Christ and Culture

Advent Study #1 – Hope

1 Dec , 2019  

Scriptures of Hope

 

And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.   (Genesis 28:13-15)

Comment

God gives us the promises of land, progeny (children and family), God’s presence, and the Messiah (our Savior, Jesus).  dove-vector-clipart

 

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.   (Isaiah 11: 1-12)

Comment

Characteristics of the Messiah:

  1. Spirit-given wisdom
  2. Power
  3. Knowledge
  4. Awe-inspired respect
  5. Righteousness
  6. Judgment

He will establish Peace on Earth, so “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain”. He will spread the knowledge of God throughout the Earth and all people will be filled with God. He will recover the remnant of the faithful from all parts of the earth.  dove-vector-clipart

Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.

The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.

And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.

And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.

And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.

And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will.

Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.   (Acts 13:16-24)

 

Comment

Paul rehearsing the recapture of the Promised Land by the Children of Israel, four centuries after they abandoned it. The promise of the Messiah fulfilled in Jesus, the God/man.  dove-vector-clipart

 

Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.   (The Revelation 22:7)

Comment

Jesus promised to return.  dove-vector-clipart

 

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.   (The Revelation 22:20-21)

Comment

The earnest cry for the return of our LORD.  dove-vector-clipart

 

Questions of Hope

What do these passages have in common?

Answer: they all are looking forward to Christ’s Coming, either the first time or the second, or both. That is the sure and certain hope of every believer!

 

What gives you hope?

Answer: Jesus confirmed he is faithful with numerous infallible proofs. His confirmations are daily, if we just look with our spiritual perception, instead of our material perception.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.   (Romans 5:1-13)

 

Are the promises in scripture ever a discouragement to you?

Answer: No!

 

If so how do you resolve the problem?

Answer: Because Despite the reality that I will never measure up to God’s promises, He, in love, has freely given the promises to me – not from my deserving, but through His election.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”   (Romans 8:14-17)

 

These last couple of verses in the Bible express a longing for Jesus to come again. What does this say to you?

Answer: Maranatha! Even so LORD Jesus come quickly? I am eager to be fully in my Messiah’s presence, and in the presence of my heavenly Father, and in the Presence of the Holy Spirit (in the way we can never be in our material state).

 

Reflection Question:

Because the future is unknown and we cannot control it, what gives you hope?

Answer: My hope is in nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

… for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.”

“But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ.   (Ephesians 2:8-10 & 13)

, ,

Glad Tidings

Hope in God

2 Oct , 2016  

GT—Volume 13 Issue 10

gt-logo-2016Hope for the Best

Without hope life is featureless. With hope, life is in Technicolor. Hope is the expectation that there will be good things in the future. In Dante’s Inferno, emblazoned over the Gates of Hell is, “Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here”. The label indicates that there will never be anything good ever again.

When I was in seminary, one of the counseling courses I took had a segment dealing with suicidal people. The emphasis was that for whatever reason those afflicted had lost hope. They were so caught up in the pressure, ennui or fear that they could see nothing but the continuation of an intolerable repetition of days in the same state. They could only see death as a relief. Their only scrap of hope was that death would bring nothingness.

predawn-sun-rising

In the predawn, it is still dark, but the glint of the sun on the horizon is a harbinger of a better day coming. It brings light to overcome the darkness, chasing away the shadows, revealing possibilities.

As counselors and pastors, our responsibility was to give them hope. Since they saw no future in this life, first we had to give them a future. We did this by getting them to do something or to agree to a meeting sometime in their future. We did not need to address their state right away, but worked on pushing back the irrevocable decision to end their lives.

Once we got such an agreement, the next step was to discover how to show them that their situation was not hopeless. We had to avoid giving false hope, because that only kicked the can down the road. When that hope proved false, as counselors we had lost our credibility and their resolve of suicide intensified, most likely beyond recovery.   dove-vector-clipart

Where There is Hope, There is Life

robert-the-bruce-of-scotland

Statue of Robert the Bruce at the monument for the Battle of Bannockburn in Bannockburn

Robert the Bruce of Scotland (in 1306 A.D.) had been fighting Edward I of England for control of Scotland. He had been defeated six times, and was hiding alone in a barn, despondent. While brooding over his lot, he idly watched a spider trying to fasten its web to a beam. After six failed tries, the spider attempted the seventh and succeeded.

