A Cloistered Church is Catastrophic for a Culture
"The sin of respectable people reveals itself in flight from responsibility." Eberhard Bethge (commenting on his good friend Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
When the church remains cloistered our culture faces catastrophe. The church has become adept at cloistering itself and moving carefully from one comfortable Bible study to another, and from one service to another. We gather as fishermen who carefully discuss the various and sundry elements of the fishing business, but we never actually get the smell of fish on our hands. We remain confident and smug in the illusion of our safety, content to let culture rot and get her just reward as we smile securely in our ultimate salvation. We privately worry that we are now post modern and post Christian. Perhaps this means that we should retreat even more since maybe Jesus is coming even sooner than we expected?
Meanwhile, our culture, our history, our heritage, our future is hurling itself at a breakneck pace into the abyss of spiritual apathy, moral irrelevance, self-absorption and eternal destruction. The value of tolerance has been raised as the highest banner to fly in this land, but its meaning has been changed so drastically that it is no longer a value. Where tolerance once stood for a respectable sympathy for another’s view of a matter even though it may be wrong or different than my own, it now means that there is no right or wrong and that everyone’s opinion carries equal weight and that everything is right in a man’s own eyes.
The church’s response has been to sit back and watch culture self-destruct. We have bought into the lie, as have the majority of the people of our land that the separation of church and state is a Constitutional principle. In fact, it is not! But even if it was, the church has a mission that cannot be set aside. It is true that we are citizens of heaven, but we are also citizens of this land serving as ambassadors.
As ambassadors we are given the almost incomprehensible privilege of sharing the good news that God so loved the world that He sent Jesus Christ the righteous one to die for our sins, rising again, eternally triumphant over all His enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe.
The church collectively and its individual members specifically are called to be salt in a corrupt world and light in a dark world. Of course, this cannot happen until and unless the church decides to engage culture—though not embrace it. Jesus said that the very gates of hell would not prevail against His church, which is a clear picture of a contending and not cloistered church. We are also called to go into all the world and make disciples. One cannot carry this out in the continued cloistered confines of one meeting after another. The ‘making’ happens when we intentionally determine to engage our culture and the people who live in it. D. A. Carson rightly observes that "Christians learn to do good in the city where they live, knowing full well that the prosperity of their city is both for the city’s good and for their good."
There must be a biblical balance between faithful evangelism and the teaching and absorption of the Bible, as well as active concern in ministries of compassion and justice. We cannot minimize our obligations to fulfill the Great Commission, nor marginalize our obligation to fulfill the Great Commandment and the carrying out of the message of the gospel. It is not an either one or the other decision, it is and/ both decision.
The great men who have gone before us have set the examples of how to do keep the proper balance and to present the gospel, while at the same time engaging culture by helping the poor, setting up nonprofit institutions for various social ends, being involved in local school districts, voting, writing letters to editors, presenting biblical views in legislative discussions, running for office, and much more. Men such as George Whitefield, John Wesley, D. L. Moody, William Wilberforce, and Abraham Kuyper were all fine examples of how to keep the right biblical balance of feeding and nurturing the flock, along with taking the gospel to a lost and hurting world through a clear presentation of the spoken Word and active offerings of physical help.
The early church did not seek influence through politics but power through prayer. As a result through the power of prayer they began to have a biblical influence upon culture. They actively began to engage the culture in times of great distress, and as a result the people both heard and saw the gospel and responded. We should be actively involved in all biblical means to influence our culture, but the influence does not stand as a substitute for prayer, but is rather informed and strengthened and given direction by prayer.
Charles Spurgeon said, "Stones are not broken, except by an earnest use of the hammer; and the stone-breaker must go down on his knees. Use the hammer of diligence, and let the knee of prayer be exercised—and there is not a stony doctrine in Scripture, which is useful for you to understand, which will not fly into shivers under the exercise of prayer and faith….Prayer is the lever which forces open the iron chest of sacred mystery, that we get the treasure hidden within…."
Informed prayer through the diligent and consistent meditation upon the Word of God is necessary to know how to engage our culture and the individuals who live within it. We have no excuse to not have our minds sharpened by the Word of God. We have no excuse to not have our hearts made tender by the Word of God. We have no excuse to not speak to others in mercy and truth about temporal and eternal matters. In other words, we have no excuse for soft minds, hard hearts, and apathetic spirits.
Peter said, "Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame." Think of the irony of the one who once denied Christ making the statement above.
We are to start our days by sharpening our minds to think clearly and be ready with a reasoned defense of our faith and biblical position on cultures issues. We are to start each day by asking God to tenderize our hearts so that we are sensitive to the hurts of others even as we engage them with sound and biblical arguments for our reasoning. We are to start each day by humbling ourselves under God’s mighty hand knowing full well that except for the grace of God we would have gone the way of our own lost culture. And yes, we are reminded that not all will respond and that many will ridicule and revile and rebuke us. We not should not run from this, but embrace it as a badge of honor for so they did the same to our Lord.
Let us gather together regularly as we are called to do for worship and edification and nurturing and fellowship. But then let us leave the meeting places to engage our culture with mercy and truth, lifting up the name of Christ, and raising the banner of His glory. Let us together look forward to the days in eternity where we will share war stories together and not stories of cloistered comfort and playing it safe. Our focus is not on winning the argument, but on saving the soul and offering our culture hope. If we do not engage our culture with the hope of the gospel then who? If we do not do so now then when?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign- Blindness As Sight
Blindness as Sight
(John 9)
In the first chapter of John we see a theme that is carried throughout his entire testimony. “The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and he said, ‘Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’” Look! Behold! He uses the term 15 times interwoven throughout his stories of the life of Jesus. It is as if he is addressing his listening audience to tell them to see the truth of the story. Look at this! Look at Jesus!
John 9 is miracle 6 and is near the end of Jesus’ life and ministry. It drips with irony, in both the physical and spiritual sense. Some of its elements make me laugh as I read the dialogue. Some of its elements are crushing as I see the truth that there are the blind who are willing to see, and those who could see who are willing to be blind.
In chapter 9, Jesus heals a man born blind and we literally see darkness illuminated by the Son of God who spoke the words in the beginning, “Let there be light.” Christ has come into a dark and broken and needy and blind world. It is Jesus who gives sight to the blind. He is the light of the world, and He is the life of the world.
Jesus uses ordinary clay and his own saliva as the necessary ingredients to heal literal eyes in order to create the opportunity for spiritual sight. After the man washes the healing balm off of his eyes in the pool of Siloam, Jesus is nowhere in sight. And, the religious leaders thinking that they have insight into the situation clearly miss seeing the point of the spiritual significance of what took place.
Jesus is the original ophthalmologist. He sees with piercing and perfect 20-20 vision and knows how to correct someone’s vision. Others passed by (vs.1) and pretended not to see, but John is clear that Jesus saw the one born with congenital blindness.
There is a blind man begging along the side of the road. The disciples (vs. 2) ask him who caused the blindness: ‘the beggar's sins or his parents'? They were merely stating the popular notion of the day that all suffering was caused by sin. Be careful to not judge someone as a great sinner because of great suffering. Jesus shattered the current paradigm by saying that this blindness was not a punishment but an opportunity to put God's work on display. Yes, Jesus did not deny the general connection between sin and suffering, but God’s Sovereignty and purposes supersede and govern all.
Jesus then spit on the ground, smeared the mud on the man's eyes. You have to see the allusion here to the creation account. God used clay to create the first man, and now Jesus the creator is using clay to recreate sight for the man born blind.
He then told him to go wash it off at the nearby Pool of Siloam (meaning ‘Sent’), the only permanent water source in the city at the time. It is interesting that Jesus told him to go to that particular pool. Christ is called the ‘one who is sent from God’. The pool had significance during the reign of King David. The blind man, of course, couldn't see Jesus. And it wasn't until he washed his eyes, did he return seeing.
In a sense this is a test of obedience for the blind man. Go and do what God says even when it does not make sense, even when it does not seem pragmatic, and even when others may mock you.
Then the confrontations began.
This is about blindness as sight. The truth that there are the blind who are willing to see, and those who could see who are willing to be blind.
-According to John MacArthur there are 5 key characteristics of willful unbelief
-set false standards
-always want more evidence but never have enough
-biased research on a purely subjective basis
-reject the facts
-self-centered
The neighbors were intrigued. "Isn't that the blind beggar?" they asked. Some thought it only resembled him. Others wanted to know what happened. Suspicion hovered over the audience. And they took the healed man to the religious authorities.
