Last Sunday we were looking at Matthew 17 in the passage dealing with the transfiguration. There were several theological applications to be learned from the event. For instance, the testimony of the law and the prophets were personified by the appearance of Moses and Elijah. The significance of God speaking through the cloud, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” being the second occasion of the Father’s verbal confirmation. And many other things were significant, not the least of which the conversation between Jesus and Moses and Elijah about His approaching exodus, or His crucifixion, revealing that everything was going according to plan.
For the disciples, this was the epitome of the mountain top experience. They saw Christ in all His glory as a preview of the second coming, dispelling all their doubts and fears. They heard God audibly speak from a shining cloud. When they finally were able to get their faces off the ground they must have been stoked out of their minds. They must have glowed like Moses at Mt. Sinai as they came down from the mountain.
But when they came to the disciples left behind at the bottom of the mountain the devil was there to meet them. That’s how it often is when we have a mountain top experience. Satan is waiting at the bottom of the hill, waiting to knock our legs out from under us, waiting to humiliate us, waiting to undermine all that we just learned. It’s a counter attack in a spiritual battle, and we need to be ready for it.
The scripture says the scribes and the Pharisees were there, the old enemies of Jesus and His disciples. They were gloating because the rest of the disciples had been shown to be impotent to cast out a powerful demon from a boy that was severely possessed. The Bible says that as the boy was brought to them, the demon cast him to the ground and began to throw him into convulsions. The disciples were confronted with the full power of Satan and were overwhelmed. Jesus didn’t seem to be around. They were left alone to deal with one of the most dreadful things they had ever faced. And their fear overwhelmed their faith.
The disciples are a good picture of us, aren’t they? We have a mountain top experience with God, we confirm our faith, and resolve to serve Him with all our strength, and then the next day or even a few hours later, Satan comes along with the old crowd, the old friends, some old temptation that you thought you had victory over, and down we go. Our faith was too weak. Our strength was too frail.
Jesus said, “Because of the littleness of your faith… if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it shall move; and nothing is impossible with God. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” A mustard seed may be small, but it grows into one of the largest plants in the garden. Faith grows. Yet the strength of our faith doesn’t come from our reliance upon the size of our faith, but on the size of our God. The God who made the mountains can move the mountains. What we can see and touch and feel is replaced through our spiritual strength: prayer and fasting. Fasting is reducing the dependence on the physical to increase the dependence of the spiritual. That’s the secret to all things being possible. Learning the principle that what we see isn’t as important as who we believe in. What we can do isn’t as important as what He can do. Knowing that greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Give me liberty or give me death
As Christians, we’ve been set free by Christ from the sin that once enslaved us. Yet the Apostle Peter put it this way, "Don't use your liberty as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. " 1 Peter 2:16. Yes you’ve been set free, but a Christian has given up his freedom to serve Christ. We serve Christ by serving others, not ourselves. So our freedom is always couched in the aspect of someone else being more important than ourselves. Some aspects of our Christian walk can be gray areas where the Bible doesn’t spell out specifics, especially in the realm of social customs and things that aren’t morally wrong. In determining the extent of our liberty in those areas, I suggest you run them through the following filters.
Number one, excess. First guideline I ask myself about a gray area is do I need it, or is it excess baggage? Hebrews 12:1 says, "Seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight…" Some things may not be a sin, but are an unnecessary weight that will slow us down in the race we’ve been called to run.
Second, expedience. First Corinthians 6:12, it says, "All things are lawful unto Me, but all things are not expedient." That means useful. Not only does it not have a negative effect, but does it have a positive effect? If I do this, is it going to help me? Is this something I need to be a better man of God, a better woman of God?
A third principle is the principle of emulation. 1 John 2:6, "If we say we abide in Him we ought also to walk, even as He walked." The principle of emulation is this. Is this something that Christ would do?
A fourth. Evangelism. If I do this, is it going to enhance my testimony to an unbeliever? Colossians 4:5 says, "Walk in wisdom toward them that are outside." So if I do this, will it create a better evangelistic platform for me?
A fifth one, edification. Will it build me up? Having done this, will I be stronger in Christ? First Corinthians 10:23, "All things are lawful, yes; but all things edify not." Not everything builds me up. It might be lawful to do it, but it won't build me up.
Sixth, Exaltation. If I do it, will it exalt the Lord? And 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink do it all to the glory of God." If I do this, will it exalt the Lord?
Seventh, Example. If I do this will it set the right pattern of righteousness for my weaker brother? Will it be an act of love toward him? Romans 14:13 says, "Don't do anything to make him stumble." First Corinthians 8:13 says the same thing, "I'll eat no meat while the world stands, because I might make my brother offend." Here is the principle of setting a loving example.
Paul says that he wouldn’t do something he had every right to do, if it would cause his brother to stumble. We love God by loving one another and serving one another in agape, or self sacrificing love. Putting their needs above your own. Even forsaking your liberty for the brother or sister who is weak in that area. True Christianity is dying to yourself.
Number one, excess. First guideline I ask myself about a gray area is do I need it, or is it excess baggage? Hebrews 12:1 says, "Seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight…" Some things may not be a sin, but are an unnecessary weight that will slow us down in the race we’ve been called to run.
Second, expedience. First Corinthians 6:12, it says, "All things are lawful unto Me, but all things are not expedient." That means useful. Not only does it not have a negative effect, but does it have a positive effect? If I do this, is it going to help me? Is this something I need to be a better man of God, a better woman of God?
A third principle is the principle of emulation. 1 John 2:6, "If we say we abide in Him we ought also to walk, even as He walked." The principle of emulation is this. Is this something that Christ would do?
