea of those who were feeble, fragile, faint, incapacitated, disabled, or simply in such poor health that it would be unthinkable to transport them. Their condition was so delicate that they would most likely be shut-ins or homebound.

Second, the word “diseases” is used, translated from a Greek word that has a very different meaning than the one translated “sick.” Actually, the word translated “diseases” can actually be considered an amplification of the word “sick” (astheneo), providing even greater insight into the frail condition of these people who were homebound because of their conditions. That Greek word translated “diseases” is nosos, an old word with a long and interesting history.

In ancient Greek literature, the word nosos was specifically used to describe illnesses caused by invisible entities, such as demons. In fact, nearly every time the word nosos was used in connection with illness, it was understood that the sickness was spirit-inflicted. The word portrayed people who were tormented physically or mentally; people who were afflicted by an unseen entity; or those who were vexed with lunacy or madness. The ancient view was that these individuals had been ruthlessly subjected to cruel treatment by spirits and were therefore “dis-eased” people.

The word nosos was also used to describe plagues that were attributed to demonically inspired disasters or physical terminal illnesses for which medical science had no known remedy. If it was a nosos plague sent to an entire city or region, the ancients believed it was a scourge of demon spirits that simply had to run its course because none of their natural efforts could stop it. Medical attempts to treat a nosos illness were considered futile because nosos was a type of sickness or demonic attack beyond help and recovery.

Whether the manifestation of nosos was terminal cancer, some other deadly illness, or a spirit-inflicted mental madness, people of that day assumed that someone with a nosos disease had no hope of recuperation. Every time the word nosos was used, it described what the ancient Greeks believed to be an unalterable, irreversible, incurable, permanent condition.

Due to the multiplicity of dark pagan religions that flourished in Ephesus, the city was a fertile breeding ground for demonic activity. The religion of Artemis, the supreme goddess of the city, as well as the many other alternative forms of pagan worship, all involved worshipers in occult rituals and supernatural activities that could have caused people to fall under the influence of evil spirits. It should therefore come as no surprise that many people in this city were tormented with untreatable, spirit-inflicted sickness that came upon them as a result of curses, spells, and magic.

However, as we read in Acts 19:12, when Paul’s garments were laid on them, “…The diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.” The wording in Acts 19:12 makes it clear that the elimination of these diseases was linked to the departure of evil spirits. The moment victims were freed of evil spirits, they were freed of the sicknesses the evil spirits had caused, confirming that the diseases were spirit-induced. The verse says that the diseases “departed” — translated from the Greek word apallasso, which means to be set free, to be changed, to be radically transformed, or to be liberated or unfettered from something.

It is significant that the word apallasso is used in this verse, because it was actually a First Century medical term that described people who had been completely cured of a disease. This term never denoted a temporary cure — only a permanent one. Thus, we know that when the divine power that operated in Paul’s ministry touched these afflicted people, they were perma- nently freed of the sickness and oppression that had relentlessly tormented them.

Acts 19:12 also states that the diseases left when “the evil spirits went out” of them. To understand the significance of this statement, we must first take a closer look at the word “evil” in connection with “evil spirits.” The word “evil” is the word poneros, a well-known word that describes something that is foul, vile, malicious, malevolent, malignant, hostile, and vicious. In the Bible, it is often used to depict actions, laws, or people whose behavior is opposed to the righteous nature of God. For example, God’s nature is righteous, good, holy, and pure, but the word poneros would depict something that is unrighteous, wicked, unholy, and impure.

When the Greek word poneros is used in connection with animals, it often depicts animals that are savage, wild, vicious, and dangerous. Such beasts are so dangerous that they pose a risk of death to those near them. Similarly, when the word poneros is connected to the word spirits to form the phrase “evil spirits,” as is found in Acts 19:12, we know that these spirits created havoc and destruction, were malicious to those in whom they dwelt, and brought harm and danger to anyone nearby. This may explain why severe demoniacs lived far from population centers, such as the two demon-possessed men in Matthew 8:28 who lived in a remote region of the Gadarenes.

Acts 19:12 goes on to say that when the power operating through Paul’s clothing or hands touched the diseased, the evil spirits “went out” of them. The phrase “went out” comes from the Greek word ekporeuomai, a compound of the words ek and poreuomai. The word ek means out, as in to go out, to leave, or to go away. The word poreuomai means to journey, as in to leave one place and go to another. When the two words are compounded, the new word ekporeuomai implies an even stronger meaning. It gives the impression that when Paul’s garments touched those who had “evil spirits,” the anointing transmitted from his garments to them caused the evil spirits so much anguish and torment that they swiftly went out of the afflicted like those who are evicted, ousted, thrown out, or forcibly removed.

God’s power came in and the evil spirits swiftly went out — and when they departed, the physical and mental afflictions caused by those spirits left with them. The evil spirits were literally ejected or evicted, just as an unwanted person would be ejected or evicted from a house. One expositor states that the word ekporeuomai actually gives the impression that these evil spirits escaped from the anointing operating through Paul. And when they left, the cure was permanent. Once touched by Paul or his clothes, the sick and diseased were liberated and set free.