Imagine being the blind guy who received his sight. For the first time, he sees the faces of the people whose voices he knew so well. Did they look the way they sounded? Imagine the familiar footpath he would normally take to the Pool, only to return, not only feeling, but also seeing his way along. The vibrant colors of people's dress. The multiple textures of the sand, earth, and mortar. He finally saw the eyes of those who probably threw disgusting remarks toward him during his years of begging.
Along with all the wonder, he is brought before the religious folks, the Pharisees, on account of his newly found sight. The Pharisees begin to drill him with theological questions, apparently fearful that the now-seeing fellow might hold Jesus in higher authority. "What do you say about him?" they ask. Pulling from his own theological understanding, he says, "He is a prophet." The voices start to rise, the parents are called to testify, and threats are made. The parents practically disown their son because of the threats of the Pharisees. They back out of the scene and require their son to speak for himself. The story is told. The man was born blind. Now he sees. That's all that is said. That's all that happened.
But the Pharisees know something larger is at stake. In verse 24-30 this endless questioning continues, but it takes an interesting twist. The pretentiousness of the religious leaders and their spiritual blindness is transparently seen, and the openness of the blind man for truth and the increase of his spiritual sight is seen as well.
The seeing man makes a remark at the endless, repetition of questions. This remark (vss. 31-34) is a straightforward theological treatise about the origin and process of miracles: "We know that God does not listen to sinners. But if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." We see a right response of worship. We see that the person of God makes it their business to glorify his Creator by solemn adoration of His name and sincere obedience to His will.
Those who have received mercy from God should magnify the mercies they have received. Not to heap honor upon self as if you were an extraordinary favorite of heaven, but that God may get the glory and by that draw attention to Himself so people may have a hope to see and gaze upon.
The Pharisees, exasperated by the theological lesson, throw the man out. Those who could physically see were spiritually blind. Instead of bending in humility they broke off the dialogue in pride. Proud men refuse to be obedient—no one will tell me what to do. Proud men refuse to be taught—who are you to think you can teach me? We should never think of self as too old, too wise, or too good to learn. How much wealth is enough? Just a little bit more. How much intimacy is enough? Just a little bit more. How much knowledge is enough? Just a little bit more.
Here's the next scene: Jesus approaches the downcast man. The man does not know what Jesus looks like. And being overwhelmed with so many voices that day, he may have forgotten the voice of his healer. "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Jesus says. The man is eager to find out who he is so that he can believe. Then Jesus turns his phrase on a double-meaning of the word "see," a word that was probably a repeated prayer in the blind man's life. "You have now seen him," he says, "And he is speaking to you."
The man believed, and worshipped. This is an episode of the profound sensitivity of Jesus. He sought him out and restored the lonely one’s sight. He helped him see that, though he's been isolated that day from his social community, there is another community of a vaster importance. And it wouldn't be much later till that man, once blind but then seeing, would discover the communion of saints such as the world had never known. If you feel much like that man of this story, allow Christ to draw near to you. And find your satisfaction, security, and well being in worshipping him.
(John 9)
In the first chapter of John we see a theme that is carried throughout his entire testimony. “The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and he said, ‘Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’” Look! Behold! He uses the term 15 times interwoven throughout his stories of the life of Jesus. It is as if he is addressing his listening audience to tell them to see the truth of the story. Look at this! Look at Jesus!
John 9 is miracle 6 and is near the end of Jesus’ life and ministry. It drips with irony, in both the physical and spiritual sense. Some of its elements make me laugh as I read the dialogue. Some of its elements are crushing as I see the truth that there are the blind who are willing to see, and those who could see who are willing to be blind.
In chapter 9, Jesus heals a man born blind and we literally see darkness illuminated by the Son of God who spoke the words in the beginning, “Let there be light.” Christ has come into a dark and broken and needy and blind world. It is Jesus who gives sight to the blind. He is the light of the world, and He is the life of the world.
Jesus uses ordinary clay and his own saliva as the necessary ingredients to heal literal eyes in order to create the opportunity for spiritual sight. After the man washes the healing balm off of his eyes in the pool of Siloam, Jesus is nowhere in sight. And, the religious leaders thinking that they have insight into the situation clearly miss seeing the point of the spiritual significance of what took place.
Jesus is the original ophthalmologist. He sees with piercing and perfect 20-20 vision and knows how to correct someone’s vision. Others passed by (vs.1) and pretended not to see, but John is clear that Jesus saw the one born with congenital blindness.
There is a blind man begging along the side of the road. The disciples (vs. 2) ask him who caused the blindness: ‘the beggar's sins or his parents'? They were merely stating the popular notion of the day that all suffering was caused by sin. Be careful to not judge someone as a great sinner because of great suffering. Jesus shattered the current paradigm by saying that this blindness was not a punishment but an opportunity to put God's work on display. Yes, Jesus did not deny the general connection between sin and suffering, but God’s Sovereignty and purposes supersede and govern all.
Jesus then spit on the ground, smeared the mud on the man's eyes. You have to see the allusion here to the creation account. God used clay to create the first man, and now Jesus the creator is using clay to recreate sight for the man born blind.
He then told him to go wash it off at the nearby Pool of Siloam (meaning ‘Sent’), the only permanent water source in the city at the time. It is interesting that Jesus told him to go to that particular pool. Christ is called the ‘one who is sent from God’. The pool had significance during the reign of King David. The blind man, of course, couldn't see Jesus. And it wasn't until he washed his eyes, did he return seeing.
In a sense this is a test of obedience for the blind man. Go and do what God says even when it does not make sense, even when it does not seem pragmatic, and even when others may mock you.
Then the confrontations began.
This is about blindness as sight. The truth that there are the blind who are willing to see, and those who could see who are willing to be blind.
-According to John MacArthur there are 5 key characteristics of willful unbelief
-set false standards
-always want more evidence but never have enough
-biased research on a purely subjective basis
-reject the facts
-self-centered
The neighbors were intrigued. "Isn't that the blind beggar?" they asked. Some thought it only resembled him. Others wanted to know what happened. Suspicion hovered over the audience. And they took the healed man to the religious authorities.
Imagine being the blind guy who received his sight. For the first time, he sees the faces of the people whose voices he knew so well. Did they look the way they sounded? Imagine the familiar footpath he would normally take to the Pool, only to return, not only feeling, but also seeing his way along. The vibrant colors of people's dress. The multiple textures of the sand, earth, and mortar. He finally saw the eyes of those who probably threw disgusting remarks toward him during his years of begging.
Along with all the wonder, he is brought before the religious folks, the Pharisees, on account of his newly found sight. The Pharisees begin to drill him with theological questions, apparently fearful that the now-seeing fellow might hold Jesus in higher authority. "What do you say about him?" they ask. Pulling from his own theological understanding, he says, "He is a prophet." The voices start to rise, the parents are called to testify, and threats are made. The parents practically disown their son because of the threats of the Pharisees. They back out of the scene and require their son to speak for himself. The story is told. The man was born blind. Now he sees. That's all that is said. That's all that happened.
But the Pharisees know something larger is at stake. In verse 24-30 this endless questioning continues, but it takes an interesting twist. The pretentiousness of the religious leaders and their spiritual blindness is transparently seen, and the openness of the blind man for truth and the increase of his spiritual sight is seen as well.
The seeing man makes a remark at the endless, repetition of questions. This remark (vss. 31-34) is a straightforward theological treatise about the origin and process of miracles: "We know that God does not listen to sinners. But if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." We see a right response of worship. We see that the person of God makes it their business to glorify his Creator by solemn adoration of His name and sincere obedience to His will.
Those who have received mercy from God should magnify the mercies they have received. Not to heap honor upon self as if you were an extraordinary favorite of heaven, but that God may get the glory and by that draw attention to Himself so people may have a hope to see and gaze upon.
The Pharisees, exasperated by the theological lesson, throw the man out. Those who could physically see were spiritually blind. Instead of bending in humility they broke off the dialogue in pride. Proud men refuse to be obedient—no one will tell me what to do. Proud men refuse to be taught—who are you to think you can teach me? We should never think of self as too old, too wise, or too good to learn. How much wealth is enough? Just a little bit more. How much intimacy is enough? Just a little bit more. How much knowledge is enough? Just a little bit more.
