Matthew 20:22 – you don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink
Often we don’t know what we are asking the Lord. We’ve all seen or read stories of a genie, “I wish for…” And we all think, “wouldn’t it be great if I had _______________”. But sometimes the literal fulfillment might not be what we thought. There is an important principle, “every change, changes every THING.”
There is an “old school” way of praying that we need to come back to, “Lord if it be your will.” “Lord, I’d like you to move in this way, but bring about your best.” How did Jesus pray, “not my will but yours be done.” There is a slice of Christian Culture that says, “If I just have enough faith.” They believe that somehow it all comes down to man’s faith. But in that scenario we are assuming that 1) We know best 2) we know the by-product. It then is always important that we have faith, 1) in God’s Ability, 2) in God’s knowledge, 3) in God’s wisdom, 4) in God’s goodness, 5) to follow and trust God with the outcome.
So, here Jesus says, “you don’t know what you are asking.” When you back up to v20, Momma Zebedee brings her boys to Jesus and says, “Promise that my boys can sit on your right and left in the Kingdom.”
And Jesus says, “You don’t know what you are asking.”
Kingdom reward DOES have earthly struggles. What she asked is like me saying, “promise me that I can WIN the Marathon I just signed up for, my first.” Yeah, the problem is, there is a price to be paid to prepare. There is an effort necessary to complete that task. I may not have the capacity for that task, even IF I do the work. I know of marathon runners that HAVE the capacity to do the pace needed to win, and yet still get to a place in the race when their bodies quit, and they have passed out from the exhaustion.
Jesus asks, “are you able to drink the cup” – Mark adds, “to be baptized with the baptism which I am baptized” – Can you be immersed with what it takes? And surprisingly, a bit ignorantly, if not arrogantly – James and John answer, “Yes we are” – mighty bold statement. They were ready, at least they thought they were.
Then Jesus makes a surprising statement – “you WILL indeed drink my cup.”
boys, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you WILL drink the cup of suffering, the bad news is the results will be different that you are hoping or thinking.
Following Jesus is about – Following JESUS, not about where we get to sit. Being In the Kingdom is the result of the work of Christ, and our faith filled reception of it, anything extra is, well, extra.
Jesus says, “to sit at my right or left is not mine to give, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
Wait, so if I obey, and follow Christ, and prepare, and I’m good at what I do… I don’t get a mega church, and big earthly success? Not Necessarily
So, you are saying that God has a plan, a purpose, and my path doesn’t mean the same results as everyone else? Not Necessarily
Jesus had already told them in Matthew 19:28 that they were going to have Twelve Thrones to judge Israel. So they had a huge promised task and reward, the Sons of Zebedee just wanted assurance of greater notoriety, “hey mom, can you help us?”
The Call is to Deny Self and follow him. The certainty then is that the work of Christ has provided all we need for life and godliness, so any additional outcome, besides Heaven and inclusion in the Kingdom is wholly on the purposes and plans of God.
Jesus, divine yet incarnate, subordinated himself to the Father, he relied on the power of the Holy Spirit, so what are WE to do? At the beginning of THIS chapter, Jesus tells the parable of workers who worked, full days, part days, and just a few minutes and they all got what? They all got the same reward. So then, we are quibbling about recognition not even reward, so regardless, let it go.
This makes the other 10 disciples angry, and Jesus has to sit them ALL down in vv25-28. Service isn’t about Sovereignty but about Surrender, Subjugation. Jesus says, “the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them… it must NOT be THAT way among YOU. On the contrary, whoever wants to be great must be a servant… The Son of Man did not come to BE Served, but to Serve, and to give his life.
Giving of my life doesn’t just mean to die. It means to release control and recognition, for the sake of a greater dominion.
Let me add one thing:
Don’t worry if there will be enough reward and recognition for you in Heaven, there WILL be. There will be reward, there will be crowns, there will be blessing, and it will be MORE than we can imagine. But when we get there and when we receive it, our response will be to feel unworthy, and to use whatever we receive as “worship tools”, throwing them at the feet of the One who provided it all
Jeremiah 9 – actually, back up to the end of chapter 8. As Jeremiah laments the self-imposed trouble in Judah, because of their unfaithfulness, he asks:
Is there no balm in Gilead
v14 why are you just sitting there. Gather together… the Lord has destroyed us… because we have sinned against the Lord. It says horses are coming… snakes are going to be sent that cannot be charmed. Then he says in v18 my joy has flown away; grief has settled… my heart is sick v22 … is there no balm in Gilead… no physicians there? The understanding is that there IS medicine, there ARE doctors… So why has the healing of my dear people not come about?
And so then the weeping prophet, the tearful teacher starts ch9 “if my head were a flowing fountain of tears, I would weep day and night… v2 If only I had a traveler’s lodging place in the wilderness
Sometimes we are so full of empty things, we can’t experience true satisfaction. And then Jeremiah makes his accusations about their unfaithfulness, and the result of their selfish sin and in v12 he asks, who is wise enough to understand thing? V13 The Lord said, “It is because they abandoned my instruction, which i set before them, and did not obey my voice or walk according to it.