In the depth of despondency, hope in the form of a persistent spider resulted in the seizing of a kingdom. This is the power of hope. Its persistence inspired The Bruce to rally his army. In the next battle they won, and went on to defeat Edward’s General, Comyn, at the Battle of Inverurie in May 1308; he then overran Buchan and defeated the English garrison at Aberdeen. The Bruce reigned as King of Scotland until his death in 1329.

George Washington fought a retreating war with the British in 1777. As the English settled into the comfortable populous cities for the winter, George Washington’s Army settled into Valley Forge just 18 miles from Philadelphia. This was a bit more than a year before he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was fighting the greatest army in the world at the time. He had been in a constant state of retreat to preserve his army. While in Valley Forge, he was safe from attack, because the British had hunkered down in relative ease for the winter.

medium_detail-washingtons-crossing

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Washington, however, was losing men. Starvation, disease, malnutrition, and exposure killed more than 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February, 1778. In addition, men whose enlistments expired left for home. His situation was desperate. Continental Congress could not supply his men. Foreign nations, even enemies of England, were unwilling to loan money to a losing cause. The American General needed something to give his men, his nation and foreign lenders hope.
On Christmas, he made a daring crossing of the Delaware River to attack the elite Hessian mercenary force at Trenton. His surprise attack was eminently successful. This proved that the American “rag tag’ army was equal to face and defeat the British.   dove-vector-clipart

Hope is a Ladder to Success

My climbing partner and I were rock climbing Castle Rock just off U. S. Highway 2, west of Leavenworth, WA. The first portion is a monolith that has cracked away from the main peak. You attain the relatively flat top of the monolith, but there in front of you is a narrow crevasse about 4 feet across, but 30 or 40 feet deep. There is a ledge on the main peak within arm’s reach, if one leaned out over the crevasse. To the gain main portion you must do what climbers call a mantle move. It is like putting your palms on a fireplace mantle and levering you body up to the place where you can put a knee on the mantle.

climbing-castle-rock

Cragging at Castle Rock

This is not a difficult technical move, but with the crevasse yawning below it is a difficult psychological one. I attempted it twice and failed regaining the flat top of the monolith with some difficulty, out of breath and heart surging.

I looked at it and said to myself, “Ted! It’s not that difficult! You CAN DO IT!” In one continuous move, I leaned over, mantled up, placed my knee and attained the ledge. I just needed the reassuring hope that It could be done and I had the ability to do it.

Earlier in life, I was a young Real Estate Salesman. I was unsuccessful and discouraged. I talked with a successful salesman. He taught me the “Vicious Spiral” and the “Successful Spiral”. Human nature projects the past into the future. One failure tends to predispose one to another failure. This reinforces the downward spiral of failure. Without some intervention, the downward spiral continues to complete defeat. In contrast the successful spiral builds on a success, which predisposes one to expect the next success and achieve it, building into an ever increasing record of successes.

guy-in-candy-machineGood salespeople do not allow a failed sale to influence their attitude toward the next one. They retain hope in their abilities and retain an attitude that projects confidence. This, in turn, evokes trust in clients who begin to trust the salesperson to successfully find the right property and help them buy it. The expectant hope in the salesperson communicates hope to the buyer.

This contributes to the success in the current sale and builds hope that the succeeding sales will be successful.

Instead of focusing on what they can do, people too often focus on their emotions. They allow their disappointments to sap the hope for a better outcome. The unhappy result is without hope, a person cannot exert his best effort, and the attempts become a self-fulfilling prophesy. You cannot because without hope you believe you cannot.   dove-vector-clipart

Hopelessness Leads to Disaster

Personality conflicts with his superior led to the firing of an engineer. Unhappily, the reason given was incompetence. Essentially, that was a kiss of death. He applied to three different firms. At the first interview the vindictive report of his former manager caused them to reject him. He began to lose hope, so he went to his second interview steeled for the rejection that he expected. Sure enough, they passed him over. By the third interview, it reflected in his demeanor and his “you don’t really want to hire me, do you?” attitude.