Here's the next scene: Jesus approaches the downcast man. The man does not know what Jesus looks like. And being overwhelmed with so many voices that day, he may have forgotten the voice of his healer. "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Jesus says. The man is eager to find out who he is so that he can believe. Then Jesus turns his phrase on a double-meaning of the word "see," a word that was probably a repeated prayer in the blind man's life. "You have now seen him," he says, "And he is speaking to you."
The man believed, and worshipped. This is an episode of the profound sensitivity of Jesus. He sought him out and restored the lonely one’s sight. He helped him see that, though he's been isolated that day from his social community, there is another community of a vaster importance. And it wouldn't be much later till that man, once blind but then seeing, would discover the communion of saints such as the world had never known. If you feel much like that man of this story, allow Christ to draw near to you. And find your satisfaction, security, and well being in worshipping him.
Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign- A Savior Who Does Not Tippy Toe
Walking Tall
God is never uncertain or unsure. The world He created, as well as the principles and laws that govern it are subject to His whispers and shouts. He never holds council with anyone before moving. He never seeks a majority or consensus before acting. He never floats a public opinion poll before deciding. He never reacts in surprise, but acts in surety. He never panics. He never faints. He never sweats. In the 5’th sign of the gospel of John 6:15-21 we see a Savior who does not tipp toe timidly but walks tall on water easily.
Self-denial of prestige (6:15)
In verse 15 we see the misplaced zeal of the crowd who wanted to force the hand of Jesus to make him king of the land, and not king of their soul. They wanted to him sit upon the throne of a hill, and not the throne of their heart. They wanted to use Christ to serve their own ends. "What are You going to do for me, Jesus? I want to come because this is where the action is, this is where the crowd is. I want to come because I might cash in on some miracles here, I want to come because I've got an earthly agenda and I need somebody to fix my world the way I want it." There's no desire for worship.
Notice the humility of Christ and His self-denial when He stood against worldly honor. Notice the singular mindedness or devotion of Jesus in going about the Father’s will. The devout man lives no longer to his own will, or the way and spirit of the world, but to the sole will of God, who considers God in everything, who serves God in everything, who makes all the parts of his common life part of doing everything in the Name of God for His glory.
Sacred place (6:15)
Notice the necessary and needful element of withdrawing to a quiet place. He needed time to be alone. He needed refreshment. He needed to spend time by himself, in order to spend time with His Father. It was the habit of Jesus to do this. How poorly we perform our own private devotions, always in a hurry; beginning them in haste, and hardly allowing time to refresh and worship. We often focus on properly saying prayers, instead of praying.
Jesus seemed to get away to the same spots. People apparently knew where to find Him when they needed Him. He had sacred spots of holy ground for uncommon communion with His Father. If possible pray in the same place; reserve that place for devotion, and not allow anything common in it. If possible never be there, but in times of devotion. This kind of consecration of it as a place holy unto God, would have an effect upon your mind, and dispose you to such disposition, as would very much assist your devotion. This would dispose you to be always in the spirit of worship, when you were there; and fill you with wise and holy thoughts.
Sovereignty of His person (vss 6:21)
The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by mountains. And the winds blow down canyons and they come into this area which is surrounded by mountains on all sides, and the winds come racing in and they just swirl in that area. And it's common to anyone who's been there to see the Sea of Galilee with whitecaps. Not many lakes have white caps. They have winds that come off the ocean, winds that slide down from the mountains in Lebanon, winds that come from the desert to the east and these kinds of winds cause tremendous danger to the waters.
Here's this lake, 682 feet below sea level, winds are blasting into the place, the whitecaps are everywhere, the storm is increasing in intensity, they've been fighting the storm and according to Matthew it's now between three o'clock and six o'clock in the morning and it's in the dark and they're fighting all night to go three or four miles. And they don't know if they're going to survive and they're afraid. All of a sudden they look out and here's Jesus walking on the sea and they were frightened.
They didn't even know what to make of this. According to the parallel passage of Matthew chapter 14 Peter asks Jesus to invite him out of the boat into the water if it really is Jesus. The storm they were afraid of, but they were far more afraid of the One who obviously was walking on the water. But the key is in verse 20, "He said to them, 'It is I, do not be afraid.'"
Isn't this just like Him? Here are these worried, fearful, frightened disciples and who may well have drowned and Jesus had to intervene. He stilled the storm, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. The storm was quieted. It stopped and instantaneously they went from wherever they were to the shore.
True disciples are marked out and they're sort of sorted and separated as Matthew 14:33 puts it, "Those who were in the boat worshiped Him." Any who claim to be Christians will worship the Lord. You will see it in how they sing the songs. It will be reflected in their prayer life. The importance they place on being here on the Lord's Day to worship. How important is it to them to spend time with the Lord every day, adoring and thanking and praising Him. Is Jesus Christ the love of their life? Is it obvious that they long for Him? Is there a sense of deep humility? Is there a sense of deep respect and awe over Jesus Christ? Are they marked by adoring wonder?
We have more in common with the disciples than you may think. There was nothing special or unusual about them. They were ordinary people who were simply going about their business. Just like that, when they least expected it a storm.
Here is the journey of our lives. We go about our business doing the same old thing, the same old way, getting the same old results, and are often shocked that it is so. We live out our lives in the delusion of safety and comfort thinking that this will isolate us from or at least minimize our exposure to pain, trial, tribulation, uncomfortable situations, and challenging circumstances. As we live and grow older we begin to catalogue trials and solutions and file them away. In other words, here’s the problem and here’s the solution that worked and here was the result and here’s how to handle it the next time. A familiar or similar trial like experience comes up and we go to our files and we apply the remedy and we wait for the thing to be resolved and then we move on.
What do you do when the familiar or similar trial comes up and the previous solution doesn’t work? Or worse yet, you encounter something brand new and have no previous solution to rely on?
What we do is spend an enormous amount of timing solving things ourselves, relying on our own abilities and talents and skills and experience, and we never really developed a history of steady dialogue with God over simple and complex things. And so, we are overwhelmed and frightened. Jesus shows up we don’t know how to respond because He and His ways are unfamiliar to us.
There will be moments of tension for all of your days as a believer. Jesus will for awhile encourage you and whisper to you to let go of the temporal and hold onto the eternal. Then, He might take you to a place you’ve never been. The solutions will be as varied and unique as the calming of a storm or the walking upon its waters. He is calling you out of the familiar, and the illusion of safety, and the delusion of the comfortable towards a realization of intimacy, power, trust, growth, and maturity.
The journey of this life will have some rough waters. But Jesus is watching even when it seems as if He is not near or His arrival delayed. When may get tossed about a bit, but it makes us better rowers and rescuers. We may swallow some salt water, but it makes us appreciate the simple ways of life. We may get hurt, but we have a comforter. We may get off course, but we have a captain of our souls to steer us aright again. The boat may seem battered at times, but He will get it safely to the other shore.
There is a point and a purpose. It is to draw attention to Christ by allowing the glory of His image to shine through our maturing process as we face the storms of life and row through them with Christ as our navigator and captain.
God is never uncertain or unsure. The world He created, as well as the principles and laws that govern it are subject to His whispers and shouts. He never holds council with anyone before moving. He never seeks a majority or consensus before acting. He never floats a public opinion poll before deciding. He never reacts in surprise, but acts in surety. He never panics. He never faints. He never sweats. In the 5’th sign of the gospel of John 6:15-21 we see a Savior who does not tipp toe timidly but walks tall on water easily.
Self-denial of prestige (6:15)
In verse 15 we see the misplaced zeal of the crowd who wanted to force the hand of Jesus to make him king of the land, and not king of their soul. They wanted to him sit upon the throne of a hill, and not the throne of their heart. They wanted to use Christ to serve their own ends. "What are You going to do for me, Jesus? I want to come because this is where the action is, this is where the crowd is. I want to come because I might cash in on some miracles here, I want to come because I've got an earthly agenda and I need somebody to fix my world the way I want it." There's no desire for worship.
Notice the humility of Christ and His self-denial when He stood against worldly honor. Notice the singular mindedness or devotion of Jesus in going about the Father’s will. The devout man lives no longer to his own will, or the way and spirit of the world, but to the sole will of God, who considers God in everything, who serves God in everything, who makes all the parts of his common life part of doing everything in the Name of God for His glory.
