Pastor Goforth

A Picture of Christ in the Old Testament – Chapter Two – In the Law

April 28th, 2016

This is Chapter two of a New Study I developed at Faith Baptist Church on Wednesday Nights. I’d love to hear what you think.

A Picture of Christ In the Old Testament
Session Two: In the Law

Defining a Couple Terms

Last week in my excitement for our new study, I sort of jumped right into our looking for Christ in the Old Testament, and while we referred to a couple of things, we didn’t really define them.

There are three words that we need to define. All Three are Jesus Revealed in the Old Testament. The words are Theophany, Christophany, and Christ Type or Typology http://www.gotquestions.com says: “A theophany is a manifestation of God in the Bible that is tangible to the human senses. In its most restrictive sense, it is a visible appearance of God in the Old Testament period, often, but not always, in human form.”

So, if a Theophany is a manifestation of God in the Bible either actual physical or perceived physical, is unclear and actually unimportant. What IS important is that a Theophany is something that CAN be perceived with the Human Senses, not just a dream, a vision, or our inner self or spirit.
It is God manifesting himself in a way that people could receive with their senses.
Genesis 2:15-16 – “took man … put him in the garden … commanded him”
Genesis 3:8 – “heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden …”
The Lord made garments. The Lord spoke to Noah. The Lord Appeared to Abram in Genesis 12:7, to Isaac in Genesis 26, to Jacob in Genesis 35 …
And on and on …

So what is a Christophany? Then this more specifically is an appearance of the 2nd Person of the Trinity to man in a sensory perceptible fashion, before his Incarnation at Bethlehem.

So, that begs the question is a Theophany different from a Christophany or is it possible that these are different? Are some of the Theophanies, Christ-centric, and others Father-centric?

Notice this distinction made about the Father and Son by Paul to Timothy
1 Timothy 6:12–16 (NIV84)
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
What does it say about the Father … He lives in unapproachable light, who no one HAS seen or CAN see … “lives” = dwells or builds his tent in “a” = without “psoseimi” = to approach … together “aprositos” – God sets his tent up in an unapproachable zip code … and NO ONE HAS seen him and no one CAN see him.
When did Paul write this? In the middle of the 1st Century … no one HAD seen him or CAN see him YET … in History … Including the Old Testament …
John said the same thing in the last decade of the 1st Century when he wrote his Gospel
John 1:18 (NIV84)
18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

The Only one who has seen God is the one at his right hand and that is Jesus and Jesus reveals God to us … He did in the his Incarnation … but he has ALWAYS been the Revelation of God, the Word of God … the Articulation of God …
So,
http://www.gotquestions.com says
“While there are no indisputable Christophanies in the Old Testament, every theophany wherein God takes on human form foreshadows the incarnation, where God took the form of a man to live among us as Emmanuel, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23)

So, I believe EVERY Theophany in the Old Testament is a Christophany … it is JESUS … so let your heart run, and dance, and be encouraged by these pictures of Christ active in Creation for ALL of Creation.

What then is a TYPE of Christ? A theophany is Christ actually interacting with man in a perceptible fashion. A TYPE according to http://www.Theopedia.com:
“Typology is a method of biblical interpretation whereby an element found in the Old Testament is seen to prefigure one found in the New Testament. The initial one is called the type and the fulfillment is designated the antitype. Either type or antitype may be a person, thing, or event, but often the type is messianic and frequently related to the idea of salvation.”
“Typological interpretation is specifically the interpretation of the Old Testament based on the fundamental theological unity of the two Testaments whereby something in the Old shadows, prefigures, adumbrates something in the New. Hence, what is interpreted in the Old is not foreign or peculiar or hidden, but arises naturally out of the text due to the relationship of the two Testaments. ^ [1]^”
Then there are really three kinds of types: Historical, Legal, and Prophetic types
Historical
Adam – by one man sin and death came to the world; Jesus by One man Life Came
Moses – Led God’s people from Slavery in Promise – as would the Messiah
Noah – provided a way in the ark, to all who enter in
Abraham – Father of blessed People
Isaac – Substitutionary Sacrifice
Joseph – from hated to heralded, from prison, to the palace, surrendered to evil men to savior of all men.
David – was God’s anointed for a time before he was truly seen as King
Esther – saved her people though God didn’t appear to be there — isn’t even mentioned in the book about her
Elisha – raised the dead and fed hungry

Legal Types
Sacrifices
Offerings
Rituals
Pointed to the Cross
Prophetic
The Seed of the Woman – Genesis 3:15
Prophesies of the Prophets like Isaiah’s Suffering Servant
Zechariah’s Visions

Now … we COULD say that all of these similarities are incidental, analogical, interesting but not intentional. Or, we could believe that God always was telling a story. HIS Story is always being told in History, and so he shaped History to tell HIS Story. If so, then we can conclude that God intentionally told his story through types, even when we did not understand them while they were happening.

So … the picture of Christ in the Law is Exhaustive … and I will tell you up front that we aren’t going to cover it all … but let’s see a few of them and see Jesus with us … God with us …

Exodus 3
Now Moses had been protected in a little ark crafted by his mother when the Pharaoh was killing every little boy in Egypt. Hmm I seem to remember someone being protected when the King was trying to kill every little boy. But anyway, he was taken into and grew up in Pharaoh’s house. But while his people were slaves, he was a prince. He knew who he was and one day he killed an Egyptian who was beating a slave. That act of Righteous indignation put in him danger of being killed so in Exodus 2:15, Moses fled to live in Midian … south of Canaan, the region of Sinai, East of Egypt. North of the Red Sea. He met and married Zipporah and became a shepherd with his Father in law, Jethro.
READ Exodus 3:1-9

The Angel of the Lord – That is JESUS … appeared In the flames of fire within the bush. Though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. Please note this … God did not NEED the Wood of the Bush as FUEL … He was his OWN Fuel. He USED the Bush as a Vehicle to Display his Fire … but he did not NEED the Bush FOR Fire … God uses us but he does not NEED us. If we will not be used, he can use someone else or he can use an inanimate object if necessary.
God Called from within the Bush … This “angel” wasn’t a simple Messenger, this was GOD in the person of the 2nd person of the Trinity
The Place where you are standing is Holy Ground
Take off your sandals – this “Angel” received worship … Angels do not receive Worship if they are but messengers. But this Messenger was GOD himself. Read Isaiah 48:12-18 — The Lord is both mentioned as being The Lord and being Sent BY the Lord both Saving and being Sent to Save … that is Jesus … Sent and yet God … Saving and Savior
I Am the God of Abraham … Isaac … Jacob … i.e. I know you, I know your family, I am the one who has made promises and will keep promises
I have seen the misery of my people … I have heard them crying
I am concerned about their suffering
So I have come down to rescue them …

That is what happened when Jesus came. It may have seemed like God was not aware. It may have seemed like God was silent. It had been 400 years since God has spoken to them in both cases …

When Zechariah was informed of the birth of John the Baptist he prophesied
Luke 1:68–72 (NIV84)
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— 72 to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,

V9 The cry has reached me … I have seen … So now, go, I am sending you

Moses struggled with confidence … Who am I. He asked v13 Suppose they ask me who you are … what shall I tell them … tell them I AM WHO I AM (will be what I will be) you say I AM has sent me …

Jesus said “hayah asher hayah” I AM WHO I AM
Say this … “I Am has sent me to you” – Hayah
Say this to the people I AM has sent me – yhwh (Yahweh or Yehovah) This will be my name forever
The Angel of the Lord took ownership of this name …
So, how radical it was when Jesus said … John 8:58 “before Abraham was, I Am”

And then continuing in Chapter 4 of Exodus God gives Moses signs to give to the people and he turns his staff into a snake and he turns his hand to leprosy, diseased flesh, and returns it … and he gives further instructions and Moses questions his own ability to speak and begs God to send someone else. So God tells him that his brother Aaron, who IS a great speaker, is already on the way. When God calls he has already made provision for your weakness … trust him …

