The Ragamuffin Gospel

A Word Before
The Ragamuffin Gospel was written with a specific reading audience in mind.
This book is not for the super-spiritual.
It is not for muscular Christians who have made John Wayne and not Jesus their hero.
It is not for academicians who would imprison Jesus in the ivory tower of exegesis.
It is not for noisy, feel-good folks who manipulate Christianity into a naked appeal to emotion.
It is not for hooded mystics who want magic in their religion.
It is not for Alleluia Christians who live only on the mountaintop and have never visited the valley of desolation.
It is not for the fearless and tearless.
It is not for red-hot zealots who boast with the rich young ruler of the gospels: "All these commandments I have kept from my youth."
It is not for the complacent, hoisting over their shoulder a tote-bag of honors, diplomas, and good works actually believing they have made it.
It is not for legalists who would rather surrender control of their souls to rules than run the risk of living in union with Jesus.
If anyone is still reading along, The Ragamuffin Gospel was written for the bedraggled, beat-up, and burnt-out.
It is for the sorely burdened who are still shifting the heavy suitcase from one hand to the other.
It is for the wobbly and weak-kneed who know they don't have it altogether and are too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace.
It is for inconsistent, unsteady disciples whose cheese is falling off their cracker.
It is for poor, weak, sinful men and women with hereditary faults and limited talents.
It is for earthen vessels who shuffle along on feet of clay.
It is for the bent and the bruised who feel that their lives are a grave disappointment to God.
It is for smart people who know they are stupid and honest disciples who admit they are scalawags.
The Ragamuffin Gospel is a book I wrote for myself and anyone who has grown weary and discouraged along the Way.

