Faithful to his Promise- Part 4
Faithfulness is vital characteristic of God. It is also a key component in any deep and meaningful relationship. Knowing God’s presence is an essential part of His faithfulness.
The book of Joshua begins in a context where Israel knew that God had been with Moses. Moses’ face had literally shone with the glory of God when he came down from the presence of God on Mt. Sinai. Upon Moses’ death, Joshua knew God’s presence was critical to his leadership as well as to the success of God’s plan for Israel. Joshua was in danger of trying to take upon his own shoulders the responsibility that belonged to God. Joshua had already witnessed the people’s response to Moses. Joshua needed to know that God was with him.
We can feel like Joshua. We know difficulty both from the outside as well as the inside. It’s the inside battle that looms the largest. We know what we are not. We are aware of our weakness and feelings of inadequacy. Joshua also wrestled with the fear of being alone, of losing God (Joshua 1:5). He faced the fear of wondering if people would follow him after Moses’ great leadership (vv.5-9). Joshua faced the fear of failure and the tendency toward discouragement as he recognized his weaknesses (vv.6-9). We too know that we have opposition and we need to know that God is with us. God’s presence is what makes His people distinct. Without His presence who are we? Ephesians 2:22 proclaims we are the dwelling of His Spirit. We are a people of the Spirit and Jesus sent His Spirit to fill, empower and teach us and to make real God’s presence with us.
God reassured Joshua twice by telling Joshua that He would be with him (vv. 5,9). There are two things to note about God’s assurance. Firstly, God said, “as I was with Moses, so will I be with you, I will not fail you nor forsake you” (Josh. 1:5). The Hebrew word for “fail” here means to relax or lose focus, to become distracted or drawn away. God is saying to Joshua, “I am not slack. I do not relax where my children and promise are concerned. You are at the very center of My attention.”
Another noteworthy thing about God’s faithfulness is discovered in the word forsake. It means to leave, lose, forsake or neglect. Many of us lose things, perhaps our keys, a checkbook, or a cell phone. Ever wish that like your head, which you might lose if it were not attached, you could somehow attach things to yourself? What God is saying is that you are attached to Him, bound to the heart of God by cords of love. God is telling Joshua, “I’m not going to let loose of you; I’ll not forsake you.” In good and bad times we are bound to Him. The writer of Hebrews reminds us of this when discussing our attitude towards material goods. “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money; being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5).
Slow down and consider the scope of God’s assurance being expressed here to Joshua and to us. God tells Joshua that He will be with him, “wherever you go” (v.9). We are a people of movement. Wherever your feet are and wherever you step, God is saying, “I’ll be there.” There has never been a time in your life that God wasn’t there. From the day you were formed in your mother’s womb to the first day of school, every moment God has been there.
Regardless of where you are at today, God is saying, “I’m not going to take My eyes off you. I’ve bound you to Myself and in every step of your life, I’ll be there.” This is why we will inherit the Lord’s promises to us. It’s not because of us, but rather it’s because of God.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
THE FAITHFUL PROMISE-MAKER
Faithful to His Promise- Part 3
The value of a promise is directly contingent upon the integrity of the one who makes the promise. Time is not the issue, one’s own inadequacy is not the issue and lack of visible resources is not the issue. God and His promise is the issue.
God’s people are called to entrust themselves to Him. As God’s chosen people, Israel was born out of God’s promise. God told Abraham that he and his descendents would receive an inheritance. Now move forward and we find Joshua and Israel about to enter a promised land full of obstacles and resistance. Much time had transpired since God first gave the promise to Abraham.
Consider the whole process and time span of God’s promise to Abraham. Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, went to Egypt with his family, including Joseph, and they numbered about 70 people. As their numbers grew the Egyptians became afraid of them and enslaved them, however the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew. The taskmasters made their work hard and they cried out to God. God’s promise seemed far away.
However, God sent them Moses and under God’s powerful hand, Moses did the impossible and brought them out of slavery. Under God’s direction Moses gave them their constitution, bylaws and culture. They became a people with identity and destiny. Yet the people were complainers, doubters, quitters and constantly fell into unbelief. Even Moses became discouraged! At one point, they even reach the promised land and having turned back in unbelief, spent 40 years in the wilderness. However, two men stood on the promise and said, “Let’s go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it!” (Numbers 13:30). How do you suppose Joshua and Caleb felt during the 40 years still waiting on the promise? They did not give up because they were convinced of who they were, a people of promise, and that God was a God faithful to His promise.