He had been out of work so long that to get an income, any income, he took a job at another engineering firm as a mail clerk. He was headed for the disaster of dead end jobs until he died of a broken heart.

As he was passing out the mail, a former associate and a friend discovered him. “What are you doing?” “Oh, I had to take a stop-loss job.” His friend took him to lunch and discovered what had happened. “But you are a good engineer! You can’t settle for this. Your name is on the Richardson Building. It’s on the Century Tower and several other projects in town. Why don’t you lead with those? They will show your competence. Then state clearly the dispute you had with your former manager. Let the interviewer decide whether to believe him or your work.”

people-in-kitchenAs in this case, sometimes it takes a friend who cares to give us hope. Our need for one another is humbling, but essential. “No man is an island.” We are foolish if we insist on “making it on our own.” There are times when one has to do everything by himself. Those times are a minority. By far, the most of life lies in the path accompanied by others. It is important to be willing to lean on others and encourage them to lean on us from time to time.

Often another person has the emotional separation to see a problem we are too close to see. Listening to others with humility and honesty can be a very hope-filled activity. We learn to expect an honest declaration of our unseen needs. This gives us the ability to address the needs and overcome them; when without that other’s insight we would continue down a dead end road.   dove-vector-clipart

Looking Forward

We live in a prosperous nation. We live in a bountiful country. There are good people all around us. We have the freedom to exercise many of our desires.

Pink roses

Stop and smell the roses.

Despite all the problems that are real in our lives, nation and world, still for us, there is much to enjoy in life. We too often focus too much on our problems and disappointments. We begin to have tunnel vision focusing too narrowly. We need to “stop and smell the roses”. We need to step back from the difficulties of life and take a broader look at the world and the people around us.

I see the vast majority of people being polite and taking turns. I see people naturally helping others. Day before yesterday, a vehicle had a dead battery. No cars were close by. The driver had no jumper cables. He went over to a vehicle further off. The driver was glad of help and was willing to lend his running vehicle, but he did not have jumper cables. The distressed driver asked another fellow. He could not leave his job, but he loaned his cables. In a trice, with the willing cooperation of two strangers, the engine was running.

Yes, we live in a society that is hopeful at its core. We never have a reason in this life to be hopeless. Even for the destitute there are numerous “safety nets,” from Rescue Missions to government programs.

In this life, we need to be constantly looking forward to the possibilities that lie ahead. The hopeless struggle, because depression is waiting to sap their energy, their creativity and their very life force.   dove-vector-clipart

Where There is Life, There is Hope

I have been encouraging us to have hope in this life. That is important, but there is more. The more is life after death. Many do not believe in it. “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” appears to be to philosophy of many. For them hope in this life is all they have.

However, if they are wrong, and there is life, as I know there is, after these bodies die, they may be greatly shocked at what they have missed.

There are three alternatives:

  • Death is the absolute end.
  • Death is a trap door to eternal misery
  • Death is a stairway to blessing

If there is nothing after this life, then why not feast and party, without concern for the long run consequences. So, one destroys his body, it does not matter. It was fun while it lasted. Without consequences of an afterlife, there is no reason to be moral. Clever people can cheat their way through life. Social restrictions are for wimps or those who do have the brains to work the system to their own advantage,

dantes-sign-over-doorIf death is a trap door to misery, then there is no hope in the afterlife. If this is all we have, maybe the memory of the pleasures here and now will be some comfort in the eternal misery. So again, eat, drink and be merry, for this is as good as it gets.

Both of these alternatives offer no future hope–the one is nothing and the other is disaster.

The third possibility is that Death is a stairway to blessedness. Here, too, are two alternatives. One is that everyone gets to be blessed, regardless of how they have lived. This is certainly the depth of injustice. If all the truly evil receive the same life as the ones who have contributed wonderfully to the blessing of others, then what is the point of doing good?

The second alternative of the latter is that it is a combination of both; the evil receive their just reward and the good receive their just reward.