Sacred place (6:15)
Notice the necessary and needful element of withdrawing to a quiet place. He needed time to be alone. He needed refreshment. He needed to spend time by himself, in order to spend time with His Father. It was the habit of Jesus to do this. How poorly we perform our own private devotions, always in a hurry; beginning them in haste, and hardly allowing time to refresh and worship. We often focus on properly saying prayers, instead of praying.
Jesus seemed to get away to the same spots. People apparently knew where to find Him when they needed Him. He had sacred spots of holy ground for uncommon communion with His Father. If possible pray in the same place; reserve that place for devotion, and not allow anything common in it. If possible never be there, but in times of devotion. This kind of consecration of it as a place holy unto God, would have an effect upon your mind, and dispose you to such disposition, as would very much assist your devotion. This would dispose you to be always in the spirit of worship, when you were there; and fill you with wise and holy thoughts.
Sovereignty of His person (vss 6:21)
The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by mountains. And the winds blow down canyons and they come into this area which is surrounded by mountains on all sides, and the winds come racing in and they just swirl in that area. And it's common to anyone who's been there to see the Sea of Galilee with whitecaps. Not many lakes have white caps. They have winds that come off the ocean, winds that slide down from the mountains in Lebanon, winds that come from the desert to the east and these kinds of winds cause tremendous danger to the waters.
Here's this lake, 682 feet below sea level, winds are blasting into the place, the whitecaps are everywhere, the storm is increasing in intensity, they've been fighting the storm and according to Matthew it's now between three o'clock and six o'clock in the morning and it's in the dark and they're fighting all night to go three or four miles. And they don't know if they're going to survive and they're afraid. All of a sudden they look out and here's Jesus walking on the sea and they were frightened.
They didn't even know what to make of this. According to the parallel passage of Matthew chapter 14 Peter asks Jesus to invite him out of the boat into the water if it really is Jesus. The storm they were afraid of, but they were far more afraid of the One who obviously was walking on the water. But the key is in verse 20, "He said to them, 'It is I, do not be afraid.'"
Isn't this just like Him? Here are these worried, fearful, frightened disciples and who may well have drowned and Jesus had to intervene. He stilled the storm, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. The storm was quieted. It stopped and instantaneously they went from wherever they were to the shore.
True disciples are marked out and they're sort of sorted and separated as Matthew 14:33 puts it, "Those who were in the boat worshiped Him." Any who claim to be Christians will worship the Lord. You will see it in how they sing the songs. It will be reflected in their prayer life. The importance they place on being here on the Lord's Day to worship. How important is it to them to spend time with the Lord every day, adoring and thanking and praising Him. Is Jesus Christ the love of their life? Is it obvious that they long for Him? Is there a sense of deep humility? Is there a sense of deep respect and awe over Jesus Christ? Are they marked by adoring wonder?
We have more in common with the disciples than you may think. There was nothing special or unusual about them. They were ordinary people who were simply going about their business. Just like that, when they least expected it a storm.
Here is the journey of our lives. We go about our business doing the same old thing, the same old way, getting the same old results, and are often shocked that it is so. We live out our lives in the delusion of safety and comfort thinking that this will isolate us from or at least minimize our exposure to pain, trial, tribulation, uncomfortable situations, and challenging circumstances. As we live and grow older we begin to catalogue trials and solutions and file them away. In other words, here’s the problem and here’s the solution that worked and here was the result and here’s how to handle it the next time. A familiar or similar trial like experience comes up and we go to our files and we apply the remedy and we wait for the thing to be resolved and then we move on.
What do you do when the familiar or similar trial comes up and the previous solution doesn’t work? Or worse yet, you encounter something brand new and have no previous solution to rely on?
What we do is spend an enormous amount of timing solving things ourselves, relying on our own abilities and talents and skills and experience, and we never really developed a history of steady dialogue with God over simple and complex things. And so, we are overwhelmed and frightened. Jesus shows up we don’t know how to respond because He and His ways are unfamiliar to us.
There will be moments of tension for all of your days as a believer. Jesus will for awhile encourage you and whisper to you to let go of the temporal and hold onto the eternal. Then, He might take you to a place you’ve never been. The solutions will be as varied and unique as the calming of a storm or the walking upon its waters. He is calling you out of the familiar, and the illusion of safety, and the delusion of the comfortable towards a realization of intimacy, power, trust, growth, and maturity.
The journey of this life will have some rough waters. But Jesus is watching even when it seems as if He is not near or His arrival delayed. When may get tossed about a bit, but it makes us better rowers and rescuers. We may swallow some salt water, but it makes us appreciate the simple ways of life. We may get hurt, but we have a comforter. We may get off course, but we have a captain of our souls to steer us aright again. The boat may seem battered at times, but He will get it safely to the other shore.
There is a point and a purpose. It is to draw attention to Christ by allowing the glory of His image to shine through our maturing process as we face the storms of life and row through them with Christ as our navigator and captain.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign- Road Kill Food or Road Side Diner Feast
I am continually convinced that the physical world gives volcanic explosions of examples of deep spiritual truths. It’s as if God kindly condescends to us to make sure that all possible ways for us to grasp truth is presented and covered. We were made for God, and not God for us. The emptiness and longing of your heart can only be satisfied by God-nothing else, and no one else will ever even come close. Anything else, and anyone else used as a substitute is idolatry.
Jesus uses the most basic and critical necessities of life to effectively illustrate eternal and everlasting truth. Jesus performs miracles involving thirst and hunger, the most basic of human needs to illustrate spiritual absolutes.
The feeding of the 5,000 was a miracle to satisfy the physical hunger of so many people. Most likely there were about 20,000 people there.
As magnanimous as the miracle is, it’s Jesus’ own commentary on His miracle that I want to look at. In John 6:26-29 the emphasis is the positive statement of verse 27, "Labor for the food which endures to eternal life which the Son of Man will give you." When the people seek Jesus out the next day after the miracle, He accuses them in verse 26 of not coming because they had seen signs but because He filled their bellies. They had no spiritual sensitivity that Jesus' miracle pointed beyond itself to the spiritual nourishment people needed and which Jesus came to give.
-Hudson Taylor wrote: “I saw Him, and I sought Him, and I had Him, and I wanted Him.”
-A.W. Tozer wrote that “the great people of the Bible and Christian history have had an insatiable hunger for God. He waits to be wanted. Too bad that with so many of us He waits so very long in vain.”
-David describes his own passion for God: “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).
-The psalmist in Psalm 42 writes, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
What do you want? What do you long for? What occupies the thoughts of your mind and the desires of your heart? Is it temporal things or eternal things? There are 2 elements involved in falling in love—your wanting and the other person’s wanting you back. God wants to be wanted.
Look at the commentary that Jesus offers and the dialogue that takes place. Jesus said in verse 6:27, "Don't labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life." The crowd completely misunderstands and misses it in verse 28, "'What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" In the miracle no one could buy the food. No one could earn the food. No one could provide the food. No one worked for the food. Jesus answers in verse 29 that all the works you can do for eternal bread that will endure and satisfy is no work at all: "Believe in him whom God has sent." Come to me, trust me, and feed on me. Draw life from me as you would draw precious water from the provisions of a well in a desert place. Satisfy yourself with his hope-filled fellowship. Lay aside pettiness for the pristine beauty of Christ. Set aside your personal agenda in order to actively and passionately pursue Jesus.
The meaning is similar to Matthew 6:19, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal." Anything temporal that the heart can treasure is food that perishes. If the treasure is not Christ it will perish. It will not satisfy your hunger and thirst today, and it will be worthless at death and useless on the judgment day.
The people seeking Jesus were "laboring for food that perishes" and He commanded them not to do it. You can be a very religious person, but not be born again. What is missing is a spiritual feeding on Christ, and a childlike submission to his Word. Where you dine will be reflected in your attitude, your actions, your words, your calendar, your checkbook, your priorities, your passions, your demeanor, your possessions, etc. In other words, how you feast and what you feed upon will eventually be manifested.
David Jeremiah said, “Each of us have as much of God as we want….It should bother us to realize that we have pursued God exactly to the point that satisfied us, and then we stopped, made camp and relaxed.” Don’t even begin to think that we can get away with saying, “I want more of God, but I have not been able to go any further with Him.” There is always more of God, and there is always more within reach. He would not promise so many promises intimate fellowship if it were not possible, and desirable, and necessary for all of His children. God will honor whatever intensity you bring to the relationship. He will feed and provide and satisfy.
