Sermons From My Heart

Daniel 7:9-14 is a vision of the divine throne from which judgment will come. God gave Daniel the ability to prophesy which empires would rise and which would fall because world powers are under God’s control. Through this vision, God told Daniel about the coming of the Messiah and the final judgment. Daniel didn’t understand everything he saw, because some of the events would not take place until five hundred years later.

The vision of the one like a human being offered hope to Jews who had been subject to foreign rule for over four centuries and now were victims of state terror and persecution. Even as they saw their houses burned, their loved ones tortured and slaughtered and their temple prophaned, Daniel’s vision allowed them to see something else: the end of empires, the sovereign power of God, and their own future kingdom.

The description of a great throne room is common in prophetic and apocalyptic literature. In Isaiah 6:1-5, Isaiah had a vision of the Lord, “high and exalted, seated on His throne,” surrounded by angelic creatures. Daniel’s vision described the glory of God as a glowing otherworldly man seated on a throne accompanied by strange “living creatures.”

Verses 9-10 are the only places in the Bible that refer to God the Father as “The Ancient of Days”-a picture of Him in human form. The term literally means “the elderly One, the One who has been around forever, the One who never had a beginning.” Identifying the one on the throne is complicated by the description of the ancient one giving his authority to the young son of man. That young son of man was Jesus Christ.

If Daniel is consistent with earlier apocalyptic throne room scenes then the one on the throne is God. It is His kingdom which will subdue the kingdoms of men. People of all ages will worship the son of man and the kingdom of the Most High will be everlasting.

As one part of the vision faded into another, Daniel stood and watched. Several scenes followed in rapid succession. In the first scene, all was calm and orderly in the presence of God. The heavenly court was assembled and God sat in judgment. God wore a garment that was as white as snow. He has never compromised His righteous dealings in establishing His kingdom, as humans have in gaining their kingdoms. Human kingdoms are always caught up in feverish activity, but God was seated. He is never taken by surprise, never undecided, never in a panic about His world. He reigns. In the face of the terrible havoc that people are able to cause, Daniel is reminded that the ultimate authority does not reside in earthly kingdoms. It is in the hands of God. True world dominion belongs exclusively to God. All others who seek true world dominion will be cut short in their path.

Adam was made to rule as God’s vice-regent and obediently exercise his God-given dominion. He sinned, lost his dominion, and fell short of God’s glory. Since then, man has sought to recover that lost dominion without letting go of sin. When the Son of Man came, He became the servant Adam had failed to be. He reflected the glory of God in His obedience to Him. He has consequently been highly exalted.

When we remember that just before He was taken up in the clouds to the throne of God Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth,” we are left in no doubt as to the identity of this One like the Son of Man in Daniel. It is all the more significant that this title is used in the New Testament almost exclusively by Jesus in referring to Himself.

The beastly kingdoms of the world are now replaced by a just and righteous kingdom ruled by a human-like figure, the Son of Man, who is none other than Jesus Christ. Christ first came to earth as the Son of Man to suffer and die; He will come a second time as the Son of Man to defeat His enemies and set up His eternal kingdom on earth.

Christians who have the same vision of God and His throne will never feel alone and isolated. They will find their point of orientation not on earth but in heaven. Their view of history will not arise from below but from above, from the throne of God. Others may claim to see things realistically rather than idealistically. Christians will try to gain God’s perspective in order to see things as they really are.

In the days when all overseas travel was by ship, a missionary returned to the United States. He found himself arriving on the same ship as an acclaimed national hero. Crowds waited on the dock to greet the hero. The missionary could not help but feel the contrast. He had been labouring for the treasure that does not perish, pouring his life’s blood into sowing the seed of the gospel. As he scanned the faces on the dock, he realized that no one had come to welcome him home. As he began to submerge in a wave of self-pity, he realized the truth as clearly as if a voice had spoken to him from heaven: “Do not be discouraged, you have not yet reached home.” This was a new perspective for Daniel too. It is the perspective to which we are all exhorted.

Where do we put our allegiance? What is our vision for the community of peoples? How will we live with other people? Whose rule will enable us to live out our vision? If our view is that of the reign of Christ, the peaceful and equitable living together of diverse peoples eschewing violence and caring for those most vulnerable in our midst, we really can celebrate the heavenly kingdom.

The One given dominion, glory, and kingship is not arrogant or rude, jealous or boastful, but full of mercy and compassion. Is it necessary then, or even helpful, to speculate as to the future applications of Daniel’s dream of kingdoms and talking horns? When we focus on the end times we often forget to provide in the present for the very people the King of Kings came to serve, which makes us more like an arrogant horn than the King we seek to serve.

Just as Jesus came to serve, we are called to the same duty. The world is ruled not by beastly authority but by those who get in the trenches and do His work. It is a law in the Kingdom of heaven that if you want power, you serve, and Jesus was the ultimate example. As we rest in the sufficiency and authority of the Son of Man, we are free to let go of the need to prove ourselves, because Jesus has already proven Himself, and He welcomes us to share in His glory.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 1132)
2. Ferguson, S.B., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 21: Daniel (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1988; pp. 141-146)
3. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
4. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN; Thomas Nelson; 2010; pp. 1187-1188)
5. Jude Siciliano, OP, “First Impressions, Christ the King, November 25, 2018.” Retrieved from firstimpressions@lists.opsouth.org
6. Pastor Bobby Schuller, “The Radical Paradox of the Son of Man.” Retrieved from hourofpower@hourofpower.org
7. Anathea Portier-Young, “Commentary on Daniel 7:9-10,13-14.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org

There is a beautiful celestial object that glimmers in the night sky. It is called the Orion Nebula. It is the nearest “star factory” to Earth and is a bright, stellar nursery where hundreds of new stars are being born. It is visible with the naked eye unless there is light pollution, cloudy weather, or a problem with our eyes. No matter what the weather is like, no matter at what point in the earth’s rotation we are positioned, and no matter at what point in the revolution around the sun we are coasting, the nebula remains there.

According to Psalm 139:7-10, that is how it is with the Holy Spirit. God’s abiding presence is not determined by the weather in our hearts that may obscure or reveal His loving activities in our lives. His presence is not determined by how we are feeling on a particular day of the year, or how we are faring during a particular season of our lives. The Holy Spirit is always present, active, and in reach. 

In Psalm 139:1 David established his thesis: “O Lord, You have searched me and known me.” God is like a doctor giving us a physical. He is like a psychiatrist exploring our inner depths. He is like an intimate friend who probes us until we reveal everything to Him. As a result, He knows us. He lays his hands upon us. His hand guides us. He holds us fast. He does this whether we know it or not and whether we like it or not. If we love God, we are right where we are supposed to be.

The phrase, “My sitting down and…rising up” is an Old Testament expression depicting the routines of life. Whether a person is at rest or at work, God sees and knows. The phrase “you understand my thoughts” probably overwhelmed David. God cares about every detail of every person’s life. He is not distant in glory. God is near. What’s more, He is immediately accessible wherever His children go. God sent His Son into this world as a living picture of who He is and how present He is—Immanuel, God with us. There is no place where we can go where we won’t be near His Spirit. If we go up into heaven, God is there. If we go to hell, He is there. We are guided and protected, held by God, wherever we go. We can’t even hide in the darkness.

Once we are known by God we can’t flee His presence. He is everywhere, and He will pursue us wherever we go.  We will run into Him at every turn. We can’t escape Him in the darkness, even the darkness of our own souls. The word translated as “hell” refers to “the grave” or “the place of the dead” rather than the place of eternal punishment for unbelievers. David asserts that God is, in fact, everywhere. Death cannot separate the believer from Him. When His people worship Him, they have an incredible sense of His manifest presence.

Every person who runs away from God eventually runs into God. That’s because there is no place we can go away from His presence. For example, when Jonah ran from God, he found that God will use anything-the wind, the waves, a storm, a fish-to declare His presence and His intent to restore. In times of overwhelming shame, when our natural instinct is to hide from everyone, we can be sure that God never needs or wants us to hide. He is always with us in self-imposed prisons.

No place is without God’s presence. Even when we run away from God, we run into God’s hands. In the heights, God is there; in the depths, God is also present. God knows each of us fully, but God’s knowledge of us is liberating, not judging.

