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Lessons from the life of David Part 4, April, 24 2016

King David 4 Title.2-01

2 Samuel 12

Repentance

Have you experienced the annoyance and frustration of having your check engine light come on in your car?Check-Engine-Light-Portland

When your check engine light comes on you have two options. Take the car to the shop and get it seen to, or ignore it and hope the problem will resolve by itself. Ultimately you have to do something about the check engine light. It is after all there for a reason.

In the story of David in 2 Samuel 11, things were looking good in Israel, the nation was united. David was a good and wise King. The nation was expanding, and it looked like everything that God had promised Abraham, Moses and Joshua was all about to come to fruition. But David began to rest on his laurels, and he began to enjoy the ease of his success. He took a break from going out with the armies in the springtime, he was probably about fifty years old at this time. David lapses into complacency and that is when he falls into sin. 2 Samuel 11 relates the well-known account of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and the murderous plot to cover up his sins.

After about a year, God sends his prophet Nathan to David to pronounce God’s judgment on him. On the surface it seems that he has gotten away with his sins, but he is being eaten away inside (see Psalm 32:3-4).

Nathan tells a simple parable, and then Nathan says those crashing words; “You are that man!”

Nathan continues by listing all that God has done for David, each line must have been like sharp darts piercing the heart of David; we read in verse 7 and 8

  • “I anointed you King over Israel”
  • “I delivered you from the hand of Saul”
  • “I gave you your master’s house and wives”
  • “I gave you all of Israel and Judah”
  • “And I would have given you more”

And in verse 10, the judgment is read out: The sword will never depart from David’s house. Out of his own household, the Lord is going to bring Calamity. God will take his wives away mocking David in broad daylight.  And the son born to David & Bathsheba will die.

The weight of the judgment must have sent David to his knees, he was being punished severely for his sins. God still punishes sins today. This does not mean that everytime we experience a tragedy it is because of God’s punishment, but sometimes it might be. The immediate punishment that we all feel when we sin is the loss of peace, that broken fellowship with God as we silence the voice of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Broken fellowship with God and broken fellowship with other believers. The truth is that private sins have public consequences.

But looking carefully at the verses we read you will notice a common thread in the judgment of God. God points out David’s physical wrongdoings, but there was a greater sin that David committed.

  • Verse 9; “Why did you despise the word of the Lord’
  • Verse 10; “…because you despised me…”
  • Verse 14; “…you have shown utter contempt for the Lord,”

David’s sins were in effect saying to God that His blessings were not enough. All that God had given him was not good enough, he was tempted and craved for more.

This is the underlying cause of much of our sin if we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we sin because we want more than what he has blessed us with. We sin because we are not fully satisfied in Jesus.

God took the sins of David very personally, “David…you despised ME!” “You have shown utter contempt ME!”

If we think our sins are simply bad things that we do, and that God does not feel our sins, we are horribly mistaken. All of our sins are a personal affront to God. Because of our sin, Jesus went to the cross. He was punished because of our sins. It is personal, everytime we sin we show contempt for God.

David responds immediately and confesses his sins. He understands that his actions were an affront to God and he repents. It was at this time that David wrote Psalm 51, that great repentance Psalm, and he acknowledges that his sin is against God (see Psalm 51:3-4).

True repentance has 4 parts.

  1. Open unguarded admission – A full disclosure of our sins.
  2. Desire to make a complete break from the sin – Repentance means walking in the opposite direction.
  3. A humble and broken spirit. (see Psalm 51:17) Humility is a key to revival.
  4. Receiving God’s forgiveness and acceptance (see 1 John 1:9).

Getting back to that check engine light in your car. Our lives also have a check engine light, he is called the Holy Spirit. It is a lie from Satan to think that our personal sins are something that will not affect anyone else, and that we can handle our secret sins. The secret sins of; cheating on your taxes, not being completely truthful in our workplace, addiction to pornography (a “secret” sin that is destroying families), envy, pride, slander or gossip. Every time we sin, the check engine light in our lives comes on, and we try to ignore it, but it keeps getting brighter.

David felt the pain of unconfessed sin as we see in Psalm 32:3-4, but this Psalm ends with a shout of joy and praise to God as David experiences the relief and freedom as God forgives his sins. “Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!”

However God did not take away the consequences of David’s sin, but we don’t hear David complaining about that. Every sin has consequences. Sin leads to loss of privilege and status, those are real life consequences for sin. But by the grace of God, He is able to restore the sinner.

Look at the restoration that God accomplished in David’s life, Solomon was a son born later to David and Bathsheba. The Bible tells us that God loved Solomon and gave him supernatural wisdom. The child who should never have been born, became arguably the greatest king of Israel until Jesus himself. Praise God that even in the midst of the messiness of sin and repentance, there is redemption and grace.

It all starts with repentance. True repentance, acknowledging our sin before an all Holy God, turning the other way, humbling ourselves and accepting the forgiveness of our sins before the cross.

Repentance leads to freedom and health, but covering up our sins leads to further brokenness. Today we all have a choice, to choose life and freedom or to not repent of our sins before God and in so doing we choose death.

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Lessons from the life of King David part 3 April 17, 2016

2 Samuel 6

King David 3 Title.2-01 Shortly after establishing his palace in Jerusalem, David decided to retrieve the Ark of the Lord and bring it to Jerusalem. The ark was the most sacred symbol that Israel had, it was the presence of God.

An illustration of the Ark of the Covenant(istock/thinkstock)

Amongst other items it contained the stone tablets of the law that Moses received on mt Sinai. It represented the promises and the blessing of God. The Ark had been separated from the tabernacle and the place of worship for 100 years, it had been captured by the Philistines, and after being moved around it ended up at a place called Kiriath-Jearim. ark-mapDavid had established Jerusalem as the political capital of the nation, but now he wanted it to be the religious capital, he would do this by building a tabernacle and setting the Ark of the Covenant in it on mt Zion.

