Complete in Christ


Spiritual Intimidation--Part 2
by
John MacArthur
All Rights Reserved

(A copy of this message on cassette tape may be obtained by calling 1-800-55-GRACE)
Selected Scriptures            Tape GC 2144

I believe that you can always determine a person's true character by what he seeks to gain and what he really loves. In fact, you could easily evaluate your own character by that same approach. Ask yourself this question: "What are the three things I am currently seeking most earnestly?" That will be a good monitor of whether your preoccupation is heavenly or earthly...Godward or selfward. If that doesn't work, ask yourself this: "What are the three things I love the most? And if you can't figure out how to answer that question, ask yourself this one: "What are the three things I think about the most?" That will get to the answer. Jesus put it like this: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Mt. 6:21). You can tell what a man's true character is by the preoccupation of his mind. What he or she thinks about reveals where their treasure is. Where is your heart? Where is the concentration of your life? What do you think about most of the time?

The believer is to be heavenly-minded. That is what Jesus meant when He said, "...lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Mt. 6:20a, 21). It is the same thing that Paul said, "...whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure...think on these things" (Phil. 4:8). What is your preoccupation? Paul says that your preoccupation is to be on things above and not on things of the earth (Col. 3:2).

Now, from our discussion of Colossians 2:8-23, false teachers thought that spirituality was something you pursued through four avenues: Human wisdom or philosophy, legalism, mysticism, and asceticism. The errorists were saying that true spirituality is found in Christ plus human wisdom; Christ plus keeping certain rituals, routines, and man-made laws; Christ plus certain visions, the worshiping of angels, and certain strange and wonderful and marvelous deeper or higher experiences; and Christ plus total self-abasement, total self-denial, and the total slavery of self to a life of poverty. And underneath human philosophy, legalism, mysticism, and asceticism, flourishes all the vices. And the only way to divorce yourself from all of that is to take your mind, your heart, your thinking processes, and your motives into the presence of Jesus Christ. Since Christ is everything, don't worry about all of those false teachings, just concentrate on Him--He is all you need.

But I want you to notice something important. I want to take some time to elucidate this because it will deal indirectly with the problem of spiritual intimidation. Let's look first at...

A. Validating the Principle

Paul always moves from doctrine to behavior. In all his epistles in the New Testament we first find great statements of truth followed by a call to behave in accord with truth. Since Christ is "the fullness of Him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:23b); since Christ is "the head of the body..." (Col. 1:18a); since Christ is the one in whom "dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9); since Christ is completeness (Col. 2:10); and since Christ is sufficient; focus on Christ. Practical exhortation is based first on a clear doctrinal foundation. That is always Paul's approach.

1. THE RESPONSE TO DOCTRINE

What we do as believers must be based on solid doctrine, not on intimidation. That is Paul's point. Don't be intimidated to do something that you know is not biblical. Paul wrote to the Galatians and said, "How could you possibly get caught up in Judaism and legalism again when you know the gospel? You have departed from what you know is true, and that is incongruous" (Gal. 1:6-7). Your spirituality is based on what you know--on solid doctrine.

Now the intimidators don't worry about doctrine. They say, "You are not spiritual if you don't do this or this." They make us feel guilty even though they can't defend their position biblically. It is a dangerous thing when any believer pursues a kind of behavior that contradicts the Scripture. When you do that, you are stepping into the fire. It doesn't matter when someone says, "I'm sorry you are out because you haven't experienced this," or "You don't have the higher knowledge of the deeper life." The only thing that matters is what the Word of God says. And Paul has said that all you need is Christ plus nothing. Don't be intimidated!

2. THE REALITY OF INTIMIDATION

The four errors that the Colossians were facing are visible in other forms in our society.

a. Philosophy

There are people who say, "You Christians are just fundamentalists. You don't know anything. You are so narrow- minded. What you really need to do is expand and understand some philosophy and human wisdom to go along with the Word of God." Sometimes being called a fundamentalist (a very straight, narrow, orthodox evangelical) can be intimidating. I have been accused of being narrow-minded, pigeonholing all of my theology, and being a biblicist. One time I spoke on a college campus and was introduced as: "John MacArthur, whose hope is built on nothing less than Scofield's notes and Scripture Press." So I have been through the kind of intimidation that makes you feel like a mental midget because you believe the Bible and don't know everything about philosophy. That is intimidating.

