An Abundance of Grace: Recent Episodes
JReed Dickey
When it comes to the grace that is a glorious attribute of our God, we have a ton to wrap our head around – you know, God’s grace was supremely manifested in the giving of His Son’s precious life to pay fully, completely and forever, our immeasurably huge debt of sin. Most of us don’t get that, we’re ‘numb’ to the actual cost.
I suspect that’s because after 2000 years or so it is much easier to preach on loving, much more reasonable to believe and obey the ‘love command’. After all, watching implies an expectation and requires trust that the expectation will be fulfilled.
There is no ‘getting better’ from SIN; there’s no amount of discipline or ‘growth’ that can drive it from you.
The ONLY way to be rid of its stench and blackness is to surrender all of it to Christ and absolutely trust Him. You see, He took the penalty for ALL of it that we surrender by faith on the cross of Calvary. He literally took all of it on Himself:
who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (1Pet 2:24)
Simply put, hope is the expectation of coming good. It’s eternal because He’s eternal and it’s wonderful because He’s wonderful.
But there is always a choice and really, it’s the ultimate choice – believe God or believe the lie. To believe God is to believe that He took on human flesh, lived a perfect life and died on the cross, carrying the sins of all mankind. Then on the third day He rose again and is now seated on God’s right hand.
To believe the lie is to believe Satan as he shrieks, “You will not surely die. God doesn’t care about you. Sin is satisfying. Live for you.” Every satanic thought and word is a lie and those who have embraced the darkness can’t see it. They hate the light, they hate and twist the truth. They are shriveling into oblivion.
This one small verse tucked into the end of chapter four of Genesis:
And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD. (Gen 4:26)
Do the math and you’ll see that this was 235 years after Adam’s creation. It seems to illustrate that mankind was ‘gun-shy’ so to speak about relating to the Lord. Let’s consider what had happened up to this point.
Yet we still tend to think of godliness as in the form of the serpent’s lure. We originally took that bait and we’ve been hung up on it ever since. As it ingrained itself into our sin-nature, the nature of the flesh, it manifested itself in religion.
Of course, I’m not the expert in Hebrew – just a student and a student of the scripture for some 53 years so when I see that Isaiah records that Jehovah established the earth NOT empty which means NOT wasted or formless and I read that Moses says of the earth in Gen 1:2 it was indeed wasted, formless and in chaos, I conclude that something happened to the earth that God prepared for inhabiting.
First, we have to understand that this war is not really about Job. Oh, he is in the midst of it and his behavior is on display, but all that he goes through is a vis-aid to demonstrate to the whole created order – spiritual and material - Who the Creator is. Even Satan is a pawn in this epic.
So do NOT identify with that rotting corpse, your body, which hangs on to its sin and sinful ways. When you trusted in Christ as your Savior, your redemption, you died with Him and were also raised with Him. You truly are a new creation.
What this power is all about is the ultimate power, but its nature may surprise you.
Are you tracking with me? Every spiritual blessing! Accepted in the Son! Seated with Him! Made eternally ALIVE! It’s all a done deal.
It's more than just being physically in the pew so to speak; the new creature doesn’t just behave or think differently, the new creation sees the Creator in a whole new way.
Of course, this Light is not made of photons. It is not on the electromagnetic spectrum at all. But get this (and I repeat this verse intentionally):
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light (Psa 36:9)
That is, only in this Light can we see (perceive, understand) this Light
For You will light my lamp;
The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness (Psa 18:28)
Your ‘lamp’ is your life, your soul, and without God’s help you exist in darkness.
“Because” means that their problem wasn’t with Jesus’ accent or clothing or His tendency to produce miracles on the Sabath. Their ‘inherited spiritual DNA’ caused them to not hear, to refuse to hear, when the truth was spoken and thus, they could not believe Jesus because that’s all He spoke.
From the days of Adam until now, the expectations of godly men and women are realized in the person of Jesus Christ -- Who He is, what He does, all that He represents. Most of us would agree, however, that some of the expectations of the godly aren’t so ‘godly’. Rather, we can shade them in selfishness, impatience, covetousness or misunderstanding and as a consequence be very disappointed with God and with each other.
Paul claimed that he had not already attained or been perfected or had apprehended because he is referring to his goal, the prize of the upward call – his final transformation.
When hopes are dashed, and grief is raw, that’s ‘Saturday’. When all your purpose seems absolutely purposeless, that’s ‘Saturday’. When you heart hardens into a callous pursuit of self-gratification or worldly comfort – that’s ‘Saturday’. When doubts and fears surround, and you feel like hiding – that’s ‘Saturday’.
And many, if not most of us can get stuck there to some extent.
When Jesus was challenged about His ministry to “sinners”, He spoke three parables – one about a lost sheep, another about a lost coin and one we all remember, the lost or prodigal son. All three speak of loss but the primary point of view of the first two is of the seeker and that of the third is of the one lost.
A rarely mentioned attribute of God’s creation is that it is filled (pun intended) with containers. You see, people are containers; the earth is a container, the cosmos in its entirety is a massive container. And of course, there are containers for virtually everything – material and spiritual. But there is one exception to this – God, Himself. God does not contain, God is and God fills.
You know the story. Jesus appeared on the shore and called out to see how the fishing was going. It had been a fruitless endeavor all night. They didn’t recognize Him and He asked if they had caught anything. He got a one-word answer, “No!” Again, He tells them how to do what they ‘know’:
“Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So, they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. (John 21:6)
I can imagine John and Peter scratching their heads, thinking, ‘this seems familiar’ when suddenly John blurts out, “It’s the Lord.”
Furthermore, Gabriel went to the village of Nazareth, basically a “non-place”. It wasn’t even mentioned in the Old Testament or in the rabbinical writings. A shoddy, corrupt stop between the ports of Tyre and Sidon, it was basically overrun by gentiles and roman soldiers.
When you listen to our enemy and identify with your body, your ‘flesh’, with the name on the lapel tag, even though you’re born again, you’ll be plagued by the pernicious sin-nature of your body and like the dear Apostle Paul when he bemoaned:
For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. (Rom 7:15)
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. (Rom 7:18)
For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. (Rom 7:22)
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Some people just think they should see some proof of God. They can say, “But I didn’t feel anything.” Or “But I don’t see any change.”
They think of God’s handiwork as a magician’s act. But that attitude denigrates God and belittles His plans. He does all things in His time and way, and if He says something, it is guaranteed absolutely whether or not it is visible to our eyes. This is the ‘stuff’ of Abraham’s faith – an old man, a long life, an apparently unwilling God but when He spoke the blessing, Abraham believed, and for that attitude God considered him righteous. (See Rom 4:3)
It was indeed about 4000 years since Adam was exiled from the garden and specifically the Tree of Life. According to Peter in 2 Peter 3:8, that’s four days to the Lord. As God warned, Adam (and mankind) died after eating of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As with Lazarus, God waited for the right time to make that right. He waited four days to raise him from the dead.
But while the garden of Eden ended in death coming from a deadly tree, Jesus brought forth another tree, the cross of Calvary which became for us a tree of Life. That’s because when you believe in Jesus’ Name – God saves - you are doing God’s will:
So, the revealing John spoke of is actually two-fold – one we look forward to in hope (a hope that purifies us!) and one that is even now ongoing. In both cases, there’s a transformation and Christ is glorified. In both cases, we glorify Jesus because it’s His glory:
This hope is what anchors (tethers) our soul to God Almighty and brings us into the realization of His presence in us.
But God chose their progenitor and the people. He chose them to be “a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth”. And this was not for their numbers or their intelligence or their wealth or their integrity or any other human measure.
Now, as I said earlier, pride is part of your DNA so to speak. It is part of your dead fleshly nature. Humility, on the other hand, is not. Like agape love, you must choose to put it on.
I can rest in the understanding that I am complete because of Jesus in me and I can rest in the whole growth issue because it’s in God’s hands, it’s His work.
You know, after you are genuinely saved, Christ is no longer ‘out there’ or ‘up there’ or ‘somewhere’. But He is forever IN THERE, in you, and you are IN HIM. Let this really sink in. Union in Christ is one of the most fundamental creeds we have.
I can relate to Peter; he was a ‘doer’, a ‘get r done’ kind of guy. So, he couldn’t just sit around waiting for Jesus. I think he was also the kind of guy that could carry a big load, a big load of guilt that is. So, after Christ had risen from the grave and they had made the trek to Galilee, Peter said to his fellows, “I’m going fishing.” I mean what else was there to do besides wait.
