The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare what God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole town what Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:38-39)
The man Legion was aptly named, for so many were the demons that had entered him (v30). The mighty, frightful power of Jesus is shown by two things in this text,
Firstly is the fear that the multitude of demons had towards him when they saw him
When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before him, and shouted with a loud voice, "Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I beg you, do not torment me!" (Luke 8:28)
And they began to beg him not to order them to depart into the abyss. (Luke 8:31)
Second is the fear that the people of the town of Gerasenes had when they realised that he had cast out the demons that had made Legion so fearful in their sight:
So the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus. They found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. (Luke 8:35)
The power of God is incomparable in measure. It is a glorious truth that this same power is applied to us who believe, and was most clearly illustrated when The Father raised Christ from the dead and gave him all authority on earth (Eph 1:19-22). But to see this power in action, is a frightful thing to behold. The Gospels are filled with instances of Christ's power and authority over death, sickness and nature left his followers shaking in fear:
So the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they began to glorify God, saying, "A great prophet has appeared among us!" and "God has come to help his people!" (Luke 7:15-16)
Then he said to them, "Where is your faith?" But they were afraid and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!" (Luke 8:25)
The response to the power of Christ is vital as it indicates the condition of our hearts towards him. The response to the fear that may arise in our hearts in beholding him in his power is of utmost importance as we either join him or leave him at the point at which he glorifies himself in his power.
The power of God, as like all other things in the universe, is, according to the purpose of his will, to be to the praise of his glory (Eph 1:11-13). Thus God is to be glorified in it. The people in the town of Nain (in Luke 7), when they saw Christ's power over death, they were understandably fearful, and gave glory to God, saying that "God has visited his people" (Luke 7v16). The disciples similarly marveled in their fear at his authority over the wind and waves (Luke 8v25).
In contrast, the people at Gerasenes(where Legion was from) are said to have asked him to depart from them because of the fear that seized them when they saw his power over the demons (8v37). And because of their poor response to his power, it happened that only the most ostracised member of their community, the demon-possesed Legion believed in Christ, becoming an obedient follower (v38).
We can have our eyes either too dull and unbelieving that he does not reveal his power among us (Mark 6:4-6) or too concerned with his power that we fail to give him the glory and want it for our own praise (as Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8) but his power is real, and we need to have a correct response to it when he reveals himself through it. It is for his glory and his glory alone that he reveals his power. Let us not be held back in glorifying him by our fear or our unbelieving, hardened hearts.
I suspect that it is this same danger that Paul addresses to the Thessalonian church when he advises them not to quench the Spirit, not to despise prophecies but to rather test everything, holding fast to the good. (1Thess5:19-22). Could this speak a message to some conservative evangelical thought? Are we possibly allowing our fear of the unpredictable might of God to quench what may be legitimate works of his Spirit to bring him glory? May we be humble in seeking his truth, that we may hold to what is good and not quench his Spirit.
Let us choose to be a converted Legion, who follows him obediently after seeing his power rather than an unbelieving Nation of Gerasenes that doesn't.
To him be all the glory
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
The fuel to the fire of the Great Commission
Matthew 28:18-20
All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
So the Great Commission, the sending of the apostles is sandwiched between the phrases "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me..." and "-Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age", how do these two affect how the command is to be taken by the disciples and all who are sent through them?
It is important to realise first, that although the Great Commission was originally directed at the Apostles (Jesus was speaking to the 11 apostles here (v16) ) the fact that his sending them out to make disciples of all nations was a command in itself makes it applicable to all the converts who come after them. This is because of the statement that they should "teach them to obey all that I have commanded you (including this command I give you to disciple all nations). So the Great Commission applies to all believers as directly as it applied to the disciples. So, the fuel to do this work is of vital importance in our walk of obedience to the commands of our Lord.
The Great Commission is preceded by the truth that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Christ. So central is this truth for the fulfillment of the Commission that the Commission begins with "Therefore...". The necessary inference being that Christ intended the obedience of the Commission to be dependent on the authority he has over all things. Since Christ, has all authority, then you are to go out and make disciples of all nations. The authority of Christ is the very reason that they are to go out and make disciples of all nations. How does this serve as a reason for discipling all nations? Jesus' prayer to his Father in John 17:1-2 goes as follows:
"Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him."
Jesus has the authority over all flesh, over all peoples. In the Great Commission, he is not delegating the authority, he remains the only one who has this authority to give eternal life to anyone he pleases. This gives us an indication as to why the discipleship is to all nations, his authority spans the globe, he gives eternal life to all that the Father has given him in all the nations (all flesh).
John 14:15-18 sheds some light on how the authority of Christ serves as reason to spread the Gospel and make disciples.
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
This fascinating passage tells us that the Helper, the Spirit of truth, is the Spirit of Jesus himself (also called the same in Phi 1:19, Acts 16:7, Rom 8:9-10,Gal 4:6). He tells the disciples that they know the Helper because at that very moment, he was dwelling WITH them, and would later dwell IN them. He also assures them that though he will leave them, he would not leave them as orphans, but that he himself would come to them even as he speaks of the Spirit is another Helper (v16), herein is the unfathomable mystery of the trinity.
This assurance of Christ is that he shall go, and ask the Father to send another Helper who will not just dwell with us (as he dwelt with the disciples when he was in the flesh) but would dwell in us, his Spirit. This indwelling, he tells his disciples, is to their advantage and as such he has to go away (in the flesh) that it may come to pass.
"But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." John 16:7
For the disciples at the time (and for the believer today), having the indwelling Spirit of Christ is of greater advantage than having the human person of Christ himself dwell among us physically, breathtaking...
The one who has authority to give eternal life to all flesh, dwells in us, brothers and sisters. This is our motivation to fulfill the Great Commission, when we spread the Gospel, the Spirit of Christ, living inside of us, who has the authority to give eternal life to all the Father has given him, does the work of conversion. Our faithfulness in presenting the full Gospel to the world is the means by which he will open eyes and grant eternal life to the unbeliever.
"So faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)
"In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory." (Eph 1:13-14)
His final assurance is testament to the truth that the Commission indeed applies to every single believer, "Behold, I am with you to the end of the age". He dwells in the heart of every believer who will ever live till his return. In view of his authority to give eternal life to all people, and his dwelling in us enabling us to be his messengers,let us be faithful in our calling that he may do his work of glorifying the Father, bearing in mind the final words of Christ's prayer to his Father in John 17
v25-26 "O righteous Father, even though the world does now know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I have made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
To him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.
All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
So the Great Commission, the sending of the apostles is sandwiched between the phrases "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me..." and "-Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age", how do these two affect how the command is to be taken by the disciples and all who are sent through them?
It is important to realise first, that although the Great Commission was originally directed at the Apostles (Jesus was speaking to the 11 apostles here (v16) ) the fact that his sending them out to make disciples of all nations was a command in itself makes it applicable to all the converts who come after them. This is because of the statement that they should "teach them to obey all that I have commanded you (including this command I give you to disciple all nations). So the Great Commission applies to all believers as directly as it applied to the disciples. So, the fuel to do this work is of vital importance in our walk of obedience to the commands of our Lord.
The Great Commission is preceded by the truth that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Christ. So central is this truth for the fulfillment of the Commission that the Commission begins with "Therefore...". The necessary inference being that Christ intended the obedience of the Commission to be dependent on the authority he has over all things. Since Christ, has all authority, then you are to go out and make disciples of all nations. The authority of Christ is the very reason that they are to go out and make disciples of all nations. How does this serve as a reason for discipling all nations? Jesus' prayer to his Father in John 17:1-2 goes as follows:
"Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him."