Michael Card Lyrics

[ancient.jpg] [ancient.jpg] Ancient Faith Trilogy [1989-1992] [beginnin.jpg] [wisdom.jpg] [theword.jpg] Ancient Faith Overture THE BEGINNING THE WAY OF WISDOM THE WORD: RECAPTURING THE IMAGINATION 1. The Beginning 2. In The Wilderness 3. Jubilee 4. Lift Up The Suffering Symbol 5. The Word Is So Near 6. Meditation #3 Shema 7. God Will Provide A Lamb 8. They Called Him Laughter 9. Asleep On Holy Ground 10. A Face That Shone 11. Barocha 1. The Way Of Wisdom 2. Under The Sun 3. Job Suite (Story, Lament, God, & Response) 4. Arise, My Love 5. How Long? 6. The Death Of A Son 7. My Shepherd 8. Search Me And Know Me 9. Meditation #4 Selah 10. My Help 1. The Prophet 2. So Many Books... 3. Then They Will Know 4. Recapture Me 5. Song Of Gomer 6. Who Can Abide? 7. Through The Eye 8. Valley Of Dry Bones 9. Will You Not Listen? 10. The Kingdom 11. I Will Bring You Home Heal Our Land (Song For The National Day Of Prayer) The Beginning In the beginning was the Beginning In Him it all began All that they had was God and the garden The woman and the man Before Creation learned to groan The stars would dance and sing Each moment was new, every feeling was fresh For the creature, king and queen But deep in the heart of the beautiful garden Forbidden fruit was found And they were deceived, disobeyed and were driven From that holy ground But beside the tree of disobedience The Tree of Life did grow The gift of its fruit an eternal beginning But they would never know CHORUS: The Beginning will make all things new New Life belongs to Him He hands us each new moment saying My child, begin again My child, begin again You're free to start again This very moment is filled with His power That we might start anew To break us away from the past and the future He does what He must do And so the Alpha brings to us this moment to commence To live in the freedom of total forgiveness With reckless confidence With reckless confidence REPEAT CHORUS In The Wilderness CHORUS: In the wilderness, In the wilderness He calls His sons and daughters to the wilderness But He gives grace sufficient to survive any test And that's the painful purpose of the wilderness In the wilderness we wander In the wilderness we weep In the wasteland of our wanting Where the darkness seems so deep We search for the beginning For an exodus to home And find that those who follow Him Must often walk alone CHORUS In the wilderness we're wondering For a way to understand In the wilderness there's not a way For the Way's become a man And the man's become the Exodus The way to holy ground But wandering in the wilderness Is the best way to be found CHORUS Groaning and growing Amidst the desert days The windy winter wilderness Can blow the self away CHORUS And that's the painful promise of the wilderness Jubilee The Lord provided for a time For the slaves to be set free For the debts to all be cancelled So His chosen ones could see His deep desire was for forgiveness He longed to see their liberty And His yearning was embodied In the Year of Jubilee CHORUS: Jubilee, Jubilee Jesus is our Jubilee Debts forgiven Slaves set free Jesis is our Jubilee At the Lord's appointed time His deep desire became a man The heart of all true jubilation And with joy we understand In His voice we hear a trumpet sound That tells us we are free He is the incarnation Of the year of Jubilee CHORUS To be so completely guilty Given over to despair To look into your judge's face And see a Savior there REPEAT CHORUS Lift Up The Suffering Symbol They grew tired of bread from heaven and of Moses and of God They longed to live the life of slavery once again So they muttered and they grumbled and they whimpered and they whined With each faithless word, sank deeper into sin He took the pain of pain once more to write upon their hearts A lesson they had been so slow to learn And writing in the sand the fiery serpent came to call With a holy message and a bite that burned CHORUS: Lift up the suffering symbol and place it high upon a pole Tell the children to look up and be made whole So Moses made a metal snake and nailed it to a pole Sent out the saving word so they would know That the symbol of their suffering was now the focus of their faith And with a faithful glance the healing power would flow In time the brazen serpent became an idol in the land And they left the living God to worship clay When they forgot their suffering soon true faith had disappeared And so some idolize a brazen cross today REPEAT CHORUS The Word Is So Near The Word is so near To your heart and your tongue With the one you confess And acknowledge the Son With the other believe And are justified And find life in knowing It was for you He died No, it's not up in heaven Where your thoughts could not reach Nor beyond the ocean On some distant beach No, the Word is so near In the innermost part It's alive on your lips, it abides in your heart The Word is so near To your heart and your tongue With the one you confess And acknowledge the Son With the other believe And are justified And find life in knowing It was for you He died Meditation #3 Shema Shema, Israel Shema, Israel Shema, Israel Adonai Eluhenu Adonai Adonai Eluhenu Adonai Adonai Eluhenu Adonai Echad (Hear, Israel) (Hear, Israel) (Hear, Israel) (The Lord your God, the Lord) (The Lord your God, the Lord) (The Lord your God, the Lord) (Is One) God Will Provide A Lamb Three days journey to the sacred place A boy and a man with a sorrowful face Tortured yet faithful to God's command To take the life of his son in his own hands CHORUS I: God will provide a lamb To be offered up in your place A sacrifice so spotless and clean To take all your sin away Here's wood and fire, where's the sacrifice? The questioning voice and the innocent eyes Is the son of laughter who you've waited for To die like a lamb to please the Lord? CHORUS I A gleaming knife, an accepted choice A rush of wind and an angel's voice A ram in the thicket, caught by its horns And a new age of trusting the Lord is born CHORUS II: For God has provided a Lamb He was offered up in your place What Abraham was asked to do, He's done He's offered His only Son! What Abraham was asked to do, He's done He's offered His only Son! They Called Him Laughter A barren land and a barren wife Made Abraham laugh at his wandering life A cruel joke it seemed then to call him the "father of nations" A heavenly prank? A celestial joke? 