People who have images of a mean and punishing God may never find comfort in hearing that God is as close to them as their every breath at every moment of the day. In that case, God’s promised absence would be sweet relief, as it offers a respite from the anxiety of always being watched and judged.

One of the most important pieces of spending time with God is encountering His presence. His presence is meant to be at the core of all that we do. God so hated separation from us that Jesus was sent to pay the ultimate price.

God selected our personalities before we were born. God didn’t drop us into the world defenseless and empty-handed. We arrived fully equipped. We were sculpted from nothing into something. God wants to be involved in every decision we make. How does this work?

1. We have to stop talking to ourselves and start talking to the Lord.
2. We have to go to the Bible and ask God to give us verses to guide us in our decisions. If some verse or verses pop out to us, we have to pray over it and ask God to make His message clearer through that verse.

How do we encounter the presence of God? How do we experience His nearness? Encountering God is similar to encountering another person. We don’t seek an experience with a friend. We simply seek to know God by spending time with Him and gain an experience as a result. We don’t want to seek the voice of a friend. We simply engage in conversation with Him as an act of wanting to know Him and hear His voice as a result.

When we yield our lives to Him and submit to His ways, it is no longer unnerving that God knows us so intimately. Instead, it is a great comfort that God knows all about us and loves us regardless. There is great peace in knowing that He is always present with us. We are fully known and never alone.

When Adam and Eve sinned, why did God curse them with an emptiness that nothing would be able to fulfill? Life was going to be hard enough out there in the world, banished from the Garden of Eden. It seems unkind, even cruel.

He did it to save them. Their hearts shifted at the Fall. Something sent its roots down deep into their souls-that mistrust of God’s heart and resolution to find life on their own terms, so God thwarted them. In love, He blocked their attempts until, wounded and aching, they turned to Him for their rescue. Jesus has to thwart us too-our controlling and our hiding, the ways we seek to fill the ache within us. Otherwise, we would never fully turn to Him for our rescue.

When a storm hits, it will reveal whether our lives are built on a solid foundation or on sand. Storms give us an opportunity to honour God in a better way than at any other time. We don’t invite storms, but we can face them because we know that God’s grace will be sufficient.

In business, corporations have long recognized the value of an independent audit. Any financial wrongdoing is brought to light, and all assets and liabilities are clearly identified. This kind of honest, rigorous assessment makes positive change possible. In the same way, through the process of confession, God “independently audits” our souls. When our wrong doing is revealed, we are pierced to the heart with our sin, and keenly conscious of our need for forgiveness in specific areas.

We can ask God to audit our lives and show us the results. We can start by reading the Ten Commandments and asking the Holy Spirit to convict us of specific sins. We can also consider the seven deadly sins-laziness, gluttony, greed, lust, envy, anger, and pride-and ask God to show us how we have allowed them to take root in our heart. When the audit is complete, we can agree with God concerning our sin.

Our purpose in life is chosen by God. It is not negotiable. It is like calling water wet. There is no changing that fact, and there’s no changing God’s purpose for our lives. While we may not fulfill the purpose for which God made us, we still have a purpose that God intends for us to fulfill. That doesn’t mean that there is one highly specific niche for us to fulfill and that if we miss it, too bad. We can achieve our purpose in many different and creative ways.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp. 798-799)
2. Williams, D., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 14: Psalm 73-150 (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1989; pp. 470-472)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010; pp. 837-840)
6. “Stop Talking to Yourself.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
7. Dr. Ed Young, “Can’t Find God?” Retrieved from ministry@winningwalk.org
8. Dr. Ed Young, “An Independent Audit.” Retrieved from ministry@winningwalk.org
9. “From Shoots to Leaves-Attention to Attunement.” Retrieved from wakeupcall@seedbed.com
10. “God Knows You.” Retrieved from Oneplace@crosswalkmail.com
11. “Hemmed In.” Retrieved from dailyreadings@randomesheart.com
12. Dr. Ed Young, “Morning is Coming.” Retrieved from ministry@winningwalk.org
13. Os Hillman, “Fulfilling Your Purpose.” Retrieved from tgif@marketplaceleaders.org
14. Libby Howe, “Three Musings on Psalm 139.” Retrieved from newsletter@christiancentury.org
15. Bruce Epperly, “The Eighth Sunday in Pentecost-July 23, 2023.” Retrieved from www.patheos.com/blogs/livingaholyadaventure

In Mark 12:13-17, we see another attempt by Jesus’ enemies to trap Him. This time there is an “unholy alliance.” The members of the Sanhedrin combined with the Pharisees and Herodians to snare Jesus in a trap. The Herodians were Jews who let it be known that political expediency overruled religious convictions when survival is at stake. Hate flashes back and forth over the wide differences between the two groups. It led to the point where the Sanhedrin convinced the Herodians and Pharisees that their enmity would be better spent against their common enemy, Jesus. They were a good example of the old saying that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

The Sanhedrin informed the Pharisees and Herodians that they would have to exercise two precautions:

1. The people must be appeased.
2. Jesus has to be forced to answer their charge.

The Pharisees and Herodians needed an issue that demanded an “either-or” answer. The political issue that divided them met the criteria. No Jew stood neutral on the question of resistance or accommodation to Roman rule. Anger and antagonism divided political parties, religious orders, families, and friends over the question. It went back to the year 6 A.D. when the emperor Caesar put the rebellious Jews in Southern Palestine directly under his control. The people paid for the military occupation with a poll tax that went directly into the emperor’s coffers in Rome.

When the Pharisees and Herodians asked, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?,” they really meant “Is it right or wrong?” If Jesus answered “yes” He would alienate the masses and give the Pharisees evidence for their charge of blasphemy. If He answered, “No,” the Herodians would spread the news to Roman authorities about the insurrectionist in their midst.

Jesus saw through their trap and called their bluff. They were guilty of tempting Jesus and siding with Satan. The question is not just about taxes, but it is also about territory. How do the realm and rule of Caesar relate to the realm and rule of God? Jesus’ answer set lasting principles for Caesar-God, state-church relationships:

1. Caesar has a legitimate realm. He got his authority from God. His legitimate function is to preserve peace. His legitimate demand is citizen responsibility, including the payment of taxes to support the peacekeeping function.
2. God has a legitimate realm. He has legitimate authority, function, and demand which define His kingdom. God’s authority is sovereign. His function is redemption. His demand is the tribute of total obedience to His will.
3. The realms of Caesar and God cannot be confused. In between these two extremes, Jesus leaves room for Christians to enjoy or tolerate human systems of government. If the government stays within the boundaries of its legitimacy and allows freedom for the church to proclaim God’s sovereignty, minister for human redemption, and expect full obedience to God’s will from its members, the two realms will not be in conflict. Jesus implies that they can be mutually supportive.
4. In the event of conflict between the two realms, God rules over Caesar, redemption transcends peace, and allegiance to God takes precedence over secular citizenship. The standards for Christian conscience are set. If Caesar must be worshipped, if redemptive witness must be forfeited for peace, and if the will of the state is imposed over the will of God, believers must obey the words of the apostle Peter in Acts 5:20. They must obey God rather than men.

Jesus’ answer delighted the people: the coin only has Caesar’s image, but man bears God’s image; therefore, the believer’s life belongs to God. We have duties and responsibilities to civil authorities that our faith does not negate. Jesus never advocated rebellion against the occupying Romans, despite their brutality and godlessness. Both Caesar and God, like justice and mercy, are compatible from His eternal viewpoint if they stay within the boundaries of His sovereign authority, His redemptive purpose, and His holy will.

Submission is not always the same as obedience. Our ultimate loyalty belongs to God. We are to render unto the government the things that belong to the government and unto God the things that belong to God. Our ultimate authority is God and we must always submit to Him above any other.

There are people today who use the same tactics. Many come with questions to trick Jesus’ followers. Their questions are just as insincere as the Herodians. The inquiries are a smokescreen hiding their pride. We will never trust Jesus until we set aside our pride and humble ourselves before Jesus.

Someone once wrote to Billy Graham and said, “I am a Christian but I think it is wrong for the government to set taxes so high. Wy should I be so content to pay them?” In his reply, Dr. Graham wrote:

“The Bible teaches that Christians should be law-abiding. The Bible also teaches loyalty to country. This doesn’t mean that we cannot criticize unjust laws or debate policies. The government of God should be our model, and we should do all we can to uphold the government that God can bless.”