One may not conclude from this text that all sickness and disease are spirit-induced. However, it leaves open the possibility that some who are tormented with agonizing physical and mental conditions that medical science cannot help may be suffering from afflictions that are not natural but rather are the result of an evil spiritual entity. At least we should be open to consider that if medical treatment does not help, there may be a spiritual root to the physical problem.

In this case, not only is a good doctor needed, but also an experienced pastor or minister who knows how to administer the power of God to those who cannot get relief by medical means. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever — and since He healed those in Acts 19:12, He is more than willing to help those who come to Him for help today. The power of God has never changed — it is still operating and flowing from Heaven; it is still healing the sick; and it is still evicting evil entities from human beings. We must learn to be increasingly sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading so we can know what ailments are simply physical problems and which are spirit-inflicted. Then once we know, we can deal with the situation by the Spirit and take the actions He leads us to take to help bring healing and freedom!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I thank You for opening the eyes of my understanding today as I’ve read about the various types of sicknesses and diseases that were healed during Paul’s ministry in Ephesus. I think I’ve made the mistake of thinking everything could be treated with medicine, but it is clear from this Sparkling Gem that some afflictions are spirit-induced and therefore can only be cured with the power of God. I ask You to teach me more about the gifts of the Holy Spirit — particularly the gift of healing. I ask also that You make me an instrument through which Your supernatural power flows to heal those who will never be healed in any other way.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I boldly confess that God uses me as an instrument of healing, deliverance, and freedom for the sick whom medical science has been unable to help. The Holy Spirit resides in me — and with Him are all of His gifts, including the gift of healing and the working of miracles. Father, I embrace the truth that You want Your power to operate in me and through me — and that I should be an extension of Jesus’ ministry to bring healing and freedom to those who need relief. Therefore, I declare that I will yield to You and lay my hands on the sick, expecting You to cause them to recover. I will use my voice to release Your authority and command spirit-inflicted illnesses to go. In Jesus’ name, I will see results and people will be made free, for the glory of God the Father!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Have you ever personally witnessed a healing, miracle or deliverance from a spirit-inflicted illness? When was that and what did you observe? How would you describe it to someone else?
2. Although these instances are very rare, have you ever encountered a person whom you thought was controlled by evil spirits? When was that? What led you to believe that evil spirits controlled them?
3. Have you ever been in an atmosphere so charged with God’s power that you personally witnessed the sick, the diseased, and those with evil spirits be set free? Do you ever witness such demonstrations of power at your church? If not, why not?

And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul….
— Acts 19:11

All miracles are extraordinary, but every once in a while, God performs miracles that are truly out of the ordinary. A great example of these exceptional miracles is found in Acts 19:11, where the Bible says, “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul.” This verse provides great insight into the subject of miracles, but in order to grasp its full significance, it is important to understand the historical context in which these miracles occurred.

At the time these miracles took place, the apostle Paul was ministering in the city of Ephesus in the Roman province of Asia. This major metropolis was famous throughout the ancient world as a center of paganism and was home to approximately 250,000 people who were consumed with paganism, idolatry, and witchcraft. In fact, the cults in this city were so renowned that people journeyed from every corner of the Roman Empire to experience the dark supernatural forces in the city’s temples.

For example, on the outskirts of Ephesus stood the great Temple of Artemis, a structure so magnificent that it was listed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. At the center of this enormous complex stood a gargantuan statue of Artemis, the Ephesian goddess of fertility, and behind these temple walls, her worshipers engaged in dark, perverse rituals.

Other prominent pagan religions existed in Ephesus as well. The temples of Gaius Julius Caesar and Dea Roma sat side by side on a high point in the city. These twin structures were constructed at the order of the Emperor Augustus and served as a hub for emperor worship in Ephesus during the First Century AD. Pagan priests swarmed these temple grounds, offering sacrifices to the gods and serving as chosen vehicles of mystical power — those who uttered dark secrets and spoke prophetic declarations as mediums between the spirit world and man.

The massive Temple of Serapis — the Egyptian god of the heavens, the underworld, and medicine — was another center of pagan worship in Ephesus. Even in the spiritually charged atmosphere of Ephesus, the cult of Serapis was famous for its supernatural activity. It attracted people who were especially driven to know the dark secrets of the underworld and participate in the rituals that transpired in this temple around the clock.

However, it was in this wicked, spiritually charged city that the apostle Paul experienced some of the most extraordinary miracles of his ministry. If he was to capture the attention of the Ephesians so they would open their hearts to the message of the Gospel, a special miracle-working power would be required. That is why Acts 19:11 tells us that “…God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul.”

I want to draw your attention to the word “wrought” in this verse. It is from the Greek word poieo, which denotes creativity. Because the word poieo is used in this context, we know that the miracles taking place in Ephesus were miracles of a creative nature. Furthermore, the tense of this Greek word conveys the idea of continuous action. This means that when this unique demonstration of miracles began, it was not just one or two miracles that occurred at the hands of the apostle Paul, but rather a practically unending flow of miracles.

