The LAST DAYS - Foretold by Isaiah

We are in the LAST DAYS ! Now relax, this is not cause for anxiety.  LAST DAYS do not mean the last few months or years before 'end of the world' as we know it.

From a Scriptural standpoint, 'the Last Days' refers to the entire period from the First Coming right down to the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus. This becomes apparent when we find Peter while explaining the Pentecost saying, Joel's Promise for the Last Days has come true (Acts 2:17). Similarly, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews while referring to Jesus's earthly sojourn says, "in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son" (Heb 1:2). Paul too, in the middle of the 1st Century, writes to Timothy as one living in the last days (2 Tim. 3:1-5).

No, No. Peter or Paul did not expect the world to crash any moment. They had clearly understood that Jesus's First Coming was the dawn of a New Age (the Last Days). Therefore, for them it was an exciting time to be in - a time of fulfilment of various Old Testament promises of hope and flourishing.

Prophets in the Old Testament had often referred to the 2 Comings of our Lord in the same breath. They were like one looking from a great distance at 2 peaks that seemed almost as one, while in reality they were far separated from each other. 

We see Isaiah doing that: "Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me . . . to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God . . ." This was God's revelation through the prophet Isaiah to His chosen people, Israel (Isaiah 61:1–3). And as stated in this passage, Jesus did proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord during His First Coming. But the day of vengeance is having to wait, until He comes a second time.

At His First Coming, Jesus read out loud from the book of Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18–19).

However, He deliberately stopped short of reading out the concluding words, which say, "and the day of vengeance of our God." He left that out for a reason, for that will be in the future when he returns to execute justice.

In the Scriptures, we see from the very beginning that God has always been concerned with establishing justice.

"Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly." (Lev. 19:15)

"Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow." (Isa. 1:17)

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Mic. 6:8)

Thus, through several of His prophets, including Moses, Isaiah and Micah, God had repeatedly emphasized this to His people. And in the future, He Himself will put an end to all the injustice in the world. Many prophets have referred to that day as "the Day of the LORD" (Isaiah 13:6,9; Ezekiel 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1,11,31; 3:14; Amos 5:18, 20; Obadiah 1:15; Zephaniah 1:7,14; Zechariah 14:1; Malachi 4:5).

The Spread of the Gospel

During the period between these two comings of Christ, God will redeem for Himself through His Gospel, a people from all nations. He will unite them along with the remnant of Israel (believing Jews),  into one people (New Israel) that belongs to Him. He began the work of bringing in the nations into God's family, using the very people of Israel whom He had called His firstborn.

After accomplishing salvation (the redemption secured for us through His death and resurrection) during his First Coming, Jesus began the work of proclaiming this salvation to the whole world and thereby gathering children for Abraham from among the nations, through the very Remnant (Jews) that included Peter, Paul and other apostles. We read this, right through the Book of Acts.

This had also been foretold by God, through the prophet Isaiah: “And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations." (Isa. 66:18-19).

By mentioning the names of nations situated at the four corners of the known world of that time - Tarshish (Spain) to the west, Libya to the south, Greece to the north and Tubal (near Black Sea) to the east - he was indicating that the Gospel would reach the whole world.

The New Jerusalem

Furthermore, Isaiah writes: "And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels.And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites” says the Lord (Isa. 66:20-21).

Alongside the remnant (believing Jews) of Israel who receive God's salvation through faith in Jesus, many people from all nations will also be saved. God portrays their gathering together as one family in the New Heaven-New Earth, through the imagery of a grain offering brought to the Temple in Jerusalem as the harvest's first-fruits.

Isaiah continues, “As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord (Isa. 66:22-23)

The Day of the LORD that ushers in the New Heaven-New Earth, will indeed be a day of great joy for His people, the New Israel. It will be the day of their ultimate deliverance from all the troubles of this earthly life that have held them captive. Isaiah says: "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem. When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants . . . " (Isa. 66:13-14)

Under the Old Covenant, God promised His people the Temple, the city of Jerusalem and the land of Israel. Under the New Covenant however, the New Heaven and the New Earth will be the fulfilment of these promises, following the Last Days. Old Testament Scholar Christopher Wright's analogy is helpful here: A dad who promises independence and mobility to his son through a horse-drawn wagon, when he would reach adulthood (say, when he would be 18), hands him the keys to a motor-car when he turns 18, at a time when the Wagon has been replaced by the motor-car!

