God’s Wonderful Ways
“WAYS” – What Are They?
Back in the beginning, a “way” was a path people took to reach a place. As civilization developed, pathways became roadways, then highways, and today we have freeways. Underground we have subways and overhead we have airways. All of these are ways.
Words have figurative as well as literal meanings. A way can refer to a certain direction in life, or a means by which a thing can be done. It can also refer to a person’s behavior, as in “He was acting in a strange way.”
In the Bible, the word “way” is often used for the path people were taking and the choices they were making. “There is a way which seems right to a man, but it ends in death.” (Proverbs 14:12) This verse refers to a possible course of action being considered. When God warned: “Don’t go that way – it leads to disaster,” He was referring to an apparently harmless purpose that would end badly.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8) The wicked thinks that his way is the right way; but the LORD says that he must forsake it, for it is the wrong way. Heaven’s viewpoint is better than his.
“He made known his ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel.” (Psalm 103:7) Moses came to know God’s ways, which the children of Israel never understood. The obedient are instructed; the rebellious remain ignorant. “Therefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.” (Hebrews 3:10)
Jesus said, “I am the way…” (John 14:6) “No man comes unto the Father, but by me.” Those who followed Jesus were known as people who followed “that Way” – long before they were called “Christians” (Acts 11:26).
The apostle Paul sent his spiritual son Timothy to Corinth to remind the Christians there of Paul’s “ways” in Christ – the way he did things. The Christians at Corinth were going about many things the wrong way. They had many teachers but they had no spiritual “fathers.” If they were to retain God’s blessing and Paul’s approval on what they did, they would have to learn how to do things the right way. (1 Corinthians 4:14-17)
There are things in life which are so marvelous that we behold them with astonishment. People who are not clever with their hands marvel at the handiwork of those who are. How is a house built? How is carpet woven? How is furniture crafted? Most amazing of all are the wonders of nature – God’s handiwork. How does a bird fly? How does a kangaroo hop? How does a spider weave its web? It’s why the Nature Channel is so popular.
Wise men and women throughout history have gained insight into many of life’s mysteries. The wisest, however, were ignorant about some things, and were wise enough to admit it.
Agur was one of them. He was wise enough to want neither poverty nor riches – just enough for his needs. He was wise enough to know what was wrong with the people of his time. He was also wise enough to know how skilful, how strong, and how prudent were some things, and how insatiable were others. Yet even Agur’s wisdom stopped short of four things: the way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.
“These things are too wonderful for me!” he admitted; “I don’t know how they do it!”
Since Agur’s time mankind has fathomed many deep mysteries, and gained knowledge far beyond that wise man’s dreams. Much of God’s creation has been copied by inventors and scientists. Spiritually, though, we have only just begun to understand what God is saying to us through what he has made. We have appropriated many of nature’s principles for our natural betterment, but very few of them for our spiritual benefit.
The greatest discoveries in the future will be spiritual; principles that have been appropriated for our physical betterment will be appropriated for our spiritual development.
Agur was amazed at what he saw in the air, in the sea, on land, and between two young people in love. These days these things are less amazing to us, for we know the “ways” of them, and they are now more intriguing than amazing. The most wonderful thing is that God’s “ways” have become the “ways” of the believer – as you are about to discover!
Chapter One
The Way of an Eagle in the Air
The Dynamics of the Anointing
“The way of an eagle in the air” was one of four wonders that mystified the wise Agur. (Proverbs 30:18,19) It’s too wonderful for me! he thought, as he studied the flight of the great sovereign of the skies.
He watched, enthralled, as the eagle soared effortlessly in the air, spiraling, wheeling, and gliding on the invisible wings of the wind. He was filled with admiration as the bird plummeted from a great height – only to rise, wings fixed in flight – as that same mysterious power carried it aloft, leaving the earthbound Agur lost in wonderment.
The flight of the majestic eagle remained a marvel for many years, and Agur’s words were echoed not only by those who studied the flight of the eagle but by those who watched great men of God move in the anointing, and wondered – How do they do it?
But the way of an eagle in the air is no longer a mystery, for man has discovered how it flies and has joined it in the skies. Likewise, the once-mysterious ability to move in the anointing is now understood, and what was once regarded with awe as the domain of a few is now enjoyed by the increasing number of believers who are “taking wing”!
The Bible tells us much about the anointed – those on whom the Spirit of God came, but little about the anointing itself – how the Spirit of God moved through those who were anointed. Knowledge of what the Bible does say is needed, and wisdom as well, for the anointing often brings exhilaration. In fact the uplift that comes with being used by the Spirit pf God is euphoric – much like a surge of spiritual adrenalin.
Like the modern hang-glider, which can lift a man out of his limitations, the anointing can carry a Christian far beyond his or her own abilities, into the realm of the supernatural. Trouble is, most who want to move in the anointing imagine that they must somehow get “up there” into rarefied spiritual “air” before they can do so down here. In wanting to be spiritual high-flyers they miss the point, which is that the anointing is not found “up there” in the spiritual domain, but “down here” on the earthly plane. This is what the eagle teaches us.