Then there are people in our society who would intimidate us with...

b. Legalism

There are many Christians who say, "I don't care what you teach, and I don't care that you believe the gospel; you don't preach against this and you don't say that people have to do this." They have developed a system of spirituality based on legalistic things. They make you feel intimidated for not being spiritual because you don't follow the little list.

c. Mysticism

There are the charismatic people who want you to be intimidated because you haven't had a vision, or you haven't had an ecstatic experience, or you haven't met an angel, or you haven't gone to heaven and come back. You are just an average, run-of-the-mill, normal Christian. You haven't reached the supersaint level.

d. Asceticism

There are the ascetics who say, "You can't own that car, live in that house, and wear that coat and still be a Christian." They say that poverty, self-denial, self- abasement is Christianity.

So we can be intimidated by the same thing that the Colossians were being intimidated by. But don't ever be intimidated unless there is a reason for it, and the only valid reason is that they are bringing up something that is biblical. If the intimidation isn't based on the Word, then just continue what you are doing and don't listen to them. The Apostle Paul says, "Don't let them intimidate you. Christ is all you need." That's what the Word of God says! He is all; He is sufficient.

B. Violating The Principle

Now whenever you violate the principle that your response must be based on the Word of God, you will get yourself in a lot of trouble. I want to give some illustrations of that:

1. UZZAH (2 Samuel 6:3-15)

The story goes as follows: David, the king, desired to move the Ark of the Covenant. Now in Numbers 4:1-15 there is a very clear word about how the ark was to be moved. The ark was the representation of the presence of God and was never to be touched. The ark had some rings on the side and poles were to be run through the rings. The poles were to be carried only on the shoulders of Levites. There was to be no other way of transportation of the ark.

a. Unacceptable Worship

1) David's Mistake

Second Samuel 6:3 begins: "And they set ark of God upon a new cart...." What in the world were they doing putting the ark on a cart when the Bible said that the ark was to be carried by poles on the shoulders of the Levites so it wouldn't be touched? I think that David thought he was doing God a big favor by putting the ark not just on a cart, but on a new cart. David actually took his cue from the Philistines. In 1 Samuel 6 they had the ark, but soon grew tired of having it because they were receiving tumors and plagues. So they brought it back to the Israelites on a cart. David took his lead from the Philistines and put the ark on a cart.

Verse 4 says, "And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark." They all thought it was a great day as they were bringing the ark back to the place where it belonged. Verse 5 says, "And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals." They were all having a tremendous time worshiping and praising God. You say, "Isn't God pleased with their worship? Isn't God thrilled with their praise?"

2) Uzzah's Mistake

Verse 6 says, "And when they came to Nacon's threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it." As they came to Nacon's threshing floor, the ark was bumped and it looked like it was going to fall. So Uzzah, caught up in the worship of God, reached out so the ark wouldn't touch the ground. Now that was an act of worship and an act of honor to that ark. Uzzah was doing what his heart told him to do. Verse 7 says, "And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error, and there he died by the ark of God." You say, "What is the deal?" God doesn't want your worship unless it goes along with His Word, and His Word says, "Don't touch the ark!" God didn't accept the worship.

There are people who say, "Well how can you criticize the Pentecostals or the Charismatics? They are worshiping God. They are trying to love and praise God. Surely God wouldn't allow them to be in error." You can ask yourself the same question: Why did God let that ark bump on Nacon's threshing floor? God could have stopped it; He could have flattened out the road. But it was a lesson for all time that God is worshiped only when His Word is obeyed. When Uzzah touched the ark he disobeyed because no man, at no time, and under no circumstances was to touch the ark. You do not ad-lib your worship. You do not decide, "I am going to worship God in a whole new way that I have experienced." God isn't interested in that.

God's anger was kindled, and Uzzah dropped dead. He was a dear man who did what his emotions told him. If his mind had been ruled by the Word of God, he would have kept his hand back and he would have remained alive. But he was ruled by his feelings. That is very dangerous. Don't worship God with your feelings independent of His Word. God might have wanted the ark off the cart so that the Levites would have to pick it up and carry it the right way. So often people who would intimidate us will say, "We are worshiping and praising God. This is just our way of doing it." God isn't interested in your way; He is interested in His way.

b. Acceptable Worship

David felt bad. Verse 8 says, "And David was displeased because the LORD had broken forth in anger against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez-uzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me? So David would not remove the ark of the LORD....And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite, three months; and the LORD blessed Obed-edom, and all his household" (vv. 8-11). He had a tremendous time and kept his hands off of the ark. David probably thought, "Why should I leave the ark with Obed-edom so he is happy and receiving all the blessing?" Verse 12 says, "...So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed- edom into the city of David with gladness. And it was, that when they who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six paces [they brought it the right way], he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod" (vv. 12b-14). David took off all his kingly attire and was hoofing it up and having a great time. Verse 15 says, "So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet."