Yes, fundamentally, God’s love through us is a choice, our choice, our response. It’s His love, His power, but our response. And as if to amplify this point, Jesus told the guys, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you.” That is, this choosing ability should never go to our heads or be taken for granted for we only get to choose God’s love because He first chose us.
The implications of this verse are staggering. If you love Christ and keep His word, you’ll be loved by God Almighty and both the Father and Son will come to you and make a home with you. Think of that! No camp out. Not a visit. But a permanent residence, a home or dwelling.
And we should note that all signs given by God are intended to generate trust in Him:
And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:30,31)
And as you may already know, it was an impossible command for men to obey. People can give ‘lip-service’ to it but no one without the help of the Holy Spirit can love God that way, or one’s neighbor. Mankind simply could not (and cannot) keep the Law, so Jesus fulfilled it and set it aside:
So why did Christ use the two men and two judgements along with their similarities and distinctions? I’ll suggest that it is because there will be two groups of people, God’s people, who will be saved from or in the midst of catastrophe in the last days.
Beyond this, they witness the power and value of God’s love. They see that because of God’s love in and through us, for unlike the angels, we are graciously united in one with Him and they witness that God chooses to make His home with us:
Before the age of earth, they witnessed the creation of the cosmos both seen and unseen. They saw how the Almighty created, nurtured and ruled all things. They beheld His indescribable beauty and light, His wonderful kindness and power, His glory.
You see, God is far greater than we have the ability to imagine. He’s not a soothsayer; He’s not looking forward in time. He’s not just knowing all things; all things exist in and because of Him.
Whenever it dawns on you that you’re trying harder but actually just warming yourself by the enemy’s fire, remember what Peter learned. Remember Christ’s love. Remember this life, called Christianity, is NOT about you, your reputation, your glory, your ‘ministry’, your efforts. It’s simply a matter of trusting obedience to His will.
Aren’t you glad that Christ is eternally good and loving? This is an eternal union, which as far as we know is not offered to the angels and it may even be what was behind the plan for man from the beginning:
So, what the Holy Spirit is teaching us in this is that it is critical to ‘take in’ Jesus, to take Him into our souls, our inner man. It’s a spiritual lesson!
Clearly, the rivers here (also torrents, floods) of living water represent the Holy Spirit, but most believers think of the Spirit as being received as in verse 39. However, Jesus spoke of it as pouring out of our heart as a torrent or flood. So, it’s a gift to us and a gift through us. Let’s consider both these actions to see what we can glean.
He wants a burning heart. He’s looking for a heart filled with joyful discovery of Who He is and the solid, everlasting realization of His Being.
You see, contrary to modern ‘theology’, Jesus wasn’t just a good man, wasn’t just a prophet, wasn’t even just a Savior; the power of His love and purity was so great that He did all that we could see with our eyes that was miraculous AND what we couldn’t see - He carried all of our sin (and its consequences) with Him to hell (where it belongs).
Although He was the victim of victims, the ultimate victim of all time because He was faulted for all our sins. But He never acted like a victim because He knew He was the Victor, the Victor over death and He used that status to minister mercy and grace to Peter.
What did she touch? The word used in the Greek for “hem” referred to a tassel, but in two accounts, Jesus specified “Me”. That is, Christ knew she had contacted Him, His inner being, not simply His garment. He explained,
“Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” (Luke 8:46)
Irrespective of your life’s circumstances, rich or poor, leader or loser, exalted or expelled, if you come to Christ, He will respond to you. You may actually touch Him from behind or worship Him before His face and He will respond.
When the morning stars sangtogether, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:7)
Now, this verse is the Lord speaking to Job. At the conclusion of his tribulation, God chided him, saying:
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.” (Job 38:4)
A single word from Jesus turned dear Mary from a weeper to a worshipper. Of course, it was a spirit-filled word as are all the words from Christ. In an instant, she was no longer feeling alone or forsaken. Her Maker, her Love, her Redeemer was clearly alive.
Even in the beginning, there was a distinction between life and eternal life (which was available via the tree of life – see Gen 3:22) and it was always a choice. There was/is more to life than just living.
So, what is the person who thirsts spiritually looking for? What do they sense that they lack? Purpose, love, life, consolation, understanding, truth, wisdom,… many possibilities. I’ll suggest that anytime a person senses that they are missing, lacking something inside, not money or power or any fleshly thing; but rather, they are missing something in the heart, they are thirsty.
The first eviction. The language indicates that it was forceful. And the follow up made it clear that there was no coming back to Eden and especially to the tree of life for God placed at least two powerful angels and an impassable flaming sword to guard the way.
But it is key to understand that this working and gaining is NOT by human effort. It is entirely God’s Spirit at work in us and through us:
Politicians revel in it, celebrities revel in it, preachers revel in it, everyone except one – the child. No, not teens, but little children. And it’s absolutely critical to ‘get it’, to understand why.
Even as God Almighty gave life to Jesus and raised Him from the grave, so also, He has birthed us with Him to literally an eternal expectation of coming good (that’s the living hope). That means that in Jesus, we will never stop expecting or anticipating more and more goodness. Eternity is filled with God’s goodness.
Yes, Peter nailed it with his Son of the living God answer and may have felt pretty puffed up by the response Jesus gave him.
A friend of mine once asked me what my favorite word was in the Bible. I knew immediately; I said, “Hope”. He then asked me to describe this hope, and I had to think. I told him, “It’s not the wimpy word that we hear thrown around like, “I hope so.” Or “There’s really not much hope.” Or “Hope you can make it.”
The hope I think of is an atomic bomb compared to these little firecrackers.
I mentioned in an earlier article that I suspect that something akin to a genetic factor might be involved in the transgenerational nature of sin. I don’t want to ‘pound that table’ too hard because sin is first spiritual and then physical. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to note that Jesus was, as we know, sinless and he was born of a virgin. A legitimate question is, was the virgin birth necessary for His sinless condition? Does the sin we are born with transfer by way of the man?
Perhaps the most basic of our responsibilities ever since our creation has always been – choice. The Most High created a beautiful garden and placed our original ‘parents’ there and implicitly presented to them – choice. Two trees; one gave life and the other brought death.
As Christians, we desire to please the Sower of the Seed and bear much fruit, but without understanding the Word of the Kingdom, we can mistakenly focus on trying to bear ‘fruit’ by eliminating sin in our own strength/efforts. We neglect the fact that upon the cross of Calvary ALL sin was paid for in full.
Has it ever occurred to you that there is something that you’re doing all the time? Every moment of every day it is with you. Even when you sleep, you can only slightly escape it and then when you wake, there it is again. Sometimes, it’s superficial; sometimes it’s profound. It’s your thoughts, your thinking, your mind and/or heart.
And then there’s Jesus and with Him the glory of God is expressed in even more wonderous ways. He asked for and received the most indescribable glory that He had shared with the Father before the creation, before time, existed. The Bible says that that Glory raised Him from the dead.
When you are born again, Christ places His Holy Spirit IN you and He unites with your dead human spirit, giving new life – you become a new creation
His very being was being destroyed, his soul was sick and he knew it. The turmoil of illness put him in a sickbed and whether real or imagined, he seemed to have enemies all around.
Now, understand, no one owes a life to Satan, the debt is owed to God but it is a debt, a ransom, that only He Himself could redeem. So much of God’s character is all about redemption.
How many of us have cried out in a similar fashion as truly minor echoes of this blast that resounded throughout the cosmos and perhaps throughout all time.
Was this a point in which He could not see the ‘other side’? The Bible tells us, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…” What did He hold on to as He let go of His life?
The Pharisees ‘lived in the pages’ of scripture but they were blind to the truth because their own agendas.
There’s something wonderfully sudden when we recognize and accept Jesus Christ as God’s Son and our Savior. The Old Testament has many instances of sudden judgement, but the New Testament shows us over and over the sudden realization of the Son.
They loved Jesus and they wanted heaven, but if even the rich were kind of going hitless (pardon my baseball analogies) and they themselves were basically penniless – well:
Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You."
The unspoken but clear implication was, “So then, what’s in it for us??”
Now, none of Christ’s encounters were by chance. He headed through Samaria for a reason, and it may have been to meet this small group of desperate people plagued with leprosy. As I read the above verses this morning, the part that caught my attention was, “And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.” It was a test of their faith and a testimony to the priest(s).
It is so sobering to think that you could be so mistaken in your assumptions as to believe that heaven’s door will be open to you and then you hear from Jesus, “I do not know you…”. Then you step back and claim, “But we ate and drank in your presence…” all to no avail.