The people of Israel were told by the Lord: “I bare you on eagles wings, and brought you unto myself.” (Exodus 19:4) When we read the context, we understand that the Lord was referring to the deliverance of his people from their captivity in Egypt. He was saying that he had “carried” them in the same way that eagles carry their fluttering young when teaching them to fly. (Deut 32:11)
It’s a strange way of putting it, when the children of Israel knew that they had walked out of captivity into freedom. Walked through the heat of the desert; walked across the bed of the Red Sea; walked through the dry, dusty wilderness – walked!
Yes and No. Yes, they had walked. No, the Lord had carried them. In Israel’s eyes, it had been a walk but in the Lord’s eyes it had been a ride. Like the person in the famous “Footsteps” dream, they hadn’t realized that they’d been carried – any more than we realize that when we grow weary the Lord carries us.
“Whew!” we say, after we’ve been through a hard time, “I made it!” We made it because He enabled us to make it. We made it because he carried us. We were moving in the anointing, and were not aware of it. It is only when we try to do something in our own strength, and fail, that we realize how powerful the anointing is, and how powerless we are without it.
The most important thing we need to know about the anointing is that we are not always conscious of it. How do we know that we are anointed? Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me…” (Luke 4:18) When the Spirit comes, the anointing comes.
The apostle Paul writes, “Now he who establishes us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us is God.” (2 Corinthians 1:21) “But you have an anointing from the Holy One… the anointing which you have received from him abides in you…” (1 John 2:20, 27)
Whether we feel anointed or not has absolutely nothing to do with it, for the anointing abides. The anointing is not a feeling it’s a fact, in the same way that our being saved is a fact, whether we feel saved or not. In Bible days, prophets, priests and kings were anointed with oil. The oil was a symbol of the Spirit of God. Soon after, the oil was washed off. But the anointing, the presence of God, remained. From then on it was a case of: “Do as occasion serves you, for God is with you” (1 Samuel 10:7).
Or as The Living Bible translates: “From then on, your decisions should be based on whatever seems best under the circumstances, for God will guide you.” The blessing of God came with the anointing of God.
Eagles aren’t always in the air – they need to descend to earth to feed. On the ground they are ungainly. When they begin to take flight, their great wings flap far less fast than other birds. The secret of the eagle’s ability to fly is not in the movement of its wings, but in the bird’s instinctive knowledge of how to use an upward current of air to lift its wings. All the eagle has to do is spread them.
Thermodynamics is the science of relationships between heat and mechanical energy, or work, and the conversion of one into the other. This is the secret of the eagle’s ability to fly high; and its counterpart is the ability of the believer to live and move in the anointing.
A “thermal” is an ascending current of heated air, usually found where the heat from a plain is pushed by prevailing winds against a mountain range. A thermal’s only escape is upward. The eagle haunts this type of terrain, because a thermal can carry it aloft with a minimum of effort on the bird’s part. All it has to do is extend its huge wingspan – the rising current of heated air does the rest. The eagle rises not by flapping its wings but by spreading them. Hang-gliding enthusiasts need thermals to get into the air – without them they’d never get off the ground.
I once watched a friend who loved hang-gliding prepare for flight. First, he assembled the hang-glider, which resembled a huge kite. On the ground he looked ungainly – he had to support the hang-glider! But after he took a few strides down a mountain, the hang-glider supported him! In a matter of seconds, he was high up over my head! Soon he was gliding like an eagle, carried by the strong currents of air that ascended from far below.
Hang-gliders haunt the eagle’s terrain. There have been times when they have been attacked from above by aggressive eagles that resented the intrusion into their territory of these rival “birds”. My friend told me of an incident when an inquisitive eagle flew alongside a friend of his for some minutes, studying him. After a while, the big bird gave him a piercing look, as if to say, ‘Let’s see what you can do’ – and with a slight adjustment of its wings was up and out of sight in seconds!
Many Christians get in a “bit of a flap” trying to get “up there” among those who move in the anointing of God. They fail to see the paradox of the children of Israel walking and the Lord “carrying” them. The fact is that, like the eagle, the anointed have the ability to “rise” in the anointing whenever they wish – by means of spiritual “thermals.”
A spiritual thermal may be a line from a favourite hymn or chorus, a treasured memory of spiritual discovery, or an inspiring verse from the Bible. To many, it is speaking in tongues: the spiritual gift that enables a believer to rise above the level of the understanding.
Those who speak in tongues know that the gift works at “ground level” – in other words, the speaker doesn’t have to be “up there” in order to use the gift. Any more than the eagle has to be “up there” to use its wings! An unlearned language – which is what an “unknown tongue” is – may at first sound a bit mechanical, uninspired. But a sudden awareness of the presence of God in the anointing soon changes that! What an uplifting gift! Not to speak in a tongue until we “feel” the anointing would be as ridiculous as an eagle on the ground waiting for a gust of wind to sweep it off its feet!