Jesus has the authority over all flesh, over all peoples. In the Great Commission, he is not delegating the authority, he remains the only one who has this authority to give eternal life to anyone he pleases. This gives us an indication as to why the discipleship is to all nations, his authority spans the globe, he gives eternal life to all that the Father has given him in all the nations (all flesh).
John 14:15-18 sheds some light on how the authority of Christ serves as reason to spread the Gospel and make disciples.
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
This fascinating passage tells us that the Helper, the Spirit of truth, is the Spirit of Jesus himself (also called the same in Phi 1:19, Acts 16:7, Rom 8:9-10,Gal 4:6). He tells the disciples that they know the Helper because at that very moment, he was dwelling WITH them, and would later dwell IN them. He also assures them that though he will leave them, he would not leave them as orphans, but that he himself would come to them even as he speaks of the Spirit is another Helper (v16), herein is the unfathomable mystery of the trinity.
This assurance of Christ is that he shall go, and ask the Father to send another Helper who will not just dwell with us (as he dwelt with the disciples when he was in the flesh) but would dwell in us, his Spirit. This indwelling, he tells his disciples, is to their advantage and as such he has to go away (in the flesh) that it may come to pass.
"But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." John 16:7
For the disciples at the time (and for the believer today), having the indwelling Spirit of Christ is of greater advantage than having the human person of Christ himself dwell among us physically, breathtaking...
The one who has authority to give eternal life to all flesh, dwells in us, brothers and sisters. This is our motivation to fulfill the Great Commission, when we spread the Gospel, the Spirit of Christ, living inside of us, who has the authority to give eternal life to all the Father has given him, does the work of conversion. Our faithfulness in presenting the full Gospel to the world is the means by which he will open eyes and grant eternal life to the unbeliever.
"So faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)
"In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory." (Eph 1:13-14)
His final assurance is testament to the truth that the Commission indeed applies to every single believer, "Behold, I am with you to the end of the age". He dwells in the heart of every believer who will ever live till his return. In view of his authority to give eternal life to all people, and his dwelling in us enabling us to be his messengers,let us be faithful in our calling that he may do his work of glorifying the Father, bearing in mind the final words of Christ's prayer to his Father in John 17
v25-26 "O righteous Father, even though the world does now know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I have made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
To him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.
Monday, October 17, 2011
They will realise how I was crushed by their unfaithfulness, and loathe themselves
Ezek 6:9 Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize how I was crushed by their unfaithful heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices. [NET Bible]
The Lord was crushed by the unfaithful heart of the Israelites. So closely had he bound himself and his affections to the Israelites that he says to them in this chapter, that in the punishment for their iniquities, in their suffering under his wrath, what they shall realise is how grieved he is. "Crushed" he says. The ESV uses the word "Broken" and refers to their eyes as whoring, and their hearts as whoring after idols. Striking as this picture is, of the Lord Almighty "broken", the NET Bible translators correctly point out that when we come to see God as the husband of the church, and the church as his bride, then this jealousy, and brokeness because of their wayward hearts is understandable. If true love between man and woman is to be marvelled at, how much more the source of love when he binds himself to a people as a husband? How far greater the pain at the betrayal? He alludes that even the suffering Israelites shall realise the folly of their ways, and shall curse not him, but themselves. "they will loathe themselves, because of the evil they have done..."
Do our hearts look to the things of this world for our comfort? Do we yearn for his love? Or has he grown dull to us? Not exciting us as much as the joys of the world. Let us test our eyes, and watch our hearts, that nothing brings them greater joy and happiness than the love of our saviour. Let us not be wandering spouses.
Meditate on God's use of marriage to explain the unfaithfulness of the Israelites, his bride. [Ezekiel 16:4-16]
Ezek 16:4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water; you were certainly not rubbed down with salt, nor wrapped with blankets.
Ezek 16:5 No eye took pity on you to do even one of these things for you to spare you; you were thrown out into the open field because you were detested on the day you were born.
Ezek 16:6 “‘I passed by you and saw you kicking around helplessly in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!”
Ezek 16:7 I made you plentiful like sprouts in a field; you grew tall and came of age so that you could wear jewelry. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, but you were still naked and bare.
Ezek 16:8 “‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing that you had reached the age for love. I spread my cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the sovereign LORD, and you became mine.
Ezek 16:9 “‘Then I bathed you in water, washed the blood off you, and anointed you with fragrant oil.
Ezek 16:10 I dressed you in embroidered clothing and put fine leather sandals on your feet. I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk.
Ezek 16:11 I adorned you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck.
Ezek 16:12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.
Ezek 16:13 You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained the position of royalty.
Ezek 16:14 Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty; your beauty was perfect because of the splendor which I bestowed on you, declares the sovereign LORD.
Ezek 16:15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty became his.
Ezek 16:16 You took some of your clothing and made for yourself decorated high places; you engaged in prostitution on them. You went to him to become his.
[NET Bible]
Friday, September 30, 2011
Rejoice in the Lord...I say this for your safety
Paul brings his letter to the Phillipian church to a close with these words:
"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you." 3v1 [NIV]
Paul urges them to rejoice in the Lord. Why? Because it is a safeguard for them. He continues from here in the following verse to warn them against the false, evil teachers who are trying to convince them to get circumcised to be right with God (3v2&3). How are they to guard against this threat? I believe that Paul starts this section with these words because he intends for them to fight these attacks by seeking joy, and rejoicing in God.
Paul goes on to show that for all that he has gained, and for all that may be credited to him for his deeds on earth, none compare to the joy and rejoicing that he looks forward to in the next life. He speaks of a fascinating eagerness and happiness of knowing Christ, and finally being with him on the last day in full communion. He refers to it severally in the letter
"...I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body." 1v23b-24
"Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith. So that through my being with you again, your joy in Christ Jesus may overflow on account of me." 1v25-26
I tried to not comment until the end of the passages, but I just couldn't. Paul, so eager to go and be with Christ, so filled with joy of fellowship with him, is convinced that he will not die yet, because his job is as yet not complete - to fill the Phillipian church with the same joy in Christ that he has come to know. Fascinating...is this our assurance of life on earth? Do we see the next life as so joyous, because we shall be with Christ, that the ultimate pinnacle of our love for others is to bring them into this same eager excitement for him?
" But whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake Christ, what is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ..." 3v7&8
"[referring to those who live as enemies of the cross] Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly expect a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will bring our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." 3v19-21
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" 4v4
This joy is not only our hope for our future life with Christ, but is our steadfast safeguard here on earth. It is both what keeps us on the path of seeking God and what moves us along it as through it we see the end in the distance. Consider how Paul follows up from the passage in 3v19-21 above:
"Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord." 4v1
Let us seek to rejoice in the Lord with every breath. It is a safeguard, and a beacon of hope of where we belong, and where we shall be. And as he fills us with this eager joy of his fellowship, may we give of our lives to urge others to do the same.
May he be glorified,
Love you all,
hUNJA
Friday, September 16, 2011
Your unfailing love, - Psalms 119:41-43
Psalms 119:41-43
41
May your unfailing love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; 42 then I will answer the one who taunts me, for I trust in your word. 43 Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws.