Now the same thing occurred in both verse 15 and verse 5. One was acceptable and one was not because one was in accord with God's revealed truth and the other one wasn't. God does not want people to ad-lib their worship to Him in their own prescribed method, He wants worship that is consistent with His revelation. So people will still say, "We are worshiping God. Our hearts and motives are right," but so were Uzzah's. He just didn't have enough knowledge of the Word of God to protect himself from God's chastening.

2. SAUL (1 Samuel 15:1-23)

Let me show you another illustration that basically gives you the same thought. This is the story of Saul, and he was involved in a similar situation.

a. The Commandment of the Lord

In 1 Samuel 15:1 "Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee as king over His people, over Israel; now, therefore, hearken thou to the voice of the words of the LORD." The basic thing for anyone is to listen to the words of the Lord. That is the criteria for blessing. Verse 2 says, "Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass" (vv. 2-3). God was removing a cancer from the world.

b. The Contentiousness of Saul

Verse 4 says, "And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah...to Shur [from border to border]....And he took Agag, the king of Amalekites, alive..." (vv. 4-8a). That was a terrible mistake he made. God said, "Wipe out everybody." But he took Agag. Why? It was an act of pride--he wanted to drag the vanquished king into town and show off his victory. So Saul "took Agag, the king of the Amalekites, alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag..." (vv. 8-9a). Why? It was nice to have the guy around so they could gloat over him. Verse 9 continues, "...and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly." God told Saul what to do--to wipe them all out. But Saul kept some back.

Verse 10 says, "Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me [grieves me] that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following Me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel, and he cried unto the LORD all night" (vv10-11). Now there is a sensitive man! What made Samuel cry? A man who didn't obey God's word.

c. The Confrontation by Samuel

Verse 12 says, "And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. And Samuel came to Saul. And Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD; I have performed the commandment of the LORD. And Samuel said, What meaneth, then, this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God..." (vv. 12-15a). How can you knock that kind of motive? Saul was going to worship God. Saul had a better idea than God: "Why just slaughter them all, we can sacrifice them to God."

Verse 16 says, "Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel" (vv. 16-17)? In other words, "Didn't the Lord make you what you are when you were a nobody?" And the implication is: "Who gave you the right to usurp the authority over the God who made you what you are?" Verse 18 says, "And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Why, then, didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag, the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things..." (vv. 18-21a). Now that it isn't such a good idea, Saul is blaming the people.

The response is in verse 22: "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." You are better off to obey the Word of God than to come up with your own independent self-styled system of experiential worship. I don't want you to be intimidated by people who say, "We have an experience of worship that's not like yours. Marvelous things happen. We reach out and the Lord appears to us. All kinds of mystical things occur." And you say, "I can't find them in the Bible." The Bible says that God doesn't want self-invented worship, He simply wants obedience. And to rebel against that "is as the sin of witchcraft..." (v. 23a). If you are going to disobey the Word of God, you might as well go see a medium and play around with the occult. The people today who are claiming to have all of these worship experiences that cannot be defended biblically, may be sincere and have the right motive like Uzzah and Saul, but they are wrong. And the response of Samuel to Saul was: "You will no longer be king. It's all over for you" (v. 23b).

3. THE PROPHET (1 Kings 12:29-13:26)

Let me take you to another illustration. This is a most fascinating story. After the reign of Solomon, the kingdom of Israel was split into two parts: the Northern Kingdom with ten tribes and the Southern Kingdom with two tribes. The Northern Kingdom was ruled by Jeroboam I and the Southern Kingdom by Rehoboam. The splitting of the kingdom occurred because of the sin of Solomon.

a. His Obedience

1) The Sin of Israel

When Jeroboam took the ten tribes and established the kingdom in the north, he was afraid that the people in the north would not maintain an allegiance to him. If they were always going to the south to the Temple to worship, they would keep their roots in the south. So he decided to build a couple of places in the north for worship. First Kings 12:29 says, "And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan." The problem with that was that God didn't want worship to take place in Bethel and Dan, but in the Temple in Jerusalem. Verse 30 says, "And this thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi" (vv. 30-31). Jeroboam picked out a few poor people and made them priests. But he couldn't do that. The priests were to come only out of the tribe of Levi. Worship was to take place in Jerusalem and was not to be ad-libbed. You can't say, "We have a great idea. We'll do our own thing up here." If it isn't scriptural, then don't do it. Verse 32 says, "...So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves...." Jeroboam had his priests go through all the Jewish ceremonies, only in Bethel and Dan. They had no business doing them there.