So then, in this understanding, I picture Jesus in John 7:37-38 On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood and cried out…
No wait… realize this is a weeklong festival of food offerings. Truthfully it was supposed to be seven days of offerings, but I am guessing that the “worship” side of this had been lost on them. This was the Feast of the Tabernacles. They are camping in tents, worshipping with food, remembering what God did for them. James Freeman and Harold Chadwick in New Manners and Customs of the Bible say that eveery day a priest would lead a procession to the pool of Siloam and with a gold pitcher would draw water. There would be singers and musicians and upon returning to the temple there would be 3 Shofar blasts and they would pour the water into a bowl on the western side of the altar. It had holes and the water would run out on the altar. It was to remember 1) water provided in the desert 2) the promise of “latter rain” (blessing to come) 3) the coming of the Holy Spirit when the Messiah came.
In this feast, they did this every day, that was pretty, but it didn’t satisfy their thirst. And from Siloam to the Temple is a little walk and uphill. I can see this Seventh Day… the whole fanfare… then the Three Blasts of Trumpet… And then the voice of Jesus, at the perfect silent spot, “is anyone thirst?… Oh my, doesn’t Jesus know timing? If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink –
pino = to drink = is in the present, active, imperative– that tells me this is saying “you must, right now, actively DRINK”.
The one… – that means this is a possibility but must acted upon.
the one who believes (pisteuo) – it’s not about knowing, but beleiving, entrusting, placing faith – so get in, get on, get under, get with – ME (Jesus) then, as the scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him – Oh my yes. We ARE sick. We NEED medicine, need a physician, we need our thirst quenched. Yes, the horses of warring armies are coming, the snakes are biting, and it is our own fault
But there is a balm in Gilead – Do you know that Spiritual? I can hear it in my head…
there is a balm in Gilead, there is a balm in Gilead… Jesus is thebalm in Gilead…
Jesus is the Messiah that would come and bring the gift of the Holy Spirit. And that water was poured that day on the altar and then it was gone. And no one had their thirst quenched and Siloam was a little walk away, but Jesus said “believe in me and I will put living water IN YOU
One other thing to notice vv40+ many said “this is the Messiah” and other said “The Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee” and v43 says the crowd was divided” Then v53 days each one went to his own house and 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives – Oh my, Jesus says if anyone believes … but everyone went home … No one invited Jesus home
And my take my thoughts back to Jeremiah 9:13 the Lord said it is because they abandoned me
Jesus is the answer to life, to death, to hope over hopelessness, to thirst being quenched, to the gift of the Holy Spirit springing up within us.
Come, Believe, Right Now, You Must, unless you don’t want life, satisfaction, hope, and love.
When death comes, when tragedy strikes, there is an opportunity to see something we would not have seen otherwise. Most of the time, what is revealed is not something “new”, just unexperienced or unbelieved.
John 11:40 – Jesus said to her, “didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?
If You Believe -(then) You would See the Glory of God
We must note first that Jesus references previous teaching, revelation – “Didn’t I tell you…”
Everything we hear of God, read in his Word, experience in prayer and worship, is preparing us for faith; faith that changes us, faith that moves us, faith that reveals the glory of God. Sometimes we just aren’t paying attention. We aren’t applying the truth. We are stuck in previous understanding. We are clouded by our circumstances, and he says, “didn’t I tell you, haven’t we been over this?”
Now we don’t here specifically which teaching the Master is referring to, but she did. It was so common as we walk with him, he teaches us. Most of his teaching with his disciples weren’t sit down, sermon on the mount moments, most were just along the way. So, have we been paying attention?
Go back in chapter 11. When word reached Jesus that Lazarus was sick, he told the 12, “this will not end in death… but that the Son… glorified.” He told them, “Lazarus is asleep, I’m going to wake him.” The disciples weren’t following what he was saying, so he said, “He is dead. I’m glad… so that you may believe”. Faith is the goal.
Then he arrives at Mary and Martha’s house, and Martha is saying, “if only you had been here, he wouldn’t have died.” Martha had faith, but her faith had a GPS location. If you had been HERE, you could have done something. And Jesus says, “your brother will rise again.” And Martha confesses her theological position, the right position. She says, “I know… in the resurrection.” Not everyone believed in a Resurrection. The Sadducees did NOT believe in a Resurrection which is why they were so SAD, You See. (Oh come on, laugh or groan but enjoy it) Martha had the right theological position, but don’t let your good theology get in the way of believing God for more.
And Jesus says let me stretch your good theology, YES there is a coming resurrection from the dead, but “I AM the Resurrection and the Life… The One who believe… will live… never die… do YOU believe.”
And she responds, “Yes Lord, I believe you are the Messiah”. Ok, again, good Theology, but that’s not what Jesus asked. He didn’t ask her if he were the promised anointed one, but did she believe HE was the Resurrection, The Life.
And after her theological statement, which was the wrong answer, she walks off.
Of course, the famous verse, “Jesus wept” – don’t forget, he feels, he hurts, he knows, he cares. Then we get to the tomb, v39 “Remove the stone” i.e. “I’m getting ready to do something, if you want in, if you believe.”
