The peril of loving men’s praise

  • Written by Phil
  • Posted August 20, 2008 at 3:52 am

What a tragic verse of Scripture! John 12:42-43, “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

These men came to believe in Jesus (they believed He was who He said He was) but they wouldn’t confess Him openly because they were afraid they’d be put out of the synagogue (excommunicated).

Their habit was so formed in them to love the praise of men, and their identity became so tied up with it, that they could not lay it down when Christ came. Here was the Promised One. They’d studied the prophets words about Him. They had taught others about the promises. Here He was at last – and they began to believe it! Time and eternity were in the balance – but they were still afraid to lose their standing, their reputation. They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Proverbs 29:25 says “The fear of man brings a snare (a trap)”.

What a great stronghold it is! Once the fear of man has its vice-like grip on you, it’s a very difficult thing to break free from. It can take many forms:

1) Intimidation
2) An over-concern with popularity
3) A fear of rejection
4) A fear of persecution
5) A fear of being in a minority

It occurs to me that one of the key characteristics of a truly revived heart – a mark by which you can know that God is making progress with you – is when the fear of man is broken. You see, the revived heart cares ONLY to please God.

The antidote to the fear of man is the fear of God. When you have a true reverence for God there’s no room any longer for the fear of man.

Listen to these words of the Apostle Paul: 1 Corinthians 4:3-5, “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.” AND Galatians 1:10, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.”

This is not Paul being arrogant. But he has only one real concern – pleasing God. He’s truly living for an audience of One. What a liberating way to live!

And this is how God wants US to live. Not afraid of men nor devils. What does the Word say? 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Pastor Phil

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"It will be better for you if I go"

  • Written by Phil
  • Posted August 18, 2008 at 12:56 am

Can you imagine the disciples faces when they heard those words?
John 16:7. Jesus said, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
This verse has been opening up to me more and more. There are so many ways in which we can realize the truth of what Jesus said. Jesus was actually eager to depart so that the disciples would receive the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had been WITH the disciples during His earthly ministry, but by the Spirit He would come to be IN them. On earth He had only been able to be in one place at one time, but, by the Spirit’s indwelling, the Church would take the presence of the Lord simultaneously to the uttermost parts of the earth.

The more you study this verse and compare it with the experience of the early church, the more applications you find of its truth. More is done in the believers life by the indwelling power of God than through any work Jesus could effect by an external influence. Samuel Chadwick wrote, “Inwardness is the distinctive feature of the Spirit. The Son of God reveals and works from without, but the Spirit of God dwells and works from within.”
Here’s another example that I’ve just been musing on. In Luke 11:1-4 we’re told that, at the disciples request, Jesus TAUGHT them to pray. He gave them that wonderful model that we have come to call “The Lord’s Prayer” (it’s really the disciples prayer … the Lord’s prayer is better used to describe John 17). Jesus, the Master of prayer, TAUGHT them to pray.
But notice the very different language when we come to Romans 8:26. The indwelling Holy Spirit does not only teach us to pray (He certainly is our teacher), but it says that he HELPS us to pray. Again the external influence has moved inward for something far more glorious.
I’ve been reading William Gurnall’s outstanding work “The Christian in Complete Armour“, and I was greatly blessed to read this passage that is a powerful commentary on Romans 8:26 …

“Even in acts of worship our strength is in the Lord. Consider prayer. Would we pray? Where will we find topics for our prayers? Alas, ‘We know not what we should pray for as we ought’ (Rom 8:26). Let us alone, and we will soon pray ourselves into some temptation or other, and beg for the very thing God knows we should not have. To protect us, then, God puts words in our mouths (Hos 14:2). But without some heart-heating affections to thaw the tap, the words will freeze on our lips. We may search in vain the corridors of our own hearts and the drafty corners of our souls. We will not find a spark upon our own hearth, unless it is some strange fire of our own desires, which will not do. No, the fire that thaws the iciness of the heart must come from heaven – a gift from God, who is ‘a consuming fire’ (Heb 12:29).
 
“First the Spirit stretches Himself upon the soul, as the prophet on the child; then the soul will begin to kindle and put forth some heavenly heat in its affections. At last the Spirit melts the heart, and prayer flows from the lips of the believer as naturally as tears from the eyes. And though the saint is the speaker, the author of the prayer is God. So we see that both the strength to pray and the prayer itself are from God.”

 

I believe in the Holy Ghost!
Pastor Phil
  

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