2) The Sending of the Prophet

God said, "I have to send somebody up there to straighten out this situation." First Kings 13:1 says, "And, behold, there came a man of God...." This man of God was a prophet and a preacher. He traveled all the way from Judah to the north because there apparently was not a prophet in the north whom God could use. Verse 1 continues, "...out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel...." He happened to arrive when Jeroboam was worshiping God at the altar and burning his sacrifice. This was a bold young man. Verse 2 says, "And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places who burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burned upon thee." In other words, "Altar, you have had it. There is coming a man named Josiah, and he is going to burn bones on you." The ultimate desecration for a Jew was to touch a dead body. To burn the bones of a dead person on an altar was to desecrate and pollute that altar for good. So this man of God said to Jeroboam, "Your altars have had it. Three hundred years from now, a man is coming by the name of Josiah who will dig up dead bones and burn them all over your altar (2 Kings 23).

Just to make sure that Jeroboam didn't think that the prophet was joking, verse 3 says, "And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. And it came to pass, when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD" (vv. 3-5). God says, "You don't invent your own worship, you obey My prescription."

Verse 6 says, "And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and became as it was before. And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place; for so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest" (vv. 6-9). He says, "I have one commitment in my life--obey the word of God." Verse 10 says, "So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel." This guy was right on. Now it would have been an honor to be invited to eat with the king. This prophet could have been considered a hero. He could have figured, "The king has heard and seems to have repented. If I go with him, I'll compromise a little on God's word and witness to the king." But he says, "I'm not interested in witnessing to you. I'm not interested in doing anything with you. God told me not to mess around with you, just to get out of here a different way than I came."

b. His Disobedience

1) The Intimidating Ignorance

Now on the way he ran into another preacher. That is a problem for a lot of people. That can be very intimidating. We who are preachers can be intimidated by other preachers. Verse 11 says, "Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel...." This old prophet was also a true prophet. He must have thought, "What a bold young man. How marvelous that he did that. Why didn't I have the courage to do that? Why didn't didn't God call me? I would like to meet and fellowship with that young man of God." So he sent for him. Verse 13 says, "And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass, and he rode on it, and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. And he said unto him, Art thou the man of God who camest from Judah? And he said, I am. Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat bread or drink water with thee in this place" (vv. 13-16). He sounds like a broken record. That's the same answer he gave before. God told him what to do. You might say, "Well we've got to fellowship with everybody." No. God drew some lines for him. God didn't want him to create his own ministry, God wanted him to obey the one He gave him.

Now watch how he is intimidated. Verse 17 says, "For it was said to me by the word of the LORD...." That settled it for the young prophet. But verse 18 says, "He said unto him, I am a prophet also, as thou art; and an angel spoke unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water...." Is that ever intimidating! "Come to my house." "I can't. God said not to." "But an angel came to me and told me that you are supposed to." That's very intimidating. Somebody will say to you, "I know the Bible doesn't talk about that, but I had a vision. I had a direct word from the Lord. An angel came to me." Just remind yourself of Galatians 1:8, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." That is the devil dressed up as an angel of light. The young prophet is now in the dilemma of accepting the known, revealed word of God or believing that God is speaking through someone else's experience.

2) The Indicted Knowledge

What did he do? Verse 19 says, "So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water." He acted in direct violation of God's word because he was intimidated by an older prophet who was also a preacher, and who probably had a wonderful ministry. So the young prophet forsook what he knew was the truth of God and opted out for experience. Beloved, that's exactly what is going on today. People are turning away from the clear Word of God. They are buying everybody's vision and experience as a criteria.

Verse 23 shows what happened to the young prophet: "And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, that is, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him..." (vv. 23-24a). God sent a lion to kill him. You say, "Why did God do that?" Verse 24 continues, "...and his carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcass." The lion didn't eat the body or attack the ass. God wanted us to know that because that was not a hungry lion, but a divine agent of judgment. God took the life of that prophet that fast. Why? He set someone else's experience above what he knew was the word of God. That's a dangerous thing to do. That's not the criteria. You don't invent your own worship activities or your own self-styled religion, and you don't take someone else's experience as authoritative if it violates what you know to be the revelation of God. People may say, "I've had this experience," and all you have to say is, "But I have the Word of God." You do not need to be intimidated by people who say that you are missing some experiences. My Bible tells me clearly that these things are not for today. I am not going to let their experience intimidate me because l am not about to get eaten by a lion.