In his eagerness to retrieve the ark of God, David made a big mistake and it cost young Uzzah his life. David did not ask God what he should do, he asked his military leaders and advisers. His actions were brash and impulsive and it had consequences.

God had given strict instructions for the moving of the Ark, it was to be carried by the priests by putting poles through the rings on the sides of the ark. David reasoned that the 10 miles to Jerusalem were too far to carry the ark so he had the ark put on a new cart. The oxen stumbled and young Uzzah reached out to stabilize it, but Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah and he died. This reaction by God offends us, it doesn’t seem fair. David was angry, but note the Bible doesn’t say that he was angry at God. After a time of reflection Verse 9 tells us that David was afraid of God (Proverbs 9:10).

He realized his mistake, and realized that he had acted out of his own desires and not according to the will of God. With our post-modern reasoning, we struggle to see why God would kill someone for attempting to save the ark from falling. But it serves as a reminder to us, just as it was a reminder to David, God is an all Holy God. He sets up boundaries for our own good. If we try to do things our own way, we are going to face disaster. Because God set the rules for how the ark is to be transported, if he did not punish Uzzah, He would not be true to himself (note Hebrews 12:28).

The Bible is our instruction manual. If we decide to do things our own way and try to bend the rules, we will suffer the consequences. Follow the plan, follow the map that God has for us, it is for our own good.

In fear David decides to leave the ark at the house of Obed Edom a Gittite. But after three months of blessing, David hears that Obed is getting blessed and he wants that for the Jerusalem. It is obvious in the three months of reflection that David has repented and done some research, because this time as we read in 1 Chronicles, he gathers 862 priests and Levites who have been consecrated before the Lord, rather than his army and he instructs them to carry the ark in the appropriate way. Notice their caution, they take 6 steps and stop, and when all seems good, David sacrifices a bull and a fattened calf. How different to the 1st attempt.

Then the party began. David took off his royal robe as king and put on a priestly garment. David dances before the Lord with all his might, the word used for dancing here only appears here in the Bible and describes a whirling or a spinning dancing. David must have literally been giddy with joy. He probably spun and stumbled, laughed and continued. He danced with total abandon, he was not concerned with public opinion, he was worshipping the Lord the holy God of Israel.

http://www.biblicalartist.net/Davidarkfr38%20(2).jpg

True worship comes out of a heart of humility. David humbled himself in the eyes of man in order to see God.

People look for an outward appearance but God looks at our hearts, what is your heart posture before the Lord?

As they brought the ark into Jerusalem David offered more sacrifices to God and then blessed everyone with cakes of raisins and dates, a loaf of bread and then sends them home so that they can celebrate together as families. This was a day to remember and David wanted to ensure that they told this story to each other at home around a meal.

David also goes to his home, and he is probably still dancing a bit, he is full of joy and excitement, but he is in for a shock. His wife is there to meet him at the door…..

Michal despises David. In her eyes, he is the enemy of her late father Saul. Theirs was not healthy marriage, David won her as a battle prize, even though Michal loved David initially, she was not a good partner for him.

As David grew in favor and fame in the land, Michal began to hate him. She did not have any understanding of his love for God and his worship. She wanted David to act like her father did, but David had the heart of a worshipper, he Loved God with all his heart and soul and all his strength.

David understood that he was king only because of God’s blessings. He was not going to allow pride a foothold in his life. He intentionally humbled himself in order to bring Glory to God.

But Michal didn’t understand, she despised David.

When true worship arises, it provokes. True worship provokes, because the observer is convicted of their own lack of worship. This is not about worship style or music style, this is about worship, true worship before an all holy God. Whenever someone has an encounter of the living God, and their lives are transformed, they get a glimpse of the Glory and beauty of the all Holy Creator, and their lives are radically changed. But, this leads to a lifestyle of worship. This lifestyle provokes their friends and family. It makes them uncomfortable because they know that they are supposed to worship God, but they are not willing to humble themselves before God. So what do you do when you don’t want to humble yourself? You act like Michal and try to bring the worshipper down, slander and criticize. True worship will always provoke.

We have the misconception that worship is only singing, but it is so much more than that. Worship is not entertainment, or a style of music or even a particular instrument. We don’t come to be entertained, we come to put God first.

True worship is a lifestyle. We worship God by placing Him first, by loving him with all our heart and soul and strength. We worship God by living sacrificially, by giving sacrificially, by not caring what other people think of us.

Let us live lives of worship that provoke others to want to know the reason for our joy and love.

True worship of God provokes, does your life provoke others to want to know Jesus?

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Lessons from the life of King David Part 2; April 10, 2016

King David 2 Title.2-01

1 Samuel 26

Saul is trying to hunt down David once again, he takes 3000 of his best warriors. This is the second time that Saul was hunting down David, he was embarrassed the first time (see 1 Samuel 24).

Saul feared David, he knew that David was God’s chosen leader to replace him, his fear drove him to try to destroy David. David on the other hand is filled with courage, he doesn’t run away, in fact in we read that David went out to engage with Saul. Just like David engaged Goliath, he had boldness to confront his enemy.

 David decides to go into the camp of Saul and he asks for a volunteer to go with him. Abishai volunteers for the mission. Abishai is actually David’s nephew, and a fearless warrior. But for all his courage, Abishai lacks self-control. He asks David if he can kill Saul. But David is not persuaded, he is listening to a higher authority.

Be careful who you listen to. Your closest friends will give you advice that seems to be right, but is that what God is telling you to do? It’s not wrong to get advice from others, but you need to check this against the Word of God.

David quickly rebukes Abishai and once again reminds him that Saul is the Lords anointed. Apart from sparing the life of the King, David was teaching Abishai the order of God’s kingdom. God puts leaders in place. (See Romans 13:1).