If you read further in the chapter you see “The Lord” speaking multiple times, just realize that this is Jesus … and they came to the people of Israel in Egypt and 4:31 says
Exodus 4:31 (NIV84)
31 and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
Oh there is a sermon there …
1) When they Heard (Proclamation)
2) They Believed and Bowed (faith and repentance)
3) They Worshipped (Commitment and Consecration)
That’s a free outline for you preachers …

We couldn’t begin to cover all the times God Speaks … it is 301x in the NIV alone … more than 60x in Exodus alone …

Oh there are plenty of types of Christ …
The Priests were a type of Christ … mediator and Intercessor between God and Man
The Altar – the Vehicle by which sin is atoned
The Sacrifice – Holy, Pure, Innocent, Completely given to God and laid on the mercy seat
The Law itself – showed our inadequacy but provided a way for us to be in relationship with God
The Passover Lamb itself a Type… what a beautiful picture
– The Passover Lamb was a “male without defect” … so was Christ … like us in every way yet without sin …
… In addition, when the lamb was roasted and eaten, none of its bones were to be broken. This fact was also prophesized for the Messiah, whose bones were not to be broken. It was customary during crucifixion to break the leg bones of the person after a few hours in order to hasten their death. But Jesus’ legs were not broken.

We often miss the symbolism of Christ’s sacrifice simply because we don’t know the details of the Passover.
The Lamb
Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem five days before the lamb was killed in the temple as the Passover sacrifice for the sins of the people of Israel.
Five days before the lamb was to be sacrificed, it was chosen. Therefore, Jesus entered Jerusalem on lamb selection day, as the lamb of God. It was called the “Triumphal Entry” but really it was the entry of the lamb of sacrifice.
ON the Passover day, the priest would blow the shophar (ram’s horn) at 3:00 p.m. – the moment the lamb was sacrificed, and all the people would pause to contemplate the sacrifice for sins on behalf of the people of Israel.
On Good Friday at 3:00, when Jesus was being crucified, He said, “It is finished”
– at the moment that, the Passover lamb was sacrificed, and the shophar was blown from the Temple. The sacrifice of the lamb of God was fulfilled at the hour that the symbolic animal sacrifice usually took place.
Jews would bring a grain sacrifice of first fruits at sunset on Friday, and at that time, Jesus was being buried or planted and his resurrection would be the first fruits of all who would follow him and also receive resurrection from the dead

In the Passover, there were Four Cups that were drank as each cup was filled four times during the meal
The CUPS
The 1st Cup was the Cup of Sanctification at the beginning of the meal – they prayed and blessed what was to come and set themselves apart
The 2nd Cup
the cup was filled again and they would dip their finger in it 10 times and drop a drop on the plate to symbolize the 10 plaques in Egypt before their Exodus
The 3rd Cup was the Cup of Redemption and Blessing Anticipating the coming of God’s forgiveness and blessing through the Passover Lamb
Finally 4th there was the Cup of Praise – During this time they read from The Psalms … particularly the Hallal Psalms … that is the Great Psalms of Praise
It was tradition to read from Psalms 113-116

The Bread was without yeast … i.e without sin … Spring Cleaning comes from the cleaning of the house before the Passover and getting rid of every bit of yeast in the house
The bread for the Passover was 3 Pieces of matzah unified as the Bread of Affliction. The middle piece, the Afikomen … was taken out and broken in half, wrapped in a cloth, hidden away. During the meal the children would search and bring it back and it would be given to all to eat.
And so Christ, the center of the triune God, Singular, yet three, was broken, wrapped in a cloth, hidden away, brought back and received by all who would eat.
Can’t you see Jesus carrying out the Passover meal … and when he picks up the “Afikomen” the bread of affliction that is broken, buried, and brought back to be shared by all … he says “This is my Body which is Broken for You” …

And then at the conclusion of the meal when it is time for the 3rd Cup, the Cup of Redemption, he says “This is my blood which is a covenant with you” … do this in remembrance of me
Because it says when we do … you proclaim the Lord till he comes
We remember him to proclaim him

Let’s look at two more pictures of Christ in the Law … just two … one is a Christophany the other a Type
The Pillar of Fire and the Pillar of Cloud
So … after all the plaques after the Passover … the Egyptians “freed” them and they left for the Land of Promise
But v17 of Chapter 13 in Exodus says
Exodus 13:17–18 (NIV84)
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.
And here is The Lord again …

Exodus 13:21–22 (NIV84)

21 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Day or Night, you can follow the Lord because HE is our Light

Then chapter 14 says that the LORD directed them into a tight spot … between Migdol and the Sea … They were almost to Mt Horeb (Sinai) the place that God said they were going to worship him … but God took them on a detour … Ever known God to take you on a detour? Has God ever put you in dire straits, in harms way? In this case God doesn’t even hide what he is doing to Moses … he tells him what he is about to do to Pharaoh … This was about Judgment on wicked Pharaoh and about showing God’s people just what he could do …
4:9-10 what Happened? They pursued Israel, caught them … and the Israelites were terrified and cried out … “what have you done to us?”
What Did Moses say?
Exodus 14:13–14 (NIV84)
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
And The Lord said “why are you crying … MOVE ONE … Raise your staff … divide the water … I will gain glory”
V19 Then the Angel of God … withdrew and went behind them … between the armies … throughout the night … darkness to one side, and light to the other … all night east wind blew and the waters divided … why all night? I don’t know but doesn’t God know how to tell a story, doesn’t he know how to build a scene?

Now I had a professor in College that told us that the Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire weren’t really God. He said it was a Basin of Coals carried by the People and it was a symbol of God’s presence … Now when he said that in my Old Testament Survey … Before I could get my little indignant, young preacher hand in the air … he then read from v24 … “The Lord Looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving”

And I asked the professor, “the Lord looked down from the symbol of his presence?” I think I just got a look …
It was no SYMBOL … it was JESUS …
Jesus Before them …
Jesus Behind them …
Jesus With them … and
Jesus FOR them …

The Pillar of Fire and Pillar of Cloud … Like the Bush … Were God Himself in the Person of Christ, revealing himself to them … Remember no one can see The Father … no One has seen the Father
Numbers 14:14 says – they have already heard that you, O Lord, are with these people and that you, O Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night

This pillar had been the visible presentation of God with them. It came over the Tent of Meeting when Moses would go in and speak with God (2nd Person of Trinity) face to face
It was evidence of God’s compassion that caused him to give them his presence with them …
Nehemiah 9:19 (NIV84)
19 “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take.
They were alone, without knowledge, guidance, or protection, and God provided all by his presence with them …
Psalm 99:7 says it was the vehicle by which God spoke to them giving them the Law

The Cloud would come over the Tent of Meeting and God would speak to Moses
Exodus 33:7–11 (NIV84)
7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. 11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
From the Cloud he summoned Miriam and Aaron to speak to them … it says the cloud stood at the entrance and he summoned them …
The Cloud enveloped Mt Sinai in Exodus 24:15-18 … God’s glory settled there for 6 days … and it looked like a Consuming Fire … Deuteronomy 4:24 says that the Lord is an All Consuming Fire …
Hebrews 12:28–29 (NIV84)
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
And So the Cloud was on Sinai and Moses said in 33:18 “Now show me your glory” …
Oh be careful what you ask … Moses had seen him “face to face” but obviously God wasn’t really showing him all … and Moses knew it and he wanted more. I hear people say “I want MORE of God” … More is a dreadful thing be careful …
Exodus 33:19–23 (NIV84)
19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” 21 Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
I can’t imagine what it is Like when the LORD says his own name … what that majesty is like … how the ground will shake … the earth tremble …

Exodus 34:4–8 (NIV84)
4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” 8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.
… Well I’m sure he did … Moses bowed down to the ground at ONCE and WORSHIPED …

You know … we have the ISAIAH 53 picture of Christ as the Suffering Servant … because that’s what he was on this earth … Perhaps we have a hard time imagining the Revelation 19 Jesus who is riding a white horse with a sword coming from his mouth … you want to see that picture in the Old Testament?
Exodus 19:16–20 (NIV84)
16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, 19 and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. 20 The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up

Well … I need to finish … but let me give you one other TYPE of Christ … that is a picture of Christ …

John 1:14 says about Jesus … The Word became Flesh and made his dwelling among us …
Literally it means the Word “tabernacled” among us. What was John talking about? The people knew what the Tabernacle was.
Exodus 26 gave the instructions for building it. It was to be exactly by the pattern that God had. God doesn’t need a designer to tell him how to do it … he had a pattern.
It was the Dwelling Place of God among the People …
– 10 Linen curtains over a frame 45x15x15 feet … It was called The Tabernacle
– 11 Goat Hair Curtains covered that and were called The Tent … the Extra Curtain covered the opening in front and back to ensure that it wasn’t open and visible to those outside
– Over that with a covering of Ram Skins dyed Red
– Over that a covering of sea cow (dugong – like a manatee)
It was placed not outside the people, but they would camp AROUND it … it was in the center of the people.