These three verses bring out some wonderful truths that got me thinking yesterday. V41 shows us that God's unfailing love is revealed in his salvation. And his salvation, came through his promise, as a fulfilment of things he said in the past.Whatever situation you may be facing today, or tomorrow, please know that it is NOT happening because God's love has been taken away, or has been tempered. No, he has already given the clearest indication of his love for us on the cross, which has wrought for us salvation, which is eternal. So our God's love, is unfailing, to the end of time. The situation you face, is not. Look unto the cross if ever in doubt of his unfailing love for you.
v42 reaches back into v41, to God's unfailing love, and grounds in it as a basis to answer he who taunts us. Revelations 12:10 calls Satan "the accuser of of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night". Satan accuses us before God, every single day. He points out our sins, he mocks our weaknesses, he tries to cast doubt over our life. Did he not seek to bring out Job's sinfulness before God in Job 1, did he not use Peter, Jesus trusted friend to try and sway him from his task in Matthew 16:23 with the innocent reply (after Jesus had explained he has to suffer all things and be killed) of "Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!" To which Jesus replies to Peter, "Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." And this is not the only time that Jesus encountered Satan in the Scriptures, as evidenced by his temptation in the desert reported in Luke 4. Let us be mindful, friends, that Satan lives, and is concerned with nothing else but to lead the world astray (Rev 12:9) and to make war against those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Rev 12:17). The Psalmist, however, shows us the great hope we can have in the midst of this taunting, and deception of the enemy. The Psalmist answers him, because he trusts in the Word of God. Is this true of our lives? Do we trust so fully in God's word, and do we find his unfailing love, his of salvation, according to his promise as comforting enough, and reliable enough to stand up under Satan's taunts? Revelation holds that it is this very word, and the salvation through the death of Christ that overcame Satan. Rev 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
V43 gives a good idea of what such trust may look like in.The Psalmist asks that the word of truth never be snatched from his mouth, as he has put his hope in God's laws. A number of alternative translations put it as:
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules. ESV
And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I wait for Your ordinances NASB Do not completely deprive me of a truthful testimony, for I await your justice. NET
The Psalmist's hope is in God's laws, in his rules and his justice. It is for this reason that he asks never to have the word of truth, the testimony of God, from his mouth. A quick aside, consider the intimacy the Psalmist has with God's word. He asks that it not be snatched from his MOUTH, not from his hand. The word of God is at his tongue, at his mouth, and it would make sense, if his word is my hope, the very thing I wait upon, would it not be at the very tip of my tongue at all times, ready to fire out a reply to he who taunts? Okay, back to the main thread:) So, if there is indeed a thread through these three verses, then it is that God's very word, the truth of his testimony, his laws which portray his justice that gives the Psalmist the answers to the one who taunts him. And God's salvation is his justice, in which his unfailing love is shown most clearly. We are completely forgiven. Isaiah reminds us of this: "...the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed" Isaiah 53:5b Taking the passage from 43 back up to 41, the Psalmist can be seen to say that he clings to the laws and justice of God, and it is with this that he answers he who taunts him because that justice has been served through the LORD's salvation, according to his promise. Such love, such unfailing love.
May your unfailing love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; 42 then I will answer the one who taunts me, for I trust in your word. 43 Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws.
These three verses bring out some wonderful truths that got me thinking yesterday. V41 shows us that God's unfailing love is revealed in his salvation. And his salvation, came through his promise, as a fulfilment of things he said in the past.Whatever situation you may be facing today, or tomorrow, please know that it is NOT happening because God's love has been taken away, or has been tempered. No, he has already given the clearest indication of his love for us on the cross, which has wrought for us salvation, which is eternal. So our God's love, is unfailing, to the end of time. The situation you face, is not. Look unto the cross if ever in doubt of his unfailing love for you.
v42 reaches back into v41, to God's unfailing love, and grounds in it as a basis to answer he who taunts us. Revelations 12:10 calls Satan "the accuser of of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night". Satan accuses us before God, every single day. He points out our sins, he mocks our weaknesses, he tries to cast doubt over our life. Did he not seek to bring out Job's sinfulness before God in Job 1, did he not use Peter, Jesus trusted friend to try and sway him from his task in Matthew 16:23 with the innocent reply (after Jesus had explained he has to suffer all things and be killed) of "Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!" To which Jesus replies to Peter, "Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." And this is not the only time that Jesus encountered Satan in the Scriptures, as evidenced by his temptation in the desert reported in Luke 4. Let us be mindful, friends, that Satan lives, and is concerned with nothing else but to lead the world astray (Rev 12:9) and to make war against those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Rev 12:17). The Psalmist, however, shows us the great hope we can have in the midst of this taunting, and deception of the enemy. The Psalmist answers him, because he trusts in the Word of God. Is this true of our lives? Do we trust so fully in God's word, and do we find his unfailing love, his of salvation, according to his promise as comforting enough, and reliable enough to stand up under Satan's taunts? Revelation holds that it is this very word, and the salvation through the death of Christ that overcame Satan. Rev 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
V43 gives a good idea of what such trust may look like in.The Psalmist asks that the word of truth never be snatched from his mouth, as he has put his hope in God's laws. A number of alternative translations put it as:
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules. ESV
And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I wait for Your ordinances NASB Do not completely deprive me of a truthful testimony, for I await your justice. NET
The Psalmist's hope is in God's laws, in his rules and his justice. It is for this reason that he asks never to have the word of truth, the testimony of God, from his mouth. A quick aside, consider the intimacy the Psalmist has with God's word. He asks that it not be snatched from his MOUTH, not from his hand. The word of God is at his tongue, at his mouth, and it would make sense, if his word is my hope, the very thing I wait upon, would it not be at the very tip of my tongue at all times, ready to fire out a reply to he who taunts? Okay, back to the main thread:) So, if there is indeed a thread through these three verses, then it is that God's very word, the truth of his testimony, his laws which portray his justice that gives the Psalmist the answers to the one who taunts him. And God's salvation is his justice, in which his unfailing love is shown most clearly. We are completely forgiven. Isaiah reminds us of this: "...the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed" Isaiah 53:5b Taking the passage from 43 back up to 41, the Psalmist can be seen to say that he clings to the laws and justice of God, and it is with this that he answers he who taunts him because that justice has been served through the LORD's salvation, according to his promise. Such love, such unfailing love.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Some Thoughts on DEATH
I had a thought provoking conversation with a few friends over facebook and it led me to consider the biblical position on the matter of death, and how we reconcile the pain associated with death to the Sovereignty of God. The particularly thorny passage under consideration was Job 1:27 “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord” spoken by Job just after he has received debilitating report after debilitating report about the death of all his children and all his property. The matter under discussion was whether or not God indeed does “take away” life or whether this is more the work of evil powers at work.
I think the angles I'd like to approach the question of whether God 'takes away' would be the following, The goodness of God, the Sovereignty of God, The reality of the evil of Satan and his restraint by God and the place of life and death in the scheme of God. So, on the matter of the goodness of God, i feel that thats a vital starting point for appreciating his sovereignty. Whenever the issue of God's sovereignty presents us with problems like the one above, i.e. how can God "Take people he loves away" we have to step back and see that God is the greatest good there is. Psalms 107:1 urges us to "give thanks to the Lord for he is good" Psalms 31:19 asks, almost incredulously, "how great is your goodness that you have stored up for those who fear thee, which thou hast wrought for those who take refuge in thee". So in his love, and his goodness, he is without comparison. And since he does not change, then nothing he can do can be a deviation from these his holy attributes. So even when it appears that his actions, or his lack of action results in unpleasant consequences, i would submit that we shall soon find out when we see the king that he has not shifted neither to the right or the left from the greatest of outcomes in all his actions, his glory and that of his Son, slain for us. And even this is not an act of pride, for pride is sinful, and God cannot sin, the greatest good is indeed his glory, its the greatest good that we or he can work towards. Samuel mentions how the Israelites, are beneficiaries of God's great work in creation, the display of his glory "For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own" 1Sam 12:22.
Regarding the sovereignty of God, i recently read some challenging verse, still in the book of 1Samuel, Hannah, Samuel's mother prays what is probably the most revealing prayer unto the ambit of our Lord's power and control. 1Sam2:6 says "The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up." Jesus lays down his own life, only to take it back again, he stresses that no one takes it away from him, but he has the authority to lay it down himself, and take it up (John 10:18). The fact that he brings Lazarus back to life (John 11) as well shows that he “brings up from the grave” as the Hannah prayer states, I submit that the 1st part of the verse also gives a literal meaning to the power, and possibly the actions of our Lord.