Paul understood this well. He refers to the recreated world that God's children will inherit as the "Jerusalem above." He says: "But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother" (Gal. 4:26). John too talks about the New earth in Revelation as, "the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God" (Rev. 3:12).

John, talking about it in greater detail in the concluding chapters, writes: Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God (Rev.21:1-3).

Eternal Condemnation

On the other hand, that day will be a dreadful day for those who oppose God and live unrighteously.

". . . but his fury will be shown to his foes. See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire and with his sword the Lord will execute judgment on all people, and many will be those slain by the Lord." (Isa. 66:14-16)

“And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” (Isa. 66:24)

These passages speak of people who live in ways displeasing to God, those who engage in warfare against Him, and those who destroy the world God has created. God has appointed a day of judgment to rescue His people from these adversaries.

During this intervening New Testament period - the last days - God has graciously granted everyone an opportunity to turn back to Him. Those who reject this precious opportunity ultimately choose eternal destruction for themselves.

Will we rejoice over the Day of the Lord when it arrives, or will we dread its arrival? That depends on the choice we make now, during the Last Days!

RELATED POST . . . REVELATION and You!

REVELATION and You

Contributed the following article to the Nov '18 issue of VANAMUTHAM,

a Tamil Christian Monthly magazine published by Serve India Mission,

that attempts to connect the world (with its events and practical issues) to God's word.

 The book of Revelation includes 2 things.

One: What was given by God to Jesus Christ, who in turn revealed it to his servant John through an angel, about what must soon take place.

Two: What John saw and testified regarding the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

John wrote it down so that the one who reads it aloud and those who hear it, will obey God and keep what is written, taking to heart all that must soon take place, namely His Coming, Final Judgment and Rewards for our actions.

The purpose of having revealed what must soon take place is not that we may speculate what will now happen and predict what will happen next.

Moreover, the book of Revelation has been written in symbolic or apocalyptic language. Therefore, this book is full of strange symbols such as White, Red, Black and Pale horses, a beast with crowns on its 10 horns that emerges from the sea, another beast with 2 horns like that of a sheep speaking with the voice of the serpent, and many more.  For some reason, those who consider all the above to be symbols, interpret certain other things such as the Mark of the Beast (Rev 13:16-18), waters of Euphrates drying to pave way for Kings from the East (16:12), Kings being gathered at Armageddon (16:16), Satan being bound and those beheaded ruling with Christ for Thousand Years (20:2-6) literally.

While John has written this with a specific purpose, how fair is it to interpret some of it in one way, and understand the rest of it in quite another way, without any regard for its intended purpose? Now, let us again return to the Purpose. What need did John have to make his readers obey God and to instruct them to announce Christ as a witness through their lives? While thousands all through the Roman Empire were undergoing persecution for Christ’s Name, John himself had been deported to Patmos, and logical questions like “What good is it to obey God’s Word? Is not persecution all that comes our way? Is not the Roman Emperor appearing to be all-powerful? Where is our Lord Jesus? How long will we have to suffer?” were weighing down the hearts of the believers, it was to encourage them that the Lord gave this special Revelation through apostle John.

It is in this context that he reminds them, that they are not only companions in suffering but also in Christ’s Kingdom and hence called to endure with patience (1:9). “Christ rules. The dominion of all other powers has been permitted for a season under God’s sovereignty. But end is certain. Those who trust Satan’s deception and spend their present time in pleasure, will take part in Satan’s final destruction too. On the other hand, those who faithfully serve Christ amidst persecution, will enter glory and receive their reward.” This is the sum and substance of the lesson that Revelation teaches.  Trying to interpret each symbol individually while ignoring the purpose this book was written for, will make us lose sight of the prime lesson that this book is intended to teach.

If we read this book, keeping in mind the central purpose of this book, we will be able to identify in its pages two sets of people - those who keep God’s word faithfully and those on the other side who deny God and live only to gain this world, having been deceived by the devil’s schemes. When we recognize this, a question that naturally arises in our mind would be if we are faithfully following the Lord or if we have been deceived by the devil. Even in the seven churches in Asia Minor (Rev 2,3) that the Lord used to symbolize world-wide Church across the ages, we can find both these set of people.