His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’  (Matthew 25:23)

Here lies the truth. God who has created all that is, including life, and life after death has established the rules for all. He is the Creator, so He gets to set the rules.   dove-vector-clipart

The Rules Which Give Hope

Here are the rules simple, direct, understandable:

Sinners go to Hell. Those who do no sin go to heaven. To qualify for an eternal life of blessedness all one has to do is avoid every sin throughout life here. Since all that sin go to an eternity of misery, even one sin qualifies one for Hell.

When I look at my life, I am without hope. Everyone who has been born, lived and died or is going to die is doomed. Because all of us sin, we are doomed to spend eternity in misery. What is the hope in that? None!

God is the Creator. He did not create mankind to be swept into Hell. He created us to love and to love Him. Therefore, God set up a system, whereby all those who love him, God will raise into heaven.

In order for us to receive justice for our sin, he created the system of sacrifice. An innocent life can bear the sins of another into death. The earlier sacrifices were animals. They were a temporary cleansing of a person’s sin. Unhappily, there were many sins not covered by the animal’s death.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.   (John 3:16, 17)

To fill in that gap, God chose to be born a man, fully man and fully God. The Son of God took on flesh and became man. He lived a perfect life of no sin. He voluntarily laid down his life for mankind. Therefore, all who believe that Jesus is God come in the flesh, and who died to cleanse their sins, God will save, cleanse of sin and inherit everlasting life of blessedness.

Conversely, all who for any reason do not believe in Jesus as God, exclude themselves from the eternal life of blessedness, and qualify for Hell and an afterlife of misery.  dove-vector-clipart

Hope in the Love of God

God is a loving father who has loved us so greatly that, to have us with Him in eternity, He paid an extraordinary price. He sent His Son, His only and beloved Son. How many of us would send our son to death to save a prostitute, a rebel, a murderer. The number is so small it vanishes into insignificance.

The other side of this is that the Son of God loves us enough to experience what it was like to live in a limited body, and then to actually, physically die, so that you and I could be with Him for eternity.

Can you see the extent of God’s love? Your embrace of that lover and the surrender of your life to Jesus, the Christ, is the price you pay for eternity in the blessedness of the family of God. God becomes your Farther. Jesus becomes your brother. The Holy Spirit comes to live in you, guiding your along the way in this life to eternal life.

jesus-embracing-someoneThere, my friend, is the love of God.

It is all embracing. It is the epitome of hope. It gives you the promise of eternal life. It gives you a future of blessedness beyond this life. God’s love plants your feet on the stairway to heaven, so that there is not fear in death. What a blessed hope is that! God’s love promises the companionship of the Holy Spirit living in you to be your Guide and Comforter. He teaches you to know Christ and His desires. He fills your spirit with spiritual strength to live this life as an overcomer, and to enter into the eternal Presence of your heavenly father. There you will stand before Him in all His glory and hear Him say words that will thrill your being, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of Your Lord!”   dove-vector-clipart

Questions Demanding Answers

This is a recurring feature. I pose a question in one issue. You have the opportunity to send me answers. I publish the best ones in the next issue. Please cite Biblical authority, and keep you answer within 250 words.

QUESTION: What was the history of the blood sacrifice for atonement for sin?

ANSWER: When Adam and Eve sinned, their first awareness was that they were naked. When God exiled them from the Garden of Eden, He sacrificed animals to clothe their nakedness.

Noah took the animals in two by two, but he took extra clean animals for sacrifice.

Abraham built an altar immediately upon arriving in the land God gave him.

Moses received elaborate instructions for an extensive sacrificial system–burnt offering for sin; thank offering, votive or good will offerings, meat (cereal) offerings, offering on the new moon, offering to redeem the first-born son, the offering of Passover, First Fruits, Succoth, the Day of Atonement.

The concept is that a person’s sins separate him from a righteous and holy God. To propitiate one’s sin one must sacrifice an innocent victim. The most common sacrifice was a lamb. For the poor, it was a dove.

The understanding was that the life was in the blood. Therefore, sprinkling the lifeblood of the victim was a propitiating sacrifice. To propitiate is to cause one to be favorably inclined, to appease or conciliate. Thus, the sacrifice of an innocent victim was what God required to appeased His wrath against sin.