Again, even in this, where our understanding starts to let us down, we have to return to our foundational truth. There is no greater good than God and his actions, so even in his bringing death and making alive, his intentions never have a shred of malice in them.
Job, in his final response to the LORD after questioning why calamity has befallen him, admits to God's sovereignty with one of the most morally challenging quotes of the whole bible. “I know you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted”. The difficulty in this statement is that, if true, will immediately lead to the qn of why bad things actually happen, why death happens if God's plans cannot be thwarted, and if he can do all things. My humble thoughts on this follow, and they are open to criticism and correction. In fact, such are more than welcome.
The tragedies we face, the pain, suffering and death are a consequence of our fall from grace, and the groaning of the earth that resulted from the curse it was put under in Genesis 1:17. At some point as well, Satan, after being hurled to earth following his battle in heaven, was given authority over this world. 2 Cor 4:4 calls him the god of this earth. Rev 13:7 states that all authority over every tribe, nation, language and nation was given to him. If this rings true, then what happens on earth is probably more accurately seen as the interaction between God's goodness and sovereignty and Satan's evil scheming and actions. We may ask where God is when Tsunami's hit Japan, but if we consider the real power and real evil of the ruler of this world, then maybe we should start to ask how it is that the very ground beneath our feet is not disintegrating this very moment. I'd submit that the mere fact that we live is because God restricts the power and evil of Satan over the earth (Hebrews 1:1 tells us that the whole universe is upheld by the word of Christ's power). Satan HATES man, he is the anti-thesis of God, he wants nothing but our destruction. John Piper put it as “Satan is on a leash”, controlled by God. That being said, I would understand the evil of Satan, and the sovereignty of God to mean that while only God can allow death,only he brings to the grave and brings to life, then God, for a time, allows Satan, in some cases to bring death, destruction and pain unto this world. So we could say, indirectly that God is taking ppl away, if he can surely stop Satan. But Why? How? Again, my understanding fails, and I run to my foundation of comfort.
I think a helpful perspective in understanding this matter is in consideration of the true place of death and life in God's plan. The gospel of Christ is simply stated in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of Sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The worst thing about death, is not the physical pain, or the mourning of those left behind, but that death, in a world without Christ, is a final, ill-fated separation from God. Our world is fallen, and imperfect, but the Lord still acts to keep this short life bearable, in the least. Death, without Christ spells judgment for man, which means that God not only holds back the devil on a leash, but God unleashes his wrath on the rebels that we are. All this flowing from his perfect justice and holiness, he cannot tolerate sin, indeed Habbakuk 1:13 tells us that his eyes are too pure to even deign to look upon evil. Hebrews 10:31 gives a frighteningly clear expression of what a death without Christ spelt for man “It is a frightful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”
But what does life, and death mean for the Christian? Relying on the perfect sacrifice of Christ means that the Christian life is devoid of the guilt of sin, since the sacrifice has been paid in full. Satan is called the accuser of men, who accuses them before God day and night. (Rev 12:10) But we have a high priest who lives to intercede for us before God every time we sin (1John 2:1). The Christian life is a life without guilt before the holy God. Life on earth is a continual pursuit after personal holiness as we seek to know God more intimately, eagerly awaiting our final adoption as sons (Romans 8:23).
What does death mean for a Christian? Before Christ, death was the judges gavel banging down condemning man to a fiery grave of the wrath of the holy God. But he is good, oh so good, and he is loving. So much so that he came down, took on the form of a poverty stricken man, and died our death, suffering the wrath of God, multiplied countless times over for all the sins of the believers the world-over. He came down, to suffer more than any sinner shall ever suffer in hell. And he rose again, so that we are justified, fully. (Romans 4:25). So now, death to the Christian, is the passageway to our true home, our true citizenship (1 Peter 1:1). Death has turned from being a certain condemnation to being the greatest transition for the Christian, talk about being more than a conqueror! Paul says that he “desires to depart and be with Christ which is better by far” (Phi1:23) and the saints in Hebrews 11 were willing to go through gruesome suffering and death for God. They were “stoned, sawn in two and put to death by the sword – in a world not worthy of them” The book continues to say that “these were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised [as Christ was yet to come] God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
So death is indeed a time of grieving, but like all things pertaining to the saints, God has used it for the greatest good (Rom 8:28). If we want to see the perfect outworking of God's plan for his people, unaffected by the evil of Satan and the imperfection caused by our sin, Revelations 21:4, the happiest of endings gives the full picture of what we hope for. And is the hope that we should all hold on to, “Now the dwelling of the Lord is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people and he will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who is seated on the throne said “I am making all things anew.”
Blessed be the name of the Lord. Can't wait to worship alongside you Mark, and all those who have gone before me. I shall surely mourn now, but I shall rejoice that you lived in Christ, who has conquered the grave, and thus, so shall you.
Dedicated to Mark Roux, can't wait to see you again brother
I think the angles I'd like to approach the question of whether God 'takes away' would be the following, The goodness of God, the Sovereignty of God, The reality of the evil of Satan and his restraint by God and the place of life and death in the scheme of God. So, on the matter of the goodness of God, i feel that thats a vital starting point for appreciating his sovereignty. Whenever the issue of God's sovereignty presents us with problems like the one above, i.e. how can God "Take people he loves away" we have to step back and see that God is the greatest good there is. Psalms 107:1 urges us to "give thanks to the Lord for he is good" Psalms 31:19 asks, almost incredulously, "how great is your goodness that you have stored up for those who fear thee, which thou hast wrought for those who take refuge in thee". So in his love, and his goodness, he is without comparison. And since he does not change, then nothing he can do can be a deviation from these his holy attributes. So even when it appears that his actions, or his lack of action results in unpleasant consequences, i would submit that we shall soon find out when we see the king that he has not shifted neither to the right or the left from the greatest of outcomes in all his actions, his glory and that of his Son, slain for us. And even this is not an act of pride, for pride is sinful, and God cannot sin, the greatest good is indeed his glory, its the greatest good that we or he can work towards. Samuel mentions how the Israelites, are beneficiaries of God's great work in creation, the display of his glory "For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own" 1Sam 12:22.
Regarding the sovereignty of God, i recently read some challenging verse, still in the book of 1Samuel, Hannah, Samuel's mother prays what is probably the most revealing prayer unto the ambit of our Lord's power and control. 1Sam2:6 says "The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up." Jesus lays down his own life, only to take it back again, he stresses that no one takes it away from him, but he has the authority to lay it down himself, and take it up (John 10:18). The fact that he brings Lazarus back to life (John 11) as well shows that he “brings up from the grave” as the Hannah prayer states, I submit that the 1st part of the verse also gives a literal meaning to the power, and possibly the actions of our Lord.
Again, even in this, where our understanding starts to let us down, we have to return to our foundational truth. There is no greater good than God and his actions, so even in his bringing death and making alive, his intentions never have a shred of malice in them.
Job, in his final response to the LORD after questioning why calamity has befallen him, admits to God's sovereignty with one of the most morally challenging quotes of the whole bible. “I know you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted”. The difficulty in this statement is that, if true, will immediately lead to the qn of why bad things actually happen, why death happens if God's plans cannot be thwarted, and if he can do all things. My humble thoughts on this follow, and they are open to criticism and correction. In fact, such are more than welcome.