How did that happen to the young prophet? Verse 26 says, "And when the prophet who brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD; therefore, the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him...." God did not hold the old prophet's ignorance as accountable as He did the young prophet's knowledge. In this case, there was less of a chastening from God for one who was ignorant of the truth than for one who knew the truth and turned his back on God's truth for someone else's experience.

Christians, you don't need to be intimidated by human religion. Just bank on the Word of God. To obey it is better than your own self-styled sacrifice or self-made religion. We are not looking for spectacular experiences, we are looking for obedience. We have already experienced the one radical change in our lives--we have entered into a new life. Everything we need is already ours.

I will tie those illustrations in with Colossians as we look at...

II. THE DOCTRINAL PREOCCUPATION

What is Paul saying? He is saying, "You don't need to be intimidated. Accept what the Word says you have. And that is that in Christ you have everything." In Philippians 4:19 Paul says, "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." By Christ Jesus all of God's riches are yours. You are complete in Him.

What is true spirituality? True spirituality is just to concentrate on Christ (Col. 3:1). It is Christ-consciousness. I have told the story of the old Indian who came to church and sat in the front row week after week. Somebody came up to him one week and said, "Why do you come early and sit there?" He said, "Me come early; me sit down; me think Jesus." The preoccupation of the Christian is Christ. Focus on Him. Don't let anybody intimidate you with any man-made experiences, rules, or self-styled religion. True spirituality is a call to see Christ.

I want to draw your attention to 2 Corinthians 3:18 which says, "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." As a believer you have one preoccupation--Christ. As you focus on Christ and are lost in His glory, the Spirit of God imperceptibly begins to transform you into His image, from one level of glory to the next level of glory. That's true growth, true maturity, and true spirituality. That's the only contemplation a Christian needs. A Christian doesn't need to contemplate human philosophy. A Christian doesn't need to become a legalist and examine a list of rules. A Christian doesn't need to be a mystic spending his time in contemplation until something ecstatic occurs. A Christian doesn't need to be an ascetic. A Christian needs only to concentrate on Jesus Christ, and as he concentrates on Christ, the Spirit of God imperceptibly does His work. We are changed into the same image by the Holy Spirit.

B. The Resource

You say, "But how do you concentrate on Christ? You have to lift your mind out of the world and set it on the things above. Colossians 3:16 tells you how do it: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...." If you want to contemplate Christ, get into the Bible. The more you study the Word, the more you are saturated by the Word, the more the Word controls your thinking, and the more the Word dominates your thoughts, the more Christ is in the front of your mind. If dear old Uzzah had poured over the Word, if he knew the Word, and if the Word had governed his life, when his emotions started to react he would have stopped. If Christians today were really saturated by and knew the Word of God, when their emotions started to react they would stop and do what they know the Bible teaches to do, not what their emotions would charge them to do, even though their motives might seem to be so good. So let the word of Christ dwell in you.

As you study and read the Bible, letting it saturate your life, then Christ moves up into your conscious mind, and you get your head into the heavenlies. In Ephesians 1:3 Paul said that we are "blessed...with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." Some of you Christians say, "I don't know where all the blessings are." You are mulling around in the muck. You need to get your mind in heaven and leave it there. Once you have really made the commitment to think and to concentrate on Jesus Christ, to pour your thoughts into Him, and to allow Him to be the center of your life, then you are going to see some things happen in your life that you never saw before.

Perhaps you have heard a Christian say, "I accepted the Lord a long time ago, but I never really did anything. Then I made this commitment, and since then it has been fantastic." What happened? He got up into the heavenlies. He entered the throne room and started to fellowship with Jesus. He got out of the gutter and got his mind off material things. He put his thoughts in heaven.

1. THE RIGHT CONCENTRATION

According to the Ptolemaic Theory, the center of the solar system was the earth, and everything revolved around it. That theory lasted thirteen hundred years. Finally, Copernicus said that the sun was the center of our solar system and everything revolved around it. What is the center of your solar system? The earth or the Son of righteousness? Where is your focus? What are the three things you love the most, think about the most, and want the most? The one thing you do need is Christ, and to focus and concentrate on Him. That's all. He is sufficient. Don't be intimidated by anybody else's self-made religion. Christ is all you need...and you have all of Him.