True, the eagle flaps its wings at first – not unlike the way we move our tongue to get started. But once airborne, the majesty of the bird is seen in the spread of its wings – not the flap! Similarly, once we are consciously “in the Spirit” the ease with which we minister in the anointing is exhilarating!
The ability to move easily in the anointing means that a Christian’s spirit is as much “at home” in the supernatural as his or her body is in the natural. In fact, to avoid imbalance, it’s very important that we are equally at ease on both levels. Many Christians have “crashed” when their lives became “too heavenly minded to of any earthly good.” It’s possible to become as obsessively compulsive about the euphoria the anointing brings as it is about anything else in life.
The ability to move in the anointing comes from knowing where spiritual “thermals” are found. Praise has uplifting power; so too has heartfelt prayer; and worship can carry us high into God’s heaven! The terrain, of course, is regular fellowship, deep devotion, and spending quality time in the word of God.
The way to move in the anointing, then, is not to get into a big “flap” but rather to know that you and I are anointed, and that the anointing of God will “carry” us – all we need to do is adapt our lives to the “way of the eagle in the air” by adopting the Eagle Principle.
“It’s too wonderful for me!” Agur exclaimed. It’s not too wonderful for us, though – it’s just awesome!
“They shall mount up with wings as eagles,” prophesied Isaiah. Isn’t it time you got airborne!
Decide right now that you will never again wait for a “feeling” before speaking in tongues, prophesying, praying or laying hands on the sick.
MAKE THIS AFFIRMATION
“I am an anointed child of God. The anointing abides in me. I can rise spiritually in the anointing, and walk naturally in the power of the Holy Spirit. I am equally at ease in both the natural and the spiritual dimensions of life. I can worship freely in the anointing and live an uplifted life, and yet can minister to those who are unspiritual in the world around me. I worship Jesus Christ as my Lord, and I give God all the glory, as His Spirit fills me again and again!”
Chapter Two
The Way of a Serpent on a Rock
How Satan Hides Himself
From almost the dawn of time, the serpent has been shunned as a loathsome creature. No wonder: the wriggling, writhing reptile, mentioned first in the book of Genesis, appears to embody all that is evil.
It was not always so. Originally a creature of charm and beauty, the serpent first made its reputation for insidious evil in the Garden of Eden. When Eve sinned, she blamed the serpent for the shame she felt in herself. That first blame apportionment continues to the present day.
Of all creatures, the serpent is uniquely associated with sin and guilt, lust and disgust. When Adam and Eve lost their relationship with God, the serpent lost its acceptance. In the Garden, it had offered supposedly superior knowledge in enticing words. It was Eve who first yielded to temptation, and then Adam. The sweet juice of the forbidden fruit then turned to bile in their stomachs; it was the bile of hatred.
From then on, human self-disgust in the form of the serpent was trodden in the dust. It became the symbol of all that was evil, a satanic reminder of the first couple’s sinful act. The serpent that God had pronounced “good”, along with all of God’s Creation, became to mankind a vile and repugnant creature – a reminder of the subtle evil that lurks below the surface of civilized society, and that – if we are honest enough to admit it – hides in the heart of every person not ruled by the Lord Jesus Christ.
The snake moves by muscular contractions of its body. These contractions leave telltale marks in the dirt that reveal where the silent and unseen reptile has been. No such trace of its movements can be seen on a hard rock, for that hardness hides the snake’s passage. The serpent has been and gone, but who can tell when, or where by looking at a rock?
Agur many times pondered “the way of a serpent on a rock,” giving the matter the same thoughtful attention he had given the flight of the eagle. How was it that these creatures – one overhead, the other underfoot – could pass without leaving visible evidence of their passing? Despite all his wisdom, Agur was unable to come up with answers. “It’s too wonderful for me!” he admitted, “I cannot work it out!”
Satan is slippery: he slides and slithers in a serpentine way through sinful human relationships, leaving behind him strife, lies, murder, and immorality. His specialty is the lie, which he created (John 8:44). He moves across hardened hearts, leaving no trace of his passing.
What is hard-heartedness? Jesus linked the hardness of his disciples’ hearts to spiritual ignorance (Mark 8:17). Pharaoh’s stubbornness hardened his heart against God. Pride, deception, and unbelief are also hardening agents (Nehemiah 9: 16. Hebrews 3:12, 13).
In his definitive parable of The Sower, Jesus likened soil in its varying states to the conditions of the human heart (Matthew 13). The hardened “wayside” soil had never been cultivated. This speaks to us of the futility of preaching the gospel to people whose hearts are unreceptive to truth. The same applies to thin soil over a rock surface. A rock, by definition, is “a hardened mass”, and as such is incapable of receiving life, and seed cast on it has no growth potential.
