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The Word Made Flesh
James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.
James 3:5-8 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
James the brother of our lord paints a rather grim picture of our use of the tongue. It is a view widely shared in scripture. And yet we live in the shadow of grace, the grace of the Word made flesh . And we are told by the Word made flesh, to pass the blessing on, even to those who are completely undeserving: “bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:28). There are times when we aren't ready to bless someone. In this case, we defer to the words of Thumper's mother, “If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all”. Luke reveals an example of this:
Luke 9:51-56 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.
We use our tongues to bless or to curse. Jesus is very clear that we should be people of blessing. In this case he is asking the disciples to withhold judgement. It is a few years later, after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, that Philip travels to Samaria proclaiming the gospel. Hearing that salvation has come to the Samaritans, Peter and John, the same John, nicknamed ‘boanerges’ (son of rage) by Christ, the same John who was ready to call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans, return to Samaria. But they return to call down a very different fire.
Act 8:14-17 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
The British evangelist F.B. Meyer made this connection for me. He has an excellent and readily available commentary of the Bible. I happen to be reading a book of his at the moment, in this case a book on Peter. It is hard not to like Peter. He is so full of bluster and foolishness and yet he matures so beautifully. I don't doubt that he may well have had a few misadventures in his youth. He gives me hope that I might turn out pretty well in the end.
Matthew 26:33-34 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
His denial is one of Peter's most difficult and memorable stories. Matthew says that Peter “began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, ‘I do not know the man.’” (Matthew 26:74) just before the rooster crowed for the third time. In Luke's account of this event, he says, “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.’” (Luke 22:61). You know that Peter would have rather been kicked by a mule than to turn and see that look only seconds after the words had left his mouth. History tells us that after Luke's years of service to Paul, he went to serve Peter. He loved Peter and had a very high regard for Peter. He includes this story, which had to have come to him from Peter himself, not to denigrate Peter. He includes this story, so that we know Peter was not a natural born saint, he was remade by the hand of grace.
It is John who gives us insight into this reshaping process. Peter and some of the other apostles have gone fishing in the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:1). A man on shore shouts out to them, “Children, do you have any fish?”. They reply, “No” (John 21:5). So the man on shore says, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.”. They do, and suddenly find the net so full that they cannot bring the net in. John immediately recognizes that this has to be Jesus. Peter puts on his coat and jumps overboard to swim ashore (John 21:6-7).
We know why John thought that is was Jesus on shore when there nets were filled. It was a repeat of events. In Luke chapter 5 we see Jesus is by the seashore while a large crowd is pressing in on him. There were two boats there, one of which belonged to Peter, who is still called Simon at this point. Jesus gets into Simon's boat to speak from the water. After he finishes speaking, Jesus instructs Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4).
Let's stop here and think about this situation. In F.B. Meyer's opinion, and I believe it makes the most sense of scripture, Peter has already met Jesus and is a follower. We know this from John who says that Andrew, Peter's brother, overhearing John the Baptist call Jesus “the Lamb of God” begins to follow after Jesus, and calls his brother to join him (John 1:35-42). So Peter had to have known that Jesus was a carpenter by trade, not a fisherman. On top of that he tells Jesus, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!” (Luke 5:5). Simon is bone tired. All he wants to do is go home, grab some breakfast and go to sleep. He is sure that Jesus doesn't know anything about fishing, whereas, Simon has been fishing his whole life and knows very well when the fish aren't biting, it's time to pack it in.
When we were building out the upstairs of our church here, I was heading up the crew, since I had the most experience with carpentry. Our founding pastor Chris kept interjecting and telling us how to do things. For those who didn't know Chris, he was not a handyman. It was hard to hand him a hammer and be sure he wouldn't hurt himself. I tried to be tolerant, but at some point I just had to say, “Chris, You don't know what you're doing. I do know what I am doing. Let me handle this.” Fortunately he was gracious about it. I have to think that our friend Simon is in this frame of mind at this moment, and still he looks at Jesus and says, “But at your word I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5).
We know the result, the catch was so large that Simon has to call his partners James and John to come and help him pull the brimming net to shore (Luke 5:6-7). Seeing that he has misjudged the godly power of Jesus, Simon falls to his knees saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” (Luke 5:8). At this precise moment, Peter ceases to be a mere follower of Jesus, instead becoming a disciple. Jesus says to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” (Luke 5:10).
So now let's return to Peter and Jesus in the last chapter of John. Peter loves Jesus so much that he has dressed himself out of respect and swum ashore, but now here he is wet and trembling before Jesus. The picture is somewhat surreal, a little strange. “Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.” (John 21:12). Despite John and Peter some of the disciples are struggling with the idea that Jesus is really alive. Peter is struggling with something entirely different. He denied Jesus three times and they both know it.
