…God versus the “Widow Maker”…
Luke 11:16
…And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven…[1]
Luke 11:29-32
29 And while the crowds were thronging, He began to say, “This generation is wicked. It seeks a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Yonah the prophet. Jonah 1:17; Jonah 2:10; 30 “For as Yonah became a sign to the Ninewites, so also the Son of Aḏam shall be to this generation. 31 “The sovereigness of the South shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and shall condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Shelomoh, and look, a greater than Shelomoh is here. 1Kgs 10:1; 2Chr 9:1; Matt 12:42; 32 “The men of Ninewĕh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Yonah, and look, a greater than Yonah is here. Jonah 3:5 [2]
Jonah 1:1-3
2 “Arise, go to aNineveh the great city and bcry against it, for their cwickedness has come up before Me.”
Jonah 3:1-3
3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord…” [4]
Second chances. How many of us ever get them? The question isn’t rhetorical; it applies to the question of life. As believers we were all given a second chance, the born again experience. Maybe you haven’t been there yet, so I pray for the Ruach HaKodesh [the Holy Spirit] to come to you and touches you and brings you into the saving grace and knowledge of Adonai Yeshua Ha’Machiach [The Lord Jesus, The Messiah]. Yes, this is our second chance for eternal life if we can take a hold of the promises of God and then seek a life reformed and regenerated by the resurrection power of God, the same power that raised Messiah from the dead. This power can raise us up also - those of us who were [or are] dead in our trespasses and sins - and give us life again. But today, I’d like to focus upon that “other second chance”, the one that is only accomplished by the intervention of the hand of God. I’m talking about that miracle working power that snatches us from the jaws of death.
Let me take a minute and give some background from the following website:
https://www.healthline.com/health/widowmaker-heart-attack
and the article entitled:
“…Why Do They Call a Heart Blockage the Widow Maker?...”
By Elizabeth Genge, eHow Contributor
“…There is no term in the medical lexicon more ominous than "widow maker." This condition, a full and complete blockage of the left anterior descending coronary artery, is fairly rare but exceptionally lethal, having the ability to kill a patient in an instant. This condition's etiology will be described in detail.
- Features
- A widow maker blockage of the left anterior coronary artery has all the signs of a standard heart attack and in fact has the same cause, i.e., myocardial blockage. The distinction is in the severity and location of the blockage.
Treatment
- The only immediate treatment possible when a widow maker heart attack occurs is the insertion of a cardiac stent. This pushes the arterial blockage up against the arterial wall, thereby allowing bloodflow to resume.
Significance
- From the time symptoms present themselves, there is only a roughly 5-minute window of time to relieve the arterial blockage. If this blockage is not corrected within this window, death is nearly certain…” [5]
Now you might ask, what is significant about this? I survived the widow maker. My left anterior descending coronary artery was 99% or greater blocked in two locations. Here’s the catch: from the time I experienced the first symptoms till I was admitted into the hospital was one week. Notice what is said above: “…From the time symptoms present themselves, there is only a roughly 5-minute window of time to relieve the arterial blockage…” Folks, I should not be here, typing away at my blog preparing this epistle to you; I should be room temperature somewhere, my family in mourning. This is what I mean by second chance.