When human hearts become hardened life becomes barren. Hard attitudes develop. Hard hearts are as impervious to change as rocks, and the attitudes of some people are as immovable as boulders, in that they oppose and resist any kind of change.
For example, a husband and wife argue with each other. Jealousy has caused the argument. Suspicion and resentment then enter. Sure, there are obvious reasons why the couple has a problem: he spends too much time away from home and she has lost interest in housework. She accuses him of unfaithfulness. He compares her unfavorably with other women, sneering at her plump figure and fading beauty. She makes pointed remarks about his thinning hair and growing paunch. Arrows of accusation are exchanged.
Soon it’s not just words that are flying but long-held hurts and sharp recriminations. Small objects at hand might also fly. Doors slam! Tears flow. The argument ends, as always, in bitterness and in a deteriorating relationship.
Where is Satan in all this? Oh, he’s there, all right, hiding in their wrongs, hissing hatred, coiling resentment in the heart of the woman, striking out through the man’s cold criticisms. Satan’s fangs inject venom through the biting words of both parties. Lingering doubts remain after his departure. Satan has been and gone unseen, leaving the marriage relationship poisoned and likely doomed.
When hearts are soft, the serpent’s trail is soon spotted. “This is what is behind our mutual distrust. It has been hiding since the first time you hurt me with what you said.” An examination shows the contraction marks of insinuation, veiled insult and subtle innuendo. The serpent did its work and slithered way, leaving a broken-hearted couple wondering how it entered in the first place. Jesus resisted Satan at the beginning of his ministry, and conquered “that old serpent” in his resurrection. Our task is to expel Satan’s minions: demons that entered people who were physically or mentally weak, and therefore vulnerable; or when they rebelled against God. Jesus has given us authority over Satan’s authority and power.
Snakes like rocks because they can draw warmth from them. They hide in hard to access crevices and rocks where there’s no soft soil on which marks of their passing might lead to where they hide away out of sight. The “way of the serpent on a rock” can make the serpent’s path difficult to follow.
Where hardened hearts hold sway, so too does “that old serpent, the Devil.” How to soften hard hearts? “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31, 32)
We need to rid ourselves of the hard things in life – those stony looks and even stonier silences – and replace them with softer things, such as kindness, love, compassion, and mutual forgiveness. God has promised to take the “stony heart” away and give us “a heart of flesh” – a tender heart. (Ezekiel 36:26; Hebrews 8:10). God’s love softens us when Jesus comes into our hearts, but hard attitudes can later develop towards Christians who we once loved and accepted. A defensive, self-protective hardness can result from hurt experienced, along with a determination never to be hurt again.
The hearts of the Israelites were hardened as the result of their bitter experience at Marah, and their rebellious attitude at Meribah (Exodus 15:23; Numbers 20:13). These events were 40 years apart, but in between much murmuring, complaining and bickering had taken place. The people had seen God’s mighty works, but had not known his wonderful ways (Psalm 95:7-11).
Satan is subtle. He identifies himself with the heart attitudes of people. What some call “a bad display of temperament” may in reality be “a serpent on a rock” – a demonic power moving on a heart that over time has become hardened. I have seen individuals manifest such anger that it was difficult for me to tell whether it was them or a demon! There were times when it was a combination of both horse and rider (Exodus 15:1).
What has always been spiritual is nowadays often viewed as psychological. From warning Christians not to see “demons under almost every rock” the pendulum has swung to its extreme, and even non-Christians now speak of “personality disorders” in every mind. The term, “personal demons” is widely used to describe personal problems in unconscious (subconscious) minds.
It is so pleasant to be with people who exercise self-control (one of the fruit of the spirit listed in Galatians 5:23). Extremes of emotional behavior in hard-hearted people such as “love- hate” relationships, allow demons to manifest their malignant nature in displays of “temperament”. When the damage is done they “lie low” until the next time.
“The one who has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28) A city without walls is one that an enemy can enter and leave at will. Christians need to set up defensive walls of mutual trust and respect around marriage and family relationships. And, since a wall is only as strong as its weakest gate, we need to monitor all access. Satan works through demons, who in turn work through those who are easy for them to manipulate. As rebellious teens, before coming to Jesus Christ, we might have been youthful idiots, but Christian growth and maturity can prevent us from becoming useful idiots.
It takes spiritual discernment to trace the way of a demon on a hardened heart. Where necessary, the Lord exposes what is really at work through the supernatural gift of “discerning of spirits.” (1 Corinthians 12:10) In a time when demons are busily working through satanic New Age concepts, “spiritualist” practices, perverted doctrines, and mind-numbing meditation-relaxation therapies, Christians need to be sensitive to the voice of the Spirit of God. But we cannot be sensitive unless we are soft-hearted toward God and one another.