It’s vital to see the faithfulness of God in receiving His promise. Moses died but just because Moses died didn’t mean the plans of God were dead. God reminds Joshua that the promise is dependent upon the God who gave it. God’s promise is bound to His divine nature. Twice God reminds Joshua that He is the divine giver (Joshua 1:2-3).
A few years ago, Simon Pettit, who was one of our outstanding Newfrontiers leaders in Africa, died. One day Terry Virgo and John Lanferman will die. However the promise is not dead. It’s about who God is.
We are on a journey to lay hold of the promise of God to us. He is faithful to His promise to us. He will supply all that is necessary in order that we receive the inheritance.
The value of a promise is directly contingent upon the integrity of the one who makes the promise. Time is not the issue, one’s own inadequacy is not the issue and lack of visible resources is not the issue. God and His promise is the issue.
God’s people are called to entrust themselves to Him. As God’s chosen people, Israel was born out of God’s promise. God told Abraham that he and his descendents would receive an inheritance. Now move forward and we find Joshua and Israel about to enter a promised land full of obstacles and resistance. Much time had transpired since God first gave the promise to Abraham.
Consider the whole process and time span of God’s promise to Abraham. Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, went to Egypt with his family, including Joseph, and they numbered about 70 people. As their numbers grew the Egyptians became afraid of them and enslaved them, however the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew. The taskmasters made their work hard and they cried out to God. God’s promise seemed far away.
However, God sent them Moses and under God’s powerful hand, Moses did the impossible and brought them out of slavery. Under God’s direction Moses gave them their constitution, bylaws and culture. They became a people with identity and destiny. Yet the people were complainers, doubters, quitters and constantly fell into unbelief. Even Moses became discouraged! At one point, they even reach the promised land and having turned back in unbelief, spent 40 years in the wilderness. However, two men stood on the promise and said, “Let’s go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it!” (Numbers 13:30). How do you suppose Joshua and Caleb felt during the 40 years still waiting on the promise? They did not give up because they were convinced of who they were, a people of promise, and that God was a God faithful to His promise.
It’s vital to see the faithfulness of God in receiving His promise. Moses died but just because Moses died didn’t mean the plans of God were dead. God reminds Joshua that the promise is dependent upon the God who gave it. God’s promise is bound to His divine nature. Twice God reminds Joshua that He is the divine giver (Joshua 1:2-3).
A few years ago, Simon Pettit, who was one of our outstanding Newfrontiers leaders in Africa, died. One day Terry Virgo and John Lanferman will die. However the promise is not dead. It’s about who God is.
We are on a journey to lay hold of the promise of God to us. He is faithful to His promise to us. He will supply all that is necessary in order that we receive the inheritance.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
WHAT IS A PROMISE?
Faithful to His Promise- Part 2
Christians have heard that God is faithful to His promises. But what is a promise?
A promise is “a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified.” The word “promise” means “to set forth.” God sets forth what He will do throughout scripture. He told Abraham, “…I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8).
God is a God of promise and we are a people of promise. That is our DNA. We are not like everyone else because we have a prophetic birth, we are a prophetic people and a prophetic movement.
God speaks a word and things move and take shape. Ezekiel spoke God’s word and bones came together. We too are shaped by prophetic promise and this gives us direction. His word shapes and creates movement. We are a movement of a particular DNA and we live with prophetic promise.
We must be careful about taking on Saul’s armor. Let us avoid shaping ourselves after others who seem to be getting results we long for. The Church is a demonstration of the multi-faceted wisdom of God and we move along the road of the grand story to God’s fulfillment of His prophetic intention. However, as players on the field we have a particular DNA.
How do we really know God is faithful? First and foremost, God is true to His promise because you can’t separate His promise from God himself. Here is a personal example. In 1965 God gave me a promise… “I formed you and called you. You are mine. You will experience trials…but I am with you and will bring fruitfulness.” That word shaped me, gave me direction, created movement. Promises are not passively received but actively laid hold of. I took certain steps as a result.