The tragedies we face, the pain, suffering and death are a consequence of our fall from grace, and the groaning of the earth that resulted from the curse it was put under in Genesis 1:17. At some point as well, Satan, after being hurled to earth following his battle in heaven, was given authority over this world. 2 Cor 4:4 calls him the god of this earth. Rev 13:7 states that all authority over every tribe, nation, language and nation was given to him. If this rings true, then what happens on earth is probably more accurately seen as the interaction between God's goodness and sovereignty and Satan's evil scheming and actions. We may ask where God is when Tsunami's hit Japan, but if we consider the real power and real evil of the ruler of this world, then maybe we should start to ask how it is that the very ground beneath our feet is not disintegrating this very moment. I'd submit that the mere fact that we live is because God restricts the power and evil of Satan over the earth (Hebrews 1:1 tells us that the whole universe is upheld by the word of Christ's power). Satan HATES man, he is the anti-thesis of God, he wants nothing but our destruction. John Piper put it as “Satan is on a leash”, controlled by God. That being said, I would understand the evil of Satan, and the sovereignty of God to mean that while only God can allow death,only he brings to the grave and brings to life, then God, for a time, allows Satan, in some cases to bring death, destruction and pain unto this world. So we could say, indirectly that God is taking ppl away, if he can surely stop Satan. But Why? How? Again, my understanding fails, and I run to my foundation of comfort.
I think a helpful perspective in understanding this matter is in consideration of the true place of death and life in God's plan. The gospel of Christ is simply stated in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of Sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The worst thing about death, is not the physical pain, or the mourning of those left behind, but that death, in a world without Christ, is a final, ill-fated separation from God. Our world is fallen, and imperfect, but the Lord still acts to keep this short life bearable, in the least. Death, without Christ spells judgment for man, which means that God not only holds back the devil on a leash, but God unleashes his wrath on the rebels that we are. All this flowing from his perfect justice and holiness, he cannot tolerate sin, indeed Habbakuk 1:13 tells us that his eyes are too pure to even deign to look upon evil. Hebrews 10:31 gives a frighteningly clear expression of what a death without Christ spelt for man “It is a frightful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”
But what does life, and death mean for the Christian? Relying on the perfect sacrifice of Christ means that the Christian life is devoid of the guilt of sin, since the sacrifice has been paid in full. Satan is called the accuser of men, who accuses them before God day and night. (Rev 12:10) But we have a high priest who lives to intercede for us before God every time we sin (1John 2:1). The Christian life is a life without guilt before the holy God. Life on earth is a continual pursuit after personal holiness as we seek to know God more intimately, eagerly awaiting our final adoption as sons (Romans 8:23).
What does death mean for a Christian? Before Christ, death was the judges gavel banging down condemning man to a fiery grave of the wrath of the holy God. But he is good, oh so good, and he is loving. So much so that he came down, took on the form of a poverty stricken man, and died our death, suffering the wrath of God, multiplied countless times over for all the sins of the believers the world-over. He came down, to suffer more than any sinner shall ever suffer in hell. And he rose again, so that we are justified, fully. (Romans 4:25). So now, death to the Christian, is the passageway to our true home, our true citizenship (1 Peter 1:1). Death has turned from being a certain condemnation to being the greatest transition for the Christian, talk about being more than a conqueror! Paul says that he “desires to depart and be with Christ which is better by far” (Phi1:23) and the saints in Hebrews 11 were willing to go through gruesome suffering and death for God. They were “stoned, sawn in two and put to death by the sword – in a world not worthy of them” The book continues to say that “these were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised [as Christ was yet to come] God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
So death is indeed a time of grieving, but like all things pertaining to the saints, God has used it for the greatest good (Rom 8:28). If we want to see the perfect outworking of God's plan for his people, unaffected by the evil of Satan and the imperfection caused by our sin, Revelations 21:4, the happiest of endings gives the full picture of what we hope for. And is the hope that we should all hold on to, “Now the dwelling of the Lord is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people and he will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who is seated on the throne said “I am making all things anew.”
Blessed be the name of the Lord. Can't wait to worship alongside you Mark, and all those who have gone before me. I shall surely mourn now, but I shall rejoice that you lived in Christ, who has conquered the grave, and thus, so shall you.
Dedicated to Mark Roux, can't wait to see you again brother
Some thoughts on the life of Moses
When God appears in the burning bush, he sends Moses to bring the children of Israel out of the oppression of Egypt. (Exodus 3:10). Moses is deeply hesitant to do so, he asks “Who am I that I should go to Pharoah and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? (Exodus 3:11) to which God gives what should really be assurance enough, “I will be with you. And this will be a sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain” (Exodus 3:12).
Moses then asks, “What shall I answer to them who ask 'What is the name of he who sends me'?” (Exodus 3:13) whereafter God reveals himself as “I AM WHO I AM” the name by which he shall be remembered for generations (Exodus 3:14) and speaks for another 6 verses about how the Israelite leaders will listen to him (Exodus 3:18), and how the Egyptian king shall not believe him, so he shall perform mighty acts to prove his power and thereafter he shall let the Israelites go. (Exodus 3:19-20). Moses then replies to this most holy monologue, in which God reveals himself by his name for the first time in history (indeed not even Abraham, Isaac or Jacob had this privilege (Exodus 56:3)) with the following shocking question, “What if they dont believe me or listen to me and say 'The LORD did not appear to you'?” (Exodus 4:1) With all due respect to this great man of God,had he not been listening to what God had just been saying???
But our Lord is indeed slow to anger, and abounding in love (Exodus 34:6) and responds to this qn by showing his miraculous power to Moses, turning his staff into a snake and back into a staff (Exodus 4:3) and turning his hand leperous, and back to normal (Exodus 4:6&7) and telling Moses “if they do not believe you or pay attention the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second” then advising him to take some water from the Nile and pour it on the ground where it will turn to blood (Exodus 4:8-9).
And what is Moses' reply to this display of power in response to his previous unbelief? “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, I am slow of speech and tongue.” (Exodus 4:10) The LORD continues in his amazing patience, replying in what is obvious, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Exodus 4:11) and then gives him the same assurance of his presence and help through this task that he begun with, which at this point should surely have been enough to convince this,our great Old Testament author “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say”. His response? “O LORD, please send someone else to do it.”(Exodus 4:13) Little wonder that the next verse says that the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and he met him on his way and almost killed him (Exodus 4:24).
Now, interestingly, and this convinces me that some need to SEE the power of God to place their trust in him, after performing some HECTIC miraculous signs in Egypt, the Moses who leads the Israelites out of Egypt is a radically changed man. As they are chased by Pharoah and his army of his best horsemen, trapped between the Red Sea and the advancing enemy, the Israelites mourn, asking if they have been brought out to die in the desert because there weren't enough graves in Egypt, to which Moses replies one of the most oft-repeated phrases in all of the bible, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you, you need only be still.” (Exodus 14:13-14) What a transformed leader.
So conformed was this former doubter into the image of his master, and so thirsty was he for a greater experience of the LORD that he had the audacity to ask to see the glory of God, prefacing this breathtaking request with a display of his desire for his will, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favour with you.”(Exodus 33:13) then in verse 18,“Now show me your glory!” God, the same God we serve, was so impressed by this request, fueled by this desire, that the next day, he proclaimed his name before Moses and caused all his goodness to pass before him. What a sight! This is the same God we serve today, the same God who may convict you as you read this to thirst after him as Moses did, the same God who wants our single-minded desire to be to see him in all his glorious goodness at the end of our days in worship.
I would be remiss to fail to mention one of the most challenging lessons from the life of Moses that tends to be overlooked. It touches on the matter of depression and its debilitating effect on the christian perspective, and the faithfulness of God to come to our aid when we are at our wits end. When the children of Israel grumble for the umpteenth time, tired of the manna they eat, and asking for meat,he asks of the LORD “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant?What have I done to displease you that you have put the burden of these people on me...I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now-if I have found favour in your eyes-and do not let me face my own ruin” (Numbers 11:11-15).