Forgiveness – God’s for us and ours for others – is the only effective way our hearts can be softened and remain soft. We need to put things right with those we have offended, and we need to forgive those who have offended us. Not to do so leaves us vulnerable to further enemy attack.
Once we are willing to humble ourselves and seek reconciliation, the “serpent’s way” will become obvious. The fellowship that will follow the exposure and rejection of Satan’s serpentine methods will make for an enjoyable and lasting change!
MY HUMBLE PRAYER
“Dear God, forgive me, just as I forgive those who have offended me. I will now ask them to forgive me. I will seek to be loving and kind to all parties involved, and more compassionate to those to whom I find it difficult to relate. Heavenly Father, please help me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
Chapter Three
The Way of a Ship in the Midst of the Sea
The Principle of Displacement
Agur’s enquiring mind was not limited to bird life. “Wonderful” though the eagle was in the air, equally wonderful was the way a ship moved through the water.
Most of Agur’s people had a strong aversion to the sea. The Psalmist had spoken of God’s “wonders in the deep” – referring to the dangers that face “those who go down to the sea in ships” (Psalm 107:23). “They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths … they reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man …” Those who have experienced a storm at sea will relate to this graphic description of the twin terrors of wind and wave.
Isaiah likened the wicked to the troubled sea “when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, says my God, to the wicked.” (Isaiah 57:20, 21)
Both the prophet Daniel and his New Testament prophetic counterpart, John, had visions of “beasts” that came up from the sea. (Daniel 7:3; Rev 13:1) The “beasts” were the world kingdoms that would arise from the restless and unstable “waters” of Gentile humanity. James likened a doubter to “a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” (James 1:6) “Let not that [unstable] man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord.”
But if the sea was a thing of dread, it was also (like so many of the things we fear) a thing of fascination. How was a small ship able to endure such terrible pounding and tossing? How was it able to sink from sight in a deep trough, and appear again, almost triumphantly, riding the crest of a wave? How could it disappear into the distance and reappear weeks or months later, after having safely traversed the Great Sea (the Mediterranean)?
Above all – and this was what had amazed Agur about the eagle in the air – how was it that its passage through the sea left no trace? “It’s too wonderful for me! How does a ship do that!”
The same admission is sometimes made by those whose “business” is in the “great waters” of this ungodly world of ours. How is it possible for Christians to survive the worldly winds of falsehood (Ephesians 4:14) and doubt? (James 1:6) How can one rise high in honesty and decency, when falsehood and corruption in life threaten to swamp our witness for Jesus Christ, or – as it has done to so many – swallow us from sight?
How do some overcome? What is the secret of their success? That’s what those who fear the risk of failing God in this world want to know. If only there was a plan they could scan or a formula they could follow. But like the “way of a ship in the midst of the sea” the overcoming life seems very much a mystery.
God’s “ways” – how He does things – are inscrutable. “Your way is in the sea, your path is in the great waters, and your footsteps are not known.” (Psalm 77:19) This is a figurative way of saying that nobody can trace how God does things in life. Even the “footsteps” of those He has anointed – the way God guides them – are often misunderstood (Psalm 89:51). As a spiritual son of the apostle Paul, Titus walked in his father’s footsteps, doing what Paul would have done in the same circumstance. (2 Corinthians 12:18)
But although there is no plan we can work to, no formula we can follow – there are principles, and the Principle of Displacement is one that applies not only to ships at sea but also to Christians in the world. When understood, it enables those who adhere to it to survive the worst storms in life, instead of being swamped by them. It is a principle that works not just for some believers, but for all believers.
“Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God” and “Whosoever is born of God overcomes the world.” (I John 5:1, 4) Every believer is born to overcome! “Who is he that overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (I John 5:5) Our faith gives us the victory over the world; through faith, the believer is a world-beater!
We should understand that in the New Testament, the word translated “world” means “world order” – not nature but the man-made system of things. We can enjoy God’s beautiful creation while overcoming the world system!
The inspired writers of the New Testament emphasize that we cannot love the world and also love the Father.
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the things of the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 John 2:15, 16)
“…Do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4)
Jesus told his disciples they were “in the world” but that they were not “of the world.” He was saying that their origin was no longer the world they had been born into, but the realm from which they had been “born again”! (John 3:7; 17:11, 16) The “world” that Jesus spoke of is the sum of the collective opinions, ideas, traditions and superstitions that unsaved people accept. It forms the unconscious attitude of the unspiritual majority.
Some statistics: the Greek word “kosmos” (translated “world”) occurs 79 times in the Gospel of John. To understand just how concerned Jesus was about the world’s influence on his disciples, we need only to count the number of times the word is used in the chapters leading up to his arrest. In John 14,”world” occurs 6 times; in John 15, 6 times; in John 16, 8 times; and in John 17, 19 times!