So, he’s got 100 sheep, and one wanders off. He leaves the 99 to go after the one who is lost but where does he leave them – in the wilderness. His total focus is on the one. Oh, he loves the 99 and presumably has an under-shepherd to care for them in the wilderness, but our lesson is that he is consumed with caring about the lost one.
Jesus was attractive, like a magnet, to OUTsiders. Here, a woman who was morally repulsive to Simon the Pharisee entered his house at great risk and put on a display of love and humility that was amazingly unusual, mind-bogglingly unusual, even freakishly unusual.
Moses, in anger, doubted the Lord about speaking to the rock. Instead, he hit it twice. His anger caused him to doubt that just speaking to the rock would cause water to come forth. You see, earlier, at Horeb, God had instructed him to hit the rock and the water that the people needed would come out. There, he obeyed and the miracle occurred.
But we have to focus on what He was doing, how He was serving – He was washing them, washing their feet. Of course, you may be aware that this was not an uncommon practice at the time. Generally speaking, people’s feet were filthy, having walked on dusty roads.
So, what exactly was the lesson?
That’s what we learn about Jesus from the beginning. It wasn’t just that He could do a miracle; it was how He did the miracle.
What captured the king’s eye was the beauty of Bathsheba, but what captured his soul was the beauty of the Lord. The former led to catastrophe (though God, in His mercy, redeemed it), the latter led to eternity, that is, an eternal relationship.
And when He uttered those words, bowed His head and gave up His spirit, He carried the weight of all sin for all time. He became sin:
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. ( 2 Cor 5:21)
Yes, the wilderness is essentially the story of broken mankind as well as mankind’s redemption.
So, you see, all the way back in Eden, in tasking Adam to name all the creatures God was training Adam to know Him.
Understand, you are not your ‘flesh’. Your flesh, despite its influence on your soul, is not you. When you are saved, you are “one Spirit” with the Lord (See 1 Cor 6:17).
Sometimes, God waits, and we’ve all gotten used to accepting the old adage that He does things ‘in His time’. As we can see above, there will come a time when His mystery is finished and He will proclaim via His angel that there will be no more delay. What’s this mystery?
Every other religion in the world is somehow based upon works – climbing up to heaven. The one and only true religion is about trust and relationship with God. The sheep trust the Shepherd because they know the Shepherd. He says that all other religions are thieves and robbers because as agents of the wicked one, they want to steal your soul away from the Father.
That’s because being these things is directly linked to KNOWING God.
‘Then I will give them a heart to knowMe, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart. (Jer 24:7)
Something about Nazareth had clouded Nate’s mind but Jesus brought in the light, swept away the clouds and Nazareth was no longer an issue. This is the doubt that many people hold to who want the truth but can’t get past the prejudice of their ‘logic’ or the frustration of ‘rabbit-holes’ that turn up empty.
When you look into that mirror of your soul, who do you see reflected? The greater you learn to trust and submit your ‘all’ to Him, the clearer the view of Him will be. Oh, He’s always there in your spirit in utter perfection.
So how you perceive yourself is very important to your overall health. Do you think Christianity is a self-improvement program? Do you continue to try to overcome sin? I hope not because Jesus settled that once and for all. Do you just continue in your sin? I hope not because if so, you haven’t realized who you are – your identity in Christ.
Now, we can read this “heavenly thing” and even if we don’t quite understand it, we can accept it and trust the Lord. But Nick is a Pharisee, a “teacher of Israel”. His cohorts condemned Jesus to death. For him to ‘hang in there’ with Christ was more challenging than it was for the disciples. So when he accompanied Joseph of Arimathea to bury the body of Jesus in the garden tomb when all the disciples were hiding in fear, you can’t help but sense that the change he went through was stunningly profound.
So, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.
In one moment, He Who is perfect unleashed the truly cosmic destruction of darkness and establishment of the perfection of God’s light and life into the tainted creation.
Check it out – the foolish, weak, base, despised and the NOT - these are God’s elite, His chosen.
As I cautiously approached the car, the rear window on the passenger side came down and a man in the back of the limo asked me in English if I needed help. It was about another half hour or so into Rome where we were headed so I reluctantly said, “Si, grazie Signore,” and we climbed into the limo.
This is the big war. This is the war in each individual with God. And the only way for there to be peace is with our surrender, surrender to God’s grace through Jesus Christ. Each of us individually can make peace with God this way. It is, in fact, the only way to make peace with Him.
These blessed believers deeply, deeply desire rightness, for all things to be made right. They know that no man, no agency in this world can provide that or even come close. Everything and everyone in this world is drowning in sin. Only God the Son, Jesus Christ can fill our lives, our hearts with rightness. And for those who “hunger and thirst” for it, He will.
The most famous, perhaps the most important sermon of all time. He saw multitudes and went up higher. We don’t know how many, if any, of the multitudes followed but we do know that His disciples drew near.
You see, in verse 16 we read “Then God made two great lights:” and the Hebrew action is indeed “made” not “created” – it uses the word pronounced “aw-saw” which means to make from existing materials versus “bara” which means to create out of nothing.
If we are ‘paying attention’, we notice something ominous about the second day. It was the only day out of the six days of creation that did not mention that “God saw that it was good.” Recall that on that day, He separated the waters above and below by an expanse He called Heaven. Now, I’ll suggest for your consideration that this may have been for at least two reasons.
You see, there are three heavens. The first heaven is what we call the sky, that is, our atmosphere. The second heaven is what we call the cosmos or universe. The third heaven is what we call Heaven, the home of our Lord and our place of forever home. It is a spiritual place, entirely real, more real than our physical existence but truly indescribable.
Friends, Jesus sought another way; Peter turned away. Their faith never failed though. What you’ve been through may have left you feeling broken, beaten or bereft of the youthful exuberance and experiences of young, fresh faith you once had. You may feel very hard pressed to place your trust in God and obey Him; but don’t mistake that for the absence or failure of the faith He has planted in your heart.
This is fascinating for it was the light that was good – not the darkness, not the light and darkness – just the light.
And so, we can see that God, with His “just weight and balance” gave His loving attention to His people, the Jews for two prophetic days and then turned His attention to His people among the Gentiles for the same time.
However, it’s possible that just as Israel thinks it has finally settled their existential dilemma by defeating Hamas, Hezbollah and achieving peace with it neighbors via the Abraham Accords, “The end of it shall be with a flood,” (Dan 9:26c)
So what was revealed in this passage is clearly the grand and glorious plan of God, and the timepiece so to speak for it is also made obvious – the Jews and Jerusalem – like two hands on a clock.
Yes, our dead flesh has sin in it all the time. It’s not free from sin and then sinful and then free from sin and then sinful – back and forth endlessly. It’s full of sin all the time; but it is DEAD. YOU however, are alive IN Christ. YOU have been freed from that body of sin by faith and one day soon you will have a completely NEW body that is also sinless – a gift from God.
Like ‘bookends’ to His earthly ministry, Jesus’ declarations to His disciples in Mat 5 and Mark 16 initiated and punctuated His message to (and mission for) the Church. In this day in which western Christianity is often being confused with economic, political and entertainment/popular values, we would do well to study and understand again what He said in them.
Doesn’t sound very uplifting, does it? It’s a list of spiritual failures and there is a stern warning at the end. This is what I think is important for us to understand. You see, many commentators have treated this prophecy/prediction as speaking of the degenerating of the entire human race but I don’t think that is the point.
He’s telling us to be like Him. Unfortunately, even as believers we often still don’t ‘get’ Him – we get hung up on the power, the miracles, the radiant glory and we forget the most excellent things – the love, the mercy, the graciousness, that is the ‘Who attributes’ of His character as opposed to the ‘What’ attributes.
In fact, all the saints before us have had this attitude. The scripture says, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a heavenly home.” (Heb 11:13,14)
And there’s the key; did you catch it? They saw the promises afar off and were thus assured. Friend, what are you looking forward to? A heavenly home? Like the faithful who have preceded us, can you see it? The promises are for pilgrims. Uttered by our Shepherd, they draw us on through the storms and trials, leading us home - back into the presence of God.
Comfort? What does comfort look like in times like these? For it’s at the bottom of these deep canyons of anguish that we’re vulnerable to feel abandoned by God as well.
