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LCM ~ A couple questions answered - followup to last night's class (re ch. 3)

Submitted by Leah Page on

Good morning, ladies!
 
Last night, I double checked on a couple of the questions that were asked, and thought I'd share with you what I found (I'll post on the blog, too):
 
 
Q:  Was the woman in Luke 7 Mary Magdalene?
 
A:  The text doesn't say so, and I have heard from several sources that it is widely believed to be Mary Magdalene.  But we don't know for sure.  There are other Gospel accounts of a similar event, (such as Mark 14), but the details are different, and we know that the woman there mentioned was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.  Luke 7 seems to be a different event altogether - though possibly the fact that the other accounts mention a "Mary" and there is even another "Simon" present (Simon the Leper), perhaps these similarities help inform the speculation about the women in the text with which we have concerned ourselves, here? 
 
(We DO know this was a woman who washed Jesus' feet out of love for him and a "weeping joy" for his grace!  Would that we were all such women!)
 
 
Q:  Was "Simon" in the Luke 7 account the name of the Pharisee hosting the gathering?  Or referring to Simon/Peter, Jesus' disciple, who may also have been present at this event?
 
A:  In v. 44, Jesus addresses Simon directly and accuses him of not having welcomed him even half as well as this so-called "sinner" woman.  So Simon is contextually understood, here, to be the name of the Pharisee hosting the gathering.
 
 
Q:  In Ezekiel 9:8, we speculated that perhaps this phrase (as worded in the NASB), "I alone was left," meant that Ezekiel was in fact the only one to survive the divine execution of the idol-worshippers in Jerusalem, the only one who was "marked" to be saved?
 
A:  However, the opening phrase of the verse helps to clarify - and looking further at the context, ch. 10 is where "God's glory departs from the temple" and ch. 11 is where Ezekiel is called upon to give greater rebuke to the people (I don't know if such "order of writing" is meant to be explicitely chronological, but that seems to be the "plain meaning" of the text). 
 
The ESV helpfully translates this verse this way:  "And while they were striking, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, 'Ah, Lord GOD! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?'"  <-- a great case of finding help in other reliable translations of the text, and interpreting on the basis of context!  ;)  It seems Ezekiel is saying simply that while this horror (!) was being carried out, he remained in the presence of the Lord and - like Moses and others before him had done - was pleading with God on behalf of this rebelious people.
 
This is an event that is intended to "mirror" the Passover events in Exodus - though it is interesting, as we noted, that where in the Exodus account the faithful put the blood over their own doorposts, in this event, the Lord chose angelic messengers to somehow "mark" the foreheads of those who had "sighed and moaned" over the abominations committed in God's city.  (Reminded me of how Peter in the NT [2 Peter ch. 2] describes Lot, Abraham's nephew who willingly lived in Sodom and Gomorrah and even rose to some prominence in the city!, and nevertheless was "vexed in his righteous soul" over their collective wickedness....)
 
 
Q: And finally, regarding good ol' Uriah Heep?  
 
I had brought up one of the incidents that D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones mentions in his book "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and it was a point of interest because he actually names the person with whom he interacted, and it was one "Uriah Heep" and Betty had pointed out that this was the name of a character in a Charles Dickens' novel, so I thought perhaps I had misread the story! 
 
A:  I double checked and in fact, the man's name was Uriah Heep, so perhaps he was named after the Dickens character?  Or perhaps it was just strange coincidence?  Either way, it appears to be a "true story" and not just an illustration to make a point.  Here is the quote if you're interested:
 
 
"...To be 'poor in spirit,' therefore, does not mean you are born like that.  Let us get rid of that idea once and for ever.
     Neither does it mean that we are to become what I can best describe as imitators of Uriah Heep.  Many, again, have mistaken 'poor in spirit' for that.  I remember once having to go to preach at a certain town.  When I arrived on the Saturday evening, a man met me at the station and immediately asked for my bag, indeed he almost took it from my hand by force.  Then he talked to me like this:  'I am a deacon in the church where you are preaching tomorrow,' he said, and then added, 'You know, I am a mere nobody, a very unimportant man, really.  I do not count; I am not a great man in the Church; I am just one of those men who carry the bag for the minister.'  He was anxious that I should know what a humble man he was, how 'poor in spirit.'  Yet by his anxiety to make it known, he was denying the very thing he was trying to establish.  Uriah Heep -- the man who thus, as it were, glories in his poverty of spirit and thereby proves he is not humble.  It is an affectation of something which he obviously does not feel...."  (DLJ, SITSOTM, p. 38)
 