In the Greek text, two words are used to express the type of miracles that were being wrought at the hands of Paul. First, the word “miracles” is the Greek word dunamis, which refers to explosive, dynamic power. This tells us that explosive, phenomenal power was flowing through Paul’s hands. In fact, this power was so out of the ordinary that the Bible describes it as “special,” which is a translation of the Greek word tugchano. This Greek word means to hit upon, to happen upon, or to fall upon. It implies something unique that overtakes someone or a power that falls on someone as if to take him or her by surprise.

Paul literally hit upon, happened upon, or fell into a level of power that was without equal in his experience. He found himself suddenly operating in a realm of miracles that was extraordinary and powerful beyond his wildest expectations. Of course, all miracles are uncommon, but there was something about these miracles in particular that transcended every miracle that Paul had previously experienced during his ministry. From the usage of this Greek word tugchano, it seems that Paul himself was surprised by the exceptional assortment of miracles that were occurring at his own hands.

This is the only record we have in the book of Acts where “special miracles” occurred at the hands of the apostle Paul. Certainly miracles occurred frequently throughout his ministry, but not miracles of this magnitude and quality. In fact, a better rendering of the phrase “special miracles” would be “mighty, exceptional, out-of-the-ordinary deeds.” These were acts of a supernatural phenomenon of the highest order! Although God performed many miracles through Paul at different times in his ministry, it seems that these particular manifestations of His power may have occurred only in one particular season of Paul’s ministry, as it is recorded in Acts 19:11.

God knows how to reach people in every unique situation. In Ephesus — a city obsessed with supernatural activity — normal miracles would never have been enough to hold the attention of the local population. Therefore, God unleashed His power and performed special miracles at the hands of Paul that were truly out of the ordinary. These were rare, unusual, unique, extraordinary, incomparable works of God. Because the word poieo (“wrought”) is used in this verse, it suggests these were creative miracles — such as the sudden, miraculous replacement of limbs or body parts. Certainly that kind of supernatural demonstration is above and beyond normal healing power and would fall into the category of “special miracles”!

The supernatural power operating through Paul was so great that it caused a multitude of Ephesians to turn to the Lord. Acts 19:18,19 tells us that those who had previously been involved in occult practices repented before Christ and burned their books of sorcery and witchcraft. As a result of God working “special miracles” through the hands of Paul, one of the most powerful churches of the New Testament was established in the city of Ephesus.

Never forget that God knows how to reach every group of people. He knows exactly what kind of power you need to fulfill your assignment and what kind of powerful demonstrations are needed to reach the unique group of people you are called to influence in your life. If you will allow the Lord to have His way and to use you as He wishes, you may find yourself surprised at the level of power He allows to flow through you!

Rather than say, “Oh, this person is hard to reach,” or, “This city is dark and very hard to penetrate with the Gospel,” why don’t you open up your heart and let the Holy Spirit unleash His powerful, creative abilities to work through you? If He did it through Paul, He can do it through you! If you’ll just open up your heart and become a willing vessel, you may be surprised to see a special, out-of-the-ordinary kind of power begin to flow through you!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, I make myself available for You to unleash Your power through me! You are not a respecter of persons, so I know that if You did it through Paul, You can do it through me. Forgive me for thinking that some of the people in my life are too difficult to reach with the Gospel. Help me remember that You are acquainted with those I’m trying to reach and You know exactly what needs to be done to reach them and to keep them. I open my heart to You today with confident expectation that out-of-the-ordinary power will begin to flow through me for the glory of God and the benefit and blessing of others. So today I make myself available to You, Father, in a fresh way. Be glorified through my body as You stretch forth Your hand. I am Yours.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that God wants to manifest Himself through me! From this day forward, I choose to live conscious of God’s mighty power that is already at work within me. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead dwells in me. Therefore, I know that God wants to reveal Himself. The eyes of the Lord are searching throughout the earth, looking for someone through whom He can work and show Himself strong. That someone might as well be me! Starting today, I am opening my heart and mind to the possibility that God will reveal His amazing power through me! I believe it; I expect it; and I now anticipate the moment when this divine power starts operating in me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. What is the most remarkable miracle you have ever witnessed firsthand?
2. Can you remember the first miracle you ever saw? Can you recall where you were and what happened when you witnessed your first miracle?
3. Have you ever entered into a place and time, just as the apostle Paul did, when God was doing miracles through you that were beyond your wildest dreams? If not, do you desire to experience this kind of miracle-working power of God?

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks.
— Revelation 1:12

As we saw in yesterday’s Sparkling Gem, there was no commodity in the ancient world more valuable than pure gold. In fact, the desire to obtain hoards of gold was the root of countless wars and brought ruin upon many civilizations because it fueled man’s lust for wealth and power. Therefore, it is very significant that gold would be used to symbolize the Church in Revelation 1:12, when John witnessed “seven golden candlesticks” in his vision of the exalted Christ. This was God’s way of conveying the immense value He places upon the Church of Jesus Christ!

