The Light of Life; February 20, 2019

Posted on February 22, 2019 by jgarrott

John 12:36 “Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.”

There is almost a pun here, because in the Old testament light is conflated with life. Psalms is loaded with verses that do exactly that. Then we have Jesus’ statements that He is the light of the world, (John 8:12) and that He is the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6) John pulled it all together by stating, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:4) I believe that Jesus was saying that while we are alive (have light) we need to trust Him (the Light) so that we may become His children indeed. Jesus’ statements about light obviously made a deep impression on John, and he wrote about it further in 1 John 1. This is also closely connected with that best-known of all Bible verses, John 3:16, because verse 19 of that chapter says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” It all boils down to this: if we run from the light, we lose, period. While we have opportunity, we need to run to the light, to receive the eternal salvation God has for us.

This is intensely meaningful for me right now, because I’ll be seeing someone this morning who is dying, physically speaking, but he still has the opportunity to receive the eternal life that God has prepared for him. He’s been stubborn to this point, deceived by the devil, and this is something of a last chance for him. I cannot force him to receive the light, but I must make the offer clear to him yet again. It is not too late for God! I don’t know that I will be able to gauge his response accurately, since he is currently unable to speak, but God knows his heart. I need to be fully sensitive and obedient to the Holy Spirit in this, because I have neither wisdom nor power to do it, but God wants his soul for eternity, and I believe I’m to be instrumental in that.

Father, Thank You for this Word this morning. I love that man, though in some ways I hardly know him. You love him far more, and You know him perfectly, even the parts that he has thought disqualified him from receiving Your salvation. I pray that Your Spirit would prepare his heart for what he will hear through me this morning, so that he may go from death to life indeed, for his eternal blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Faith; February 19, 2019

Posted on February 22, 2019 by jgarrott

John 11:40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

This was without question spoken in great love and gentleness, but in line with many other scriptures it challenges us to our core. We understand so little about faith! Mark 11:24 comes to mind. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” This isn’t imagination or wishful thinking, it’s placing ourselves and our circumstances in God’s hands with the conviction that He is not only omniscient and omnipotent, He is also love itself. When we fail to walk in that assurance we often miss a great deal. I honestly don’t understand why or how it all works, but God acts on behalf of those who trust Him. It’s not that He doesn’t love all of us, or that He isn’t gracious to all of us, but rather that faith lines us up with the flow of His Spirit and power. Part of it is that without faith, we often don’t recognize what God is doing and so don’t see it, even though it is happening. I think everyone can look back over their lives and recognize times and places where God was working but they didn’t understand it while it was going on. I have always understood something God said to Jeremiah that way: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no-one lives.” (Jeremiah 17:5-6) That passage is expressly talking about faith, because the very next verse talks about “the man who trusts in the Lord.” If we want to see the good things God has for us, we need to trust Him for them before they are evident to the natural eye.

This is extremely applicable to me right now. Well over a year ago the Lord gave my wife the idea of producing a CD to help those struggling with thoughts of suicide. The list of songs and their order came to her immediately, but we’ve never produced a CD before, and there were many unanswered questions. Things kind of bumped along for about a year, at times going so slowly that I wondered if this would ever be realized, and then just this month it was like the fuel caught fire in the rocket, and things are happening so fast that it is almost scary. There are still many unanswered questions, both in the area of who is to perform which songs and the very practical matter of where the money is to come from, but the truth of this statement by Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus is coming home to us big time! In the process of all that is going on with that, we are also seeing fruit from our years of ministry here in Omura. We need to keep trusting, knowing that we will indeed see the glory of God.

Father, thank You for this Word of confirmation for what we’re already seeing You do. The pace of things, particularly from now through our trip to the US next month, is such as to wear us out just thinking about it. Thank You for pointing out that You have provided sufficient time for each thing. Help us trust You without getting lazy or taking things for granted, recognizing Your cues and doing things on Your schedule so that Your will may be done as You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Eternal Life; February 18, 2019