“The Bible also teaches that we are to cooperate with the government in every way possible without violating Scripture. Jesus was asked about paying taxes. He set the example by doing so. It takes money to run a government and maintain law and order. Dodging taxes is no different than being a thief.”

In response to another question, Dr. Graham also wrote the following:

“God’s desire is to bless nations who reverence and obey Him. Nations rise, flourish for a time, and then they decline. Why? Because of the sins of the human race. There is no doubt that nations come to an end when they have ceased to fulfill the function that God meant for them. As long as mankind lives on earth, people possess dual citizenship: owing national allegiance as good citizens; but supreme loyalty is to God alone who says in Exodus 20:3, ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.’ When nations defy God, there is a price to pay.”

What Jesus said to the leaders, He says to us today: give to God what belongs to God. We have to give ourselves, because God has created us in His image and has placed His Name upon us in baptism. We are not on our own. We belong to God.

If we have chosen to follow Jesus, we are stamped with His image. We belong to Him, and our enemies should say about us what they said about Jesus. God’s truth means everything to us, and we don’t lie or con for what we think are ultimate ends.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013, p. 1365)
2. McKenna, D.L., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 25: Mark (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; pp. 233-238)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Version (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Adrian Rogers, “Submission and Obedience are Not the Same.” Retrieved from devotions@lwf.org
6. The Rev. Dr. Billy Graham, “Why Should I be so Content to Pay Taxes?” Retrieved from www.arcamax.com/healthandspirit/religion/billygraham/
7. The Rev. Dr. Billy Graham, “Should Citizens be Loyal to Their National Leaders to Avoid Persecution?” Retrieved from www.arcamax.com/healthandspirit/religion/billygraham/
8. The Rev. Ken Klaus, “The Image on a Coin.” Retrieved from www.lhm.org
9. Dave Wyrtzen, “Tricky Interviews.” Retrieved from www.truthencounter.com
10. Ron Moore, “Insincere Questions.” Retrieved from www.ronmoore.org

Luca looked up from his job of pulling dandelions as his friend Roman pedaled his bike up the driveway. “Hey,” called Roman. “Let’s go swimming at the park.”

“Can’t,” Luca replied. “My mom says she’s sick of seeing yellow dandelions instead of green grass, and I have to get rid of them.” He held up the tool he was using. “I work around the plant with this so I can pull out the whole root–and they sure go deep!” He wiped his brow with a dirty hand. “It’s really hot too.”

“Yeah,” said Roman. “Too hot to do it that way. Why not just cut the tops off? Here, I’ll help you. We’ll be done sooner, and then we can go swimming.”

“Okay,” Luca said. The boys soon finished the job and were off to the park.

Several times in the next few weeks, the dandelions sprouted back up and Mom sent Luca out to pull them again. Each time, he simply cut off the tops.

One day Mom came out to talk to him. “I didn’t understand why we kept getting so many dandelions, but now I see the problem. You aren’t pulling them up by the roots the way I showed you.”

“Oh,” said Luca, looking at the weeds in his hand. “I didn’t think it mattered so much, as long as you couldn’t see them.”

“But it does matter,” said Mom. “If the roots are still in the ground, the dandelions grow right back. You have to get rid of the whole thing–roots and all.”

That evening, Dad heard about the returning dandelions. “That’s a good example of the way we sometimes treat sin in our lives,” he said thoughtfully. “If it isn’t seen by other people, we often think it doesn’t matter. But just because it isn’t visible to everyone else doesn’t mean it isn’t harmful. No matter how much we try to cover it up, it will keep popping back up in our lives, hurting us and others.” Dad looked at Luca. “Do you know how to root out sin instead of just trying to hide it?”

Luca nodded. “We need to know Jesus. Then instead of trying to hide our sin, we can ask Him to forgive us.”

Dad nodded. “And set our minds on the new life we have in Him.

In Romans 6:1-11, Paul addresses people who were baptized or preparing for baptism. He talks about the purpose, function, and goal of baptism, in relation to all human beings who are held under the grip of sin and the reign of death. Through baptism, humanity can make the transition from sin into grace.

Paul talks about the believer’s death to sin. He reminds believers of the historical facts of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Paul goes on to explain that through baptism believers are united to Christ and are therefore participants in the experience of Christ. The believer through baptism has died, been buried, and raised again with Jesus. In other words, baptism transforms people by giving them a way to share the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul believes that the new life of a Christian would be evident in two ways:

1. Those who are baptized into Christ will celebrate His victory over death. They will live with Him forever.
2. Those who are baptized into Christ will celebrate His conquest of sin. They will live true and holy lives right now.

As Christian theology has developed, one section of the church has seen baptism as a sacrament while a second section regards it as a symbol. For the first group baptism conveys grace to the baptized person. Taken to its extreme, this approach removes the necessity for repentance and faith and elevates baptism to the lofty status of the means of salvation. Those who see baptism as a symbol of spiritual reality may decide that as rites are relatively unimportant when compared to reality, the rite can be dispensed with without losing any spiritual benefit. This position has been adopted by groups such as The Salvation Army.

Our need for redemption surfaces immediately in the biblical story. In following the serpent’s wishes, Adam and Eve found themselves captive to the power of the knowledge of good and evil. This set in motion the drama of redemption-God’s plan to set humanity free from the power of sin through the perfect obedience of His Son, who would stand in for the human race as both sacrifice and Redeemer.

The first revelation of the good news appears in Genesis 3:14-15: “So the Lord God said to the serpent…you are cursed…and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” But with that announcement came word of a conflict between the Serpent and the Seed of Eve, or Christ. The Serpent would bruise His heel, but the Seed would crush the head of the Serpent. This complete and utter defeat of Satan will open the doors of sin’s prison and allow its captives to be set free.

The descendants of Abraham were given a foretaste of that ultimate redemption when they were released from slavery in Egypt. Indeed, they may have even thought their redemption was the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. They were being promised a land of milk and honey and the permanent presence of God with them. But it did not take long for them to see that although they had been physically redeemed from slavery, they were still captives to the power of sin. They would need a more powerful deliverer than Moses to set them totally free.

Jesus of Nazareth came some 1,500 years later, applying the words of Isaiah 61 to Himself: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me…to proclaim liberty to the captives…to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Jesus announced Himself to be Israel’s Deliverer in a synagogue in Nazareth at the beginning of His ministry—not long after making it clear to the serpent, in a face-to-face confrontation, that He would not repeat the mistakes of Adam and Eve. By Christ’s obedience to God, He would stand in for the fallen race of Adam and redeem His descendants.

Therefore, Paul called Jesus “the last Adam” in 1 Corinthians 15:45. As soon as God announced His approval of Jesus and His baptism, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be confronted by the Serpent. With every advantage and provision in the Garden of Eden, the first Adam had succumbed. With no provisions except faith and the words of God for 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus remained resolute in the face of temptation. Redemption was clearly drawing near.

When Christ came into the world He came from the glory of heaven sinless, spotless, undefiled, and separated from sin. When He entered human society, He was met with sin’s power and presence. He lived among the carnage and wreckage of sin. When He went to the Cross, He assumed our sin and bore the wrath of God against our sin. Having come from an environment where sinlessness was normative to a situation where sin is pervasive and having taken on His sinless self the load of a race’s sin, it is no surprise that He cried from the Cross at the end of His ministry, “It is finished” and died. The nightmare of sin, the horrors of death and hell, the tyranny of sin’s hold on people had been dealt with, and He could go to the grave anticipating His Resurrection with joy and delight.

Jesus taught that redemption from the power of sin was humanity’s greatest need. In John 8:34, Jesus says that “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” Because death is the wages of sin, there was only one proof that man could be redeemed from sin’s penalty and power: the Redeemer would have to submit to death in order to be released from its grasp, which is what Jesus did. And all who believe in Jesus’ redemptive work can go down into death and be raised with Him by faith, free from the power and penalty of sin.

The past tense of the verbs in this passage are worth noting, especially the one that says, “We were buried.” The baptized person is given an assurance of the death of the former life and that sin no longer has power over his/her life. How can anyone die to sin? Paul is talking about something already done by another—namely Christ—not something people do. In the Greek language, the verb form of “died” often signifies summarizing a past event from an eternal perspective—an event that is already past, not an ongoing process.