So why am I here? To be truthful, the answer to that question still has not sunk into my physic yet. I am still in a state of shock, awe, whatever you want to call it. I spent 3 days in the hospital, and am right now at home recovering. In my private time with God I tremble. I weep silently to Him for the second chance He has given. Monday Oct. 3rd 2011 was the first day of the rest of my life, an old tired worn out cliché I know, but there is nothing else that fits. So here I am, pondering second chances. Dr J. Vernon McGee in his series of sermons based upon his popular radio program Thru the Bible speaks of second chances in this fashion:
“…Our God is the God of the second chance—what a marvelous, wonderful thing that is! God will give you a second chance, and He will give you more than that. I know that He has given me a dozen different chances. He is long-suffering and patient. He is not willing that any should perish. If you are His child, He is going to hold on to you—you may be sure of that…” [6]
Beloved, to be sure, our Heavenly Father gives all His children many chances. We sin, He forgives. We all get a chance every morning to start over again. Yet, I’m talking about something more profound. A second chance to live, death cheated or abated. Not many of us get this. My testimony is full of examples where the hand of God intervened between me and certain death, yet this time is… different. The times before were all predicated on one thing; I was not yet saved. For 40 years from the age of 13 to the age 0f 53 Yahveh pursued me through my many stages and layers of sin and disobedience till He affected the rescue of my soul that He had planned for all along. So now, here on a rainy cold day in October, He did something else; He stopped death from taking me. Why? I am nothing special, just another little cog in the great wheel of life. So why? What can I offer to the Kingdom of God? This is where the second chance comes in, I get to find out…
“So where to begin?” I ask myself… Let us start at our opening scriptures…
Luke 11:16
…And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven…[7]
All of us, new believers or old, have sought a sign from God. Come on now, be truthful… we’ve all looked to the heavens and said “Come on God, just a little sign, please?...” It is in our nature.
Look at Gideon:
Judges 6:33-40
33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the sons of the east assembled themselves; and they crossed over and camped in athe valley of Jezreel.
34 So athe Spirit of the Lord 1came upon Gideon; and he bblew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him.
35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also were called together to follow him; and he sent messengers to Asher, aZebulun, and Naphtali, and bthey came up to meet them.
37 behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel 1through me, as You have spoken.”
38 And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39 Then Gideon said to God, “aDo not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.”
Gideon asked twice for a sign. Look in verse 34: “…the Spirit of the Lord 1came upon Gideon…” It wasn’t enough for Gideon that the Spirit of God had come upon him – he needed a sign, a physical sign that the words he had heard came from God. Such is the paradox of unbelief, of doubt. We are told again and again by the leaders of the church, “Do not doubt!” They then trot out the Book of James and give us these Scriptures:
James 1:5-8
5 But if any of you alacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and 1without reproach, and bit will be given to him.
6 But he must aask in faith bwithout any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, cdriven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
Here is the problem though. Look at the context of Ya’akov’s (Jacob, James’ real name, in Hebrew) words; he is speaking of wisdom. It is true faith plays a part in this but let us look to another example of extreme faith..
Mark 9:17-24
17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he tearethb him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. 19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. 20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 † Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. [10]
“…Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief…” Here lies the paradox we all go through, that of faith and unbelief. We want to believe, we need to believe and yet we find ourselves looking for a sign, for anything to help us in our true state, that of unbelief. A.W. Pink wrote about this very thing, and this is how he explained it:
“…Here, then, is the solution to the difficulty and the explanation of the paradox presented by the language in our text. There are two distinct and totally different principles or "natures" indwelling the saint—faith and unbelief, and there is a continual opposition between them. They issue from the "spirit" and the "flesh," concerning which we read, "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want" (Gal. 5:17). It is this unceasing warfare between the two antagonistic principles that give rise to a dual experience—one moment trusting God, the next doubting Him; one moment resting upon and drawing comfort from His promises, the next having no confidence in the same. And this dual and distressing experience, moves him to cry "Lord, I do believe! Help my unbelief!" Ah, my reader, if you are not plagued with and burdened by unbelief, if you do not humbly confess the same to God and seek His help about it—then are you of all men most miserable.
Contrariwise, as we have already said, here is that which provides real comfort for the conscience-distressed and Satan-harassed soul. How often the Devil will tell a Christian, "Your profession is an empty one—you do not belong to the Household of Faith—how can you, when filled with unbelief!?" Listen, dear friend—the man in our text was a genuine believer—yet he owned his unbelief; and that is recorded for our instruction and comfort.
