Today's reading Matthew chapters 1-10

     I challenged myself to read the New Testament in February, so today's reading is Matthew chapters 1 through 10.  Mainly focusing on the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry and healings including the temptation of Jesus and his teachings.  Just a couple of thoughts about this.

     The first thing you notice is that Jesus' story begins in a very odd way.  I think those of us who have grown up in the church and heard this story often may become insensitive to how different it is.  Jesus is sent basically to two teenagers (Mary and Joseph) who are engaged to be married and entrusts them with his son.  Then almost immediately there is a threat to Jesus' life by Herod who then kills all the babies 2 years and younger who lived in the same area where the wise men said Jesus was.  Then when Jesus does return to Israel it is in a backwater land like Nazareth (Matthew 2:23).  Not a kind of place that most of us would pick for sure. 

      The people were clearly amazed at Jesus' teaching not just for the content of his teaching, but how he taught.  The Pharisees and Sadducees would quote other teachers or authorities when they taught.  But, Jesus relied upon his own authority.  He didn't just talk about the letter of the law, but also the Spirit of the law.  He didn't just talk about murder, but also talked about hate.  He didn't just talk about actions, but also about motives.  He warns against doing good works in order to be noticed by men Matthew 6:5-8.  

    In talking about motive, he talks about how we are to set our hearts on His kingdom and his righteousness.  Not relying on our own sense of righteousness like the Pharisees did.  He mentions that we should examine ourselves before judging another or better yet not judging at all, but rather showing mercy.  He calls us to do to others what we would have them do to us  Matthew 7:12.  And to be a person who doesn't just hear the word, but does it  Matthew 7:24-27.

   In chapters 8 and 9 several of Jesus' miracles are mentioned including healing a man of leprosy, two demon possessed men and also the miracle of calming a storm and raising a little girl who is dead.  The miracles were God's demonstration that Jesus is one who has authority.  The Pharisees rightly thought that Jesus would be blaspheming if he was not God in the flesh when he forgave the man his sins Matthew 9:2-3.  But, what they didn't realize is that he had the authority to do so.  

   Chapter 10 begins with Jesus sending out the disciples with his authority.  He lets them know that the path they are taking will include some adversity and calls them to stand firm to the end Matthew 10:22.  He tells us not to be afraid of those who can kill the body, but cannot harm the soul Matthew 10:28.  Finally Jesus calls us to count the cost of following Him and tells us that "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.  Hebrews 1:3-4 NIV

        I did a study the other day on the first few verses of the book of Hebrews.  I find it really profound in how packed it is with truths about who Jesus is.  The author of this book says that Jesus is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being.  So, in other words when I read what Jesus did in the Bible and his words I am seeing exactly what God thinks and is like.  I see the heart of God who desires for people to come to him.  I see the willingness of God to heal others.  I see the power of God in Jesus rising from the dead and healing the sick and causing the blind to see and walking on the water.  I see an unlimited, all powerful God who came down for a few years in a human body to show us what God is really like.

    Not only that, but the author goes on to say that he is the sustainer of all things.  This quite literally means that there is not a moment that goes by that the universe and everything isn't is not sustained by the power of God.  Even when people are rebelling against him and walking away from him.  Even when people don't give him glory or acknowledge him.  His is the power that allows us all to keep breathing and living and he is the one living hope.  In Colossians 1 it says it this way:

 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  Colossians 1:16-17, NIV

    This living hope, sat down at the right hand of God the Father after becoming the sacrifice for our sins and taking our place.  Since nobody else could do it for us and we could not save ourselves.  He takes that place in sitting down not to rest, but in order to now be our advocate, our high priest, our intercessor before the Father.   He sits down at the right hand because that is the place of authority and power as author and sustainer of the universe.  He takes that place as the one sinless Lamb of God who is a constant reminder of our redemption.  He did what we could not do.   In Revelations it says it this way,

6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits[a] of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign[b] on the earth.” Revelation 5:6-10, NIV

The Ever Present All Powerful God Psalm 139:1-12

 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

2 You know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
3 You [c]scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
5 You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it