Sherwood Elliot Wirt wrote: “The problem with this whole hunger issue with Christians is that often we think spiritual hunger works the same way physical hunger works. When you are physically hungry, the longer you go without eating, the hungrier you get. When you finally do eat, fill yourself up, your hunger is satisfied. In the spiritual realm, it’s exactly the opposite of that. In the spiritual realm, the longer you go without eating, the more your appetite wanes. If you don’t eat, you can go for long periods of time and you aren’t even hungry.”
The opposite is true. Spiritually, the more you eat of God’s Word, the more you are filled with “thus saith the Lord,” the more you want, the more you crave, the more you desire, and your spiritual appetite intensifies. You won’t say like after a Thanksgiving meal, “Oh, I ate too much. I’m stuffed. Why did you let me eat that much? No! No! No! A thousand times no! You will want more!
From the pen of A.W. Tozer, “Why do some persons ‘find’ God in a way that others do not? Why does God manifest His presence to some and let multitudes of others struggle along in the half-light of imperfect Christian experience? Of course the will of God is the same for all. He has no favorites within His household. All He has ever done for any of His children He will do for all of Hs children. The differences lie not with God but with us. Pick at random a score of great saints whose lives and testimonies are widely known. Let them be Bible characters or well known Christians of post-Biblical times. You will be struck instantly with the fact that the saints were not alike. Sometimes the unlikenesses were so great as to be positively glaring. The differences are as wide as human life itself: differences of race, nationality, education, temperament, habit and personal qualities. Yet, they all walked, each in his day, upon a high road of spiritual living far above the common way. Their differences must have been incidental and in the eyes of God of no significance. In some vital quality they must have been alike. What was it? I venture to suggest that the one vital quality which they had in common was spiritual receptivity. Something in them was open to heaven, something which urged them Godward. Without attempting anything like a profound analysis I shall say simply that they had spiritual awareness and that they went on to cultivate it until it became the biggest thing in their lives. They differed from the average person in that when they felt the inward longing they did something about it….As David put it neatly, “When thou sadist, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”
Labor by rising early for prayer and meditation, and holding Christ near to your heart all day. Jesus calls us to be aliens and exiles in the world. Not by taking us out of the world, but by changing how we view the world and do our work in it. Meditate on this command: "Do not labor for the food which perishes."
Jesus uses the most basic and critical necessities of life to effectively illustrate eternal and everlasting truth. Jesus performs miracles involving thirst and hunger, the most basic of human needs to illustrate spiritual absolutes.
The feeding of the 5,000 was a miracle to satisfy the physical hunger of so many people. Most likely there were about 20,000 people there.
As magnanimous as the miracle is, it’s Jesus’ own commentary on His miracle that I want to look at. In John 6:26-29 the emphasis is the positive statement of verse 27, "Labor for the food which endures to eternal life which the Son of Man will give you." When the people seek Jesus out the next day after the miracle, He accuses them in verse 26 of not coming because they had seen signs but because He filled their bellies. They had no spiritual sensitivity that Jesus' miracle pointed beyond itself to the spiritual nourishment people needed and which Jesus came to give.
-Hudson Taylor wrote: “I saw Him, and I sought Him, and I had Him, and I wanted Him.”
-A.W. Tozer wrote that “the great people of the Bible and Christian history have had an insatiable hunger for God. He waits to be wanted. Too bad that with so many of us He waits so very long in vain.”
-David describes his own passion for God: “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).
-The psalmist in Psalm 42 writes, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
What do you want? What do you long for? What occupies the thoughts of your mind and the desires of your heart? Is it temporal things or eternal things? There are 2 elements involved in falling in love—your wanting and the other person’s wanting you back. God wants to be wanted.
Look at the commentary that Jesus offers and the dialogue that takes place. Jesus said in verse 6:27, "Don't labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life." The crowd completely misunderstands and misses it in verse 28, "'What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" In the miracle no one could buy the food. No one could earn the food. No one could provide the food. No one worked for the food. Jesus answers in verse 29 that all the works you can do for eternal bread that will endure and satisfy is no work at all: "Believe in him whom God has sent." Come to me, trust me, and feed on me. Draw life from me as you would draw precious water from the provisions of a well in a desert place. Satisfy yourself with his hope-filled fellowship. Lay aside pettiness for the pristine beauty of Christ. Set aside your personal agenda in order to actively and passionately pursue Jesus.
The meaning is similar to Matthew 6:19, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal." Anything temporal that the heart can treasure is food that perishes. If the treasure is not Christ it will perish. It will not satisfy your hunger and thirst today, and it will be worthless at death and useless on the judgment day.
The people seeking Jesus were "laboring for food that perishes" and He commanded them not to do it. You can be a very religious person, but not be born again. What is missing is a spiritual feeding on Christ, and a childlike submission to his Word. Where you dine will be reflected in your attitude, your actions, your words, your calendar, your checkbook, your priorities, your passions, your demeanor, your possessions, etc. In other words, how you feast and what you feed upon will eventually be manifested.
David Jeremiah said, “Each of us have as much of God as we want….It should bother us to realize that we have pursued God exactly to the point that satisfied us, and then we stopped, made camp and relaxed.” Don’t even begin to think that we can get away with saying, “I want more of God, but I have not been able to go any further with Him.” There is always more of God, and there is always more within reach. He would not promise so many promises intimate fellowship if it were not possible, and desirable, and necessary for all of His children. God will honor whatever intensity you bring to the relationship. He will feed and provide and satisfy.
Sherwood Elliot Wirt wrote: “The problem with this whole hunger issue with Christians is that often we think spiritual hunger works the same way physical hunger works. When you are physically hungry, the longer you go without eating, the hungrier you get. When you finally do eat, fill yourself up, your hunger is satisfied. In the spiritual realm, it’s exactly the opposite of that. In the spiritual realm, the longer you go without eating, the more your appetite wanes. If you don’t eat, you can go for long periods of time and you aren’t even hungry.”
The opposite is true. Spiritually, the more you eat of God’s Word, the more you are filled with “thus saith the Lord,” the more you want, the more you crave, the more you desire, and your spiritual appetite intensifies. You won’t say like after a Thanksgiving meal, “Oh, I ate too much. I’m stuffed. Why did you let me eat that much? No! No! No! A thousand times no! You will want more!
From the pen of A.W. Tozer, “Why do some persons ‘find’ God in a way that others do not? Why does God manifest His presence to some and let multitudes of others struggle along in the half-light of imperfect Christian experience? Of course the will of God is the same for all. He has no favorites within His household. All He has ever done for any of His children He will do for all of Hs children. The differences lie not with God but with us. Pick at random a score of great saints whose lives and testimonies are widely known. Let them be Bible characters or well known Christians of post-Biblical times. You will be struck instantly with the fact that the saints were not alike. Sometimes the unlikenesses were so great as to be positively glaring. The differences are as wide as human life itself: differences of race, nationality, education, temperament, habit and personal qualities. Yet, they all walked, each in his day, upon a high road of spiritual living far above the common way. Their differences must have been incidental and in the eyes of God of no significance. In some vital quality they must have been alike. What was it? I venture to suggest that the one vital quality which they had in common was spiritual receptivity. Something in them was open to heaven, something which urged them Godward. Without attempting anything like a profound analysis I shall say simply that they had spiritual awareness and that they went on to cultivate it until it became the biggest thing in their lives. They differed from the average person in that when they felt the inward longing they did something about it….As David put it neatly, “When thou sadist, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”
Labor by rising early for prayer and meditation, and holding Christ near to your heart all day. Jesus calls us to be aliens and exiles in the world. Not by taking us out of the world, but by changing how we view the world and do our work in it. Meditate on this command: "Do not labor for the food which perishes."
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign- A True Healing and Hinn Can’t Touch That
"These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me."
John 5
The Lame, Liars, and the Lord
Background- John 5:1-3
Most likely this pool of water was just north of the temple area. It was divided into two sections- men and women. It would have been surrounded on all four sides and divided in the middle. It was probably spring fed, which would account for the stirring or moving of the water. It was also thought to be reddish in color because of the mineral deposits in it. It is also believed to be on the route that the sheep destined for sacrifice at the Temple would have been led. The pool of water was probably referred to as ‘Sheep’ in the Greek and the Aramaic or Hebrew term was Bethesda, which means the ‘House of mercy’. You can understand why either term would seem appropriate. It was believed that such pools of water with springs had some sort of healing power. This was a hospital of sorts, and Jesus goes to the hospital—He doesn’t wait for the hospital to come to Him and then demand payment. And so, it is understandable why the blind (those who cannot see), the lame (those who walk through life haltingly), and the paralyzed (those who simply cannot move) are there. It is interesting how the physical mimics the spiritual.