Newfrontiers is also an example of God’s faithfulness as we are a movement of prophetic promise. John Groves, one of our leaders in England, gave a prophecy years ago of seeing a herd of elephants running toward an impenetrable jungle and making a path where none previously existed. “There are no well-worn paths. Together you can accomplish more than you could ever accomplish alone.” This word led to the coming together of a family of churches. Terry Virgo changed of name of his gathered churches from “Coastlands” to “Newfrontiers”.
Throughout the years we been shaped and given direction as God spoke promises to us. Promises are a call to action, direction and movement. They shape us.
God calls things that are not as though they were. We become what he calls us. We are people of promise and we travel on the road to lay hold of His promise.
For example, He calls us a “new creation” when we were the “old creation.” He calls us righteous and we are no longer unrighteous. He calls Peter (a reed shaking in the wind) “a rock.” He calls Abram (a 99 year old with one son, Ishmael) “Abraham, father of multitudes.” He calls Gideon (who is hiding his work) a “mighty warrior” and Jeremiah (a youth) a “prophet to the nations”. The Pharisee Saul becomes an apostle to the Gentiles. A people who were “not a people” are now a people through God’s spoken promise.
Promise is what we become and what we are. As part of God’s people, you are a prophetic person.
Christians have heard that God is faithful to His promises. But what is a promise?
A promise is “a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified.” The word “promise” means “to set forth.” God sets forth what He will do throughout scripture. He told Abraham, “…I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8).
God is a God of promise and we are a people of promise. That is our DNA. We are not like everyone else because we have a prophetic birth, we are a prophetic people and a prophetic movement.
God speaks a word and things move and take shape. Ezekiel spoke God’s word and bones came together. We too are shaped by prophetic promise and this gives us direction. His word shapes and creates movement. We are a movement of a particular DNA and we live with prophetic promise.
We must be careful about taking on Saul’s armor. Let us avoid shaping ourselves after others who seem to be getting results we long for. The Church is a demonstration of the multi-faceted wisdom of God and we move along the road of the grand story to God’s fulfillment of His prophetic intention. However, as players on the field we have a particular DNA.
How do we really know God is faithful? First and foremost, God is true to His promise because you can’t separate His promise from God himself. Here is a personal example. In 1965 God gave me a promise… “I formed you and called you. You are mine. You will experience trials…but I am with you and will bring fruitfulness.” That word shaped me, gave me direction, created movement. Promises are not passively received but actively laid hold of. I took certain steps as a result.
Newfrontiers is also an example of God’s faithfulness as we are a movement of prophetic promise. John Groves, one of our leaders in England, gave a prophecy years ago of seeing a herd of elephants running toward an impenetrable jungle and making a path where none previously existed. “There are no well-worn paths. Together you can accomplish more than you could ever accomplish alone.” This word led to the coming together of a family of churches. Terry Virgo changed of name of his gathered churches from “Coastlands” to “Newfrontiers”.
Throughout the years we been shaped and given direction as God spoke promises to us. Promises are a call to action, direction and movement. They shape us.
God calls things that are not as though they were. We become what he calls us. We are people of promise and we travel on the road to lay hold of His promise.
For example, He calls us a “new creation” when we were the “old creation.” He calls us righteous and we are no longer unrighteous. He calls Peter (a reed shaking in the wind) “a rock.” He calls Abram (a 99 year old with one son, Ishmael) “Abraham, father of multitudes.” He calls Gideon (who is hiding his work) a “mighty warrior” and Jeremiah (a youth) a “prophet to the nations”. The Pharisee Saul becomes an apostle to the Gentiles. A people who were “not a people” are now a people through God’s spoken promise.
Promise is what we become and what we are. As part of God’s people, you are a prophetic person.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Faithful to His Promise
I want to discuss God’s faithfulness. Christians today are often exhorted to be faithful to God in sermons, books, etc; however, I’d like to focus on God’s faithfulness to His promises. In fact, knowing this is key to our being faithful. One must know God clearly and accurately in order to have a radical life that displays trust in Him. I believe we can uncover God’s faithfulness in the life of Joshua, Moses’ “right hand man”.
