Flow Mighty River, Flow

I wrote and published this word in August 2011. I felt to post it tonight. Let it be, Lord...

Recently we stayed with friends on a 5000 acre farm in central Queensland. What a place to get away from the noise and busyness of modern life! On the way to their farm, we drove through the Callide Valley and I was struck with how dry and dusty and barren the land looked. I imagined how the wild animals must pursue water in that unforgiving environment.

Without a doubt, our nation is experiencing a desert-like environment when it comes to the sweet flow of God’s Spirit. And like those animals in the Callide Valley, there are so many people desperately looking for a water source that might quench their thirst and impart life. Not knowing any better, many look for satisfaction in the devil’s paltry offerings. They seek satisfaction in empty entertainment, alluring drugs and alcohol, soul-destroying sexual pursuits, and ever-demanding materialism – all are cruel mirages that promise so much and deliver only disappointment. There is only one thing that satisfies the human spirit and that is drinking in and enjoying God’s presence.

As the world system fails and people become increasingly desperate for life-giving water, they will come looking to us. Our outreaches and gatherings and churches may be the last roll of the dice for burnt-out, disillusioned travellers. And so it is essential that we truly are the oases they are looking for – springs that gush forth with the sweet rivers of revival that transform dying souls into brand new men and women! Reservoirs that offer living water and where Jesus Christ is seen and heard and His grace and power are not obscured by dead religion or fancy trappings. The rivers that flow from Jesus are sweet and they revive! 

And when one life is mightily touched and transformed by the power of God, many more lives are impacted as a result. Jesus gave living water to a woman he met at a well and so she went and brought the rest of the town back to get some!

From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I have done." John 4:39

There is a mighty rushing river about to flow in this nation, it will come like a flash flood. It is the sweet Spirit of God, the anointing that scares Satan to his core. He remembers being messed up by it when Jesus walked the earth and defeated him at the Cross and he remembers his kingdom being plundered when the early church walked in that same anointing. And ever since, the devil has been broadsided when the anointing flows. It’s the river of life that makes the lame to walk and the blind to see, that opens prison doors and sets the captives free. And it’s about to flow again in a mighty way for the healing of the nations, to the praise and glory of God!

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people I have formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise. Isaiah 43:19-21

But for the Grace of God, There Go I

Recently I was talking with two work colleagues when one of them shared a sense of helplessness and frustration regarding her shortcomings and failures. My colleagues were surprised and encouraged when I freely declared that I am the most miserable failure as a person. In the past, I was a hopeless slave to many vices and, but for the grace of God, that's the person I am. It's the genetic disposition that I inherited from my parents, and they from their parents, and so on...

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing... Rom 7:18

Many outsiders to the faith form the opinion that Christians are good people by nature; that we were born with some altruistic tendency. The reality, however, could not be further from the truth.

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Ps 51:5

As it is written, There is none righteous, no not one. Rom 3:10

The Christian who flows with Divine love and selfless service towards others is simply one who has, through faith, exchanged their sinful Adamic nature for the perfect life and nature of Christ Jesus. To the measure we live with our heads resting on Christ's bosom and drinking of His love; to that measure we become someone totally contrary to our natural disposition. 

The wholesome, pure, and lovely fragrance that people are drawn to in us ... is not us. It's the Spirit of Christ in us! We can take no credit for the Divine love shed abroad in our hearts. We are who we are, by the grace of God.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph 2:8-9

To look at ourselves and meditate on our own failings and weaknesses is demoralising. The older we get, the more we despair! Despite our best efforts, we just can't change who we are. As the saying goes, 'A leopard can't change its spots.' Or, 'Like father, like son,' as another saying goes. The good news is that coming to this realisation is actually the starting place for receiving the life-changing grace of God!

And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:31-32

There is an incredible rest in freely accepting who we are, apart from the grace of God. Regardless of how stable and well-rounded we may seem to become as we journey with Christ, but for His grace, we are miserable wretches. We must never forget this. Self-righteousness is pride. And pride cuts us off from the very grace we need.

But he gives more grace. Therefore he says, God resisteth the proud, but gives grace unto the humble. Jam 4:6

Paul was happy to refer to himself as the "chief" of sinners (1 Tim 1:15). He had no doubts about his shortcomings, apart from the grace of God. 

I think I know where Paul was coming from when he wrote this. You don't want to know Dylan Oakley, according to the flesh. I don't want to know him. If Jesus, our beautiful Saviour and Lord, can make something out of my life and flow His love through me, He can do the same for you.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Gal 2:20

I Plead the Precious Blood of Jesus

What does it mean to ‘plead the blood of Jesus?’ I often plead the precious blood of Jesus. Amazing power is released as we do this!