God teaches us that because He is perfectly and infinitely righteous, any sin is an offense against Him and evokes His wrath. The perpetrator is condemned in the very act of unrighteousness. Thus, God’s wrath must be propitiated. An innocent victim was a stopgap. Since people sinned every day, the people had to repeat the sacrifice often.

The animal sacrifice continued in the Temple until the Romans finally destroyed it in 70 A.D.

However, in the meantime, Jesus the God/man was born lived and was crucified. God’s Son was the ultimate innocent victim. Because He loved mankind and wanted us to be with Him in eternity, Jesus went willingly to the cross. His innocent death propitiated God’s wrath against all who embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Sin strips away our righteousness, leaving us naked. Jesus through His sacrificial death and our surrender to Him, reclothes us in His righteousness. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. He died in our place. Jesus with his death paid the ransom for us to redeem us. Jesus’ lifeblood was the cleansing agent for our sin.

Because the Father loves the Son, and because the Son died in our place, when the Father looks at us and sees Christ’s blood on us and us clothed in Christ’s righteousness, we are accepted in the beloved!

QUESTION: How can we be children of God?

The Holy of Holies

Join me in bowing before our God in gratitude that we can speak directly and personally to Him. He is our loving Father, so we can embrace Him boldly, but respectfully.

 I come to You, my Father, because I am eternally grateful for Your love and provision for me and my family. You have poured out Your love to each and all of us. You have selected us to be adopted into Your family. Out of all the billions of people who have ever lived and ever will live, You sent Your Holy Spirit to draw us into Your heart.

We were lost and we didn’t even know it. Now that You, Holy Spirit have called us we have been adopted into God’s family. It is marvelous what You have done in quickening our spirits and in filling us with Your grace. You have bestowed upon us manifold gifts and promises of future grace.

Jesus, thank You for bearing our sins on the cross and taking them to death with You in Your actual death. I am amazed when I consider what You went through to redeem me. You were severely beaten, your were brutally flogged, they crammed the crown of thorns on your brow, they forced You to carry the heavy, rough cross painfully on your bleeding back, and then they pierced your hands and feet, pounding in the spikes. After that excruciating pain they hoisted You up to hang from the wounds. You suffered the agony of Your injuries, the agony of thirst and agony of muscle cramps from dehydration. And worst of all You became the sin bearer with all my sin. Then Your righteous Father who will not look upon sin, turned away from You. That must have been the greatest agony of all, the just penalty for sin, abandonment by Your Father.

My Jesus, Your love is so great for me that You, knowing beforehand what you would suffer, willingly bore my penalty on the cross. Oh, my God! I thank You. I love You. I am humbled and deeply honored that You have embraced me as Your adopted brother. You are my Shepherd and You provide all I need. You have sent the Holy Spirit to seek me out and lead me to You. You are my King and I am Your slave. And yet, You raise me up and call me friend. You have amazing love.

Holy God I have so little to give, but in thanksgiving I give my life to You. I am Yours to command. My heart is willing to do anything to show my gratitude. While I know I can never repay the astounding debt I owe You, I give You all I am and ever will be.

Even in offering this is, I realize that I am bound in flesh. What I will, I cannot do. I am fickle, loving you one minute and forgetting I am Yours the next. Have patience with me, my most gracious Father. Send the Holy Spirit to convict me of my sins of distraction from Your glory, sins of being more concerned about the opinions of other people than Your opinion of me; more wrapped up in me than devoted to You. My God, O, my God, deliver me from this bondage to my fleshly nature.

You are the Loving God. You are the ultimate power in all Creation. Your judgments are right and true. Your mercy is beyond my ability to comprehend. Your glory is so magnificent that in my flesh it would consume me. You are the only, true God!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Glory, and blessing and honor be to You forever! Amen!

, ,

Sermons

Live with Faith in Jesus

18 Aug , 2016  

Jesus IS the Messiah

  Matthew 16:13-28

But he turned, and said to Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art and offence to me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”   Matthew 16:23

“Hey, Jesus! Cut him some slack.” Peter understands. He gets it–Jesus IS the Messiah, and more. He is born of God, the Son of God. Jesus has been calling himself the “Son of man”, but that’s just to identify himself with other men. Peter has discovered that a man or woman must see beyond his manhood, to fully know Jesus.