And Martha says, “Oh Lord… it stinks… it’s been 4 days… the opportunity is gone.” and then he says… “Didn’t I tell you… If You Believe… you will see the glory of God“
So much of our experience is shallowed by our lack of faith. What then is the “glory of God”? I love this discussion and we can spend a lot of time there, but let me paint a simple picture, a picture that God gives. The word, in Greek, is doxa, I love it. The word in simplest form means “Reputation”. So, then what is God’s reputation? Well, let’s go to the source. In Exodus 33 and 34. Moses begs to see the glory. God says, “well you can’t but I’ll show you my back, but then God does much more”. The Hebrew word for glory is the word “chabod” and in its root sense they tell me that it means “weight”. So God, covering Moses with his hand, walks by him and declares his Reputation in Exodus 34.
The Lord, The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love and truth. Maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. He will not leave the guilty unpunished.
That’s the glory of God – and Moses fell down on the ground and worshiped him. Oh the glory of Justice and Grace. Grace is not because he looks the other way for a select few, no, it is because the fullness of Justice was poured out on Christ on the cross – guilt was punished. So, for all who believe and receive it is available and life eternal is the result. If you believe, then the goodness of his glory is available, and life is the result.
v41 – they removed the stone. The action of faith is NOT a work that secures salvation, it is just to remove the obstacle of unbelieve. If they don’t move the stone, then Jesus doesn’t do the work. If they DO remove the stone, THEY still can’t raise Lazarus, but Jesus can, and it happens according to their faith. God will do what he will do, it’s just a matter of if we get to join him.
Lazarus come out… unwrap him and let him go
v45 therefore many… who … saw did believe
My belief reveals the glory of God
My belief releases God’s power in my circumstance
My belief inspires others to believe as well
What has God been telling you? Are you paying attention? If we believe, then we will see the glory of God. It may not be what you wanted or expected, but what God wants, and it is always for His Glory
We are NOT the END, Jesus is. I know that’s hard for us to accept sometimes. We play a role along the way, but Jesus is the power, Jesus focus, Jesus is the destination, Jesus is our reward.
Matthew 3:8–12 (CSB) — 8 Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. 9 And don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”
Pretty strong word from John The Baptist here. This word is for the religious elite, Sadducees and Pharisees, who think they are the story, the power, and the glory, but they were not, nor are we in the church either. In my message Sunday, I said the only way to see a sunrise after the sunset is to turn around. In the verse that precedes these, John calls them “offspring of snakes”. They had come to his Baptism, don’t know if they wanted it or just wanted to see what the commotion was, most likely the latter, but he responds in v8 that he wanted to “see fruit consistent with repentance” (that is a change of mind). There is only hope if a true desire for change is present.
v9 don’t presume (to have an opinion/expectation) We can be very presumptuous in the church can’t we? We up a steeple and a sign and we think we are somebody that God needs. Praise God he wants us, and uses us, but he doesn’t need us. Oh come on, “we are the First Baptist Church”, “We are the Covenant Presbyterian”, “We are Grace Church.” Ok, good for you, maybe. But no one comes unless the Father draws them, the Spirit empowers then, in the name of Jesus the Son. John says, God doesn’t need YOU to fulfill his plan. If he wants “sons” for Abraham, he can raise up those from these stones. He doesn’t NEED us.
v10 He is cutting down “church trees” if you will, if they don’t produce good fruit. kalos karpos – Beautiful Fruit / Crops. Notice, it doesn’t say “plentiful” but “beautiful”. So, it’s not about how BIG our harvest is, but if it is a God Move, Christ Glorifying, Spirit empowered produce coming from the tree that bears his name. If NOT, it is thrown in the fire and burned. We aren’t talking about hell here I think, we are talking about trash. Even churches have a timeline, a shelf life, and if we stop producing beautiful fruit, he may clear the way for someone else who WILL produce beautiful fruit.
v11 – water for repentance – our job is NOT to be the end, the power, even the change agent, but our job is to call to repentance, to walk with them as they come to Jesus. And then John says, the one who is coming is more powerful than I. He is more worthy. Joh says, “I can’t even tie his shoes. What makes WORTH? Position, Power, Product, and Purpose. John is saying, “hey I just get people wet. I just encourage them to turn around, but HE / Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and Fire.
Oh yes Lord, there is a place for the church, but it’s to clear the way for Jesus. And when we do that, then he blesses us and we relish our role.
I was reading from Isaiah 4 yesterday – Isaiah 4:4–6 (CSB) — 4 when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodguilt from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. 5 Then the Lord will create a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night over the entire site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies. For there will be a canopy over all the glory, 6 and there will be a shelter for shade from heat by day and a refuge and shelter from storm and rain.
Do you see the beauty of what happens when we settle into our role, bring people to repentance, introduce them to Jesus and he makes all things new? Then, from our place of fulfilling our role, we because a “cloud of smoke” a “flame of fire” i.e. we become a place that points to the presence and glory of God in Christ Jesus. And we become a shade, a canopy over the glory. We become a refuge and shelter where people run to find the answer and that is Jesus.
v12 says he has a winnowing shovel (fork) – Again, it’s not our job to do all the separating, but tossing it up in the air and allowing the wind of the spirit to do the separating, the good falls, the useless is blown away – wheat and chaff separated, and God brings in the good, and he gets rid of the bad, sent to the fire of waste.
We must consistently be reminded church that we are being shaped and formed. We have been made alive, but we are NOT the power, not the purpose, not even the precedent – we are just calling people to turn around and come to Jesus. We are just telling people what God has done in us and inviting them to know it for themselves.