And with this insemination came conception and gestation – something spiritual and eternal. You see, the picture of God’s plan continues for just as the human gestation period is 40 weeks, broken up into three periods, three trimesters, so the line of descendants from Abraham to Christ as recorded by Matthew (that is, the Messianic line) is 40 generations broken up into three equal parts. (See Matthew 1)
Friends, growing in God is not a matter of how much you can add to yourself. Contrary to popular theology, it’s not even a matter of how big your ministry is. It all comes down to self-diminishing. That is, who is going to live in you and through you – you or Jesus? Is Christ increasing in you or are you just learning about God? Now, the Lord offers no condemnation – only hearty encouragement for the end result for all believers is Christ-likeness!
The vast majority of what the people understood relative to pleasing Jehovah was ‘do-oriented’. The greatest misunderstanding of the people, having been schooled by the law of Moses, was that heaven was reserved for those who lived righteously meaning they did the ‘right things’, made the ‘right moves’.
Enter Jesus. And…
“…they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."” John 6:28,29
A new day had dawned and with it came a new message.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”
“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Mat 7:13,14)
In Daniel two, the prophet lays out a vision that is not only amazing in its historical prophetic accuracy as seen from our present day but enlightening with regards to contemporary events. Many Bible scholars who study prophecy (which, by the way is about 1/3 of the Bible) point to it as the foundation lesson.
You see, you don’t have peace with God, fellowship with the Creator, based upon your ability to be without ‘leaven’ – sinless. Rather, the sacrifice was acceptable to God, inclusive of the leaven because of the perfect or spotless animal sacrifice. None of us establishes peace with God on any other basis. You can’t qualify yourself, purge yourself, make yourself holy enough to obtain that peace. You can’t do enough good works to somehow grasp it. That’s the fundamental doctrine of grace, isn’t it?
We need to understand that although our Lord does indeed tell us to be conformed to the image of His dear Son (Rom 8:29, 12:2, Phi 3:10-12) and though godly character is indeed one fruit of His testing (Rom 5:3,4), there’s only one kind of real failure.
These passages are wonderfully prophetic in a pictorial way and their message is very pertinent to us. You know, the scriptures say, “…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev 19:10) That is, His life and words fulfilled prophecy and declared it. Let’s look at the circumstances of each of these two miracles and then I’ll give some suggestions for you to consider.
Keeping our focus on coming to faith in Christ, let’s consider this woman’s heart. To begin with, she’s bluntly honest and this is always the starting point on the road to salvation. Those who try to play an insincere or dishonest game of verbal dodge-ball with God find Him silent. But Jesus gave this woman a response that engaged her beautifully.
But the time is nearly upon us when all of that will change. You see, much to the disappointment of patriotic Christianity, America is NOT mentioned even indirectly in scripture as playing a role during the Tribulation, that is, during the last seven years of this age of history also known as the 70th prophetic week of Daniel 9:24-27.
“Do you know what I did in Tripoli?” he smiled broadly almost like a child.
“No, Abdul. What did you do?” We anticipated something unusual just by his body-language.
Back in the US for about a month, we got a call from a couple we knew in Rome. They asked us to consider joining them on a short-term mission to Acapulco, Mexico. Darlene was several months pregnant, so our inclination was to say no. Nevertheless, we prayed about it and felt that the Lord was saying yes. So, we got a small trailer to tow behind our little Chevy Vega – yeah, a Vega, and headed off to meet our friends and drive down south.
Simply by becoming a man, God made is Son vulnerable. Think of that. The wording also indicates that Jesus was always ‘facing’ the Father as He grew. His entire life was dedicated to God Almighty. And when we read, “no form or comeliness” and “ no beauty”, the Holy Spirit wants us to understand that although His character was amazingly beautiful, His outward appearance was ordinary; that is, the crowds did not surround Him because He was handsome.
Daniel stood in a deep pit among starving lions and kept his cool. David charged at an armored giant twice his size with nothing more than a stone and sling. Samson pulled a massive pagan temple down on himself. Noah watched the Lord close the door of his huge ark. Paul arose after being stoned and went back into the same town to preach. The list is long and impressive – the people who have placed trust in the Lord in the past. What about today?
The serpent was planting the thought in her that God was holding back, that He did not want her to be like Him. In this way, he was intentionally denigrating the Lord’s character and motives. Of course, in the process, he was lying. Jesus said about Satan, “… he is a liar and the father of lies.” (Jn 8:44)
But the truth is just the opposite, God does indeed want us to know Him, to intimately know His nature, to know Who He is. And this lesson is deeply integrated into our entire existence.
The ‘soup’ of our societies is wretchedly fouled by unbridled pride, hatred, and self-obsession. Even those who promise to be ‘unifiers’ are simply incapable of delivering. Mankind, infected with iniquity, is lost and self-destructing. But God provided the solution;
Then it occurred to me that He was still speaking to me all the time – through His Word and His still small voice. This has been so important to me because following God, hearing from Him, getting His guidance, knowing His will, is like a spiritual ‘heartbeat’. Not hearing, ambling without out His direction, not sensing His presence, is like bumping around in the dark.
Sin leaves a ‘stain’ on the heart, its existence makes us feel ‘dirty’ and that feeling persists. But David understood that acknowledging his transgression was key to obtaining God’s mercy. And he knew that only God could give him a clean heart and renew a right spirit.
First there was the crossing of the Jordan on dry ground, next there was the circumcising of all the men of war, next the manna, the bread from heaven stopped. You see, when God says it’s time, things can happen quickly. For Joshua, this was more change than he’d seen in, well, a long time.
But it didn’t stop there. Joshua was a one step at a time guy; you try leading millions of anxious people into a whole new existence, and you soon realize that you need to be focused on what’s next, but he wasn’t sure what was next. Moses had always called those shots.
This wasn’t just the desert; it was the “far side” of the desert. And in that place, he became a shepherd, considered the lowest profession in Egypt. Consequently, the next 40 years he learned to be a real nobody. Finally, at the age of 80 God saw that he was ready for his turning point.
No one wanted to get burned so they all capitulated. Many probably thought, ‘No big deal. What’s a little bow.’ In fact, it’s the same trade that Satan offered Jesus:
You see, ever since Eden, we’ve been duped into believing that God is fundamentally mean and withholding, that He is severe in character. Unfortunately, many Christians mistakenly still see Him as such, and it hinders their ability or desire to enjoy a truly loving relationship with Him.
“According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil:
Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind…… it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.” -- C.S. Lewis
... opening the door is just the step in the right direction. The question remains, what will you do when Jesus enters? You indeed may ‘dine with Him’, yet what kind of relationship will emerge? This is critical not just as a new born babe in Christ but throughout your Christian life. Having encountered Jesus, having invited Him into your ‘home’, what attitude will you embrace?
What this means is that you can talk about, contemplate, ponder and discuss this Who-attribute of God forever but you won’t know it, that is know God’s attribute of Love until you know Him. You must establish an intimate relationship through His Son, Jesus. You see, grasping at least some of the ‘What-attributes’ of God like His sovereignty or His triune nature can be approached intellectually but getting a handle on the ‘Who-attributes’ like love or grace require actual relationship. It is this relationship, which by the way is also initiated by God, that allows us to know and be known by our Lord.
The prophetic symbolism in this story is powerful for the dead religion of today, having merged with the value system of the surrounding world at large, has fostered a generation of me-oriented wanderers just like the Hebrews in the desert. It wasn’t that long ago that Jesus-people, the Jesus Revolution, emerged from ‘Egypt’ - perhaps a generation or so - but they never ‘took the land’ spiritually.
Gabriel opened with a mindblower for Zechariah, “Your prayer has been heard.” And, “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name of John” which means “God has been gracious”.
He added, “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” Huges comments, “The Baptist would have a great heart. Jesus would later say of him, “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Next to Christ, Zechariah and Elizabeth’s son would develop a soul second to none, not even Abraham, Joseph, or Daniel.”
"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it."
You know, the Bible says that it’s Christ Who holds the elements, the universe, together (see Col 1:17). Scientists know this as the force that literally holds the nucleus of every atom together. They acknowledge it, this awesome power, but it remains a mystery. It’s the force behind nuclear explosions.
Imagine, Christ will one day, at the appointed time, simply ‘let go’ and every atom in the physical creation will explode in a nuclear fire. When that happens, the only things which will survive will be those works done for the Lord, according to His
will for they are stored up, if you would, in heaven.
So, this passage in Genesis is hugely important and packed full of meaning. Though the Jewish people will mistakenly put their confidence, at least initially, in the Antichrist, they will find themselves like the dove returning to the presence of the Lord and then, under His anointing, empowered by the Holy Spirit, fulfilling their original commission to spread the Gospel all over the earth.