Joshua 1 reveals God’s people in a critical time of transition. Joshua has been Moses’ servant but God now comes and clearly speaks to Joshua, “Moses my servant is dead” (v.2). God then tells Joshua, “Now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people to the land which I am giving to them…” This is a statement of responsibility. Leadership is taking responsibility. God is basically saying, “Joshua, you are the man! I have things yet to be accomplished. The land of promise has to be laid hold of.”
Joshua is in a difficult position. It would be difficult to follow Moses! Imagine taking leadership of a people who are accustomed to having a leader that received his call from a burning bush, or could cast down a stick and have it turn into a snake and then pick it up and it becomes a stick again. Imagine following a man who could stretch out that same stick and divide a sea…a man who could get water out of a rock when people were thirsty. Moses was educated, royalty, palace trained.
Also remember these same people, even with such an outstanding leader, were known as a grumbling group. They ended up complaining, backsliding and wishing they were back where they came from time and time again.
Three times God told Joshua to “be strong, and courageous” (vv. 6,7,9). Courage is a vital component of being a Christian and being a leader. I once heard a story about a man who bragged that he had cut off the tail of a man-eating lion with his pocketknife. When asked why he hadn’t cut off the lion’s head, the man replied, “Someone had already done that.”
Joshua’s lion was still intact. One must face the lions that challenge our commitment to follow Christ. One summer evening, during a violent thunderstorm, a mother was tucking her small boy into bed. She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, “Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?” The mother gave him a reassuring hug and replied, “I can’t dear. I have to sleep with Daddy.” A long silence was followed by a shaky little voice, “That big sissy.”
Sometimes we feel like a big sissy. Our inadequacies demand to be the focus and we, along with our inadequacy, become the issue. However neither Joshua, nor the task at hand, nor the people were the issue.
The Central Figure is God.
The fact is this story is not really about Joshua. The lead character of this story is GOD (vv. 3-4). It was God who had chosen Moses and then Joshua to lead this people into the land of promise. It was God who had made a promise over 400 years earlier to Abraham that his descendents would receive the land for an inheritance. These people were people of promise. The first assurance Joshua received is that the central figure in “real life” is God. This is the key starting place of genuine faith.
Joshua 1 reveals God’s people in a critical time of transition. Joshua has been Moses’ servant but God now comes and clearly speaks to Joshua, “Moses my servant is dead” (v.2). God then tells Joshua, “Now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people to the land which I am giving to them…” This is a statement of responsibility. Leadership is taking responsibility. God is basically saying, “Joshua, you are the man! I have things yet to be accomplished. The land of promise has to be laid hold of.”
Joshua is in a difficult position. It would be difficult to follow Moses! Imagine taking leadership of a people who are accustomed to having a leader that received his call from a burning bush, or could cast down a stick and have it turn into a snake and then pick it up and it becomes a stick again. Imagine following a man who could stretch out that same stick and divide a sea…a man who could get water out of a rock when people were thirsty. Moses was educated, royalty, palace trained.
Also remember these same people, even with such an outstanding leader, were known as a grumbling group. They ended up complaining, backsliding and wishing they were back where they came from time and time again.
Three times God told Joshua to “be strong, and courageous” (vv. 6,7,9). Courage is a vital component of being a Christian and being a leader. I once heard a story about a man who bragged that he had cut off the tail of a man-eating lion with his pocketknife. When asked why he hadn’t cut off the lion’s head, the man replied, “Someone had already done that.”
Joshua’s lion was still intact. One must face the lions that challenge our commitment to follow Christ. One summer evening, during a violent thunderstorm, a mother was tucking her small boy into bed. She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, “Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?” The mother gave him a reassuring hug and replied, “I can’t dear. I have to sleep with Daddy.” A long silence was followed by a shaky little voice, “That big sissy.”
Sometimes we feel like a big sissy. Our inadequacies demand to be the focus and we, along with our inadequacy, become the issue. However neither Joshua, nor the task at hand, nor the people were the issue.
The Central Figure is God.