'Cause grey hair and babies leave no room for hope But hoping was something this hopeless old man learned to do CHORUS: They called him laughter for he came after The Father had made an impossible promise come true The birth of a baby to a hopeless old lady So they called him laughter 'cause no other name would do A cry in the darkness and laughter at night An elderly couple sit holding him tight An improbable infant, a punchline, a promise come true They laughed till they wept then they laughed at their tears This miracle baby they'd wanted for years Would make a Messiah who'd give us impossible Joy REPEAT CHORUS Asleep On Holy Ground A stone for a pillow, as hard as his head He slept on holy ground The dreaming deceiver he dreamt of a ladder With angels up and down And the ladder was a way, the stairway was a sign The gates of heaven open wide revealing the divine CHORUS I: Asleep on holy ground he lay, oblivious to the night Inside his head and heart were full of inexpressible light Soon he would be confronted by the friend that we most fear Asleep on holy ground he lay, deceitful, blessed seer The dream that he dreamt now transformed to a nightmare As he wrestled with a man The unearthly power of his Beloved opponent Made Jacob understand That the wrestling was the way, the struggle was the sign He limped away, his lesson learned, now Israel was defined CHORUS II: He limped away on holy ground, awakened from the dream Having learned his costly lesson from the Way of the Nazarene That pain's the path to blessing, Love will fight us to be found And God remains a dream to those who sleep on holy ground REPEAT CHORUS II A Face That Shone He ate the bread of heaven Drank water from the rock And the grumbling children followed Like a misbegotten flock He climbed up on a mountain They couldn't even touch Who'd have known that one encounter Could have ever meant so much And up upon that high place In a cleft of solid stone His face was set on fire As the God of Glory shone He alone had seen it And had lived to tell the tale But because they feared the fire He had to hide behind a veil A face that shone with the radiance of the Father Though it had known and endured dark desert days A face that shone with the glory of Another So the prophet would discover As the glory was fading away He was the Bread from Heaven He would be the smitten Rock He had twelve confused disciples They were His bewildered flock When He climbed upon the mountain He took Peter, James and John In the face of pending glory They soon began to yawn As He prayed while they were sleeping He was transfigured into Light His face a flash of lightning His clothes so burning bright So Moses finally saw the face Before he'd hidden from Then came a voice from heaven "This is my beloved Son" The face that shone is the Glory of the Father And he had known from the start that it was so The face that shone had let the light shine out of darkness And we're changed into His likeness As we gaze upon the Son But you and me we tend to flee from shining faces We see the glow and then we know that we're undone They shine His light into our emptiest of spaces With their bright and shining faces Reflect the radiance of the Son The face that shone is the Glory of the Father And he had known from the start that it was so The face that shone had let the light shine out of darkness And we're changed into His likeness As we gaze upon the Son Barocha The Lord bless you and keep you The Lord make His face shine upon you And give you peace And give you peace And give you peace forever The Lord be gracious to you The Lord turn His face towards you And give you peace And give you peace And give you peace forever And give you peace And give you peace And give you peace forever The Way Of Wisdom The Way of Wisdom starts out With a step of holy fear And it makes its way alone By every good word that you hear It has to do with passion And it has to do with pain It has to do with One Who has both died and rose again Died and rose again CHORUS: And the Way of Wisdom is living The Path of Peace is forgiving Behold the Man of Meaning Behold He is the Lord The Way of Understanding lies In not how much you know For the pathway is a Person That you come to love and so You can stop pretending That it all depends on you For it's not how much you love As much as how much He loves you How much He loves you CHORUS The Way of Wisdom beckons us To find the end of fear That perfect love pursues For Wisdom did not come To simply speak the words of truth He's the Word that makes us true The Way of Wisdom starts out With a step of holy fear That's only the beginning And there's much more, that is clear The path leads on to love And love is fearless in its ways For Love Himself was not afraid To die that we'd be saved To die that we'd be saved REPEAT CHORUS Under The Sun He was a king, a teacher The wisest in the land Driven by a passion Just to know and understand He opened wide his eyes Sought to see beyond the lies And found a world beyond his understanding Under the sun He saw the vanity of vanities He bravely looked at life And saw futility Torn between the facts he saw And all he ever had believed Between his hopes and what he'd clearly seen He hoped it might be wisdom So he set himself to learn But found the more the knowledge The more sorrow and concern And so he turned to pleasure To folly and to cheer But still his laughter Tasted of his tears Under the sun It was all vanity of vanities In wisdom or in wine He found futility In knowledge or in folly For the wise man or the fool Hopelessness will always be the rule And yet there is a time For everything that's under heaven A time to run, a time to