Pattern of Continuation, Change and Challenge

UV 2841/10000 Pattern of Continuation, Change and Challenge
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
2 Timothy 3 v 14

The Bible, it is said, is the only book one reads for the sake of knowing the Author- the Creator and Fulfiller of the Universe, the Alpha and the Omega. St Paul in this uni-verse is exhorting his mentee Timothy, one of the early leaders of the church, to remain steadfast in keeping the things that he had learnt and be fully assured of the hope that came from the knowledge of Jesus. Likewise, we in this age and time are to stick or adhere faithfully to what we have learnt of the mystery of the Triune God of the Bible. The word ‘continue’ or abide in the uni-verse implies that we need to commit to habit certain applictions of the truths and precepts we have learnt to develop some disciplines of the spirit, mind and body or spiritual habits, mental habits and physical habits that flow from our knowledge of Jesus. There are different types of knowledge but the knowledge of the Lord is what makes the greatest difference to the quality of our lives and our eternal destiny is found therein. We just cannot remain passive, inert, dormant or unchanging once we personally know of Him. We got to change and we got to create change. We are change makers or change agents of the Lord in this world. His teachings give us the strength to face the many challenges of change.

The teachings of Jesus passed on to us through the apostles are meant to establish our faith and enable us to reflect His qualities in our daily lives. It is bread and manna that does not spoil overnight and lasts forever, that our spirits and minds can munch on all the days of our lives. We learn things line by line, verse by verse, precept by precept, principle by principle, experience by experience, moment by moment. Our personal knowledge of Him and our time intersects all the time, producing refining and defining moments all our waking hours.

This uni-verse implies that we are committed to believers to lifelong learning, lifelong improvement towards the perfection of Christ and lifelong leaning on the Lord, that with each new truth we learn and apply, we grow in terms of spiritual excellence. Abiding in Jesus is allowing His word to abide I us. Whatever we have learn from Jesus and of Jesus is not meant for our “head knowledge” or theoretical understanding but to be applied, obeyed, practiced. It creates change for the better at a very deep level- the spiritual and emotional heart or core of our being. We need to be at the feet of Jesus to learn from Him and of Him like Mary in order to beat the lusts of this world. For in so being is both the love, power and grace of Jesus increasingly revealed in our lives and through us to others who are in need of such knowledge of Him.

Prateep V Philip

Pattern of Training In Righteousness

UV 2840/10000 Pattern of Training in Righteousness
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
2 Timothy 3 v 16
The default condition of the human being is unrighteousness. It cannot be taken for granted that a man can become righteous and stay righteous on his own strength. Human beings who are unrighteous cannot give training to fellow beings in righteousness. The inspiration or the source of training in righteousness is the Lord Himself. A believer is declared righteous in the sight of God not on account of his own character and deeds but by grace and on account of his faith in the finished as well as ongoing work of Christ on and off the cross. Once declared righteous by faith and grace, it then behoves us to take training in righteousness by imbibing all the counsel of God as written in scripture. Scripture is to be employed to turn it into our life scripts. Scripture directs and shapes our thoughts, our world view, our decisions, our actions and reactions, our speech, our desires and our emotions.
We are to be trained in righteousness of thoughts so that we take every thought captive to Christ. We are to be trained in righteousness of speech so that every word we speak passes through scriptural filters and comes out like pure silver. We are trained in righteousness of emotions so that our emotions of anger or joy or fear are subjected to the control and regulation of the Holy Spirit. We are trained in righteousness of decisions so that our motives and intentions of every action are measured against the Word and we take those decisions that pass muster of the scriptural standards.
Scripture has many uses for such training in righteousness. It can be used to warn us when we go wrong or fall short of the standards of Jesus, the standards of God. It can be used to teach us how to rectify things when we go wrong. Doctrinal truths in scripture act as a plumbline to check if our beliefs are in perfect alignment with the Lord and the revelations He has imparted to us. Scripture gives us a framework to clarify our values, to extract principles to guide our actions and reactions to life’s various situations. It disciplines us and helps us to become spiritually strong, balanced, mature and effective instruments or vessels of the Lord. It buoys us our hope in distressing or critical situations of life, guards us against the temptations and weaknesses of our bodies and minds. It is comprehensive, holistic, realistic and practical, impacting our whole lives positively. Scripture is the training material or Immanuel’s manual for man while the Lord is the ever present, ever leading, ever guiding, coaching, warning, equipping, empowering, enabling and helping trainer with us.
Prateep V Philip

