NOTES ON THE SPECIAL BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE IN THE LAST DAYS: RISE OF THE REMNANT CHURCH FOR THE TIMES OF TRIAL Part I
PART I: “THE WAY WE WERE.”
SCRIPTURE. “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness—trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].” – PSALM 91:14, AMPC
QUOTATIONS
MEAD. “Mentality on our approach simply comes in when the organism is able to point out Meanings to others and to himself. This is the point at which MIND appears, or if you like, emerges…It is absurd to look at the Mind simply from the standpoint of the individual human organism; for, although it has its focus there, it is essentially a Social Phenomenon; even its biological functions are primarily social.” – George Herbert Mead, ‘Mind, Self, and Society,’ 1934; edited, emphasis my own
FRANKL. “Don’t aim at Success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must Ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a Cause Greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s SURRENDER to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: You have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your Conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say! — Success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it.” – Victor E. Frankl, ‘Man’s Search for Meaning,’ 1946; edited, emphasis my own
LEWIS. “To have Faith in Christ means, of course, trying to DO all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus, if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to Obey Him. But trying in a New Way, a less worried way. Not Doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to Act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.” – C.S. Lewis, ‘Mere Christianity,’ 1952; edited, emphasis my own
- FIRST THOUGHTS
Once upon a time in a place far, far away, long, long ago (Bowling Green State University, Ohio, 1972), 7 years before I found out who God was, I stumbled upon a book that began to change my life in wonderful ways.
The author was research psychologist GEORGE KELLY (no relation), and the book’s title: ‘The Psychology of Personal Constructs,’ published in 1955. Of special note was a snippet of a Quotation from the Scriptures that I stumbled upon in the Preface of his remarkable treatise on the rather terrible importance of what science would refer to as ‘High Order Cognition.’
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” – PROVERBS 23:7, AMPC
THREE PRINCIPLES. From this tiny ‘jod and tittle’ of a passage, comes a mountain of Divine Wisdom, curiously discovered by such secular scholars as Drs. Mead and Kelly cited earlier.
- IMAGO DEI. “Then God said, ‘Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.” – GENESIS 1:26-27, AMP
- THE HUMAN MIND. This vital concept is originally defined by the Hebrew term, ‘Leb’ [לֵבָב], meaning: “The center, or totality of man’s inner man, mind, will, heart (soul); his core nature; the deepest, innermost feelings, thoughts and motivations of a person; his ‘true self’ in social scientific terms.” DK: My Argument has for decades been that it is in ‘Mind’ [or Mead’s “Mindedness”] that we see much if not most of ‘Imago Dei,’ in our unique capacity for logical and moral reasoning, via Language.
- OVERT ACTION. I was taught in my doctoral fellowship days that this ‘Mindedness’ always Manifests in our sustained patterns of Behavior. This was the thinking of Mead, Kelly and many who followed them. Theology largely agrees with them. The brilliant theologian JOHN GILL, for example, writes this: “‘For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he’…He is not the man his mouth speaks or declares him to be, but what his Heart Thinks; which is discovered by his Looks and Actions, and by which he is to be judged of, and not by his words.”- ‘Exposition of the Old Testament,’ 6 vols., 1748-1763; edited
Now we are in a superb position to Review what I believe is very close to the sine qua non of our Primary Christian Duty for the days ahead, second only to being Filled with God’s Spirit (cf. Acts 1:8; Ephesians 5:18).
- THE CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW.
Though I have written of this before, it is crucial for every true Christian that there is only ONE WORLDVIEW that is True, and that is the very ‘Mind of God.’ This is our Intellectual Ground Zero, if you will: To think the Thoughts of God, and conduct ourselves accordingly.
Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Oklahoma Baptist University, DR. TAWA ANDERSON, Defines this important term for us.
“Worldview is the Conceptual Lens through which we view our world. Worldview contains a set of fundamental assumptions and understandings about life, the universe and everything. James Sire defines worldview as ‘a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of Reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being.’” – “The Importance and Impact of Worldview,” ‘The Baptist Messenger,’ May 22, 2012; edited
THE WORLDVIEW MAXIM: One’s Worldview largely drives and determines our patterns of Overt Behavior, meaning, quite simply: We are what we DO over a sustained period of time (Habituation).
PAUL wrote of this brilliantly in his Letter to the Romans.