The fact is this story is not really about Joshua. The lead character of this story is GOD (vv. 3-4). It was God who had chosen Moses and then Joshua to lead this people into the land of promise. It was God who had made a promise over 400 years earlier to Abraham that his descendents would receive the land for an inheritance. These people were people of promise. The first assurance Joshua received is that the central figure in “real life” is God. This is the key starting place of genuine faith.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The Presence of the Future: Part 4
THE PRESENCE OF THE NATIONS
We see that God’s presence not only marks His people but the Holy Spirit is the one who stirs His followers to go to every nation with the good news of the kingdom. This is no small task as we see the diversity of nations and cultures today. Every major city on the planet has multiple cultures within its boundaries. The last time we see the nations with one language is Genesis 10. In Genesis 11, the Tower of Babel brings divided tongues, which in turn divides and scatters mankind. This encounter reveals that man attempting to save himself results in racial and social hostility and destruction of human community.
In Acts 2, God came to create a new people, to empower them and to show them His goodness. First, barriers between the races come down. When Jesus was crucified, God tore the dividing curtain in two and we now have access through Jesus. Now as He fills the Church with the Spirit, the sin division which kept nations separated is torn as well. The first sermon was preached in all these different languages to demonstrate that God has come and reversed the curse of Babel and reconnected earth’s community.
The power of the Spirit demotes our nationality and race so that we see ourselves as God’s one family, reconnecting those who were separate. A person in Christ from another culture now has more in common with you than someone who does not know Jesus in your own culture. When God’s Spirit is working in the Church, you get along with people you normally would not. Your attitude is changed toward your money. Your identity, your possessions, and your culture are all transformed.
As Christ followers, we must continue to embrace the living presence of God in our own lives, our churches, our communities and ultimately the nations. The Spirit of God brings us into the presence of the nations, the presence of the future and the presence of the Lord Himself. Have you been filled with the Spirit since you believed? Are you now walking in the fullness of the Spirit? The Spirit has created a strong, new community. This community is overwhelmed with a revelation of God’s goodness that motivates us to pursue those who are yet outside of Jesus.
We see that God’s presence not only marks His people but the Holy Spirit is the one who stirs His followers to go to every nation with the good news of the kingdom. This is no small task as we see the diversity of nations and cultures today. Every major city on the planet has multiple cultures within its boundaries. The last time we see the nations with one language is Genesis 10. In Genesis 11, the Tower of Babel brings divided tongues, which in turn divides and scatters mankind. This encounter reveals that man attempting to save himself results in racial and social hostility and destruction of human community.
In Acts 2, God came to create a new people, to empower them and to show them His goodness. First, barriers between the races come down. When Jesus was crucified, God tore the dividing curtain in two and we now have access through Jesus. Now as He fills the Church with the Spirit, the sin division which kept nations separated is torn as well. The first sermon was preached in all these different languages to demonstrate that God has come and reversed the curse of Babel and reconnected earth’s community.
The power of the Spirit demotes our nationality and race so that we see ourselves as God’s one family, reconnecting those who were separate. A person in Christ from another culture now has more in common with you than someone who does not know Jesus in your own culture. When God’s Spirit is working in the Church, you get along with people you normally would not. Your attitude is changed toward your money. Your identity, your possessions, and your culture are all transformed.
As Christ followers, we must continue to embrace the living presence of God in our own lives, our churches, our communities and ultimately the nations. The Spirit of God brings us into the presence of the nations, the presence of the future and the presence of the Lord Himself. Have you been filled with the Spirit since you believed? Are you now walking in the fullness of the Spirit? The Spirit has created a strong, new community. This community is overwhelmed with a revelation of God’s goodness that motivates us to pursue those who are yet outside of Jesus.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The Presence of the Future: Part 3
THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD
God’s presence is what marks His people. Every time God shows up in the Old Testament, there is wind or fire. God meets with Job in a whirlwind, with Abraham as a burning torch and with Moses as a burning bush. At the “first Pentecost” on Mt. Sinai, God came down in windstorm with smoke and lightning.
Now consider the presence of the Lord at Pentecost with a sound of “mighty wind” and “tongues of fire” appearing (Acts 2:2-4). In Acts 2, Pentecost was the living presence of God coming to be with us and show Himself to us. The subjective experience of a transcendent God is vital to God’s people throughout history.
How does this transcendent power come to us? Being filled with the Spirit isn’t an experience with some abstract or naked power like electricity. When the believers are filled at Pentecost, they begin to speak what the Spirit has shown them. What the onlooking crowd can’t get over is revealed at the end of verse 11: “We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” When filled with the Spirit, God’s people declare the wonders of God.