The Pattern of Inheritance

UV 2839/10000 The Pattern of Inheritance
For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
Isaiah 64 v 4

Through a merely physical or intellectual process, it is impossible right through human history to perceive the great inheritance the Lord has prepared for those who love Him and wait with faith for coming into that inheritance. Such knowledge is even beyond the wildest imagination of human beings. We can come into such knowledge only by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Obviously, such terrific knowledge would elude the wise, the learned, the imaginative people of this world. No matter how much science and technology advances, it can never reveal the wonders of the kingdom of God. Neither can the creative writers and poets ever describe the greatness of the kingdom of God.
The echo verse for this uni-verse quoted by St Paul is the oft-quoted I Corinthians 2 v 9. While Isaiah says “ for him that wait for Him,” the latter portion states “for them that love Him.” It is not that God is partial to some human beings but it is required that we be both personal and passionate for the Lord. Once He revealed the full extent of His love by giving up His Son Jesus to save mankind, the requirement to come into that inheritance changed from merely ‘waiting’ with faith to a passionate attachment with the Lord. We are to become so passionate that every other relationship and every other pursuit and every other thing in our lives are subordinated to our relationship with the Lord and His word. Jesus is the most valuable pearl for which we are ready to give up everything in order to obtain the riches of the knowledge of the mystery hidden in God. He is the key not to open a Pandora’s box but the key of David to unlock the pearly gates of heaven. The mystery hidden from all eyes, all ears and all imagination is revealed in the hope we have in Christ. Christ in us, indeed is the hope of a glorious eternity, regardless of how our time and experience on earth is or was.
Even those who believe and love Jesus do not come into an instantaneous knowledge of the love and power of the Lord. But, through diligent study, revelations and many personal experiences, we come to a realization of the infinite love and power of the Lord. We only need to know that the inheritance we have in Jesus is awesome and amazing, beyond description and beyond reasoning and imagination. We will, of course, have a foretaste of what is to come in the experiences we have while still on earth but these are just like an appetiser that whets our appetite and prepares us for the main course or feast to follow.
Prateep V Philip

Pattern of Blessings of the Lord

UV 2838/10000 Pattern of Blessings of the Lord
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Genesis 12 v 2

The Lord desires that we who are His creations and new creations in Christ do not hanker after success, wealth, fame, pleasure and power. Rather, He wants us to be zealous for His blessings. From the loins of one man, Abraham, the Lord God demonstrated to the world that He can draw forth a nation. No other nation in history can be traced back biologically to one man as Israel is traced back to the seed of Abraham. The Lord blessed Abraham in his lifetime but also turned his faith into an inspiration and confidence for generations of his family. Therein, He fulfilled His promise to Abraham to bless him and make his name great as well as to make him a blessing. The Lord also promised to make him a father of many nations and all Arab nations trace their ancestry to him through Ishmael. Most other persons who are called “Father” of their nations like Kemal Ataturk of Turkey are only metaphorical fathers or persons who contributed to building a particular nation.