GROUP FAITHFULLY SERVING THE LORD 

They have the seal of the Living God on their foreheads, so that they are protected amidst tribulation (Rev 7:1-4). They are the great multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and giving the glory of salvation to God (7:9,10). They are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation, having washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb (7:14). They have the Father’s Name written on their foreheads (14:1). These are the men and women who have not defiled themselves. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. No lie is found in their mouth. They are blameless (14:4-5). They keep God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus, with patient endurance. They take their deeds with them to eternity (14:12-13).

They are victorious over the beast and its image and the number of its name (15:2). They stay away from the sinful ways of the world, pictured as the Great Babylon and as the adulteress riding the beast, ensnaring people with her immorality, riches, power and spiritual/ religious deception (18:4). They have prepared themselves as the universal Church, the bride of Christ. They have received their righteousness to be worn as fine linen, bright and clean. They are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb (19:7-9). They are the armies of heaven following Christ, dressed in fine linen, white and clean, and riding on white horses (19:14).

They had offered themselves to be beheaded for the testimony or Jesus and for the Word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or on their hand. They will come to life and reign with Christ (20:4). They will serve God in eternity, see Him face to face, have His Name on their foreheads, and reign for ever and ever (22:3-5). They are those who continue doing right, continue being holy, and about to receive the reward according to what they have done (22:11,12). They wash their robes so that they have the right to go through the gates into the Holy and Eternal city (22:14). They will partake in the eternal inheritance from God.

GROUP FELLED BY THE DEVIL'S DECEPTION 

They do not have the seal of the Living God on their foreheads. Hence, they are not protected from the plagues, that the Lord permits (Rev 9:1-4). When they happen to escape death by the plagues, they do not repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. They exalt what are not Gods to be equal to or higher than God, trusting and worshipping them (9:20-21). They are tormented by God’s words spoken through God’s ministers, and they gloat and celebrate when the ministers die (11:10).

They worship the Anti-Christ and the devil who gave authority to him (13:4). Their names are not written in the Book of Life, of the Lamb slain from the creation of the world (13:8). They had received the mark of the Beast on their right hands or foreheads, so that they survive, do business and enjoy the world (13:16,17). They await torment by drinking the wine of God’s fury, and by burning by sulfur in the presence of the holy Angels and of the lamb (14:10-11). When God sends great plagues to convict these who have the mark of the beast and worship its image, they refuse to repent of what they have done and instead curse God (16:2,9,21).

They have grown rich from the excessive luxuries offered by the spirit of the world that is called as the Great Babylon and as the Adulteress as it lures them with its intoxicating mix of immorality, materialism, power and spiritual/religious deceptions (18:2). They will throw dust on their heads and weep and cry that they have been brought to ruin (18:14-19), when the Lord suddenly puts an end to the world’s power/ economic/ religious system that they so greatly trusted for their wealth and enjoyment (18:8,9). They are going to be thrown into the lake of fire, as their names are not found in the Book of Life (20:15).  They await being consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur as they are the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and liars (21:8). They will be kept out of the eternal holy city, having sought eternal destruction for themselves (22:15).

Where do you belong? The question that we need to ask when studying the book of Revelation is, “which group do I belong to?” Do I belong to the first group that contains the blessed ones? Or do I belong to the second group that appears wise at the present but is truly awaiting disaster? If we are convicted that we indeed belong to the second group today, it should push us to gain entry into the first group. The Lord has given us this book for this very purpose.

On the contrary, we get stuck in unnecessary controversies whenever we see new systems and technological advancements being introduced into the world. The devil is diverting us with questions like, Can I receive the ‘PAN’ card? Can I apply for the ‘Smart Card’? Is it ok to register for ‘Aadhaar’?, Is it right to accept ‘Digital tattoo’, and so on. People who are constantly matching each symbol in the book of Revelation with current developments, can be blinded to their own “sorry” spiritual state by the devil’s deception.

