Turning to God From Idols to Serve the Living God

Turning to God From Idols to Serve the Living God

The New Year’s Conference at Brunstad began with a serious and fervent exhortation to be prepared for Jesus’ return and to keep your heart pure. What follows is a précis of what was spoken at the confer­ence.

“Keep your heart with all dili­gence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Prov. 4:23. Impurity in the heart is manifested by one’s life. Those who were influential in Jesus’ days crucified the Lord of glory. However, if they had been able to look into Jesus’ heart, they would have seen an abundance of love; also if they could have looked into Stephen’s heart when he prayed for those who stoned him. Our hearts should melt with love when we con­sider all the goodness and love we have received from the saints.

About the ungodly it is written: “For wickedness is in their dwellings and in their hearts.” Ps. 55:15. The dwelling place of our heart must be preserved pure. The dwelling place of our heart must be like the temple: the entire area around it must be most holy. Ezek. 43:12. Only those who were ashamed of their misdeeds were allowed to enter the temple (v. 11), and there was a curse over those who sacrificed to idols and not “to the Lord only.” Ex. 22:20.

In Psalm 16:4 we read that the sor­rows of those who hasten after idols will be multiplied. Why do people have so many sorrows, so many anxieties? According to this word, it is because of the pressure that evil spirits exert on their spirit. And the greatest idol is usually a person’s own ego, which causes him to reach out for honor and gain, and thus lose his joy and purity.

In 1 Corinthians we read about being carried away to dumb idols. This happens involuntarily if a per­son does not have Jesus Christ as Lord in his life. People are drawn and carried away in all directions. Evil spirits are at work when a per­son’s heart and mind are drawn to things outside of Christ. Then he has fellowship with evil spirits, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 10:19-20. For example, it is fairly obvious that evil spirits are at work when a person gets offended about all kinds of things and makes “big waves” because of some small matter.

Jesus was awake and prepared to fight as soon as He noticed that evil spirits were at work. To Peter, who had good intentions when he wanted to spare Jesus the sufferings, He said, “Get behind Me, Satan!” Some peo­ple are quick to accept comfort for their flesh from others. Behind such comfort are evil spirits that want to get a person off the narrow way. A person can play the hypocrite, lie, and be pretentious under the influ­ence of evil spirits.

A genuine Christian is not over­come by idols or by spiritual hosts of wickedness. “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done [overcome] all, to stand.” Eph. 6:13. The spiritual hosts of wickedness cause a person to become angry, offended, bitter, un­faithful, etc. These spiritual powers are also behind a person becoming discouraged. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear [discouragement], but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim. 1:7. It takes a powerful spirit to overcome all sin in the flesh. The Spirit of faith fills us with such power. Paul exhorts Timothy to “share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God.” V. 8. There is a great difference between suffering in our own strength and suffering in God’s power. A “low pressure front” can so easily roll in over a person. By the Spirit of faith and in God’s power we are able to chase all these “low pressure fronts” far from our soul-life. Then we will experience that the sun never sets.

Having Sin—Committing Sin

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8. “My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin.” Ch. 2:1. These two Bible verses clearly indicate that there is a difference between having sin and committing sin. If we are truthful, we have to acknowledge that we have sin which manifests itself. This is the same thing that the apostle Paul writes about in Romans 7 when he says that in him, that is, in his flesh, nothing good dwells, and that he sees another law in his members that wars against the law of his mind. On the other hand, committing sin is described as fol­lows in 1 John 3:4: “Whoever com­mits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” Then the person transgresses the laws of his conscience and acts contrary to the light he has.

This is a tremendous challenge—namely, that by having sin and thus being tempted, we can overcome the sin to which we were tempted. This is the point at which we start to walk in Jesus’ steps! Just as Jesus overcame, we, too, can overcome in the power of the Spirit. What a challenge!

“For in that He Himself has suf­fered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” Heb. 2:18. Now we are looking into that great mystery of godliness. This is where we can see the new and living way on which our spirit is made alive and we partake of God’s wisdom. The spirit of Antichrist has hidden this way from Christianity because they do not believe that Jesus had to become like His brethren in all things and be tempted as we are. The new and living way is the way back to God. It goes through the flesh. Ch. 10:19-20.

In Hebrews 4:15-16 we read that Jesus sympathizes with our weak­nesses—namely, our weakness to be so easily tempted because of the sin that we have. But we also read that we can come to the throne of grace to receive help at the right time. At the right time! This means that we receive help not to fall in the hour of temptation, but that we can gain the victory. What a challenge that is! What an opportunity it is for us who have come to this acknowledgment that we have sin.

There was a death that took place in Jesus’ life long before He died on the cross of Calvary. It was a death to all that is called sin and transgres­sion. He was always victorious, and this death is called “Jesus’ death.” In 2 Corinthians 4 Paul writes about always—always—carrying about in our bodies the dying of the Lord Je­sus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. V. 10. Jesus is our forerunner on this way, which means that we can follow Him. A person has to be deeply God-fearing to follow Jesus on this new and liv­ing way.