We wrestle with this, what if the king is mad? God says honor those He has placed in leadership over you, David shows us that you don’t have to abide by immoral decisions they make, but respect their position.

David and Abishai take the spear and the water jug from Saul and go and stand on a hill with a valley between them and the army of Saul. David taunts Abner but shows the utmost respect for Saul (v17, 18 and 19).

 After Saul and his army are humbled, it seems that Saul has a change of heart. He repents and asks David to forgive him. Note these words; “, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son.” It was so evident to Saul and to everyone else that God was with David, he could only repent. As far as we can determine from scripture, Saul resigns himself to the fact that his days are numbered, he does not try to interfere with God’s plan for the nation again.

Saul invites David to come back, but in verse 22 we read that David politely declines. David trusts the Lord, but he does not trust Saul. We must honor and respect those that God has placed in leadership over us, but we must not be gullible. After all they are still fallen people.

David declares to Saul that he trusts that God will reward him, he is not looking for the approval of man. What a lesson to us all. Who are we looking to for a reward or praise?

Saul is completely humbled and acknowledges David’s future. It is clear to Saul and to everyone who was there that day that David was a great man, anointed by God and destined for greatness.

Why did David not allow Abishai to kill Saul? Because David trusted that God was in control, he believed in the sovereignty of God.

If God is in control, we can trust Him for the future and with our lives. David showed this practically, Saul was a terrible King, but David knew that only God had the right to remove him from his position of leadership.

Anyone with an ounce of ambition would have taken matters into his own hands and killed Saul, no-one would have blamed him. But David trusted the Lord.

None of us are in the position that David was in, being anointed as King over Israel. But most of us can identify with an overbearing leader, a cruel boss, an incompetent supervisor, an overbearing parent, or an abusive husband. What do we do in those situations? Do we fight back? David didn’t, a few chapters earlier in 1 Samuel we read the account of Saul hurling a spear at David, what did David do? He ducked.

There is a bit of Saul in all of us, and if we take the situation into our own hands and try to make things right outside of the will of God, we become just like Saul. If David had killed Saul, he would have taken the throne as king by force, and he would have been no better than Saul.

Who is the Saul in your life? Who is that person that you wrestle with submitting to, that leader who has no business being in charge, but yet they have the title.

How you respond makes a huge difference. If you respond in bitterness and gossip, it will just eat you up.

If you respond in humble submission, respecting the person’s authority, you will find peace from God.

Another benefit of humble submission is that others notice, your co-workers notice, your children notice. And one day when you are in that position of authority those who noticed your response will be your biggest supporters.

Like David’s mighty men, who witnessed this event, they never questioned his authority, they chose to fight and die for David, because he honored the Lord with his patience (See James 1:2-4).

Trust God with the Saul’s in your life, God is working in you, testing your faith, producing perseverance, and maturing you. God is not distant and unaware of your pain and suffering, He is intimately involved in your life, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ.

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Lessons from the life of King David Part 1; April 03, 2016

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1 Samuel 16

The world is full of many rags to riches stories. We love these stories, we make movies about the characters, and we teach our children to look at them as role models.

But the truth is that we only recognize greatness once it has been achieved in man’s eyes. The process, the humble beginnings, the hard work and the pathway of insignificance is mostly ignored by the world.

In the same way a person that God is forming for his purposes is often ignored and sometimes even ridiculed for their humble position and low standing in society. But God knows and God is working in all of us if we would just let him, to become someone that can be greatly used by Him.

This week we are starting a five part series on David, the warrior king of Israel, who was used by God to firmly establish and expand the nation. David was also the only person in the Bible who had the title; “a man after God’s own heart” as we see in Acts 13:22.

David came from humble beginnings, yet God saw him and called him to serve as King. In this narrative we have three main characters.

Saul was the king that God had given to Israel, but after Saul’s disobedience God rejected him (1 Samuel 15). Samuel is the great prophet of God and was more than simply a seer, he was regarded as a judge, highly respected and highly feared as well. And then we have David, his father Jesse was a man who lived in Bethlehem. Jesse had eight sons and David was his youngest son.

These events took place in 1024 BC, David himself was somewhere between 20 and 25 years old. The first time we see David in the story, he is described in a remarkable way (v 12). But he was the baby of the family and didn’t have much respect with his older brothers.

When Samuel went to Bethlehem, the leaders of the town trembled when they met him. They wondered if he was coming in judgment. I am sure that all the town of Bethlehem knew that the great prophet was in town and that he had chosen to invite Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. Something was up! The seven older sons of Jesse were probably eager to be in the spotlight. Samuel told them to consecrate themselves in preparation for the sacrifice. This was a ritual washing and probably putting on clean clothes. I can imagine them dressing in their Sabbath best trying to impress the great leader coming to town. But where is David the youngest son? He is still tending the sheep, he knew about the sacrifice, but he faithfully kept on doing what was required of him. This is key, David didn’t try to arrange to be in the presence of Samuel. He didn’t ask someone to do his chores for him, he didn’t try to promote himself.

After all the brothers are rejected, finally as a last resort, David is thought of. Oh, yeah… there is one more son.

As they call David in he is probably covered in dust and smells of sweat and dirty sheep. Notice that he is not consecrated, because in God’s eyes he is already consecrated. He has a pure heart and God looks on the inside, where man looks on the outside.

Samuel sees him and God tells him that David is the one. So Samuel anoints David. As Samuel anoints David, he is filled with the Holy Spirit (V13). Something supernatural happened, the Spirit of the Lord came in power as David was anointed. The ESV bible says, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.

It must have been a surprise for his father and brothers. It is unlikely that Jesse, or anyone else in the family, including David completely understood what had just happened. But the Lord was preparing David to be the leader of the nation. From a humble shepherd boy to a mighty warrior king.