The Lord is coming. Here are what the Lord has clearly stated about His Coming. “Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced him; and all peoples on earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be, Amen!” are His first words in this book concerning His Coming. And in the final chapter, this warning appears thrice. “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll” (22:7).  “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what he has done” (22:12). He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon” (22:20).

If you have closely followed, it is Repentance, Works emanating from a repentant heart, and our eternal Rewards that are going to accompany the Lord when He comes, that are being emphasized again and again in this book. Those who faithfully follow him are sure to suffer. But it is going to be only for a season. Gracefully, he also warns (through plagues) those who have compromised with the world. Eternal destruction awaits the unrepentant. But eternal joy awaits those who have put their trust in Him. They are going to rule forever.

Trying to individually interpret the symbols, on the other hand, will be a futile and diversionary exercise. It will be missing the Forest for the Trees. Therefore, let us avoid all speculation about His Coming, and get ready to meet Him. Let us announce the Salvation He offers as Good News. Hallelujah!

(RELATED POST . . . WHAT DOES BIBLE SAY ABOUT END TIMES )

What ENTERTAINMENT does to our SENSES?

While reporting on the ‘Last Journey’ of Sridevi, the Diva of Indian Cinema, its supposedly first female SuperStar, Editorials of Indian News Papers went gaga over how the spontaneous outpouring of thousands at her funeral, accompanied by the mourning of many more in neighboring Pakistan, Afghanistan and other parts of South Asia, was everyone's envy. What they conveniently forgot is that the last journey was not on the roads of Mumbai on 28 Feb; rather it was on 24th evening when her soul departed inside Jumeirah Emirates Tower. Little did Rishi Kapoor, an industry senior and a distant relative, realize it when he took exception, to what was brought from Dubai being referred to as 'the body' or 'the mortal remains' of Sridevi. What was also missing, if this was indeed a journey, is the thought about the 'next hop' or the 'ultimate destination'!

This raised a pertinent question in my mind. For all journeys we undertake, we undergo a lot of preparation. We decide to buy thermal wear if we are heading to a country with a cold weather. We decide to pack more clothes for changing, if we know that we will not have laundry facilities during our stay there. But, are we not paying scant regard to our very LAST JOURNEY?

Entertainers may be the ones who least think about it; the glitz and glamor surrounding them deafening their ears to warnings of, and blinding their eyes to, an approaching reality -Death. Watching what transpired over the last few days, reminded me of the lives and deaths of Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley before her. And these entertainers also ensure that the vast majority that are enthralled by their presence and performance, pay no regard to their own LAST JOURNEYS as well.

Whitney Houston, known as Queen of Pop passed away in very similar fashion 6 years ago. She was a recording artist, actress, producer and model.  She was known for her golden voice.  During the 1980s, while Michael Jackson ended the dominance of white male artists in Music entertainment, Houston broke the color-barrier for black female artists.

Whitney was just 48 when she died.  Her life had been stuffed out too soon.  On 11th February, 2012, just a day ahead of the 2012 Grammy Awards function, Houston was found dead in her guest room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in California, USA, submerged in the bathtub. Her last performance on stage had been on 9th February in Hollywood, California.

Investigation into the cause of her death concluded that her death was caused by accidental drowning, but heart disease and cocaine use were contributing factors.  Bottles of prescription pills were found inside her hotel room and are said to have included an anti-anxiety medication, an antibiotic for an upper respiratory infection, and a pain medication. She had also been drinking champagne in the days leading up to her death, including at a pre-Grammy party on 9th February.

Pop’s King

Michael Jackson had passed away in similar circumstances about 3 years prior to that, when he was just 50.  Jackson had been rehearsing at the Staples Center, on the night before his concert titled ‘This Is It’ but was found dead in his bedroom in the morning.  He had suffered a respiratory arrest on 25th June, 1999 at his home on North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills neighborhood in Los Angeles.   His death too was from a combination of drugs in his body.  He had a known history of drug abuse – overdose of steroids, stimulants, and pain-killer drugs.

Both MJ and Houston had lived troubled lives.  Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, had generated controversy.  In 1993, he had been accused of child sexual abuse.  Houston had started as a "good girl" with a perfect image in the 1980s and early 1990s, but by the late 1990s, her behavior had changed.  She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, and canceling concerts and talk-show appearances.  With the missed performances and weight loss, rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband circulated. In 2000, airport security guards had discovered marijuana in both Houston's and husband Bobby Brown's luggage at a Hawaii airport.