When Peter confessed his understanding and proclaimed this truth, Jesus blessed him. “Peter you have stopped looking with your eyes. You have stopped operating out of the motivation of your soul. You have listened to the voice of God. You are seeing with spiritual eyes, and are being motivated by the Holy Spirit.”

All Who Confess Jesus

Then He further honored Peter. Jesus stated that the revelation Peter proclaimed, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God!”, will be the foundation of Christ’s Church. All who confess this, all who submit to Jesus as God will be members of Christ’s church. Without this proclamation, there is no foundation and no Church.

Jesus bestowed two gifts on the Disciples. He gave them entry into heaven and the method to allow others to enter.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  (Romans 10:13)

Then, Jesus gave them and all disciples authority on earth and in heaven.

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven  (Matthew 16:19)

The holder of keys has the right to lock and unlock doors. He has the authority to allow or disallow entry. Jesus has entrusted that high honor to the Disciples and to all disciples who follow.

Jesus Died for Us

Next, the Messiah offered something even more precious. He shared with them His mind and the intention of Almighty God. Jesus began to reveal to the Disciples the mystery, the hidden truth, that Jesus must die for the Sin of mankind; that He will be in the grave for three days; and that God will raise Him up (v. 21).

Peter was stunned! Here he was basking in the glow of Jesus blessing and praise. Likely, Peter was only half listening as Jesus continued speaking. Maybe he was caught up in a vision of Christ’s Church. Maybe Peter saw himself, as one of Christ’s inner circle, bestowing grace upon thousands. Perhaps his heart was overflowing with love for this wonderful, special Man.

Suddenly he returned to the present. “What did he Say!? He’s going to be murdered – And by the chief priests!? That can’t be! He just said He’s going to found a new Church. The chief priests had been grumbling against Jesus, but murder Him? NEVER! Not on my watch!” Jesus wasn’t making sense.

Shadow of Death

Peter was yanked from the glow of a mountain top experience and plunged into the valley of the shadow of death. Peter’s extravagant love for Jesus, his absolute loyalty to the mission as Peter saw it, made him forget his position. He was a disciple at the feet of the Teacher. His heart overcame his head. Peter’s protective impulse, while noble in the abstract was inappropriate due to his ignorance. Peter leapt out to shield his Master from folly. Where immediately before, Peter had responded to the Holy Spirit; now he was controlled by fleshly emotions. Peter would die before he allowed anyone to harm Jesus – even Jesus Himself!

Blind to everything, but his fear of the danger Jesus was intentionally walking into, Peter rebuked Jesus, “Don’t be a fool! If the priests will endanger you, don’t go to Jerusalem. Have you lost your mind! I won’t let you! I’ll save You from Yourself”

Get Thee Behind Me, Satan!

Just when Peter thought there could be nothing lower than this valley he had plunged into, His beloved Master turned on him. “Get thee behind me, Satan!” “He called me Satan!” Peter must have been crushed. Here he was, just trying to save Jesus, and Jesus calls Peter a tool of the devil. Confused, humiliated, dejected, Peter felt lower than a whale’s belly, scratching on the seabed.

Jesus said Peter was hindering Him, obstructing His mission, interfering with Jesus plans, undermining his purpose. Jesus was saying, “You are living limited and unthinking, controlled by your emotions. Whereas just before you were listening to the voice of God, now your emotions have blinded you to the mind of God. Now you are allowing your emotions to crowd Him out.”

You see, Peter couldn’t yet get beyond death as finality. His emotions, while noble – love for Jesus and desire to protect Him – and ignoble – fear of death, fear of the loss of a dream – overcame his understanding that Jesus is God! Peter lost track of the fact that God knows everything, that He can raise the dead (He’d seen it several times), and that Jesus is not limited to man’s resources.

We are Like Peter

Truth be told, we are much like Peter. You and I, too often, operate in the realm of emotions, rather then the realm of the Holy Spirit. If a loved one or a dear friend becomes gravely ill, so that we fear for his life, we become desperate. The movie, John Q, explores this. The hero’s child needed an immediate organ transplant to save his life. Insurance wouldn’t pay for it. John Q and his family didn’t have the resources to pay for it. In desperation, his wife railed at him to do something. So, our hero took hostages and threatened the lives of many people to force the hospital to perform the transplant for his child. He is shown to be operating out of the best of motives–love for his child and willingness to make any personal sacrifice, even prison, to save his child.