The Spirit fills us and gives truth about God Himself, revealing who He is and what He has done. Christianity is neither mysticism nor rationalism. It is far too mystical for rationalism and far too rational for mysticism. Christianity is a deep experience of a deeply rational truth. God doesn’t merely give us a bare experience but comes to fill us with truth about Himself.
Pentecost is looking back to God descending on the mountain and Moses telling God he wants an experience. Moses wants to see something incredible. This is how most of us come to God. God tells Moses He will let His goodness pass before him. For God to give you an experience of His glory He has to show you who and what He is. God doesn’t allow Moses to see all of His goodness because that would kill Moses. God hides Moses in the cleft of the rock to shelter him and allow the back part of His glory to pass by.
Moses wants an experience of power and God tells Moses that the only way to do that is by telling him who He is. He tells Moses He is “the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands and forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” (Exodus 34:5-8)
However, he also says, “…but who will by no means clear the guilty.” This sounds contradictory. The Lord is telling Moses that His goodness demands that He not clear the guilty. Likewise, a judge in our country can’t wink at some great law being broken. He wouldn’t be a good judge. God is good and therefore can’t clear the guilty. Yet in His goodness He loves to clear the guilty and forgive sinners. His good love and good justice come together in Jesus.
At Pentecost the early church had an experience of God’s Spirit coming in great power that caused them to cry out about the wonders of God. Today, God’s Spirit comes to show us His goodness, who He is and what He has done. The Spirit makes the cross electric!
Moses received a glimpse of God’s back, but now through Christ we are brought face to face with God. God’s Spirit came upon a mountain with Moses but now He comes IN us. The result for those at Pentecost was a passion to declare His goodness to those who are not yet saved. The revelation of God’s goodness eradicates any fear to share Jesus. Let us therefore continue to experience His presence and glory today. May we also have fresh passion to speak the good news of Christ to those we meet.
God’s presence is what marks His people. Every time God shows up in the Old Testament, there is wind or fire. God meets with Job in a whirlwind, with Abraham as a burning torch and with Moses as a burning bush. At the “first Pentecost” on Mt. Sinai, God came down in windstorm with smoke and lightning.
Now consider the presence of the Lord at Pentecost with a sound of “mighty wind” and “tongues of fire” appearing (Acts 2:2-4). In Acts 2, Pentecost was the living presence of God coming to be with us and show Himself to us. The subjective experience of a transcendent God is vital to God’s people throughout history.
How does this transcendent power come to us? Being filled with the Spirit isn’t an experience with some abstract or naked power like electricity. When the believers are filled at Pentecost, they begin to speak what the Spirit has shown them. What the onlooking crowd can’t get over is revealed at the end of verse 11: “We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” When filled with the Spirit, God’s people declare the wonders of God.
The Spirit fills us and gives truth about God Himself, revealing who He is and what He has done. Christianity is neither mysticism nor rationalism. It is far too mystical for rationalism and far too rational for mysticism. Christianity is a deep experience of a deeply rational truth. God doesn’t merely give us a bare experience but comes to fill us with truth about Himself.
Pentecost is looking back to God descending on the mountain and Moses telling God he wants an experience. Moses wants to see something incredible. This is how most of us come to God. God tells Moses He will let His goodness pass before him. For God to give you an experience of His glory He has to show you who and what He is. God doesn’t allow Moses to see all of His goodness because that would kill Moses. God hides Moses in the cleft of the rock to shelter him and allow the back part of His glory to pass by.
Moses wants an experience of power and God tells Moses that the only way to do that is by telling him who He is. He tells Moses He is “the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands and forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” (Exodus 34:5-8)
However, he also says, “…but who will by no means clear the guilty.” This sounds contradictory. The Lord is telling Moses that His goodness demands that He not clear the guilty. Likewise, a judge in our country can’t wink at some great law being broken. He wouldn’t be a good judge. God is good and therefore can’t clear the guilty. Yet in His goodness He loves to clear the guilty and forgive sinners. His good love and good justice come together in Jesus.