This was God’s Stamp of Approval … these are MY People, uniquely related to me
This showed God’s Choice … they were his because he chose them. Jesus told his disciples you didn’t choose me but I have chosen you. Repeatedly in the Old Testament God says “I have chosen you”

If this is a TYPE … a PICTURE of Christ … What is the Picture?
The Tabernacle was a Picture of God’s Provision for relationship with and forgiveness for his people.
Did you see it in the Covering?
Four Coverings … Linen, Goat’s Hair, Ram’s Skin Dyed Red, and Sea Cow …
– Linen – made from flaxseed it was a symbol of purity and righteousness. In this instruction it was woven with thread dyed Blue, Purple, and Scarlet. Blue was a color worn by Priests. Purple was worn by Kings, and Scarlet was worn by the wealthy and the warrior.
Jesus Christ came and Tabernacled Among us as our High Priest, our King, our Wealthy Warrior, and our Righteousness.
– Goat’s Hair … Black Goat’s Hair would have been what they used … Leviticus 16 gives instruction for the “scapegoat” … You know what that is right, the innocent guy who gets stuck with the consequences for someone else’s actions … After the High Priest had offered the sacrifice for the sins, he selected a live goat and takes it by the head and sprinkles blood from the sacrifice on the head of the goat. He confesses the sins of his people over the goat and sends the goat out into the wilderness carrying the sins of the people on his innocent head away from the people.
Jesus tabernacle among us to be our scapegoat and carry away the effect of our sin

– Ram’s skin dyed Red … do I really need to explain this one? Abraham had been told to sacrifice his son, Isaac. He was told to take him to the top of the mountain and put him to the knife. He made the altar, he laid his son down, raised his knife and the Lord stopped his hand and there in the thicket, the thorn bush, was a RAM, caught in its branches. And the ram then became the sacrifice. The Ram’s blood was shed in place of Isaac.
Jesus our Righteous Linen, our Scapegoat, our Substitutionary Sacrifice … and

– A Smooth Sea Animal for the Outer Covering … pretty strange huh? Where did they come up with THAT? They are in the middle of the desert and they’ve got to come up this SMOOTH material made from a sea animal’s skin. I think of an Old Man named Nicodemus and Jesus said “you must be born again” … you must be NEW, you must be transformed into a soft smooth new born creation. HOW? How do we come up with a sea cow? How can we be a new creation, fresh smooth, clean, Holy …

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Left Heaven and came to earth and Tabernacled among us, so that, in the middle of the desert we can be made new. Anyone that is in Christ is a New Creation, yes in the middle of the desert, in Christ we are born again, we are smooth as a newborn baby, forgiven because of the Sacrifice of our Ram, Christ Jesus, our sins taken away from us by our scapegoat and now we stand in the Righteousness of Christ because of Royal, Priestly, Warrior Jesus Christ who tabernacled among us.
A picture … yes a picture of Christ making us a fresh, new, clean creation. He came from some place else, Heaven, to us in the wilderness, to make us new.

Oh Doesn’t God know how to tell HIS Story?

Oh there is so much more of Christ our Lord in the Law and the period of law giving … even a funny story in Numbers 22 about a funny little prophet from a pagan country named Balaam who tried to deceive God’s people … Oh there is nothing like when people who don’t know God try to mess with God … ask Sceva’s seven sons who messed with a demon and found themselves beaten, stripped and bloody in the book of Acts … so imagine coming against God’s People. If you come against God’s people you have to face God FIRST …
So Balaam … said he’d get an answer from God and he sure did … And Jesus, the Angel of the Lord stood in his way … Balaam didn’t even see him … but his donkey saw him and the donkey wouldn’t move. Poor girl, Balaam beat her, probably with a switch, but Jesus had a drawn sword and she didn’t move. She finally just laid down. And Numbers 22:28 says the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said … ‘what have I done to you to make you beat me these three times’ … Balaam said you have made a fool of me if I had a sword I would kill you … to which she replied “am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden … Have I been in the habit of doing this to you” Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam and he saw the Angel of the Lord … Sword drawn and he bowed down … and then God told him what he was doing …

Well I guess if God can speak through a donkey maybe you have seen something tonight through this preacher …

Let’s pray …
A Picture of Christ in the Old Testament – Chapter One – In The Beginnings

April 28th, 2016

This is a new study I developed at Faith Baptist Church on Wednesday Night. Let me hear what you think.

A Picture of Christ in the Old Testament

Session One: In the Beginnings

Genesis 1:1 says In the Beginning

John so beautifully tells us that “in the beginning was the Word” – logos¬ – John 1:1

The first to use this word for a force in life was a philosopher from Ephesus, Heraclitus, about 500 BC. He described the divine reason or plan which coordinates a changing universe as “the logos”. It is literally “a word uttered by a human voice, the embodiment of a concept or idea”. It can mean “word, account, principle, plan, formula, measure, proportion, or reckoning”

Heraclitus says “no man steps in the same river twice” … He was often called “the Obscure” because his concepts were hard to understand. He was also called “the weeping philosopher”. Maybe it was because it is hard to put this life together. He understood that life and this world always change. He said “ever newer waters flow on those in the same rivers”. Plato quotes him as saying “all entities move, nothing remains still”. Elsewhere he says “we both step and do not step in the same rivers. We are and are not.” Sounds like a fly fisherman to me …  he also sounds a bit confused. I can understand why he was always crying. Without Christ you can’t understand this life. And so without Christ you cannot understand the Old Testament.

Heraclitus in Ephesus introduces a concept that was picked up by Socrates, Plato, Stoics, and on. Then 600 years later, in Ephesus, the Apostle John, an old man, says “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” So that’s where we start with Jesus, in the Beginning. While the river ever changes … Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Genesis 1:1 – In the Beginning God

That statement is not just God the Father. That is Father, Son, and Spirit. Standing when time began is a God who Is. The Uncreated Creator God, in his Triune Glory … always existed.

In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth

I believe that Father is the Purpose of God on the Throne; and the Action, Creating, happened by the Word of God. Jesus, speaking, “God said ‘Let there be …’ and there was …” And you see the Spirit of God v3 “hovering over the water” How? I can only speculate, but John tells us in John 1:3 through him (Jesus) all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made”

So, there is Jesus … The Word of God … Speaking the world into existence, according to the Purpose of God, by the Power of the Spirit

Genesis 1:26 – So God created light, water, sky, seas, vegetation, planets and stars, sea creatures, birds, land animals … and it was all good …

Then God said …” v26 “let US make man in OUR own image … 27 So God created man in his own image … male and female”

There is the Trinity, there is Jesus, as we are created in his image, in their image, the image of God. “Us” is not the Heavenly hosts’ image, it was God’s Image, and that is wonderful

Psalm 8 (NIV84)

For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David. 1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Oh how majestic that while Jesus spoke all things into existence “amar” … yet there in the middle of day six … He stopped and stooped to the dust and “created” “bara” (shaped / formed) 1:27 and “created” yatsar (squeeze into shape) and he FORMED MAN … from the dust.