The Lord’s concern intensified as his death drew near. His final prayer, in chapter 17, was filled with references to “the world” – 19 references in 26 verses! John 18 has only 4 references – an indication that the great burden Jesus had carried lifted from him when he “prayed through” the temptation to live into his Father’s will for him to die.
In contrast to the frequent use of “world” the phrase “prince of this world” – the Devil – is used only twice! Ask yourself how many Christians you know who are more concerned about the world than they are about the Devil? Of course, the Devil uses the world to try to snare Christians, just as he used its attractions to tempt Jesus. But Christians who would never dream of serving Satan quite readily serve the system. That’s why God makes it clear that we can’t love the world and Him as well. The choice is clear, and we must “choose this day” whom we will serve. (Joshua 24:15)
Just as the sea, with all its challenges and dangers, was feared by men of old (and is never taken lightly by seamen today), so the world system was disliked by the first Christians. The command was for them to go into all the world with the Good News. The danger was that the world’s system would seduce them. Yet in less than 20 years, they became known as “these who have turned the world upside down.” (Acts 17:6)
Displacement is the quantity of water displaced by a mass, such as a ship. In simple terms, the hull of a ship at sea level displaces an amount of water equal to it – just as the level of water in a swimming pool is raised by the number of people there are in the pool.
Fill a bath tub to capacity and then lower yourself into it. The amount of water that overflows onto the bathroom floor will equal the mass of your body, immersed in the bath. The mess will be equal to the mass! The Archimedes Principle states, “Any object wholly or partially submerged in a fluid at rest is acted upon by an upward or buoyant force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.” Well, yes. Archimedes was a Greek mathematician, so we would expect him to be a bit technical.
Most boats and ships have displacement hulls, which are designed to move through the water – not just over the surface of it. Ancient ships were modeled on various kinds of fish (which may be why so many of them sank). A later and far better model was the immersed area of a duck (it was destined for a yacht designer’s dinner table). Surely an object that floats higher and so displaces less volume of water must be an improvement, he mused. A ship’s hull is equal to the water it displaces (moves aside), so the vessel is one with the water in which it floats. If the ship is watertight, and if (in the case of a yacht) its keel keeps it upright, or (in the event of a roll) returns it to an upright position, the vessel is unlikely to sink.
Many ships do sink when water somehow gets inside the hull. A ship in the water is a wonder, but water in a ship is a disaster! The same thing applies to Christians: a Christian in the world is a wonder, but the world in a Christian is a disaster!
Most Christians who “go under” do so because they allow the world in! Despite their seemingly “unsinkable” Bible knowledge, they end up “swamped” by waves of worldly ideas and attitudes. They were meant to move through the world, rescuing souls, but instead found themselves sinking into it. They were meant to overcome it, but ended up being overcome by it. They either did not know or did not observe the Principle of Displacement.
The “way of a ship in the midst of the sea” is a way of beauty, which is why sailors refer to a ship as “she” rather than “it.” The graceful lines of a ship and the way it moved with such ease through water, made Agur marvel. It’s too wonderful for me, he thought. Similarly, the grace and the ease with which Christians move through the world of business, education, sport, communication, technology, is meant to be marvelous to those who observe them.
Storms of persecution may toss them to and fro, but they never lose direction. Waves of opposition may break over them, but they soon emerge intact. Strong currents come against them, but they stay on their biblical bearing. They may vanish from sight in sorrow for a while, but they soon rise again, not fighting against the world system but steadily displacing it.
Jesus moved through the world with an ease that amazed his disciples and angered his critics. He ate with sinners and yet was without sin himself. A prostitute washed his feet with her tears, and dried them with her hair – a repentant but sensual act. No lustful desire was awakened in him, because none slept in him.
Holy in thought, word and deed, Jesus “displaced” the ungodliness with holiness. He maintained his set course until it brought him to the Cross. At the close of his earthly ministry he prayed that we would live the same kind of life as he had, and rest from the storms of this life until the Resurrection.
“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your own name those whom you have given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name: those that you gave me I have kept, and none of them is lost…” (John 17:11,12)
The letters of the international distress signal S.O.S. stand for “Save Our Souls.” The signal had their origin in a time when sailing ships set out into the great oceans of the world. The heroic feats of lifesavers who braved howling storms to save the passengers and crews of sinking ships are legendary. A caring church seeks to “rescue the perishing” wherever they are at risk today – at the expense of its own comfort and well-being.
How marvelous is “the way of a ship in the midst of the sea” but how much more marvelous is the victory of a Christian over the world! The apostle Paul’s stormy voyage to Malta is a stirring example of how the faith of one can save the lives of many. (Acts 27) Paul was shipwrecked three times, and once spent “a night and a day in the deep.” (2 Corinthians 11:24) His body was in the water but he would not let the water into his body. A buoyant faith in God’s purpose for his life made the apostle unsinkable. Since you are an overcomer, you are as unsinkable as Paul was. A displacement-style hull might not skim across the surface, but it gets you where you want to go, eventually. Bon voyage!
