The Three Step Program

Every day as I come back to this passage I have been soaking in for weeks now, I keep discovering fresh insights in stories I thought long ago were very familiar and mundane. That's the way it is now with almost everything I read in the Word and it has made it extremely difficult to have any time left over for reading other books.

I decided to begin marinating in the book of Luke for the foreseeable future, but after several weeks I still have not gotten past even half of the first chapter. But I don't mind that for I now enjoy gaining a deeper appreciation of these passages over covering a lot of territory like I used to read. Now it matters not how long it takes me to finish anything in the Bible. I would much rather sink my attention much deeper into the Word and have it bring more convictions and blessings to my soul rather than being able to say that I have read the whole Bible through in a certain amount of time. And while I don't discount the importance of reading the Bible as a whole, I feel I may have done that for enough years that I now find the Spirit is eager to begin making connections between its different parts that amplify each other rather than just rehearsing over and over what I have already learned.

This morning I found myself again back in the story of Gabriel and his compelling interaction with Zacharias. Maybe it is because I want to flush out more openly unbelief from my own heart and be free of it myself that I keep finding nuances in this story that apply to myself. I resonate all too readily with the skepticism of Zacharias and sympathize with his mixed feelings when suddenly his years of prayers are given an answer that is so stunning that it throws him completely off balance. What I want to receive from God in this study is a new attitude myself, what Gabriel described as part of what Elijah did and what this new prophet would do – turn the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous.

I find this interesting in that I learned long ago that obedience is much more than on outward issue. I grew up like many others, believing that obedience was all about doing the right thing, i.e. keeping all the rules. Over recent years it has been emerging that true obedience can only come from a heart experience, and that forced obedience, whether that force comes from others or even from within, will only result in fostering a spirit of resistance and eventually rebellion. This should be like a siren of warning for all those with responsibility for raising young children, for typical parenting techniques that rely on force and intimidation always produces similar results inwardly no matter what is accomplished externally.

Getting someone to comply to demands and rules is in sharp contrast to turning the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous. I see this as a parallel to the earlier part of this announcement where Gabriel says that John will turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children. Again the emphasis is all on the internal part of our being rather than on external conformity. And this is the area that I have been the weakest in experiencing, having been brought up to pay far more attention to keeping up proper appearances and behavior, yet without learning how to really receive and give true love and affection.

And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (Luke 1:16-17)

I have often pondered how the ministry of Elijah accomplished what is described here. Maybe I don't yet appreciate enough a true awareness of what Elijah was like. What does come to mind of course, is the most famous story from Elijah's life – that spectacular display of God's power on Mt. Carmel when fire came down out of heaven and wowed the majority of people into returning their allegiance back to the true God. Yet even that story leaves one wondering just how much heart change actually took place in most of those people or how much of their subsequent obedience had to do with simply tracking to the god who displayed the most power. Stories that follow that event seem to give mixed messages in this regard.

As I think back again on that story, it also occurs to me that quite possibly Elijah may have inadvertently 'snatched defeat from the jaws of victory' as an old saying goes. Most Christians today assume without question that the wholesale slaughter of the priests of Baal by Elijah was the righteous thing to do and was ordered by God. But there is no evidence that God instructed Elijah to directly kill these men while on the other hand there seems to be a lot of evidence that this choice led Elijah down a trail that left him soon very vulnerable to threats of a single woman against his own life.

I have commented on this extensively elsewhere and have come to the firm conclusion that this act of violence on the part of Elijah was parallel to the sin of Moses when he struck the rock in disobedience to the command of God that cost him dearly afterwards. One clue that leads me to this conclusion is that when Elijah finally meets God again on Mt. Horeb he is given a rehearsal of the lessons he was supposed to have already learned about how to listen to God properly. And following his own impulses from his aroused passions after such a display of the spectacular was not the correct way to discern God's voice as was made plain during his review time on the mountain with God later on.

I ponder what might have happened if Elijah had made a different choice right after God's fire fell from heaven on his sacrifice to draw the people back to God. I sense that this event could have produced dramatically different results, similar to what could have taken place had Moses chosen to display more accurately the true character of God by not allowing the spirit of anger and bitterness to overcome him when he struck the rock. In both cases it seems very possible that God's Spirit might have had a tremendous breakthrough in the hearts and lives of the vast majority of people if God's servants had been more faithful to their advanced knowledge about Him. I believe history in both cases could have been dramatically altered had God not been robbed of His real glory through the sad choices of His servants in those instances.