Noah waited a long time in the ark without hearing from God. With the ship rolling, the earth disappearing, the people outside screaming, the skies thundering— never before had such a stormy time come. Perhaps you find yourself in such times, and you think, ‘The Lord has forsaken me’, or ‘The Lord has forgotten me.’ If so, be encouraged for the Lord says, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely, they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.” Isa 49:14,15
It’s important to note that the Lord shut them in. Noah didn’t shut the door - it wasn’t his responsibility to deny anyone salvation. And thus, it is so today. We are told to preach the gospel to everyone. Nothing should hinder that.
Noah was a man of action and obedience. Too many folks too often claim to be “waiting on the Lord” when God has already spoken. Some are waiting for thunder in the heavens to ring out His directions while their Bibles gather dust on the nightstand. Faith without works is dead. Noah is a hero of faith because he did all God said.
Note that the Lord said His Spirit was striving with man. The Hebrew word for striving is a primary root and denotes principally to rule or to judge but the sense we have here is of contending with man - pleading a cause.There came a point when His longsuffering ended. However, I don’t think it was a matter of God getting tired of presenting the truth or convicting their hearts, because he doesn’t tire and never changes in character. Rather, there came a point when man’s heart got so used to sin and so hard that it could no longer receive truth, it simply wasn’t possible for it to hear truth or receive conviction.
In order to catch the significance here we need to understand a couple things - the name Jordan means “the descender”. As such it is a picture of sin and death, the boundary between the ‘wilderness of this world’ and the ‘promised land’ i.e. heaven. And with whom did man first begin to descend?Beginning at Adam of course. Sin and death began at Adam, and man has been in a descent ever since. But there’s good news!
So an amazing display of the power and authority of God Almighty foretold 2600 years ago is about to take place in the Middle East. Keep your eyes open and be in prayer!
So, as we should expect, the prophecy of Ezekiel and the prophetic condition declared by Moses were both fulfilled precisely concerning the nation’s servitude and the desolation of Jerusalem.
We cannot pass over this quickly. It’s just so profound. Here is revealed a beautiful aspect of our God’s character. As holy and just, He issued a judgment upon Cain, but note the judgment. This is not “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth”. That’s part of the Mosaic law that came later. Here, was God’s personal judgment upon an individual apart from the law. In it, we should note that the judgment was based upon the individual’s awareness of God’s commands.
Cain’s vain religion, like all false religions was based upon three things: human schemes, human sacrifice and human satisfaction.
You see, we’ve got to understand this. Our God is love. His motives toward us are always for our good. He’s not sitting on the throne, with belt-strap in hand, just waiting for us to mess up so He can whack us hard. When He allows difficulties, regardless of our understanding, the end is good.
Keep in mind here that God did not need information, Adam needed to confess his error. You see, temptation draws us to the precipice, sin pushes us over the side, and pride keeps us from grasping the lifeline of repentance that God throws to us. If the man had just admitted his error - what a different story we all might be living now.
“Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.” John 19:32-34In piercing the pericardium, that sack which surrounds the heart, they released the water. We now know that in times of extreme grief and sorrow, the pericardium will fill with water. I think it has been accurately said that though Christ did not die from a broken heart, He died with a broken heart.
You may remember the story, Jonah went down to Joppa, then down to the ship, then down into the hold of the ship, then down into the stormy sea as the crew threw him overboard, and finally down into the belly of the great fish. Jonah thought he was as far from God as any man could be. Nevertheless, the Bible says, “the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.” And even as he was trying to hide from God, God had prepared his own ‘Eden’ - his own perfect place, that is, the perfect place for Jonah, the place Jonah needed to be.
Like God, man is a triune being. In creating him, the LORD took the lowest part of creation, the dust of the earth, and combined it with the highest possible ‘ingredient’, the breath of His Spirit. Together, they made a ‘living being’ or literally a living soul. So, man’s being is triune in that he has a spirit, a soul, and a body.Man was not designed to die; that’s one reason we are frustrated by time. People rush faster and faster to get nowhere in particular; we strive with schedules that are ever more crowded and stressful the confines of time and more specifically, the time of death is ‘instinctively’ alien and troubling partly because we were not created for it. We were formed to commune with our Creator apart from the callous demands of an expected life span.
And it is all the more amazing when we consider the greatness of it all – a typical galaxy contains billions of individual stars. Our own, the Milky Way, contains some 200 billion stars. It’s shaped like a giant spiral, rotating in space, with arms reaching out as on a pinwheel. It is so large that one full rotation of that wheel would take about 250 million years. Unimpressed? How about this – the average distance between galaxies is about 20 million trillion miles; in fact, the closest galaxy to our own is the Andromeda Galaxy, about 12 million trillion miles away. Unimpressed? For every patch of sky the size of the moon, searching deeply, you could observe about a million galaxies.Yet what is even more impressive is that our God is bigger than all of that.
In full view of all creation, God desires to show Himself to be just but at the same time He must remain true to His character of mercy, kindness and love. Enter Jesus Christ...
You know that word, “Blessed” that Jesus used in this passage means “fortunate” or “prosperous”. Note also that the state of the “Blessed” is in the present BUT all the blessings point forward to an eternal future state as well. That is, they are guaranteed and perpetual. So let’s consider those who are so blessed.First, what does it mean to be “poor in spirit”? This is not material poverty. To be poor is spirit is to see yourself in the most honest humble terms.
What more can He say to cause us to ‘get it’ – that we must be ready. There will be no alarm or early warning system in place. You won’t have five minutes to ‘make things right’. You won’t be able to repent and get saved before ‘the blink of an eye’ is done. Humble your stubborn heart now even if it means going against the grain; even if it means humiliation, persecution or death. Life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ.
There is just one last item on the Lord’s agenda for man’s reconciliation. The church age has demonstrated the benefits of grace. The righteous have been resurrected or raptured. The Tribulation is over. All evil has been purged from the cosmos having first been confined to planet Babylon then cast into the eternal torment of perdition. The old heaven and earth have vanished. And now…
Words and deeds are all most of these people have to be judged by – they either rejected or were ignorant of grace. Notice I said most. It’s quite interesting that the Book of Life is brought out as well as the books of men’s words and deeds. It is evident from this and the following passage that some of these people are in the Book of Life. Though I can’t be adamant, I think it is possible that this is what was spoken to Daniel who was learning of the conclusion of the tribulation and the promises of God to his people was told: And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt….But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.” (Dan 12:2:13)
In pouring out His wrath contained in the seven bowls mixed with the seven last plagues, God was unapproachable. No one could enter the holy place of the temple in heaven. In this chapter, there are two amazing and long-awaited events that take place. It is a time of celebration and then conflagration.
How glorious, how wonderful, that she is cast so far away from all the created cosmos, both seen and unseen, as to never be found again. I’ve been inclined to picture her and all the demonic horde within her as diminishing in size forever and ever into infinite smallness and complete darkness.
In the midst of the tribulation, the AC will set up his throne in Jerusalem and while in the temple declare himself to be god – the ‘unquestionable’ ruler of Israel. As such, he himself will be the eighth kingdom, and he will use his position to both corrupt the carnally minded of Israel and attempt to annihilate God’s faithful remnant.
He has reached out to man for so long that it is difficult to see Him dealing with the planet as He does in this chapter. But God is also just. At this point, each of the messages given by way of the judgments are no longer spoken to those who may be saved somehow. The messages are simple and are given as a witness to the entire cosmos, to all of creation. God is Who He is. All who could be saved have been; that is part of what Jesus meant when at the conclusion He thundered for a second time, “It is done!”
His glory and power are ever a part of Who He is, yet at this point, they make Him unapproachable. I submit that it is because He is here unleashing them to accomplish His pure purpose. The expression of this power and glory are beyond even heaven’s ability to bear. This fully distinguishes these plagues from any and all that have ever gone before. This tells us that there is no room for repentance at this point.
Hell is a real place and its torments are not only terrible but eternal. For the people who have gotten saved during this horrendous time, life will be hellish, and they will be continually presented with the temptation to give in to the lie. The good news is that their time of suffering is limited. It will end soon for God is about to bring them home.
The Greek word for breath is pneuma which indeed usually means breath (and sometimes spirit) but would be better translated here as “animation”. In Rev 9:20 it says that the deluded people of the world will continue to worship demons and idols that cannot see or hear or walk – it specifically omits speak because this idol can do that. But this will be no voluntary religion.
