Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” (Acts 5:4 NIV)

Commitments are made, promises proclaimed, and vows are sworn to those in service to the kingdom of God. Somehow, though, the details of those statements aren’t given any level of importance because they are apparently made to mere mortals who render statements made to them invalid by their humanity. What is made clear in this passage, however, is how the Father has chosen to be represented. There will never be a human capable of adequately representing the only perfect and holy One, and yet He has chosen those still in earthly vessels to not only be the ones through whom He speaks, but also to hear through their ears. Though the form of the man may be perceived as undeserving of honor for any reason, the Father’s perspective is not subject to that same human interpretation, and He considers the statements made to His servants to be the same as if they were made to Him. Though there aren’t people routinely dropping dead left and right as a result of disregarded commitments or discarded vows made to mortals, how much death is brought to progress in the kingdom of purpose and growth when a separation is thought to exist between the servants and their Lord? Somehow it is thought that a relationship with the Father can be maintained completely separate from those He has chosen to serve and the church In which He has placed them. This was and will remain a dangerous deception and lie that can only result in the termination of life that was once so full of heavenly potential.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but that way always ends in death. (Prov. 16:25) How much better and blessed it is to keep a vow even when it might require effort, sacrifice, or adjustment of priorities, and even though it would “seem” it were only made to mortals? He hears, sees, and moves through them and as they are honored, so will He be honored and so will He reward as He has promised.

2 Corinthians 11: 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. (NIV)

Just beyond the checkout as we were leaving the store, there was a display of guitars, drums, keyboards, amplifiers, microphones, along with strings and other related items. There were neat little packages like a guitar and amplifier set or a keyboard with demos and lessons. By appearances these musical instruments were just as legitimate as any and would be more than sufficient for learning to play and enjoy performing music. What also made them particularly appealing were their packaging and price. They had snappy marketing with pictures on boxes that showed some famous artist playing what looked like this instrument, while the price was highlighted as being an incredible deal for such a wonderful value. For the person who had tinkered with the idea of taking up an instrument, this would appear to be just the deal, and there are probably a large number of them sold to casually aspiring musicians. It is easy enough to pacify the urge with not too much risk.

These successfully marketed instruments would appear to have all the same requirements of an instrument- strings, keys, drum heads, etc., and they might even look the same or even better, but for someone who will end up producing real music that is expressive and gratifying to someone beside the one plucking or pounding away, there will eventually be a discovery of an instrument that may have all those same ingredients, but is put together in a way that is quite different. The materials used are of a much greater quality and the methods employed to construct them demonstrate artistry and craftsmanship that greatly enhance and project the expressive efforts of the player. It might be possible to learn the motions and the theories of music on the cheap imitations, but to really experience the joy of greater musical expression there will need to be an introduction to a ‘real’ instrument. They might not be presented with nearly the same sparkle, but, oh my, the sounds they will produce.

The gospel of Jesus is a truth that is made up of the best materials and a craftsmanship that is unequalled. It is a simple message of hope, healing, provision, and salvation that is really capable of transforming the experience of life all by itself. While there is more than enough power in its simplicity, there are versions presented in snappy marketing packages in an effort to make it acceptable to the masses, the tinkerers and the casual passers-by. It may appear that there are all the same ingredients with a greatly reduced risk and price, and while it might be possible to start making some noise with these deals, if the gospel is to ever be truly expressed in a life, there will need to be an introduction to the ‘real’ instrument that will come with a much higher cost and commitment of time. The programs may be impressive and the personalities engaging, but until there is an old life given up for the new, until all of life is an expression of worship to the Master, then a sound might be made, but it never is really music. Once the true rhythms and melodies are produced in a transformed life, though, it will no longer be easy enough to put up with what the packaging promises.

My father tells of the person watching a true master producing music on their instrument:

“I would give anything to play like that,” is proclaimed.

To which there is the reply, “They did.”

11 And for this cause, God will give them up to the power of deceit and they will put their faith in what is false: 12 So that they all may be judged, who had no faith in what is true, but took pleasure in evil. 2 Thess 2:11-12 (BBE)