This brings me back to the prophecy of Gabriel to Zacharias, and by extension to all of us who believe we have been called to again present a similar message as Elijah and John the Baptist. For many years I have heard it repeated that God's people in the last days are supposed to revive the prophetic ministry of Elijah and John to prepare a people for the coming of Jesus. I don't dispute that truth in the least. However, what has been far more confusing is just what that implies when it comes to both the content of our message and more importantly, the spirit with which we present this message from heaven.

Maybe the original message entrusted to Elijah became distorted by the tragic choice of Elijah himself to take things into his own hands just when God was about to accomplish a great victory in the lives of His people. It appears that John the Baptist was more faithful to his calling than Elijah in that he did not indulge in resorting to violence, even though some of his language seemed rather strong. But warnings have to be strong at times to get the attention of people so jaded and numbed by sin that they cannot hear anything else. I believe God has to do that at times.

But just as Moses was disciplined for misrepresenting God's character before the Children of Israel in the desert, I believe that Elijah was corrected on Mt. Horeb for forgetting how to rightly listen to the quiet promptings of the Spirit. Elijah had allowed his adrenalin to control his choices instead of God's Spirit. So too, we also need to learn the lesson of reflecting more accurately the real truth about God's attitudes towards sinners and learn from their mistakes to avoid repeating them again and again.

Jesus stated something that sounds rather shocking to our way of viewing things, yet makes complete sense when observing things from heaven's perspective. Jesus said that John was the greatest prophet who ever lived, even while he was considered the least – by this world's standards. What did He mean by this seemingly contradictory statement? I believe He was contrasting how heaven's view of things is almost always the very opposite of our assumptions about how things are supposed to look like.

John, the prophet that Gabriel was talking to his father that day, was faithful to the promptings of the Spirit that filled his life from even before birth. If anyone was tempted to resort to using force to accomplish the desires of God, I suspect John faced that intensely early on. Anyone familiar with the political and social climate of that day would know that the injustice and abuse and violence taking place around Palestine under Roman occupation was so severe that many attempted violent insurrections, albeit all unsuccessfully. Most of these insurrections had one thing in common: they all assumed that God's will for His people involved resorting to methods of force when circumstances were too extreme for less violent approaches.

This thinking is extremely prevalent today, both in and out of our church. What is worse is that there is even open hostility among many of the people of God toward anyone even suggesting that God does not need to resort to violence to get His way. This issue is becoming such a controversial topic among Christians today that it is beginning to polarize not only our own church, but the whole world is starting to take sides on this issue. In fact, I have wondered it it may well be one of the main issues that brings about full completion of this polarization resulting is what is described in Revelation 22:11:

"Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy."

I used to assume that righteousness had to do with what a person does rather than what was inside of their heart. I have been disabused of that lie many years ago, yet I still struggle to experience full freedom from the many lies that cause me to act out in ways that are unlike Christ – lies about how God feels towards me along with lies about myself. I have learned that probably every sin that besets me has at its root some lie or cluster of lies that needs to be exposed and replaced with glorious truth that will banish them from my heart. Jesus said that when we know the truth it will make us free. And the truth He was speaking of definitely was not a list of doctrines to memorize. Jesus said, I am the Truth, the Way and the Life.

Gabriel told Zacharias that the essence of the message that John would bring to God's people would do three things:

1. It would turn many of God's people back to the true God (reflective of Elijah's ministry).
2. It would turn the hearts of fathers toward their children (linking to another prophecy in Malachi 4).
3. It would turn the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous.

Even as I wrote this out it suddenly became obvious to me that there is a natural progression here. The first step can easily be more external in nature. While many in Elijah's day switched their allegiance back to worshiping the God of heaven, there is doubt as to how many of them actually had their hearts transformed significantly, especially after watching Elijah's demonstration of wrath that brought confusion into the truth about God's wrath and His methods.

The second step takes things deeper however, down to the heart level and addresses closer relationships as seen in the family. Not only would this message realign religious allegiance back toward the true God of heaven but it works to repair the damage that sin has brought into our homes and our family relationships at the heart level where the reflection of God has become so distorted.

Yet the last step that must also take place is even more invasive than just a switch of external allegiance or even a turning of the heart. This last step describes a complete attitude change, a transformed disposition, a settling into thinking and feeling and perceiving and relating that is reflective of what is described in Philippians 2 as the mind of Christ.

What is becoming clear to me now is that this is likely the answer I have been seeking for many years about something constantly talked about in my church. There is a lot of talk about getting ready for Jesus to come. Early on the assumption has been that to get ready for the Second Coming of Christ means working very hard to get all sin out of the life. Of course, if one has unclear ideas about what the word sin means to start with they will come up with all sorts of conclusions about what it means to get rid of it. But the deeper problem with this assumption is that the focus is still on the externals, on behavior and fails to effect any real heart change which is where the roots of sin find their nourishment.