Posted on February 21, 2019 by jgarrott

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

What a joy it is to be able to use this passage in the funeral of a believer! This passage has strengthened and encouraged countless believers down through the centuries, giving them boldness to face both disease and martyrdom. As Southern Gospel singer Jake Hess sang, “Death ain’t no big deal.” In terms of inevitability we speak of “death and taxes,” but mankind has never liked to face that reality. Atheists insist that this passage and others like it are pure fantasy, wishful thinking in the face of the unknown. The thing is, it’s not as unknown as they claim. In recent years there have been studies done of what are called “near death experiences,” where people are clinically dead but resuscitate, with or without medical help. A significant subset of such people have memories of what it was like, and there is remarkable agreement. Most of the reports are from those who went to heaven (or at least the outer courts thereof) but there are some reports of people who went to hell. I’m not as familiar with those, but such people are adamant that no one ever wants to go there, or have anyone they love go there. It seems that Jesus’ story of a different Lazarus than this one is remarkably accurate! (Luke 16:19-31) The funeral of a believer should be markedly different from that of an unbeliever. A Catholic priest once told me that funerals were his most powerful tool for evangelism, because the hope of eternal life that they expressed was in such sharp contrast to Buddhist funerals. That is particularly significant when Japanese Buddhism is focused on death and ancestor worship. Believers in Christ have an advantage available to no one else, because “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

This is particularly close to home for me for many reasons. Not only have I conducted funerals for believers and non-believers, my own wife is one of those who has been to heaven and come back. The process of death might seem a little scary, and nobody likes suffering, but what is on the other side of physical death is attractive beyond description. That is NOT to say that I am suicidal! Actually, I live in the awareness that my eternal life has already begun, and I am to participate fully in this part of it just as I am to participate in what lies beyond. Right now I am ministering to someone who is physically dying. The doctors are frankly not quite sure why he’s still here. However, to my knowledge he hasn’t yet yielded himself to Christ in faith, and I believe God’s giving him every chance. He is not able to respond verbally at this point, but there is every reason to believe he hears and understands what is said to him, and I am to keep speaking the truth to him in love, for his sake and for the sake of his wife, who is distraught. I am to speak this passage to him and give him the chance to lay hold of it, for his eternal salvation.

Father, thank You for this clear word of what I am to do. I ask for clear guidance and anointing as I follow through, for the salvation of that man and hopefully many others, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Listening to God; February 17, 2019

Posted on February 21, 2019 by jgarrott

John 10:27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

I like the way the Japanese expresses this verse. “My sheep distinguish my voice.” I’m preaching this morning on discernment, so this is very relevant. I think every Christian has experienced hearing things that just didn’t sound right. The devil is a master deceiver, but when we are committed to Christ in loving obedience, he can’t fool us long. When that falls apart it is almost always because of pride. We are never more in danger of falling than when we think we can stand on our own! (1 Corinthians 10:12) “Practice makes perfect” in a lot of things, and listening to God is no exception. I think the first step is to become familiar with the Bible, because God is never going to contradict Himself. That’s the easiest way to recognize lying voices. It’s just like bankers don’t study counterfeit bills to be able to recognize them, they study real bills to be able to discern deviations immediately. When we think we’re hearing God, the thing to do is to obey immediately. Sometimes it may seem like a little thing, or even a silly thing, but God trains us with such things so that we will have assurance when He tells us big things. The point is to follow Jesus in everything, because He will lead us to green pastures and beside still waters. (Psalm 23)

This is what I tell others all the time, but I’ve got to keep watch over myself, lest I think that because I know and can teach this truth I’m always living it out. That can be a major snare for teachers! God has used various little things to train me to listen to Him. Lane changes when driving are a case in point. When I am humbly listening to Him, He will tell me when to change lanes for a minimum of frustration and delay. When I try to figure out which lane is moving faster and adjust to things on my own, whichever lane I change to promptly encounters such things as cross-lane turners. Just yesterday I was considering changing lanes, from the outside to the inside, and I felt a check in my soul, so I stayed in the outside lane. In no time the inside lane had a cross-traffic turner, and stopped completely. I could not have seen or predicted that on my own, but God knew what was going to happen, and He let me know. Right now I have a friend in terminal condition in ICU, and I had to call an ambulance at 2:00 this morning for my wife, who was having severe back pain, probably generated by her Parkinson’s Disease. In both situations I have to listen to the Lord, just as I do for this morning’s worship service. The glorious thing is that God’s got it covered, so all I have to do is seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and listen obediently.

Father, thank You for Your grace. Thank You that the diagnosis at the hospital this morning was muscle pain, rather than anything more life-threatening. I do ask You for complete relief from that pain, and I ask for wisdom in how we cooperate with Your health for us both, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Experiential Faith; February 16, 2019