I remember hearing of a man blind by cataracts on a mission field. He was brought to a missionary Doctor who performed surgery and gave him his sight. Now able to see, he traveled back home more than 100 miles. Sometime later, here he came – former blind man – now with sight. With him was a long line of blind people, all holding on to a rope, being led by the former blind man back to the place where they could gain sight. That’s it! We can’t make ourselves see, nor anyone else, but seeing, we can bring others back to where we got our sight and that is our purpose.
Proverbs 24:27 Complete your outdoor work, prepare your field; afterward, build your house
We must remember these are proverbs and not promises. They are mean to instruct not give inheritance. These are teachings from a father to sons, they lead to the best possibilities for success. The following of these principles give us best case scenarios. They also are a collection, each one stands alone, though they could be grouped by topic, but the verses stand alone for the most part.
There is much instruction here about societal wisdom in Proverbs 24. Back up to the top. “Don’t envy the evil”…because they lead to trouble. v2 A house is built by wisdom…” v3 “by knowledge the rooms are filled with… treasures.” v5 “a wise warrior is better than a strong one…” v11 “rescue those being taken to death… save those stumbling toward slaughter.” v13 “eat honey… it is good” v14 “wisdom is the same for you…”
I’ve always known and liked v16, “though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin.” Point being, both the righteous and the wicked fall… but the “righteous” one gets up and keeps going toward better things, but wicked ra’ah – it means “to pasture, tend graze, consume.” Righteous living is found in getting back up, “we’re marching to Zion”, we are coming after Christ, so we don’t stay in the fall. The wicked stumble and they “pasture” there, they stay and feed in their failing.
v17 “don’t gloat over the evil falling...” v20 “the evil has no future… their lamp will go out…” Then there are words about justice and blessing. Many of these proverbs in chapter 24 are 2 verse proverbs and there is a correlation among them about wise living.
Then v27, for me, rises above them with instruction about Order. Everything has a proper order. In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul says, (v20) “…Don’t be childish in your thinking, but be infants in regard to evil and adult in your thinking…” Then 14:33 says, “God is NOT a God of disorder but of peace…”
So, with that instruction in mind, in this collection of wisdom proverbs… Solomon says, Complete, Prepare, Build
First – Complete the Outdoor Work
Second – Prepare the Field
Third – Build the House
Interestingly the first two, Complete and Prepare, are written in the Imperative Tense. Do It, Do It Well, Do It Now, Do It Whether you want to or not. THEN Build. He knows that everyone wants to end, we all want to build, we often have, and we just want different or better or fancier, but we leave the outside stuff undone. So, Solomon says, “let’s get things in order” because when we fail to do things in order, even “success” fails. But after the orderly struggle comes the timely success and reward.
I like the verbs, “complete” = finish – “prepare” = destine – Build = construct, fashion, have offspring, set surely, restore. Then notice the defining calendrical noun, “afterward” = the hind part, or the following part.
Not to belabor the point but drive home the truth, Solomon says complete, finish, the outside work, prepare the field, IMPERATIVELY, i.e. You Must! Then AFTER you have cleared and laid the foundation and destined the property, THEN we can build, from a land called “Afterward”.
I’m mindful of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount about building on sand or on Solid Rock. Everybody wants to build, so Solomon just uses the normal tense for that last instruction, not the imperative tense. But “Complete” (determine, direct, establish) the Outside work = exterior, open, streets, outward. And “Prepare” (destine, make ready) the field = agricultural, battlefield, countryside, ground, soil, territory.
Hmmm… we like to focus on the inside but God says, “yes, I look at the heart, but the outside, the battlefield, the planting field has to be made ready before successful building of the house, which by the way means armory, box, building, facing inward, hall, family.
We want a storehouse, but we have no store goods
We want a building, but we have not people
We want a harvest, but we do no planting
I hear the words, “the Lord is my shepherd… he prepares a table for me…” Phillip Keller says that this is talking about the High Tablelands where the Shepherd takes his sheep for the summer. He had to do a lot of prep work in the months before. He had to clear the land and plant often the right things for the sheep to graze, etc. There is much completion and preparation before moving into the house.
Solomon has encouraged me in the last few days with these words about the importance of FIRST THINGS FIRST. He reminds me that this is imperative and must be in order… THEN
Afterward – the Hind Part, the Following Part – that will be the land, the time, the season, to Build the House. That coming time will be important, but let’s keep it in order… Important Words for us Today.
James 1:4 (CSB) Let endurance have its full effect so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing
(Moffat) Let endurance be a finished product, so that you may be finished and complete, with never a defect
James got a little late start as the brother of Jesus, having grown up around him, yet didn’t believe in him as Savior and Lord until after the resurrection. When he finally believed, resurrection proven, he was all in and his letter is like, “Hi, I’m James…” then he gets right to it.
As an athlete, I relate to this, vv2-3 “consider it a great joy… various trials… the testing of your faith produces endurance.” But they have a purpose… v4 Let Endurance have its full effect… or Moffat says be a finished product. Gaining endurance is important for every athletic endeavor, but not just for the sake of endurance.
So that… you HAVE endurance? NO. So that you have endurance FOR THE TASK, the full effect. The finished product is NOT endurance, but so that you may be mature, be complete, be lacking nothing.