“And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be TRANSFORMED [‘into another form’] and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].” – ROMANS 12:2, AMP
FOUR WORLDVIEWS. Again, borrowing from my book, I reduced a great number of these Worldviews, or Philosophical Systems, to just four. This Taxonomy borrows heavily from JAMES SIRE, ‘The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog’ (2009). – cf. KELLY, ‘The Sixth Seal,’ 2017, pp. 45-49; edited
- JUDEO-CHRISTIAN THEISM. “The first of them, what I will call Judeo-Christian Theism, begins with a stated Belief in God as the infinite and personal (triune), transcendent and immanent, omniscient, sovereign and Ultimate Good (p. 46).
- CLASSICAL DEISM. “In this framework, God is regarded not so much as a Person as a First Cause, who created all things, then left it to run according to Immutable Laws and Principles” (p. 47).
- ATHEISTIC NATURALISM. “A third worldview perspective, and one which I regard as presently dominant in the world’s major institutions today, is what I term Atheistic Naturalism…Sire begins to describe this third worldview as one in which matter exists eternally, and is all there is; God does not exist” (p. 47).
- PAGAN MYSTICISM. “Finally, there is something I call Pagan Mysticism – a Potpourri of largely Eastern religious conceptions of reality usually known as the New Age Worldview. Its presuppositions are so obfuscated, that what follows will likely confuse the reader as much as it does its adherents!” (p. 48).
DK SUMMARY. “With these Four Idea Systems in mind then, we can Reconceptualize the Cultural Struggle taking place throughout the world as a series of ‘Worldviews in Conflict,” the very title of an excellent work by Christian historian RONALD H. NASH (1992) of the Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. Clearly, the Christian Worldview is locked in mortal combat with the other three Worldviews, the Consequences of which will determine the direction of History itself in the foreseeable future” (pp. 48-49). – cf. RICHARD WEAVER, ‘Ideas Have Consequences,’ 1948
HARRY BLAMIRES’ CHRISTIAN MIND. My favorite Anglican theologian, a protégé of C. S. Lewis at Oxford College, is this brilliant professor who taught me so much about this vital matter in his landmark book, ‘The Christian Mind: How should A Christian Think?’’ published in 1963.
But it was in his second book dealing with ‘The Christian Mind’ that brought home to me a truly prescient Definition of the American Church Crisis. Listen to his stunning Conclusions toward the end of his work entitled, ‘Recovering the Christian Mind: Meeting the Challenge of Secularism.’
“We cannot get far in experiencing the Life of the Church and the Teaching of faithful priests and pastors without becoming more aware of the Pauline Antithesis between ‘Meat and Milk.’ Indeed, whenever we come upon an instance of heroic self-sacrifice by a man or a woman who has SURRENDERED all earthly prospects for the sake of the Gospel, we are touched by a sense of admiration and then, turning our thoughts upon ourselves, we begin to measure the comparative feebleness of our own offering…
If we follow any Theme of Christian Teaching to its logical conclusion, we shall come upon some formulation such as that, which is difficult to swallow – ‘The single Obligatory Purpose of Loving God above all else and expressing that love in everything we do.’ It is difficult to swallow because it is ‘Meat and not Milk,’ and our throats prefer something smoother. But such conclusions are not hard to swallow in the sense that elaborate arguments or subtle theories are hard to swallow. God’s Instructions are never hard to swallow because they are complicated. They are hard to swallow because they are so terrifyingly simple, so blindly direct. The healthy human throat is not too delicate for the task…
We choke spiritually when the insidious cells of evil multiply in our throats. There is only one therapy to destroy malignancy, the Therapy of Fire, the burning fire of Penitence. The Cauterisation will leave our gullets parched and sore, yet hungry for nourishment…It is the [Rich] Red Meat whose protein strengthens us to Confront with Reasoned Faith the massive fatuities and wickednesses of our World and the sly weaknesses of our own hearts.” – 1988, pp. 191-192; edited
Therein lies the Greatest Challenge to the American Church in 2021: To find a way to Feed the members with the Rich Red Meat of God’s Word, so that the Church can once again do the one Divine Thing that no other sentient being can do on their own:
THINK GOD’S THOUGHTS! According to Jesus the Christ, Professor Harry Blamires, the Apostle Paul, King Solomon and the entire Pantheon of the Law and the Prophets – not bad company I might say – this is the Prime Directive for all true followers of the Lord, leading to a powerful witness for Truth.
Bottom Line: If we can Think like the Messiah, then we are in a powerful position to Act like Him. Selah.
- THE TEACHING
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness—trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].” – PSALM 91:14, AMPC
In 1973, one of the most formidable Christian works to ever be written in the Modern Era was published by an English born Canadian named, JAMES INNELL (“J.I.”) PACKER, entitled ‘Knowing God.’