King of Rock and Roll

The tragic lives of Houston and Jackson remind one of someone who dominated the entertainment industry a generation ago.  It is Elvis Presley often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King".  Hugely successful, he too had succumbed to drug abuse.  By early 1977, he had become a grotesque caricature of his sleek, energetic former self.  Hugely overweight, his mind dulled by the pharmacopoeia he daily ingested, he was barely able to pull himself through his abbreviated concerts.  At times during concerts, he was impossible to understand and on other occasions, he was so nervous, he could hardly talk.  By middle of 1977, he suffered from multiple ailments: glaucoma, high blood pressure, liver damage, and an enlarged colon, each aggravated—and possibly caused—by drug abuse.   On the evening of 16th August 16, 1977, he was scheduled to fly out of Memphis to begin a tour. That afternoon, he was found unresponsive on his bathroom floor.  Attempts to revive him failed, and he was officially pronounced dead in the hospital, when he was just 42,

Empty on the inside

All these stars have been the heart-throb of the youth of their time.  On the surface, they were highly successful and the envy of a whole generation, but on the inside they were stalked by loneliness and benumbed by emptiness.  Jesus was very right when he said “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15).”  It is having Christ in your heart and life that matters.  Jesus said “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, streams of living water will flow from within him.” The Holy Spirit who comes to indwell those who place their trust on Jesus, will remove all emptiness and provide purpose and meaning to our lives. It is time, the youth all over the world, paid heed to the wise counsel of the all-knowing God.

The Victorious CHRISTIAN

Contributed the following article to the Sep '16 issue of VANAMUTHAM,

a Tamil Christian Monthly magazine published by Serve India Mission,

that attempts to connect the world (with its events and practical issues) to God's word.

God wants us to love him because He first loved us. And he wants it to be whole hearted. Our Lord put it this way, “Love the Lord with all your Heart and with all your Soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Mark 12:30). We are complex beings. We are made of Heart, Soul, Mind and Body. We are to offer our complete being to God.

How do we do this? Where do we begin? In Paul’s words, this is offering ourselves as a “living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1) and this starts with the Mind. ‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind’ (Rom 12: 2).  Real transformation and True Worship start with a renewal of the Mind. 

WITH ALL OUR MIND

Today, we see a new generation of Christians who have turned ‘Christianity’ into a ‘mindless’ religion. They switch their minds off when they worship.  To them, worship is just an ‘emotional’ thing .  But the Lord created the ‘Mind’ for a purpose, and that is to lead the ‘Heart’.  Our mind is to be informed of God’s truth and our heart is to follow.

What we set our minds on, become our treasure. Today, wealth, comfort, fame and success (having the aforesaid in good measure) are all treasured.  Advertisements and Self–Help books are all the time drawing our attention, and making us fix our eyes on them. To offer our minds to God is to be led by faith and truth (revealed in His Word), not by mere sight.  If we walk by sight, we desire all that our eyes look at.  If we walk by faith and truth (because faith is right thinking as well), we will instead walk desiring what the Lord has in store for us

Rather than fixing our gaze with our eyes on the glories of this world, we need to seek with our minds the heavenly, higher, other–worldly glories.  Jesus said “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Mat 6. 19,20). Jesus wanted us to set our eyes on eternal treasures.  Just like we see things that are temporal with the eye, we see things that are eternal and therefore of lasting value with Faith. Faith and truth are the mind’s eyes.

Walking by faith is not a vague, tentative and ambiguous walk. It is very much unlike a blind man navigating a busy street with his stick.  It is walking as surely as a person with good eyes on a busy road. It is said of Moses, that by Faith he saw him who was invisible and therefore persevered (Heb 11:27).  Moses only heard God speak from the Mercy Seat (Num 7:39, Ex 25:22) and yet for Moses it was like having spoken with God face to face (Ex 33:11; Num 12:8). That’s how sure you can be in your Christian walk if you are informed by God’s Word.