I’ve always been an athlete, but I was never a fan of running. Then a few years ago things happened, I had some surgery, and couldn’t work out or do anything with my shoulder, so I started running on a treadmill. I got into a routine, and it became part of my life. My brother is a marathoner and an ironman, I asked him a few months in, “am I a runner, even though I only run on a treadmill?” He said, “well, you run…” About 10 months later we chatted on Facetime and he said to me, “you look great, you are more fit than ever, and you have ‘runner’s face’”. And I said, “so you are saying, ‘I am a runner.’” He said, “yes, you are a runner.”
My endurance is producing something bigger. So, “let endurance have its full effect.”
Churches are full of people who know a lot and have been through hard struggles, and developed endurance, but is the endurance having its full effect? Is the work moving toward results so that you may be mature, complete, lacking nothing? You may be positionally “perfect” but has it completed something in you? The work has a goal, the endurance has a by-product. What does 2 Corinthians 1:4-7 say? You have affliction and God takes us through it, comforts us in it, “so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction… just as sufferings overflow to us, so also the comfort overflows… affliction is for comfort and salvation… which produces in you patient endurance. Then if you read on Paul says, don’t be unaware that it was more than our strength could handle, and we even thought we might not make it. But we DID… for you, for others, for maturity, Christ has delivered us, and we have hope that he will again! Back to James, he says if you don’t know what to do, ask God and he gives answers.
Brethren, fellow travelers, let this struggle, trials, work, effort, give you endurance… but let the endurance have full effect. Let it reach its end, its purpose, making you what God intended, that you might bring someone along the way with you. God has a finish, and the endurance you have had built in you by what God is taking you through will get you there.
Philippians 3:10-11 My goal is to know him, and the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead
I’ve read and commented on, preached, memorized, and shared these verses more times than I can recall. These verses have been a driving force for my life. I understandably have paid a lot of attention to the process – i.e. to know the power of the resurrection, I must walk in the path of suffering and death.
But this morning, the living active word of God got my attention with something fresh. Most translations begin v10 “that I may …” but the CSB renders that phrase, “my goal is…”
There is a “that” or “so that” behind all that we experience in Christ, so that in the work of God, there is always a goal to be achieved. So, I like this wording, so I backed up behind and then looked after. Paul is giving a personal testimony, before. He talks of his upbringing in the Hebrew faith, his education and training as a Pharisee, but then he shifts in vv8-9 and says, “I have suffered … loss of everything”.
But NOW, I have always seen this as “the resurrection” and “The suffering” and “The death”, all leading to The Power of the Resurrection. But Paul says in v11, that his assumption is that He will BE resurrected, at the end… and he says, “I haven’t already gotten that”. But – “forgetting the past… reaching forward… I pursue the prize promised”.
So what is the GOAL?
Power? Suffering? Death?
NO… Look back at the common denominator… “that I may know… my goal is to know”
HIM… HIM!
Yes, I have a righteousness by faith, and I am positioned IN Christ, BUT I want, right now, to know HIM. the power of HIS resurrection… the fellowship of HIS sufferings… conformed to HIS death… Not just at the end, but TODAY… NOW
Jesus, I received you, and I know you, but I need to KNOW YOU MORE.
So, v7 everything that was a GAIN… all good stuff, but it is nothing, it is of no credit, other than and only that it brings me to and reveals Christ to me.
He is the Answer
He is who I seek
He is my Hope
I want to KNOW – ginosko – not head knowledge but experiential knowledge. Literally it translates here, “to come to know by experience” It is the fullness of knowledge
Oh, some people or things you experience and move on – been there, done that, got the hat. But Jesus, I don’t want to be satisfied in knowing a similar power, or a similar suffering, or a similar death, I want to know YOURS. I want ot know YOU
When you think you’ve learned it all you draw near and realize, I’m only just beginning to see a dim reflection – I want to know Christ MORE.
Is it tough? Yep. Is it painful? Sometimes. Is it beyond value? ABSOLUETLY
My Goal should not be a “divine experience”. My Goal is to KNOW JESUS by Experience, to participate jointly with him and his work, for his glory. He IS the goal, and everything else simply fades away as nothing more than a vehicle toward knowing Christ.
v15 Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. If you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you.
Jeremiah 1:8 says, “do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to rescue you. This is the Lord’s Declaration.
Fear – seems like I have spent a good portion of my ministry talking about fear or the lack thereof. I talk with people about following the plans of God, or dealing with conflict, or addressing a challenge, and the response often begins, “Oh, I’m afraid that ______________”.
I’ve come to the conclusion that fear is based on lies we believe most of the time. We believe, “I can’t”, “I’m alone”, “No one knows”, or “No one cares.”.
Notice in Jeremiah 1; this is the call of Jeremiah. When God calls, the evil one, the Father of Lies, knows that God is at work, that God’s Word is true, and so he comes against us with lies.
Jeremiah 1:4 – the word of the Lord came to me…
Here is truth. Here is an unthwartable plan. v5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb. I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.