The apostle Paul wrote of the ultimate consummation of God’s redemptive drama and the fulfillment of the promise of Genesis 3:15. Though Satan is still alive and active, creation and the Christian live in expectation of the day when Christ returns to permanently seal the Serpent’s fate. Our victory is certain; indeed, it has already been won.

In verses 3 and 4, Paul’s fundamental meaning is the identification of the believer with Christ as pictured through baptism into the body of Christ at the moment of conversion. Water baptism, the public mark of faith in God, is symbolic of personal, vital identification with Christ.

Christ’s death was the believer’s death; His burial the believer’s burial; His resurrection the believer’s resurrection. He not only died for them, but He died as them. Believers are united in Him in His death and burial and in His resurrection.

The phrase “old man” refers to the believer’s old self, the unregenerate sons of Adam. The phrase “body of sin” does not mean “a mass of sin,” or sin that resides in the body but that the body is the seat, or instrument, of sin. The phrase “done away with” does not mean “annihilated” but “reduced to a state of inaction or impotence.” It means defeated, disabled, deprived of power.

Only the most corrupt mind using the most perverted logic could argue that continuing in sin somehow honours the God who sacrificed His Son to save people in the first place. From Genesis to Revelation, a scarlet thread runs through Scripture. This idea of setting free or releasing from bondage is both the prevalent thesis of God’s Word and the reason why the Living Word, Jesus Christ, came to earth. The word “reckon” has to do with reality. It means acknowledging or acting on what is already true or has already happened. Christians need to reckon, conclude, and accept that they are no longer slaves to sin but have been set free.

Believers should no longer serve sin. Now that the “man of old” has been dealt with in Christ and the new man has been shown that the sin which previously controlled his physical body has been dealt with, he should recognize that he is no longer a slave to sin. Although our old selves are dead, sin retains a foothold in our temporal flesh or our unredeemed humanness, with its corrupted desires. The believer does not have two competing natures, the old and the new, but one new nature that is still in prison in unredeemed flesh, but the term “flesh” is not the same as the physical body, which can be an instrument of holiness.

Think of it this way. Sin put us in prison. Sin locked us behind the bars of guilt, shame, deception, and fear. Sin chained us to the wall of misery. Jesus came and paid our bail. He paid the penalty and set us free. Christ died, and when we cast our lot with Him, our old selves died too.

The only way to be set free from the prison of sin is to serve its penalty. In this case the penalty is death. Someone has to die-either us or a heaven-sent substitute. We can’t leave prison unless there is a death. That death happened at Calvary. When Jesus died, sin’s claim to our lives died. We are free.

Is there a sin in your life you’re trying to keep covered so others won’t see it? No matter how you try to hide a sin, it will keep popping back up. It needs to be pulled up by the roots, and the only way to do that is to confess it to Jesus. Even though you may continue to struggle with that sin, don’t let it stay covered up. Remember that Jesus has freed you from the power of sin and will always forgive you.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp. 1551-1552)
2. Briscoe, D.S., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 29: Romans (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; pp. 128-133)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010; pp. 1567-1568)
6. A.W. Smith, “Roots and All.” Retrieved from info@keysforkids.org
7. Israel Kamudzandu, “Commentary on Romans 6:1b-11.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.com
8. Carla Pratt Keyes, “Romans 6:1b-11.” Retrieved from www.asermonforeverysunday.com

With an irony that marks all 2 Corinthians 11, Paul asked the Corinthians to bear with him as he took on the foolish position of his detractors. Promoting oneself is foolish, but Paul recognized the necessity, for the Corinthians had become tolerant of and responsive to such speech. Paul did not want to boast of his credentials, but the Corinthians’ acceptance of the false apostles’ claims forced Paul to set forth his credentials. That was the only way he could get them to see the truth.

One of Paul’s strongest claims to authority over the church-a claim that could not be made by his detractors-was that he had “fathered” the church.  While his image of his role of the father of the bride was fresh in their minds, Paul suggested that his critics were like the tempter in the Garden of Eden.

It’s easy to feel Paul’s sense of hurt that people whom he had introduced to Christ and whom he had begun to nurture in their faith would so uncritically be taken in by so different an approach. One senses sarcasm as Paul suggests that he was amazed that the people who couldn’t stand him would put up with what they did. Paul was up against a kind of man-centered worldliness masquerading as spiritual religion.

The so-called “eminent apostles” referred to in 2 Corinthians 11:5-6 came from outside Corinth to subvert the God-given authority of Paul and the other true apostles. This threat is alive and well today; only vigilance will enable Christians to hold fast to what is true. What is confusing to sincere church members is that people who spread a false gospel can sound so spiritual and so sure of themselves that without even being aware of what’s happening they are taken in. A gospel of love and forgiveness and freedom can so subtly be replaced with a gospel of fear and suspicion and guilt and conformity.

Although these “eminent” apostles were polished in the latest rhetorical techniques, they corrupted the truth. In contrast, Paul admitted to being untrained in speech, but he was grounded in the revelation of God, and he spoke with God’s authority. Christians can stand tall when they stand firm in the Word of God and the work of Christ.

While the false apostles burdened the Corinthians financially, Paul took no money from them for preaching the gospel. Instead, he was supported by other churches, the Macedonians, and by his work as a tentmaker. By saying he robbed other churches, Paul emphasized that the Macedonians’ generosity enabled him to serve the Corinthians. His resort to manual labour to support himself embarrassed the Corinthians, who felt such work to be beneath the dignity of an apostle. With biting irony, Paul asked his accusers how foregoing his right to support could possibly be a sin. In fact, by refusing support he had humbled himself so they could be exalted; that is, lifted out of their sin and idolatry.

Paul was determined not to accept support from the Corinthians for his ministry, lest his opponents use that action to negate his boasting. To keep the Corinthians from misunderstanding his refusal, he affirmed his love for them and then appealed to the highest authority, for God knows!

These false apostles were spreading a false gospel. Just like people have made fake copies of fake money over the years, Satan offers many false counterfeits of Christ to deceive people. He does not care what people believe or how sincerely they believe it as long as they are believing a lie. In fact, the more sincerely people believe something that is false, the better the devil likes it. Just as with counterfeit money, the best tool to detect false doctrine is a close familiarity with the truth. The more we know about what is real, the easier it is for us to detect what is false. It should not be any surprise to us when we encounter false doctrine.

We live in a society that is a go-along-to-get-along generation. We don’t like confrontation. We don’t want to comment on the way other people live or don’t live their Christian lives. Who do we think we are to insist that others should be consistent in their faith? Who died and left us in charge? What the Christian movement needs now are more disciples who are more consistent, more devoted to the Lord, and more zealous for His Kingdom and righteousness. Such disciples would not be able to keep from calling for the repentance and renewal our generation of Christians needs so badly.

Following Jesus is a matter of a choice that we have to make each and every day. Most people won’t make that choice because it isn’t the easiest road to take. Unfortunately, it is the only choice that leads to real life. It is the only choice that allows us to become all that God wants us to be.

Most of us are not equipped to fight a spiritual battle, let alone win a war. Satan often uses born-again, Spirit-filled believers as his agents to do his bidding in order to destroy God’s work. This can happen when we leave doors unlocked. These doors are labelled as hatred, bitterness, rebellion, jealousy, greed, and more. Unless we deal with these doors, Satan will enter our lives and steal our peace, joy, and effectiveness for Christ. He will hinder our relationships with God, and then our relationships with others. If we confess these strongholds to God, He will close these doors.

Paul spoke the truth in love, hoping that the Corinthians would see the truth. So it is in our lives. There are times when we will speak the truth in love and others will not listen. If they don’t, love them through it and allow the Lord to use your gentle witness to impact their lives forever. Understanding and accepting the truth written in the Bible about Him assures that we are on the spiritual path that leads to heaven.