David was already a man of integrity and courage, but now God added the power of His Spirit on him. David began to shine and he began to be noticed. Notice how Saul’s attendant recommends David in glowing terms in verse 18. David’s recognition quickly gets him favor and promotion in the service of King Saul. He rises to be one of the Kings Armor bearers.

Notice the progression here, from humble shepherd, to being selected, to being anointed and empowered by God, this humble shepherd is recognized and finds favor in the Kings courts. David was rejected and put down by his brothers, yet he was chosen by God. God had planned for David to be the next King even before he had been born. He was destined for this. (See Psalm 139:16)

What is remarkable in this chapter is David’s humility, not once do we read that David stood up and called attention to himself. He did not promote himself, rather he was recognized by God and man.

What a contrast to the world we live in. Our world says; “be noticeable, promote yourself, market yourself, tell the world how good you are.” But David is silently confident, trusting in the Lord.

It is much better to be promoted by God than to be recognized and promoted by man.

Too many people today try to push themselves into prominent places without first proving themselves at home in the small matters. Character that God uses is developed in the life of obscurity.

God was preparing David while he was faithfully doing his work as no one noticed. But isn’t it interesting that what we do when no one notices, becomes what everyone notices.

People notice the outward manifestation of our inward life.

Our time spent with the Lord each day prepares us for the plans that God has for us.

What is God preparing you for? As God is preparing you, remember that how you serve today is just as important as what you will be doing in the future.

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He is Alive – Resurrection Sunday March 27 2016

Easter Slide Title.2

Matthew 28:1-10

Have you ever been witness to a very important event? Something that when you saw it unfold, you somehow knew that this was history being made. For many of us in America the closest we came to this was witnessing the events of 9/11 unfold on our TV screens.

The course of history changes in a moment. Sometimes we can see the change coming like a building storm, and sometimes history changes in a moment of terror or a natural disaster.

For the disciples that first Easter morning started out as another sad day, just like the day before. They probably woke up and then as the fog of the night cleared their minds, they were faced with the reality that Jesus was dead.  Their Rabbi and master was dead, and they had left everything for him, what would they do now?

And as they slowly begin to wake up on that first day of the week, another earthquake occurs. Can you imagine their fear and anxiety?

Mary Magdelene and Mary the mother of Joses, who we read about in Matthew 26, were boldly walking to the tomb early in the morning. Unlike the rest of the disciples, they wanted to see Jesus’ body one last time. When they saw the angel, they were scared, but the angel quickly calms their fears and tells them not to be afraid, but to come and see the empty tomb.

The angel gives them instructions, and the Bible tells us that they left the tomb quickly “with fear and great joy” (v8). What a strange combination of emotions, but their faith overcame their fear. They had faith that Jesus was alive, their faith that took them to the open tomb that morning. The other disciples who were overcome with fear and anguish had missed out, but the Lord rewarded the faith of the two women.

But as they hurry back to the other disciples, Jesus met them on the way. They see the risen Lord, what a reward for their faith. Imagine being the first person in recorded history to see Jesus in his resurrected form.

As they see him and hear his voice. Jesus simply greets them, and that one word must have brought immeasurable peace to them. They heard the voice of the risen Lord. It was a familiar voice. It was the same voice that called them out of darkness into light.

As soon as they heard his voice, they came to him and clasped his feet and worshipped him. These two women were the first to see the resurrected Lord, and their immediate response was to fall down and worship him.

Note also that they clasped his feet, they weren’t gripping a ghost, or a mere apparition.

Then Jesus begins to speak to them and immediately calms their fears. Then he begins to give them instructions, he gives them the responsibility of spreading the word. Don’t miss this, God is a missionary God, he uses people to spread the good news. We know Matthew 28 for the Great Commission which Jesus gives his disciples just 8 verses later on in this chapter. But this is the first commissioning. Jesus takes these two women, women of faith and he commissions them with the Good news that he is alive

We read in verse 11, that the women went on their way, they obeyed Jesus.

So we have a progression;

  • They saw Jesus
  • They heard his voice
  • They worshipped him
  • They obeyed him.

This is also a description of what takes place when we meet Jesus the risen Lord.

Firstly we see Jesus by seeing his body. People see Jesus by encountering the true church of Jesus Christ, people who have died to themselves and are living wholeheartedly for the Glory of Jesus Christ. The question we need to ask ourselves, are we representing Jesus in such a way that when people look at us they see Jesus?

Secondly, as we encounter Jesus, we hear his voice by the Holy Spirit and we respond to him. The first response is to declare him as Lord, to recognize that Jesus is the Son of God.

Thirdly, the natural response to making Jesus Lord of our lives, is to worship him. Just like those ladies on the first resurrection Sunday, we will fall at his feet and worship him. We worship by singing praises, we worship by reading and meditating on his word, we worship by giving to his work and we worship by giving our time to serve him. Are you worshipping him today?

Finally after we have encountered the risen Lord, and heard his voice, out of a lifestyle of worship will come a response of obedience to his call. Jesus is calling each and every one of us to obey him. Some are called to a life of being a marketplace missionary, others are called to being an evangelist in their neighborhood introducing people to Jesus the risen Lord, others are called to being a missionary in a foreign country and some are called to train up children in the ways of the Lord, raising up the next generation of followers of Jesus.

Do you know what Jesus is telling you to do? If not, maybe you need to return to the place of true worship, not simply singing songs. Falling on your face before him and gripping his feet in desperation.

If you don’t know what it is to truly worship him, the risen Lord, then maybe you haven’t heard his voice. Maybe you need to see Jesus. Maybe you encountered Jesus a long time ago, but your relationship with him has grown cold. Come back to him today, listen to his voice, he is calling you, bow down and worship him.

