“How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear?  I cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ Yet You do not save.  Why have you made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things without a ruler over them?  The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, drag them up with their net, and gather them together in their fishing net.  They offer a sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their fishing net.  Will they therefore empty their net and continually slay nations without sparing?  Habakkuk 1:2,14-17 

We certainly live in unusual times!  It almost seems that the world has been turned on its head, and things that have been tried and tested by time have been cast aside.  Worst of all, if we were to listen to the lies of our age-old enemy, it would seem to some that the Lord has forgotten His people, or He is no longer paying attention to present-day happenings.  It apparently seemed that way to the prophet as he stated his complaint to the Lord.  He asks, ‘Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they?’ (v1:13) 

Imagine his initial shock when the Lord tells Habakkuk that He is going to use the Chaldeans to discipline His people (1:5-11).  He specifically says, ‘it will certainly come, it will not delay.’ (2:2,3)  Then the Lord reminds the prophet that Babylon will eventually be punished as well (2:5-11; 15-20). 

That bring us to one of the most mis-quoted, mis-interpreted verses in the Old Testament.  ‘O Lord revive Your work in the midst of the years.  In the midst of the years make it known.” (3:2b)  In processing what the Lord had just said to him concerning both the nation of  Judah and the nation of Babylon, Habukkuk cries, Your way is best, ‘In wrath remember mercy!’ (3:2c).  Then, coming to grips with the Truth he has just heard, the prophet utters one of the most eloquent prayers of faith recorded in Scripture.  ‘I heard, and my inward parts trembled.  At the sound my lips quivered.  Decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble.  Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress; For the people to arise who will invade us.  Though the fig tree  should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines; Though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food; Though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls; Yet, I will exult in the Lord.  I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.’ (3:16-18) 

My prayer for myself and for you is that we be found so full of faith that we would respond in such a profound and powerful way! 

Jon Moore

“Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord.  Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they shall be like wool.  If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land, but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.  Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”  Isaiah 1:18-20

 Is this it?  Are we living in the generation that sees the end of this world as we have known it?  Some say so, but is it true?  When the disciples asked Jesus when the end of the age would be, He told them, “No one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone!”  The question today (and every day) should be, “What is the Lord saying to me today?”  One worthy consideration is to examine how the Lord spoke to people in the days of the Old Testament.

 The prophet Isaiah was sent by the Lord to say to the Lord’s people, “Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted against Me.”  (Ch. 1:2).  “Sons who act corruptly!  They have abandoned the Lord.” (Ch. 1:4).  “Your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire, your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.”  (Ch. 1:7).  The people sought to placate God with their religious activities.  “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts.  They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.”  (Ch. 1:14).  “Cease to do evil, learn to do good.”  (Ch. 1:16,17).  Then the Lord explains how to go about doing these things.

 He first gives a chance to His family, “Come now!”  (Ch. 18).  If we do come to the Lord, it will be at His timing, not ours!  “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow.”  We can be forgiven!  As of today, the Day of Judgment has not arrived.  Thank God it is still the Day of His Grace!  Not only that, but we can be fulfilled.  “If you will consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land.”  The time to deal with the Lord is when He is dealing with us, and He is obviously dealing with us today!

 Our gracious God not only provides His family a chance for renewal, but He also announces a choice for the foolish.  “If you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.”  (Ch. 1:20).  Jesus dealt with the issue of the reliability of the Father’s Word with His disciples in Matthew 7:24ff by using the analogy of the foundation for a house.  If one builds his house on a rock, even if floods come and winds blow, the house will stand.  But if  one builds his house on sand, when the winds blow and floods come, the house will fall, and great will be the fall of it!  Each must ask himself, “On what am I building my life?”

 So what about the reliability of Scripture when it comes to the future?  Once again Isaiah speaks up.  “Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken!” (Ch. 1:20).  Untold numbers throughout history have put their trust in the truthfulness of God and His Word, and the testimony of their lives have been an encouragement to others to trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.  (Proverbs 3:5,6).  What about you?  What about me?