However, there is another very important element of symbolism in Revelation 1:12 — it is the identification of the Church as a “candlestick.” Today I want focus on this word to see why the Holy Spirit chose it to depict the Church.

The word “candlesticks” in this verse is the Greek word luchnos, which refers to an oil-burning lamp rather than a wax candle as are commonly found in homes today. Such lamps were fashioned of earthen clay with a reservoir to hold oil and a wick that gave light in darkness once it was lighted.

Once when I was traveling in Israel, I came across a store that was filled with wonderful antiquities — rare archeological pieces that had been unearthed from locations across the Middle East. In that store, I saw pristine coins from the Roman Empire, small statuettes from Persia, aqua-green colored effigies from tombs in Egypt, and broken fragments of Greek and Roman idols, among numerous other treasures. In one large glass case, I noticed a large collection of ancient oil-burning lamps that had been discovered in archeological excavations across Israel.

In today’s world, we are fortunate to have electricity and lights nearly everywhere, but in the ancient world, oil-burning lamps were a very important part of life. From the smallest house to the greatest palace, every residence depended on oil-burning lamps for light at night. Every house, apartment, store, and place of business in the ancient world had at least one and often many small oil-burning lamps to give light in darkness. Oil-burning lamps were also used in certain religious rituals, such as the seven-branched golden candelabra used in the Jewish temple, which was a fabulous creation of seven oil-burning lamps.

Because the ancient world depended on oil-burning lamps to illuminate darkness, the image of the Church as an oil-burning lamp (luchnos) in Revelation 1:12 is especially significant. Jesus was making an important declaration about the Church and its role in this world. Let’s take a moment to study the characteristics of these lamps in order to fully appreciate this powerful message about the Body of Christ.

The first fact to note is that oil-burning lamps during New Testament times were made from fragile, brittle earthen clay. Paul referenced this material in Second Corinthians 4:7 when he wrote, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” The phrase “earthen vessels” in this verse is a translation of the Greek word ostrakinos, which was used to describe small, cheap, easily broken pottery that was crafted from inferior materials.

This kind of pottery was weak, fragile, and valueless, and it often had noticeable defects. Because of the cheap, disposable nature of this “bargain-basement” pottery, it was rarely if ever found in wealthy homes. Rather, it was purchased by people in lower-class neighborhoods who couldn’t afford to buy better merchandise. Over time, this word ostrakinos eventually came to represent anything inferior, low-grade, mediocre, shoddy, second-rate, or substandard. This is exactly the type of shoddy, fragile clay that Paul was referring to in Second Corinthians 4:7. Therefore, since the oil-burning lamps (luchnos) in New Testament times were made from this same material, we see that the Church is made of people who tend to be fragile, frail, and imperfect. However, this is not the full story!

The second key point to note about oil-burning lamps is that they contained oil. This is important because it reveals that the Church of Jesus Christ is the container of the Holy Spirit on planet earth! Even though we may be fragile and seem inferior or imperfect, the fact remains that God has deposited His Spirit inside the Church! We contain an endless supply of the oil of the Holy Spirit!

Furthermore, these oil-burning lamps also had wicks that ran deep into the oil reservoir and soaked up oil until they were completely saturated. These saturated wicks could then be ignited to burn and give light. In the Church today, each of us is like one of those wicks! We as believers are permanently placed in the Body of Christ, where we soak up the oil of the Holy Spirit. God’s plan is for every believer to be so saturated with the Spirit that we can be set ablaze to shed light into the darkness of a lost and dying world, just as a lamp lights up a room. And the amazing news is that the Church has a whole reservoir of the Spirit, so it’s possible for every believer to be drenched with the oil of the Holy Spirit!

It is a fact that God has fashioned the Church to shine His light into darkness, and that is what we must do regardless of where we live or work. If we succumb to the devil’s attacks in our Church — allowing Him to trample on the lamp, drain the oil, and put out the fire of the Spirit — it will snuff out God’s light in our world! That is why the devil hates the Church and wants to extinguish its flame!

As we blaze with the Spirit’s fire and preach the uncompromising Word of God, a piercing light shines forth into the darkness that surrounds us. Imagine how dark the world would be if there were no Church, no preaching, no declaration of the Bible, and no movement of the Spirit. It is no wonder why the devil hates the Church! We are his greatest threat!

In Second Corinthians 4:4, Paul spoke of the Church shining light into the lives of unbelievers, saying, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” By burning with the oil of the Spirit and shining light in the world, we can hinder the work of Satan in this world and cause men who are blinded by darkness to see the light that can set them free!