VOW RIGHT NOW
“I am an overcomer – not an undergoer! I can move through this world with assurance and purpose. Never will my heart sink in the face of approaching upheavals – even if their appearance is threatening. My faith in God will see me through every circumstance. I am in the world but I am not of the world. I am born of God and so I am designed to be spiritually unsinkable! Thank God for that!”
Chapter Four
The Way of a Man with a Maid
The Principle of Separation
Was Agur married? If he was, why did he wonder at “the way of a man with a maid”? Why did he not remember how he felt when he first fell in love? Then again, maybe not being married might explain how he had the time to contemplate some of life’s great mysteries.
Some commentators have thought that he was marveling at the sexual act itself. If he was, he was probably doing so in the entire context of the male-female relationship. The consummation of a relationship is the conclusion of a process, one that is essentially sexual in nature – from start to finish.
The Macquarie Dictionary defines sex as being (after gender and anatomy) “the instinct or attraction drawing one sex towards another, or its manifestation in life and conduct.” That’s what “the way of a man with a maid” is all about.
It’s important to note at the outset that Agur did not ponder “the way of a maid with a man.” In his day, the man made the moves; the maid simply responded to them. After the initial attraction (of the man to the maid), things had to be done in a certain way – strictly according to custom.
Most males would have some difficulty relating to the biblical concept of the Church as “the bride of Christ.” The equally biblical term, “the body of Christ” has a more masculine appeal. But “the bride of Christ” is simply a metaphor – a figure of speech. When Martin Luther wrote: “A mighty fortress is our God” he was using a figure of speech to describe the security Christians have in Almighty God.
In using the metaphor “the bride of Christ” the Apostle John is emphasizing the loveliness of the church, its great moral and spiritual beauty in the eyes of the Lord Jesus. In using the metaphor “the body of Christ” Paul is emphasizing the way the church functions; how its many members work together as a whole. (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12)
In the book of The Revelation, an angel says to the Apostle John: “Come with me and I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” John records: “He carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 21:9,10)
Note the change of metaphor: in one verse, the church is “the Lamb’s wife” and in the next verse, “the Lamb’s wife” becomes a city! Why the change of metaphor? Because a different aspect of the church is about to be made known: its stability! That’s why the city is “foursquare” – a cube.
Agur mused on “the way of a man” – a male’s approach to a maid. This should enable men, as well as woman, to consider Christ’s “way” with his church – his approach to us, as well as our response to him. The emphasis, though, is more on the winning ways of Christ than the winsome ways of his church.
What then begins the process that is consummated in “the marriage of the Lamb”? (Revelation 19:7)
It is the appeal of Christ as a person. Isaiah had foretold that “when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2) But that was spoken of his people in particular, not of us in general. And even among his own people some were watching and waiting for redemption. (Luke 2:38,25)
The first words of Jesus in John’s Gospel are: “What do you seek?” To the two disciples of John the Baptist who then asked him where he was staying, Jesus simply replied, “Come and see.” They did, but not before one of them invited his brother, saying, “We have found the Messiah!” The following day, Jesus found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Philip then found Nathaniel, who was somewhat skeptical – until Jesus told him something about himself only a prophet could have known. Nathaniel promptly declared that Jesus was “the Son of God … the King of Israel.”
Jesus said (in as many words), “You’ve not seen anything yet!”
Jesus drew these men to himself by the words he said and the things he did. He did not begin his work on earth by introducing himself as the Messiah: it was John the Baptist who identified him as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Quiet assurance is a quality men admire in other men. Jesus drew to himself men who were unresponsive to self-proclaimed messiahs – and he still does. Philip exclaimed: “We have found him!” But Jesus had found Philip (John 1:43, 45). We may think that we found him as our Saviour, but he found us by allowing us to find him.
“And now that you have found God (or I should say, now that God has found you)…” (Galatians 4:9 – The Living Bible) Christians are not people who have “found God” – they are people who have been found by God. It is the Lord’s way – “the way of a man with a maid.”
Jesus called those whom he had chosen to leave all and follow him. The call was clear, and they responded. Andrew and Peter quit their fishing, James and John their net-mending, and Matthew his tax collecting.
We may not all be called to follow Jesus the way they were, but we are all called to follow him. This may mean giving up something or someone in order to do so. Relationships ended that are no longer appropriate. Jobs or careers terminated that are no longer compatible with Christian witness – those that involve gambling, alcohol and immorality.
Someone has said: “If Jesus is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all.” Lord means Master. Jesus said that nobody can serve two masters. We do not have to follow the Lord, but we have to stop calling him Lord if we don’t — it’s that simple. We forsake everyone and everything for the same reason a woman in love does: to please the one she wants to be with. If that draws disapproval from family or disappointment from friends, it cannot be helped – love will have its way.
