I am VERY excited to pass on to you what God has very freshly passed on to me! Please forgive me, as my understanding is fresh and my sharing of it may be raw, but I want to get it down on paper and out to you while it is still ripening—and isn’t faded by what I might not be able to rightly retain, apart from the Lord!
I rarely, rarely read anything other than Scripture anymore; I prefer the Source, the Bible itself. It’s just SO much better, purer, stronger and truer. But I have begun to read a book about the life of a saint (a man of God as the Bible puts it, not a venerated Catholic man or woman) named George Müller. And I want to be clear that I am not elevating the man. I elevate and exalt Jesus Christ, and Him alone! He alone is worthy! However, I am clear in my conscience and before Almighty God who knows my heart that my purpose in reading the book is to learn from God by becoming familiar with what He did in this man’s life, that He may hopefully do the same in me as well. That’s it. It’s because, over the course of my born-again life, I have heard of him a few times—enough to take notice of and remember that his name was always mentioned in association with a great life of prayer and faith that the LORD did in and through him.
I have a good, rich, and habitual prayer life in terms of personal communion with and devotion to my heavenly Father, Savior and Holy Spirit as well as occasional intercession for others, especially those whom He puts on my heart. However, in these times we find ourselves—the last and particularly wicked days—there have been many inward and outward calls for paramount, effective, intentional prayer! So, my finally ordering the book and having some time off to dive into it (though not nearly finishing it yet) is both the end of my procrastination and the right time and hour to fully embrace it, so that my heart and soul can live it out from this day forward, with the Lord’s grace and help.
This morning as I was reading the sixth chapter (it did not take preeminence to my anticipatory time with my Lord Jesus), the book was talking about God’s faithfulness. It mentioned, specifically, 2 Timothy 2:13 which says, “If we deny Him, He will also deny us; if we are faithless, HE REMAINS FAITHFUL—for He cannot deny Himself.” This is from the Holy and Sacred Bible, God’s true Word to us. As a testimony to Brother Müller, it is attested to in the book as saying through the writer of this, sort-of, biography of faith and prayer that, (alluding to Hebrews 6:13) “GOD HAS NOT ONLY SPOKEN, BUT SWORN; HIS WORD IS CONFIRMED BY AN OATH: because He could swear by no greater, He swore by Himself. And all this that we might have a strong consolation; that we might have boldness in venturing upon Him, laying hold and holding fast His promise.” Here is the part that the Lord God used to arrest my attention. It says further, “UNBELIEF MAKES GOD A LIAR AND, WORSE STILL, A PERJURER FOR IT ACCOUNTS HIM AS NOT ONLY FALSE TO HIS WORD, BUT TO HIS OATH.” Whoa! (and Woe!) This is one of those onion-layer moments from the Word.
By this time, my wife was sitting on the couch (not far from me in my chair) diving into some intercessory prayer work that the Spirit of God has recently called her deeper into, although she was already quite good at it. I read it aloud to her and she asked me to repeat it. Immediately, the Lord explained to both of us simultaneously but through my mouth, what this truly meant and what great significance it has. Once again, while fresh and raw, let me try to explain it to you. Lord God, I give and surrender my mind, hand and tongue to You. I barely know it myself and even if I did fully comprehend it, it came from You!
Again, from Jehovah to Müller to the writer of the book to me and to you, it says, “Unbelief makes God a liar and, worse still, a perjurer, for it accounts Him as NOT ONLY FALSE TO HIS WORD, BUT TO HIS OATH.” What does this mean? I color-coded it in hopes it would solidify the pairing of the two sets of words in your mind. First of all, many people would equate lying with perjuring; in other words, that they mean exactly the same thing. That’s not quite true. They are very similar but there is an important nuance that sets them apart—and we need to understand it, as it relates perfectly to Almighty God’s nature, unblemished character and FAITHFULNESS. A lie is an untrue statement, simply stated. Anyone and everyone can and does lie, both intentionally and unintentionally. God can’t and doesn’t, ever. It is impossible for Him to do so (Hebrews 6:18, 1 John 1:5). It is a common occurrence for man and happens in the world every day. But in the COURTROOM where you must swear, vow, make a covenant and take an oath in front of a judge, jury, court officers, attorneys, AND while putting your hand on the Bible (no coincidence!) and raising your right hand in the air as a testimony to the validity and accuracy of your witness; in this setting a lie takes on a whole other meaning. The bar, in effect, has been raised. There are no longer any of what the world would like to consider as shades of gray. Everything is either black or white, true or false. And if your testimony is found to be false and unreliable, it is called “PERJURY”—lying under oath. According to the website www.criminaldefenselawyer.com, “a person convicted of perjury under federal law may face up to five years in prison and fines. The punishment for perjury under state law varies from state to state, but perjury is a felony” (a crime, more serious than a misdemeanor) “and carries a possible prison sentence of at least one year, plus fines and probation.” This takes the seriousness of lying to a whole other level as well—and it should; a court of law is the pinnacle of justice for mankind, in the natural sense.