Psalm 139:1-6, NASV

    When someone refers to God as the "big man in the sky" or something like that I think about how different the God of the Bible is to the way that we sometimes think of Him.   Psalm 139 gives us a crystal clear view of the majesty of God and the fact that he is ever present and all powerful.  You notice in several places the psalmist early in this chapter uses words like "know", "scrutinize" and "intimately acquainted".  The word scrutinize in the Hebrew is zarah which means to scatter, winnow, sift.  God literally and figurately sifts through our thoughts and heart and examines it.  The psalmist actually says that the knowledge of God is beyond our human comprehension.  To me, this has several implications.

    Anthony George, who is now at First Baptist Atlanta use to say that God is not sitting on his throne popping antacids wondering what he is going to do about your problems.  While life can sometimes blindside us with things unexpected, God is not one who is surprised or caught off guard.  When you don't know what to do or don't understand or feel you are beyond your knowledge or understanding then we should take comfort in the fact that God understands the situation perfectly. 

    Not only that, but the God of the universe knows and understands us each intimately.  He knows every thought, motive, word, need, circumstance and intent perfectly.  God knows us better than we know ourselves and yet still loves us with a love that is beyond our comprehension.  I find it amazing that God knows me that well and yet still loves me.  In verse 18 of this same chapter it says that God thoughts about me are as numerous as the sand on the shore.  

    In these uncertain times, we need to be reminded that God is in control.  He sees where you are and what you need.  He sees what is coming in the future.  He sees your future as clearly as he sees your past.  He knows what to do when you don't know what to do.  Since he knows everything, he knows what the best way is to solve your problem.   Hebrews 4:13 says that "all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [a]Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will [b]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the darkness is not dark [c]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.

Psalm 139:7-12

  In these verses, the psalmist goes on to speak more about the omnipresence of God. That God is every present.  This literally means that there is nowhere we can go in the universe where God is not.  The psalmist speaks of the extremes of the universe, the highest heaven, the deepest ocean and then declares that there is nothing, no darkness, that keeps things hidden from God.  Not even when he was being formed in the womb of his mother did God not know what was going on.

   This raises certain questions such as "Do I live my life as if I am always in the presence of God?"  or do I treat God as if he is on a vacation or lives in the church building and doesn't see me when I lose my temper in traffic or feel frustrated at work due to some problem.  Do I compartmentalize God as if he is only interested in part of my life, when he is interested in all of it?

   I take some comfort from these verses because there are times when I don't feel like explaining everything to God or even feel like I have the words to express how I feel.  But, I don't have to explain everything to God because prayer is not about informing as though he were absent.  Rather, I can hand over a situation  or person or job or problem or area where I need growth and give it to God knowing that He knows about it much better than I do and how to provide for that need.

   The year 2020 has been the year of the unexpected.  I don't feel like it is over yet and we may see other things happen that we don't anticipate.  But, God is not surprised by it nor is he feeling overwhelmed or confused or doesn't know what to do.  God sees it all.  He knows what you need before you ask him and is able to provide what you need.

Related passages: Psalm 94:11, Isaiah 66:18; Matthew 9:4, Romans 11:33, Psalm 40:5, Psalm 92:5

What will be the sign of your coming? Matthew 24:1-5

24 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ² “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

⁴ Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.

     This passage in Matthew 24:1-5 was occurring during the last week of Jesus earthly life before his crucifixion.  He made a comment about the temple being destroyed which shocked the disciples.  It led to them asking Jesus three questions:

1. When will these things be?  Referring to the destruction of the temple (which happened in A.D. 70)

2. What will be the sign of your coming?

3. what will be the sign of the end of the age?

    Jesus first mentions what he calls the birth pangs vs.8.  Birth pangs start off spaced apart and then grow in intensity.  It is the same with the signs of his coming.  As the time approaches, these things will grow both in intensity and duration until His return.  The first sign is that there will be many false prophets or christs that appear.  