HIS THESIS: Due largely to the Storm of Modern Philosophies and Radical Skepticism of that world, the true Christian must be all about the business of ‘KNOWING HIM’ afresh, firsthand, ‘Face to face’ if you will. Because, in the words of the Russian dissident and literary giant, ALEXANDR SOLZHENITSYN, given in his Templeton Prize Address in London for Progress in Religion on May 10, 1983
“Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.”
KNOWING GOD. The Hebrew word for ‘Known’ in this passage is, ‘Yada’ [יָדַע], translated thus: “To know God intimately; to discern the difference between good and evil; to learn knowledge and wisdom; to perceive (that He is Yahweh); to carefully observe and take note of; to find out [by investigation]; to see; to recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess; to know how to do right or God’s duty; to make oneself intimately known, reveal oneself; to understand clearly or with certainty (the truth or that which actually exists).”
Based on these ideas and definitions, then, the path to becoming a ‘Knower of God’ is, in the words of Dr. Packer, subject to this sound theological counsel:
“You can have all the right notions in your head without ever tasting in your heart the Realities to which they refer; and a simple Bible reader and sermon hearer who is full of the Holy Spirit will develop a far deeper acquaintance with his God and Saviour than a more learned scholar who is content with being theologically correct. The Reason is that the former will deal with God regarding the practical application of truth to his life, whereas the latter will not.”
‘The Practical Application’ is where the Word becomes Living, to instruct us in the Right Now’ of our lives and crises, telling us how to handle them. But the Church largely remains content with offering Historical Context and Amorphous Principles without tackling ‘The Hard Stuff’ down in the weeds where we live.
It’s much Safer to remain there, beloved, and frankly, quite dead.
THE COMMENTARIES. To finish our tour of ‘Knowing God,’ here are Three wise Interpretations from the master scholars who also love God as well as merely study Him.
- ALEXANDER MACLARAN. “I. Note, first, what God delights to find in man.
There is, if we may reverently say so, a tone of satisfaction in the words, ‘Because he hath set his love upon Me,’ and ‘because he hath known My name.’ II. Note, secondly, what God gives to the man in whom He finds such things. ‘I will deliver him’; ‘I will set him on high.’ III. Still further, we have another great promise, which is the explanation and extension of the former, ‘I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.’ That is more than lifting a man up above the reach of the storms of life by means of any external deliverance. There is a better thing than that-namely, that our whole inward life be lived loftily. If it is true of us that we know His name, then our lives are ‘hid with Christ in God,’ and far below our feet will be all the riot of earth and its noise and tumult and change.” – ‘Expositions of Holy Scripture,’ 17 vols., 1900; edited
- MATTHEW HENRY. “Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer [Selah]; though trouble and affliction befal, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous. Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They by prayer constantly call upon him. His Promise is, that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the meantime be with him in trouble. The Lord will manage all his worldly concerns, and preserve his life on earth, so long as it shall be ‘good’ for him. For encouragement in this he looks unto Jesus. He shall live long enough; till he has done the work he was sent into this world for, and is ready for Heaven. Who would wish to live a day longer than God has some work to do, either by him or upon him? A man may die young, yet be satisfied with living. But a wicked man is not satisfied even with long life. At length the believer’s conflict ends; he has done for ever with trouble, sin, and temptation.” – ‘Exposition of the Old and New Testaments,’ 6 vols., 1708-1710; edited
- SET HIM ON HIGH. The Hebrew term for this is, ‘Sagab’ [שָׂגַב], meaning: “Literally, extending a great distance above the surface of the earth; elevated; lofty; of great altitude; inaccessibly high; to make exceedingly lofty; by implication, safe, strong, defended [from all antagonists]; to be exalted to unassailable height; become high also in prosperity, too high for capture; walled all about; to be made excellent [beyond human ability]; ‘rising, or having risen, raised above any object; exalted in nature or dignity; the highest faculty of the soul.’”
DK’S ADDENDUM. One thing I did not find mentioned in the Commentaries was perhaps the Most Important Requirement of all: Time Spent with God. While I have earlier proposed – and still do – that One Hour is necessary, don’t stop there! Here’s what I mean.
“Rejoice always, PRAY WITHOUT CEASING, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”- 1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18, NKJV; emphasis my own
To be honest with you, I am still not sure if such this practice is a Consequence of Knowing God, or a Pathway to Knowing God, or both! But one thing is certain, if you will be like unto my beloved Tevye in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ (1964) and Never Stop Talking to and Listening for God all during the day, you shall discover a Fellowship so rich and deep that it becomes indescribable in human terms.
He is with us every single minute, so why not behave like He is. Selah.