A fourth. Evangelism. If I do this, is it going to enhance my testimony to an unbeliever? Colossians 4:5 says, "Walk in wisdom toward them that are outside." So if I do this, will it create a better evangelistic platform for me?
A fifth one, edification. Will it build me up? Having done this, will I be stronger in Christ? First Corinthians 10:23, "All things are lawful, yes; but all things edify not." Not everything builds me up. It might be lawful to do it, but it won't build me up.
Sixth, Exaltation. If I do it, will it exalt the Lord? And 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink do it all to the glory of God." If I do this, will it exalt the Lord?
Seventh, Example. If I do this will it set the right pattern of righteousness for my weaker brother? Will it be an act of love toward him? Romans 14:13 says, "Don't do anything to make him stumble." First Corinthians 8:13 says the same thing, "I'll eat no meat while the world stands, because I might make my brother offend." Here is the principle of setting a loving example.
Paul says that he wouldn’t do something he had every right to do, if it would cause his brother to stumble. We love God by loving one another and serving one another in agape, or self sacrificing love. Putting their needs above your own. Even forsaking your liberty for the brother or sister who is weak in that area. True Christianity is dying to yourself.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Who do you say that I am?
Last week I was out surfing one evening with my daughter and another guy was out that I knew from a past job. As we chatted in between waves, I felt compelled to tell him about our church and invite him out to our beach service. At that point he confessed that he was a lay minister of sorts in a religious organization that most conservatives would consider a cult. Immediately, he began to question me about end time prophecy and how I would interpret certain passages in Revelation. I told him that I didn’t really want to get too worked up over millennial prophecy that obviously God intended to be somewhat of a mystery, predicting possibly thousands of years in the future. There are too many things that I know from Scripture that God is clear about right now that I need to be focused on. I believe correct Biblical interpretation requires obedience to what we have been clearly shown, and then God will reveal more wisdom as needed.
But then I asked him, “Who do you say that Jesus Christ is? Do you think He is God?” And his answer was as I suspected. No, Jesus isn’t God, He is a son of God. Their cult believes that Jesus is the brother of Lucifer, and a created being. They ignore John 3:16 that says that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God.
Jesus Himself asked the disciples this same question one day. “Who do men say that I am?” And they replied, some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah and some say Jeremiah. In every case, men said that Jesus was a man, a prophet, a good teacher, but still a man. And then Jesus asked His disciples again, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered as the spokesman for the group, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. The King of kings. THE Son of God. And there wasn’t anyone in Israel that did not understand that in human terms, the fullness of the father dwelt in the son. In their world, it was the same position. You remember the Jews had taken up stones to stone Him because He said - God was His Father - making Himself equal with God, in John 5:17,18? And so they are saying - You are equal with God. You are the Messiah...the Savior.
Consider more evidence: John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In that passage it is clear that Jesus is the Word and He was God from the beginning. John 14:7 Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father…” Isa 9:6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” John 10:30 "I and the Father are one."
I think a lot of people out there can’t seem to see who Jesus really is because they are more interested in what some other person says Jesus is. They are blind, because they have rejected God’s revelation for some human revelation. They have rejected divine revelation in favor of a man’s interpretation. You know, almost every false cult has come about by some man or woman having a vision that supposedly was given by an angel or something, which led them to “discover” a new theology, which then led them to a new set of writings, which then led them to reinterpret the Holy Bible to fit the paradigm of their new theology. And the result is that they become blind to the fact that Jesus is God. They believe Jesus to be a prophet, they believe him to be a great teacher, but they fall short of believing that Jesus is God and so they come short of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Today this is still the most important question that you will ever be asked; who do you say that I am? And then the obvious next question is, What will you do with Him?
But then I asked him, “Who do you say that Jesus Christ is? Do you think He is God?” And his answer was as I suspected. No, Jesus isn’t God, He is a son of God. Their cult believes that Jesus is the brother of Lucifer, and a created being. They ignore John 3:16 that says that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God.
Jesus Himself asked the disciples this same question one day. “Who do men say that I am?” And they replied, some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah and some say Jeremiah. In every case, men said that Jesus was a man, a prophet, a good teacher, but still a man. And then Jesus asked His disciples again, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered as the spokesman for the group, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. The King of kings. THE Son of God. And there wasn’t anyone in Israel that did not understand that in human terms, the fullness of the father dwelt in the son. In their world, it was the same position. You remember the Jews had taken up stones to stone Him because He said - God was His Father - making Himself equal with God, in John 5:17,18? And so they are saying - You are equal with God. You are the Messiah...the Savior.
Consider more evidence: John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In that passage it is clear that Jesus is the Word and He was God from the beginning. John 14:7 Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father…” Isa 9:6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” John 10:30 "I and the Father are one."
I think a lot of people out there can’t seem to see who Jesus really is because they are more interested in what some other person says Jesus is. They are blind, because they have rejected God’s revelation for some human revelation. They have rejected divine revelation in favor of a man’s interpretation. You know, almost every false cult has come about by some man or woman having a vision that supposedly was given by an angel or something, which led them to “discover” a new theology, which then led them to a new set of writings, which then led them to reinterpret the Holy Bible to fit the paradigm of their new theology. And the result is that they become blind to the fact that Jesus is God. They believe Jesus to be a prophet, they believe him to be a great teacher, but they fall short of believing that Jesus is God and so they come short of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Today this is still the most important question that you will ever be asked; who do you say that I am? And then the obvious next question is, What will you do with Him?
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