stand and fight So in the face of cold despair No matter what seems right Remember, darkness drives us to the light Under the sun True there is vanity of vanities But there is more to life There is security Remember your Creator In the days when you are young And He will be your hope Under the sun Job Suite HIS STORY Blameless and upright, a fearer of God A man truly righteous, no pious facade One about whom God was accustomed to boast And so one whom Satan desired the most One day the accuser came breathing out lies "It's Your holy handouts, his faithfulness buys" In one desperate day his possessions were lost His children all killed in one raw holocaust His children all killed in one raw holocaust And yet through it all Through the tears and pain He worshiped his God Found no reason to blame Once more the Deceiver denounced and decried "It's skin for skin, and hide for hide, Strike down his flesh and he'll surely deny And confess that his praying has all been a lie." "Very well, take him," the Holy One sighed But you must spare his life, my son shall not die So Job was afflicted with terrible sores Sat down in the ashes to wait for the Lord Sat down in the ashes to wait for the Lord And yet through it all Through the tears and pain He worshiped his God Found no reason to blame HIS LAMENT INTERLUDE: A throne of ashes A crown of pain A sovereign of sorrow A mournful reign May the day of my birth be remembered no more May darkness and shadow come and claim it once more Why did I not perish on that dreadful day And sleep now where kings and counselors lay What I dreaded most has now come upon me Why is light given those in misery? I loathe my own life, so my tears fall like rain As I find that there is no peace in my pain Lord, send a Comforter now to my door So that this terror will frighten no more A Counselor between us, to come bear my oath Someone who could lay a hand on us both These friends of mine are no comfort to me So deafly they listen, so blindly they see Their words and their doctrine, they all sound so true The problem is Lord, they're all wrong about you! I know my Advocate waits upon high My Witness in heaven sees the tears that I cry A true intercessor who will condescend To plead with God as a man pleads for his friend If I've been untrue, if I've robbed the poor If I'm without guilt, what am I suffering for? God would not crush me for some secret sin And though He slay me still I'll trust in Him I know now that my Redeemer's alive He'll stand on this earth on the day He arrives And though my own body by then is no more Yet in my flesh I know, I'll see the Lord I'll see the Lord, I'll see the Lord HIS GOD Who is it that darkens my counsel? Who speaks empty words without knowledge? Brace yourself up like a man And answer me now, if you can Can you put on glory and splendor? What's the way to the home of the light? Does your voice sound like the thunder? Are you not afraid? Where were you when earth's foundations were laid? Who gave the heart its wisdom? The mind its desire to know? Can you bind the stars? Raise your voice to the clouds? Did you make the eagle proud? Will the ox spend the night by your manger? Did you let the wild donkey go free? Can you take leviathan home as a pet? If you merely touched him, you'd never forget Who is it that darkens my counsel? Who speaks empty words without knowledge? Brace yourself up like a man And answer me now, if you can HIS RESPONSE I am unworthy, how can I reply? There's nothing that you cannot do You are the storm that calmed my soul I place my hand over my mouth I place my hand over my mouth Arise, My Love Arise, my love, my lovely one come The winter is past and the rains are gone The flowers appear, it's the season of song My beautiful one, arise and come with me Who is it that appears like the dawn? As fair as the moon, as bright as the sun Show me your face, let me hear your voice My beautiful one, arise and come with me CHORUS: Set me like a seal on your heart For love is unyielding as the grave The flash of it is a jealous fire No flood can quench For love is as strong as death Arise, my love and come with me Before the dawn breaks and the shadows flee You ravished my heart with just one glance My beautiful one, arise and come with me CHORUS BRIDGE: Do not arouse or awaken love Until it so desires Arise, my love, my lovely one come The winter is past and the rains are gone The flowers appear, it's the season of song My beautiful one, arise and come with me I am my love's, my beloved's mine Arise and come with me How Long? How long will you forget, oh Lord? How long, how long? How I long to see your face, oh Lord How long will you hide? How I struggle with my thoughts, oh Lord How long, how long? Suffer sorrow in my heart, oh Lord How long will you hide? How long? How long? Look on me and give an answer Lord How long, how long? Give me light or I can live no more How long will you hide? My foes rejoice when they see me fall How long, how long? "We have overcome him now", they call How long will you hide? How long? (...will you hide from me) How long? How long? (...until you set me free) How long? Still, oh Lord, You are so good to me How long, how long? My heart rejoices how you set me free How long will you hide? Lord, I sing for what I'm hoping of How long, how long? How I trust in your unfailing love How long will you hide? How long? (...how long) How long? How long? (...will you wait forever) How long? The Death Of A Son Eli, Eli (My God, my God) La ma sabach thani? (Why have You forsaken me?) Eli, Eli La ma sabach thani? Why are you so far from saving me? So far from the words of my groaning? By night and by day I cry out in pain So why do you not answer? Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One In you our fathers trusted They cried out to you and were saved They were never disappointed I am a worm, no longer a man La ma sabach thani? (Why have You forsaken me?) They have pierced my feet and hands La ma sabach thani? I looked for comforters, but found none Oh, how could you forsake me? Oh, my Strength, come quickly, come Come now, oh Lord, and save me For You would never despise or disdain The suffering of the afflicted In the congregation I will proclaim That from the grave You lifted me In the miry depths I sink La ma sabach thani? They gave me vinegar to drink La ma sabach thani? La ma sabach thani? My Shepherd The Lord is my Shepherd And so I lack nothing In meadows of green grass He lets me lie down Beside the still waters He patiently leads me Restoring my soul Restoring my soul For His holy Namesake He guides me by right paths Though I may stray to The vale of deep darkness I fear no evil For You are there with me Beside me Your rod and staff They comfort me You prepare a table Before my enemies My head you've annointed My cup's overflowing Your goodness and mercy Will follow me all the days of my life And I'll make my homeplace In the house of the Lord Search Me And Know Me Oh my Lord, You search and You know me You know when I sit, You know when I rise You know what I think, You know where I'm going Nothing oh Lord, can hide from Your eyes You close me in, behind and before me You shield me with Your mighty hand Such knowledge is too wonderful for me Too much for me to understand Where can I go to flee from Your Spirit? And from Your presence where can I hide? Behold up in heaven You're there beside me In the depths of the darkness You're by my side And if I rise on the wings of the morning Or settle on the far side of the sea Even there Your hand will guide me For Your right hand is holding me And if I say the darkness will hide me The night will shine as bright as day So search me Lord and loving lead me In Your everlasting Way My Help I lift up my eyes To the hills From whence shall come My Help? My Help is from The Lord God Maker of heaven and earth He will not give to the moving of your foot Nor shall slumber, He who keeps thee Behold, He'll not slumber Nor will He sleep He who keeps Israel The Prophet Reluctant ride in the middle of the belly of a whale (Jonah 1,2) A wheel on fire in the middle of the sky (Ezekiel 1:15f) Abandoned baby kicking on the side of the road (16:6ff) And a wife has died but you're denied the right to cry (24:18) Three men walk out protected from a furnace of flame (Daniel 3:19ff) One man cries out from a miry well (Jeremiah 38:6ff) See a man in the myrtles (Zechariah 1:10) And women with the wind in their wings (5:9) Understand what these seared lips can tell CHORUS: I am the prophet and I smolder and burn I scream and cry and wonder why you never seem to learn To hear with your own ears with your own eyes to see I am the prophet, won't you listen to me? I am the prophet, won't you listen to me? I hold out hope to everyone who hears and understands The Word of God can echo in the voice of a man He's the shadow of a great rock in a dry and weary land (Isaiah 32:2) With the names of the ones He loved carved into His hands (49:16) CHORUS The sorrow in His anger, my eyes weep His tears His life alight in me I am the sword that cuts His people apart (Hosea 6:5) I speak the Word that comforts their faithless hearts (Isaiah 40:1) REPEAT CHORUS So Many Books... There is a hunger, a longing for bread And so comes the call for the poor to be fed More hungry by far are a billion and more Who wait for the Bread of the Word of the Lord CHORUS: So many books, so little time So many hunger, so many blind Starving for words, they must wait in the night To open a Bible and move towards the Light There'll come a time, the prophets would say When the joy of mankind will be withered away (Joel 1:12) A want not for water, but a hunger for more A famine for hearing the Word of the Lord CHORUS The Word won't go out Except it return Full, overflowing (Isaiah 55:11) And so we must learn REPEAT CHORUS Then They Will Know I will speak I will wait I will send prophets among them That they might hear That they might see And understand how much I love them Then they will know that I am Father Then they will know I am Lord They'll walk with Me And be My people I'll walk with them as their God As their God (Jeremiah 7:23; 11:4; 13:11; 24:7; 30:22; 31:1,33; 32:38; Ezekiel 11:20; 14:11; 37:23) I will strike I will scourge And carry out vengeance upon them But I will heal the wounds I make (Hosea 6:1) And tenderly take them back to me Then they will know that I am Father Then they will know I am Lord They'll walk with Me And be My people I'll walk with them as their God This is heaven This is salvation This is their great hope and Mine He will come My own Son A Word faithful hearts can't help hearing And by His death With His last breath A Father's forgiveness comes flowing Then they will know That I am Savior I am Redeemer and Friend (Isaiah 63:16) Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14) The God who is with them The God who gives all He can He is salvation He is the kingdom To know Him is paradise Then they will know that I am Father They they will know I am Lord I am Lord Recapture Me Fleeing what I do not know Recapture me, recapture me I flee to where I cannot go Recapture me The bridge between my heart and mind Recapture me, recapture me You come across myself to find Recapture me You come and knock on imagination's door You come to show to know You Is what eyes and ears are for With ears that hear but not receive Recapture me, recapture me With eyes that see but can't perceive Recapture me Your paradox and poetry Recapture me, recapture me They speak one sacred certainty Recapture me You come and knock on imagination's door You come to show to know You Is what eyes and ears are for Through prophets' madness make me wise Recapture me, recapture me Through foolish faith open my eyes Recapture me With sacred words, with silent words Recapture me, recapture me You're the Living Word that must be heard Recapture me Recapture me Song Of Gomer Don't know what He sees in me He is spirit, he is free And I, the wife of adultery Gomer is my name Simply more than I can see How he keeps on forgiving me How he keeps his sanity