That was Jesus … The same hands that would bled for us on the cross, got dirty as he “squeezed and formed” us into shape from the dirt

But man couldn’t just follow the rules could we?

Genesis 2:17 “but of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”

Then God makes Eve and together they live and work. Until the day satan questions the word and goodness of God and Eve eats of the tree and gives to Adam and he eats

Genesis 3:7 then their eyes opened and they knew they were naked

They then made an attempt to cover themselves … clothes never mattered till sin entered. Clothes are evidence that we are naked without God’s Righteousness to cover us, and our covering is always insufficient.

So God comes to find them hiding … they make a weak human finger pointing confession …

And God pronounces judgment first on satan … God’s desire is to banish sin first and deal with sin. If we will let him deal with sin, he will deal with us graciously as we respond in faith, even when there are consequences.

So, in judgment on satan / the serpent we have the 1st promise of Jesus coming

Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman and your offspring and her offspring” the word “zerah” literally means “sowing seed” … This is an interesting statement. Criswell says that Jewish Theologians have struggled with this for 1000s of years. Why? Because women do not have “seed”, men have “seed”. So God, who means every word in scripture, says the “seed of the woman”. Why? Because the virgin will be with child and bear a son and his name will be called Immanuel (God with us) Isaiah 7:14

So, in Genesis 3:15 – we are promised God with us, Immanuel. But not only that but he will bruise the head of the serpent .. .Not the Tail … but the head … the place he can do damage, the sting, the bite, the venom is crushed by Christ.

Wow there is Jesus in the 1st three chapters of Genesis

Well we move quickly forward THE Ark

Genesis 6:5 (NIV84)

5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

And so the Lord was going to start again so he found the only blameless man on earth, Noah … Noah preached repentance and the coming of Judgment. Jesus came preaching repentance “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.

Noah built an ark, that was the only salvation for those who would come in. So, if anyone is IN CHRIST (2 Corinthians 5:17) and there is NO OTHER NAME by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12) … and There is no condemnation for those IN CHRIST (Romans 8:1)

So Noah created an ark that COULD save ANY, but ONLY SAVED those who entered in. Jesus Came … the only Righteous one called us to repent and then provided a way for ANY who would COME IN, and they could be saved from God’s coming Judgment.

Going forward to Genesis 12 … God comes to a man living in Ur of the Chaldeans … A long way from the Land of Promise … and says

Genesis 12:1–3 (NIV84)

1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

There it is … in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed – v3

V4 So Abram Went – oh the simplicity of Faith … Abram WENT … he said “OK” he didn’t ask to understand it all … he went as the Lord had told him

And that simple act resulted in the birth of Isaac, and Jacob, and his 12 Sons … And a people and a King, David, and a woman Mary, and her Seed was a Baby, Immanuel, Jesus, in her by the Spirit, not by the seed of her husband … and the world has been blessed. And there is 2000 years in a paragraph …

And so one night in my bed, I received Christ by faith, and all that God has is mine, though I haven’t received it all yet … but it will come in time.

So a few pages forward to Genesis 14 … Abraham wins a battle and then Melchizedek enters … The King of Salem, carrying bread and wine. His name means “King of Righteousness”. His title was King of Salem (Peace) and he was a priest of God. And he blesses Abraham and receives tithes from Him and he seemed to have no parents … Though of course he did.

So Jesus … seemingly came from nowhere … truly he had no parents genetically on this earth, nor in reality. Hebrews 7 tells us he also is a priest not by the law, but by his life. He was not a Levite but a Judahite … He was a priest but also a King. He brings us Peace with God

Romans 5:1 (NIV84)

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

He is the King of Righteousness, and having battled sin … he comes to us with Bread and Wine … his Body broken, his blood spilled

Then Genesis 16 … “The Angel of the Lord” appears to Hagar … we will see that this person is always Jesus … he is always the manifestation of God to Us

16:13 – “you are the God who sees me”

Then Genesis 18:1 “The Lord appeared to him by the Oaks of Mamre” … then we see 3 men … is this the Trinity? No … I believe it is JESUS, the Lord, and 2 Angels because we see the 2 Angels in chapter 19 in Sodom. They come, though only in this passage, as 3 together. This is serious 1) Isaac is announced 2) judgment is announced on Sodom/Gomorrah

The Lord asks v17 “shall I hide this thing from Abraham” … What a close relationship Abraham has with God … one James calls a friend of God

So Isaac is born and then as a teen in Genesis 22

God tells Abraham to Sacrifice his Son … Not for Sin … but he just asks him to give it back to him.

V7 “Dad, we have fire, wood, where is the Lamb?”

V8 God himself will provide the Lamb

He then bound his son on Mt Moriah to the altar, raised his knife … but God stopped him … wait … WHO stopped him … 22:11 – The Angel of the Lord called out to him … BY NAME …

Oh it is Jesus who calls out to us by name, and offers that we don’t HAVE TO DIE …

V13 there in a thicket he saw a ram caught … he took and sacrificed. And Abraham called the place “The Lord has Provided”

So, then Isaac long promised finally came. So Christ long promised finally came

Isaac was willing to offer himself. So Christ …as Isaac was led like a lamb to slaughter Isaiah 53 says of Christ also led like a lamb to the slaughter.

Isaac had two sons … you can read the story. But Jacob, the younger, was estranged from his brother Esau … And on his way home after a long time away in Genesis 32

V24 a man wrestled with him till daybreak

V25 the man touched his hip and dislocated it.

V26 I will not let you go unless you bless me (make me happy)

The man asks “what is your name” – Jacob = supplanter.

Your name will be “Israel” = strives with God

He spent his life striving with everyone for happiness until he wrestled with Christ and found his peace, God’s happiness.

And he never walked the same again. Christ blessed him there and he named the place Peniel because he saw God face to face and lived.

V31 the sun rose on him as he passed Penuel LIMPING because of his hip

Jacob had 12 sons, his favorite was Joseph

Joseph was most loved by his father.. So Jesus was the beloved ONLY son of God.. Joseph was hated by his family and turned over to Gentile people. So Jesus was given over to the Romans by his own who hated him.

Joseph suffered unjustly but then became ruler of all

So Jesus, suffered death on the cross but has been given a name, LORD. Then all things will be under his feet and now he is at the right had of the father in heaven.

Joseph saved the region from death by famine

Jesus saved the world from death to sin

Joseph forgave his brothers

Jesus forgave his executioners and all who will come to him

So Let me take you back to Genesis 3:21

After the consequences of sin pronounced v21 says:

the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them …

The same hands that had squeezed them into shape from dirt, brought them garments. They had clothed themselves but inadequately.

What kind of clothes did the Lord bring? Animal Skins.

Where did they come from? Dead Animals.

Who killed the Animals? Jesus.

He who formed them now came … I believe with hands still stained by the blood of sacrifice … He offers them clothes.

Romans 13:14 clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 9:22 (NIV84)

22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

They could have stayed with their own clothes … but I believe by Faith they received Christ

The Lord who had dirty hands to make us … Had blood stained hands to clothe them.

One day those same hands were stained again to clothe us in God’s righteousness at the Cross. Those hands forgave and offered us cleansing and to bring us to the family of God … can you see his hands reaching out?

IN the Beginning was Jesus, The Word
God is Revealing What are you Doing?

April 19th, 2016

So God is here, God is At work … God is always here, Always at work. I guess the question is, will he choose to reveal himself to us, and if he does, what will we do with the revelation?