2. THE RIGHT COMMITMENT

There is no second great work where suddenly you have this focus. But there is a time in your life when you come to the point where you say, "I am ready to live in the heavenlies. I am tired of fiddling around in the mud. I want to get up there where I belong and enjoy some of the blessings that are there for me." Once you get a taste of it, your life begins to mean something.

3. THE RIGHT EXPERIENCE

Dr. Barnhouse told a story about a young couple he visited on the mission field. They were newlyweds who went right to the mission field after their marriage. They were discussing what their engagement had been like. The young man said, "Well, she never let me kiss her until we were married." And they chuckled about that. But then he said, "After we were married and I got the first kiss, the rest came easy." I really think that if a Christian ever really begins to experience what God has for him in the heavenlies, and if he gets his mind off of the world and onto the Son, then the rest comes easy because he will begin to see what God has for him there. It is tragic to see so many Christians stuck in the world and trying to reach out for the world's definition of a religious experience in order to make themselves happy, when all they need to do is to drop all of that stuff and concentrate on Jesus Christ. As they are lost in Him, as they gaze on Him, and as they are transformed into His image from one level of glory to the next, they will begin to experience what God intended when He said, "You will be blessed with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:3b).

Focusing on the Facts

1. What is one good way to determine a person's true character? 

2. What should be the preoccupation of every Christian? 

3. In all of his epistles, what subject does Paul deal with first? What subject does he deal with next? Why does he follow this particular order? 

4. What is spirituality based on? 

5. How are the four errors that plagued the church at Colosse made visible in our society? Explain each one. 

6. What is the only valid reason for being intimidated? 

7. What was the mistake that David made in transporting the ark? What mistake did Uzzah make? 

8. What kind of worship does God desire? Why didn't God accept David's worship the first time? Why did God accept David's worship the second time? 

9. According to Samuel, what did God want more than Saul's sacrifices? What eventually happened to Saul? 

10. Why did God send a prophet out of Judah to the Northern Kingdom? Why did God need to send a prophet? 

11. Why didn't the young prophet go home with Jeroboam? What was his commitment? 

12. What was the dilemma that the young prophet eventually faced? 

13. Why did the young prophet go home with the old prophet? What happened to his commitment? 

14. In the case involving the young prophet and the old prophet, who did God hold more accountable? Why? 

15. What is true spirituality? How does 2 Corinthians 3:18 explain that definition? 

16. What must every Christian do in order to concentrate on Christ? 

17. What happens as a result of letting the Word of God saturate your life? 

Pondering the Principles

1. How do you worship God? Is your worship based on feelings alone, or is it based on the truth of God's Word? Read John 4:23. According to that verse, how are we to worship God? What two elements are necessary for worship? Look up the following verses: Psalm 51:15-17; 57:7-11; 108:1-3; 139:23-24; Matthew 15:7-9. According to those verses, what does it mean to worship in spirit? Look up the following verses: Psalm 47:7; Romans 1:18-19, 25; 2 Corinthians 4:2; Colossians 3:16-17; 1 Timothy 4:13. What does it mean to worship in truth? Why can't you separate the two? What changes do you need to make in your worship of God? Remember Uzzah (2 Samuel 6:6-7). Be sure that all of your worship is based on the truth of God's Word.

2. Read Colossians 3:16. Does the "word of Christ dwell in you richly..."? What one word best describes your daily study of the Bible? How often do you study the Bible each day? How often do you study it each week? Do the truths of God's Word govern your life, or do you live your life following the many words that come out of the world? If you want to lift your mind into the heavenlies, you need to make the commitment to study the Bible...and to start today! As you study, meditate on the truths that God has for you. Ask God to reveal to you the best ways to apply what you have learned. And most importantly, look for God in His Word--He is on every page. He wants you to know Him better.

3. What are the three things you are currently seeking the most? What are the three things you love the most? What are the three things that you think about the most? Based on your answers, what is your preoccupation, God or self? What should your preoccupation be? If your preoccupation is yourself, why? If your preoccupation has been yourself, then you need to make the commitment today to concentrate on Christ. Read Philippians 3:8-14. What was the goal of Paul's life? Will you make that goal yours?

Added to the John MacArthur "Study Guide" Collection by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 119
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986