Posted on February 20, 2019 by jgarrott

John 9:25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

I have always loved this story, and though the reading stopped with this verse, I read to the end of the chapter. We have no record, but I would not be in the least surprised if this man were one of the 120 present in the Upper Room at Pentecost. I have no doubt that he was a firm believer to end of his days on earth, and I’ll be able to talk with him in heaven. (No language barriers there!) As has been said, the person with an experience is never at the mercy of a person with an argument. The very fact that he was being grilled by the Pharisees confirmed and solidified his faith. He may well have heard stories about Jesus before this encounter, but this was the first time to actually meet Him, and still by verse 27 he is already describing himself as a disciple. There is no question that he had a transforming experience. I can’t imagine what it was like to have been born blind physically and suddenly be able to see, but countless people have experienced this spiritually. Paul speaks of that spiritual experience as a veil being removed. (2 Corinthians 3:14-18) That happens when someone repents and believes, just as Jesus said. (Mark 1:15) The devil will come quickly and try to convince us that was an illusion, and sadly, some people are deceived. However, when we hang onto our experience of Jesus, just as this man born blind did, we cannot be shaken.

This is an important thing for me to remember, because as someone with Teacher gifting, I tend to come down on the side of the argument, feeling that facts trump experience. I tend to spout truth at people and expect them to change, and get discouraged when they seldom do. That doesn’t make the things I say any less true, it just shows that such things have to happen on a deeper level. One of the strongest believers in this church is that way not because of theological training, but because they have experienced God lifting them out of debilitating clinical depression. They believe God can do anything, and their faith is contagious. I cannot generate genuine spiritual experiences for others, but I can be available for the Holy Spirit to use me in doing so. I’m grateful that I was involved in that believer’s recovery from depression, for example. There are no “tricks of the trade,” just faithful obedience. I am to be consistent in speaking the truth in love, but be careful to walk alongside people rather than talking at them. My focus must be on application of truth, for myself and for others, rather than simply acquiring knowledge. The man born blind had very little knowledge of Jesus, but what he knew, he applied 100%, even though it led to his being thrown out. (verse 34)

Father, thank You for this story. As Jesus said in verse 3, it certainly displays Your work. Help me likewise be a demonstration of Your grace, love, and power, so that more and more people may experience You themselves, and so repent and believe for their salvation. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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The Presence of God; February 15, 2019

Posted on February 20, 2019 by jgarrott

John 8:29 “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

Nothing can separate us from the love of God, (Romans 8:35-39) but we can certainly lose the awareness of His presence. Paul warns us not to grieve (Ephesians 4:30) or quench (1 Thessalonians 5:19) the Holy Spirit. Willfully doing things that violate the Father’s will will certainly do that. Because Jesus never violated the Father’s will, it was doubly horrifying for Him when the Father withdrew from Him when He was on the cross. (Matthew 27:47) At that point, the Father withdrew not because of Jesus’ sins, but because of ours, which He bore for us. The awareness of God’s presence is precious indeed. That He makes it available to us is a miracle of the highest order. The awareness of God’s presence has carried believers through countless crises down through the centuries, because when we have that clear awareness, we know that leaving this earth is simply getting closer to Him, and that is our heart’s desire. It can even make us feel conflicted about sticking around! (Philippians 1:23) However, the point is to be active in doing what God desires of us, because not only does that open us up to the awareness of His presence, it is also the path of satisfaction and fulfillment in this life.

I have had moments when I was more aware of God than I was of myself, but they haven’t been consistent. I don’t think these bodies are designed to handle that over extended periods. That’s why it’s good that we get new bodies in the resurrection! That said, nothing can match the “peace that passes understanding” (Philippians 4:7) that God makes available to all who walk in obedient faith. That I could deal with having constantly! Lots of things in this world draw me away from that, but I know it’s always available to me, and I know how to return. That is a blessing indeed!

Father, all sorts of things are working to try to stir me up and make me anxious. Help me stand firm against each one, in full obedience to You. There is much to be done before we leave for the US three weeks from today. Help me do each thing in turn, not running from anything but being fully submitted to You, so that the peace and assurance of Your presence may indeed guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus my Lord, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Teaching; February 14, 2019

Posted on February 19, 2019 by jgarrott

John 7:16-17 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.

This is another passage that needs to be taught and stressed at every Christian seminary on the planet! There are many things involved here. One of them is of course the question of by whom are we sent. Sadly, there are many people in seminaries and after who aren’t called and sent by God. Every believer is called to be a witness, (Acts 1:8) but the “ministry gifts” (Ephesians 4:11) are given for and through specific individuals, decided by God. I heard an expression while I was in seminary of “Mama called and Papa sent.” Of course, those who used it were never talking about themselves! For some, “being in the ministry” is some sort of romantic ideal, so they either aspire to it themselves or push their children into it. In point of fact, it is something no one can do correctly in their own strength. Based on my own experience, I tell people not to do it unless they can’t help it! That said, the question then becomes, what do we teach? This is the question Jesus is addressing most directly here. If what we teach is from the mind of man alone, it is worthless. God doesn’t want us to ignore our minds, but our responsibility is to communicate what He has said and is saying, not what we or anybody else thinks about it. Much damage has been done down through the centuries by people adhering to the teachings of men rather than the Word of God. Jesus here gives us a very important tool in distinguishing the difference: desiring to do the will of God. If that is our heart, even if we make some mistakes along the way, God will guide us aright.