Jesus is alive. Our human response is the same as the two women, we are afraid, and it seems overwhelming, but Jesus goes on to give a promise (Matthew 28:20b).

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, we have nothing to hold on to. The Bible is an empty document and cannot be the living word of God. The bodily resurrection of Jesus is what determines our salvation, it is our hope of glory. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we know that he has conquered death and that by placing our trust and faith in him we are assured of salvation and eternal life. Because of the resurrection, all the promises of God’s word are true! And we can stand on those promises.

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Why Jesus was not a martyr – March 20 2016

 

Palm Sunday

Jesus was not a martyr

Luke 19:28-44

Not a Martyr newsletter

This past Sunday we celebrated what is known as Palm Sunday, the Sunday before resurrection Sunday. The day when Jesus completed his final journey to Jerusalem. And through all this journey we have seen one thing in common, Jesus had his eyes fixed on eternity. Jerusalem was not his destination, it was a stop on the journey, the journey that led to him being seated at the right hand of the Father.

In Luke 19:28 we see Jesus walking on ahead once again, he was walking on ahead and focused on the prize, he was not being distracted. As the crowd around him sees what is happening, their excitement begins to boil over, some of them probably have memorized the prophet Zechariah, and they would immediately see what is going on as Jesus begins to ride on the colt into Jerusalem. 500 years before these were the words of the Lord given to the prophet Zechariah 9:9:

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
    Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
    righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Can you imagine the excitement, here they were seeing prophecy fulfilled, Jesus was coming to establish his kingdom in Jerusalem, the promised messiah was here and he was going to throw off the oppressive Roman rulers. They spread their cloaks on the roadway as a sign of homage and respect. We must remember the context here, this was the beginning of Passover week, the time when the ancient Israelites were liberated from the slavery of the Egyptians. The beginning of the Exodus. For them the enemy was Rome, but Jesus was focused on defeating Satan, sin and death. Their vision was too small, Jesus had a much bigger mission in mind.

As Jesus was riding into Jerusalem he knew what lay ahead, he knew that within a few short days, these same people would be part of a crowd that would be screaming for him to be crucified. But how could they possible understand that the messiah of Zachariah 9:9 was the same person as the suffering servant that the Lord spoke to the prophet Isaiah about in Isaiah 53.

Many unbelievers look at the death of Jesus as an awful tragedy, as a terrible mistake that a great man made. Those who don’t know Jesus as the messiah, will see the death of Jesus as a result of the betrayal of one of his close followers, or maybe the envy of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious leaders. Maybe Jesus’ death was a result of the weak leadership of Pilate. It all seems such a terrible mistake, a tragedy.

But look back at Luke 9:51; Jesus was not caught up as a victim of a web of deceit. This was not some kind of an afterthought by God. God planned this out from before time began, because of his love for sinners like me and you. Jesus knew what was about to take place, he kept silent as they cheered him and worshipped him.

Jesus willingly entered Jerusalem, and endured the cross without resistance, he willingly allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, not because of some cause he was trying to defend. (read John 10:18)

The definition of a martyr is someone who is killed for their religious beliefs, they become victims

But Jesus died as the sacrificial lamb. He died on purpose in order to atone for our sins as an offering to God the Father, so that we can be made right with God (see 1 John 1:9).

This past Sunday we witnessed four people being baptized, it is always a wonderful celebration as we see people giving a public witness and a testimony of what God has done in their lives. Each of these four candidates for Baptism have shared their testimony of how God the Holy Spirit worked in their lives to firstly convict them of sin, and then to lead them to repentance and finally to give their lives to Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and savior.

The reality is that Jesus is not an add-on to our lives. He is not simply a check box on a list that we need to get done in order to get into heaven. The Bible makes it clear that when you become a Christian, it is all or nothing. Unfortunately in our western culture of ease and convenience, we have removed the deep significance of what it means to become a follower of Jesus.

Baptism is a beautiful symbol of what happens when we become a Christian. When the person goes under the water, they are saying; “I am identifying with Christ, I am dying and being buried to my old life” It is a symbol of dying and giving up the past. Then as the person comes up out of the water, it is symbolizing that they are being raised to a new life in Christ.

Just as Jesus went to Jerusalem, to die on purpose, not as a victim or a martyr, he calls us to die as well.

Dying to our old way of life, dying to our selfish desires and beginning to live a new life, a life that is committed to living for Jesus Christ.

Only by Dying can you truly live.

Only by dying can you begin to bring life to those around you.

See what Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-26. That raises the bar a bit doesn’t it? Jesus is saying that this is the norm. This is the only way to become his disciple.

Today as you look at your life, do you qualify as a disciple of Jesus? You may have been baptized many years ago, you may have prayed the prayer of salvation many years ago, but are you truly living a new life in Christ.

Does your life reflect the life of Jesus, not the life of a martyr, but the life of a person who is dying on purpose?

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Journey to Jerusalem Part 2. March 13 2016

Journey to Jerusalem part 2 newsletter

Read: Luke 9:51-56

Here we have an account that only Luke records. At first glance, this seems like a strange passage of scripture, why would Luke record this detail of the travel plans that didn’t work out.

Jesus

In 722 BC, the Assyrians invaded the northern Kingdom of which Samaria was the capital. The Assyrians left some of the Jews in the region but allowed other foreigners to inhabit the land. The end result was a mixed race, and many of them worshipped the foreign gods of the Assyrians. The Jews who lived in the region did not believe that you had to go to Jerusalem to worship God and set up their own temples. The rest of the Jewish nation regarded the Samaritans as ethnically and religiously impure, and there was a lot of prejudice and animosity between them.

James and John

So with that history in mind, we have the passionate James and John, the sons of Thunder as Jesus called them, being so offended by this Samaritan rejection that they want to call down fire and destroy the city.