This internal warfare, is one of the plainest possible proofs that we are believers. No unbeliever ever shed tears over his unbelief; no empty professor ever groaned because of his questioning of God; no hypocrite is burdened by his doubts and fears. No! Such are filled with carnal confidence and fleshly assurance—they have not had a doubt about their salvation for years past; they can exercise faith any time, as easily as you can turn a tap and make the water come; but such is not the faith of God's elect…” [11]
We must own our unbelief, we must walk in it, for it brings us to our knees and causes us to cry “Help me in my unbelief…” It is a sign we seek, but it is not a sign we seek; the paradox is that we want a touch of the supernatural, of the divine, but our doubt causes us to look with our eyes and not our hearts… Listen not to those who say “Don’t doubt!” for it is precisely then that those who truly believe will run to Him and like the disciples on the sea of Galilee will exclaim: (Luke 8:24) “…24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish…”[12] O yes they doubted but in their doubt they ran to Him; so should we. A sign would not do, only the Master’s intervention would suffice…
As I lay on the operating table, as the doctors and nurses hurried about their preparations to save my life, all I could do is run to the Master and declare “This heart is Yours; may it be as You will.” Doubt and unbelief mixed with faith and a calm came over me; whatever happened next was in His hands.
Next:
Luke 11:29
29 And while the crowds were thronging, He began to say, “This generation is wicked. It seeks a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Yonah the prophet… [13]
Yonah was in the belly of the great fish 3 nights and 3 days; Yeshua was in the belly of the ground 3 nights and 3 days. The sign to that wicked generation was fulfilled. How does this generation live, this terminal generation? Is it the paradox of unbelief, the clinging to its Master they hold to, or does it hunger for signs and wonders? Look carefully around you. We want God to fit into our little box, want Him to give us everything we ask, and when it doesn’t happen, we murmur and lash out at Him in various ways. How can any of us just be satisfied with the mystery of salvation, when we want material blessings as “proof” He exists? What sign will satisfy you O Christian? Did not the children of Israel walk, eat, sleep in the presence of All Mighty God 42 years in the wilderness, everyday seeing the Cloud of His Presence upon the tabernacle and the Pillar of Fire by night? Yet did they not murmur, did they not rebel? What sign seek ye, O faithless and perverse generation? Do you seek “your best life now”? Do you seek a hundredfold increase for every dollar you send? Are you asking constantly for what will bless you and not for what will bless another? What miracle do you want?
As that preacher on TV names off disease after disease, do you root for yours to be spoken of across the air so you can claim it, or do you shut the TV off and fall upon your face and ask Him yourself? And what if He doesn’t answer that prayer? Can you thank Him anyway? Can you lift feeble hand and accept what is laid before you? Praising God in the wilderness is where we encounter Him in Truth. Seeking only His face and not what He has in His hand is the only thing that can sustain us in the darkest hour. The wilderness can be a dry and empty place; there may be no shelter from the storms or shade from the burning heat. Our hearts may cry out in want, yet no sound leave our parched lips; it is then in the fury of the wasteland our praise must be at its purest, that our hope rest solely upon Him. There are no pretenses in the wilderness; you will either praise or curse. Those who seek signs will be deceived when one comes and produces them, but what signs and wonders should we seek? Doesn’t the word tells us that signs will follow those who believe? Yes, that it does (Mark 16:17) but clearly there are more warnings about being aware of signs and wonders that about those that the Apostles did..
Matt 24:24
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. [14]
Mark 13:22
22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. [15]
2 Thess 2:9
8 Then that lawless one awill be revealed whom the Lord will slay bwith the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the cappearance of His 1coming;
9 that is, the one whose 1coming is in accord with the activity of aSatan, with all power and 2bsigns and false wonders,
10 and with 1all the deception of wickedness for athose who perish, because they did not receive the love of bthe truth so as to be saved. [16]
Deut 13:1-3
13. “If there arises among you a prophet or a adreamer of dreams, band he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and cthe sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God dis testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. [17]
Signs and wonders don’t build faith; trials and adversity does. Seek ye the wilderness O believer, for there you will find Him.
“ … The word of the Lord came to aJonah… But Jonah rose up to flee …from the presence of the Lord….” [18]
Sometimes we get our first chance when God speaks to us, but as Yonah, we flee from His presence. How many of us have? I think very few have answered the call first time around. If one doesn’t, be assured that a wilderness experience is on the way. If we don’t heed the call, then we will find ourselves on a journey of hardship and troubles, for the Lord will test us and prove us in the wilderness, to see if we will follow or not.