That path includes taking people back to the basics of Christianity like Paul did with the church at Corinth. It is the gospel message and the gospel message only that leads to a life of faith and freedom. Add to it or take away from it, and we are left with no gospel at all. It is Jesus Christ-His death, burial and resurrection-that is the only message that matters. In the simple truth of God’s grace and love, we will find peace and rest and the power we need for victorious living.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 1613)
2. Chafin, K.L., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 30: 1,2 Corinthians (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1985; pp. 274-277)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The Macarthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Dr. Paul Chappell, “Counterfeit Copies.” Retrieved from daily@dailyintheword.org
6. Pastor David McGee, “2 Corinthians 11:7.” Retrieved from theword@aboutthebridge.com
7. Bob Christopher, “Gentlemen, This is a Football.” Retrieved from bob@basicgospel.net
8. T.M. Moore, “Citizens and Ambassadors.” Retrieved from noreply@ailbe.org
9. Jim Liebelt, “Wholehearted, Simple Commitment.” Retrieved form www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/homeword/wholehearted-simple-commitment-homeword-october.html?
10. Michael Youssef, Ph.D.,” Your Enemy Has a Plan.” Retrieved from web@ltw.org

In Psalm 119:129-136, the psalmist continued to know the power of evil, which tried to subvert him from the living God. He prayed against iniquity and oppression. He wept over those in rebellion against God’s Word. In the midst of darkness, however, there was the light, which shined from divine revelation. God offers one of life’s greatest wonders: the inner light that gives understanding even to the unlearned person. Brokenhearted over those who do not keep God’s law, the psalmist uses “mouth” metaphors to suggest his great appetite for God’s commandments.

The psalmist revealed a solemn truth. Straying from God’s Word is nothing but bad news. If God’s instruction doesn’t rule our lives, sin will. When God’s law is ignored sorrow is inevitable. He’s been there and done that and doesn’t want to be there and do that again. To be a faithful disciple is to commit to knowing and being guided by God’s truth.

The psalmist identified with Israel’s experience in this passage. A price was paid so that Israel could go free from oppression. That price was paid both at the expense of Israel’s enemies and the death of innocent lambs. The ransom thus accomplished, God led Israel out into the wilderness and gave them His Law. He redeemed them to make them His own people. As His redeemed people, they were to keep his promises.

Israel’s redemption and the redemption the psalmist sought in this passage point to the work of Jesus. God redeemed all His chosen people by ransoming them from the oppression of sin, again in two ways: at the expense of the enemy of our soul, who was bound with all his angels and is destined to eternal condemnation; and at the price of Jesus. By binding the devil and taking our sins on Himself, Jesus redeemed us from sin’s oppression and set us free to live according to the Law of liberty and love.

God hasn’t changed. He still promises to guide us. God’s Word teaches us sound doctrine. This testimony exalted the Word of God-the complete and perfect standard of truth, values, reality, and behaviour. God’s Word is entirely sufficient for godly living. By grasping its powerful message, we can be pure.

As God feeds us from His Word, He also increases our thirst after Him. He both fills us and leaves us unsatisfied at the same time. With his need pressing, the psalmist prayed for God to see him; God’s face turned toward him was a sign of His favour. Mercy leads to obedience. The psalmist will be controlled by God rather than by sin and the devil.

The Holy Spirit unfolds God’s Word to us throughout our lives. He uses preachers, friends, our own minds, Christian books, teaching and his own illumination in our minds as we read the Bible to open our understanding more and more to his truth. That is why a young Christian can love God with all their heart and be very close to God relationally but can’t gain the maturity and spiritual wisdom of a Christian who has been walking with God through the Scriptures for years.

The psalmist asked for a full, open relationship with God as he prayed, “Make your face shine upon your servant.” The request recalled the benediction of Aaron and his sons:

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine upon you.

And be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you.

And give you peace.

God didn’t leave us in a murky, dusky twilight. He created light, and while the light was literal, it has a wonderful analogy and personal meaning for us. Light in the spiritual sense represents the truth, clarity, spiritual understanding, and discernment we receive from God’s written Word.

Reading the Bible is like looking in a mirror with a very bright light. The light reveals what is wrong with our lives and what we need to have cleaned up. It reveals the things that cause a barrier between us and God. This barrier was removed when Jesus provided cleansing for our sins. Through Jesus, we can be confident that God’s face will shine upon us.

God’s instructions teach us how to navigate through life, and they can protect us from a lot of destructive falls. We need to join the psalmist and do some serious crying because all of us know people who believe flying through life without God’s guidance is the ultimate free thrill ride.

We receive nourishment from God’s wisdom through our study and contemplation of His Word. What can be more important than searching for understanding? What would life be like without some kind of framework to bring it into focus-without a refuge to retreat to or a day of rest? God’s statutes shape our lives by giving us structure, but also by insisting that we play within the space the God gives us.

It doesn’t matter what God sets before us to do on any specific day. We need to be true to Him in every way we can. This involves the way we think, what we say, and how we behave. This is quite a challenge, but our desire and the Holy Spirit will help us to grow spiritually every day. We must take the Word of God everywhere we go. We might not know much about it, but we do know enough to know that in the words of Psalm 119:105, the word of God is a lamp under our feet and a light onto our path. God’s Word is all we need to stand on. It cools us in the desert heat and warms us in the icy breeze on the mountainside.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 789)
2. Williams, D., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 14: Psalms 73-150 (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1989; pp. 373-375)
3. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
4. Ann Graham Lotz, “Turn on the Light!” Retrieved from info@angelministries.org
5. “It’s Amazing What Sticks” Retrieved from seeds@ellel.org
6. T.M. Moore, “Ransom Me.” Retrieved from noreply@ailbe.org
7. Dave Wyrtzen, “Tears for the Disobedient.” Retrieved from truthnote@gmail.com
8. Ron Moore, “Longing for God’s Word.” Retrieved from ronmoore@ronmoore.org
9. The Rev. Dr. Billy Graham, “Do We Understand What it Means to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ?” Retrieved from www.arcamax.com/healthandspirit/religion/billygraham
10. “Your Key to Life.” Retrieved from bibleinoneyear@htb.org.uk
11. Ryan Pusch, “Psalm 119:129-136.” Retrieved from communic@luthersem.edu.

There is a story of an old prospector in the last century who had to make a long journey across a hot desert. He couldn’t carry enough water to make the journey without dying of thirst, but he was told that there was a well halfway across the desert. He set out and sure enough there was a well right where the map indicated. When he pumped the handle, the well only burped up sand. Then he saw this sign: “Buried two feet over and two feet down is a jug of water. Dig it up and use the water to prime the pump. Drink all the water you want, but when you are done, fill the jug again for the next person.”

Sure enough, two feet over and two feet down was enough water for the prospector to prime the pump or finish his journey. Should he pour the water down the well or should he drink it? Most of us would probably drink the water that was buried. We don’t know who wrote the sign on that old pump. It could be a cruel joke. We could pour that water down a worthless well only to watch our lives drain away for lack of water.

The events in John 7:37-39 took place during the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles. Every morning during the feast there was a procession to the fountain that supplied the water for the pool of Siloam. The priest filled his golden pitcher as the choir sang. Then the crowd proceeded to the temple carrying branches and twigs in the right hand, reminding them of the huts they built in the wilderness. In their left hand they carried a lemon or citron, a sign of the harvest. They proceeded to the altar waving the branches and singing. The priest went to the altar at the time of the sacrifice and poured the water into a silver funnel through which it flowed to the ground.

On the seventh day the crowed circled the altar seven times to celebrate God’s gift of water when Moses struck the rock in the wilderness at Meribah. It was at this moment in the midst of the celebration that Jesus stood and cried, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” This invitation was rooted in the time and place when Moses faced the thirsty crowd at Sinai crying out for water, and almost in desperation, he struck the rock, and water came out abundantly. As the rock was struck in the wilderness, Jesus will be struck and broken open and life will flow forth to be shared with everyone who will come and drink.

These events took place before Jesus’ death and resurrection. They signaled to the disciples and everyone else who was present exactly who He was and what would come. It was also a message to a church that was facing persecution and uncertainty. His words reminded them and us of the essence of who they have come to follow and what life with Jesus, through the Spirit, offers to a church that is committed and weary, passionate and pursued, despairing and hopeful.

The crowd Jesus faced had far deeper, more urgent needs than their ancestors in the wilderness. Their thirsts were spiritual and eternal. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that releases and sets free the streams of living water. The disciples quenched their thirst on Jesus until Pentecost, but after that event, they became a blessing to others in a new style of outgoing life. It was then a tide of living water flowed out of their life together, manifesting itself in a bold witness and wondrous works.

The Spirit could only be given after Jesus had been lifted up in glory. It was through the suffering and death on the Cross that His glory broke forth. It was almost as if when His side was pierced He released the Spirit that was in Him to be shared with those who believed.

