The Power of Core Values
By Michael K. Lake, Th.D.
It has been said:
“The man, who will not stand for something, will fall for anything.”
Although the origin of this axiom is unknown, its truth is manifest in the lives of men throughout history. In fact, I am seeing its truths being manifested today throughout the Body of Christ in the Western world. You see, there is an epidemic of biblical illiteracy in the Church in our Western culture. Somehow in the Protestant movement, we have transitioned from being a people that would give up their lives for the right to read the Word of God to a people that are dying spiritually because we refuse to read it! What a spiritual paradox this places us in.
What the aforementioned axiom tries to express is the truth that if a man has not developed a code to live by with real dedication and conviction, he will run after every new thing filled with folly that the world will throw at him. This explains one of the reasons that the Church today is consumed with being a part of every new fad, gimmick, or philosophical idea that is embraced by the world. This is a sign of the immature believers that Paul warns us about in the Book of Ephesians:
Ephesians 4:14 (KJV)
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
In the times in which Paul lived, the word “doctrine” had a different meaning than the one we attribute it to today. Hebraically speaking, “doctrine” is what you live. It is your manner of life. The world’s way of living is like a storm whose waves will eventually carry your ship to the deadly rocks of a shipwrecked life. God has a better plan for you than this! He has a destiny for you, but that destiny can only be reached when you live by the core values He expresses in His Word.
Psalm 1:1-3 (KJV)
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
We have been trained by the Greco-Roman influence in the Church to despise the “Law” of God. Yet the Word, in countless verses, promises blessings and prosperity to those that meditate in the “Law.” Are we missing something here? Let’s look at the Hebrew word translated “Law” in verse 2:
Law: Strongs #08451 towrah {to-raw'} or torah {to-raw'} [1]
Meaning: 1) law, direction, instruction 1a) instruction, direction (human or divine) 1a1) body of prophetic teaching 1a2) instruction in Messianic age 1a3) body of priestly direction or instruction 1a4) body of legal directives 1b) law 1b1) law of the burnt offering 1b2) of special law, codes of law 1c) custom, manner 1d) the Deuteronomic or Mosaic Law.
First with the Torah, and then throughout the entire Old and New Testaments, is the instruction of God. Within this instruction are divine core values that are essential to walking in the Kingdom of God and staying free of the siren’s song of this world. When we read and meditate on the Word of God (Genesis – Revelation), we begin to see, understand, and implement God’s core values in our lives with devotion that serves as part of our worship to Him.
It is God who defines what is right or wrong, clean or unclean, holy or unholy. It is His instruction, when consistently applied in our lives, that places us in strategic positions for advancement, prosperity, and blessings. His principles are also safeguards to keep us on course and from the rocky shores of ungodliness.
Yet the world has done several things to throw the Church off course:
- Biblical Illiteracy
- Progressive Philosophies
The first takes us away from the only source of true core values to live by. The second teaches us concepts like:
- Situational Ethics (i.e., do wrong, if you think you can get away with it.)
- Relativism (i.e., there are no absolutes.)
- The End Justifies the Means (i.e., lie, cheat, steal, and kill for the greater good.)
The list goes on of these philosophies birthed in the darkest corners of hell itself. The world is being positioned strategically to welcome the anti-Christ with open arms. The only antidote is a return to a life of devotion to Christ that includes a passion of His Word and living by His principles as an expression of our worship of our Creator.
We need to realize that when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God’s Law was written on our hearts. The prophets of the Old Testament looked to our day with wonder:
Jeremiah 31:30-33 (KJV)
30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. 31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
How much is Jeremiah 31:30-33 connected to New Testament believers? Verse 31 is where we get the concept of the New Covenant or New Testament. These verses are the prophetic foretelling of the New Birth that Messiah would one day come to give. Part of that New Covenant was that God’s Law (Torah or instruction) would be written on our hearts - in other words, encoded into our spiritual DNA are God’s core values expressed in the Torah.
This is why the Apostle Paul instructs us to walk in what the Holy Spirit encoded into our spirits at the New Birth:
Galatians 5:16-17 (KJV)
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
When we live by the flesh (i.e. ways of this world), we are living in violation of what the Holy Spirit has encoded into our spirits (or hearts). When our actions are not in line with what God has written on our hearts, it produces frustration, inaction, and ill-effects. Let’s look at these verses again in the Complete Jewish Bible:
Galatians 5:16-18 (CJB)
16 What I am saying is this: run your lives by the Spirit. Then you will not do what your old nature wants. 17 For the old nature wants what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is contrary to the old nature. These oppose each other, so that you find yourselves unable to carry out your good intentions. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, then you are not in subjection to the system that results from perverting the Torah into legalism.
Can you see now why it is so important for a believer to meditate on the Word of God to learn God’s core values and to begin living by them? It is the only way to live “by the Spirit” and to gain victory in our lives. No wonder the Word continually promises blessings and prosperity to those that meditate in the instructions of God!
The year 2012 needs to be a year in which you return to the full counsel of God’s Word, spending time meditating on the principles you learn and then beginning to make them a part of who you are and how you live. As you do, you will discover:
- Greater faith: your spirit and soul will be in agreement.
- Greater results in prayer: powerful prayer is a product of a right relationship with God and a system of living that is in agreement with His Word. (Your heart can believe what you are asking for.)
- Strategic Positioning: your biblical core values will place you at the right place and at the right time for miracles.
- More open doors for Heaven to move in your life.
- Fewer open doors for Hell to invade your life.
A better life and a brighter tomorrow await you when God is the One who provides your core values to live by!
© Copyright 2012 by Michael K. Lake, Th.D. All Rights Served.
[1] Strong's Enhanced Lexicon. BibleWorks for Windows 7.0. BibleWorks, LLC, Norfolk, VA. Copyright © 2006.
Graduate in the Spotlight
Chad Kottke served in the U.S. Air Force for ten years, and worked in construction management for eight years after leaving the military. He has earned a Masters of Divinity in Hebraic Heritage and is currently pursuing the Doctor of Theology from Biblical Life College & Seminary.
Chad recently published his Master's thesis through Biblical Life Publishing. Here is a summary of his book "Restoring Biblical Foundations":
God gave the church a sure foundation in the Scriptures, but various doctrines throughout the centuries have taken away from or added to the truths of Scripture. Restoring Biblical Foundations returns to two foundational aspects of Scripture – covenant and Torah – to examine what God says about each one.
The covenant section is a review of seven Biblical covenants that God has made with man. These covenants are shown to complement one other as they come together to form the covenant that Jesus the Messiah has made with His body.
The Torah section develops principles about the Torah from nearly two hundred passages of Scripture. These Biblical principles are used to build an extensive definition of Torah, and to show that the Torah is a necessary part of a believer’s walk.
Chad's book should be available at Amazon.com by January 15.
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