The Lame (5:3-9
The man has been in this physical condition longer than most people of his time lived. For 38 years he had been coming to this pool, the same amount of time as the wilderness wanderings of the children of Israel in Deut 2:14. Notice the details of verse 6; the recognition of the fact that the man had been wandering to the water’s edge a long time. We also find the sensitivity of Jesus in seeing the man and seeking to engage the man’s will ("Do you WANT…?") and to awaken the invalid’s sense of hope with a question.
Here is a valuable little insight into human nature from the question of verse 6. Do not think that people with needs, no matter how acute or severe, automatically want help. A sense of need is never solely sufficient as the sole impetus in seeking help. Sometimes need coupled with frustration can quickly lead to futility as a settled way of life. In other words, some people simply do NOT really want the help. Need, in whatever form it is found, is at times the excuse for one to use to escape responsibility of life, or to draw attention which they may think they would otherwise miss. It is not automatic or axiomatic that the hurting want to be healed.
Here is quite another sometime sad observation into human nature from the response of verse 7. No one was there to help him. He might have been bereft of friends. And, no one who may have received a cure in this fashion then proceeded to turn around and help someone else. The right response from help should be thankfulness, and the right reaction to thankfulness should be help.
The pool of water may have had some limited potency, but Jesus as the living water had unlimited power. (John 4:13-14, 7:37-38) What does Jesus do to bring healing? He speaks! The focus is not on healing, or the gift of healing, but on the healer-Jesus.
The Liars (5:10-13)
Liars were the religious leaders who should have led the sheep in the right direction, but were instead leading them to the road of destruction. Notice the questions and statements going on in the dialogue here. There is absolutely no acknowledgment of the fact of the healing, but instead there is an accusation regarding the breaking of a tradition and law. The Sabbath meant an absence of activity and an abstinence from work.
The poor guy who is healed in caught in the crossfire. He is not prepared to argue with the theologians over religious rules and regulations, which were less about Scripture and more about a man-made system that they developed. He should have been jumping for joy, but instead he is jumpy because of an intimidating judgment (5:10). The man does what most people would do in this situation-he denies and blames.
Lord of the Sabbath (5:14-18)
Whether this man being an invalid for 38 years was due to sin is not really the issue here. As bad as it is to lie on mat most of your life with a physical deformity it is much worse to be spiritually deformed. God does not judge sickness, but He does judge sin. Jesus is more concerned over the man being crippled on the inside than the outside. The man will once again suffer something.
Jesus seeks the man out and reminds him of the importance of the physical healing, but the physical was meant to point to the eternal.
Notice the extent of the hatred that they had toward Jesus and the reason why (5:16). This was not a one time deal with Jesus. He apparently repeatedly did this type thing on the Sabbath. He hit them right in the gut of their pride and weakness. How could an unknown and untrained and unaccredited rebel be allowed to freely do what He was doing and to free people from the restrains of the law? Where would it end? What was next?
You must get this next point. Jesus’ statement in verse 17 and His actions clearly means that He is equating himself with God. They got it. And for that they wanted to kill Him. Jesus turned the tables on them and insisted that He was simply doing the very things that God did on the Sabbath. God’s creating the world may have stopped on the 7’TH day, but his creative activity did not stop. The works of divine providence continue on the Sabbath (rain, sun, births, death, the acting out of the laws of nature). He continues to act in an unabated fashion without exception. He does not need to rest because He is not weary. Jesus links His own labor as continuous and coordinate with those of God the Father. He identified with the One who made the Sabbath, and made the laws, and made the world, and who never rests, and who never grows tired or weary, and who is beyond the reach of the established laws and tradition.
They sensed and knew immediately what Jesus was saying. He made implicit in His argument that He was equal with God. And, you cannot be equal with God unless you are God. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath and the great Physician. Our response must be worship and honor. It is not Jesus and healing. It is Jesus the healer. Nothing is out of His reach or purview. All authority is His. "These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
John 5
The Lame, Liars, and the Lord
Background- John 5:1-3
Most likely this pool of water was just north of the temple area. It was divided into two sections- men and women. It would have been surrounded on all four sides and divided in the middle. It was probably spring fed, which would account for the stirring or moving of the water. It was also thought to be reddish in color because of the mineral deposits in it. It is also believed to be on the route that the sheep destined for sacrifice at the Temple would have been led. The pool of water was probably referred to as ‘Sheep’ in the Greek and the Aramaic or Hebrew term was Bethesda, which means the ‘House of mercy’. You can understand why either term would seem appropriate. It was believed that such pools of water with springs had some sort of healing power. This was a hospital of sorts, and Jesus goes to the hospital—He doesn’t wait for the hospital to come to Him and then demand payment. And so, it is understandable why the blind (those who cannot see), the lame (those who walk through life haltingly), and the paralyzed (those who simply cannot move) are there. It is interesting how the physical mimics the spiritual.
The Lame (5:3-9
The man has been in this physical condition longer than most people of his time lived. For 38 years he had been coming to this pool, the same amount of time as the wilderness wanderings of the children of Israel in Deut 2:14. Notice the details of verse 6; the recognition of the fact that the man had been wandering to the water’s edge a long time. We also find the sensitivity of Jesus in seeing the man and seeking to engage the man’s will ("Do you WANT…?") and to awaken the invalid’s sense of hope with a question.
Here is a valuable little insight into human nature from the question of verse 6. Do not think that people with needs, no matter how acute or severe, automatically want help. A sense of need is never solely sufficient as the sole impetus in seeking help. Sometimes need coupled with frustration can quickly lead to futility as a settled way of life. In other words, some people simply do NOT really want the help. Need, in whatever form it is found, is at times the excuse for one to use to escape responsibility of life, or to draw attention which they may think they would otherwise miss. It is not automatic or axiomatic that the hurting want to be healed.
Here is quite another sometime sad observation into human nature from the response of verse 7. No one was there to help him. He might have been bereft of friends. And, no one who may have received a cure in this fashion then proceeded to turn around and help someone else. The right response from help should be thankfulness, and the right reaction to thankfulness should be help.
The pool of water may have had some limited potency, but Jesus as the living water had unlimited power. (John 4:13-14, 7:37-38) What does Jesus do to bring healing? He speaks! The focus is not on healing, or the gift of healing, but on the healer-Jesus.
The Liars (5:10-13)
Liars were the religious leaders who should have led the sheep in the right direction, but were instead leading them to the road of destruction. Notice the questions and statements going on in the dialogue here. There is absolutely no acknowledgment of the fact of the healing, but instead there is an accusation regarding the breaking of a tradition and law. The Sabbath meant an absence of activity and an abstinence from work.
The poor guy who is healed in caught in the crossfire. He is not prepared to argue with the theologians over religious rules and regulations, which were less about Scripture and more about a man-made system that they developed. He should have been jumping for joy, but instead he is jumpy because of an intimidating judgment (5:10). The man does what most people would do in this situation-he denies and blames.
Lord of the Sabbath (5:14-18)
Whether this man being an invalid for 38 years was due to sin is not really the issue here. As bad as it is to lie on mat most of your life with a physical deformity it is much worse to be spiritually deformed. God does not judge sickness, but He does judge sin. Jesus is more concerned over the man being crippled on the inside than the outside. The man will once again suffer something.
Jesus seeks the man out and reminds him of the importance of the physical healing, but the physical was meant to point to the eternal.
Notice the extent of the hatred that they had toward Jesus and the reason why (5:16). This was not a one time deal with Jesus. He apparently repeatedly did this type thing on the Sabbath. He hit them right in the gut of their pride and weakness. How could an unknown and untrained and unaccredited rebel be allowed to freely do what He was doing and to free people from the restrains of the law? Where would it end? What was next?