In order to better understand their reaction, we need to look a few verses back in Luke 9, where the transfiguration of Jesus is recorded for us. Jesus takes Peter, James and John, up onto a mountain to pray, and suddenly Moses and Elijah appear and begin talking to Jesus.

James and John must have remembered their encounter with Elijah and the fact that Elijah had called down fire from heaven to destroy the two captains and their 50 as recorded in 2 Kings 1.

But the disciples were misguided. In their minds, they were marching into Jerusalem with the King of the Jews, who would establish a mighty kingdom, and yet these mindless Samaritans had the audacity to reject Jesus! Their attitude and request reflects their racism and their prejudice. What they had to learn, and what we also have to learn is that the journey Jesus was taking to Jerusalem was not to judge the world, but it was to save the lost.

They certainly displayed passion, but their passion was misguided. They were influenced by their culture and their prejudice. Jesus was using the situation to challenge their prejudice, to remind them that the Son of God, didn’t come for the Jews only, but for all peoples and that the real enemy is Satan, not the lost people who don’t think or act in a way that they were comfortable with.

As we encounter people who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, how do we respond to the drug addict, the adulterer, the alcoholic, the homosexual, the murderer, and the thief? (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Do we call down judgement on them? Do we confront them with the law and a superior attitude?

As Jesus rebuked his disciples, he rebukes us today. Jesus came to save the lost, not to call down fire on them. Ultimately Jesus will judge all mankind, but we are called to reach the lost as Jesus did, to preach the Gospel to the poor, to release the captives, to restore sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free (Luke 4:18).

Samaritan Rejection

From the perspective of the Samaritan village there is a legitimate reason why they rejected Jesus.

The Key phrase is found in verse 53; “…he was heading for Jerusalem.” It upset them that he still wanted to go to the temple in Jerusalem rather than to worship at their place of worship. But apart from that, along with Jesus came a large crowd of people. Most of them were probably social outcasts, the poor, and the unclean according to their laws. It was going to be noisy, messy and probably inconvenient. And therein lay the problem, for Jesus to come to town was inconvenient.

The truth is that when Jesus enters a person’s life it is never convenient. When Jesus comes into your life, he asks you to care for the widows and the orphans, to love the downtrodden and the poor. He calls you to give your time, your money and your energy in order to tell others the Good News.

Jesus coming to town is seldom convenient, but if you do not receive him, you miss out. This Samaritan town missed the opportunity of hosting the King of Kings, the creator of the universe.

Jesus’ Response.

What took place here was a serious cultural and social offence.

No wonder the disciples wanted to immediately call down fire and destroy the city. How dare they!!

Yet, we read how Jesus responded (Luke 9:55-56). Jesus is rejected, he doesn’t try to plead his case or convince them that they are going to miss out, he simply moves on.

Jesus wasn’t surprised by this rejection, he knew exactly what would happen. He sent his disciples ahead on purpose, knowing that they would be rejected. He was using this as a teaching moment for his disciples, preparing them for what was about to happen to them and setting an example for all believers to follow. When you are rejected for being a follower of Jesus, don’t fight for your rights, simply move on (see Luke 10:10-11).

In our post-modern culture of self-importance and pride, this is a tough lesson to learn. Fortunately we get many opportunities to learn this lesson!

But Jesus had his eyes fixed on a bigger goal (see Luke 9:51). Jesus is focused on the ascension. He is looking forward to going home. He knows where he is going and nothing is going to detract from that. Not the cross, not the grave, not even his rising from the dead, he is looking forward to the day when he ascends into heaven to sit next to His Father.

We also must have a heavenly focus, viewing every day in the light of eternity. Sadly we are so focused on trying to make this life as comfortable as possible, that we forget where we are going.

  • If we would focus on eternity, we would stop trying to call down judgment from God on those who reject him.
  • If we would focus on eternity, we would not miss an opportunity to be used by God to help those around us and set the captives free.
  • If we would focus on eternity, we would be able to look past all the trials and sufferings of this world and look forward to the day when Jesus comes again or calls us home.
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Journey to Jerusalem part 1 March 6, 2016

Journey to Jerusalem part 1 newsletter

Mark 10:32-34

This account we read in Mark’s Gospel describes the journey that Jesus began towards Jerusalem. Jesus had spent most of his time in and around Galilee, but at a certain time, he set out for Jerusalem. He and his disciples and usually a large crowd, went from Galilee to Samaria, then through the area called Perea, and then finally on to Judea and Jerusalem. Up until this point, the disciples had enjoyed their time with Jesus, it was good to be walking with the amazing miracle worker. I am sure if they had facebook back then, they would have posted pictures and selfies of their time with him. They were on an emotional high, things were going well, but then the mood shifted. Jesus got serious and began to stride a little more purposefully. Is seems like Jesus changed gears and began to lock in on a goal that was over the horizon.

Jesus

Luke 12:51 says; “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Jesus was on a timeline, history was about to change. The creator was about to sacrifice himself for the creation.

Up until this time we see many occasions when Jesus had held back because the timing was not yet right.

The Gospel of John frequently refers to the fact that Jesus was on a timeline. (see, John 7:6, John 7:30 and John 8:20). Jesus was listening to His Father and the schedule was to be kept.

So the time was now, Jesus knew his purpose and he set his face to Jerusalem. In Isaiah 50:7 we see the remarkably accurate picture of Jesus at this moment; “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.” Jesus is the one who sets his face like a flint, knowing that he will not be put to shame, knowing that he has a task to perform.

Flint is a very hard sedimentary rock, that when it is hit against steel it produces a spark. The picture of setting one’s face like a flint is focusing on the goal, knowing that you are going to encounter opposition. Taking the adversity and challenges in stride, knowing that there is a bigger purpose and goal. Jesus knew that he was going to Jerusalem to encounter incredible suffering and shame, so he literally steeled himself and with eyes on the horizon, he gritted his teeth and moved forward.