 Jon Moore

“If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name……. turn from THEIR wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive THEIR sin and will heal THEIR land.”  2^nd Chronicles 7:13,14a, c

 There is little doubt as to the desperate need for change in America.  There does seem to be no small mount of confusion about who is to do the changing, and why!  However, the Bible makes it abundantly clear that it is specifically to His people that the Lord looks to be the prime movers of this needed change.  Long ago the Lord spoke to the young Hebrew King, Solomon and told him there are ways that God can put into motion that if His people are paying attention, these acts will serve as a call to them for a need for radical change.  In recent years the world has witnessed not only an accelerated lack of reverence (respect) for God, but an open defiance of the Lord, and the things of God!  This has been accompanied by economic catastrophe and deadly sicknesses.  It would seem to be obvious!

 The Lord laid down four conditions for returning to a right relationship and fellowship with Him.  The first condition is the Lord’s people must humble ourselves.  I dealt with this condition two months ago in the June article.  If you missed it, scroll up and read “THE FORSAKEN FACTOR IN REVIVAL!”  Today I want to deal with the fourth and final condition for revival…“If My people who are called by My name…TURN from THEIR wicked ways,…”

 Some Believers have a hard time seeing any of their ways as “wicked.”  The Hebrew word in this verse translated “wicked” literally means “deviation from the right way.”  A one degree error in an airplane’s compass, if uncorrected will result in the airplane being one mile off course for every sixty air miles travelled.  If you fly 300 miles, when you land you will miss the runway by five miles!!!  ANY WAY that deviates from the right way is a wicked way!  Do you have any idols in your life?  Keep in mind that an idol is anything or anyone that substitutes for God!  Anything or anyone in your life that ever takes priority over God and His will for your life is an idol!

 The Hebrew word translated “way” in this verse means “trodden path.”  Have you ever lived in a house on a street corner?  Did people ever take a “shortcut” across your yard?  Over and Over again?  Did it create a “trodden path” in your yard?  Do you have any “trodden paths” in your life?  Sometimes we have done things a certain way for such a long time, they become trodden paths.  If they are ways that displease the Lord, they are deviations from the right way!

A young deacon on the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides Islands back in 1949 had prayed with fellow deacons for many nights for the coming of revival.  One night his praying took a turn.  He began to pray, “Are MY hands clean?  Is My heart pure?”  Then came conviction, followed by confession and cleansing, followed by more following his example.

Then came mighty revival!  Someone needs to lead the way!  It is time to turn.

Jon Moore

“However, Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.”

2^nd Chronicles 32:26

The Bible is full of promised blessings for those who humble themselves!  Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the wise man Solomon wrote, “A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.” (Proverbs 29:23).  James reminds us, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6).  Peter writes in 1^st Peter 5:6, “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”  Unfortunately, today’s society does not look on humility with the same admiration as does the Lord!  The question becomes, Why does the Lord put humility first when it comes to the conditions He requires for the coming of revival in 2^nd Chronicles 7:14?

A studied look at Scripture reveals that when there is a list of blessings, or conditions for blessings, whatever is listed first is listed first for a reason.  It is the most critical, most important.  Think about it!  Why would one pray, or seek the Lord, or turn from every way that deviates from the right way (the meaning of the word ‘wicked’ in 2^nd Chronicles 7:14) if one thinks that we can solve our own problems, or make ourselves right with God in our own way?  When we humble ourselves, the rest tends to follow, but prayer, seeking God and broken repentance are foreign to the prideful.

We need to recognize the scale of mankind’s problem.  First, pride is a perpetual problem.  “So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others…And many were bringing gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem and choice presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.”(vv 20-23).  Not only is pride perpetual, the enemy will see to it that it is also keenly personal.  After the Lord delivered Hezekiah from certain defeat and imprisonment, He was personally healed by God from a fatal disease!  “ In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill; and he prayed to the Lord, and the Lord spoke to him and gave him a sign.  But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud!”  (vv24-25).

Some years ago, a preacher friend of mine sent me a book of which he had been the general editor.  It is a collection of sayings by people who are noteworthy for their faithfulness and fruitfulness in ministry.  One such is the author and theologian J. C. Ryle who is credited with saying, “We have been too often content with zeal for orthodoxy and have neglected the sober realities of daily practical godliness!  There has been of late years a lower standard of personal holiness among believers than there used to be in the day of our forefathers.  The whole result is THE SPIRIT IS GRIEVED!  And the matter calls for much humiliation and searching of hearts!”

My prayer for myself and each of you who name the Name of Jesus as Lord and Savior is that each of us would begin to humble ourselves before Him!