At Pentecost the early church had an experience of God’s Spirit coming in great power that caused them to cry out about the wonders of God. Today, God’s Spirit comes to show us His goodness, who He is and what He has done. The Spirit makes the cross electric!
Moses received a glimpse of God’s back, but now through Christ we are brought face to face with God. God’s Spirit came upon a mountain with Moses but now He comes IN us. The result for those at Pentecost was a passion to declare His goodness to those who are not yet saved. The revelation of God’s goodness eradicates any fear to share Jesus. Let us therefore continue to experience His presence and glory today. May we also have fresh passion to speak the good news of Christ to those we meet.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Presence of the Future: Part 2
When the Holy Spirit fills people (like the crowd at Pentecost in Acts 2), those present are brought into the presence of three things:
When the Spirit fills you, you are brought into an eschatological presence. The word “eschaton” means “the last” or “the end.” It is a taste, an experience of what is to come fully in the future. For example, when farmers went out to receive the firstfruits of the summer harvest they could tell what the harvest was going to be that year. The firstfruits showed the laborers what to expect.
God is saying something by filling us with the Spirit.
Romans 8:18-23 “for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
Along with all of creation, we long for this freedom. I look in the mirror and it testifies to my own bodily decay. We long for that day when Jesus comes back and this present world is made new. Creation will be liberated from decay and we will have resurrected bodies on a resurrected earth. The glory of God will come down and make all things new.
Paul writes (Rom. 8:23) “we ourselves… have the firstfruits of the Spirit.” Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit who comes to fill you brings you into the presence of the future glory of heaven. The Spirit gives a taste of the beauty and splendor of God’s glory, a taste of the life, power and joy coming in fullness.
In Romans 8, Paul informs us that we’ve been given power beyond our imagination. Every Spirit-filled follower of Jesus is walking around with something under their flesh of far greater value and power than this entire world. The Spirit is eschatological, bringing you into the presence of the future. The Spirit is the firstfruit, the very Spirit of Christ himself.
Do you know what you have? Do you realize what you have been given? We have been given the power of God which today can work against all manner of decay: social, emotional and spiritual. Give up small ambitions and have hope beyond your imagination for your ministry, church and city.
We have a taste of what’s to come—where there are no more tears of pain and suffering, no more groaning under the burden of sin. It may only be a taste but it’s powerful beyond imagination. We can confront social issues, poverty, injustice, lost humanity because we have this firstfruit power.
Jesus declared, “You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses…to the uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8)
Do you know who you are? Do you know what you have?
- The presence of the future
- The presence of the Lord
- The presence of the nations
When the Spirit fills you, you are brought into an eschatological presence. The word “eschaton” means “the last” or “the end.” It is a taste, an experience of what is to come fully in the future. For example, when farmers went out to receive the firstfruits of the summer harvest they could tell what the harvest was going to be that year. The firstfruits showed the laborers what to expect.
God is saying something by filling us with the Spirit.
Romans 8:18-23 “for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
Along with all of creation, we long for this freedom. I look in the mirror and it testifies to my own bodily decay. We long for that day when Jesus comes back and this present world is made new. Creation will be liberated from decay and we will have resurrected bodies on a resurrected earth. The glory of God will come down and make all things new.
Paul writes (Rom. 8:23) “we ourselves… have the firstfruits of the Spirit.” Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit who comes to fill you brings you into the presence of the future glory of heaven. The Spirit gives a taste of the beauty and splendor of God’s glory, a taste of the life, power and joy coming in fullness.
In Romans 8, Paul informs us that we’ve been given power beyond our imagination. Every Spirit-filled follower of Jesus is walking around with something under their flesh of far greater value and power than this entire world. The Spirit is eschatological, bringing you into the presence of the future. The Spirit is the firstfruit, the very Spirit of Christ himself.
Do you know what you have? Do you realize what you have been given? We have been given the power of God which today can work against all manner of decay: social, emotional and spiritual. Give up small ambitions and have hope beyond your imagination for your ministry, church and city.
We have a taste of what’s to come—where there are no more tears of pain and suffering, no more groaning under the burden of sin. It may only be a taste but it’s powerful beyond imagination. We can confront social issues, poverty, injustice, lost humanity because we have this firstfruit power.
Jesus declared, “You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses…to the uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8)
Do you know who you are? Do you know what you have?
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