BUT
I appreciate the honesty in Jeremiah’s testimony here. “But I protested” – Can’t you hear the great liar whispering into Jeremiah’s ear? “Oh no Lord God!” satan always calls into question the Word of God and the Goodness of God… always… that’s how he got 1/3 of the angels to abandon heaven. It’s how he got Adam and Eve to Fall, and I guess first Lucifer, the lead worshiper in Heaven, had to lie to himself. He lied that God wasn’t good and his Word, his Plans, weren’t right and so he purposed in his heart to rebel. So, here Jeremiah, “Oh no Lord… Look…” Have you ever tried to correct God’s understanding of a situation? Or is that just me and Jeremiah? “Look…” and here come the lies. “I don’t know how to speak since I am ONLY a youth.” The lies are “I’m uninformed”, “I am unable.”
v7 “Then the Lord said to me: do NOT say, ‘I’m only a youth.’” – Do not lie to yourself and say, “I can’t because I’m only________________ anything.” You are exactly who God made you to be and if he is calling, and you are where you are supposed to be, or are going where you should go, then you ARE able or you will be enabled.
Do not say, I’m only….for you will go to everyone I send… and speak whatever I tell you
The reason we need not fear is because wherever God leads he always proceeds. He has already cleared the way, opened the door. So, say what he says to whom he sends. Because, where he leads he proceeds, where he guides he provides, so do not be afraid of anyone.
My Father never directly quoted this verse to me, but he lived it and taught it as he lived. He was fearless. He taught me to be fearless when I was in the plan of God. I’ve done my best and been successful, I believe, in passing that down to my sons.
do not be afraid… FOR 1)I will be with you – We are never alone, and 2) to rescue you. Someone cares, someone knows, someone is able, and if needed, He is my rescue, so do not be afraid
v9 – the Lord reached out… touched my mouth and told me… Listen, I’m a firm believer in hard work and preparation, but we will never do that alone. If God is calling, he will touch you, has touched you, in the exact realm where he will use you. I have filled your mouth with words… The best way to get rid of bad water in a fixed container is to fill it with good water until all the bad has flowed out. If I want to empty myself of MY words and wisdom, I must let God fill my heart, my head, my mouth with HIS Words.
And then God comes again with the fear eliminating word, “See” – ra’ah = access, become aware, consider – I have appointed you today – That word “appointed” = to root and tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and to plant
God has a plan – He has called you, he has charged you, he has commissioned you, he has conditioned you – So GO, without fear. You CAN, you Know How, God Loves you, You are NOT ALONE!
Do not be afraid of anyone, anything, anywhere, anytime.
If God is for us, tell me who can be against us
Isaiah 51:16 (CSB) — 16 I have put my words in your mouth, and covered you in the shadow of my hand, in order to plant the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, “You are my people.”
Every year when I go to the SBC Annual meeting, I come home and report to our body, then I bring a short message that resonates in my heart from the week’s meeting. Sometimes it is a passage that was preached, or a topic / issue. This year it was an Old Testament passage resonating in my head while I ruminated on the issues and joys before us.
You can go to our FACEBOOK page if you want the full message at First Baptist Ferguson. I will just include here the text of the message part of my report. Yes, I reported on the Sexual Abuse Task Force, and the new Unity Initiative that is beginning. But I also reported record years of giving and ministry to and from the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board. To the ends of the earth is what we do as Great Commission Baptists.
But we are facing a critical moment in the future and so the words of Deuteronomy 30:11-20 were ringing through my head – “I place before Life and Death, Blessing and Curses, and I tell you to CHOOSE LIFE”
Here is my message:
So… we are on the ground in Orange County at John Wayne International, and the pilot comes on in that “pilot voice” and says, “well folks, we are going to take off hard and fast, we are going to climb quickly, but don’t worry, we are going to level off at 30,000 feet, and then we are going to back the speed off a little and settle in slower.”
Well, I’m thinking, “I’m all for leveling off, because I don’t want to end up in outer space, but IF you CAN fly faster, do it. We are 15 minutes late taking off, so get it! What are you worried about, getting pulled over?” “We are late, so let’s go. I know YOU don’t have to be there, you are just flying, but WE got places to be. Are you worried that an air force cop is going to pull you over in his F-22?”
Can’t you see him pulling out from behind a cloud, lights flashing; and your American Pilot is like, “aww man…” and they pull him over, hast to land in a cornfield in Iowa, and it messes up everything, kills the schedule. So, yeah, “we got to back it off, might get a ticket”
I’m also mindful today that it is Juneteenth – President Lincoln on January 1, 1863, made an executive order, that all persons held as slaves (within the rebellious areas) are and henceforward shall be free – But people were still fighting the battle, and some parts of the south didn’t even get notice. But it wasn’t until 17 months later on June 19th, 1865, that General Gordon Granger landed in Galveston, Texas and declared:
“the people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the Unity States, all slaves are free…
Our job is to proclaim freedom. That’s why Jesus came, that’s why he died and rose again.
Sadly, while we addressed the revelation of sexual abuse and continued efforts to address the need for unity and reconciliation in ethnic disparity in society and the church, there was still a minority that want to decry those efforts. And the question comes, “why are some people opposed to dealing with abuse and racial injustice, why?”
And my response is “Why? Why? The Answer to ‘why?’ is NOT hard to determine, but the bigger question is HOW can this BE among God’s people?”
Failure to love and care for people is not the WAY of the people of God
I John 3:10-16 is very clear. This is how we know what love is, Jesus laid down his life. It teaches that we know who the followers of Christ are. If we are born from above, we will love. If we don’t love, we either don’t know Jesus or we are betraying that knowledge. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 says that we are to be purveyors of Reconciliation.