To understand spiritual thirst, picture the prospector in the desert. His canteen was empty, his lips were parched, and he was desperate for water. Just as God provided water in the wilderness to quench the physical thirst of His people, Jesus offers living water to quench our spiritual thirst. Psalm 81 says, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” The genius of the Christian life is opening our mouths, our hearts, and our lives wide-and just drinking the water of the Spirit. We will begin not only to live, but we will also experience the power of God in every area of our lives.

God wired us with a thirst-a “low-fluid” indicator. If we deprive our souls of spiritual water, our souls will let us know. Dehydrated hearts send messages such as snarling tempers, waves of worry, and growling mastodons of guilt and fear. We must treat our souls as we treat our thirst. We have to flood our hearts with a good drink of spiritual water.

Jesus did not focus on a particular group but made a universal appeal: anyone who thirsts can come to Him and drink. Jesus quenches every thirst-He is knowledge to the thirsty mind, love to the thirsty heart, peace to the thirsty conscience, and holiness to the thirsty spirit. Because God made us for an intimate relationship with Himself, our deepest thirst cannot be met anywhere else but in Him. Jesus offers the only satisfaction for spiritual thirst.

When Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink of water-implying He’d drink from what she fetched from the well-He changed her life. She was surprised by His request because Jews looked down on Samaritans. He said in John 4:10, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” God’s refreshing Spirit revives us today when we’re tired. He is the Living Water that lives in our souls with holy refreshment.

Too many people settle for a dry life that doesn’t have any spiritual life, or a real experience of the presence of God working in them and through them. That is a complete waste, because it doesn’t have to be that way. If we want to live a real, rich, dynamic faith, we have to spend time with Jesus. How much of this life that we live is spent with Him and for Him?

People often look to the local church to change the arid conditions within their own lives and call for revival. A dehydrated soul can’t be revived unless it chooses to take in the living water that God’s Word provides. Those who want such outpourings must look deep within themselves. We misunderstand revival if we believe it can be manufactured during a church service or a church conference. God doesn’t honour such fleshly attempts. Great spiritual awakenings seem to start when one or two people persistently and consistently pray, “God, I have strayed. Show me where I have erred. May I think, speak, and live Bible. Help me to walk in a continuance of Your presence.”

The devil will do everything he can to discourage us from the unleashed power of a passionate life. That is why Scripture encourages us not to be ignorant of the enemy’s devices, one of which is busyness. From work to social media to church to family to friends to maintaining our homes, if the devil can’t stop a person from moving forward, he’ll just try to push them to move forward too fast. We can even get so busy doing work for God that we lose sight of Him in the midst of it.

The Holy Spirit has come and is releasing life-giving water that will lie deep within people who will yield to Him. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see life from His perspective. When we yield to the Holy Sprit we will find ourselves taking on new interest and priorities in our lives. Yielding to the Holy Spirit means that we give up our own ideas and efforts and put ourselves in His hand.

There are different levels of relationship with the Holy Spirit which are important to understand. The first type of relationship we can experience is the Spirit within us. The fact that He is in the earth today gives us the opportunity to enter into a personal relationship with Him.

How can we be filled with and thus empowered by the Holy Spirit? There are five steps:

1. Desire and faith. We must truly want the Holy Spirit, and we must believe that God will give it to us as He said he would.
2. Commitment. What our hearts are filled with is what we are committed to. If we are genuinely committed to Christ and make Him Lord of our lives, we will be controlled by the Spirit and our lives will exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.
3. Confession. If we have any unresolved sin in our lives, we must confess it and put it behind us. We can’t live in sin and be controlled by God’s Spirit at the same time.
4. Openness. The real issue isn’t how much of the Holy Spirit we have, but how much of us does the Holy Spirit have?
5. Personal honesty. The Holy Spirit is also known as the Spirit of Truth. To be filled with the Spirit of truth, we have to be truthful with ourselves as well as with God.

As followers of Jesus, we live on with exhortation of the One who came to us and  invites us to come to Him. Our thirst will be quenched. Our physical and spiritual needs will be met. Rivers of living water will flow out from within Him. It is the flow of water that perpetuates abundant life. From those waters, we may draw out strength for the dangerous journeys and deepest moments. Those waters change our celebrations and remind us of who we are. Those waters cleans and refresh, hydrate and repair, transport and restore. Those waters flow out from the Holy One and flow into us. As they fill us to overflowing, and we continually draw deeper and deeper from them, those waters beg to flow out from us.

Are there times in our lives when we grow tired of the battle and our souls cry out to God? We long to know God in a deeper and more intimate way, stripping away the layers of misunderstanding and perhaps fear which have kept us at a comfortable distance. King David said that his body, his innermost being, longed for God.

God placed that yearning, that longing, deep in our hearts so that He could fill it. God created the thirst, and He knew that He was the only thing that could satisfy the deep longing within. How does God satisfy that longing in our hearts? What should we do to know Him more intimately and personally? The answer is to drink crystal clear, pure, and cool spiritual water.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 1454
2. Fredrikson, R.L., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 27: John (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1985; pp. 145-147)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010; pp. 1467-1469)
6. Berni Dymet, “Hand and Heart.” Retrieved from berni@christianityworks.com
7. Richard Innes, “Empowered by God’s Spirit-Part II.” Retrieved from www.actsweb.org
8. Dr. Ed Young, “Open Your Mouth.” Retrieved from ministry@winningwalk.org
9. Dr. Dennis Burke, “A Sensitive Heart.” Retrieved from dbm@dennisburkeministries.org
10. Dr. Harold Sala, “Guidelines to Grow a Deeper Relationship With God.” Retrieved from www.guidelines.org
11. Dr. Neil Anderson, “Living Water.” Retrieved from www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/dailyinchrist
12. Patricia Rayban, “Living Water.” Retrieved from www.odb.org
13. Christine Caine, “The Busy trap.” Retrieved from no-reply@chrsitaincaine.com
14. Pastor Jack Hibbs, “Thirsty?” Retrieved from mail@jackhibbs.com
15. Rev. Cheryl Lindsay, “Weekly Seeds: Flow Out From Within.” Retrieved from www.ucc.org

The events that took place during the period between the Resurrection and Christ’s Ascension were as critical for us as they were for the disciples and the early followers of Jesus. What He said and did during that period solidified what had been, and raised expectation for what was to come. The same preparation for power must happen in us. We need to understand who the Holy Spirit is, what we can expect when He takes up residence in our minds and hearts, and what we can do to open the riverbed of our personalities for His flow. The infallible proof of His resurrection and victory over death were critical to the birth of the church, as His disciples were about to give their lives in Christ’s service.

We are living in a time when the Spirit is releasing people to respond in great numbers. He is doing His miraculous work in their minds, emotions, and wills-especially their wills. As Christ continues His ministry, He invades our wills and creates a willingness to be made willing to consider the truth of His love for us. Through His gift, the will allows the possibility for our minds to entertain the thought of our great need for love and forgiveness.

Every believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ at the moment of conversion. From that point on, the Spirit lives inside the believer and empowers him or her for service to Christ. We are called on to be God’s ambassadors in the world, introducing people who don’t yet know Jesus to the love and grace of God that is available to them in Christ. We can only do this through the power of the Holy Spirit.

God has put the Holy Spirit in our lives to empower our lives to be lived for his glory. The world we have grown up in teaches us to rely on our own abilities in life; it teaches us to believe in ourselves and be confident in ourselves. In contrast, God wants us to believe in Him and be confident in Him.

Christ gave us His plan, His command to carry out the plan, and the power to reach His goal to reach the whole world with the Gospel. Jesus told the disciples the means by which the gospel would advance: the Holy Spirit imbued the early Christians with power so that their accomplishments were supernatural. Our relationship with Him is radically different. He is with us, and He lives within us. The power we receive would not be something but Someone: Himself. The eternal word through whom God created the universe, who dwells among us and whom we behold in glory full of grace and truth lives in us.

Christ’s work of redemption rests primarily on four pillars of truth: His incarnation, His crucifixion, His resurrection, and His ascension. The ascension was the exclamation point, completely and finally demonstrating that His atonement had forever solved the problem that sin created.

Christ was not finished when He arose from the dead or ascended to be glorified with reigning power. He came back to give the greatest gift of all-His own Spirit to live in us. With that thought we press on to experience further preparation for Pentecost.

