Solid Ground Larry W Peebles 03/04/22 22.07
As I wrote in my last article “A Bit of Advice” (Thykingdom.com, 02/18/22, 22.05), there is a lot of shaking going on in the world at this time. Christians are being mocked and ridiculed; unbelievers and skeptics are outspoken and demanding. Evil is called good, and good is called evil, all as predicted in the word of God. Only two weeks later, as I write this article, Russia has invaded the free and sovereign nation of Ukraine. With the exception of a few allies of Russia, the world has responded against Russia with financial and economic sanctions and military and humanitarian support for the people of Ukraine. Dozens of countries have seen demonstrations of protest erupt. In the United States oil and stock markets are suffering. More importantly, our hearts and prayers are with the Ukrainians as they endure bombing, fear, and the rumbling of advancing armies. Smoke, fire and death in the streets have replaced a normally peaceful atmosphere. Russia has gone so far as to purposely bomb civilian locations, and attack the world’s largest nuclear power plant. Ukraine’s freedom and democracy is at stake, and the world is truly affected. The courage and fight exemplified by their resolve is an inspiration to all.
In times of shaking, people individually and collectively look for a solid place to take shelter, a solid piece of ground on which to stand. Times of shaking become an appropriate point to re-evaluate what is important in the universe of existence, and to take hold of the enduring and eternal things of value. These times cause one to move from “what am I doing today?” to “what am I doing with my life?” We ask ourselves “what do I truly depend upon?” rather than “what do I think I need?” If we have a heart and soul, we become grateful for our own freedom and security, and ask “how can I help?”
During times of crisis, faith in God moves to the forefront of the mind. Soldiers in the battle report “There are no atheists in a foxhole.” There is something about facing the finality of death that causes one to return to a God-installed homing device that points the way back to one’s true place of birth-back to their spiritual roots as it were. The return to these roots provides the solid ground we are seeking in a crisis.
Three important fundamentals come to mind when I think about what this solid ground looks like. These are the basic ingredients in the foundation of faith:
- Fear the Father-The Bible often speaks of “the fear of the Lord”. The Hebrew word for fear is yare (Strong’s #3707), and means to awe, honor, revere and respect. This describes our proper relationship with our heavenly Father. I admit that as a young boy I did not respect my earthly father as I should have. He drank, smoked, and cursed. He was angry, and I watched his temper boil over. It was not until I grew and matured a great deal before I realized what I saw. His mother and father died, and he was thrown into World War II for four years, all within one year of marrying my mom. The news of Pearl Harbor reached them on their honeymoon. He served in the Pacific front after completing basic training. War and death changes people. His ground had been shaken. He did the best he could under the circumstances. He was due my respect and honor whether I thought he deserved it or not. Once I understood his history, I respected him all the more. In spite of his adversity, he took care of the family and loved us the best he knew how. Our relationship in the later years was so much better than the early years, because I changed my view. We finished strong as father/son. How much more does our heavenly Father deserve our honor and respect?
All we have, are, and hope to be is because of His great plan for our lives. We existed in the mind of God from eternity past, and He placed us in this time and place for His good purposes. Consider Psalm 32:8- “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Then Proverbs 3: 5-6 says- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” He has our best interests in His heart at all times. When we properly “fear” the Lord, He instructs us in the way we should go, confides in us, and makes His covenants and promises known to us. He causes us to inherit the land, and our days are spent in prosperity. (Psalm 25: 12-14).
When we give Him our honor and respect, our relationship with Him grows to the point of friendship. Three times in Scripture Abraham is called a friend of God (2 Chronicles 20:7, James 2:23), once by God Himself, Isaiah 41:8- “But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham, my friend…” If Abraham can be a friend of God, so can we. We have a faultless Father who has our best interest in mind who wants to be our friend. Friends come to the side of friends in need.