So, I’m not going to preach a long message, but look with me at an Old Testament message from Moses at the end of his ministry.
Deuteronomy 30:11–20 (CSB) — 11“This command that I give you today is certainly not too difficult or beyond your reach. 12It is not in heaven so that you have to ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ 13And it is not across the sea so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ 14But the message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it. 15See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16For I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow in worship to other gods and serve them, 18I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not prolong your days in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan. 19I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20love the Lord your God, obey him, and remain faithful to him. For he is your life, and he will prolong your days as you live in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Just an outline, it’s so clear that I don’t have the time nor the need to break it down.
So, as we close write these points down: The Way to Blessing, the Commands of God:
It Is Not CONCEALED v16
It’s not hidden or hard to understand
Not difficult… not beyond your reach
This is NOT advanced stuff… this is Kindergarten stuff
It is CLOSE… you can say it, it’s right in your mouth, I don’t have to teach you, I don’t have to give it to you, just remind you.
It is in your heart… it is part of our DNA as the people of God
It is a COMMAND
The Hebrew word is tsavah = to lay a charge upon, command, order, appoint
This is what God is laying on us, FBCF, Great Commission Baptists
Then
It is CLEAR
Love God – our love for God drives our actions for him, or they will not continue
Walk In His Ways – that’s the Hebrew word halak = to go, come, accompany, – his ways are not our ways, his thoughts are not our thoughts, God is not waiting for us to tell him where we are going – God is GOING and he wants us to accompany HIM.
Keep his commands – keep – means we are to observe and act according to what he says. We must allow his commands to direct our steps
Proverbs 6:23 (CSB) — 23For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, and corrective discipline is the way to life.
So, it is not concealed, it is a clear command, but then notice
It is CONDITIONAL
So that – if you then you… if you then I … this is conditional God is wanting to lead us somewhere, but we have to maintain the conditions. Oh but IF we love God and walk in his ways, and keep his commands… then we…
May live … chayah = live, alive, come alive – HIS WAYS ARE LIFE – 1 John 5:3 says that his ways are NOT a burden – no he is saying this is LIFE – this is a way for the person, the church, a convention to have LIFE
And Multiply – Hello Church growth experts – we don’t so much to have to run all over, looking for it. It’s right here, it’s in your mouth, in your heart, so it’s in your head – Love God, Walk in his Ways, Keep his Commands, and you will be alive, and then rabah = abundance, become many, enlarge, multiply – and then…
The Lord will bless you in the land –
But then notice, this is Two-Way Conditional promise.
If your Heart Turns away – i.e. if you love yourself, love your preferences, love your style instead of God’s ways – yes even Baptists have idols
(if) you do not Listen – oh yes you heard, but did you LISTEN – shama = give earnest hearing
If you are led astray to worship other gods – oh so many things we worship instead of God – styles, traditions, politicians, whatever you call it… there is only ONE to worship
If … Then v18
You will certainly perish, and will not prolong your days in the land
Wow –
Two more
The Call / The Choice v19
I call heaven and earth as witness… I have set before you
Life and death
Blessing and curses
This is Life and Blessing
Or Death and Curses
God isn’t wanting to argue with us, he’s just offering us a choice – what do you want in? But I’m urging you,
Choose LIFE – LIVE – this is a generational offer, you and your children
The choice is always there
And we might want to stop right there but what kind of song would that be?
Write
The Coda –
Doug, come to the Piano for me – Doug knows what a Coda is. A “Coda” in Music, is the concluding passage or movement, typically forms an additional theme or structure – It’s like the vamp, the tag, the outro.
So, in the Beatles song, “Hey Jude”, The song just has 3 basic chords, in the key of F. Doug play and “F”, that’s the Tonic – Home
And then a “C” – that’s the Dominant, the V
And now a “Bb” – that’s the Sub-Dominat, the IV
That’s most of the Song.
Hey (F)Jude
Don’t make it (C)Bad, Take a (Bb)Sad song
And make it (F)Better. Re-(Bb)member to
Let her into your (F)heart, And you can (C)start to
Make it (F) Better
And the song is 3 minutes long verses and chorus
Basically F, C, Bb – I – V – IV – with some walking chords between in the chorus.
But then comes the CODA – that Circle with a Cross in the Middle (oh I could preach that for a minute.
Sometimes the Coda is a short ending tag, a slight variation with something added to the structure. But in “Hey Jude” Paul Plays the I (F)… and then he plays a bVII (Eb) followed by the IV(Bb) and he goes on for 4 minutes
Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na
Na, Na, Na, Na – Hey Jude
Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na
Na, Na, Na, Na – Hey Jude
And so here is his Coda – Moses says
Love the Lord your God, Obey Him, Remain Faithful To Him…
Ok, we know these chords…
“hey Jude, don’t make it bad, take a sad song, and make it better… Remember to let her under your skin, then you begin to make it … Better … Better… Better… Better… Better
Love the Lord your God, Obey Him, Remain Faithful to Him
FOR…
Here is where the Coda Changes to the bVII
For He is your LIFE
He will prolong your days
As you live in the Land
Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na
Na, Na, Na, Na –
He is your life
He will prolong your days
He will give you life in the land
This is True for the SBC
This is True for First Ferguson
This is true for the people who live in your House too
There is A CHOICE for us… Life and Blessing, or Death and Curses … HE IS YOUR LIFE… CHOOSE Will he be Your Life?