The Church is the “oil-burning lamp” of God in the world. Therefore, don’t let the devil extinguish your light or talk you into giving up on the Church! Satan is terrified of the Body of Christ because he knows it is his greatest enemy in the world. Don’t ever forget this, regardless of what you see, hear, or feel about the Church. And remember — you are a member of the Body, and the devil is terrified of you! So make the decision today to let the Holy Spirit set your heart afire. Then guard that flame and don’t let anything snuff it out, so that you and the local body of believers God has placed you in can keep shining the light of the Gospel to those who are lost in darkness!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I thank You for sending Jesus to give His life and His blood to purchase the Church! You have graciously filled me with the oil of the Holy Spirit so I can bring the saving light of the Gospel to those who sit in darkness. Set me ablaze with the fire of the Holy Spirit so those who are blinded by Satan can also come to know the boundless love and power of Jesus Christ!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that as a believer, I am permanently placed in the Body of Christ, which is the Church. God’s plan for me is to be saturated with the Holy Spirit, just as a wick would soak up oil, so that I can be set ablaze to shed light into the darkness of a lost and dying world. Even though I may seem fragile or imperfect, God has chosen to deposit the power and preciousness of His Holy Spirit within my earthen vessel so I can shine brightly to the glory of God! Therefore, I walk with confidence in life, knowing that the devil is terrified and Jesus Christ is glorified as I shine bright with the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit within me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Are you burning with the fire of the Holy Spirit as God intends? What evidence lets you know that you are alight with the Spirit’s flame?
2. Was there a time in your life when you burned with the Spirit more brightly than you do now? If you answered yes, when was that time, and what caused your fire to dim over the years?
3. If you met someone who no longer burns with the Spirit’s fire as he or she once did, what steps would you recommend that person take in order to reignite that lost fire?

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of man.…
— Revelation 1:12,13

When the apostle John was exiled on a barren stretch of rock called the Isle of Patmos, Jesus appeared to him without warning and began to reveal mysteries concerning the role of the Church in these end times. Today and tomorrow, I want to focus on one feature about this divinely granted appearance: What were the “golden candlesticks” that Jesus spoke about? The answer to that question is not just an intellectual exercise. It’s a very important truth to grasp in order to better understand Jesus’ heart and to grow in your ability to see as He sees and to love what He loves.

In Revelation 1:10, John stated that suddenly he heard a great voice speaking to him. Captivated, John quickly turned to see its source. He wrote, “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candle- sticks, one like unto the Son of man…” (Revelation 1:12,13).

Notice that John said Jesus was standing “…in the midst of seven golden candlesticks….” Revelation 1:20 reveals what this symbolism was supposed to convey: “…The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.” According to this verse, the seven golden candlesticks that John saw in verse 12 and 13 specifically represented seven functioning churches that existed in the Roman province of Asia during the time the apostle John was prisoner on the Isle of Patmos. Yet the message Jesus was about to deliver to John not only was intended for these specific congregations, but also to the Church as a whole in every age.

The word “golden” in Revelation 1:12 is the Greek word chrusos. This Greek word was used throughout Scripture and other ancient literature to denote the precious metal gold. It described gold, gold coins, gold jewelry, gold fabric, and other items that were fashioned of pure gold.

In the ancient world, there were two kinds of gold — gold that was absolutely pure and gold that was an alloy, meaning it had been mixed with other metals such as silver. Pure gold was considered to be the highest quality and most desirable form of the metal. Varieties that had been mixed with other metals were considered to be less valuable and of a lower grade. The Greek word chrusos — the same word John used in Revelation 1:12 to describe the “golden candlesticks” — referred to pure gold of the highest quality.

Raw gold is typically discovered encased in rock. Once the gold-bearing rock is removed from the earth, it must be crushed in order for the gold to be extracted. After the rock is crushed, water is forced over the broken fragments to wash away everything except the raw gold itself. With the rubble removed, the gold is exposed and then placed into a fiery furnace. There the blazing hot temperatures melt the gold into liquid form and bring all the impurities hidden in the metal to the surface where they can be scraped off by a refiner who oversees the whole process. The heat is turned up again and again, and with each increase in temperature, more impurities are brought to the surface where they can be scraped away.

If the impurities in the metal are not removed, they will become a defect that decreases the strength of that batch of gold. Intense fire is necessary to remove these impurities, and the refining process requires time, patience, and many degrees of blazing hot temperatures. If the process is carried through to completion, however, the result is a soft, pliable pure gold that a gold worker can beat and shape into an exquisite object. From beginning to end, this is a lengthy, tedious, expensive, and complicated process.

Because of the great cost in producing refined gold, it was associated with kings and royalty. Even the cups, bowls, and plates used on a king’s table were frequently made of the pure gold. Today in the Moscow Kremlin Palace Museum, not far from where my family lives, there is a vast collection of cups, bowls, plates, saucers, and platters made of pure gold that were once used to serve food and drink to the Russian royal family. Only pure gold would do for magnificent kings and their royal families.

When ambassadors or heads of state came to visit mighty kings in ancient times, they always came with a gift to present to the king. Of all possible gifts, the greatest honor was to bring a gift made of pure gold. Giving a gift of pure gold demonstrated honor and respect and showed one’s appreciation of the ruler’s great worth.