With the declaration in Acts 1:11, the angels confirmed that the second Person of the Trinity was then, and forever would be, God and Man. Just as He left, so would He return-in His glorified body. This is a part of every Christian’s hope! Christ was the first fruit of the resurrection, meaning that when all things are made new, His followers will be made like Him.

We might not like to admit it, but there are things that are beyond our power. This forces us to give up control. When we surrender control of our lives to God, He allows us to experience what His control can do. It’s not about blindly following. It’s about fully trusting that God has our best interests in mind.

Jesus is telling us that the power of His Spirit will be entrusted to people who can accept His authority over timing. The Spirit is given for a very special purpose. Power here means supernatural power of the quality revealed in Jesus’ own life. That power allows His movement to spread throughout the earth. His followers are to present Himself and His finished work of redemption through the Cross and the Resurrection.

Our job as God’s soldiers is to be a liberating force. God’s will and purpose for sending the Holy Spirit was so that every person will know and make a decision for Jesus. This work will be costly. We must be ready to pay that cost. We are to die to ourselves and our control of our privacy and schedules and become available to share by life and action what Christ means to us and can mean to others.

The work of God’s Kingdom is never done. When we commit to fully serving Christ, we soon realize that our goals on this earth are enduring. Our service, prayer, and witnessing are never complete. There is always more to do for the glory of God, a deeper relationship to be had with God, and infinite wonders to be proclaimed about God to a world that desperately needs Him. We are to take this work seriously because it is our highest calling.

Doing God’s work involves waiting, and that’s hard to do. We want God to be like a microwave oven. We want Him to provide His miracles, His breakthroughs, His answers to our prayers in short order. The reality is that God is like a crock pot or a slow cooker. If it feels like God is slow to answer our prayers and meet our needs, we must remember that God is working in the waiting rooms of our lives. He uses the waiting time to help us grow. While we are waiting, we can do these things:

1. Be active. Waiting is active, not passive. Waiting time is not the same as wasting time.
2. Be obedient. As we wait on God, we can do the things He has commanded us to do.
3. Be unified. There is great power in unity. Couples, families, and churches that need a miracle need to come together in unity.
4. Be praying and praising. The disciples prayed continuously while they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit. There is great power in unified prayer and praise. They start a spiritual fire that ushers in a great move of God.
5. Be preparing. While the disciples waited for the Holy Spirit to come, they also selected a replacement apostle for Judas. Peter knew the Lord wanted twelve apostles to witness to the twelve tribes of Israel. While we wait, we can prepare ourselves for what lies ahead. Preparation is critical as we wait on God.

Who has God put in our lives to love and introduce to Him? Who now is alive forever because we cared about him or her and were used as the Lord’s spiritual obstetrician? Who in our lives may have missed both the abundant and eternal life because of our silence? Are we willing to be made willing for the basic, undeniable calling of every Christian?

The focus of our mission is at home in life’s most intimate relationships where people really know us. It also has a focus at work and in the community where the consistency of our life and witness can be observed. It also has a focus within our nation and the world. It includes wherever we are or are sent. We don’t have to wait for the call to be a missionary and a minister. We can start with the people we know, and, wherever life leads, there will be people waiting whose lives are being prepared mysteriously for the chance to meet Jesus and grow in Him because He arranged for us to be in the right place at the right time.

The coming of the Holy Spirit will begin a new age when the words and actions of the disciples are the fruits of the Spirit’s life in us. With the Spirit’s guidance our projects might take an unusual shape, a new routine, or an unexpected turn. Maybe we will be less driven, less success oriented, more accepting of the vices of others and more willing to be flexible when change is needed.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 1486)
2. Ogilvie, L.J. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 28: Acts (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1983; pp. 21-48)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010; pp. 1501-1503)
6. Rev. David Mainse, “Witnesses.” Retrieved from contact@100words.ca
7. Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “Godly Goals.” Retrieved from noreply@ltw.org
8. Dr. Charles Stanley, “Evangelism: Every Believer’s Calling.” Retrieved from www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/in-tough/
9. John North, “Acts 1:8.” Retrieved from Oneplace@crosswalkmail.com
10. Ed Young, “It’s Time to Reign.” Retrieved from www.christianity.com/devotionals/ed-young-ministries
11. Keith Butler, “You Shall Be Witnesses Unto Me.” Retrieved from paul@ncmcanada.com
12. Pastor Jeff Schreve, “What to Do When You’re Waiting on God.” Retrieved from www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/fromhisheart/
13. Jude Siciliano, OP, “First Impressions, Ascension of the Lord (A).” Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org

Have you ever noticed that life isn’t fair sometimes? We do the right thing and people misunderstand us or mistreat us or they run their own selfish agendas. We end up with the raw end of the deal. Have you ever noticed that? When that happens sometimes we want to “tear that person’s head off.” Some of us can do that and we have become pretty good at it in time.

Then along comes Jesus. The Son of God-miracle man extraordinaire. If anyone had the right to tear some people apart when they arrested Him, beat Him, spat on Him, and mocked Him-well, He did. He said nothing, and they nailed Him to a cross. Why? Why didn’t He say something? Why didn’t He give them hell?

In 1 Peter 2:19-25, Peter addresses the subject of servanthood, which is a key part of the Christian lifestyle. Following Christ in obedience and serving Him is not an option for an authentic Christian lifestyle. Christians are not free to do their own thing nor to simply follow Christ without carrying on their responsibilities to their masters or employers. Christians are to be subject to every law made by man for Christ’s sake.

Peter’s audience lived a thousand miles east of Rome in what is now north-central Turkey. Like Peter, they didn’t conform to the social conventions of the day. Their social marginalization earned them abuse, scorn, slander, and malicious gossip from pagan critics. Even the name “Christian” was offensive to their enemies. Rome responded to Christian sedition and separation with persecution.

Being whipped or beaten into submission is one thing, but to submit one’s own free will to a harsh master is almost impossible to do without God’s help. Only Jesus, the sinless Son of God, could carry the heavy burden of our sin and its consequences. When He died on the cross, He took all our sins on Himself and offered us His forgiveness. Because He carried our burden, we don’t have to suffer the punishment we deserve.

Jesus said that as He suffered, so would His disciples. Every human being endures some suffering in his or her lifetime. It may be the physical suffering of sickness or injury. It may be the inner suffering caused by the death of a loved one, rejection by friends, or simply loneliness. Whatever the cause may be, we all seek to avoid it as much as possible. The Bible makes it very clear that Christians are subject to all the causes of suffering common to men, plus the added persecution that comes with taking a clear stand for Christ.

Peter calls on us to enjoy and practice the life of the Spirit, and that includes suffering for Christ’s sake just like Christ suffered and died for us. Suffering wrongly is commendable in God’s eyes, but there is no reward for those who suffer because of their own wrongdoing. The Greek word for “endures” suggests withstanding an object crashing down on a person. God gives His children this kind of fortitude.

Christ is the example for everything in life-including the reality of suffering and the Christian’s response to it. He endured and did not retaliate verbally but did what was right and committed the results to God, who judges righteously. When we, like Christ, do good and suffer for it, and take it patiently, God is pleased. It brings glory to God and has the potential of ministering to our masters and to others around us. Thanks to Christ’s submission and sacrifice, believers are redeemed, released from sin, restored to spiritual health, and returned to safety.

There are two reasons why we should not be defensive when we receive a critical, negative evaluation:

1. If we are in the wrong, we don’t have a defense. If we are criticized for saying something which is out of order or doing something which is wrong, and the criticism is valid, any defensiveness on our part would be a rationalization at best and a lie at worst. We must simply respond by saying, “You’re right. I was wrong,” and then take steps to improve our character and behaviour.
   
   
2. If we are right, we don’t need a defense. The Righteous Judge, who knows who we are and what we have done, will exonerate us.

For example, there once was a boy who was stricken with polio and was badly crippled in both legs. His father became very bitter over this. The father became an alcoholic and began to badly mistreat his wife and son.

Life became hell on earth for his family, but the mother and son began to attend church and both received Christ as Lord and Saviour. Their hatred and resistance to the man’s cruelty was changed to love and concern. One evening, after the father had beaten the boy badly, he realized that the boy was expressing love to him instead of fear and hatred. He was touched by that response even in his stupor. He asked the boy for the reason behind his strange response, and the boy replied, “It’s because I love you, Daddy.”