Deut. 8:1-3
8 “Every commandment which I command you today ayou must 1be careful to observe, that you may live and bmultiply, 2and go in and possess the land of which the Lord 3swore to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember that the Lord your God cled you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and dtest you, eto know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, fallowed you to hunger, and gfed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall hnot live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. [19]
The wilderness humbles us, tests us, tries us. What is in your heart? As I passed into sleep, I knew not which side of heaven or earth I would awaken in. O brethren, it mattered. I wasn’t ready to leave those I love behind. I had not done enough for the Kingdom, I wanted another chance; but I was humbled. It was out of any semblance of control I thought I had. I had to accept what was to be. In all my years of running from Him, I thought I could dictate my life. Little did I know just how wrong I was. God Almighty played me like a fiddle, and I danced to His every tune. He allowed me to do evil so that He could try me, hunger me, correct me, break me. Now, I lay helpless before Him, yet this time, for once, there was no fear. He knew my heart; not just the physical part, but the spiritual part. I yielded to Him all I was; I wasn’t running anymore.
Jonah 3:1-3
3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord…” [20]
Second chances. How many of us get them? Yonah got his, I got mine. Every day is for Him now, not to be wasted or fretted away on useless things. Every minute is precious, every opportunity to serve vital. Where is your heart today? Does it fill with the blood of Messiah, does it yearn to reach the lost, to speak of the goodness and glory of God, or is there a widow maker hiding somewhere? My life, as I walk out Messiah’s, as I follow His Torah and seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, this life can’t be just for me anymore. He beat the widow maker. He raised me from the dead. On this night, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, I am alive; He wanted it that way; I am forgiven. My debt is not paid though – for the remainder of my days I am His. This is how it was always meant to be and not just for me, but for you dear reader also. He is a God of Second Chances.
Do not let the widow maker steal your life. Check your health for sure, but there is a greater killer out there, one that wants to cast your life in meaningless pursuits, for material gain, and not for riches in heaven. Each one of us has been walked through this life to make us the vehicle God can use to bring another into the House of God. No matter what wilderness you are in right now, you are needed in this battle, for not only does the enemy of our souls seek widows, but he wants to make orphans also. None of us can stand on our own. It takes God to stand with us. The widow maker is in the heart of us all; if we turn a blind eye to the needs of others for the pursuit of what we want, we have killed just as sure as the blocked artery that almost took me. Not one of us was put on this earth for ourselves; we are each here for one another. It is God versus the widow maker. Give Him your heart; save a life.
May He richly bless you this day my beloved, Amein and Amein.
[1] King James Version, Red-Letter Bible, by James Strong, ( electronic edition), e-Sword®, v. 9.9.1, copyright ©2000-2011 by Rick Myers
[2] The Scriptures 1998 Copyright by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR), [electronic edition] In the beginning was theWord, abbreviated theWord ver. 3.2.1.1167 © 2003-2010 - Costas Stergiou
[3] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4] The New King James Version. 1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[5] From the site: Why Do They Call a Heart Blockage the Widow Maker? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_5687032_do-heart-blockage-widow-maker_.html#ixzz1a8hToVJH
[6] The God of the Second Chance [Vol. 3, Page 756], Thru the Bible With J. Vernon McGee © 1983 by J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Radio, Pasadena, CA
[7] King James Version, Red-Letter Bible, by James Strong, ( electronic edition), e-Sword®, v. 9.9.1, copyright ©2000-2011 by Rick Myers
[8] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
† A Greek word occurs that is not directly translated in the King James Version.
Greek Strongs: 1161
Greek Strongs: 1161
[10] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[11] From The Believer's Paradox, by Arthur Pink, 1937, at www.gracegems.org/Pink2/believers_paradox.htm
[12]The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.) (Lk 8:24). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[13] The Scriptures 1998 Copyright by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR), [electronic edition] In the beginning was theWord, abbreviated theWord ver. 3.2.1.1167 © 2003-2010 - Costas Stergiou
[14] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[15] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[17] The New King James Version. 1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[18] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
c Deut. 1:3; 2:7; 29:5; Ps. 136:16; Amos 2:10
[19] The New King James Version. 1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[20] The New King James Version. 1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