John 21:15-17 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
We all know that Greek has different words for love. And most of you may know that Jesus is asking Simon (Peter, his rock), “Do you agape me?” and Peter is answering, “Yes, Lord, I phileo you.” Jesus is using the stronger word for love. But Peter, in his humiliation is answering with the lesser word for love. This occurs twice. The third time, Jesus asks Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you phileo me?”
Doesn't this seem a bit like one of those dog videos where the owner, showing the shredded pillow, asks, “did you do this?” The guilty dog does everything possible not to look its owner in the eye. I remember more than one occasion as a child where I was that dog. Peter is in this place. He is afraid to answer with confidence, and he is afraid to look his master in the eye. He is afraid of what he might see there. But Jesus has pressed him all the way. Phileo? Peter?
Peter is backed into a corner, he has to look. What does he see in Jesus' eyes? “Lord, you know everything”. He sees more. He sees that Jesus still loves him, Peter the mess up. Because of that, he can answer with confidence, “you know that I agape you.” Peter really does agape Jesus. He was afraid to say so, but Jesus won't let him stay there covered in shame. Jesus has just spoken a thousand words to Peter in one look. Peter, I love you, now tell the truth, the truth will set you free.
Peter's tongue has injured Peter, and it has damaged his ability to minister in the name of Jesus. John lets us know that Jesus is able to untangle the knot and restore Peters tongue. Peter goes on to amaze the Sanhedrin with his eloquence (Acts 4:8-13). His eloquence was learned from the great fisherman. Let's look at the tongue of an Old Testament prophet in training Gehazi.
2 Kings 4:29 He said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply. And lay my staff on the face of the child.”
Gehazi served Elisha in the same way that Elisha served Elijah. This story we encounter in Second Kings chapter four. A wealthy but barren Shunammite woman has made a place for Elisha. Her husband has made a small room on the roof so that Elisha can stay and rest as he travels back and forth. As a thankyou, Elisha has prophesied for her to have a son, which she does. Unfortunately, several years on, the child has collapsed and died. The woman lays the dead child on the prophet's bed and rushes to find Elisha. Having told Elisha what has happened, Elisha makes his instructions to Gehazi. This is where we pick up the story line.
Elisha tells Gehazi to go quickly and “If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply.” The child is already dead. It is unlikely that Gehazi has never seen anyone dead come to life, so he probably doesn't see the urgency. We will see in a moment that Gehazi's heart isn't really as committed to the task as his master is. Elisha knows this.
There are prophets and there are prophets. Elisha has a proven track record. He doesn't just talk the talk. He releases the Word of God. The Word of God does not return empty. But because he is elderly he must trust his word to Gehazi in the form of his staff to run ahead of him. He is trying to impress upon Gehazi the importance of his task, don't turn to the right or the left. Don't stop. Go directly to the boy. Gehazi does as he has been told, and returns to Elisha, now hurrying to the boy, and tells him, “The child has not awakened” (2 Kings 4:31). Before the day was out, Gehazi saw the child return to life and returned to his mother (2 Kings 4:35).
Somehow, despite this and so many other instances of the miraculous, Gehazi still doesn't see the significance of being a carrier of the Word of God. In the very next chapter, Naaman the commander of the armies of Syria, is suffering from leprosy. A Hebrew slave girl in service to his wife tells him there is prophet in Israel who can heal leprosy. This is how Naaman arrives at Elisha's door. As we know, Elisha doesn't even come out. He sends a messenger to tell Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan. Despite being offended at Elisha's cavalier attitude, without any of the usual prophetic arm waving and deep intoning of ‘Thus saith the Lord’, he does as he is told and returns amazed and joyfully healed (2 Kings 5:1-14).
An ecstatic Naaman wants to honor Elisha with gifts of money and clothing. Elisha refuses to accept anything. God has had mercy on this man, in service to Syria, an enemy of Israel. Elisha has no intention of letting him think his debt is paid when it comes to deciding whether or not to attack Israel again. The only request he grants is to allow him to take two mule loads of dirt back with him so that he can now sacrifice to the God of Israel (2 Kings 5:15-18).
Gehazi has different ideas:
2 Kings 5:20-24 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.” So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?” And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’” And Naaman said, “Be pleased to accept two talents.” And he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi. And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.
