{"id":10491,"date":"2018-10-29T19:55:38","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T19:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pjhmail.wordpress.com\/?p=10491"},"modified":"2018-10-29T19:55:38","modified_gmt":"2018-10-29T19:55:38","slug":"patience-not-indifference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/10491\/patience-not-indifference\/","title":{"rendered":"Patience, not Indifference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pastor John,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I loved Wednesday night\u2019s message.\u00a0 I think these are the best times, when we walk away feeling like we can see just a little bit more of what God sees, and feel just a little bit more of what God feels. And it always comes with a feeling of \u201cYES!\u201d\u00a0 A feeling of \u201cthis is\u00a0just<\/i>\u00a0who I hoped God would be, and who I want to be!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0I did my best this evening to write down things as you were saying them, the way that I was understanding them.\u00a0 And as I wrote, I felt a whole lot like the way a moth\u00a0looks<\/i>, when it is fluttering back and forth around a light bulb.\u00a0 He knows that he is near the light, but can\u2019t seem to zero in on it.\u00a0\u00a0I feel that way tonight, I can feel a whole lot of light in your message this evening, but standing on my toes, I can\u2019t yet reach exactly what it is that I am feeling. And I can’t express it the way that I want to.\u00a0 I wrote it down, I had to, and I\u2019m hoping I didn\u2019t add too much of myself, so as to ruin what I was feeling from the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

It occurred to me that people who serve the Lord without the Spirit baptism, without the washing away of their sins by the holy Ghost, often speak of God similar to way the way I understood him to be this evening \u2013 but it isn\u2019t really the same.\u00a0 If thoughts about the Creator do not come from the Spirit \u2013 which those people do not have \u2013 then those thoughts are not the truth even if their words sound true because they are not from the Spirit of truth.\u00a0 It takes a tearing down of the old man and the rebirth of a new man by God\u2019s spirit to understand that God\u2019s long-suffering mercy on people is not indifference to their ways.\u00a0 God is still holy while being\u00a0patient; God is still righteous while showing\u00a0such love; and God is never blind.\u00a0 The goodness of God that you spoke of Wednesday night, pastor John, cannot be understood as mercy in the hearts of sinful people; they count it as indifference, but God is not indifferent to sin, though He is long-suffering and full of love.\u00a0 A person cannot know the difference without being born of the Spirit and submitting to the mind of Christ.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I started my notes Wednesday night by writing down what you told us many years ago, in Louisville:\u00a0\u201cThe truth isn\u2019t the truth if it isn\u2019t what God is saying right now.\u201d<\/b>\u00a0 Life, our life, in God seems to always come back to that simple statement.\u00a0 It cuts through everything, and leaves us with a choice: either we have God\u2019s life, or we have no true life within us.\u00a0 And then I added to that statement, to include what you told us tonight:\u00a0\u201cThe truth isn\u2019t the truth if it causes a pure and perfect heart to stumble before the Lord.\u201d<\/b>\u00a0 And\u00a0that<\/i>\u00a0is true, not because God\u00a0can\u2019t<\/i>\u00a0do it any other way (He can do anything), but because He\u00a0doesn\u2019t<\/i>.\u00a0 \u00a0God isn\u2019t trying to prove to people that He is right; he has an entirely different objective, a different heart, than men have when they talk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If God judged us on what we know, we would all be damned, for as Paul said, \u201cWe know nothing as we ought to know,\u201d and God always knows more than we do!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A pure heart will lead God\u2019s people to an understanding that will lead them to satisfy the Lord before they leave this world.\u00a0 Our job is to have the Truth at the ready, in case God wants to use us to move someone toward that end.\u00a0 In ourselves, we can\u2019t move God\u2019s people forward, not one iota.\u00a0 But God\u2019s loving truth can, and will!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I thought about Joshua, in Zechariah 3<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Zechariah 3<\/span><\/p>\n

“And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.\u00a02<\/b><\/a>And the LORD said to Satan, The LORD rebuke you, O Satan; even the LORD that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?\u00a03<\/b><\/a>Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.\u00a04<\/b><\/a>And he answered and spoke to those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with change of raiment.\u00a05<\/b><\/a>And I said, Let them set a fair turban on his head. So they set a fair turban on his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.” \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is God telling us in Zechariah 3, when Israel\u2019s high priest, Joshua, stood before the angel of the Lord in filthy garments, with Satan at the ready to be his Accuser for his transgression.\u00a0 But God accepted Joshua\u2019s desire to do right, his \u201cwant to\u201d to please God, and then rejected Satan’s demand to judge him strictly by God\u2019s Law.\u00a0 God then took Joshua\u2019s filthy rags and replaced them with what was perfect and acceptable in God\u2019s sight.\u00a0 God was perfectly able to change Joshua out of his unacceptable garment, when He was ready to do so.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What was Satan about to accuse Joshua of in heaven\u2019s court?\u00a0 Before the moment God\u2019s angel rebuked Satan and ended the trial, what was Satan using as the plumb-line by which to judge Joshua and prove himself right?\u00a0 As the Law\u2019s prosecutor, he would have been using the truth that had been revealed at that time, the very words that God Himself had commanded as Moses\u2019 Law!\u00a0 But how did God see that \u201ctruth\u201d which was in Satan\u2019s mouth right then?\u00a0 He saw that \u201ctruth\u201d as insufficient, if not outright wrong!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How does God feel about how we use the truth that we know?\u00a0 Would God consider something that causes His people to stumble in their pure desire to please Him, something that wounds them in their sincerity,\u00a0even<\/i>\u00a0when\u00a0<\/i>they are serving God incorrectly and in ignorance, to be no better than the words in Satan\u2019s mouth, as he played the part of the accuser of Joshua, who stood before the Lord in filthy garments?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Are the words we call \u201cthe truth” just an accusation against God\u2019s precious children if those words aren\u2019t delivered in God\u2019s time and Spirit?\u00a0 Whether we call it \u201cthe truth\u201d, is it what God wants spoken at that moment?\u00a0 If not, it is not the truth!\u00a0 The Truth of God is a\u00a0Who<\/i>, not a\u00a0what<\/i>, and that Truth, the Son of the living God, always speaks the words of God in God\u2019s perfect time.\u00a0 If the truth isn\u2019t delivered in God\u2019s time when we speak to God\u2019s children, we are speaking to them with another spirit, not the Spirit of Truth, no matter what we call it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