Isn’t this is noble? Can’t we all identify this as moral high ground? The end of saving this child’s life justifies John Q’s desperate and life-threatening behavior.

Or does it?

God is Always Here

Let’s speculate on God’s view of this situation. He is left out of the movie in any real way, but in real situations He is always here. God is well aware of the suffering that sickness and death puts people through. He suffers, too. He knows the heartbreak of losing a child to death. God experienced both sides of it–as Himself and as the Son. We are not dealing with an esoteric, unfeeling God. In the Gospels, we see that Jesus hates death. The Rev. Canon Dennis Bennett said, “Jesus broke up every funeral He attended.” When He arrived at Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus’ spirit was deeply grieved. He groaned under the burden of mourning. He wept (John 11:33-35) in sorrow along with Mary and Martha and the Jews. Even though Jesus knew He would be raising Lazarus from the dead, He wept. He hates death. That’s why God took on death nose to nose, toe to toe–and defeated it!!

Jesus Victory over Death

Jesus’ victory has transformed death from an irretrievable dead end to but a threshold to enlarged life. We can’t conceive of all that means. Perhaps, that is why the Bible gives such a sketchy view of life beyond the grave. Jesus knows that death, even in the most dire and hopeless and despairing situations, is not certain. God has the power to intervene. God can deliver from the jaws of death; He can stay the progress of disease; He can even turn death to life. If you and I will look to Him with our whole hearts, He will replace fear with trust, grief with joy – in the midst of loss.

Trust in God’s Help

Thus, to John Q, to Peter, and to us, God says, “Trust in me, follow me, submit to me, and your life will be full. Trust me to bring your circumstances out of the valley into the light. Follow me through the darkness of confusion and sorrow and I will lead you into assurance of life everlasting. Submit to my command to love me and love others. Don’t limit your life to your own understanding. You will be given the victory over dire situations. I will uphold you by my Almighty Hand. And I will fill you with abundant joy.”

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.   (Deuteronomy 33:27)

Peter’s emotions conquered his trust in Jesus, conquered his obedience to his Master, and conquered his will to follow Jesus anywhere Jesus would lead. As a result, Peter became the tool of Satan. Peter had not grown enough in the spirit to require his emotions to submit. The Disciple tempted the Master to turn aside from the God-ordained path.

Do You Trust Jesus?

Do you identify with John Q? Do you feel he was justified in the extreme measures he took to save his child?

  • Many are saying after “9/11”, our lives have changed and will never be the same.
    • NOT SO! The world is the same fallen world as it was before. Our God is just as much God as He was before. As Christians, we have the authority of Jesus in the same measure as before. In Christ’s name, we can change the world.

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  (Colossians 11:17)

  • Many live in fear of burglars breaking in, being attacked in the street, losing jobs or homes or family, of getting sick, or becoming destitute. Fear is natural, so it is acceptable for Christians to live in fear.
    • NOT SO! God is our fortress and high tower, a certain bulwark in time of trouble. God is our provider of food, clothing, shelter – yes, but so much more! He provides love, eternal life, new life fresh every morning, and God’s acceptance that completely overwhelms all shame.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent people you save me.

I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies. The waves of death swirled about me: the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. (2 Samuel 22:2-7)

  • Many are infirm, disabled, sick, and suffering. This is the natural progress of life. This is the cross we must bear.
    • NOT SO! “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Jesus tells us. This means He has won the victory and presented us with a fete accompli, an accomplished fact. He has won the victory over sickness, addiction, infirmity, disability, poverty, and death. And more wonderful still, Jesus has given that victory to His adopted brothers and sisters – you and I who love Christ and long for his appearing.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Hope in Time of Trouble

When you feel you are walking in Peter’s footsteps,

  • “Jesus you can’t do that!”
  • “Lord I can’t bear it any more!”
  • “The Lord’s not doing anything, I’ll have to do something myself.”
  • “After what has happened between us, I can’t love that person any more.”
  • “I’ll never get out of the hole I’m in”

That’s the flesh talking, and it’s precisely the time to tune your spiritual ears to the Savior. Embrace and learn from His rebuke, “You are an offense to me, because you are clinging to the habits of men and forsaking your inheritance with God; an inheritance I bought for you with my blood!