The seventh trumpet has just sounded and in response the elders representing all the redeemed worship God and proclaim that His reign over the kingdoms of man has begun. The very first thing we see after this is the ark of the covenant in the heavenly temple. This can tell us that the most important aspect of the Lord’s reign over man is what is symbolized by the ark – man’s gracious redemption in Christ, the empty tomb, the communion of God with man, etc. The King’s first act is that which is most pressing upon His mind. Even as He is about to pour His wrath upon a reprobate planet, He is mindful of His covenant with the redeemed.
Satan first polluted the paradise of God. He then, in the days of Noah, polluted the earth including man’s own gene pool. After the flood, he polluted man’s religion (which we’ll get to in chapter 17). After God gave it to the Hebrews, Satan polluted the promised land, and he will thence pollute the holy city.
The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets. It’s a wrap. No more delay. In these days in which the seventh trumpet angel is about to sound, the mystery of God will be complete. By the wording above, we are to understand that these “days” include some events that are about to transpire in the next few chapters, but what is this mystery?
This boggles the mind, doesn’t it? Nevertheless, it reveals the nature of evil. The demons knew who Christ was when He came to save us and yet they only sought to expose Him, retreat from His presence or to incite the people to kill Him. In like manner, rebellious mankind is, at this point, unable to repent. They cannot think rationally or see clearly. The disease of sin has fully engulfed them.
Now, back to our first verse. “…silence in heaven…” can, and I believe should have been, translated as “…silence by heaven…”. In other words, while the antichrist is blaspheming God and saying unheard of things against Him, he will seemingly get away with it. Heaven will be silent for a period of time – a specific period of time – about half an hour. This word for hour is translated as such the majority of the times we find it in the scripture and is the underpinning of our own English word, but it most literally means, “a certain definite time or season fixed by natural law and returning with the revolving year”. In other words, it doesn’t have to mean a literal hour.
It is important to understand that when the church leaves this planet, God is still committed to providing a witness to the world of His truth. As long as there are those who He knows can be saved, He extends His hand to them, so to speak, in truth, grace and mercy. In fact, this is a principle you can follow throughout history from Adam to Abel to Seth to Enoch to Noah to Shem to Abraham to Isaac to Jacob… all the way to John the Baptist, then Jesus, then the church. God is faithful to provide a witness.
So, as these four horsemen go forth, they represent the antitheses of the living creatures or the opposite of Christ. The Hebrew people and the unbelieving world, having rejected Christ’s payment for sin -- which we saw in the previous chapter made Him worthy to open these seals -- have only one recourse and that is to ‘pay’ for their sins themselves; and it won’t be pretty. When I say pay for their sins, I don’t mean atone for them but rather reap their wages or consequences.
. Of course, John wept bitterly, for when he learned that no one was found worthy to take and open the scroll, it meant that this inheritance would forever become the property of Satan – eternally unredeemable.
To all of us as believers, Jesus says, These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. To which John the apostle adds, You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.
John frequently referred to himself in his gospel as the one Jesus loved. It was never an ego issue; it was a thankful humble perception. How about you? Do you really know that Jesus loves you? John said so before the cross; we say so because of the cross. It is this awareness that gives the believer the strength in spirit to persevere in faith. Even when the whole world and seemingly a large part of the church is going the way of the world, you can keep His command to hold on.
This is a church that has lost its faith in this Jesus and has replaced it with what feels good emotionally (which is anything but firm), any type of ‘Christ’ that they perceive as being in vogue or contemporary with their needs, and perhaps in harmony with the fantasies of false science to explain our origin.
Since it was first revealed, this book has brought tremendous encouragement and controversy. It speaks of the indescribable majesty of our risen Lord and the utter depravity of a Christ-rejecting hellish world. In its message, we’ll see God Almighty upon His throne and the debauched Satan sitting in rebellion upon his. We’ll be told of the course of events during the age in which the church faithfully spread the Word and when she failed by corrupting its message. We’ll see that there have been those in the church who were true, and sadly, those who were twisted; those who hungered for God and those who craved the rewards of the god of this world, the devil.
These who will be barred from entering the kingdom of heaven will evidently know about God, but they never actually know God and thus they cannot fulfill Deut 6:5 to love God. You see, this attribute of God, Love, this is the big one. Don’t debate it, don’t just approach it intellectually. The Pharisees never got it; sometimes contemporary seminarians don’t either.
You see, God knows that what our hearts and souls truly crave is rightness. But answers to the ‘whys’ or ‘wherefores’ cannot bring redemption, restoration, resurrection – rightness. At these times, what we need comes not from an intellectual or emotional explanation no matter how profound, but from our souls being wrapped in His loving heart.
I submit that our church corporately is hurting for lack of pastors, not just in name or title but in truth. Oh, we have lots of wonderfully dedicated people in the pulpit teaching and preaching and most are there with a deeply sincere heart to love and tend God’s people. But our churches as a whole simply don’t model the life and ministry of Christ. Today’s churches are businesses with slogans and growth plans that mimic corporate business strategies. We have equated size with success while multitudes in our midst remain untended.
Likewise, we as Christians need walls – NOT walls between one another but walls of defense against the spiritual enemies we face. Without them, we too are easy prey – the ‘world’ and/or our own sin nature then has too much freedom to bother, bully and oppress.
The point was, and is, the camp with all its blessings, blessings of Egypt which God had bestowed were insufficient. The promise that God would guide them to the promised land was insufficient. Guaranteed angelic defense and miraculous obtaining of prosperity were insufficient. Stardom, celebrity among the chosen people was insufficient.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. (v1) When you consider this, it’s really radical. Jesus, the Son of God, had to be tested. And it was the Holy Spirit who led Him into the desert. Our first observation here is that if Christ Himself had to deal with temptation, you and I should not think we’re exempt.
Now, just a few yards away, he watched the teacher turn to behold him. At any moment, he expected a look of abhorrence and disgust. But to his utter surprise, the tender eyes he beheld pierced his soul like a sword and then filled him with an unearthly, supernaturally-natural warmth.
Suddenly, he realized this was not simply a gifted rabbi. He fell to his knees and bowed on his face. He was oblivious to the remarks of those around him.
I submit that there is the human tendency to ‘simonize’ – to ask Jesus in to our home but to come to treat Him quite casually. The religious and the righteous are not necessarily one in the same. Oh, may God give us a fresh glimpse of how desperately we need Him, and as a consequence, may our hearts be fastened to Him by forgiveness
The point is, when we fail at the gate of our lives so to speak, when we make poor choices, bad judgments, let the wrong influences in, etc. (which we all do quite often), God is gracious to us over and over and over and… not because we deserve it, not at all.
It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to produce rain, broken grain to give bread and broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is the broken Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.
Christ offers many freedoms – freedom from the slavery to sin, freedom from hatred and bitterness, freedom from condemnation and guilt, and freedom from fear. Of course, all of these are blessings that come as a result of believing in Him right now.
God prefaces, if you would, His truth with His goodness, kindness and faithfulness. When truth is given this way, it is “all truth”. (See John 16:13) This is one reason why Jesus could assert that He was the truth (see John 14:6)
While the disciples where still calling Jesus “rabbi” (John 9:2), this man, once doubly blind, now called Him Lord. He became ‘heavenly minded’ so to speak.
But when you fail, if you’ll listen to the Spirit of God and repent, the result can actually be healthy for it leads to greater and greater humility in your character as well as appreciation of holiness.
Christ is the real deal, the original, the only and authentic standard as a shepherd. Is it any wonder Jesus said, “If the world [Egypt] hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”
The confusion was driving him nuts. His whole life had been spent pursuing the wisdom of the elders and the knowledge of the scriptures. He knew the traditions better than most Pharisees. In fact, he was known as the teacher of Israel. And for most of his life, he’d been quite confident about his knowledge.
But then came this itinerant rabbi doing these truly amazing signs.
And as the stage is being set in heaven so the earthly stage is also being set exactly as the Lord foretold. Center stage are the Jewish people, Jerusalem and the temple mount. Only our Father knows when the ‘stage’ is right in heaven and while the same goes for the stage on planet earth, He has given us advanced warning on what to expect here.
But the 70th week is designed to prepare the Jewish bride for her Husband. She has not yet accepted His Spirit (typified frequently in scripture by oil). She is not ready for his appearing.
So what was revealed in this passage is clearly the grand and glorious plan of God, and the timepiece so to speak for it is also made obvious – the Jews and Jerusalem – like two hands on a clock.
Of course, most of us understand that being spiritually born again is fundamental to being a Christian but thinking that this simply means a sincere invitation to Jesus to come into our heart and be our Lord is missing the bigger and more beautiful message here.