During the coming months, as he continued to abuse his wife and son, that simple message kept coming back to him, “God loves you, and so do I!” The more hatred and bitterness he directed toward his family, the more love they returned to him. One evening, he could stand it no longer. He was so convicted by the Holy Spirit through the love of his own son, he said to the boy, “I want to love you and your mother and God! How can I do that?” The boy explained how his father could come to know God through personal faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. The boy led his father to Christ. That is the potential power of “supernatural” living in relationship to harsh masters, bitter parents, and to all those outside the kingdom of God.

The people in this story are a good example of what happens when we experience God’s love. When we experience God’s love, we are free to live and grow. As we grow and share with others, we will be used by God to touch the lives of many in need of God’s healing help.

Peter encouraged his readers by mentioning that God is building something that will last for eternity. Despite persecution, the people should recognize the glory of their faith and take their God-ordained places in this new “building” of God. What is He calling you to do to help with the construction? All of us have a part to play.

To disobey even a harsh master is to sin. To obey with bitterness or anger or accommodation as our motive is also sin. Love is the only motive which is acceptable to God for any and all of our behaviour. We should follow the steps of Christ who did everything with the motive of love.

Those of us who have been saved for many years tend to lose sight of the cost of our salvation. We know the truth and we have read the gospel accounts of the crucifixion several times. We’ve heard many sermons on the cross and on salvation. We often fail to grasp what it means that Jesus took our sins onto Himself. This is because we are not following Peter’s instructions to “live unto righteousness.”

The human heart is caught in a contradiction. On one hand God has placed eternity in our hearts, leaving us with a God-shaped hole. We suffer from an inward famine. We are starving for God. On the other hand we want to be our own god, call our own shots, be in control of our lives. We are afraid to surrender. Our fear takes us on a quest to find fulfillment and satisfaction. Our fear of surrender can keep us from God. Healing comes from the wounds and the work of Jesus on the cross.

One of the greatest compliments we can receive is someone telling us, “You remind me of Jesus.” Not because we have a beard and a robe and a walking stick, but because we have a personality that compels other people to notice that in us. The highest motivation for submission is because we want to be like Christ. When we live like Jesus, it can be the catalyst that causes unbelievers to come to know Christ.

How can we do this? There are three steps:

1. We have to have the right spirit. We have to keep a good attitude.
2. We have to keep the right speech. We must not say things that are going to create division.
3. We have to maintain the right service. We must keep working hard even if we are being mistreated.

How can we be like Jesus? Peter gives us several ways:

1. Live with endurance. We are called on to put up with harsh circumstances and harsh people, to endure unfair treatment, because we follow a suffering Saviour.
2. Forgo vengeance.
3. Rest in confidence.
4. Love with extravagance.
5. Display patience.

The words to the old hymn, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” make this declaration:

I have decided to follow Jesus.

I have decided to follow Jesus.

I have decided to follow Jesus.

No turning back, no turning back.

The word behind me, the cross before me…

Though none go with me, still I will follow.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013, pp. 1787-1788)
2. Cedar, P.A., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 34: James/1&2 Peter/Jude (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1984; pp. 146-150)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible; New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010)
6. Marvin Williams, “He Carried Our Burden.” Retrieved from donotreply@email.rbc.org
7. Dr. Paul Chappell, “Jesus Took Our Sins.” Retrieved from daily@dailyintheword.org
8. Skip Heitzig, “You Remind Me of Someone.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
9. Bayless Conley, “Spirit, Speech, and Service.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
10. Steve Arterburn, “Two Changed Men.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
11. Ron Moore, “Spiritual Healing.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
12. Berni Dymet, “Saying Nothing.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
13. Dr. Neil Anderson, “Why You Shouldn’t Be Defensive.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
14. “The Cross-Suffering Part 6.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
15. Skip Heitzig, “Living Like Jesus.” Retrieved from PastorSkip@connectwithskip.com
16. Christine Caine, “No Turning Back.” Retrieved from n-reply@christinecaine.com
17. Daniel Clendenin, “Making the Best of a Bad Situation: Slaves, Submit to Your Masters.” Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net

In 2 John 1:1-13, John’s concern about Christians obeying the commandment concerning love is forcefully emphasized. The phrase “love one another” occurs 13 times in the New Testament. Jesus used it four times and said that believers’ love for each other would show that they were His disciples. The apostles Paul, Peter, and John reinforced this nine times in their letters. Genuine love for God is shown through obedience. Love and obedience are the result of the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of a believer. The truth that Christ is both God and man, Lord, and Saviour, is more than a set of propositions. It is living, and it abides forever.

False teachers, whom John calls deceivers and antichrists, were spreading false teachings. To keep walking in the truth was how John’s readers would defend against such teachings. Some people think that only the sincerity of one’s beliefs is important, but the truth of those beliefs is what matters. All truth is found in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. 

John explicitly identifies Jesus as the Son of the Father to counter the claims of the false teachers, who denied that Christ had come in the flesh. The mention of truth and love anticipates two important themes in the rest of this letter. Truth and love are intimately connected, not just in hospitality but in the Christian’s everyday life, habits, and choices.

The doctrine of Christ refers to the teaching that Jesus was the Son of God who came in the flesh. Those who hold to this have true fellowship with both the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is not mentioned here, simply because the Spirit was not the issue with the false teachers; Christ’s identity was.

In verse 7, John writes of an antichrist-one of several false teachers who were trying to convert John’s readers to their false beliefs-not the Antichrist. These deceivers did not confess the incarnation of Christ, and that was a fundamental heresy. Their teachings were contrary to the Word of God. Neither the Word of God which we have received, nor the Saviour and Lord who inspired it and lives in us, will ever change or abandon us.

The key to opposing false teaching is for God’s people to follow the doctrine of Christ, which is the truth that Jesus was fully divine and fully human. All who teach something different should not be welcomed in a Christian’s home or church; in fact, they should be shunned. The church should be a place of grace, but it must never tolerate the undermining of the faith.

Christians traveled throughout the Mediterranean world in the first century AD. For example, the apostle Paul wrote the Letter to the Romans and included a long list of people who were living in Rome, but Paul never visited Rome until he was arrested just before his death. Traveling Christians stayed as guests in the homes of other Christians from city to city. The Christian tradition of hospitality was an important part of the first-century church community, but John warned against its exploitation by people who masqueraded as Christians and took advantage of the generosity of Christian hospitality to spread their false teachings.

There is a threefold test to determine if a person is a false teacher:

1. Does the prophet teach the truth?
2. Does the prophet try to stay more than two days?
3. Does he ask for money?

Although Christians should open their homes to nonbelievers for the sake of evangelism, Christians should not support false teachers in any way. In John’s day, traveling teachers needed a place to stay and people to teach. To open one’s home or church to a false teacher constituted an endorsement of his or her teaching and perpetuated his or her deception. These false teachers were carrying on a campaign to destroy the basic, fundamental truths of Christianity. The only correct response for Christians is to reject false teachers. Every believer will receive salvation, but those who live for selfish gain will lose those things they worked for, not receiving their full heavenly reward.

Loving God and loving others as we love ourselves, which is the core requirement of heaven, has remained the same from Old Testament times to New Testament times and on to today. John advocated a balance between a zeal for the truth, active tough love, and a discerning approach to people and situations. A false prophet is not helped in his or her own spiritual journey if he or she is allowed to exploit us. In the same way we do not do any favour to a confused person when we allow our lives to be woven by that person into a confused and distorted tapestry of false teachings. Such meekness is not love and is not just. John advocated the healthy mixture of law and gospel, of truth and grace, of wisdom and tough love.

In order to resist the devil and his false teachers, Christians must know God’s Word and depend on the Holy Spirit for discernment. We must study the Scriptures daily and become involved in a Bible study or worship service with other Christians. Most important, we have to get to know the Jesus who loves us and died for us. If we aren’t intentional in our walk with God, our spiritual energy wanes. If we don’t spend time meditating on Scripture, praying, worshipping, and fellowshipping with others, we lose the desire to please God. We forget the blessings He has given us. We forget to obey His commands. We become mixed with a secular world that continually draws us away from His goodness.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp. 1819-1820)
2. Palmer, E.F., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 35: 1,2, &3 John (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; pp. 77-82)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010
6. Carol Round, “Does Your Faith Walk Need an Energy Boost?” Retrieved from www.carolaround.com