Jon Moore

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit…”

Ephesians 5:18

Back in January I said I would attempt to address four basic questions about the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  The first question was, “Why should every Believer be filled with the Holy Spirit?”  I dealt with this by examining the 14^th, 15^th and 16^th chapters of the Gospel of John, because they contain an ongoing discussion by the Lord with His disciples about His soon-coming departure, the coming of the Holy Spirit and the role the Spirit would fill in the life and ministries of His followers.  If you have not already done so, I recommend you scroll down and read the last three month’s devotionals.

 This month I will focus on the last three questions.  Question two is, “What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?”  The Greek word “filled” in Ephesians 5:18 means “to fill; to be filled to the full.”  It carries with it a picture of “to be fully taken up with; to be fully under the control of!”  Thus, to be filled with the Holy Spirit means not so much to have more of the Spirit, but for the Spirit to have more (all) of you!

 Question three is, “Do you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit again?”  Some argue they do not need to be filled, because they were filled with the Spirit at conversion!  Certainly, a Biblical view of salvation teaches that it includes a full surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, but guess what?  You leaked!  The commandment to be filled in Ephesians 5:18 is in the present imperfect tense in the original Greek language meaning, “Be always being filled with Holy Spirit!”  Ask yourself this question, “Do I have the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23 fully operative in my life today?”  The absence of any one of this cluster of fruit indicates you need to be filled again with the Spirit.  Likewise, “Is the power of the Holy Spirit demonstrated in your daily living, preaching, teaching, witnessing.  Acts 1:8 says we receive power when the Holy Spirit fills us.  The absence of power is a reminder we need to be filled again!  Note the experiences of the disciples in the book of Acts.  See 13:52 especially.

 The fourth question is, “How is one filled with the Holy Spirit?”  Peter in Acts 2:32-33 tells us that when Jesus ascended into heaven after His resurrection, the Father exalted Christ to the right hand of God, the place of all authority and power.  He gave the Son the promised Holy Spirit.  Jesus then poured forth the Spirit on the disciples at Pentecost, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit!  In like manner when we as Believers genuinely surrender our life to the Lordship of Christ, crowning Him both Lord and Christ, He once again pours out the Holy Spirit into us in His fullness!

 Jon Moore

“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit!”

Ephesians 5:18

Two months ago, I began to address the question, “Why does every Believer need to be filled with the Holy Spirit?”    This is the first of several questions I will seek to address in this series.  We have been examining chapters 14, 15 and 16 of the gospel of John, because they contain a discussion by the Lord with His disciples about His soon-coming departure, the coming of the Holy Spirit and the role the Spirit will fill in the life and ministries of both the disciples and those who follow them.  I recommend you scroll down and read Part One and Part Two before you read any further.

The third reason every Believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit is not only that He indwells and instructs the Believer, but that He also endows the Believer (John 16:14)!  Remember, the word “disclose” means to tell back!  The blessed Holy Spirit not only makes Christ real to the Believer, but also in the Believer, and ultimately through the Believer!  Remember also the meaning of the word “another” in John 14:16=“Another like Me!”  Jesus, the Son came to disclose (To tell back) the Father (John 16:15), “He is the radiance of the Father’s glory, and the exact representation of His nature!” (Hebrews 1:3) So, the Holy Spirit came to disclose (To tell back) the Son (John 15:26).  Only the Believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit can effectually disclose the Life of Jesus Christ! 

We have examined three reasons from Scripture why every Believer should be filled with Holy Spirit.  Because He indwells the Believer, He instructs the Believer and He endows the Believer!  Yet, there is a fourth reason.  Ephesians 5:18 is not a recommendation, it is a Biblical commandment!  In the original writing of the New Testament (Greek) there is a way sentences can be constructed so that the reader (listener) can know the statement is an imperative commandment!  Such is the case with Ephesians 5:18, it is imperative that every Believer be filled with Holy Spirit!  And how did Jesus Himself tell us we are to express our love to and for Him?  “He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me…” (John 14:21).

Jon Moore

“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit!”

Ephesians 5:18

Last month we began addressing the question of why every Believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit!  Remember that we are focusing on John chapters 14, 15 and 16, because these chapters contain a time of ongoing discussion by Jesus concerning His soon-coming departure, and the ministry His disciples would soon be leading.  A significant part of this discussion focuses on the role the Holy Spirit will fill in the life and ministries of the disciples, and those that will follow them!  In this discussion Jesus deals with three reasons why every Believer needs to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).  The first reason is because the Holy Spirit indwells the Believer, both with you (John 14:16), and in you (John 14:17).  To review scroll down and re-read last month’s devotional!