Likewise, we as Christians need walls – NOT walls between one another but walls of defense against the spiritual enemies we face. Without them, we too are easy prey – the ‘world’ and/or our own sin nature then has too much freedom to bother, bully and oppress.
You see, as awed and overjoyed as these ragamuffins were with their risen Savior, they were surely discouraged and down on themselves for their own behavior – Peter, as you recall, not many days earlier dished out some satanic advice to Jesus concerning the cross and then denied vigorously ever knowing Him at His trial. After the resurrection, Thomas was filled with an almost defiant doubt that Jesus was alive again. James and John certainly remembered disputing with the others when they desired thrones on the left and right of Christ’s. Nathanael and the others deserted Jesus, leaving Him in the garden like a bunch of scared cats. Surely, it was on their minds and they must have pondered just how do you face such glorious majesty when your life includes such a travesty of failures?
But they look to America and their own wits, their own power to preserve them. They’re not yet ready for their true Messiah, they’re ready for a false one. And Christ will remain in heaven until it’s time
Will you turn, or will you be taught? Will you truly accept what He has to say about you, about this world, about love and grace, about righteousness and judgment, about heaven and hell? Everything the world, so to speak, throws at us is intended to cause us to turn, to turn away from the truth.
A sincere desire for the truth is fundamental to growing in faith. So many Christians never progress in their spiritual walk because they stop desiring the truth – that’s because it’s humbling, very humbling.
So, where does this ‘guts’, this trust in God, come from? From keeping in mind, in sight, the goodness of God. It is in these times of trial that we need most to recall ‘God is good’. As with Moses, to see His glory is to see His goodness.
Jesus knew immediately the source of Nic’s dilemma. And John presented it in his gospel because the poor Pharisee is not alone. We can all wear his sandals so to speak. Most of us at some time or another get caught in the same mess.
So how do you hear? What is the condition of your heart soil? Recall, Jesus said, “Take heed how you hear.” And the prophet proclaimed, “Break up your fallow ground.” In other words, it’s how we participate – the receptivity of our heart or how we hear.
You see, it is God’s plan both to save you from sin and death AND to conform you unto the image of His Dear Son. Did you suppose that to be a painless intellectual process? Did you want to roar with the Lion and not first bleat with the Lamb?
‘Marvelous’ you may think, ‘how Jesus knew the Word and quoted it accurately to the devil.’ But this wasn’t what decided the day. Jesus didn’t simply know the Word of God; it wasn’t that He had studied it diligently; it wasn’t that He could quote it or even that He kept it in context. That was basic and academic. What made the difference was something else far, far more powerful. He was submitted to it, all of it.
What you may never have considered is that our Holy, Holy, Holy God is thus indescribably beautiful, pleasant, lovely, delightful. Absolutely nothing compares, nothing even approaches. His holiness is a beauty that fills eternity with awe, that makes the highest sinless angels blush, that makes life…life.
Patriarchs in peril, a king in compromise, an apostle in persecution – all came to places of trying discouragement and defeat – or so it would seem. These weren’t simply trivial inconveniences or minor setbacks. They were far beyond all human ability to deal with, to control or to change for the better. And that’s exactly what God took advantage of – what He used. This is where He displayed with a grandeur that awes the saved, His ‘re-ability’.
“The question before the house is this: “Will you follow a God you do not understand? Will you follow a God who does not live up to your expectations?”
But then the ‘bottom fell out.’ This man of faith was not yet a man of abiding inward peace. And the two are inextricably linked. Abram feared greatly. We know this because right after these things, God spoke to him in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield…”
What’s heaven like? As we read of it in scripture, we only get glimpses, but they are startling and compelling.
Satan offered ‘wisdom’ and in doing so he enticed Eve with the ‘method’, but he didn’t specify the source – himself. Yes, our enemy has his own brand of wisdom – one that insanely perceives the wisdom of God as foolishness. Keep in mind that mankind did not originally have a desire to rebel against God but rather a desire to be more like God. The devil used that to snare and enslave us in the same way demented cult leaders use it to create their own followings.
In some Christian circles there is a tendency to hide from the light not so much because of what the Lord will think but what we suspect men will think. We believe that men will usually want to ‘stone us’.
So then, having moved us forward from the initial spreading of the Word and the consequent sowing of the enemy’s tares unto the final days of the age, Jesus next describes the unnatural nature of the last days Kingdom of God on earth.
God’s program for our preservation necessitates a pilgrimage, a sojourning, a constant trek of faith. And in this travel, He tells us that our inner man must look ahead in hope while our outer nature must repeatedly die. Neither one can truly satisfy its homeward goal in the here and now.
Jesus told Nick, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Yes, God is indeed a farmer and He’s ‘into’ fruit. In these last days, He is patiently waiting for it to mature. So, let’s look into His husbandry techniques, consider the fruit that He’s expecting, and examine our role in it all.
And then there’s love. Do you love anyone? What does that love do to your sense of their value? The more you love, the more you value someone. Unfortunately, human love is often short lived. It can be changed by mood, circumstance and the sense of reciprocity.
The invaluable lesson for us is not simply that his men adopted his passion or courage or forte, but that they became that way for a specific reason – they wanted to be like their king. Why? I submit that it was because they saw him as “the light of Israel”. It is indeed human nature to emulate those whom you esteem highly.
At the foot of the cross, John still didn’t get it and it was a dark, dark day. But in the empty tomb only a few days later, it all became much clearer.
Now, God desires that you draw close to Him (James 4:8) which is to ‘walk with Him’ as did Enoch, Noah, Abraham and others (Gen 5:22; 6:9; 17:1; 24:40; 48:15). But if you hang around with the wrong crowd physically and/or the wrong influences mentally you’ll find that your Christian walk loses momentum. As Psalm One describes it, walking slows to standing which, in turn, becomes sitting (Psa 1:1).
We’d so much like to think that the ‘older’ we get in the Lord, the saintlier we get. Whole denominations are built on this notion. Of course, there is some validity to this, but there is also a tension, if you would, with it as well. For, the more ‘mature’ we become in Christ, the more ‘taintlier’ we realize we are in comparison to our dear Savior.
Heroes and ‘hienies’. Just about the time we’re thinking someone is really awesome, they turn out to be awful. And we’re bitterly disappointed. We break up, walk away, go to yet another church. We become ‘monastic’, bombastic, sarcastic and sad. But someday you’d think it would sink in – it’s a ‘package deal’.
Herein is the great lesson for all of us – it’s about letting go and holding on. This world is a ‘sticky’ place filled with ‘sticky’ stuff. It sticks to the heart, and when it does it tempts us to hold on to it at all costs – even at the cost of the soul. On top of that, God Himself often gives us good things -- relationships, ministries, material goods, etc. that He sometimes later tests us with – will we adhere to them more than to Him? Or will we let go of them when He requires it and hold on to Him?
And this brings me to grace. You see, God is truth and I need truth, truth about my weakness, my wretchedness, my utter need of a much higher power. The Old Testament is full of illustrations of God’s truth. But truth in isolation only brings death in this sin filled world.
While the world is vilifying ‘religious extremism’ let us not confuse this with the passionate zeal we need to have for our God. We must be extreme! -- extreme in love, extreme in forgiveness, extreme in sharing and sacrifice, extreme in faith and trust, extreme in the pursuit of our Father’s desire!
You know, of all that Jesus said, of all that He taught, besides the general admonishment to hold to it dearly, there was only one person, place or thing that He specifically warned his disciples to remember. We don’t even know her name.
God’s omniscience and omnipotence does not make Him the least bit stoic – that’s ancient Greek nonsense. I’m convinced God’s heart ached in infinite sadness and grief over the crushing and bruising of His only begotten Son. That’s part of the heart of a Father.
We say an electrical circuit is dead when it is open or separated from the flow of power. In a similar way, we lost connection with our Source, the essence of life; apart from Him, we rot and decay in every way. (As a matter of fact, we call it the Second Law of Thermodynamics - a law of physics.)
But God did not and does not change (see Mal 3:6). It was their perception of God that changed. Indeed, man has never since truly been able to recognize God for Who He is. Fundamentally, man sees God, in character, as a ‘man’ – loftier and grander than himself, but still imagining that the Lord perceives as he perceives, thinks as he thinks – i.e. he continues to believe Satan’s lie.
Each of our lives, no matter the stumbling, no matter the continuous need for cleansing and forgiveness, no matter the mountains of difficulties, discouragements, pain and failure – each of us plays a starring role in this drama-lesson. It’s God’s production – nothing is accidental, nothing surprises Him.