Once again, I’m talking about myself here. Every time I get in the pulpit I pray that God would speak through me, because my own thoughts and ideas benefit no one. I remember my great frustration in seminary preaching class where I was required to quote various commentaries, rather than seeking God for what He was saying. Various commentaries can be enlightening and broaden our understanding, but they must never be more than peripheral to what we say. I had a pastor friend who had the complete works of Karl Barth in his study. I asked him if he was more familiar with Barth or with the Bible, and he very honestly replied, “Barth.” That’s tragic! I’m grateful that after a few years of friendship with me, his position changed on that, but his former situation is sadly not unusual. Add to that the fact that he was reading Barth in Japanese translation and you get a further remove from whatever God might actually have been saying. I am not to be so stupidly proud as to claim, or even think, that I have an exclusive line to heaven, but I must never overlook the glorious reality that I, like every other believer, can have a direct connection with my Creator. As I teach, I must remember that teaching puts me on a stricter plane of judgment. (James 3:1) As I do pray to do, I’ve got to be careful that I don’t spout off out of my own head, but rather humbly communicate what God has spoken to my heart. I also need to train the believers in discernment, so that as they desire to do God’s will they may distinguish between what is of Him and what is not.

Father, thank You for all that You are doing in me and in this church. Thank You for the brother in prayer meeting last night talking about why people have left this church over the years, and how we need to consider that as people are added to us from this point. Thank You that he was realizing that the problems were fundamentally with each individual, more than they were with the church. I pray that we would indeed be a gathering of true disciples, people who hear You clearly because we desire to do Your will above and before anything else, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Reception; February 13, 2019

Posted on February 19, 2019 by jgarrott

John 6:63-64 “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.”

It just struck me that if there were people who did not believe when they heard Jesus speak words infused with the Spirit of God, it is hardly surprising when people fail to believe when someone else is the speaker. The same Holy Spirit is operative and the words are true, so it rests on the hearer. That’s not to say that anyone today is as perfect a vessel as Jesus was, but the vessel is of minor importance. (2 Corinthians 4:7) We are to strive to hear accurately and speak accurately, always speaking in love, (Ephesians 4:15) but we can’t control how our words will be received. That’s why we are to speak “in season and out of season.” (2 Timothy 4:2) We don’t know when people’s hearts are prepared to receive the Gospel. It is true that sometimes it is better to be quiet, because speaking can be counter-productive. That’s part of being sensitive to the Holy Spirit. But we must remember, how can they believe if they have not heard? (Romans 10:14) So we’re back to the reality that we are simply tools in the process. We are responsible to be available, to “make the most of every opportunity,” (Colossians 4:5) but we cannot control the response.

This is me all around! I’ve been in Omura for over 37 years now, sharing Christ in many different ways, but the response has been spotty at best. I am to work with the people the Lord brings to me, reaching out so that I don’t miss any of them and loving them with God’s love, but not taking their response on myself as my responsibility. That can be a difficult line to walk! Just yesterday I was talking to someone who has declined the Gospel in the past, but right now they are in the hospital, under sedation and unable to speak. I prayed for them and there was some movement, but I don’t know if they were reacting for or against what I was praying. I’ve got to leave that in God’s hands. I do know that their spouse was moved by the love of God that I was expressing, so my words were not in vain. I earnestly, sometimes desperately, desire that those to whom I minister receive and believe God’s truth and be set free, (John 8:32) but I’ve got to leave that in God’s hands, just as Jesus did.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the many ways You use me, and for the results I do see. Thank You for the advice I was able to give the students last night who are studying for their national board exam. It wasn’t the Gospel as such, but it was truth and it was spoken in Your love. I pray that they would receive it, and the Gospel they have heard from me on other occasions, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Listening to God; February 12, 2019

Posted on February 15, 2019 by jgarrott

John 6:45 “It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.”