God empathises with this emotional turmoil of Moses and takes of the Spirit that is upon Moses and places it on 70 of the leaders that they may assist him in the work (Numbers 11:17). However, scope how the depression affects Moses' perspective, when God tells him that he shall provide meat for the people of Israel (Numbers 11:18), Moses once again regresses to his previous unbelief, “Here I am among 600 thousand men on foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!' Would they have enough if flocks and herds were killed for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?” This, from the man who parted a sea through the working of the LORD. God's response is similar to his previous one at the flaming bush, “Is the arm of the LORD too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” May we tattoo this statement onto our heads to look upon it every morning in the mirror so that we never doubt the promises and power of our LORD.
It seems this period of depression and unbelief doesn't fully depart from Moses, as at Meriba, where the waters were bitter, God tells Moses and Aaron “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron, gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so that they and their livestock can drink.”(Exodus 20:8) But look closely at Moses' wording and actions as he does this, “So Moses took the staff from the LORD's presence, just as he had commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, 'Listen, you rebels, must WE bring you water out of this rock?' Then Moses struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out and the community and the livestock drank”
Must WE bring you water out of this rock? And where in the command was he asked to strike the rock? Listen to the reaction of the LORD and the consequence of Moses's actions. “Because you did not trust me enough to honour ME enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I will give them.” (Exodus 20:12). Wow, I am SO challenged by this, how many times do I decline to declare the LORD as holy in my daily life, how many times do I shy away from honouring him to the world.
Moses, this man of the LORD, was declared faithful in all of God's house, more than any of the prophets, and God was pleased to talk with him face to face, without riddles(Numbers 12:6-8) but lets remember to learn from his mistakes, his pride and his folly, and let them convict us to strive for greater and greater holiness in pursuit and desire of the LORD in our lives.
Be blessed,
hUNJA
Moses then asks, “What shall I answer to them who ask 'What is the name of he who sends me'?” (Exodus 3:13) whereafter God reveals himself as “I AM WHO I AM” the name by which he shall be remembered for generations (Exodus 3:14) and speaks for another 6 verses about how the Israelite leaders will listen to him (Exodus 3:18), and how the Egyptian king shall not believe him, so he shall perform mighty acts to prove his power and thereafter he shall let the Israelites go. (Exodus 3:19-20). Moses then replies to this most holy monologue, in which God reveals himself by his name for the first time in history (indeed not even Abraham, Isaac or Jacob had this privilege (Exodus 56:3)) with the following shocking question, “What if they dont believe me or listen to me and say 'The LORD did not appear to you'?” (Exodus 4:1) With all due respect to this great man of God,had he not been listening to what God had just been saying???
But our Lord is indeed slow to anger, and abounding in love (Exodus 34:6) and responds to this qn by showing his miraculous power to Moses, turning his staff into a snake and back into a staff (Exodus 4:3) and turning his hand leperous, and back to normal (Exodus 4:6&7) and telling Moses “if they do not believe you or pay attention the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second” then advising him to take some water from the Nile and pour it on the ground where it will turn to blood (Exodus 4:8-9).
And what is Moses' reply to this display of power in response to his previous unbelief? “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, I am slow of speech and tongue.” (Exodus 4:10) The LORD continues in his amazing patience, replying in what is obvious, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Exodus 4:11) and then gives him the same assurance of his presence and help through this task that he begun with, which at this point should surely have been enough to convince this,our great Old Testament author “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say”. His response? “O LORD, please send someone else to do it.”(Exodus 4:13) Little wonder that the next verse says that the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and he met him on his way and almost killed him (Exodus 4:24).
Now, interestingly, and this convinces me that some need to SEE the power of God to place their trust in him, after performing some HECTIC miraculous signs in Egypt, the Moses who leads the Israelites out of Egypt is a radically changed man. As they are chased by Pharoah and his army of his best horsemen, trapped between the Red Sea and the advancing enemy, the Israelites mourn, asking if they have been brought out to die in the desert because there weren't enough graves in Egypt, to which Moses replies one of the most oft-repeated phrases in all of the bible, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you, you need only be still.” (Exodus 14:13-14) What a transformed leader.
So conformed was this former doubter into the image of his master, and so thirsty was he for a greater experience of the LORD that he had the audacity to ask to see the glory of God, prefacing this breathtaking request with a display of his desire for his will, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favour with you.”(Exodus 33:13) then in verse 18,“Now show me your glory!” God, the same God we serve, was so impressed by this request, fueled by this desire, that the next day, he proclaimed his name before Moses and caused all his goodness to pass before him. What a sight! This is the same God we serve today, the same God who may convict you as you read this to thirst after him as Moses did, the same God who wants our single-minded desire to be to see him in all his glorious goodness at the end of our days in worship.
I would be remiss to fail to mention one of the most challenging lessons from the life of Moses that tends to be overlooked. It touches on the matter of depression and its debilitating effect on the christian perspective, and the faithfulness of God to come to our aid when we are at our wits end. When the children of Israel grumble for the umpteenth time, tired of the manna they eat, and asking for meat,he asks of the LORD “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant?What have I done to displease you that you have put the burden of these people on me...I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now-if I have found favour in your eyes-and do not let me face my own ruin” (Numbers 11:11-15).
God empathises with this emotional turmoil of Moses and takes of the Spirit that is upon Moses and places it on 70 of the leaders that they may assist him in the work (Numbers 11:17). However, scope how the depression affects Moses' perspective, when God tells him that he shall provide meat for the people of Israel (Numbers 11:18), Moses once again regresses to his previous unbelief, “Here I am among 600 thousand men on foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!' Would they have enough if flocks and herds were killed for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?” This, from the man who parted a sea through the working of the LORD. God's response is similar to his previous one at the flaming bush, “Is the arm of the LORD too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” May we tattoo this statement onto our heads to look upon it every morning in the mirror so that we never doubt the promises and power of our LORD.
It seems this period of depression and unbelief doesn't fully depart from Moses, as at Meriba, where the waters were bitter, God tells Moses and Aaron “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron, gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so that they and their livestock can drink.”(Exodus 20:8) But look closely at Moses' wording and actions as he does this, “So Moses took the staff from the LORD's presence, just as he had commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, 'Listen, you rebels, must WE bring you water out of this rock?' Then Moses struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out and the community and the livestock drank”
Must WE bring you water out of this rock? And where in the command was he asked to strike the rock? Listen to the reaction of the LORD and the consequence of Moses's actions. “Because you did not trust me enough to honour ME enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I will give them.” (Exodus 20:12). Wow, I am SO challenged by this, how many times do I decline to declare the LORD as holy in my daily life, how many times do I shy away from honouring him to the world.
Moses, this man of the LORD, was declared faithful in all of God's house, more than any of the prophets, and God was pleased to talk with him face to face, without riddles(Numbers 12:6-8) but lets remember to learn from his mistakes, his pride and his folly, and let them convict us to strive for greater and greater holiness in pursuit and desire of the LORD in our lives.
Be blessed,
hUNJA
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Heavenly Conversations of the Gospel
God is never changing, the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament, and he is the God we serve.
NB: The italicised sections are not part of Scripture, I have added them in for emphasis and flow, using the implications of the Scriptures, it ive taken liberties, pls lemme know.
Jehovah: Moses, I have seen these people, they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. [Exodus 32:9&10] I look down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understands, any who seek God, everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is not one who does good, not even one.[Psalms 53:2-3]
Moses: I seek your favour LORD, turn from your fierce anger and; relent and do not bring disaster on your people...Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel to whom you swore by your own self. [Exodus 32:12-14] Let me atone for their sins, forgive them, if not, then blot me out of the book of life, along with them [Exodus 32:32].