Receive Comfort

Recognize your emotions for what they are. Recognize that the heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). Face your emotions. Don’t hide from them or deny them. Just don’t allow them to dominate your spirit and dictate your actions.

You are a princess of the Almighty King.

You are a prince of the Lord God.

Do not be led astray by emotion. Instead, lead your emotions into the light of Christ and let the Refiner’s Fire purify them.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Matthew 16:25-26)

I hear you thinking, “Easy for you to say.” On the contrary, no change in life habit comes easily. They are hardly won. Change begins with a step.

The most dangerous step is out the door. You never know where it will lead.  (Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien)

Because change is hard and dangerous, most choose to sit by the fire. That causes us to turn our backs on the offerings of Christ. It leads to ignoring the call of the Holy Spirit. It results in rebellion against God.

Here is how it works

  1. Confess to God each time your emotions take charge
  2. Admit your own powerlessness
  3. Ask Jesus to apply His wisdom and strength to each situation
  4. Submit to what He tells you
  5. Thank Him for delivering you from the tyranny of your emotions
  • Now start praising God. Praise of God in the midst of difficulty and crisis is an act of faith, a sacrifice of praise (Jeremiah 33:11; Hebrews 13:15). God is always worthy of praise.
  • Build yourself up in the knowledge of the Word. Jesus resisted the tempter in the wilderness by quoting scripture. We can hold on to our trust in God through any situation bolstered by the Word of God.
  • Pray without ceasing. Paul adjures us (Romans 12:12), “…continuing instant in prayer:” This is the life of prayer to which God calls us.

Start New Each Day

A photo by dan carlson. unsplash.com/photos/oTQVwECws8oBegin fresh each day, and if necessary, each minute. The more we actively seek to live in the victory of Christ, the more we have the mind of Christ. The more we have the mind of Christ, the less we will be subject to the domination of the flesh. The less we are subject to the domination of the flesh, the freer we are in the spirit and the more the joy of the Lord will permeate our lives.

For Christ is the Victory!

, , ,

Prayers

He Makes All Things New

30 May , 2016  

January 6, 2013

Behold! All Things New

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven of God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God: and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.

And he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he saith, Write: for these words are faithful and true. And he said unto me, They are come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: her light was like unto a stone most precious, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal: having a wall great and high; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the several gates was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof. And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb.

And the nations shall walk amidst the light thereof: and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it. And the gates thereof shall in no wise be shut by day (for there shall be no night there): and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it: and there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie: but only they that are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (The Revelation 21:1-7; 10-12; 21-27)

Please participate in this bidding prayer

I will pray a short prayer covering a topic, and then it will be your turn to pray aloud about that topic. Everyone is free to pray. Once you have prayed, please allow others to pray before you pray again.

Pray for this Troubled World

Our Father and our God, the news is filled with evidence of the fallenness of this world. Earthquake and famine, war and economic failure plague the nations. Our Sovereign Lord save us.

Personal Prayer

Pray for Peace in Jerusalem

God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Your Chosen People in Israel are threatened on every side. Deliver your people from those who would wipe them out.

Personal Prayer

Pray for Our Nation and Its Leaders

Sovereign Lord, You are to God of all nations. Exert Your mighty power and return our nation to godliness.

Personal Prayer

Pray for Our State

Come Holy Spirit and enliven the spiritually dead churches in Washington and especially along the I-5 corridor to Christ-centered holiness.

Personal Prayer

Pray for Our Church

Lord Jesus, you have placed Grace Fellowship Church in Maltby and on Paradise Road for a reason. Motivate us to fulfill Your purposes.

Personal Prayer

Before we come to Communion, ask Forgiveness for Yourself and confess your need for Christ.

Absolution

“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:” (Isaiah 1:16-19)
“He hath not dealt with us after our sins, Nor rewarded us after our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is his lovingkindness toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:1-12)

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.

Amen.

,