Monday, 05 September 2011 06:15 Written by Jim Denison

When our boys were growing up, my wife often encouraged them to "live a life God can bless." How do we do this? What is the one indispensable characteristic of a life blessed by God? Let's ask three men, considered by many to be the greatest preachers of the last two centuries.

Charles Spurgeon produced more written literature than any other person in history. His sermons fill 63 volumes, equivalent to the Encyclopedia Britannica. His church in London was the largest independent congregation in the world. He preached to 10 million people in his lifetime. Here is what he said of himself, recorded in the preface to his collected sermons:

"Recollect who I am, and what I am—a child, having little education, little learning, ability, or talent . . . Without the Spirit of God I feel I am utterly unable to speak to you. I have not those gifts and talents which qualify me to speak; I need an afflatus from on high; otherwise, I stand like other men, and have naught to say. May that be given me, for without it I am dumb!"

Dwight L. Moody was the son of an alcoholic who died when Moody was four years old. He completed seven grades of school. He said of himself: "I know that other men can preach better than I can. All I can say is that when I preach, God uses me." And he did—more than a million came to Christ through him.

Billy Graham preached to more than 210 million people in more than 185 countries—the largest number of any speaker in history. He made Gallup's list of "most admired people" more often than any American in history. Here is what he says of himself:

"I have often said that the first thing I am going to do when I get to Heaven is to ask, 'Why me, Lord? Why did You choose a farmboy from North Carolina to preach to so many people, to have such a wonderful team of associates, and to have a part in what You were doing in the latter half of the twentieth century?' I have thought about that question a great deal, but I know also that only God knows the answer."

Why did God bless and use them so powerfully? How can we live a life God can bless today?

What does God require?

In this week of prayer leading to the tenth anniversary of 9/11, we are studying this text: "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:13-14).

Yesterday we saw that our nation is facing drought, locusts and plague—natural, economic, and personal disasters. But God redeems all that he allows. How would he redeem what we are facing?

The answer begins with us: "If my people, who are called by my name." To be "called by my name" is to be "marked or branded as mine." In the Old Testament, this phrase referred to the children of Israel as well as any who would worship their God (2 Chr. 6:32-33). In the New Testament, God's people include all who make Christ their Lord (Galatians 3:26-29). A "Christian" is literally a "little Christ" or "Christ imitator.”

Now all who follow him bear his name as his own.

God's first requirement for his people is that they "humble themselves." The Hebrew word, kana ("kah-naw") means to bend the knee or submit. It is found 18 times in a military context, as when a person or nation submits to a superior power. The other 18 times it refers to spiritual subjection, submitting to God as King and Lord.

To illustrate the kind of humility God requires of us, Jesus told a shocking story. A Pharisee and a tax collector both went to the temple to pray (Luke 18:10). We think of Pharisees as evil, but they were the spiritual heroes of their day, a kind of Jewish Navy SEALs. There were never more than 6,000 of them. They were more committed to Jewish legalism than anyone else on earth.

By contrast, the "tax collector" was the most despised person in Jewish society. He was a turncoat, taking taxes from his fellow Jews to give to the hated Romans. They wouldn't let him into the temple, which is why he "stood at a distance" (v. 13). They wouldn't let him testify in a court of law, for they considered him a liar and thief. In their culture he was worse than a drug dealer or terrorist.

The Pharisee was proud of himself, that he was not a sinner like other men. He fasted twice a week, while the Law required fasting only on the Day of Atonement. He did this on Monday and Thursday, because these were market days and more people would come into the city and observe him fasting. He gave a tenth of all he had, even the spices he put on his food. Imagine reserving a tenth of the salt and pepper you put on your lunch, so you could give it to a church next Sunday. He was proud of who he was and what he was.

The contrast, the tax collector "would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner'" (v. 13). To "beat his breast" was a sign of grief and sorrow, used to express great loss. In the Greek he said, "have mercy on me, the sinner." Grace is getting what we don't deserve; mercy is not getting what we do deserve. He prayed that he would not receive the punishment for his sins that he deserved.

Now comes the shock: "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God" (v. 14a)." If you were a Catholic and I told you a story in which God heard Osama bin Laden but not Pope Benedict or John Paul II, you'd be just as shocked. If you were a Baptist and I told you that God forgave Saddam Hussein but not Billy Graham, you'd be astonished. Here is Jesus' reason: "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (v. 14b). "Everyone," with no exceptions by the Son of God.