In Mark 10:32 we see one moment they are walking through the hills of Galilee and Samaria, and the next Jesus begins walking out in front. The disciples were “astonished” as they observed Jesus. And the crowd following were “afraid”. The Greek words used here seem to indicate a fear that something bad was about to happen. The disciples who had walked with Jesus for three years, had never seen him like this before. Jesus seemed different, his demeanor had changed, and he became extremely serious and focused.

And the crowd was afraid, they began to fear that something bad was about to happen in Jerusalem. Why was Jesus suddenly so solemn? Suddenly it must have dawned on the crowd, that there was a cost involved in following Jesus – it might cost them their lives.

And today there is a cost involved in following Jesus, and it does involve you losing your life. You have to be prepared to give up everything for him. Dying to ourselves and our own selfish ambitions is the only way to live as a Christian.

The crowd and the disciples were faced with a choice; “am I in or out?” We too are faced with that decision, there is no middle ground – either we follow Jesus to the cross or we may as well turn around and go back home.

But this is not the walk of a man who is walking to his death, it is not the walk of a man who is consigned to the fact that he has to go and suffer a cruel death. Not at all, this was the march of a warrior heading into battle, it was the march of our warrior King about to head into the decisive battle in all of history. Jesus knew that this was his purpose, he was going to destroy death and sin by going to Jerusalem.

When Jesus turned his face like a flint towards Jerusalem, he knew that it meant his death was coming soon. He knew that he was about to have his flesh torn off his back by whips, he knew that he was going to be mocked, spat on, treated shamefully, and then die on the cross, the most cruel form of execution. Jesus also knew that he would face the wrath of God, his father as he paid the price for your sin and mine.

The disciples noticed the shift in the atmosphere, the crowd sensed something big was about to happen, and yet they followed. Some followed out of curiosity, some followed out of love for Jesus, some followed because Jesus had healed them.

Are you following? Have you made a decision to follow Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and savior? Jesus took this journey for you, so that you and I would not have to face an eternity in hell being separated from God. When Jesus began this journey, he was thinking about you.

You may have made a decision to follow Jesus a long time ago, but the distractions and temptations of the world have slowed you down. Jesus calls us to daily take that walk to Jerusalem with him, to walk with purpose and determination. Is your mind set like a flint on following Jesus? Or are you wavering?

Are you following at a distance, not sure if you are going to be able to continue the journey? Maybe the cost seems to be too high. Maybe the challenges and temptations of this world are becoming too strong.

I want to encourage you today to recommit to walking with determination.

“O you redeemed ones, on whose behalf this strong resolve was made—you who have been bought by the precious blood of this steadfast, resolute Redeemer—come and think awhile of Him, that your hearts may burn within you and that your faces may be set like flints to live and die for Him who lived and died for you!”

— C.H. Spurgeon

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Run the Race Part 3 February 28, 2016

Run The Race 3 Title.2

Philippians 3:12-21

All this talk of running and discipline and hard work, sounds like the Christian life is not that pleasant, why would we encourage others to a life of discipline and suffering.

The truth is, the Christian life is a race that has a very definite purpose, it is not aimless or a fruitless exercise, there is a definite goal and a prize that we are running for.

Paul wrote this letter to the Philippian church to encourage them and to keep them growing in their new Christian walk. Although Paul was a spiritual giant in the eyes of the Philippian saints, he wanted them to know that he had not yet attained the goal                      (Philippians 3:10-11).

He was still actively pressing on. He had by no means reached the final stage of his sanctification.

Paul’s salvation experience had taken place about 30 years before he wrote to this letter. He had won many spiritual battles in that time. He had grown much in those years, but he candidly confessed he had not obtained perfection. This testimony of the apostle reminded the saints at Philippi—and it serves to remind believers today—that there must never be a stalemate in their spiritual growth or a plateau beyond which they cannot climb. We must never settle. Are you closer to Jesus today than you were a year ago? There is no standing still as a Christian, either we are becoming more like Christ, or we are losing ground.

Then Paul says in verse 13; “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead”. This applies to us today both individually and as a church. We cannot grow in our Christian walk by looking back. The old idiom applies here; “to rest on one’s laurels”, looking back and thinking that enough has been done to secure victory. This applies to us individually, if we are still here, we are still in the race.

Then it applies to us corporately, we must never look back at the wonderful accomplishments of our church and say, look what we did back then – those were the great days – we have done enough. No, God is not done with His Church yet, He has much more in store for this church. Because this is His Church, and He has promised to build His Church, and he has promised to come back for His Church.

Paul goes on to encourage the Philippians to follow his example, and the example of others who are running the race with success (3:17). Paul had noticed that there were people in the Philippian church who were not setting a good example for the believers, and he points them out in verse 19.

Notice Paul is not referring to people outside the church, he is warning them about people inside the church, who are heading for destruction. They are only focused on temporal things, what makes me feel good now.

Their lives show no evidence of Jesus Christ being Lord.

Are you looking at temporal things, and making them more important in your life than eternal things? Remember your citizenship (3:20). If you have made Jesus Christ Lord of your life, you will know what it means to live with eyes fixed on eternity. Every decision you make in your life here in this life, affects eternity.

And then in verse 21, Paul explains why he is running the race, what is the purpose of it all. I am sure many of you are looking forward to that, a new body a supernatural body that will never experience decay or pain. That surely is a prize, surely that is a reward running after?

But that is only a part of it.

None of us have seen heaven, so to it is impossible to fully describe heaven and even if we did get a glimpse, we would find that our vocabulary was inadequate to describe it.

The Bible also tells us that the followers of Jesus will get rewards, James talks about the crown of life (James 1:12). Paul mentions the crown that will last forever (1 Corinthians 9).

But the primary joy of heaven will be far superior to all of that. We will be in the presence of God.