God revealed himself to Moses in Exodus 3 as The Angel of The Lord … pre-incarnate Jesus … through this bush on fire, but not being consumed
v2 – though the bush was on fire, it did not burn up
v3 – Moses SAW – are we paying attention?
v3 – Moses THOUGHT – I will go over and see …
v4 – He had gone – Action

How many times have we noticed God at work or wondered if God might be at work. We see something and we are considering, “is this God, should I check it out”. “I really should check that out … TOMORROW”. And tomorrow never comes. A friend of mine used to say “I’ll do that on the 12th … the 12th of never.” Well it’s “1/2 past never” and “1/4 till when”. Are we going to see what God is doing and investigate how, when, we can be involved.

Notice, it wasn’t until Moses came over to investigate that God spoke. If his revelation doesn’t have our interest then why would he bother to speak?
So Moses investigates … God speaks “Moses! Moses!”
Moses answers … I know that’s a simple thing, but sometimes God speaks and we RUN or we pretend we don’t hear, but Moses answers.
Moses responds “HERE I am.”
Not to overplay the simple … but this statement of being I think was deep
HERE I am –> In Exile
HERE –> seeking to know what you are doing
HERE –> in confusion about who I am or what I am
HERE –> near to you, far from home
HERE I am

And God says
v5 “Don’t come closer … take off your sandals”
Such a humbling thing here. I personally can relate to this because I am a “shoe wearing guy.” Taking off my shoes is a humbling thing.
We need to see that before Moses could draw near there had to be humility. Humility and Brokenness come before Intimacy. I know that Hebrews 4:16 tells us that we can approach the throne of grace with confidence and receive mercy and grace. But that confidence is based on the completed work of Christ at the Cross.
But approaching the Work and Revelation of God is a bit different. When God reveals himself, that he is at work, he is inviting us to JOIN him. So, we have to be careful, because we often storm into his presence with our plans and big ideas. Or maybe that is just me. I know I am guilty. I am an idea guy. I get a sense of God’s move and my mind races and I come racing into God’s Throne room with a plan for him. Instead we need to humble ourselves, take off our running shoes, and recognize that God is not wanting to do something, but hoping that I will come up with a plan. God is not hoping that I have an idea so he can bless it or better yet so he can DO it for me. Be certain that God HAS a plan. So we need to humble ourselves and say “speak Lord, your servant is listening.” If you have ideas, ask God, “is this your plan or mine?” Then SCRAP YOUR PLANS and embrace his.
Pray: “God reveal yourself to me”
v6 God says “I am the God of your father … of Abraham … Isaac … Jacob …
i.e. I have been here, I have been working, I can and will continue.
Then God begins to reveal his plan vv7-10
v7 I have seen … I have heard … I am concerned …
It had been 400 years but God wasn’t oblivious, he wasn’t lazy, 400 years is a snap of a finger to him, he had a plan
v8 I have come down to rescue … bring them out
v9 the cry has reached me … I have seen
v10 So, Now Go, I am sending you …

So, then back to the Revelation of God in the Bush. It burned but was not consumed, because God was IN it. God did not need the Bush for fuel, but it was simply a container as he displayed his revelation. God does not NEED us, or our abilities, but if we surrender he uses us.
Moses was worried about his ability … but he needed to look the Bush. Moses goes on to give lots of excuses, and statements of inability, but Look at the Bush. The same God who does that can use me. God didn’t need his ability, but his availability.
As you enter the realm of God’s work this week …
See — God is at work, pay attention to what he is revealing, what he is doing
Think — God wants me to come over there
Draw Near in Humility — take off your running shoes
Listen for HIS Plans — Scrap Yours
Join him and Watch in Wonder at what he does through you.
If you had only known what would bring you peace

April 4th, 2016

Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem standing on the mount of olives
Luke 19:41-44 “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

if you’d only known what would bring you peace …

What would bring peace is a faith in a who not a what?

The coming of the Messiah was referred to as a “Mystery” that is something that is hidden. But Jesus came as the revelation of God. Jesus was the unveiling of the love and provision of God. In a world without peace, the arms of God or open wide there’s why does the arms of Christ on the cross as wide open as the empty tomb. John 14.27 Jesus says “peace I leave with you my peace I give you I did not give to you as the world gives do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”

What is the peace that he leaves? Chapter 14 verse 1-3 says “do not let your hearts be troubled and trust in God trust also in me in my fathers house are many rooms if it were not so I would’ve told you I’m going to prepare a place for you …I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am”

What is the peace three things: 1) there is a place there is room for you inGod’s plan in God’s house 2) Jesus has made provision for you 3) Jesus is coming. if you only knew … the peace people need to hear from us is that there is room for them. There is room for them in our lives, room for them in the church, more importantly there is room for them in God’s kingdom through the provision of the work of Christ! The piece that the world needs is that he knows, he cares, and He is coming! The fact that we will be attacked is a reality. The reality is we will experience hardship. Jesus said “I n this world you will have trouble but take heart I have overcome the world.” It is not going to be easy for us. When we become Christians we do not become invincible superheroes we are just fragile vessels with the hope of glory in us. In our brokenness, God’s glory shines through us.

So, 2 Corinthians 4:6 says that the same God who said “let light shine out of darkness” May the light shine in our hearts to give light of the knowledge of God in the face of Christ Jesus. And sometimes the only way we see his face is when we are not down and have to look up. Then verse seven says we have this treasure -that is the light of God’s glory – in jars of Clay to show that the surpassing power is from God and not us. Then 2 Corinthians 4 goes on to say “we are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed we always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed”

If only they knew… We need to weep for those around that do not know. But do not weep without telling them. If we tell them and they will not receive them and weep for them because it is only hidden by their unbelief, by their circumstances that wall them in. Pray for the breaking that will let the light shine. Be willing to be personally broken and vulnerable to allow the light, to shine into their lives. Pray for illumination and revelation to come forth for their transformation.
Practicing Your Faith

January 13th, 2016

Message Delivered for Men of Faith – Breakfast, 9 January, 2016

James 1:22-25; Ezekiel 33:30-32

Practicing Your Faith

Well, men, as is my case, I ask the coordinator of our meetings, now Troy, what God is saying and then I work forward from there.

Well Last week, Troy emailed me this … the topic is:

PRACTICING – God’s man learns how to apply God’s Word to all areas of life. It is essential to allowing room for accountability within the men’s ministry for the purpose of consistency and obedience to God’s Word (James 1:22-25; Ezekiel 33:30-32)

Now we haven’t read the passage yet, you are perhaps familiar with it “be doers of the word, not hearers” is the way you may remember it … … and remember I didn’t pick this topic … TROY DID … Take it up with him, but remember he is a BIG GUY.

But before we break it down a bit … I sent a note to a couple of people yesterday. One a Pastor and One a Doctor. Let’s listen to their responses

First the Pastor … Here is an email response from Pastor Ken Ansell, a friend of mine from High School, a pastor for about 15 years. We regularly talk, email, tweet, iron sharpening iron. His twitter name is … @hearanddo, So, I thought it would be good to ask Ken what he thought since it is his chosen moniker. So I asked him to give me his personal “musts” and personal “pet peeves” regarding James 1:22-25 …

Not sure this helps and all just very, very quick thoughts:

James 1:22 requires intentionality. Love is the foundation: both love of God and therefore love for people.

Tangibility. Our love, the kingdom, as we practice obedience it will be tangible. So often in our heads we are evangelizing, serving, etc. but not in our hearts or with real action.

John (the Baptist) said some good stuff in Luke 3, the biggest one that I drove the stake and “did” was the 2 coat thing,(John says if we want to SHOW we are God’s people, someone with 2 Coats should give to those who have none) Ken says it’s deeper than 2 coats, and my theology on it has evolved, but I had two coats, and gave one away, still just have the one, might seem silly, but that has changed my life. Being obedient is joy. Disobedience robs us, we always focus on the sin of disobedience but some never know the consistent joy from daily obedience.

People are undeserving, love them anyway, give to the one who asks, Matthew 5:42, stop being judge all the time … Give, do it!