Hosea, you're a fool CHORUS: A fool to love someone like me A fool to suffer silently But sometimes through your eyes I see I'd rather be a fool The fondness of a father The passion of a child The tenderness of a loving friend An understanding smile All of this and so much more You've lavished on a faithless whore I've never known love like this before Hosea, you're a fool CHORUS This God of yours would not have told To lift a love that you couldn't hold And though time and time again I flee I'm always glad to see you coming after me Simply more than I can see How he keeps on forgiving me The wife of adultery And Gomer is my name Who Can Abide? A mighty storm is rising (Jeremiah 25:32) A darkness in the land (Joel 2:2, Amos 5:18) But surely this must be a light To those who understand That all the prisoners of this Hope (Zechariah 9:12) Are about to be set free As in one lightning moment A familiar face at last they see CHORUS: Who can abide the Day of His Coming? Who can withstand the final Call? If you do not stand by faith You will not stand at all (Isaiah 7:9) You will not stand at all The Valley of Decision Begins to overflow (Joel 3:14) With some confused, bewildered And some who seem to know That this sad separation Was their choice so they can tell He simply speaks the sentence That they have passed upon themselves CHORUS Surely this must be our God Behold the One we trusted in (Isaiah 25:9) He has come at last to save us He has forgotten all our sin (Isaiah 43:25) REPEAT CHORUS Through The Eye CHORUS: Through the eye They must always believe a lie Who see with and not through the eye With and not through the eye You may see what angels long to see (I Peter 1:12) Hear the Harvest's harmony Leave the prison of your shame Hear the sound of your own new name CHORUS Through the eye We see Salvation has come alive And only those who will see survive With and not through the eye Only the eyes of the heart perceive That the deaf and blind can hear and see That insanity's saner than sanity That only a slave can be truly free CHORUS Through the eye We see our Life it has come alive And only those who will see survive With and not through the eye With and not through the eye Valley Of Dry Bones Behold a valley filled with bones Bones on every side A valley vast, the floor so full Of bones so very dry The Lord did ask Can these bones live? Might these bones rise once more? What else was I to say but You alone can tell oh Lord A legion now alive A resurrected army A living, holy host Of a people born again They prophecy, O son of man Cry out to this dead hoard And when they come to life again They'll know I am the Lord And as I spoke what I was told There came a rattling sound As bone to bone they formed a mass Of bodies on the ground Your dead will come alive Their graves will lie abandoned And all those dwelling in the dust Will wake and shout for joy (Isaiah 26:19) And then I called upon the winds Upon these slain to breathe At once they stood upon their feet A mighty, vast army A legion now alive A resurrected army A living, holy host Of a people born again Your dead will come alive Their graves will lie abandoned And all those dwelling in the dust Will wake and shout for joy (Isaiah 26:19) Will You Not Listen? Is not He who formed the ear Worth the time it takes to hear? Should He who formed our lips for speaking Be not heeded when He speaks? Will you not listen? Why won't you listen? God has spoken love to us Why will you not listen? Listen to the sacred silence Listen to the Holy Word Listen as He speaks through living Parables that must be heard Will you not listen? Why won't you listen? God has spoken peace to us Why will you not listen? He spoke a word of flesh and blood Flesh and blood that bled and died Bled and died just to be heard How could you not hear this Word? Why will you not hear this Word? Will you not listen? Why won't you listen? God has spoken hope to us How could you not listen? Why will you not listen? The Kingdom So near and yet still so far, far away So close, and yet still to come Concealed, the seed is mysteriously growing In hearts that will listen and hear A treasure that's hidden, a pearl of great price A fortune for fools who believe CHORUS: A kingdom of beauty, a kingdom of love A kingdom of justice and peace A kingdom that hold all the wilds of creation A kingdom where children will lead (Isaiah 11:6) For now this kingdom's a land of the lowly (Ezekiel 29:14) A place for the tired, plundered poor Now our gentle King comes in the peace on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9) But then on a charger for war (cp Revelation 19:11) A battle in heaven, a war on the earth To shatter the long darkened seige CHORUS Not by our own strength And not by power of might (Zechariah 4:6) But by His Spirit it comes Blinded eyes will see And deafened ears will hear (Isaiah 29:18, 35:15) The praise from the lips of the dumb REPEAT CHORUS I Will Bring You Home Though you are homeless Though you're alone I will be your Home Whatever's the matter Whatever's been done I will be your Home I will be your Home I will be your Home In this fearful, fallen place I will be your Home When time reaches fullness When I move My hand I will bring you Home Home to your own place In a beautiful land I will bring you Home I will bring you Home I will bring you Home From this fearful, fallen place I will bring you Home I will bring you Home Heal Our Land (Song For The National Day Of Prayer) Forgive, oh Lord And heal our land And give us eyes To seek Your face And hearts to understand That You alone Make all things new And the blessings of the land we love Are really gifts from You CHORUS: If My people will humbly pray And seek My face and turn away From all their wicked ways Then I will hear them and move My hand And freely then will I forgive And I will heal their land Unite our hearts In one accord And make us hungry For Your peace And burdened for the poor And grant us hope That we might see A future for the land we love Our life, our liberty REPEAT CHORUS