Unlike silver, gold does not tarnish, rust, corrode, or corrupt with time. Gold coins might lie buried in the earth or at the bottom of the sea for hundreds or even thousands of years, but when they are discovered, they appear as brilliant as the day they were lost. Thus, because of its incorruptible nature, pure gold became a symbol of enduring value.

In both Old and New Testament times, there was nothing more valuable than pure gold. Therefore, God’s use of the word “golden” (chrusos) to describe the Church conveys a very important message about what He thinks about the Church of Jesus Christ — and, therefore, what He thinks about you and every one of your brothers and sisters in Christ!

First, because the word chrusos describes gold of the highest purity, we see that the Church is pure gold in the eyes of Jesus Christ! Like a miner who goes deep into the earth to extract rock that contains gold, Jesus stepped into the darkness of sin in the human race to extract the Church from this lost world. The Gospel was preached; the lost were convicted of sin, and the Word of God, like rushing water, poured over the souls of the redeemed to remove rubble, wreckage, and waste from their lives. Since the birth of the Church 2,000 years ago, Jesus, our Great Refiner, has been washing the Body of Christ with His Word and overseeing the purifying and refining of His precious Church!

The specific seven churches in the book of Revelation that Jesus referred to had some very serious problems, many of which are the very same problems we see in the Church today. In fact, the book of Revelation tells us:

• They left their first love (Revelation 2:4).
• They were spiritually fallen (Revelation 2:5).
• They had false doctrine (Revelation 2:14 and 2:20).
• They had the compromise of the Nicolaitans in their midst (Revelation 2:6 and 2:15). (For more information on the Nicolaitans, see page 631 in Sparkling Gems 1.)
• They had works that were weak and ready to die (Revelation 3:2).
• They had works that were incomplete (Revelation 3:2).
• They struggled with staying on fire for the Lord (Revelation 3:15).
• They were lukewarm (Revelation 3:16).
• They were strongly rebuked by the Lord (Revelation 3:19).
• They were told to repent of wrong attitudes and actions (Revelation 2:5; 2:16; 3:3; 3:19).
• They were far from perfect!

You may feel disheartened by what you see or know about the church where you attend or some of the people who attend with you. Perhaps your emotions are trying to convince you that the situation is hopeless and your church family will never turn around for the better. Or perhaps the devil is attempting to dissuade you from further involvement by whispering negative thoughts in your ear about the sad condition of your church. Although it’s true that there is room for change in any church, you must never forget that Jesus died for His Church and there is nothing in the world more precious to Him than the Body of Christ — including your local congregation. You may see problems, but Jesus sees the Church only as pure gold.

The Church has always had imperfections; this is nothing new, for only God is perfect. When we finally see Jesus face to face, we will be transformed into His image and become just like Him with no imperfections. However, until that time, Jesus will keep working as our Great Refiner — washing us with the water of His Word and putting us through His purification process to make us pliable and usable in His hands! The work of purification and refinement goes on!

Peter was referring to this very same principle when he wrote, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver or gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18,19). This verse emphatically tells us that Jesus gave His own blood to purchase the Church. The Church may still be in the process of purification and refinement, but we must never forget that Jesus gave His life for it. He loves His Church, and we must love it too. To Him, it is pure gold — worth more than anything else in the whole world — and we must also learn to see it as pure gold and precious.

Therefore, whenever you are tempted to be discouraged about the state of the Church at large or about certain things that bother you in your own local church, proclaim to yourself: Regardless of what I see, feel, or know, Jesus died for the Church, and it is golden to Him. Therefore, the Church at large, and my local church in particular, are golden to me — and NOTHING is going to tarnish my view of it!

Make that confession the next time you feel tempted to speak negatively about a fellow believer or the Body of Christ. Always remember: Our Great Refiner is still continually in the process of purifying His Church — so just make sure your focus is always on loving the Body and allowing Him to purify YOU.

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, I am so thankful that You saved me and made me part of Your Church. I now realize that even with all of our imperfections and weaknesses, You see us as golden and precious. Help me to treasure Your Church and Your people just as You do. Help me to truly love the Church, to serve Your people from my heart, and to give my time, talents, and gifts for the benefit of my brothers and sisters in Christ. From this moment forward, help me refrain my tongue when I am tempted to criticize the Church. And help me to become more and more aware that there is nothing in the world more precious to You, Father, than the Body of Christ! You died on Calvary for the Church, and I know I can’t grasp how deeply You love those whom You have redeemed with Your own precious blood. But I ask You to help me see Your Church through Your eyes and to love Your people with Your love more and more in the days to come.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that I love and cherish the Church of Jesus Christ with all of my heart! Jesus died for her; He sent His Spirit to indwell her; and there is nothing in the world more precious to Jesus than the Church. Rather than criticize or judge others, I will seek to undergird and strengthen those who may be weakened from attacks by the enemy. Instead of judging others, I will inspect my own heart to see how I may become a purer example of Jesus Christ. I will no longer dwell on the imperfections that I see; instead, I choose to focus on the unchanging truth that the Church of Jesus Christ is golden to God and therefore golden to me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Have you ever been tempted to be negative and critical of the church you attend? Do you ever hear yourself speaking negatively about the Church at large?
2. When you spoke negatively about the Church, did you ever notice that your heart was grieved by what you were saying? Were you ever aware that you were grieving the Holy Spirit by being so negative about the Church that Jesus loves so much?
3. Now that you’ve gained a better understanding about how precious the Church is to Jesus, how will your attitude and conversation about your own local church and the Church at large be affected?