Why, it was a common truth. You know, something quite obviously without question. Although the scientific journals confirmed it to be true, it was one of those things so incontestable that even the simplest person should be able to accept its validity. To even voice another possibility was to put oneself in danger of ridicule and derision. You could tell by just looking that the world was flat, and because of this reality you had better not allow yourself to venture too far towards wherever the edge might be. Because of the earth’s state you had better not even think about acting in a way that might refute this undeniable truth.
There were those in the land, however, who found the acceptance of this ‘axiom’ to be quite uncomfortable and impossible. Their passion for discovering truth had moved beyond the limitations of ‘common’ knowledge to embrace the possibilities of the truth that might bring with it an incredible amount of freedom and expansion. The more they allowed themselves to embrace what was so unpopular, the more they began to discover that what had been thought to be self-evident by the masses was not truth at all, but simply a confining falsehood. To break from the restraints imposed by this misperception, there would have to be a break from the associations that nurtured its fallacy. Instead of allowing their movements to be limited by the ‘common’ knowledge, there would have to be action attached to the newly discovered reality no matter how risky it might seem to be. Until this concept moved beyond the realm of thought to the realm of action, there would yet be service to the lie of the earth’s flatness, and the riches and beauty just waiting beyond what had thought to be the edge would remain untouched and unseen.
Though we have risen, though we’ve attained, and though there has been movement beyond the dangers of the ‘brink’, there are still ways and truths that are higher than what might have been established as self-evident. While it may appear that the ways of God and the walk of love are ‘flat’ and confining, in reality they bring with them a whole new world of beauty, riches, and pleasures forevermore. For true liberty to be known, however, there will have to be an adjustment of the associations that nurture the truth and challenge the falsehoods. Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and the only way to really know the truth is to know Him. Beyond exposure to the truth in Christ, however, there has to be a voyage made that challenges the borders established in the lie. Until there is adventure associated with His truth, there is no faith in it and no possibility of experiencing not only the promise of pleasure on the other side, but also the continual fulfillment of faith’s movements towards it. To remain on these shores might appear to be safe and the most comfortable, but a departure towards the perfect realm of love will be release from pleasures that restrain and destroy for pleasures that thrill and fulfill.

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:31-32 (KJV)

13 And for this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when ye received from us the word of the message, even the word of God, ye accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe.

1 Thess 2:13 (ASV)

“If only God would speak to me.” “I’m going to get off by myself so I can maybe hear from God about my life.” “It’s been so long since I’ve heard God speak to me.”

There is such a need to hear directly from the source of life, from the one with the prescription for the healing, the direction, and the wisdom for life. When it comes to issues in the body, a doctor’s visit can be arranged, where someone with a degree can spend a few seconds poking on this and shining a light on that to come up with the ‘answer’ for what ails you. What good would it do, however, to go to the doctor’s appointment, get a written prescription with detailed instructions and somehow disregard the doctor’s words as irrelevant to your condition, still longing somehow to ‘get’ the answer from someone who ‘really’ knows? Or what good would it do to hear the solution and yet feel that the remedy is just as readily discoverable on one’s own. Until truth is received as such no solution or direction will make the least difference. Until there is confidence in the source as if it were totally legitimate, it’s truth can never work its work, make a change, and bring an answer to a life situation.

I believe it is possible to hear directly from God every time there is an encounter with one of His servants. Whether or not His words make any difference, however, has everything to do with the degree to which they are received as truth. So often there are those who are yet longing for the answer to their predicament right after the prescription has been given to them directly from God through one of His children. Maybe because it isn’t written on the wall, spoken with a mysterious audible voice, or delivered from someone with an impressive reputation, the ‘answer’ is disregarded and rendered ineffective. Maybe there is an insistence that the ‘real’ answer must come independent from any other member of the body- you know, directly from God.

Paul was unceasingly grateful for the reception that was given to his words by the Thessalonians. The truth he proclaimed wasn’t restricted by disregard and disrespect for the vessel that was speaking it, but his words were rather taken for what they actually were, the heart and the voice of God, providing the exact words of life that they desired and required. They weren’t still wondering if God was ever going to speak to them, and they weren’t hoping to still somehow have a ‘real’ encounter with God. Every time they heard the voice of the servant they received it as the voice and the solution of their God. Whether from an established ministry or from that child of God next door, there is a word being spoken from the heart of God that, if received as from Him, will bring the prescription for life that is just what is needed.

Zechariah 13:9 KJV
(9) And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

There was a time in our not too distant past when discovering gold in the mountains of the West caused a great rush of those seeking to become rich. While some were successful, there were far more that ended up putting a lot of effort into a venture that yielded very little value. It took more than just an eye for the shiny to obtain the substance of worth, and while many rocks out there that might appear to be pretty, they would never be able to stand the test of fire. Many novices were taken in by a substance call iron pyrite. It was quickly and readily seen lying in river bottoms where it could be collected in large amounts. I remember an episode of ‘Little House on the Prairie’ where Laura and Jonah spend a great deal of time and effort collecting a large cache of this from a stream, while carefully trying to preserve the secrecy of their discovery. They finally loaded it all up on a cart and took it with great excitement and anticipation to the bank to deposit for what they expected to be an incredible price. At first glance, however, the banker knew that their ‘treasure’ was worth no more than the sand from which it had been extracted. While their efforts had been notable, their lack of understanding and wisdom with regard to gold had left them with no value at all for their piled up ‘treasure’. They had learned the difficult lesson that it would not necessarily be the bright and noticed that would test positive in the fire, but more often the less obvious and even possibly dull in appearance.