We were made to have communion with God, God created man in his own image to have fellowship with him. But when sin entered the world, that relationship was broken and there was a separation that took place. Inside every human being is a longing and an unfulfilled desire that can only be met by the perfect presence of God himself (see Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Looking at Revelation 3:11-12 and the letter to the church in Philadelphia, Jesus gives an encouragement to the “one who overcomes” – and keeps running the race. The greatest reward is to be a pillar in the temple of God? Sounds strange doesn’t it. We have no idea what it is like to be in the perfect presence of God. To dwell in his presence and worship Him, will be the most incredible experience of all. That is the greatest prize and that is why David could write as he did in Psalm 27:4.

We are to individually run whatever race or calling that God has set out for us. I cannot run for you, and you cannot run for me. But we are called to run that race with certainty, purpose and intensity.

Run your race to win, to be the best you can be for God where He has placed you.

Be willing to make whatever sacrifices necessary to successfully complete the mission and call God has set out for you.

You only get one run at this life, give it all you have got. Make sure you don’t miss a single opportunity to live fully for Jesus Christ.

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:14

 

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Run the Race Part 2 February 21, 2016

Run The Race 2 Title.2

Romans 8: 1-17

Using the analogy of a race, a marathon, there is so much that we can look at that applies to the Christian life.

We are called to a new life, a life that is led by the spirit, Paul says is that we need to be led by the Spirit of God, as we run the race that God has for us.

Now human nature is that we make rules, and when we disciple new believers, we inadvertently make rules for them to follow, because of the mistakes we made when we were in their position. Sometimes these guidelines can be made to look like laws. Romans 8:2 says; “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death”. When we run the race that is the Christian life, we do things differently, we are not under the law that leads to condemnation and death, but we are led by the Spirit which leads to life and peace.

Our disciplines and our training for the race are not governed by law, but they are governed by the Spirit and this brings life. Verse 11 tells us that the same Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you and me! Our old way of viewing time, money, family, possessions all changes, and we see things from the perspective of heaven.

And then there is the unbelievable promise in God’s word in verse 14, we are called the children of God! I know our minds cannot grasp that, we have no idea what it means to be adopted into the family of God. We are called children of the creator of the universe. And verse 17 says that as a result of our adoption as God’s children, we receive an inheritance. We have an inheritance simply because we believed that Jesus died for our sins. He did it all, we die to our old way of life and begin to live by the Spirit, and we get to receive an inheritance from God.

But as we read verse 17 a little further we read these words: “if indeed we suffer with Him…” Suffering? That is not the wonderful Christian life the Walmart book aisle speaks about? Going back to the analogy of running a marathon, if any of you have run a long race, you will know that there are periods of suffering that you go through, occasionally you will “hit the wall”, using running terminology, when your tank is empty. But you push through, others encourage you, and you reach the finish line. Immediately the suffering becomes something you joke about because it is so small in comparison to the joy of the finish line. Verse 18 sums it up; “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us..”

Suffering and discipline are a part of the Christian race, but we must not shy away from them, they are building us and growing us to be more like Christ.

Let’s look at four Christian Disciplines that will help us run the race that is set before us:

  1. Reading and meditating on God’s word

This Bible is contains your heavenly Father’s love letter to you– it is your daily bread – it is your sword of the spirit – it is the truth that gives light to your path.

It is no ordinary collection of pages and ink. It is supernatural in its authoring, it is supernatural in its reading and it is supernatural in its application (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

If you are led by the Spirit, you will need the sword of the spirit.

Do we daily discipline ourselves to read, study, meditate on the word of God?

  1. Prayer

Prayer is a discipline, it is hard work, when we don’t discipline ourselves to spend time alone with God we limp along in the Christian race, missing out on so much that God has for us. Discipline yourself to pray, it will transform your life and the race God has called you to.

  1. Tithing

Tithing is something we seldom view as a discipline, but the way we handle our finances is either worship or it is idolatry. Either God is more important than your money, or your money is more important than God in your life.

We don’t tithe because God needs our money, he already has all things. No, we tithe because it is worship. Tithing is an act of worship, because many times we look at our income and our expenses and wonder how we can afford to give 1/10 of our income to the Lords work. Well if the Bible is correct, and we know it is, how can we afford not to give to the Lord, knowing that he is our provider and that he will take care of all of our needs (see 2 Corinthians 9: 6-8). You will have all you need to do the will of God for your life.

  1. Evangelism

Evangelism is a spiritual discipline that we are all called to participate in. Evangelism that is led by the Spirit is a joy and a blessing, but we make it out to be a fearful chore.

Evangelism that is fruitful and effective is evangelism that is led by the Holy Spirit. Daily discipline ourselves to pray: “Lord bring someone into my path today who needs a touch from heaven, let me be used by you, almighty God, to bring a miracle to someone’s life” That is the discipline, being available, daily being led by the Spirit to look for the person that God wants to touch through your life story (see 2 Peter 3:15).

Notice two aspects in this verse: firstly – it starts with “revere Christ as Lord”. If Jesus Christ is truly Lord of your life, it will be evident to those around you and your life will be a testimony for Jesus.

Secondly: “always be prepared to explain the reason for your hope” – because, if you are living by the Spirit, people are going to want to know why you are different.

Remember not everyone is gifted as an evangelist, but we are all called the spiritual discipline of sharing the story that God has given us and the reason for our hope.

Remember that the Christian life is a race, it is not a stroll or a wandering along the pathway, there is a very definite end goal. And to keep us running diligently we need to develop Spiritual disciplines, Prayer, Reading God’s Word, Tithing and Evangelism are just a few of them.

But why do we do them?

Because they are good for us? Or because we become more fruitful and lead others to Christ? Yes, but there is a greater reason.

We develop Christian disciplines, because our lives will bring Glory to God.