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
— Hebrews 4:9,10

When I was a young boy, I was terrified that I wasn’t really saved. A powerful revivalist visited our church and preached a message that became etched into my mind about people who thought they were saved but weren’t — people who died thinking they were going to Heaven but whose final destination was hell. That sermon terrified me!

Every night I went to bed troubled, thinking that if I died during the night, I would end up in hell. I had asked Jesus into my heart when I was five years old and had understood what I was doing. But after hearing that man’s bloodcurdling sermon, I was gripped with fear that I might be among those who thought they were saved but were in fact lost.

Every night my mother would lie by my side and listen as I told her how frightened I was that I wasn’t saved. She would hold me — her little six-year-old boy — and pray with me until I fell asleep each night.

That dread lingered in my life for many years. I can’t count the times I prayed: “Dear Lord Jesus, I know I’ve asked You into my heart so many times before, but just in case I didn’t really mean it all those other times, I am asking You to come into my heart again right now.” I must have prayed that prayer 10,000 times.

Each time I felt a sigh of relief for a couple of hours — and then the panicky thought would hit me again: Maybe YOU are among those who just think they are saved but have never really been sincere! Maybe you are one of those who think they’re going to Heaven but are going to end up in hell! This fear overwhelmed me. I found myself obsessed with the need to be saved, yet incapable of feeling secure that I was saved.

I silently cried out for inner peace as I dedicated and rededicated my life to the Lord. Over and over again at church, I’d lay before the altar and plead with God for peace of mind. Privately — at home, on the street, wherever I was — I’d beg God to reach down and rescue me. Every Sunday when the pastor gave the invitation at the end of the service, he would ask the congregation to search their hearts to see if they were genuinely saved. Each week that question initiated the whole painful process all over again for me. I was living in torment.

If I called home as a teenager and no one answered the telephone, my heart would sink with the thought that the Rapture had occurred and I had been left behind. I’d begin frantically calling members of our church, hoping someone would pick up the telephone. If a church member answered, it meant I had not been left behind!

When I was 24 and newly married, I was still intermittently struggling with this issue about my salvation. One day I fell on my knees at the altar of the large Baptist church where I worked as an associate pastor and cried out to the Lord: “This is it! I’ve spent most of my life trying to get saved. I’ve prayed 10,000 times for you to save me, and I’m finished asking! If I’m not saved, there is nothing more I can do to be saved, so I’m not asking again!”

The moment I prayed that prayer, the monstrous fear that had engulfed me for so many years of my life simply evaporated. For the first time in my life, I had the assurance that I was saved. The truth is, I’d been saved many years earlier at the age of five. But because a seed of fear had been sown into my heart by the preaching of that revivalist so many years earlier, I had never been able to “rest” in my salvation.

But on that day at that altar, I gave up my struggle of trying to be saved, and I made the decision to simply rest in God’s grace. I realized that if His grace wasn’t enough to do the work, all my asking and begging wasn’t going to make a difference anyway. At that moment, I quit wrestling and started resting. And that was the moment I finally began to enjoy my salvation!

When I read Hebrews 4:9 and 10, I always think of the rest that came to my soul when I finally accepted the fact that I was saved by grace. Oh, what a blessed day that was! I finally gave up my fight and accepted the salvation I had already received many years earlier as a young child. For so many years I’d been driven by fear — constantly asking, pleading, and begging, trying to prove my sincerity to the Lord. But all it took for me to be saved was to turn my heart to Jesus and receive Him as my Savior — and that’s what I had done as a young child. I had been saved all along, but I had never learned to “rest” in my salvation.

Hebrews 4:9 says, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Today I want us to look at several words in this verse. Let’s begin with the word “rest.”

The word “rest” in this verse comes from the Greek word sabbatismos, which is used in the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament to refer to the Sabbath day. This means Hebrews 4:9 should really be translated, “There remaineth therefore a Sabbath rest to the people of God.”

What does “Sabbath rest” mean in the context of this verse? Let’s go back to the book of Genesis just for a moment. God worked for six days when He created the heavens and earth. At the end of those six days, the Bible tells us that when God looked at everything He had made, it was so perfect, complete, finished, and flawless, He knew there was nothing else that could be added to it. It was a complete, finished work that required nothing more. Since this masterpiece of creation was completely finished, the biblical record tells us that God “rested” from his labor on the seventh day and simply enjoyed creation.

In Genesis 2:2 and 3, we read, “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”

This day when God “rested” was the first official Sabbath day — the day when God rested from all His work. Later when Moses received the Ten Commandments, God explicitly ordered the children of Israel to remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy. So every week on the Sabbath day, the children of Israel ceased from all labor and rested as a way of honoring the day when God rested from His own works. Therefore, the Sabbath was a day of unbroken rest and cessation from work.