Discernment, Wisdom, and the Will of God

http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/sgo/v17no2/discernment.html

— by Sinclair Ferguson
This article is intended to come alongside the preceding piece by Paul Tripp. While Tripp discusses the ongoing spiritual battle that is the Christian life, and how parents must teach their teens to wage that battle with grace-motivated diligence and godly wisdom, here Sinclair Ferguson offers practical application. He shows how to bring biblical thinking to the innumerable daily choices, in matters large and small, that make up our walk with God. If parents will internalize the following material, and help their teens to do the same, they will grow together in a skill that is vital to effective spiritual warfare — discernment.

For every Christian the question arises, "What is the will of God in this particular, unique situation in which I find myself?" How do we discover the will of God when we are faced with a possibly bewildering array of choices?

In his first Letter to the Corinthians, we find Paul discussing the governing principles which lead us into the will of God for our lives. The Corinthians were in danger of doing what should never be done. They had begun to divorce the spiritual from the ethical. They were largely taken up with spiritual gifts and experiences, and they had ignored the fact that the gospel has a cutting ethical edge to it.

So Paul gave the Corinthians certain principles by which to regulate their conduct. He explained how they could discover what was really consistent with the will of God for their lives in every situation. He wanted to show them how to relate the freedom of the children of God with their responsibilities to live lives fully pleasing to God and obedient to his will.

Paul's principles remain valid, and are of great practical usefulness to us in discerning what the will of the Lord is in our lives. A careful study of them gives rise to a series of questions which will help to unfold what God's guidance might be in any given situation.

Is It Lawful?

The Corinthians emphasized the truth that Christ had set them free. Paul retorted that freedom is not the only principle in the Christian life. Freedom is for something. God set us free for holiness. We are free from the guilt and bondage of sin — but not that we might become enslaved to the very sins for which Christ died to redeem us.
This is powerfully reinforced by the apostle in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, where Paul provides a long list of the kinds of sinful conduct which are contrary to membership in the kingdom of God. No action contrary to the plain word of God can ever be legitimate for the Christian. How readily Satan seems to be able to blind us just here, and we lose sight of the fact that we have been saved in order to be made holy.

Is It Beneficial to Me?

Our second question is concerned with consequences. It may be true (in a sense) says Paul, that "all things are permissible" (cf. 1Ti 4:4; Ro 14:14, etc.). "But not everything is beneficial" (1Co 6:12).
Do you ever find yourself challenged on a course of action by a fellow-Christian, and automatically respond: "What's wrong with it?" It is the most natural form of self-defense. But it may well hide a guilty conscience. For in our heart of hearts we know, as Paul so incisively teaches, that this is not the really important question. There may be "nothing wrong with it"; but there may be nothing right with it; it may not prove to be beneficial to me.

Will it bring benefits, as far as I am able to judge, so that my relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ is strengthened? Will it draw me nearer to him?

No two people will give exactly the same answer in every situation. The question here is not whether a course of action is lawful for the Christian — we are considering only actions which are lawful. But something having a neutral influence on one person may be detrimental to another. We are not called to judge other men's consciences (1Co 2:15; 4:3-5). But "the spiritual man makes judgments about all things," and this is what we can do when we ask, "Is it beneficial to me?" It may or may not be in others' experience. That is not my concern. I am responsible to Christ for my own stewardship. Is this beneficial to me?