Can you see how his counsel was intended to hit back in the same way his family was hurt? Only note that it was magnified tenfold and done in public. This is the way of the vengeful heart, one that is filled with unforgiveness. ‘You hit me once, I’ll hit you back ten times!’
Wasn’t the cross enough?? Can’t we just believe that Christ died for our sins? What’s so critical about believing the witnesses to His resurrection?
Martha skirted the answer. Now, she was grieving and perhaps deeply disappointed in Jesus. The Lord had said her brother wouldn’t die and yet … he died. She called for His help and He had seemed to turn a cold shoulder. She wanted to believe. She gave Him the best answer she could at the time. Perhaps, “the Christ, the Son of God” meant to her an anointed teacher or healer or great leader, someone with influence in the heavenlies. This was what it meant to the disciples at this point.
Yet, Jesus wanted her to believe something far more powerful; He wanted her and His disciples to believe a pinnacle principle of Christian faith – “I am the resurrection and the life.”
Now, this man was not seeking a sign out of curiosity. He had a desperate need. He was of the king’s court and had probably exhausted his other options. From Cana, it was about half a day’s walk to Capernaum, and so it was no small thing he asked of Jesus. This stands in stark contrast to the Roman centurion of Matthew chapter eight, also in Capernaum, who insisted that Jesus had but to speak the word for his servant to be healed and that he wasn’t worthy to have Christ come to his home. This father, however was desperately needing help for his son.
One of the lessons we can glean from this story is how easy it is for us to think of God incorrectly -- in terms of what is valued in society. But God is not a competitor, nor is He interested in our competition. Neither are His blessings the result of some heavenly lotto.
Do you know what you’re looking for? You see, everyone’s looking – however, most folks don’t realize what they are really seeking, really longing for. That’s why they fill their lives with the pursuit of substitutes – things that give at best only a momentary pleasure or satisfaction.
Consider His appearances to the disciples after His resurrection. There were no bands playing (on earth), no pomp, no General MacArthur-like “I have returned.” But rather, He was mistaken for a gardener, an out-of-touch traveler, a stranger on the beach. In fact, in John 21, when the disciples came ashore, He even had a breakfast cooking for them. Does this sound like the behavior of the King of Heaven and Earth? Not to our carnal minds, it doesn’t!
At the completion of the law on the Nazarite in Numbers, Moses recorded the priest’s blessing:
“The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace." (Num 6:24-26)
Notice that the end result is all about peace, the peace of beholding the LORD’s countenance. Notice also that it follows His grace just as in the New Testament epistles. Now look at the first part of the blessing – can I suggest that God has blessed us graciously with salvation – the peace with Him; we can now come into His presence with confidence. There is a peace, however, that is not only with the Father but in the Father.
When we consider Samson, we naturally think of his physical strength but fundamentally, this principle speaks to our faith in God. Faith in what He accomplished on Calvary and faith that makes it more than theological – but rather personal. As Samson spread his arms to topple the pillars of the house of Dagon, so Jesus spread His arms on the cross and toppled the pillars of sin and death in the house of Satan. (See Romans 8:2). And like Samson, He chose to lay down His life in the process.
And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him!”
That’s what’s happening right now, folks. It’s midnight so to speak, and the signs of the times are proclaiming, “The Bridegroom is coming!” And, “…now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”
Jacob the name means “heel snatcher” and it did typify the character of the man. Nevertheless, God had a plan for him that included a marvelous change. It wasn’t a change of health or wealth that God had in mind but rather a complete change in the man himself – his condition.
But Peter had become a different man. His faith was deep and unshakeable. How? Had he ‘worked through’ his problems? Had he achieved a ‘higher plane’ of sinless living? Did he find a secret prayer or great book or conference speaker that had delivered the answer? Nope.
Quite simply the difference in Peter was the empowering presence of God’s Spirit.
In some ways, the disciples were just as blind as this man but perhaps at a disadvantage as well for at least the blind man knew he was blind.
Now, the Old Testament scriptures contain promises that the Messiah would open the eyes of the blind and Jesus did that numerous times. But I submit that as great a miracle as it is to physically heal, spiritual blindness is far more consequential and to be healed of the same far more noteworthy. Typically, though, we are so blind to the spiritual world, that we undervalue it and tend to interpret God’s ways, His works and His wonders in the context of the here and now; it’s all we know. We were born into it after all. In this way, we were born blind as well.
This is a principle with all that God does – it’s the ‘good stuff’. It’s perfect. It’s a ‘mind-blower’. The lame man jumped and danced; the blind man beheld the Son of God; the demon possessed became a disciple. On and on it goes. It is simply the way He does what He does. When He made the world, the scripture says, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.”
Ouch! Do you love the Light even though it exposes? You will if you’re born again. When you know your Father and your Savior as you should, His light is wonderfully welcome. It is truthful, but it is Life.
You see, in a certain fashion, how we perceive ourselves is an inverse reflection of how we perceive God. That is, the ‘smaller’ we are, the ‘bigger’ He is in comparison and vice versa. This is an important understanding in today’s Christian culture. The ‘bigness’ we’re conditioned to value simply strokes the ego. It serves up very spiritual sounding justifications while subverting the very foundations of meaningful spiritual goals and growth.
Heaven is an actual tangible place – more real than any place you know. But it’s far, far more than a place. John tried to describe it in terms we could relate to – brilliant light, translucent gold, diverse gemstones, and such. Nevertheless, beyond its beauty is its essence or quality. The very atmosphere is filled with intimacy – with He Who is Holy, Holy, Holy and with His family. There is an aroma of love, joy and peaceful security. There is a sense of unparalleled freedom along with exciting purpose. It all speaks of eternal Life. Heaven is truly an essence or quality of Life which is purely the result of God’s presence. This story is about coming into His presence – about encountering heaven’s maker – He Who makes heaven, heaven.
If we let the Bible ‘interpret itself’ if you would, I’m inclined to believe that this is really saying that these last days believers who chapter three says ‘have a little strength’ and ‘hold on to His Word’ (including His promise to return) are those who will experience, as John did, the next part of the revelation: And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Immediately I was in the Spirit;
This is the rapture. It is prefaced by a trumpet and it is instantaneous just as with the other scriptures that describe it. After this, the earthly witness of the mostly gentile church is over – the baton will be passed, if you would, to another group.
If we could just get a handle on this, it would radically change us and the world around us. We are so quick to level people privately and publicly with “truth” and to think we’re justified because “all I said was the truth…” But if we want to learn the lingo of heaven, we need to understand that Father God’s ‘way’ is goodness, kindness and faithfulness with truth, Christ’s ‘way’ is grace and truth, and the Spirit’s ‘way’ is loving truth.
Surely, it was a long stare of despair and grief. The smoke and stench of death filled the entire sky as he looked down upon the plain where the lush pasture and busy cities had been just the day before. Never had he been so disappointed, so crushed in heart. What had, to this point, been an amazing walk of faith turned sour. Faith subsided in the wake of sadness. It would seem Abraham turned away.
God knows that what our hearts and souls truly crave is rightness. But answers to the ‘whys’ or ‘wherefores’ cannot bring redemption, restoration, resurrection – rightness. At these times, what we need comes not from an intellectual or emotional explanation no matter how profound, but from our souls being wrapped in His loving heart.
You know, for some time now there has been quite a bit of talk of Last Days and of the Lord’s return so I thought would be appropriate to give a short talk on a couple of key points related to that. When Christ’s disciples asked Him about His return, He referred them to the stories of both Noah and Lot. Now Noah, as we know, was saved in the midst of judgement, saved from the flood in an ark. As such, I’ll suggest that he prophetically pictures the Jewish remnant of believers who will be saved and protected in the midst of the coming time of Tribulation.
On the other hand, Lot, as we will see, was saved out of judgement, being led out of Sodom just prior to its destruction. For that reason, I consider him a prophetic picture of the church in the days just prior to the Tribulation.
We can never obey the critical command to love God unless we first receive and acknowledge God’s love for us. In Eden, we learned from the serpent to doubt God’s love for us; believing his lies sent us spiraling away from God and into self-destruction. However, the good news is that believing in Jesus is believing again that God does love us.
Bestowing a blessing on someone, is a small part of the concept of grace. I say small part because you have to extend the notion much further. Grace is not simply kindness but it’s giving such kindness, such sacrificial charitability, giving it to someone unworthy, someone who has done nothing to earn or merit the ‘reward’, perhaps just the opposite.