Blessings!
Leah
 
 
 
--
~Growing in grace, and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ~
http://grace2grow.blogspot.com

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Seeking Him, Lesson 2: Humility ~ Coming to God on His Terms

Submitted by Leah Page on

Lesson 2:  Humility ~ Coming to God on His Terms
 
"Humility is a virtue more often praised than sought.  Who wants to think little of himself?  The world admires the self-confident, the ambitious, yes, even the proud!  Yet biblical humility - recognizing oneself as a sinner before the holy God - is a prerequisite for starting down the path to revival."  ~NLDeMoss
 
As we looked at in week one, the work of the Lord in bringing revival begins with breaking up of the fallow groud of our hearts, using the deeply penetrating work of the spears of a powerful plow (the double edged sword of God's word!) which dig down into the tender places of our soul, to turn over the hard soil and bring the nutrient rich soil of a broken and contrite heart to the surface.
 
One example from our study included looking at Isaiah ch. 6 in which Isaiah recounts his face-to-face encounter with the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, seated on the throne of heaven and appearing in his GLORY.  When confronted with the glory and perfection and holiness of our Good God, humility is immediately conscious of its falling short, its imperfections, its "undone-ness" as Isaiah observed, "Woe is me!  I am a man of unclean lips, and I come from a people of unclean lips!"
 
Which is the exactly necessary disposition to then receive FROM God the very cleansing, merciful work.  We see the dispatching of a burning coal to remove Isaiah's obstacle for standing in God's presence, namely, his unholiness, his "woeful" (cursed!) state.
 
We examined snapshots from the lives of both Rehoboam and Asa in 2 Chronicles.  Even acknowledging that these snapshots don't give us all the complexities of the lives of these two Kings of Judah, we nevertheless trace the reverse patterns in each of their lives:  Rehoboam ruled from a place of pride, was confronted with the word of the Lord by means of one of God's prophets, and he and the people's response was to humble themselves before God, and so they received deliverance.  Asa started well, ruled from a place of humility and even observed first-hand how the Lord gave grace, but when given the opportunity to seek his own solutions rather than being led by the Lord, he exercised his pride, and when he was confronted with the word of the Lord by means of one of God's prophets, he responded with even more pride, angered by the rebuke, and suffered in his own body the consequences of his refusal to seek and depend on the Lord.
 
Certainly, these summaries aren't the whole of their stories, but they give us, nevertheless, living pictures of God's GRACE even to confront our pride by means of his word!, and yet, how we respond to that "cutting" of God's discerning even between the thoughts and intents of our hearts will determine the path that then we walk.
 
"For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  'I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.'" ~Isaiah 57:15
 
"For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.  And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do."  ~Hebrews 4:12-13 (Amplified)
 
God opposes, and brings low those who are proud and self-sufficient.  But not only does he give grace to the humble, he does so by drawing NEAR to those who have acknowledge that in themselves they are spiritually bankrupt, or as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, they are "poor in spirit."  Our God "makes his dwelling place" with us (!) when we surrender our firm grip on our own self-importance and self-exaltation.  Loosing our fingers in this way frees us to lay hold of HIM who has laid hold of us.
 
Next Lesson:  HONESTY

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Seeking Him, Lesson 8: Clear Conscience ~ Dealing with our Offenses toward Others

Submitted by Leah Page on

SEE PREVIOUS ENTRY for the "INTRO" example used - an outward "STINK" as evidence of an inward "ROT"..... The first seven lessons focused primarily on experiencing revival in our hearts and lives as it pertains to our relationship to God.  As Nancy put it in our study, the "vertical" aspect.  With chapter 8, we turned more to the practical outworking of these truths, of God's reviving our hearts, as it pertains to our relationships with other people.
 
"When our conscience is clear, we have nothing to be ashamed of."
 
We have talked about how one of our first reactions when we sin is to hide, or to point fingers to deflect the blame from ourselves.  Our first parents, Adam and Eve, demonstrated this in the Garden - they were ASHAMED because of their nakedness, a consequence of their sin.  They were vulnerable before God, and with each other.
 
Sin breaks relationship.  It breaks our relationship with God, and it has the same effect in our relationships with each other.
 