This is tricky but in friendships I have to have no real agenda but love. Yes I want to share Jesus or be a catalysts for spiritual growth, but I have decided to just love and be in a permanent relationship with both non and Christian people. My two new gay friends can really make me want to back out on this but I’m hanging in there I’m not giving up when they have no movement if that makes sense.

Eph. 4:1 (“as a prisoner of the Lord … live a life worthy”) following Jesus is our vocation, I just preach to pay the bills. This gives me perspective.

The golden rule compels me, if I would like someone to bring me a Starbucks, or mow my yard, or pray, or send me an encouraging card, guess what? I have to spontaneously do those things for others.

Well, that probably does not help but my thoughts are free … I had to stop being a theorists and start being a practitioner, stop waiting on others to go with me and just go and do.

Love ya brother, hit it out of the park as always!

The Red Letters have made James 1:22,

So what did he say?

Intentionality

Love

Tangible Action

Obedience is Joy

Disobedience robs us

Stop being a Theorist

Start being a Practitioner

Just DO

So I told you I sent a note to a Pastor and a Doctor … Because we all know that Doctors “Practice Medicine” …

So here is the Response from my brother, Dr. Thomas Goforth, D.O. New York City, About “practicing” as a Doctor:

The practice of medicine is an art as well as a science. As a science we are responsible to practice “evidence based medicine,” doing things because they have evidence to support their effectiveness and safety, e.g. Knowing when is appropriate or not appropriate to give antibiotics, knowing which screening tests to recommend, which blood pressure medications are appropriate given unique medical conditions and demographic predispositions… We have to continually read, keep up with latest evidence, replace old practices with new based on current evolving knowledge of disease processes, safety/harm, side effect profiles, etc. if end points are not shown to improve, or harms outweigh the risks, we have to be willing to abandon previous traditional ways of practice. We are held accountable by standards within the medical community. Now, the is a paradigm shift of reimbursement based on outcomes. I am not only reimbursed based on volume, but based on whether or not my diabetic patients have good numbers, hypertension patients have BP controlled, children have vaccines, over 50y have colonoscopies, etc. we have peer chart reviews…

But medicine is also just as much an art. What works for one patient may not work for another, doses are not uniform in effectiveness… If you just shut up and listen to patients you will often find all the answers you need to diagnose and often even to find the solution. Like ministry, people often aren’t impressed with how smart you are if they don’t sense that you care and listen to them. My art of practice is to talk to each patient about “balance.” I call it the 4 legs of our chair. If all four legs of our chair are firmly on the ground, we will generally feel well. When legs are not in place, we don’t feel well. Our legs are: proper diet, daily physical activity (exercise), proper amount and quality of sleep, and the inner spiritual/emotional life. We generally feel well in proportion to how many legs are firmly on the floor…. Yada yada

So what did he say about Practicing?

Art and Science

Responsible to Practice Knowledge Appropriately

Continually Read to continue to Know

Accountable to Accepted Standards and Peer Reviews

Practicing is an Art … not every situation is the same though standards ARE

Listen

Balance

Yada Yada

Hmmm some pretty great advice from a Pastor and a Doctor … well, what does the Word of God say … do we really want to know?

Troy picked two VERY related passages from the Old Testament and the New … because God does not CHANGE … Let’s read them … I’m going to make some application

Ezekiel 33 begins by telling Ezekiel he is a watchman on the wall.

Gentlemen my job as a Pastor is to be a Watchman on the Wall … What do watchmen do? When they see something wrong, see danger, they SOUND the Alarm. If the people don’t respond, that is on them, but if the Watchmen doesn’t do his job it is on him. So that is what Ezekiel was doing, sounding the Alarm.

Now men, that is MY JOB every week, and people come here because they WANT to hear the message …

Ezekiel 33:30–33 (NIV84) “As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.’ ³¹ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. ³² Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. ³³ “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

V31 they come … sit … listen …

Then … what does it say? They do not put them into practice

With their mouths they express devotion – is that talking about our worship services?

But their hearts are greedy – is our lack of obedience because it will cost us too much?

One who sings love songs

Then God tells Ezekiel what he feels like … and boy can I relate … he feels like someone who sings love songs or plays great music, everyone claps … but no one leaves CHANGED …

So …

James 1:22–25 (NIV84) Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Gentlemen … don’t make me into a Pop singer … Oh I’m a musician and I love singing and playing for an audience, but the difference is that I have always wanted to CHANGE the World NOT Entertain the world …

Do not merely listen … WHY because that is the ULTIMATE Deception …

Do what it says … the only way to be truthful with the messages you hear is to DO it. Sometimes that takes great effort, sometimes it is simple, but it will ALWAYS COST you … that’s where we often stumble in the COST.

When you listen but don’t do you are lying to yourself, you are like the guy looks in the mirror knows he doesn’t look right but goes out confident in how good they look.

I saw a lady in the airport in Houston wearing Hot Pink wind shorts, a t-shirt, and cowboy boots … and I thought “she looked at her self this morning and said ‘This looks good’” … LIE … but she was walking confidently … believing the lie.

So how do we become DOERS?

V25 – looks intently into the perfect law

Doing without hearing, without knowing is selfishness, is arrogance. We MUST come and hear, we must read and study, we must KNOW

We won’t know by accident we won’t know without effort. He says don’t “merely listen” or ONLY listen. That is listening as to the radio but not doing. And that starts by Looking Intently parakupto two words – para meaning – beside and kupto which is – to bend stoop down near. Some of us don’t look at the word intently, come along side it, we just remember our favorite passages, our best times and think “that’s who I am” … it is like replacing your mirror with an Olan Mills Picture of yourself at your best. You walk up first thing in the morning and look at the “Mirror” but all you see is your best picture and you walk away and change nothing … We must STOOP Down Beside the Word, and take it in …

– the perfect law that gives freedom – oh the lie we have believe, that if we follow Jesus, if we obey him, if we are doers it is going to lock me up. I hate hearing the term that married men use when they call their wife an “old ball and chain”. Being in a loving relationship with my wife doesn’t bind me, because she loves me with her whole being, and I love her with my whole being then our relationship gives me the greatest freedom.

So the world is full of lies about what freedom is and where we can get it, but I’m going to look intently at God’s word because that’s where freedom lives.

Then just like Doctor Goforth said

– And continues to do this … this isn’t a one time thing, I was there when my Brother Graduated from Medical School, but he couldn’t stop reading and learning that day or any day.

How do we be people of TRUTH?

People of truth live by truth … By not forgetting what we had heard … but doing

Not DOING is Forgetting … we are called to remember to be DOING – word is poietes – to make. One who makes something, a DOER, a PERFORMER, a POET.

The Poetry, the Performer, the Singer, that we need is NOT the one on the stage, that preacher is only the WARM UP ACT … He is only the Inspiration … What we need is the singer on the street, the doer on the block, the Poet in the Workplace, the one who makes the gospel Real and Relevant in the world … that is YOU.

That’s what our friends have told us ….

Intentionality

Tangible Action not THEORY

Obedience is JOY

Be A Practitioner

Art and Science = that equals Faith, Feeling, and Action

Knowledge

Balance – like Likes on a Chair …

How about Spiritual Legs to Our Chair

leg 1 – Biblical Knowledge

leg 2 – Prayer

leg 3 – Witness

leg 4 – Service

And then

Worship is the chairback we lean on

So how is your Balance?

Did I give you enough answers today? Did I give you a big HOW to?

Could it be that we don’t need Answers as much as we need DOING

If we would spend time doing what we KNOW, we would find more answers

The answers are in the DOING …

That’s all gentlemen … that’s my song … are you going to applaud, are you going to throw tomatoes … or are you going to make a change?

I don’t want to be a Rock Star

I want to be a Watchman on the Wall

You are WARRIORS

Literally Warriors

Rise up like Warriors

Rise up

Nuf said … my guess is some we have some work to do …
Why Can’t I Follow NOW? – John 13:33-38

January 4th, 2016

Jesus was about to die, there is an urgency behind his words in John 13-16. the disciples didn’t understand the urgency because they didn’t know what was ahead; however, I am sure they felt the urgency even though they didn’t understand.