You must get this next point. Jesus’ statement in verse 17 and His actions clearly means that He is equating himself with God. They got it. And for that they wanted to kill Him. Jesus turned the tables on them and insisted that He was simply doing the very things that God did on the Sabbath. God’s creating the world may have stopped on the 7’TH day, but his creative activity did not stop. The works of divine providence continue on the Sabbath (rain, sun, births, death, the acting out of the laws of nature). He continues to act in an unabated fashion without exception. He does not need to rest because He is not weary. Jesus links His own labor as continuous and coordinate with those of God the Father. He identified with the One who made the Sabbath, and made the laws, and made the world, and who never rests, and who never grows tired or weary, and who is beyond the reach of the established laws and tradition.
They sensed and knew immediately what Jesus was saying. He made implicit in His argument that He was equal with God. And, you cannot be equal with God unless you are God. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath and the great Physician. Our response must be worship and honor. It is not Jesus and healing. It is Jesus the healer. Nothing is out of His reach or purview. All authority is His. "These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign- "No Reputation, No Name, No Hope"
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign- Miracle 2
-A story about a land with no reputation
-……………...a leader with no name
-…………and a lad with no hope
"These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me."
Jesus has total authority over everything. There is nothing outside the authority of Jesus.
Everyone and everything are subordinate to Jesus.
We see it in the way He commands the forces of nature, which He designed and created, by turning water into wine.
We see it in the exercise of His authority in matters of life and death, both His own and other’s—and ultimately in the matter of eternal life.
John 4:45-54- the second sign that John writes about
Pleading Request (4:47)
-The leader with no name came a long way
-He was most likely a nobleman of sorts, but his connections with the King’s palace, the country’s government, and the county’s doctors could not help him
-Can you imagine being in such a desperate situation that you are willing to expose your reputation for a chance?
-I mean, this man most likely has access to the palace, and Christ was basically a peasant
-The reality of life is that the greatest of men must become beggars before God
-He is no different than most of us in his pleading. There is a ton of desperation, and a measure of some believe, but his prayer or request expresses a perceived limitation on Christ’s ability to answer it, and, therefore he sort of fleshes out the solution to Jesus.
-In other words, he asks Jesus to ‘come down’ and heal his dying son. We have a barrier of geography here. We have a barrier of physicality here. We have a barrier of time here. Here is what I want you to do and here is how you need to do it.
-We have a tendency to limit Jesus by our own perceptions of barriers
-We are encouraged to pray, but we should not prescribe to God exactly how to answer the prayer in some sort of either/ or fashion
-Lord- please heal, whether by word or touch, but even then your will be done
-The total authority of Jesus over life and death
Pointed Reply (4:48)
-At first glance Jesus reply appears to be cruel. What parent would not go to God when their child is in trouble and plead with Him for help?
-Yes, there is a gentle rebuke here to the leader with no name
-Christ will at times humble us with seeming frowns before He honors us with splendid favor
-Most likely Jesus’ abrupt retort is directed to others as well who happen to be around
-Where do I get that from?
-The pronouns (you) ‘you see’ and ‘you believe’ are plural.
-The abruptness and rebuke is also primarily for the benefit of the curious crowd gathered around
-There were other Galileans who were there with an insatiable desire for more spectacular works such as they had already seen at Jerusalem just recently
-Curiosity seekers who had an appetite for wanting to feast on the food of seeing a miracle rather than banquet on believing that Jesus was Messiah. Do you seek a miracle worker or do you seek the Messiah?
-You see a tension that exists that we deal with
-the affect of the spiritual power of the Word –versus-
-the attraction of the sensible power of miracles
-He first came preaching repentance. The miracles followed the Word.
-He came to transform the heart, and not titillate the eyes.
-The leader with no name’s response (vs 49) for the lad with no hope was imploring and respectful and urgent and desperate all at the same time
-It is a sign of good demeanor and of humility when we take a gentle rebuke and the pointing out of some faults well without responding in anger
-This is very, very important lesson to learn here. Oftentimes when we go to God in prayer for anything, but especially for something that is desperate to our hearts, God’s way of answering is to first work on us, then to work for us.
-In other words, in the midst of that situation He will start to work on our character, and our conduct, in order to make us more Christ-like.
-The total authority of Jesus over life and death
Powerful Response (4:50)
-The answer to prayer, the healing is not done the way the man asked
-The answer to prayer, the healing is not something that is visual to everyone
-It’s clear that Jesus is not interested in defending His reputation per se. He will honor His name in the way He chooses, whether we agree or not.
-The answer to prayer is accomplished through the Word
-The answer is without so much as breaking a sweat. It is done with the ease of a spoken Word, and without the trouble of a 15-20 mile hike
-The barriers and restrictions are our perceptions, but they are not reality
-We pray here, and God can answer anywhere. There is no geographical, or physical, or time, or state-of-life restrictions for God
-Here the healing beams of the Son of righteousness are dispensed from Cana to Capernaum some 20 miles away, but could have just as easily and quickly been dispensed from one end of heaven to another
-When He denies what we ask, it is because He will give us what is much more to our need
(we ask for ease, He fosters patience)
-Pray the problem
-Pray with persistence
-Pray with passion
-Pray without restriction
-Pray with realization
-Pray awaiting response
-In the land with no reputation, a leader with no name, prayed about a lad with no hope. The nobleman came with certain parameters and outcomes in mind. But Jesus was looking beyond the lad. He was working on transforming the leader’s own heart, and not just healing the lad, but saving the entire family.
-The total authority of Jesus over life and death, and ultimately over eternal life
-A story about a land with no reputation
-……………...a leader with no name
-…………and a lad with no hope
"These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me."
Jesus has total authority over everything. There is nothing outside the authority of Jesus.
Everyone and everything are subordinate to Jesus.
We see it in the way He commands the forces of nature, which He designed and created, by turning water into wine.
We see it in the exercise of His authority in matters of life and death, both His own and other’s—and ultimately in the matter of eternal life.
John 4:45-54- the second sign that John writes about
Pleading Request (4:47)
-The leader with no name came a long way
-He was most likely a nobleman of sorts, but his connections with the King’s palace, the country’s government, and the county’s doctors could not help him
-Can you imagine being in such a desperate situation that you are willing to expose your reputation for a chance?
-I mean, this man most likely has access to the palace, and Christ was basically a peasant
-The reality of life is that the greatest of men must become beggars before God
-He is no different than most of us in his pleading. There is a ton of desperation, and a measure of some believe, but his prayer or request expresses a perceived limitation on Christ’s ability to answer it, and, therefore he sort of fleshes out the solution to Jesus.
-In other words, he asks Jesus to ‘come down’ and heal his dying son. We have a barrier of geography here. We have a barrier of physicality here. We have a barrier of time here. Here is what I want you to do and here is how you need to do it.
-We have a tendency to limit Jesus by our own perceptions of barriers
-We are encouraged to pray, but we should not prescribe to God exactly how to answer the prayer in some sort of either/ or fashion
-Lord- please heal, whether by word or touch, but even then your will be done
-The total authority of Jesus over life and death
Pointed Reply (4:48)
-At first glance Jesus reply appears to be cruel. What parent would not go to God when their child is in trouble and plead with Him for help?
-Yes, there is a gentle rebuke here to the leader with no name
-Christ will at times humble us with seeming frowns before He honors us with splendid favor
-Most likely Jesus’ abrupt retort is directed to others as well who happen to be around
-Where do I get that from?
-The pronouns (you) ‘you see’ and ‘you believe’ are plural.
-The abruptness and rebuke is also primarily for the benefit of the curious crowd gathered around
-There were other Galileans who were there with an insatiable desire for more spectacular works such as they had already seen at Jerusalem just recently
-Curiosity seekers who had an appetite for wanting to feast on the food of seeing a miracle rather than banquet on believing that Jesus was Messiah. Do you seek a miracle worker or do you seek the Messiah?
-You see a tension that exists that we deal with
-the affect of the spiritual power of the Word –versus-
-the attraction of the sensible power of miracles
-He first came preaching repentance. The miracles followed the Word.
-He came to transform the heart, and not titillate the eyes.
-The leader with no name’s response (vs 49) for the lad with no hope was imploring and respectful and urgent and desperate all at the same time
-It is a sign of good demeanor and of humility when we take a gentle rebuke and the pointing out of some faults well without responding in anger
-This is very, very important lesson to learn here. Oftentimes when we go to God in prayer for anything, but especially for something that is desperate to our hearts, God’s way of answering is to first work on us, then to work for us.
-In other words, in the midst of that situation He will start to work on our character, and our conduct, in order to make us more Christ-like.