Reading this I am reminded of stories I have read of earnest Muslims who had dreams that drove them to the Bible and to Christ. In the same way, I have met Jews who, in their search for real meaning in life, encountered Jesus as the Messiah. Someone who is honestly seeking God, and not just seeking to be validated in their preconceptions, is going to rejoice to hear the Gospel in truth. That’s a major issue in Japan, where the average person doesn’t think religion of any sort is in any way relevant to them. Rather than the Western stereotype of the “Oriental seeker after truth,” the average Japanese could hardly care less about religion, treating it as nothing more than tradition. Granted, tradition can be very important in Japan, but in the rush of modern society, even that is going by the wayside. The average Japanese intersects with religion when they are taken to a Shinto shrine as an infant, in something analogous to christening, when they get married, and when they die. “Chapel weddings” are very popular, even though less than 1% of the population is actively Christian, because most people view religion as totally irrelevant anyway. Funerals are largely Buddhist, to the point that many Japanese view Buddhism as a religion of death. All the ceremonies involved are certainly profitable for the temples! All of that makes Jesus’ words all the more tragic, because it indicates that the Japanese aren’t listening to their Creator. However, if the truth be told, many Americans have their fingers in their ears when it comes to what God is saying, too.

Since I minister in Japan, naturally the situation here is of great importance to me. I learned almost immediately than essentially none of the “evangelistic techniques” I learned in seminary were effective in Japan, because the Japanese had no foundation to receive them. For that matter, even Japanese evangelists have a lot of trouble getting genuine conversions. In my experience, most Japanese fall into one of two groups: those who feel no need for salvation at all, and those who desire and seek a strictly temporal salvation, that is, relief from some problem on this earth. I have had people in the latter group go through all the motions, including baptism, and then disappear because their problems didn’t vanish. Personal religion tends to be a mishmash of traditions and superstitions, but when you point that out, even to really intelligent people, they just shrug and say that’s the way it is. A Japanese Christian doctor and I were discussing how the average Japanese will say that they are both Shinto and Buddhist, when those two religions have some directly contradictory tenets, and another doctor who was in on the conversation said, “Well, that’s the way I am.” The Christian doctor and I were taken aback, because the speaker was a brilliant orthopedic surgeon and manifestly very intelligent. I cannot rely on intellectual persuasion; I’ve got to rely on the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. I need to pray for spiritual hunger in the Japanese people. Immediately after WWII evangelism got lots of response, but there weren’t enough missionaries and Japanese Christians were too battered by all they had gone through to really be active in persuading their neighbors. All of that sounds very negative, but nothing is impossible for God, and I am to seek His will and stay available to Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I don’t know what revival in Japan is going to look like, but it was recently prophesied that it won’t look like what we expect. Help me not miss it because of my preconceptions, but be fully available to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Faith; February 11, 2019

Posted on February 15, 2019 by jgarrott

John 6:29, 40 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

It struck me as I read this that we have a very shallow definition of faith. This certainly isn’t talking about mere intellectual assent. Rather, it is talking about something that changes the way we live, our whole philosophy of life. Just yesterday in the sermon the Lord had me insert something that wasn’t in my notes, after I had talked about how faith is signing onto God’s contract with us: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) This passage certainly reinforces that. God doesn’t demand instant perfection, as every Bible character testifies. However He does look for forward motion, so to speak. If we aren’t drawing closer to Him, we are effectively drifting away. Sometimes we even run away! God is incredibly patient with us, and verse 39 is very comforting: “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” We aren’t to be paranoid about whether we will “lose our salvation,” but neither are we to take things for granted and just coast. The deeper faith becomes, the more it shapes every part of our lives. That’s why Jesus could say that believing in Him is doing the work of God.

Of course, this applies to me as much as it does to anyone. I can’t say, or even think, that “I’ve done all this so God doesn’t ask anything more of me.” Rather, I need to keep growing, keep pressing in for more of Him. I well remember an analogy Jack Hayford used of rocks in a field. Before we are saved, it’s like there’s a huge boulder in the middle of the field. Salvation removes that boulder, but before long we realize that there are lots of head-sized rocks scattered over the field, and we start working on getting those out. With that done, (and really before it’s finished) we realize that there are almost countless fist-sized rocks to be dealt with. Thankfully, each step down in size is easier to handle, but my arm can get tired of pitching those fist-sized rocks out of my life! It can be a shock to run into another head-sized rock when I thought I had those taken care of, but that’s why humility is essential. I’ve had plenty of “stubbed toes” from that sort of experience! The more rocks are out of the field, the easier it is for God to grow the crop He desires from my life, and that is my goal.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all You are doing in this church. Some of it is surprising, but all of it is good. I ask for wisdom and anointing for everything I am to be involved in today. I also ask Your strength and healing for Cathy, who is dealing with a lot of pain today from her Parkinson’s. May we both keep pressing in to You, so that You may do in and through us all that You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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