   You see this predicted throughout scripture in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, 2 Peter 2:1, 1 John 4:1.  The primary sign of these false teachers is that they will make Jesus less than the Christ and deny who he is (1 John 4:1).  We see this in many churches today and in particularly the Mormon and Jehovah's Witness faith.  They deny the Trinity and that Jesus was fully God and fully man.

    Paul also added that there will be a time when men will not endure sound doctrine.  But, wanting to have their ears tickled and to be told things they want to hear they will gather for themselves teachers who will tell them what they want to hear.  2 Timothy 4:3-4 says that they will turn aside to myths.  With all these warnings in the Bible, it strikes me as important that the believer in Christ study the Bible for him or herself and to be careful who you listen to as a teacher.  There are a lot of "feel good" preachers out there who teach a watered down version of the Bible and leave out suffering or denial of self.   The Bible warns us that we live in a time where there will be many false prophets.  They sound good, the music may be very professional and the presentation first rate, but what about the content.  

Does the pastor or teacher point to Jesus or himself or herself?

Is the sermon about becoming a better person or self help or is it Christ centered.  Worship is not about you.  While it is great to improve yourself, be careful about church just becoming an opportunity to be self centered.

Does the teacher compromise the life, death and resurrection of Christ?  Does the sermon or church call on the believer to make Christ both Savior and Lord?  

   I think a lot of people want Jesus to be their Savior, but not their Lord.  And the thing is, that he is either Lord of all or he is not Lord at all.  Lord means that he is in charge and as the author of all things he has the right to be in that position.

The Fruit of the Spirt Part I Galatians 5:22

^{22 "}But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,...."

In looking at this passage about the fruit of the Spirit, we first need to notice

the contrast between this verse and the one after and the deeds of the flesh mentioned in verses 19-21.  The deeds of the flesh are obvious and destructive and mainly self centered in nature.  Yet, the fruit of the Spirit are not called acts of our own, but rather by products of the Spirits works in our lives.  Paul referenced over 169 times that we are "in Christ, in him or in the Lord, in the beloved" in his writings.  This means that as a believer, the Holy Spirit has come to work within us and to change us from the inside out.  We don't do this by our own effort, but rather we are called in John 15:5 to abide in him because we can do nothing without him.

    The list of the fruit of the spirit starts with the primary fruit which is love.  In 1 Corinthians 13:4 it says that this love is patient, kind, and is not jealous, does not brag and is not arrogant.  This is an agape kind of love that starts with loving God and then loving others.  John felt it was so important that it is primary in his letter of 1 John as he states in 1 John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God."  God first demonstrated this love to us by sending his son to die for us and that Christ would willingly go to the cross for us out of that love.

     Paul goes on to list other qualities of the fruit of the Spirit.  The question is "Do I see these by products of the Spirit growing in my life?"  The qualities in verse 22 are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.  Is there evidence that the spirit is at work in my life or is the Spirit quenched by some sin or area of my life that I am not willing to give over to him.  I have to surrender every area of my life and die to self, so that I can live for him.  God cannot give his good gifts to those who are already holding on as hard as they can to the world and everything in it.  Do not love the world  1 John 2:15-16.

     One of the attributes here that may seem self explanatory, but really needs to be looked at more is the word "patience" or in greek makrothymia which means to be patient, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance.  This is similar to what is said in Romans 5:3-4.  Patience is the long suffering, the long mindedness to bear with the frailities and provocations of others, from the standpoint of understanding that God is patient with each of us when we don't deserve it.  As James says, we all stumble in many ways James 3:2 it helps to remember that we are all subject to a flesh that doesn't want to do God's will. Each believer is in a constant battle to submit themselves to the Spirit.  It is a patience that understands that we all fall short.

      I cannot overstate the importance of understanding these are qualities of the spirit and not qualities of the flesh.  The Spirit is clear that as a believer my objective is to stay close to God and abide in Him.  If I have a glory it is only a reflective glory and not one of my own making.  In Psalm 1:3 it says that the bless man is like a tree firmly planted by streams of water and it yields its fruit in its season.  There is a time for pruning John 15:1-5 and a time to bear fruit.  One happens and then the other.  If you resist the time of pruning you will not see the fruit you otherwise would have Hebrews 12:11.