-The total authority of Jesus over life and death
Powerful Response (4:50)
-The answer to prayer, the healing is not done the way the man asked
-The answer to prayer, the healing is not something that is visual to everyone
-It’s clear that Jesus is not interested in defending His reputation per se. He will honor His name in the way He chooses, whether we agree or not.
-The answer to prayer is accomplished through the Word
-The answer is without so much as breaking a sweat. It is done with the ease of a spoken Word, and without the trouble of a 15-20 mile hike
-The barriers and restrictions are our perceptions, but they are not reality
-We pray here, and God can answer anywhere. There is no geographical, or physical, or time, or state-of-life restrictions for God
-Here the healing beams of the Son of righteousness are dispensed from Cana to Capernaum some 20 miles away, but could have just as easily and quickly been dispensed from one end of heaven to another
-When He denies what we ask, it is because He will give us what is much more to our need
(we ask for ease, He fosters patience)
-Pray the problem
-Pray with persistence
-Pray with passion
-Pray without restriction
-Pray with realization
-Pray awaiting response
-In the land with no reputation, a leader with no name, prayed about a lad with no hope. The nobleman came with certain parameters and outcomes in mind. But Jesus was looking beyond the lad. He was working on transforming the leader’s own heart, and not just healing the lad, but saving the entire family.
-The total authority of Jesus over life and death, and ultimately over eternal life
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign- "We're All Out"
I am praying that God gives us eyes to see the glory of Jesus—his pristine beauty and awesome majesty and inexhaustible fullness. I am looking for the glory of Christ everywhere in this gospel.
In the gospel of John we have 7 signs shown to us before His crucifixion as evidence of His deity. In the gospel of John we have 7 "I Am" statements spoken for us as evidence of His deity. In the gospel of John we have 7 "last" sayings shared with us as evidence of His deity.
The next 7 weeks are entitled, "Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign". The first sign is found in John 2:1-10. These 7 signs are expressions of Messianic replacement and abundance.
After the story of the wedding of Cana in John 2:1–10, John says in verse 11, "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him." This first sign captures the ‘glory’ statement of John 1:14 at the beginning of the gospel, and the ‘purpose’ statement of John 20:30-31 at the end of the gospel.
This is a living parable being acted out right before our very eyes. This is the first miracle and it is filled with such exquisitely beautiful details:
-The social aspect of being invited to a wedding. Jesus and His disciples (5) were invited. We should be people who are invited to places and events. We use the social in order to get to the sacred.
-The prayer- Mary had an interest in the needs of others. She interceded for them. She did not look for a man-made solution that the caterer may have come up with; instead, she went to the fountainhead of the one who could and would supply living waters that would never run out. She went to Jesus. She did not pray the solution to Jesus. She simply was willing to accept whatever Christ’s response might be.
Jesus’ Glory Revealed in This Story (Outline Structure from John Piper)
1. The Glory of an Obedient Son
Jesus’ words are intentionally chosen to reveal a radical allegiance to God’s will above all else.
Jesus knew it would be surprising when he did not say "Mother" but rather, "Woman." His response isn’t disrespectful, but it is abrupt. Jesus is doubly abrupt with his mother: He calls her "Woman," and he says, "This is not your place to be calling out my power." It does seem that his mother expected him to do something.
What makes this so significant is that Jesus goes right ahead and takes care of the problem by doing a miracle. That makes us ask why He spoke to her this way. The reason is that Jesus was absolutely bound to his Father’s will in heaven and to no one on earth. There could be no competing controls on his life
2. The Glory of an Ultimate Purifier
There is a reason Jesus chooses to use water jars that were appointed for "purification," not for drinking, when he performs his miracle and fills them with wine. And the reason is that he means to point to his own death as the ultimate purification for sins that would nullify and replace the Jewish purification rituals. Six was a number of incompletion. The old is giving way to the new.
Jesus says to his mother at the end of verse 4, "My hour has not yet come." Jesus’ hour was the hour of his death when the Lamb of God would take away the sin of the world. This would be the ultimate purification, as stated in 1 John 1:7, "the blood of Jesus his Son purifies us from all sin".
Even though Jesus rebuffed his mother’s request he goes ahead and does the miracle. It seems Jesus is saying, "No, the hour of my death is not here, but I will give you a sign of my death."
Jesus manifests his glory in this story through an acted out parable—of how his own death will be the final, decisive, ultimate purification for sins. And so you see the replacement of the old purification laws and rituals with the anticipation of the once-for-all sacrifice of the cross, and the connection with the upper room discourse-the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper and Jesus stating that the wine represented His blood.
3. The Glory of an All-Providing Bridegroom
The last thing John says about Jesus in this Gospel is that he is the bridegroom who has the bride. The mystery of the church is being revealed. Jesus is the groom and the church is the bride. Jesus does what the bridegroom at a wedding could not do. The groom was responsible for the wine, which means it was his shortcoming that the wedding ran out of wine. All earthly husbands fail to be all that we ought to be. But quietly, powerfully Jesus plays the role of the perfect, all-providing Bridegroom.
In the gospel of John we have 7 signs shown to us before His crucifixion as evidence of His deity. In the gospel of John we have 7 "I Am" statements spoken for us as evidence of His deity. In the gospel of John we have 7 "last" sayings shared with us as evidence of His deity.
The next 7 weeks are entitled, "Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign". The first sign is found in John 2:1-10. These 7 signs are expressions of Messianic replacement and abundance.
After the story of the wedding of Cana in John 2:1–10, John says in verse 11, "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him." This first sign captures the ‘glory’ statement of John 1:14 at the beginning of the gospel, and the ‘purpose’ statement of John 20:30-31 at the end of the gospel.
This is a living parable being acted out right before our very eyes. This is the first miracle and it is filled with such exquisitely beautiful details:
-The social aspect of being invited to a wedding. Jesus and His disciples (5) were invited. We should be people who are invited to places and events. We use the social in order to get to the sacred.
-The prayer- Mary had an interest in the needs of others. She interceded for them. She did not look for a man-made solution that the caterer may have come up with; instead, she went to the fountainhead of the one who could and would supply living waters that would never run out. She went to Jesus. She did not pray the solution to Jesus. She simply was willing to accept whatever Christ’s response might be.
Jesus’ Glory Revealed in This Story (Outline Structure from John Piper)
1. The Glory of an Obedient Son
Jesus’ words are intentionally chosen to reveal a radical allegiance to God’s will above all else.
Jesus knew it would be surprising when he did not say "Mother" but rather, "Woman." His response isn’t disrespectful, but it is abrupt. Jesus is doubly abrupt with his mother: He calls her "Woman," and he says, "This is not your place to be calling out my power." It does seem that his mother expected him to do something.
What makes this so significant is that Jesus goes right ahead and takes care of the problem by doing a miracle. That makes us ask why He spoke to her this way. The reason is that Jesus was absolutely bound to his Father’s will in heaven and to no one on earth. There could be no competing controls on his life
2. The Glory of an Ultimate Purifier
There is a reason Jesus chooses to use water jars that were appointed for "purification," not for drinking, when he performs his miracle and fills them with wine. And the reason is that he means to point to his own death as the ultimate purification for sins that would nullify and replace the Jewish purification rituals. Six was a number of incompletion. The old is giving way to the new.
Jesus says to his mother at the end of verse 4, "My hour has not yet come." Jesus’ hour was the hour of his death when the Lamb of God would take away the sin of the world. This would be the ultimate purification, as stated in 1 John 1:7, "the blood of Jesus his Son purifies us from all sin".
Even though Jesus rebuffed his mother’s request he goes ahead and does the miracle. It seems Jesus is saying, "No, the hour of my death is not here, but I will give you a sign of my death."
Jesus manifests his glory in this story through an acted out parable—of how his own death will be the final, decisive, ultimate purification for sins. And so you see the replacement of the old purification laws and rituals with the anticipation of the once-for-all sacrifice of the cross, and the connection with the upper room discourse-the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper and Jesus stating that the wine represented His blood.
3. The Glory of an All-Providing Bridegroom
The last thing John says about Jesus in this Gospel is that he is the bridegroom who has the bride. The mystery of the church is being revealed. Jesus is the groom and the church is the bride. Jesus does what the bridegroom at a wedding could not do. The groom was responsible for the wine, which means it was his shortcoming that the wedding ran out of wine. All earthly husbands fail to be all that we ought to be. But quietly, powerfully Jesus plays the role of the perfect, all-providing Bridegroom.
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