With God, the stakes are even higher. Why? Because He Himself is Truth. As we stated earlier, it is impossible for Him to lie. HIS COURT has eternal outcomes, not temporary ones. And, most importantly, He is not simply a witness taking the stand and offering His testimony under a VOW of truthfulness and faithfulness. HE IS THE JUDGE! So, to make Him a liar and a perjurer by not taking Him at His word (suggesting He is unfaithful) represents a serious CRIME ON OUR PART. That crime is UNBELIEF. This is one reason the Bible says in Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him…” And from all of this we can better understand, and more fully appreciate, the truth and weight of what verse one of the same chapter conveys when it tells us, “faith is the EVIDENCE of things unseen…” Evidence is strong testimony. It is concrete, and carries more weight with a jury or judge than some witnesses do.
You may have often heard unbelievers—even vocal opponents of the Christian faith—refer to or insist that faith is intangible. They often say it is a “blind” faith. How untrue and very telling a statement of a complete lack of understanding (and oftentimes a willing ignorance) of what true faith is. To them faith is a hoping, a wishing, a crossing-of-the-fingers, a “belief” in the unknown or what they deem unprovable or unknowable, especially by the worldly “absolute” (and I use that term loosely) of science. Science is well and good, but is not the standard, measuring stick, or plum line of true absolutes or the end-all/ be-all for believing. The Bible accurately asserts that faith is the evidence or assurance of the unseen. Combine this definitive truth from God’s inerrant Word with the following chain links in the book which describe and proclaim from observable and measurable experience in the life of someone who “walked with God.” It conveys what I and every genuine believer know to be true. He BELIEVED; and because he believed, he PRAYED; and because he prayed, he EXPECTED; and because he expected, he RECEIVED. THE LESSON IS THAT GOD IS FAITHFUL, STEADFAST AND TRUE—ALWAYS! To have faith in who He is and what He says and what He does proceeds from His oath, His testimony. If we don’t take God at His word, we make Him both a liar and a perjurer. And this is why the Bible says in Romans 14:13 “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”
Another verse that fits hand-in-glove with this truth and principle is 1 John 1:5. If you are a believer—a CHRISTian—and you don’t yet know this verse, you should have it imprinted in your mind and engraved on your heart. It says this, “And this is the confidence we have toward Him, that if we ask anything ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, He will hear us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we KNOW that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.” Since the Father is faithful and true—and to say or believe otherwise is to make Him not only a liar, but a perjurer—then rather than doubt the validity of the Bible, we should approach it as both absolutely truthful and completely authoritative. Don’t approach your dealings with Him from unbelief—as if He can’t be trusted—but from belief. Otherwise, there can be no relationship. And any and all kinds of associations are, at least initially, based on a measure of trust. They have to be or else we’re dead in the water. Don’t approach the One true God, the Creator of all things, the Author of life, the Savior and Redeemer of the human soul who formed you and gave you the breath of life and who sustains you from moment to moment, as though what He says isn’t true or that He isn’t worthy of our utmost confidence. Search your heart honestly and vulnerably to find out the motive, the real reason for your unbelief and confess it.
As a newborn baby comes into the world completely dependent upon those who have been charged and blessed with nurturing, feeding, caring for and protecting him or her, so we too must be completely dependent upon our heavenly Father to care for us. Can you imagine coming into this world and NOT entrusting yourself to those who love you and played a part in your birth? What would you do? Where would you go? Would you fend for yourself? Of course not! Then why intentionally attempt to live your life without the unconditional love, protection, guidance, grace, provision and providence of your Maker, fully reliant upon Him and with full certitude in Him? At the absolute very least, enter into the relationship with trust and confidence, rather than unfounded doubt and fear. Take Him who cannot lie at His Word, walk with Him step-by-step, hold His hand tightly, and follow and obey Him where He leads. The reward you will enjoy of KNOWING the God of the universe will lead you to the forgiveness of your sins (because, in His love for you, He will convict you) and the salvation of your eternal soul, if you will let Him. You will see life and not death. You will be made clean from your filth. You will have joy and peace and hope in place of hardness of heart, conflict and despair. We don’t deserve it and we can’t earn it, but He is willing to give it and has MADE THE WAY POSSIBLE THROUGH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! That’s the Good News! And it’s amazing grace!
Embrace the love and trust in Him!
God bless you.
Christ View Versus World View 