Gehazi is the servant of Elisha. He has been entrusted to speak on Elisha's behalf. You could say that he has a legal right to speak for Elisha. There is a problem here. Elisha is careful with his words because he knows that he has been entrusted to speak the Word of God. He knows the seriousness of that charge. Although Gehazi has been entrusted to speak the words of the prophet, he does not understand the seriousness of that charge. As a result, he has decided to use his authority to run after Naaman and, as if he were speaking for Elisha, change the word that the prophet has already spoken.
Because of his authority, he gets what he asks for. He gets more money than he asks for, and he gets some rich haberdashery. But when he comes slinking back to Elisha, he remembers, he serves a prophet who sees things hidden in deep darkness.
2 Kings 5:25-27 He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.” But he said to him, “Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow.
Unfortunately for Gehazi, although he had the right to speak for Elisha, the man of God, he had abused that privelege to speak his own desire. He got what he wanted, but he also got Naaman's leprosy. Gehazi had failed join hearts with Elisha, as Peter had joined his heart to Jesus. For Peter there was grace and mercy, but for Gehazi there was none.
I recently finished a book on prayer written by Charles Capps who I generally respect. However, despite many great things he has to say in the book, the overall tone left me uneasy. I believe the problem of Gehazi points directly to the problem I see in this book. It is stated clearly on the back cover:
“Under the New Covenant contract sealed by the Lord Jesus Christ in His own blood you have a legal right to enter the throne room of God. You can stand in God's presence without fear and be completely free from a sense of guilt. You can ask God to intervene supernaturally in your behalf.”
(Charles Capps. Releasing the Ability of God Through Prayer, ©1978. Back cover.)
You speak for God when you are a born again child of the Father. There are times when despite my place in the world as his own flesh and blood son, I have not always represented my biological father well. At the close of day, I hope that he will be happy with the final outcome of my life when I reunite with him in heaven. I can say the same of my heavenly Father. I have not always represented him as well as I should. But, like Peter, I hope that my continued growth will earn me a joyous welcome at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
I am happy to say that I am the son of Robert Andrew Wells. I would never treat that privilege in a smug, I have rights manner. Our hearts coming together took a little bending on both our parts, but especially on mine. But at the end of days, I would be delighted to sit next to him in glory. My dad was a well respected businessman. He was always civically involved and devoted to his church. But he had his flaws, as I have mine.
When I look to Christ Jesus and God our Father, I don't see flaws, I see perfection. I have never had the privelege to enter into the higher realms that some have. One thing that all of the ones whose testimony I trust have had to say is that being in the presence of that much perfection is both exhilarating and terrifying. Case in point is that of the apostle John, who at the end of a very long and devoted life for Jesus was taken up in the Spirit to face Jesus in His glory. He fell face down before Him. Jesus has to lay His hand on John to assure him that he doesn't need to fear (Revelations 1:17).
Super Jew, Saul of Tarsus, on his way to root out the pernicious cult of the Nazereen, meets Jesus on the road. Suddenly, he, too, is face down and trembling (Acts 9:1-5). He has every reason to fear. He is a declared enemy of Christ. He devotes himself to serving Jesus, at first by studying hard to understand the gospel message, and then by living the life of self-sacrificing evangelist. He knows the closeness of Christ's love, but he knows the fear of Christ as well. He admonishes the church at Ephesus:
Ephesians 5:21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
We have been given great and wonderful privelege, but it would be horribly wrong of us to strut about proclaiming ourselves to be the King's Kid if our hearts are still a million miles from being knit tightly to the Lord. In fact, I would like to suggest it is dangerous not to have a healthy fear of offending God. Let me balance this statement by saying that God is on our side. He sent His son to die in our place so that we could be set free. All of heaven is a giant prayer team working to make us ready for that last mercy.
Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Romans 8:34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Hebrews 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Neither God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit or a million billion angels want anything but your complete freedom from sin, from death, from every last effect of the fall. All that this heavenly host is speaking goodness and blessing into your life. All that is needed from you is to keep the happy dialogue going back. The Bible so often uses the marriage metaphor, because that is the very best description.
When two people fall in love, they marry, they form an embrace that reaches over years, over miles and over many difficulties. As long as the two continue to speak and act with love, all the difficulties, misunderstandings and even outright sins can be sealed and healed. The relationship will grow stronger and more enduring. At the end of life, no one expects perfection, but they expect to see love still flourishing.
Marriages fall apart when one or both partners stop trying. They lean into their own desire, or turn their affections somewhere else. Words become critical, defensive, angry, judgmental. Eventually the relationship is dead, the marriage is over. Well heaven's affection is still there for you. In fact, God is red hot in love with you. That is why God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit intercede for you. They care for you a lot.