Jacob, a grandson of Abraham was initially zealous to get his earthly father, Isaac’s blessings but his stratagem to outwit his older twin( older by a few seconds or minutes but yet older),Esau got him into much trouble and drove him out of his house and away from his family. During his sojourn, thereafter, he too learnt to be zealous for the blessing of the God of his grandfather, Abraham. The Lord in the coming generations drew many kings and rulers out of the lineage of Abraham. One such king was David but the greatest of the descendants of Abraham, far greater than him is Jesus, the one ordained to be both Messiah and King of Kings. Through the spiritual and faith lineage of Jesus, the Lord has raised many children of faith in all nations in the past two thousand years plus. Now, each of us is an inheritor by faith, by grace and not by law or entitlement, of the very same Abrahamic blessing.
The Lord promises to make of us a great nation. He promises to bless us and make us a channel of blessing. He will make our names great or in other words, He will enlarge our influence, our impact, our legacy to the generations. Like Abraham, we need to hold onto these promises and wait with patient expectation for the fulfilment in His time. When we are zealous for the blessings of the Lord, He adds unto us all that which we need. Our attitude should be like that of the chastened Jacob, to wrestle with the Lord in prayer till He blesses us. The simple blessing given to Abraham is elaborated in much detail in the first fourteen verses of Deuteronomy chapter 28. It is echoed in Matthew chapter 28 verse 33 which can be paraphrased in the context of the above uni-verse as: “Seek first His rule and His directions and all these blessings will be added unto you.” Abraham had obeyed the directions of the Lord in leaving the comfort and familiarity of his father’s land to move to a foreign land- Canaan. The Lord wanted to birth a new nation there to bless the whole world. Likewise, when we implicitly and enthusiastically obey the directions we receive from the Lord and believe His promises, we are greatly blessed. We manifest our zeal for the blessings of the Lord in obeying Him willingly, enthusiastically and implicitly even if it means giving up what is comfortable and familiar to us. Ultimately, faith is not just mental belief but belief from the heart that leads to an action in obedience or compliance with who or what we believe. The blessings of the Lord that follow such zeal and obedience, unlike earthly good fortune, are comprehensive, balanced, holistic, unpredictable and awesome.
Prateep V Philip

Pattern of Contamination and Effective Counter Measures

UV 2837/10000 Pattern of Contamination of Faith
A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
Galatians 5 v 9

This proverb spoken by Jesus and quoted by the apostles in their writings has a deep as well as practical meaning. Yeast changes the nature of the bread from being solid into something full of holes and pores and hot gas as it is baked. Likewise, a variety of factors in life change our character and faith to be full of holes, pores and hot air. A little pride can cause a person to swell up like a loaf of bread to be several times the size of the original unleavened bread. A little untruth similarly distorts a person’s perceptions, decisions, actions and behaviour. A little deceit has huge consequences and can take a person off course like even a tiny shift in an aircraft’s direction take it to a completely new destination. A little anger expressed inappropriately can damage a relationship. Scripture states that "evil communications corrupt good manners. " Small compromises can affect our faith and our relationship with the Lord in more ways that we can guess as we learn from the tragedy of Ananias and Saphira in the book of Acts as a little lie involving hiding a part of the proceeds of the sale of their own house led to their instantaneous judgement and deaths.
Jesus warned his followers of the leaven or yeast of the Pharisees , the Sadducees and of Herod. The yeast of the Pharisees that robbed them of their priestly anointing and grace in the sight of the Lord was hypocrisy. They liked to look good on the outside with their ceremonial robes and ritual practices but their hearts were full of covetousness, pride and selfishness. The yeast of the Sadducees was their wrong doctrine that there was no resurrection of the dead. The yeast of Herod was his lust for power and the consequent erratic actions and aberrations that led him to order the massacre of innocents and the beheading of John the Baptist to satisfy the vindictive whim of Herodia, his wife.
We need to guard against all these types of contamination of our pure faith. We require not a one time cleansing but a thorough ongoing cleansing by the mighty Holy Spirit. He will purify and sanctify us from deep inside our hearts. We need to have any traces of the old leaven or the old creature from our lives so that we are new creatures in Christ and we keep renewing ourselves in the spirit. Any old beliefs or attitudes or practices that we are prone to should be pruned at its roots and given no opportunity to grow like weeds to outgrow the seed of truth planted in us. A little duplicity or double mindedness can deprive us of the grace or favour of the Lord. Our faith should be authentic, genuine, strong, without any mixed motives or feelings for it to be fruitful and effective. Any hidden sin or unconfessed wanton sin can block our prayers from reaching the Lord and from being answered. A good protection against such contamination is the continual intake of the Word. The Word gives us what doctors call endoscopy or a view from inside us.
Prateep V Philip