According to Gabriel's message here, these three things that John the Baptist was to bring to light are the things needed in order to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. I believe it is safe to assume that the same message is needed today just as much as it was needed for Christ's first coming.

It is not enough to simply switch allegiance back to the right God as important as that is for a first step.

It is not even enough to take it deeper and have our hearts to be affected by the Spirit of God, as important as this step is as well.

What is really needed is a complete conversion, 'the whole enchilada' as it is sometimes described. Without all three steps experienced no one will be truly ready to meet the kind of Jesus that will shock the vast majority of religious people when He shows up with the intensity of His true glory along with His holy angels to receive those who have put their full trust in Him and who reflect His kind of love.

This has powerful implications about the nature of the messages we may be trying to take to those around us. Just what kind of God and what version of the gospel are we embracing that we assume is going to get us ready for Jesus to come? Even those among us who have been thrilled with fresh, new revelations about the true character of God in contrast to the dark views we learned from religion in the past. Have we really taken seriously the last two steps of this Elijah/John message? How accurately does our attitude and spirit towards those around us reflect the true nature of Jesus as He revealed the heart of the Father to a confused universe in the way He related to those who opposed Him? Have we really been turned to the attitude of the righteous? Are we really allowing the mind of Christ be in us as described in Philippians 2, or are we content to hold back a step or two and just be content to talk about these things without fully submitting to the close work that the Holy Spirit must do inside of us to prepare our hearts to not shrink back at His coming?

Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. (1 John 2:28-29)

Earlier in this chapter it was reported that Zacharias and Elizabeth were righteous in the sight of God. I am not disputing that in the least. But it appears that a deeper work needed to yet take place, especially in Zacharias, given the unbelief and skepticism that emerged when good news was announced to him by an angel from heaven. His attitude was not yet aligned well with the righteous but he reacted in fear and maybe even shame. His skepticism was so dangerous that Gabriel found it necessary to close his vocal chords for a few months to protect others from becoming infected with his doubting spirit.

I find the comment that Zacharias made that elicited this response from the angel very revealing.

Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years." (Luke 1:18)

How often have I heard this sentiment expressed by those with whom I am seeking to share good news about God. But more disturbing, how often has my own heart resonated with this attitude myself. I want to know things conclusively. I want overwhelming, conclusive evidence to eliminate every last doubt before I am willing to embrace some emerging truth. Many call this approach a 'healthy skepticism' or label it 'critical thinking;' it is even lauded in higher education circles as a virtue. Yet when I read this story it appears that heaven has a very different opinion of this attitude, and it doesn't seem to fit into what Gabriel described as the attitude of the righteous.

Zacharias was not expressing deception or telling lies here. He was simply relating 'facts on the ground' as we would call it. There was nothing false about these statements, for he and his wife really were too old to have children according to normal standards of measurement. But then, so too was Abraham and Sarah, and they had had similar conversations with God that should have served as a lesson for those who knew his story.

As God's people living at the very end of time with all the history of the world at our disposal, we have even less excuse for our unbelief than did Zacharias. It might be safe to say that about every mistake that can be made has been made by this point in time so we have no excuses left for resisting the work of God's Spirit to lead us into the full revelation of truth as it is in Jesus.

What I see happening at this point in the story is a transition by Gabriel from offering incredibly good news to the mode of disciplining someone for resisting belief in good news because there is not yet enough evidence to satisfy demands for more evidence before embracing it. There comes a point in our encounters with God where a line can be crossed that will elicit a similar response in our own lives if we continue to unreasonably resist embracing truth to let it transform our hearts and our attitude.

One thing that is compelling about this warning for me personally is that part of this truth presented to Zacharias includes the announcement that not only were his many years of prayers about to be answered but that there would be a great deal of celebration and joy and rejoicing in the process. Part of me that has been trained for years in the ways of austere religion rises up in religious protest over such notions, insisting that God does not approve of such 'dissipation.' But apparently heaven carries on in many ways that religious people here would not approve of, and that puts many of us crosswise with God's desires for our lives.

Father, continue to cleanse me of the many lies about You and Your ways that continue to inhibit me from simply believing Your amazing good news to the world and celebrating it with more freedom. Help me to fully embrace the glorious truth as revealed in Your Son about what You are really like and what You want to make me look like as Your reflection as well. Take me fully through all three steps of the Elijah/John message and so transform me that I too can become one of Your last-day prophets to proclaim this life-changing good news to darkened minds around this world. Glorify Your name in and through my life and increasingly in the lives of those are influenced by me.