Luke 6:45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’
The words of your mouth, what you say, depends on who you are on the inside. As a child of the one true God you should be an outpouring of love for God and for everyone around you. This was already at the heart of Mosaic Law:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates
Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. A young scribe asks Jesus, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” (Mark 12:28). Jesus immediately answers with Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (Mark 12:29-30; also Matthew 22:37). How do you love someone? You speak kind words to them. You admire the good things they do. You thank them. You remember them always. To love God: praise Him for all the good works of His Hands. Open your mouth and sing Hallelujah! Keep the goodness of God in your heart and in your mind always, and let that knowledge come out of your mouth. This is the highest purpose for humankind (Jonathan Edwards. Concerning the End for Which God Created the World, ©2011. Originally published 1765).
When you see God's goodness at work, it becomes easy to appreciate how the heart of heaven moves. Read scripture and see God's goodness at work in history. If you remember my last talk, walk out into the garden and see the goodness of God. Focus on the way God's goodness is shown to undeserving people. You will find it is easier to move on to the second great purpose: love your neighbor.
God gave Moses a message for Aaron and his sons, the priesthood of Israel: bless the people. We are now in the era of the priesthood of all believers. You are a priest of the most high God, with access to the Holy of Holies. God's message to you: bless the people.
Numbers 6:22-27 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
Praying for God's mercy is a constant theme in the New Testament. And we see Jesus praying on many occasions. But more than that Jesus says, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.” (Matthew 10:8). He is the example, speaking to the problem and telling it to go. I know many Godly men and women who can do just that. But most of us cannot.
Larry Randolph makes a distinction between declaration and prophecy. Declaration is me speaking what I think needs to happen. Prophecy, on the other hand, is hearing the Spirit speak, so that when I speak I know that I am speaking the Word of Heaven. Larry is a prophet with a proven track record. But recently a major illness forced him into a lengthy convelescense. As he tells it, he heard the voice of the Lord commend him on his work up to this date, but urged him to check his heart. God said to him that he could continue to do what he was doing and that it would continue to bear fruit, but to move to a higher level he would have to come closer to the throne, to feel the heart of heaven.
The shortest verse in the Bible tells us something important about Jesus: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Jesus not only felt the heart of heaven, but he was also moved by the sorrows of Mary and Martha (John 11:33). When he called, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43), heaven moved. The heart of heaven in the voice of the son of God broke the devil's grip conquering death. You and I have the heart of heaven available to us. You and I have the authority of the son of God available to us. You and I can break the devil's grip.
God does give us a wonderful tool, our prayer language, unknown tongues. Our thoughts are largely shut down when we speak in tongues. Our inner Gehazi is shut down.
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
“One event, confirmed by others, that Anderson noted was that whenever the people worshipped by singing in tongues, the power was greater. Every time this happened the anointing fell on the service.”
The worship leader “recalled with joy the experience of singing in the Spirit. He remembered that virtually every time Seymour instructed them to ‘Sing in the Spirit’, something wonderful and beyond understanding would happen.”
(Tommy Welchel. Azusa Street, ©2008. Page 50 & 55.)
The comforter is the name that Jesus uses for the Holy Spirit. In Greek the word is paraclete, which means a helper, a comforter or an advocate. I can think of many times, both individually and in a group, where I started in tongues, not knowing what I was praying for, but suddenly I knew what I was praying for and could voice it. Particularly when a group begins to follow this sort of lead, the atmosphere can feel like electricity.
I suspect that those used to praying in tongues will know what I am talking about, but let me give an example. I had gone down to Surfside, Texas with several friends. We decided to visit Bingo's Surf Shop. The owner Bingo Cosby was well known as a proselytizer. We visited, ate and then it was suggested that we worship. Bingo shut down the store and we went into the back room that was set up as a worship space. As we played music and sang in tongues we began to intercede for ‘the First Nations’, American Indians, and particularly for the conditions on reservations. It turned out that several of those present had native American blood, which I didn't know. That was one of the more powerful worship experiences I had experienced.
I have become comfortable enough with tongues that I sing in tongues frequently in settings not normally conducive to worship and prayer. I don't know if people think I am from a foriegn country, I'm singing skat (nonsense singing common in jazz) or doo-op, or if they know what I am doing. It doesn't really matter. I have never had anyone express offense, although they may be afraid I'm a little unhinged. It is a good feeling to intercede in a room full of non-spiritual people.
In the end, we are the priesthood of believers. Our words are connected to the authority of heaven. Used rightly, our words can release power the that world doesn't believe is possible.