Pattern of Liberty and Bondage

UV 2836/10000 Pattern of Liberty and Bondage
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5 v 1
There are different types of freedom: political freedom or self rule, economic freedom, social freedom and spiritual freedom. The highest form of freedom is spiritual freedom. Christ has set us free from the bondage of sin and death. He being the personification of Truth and the fulfilment of all the laws of God is able and willing to lift the heavy yoke of bondage that lies on the shoulders of all mankind. We are no longer servants of sin but servants of righteousness. We were once sold out to the enemy of our souls. Now, we are sold out to Christ.
We are set free from such bondage, the responsibility is ours not to yearn for such slavery to sin even as the Israelites longed for the bondage of Egypt while they sojourned in the desert. We should not entertain the thought or attempt to sell ourselves again to the enemy. We do so by holding firm to the hope and confidence we have in Christ and the salvation He provides for all who believe in Him.
St Paul uses the metaphor of a soldier not getting entangled in civilian affairs but subjects himself continually to training and discipline so that he is victorious as an individual fighter and also contributes to the overall victory of the army or the kingdom to which he belongs. Many of us tie ourselves up in knots by not heeding the voice of our divine Trainer- the Holy Spirit. We do not study the manual of training- the Bible. We do not apply biblical principles to daily living, consequently, we get entangled in sin. We rush into situations where a heavy yoke is placed again on our shoulders. We have to defend our hard won freedom from sin and death by wearing the full armour of God. We have to use and enjoy our freedom and not abuse it. We need to discipline our appetite for the privileges and pleasures of this world unlike the ancient Israelites who cried for the meat that was served to them while they were slaves in Egypt. They invited the displeasure of God and consequently, curses of disease and death upon themselves though they were set free from slavery in Egypt. We need to emulate Daniel who though a slave in Babylon, spurned the meat from the king’s table. We need to limit our scope of desires and actions and attitudes to those which please the Lord. In this sense, we are servants of righteousness though we have been declared by Jesus to be His friends and brothers.
Prateep V Philip

Pattern of the Perfection of Hearts

UV 2835/10000 Pattern of the Perfection of Hearts
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
I Peter 3 v 15

In the book of Proverbs, it is written that we should guard our hearts diligently for out of it are the issues of life. When we correlate that key verse with this uni-verse, we discover how to guard our own hearts. Just as any human creation or invention cannot repair itself, our hearts can be mended only by the Creator and Redeemer Lord. Our hearts are the workshop of the Lord. He is constantly at work in our hearts through the agency of the Holy Spirit. We can guard our hearts diligently only with the help of the Lord, with the power of the Holy Spirit. Diligently, implies a diligent study of the word precedes and accompanies the daily and moment to moment surrender of our hearts or our attitudes, desires and basic emotions to the Holy Spirit who is the Sanctifier. He perfects our attitudes, our desires, our emotions to make it pleasing and worthy of the Lord Jesus.

Once our hearts are guarded, strengthened, purified and perfected in, by and for the Lord, our lives will be silent but eloquent and compelling testimonies or evidence of the power of the Lord at work in us. Now, when we are asked about what makes us strong in faith, we will be able to answer with grace and humility the questions people with seeking hearts ask of us. There will be a certain ring of conviction and power behind our words as we defend our faith. Our hope in Christ is reasonable since it is based on our personal and practical experience of His grace at a deep level- our hearts. Lives lived with such faith only makes the gospel tasty and attractive to those who are struggling without hope and meaning or power in this world.

We can never ever say that our hearts or lives are perfect but we are “always getting there” as we do our best to listen to the move of the Holy Spirit deep inside our hearts. We need to always come before the Lord with a broken heart of genuine repentance at even our smallest errors and wilful acts of defiance of the will and word of the Lord. We need to pray for the healing touch of the Lord inside our hearts and His help to sanctify our hearts so that we no longer commit the same error or offence. Even as this sanctifying process is going on, we must always be ready with a word-based answer to the queries and searching questions of those we work with or come in contact with in the course of our lives.

Prateep V Philip