The alternative is a cheap conformation that comes from masquerading as God’s children.  Of such people, Paul wrote to Timothy, as a people “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Tim 3:5). If you want to be truly transformed, offer your mind to God.  Transformation is what God does in response to an offered mind by renewing it.  You cannot transform yourself.  If you attempt that, you will end up masquerading.  The result is absence of power for radical living and a dead conformation to the world’s values and ways.

WITH ALL OUR HEART

Why is this renewing so important for being transformed into God’s likeness.  That is because it has a connection with our Heart, our Soul and even with our Body.  Our Heart has a capacity to lose itself to what we treasure. Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mat 6:22). It is always captivated or apprehended by one or the other – the World or God himself.  Being apprehended by the Holy Spirit is what ‘being filled with the Spirit’ is about.  When He fills our heart, our ambitions, our aspirations and our desires are all about Him. He replaces our lowly desires with lofty ones.

Often we profess a desire to follow Christ, but our lives do not seem to be driven by the desire we claim to possess. The world accumulates, with scant regard for others. The world wants to build, crushing everyone else under foot. The world is after money, comfort and everything material, sparing no thought for the soul, eternity and God.  Do we carry the same values while professing to believe the truth? If our values are not any different from the crowd, our priorities haven’t changed.  Our heart is consumed by what we treasure. It is therefore important that our mind is set on GOD Himself so that He becomes our treasure.  

WITH ALL OUR SOUL

The mind (with its knowledge and reason) and the heart (with its affection and devotion) are parts of the human soul. The other element is the Spirit which is that part that can communicate with God.  When Adam sinned, this Spirit in man died and with it, his ability and desire to commune with God as well.  While man’s soul was intended to be led by his spirit, it is his body that leads his soul with a dead spirit.  In a regenerate man, a born-again Christian, his spirit is alive and can fellowship with God. If his heart is consumed by a desire for God, his spirit desires to hear God’s heart-beat and follow suit.

The ‘will’ is a faculty of the soul and makes choices and decisions based on what the Heart desires.  “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to god. It does not submit to God’s law. In fact, it cannot subject itself to God’s law. Therefore, a man after the flesh cannot please God (Rom 8:5-8). Herein lies the third implication.  If our Mind is not set on what God wants for us, our heart does not desire it, our spirit does not find it, and therefore we do not will to obey God’s edict.  Our day-to-day decisions and choices are indicators of where our mind is set, what our heart’s deepest desire is and what our spirit’s state is.  Are we able to turn the other cheek, return good for evil, forgive and forget, esteem others? We can, if our mind, our heart and our spirit are all set in tune with God. 

WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH

Finally, if our Soul becomes the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, he who raised Christ from the dead, will quicken our mortal bodies too. We shall then be able to mortify the deeds of the flesh through the spirit, and live (Rom 8:13). Far from being sensual, from being ruled by the natural instincts, we will be continually transformed into Christ’s likeness and bear the Fruit of the Spirit (Jude 1:19). Loving the Lord will all our strength also means using all that we are endowed with - our intellectual capacity, our creative talents, our physical abilities - for His glory.

Are we able to not let sin control our lives? Are we able to not give in to sinful desires? Are we submitting parts of our bodies as instruments of righteousness?  Are we able to put to death the sinful things lurking in us - sexual immorality, lust, greed, evil desires? Or are we living only to satisfy our own sinful nature? (Rom 6: 12, 13; Col 3:5-10; Gal 6:8) The answer lies in whether Christ’s Spirit living inside us is in control.  That in turn depends on whether we have offered our mind to be renewed for our Total Transformation.

Here is what we need to do

§  Set our minds on high, on things above (Col 3:2). Fix our thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable (Phil 4:8). Transformation starts with a mind submitted to God.

§  Reflect on our values and choices. Do we find in our lives, the Christian distinctive preached by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount? If not, let us offer our mind to Christ to be renewed by Him.

§  We need to remember that the strength to live a victorious Christian life comes from the Holy Spirit. He gives grace to the obedient, to the one who surrenders his will to God’s will. To get there, let us surrender ourselves, starting with the mind.

Only when our mind, our heart, our will and our body are all ruled by the Holy Spirit, will we be truly led by the Spirit. We shall then be able to offer our lives as true spiritual sacrifice to God, bringing him perpetual honor and glory.