"Having a clear conscience means there is no obstruction in our fellowship with God or anyone else.  It means we are careful to avoid sinning against God or others with our words, actions, or attitudes.  It also means that when we do sin, we quickly repent, admit our failure to all offended parties, ask their forgiveness, and make whatever restitution is necessary."  ~NLDeMoss (p. 149)
 
Above the Level of Reproach
We looked at the example of Samuel from 1 Samuel 12:1-4 - he stood before the people and welcomed their feedback - he did not, himself, know of any offenses of which he had not been repentant, but he opened the floor for the people of the nation to expose any of his offenses, and their response was that they found him to have lived, in effect, "above the level of reproach"!  (see 1 Timothy 3:2)
 
How would we need to live - to what degree must we always be repenting, always open to correction - if we were to make every effort to live in relationship with other people without any unconfessed sin between us?
 
W.I.Y.W.J.
We also looked at Matthew 25:37-40, 45 and Acts 9:1-5 together.  (see day 3 in your books)
 
Not only does Jesus identify himself with the church body - to the degree that in Acts he confronts Saul with persecuting HIM because of his breathing threats and murder against the disciples of Jesus.  But we see that Jesus measures our actions against "the least of these" - receiving our treatment of others as if we were doing unto HIM.
 
So - instead of asking, perhaps, WWJD, as if I were standing in Jesus' shoes trying to decide how to behave in this or that situation.  What if, instead, I were to see YOU as "in Jesus' shoes" - What If You Were Jesus - how would I treat you?  Would I respond to you any differently?  How would I seek to serve you?  How would I desire your good, and not my own?  
 
How would I worship Jesus in the way that I am treating others?
 
Don't give the Devil a Foothold
We also looked at Matthew 5:23-24 - how the Lord instructs us to even STOP, to interrupt our service or worship to the Lord if necessary, if we remember that someone has something against us - so seriously does he take our reconcilliation with one another!  See also Ephesians 4:25-28 - Why are we not to let the sun go down on our anger?  It is like we saw above - that sin puts a wedge in relationship - it is just enough space for the Devil to get a foothold!  And he loves to divide us!  To break our trust in one another!  To add to our shame, and to break and tear asunder what God has put together!  So - we must MAKE HASTE!  BE QUICK!  Go, as soon as the Lord convicts you, GO, and make things right with your sister or your brother or your husband or your children or your pastor or your friend or your boss or your coworker.
 
Confession requires humility, and it requires a measure of discernment - reconciliation does not require the exposing of every gawdy detail of your offense.  But it does require honesty and a spirit of repentance - in your heart, both desiring and committing to never do thus and such again.
 
But think of the freedom!!  If you have already acknowledged your need for forgiveness - and you have made your confession, you have willingly and even with great zeal embraced the humility that the Lord has granted, what more can the enemy do to you at this point!?  You have been on the brink, perhaps, of a word of condemnation, but you have confessed, you have exposed your own shame and relenquished it!  The enemy no longer has a hold on you - he can no longer wield this condemnation over your head!  MAKE HASTE TO MAKE RIGHT!!
 
Progression:  Private --> Personal --> Public
And lastly, we looked at how to practically apply the steps of seeking forgiveness.  The goal of confession is not only our own holiness and freedom, but ultimately the reconciliation of the relationship, if possible and appropriate.
 
But we must be wise and discerning - reconciliation is not always possible or appropriate.
 
First, review the matter with the Lord - PRIVATELY - one on one, confess your sin to God.  ASK him to show you what you must do.  If your sin is against God and against God only, you may not need to go and seek forgiveness from another.  If your sin is against another individual, after you have addressed the matter prayerfully and allowed the Lord to search your heart, go - PERSONALLY - to the one you have offended, and do not merely say you are sorry, do not merely apologize, ASK for forgiveness.  This requires more from the other person than merely hearing you out - and is necessary for reconciliation.  It also requires more from YOU than just an acknowledgement that the other person has been offended.  To ask for forgiveness requires you to submit to the other person's response, to humble yourself before the Lord and before the other person.  Finally, if your sin is an offense against a greater number, again using wisdom and discretion, the situation may require you to make a - PUBLIC - confession, and seek forgiveness from the whole body (by which I mean any plurality of persons, not necessarily the whole church, unless it is a sin which has affected the whole church).
 
Pages 157 thru 164 gave some VERY good and helpful, practical steps and advice as to how to proceed, what to be mindful of in the going, etc.  If you are in doubt, it may be wise to seek biblical counsel. 
 
Quickly Repent
To All Offended Parties
Ask for Forgiveness
Make Restitution
 
Keeping in mind ~ we, none of us!, "deserve" forgiveness.  We are confessing that we have wrong another, and asking of that person, "Would you have mercy on me as GOD has had mercy on me?"
 
Next Lesson:  FORGIVENESS ~ Dealing with Others' Offenses against Us

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