Why is humility essential?

Why? Why is humility so essential to a right relationship with God? Because when we bow the knee before God as our King and Sovereign, and submit to him as his subject, only then do we position ourselves to receive all that he wants to give.

Jesus' first sermon was clear and concise: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matt. 4:17). He taught us to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness" (Matt. 6:33). What is this kingdom of God? Jesus defined it when he taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10). His kingdom comes wherever and whenever his will is done in our lives.

The "kingdom" is the central theme of Scripture:

• "The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity (Psalm 93:1-2).

• "The Lord will reign forever and ever" (Exodus 15:18).

• "O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth" (2 Kings 19:15).

• "The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever" (Psalm 29:10).

• "How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth!" (Psalm 47:2).

• "Say among the nations, 'The Lord reigns1'" (Ps. 96:10).

• "The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice" (Ps. 97:1).

• "I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King" (Isaiah 43:15).

God is King by virtue of creating his Kingdom. He is King by virtue of ruling it. And he is King by virtue of the fact that he will return one day to claim it all as his:

• "The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name" (Zechariah 14:9).

• When Messiah comes, "Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever" (Isaiah 9:7).

• When Jesus returns, "on his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 19:16).

There is only room for one king on the throne of your heart. If he is king, you are not. If you are king, he is not. If you are king, the omniscient King of the universe, the God who sees tomorrow better than you see today, cannot lead you. If you are king, the omnipotent King of the universe, the God who measures the heavens with the palm of his hand, cannot help you. If you are king, the true King cannot bless you. To live a life God can bless, make him your King.

How can you make God your King?

When a monarch is crowned king or queen in England, four steps take place. First, the previous monarch abdicates or dies. In that moment, the next ruler becomes king or queen. Second, the new sovereign is presented to the people, who acclaim him or her their ruler. Third, the monarch swears an oath to uphold the law and the Church. Last, the ruler is anointed with oil, crowned, invested with regalia, and receives the homage of the realm and its subjects.

It is the same with making God our King. First, the previous king must abdicate the throne. We choose to die to ourselves and live for him.

Jesus told us, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23). That's why Paul testified, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

This decision begins with a salvation commitment. We admit to the Lord that we are sinners, that we have made mistakes and failed his plan for us. We ask him to forgive us and cleanse us. We die to ourselves, asking him to step into our lives and take control of us. We give ourselves completely to him as our King and Lord. Do you remember when you made this commitment to the King?

Second, we acclaim Jesus as our ruler every day. We begin each morning by giving it to him. We ask his Spirit to take control of our lives, to lead us and use us that day. We crown him our King each day as the day begins. Did you do this today?

Third, we trust his plan and purposes for us. As the English monarch promises to uphold the law and the Church, so our monarch has promised to lead us in his "good, pleasing, and perfect will" (Romans 12:2). He has a plan to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). We trust him to do what is best with our lives all day long. Have you surrendered your life to his perfect plan for this day?

Fourth, we worship him as our King and ruler. Not just on Sunday, but every day. The Bible says that we "enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise" (Psalm 100:4). When we worship him, we connect our lives to his power and purpose. Then he guides and empowers and blesses us as his subjects. Will you worship him today?

Conclusion

C. S. Lewis said, "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done." Which is true for you?

Jim Elliot was born on October 8, 1927. He became a Christian at the age of six, and sensed a call to missions soon thereafter. One of his favorite sayings was the statement, "God always gives his best to those who leave the choice with him."

In 1952, Elliot moved to Equador, to reach the remote Waodani, also known as the Auca (the name means "savage"). He began work with four colleagues—Ed McCully, Nate Saint, Roger Youderin, and Peter Fleming. They dropped gifts to the Waodani from Nate Saint's airplane, and eventually flew in to establish a base. They made initial contact with some of the tribe's members, and contacted the missionary post by radio to tell them that things were going well. That was the last time anyone heard from them. Their bodies were found along the Curaray River, where they had been killed by Waodani warriors.

His widow, Elisabeth, joined Nate Saint's sister, Rachel, in working with the very people who killed their husband and brother. They established a thriving ministry there, leading many to Christ. Elisabeth told Jim's story to the world, and made famous a statement found in his journal after his death: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

He was right.

 

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