Seeing that we know that we have sin, that we carry about a flesh in which nothing good dwells, we must say that it is irresponsible and extremely arrogant when a person exposes himself to temptations by (for example) looking a little bit, peeping a little bit, and listening a little bit when there is talk about a film with immoral content. Such conduct exhibits a crying lack of the fear of God. Such a person is far from having fellowship with God’s Son, who in the days of His flesh offered up prayers with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His godly fear. It is not the intention for us to be tempted to the same thing over and over again, to have difficulties in the same area year after year without entering into rest. Let us accept this as a strong and powerful challenge, namely to gain complete victory in the midst of having sin and being tempted.

To God the Lord belong escapes from death. Ps. 68:20. When we think of the death that is the result of sin, the death which James describes in Chapter 1:15, then this is a won­derful prophecy for all those who honestly want to be set free from sin. Then the prophecy in Psalm 68:24 will also be fulfilled where we read about a “victory procession into the sanctuary.”

Fire

John the Baptist said about Jesus: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. . . . He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn.” Matt. 3:11-12.

What would we have been with­out this fire that comes for our cleans­ing and help? “The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.” Ex. 24:17. It is certain that if we want to experience the Lord’s glory and have fellowship with Him, we must be able to endure the fire. When we think of all the glory and brotherly love we are already experiencing among us, it is because of this fellow­ship in the fire. Fellowship that is not in the fire, or which cannot endure the fire, is not the fellowship of the saints. Those who love this fire and can bear it partake of transforma­tion, and in this process all pride and conceit—even the entire natural man—is consumed by fire.

“I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” Luke 12:49. This consum­ing fire sets us free from our selfish human nature, and if we love this fire, Jesus is not ashamed to call us brethren. All of His brethren (sisters are obviously included) have gone through the fire, have endured the fire, and have been melted together by the fire for all eternity. Therefore do not draw back from the fire! Be willing to be cleansed by it, and you will experience the love and the goodness that is hidden in it.

“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you . . . .” 1 Pet. 4:12. God deals with us in our life by chastening us. We have to fit into the fellowship with the Father and the Son and all the saints for all eternity. Nothing impure can come into this fellowship in the fire. All selfishness is consumed by the fire, and a new man is born. Therefore we can rejoice in all our battles and conflicts.

Set Free From Sin

In Romans 6:22 we have an un­usually intense and important Bible verse: “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holi­ness [sanctification—marg.], and the end, everlasting life.”

Set free from sin! That means that we are set free from living in the manifest works of the flesh about which we read in Galatians 5:19-21. Those who do these things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Chil­dren have the right of inheritance, and those who do the things that are mentioned in this passage of Scrip­ture are not God’s children. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Rom. 8:14. They are the heirs of promise. And the greatest and most precious promises are the promises about be­ing partakers of the divine nature. In Galatians 5:16 we are exhorted to “walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Then we enter into a blessed ministry, and we will have fruit from our ministry—namely, sanctification. If a person does not have fruit as a result of his work, he is backsliding. Instead of serving, he will, for example, begin to rule. Perhaps such a person has a good conscience, but he will not at­tain to sanctification in his own life. The reason is that in the midst of his work, he has great difficulty seeing himself and acknowledging the truth about himself.

All of us have sin because of the Fall. Nevertheless, God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, for the sake of sin, and condemned sin in the flesh. Rom. 8:3. We must therefore be extremely watchful and interested so that we can see all the self-life that falls under this condemnation.

It is difficult for many people to see themselves, and when they are made aware of something in their life, they almost collapse and become discouraged. The Spirit of truth wants to lead us into all truth so that we can see all the sin that entered through the Fall. Then it becomes obvious that we have to love this truth. We should not go beyond our measure of faith and speak as if we possessed a fullness of life that we do not have. Then we lie to the listeners and risk losing God’s grace over our life. However, it is edify­ing to confess our hope, our hope of attaining to something that we have not yet attained to. In Hebrews 10:23 we read the exhortation that we are to hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

We know where “the shoe hurts” in our life. We need to live before God’s throne so that we can receive grace to help us. The fear of God will help us to advance further on the way, for where sin abounds, grace abound much more! All of us have an opportunity to let the Lord awaken our ear each morning to hear as a disciple hears. Isa. 50:4. We must be willing to learn in the school of the Spirit, for all of us have much to learn. Let us learn from Him who was meek and humble of heart—from the Master Himself.

When we see how great and glori­ous the Master is, and when we real­ize how much we have to learn, then we should, as one brother exhorted us, not be so quickly finished with the conference and the message that we have heard. The above is a brief account of the New Year’s Confer­ence and in particular the words we heard from brother Kåre J. Smith. Let us, as we were exhorted, not be so quickly finished with what we have heard, but do as Mary did: “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19.