- Follow Jesus-When Jesus chose His disciples, He did not say read this book, carry this manual at all times, or watch these videos. He told His disciples to “Follow Me.” In the Jewish tradition, the disciples knew what this meant. Jesus was a confounding teacher to the prideful, with an amazing understanding and insight into the Scriptures. Such a respected teacher was called a “rabbi”. Students of such a respected teacher knew that in order to learn all they could from their rabbi, they must follow so closely that the dust from their rabbi’s shoes fell on their shoes and clothing. They literally followed in the dust of their rabbi. The disciples walked, ate and rested in the evenings with Jesus, often watching Him go off into the night to pray. He taught them as they lived life together. The Bible also says repeatedly that the crowds followed Jesus. They went wherever He went so as to learn and see the miracles. Jesus did not follow the crowds; they followed Him.
Likewise, we must go where Jesus is, and stay close to Him. Maybe He would come to us, but more likely we will find Him when we go looking for Him. There’s just something about making that active effort and search that God honors. Consider Hebrews 11:6- “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Then Acts 17:27 says- “God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” When we follow Jesus, our relationship with Him grows to the point He becomes our brother. We are called brothers in John 20:17 and Romans 8:29, but this is what Hebrews 2:11 says- “Both the one who makes men holy (Jesus) and those who are made holy are of the same family; so Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.” We have a Savior and Redeemer who is the rabbi of all rabbis. He wants to be our brother. Brothers come to the side of brothers in need.
- Focus on Holy Spirit- When Jesus left the earth, He said that is better that He go, because He would then send Holy Spirit, the person and power of God in the earth today. Jesus said the Spirit would come to give us help, wisdom and counsel. He came in a mighty way on the Day of Pentecost (Acts Chapter 2), and filled the followers of Jesus. He continued to baptize believers in the Spirit throughout the book of Acts, and still does so today. He is nearer than we imagine, and when He is invited, honored, respected, and asked He will fill us with power from the spirit realm to do the works Jesus commanded us to do. He will provide wise counsel to help us.
As we focus on Holy Spirit, and honor, respect and ask Him to speak to us, the relationship will grow. A healthy and mature relationship with Holy Spirit will yield these results: fruit of the Spirit-love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22); life and peace (Romans 8:6); hope (Romans 15:13); wisdom and counsel (Isaiah 11:2); power (Acts 1:8); help for our weakness (Romans 8:26); Spirit of truth (John 14:17); and advocate (John 14:26). This is not an exhaustive list, but who wouldn’t want to focus on a relationship with these benefits?
Before my wife and I began to travel to the nations to preach and teach, I sought Holy Spirit for guidance. We got a late start in ministry, and being a bit older we did not want to be out in a foreign land on our own. I prayed until I heard Holy Spirit say “If you go, I will go with you, and I will be there when you get there.” I took this to mean He would keep us as we traveled, and He would be in our meetings. His power demonstrates what we preach. To the best of our ability, we speak accurately what He has given us to preach, but His power leaves the stronger impression, and makes a lasting impact on the listener. This is what Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 when he said one’s faith should not rest on man’s wisdom, but on God’s power. This is solid ground.
In closing, there is one more aspect of solid ground we should know. We said if we fear the Father, we have a friend. If we follow Jesus, we have gained a brother. If we focus on Holy Spirit, we have wisdom, counsel and power. Jesus gives us the additional aspect in Luke 6:46-48, where He said- “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and put them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on [solid] rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.” We can conclude that an integral part of the solid ground is the lordship of Jesus. He is not only our Savior, but He is Lord. We obey Him, and we do it consistently and immediately-whatever He tells us to do. At that point, our foundation is not merely sitting on rock, it is sitting on the Rock- Jesus. Scripture readily identifies Him as such many times, but Paul makes it very clear in 1 Corinthians 4:10, even identifying Him as the Rock from which water flowed in the desert for the Israelites during their flight from Egypt. He is our Rock and the source today of our living water –Holy Spirit. We simply cannot build a foundation on anything other than Jesus as Lord of our lives.