The call and commission of Jeremiah Jeremiah 1:1-10

 

  In the study that we have been doing on Experiencing God, one of the things that is said is that God calls us to work with him and that calling leads to a crisis of belief which will lead us to make adjustments in our lives.  This is obvious in the life of Jeremiah and in his calling and commission here in Jeremiah 1:1-10.  It clearly indicates that God is the one who initiated the call and that God is the one whose words Jeremiah spoke.  This calling resulted in Jeremiah having to make major adjustments because his calling was not going to be an easy one.

   There is evidence that during Jeremiah's ministry he was never married (16:2), his family opposed him (12:6) people in his hometown threatened to kill him (11:19,21) and that he was flogged (20:2; 37:15).  More than once he was imprisoned (32:2; 37:15-16) and he was lowered into a muddy cistern to be left to die (38:6).  Not only this, but he was ridiculed daily and the people did not listen to his words.  It must have been a very discouraging position and I think this is why God himself tells Jeremiah that he is the one who appointed Jeremiah to this position.

    There is plenty of evidence in this passage to show that Jeremiah didn't think he was qualified to do the work that God had called him to do.  He said that he was only a youth alluding to his age.  Moses said similar things when God called him and complained that he was not eloquent of speech (Exodus 4:10).  Yet, God in this vision reaches out to Jeremiah and touches his mouth, symbolizing that he is putting the words that Jeremiah will say in his mouth.  He tells Jeremiah that he has "consecrated" (verse 5) Jeremiah to be a prophet before Jeremiah was even born.  The word "consecrated" means to set apart.

    While I admire Jeremiah and his staying power (his ministry lasted 40 years), I would not want to have been in his position.  By speaking the words of God to the people he put himself in opposition to many of the people he was speaking to.  Not only that, but when Jerusalem was under siege he had to experience all the hardships that everyone was experiencing including drought and famine, along with persecution.  It was a tough calling for Jeremiah and that just tells me that it will not always be easy to do what God calls you to do.  It doesn't guarantee that people will listen or that you will be popular or always have a positive word.  Jeremiah would ultimately be judged as faithful because he did what God told him even though not many responded to his words in Jeremiah's lifetime.  Yet, we have him as an example to us of what being faithful to God in hard times is all about.

  

13 Things that the Holy Spirit does

The Role of the Holy Spirit-

1.        To convict the world concerning sin  John 16:9  The Spirit convicts people of their need for Jesus.

2.        Conviction concerning righteousness John 16:10. The word convict is the word elencho which means to convict, refute, confute, to find fault with, correct

3.      . Convict concerning judgment John 16:11. 

4.      The Spirit has a regenerate wok John 3:5, Titus 3:5 Jesus said “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

5.        The Spirit indwells the Believer  1 Corinthians 6:19  “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”

6.       . The Spirit seals the believer  Ephesians 1:13,14.  He is the pledge of our inheritance

7.        Baptize the Believer  1 Corinthians 12:13; Acts 1:5  The Acts reference specifically refers to the day of Pentecost  The word baptize is baptize in the Greek which means to immerse, to submerge, to cleanse by submerging or dipping.

8.       Infill the believer   Ephesians 5:18; John 7:38  The word “fill” in Ephesians 5:18 is pleroo which means to make full, to fill up, to render full

9.       Empower the believer  Acts 1:8  Jesus said, "but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth."

10.    Lead the believer  Galatian 5:16-18  An example would be when Paul was passing through the Galatian region and was forbidden to speak the word in Asia  Acts 16:6,

11.  Administer the spirits gifts of the believer  1 Corinthians 12:1-11 The Spirit distributes the gifts of his Spirit for the “common good” verse 7

12.   Teaches the believer  John 14:26, 16:13-14  The Spirits points to Christ and reminds the believer of what Jesus taught and said John 15:26. He glorifies Christ.

13.    The Spirit intercedes for us in prayer according to the will of God Romans 8:26  “And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words”