No wonder Jesus said not to worry about what you will say \u201con that day\u201d.\u00a0 Matthew 10:19-20 \u2013 \u201cBut when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.\u00a0 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus didn\u2019t say too much, according to the scriptures.\u00a0 He waited on God.\u00a0\u00a0God\u2019s presence in his mouth gave his words value.\u00a0 That\u2019s what having the Spirit means to men; having God \u2013\u00a0even in thy mouth<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Satan, called \u201cthe Accuser of our brethren\u201d in heaven,\u00a0was<\/i>\u00a0telling the truth, according to God\u2019s commandments to Israel, when he stood and accused Joshua in heaven\u2019s court, and yet, God rebuked him.\u00a0 We do not want to stand in his place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What did Jesus do when Satan came to him quoting to him the \u201ctruth\u201d from a Psalm (Psalm 91), in the wilderness?\u00a0 Did Jesus submit to that, since it was a scripture from the holy Bible, or did he follow the Spirit of God?\u00a0 He followed the Spirit, not the letter of the biblical text.\u00a0 Paul later said, \u201cThe letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life!\u201d\u00a0 Jesus knew that first.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you imagine if God called our efforts to communicate the truth \u201cslander\u201d or \u201caccusations\u201d, as he did to Satan, who actually was right when he charged Joshua with sin?\u00a0 Joshua had really done wrong, and it was God\u2019s stern law that Satan was using to condemn him, but God didn\u2019t call what Satan was saying \u201cthe Law\u201d or \u201cthe Truth\u201d because what Satan was after wasn\u2019t in God\u2019s heart.\u00a0 Satan was about to slander the love of God for Israel in the heart of Joshua, and everyone else who was in that court that day.\u00a0 God\u2019s words, used outside of God\u2019s time, slander God in the hearts of spiritually weak people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The spirit you are under is more important than the words you say!\u00a0 We have to wait on God or we can hurt somebody.\u00a0 God loves his people, everywhere.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We have the power to do good if we will be patient.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Satan quoted scripture to Jesus in the wilderness, it was \u201cthe truth\u201d.\u00a0 Who would say otherwise?\u00a0 But without God\u2019s timing, what did God call it?\u00a0 What did Jesus call Satan\u2019s words that day?\u00a0 The books of Mathew, Mark and Luke refer to Satan\u2019s truth in the wilderness as Temptation.\u00a0 But a temptation to do what? Disobey God, for God did not want Jesus to do what Satan was trying to get him to do, using holy Scripture to get him to do it.\u00a0 Once, Jesus even called Peter\u2019s efforts to rescue Jesus from the cross the work of Satan (Mt. 16).\u00a0 If it is not God\u2019s time to do a thing, it is sin, no matter how right it appears to be.\u00a0 It is frightening to think of what God thinks of our words when we speak without an unction from him?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I thought about the wisdom of your father\u2019s words, pastor John, at the end of his life, when you asked him what he would like you to say at his coming funeral.\u00a0 He responded, \u201cWhatever won\u2019t embarrass anyone.\u201d \u00a0I bet Preacher Clark would have said \u201cAmen\u201d if one had added to that statement, \u201cWhatever won\u2019t wound a heart that is tender toward God; whatever won\u2019t confuse someone’s honest efforts; whatever won\u2019t make them sin against their conscience in the Lord or cause them to back up from what from God they\u00a0do<\/i>\u00a0have.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What about, \u201cWhatever doesn\u2019t sidetrack them from wherever God has them, that He is satisfied with, until\u00a0He<\/i>\u00a0moves them?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

God wasn\u2019t concerned with Joshua\u2019s filthy garment, in Zechariah 3, but with the heart that was beneath that garment. Then, God rewarded that heart with an acceptable garment!\u00a0 It was easy for Him to do.\u00a0 We can\u2019t move God\u2019s people forward; we can just be available, and even then, we are truly available to God only if we are walking in the Spirit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve heard testimonies from years past in which brother Murray would point out, \u201cIf you get to somebody before God does, you are wasting your time.\u201d \u00a0I now wonder if it goes even deeper than that?\u00a0 \u201cWasting time\u201d may be the\u00a0best<\/i>\u00a0that we can do in those cases.\u00a0 What God calls it may be far worse.\u00a0 Jesus wouldn\u2019t even speak to people before God got to them.\u00a0 He waited on the Truth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The intent of your heart is going to determine where you spend eternity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jerry<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pastor John,\u00a0 I loved Wednesday night\u2019s message.\u00a0 I think these are the best times, when we walk away feeling like we can see just a little bit more of what God sees, and feel just a little bit more of what God feels. And it always comes with a feeling of \u201cYES!\u201d\u00a0 A feeling of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-netmail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10491"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10491\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}