“Everything I once thought worthwhile I’ve discarded, and have put my trust in Christ alone. All else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:7, 8)
“Anyone who wants to be my follower must love me far more than he does his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters – yes, more than his own life – otherwise he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26 – The Living Bible) Times change, but the call of Christ to his bride, the church, remains the same — “Follow me.”
There is a big difference between love and infatuation. Infatuation is foolish attraction. A woman may “fall head over heels” for her boss, but the relationship is likely to end as quickly as it began – perhaps in resentment or even hatred. Likewise, a married man may “fall” for his secretary — another recipe for disaster. There are times when even true love is put to the test.
“A great multitude” followed Jesus when they saw the miracles of healing he was doing (John 6:2) and even more so after he multiplied the loaves and the fishes (John 6:26). Yet those same people left him after he spoke of his body as bread and his blood as drink. They did not understand the meaning of his words.
Instead of modifying his teaching to make it more palatable, Jesus expanded it by stating, “No one can come to me unless the father attracts him to me.” (John 6:65) “At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, ‘Are you going too?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘Master, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life, and we believe them and know that you are the holy Son of God.'” (John 6:67-69 – The Living Bible)
The twelve disciples made their choice and stuck to it. It didn’t matter to them that the words of Jesus had offended other disciples. Nor did it matter that they themselves had no idea as to what he was talking about – they chose to stay.
Or did they? For Jesus then said, “Have I not chosen you…?” True love is never offended by what it does not understand. Peter’s heart told him what his head could not. “For with the heart man believes…” (Romans 10:10)
“The way of a man with a maid” is to separate her from the influence of others because he wants her for himself alone. But she must choose to be separated. Jesus made it easy for many to go and hard for the Twelve to stay. They too would have gone if their hearts had not ruled their heads. Their choice left them and others alone with Jesus.
Most of us believe that the Church began on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came and filled the waiting disciples. One hundred and twenty were left after his death. (Paul puts the number of those to whom Jesus revealed himself after his resurrection as “over five hundred.” (I Corinthians 15:6)
But the Church existed in embryo long before the Day of Pentecost, in the small group of disciples that Jesus had called to himself. Others, too, had been with Jesus from the beginning (Acts 1:21). The way Jesus had revealed himself to them, the things he had taught them, the places to which he had taken them – had all been part of the process of “the way of a man with a maid.”
The prayer of Jesus for his remaining eleven disciples is very touching. He was about to leave them. His main concern was that the world’s many attractions would complete with him for their affections, which is why he mentioned the world no less than 19 times in John 17, a chapter of only 26 verses.
Paul’s exhortation to husbands is “love your wives.” (Ephesians 5:25) How much? “Even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” The Living Bible translates the next verse, “To make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God’s word; so that he could give her to himself as a glorious church without a single spot or wrinkle or any other blemish, being holy and without a single fault.” After writing more on the subject, Paul states that he is speaking about Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:32).
“You are all fair, my love; there is no spot in you.” (Song of Songs 4:7)
Jesus now dwells in the hearts of his people by faith, yet has been physically absent from his church for almost 2,000 years. That’s a long engagement! Little wonder then that the Bridegroom eagerly waits for the time when he calls his bride to “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away!” (Song of Songs 2:10) This will be the cry of Jesus when He descends from heaven for his bride! This is an event we look forward to – and you, too, are invited!
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a mighty shout and with the soul-stirring cry of the archangel and the great trumpet-call of God. And the believers who are dead will be the first to rise to meet the Lord. Then we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 – The Living Bible)
“Then I heard again what sounded like the shouting of a huge crowd, or like the waves of a hundred oceans crashing on the shore, or like the mighty rolling of great thunder, “Praise the Lord. For the Lord our God the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and honour him; for the time has come for the wedding banquet of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She is permitted to wear the cleanest and finest and whitest of linens.” (Fine linen represents the good deeds done by God’s people.)
“And the angel dictated this sentence to me: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast…'” (Revelation 19:6-9)
Of the four things that Agur said were “Too wonderfu1!” by far the most wonderful is “the way of a man with a maid.” How Christ calls, separates and prepares his Bride is amazing and beyond comparison with the way a young man does so these days. How he first chooses us and then allows us to choose him is too wonderful for words.
Jesus is coming soon! The wedding banquet is being prepared in heaven! The invitations are being sent out to every person on earth! On each is written a message. It says, simply, “Come!” All we do is respond. Those who don’t will be left out.
Will you be there?
PRAY THIS PRAYER:
“God, I want to be ready when Jesus comes back for his church. I am sorry that I have sinned against you in things I have done. I do believe that Jesus shed his lifeblood for me. Please forgive me. Lord Jesus, I now confess you openly and unashamedly as my Lord. From now on, I will serve you and you alone as the Lord of my life, the Master of my destiny. Fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit! Help me to speak to others about you and what you have done for me. Lord, teach me more of your wonderful ways! Amen.”