The second reason every Believer needs to be filled with the Spirit is He instructs the Believer.  “He will teach you all things.” (John 14:26a).  All the Believer truly knows of the Lord is taught/revealed to us by the Holy Spirit!  He instructs us in three ways.  First, He reminds us, “He will bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26b).  Some times we don’t need to learn something new.  Sometimes our memory needs to be prompted to remember Truth we have already learned!  That could happen when we are meditating on Scripture we have just read, or just heard, or in a conversation we are having with a fellow Believer.  The Spirit uses all kinds of instruments in His ministry to us!

The second way the Spirit instructs us is He refines us, “But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the Truth.” (John 16:13a).  You may well ask, “Isn’t that the same thing as John 14:26?”  NO!  These are two separate things.  One is that the Spirit teaches us all things; the other is He not only teaches Truth, but He leads us INTO the Truth!  This is one of the ways of God that David referred to in Psalm 103:7, “He made known His way unto Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel!”  He reveals Truth to His servants and follows it by putting them in life experiences that will require them to validate the Truth in personal experience.  Only then can they minister the Truth in the Lord’s power!

Finally, the third way the Holy Spirit instructs the Believer is He reveals to us, “He will  disclose to you what is to come.” (John 16:13b).  The word “disclose” means to “tell back.”  If you want to know that for which you need to be prepared, pay attention to what the Lord is teaching you today!  There are no “accidents” in the life of a child of God, especially one who is committed to be a loyal follower!  Any educator will tell you the best environment for learning is one teacher for every student, and that is what the Lord has provided for each of His children!  Each Believer has the undivided attention and ministry of the Holy Spirit.  That is another reason every Believer needs to be filled with the Spirit!

Jon Moore

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit…”

Ephesians 5:18 

The decade of the 1960s was marked by rebellion in America!  Against the war in Vietnam, the military draft, the sexual mores of the day and against organized religion.  There was experimentation with foreign religions, “free” sex, often accompanied with hallucinating drugs.  Young people argued they were “searching for the Truth!”  Notably, out of this some came full circle to discover salvation through faith in Jesus Christ!  Yet in this rebellious setting there was widespread false teaching that spread, particularly about the Holy Spirit.  Sadly, some preachers spent more time condemning the false teachers than they did communicating the Truth from the Bible! 

It is often said, “The more things change, the more they stay the same!”  Sadly, rebellion is a present problem, and Believers are not exempted from the temptation!  I am convinced there is a critical need for more teaching of Bible Truth about the Holy Spirit.  That is why I will seek to address four basic questions over the next several months.  Why should a Believer be filled with the Spirit?  What does that mean?  Who should be filled?  And How is one filled?  I will address these issues from the gospel of John, chapters 14, 15 and 16!  These chapters contain an ongoing time of discussion by Jesus concerning His soon-coming departure, and the ministry His disciples would be leading.  A significant part of that discussion deals with the role the Holy Spirit will fill in their life and ministries.  

In this discussion Jesus deals with three specific reasons why every Believer needs to be filled with the Spirit.  The first reason is because the Holy Spirit indwells the Believer.  “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper”  (John 14:16a).  Many know that the Greek word translated Helper is at other times translated Comforter, Advocate, or Intercessor.  The word means, “One called alongside to help.”  Another word important to understand is the word “another”.  That word in the Greek means, “Another like Me.”  Jesus says that the best description of the Holy Spirit is He is another like Me!  Then the Lord expands that statement, “that He may be with you forever” (John 14:16b).  Jesus came for a specific task assigned by the Father, to redeem lost humanity by paying the redemption price, the willing sacrifice of His sinless Life.  Soon He would return to heaven to sit at the Father’s right hand.  With the coming of the Holy Spirit, He (the Spirit) is to abide with us FOREVER!  