As they say “ours is not to reason why …”

Have you felt God’s urgency in his commands, do this or do that? Yet we have desires, other plans. Did you hear his command? do you sense the urgency? Then do it

Jesus says v33a “I will be with you only a little longer.” that’s a clear word … a disturbing word. Further clarity … v33b “where I am going you CANNOT come.” Still further CLARITY … a Command v34 “love one another” that’s the command. “as i have loved you” that is the comparison, the qualifier. The Purpose v35? “by this (your love) all men will know that you are my disciples.”

yet in spite of the clarity, Peter, like us, like all “children”, is stuck on what he CANNOT do “you cannot come”

Peter v36 says “Lord, where are you going?”

It doesn’t matter because “you cannot come now, but you will follow later”

v37 “Lord why can’t I follow you NOW?”

Oh the tyranny of the NOW. Peter reveals his immaturity in this exchange. He is setting aside the clear instruction, the clear commands, the clear purpose, the clear separation of yes and no, and instead wanting to focus on the unknown and the not now. One of the clearest evidences of immaturity is impatience and impertence.

“Why not now daddy?” “Why not now Lord?”

I’ve said it many times to parents, and also to Christians seeking an answer from God, “no is not a bad word”. No is sometimes the answer of a loving parent and a loving God.

“Why can’t I do this NOW Lord?”

“Because NOW I said NO. Because NOW I have a different purpose. Because NOW you are to LOVE one Another.”

They were to love one another for two reasons: one spoken, and one unspoken. The spoken reason was that the world may know you are mine. Follow me, love like me, as an agent of revelation to a watching world. The Unspoken reason was that their world was about to get shaken. Jesus would be taken, then return, but then leave and they were going to NEED one another. Jesus leaves us behind because somebody needs us. So, look up, look around, this is not about you. This is HIS Story. So if he says “you can’t come.” “You cannot go.” “You stay here.”

1) you don’t know yourself as well as you think you do. Peter said “I will lay down my life” and Jesus says “yeah well, not today you won’t, you aren’t that strong yet.”

2) you don’t know his plans like you think you do. Jesus said “yes you WILL follow me, but LATER, you WILL lay down your life

3) he has a purpose – But TODAY Love, Encourage, Wait

Jesus was urgent in his words. He was sober in his words, so NOT going NOW, must be important.

Trust the Urgency

Trust the Instruction

Wait when he says “wait”.

The “exciting” will come soon enough. His plans are more important than mine and more perfect than mine. His timing is impeccible.

As High as the Heavens are above the earth, so much higher are your thoughts than my thoughts, your ways than my ways Oh Lord

So 14:1 Jesus says “Do not let your hearts be troubled (in the waiting) Trust in God; Trust also in me.”
I Made You … Listen to Me

December 9th, 2015

Two great deceptions we often fall for 1) God doesn’t speak to me, so I don’t need to listen and 2) There isn’t anything for me to do

I have said for years that God doesn’t make “knick-knacks”. You know those things that you picked up somewhere, someone gave you, they have no purpose other than to sit on your shelf, gather dust, and perhaps facilitate a memory. God doesn’t make “knick-knacks”, and he doesn’t buy “knick-knacks”> Yet you were created with intention and love. You were purchased with great price, the precious blood of Jesus.
So, Isaiah calls out to those near Israel and those far away Islands and distant nations, and he uses himself as an example to say “God made me, God made you, so we need to LISTEN to him.” To say “do not imagine for a minute that your position or posture means that you do not have a purpose, so pay attention.”

Isaiah 49:1–7 (NIV84)
1 Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name. 2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. 3 He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.” 4 But I said, “I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand, and my reward is with my God.” 5 And now the LORD says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength— 6 he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” 7 This is what the LORD says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

v1 – Listen to me – this is the testimony of a witness and the call of a creator … “Listen … open your ear, open your heart, engage your mind, turn away from other chatter, and listen to me.”
Hear this … this is important
You Islands and you distant nations – this message is for two groups 1) those who are God’s people and have been scattered by invaders and 2) Those within those lands who do not acknowledge yet the Lord
Before I was born, the Lord called me … From my birth, he has made mention
Do you believe that God has always had plans for you and it is for those plans that you were created? Or, do you believe that when you acknowledged and believed THEN he decided “well I have to find something to do with them?” If you have yet to receive him, he still has a plan for you.
v2 For Isaiah he made your mouth, a sharpened sword
Perhaps you have a child with a quick tongue and it drives you crazy … that is from God it just has to be sharpened correctly and taught to be used.
He Hid me polished me, and concealed me
He has not forgotten you, he has hidden you and is preparing you. Sometimes we tend to cry out and say “Lord what are you doing? Why am I in this bag. Look, I’m straight and shiny, sharp, and yet stagnant. Load me up and fire me Lord.” But our Master Archer, says “not yet child, not yet, I have a purpose. Let’s polish a little more, let’s sharpen a little more.”

v3 But your day will come, but better yet, we should say HIS day will come. “you are my servant … in whom i will display my splendor” He is the vine, WE are the branches … we reach out FROM him, we reach out FOR him, we find our fullness in our connection to him.
v4 Here comes an honest statement that shows we don’t understand … i have worked for nothing … spent my strength for nothing … yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand. I am his to use as he desires. He is my portion and reward. He can pay me as and when he desires. Remember our Labor is not in vain in the Lord 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Stand firm let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of hte Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
You will never spend one day, one dollar, one devotion that is for nothing if it is to the Lord and from his direction. Oh it will wear us out at times, but he renews our strength and we will not faint.
v5 Remember the Lord FORMED us … we are ergodynamic. That is our form is designed for our purpose. “Lord, why am I different than they are, than that one?” “My child it is because you are made for a different purpose.” “So Lord, how come I don’t get any honor or credit.”
“Oh child, I see … you ARE honored in my eyes and will be honored in my presence.”
Luke 18:28, Peter says “we have left all we had to follow” vv29-30 “The truth … no one who has left … for the sake of the kingdom … will fail to receive many times as much …”
v5b He is our reward … and our strength … I am your strength
Psalm 73:26 God is my strength and my portion forever
SO
v6 – Since he is my reward, my portion, my strength … It is not a LITTLE thing for me to use you that is a huge thing. But see it as it is written It is a small thiing to serve him … to follow him … to be hid … to be used … to be sharpened … to be polished … to be fired … it is ALL his doing, his purpose
I will make you a light … that was his purpose in different ways but still for all to display his splendor
v7 WHY? He Created, he knows, he redeems, he is the unique one of a kind Holy One. People will see and get up, will see and bow down.
He is faithful, He is Choosing, He has chosen me …
Near or Far
Known or Unknown
Ready or Being Readied

You are His
He has Chosen You
My Kingdom Is From Another Place

October 26th, 2015

John 18:36 My Kingdom is not of this world … my kingdom is from another place

Where is your territory? What do you fight to protect? Do we sometimes fight for things that are of THIS world?

Things of this world

are about me

will not last

may not glorify God

will give temporary returns on investment

So often we are involved in “turf wars” and we want to set up fences and fight. In the southwest, there were cattle herders and sheep herders. Cattle were managed by cowboys on horseback and they grazed. Sheep though would strip a place bald and were fenced in and so territory wars broke out over the sheep and cattle and fences or no fences. The question for us is what are we fighting for? Are we battling for territory or treasures, souls or surface things? Are we fighting for things WE own or things we manage?

Jesus said “My Kingdom is NOT OF this world.”
I think the great challenge for us in ministry is to keep our battles in the right realm and keep our attacks focused on the right enemy. What does Ephesians 6:12 say? We struggle NOT against FLESH and blood … So if we are fighting an enemy with a human face, we are missing the real enemy. Why was Jesus able to face Caiaphus, Herod, and Pilate and remain calm, at peace? It was because his enemy didn’t have a human face. His enemy was not flesh and blood. Our enemy is our own selfish desires, and satan’s desires. My kingdom is not of this world, my battle is not in this realm. If we have our heels dug in, fighting for earthly territory, we are fighting in the wrong plain.