All around us, surely more today than at any time in history, there is an extreme amount of enticing and shining ‘gold’ on display. It is most impressive to look at, and there is even a certain amount of gratification in wearing it around. The vast majority of this gold, however, is ‘fool’s gold’, the kind that will be melted off when the heat of life is applied. Showing up in the form of sharply discounted consumer items, dressed up and well spoken leadership or companionship, mood and perception altering substances, engaging means of entertainment such as movies, sports and video games, and status enhancing occupations, they sparkle and compel to come experience and possess the treasure they appear to be. There is, though, a time coming that will reveal their true substance, when the temperature rises and they are proven to be real or not. All the time and effort devoted to their promise of fulfillment will be shown to be of real value or of no worth at all. In the end it won’t just be those who’ve been able to notice and obtain the shiny and sparkly stuff that are going to remain prosperous. It will be those who have learned to be drawn to what might not initially flash the most or bang the loudest, but last the most in the blaze of the fire.

Today we’re all on a prospecting venture that will either yield a pure, heat resistant substance before the refiner’s fire or meaningless run-off. The more the real is known the more quickly the ‘fool’s’ stuff will be discarded as wisdom and understanding guide towards the way of eternal prosperity and treasure in Christ. The time and effort given to acquiring the gift of life in Him may displace many of those meaningless shiny items that used to occupy our past, but when all else has been burned up or melted off, pure and enhanced in value will remain all that has been stored up in Him. The way we’ve chosen today will be proven in the end- pure or shiny junk?

Job 23:10 KJV
(10) But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

1 John 2:27 KJV

(27) But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

In Christ we’ve been covered with an anointing oil that sets us aside in Him to receive and respond to truth and revelation in Christ. This is part of who we are now in Him and because of this relationship we will never again require the function of a man to identify truth and falsehood. As we’re presented with various doctrines and teachings, the anointing within will either accept or reject them.

My Dad started playing the guitar far before the time when I came into this world, and his playing was something that was very prominent in our home while I was growing up. Of course I observed his playing and experienced his music through the years of my development. Later, when I began to play myself, I naturally emulated some of his motions and methods, but also his music- the heart expression that came through his instrument. As the years have passed since then I have absorbed additional instruction in regards to technique, methods, and styles, but there is something that came from having lived with Dad that I didn’t really need another teacher for- the heart of the music itself. When presented with certain approaches to playing that have come against this heart for music that I received from him, I’ve given them very little attention or even acknowledgement. These other ways may have a great display of agility and proficiency of technique, but if there isn’t something in the playing that touches the heart, I may be impressed by the show, but never touched by the music.

Hanging out with our heavenly Father, we’re exposed to a technical display of beautiful revelation and knowledge, but there with Him, listening to and watching His playing, we also have an impartation of His heart to ours- an anointing. We’re no longer the way we once were- in need of instruction from another man as to what might be true or false. Our hearts have been covered with an anointing oil that won’t allow false deceptions to touch or penetrate. Abiding in Him, we’ll grow in truth and unshakeable conviction.

Isaiah 30:1-3 KJV
(1) Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
(2) That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
(3) Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

There’s just something enticing about the shadow. Things are cooler in the shade. There’s escape from the brightness of the sun’s light inside its sphere. Perspectives change and everything is redefined there. So, what’s so bad about ending up there, just chillin’ and answering all the world’s problems?

All right- the truth will set you free, but when it comes to obtaining or living in truth, there is no substance whatsoever to that ‘truth’ discovered in the shadow. The reason for the shadow’s existence in the first place is that the real Truth has been deflected in some way, leaving an area where the only light is that reflected off other objects.

There is no lack for opinions. Based upon the ‘higher’ thoughts of those that are surely ‘smarter’ and more ‘well-informed’, life decisions and heart passions are set. We have, after all, been given a brain to think with, and to follow after anything that doesn’t make sense to our logic and ‘scientific’ deduction would be ignorant and foolhardy. This may be true, but a problem arises when the shadow is the place where the ‘answers’ are sought. Research obtained in the shadow will never fully portray all the truth. There may be portions and half truths, but until there is personal exposure to the Source of Truth Himself, only deflected and skewed processing can take place, because there is no real truth discovery where the Son’s light is shielded.

And it’s so easy to think of people who are doing this, running to the shadowy place of bondage for strength and trust. They’re quite proud of their ascent to elevated knowledge, and yet, they’re trapped and bound into slavery by the very thing they thought was their elevator. It’s easy to think of those poor souls and miss the moment when the shadow takes us in- when, instead of running to the only source of truth and understanding, circumstances in the shadows keep our thoughts in the darkness and the liberating light of God’s presence is kept from revealing to our opened eyes the solution born out of Truth. There will ever be a need to let our answers come in the light, refusing the perusing of the shade.

The Son is always shining above the clouds, and real strength, trust, and truth are continually awaiting those of us who will only step out of, instead of into the shadows. Why go back to those old, negative thoughts? Why go back to those debilitating habits? Why embrace and hold onto relationships where ‘friends’ are really taskmasters? Why let the deceptions of the shadow be an enticement, when the voice of the Master is waiting to speak directly to the heart that has bravely left the shadows for real adventure in the light.