Not only that, but the Holy Spirit is now in us, “…that is the Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you” (John 16:17).  When one first believes on the Lord Jesus Christ the temptation is to think that the Christian life will be so wonderful that it will be easy.  Then life happens, and sin enters the picture again.  We begin to realize that living for Christ will be harder that we thought, and finally we come to see it is an impossible task.  Just as we learn that we need Him with us in our loneliness, we realize our need for Him in our weakness.  Praise to God our Father that the Holy Spirit is our Divine Helper who makes the impossible gloriously possible!                                             

Jon Moore

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life!”  John 3:16

 The verse written above is the most familiar verse in the Bible.  Many have it memorized, some who do not make any claim of being a Christian!  It comes at the end of a conversation between Jesus Christ and a man by the name of Nicodemus.  During the conversation, Jesus tells this prominent man from the Jewish community that every person (no exceptions) must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of God!  When Nicodemus misunderstands the meaning of this statement by saying, “How can a man be born when he is old?  He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”  Jesus then explains there must be two distinct births, one a natural birth of water and a spiritual birth of the Spirit.  Nicodemus then asked, “How can these things be?”

 Jesus then expressed amazement that a man understood to be “the” teacher of Israel, obviously indicating Nicodemus had a reputation of being knowledgeable in the Scriptures, could not understand the necessity of two births, one natural, and one spiritual.  Nicodemus then exclaimed, “How can these things be?”  Jesus follows this question with His explanation of how one is born again in John 3:16 quoted above, requiring that one must “believe” in Jesus.  The challenge lies in properly understanding the meaning of the word ‘believe’.  Many have assumed that it means a merely intellectual transaction, but the demons in hell believe that much, and shudder (James 2:19)!

 The New Testament word ‘believe’ means, “To trust in; To cling to; To rely on.” 

1) To believe in Jesus that results in salvation means to trust in what Jesus has done for you!  “Christ also died for sins, once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us unto God.” (1^st Peter 3:18). 

2) To believe in Jesus resulting in salvation means to cling to who Jesus is in you!  “Christ in you, the hope of glory!” (Colossians 1:27).  “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure!” (Philippians 2:13).

3) To believe in Jesus resulting in salvation means to rely on all Jesus has said to you!  “It is impossible for God to lie!” (Hebrews 6:18).

 Here is the question to be answered!  Here is the question you must answer, if not today, then once you die.  “It is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgement!” (Hebrews 9:27).  Are you qualified to enter the Kingdom of God?  Have you been born again?

Jon Moore

“O Lord, You showed favor to your land; You restored the captivity of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah! You withdrew all Your fury; You turned away from Your burning anger.”  Psalm 85:1-3 NASB

The question is being asked today in some of our religious institutions whether the subject of revival is “old-fashioned, out of date, irrelevant?”  After all, it seems like it has been ages ago since there has been a spiritual awakening among a group of God’s people that resulted in both fire in the pulpit and fire in the pew, which eventually led to churches being revitalized and large numbers of lost people getting saved! That all seems to many as “so yesterday!”

Similar thoughts may have passed through the mind of the Psalmist.  Notice that all the verbs in the first three verses of Psalm 85 are in the PAST TENSE (What God formerly had done). Then, after verse two he pens the word Selah! This word may mean Pause, or Musical Interlude. A pause, or interlude gives one time to think, consider, contemplate.  Is God unable to act on this level again? Or, is He simply unwilling? But the writer of this Psalm knows the Lord too well to fall for that! He knew the God Who told Moses that He had heard the cry of His people, and He had “come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and…bring them up to a good and spacious land.” And he was aware the Lord then accomplished all that He had promised! Based on the assurance of God’s faithfulness, and the obvious need of the hour, the Psalmist then presents his petitions.

The first request is for the Lord to cease His indignation. “Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause your indignation toward us to cease. Will You be angry with us forever? Will you prolong Your anger to all generations? (verses 4-5)  In verse 8 he refers to being in a spiritual condition where we need to be restored as “folly” or “stupidity”!  It really is dumb for a Believer to let himself (or herself) get so indifferent and cold spiritually that he or she needs revival!

The second request is for the Lord to confer His revelation. “Will You not Yourself revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your lovingkindness O Lord and grant us Your salvation!” Revival is the work of God, and he is the only one Who can do it!  The same One who reproves us is the only One who can revive us!  The One who chastens is the One who quickens!

When Danish sculptor Albert Thorwaldsen completed his famous statue of Christ with His arms extended, and His head bowed, he invited a friend to view it before showing it to the public.  The man walked around the work and said, “I cannot see His face!”  Thorwaldsen replied, “You must get down on your knees!” 

Once we recognize the need for revival, the first order of spiritual business is to “humble ourselves!”  See 2^nd Chronicles 7:14…

Jon Moore