Is It Enslaving?

"'Everything is permissible to me' — but I will not be mastered by anything" (1Co 6:12). There is a play on words in what Paul says: These things are all within my power — but will I end up in their power? Again, assuming that what is being considered is lawful, this question can only ultimately be answered in personal terms.
The principle here is that the Christian must always, through the grace of the Spirit, be master of himself. It is possible to make choices which, eventually, will tend to squeeze out spiritual energies; to commit ourselves to things which, however legitimate in general terms, will eventually become the dominating and driving force in our lives.

Of course we have spiritual liberties. But the Christian should develop in Christ a sensitivity to those things to which he will most readily allow himself to be brought into bondage. When we find ourselves unable to enjoy the Christian life without our liberties, then we have become enslaved to them. There is, for example, presumably no built-in evil about owning a new car, or living in a pleasant house, or enjoying various foods, spending time in various pursuits, or with certain kinds of people. But when we cannot be content without them; when we simply must have them, they are no longer our liberties, but our chains.

Is It Consistent With Christ's Lordship?

Sin of tragic proportions had erupted in the congregation at Corinth. It deeply troubled Paul that the Corinthians failed to realize that they were not their own; they had been bought at the great price of their Master's life blood (1Co 6:19-20; 7:23).
A Christian's every action is done in union with Christ. Nothing severs that relationship. Not even sin can annul it. That is the horrific truth. Whenever the Corinthians gave themselves to gross and indecent sin, they were dragging Christ into it.

So the real question is: "Can I take Christ into a particular activity and look him in the face without shame? Is this course of action, this decision I am taking, totally consistent with my personal confession that 'Jesus Christ is my Lord'?"

Again, on its own this question is of limited help. It may answer my questions about the Lord's will immediately (particularly if the answer is "No"). But it is not an all-sufficient test. We need to take all these questions into consideration. We may find, having sought to answer them all, that there is still a momentous decision which God expects us to make. But surely, much confused thinking can begin to be cleared away as we consider the same penetrating questions that Paul set before the Corinthians.

Is It Helpful to Others?

I must not rest content with asking whether a course of action will be personally helpful. Will it have a beneficial effect on others? Do I engage in it with a view to serving and helping others? Or, am I in danger of "destroying the work of God" (Ro 14:20)? When speaking of the Christian's personal freedom, and the way it must be balanced over against the weaknesses and strengths of others, Paul confesses: "I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example..." (1Co 10:33).
Jesus lived by this principle. When he summarized his commitment in his great prayer to the Father, he said: "I am sanctifying myself for their sakes" (Jn 17:19). We should be concerned to help and please others, Paul affirms, "For even Christ did not please himself" (Ro 15:3).

Does this not drive home to us the fact that the will of God is the most demanding thing in the world? Does it not pierce to the dividing place in our lives between soul and spirit (Heb 4:12)? For we are often concerned with guidance in order that our lives may be freed from anxiety and uncertainty. God, on the other hand, is concerned that we should be cast upon him to do his will, whatever the enduring cost. The will of God is shaped in the image of his Son's cross. The will of God means death to our own will, and resurrection only when we have died to all our own plans.

Did we really appreciate that this was what we were letting ourselves in for when we said that we wanted guidance?

Is It Consistent With Biblical Example?

Paul's discussion reaches its conclusion with these words: "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1Co 11:1). What would Paul have done? What would Christ himself have done? Are there incidents or teaching in Scripture which can be applied to the situation in which I find myself? Will it give me a clue to the will of God for my life now? (Cf. Php 3:17; 2Th 3:7; 2Ti 3:10; Heb 6:12; 13:7).
The apostle Peter speaks in a similar vein. Christ suffered for us, and in doing so he left us an example that we should follow in his footsteps (1Pe 2:21). Peter uses a very picturesque word, which means a model or pattern to be copied. It is the kind of expression we would use of a teacher's light, pencil outline which a child would fill in with a heavier hand, and fill out in his own unique way.

This is exactly what we are to do. We are to go over the lines which Christ has drawn in, lines which we find in the Scriptures. We are to take his hand, and find his footprints in Scripture, and follow them. Paul was able to encourage his contemporaries to follow him because he followed Christ.

Yet, even here, Paul cannot escape from the ultimate challenge, "whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1Co 10:31). This is the non-negotiable norm of Christian living. If my heart goes out for God's glory, then I will find the yoke of these questions is easy, and the burden of gospel holiness to which they urge me is light indeed