Jehovah: Whoever sinned against me, I will blot out of the book of life. You will not atone for their sins. When the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.
Satan: These beings are not worthy of your grace, their hearts are cold to you every day, they deny you, I shall accuse them everyday before you [Rev 12:10]. They say they believe, but my servants and I also believe and tremble, but we will not receive life [James 2:19], they say they love you but yet they continue in their disobedience and spurn your commands [1 John 5:3]. They serve you because you have placed a hedge around them and blessed the works of their hands, stretch out your hand and strike what they have and they will surely curse you to your face. [Job 1:11;2:4&5] When I sinned against you, Lord, I received no pardon, when I swept a third of the angels from your temple, you showed me no mercy, but flung me to earth for a time [Revelations 12:4,13]. Show us your justice and damn them all to your wrath!
Jehovah: I shall have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I shall have compassion on whom I shall have compassion [Gen 33:19]. I am the LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet I do not leave the guilty unpunished. [Exodus 34:6&7] Ancient Serpent [Rev 12:9], Satan, I shall remember my promise to the first of their generation when I cursed you and them. I shall put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; you will indeed strike his heel, but he will surely crush your head. [Gen 3:15; Romans 16:20 through the mouthpiece of the Apostle Paul]
Jehovah: Moses, build a tabernacle, that I may dwell among you, but no one shall come into my dwelling place except the High Priest, once a year, after cleansing himself, and taking a sacrifice offering for the sins of the Israelites [Hebrews 9:7]. No one is to come into the Most Holy place without consecration, lest The fire of the Lord consume him.
Satan: You deal unjustly with this product of the dirt. They rail against you and you judge them not?
Satan: Justice! We call for justice! Condemnation for sin.
Jehovah: I am just, there shall indeed be atonement for sin, behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry, nor lift up his voice or let it be heard in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a dimly lit wick he will not quench. He will bring forth justice in truth. [Isaiah 42:1-3]
Isaiah: For unto us a son is born, and he shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, Everlasting God [Isaiah 9:5]
John: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth. [John 1:14] For the law came through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [John 1:17].
Satan: This child shall not be a thorn in my flesh, he shall not defeat me, or my dominion over this world. From his birth I shall destroy him, I shall indeed strike his heel, but he shall not crush my head.
So Herod, realising he had been outwitted by the Magi, was furious and gave the orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem. [Matthew 2:16]
Satan: I shall pursue the child and his mother, they shall not escape my reach.
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to earth, he pursued the woman, and the child [Revelations 12:13], the child who will rule the nations with an iron scepter [Revelations 12:5] but he could not destroy them.
Satan: The woman and her child have evaded me, I shall surely make war against the rest of her offspring-those who obey God's commandments and hold onto the testimony of Jesus [Revelations 12:17]. I shall destroy his ministry with the passions of my world, he shall fall to temptation like the man that he is, I shall yet prevail.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and nights, he was hungry.[Matthew 4:2]
Satan: If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Your time has yet to come, but show your power now and save yourself, you need not fast, you need not suffer
Jesus: Man shall live not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord [Deutronomy 8:3].
Satan: Throw yourself down this cliff, it is written in God's word that his angels will be commanded concerning you, and they shall lift you up, and they shall not allow your foot be struck upon a rock [Psalms 91:11,12]. Be carried away from this desert, leave this place of your torment.
Jesus: It is written in the same, that you shalt not put the Lord your God to the test. [Deut 6:16].
Satan: I have been given authority over every tribe, nation, people and language [Revelations 13:7], I shall give to you all the kingdoms of the world, in all their spleandour, you need not suffer, you need not drink the cup of wrath to inherit these blessings, bow to me, and they shall be yours![Matthew 4:8&9]
Jesus: Away from me Satan! It is written, Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. [Matthew 4:10].
Jesus Christ: Just as Moses lifted the snake in the desert [Numbers 21:4-9]where the punishment of God was averted by gazing unto the lifted snake, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.[John 3:14] whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned because he has not believed the name of God's one and only Son, [John 3:18] God's wrath remains on him [John 3:36] I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father, from now on, you do know him and have seen him. [John 14:6&7]
Jesus: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, whole the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me. Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name! [John 12:27&28].
God the Father: I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.
Jesus: Now is the time for judgement on this world; now the prince of this world, (Satan) is to be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. [John 12:33]
Satan: I shall turn his disciples on him, I shall use his trusted friends to convince him against this.
Then Peter took the Lord aside and began to rebuke him. “Never Lord!” He said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Jesus: Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men [Matthew 16:23]Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me [John 18:11]? The Holy Spirit shall come to this world and convict the world of sin, of righteousness and judgement, of judgement, because you, Satan, prince of this world, have been condemned [John 16:11].
Satan: If he shall not be refrain from his mission, then it shall be I who banishes him to his grave.
Jesus had his last supper with his disciples.
Jesus: Judas, do what you are to do quickly [John 13:27]
Then Satan entered Judas, and he left. [John 13:27]
Jesus was arrested in the garden, after his prayers, and the Chief priests and elders handed Jesus over to be crucified [John 19:6]. The soldiers took charge of Jesus and, carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull. Here they crucified him. [John 19:17].
Paul: For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own son, in the likeness of sinful man, to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteousness requirements of the law might be fully met in us [Romans 8:3&4]
Paul: He made him who had no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we may become the righteousness of God in him. [1 Cor 5:21]
Hebrews author: He shall bear the sins of many [Hebrews 9:28]
Isaiah: Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him [Isaiah 53:4-6]
He suffered for the sins of the world, from the sixth hour to the ninth, there was darkness over the earth as the Father poured out the full cup of his wrath unto his sin-laden Son. He could no longer relate to his Holy Father.
About the 9th hour, Jesus cried out, '”My God, My God, why have thou forsaken me?” [Matthew 27:46]
Habbakuk : Lord, your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, you cannot tolerate wrong [Habbakuk 1:13]
Isaiah: Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him and cause him to suffer and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
Jesus drank deep and long of the cup of wrath, and at the 9th hour, he said “It is finished” [John 19:30] and died.
At that moment, the curtain to the temple, leading into the Most Holy place, was torn into two. [Matthew 27:51]
On the 3rd day, two women went with the spices they had prepared to put them on the body of Jesus, and met two angels, dressed in gleaming clothes, and they asked the women, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, he has risen! Remember how he told you when you while he was still with you in Galilee? [Luke 24:5&6].
Paul: He was put to death for our sins, and raised for our justification. For I passed on to you what I also received as of first importance; that Christ died for sins, according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures [1 Cor 15:3&4]. The mystery of God has been kept hidden for generations, from men and from angels. God intends to make known his manifold wisdom through the church, a redeemed bride, through Jesus Christ, accomplishing his eternal purpose, allowing us to approach him in confidence, redeeming us back to him. [Eph 3:7-13] He disarmed powers and authorities, making a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. [Colossians 2:15].
John: You are worthy to open the scroll,
and to open its seals.
Because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
You have made them to be a kingdom of priests to serve our God
and they will reign on the earth [Revelations 7:9-10]
Jesus: I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep and my sheep know me-just as the Father knows me and I know thhe Father-i lay down my life for my sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will hear my voice, and there shall be one flock, and one shepherd [John 10:14-16]. All authority in heaven and on earth and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. [Matthew 28:18-20]
NB: The italicised sections are not part of Scripture, I have added them in for emphasis and flow, using the implications of the Scriptures, it ive taken liberties, pls lemme know.