Job 42 – Whew… what a story… and if you have read about his “friends” Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar (sound like Tolkien characters) they thought they knew a lot, but weren’t really great friends. A lot to be said for just sitting quietly with your friend in misery. But bottom line is Job was blameless, more was happening in his life than any of them knew. They were faithless, faulty in their understanding of God, and Job could have written them off, as could have God, but instead, God was at work and invited Job into the story regarding his friends.
v10 says After Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and doubled his previous possessions.
So, let’s back up and take a run at this in the way my mind wrapped around it in my devotion today –
Antecedent
there are several things I see, in that the prayer for Job’s friends was antecedent to the blessing for them and for Job himself. And that says that care, concern, and compassion was antecedent to the prayer, and finally antecedent to all of THAT was his knowledge of God
v2 I know you can do anything – stop for a minute, if God is Sovereign over all, then he can do anything he deems is right, holy, just, and proper. But, the idea that he MUST, from our human understanding, is faulty. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, so we cannot fully understand, so we cannot dictate to Him anything. But, he CAN do anything that does not violate his Sovereignty, Holiness, and Righteousness. And if he CAN do anything, then…
no plan can be thwarted – batsar = to cut off, make inaccessible, enclose, impossible – Not MY plans, but HIS plans. So, first, they must be FROM him, and FOR him, and BY him. If God plans it… it will happen. We sometimes ask, “why didn’t God _______, and I have to answer 1) We did Not Ask – you have not because you ask not 2) Our Sin got in the way 3) It is not in God’s plans, because God WILL do what he purposes to do, but he may do it with someone else if it is his plan, but we don’t want in or our actions disqualify us. v3 says who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance? Job 38:2 says who… obscures my counsel with ignorant words – Oh, how often we are in the way because of what we say. No plan of his can be THWARTED – I love that old style word. Matthew 29:26 says with God all things are possible. Genesis 18:14 says Is anything impossible for the Lord? At the appointed time, I will come. Nothing is impossible for God, so it must be HIS WILL, and then in HIS TIME. At the appointed time.
Assessment
v3 Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know – “wondrous” – pala = surpassingly extraordinary – My yes, so often we bring our ordinary understanding to the EXTRA-Ordinary things of God and wonder why it doesn’t go our way. We act wrongly, we pray wrongly, and we respond wrongly. – “I’m sorry, Lord… I’m ignorant of this stuff… it is beyond my ability to even know.”
Engagement
Now, understand Job got here by engaging God. He wrestled with what he knew. He wrestled with God. And he listened and learned
v4 you said, “listen now, and I will speak, when I question you, you will inform me?” We often want to question God, but we aren’t willing to be still and listen as he question us. In a previous chapter God says “brace yourself like a man and I will answer you” Oh we think we are so grown, and we question God, but are we grown enough to take the answer?
v5 I heard reports about you…” Other testimonies about God are good, but we need firsthand knowledge
“but now” – do you have some “But Now” realizations about God? Have you engaged him?
“now my eyes have seen you…” To See we have to be seeking. To see, we have to be looking. To see and understand, we must be willing. Psalm 123:1 I will lift my eyes to you like a servant on his master’s hand… eyes on the Lord until he shows favor
Exchange
v6 “therefore I reject MY words and I am SORRY for them” – I have to exchagne my plans for his, my knowledge for his, my desires for his, my hope for HIM. He IS my HOPE. Don’t focus on having something, focus on having HIM.
Empathy and Identification
Now I don’t believe we can receive or obtain salvation FOR someone else, but there is plenty of scripture where intercession FOR people has caused God to stay his temporary judgment because of the empathetic identification and Intercession of a faithful one for another.
The Lord tells these three faithless friends, who have given false testimony about Job and about God, to now “ASK JOB” to intercede for them. So, they went to Job, humbled themselves, and Job felt it. He empathized with them, and he interceded for them. I believe some places don’t have God’s blessing because 1) people rejected God who didn’t know God 2) the people of God did not pray for them and intercede for them.
v8 my servant Job will pray for them… the people of God, serving God, will pray FOR people who do not know, do not believe, because that IS the heart of God. God’s heart beats for intercession, for reconciliation. That is the response of a grateful heart, gratitude for what God has done for US, we intercede for someone else.
v9 “and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer”. What will happen if WE, the servants of God, will pray for the faithless people who are our neighbors and friends
v10 “after Job prayed… the Lord restored… v12 the Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first – OH my, will God make us twice as wealthy? Oh I don’t know, but that’s not the point. I don’ t know about in this short lifespan, but my eyes are on eternity. This lifespan is only the beginning. And I know that Ecclesiastes 7:8 the end of a matter is better than the beginning. I know, with Job, that My Redeemer lives and will stand again on this earth and so I know that one day, for eternity, the last part of my life will be blessed more than the first!
2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (CSB) — 16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Faithful folks, pray for your neighborhood and your community. Take everything you’ve experienced and learned about God, let it drive you to pray for your neighbors, your naysayers, you “no-way” people, that they may see the way, and be reconciled to God. And even if not, know that the Lord’s blessing for you at the end is better than at the first!
Pastor Goforth 