The power released when we plead the blood of Jesus is not because we have said some magic words. Likewise, when we pray ‘in the name of Jesus,’ it is not the use of magic or repetitive words that makes our prayers effective.

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Matt 6:7

So what is it to plead the blood of Jesus? While our confessions are important, pleading the blood of Jesus and offering our prayers in the name of Jesus have more to do with our hearts than with our words. It is when we understand and believe the simple truth behind pleading the blood of Jesus and praying in His name, that a world of answered prayer and Divine intervention opens to us.

Think back to when you were first born again. It is when we are first saved that we really understand what it means to plead the blood of Jesus. It is when we have nothing to offer God but brokenness and strife, confusion and shame that we throw ourselves wholly on His mercy and receive His grace. 

It is when we are bankrupt spiritually that we put all our hope and faith in Christ and receive of His riches. It is when we are acutely aware of our own failings and abysmal track record that we humbly receive strength from One who is altogether perfect and reliable. This is what it is to plead the blood of Jesus and to make our every appeal and request to God in the name of Jesus Christ.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:3

In the weeks following our salvation, Fiona and I experienced an exciting world of miracles, amazing answers to prayer, and incredible Divine connections. We moved in spiritual gifts without even knowing what they were! Even though we had nothing to offer Him, we believed the simple truth that God had washed us clean and received us and lavished us with His love and favour. We believed the simple truth behind pleading the blood and praying in the name of Jesus … before we even knew to confess those words!

To plead the blood of Jesus is to make no demands upon the blessings and provisions of God’s exciting Kingdom … apart from Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

To plead the blood of Jesus is to cry out for Daddy God’s intervention and help … on the merits of Christ alone.

To plead the blood of Jesus is to find shelter and protection behind the ‘Blood line,’ abandoning any personal claims of righteousness.

To plead the precious blood of Jesus is to draw on the power of Christ alone to save, heal, and deliver … resting completely in our identification and spiritual union with Him.

Labor to see the emptiness, shortness, and pollution that clings to man’s own righteousness. This also must in some measure be known before a man can know the nature of the love of Christ. John Bunyan (1692), The Saint’s Knowledge of Christ’s Love.

The god of this world and accuser of the brethren hates the blood of Jesus. For whoever pleads the Blood – understanding and believing the simple truth that Christ has become his righteousness – finds that Satan’s power and dominion is completely nullified. That’s why the devil’s most subtle device is not the temptation that appeals to sensual lusts but rather the temptation to commend oneself to God. To commend oneself to God is spiritual pride; it is to fall from grace. It is sheer folly.

How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Gal 3:3

As rewarding and liberating as it is to pursue holiness, our progress in sanctification can never be the grounds for coming to the Father or receiving anything from Him. It is faith that pleases God; not self-righteousness. There is only One found worthy and it is as we locate ourselves in Him that we experience the fullness of the joy of the Kingdom. As we journey ever further along the pilgrim's road, let us treasure and guard carefully the simple Gospel truths we embraced as penitent sinners.

And the publican standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 18:13-14

Let us forever believe and confess that our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. This is what it means to plead the blood of Jesus. This is what it means to pray in the name of Jesus.

Confidence Through Christ

Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? Song 8:5

The wilderness is a desolate place; a place of weeping; a place of cleansing; a valley of tears. It’s the place where we lose all self-confidence and learn to draw our confidence entirely from the life of Christ within.

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 2 Cor 3:4

The wilderness is the place where the treasured old hymns of past generations become ours. The wilderness is a desert transformed into springs and pools of water as we build hope anew in Jesus’ blood and righteousness and cherish afresh the old rugged Cross.

As they go through the Valley of Baca [the Valley of Weeping] they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. Psalm 84:6

When we truly come to the end of ourselves – our strength, our confidence, our abilities, our love – we are in a place to be flooded with the sweet Spirit of Christ. Our decrease facilitates His increase in our lives (John 3:30). And the Spirit of Christ has a fragrance – an aroma. How sweet! How altogether pure and reviving! In our broken and weakened state, this fragrance of the knowledge of Christ through us spreads everywhere.

For we are the fragrance of Christ… 2 Cor 2:15

Many of us spend a lifetime learning how to be strong, how to cope, how to dig deep, how to influence people and circumstances in order to make our way in the world. Then we re-learn through Christ how to be weak, how to surrender, how to rest, how to serve, and how to trust our God to make the way for us even through deserts and seas.

Then the thing, undreamed of in any Arabian Nights of fiction, becomes real in Christ. The desert turns into a trail of flowers; and the heart throbs pull at the bell-ropes of heaven until the music of the skies is heard again by mortal ears. The rocky hills are but the paths which lead upward to a transfiguration trysting place, together with the saints; as we love Him, who leads and guides us, more and more with every step of the way. - Charles S. Price (1940), The Real Faith.