By telling us, “There remaineth therefore a Sabbath rest to the people of God,” the Bible declares that the people of God can rest in their salvation once they have given their lives to Jesus Christ. His work on the Cross was so complete, perfect, finished, and flawless that there is nothing anyone can do to add to it. A person isn’t brought any closer to salvation by asking, begging, pleading, and imploring God to be saved or from trying to prove his sincerity so he can be worthy of salvation. If a person has given his life to Christ, he can “rest” in the fact that it is a done deal. Instead of struggling the way I did as a young man, every person who has trusted in Christ can relax, unwind, calm down, lighten up, and rest in the completed work of God that was purchased on the Cross of Jesus Christ!

Just as I did years ago, you must also make a decision to give up your struggle of trying to be saved and make the decision to simply rest in God’s grace. If God’s grace isn’t enough to do the job, all of your asking and begging isn’t going to make a difference anyway. It’s time for you to quit wrestling and started resting so you can begin to enjoy your salvation!

Hebrews 4:10 continues to tell us, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

The word “entered” is the Greek word eiserchomai. It is a compound of the words eis and erchomai. The first part of the word means into. The second part of the word erchomai means to go. It gives the idea of a person who is traveling or journeying to some destination. When these words are compounded into one, as they are in this verse, it forms the word eiserchomai, which expresses the idea of a person who enters into a certain place. He doesn’t just come near to this location; he actually enters into that location.

This means that those who have given their lives to Jesus Christ have entered into the completed work of God that occurred on the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Yes, the moment Jesus became Lord of your life was the exact split second you entered into God’s completed work of salvation. Regardless of what the devil may try to whisper to make you think that you must do more to really be saved, the fact remains that if your life has been given to Jesus Christ, you have already entered into the perfect, complete, finished, and flawless work of God. There is nothing you can add to it, so instead of allowing tormenting fear to steal your joy, it’s time for you to quit struggling and start resting in what Jesus has done for you. You can calm down, relax, and be at peace!

The rest of the verse says, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.” This verse says it’s time for you to rest in this perfect, complete, finished, flawless work, just as God did on the seventh day when He was assured that His work of creation was done.

If you are resting in Christ’s work, then you can rest from your work! That’s why this verse continues to say, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.”

This word “cease” is the word katapauo — a compound of the words kata and pauo. The word kata means down, and the word is pauo means to pause. When these words are compounded, the new word gives the idea of someone who has worked hard, but now has sat down, settled down, and has ceased from his labor. This is the picture of a person who has thrown off his work clothes and is now reclining in a restful position! You might say that he has finished his work and entered into retirement! The work is behind him, and that phase of his life is done and over. He is entering into a lasting and permanent rest.

So I want to encourage you today: If you struggle with your salvation, wondering whether or not you are really saved, nail it down forever by praying one last prayer of repentance and surrendering your life to Jesus Christ. Then walk away from that place of commitment and never revisit it again. Instead of habitually asking over and over to be saved, just pray in faith that God’s Word is true, quit struggling, and start resting in what Jesus has done for you!

There is a “Sabbath rest” for the people of God, and it belongs to every person who simply comes in faith to Jesus Christ. If you belong to Him, it is high time for you to kick back and rest in the fact that Jesus saved you and that this work of redemption is utterly complete. Just make the decision today that from this day forward, you are going to enjoy the benefits of this wonderful salvation that Jesus purchased for you on the Cross!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, I thank You that You died on the Cross for me and purchased my salvation. Thank You for saving me from sin and its penalty. Thank You that there is nothing I can do to add to Your work on the Cross. Today I am making the decision to quit struggling about my salvation and to simply rest in the salvation You have provided for me. I asked You to save me, and You saved me. I asked You to forgive me, and You forgave me. From this day forward, I will rest in the complete work of redemption that You purchased for me with Your precious blood. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that I am saved, forgiven, and born again by the Spirit of God. I asked Jesus to save me, and He saved me. I asked Jesus to forgive me, and He forgave me. I asked Jesus to come into my life, and now He lives in me by His Spirit. In Him I have redemption, deliverance, and salvation through His blood. In Christ I have the complete removal and forgiveness of sin in accordance with the generosity of God’s great goodness and favor toward me (see Ephesians 1:7). I am as saved as a person can be! I refuse to let the devil torment me, steal my joy, or make me think that I haven’t done enough to be saved. There is nothing I can add to the work of the Cross, so I am simply going to rest in what Jesus has already done for me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. What was the actual time in your life when you repented, asked Jesus Christ into your heart, and gave Him control of your life? Can you actually refer to the moment this happened?
2. Have you ever struggled with your salvation and wondered if you were really saved? How did you end this personal struggle and find peace of mind?
3. What would you say to someone else who is struggling with the question of whether or not he is really saved? What advice would you give that person, and what would you tell him or her to do to permanently find peace of mind?