(1st part below) The third wish is this:
Never try to defend yourself.
We are all born with the desire to defend ourselves; and if you insist on defending yourself, God will let you. But if you give your defense to God, He will defend you. He once told Moses, in Exodus 23:22, "I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries."
Some time ago, the Lord and I went through the 23rd chapter of Exodus together, and He gave it to me. For thirty years now, it has been a source of various blessings in my life. I don't have to fight. It is the Lord who fights for me. And He will do the same for you. He will be the enemy of your enemy and the adversary of your adversary, and you will never need to defend yourself.
What are we defending? Well, we're defending our service, and especially our reputation. Your reputation is what people think of you, and if a rumor gets out about you, you're immediately tempted to counter it. But you know, it's impossible to counter a rumor. Totally impossible! It's like trying to find the bird after finding the feather on your lawn. It's impossible. But if you put everything in the Lord's hands, He will fully defend you and see that no one harms you. "No soul formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn." Isaiah 54:17.
Henry Suso was a great Christian of another time. Once he was seeking what some Christians have told me they are seeking—a better knowledge of God. In other words: You are seeking a spiritual awakening in your spirit that will take you deeper into the depths of God. Well, as Henry Suso was seeking God, people began to tell wicked stories about him, and he was so affected that he wept bitterly and with great sorrow of heart.
Then one day he looked out the window and saw a dog playing on the lawn. The dog had a rug, and he would grab it, throw it over his shoulder, run and pick it up, throw it again, pick it up, and throw it again. God said to Henry Suso, "This rug is your reputation, and I am allowing the dogs of sin to tear it up and throw it all over the lawn for your good right now. There will come a day when that will change."
And that changed. Soon after, those who tore his reputation to shreds were confounded, and Suso was raised to become a force in his time and a great blessing, even today, to all who sing his hymns and read his works.
The following wish:
Never tell anyone anything that might harm them.
“Love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). Gossipmongers have no place in the kingdom of God. If you know something that would harm the reputation of a child of God, bury it forever. Find a little back garden, a secluded corner somewhere—and when someone comes with a negative story, take it and bury it, and say, “Here rests in peace the story told about my brother.” God will take care of it. “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with what measure you mete, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7:2).
If you want God to be good to you, you're going to have to be good to His children. You say, "But that's not grace." Well, grace gets you into the kingdom of God. It's unmerited favor. But once you're seated at the Father's table, He intends to teach you table manners. And He won't let you eat unless you observe His table etiquette.
And what is it? Table etiquette is that you don't tell stories about the brother who is sitting at the table with you—no matter his denomination, nationality, or origin.
And our next wish is:
Never accept fame.
God jealously guards his glory and will not give it to anyone else. He will not even share it with another. I would say it is perfectly natural for people to hope that their Christian service might give them the opportunity to display their talents. Of course, they want to serve the Lord. But they also want others to know that they are serving the Lord. They want to enjoy a certain reputation among the saints. This is very dangerous territory—seeking a reputation among the saints. It is bad enough to seek a reputation in the world, but even worse is to seek a reputation among God's people. Our Lord gave up his reputation, and we must do the same.
One day Meister Eckhart preached about Jesus cleansing the temple. He said, “There was nothing wrong with those men buying and selling there. There was nothing wrong with them exchanging money there; it was necessary. Their sin was that they did it for profit. They were getting a percentage of their service to the Lord.” And he concluded that “Anyone who serves for a commission, for whatever little glory he may get, is a merchant and should be expelled from the temple.”
I agree with that. If you are serving the Lord, and in a sneaky way, perhaps even almost unconsciously, you hope to get even a 5 percent commission, watch out! This will cool the power of God in your mind. You must decide never to take the glory, but to make sure that everything is given to God.
Nothing is easier than giving this kind of message. The hardest part is putting it into practice in your own life. Remember that these five vows are not there to be written on the back of your Bible and then forgotten. They must be written in your own blood. They must become final, irrevocable. If they are only on the surface, they are of no use. Many of our promises are only on the surface. No, no, let them come from the depths of your heart, from the great depths of your mind.
These commitments go directly against old human nature. They introduce the cross into your life. And no one ever goes back, after carrying their cross, no one ever does! When a man takes up his cross, he has already said goodbye. He has closed his office for good, said goodbye to his wife and children. He will not return. The man who carries the cross never returns. As you make these vows, remember this: they introduce the cross into your life, they strike at the very heart of your selfish life, and turning back becomes impossible. And I say, "Woe to those who take these things lightly!"
In our country—and perhaps elsewhere, too—so many people are saying, “Try Jesus, Try God.” They are acting frivolously, experimenting, tasting; like a rabbit making half a dozen holes so that if one is blocked, it can take refuge in another! No! Bridge of refuge elsewhere if one leaves the cross. One does not “try” Jesus. He is not an experiment for us. Christ is not in judgment; you are. I am. He is not. God raised Him from the dead and confirmed His deity eternally and sealed and established Him. Christ is not an experiment. You are. I am. But not He! God raised Him from the dead and confirmed His deity forever and sealed Him and set Him at His own right hand as Lord and Christ. Surrender everything to Him today and you will see your life begin to soar. You will blossom in extraordinary ways.
If you are one of those upon whom God has laid His hand to bring you into a deeper life, a more powerful life, a richer life, then would you be willing to pray this kind of prayer: “O God, glorify yourself at my expense. Send me the bill, whatever, Lord. I don’t set a price. I won’t parley or bargain. Glory yourself and I’ll take the consequences!”
This kind of prayer is simple, but also profound, wonderful, and powerful. I believe that if you can pray a prayer like this, it will be the springboard to launch you to greater heights and clearer skies in the things of the Spirit.
You must be logged in to post a comment.