Jehovah: Moses, I have seen these people, they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. [Exodus 32:9&10] I look down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understands, any who seek God, everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is not one who does good, not even one.[Psalms 53:2-3]
Moses: I seek your favour LORD, turn from your fierce anger and; relent and do not bring disaster on your people...Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel to whom you swore by your own self. [Exodus 32:12-14] Let me atone for their sins, forgive them, if not, then blot me out of the book of life, along with them [Exodus 32:32].
Jehovah: Whoever sinned against me, I will blot out of the book of life. You will not atone for their sins. When the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.
Satan: These beings are not worthy of your grace, their hearts are cold to you every day, they deny you, I shall accuse them everyday before you [Rev 12:10]. They say they believe, but my servants and I also believe and tremble, but we will not receive life [James 2:19], they say they love you but yet they continue in their disobedience and spurn your commands [1 John 5:3]. They serve you because you have placed a hedge around them and blessed the works of their hands, stretch out your hand and strike what they have and they will surely curse you to your face. [Job 1:11;2:4&5] When I sinned against you, Lord, I received no pardon, when I swept a third of the angels from your temple, you showed me no mercy, but flung me to earth for a time [Revelations 12:4,13]. Show us your justice and damn them all to your wrath!
Jehovah: I shall have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I shall have compassion on whom I shall have compassion [Gen 33:19]. I am the LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet I do not leave the guilty unpunished. [Exodus 34:6&7] Ancient Serpent [Rev 12:9], Satan, I shall remember my promise to the first of their generation when I cursed you and them. I shall put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; you will indeed strike his heel, but he will surely crush your head. [Gen 3:15; Romans 16:20 through the mouthpiece of the Apostle Paul]
Jehovah: Moses, build a tabernacle, that I may dwell among you, but no one shall come into my dwelling place except the High Priest, once a year, after cleansing himself, and taking a sacrifice offering for the sins of the Israelites [Hebrews 9:7]. No one is to come into the Most Holy place without consecration, lest The fire of the Lord consume him.
Satan: You deal unjustly with this product of the dirt. They rail against you and you judge them not?
Satan: Justice! We call for justice! Condemnation for sin.
Jehovah: I am just, there shall indeed be atonement for sin, behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry, nor lift up his voice or let it be heard in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a dimly lit wick he will not quench. He will bring forth justice in truth. [Isaiah 42:1-3]
Isaiah: For unto us a son is born, and he shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, Everlasting God [Isaiah 9:5]
John: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth. [John 1:14] For the law came through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [John 1:17].
Satan: This child shall not be a thorn in my flesh, he shall not defeat me, or my dominion over this world. From his birth I shall destroy him, I shall indeed strike his heel, but he shall not crush my head.
So Herod, realising he had been outwitted by the Magi, was furious and gave the orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem. [Matthew 2:16]
Satan: I shall pursue the child and his mother, they shall not escape my reach.
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to earth, he pursued the woman, and the child [Revelations 12:13], the child who will rule the nations with an iron scepter [Revelations 12:5] but he could not destroy them.
Satan: The woman and her child have evaded me, I shall surely make war against the rest of her offspring-those who obey God's commandments and hold onto the testimony of Jesus [Revelations 12:17]. I shall destroy his ministry with the passions of my world, he shall fall to temptation like the man that he is, I shall yet prevail.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and nights, he was hungry.[Matthew 4:2]
Satan: If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Your time has yet to come, but show your power now and save yourself, you need not fast, you need not suffer
Jesus: Man shall live not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord [Deutronomy 8:3].
Satan: Throw yourself down this cliff, it is written in God's word that his angels will be commanded concerning you, and they shall lift you up, and they shall not allow your foot be struck upon a rock [Psalms 91:11,12]. Be carried away from this desert, leave this place of your torment.
Jesus: It is written in the same, that you shalt not put the Lord your God to the test. [Deut 6:16].
Satan: I have been given authority over every tribe, nation, people and language [Revelations 13:7], I shall give to you all the kingdoms of the world, in all their spleandour, you need not suffer, you need not drink the cup of wrath to inherit these blessings, bow to me, and they shall be yours![Matthew 4:8&9]
Jesus: Away from me Satan! It is written, Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. [Matthew 4:10].
Jesus Christ: Just as Moses lifted the snake in the desert [Numbers 21:4-9]where the punishment of God was averted by gazing unto the lifted snake, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.[John 3:14] whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned because he has not believed the name of God's one and only Son, [John 3:18] God's wrath remains on him [John 3:36] I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father, from now on, you do know him and have seen him. [John 14:6&7]
Jesus: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, whole the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me. Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name! [John 12:27&28].
God the Father: I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.
Jesus: Now is the time for judgement on this world; now the prince of this world, (Satan) is to be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. [John 12:33]
Satan: I shall turn his disciples on him, I shall use his trusted friends to convince him against this.
Then Peter took the Lord aside and began to rebuke him. “Never Lord!” He said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Jesus: Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men [Matthew 16:23]Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me [John 18:11]? The Holy Spirit shall come to this world and convict the world of sin, of righteousness and judgement, of judgement, because you, Satan, prince of this world, have been condemned [John 16:11].
Satan: If he shall not be refrain from his mission, then it shall be I who banishes him to his grave.
Jesus had his last supper with his disciples.
Jesus: Judas, do what you are to do quickly [John 13:27]
Then Satan entered Judas, and he left. [John 13:27]
Jesus was arrested in the garden, after his prayers, and the Chief priests and elders handed Jesus over to be crucified [John 19:6]. The soldiers took charge of Jesus and, carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull. Here they crucified him. [John 19:17].
Paul: For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own son, in the likeness of sinful man, to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteousness requirements of the law might be fully met in us [Romans 8:3&4]
Paul: He made him who had no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we may become the righteousness of God in him. [1 Cor 5:21]
Hebrews author: He shall bear the sins of many [Hebrews 9:28]
Isaiah: Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him [Isaiah 53:4-6]
He suffered for the sins of the world, from the sixth hour to the ninth, there was darkness over the earth as the Father poured out the full cup of his wrath unto his sin-laden Son. He could no longer relate to his Holy Father.
About the 9th hour, Jesus cried out, '”My God, My God, why have thou forsaken me?” [Matthew 27:46]
Habbakuk : Lord, your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, you cannot tolerate wrong [Habbakuk 1:13]
Isaiah: Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him and cause him to suffer and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
Jesus drank deep and long of the cup of wrath, and at the 9th hour, he said “It is finished” [John 19:30] and died.
At that moment, the curtain to the temple, leading into the Most Holy place, was torn into two. [Matthew 27:51]
On the 3rd day, two women went with the spices they had prepared to put them on the body of Jesus, and met two angels, dressed in gleaming clothes, and they asked the women, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, he has risen! Remember how he told you when you while he was still with you in Galilee? [Luke 24:5&6].
Paul: He was put to death for our sins, and raised for our justification. For I passed on to you what I also received as of first importance; that Christ died for sins, according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures [1 Cor 15:3&4]. The mystery of God has been kept hidden for generations, from men and from angels. God intends to make known his manifold wisdom through the church, a redeemed bride, through Jesus Christ, accomplishing his eternal purpose, allowing us to approach him in confidence, redeeming us back to him. [Eph 3:7-13] He disarmed powers and authorities, making a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. [Colossians 2:15].
John: You are worthy to open the scroll,
and to open its seals.
Because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
You have made them to be a kingdom of priests to serve our God
and they will reign on the earth [Revelations 7:9-10]
Jesus: I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep and my sheep know me-just as the Father knows me and I know thhe Father-i lay down my life for my sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will hear my voice, and there shall be one flock, and one shepherd [John 10:14-16]. All authority in heaven and on earth and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. [Matthew 28:18-20]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)