- LAST THOUGHTS
We began this Lesson by focusing on the terrible importance of being created in God’s Image viz. our ability for Thought and Speech, what German theologian ERICH SAUER in his epic work, ‘Dawn of World Redemption’ (1951) “the Scepter of Mankind.”
Though I could not identify from which of his books the following quotation came, I love its remarkable focus on the significance of what or who we prefer to think about most of the time. Listen to his simple, organic wisdom here.
THE PRINCIPLE. From Sauer’s observation, we might state the Maxim this way: ‘My true God is most often defined by what or who I think about the most.’
If this is a valid Biblical Principle then, it follows that what I need to do in order to be more fully ‘in the Faith,’ is to: (1) Spend an inordinate amount of ‘Quality Time’ (I detest that cliché) with the Love of my Life, Jesus the Christ – in His Word, and in active, overt Conversation with Him throughout the day. (2) Then this, from Paul the Apostle to those who would ‘Grow Up’ in Christ:
“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness (corruption, stupidity), but be FILLED with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him.” – EPHESIANS 5:18, AMP
- BE FILLED! From the Greek term, ‘Pléroó’ [πληρόω]: “Properly, fill to individual capacity, i.e., to the extent it is ‘meet’ (appropriate or necessary); to fulfill or complete; to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally; to fill, diffuse throughout one’s soul; to perfect, consummate; to render perfect; to carry through to the end, to accomplish, carry out; to carry into effect, bring to realization, realize; perform, execute [the will of God]; to accomplish that which was foretold or prefigured in the Old Testament.”
- ON CONTINUATIONISM. Rather get bogged down in a debate about HOW to be filled with the Spirit (I am willing to ‘Bog’ with you on my personal Messenger page if you wish), I believe it fruitful to declare that I am, as a conservative Pentecostal, a believer in ‘CONTINUATIONISM:’ That is, the Spiritual Gifts are still in operation as the Lord confers them on each believer (1 Corinthians 12:11); there is no defensible case for ‘CESSATIONISM’ that I have ever read; neither do the Scriptures ever claim such conclusion. Bible scholar and blogger WILLIAM B. HEMSWORTH sums up my position: “I am of the opinion that the Spiritual Gifts have not ceased, and I am fully aware that some will disagree with me. The gifts do not convey extra-biblical revelation, but compliment them and assist the body of Christ in understanding existing revelation. Anything that claims to be a gift must not say anything contrary to Scripture. If it does it is from the enemy.” – “Cessationism vs. Continuationism,” ‘Bible Reasons,’ October 7, 2020; edited
IN SUM. My view is, as I prayed for the Filling of God’s Spirit in January of 1980, that we need every bit of God’s Power and Wisdom to successfully negotiate the Storms Ahead. For that reason, I pray for God’s Infilling every singly morning, even though I can point to a particular ‘Event’ when I experienced this Presence rather dramatically in that same year. I’ll tell you the Story sometime.
Point is: Ask God, beg Him if you will, for this Maximum Fill of God, to amplify your God-given gifts and abilities, in order that you bear as much fruit as possible in the Days Ahead.
CODA. A precious Scripture comes to mind as I close out this section of our Teaching, beloved. I think it fits perfectly for these reflections of having the Mind of God in order to do the Will of God.
“For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].” – PHILIPPIANS 4:8, AMPC
Our friend WILLIAM MACDONALD puts the Finish Work on this magnificent passage.
“You do not have to look very closely to find the LORD JESUS in verse 8. Everything that is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy is found in Him…’True’ means not false or unreliable, but genuine and real. ‘Noble’ means honorable or morally attractive. ‘Just’ means righteous, both toward God and man. ‘Pure’ would refer to the high moral character of a person’s life. ‘Lovely’ has the idea of that which is admirable or agreeable to behold or consider. ‘Of Good Report’ has also been translated ‘of good repute’ or ‘fair sounding.’ ‘Virtue,’ of course, speaks of moral excellence; and ‘Praise Worthy,’ something that deserves to be commended.” – ‘Believer’s Bible Commentary,’ 1995, p. 1979; edited
These are, beloved, to the very best of my ability, the Words of our King to us all, in further encouragement and preparation for the rapidly intensifying, Last Times. That by the same Power that Raised Him, He might Raise you up high:
For the Rescue of many, for the Integrity of your witness and household, and for the Honor He so richly deserves…While there is still time.
Ever your servant, DK
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SPECIAL FOLLOW UP ON THE PROMISE TO THE PHILADELPHIAN REMNANT: THE TRUE CHURCH’S WAR AGAINST REBELLION (WITH VIDEO)