Strive for Souls … battle the real enemy.

Psalm 42:2-11 NIV84

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while men say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God,
with shouts of joy and thanksgiving
among the festive throng.
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and 6 my God.
My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
8 By day the Lord directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”
10 My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

We easily are downcast when we have our heart and focus on earthly things

Put Your hope in God.

David closes out Psalm 17 with the correct perspective. After talking about the fleshly one who seems to always have enough, though God’s child might seem to be left out … David says

But as for me, I will behold your face in righteousness, and be satisfied when I wake with your likeness
As the Father Has Sent Me, I am Sending You

October 26th, 2015

John 20:21 NIV84 Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me. I am sending you

Jesus appears to his disciples while their world is still in a turmoil. Jesus died on Friday. Here it is Sunday evening. He is reported alive, seen by Mary and he appears to his disciples behind locked doors in the upper room. “Peace be with you” Oh he had never really left them, he is always with us. He told them on Thursday “I will never leave you nor forsake you” But now darkness has given way to life. Jesus is standing in front of them and says “Peace be with you” v19 and then v20 he shows them his hands and side, probably as they are just standing there with their mouths wide open. So in v21 again Jesus said “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

I’m sure they had been thinking, since Friday, that the story was over for them. Maybe they were next to die. Thinking “if we survive this, what now, back to fishing, back to tax collecting, back to find something else about which to be zealous.”

But Jesus says “this is not the end of the story, this is the beginning … I am sending you”

But HOW is he sending us?

1. At Peace

Regardless of the struggle around us … At Peace

Peace where it matters. Peace from God. Peace within us

Jesus had said to them Thursday night, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.”

Now they see this statement in the flesh. Oh listen “trouble” was just starting for them. The moment we make peace with God, the struggles really begin. The attacks of the evil one, the struggle of the flesh and our new nature, it is only starting. Persecution is coming, but peace be with you. So then we are sent, at peace, as ministers OF peace.

And we are sent

2. AS the Father Sent

How was Jesus sent?

He was sent with a clearly defined purpose. He came humble. He came emptied of glory. He came an intentional servant. He came committted to the plan of the Father. His purpose was to live in perfection, declare God’s glory, die a sacrificial death, redeeming and reconciling all who would believe. Then he came to rise victorious over sin and death.

We then are sent to live in his righteousness. We are to live in humility. Check James 4:7-10. We are submissive to his will, victorious over satan, drawing near him, daily dying, dealing with external sin struggles, humble before him, and he will lift us up in due time. We are sent intentionally to serve. Jesus had said if I your master have come not to be served but to serve, how much more should you serve.

We have a clear mission. As you go, (Matthew 28:19-20)make disciples, that is imitating followers, baptizing them in the name of Father, Son, and Spirit. We go to all (Acts 1:8) nations as witnesses telling them what we have seen and heard.

And so we are

3. Sent

I don’t men to be redundant, but he is sending us, SENT.

Again it is about living with purpose. He doesn’t say “get out of here.” he doesn’t say “just go, have fun, do as you please.”

No, we are SENT. We belong to him, so we must go as HIS children, his Ambassadors. We are SENT. We are commanded so we can’t just live and minister aimlessly, when we feel like it. No we are SENT.

Pray: Lord you are always at work. You have sent me. So, what are you doing and how can I join you?”

The Greatest Peace we can know is NOT in the ABSENCE of Trouble or Conflict, but in the Presence of Christ, and Our presence in the world, sent by Him.
Men of Faith – Taking the Lead

October 6th, 2015

Men of Faith Breakfast
Taking the Lead
Ephesians 4:31-32

I asked Troy what God was saying to him for today and if there was a theme or focal scripture for today. So, he wrote me back and pointed me to Ephesians 4:31-32
Ephesians 4:31–32 (NIV84)
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
And then Troy said his reason is that if a man is head of the household, then he must Lead with Faith.

So you see there two lists: Don’ts and Dos … but Paul in these verses puts them in two categories “get rid of” and “be”.
The phrase “get rid of” means “to take away, to withdraw from the bank”. So we are saying here … Where will you spend or deposit your resources? Where will you deposit your wealth and what will you have when you come back for a withdrawal. So, bad accounts to deposit your wealth are in the first list
Get Rid of
– Bitterness – that is a frame of mind that is resentful, thinking we deserve better than we get
– Rage – is excessive anger that becomes a flashpoint
– Anger – not definitive anger, but distorted by uncontrolled passions
– Brawling – anger acting out physically
– Slander – it isn’t always lying but it is evil speaking about someone in order to hurt them or their reputation
– Malice – Wuerst says this is the root of the rest, a hateful feeling
Those are the bad accounts … where we deposit our resources, passions, actions

Be – ginomai – Become = Abandon one thought for another. Change Banks for your Deposit
– Kind – good, kind, easy
– Compassionate – displaying felt affection, tenderhearted
– Forgiving – this is not forgiving in the sense of bearing the sin in atonement but charizomai – comes from the same word charis … Grace. To do a favor … not deserved, but pleasant, benevolent …
So … simple list of dos and don’ts … we know what we are supposed to do …
But Troy said he was interested in these verses because WE are supposed to LEAD
So, what is this about taking the lead? What is Paul teaching us? We don’t learn it from just two verses. Hopefully today I’m going to make you think. Hopefully I’m going to make you go back and read the entire section.

What are we learning about leading our families?

1. Leading Comes From an Understanding of Position

4:1 says “As a prisoner of the Lord … live a life worthy of the calling … be humble, gentle, patient bearing with each other.”
Why? Because I am a Prisoner of God’s Grace
Every other instruction is based on this understanding.
Jesus is Sovereign Lord of All, Creator, Redeemer, the One who gave his life to purchase yours … if you have never surrendered to him, you will be a frustrated Leader at best or a cruel dictator at worst.
Our position is that we serve under authority. We can’t lead without understanding that
The worst leaders are those who want no accountability
The worst leaders are those who think they world revolves around, rises and falls with them.
Great leaders understand their position, those over them, those under their responsibility.
I have heard recently retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey saying “my job is not to create policy, but to recommend and implement the plan to carry out the policies and objectives we are given.”

So, I belong to Christ. I am under authority, so I cannot just do whatever I want.

So as we continue to Read this Chapter and Understand

2. Leaders Understand More is Caught Than Taught

Paul says that God has given us church leaders to help us become mature so we aren’t tossed about by the waves. You don’t get there alone. Submitting to and welcoming instruction and mentoring
Paul talks about Actions, Attitudes, and Accountability in this chapter. If our kids are rebellious, angry, selfish, … where did they get that?
I’m not saying we can’t lead unless we are perfect men, but we have to be transparent with our family. When we ignore the rules that we don’t think are important, our family is watching. If your kids obey YOU, but not your wife, maybe they are catching it from you. Do you follow? Do you speak respectfully? Do you process and control your anger or do you rage? They are watching. Do you always act like everyone owes you something? Actions, Attitudes and Accountability. I can’t just do what I want.
Ephesians 4:22–23 (NIV84)
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;

I must get rid of the one list and become the other because I am accountable to our God and Savior and because I am leading others. V30 says “do not grieve the Holy Spirit” … We are accountable to the Spirit who lives in us. What does that mean?
1 Thessalonians 5:19 calls it “putting out the Spirit’s Fire”. It hinders the fire of transformation in our lives as well as for those we lead, beginning with our family.
I won’t develop it, but if you want to Fan the Flame instead of quenching the Spirit … it is found there in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 … Read it later, but here are the cliff notes
• Rejoice Always
• Pray Always (without ceasing)
• Give Thanks Always (in everything)
• Test Everything
• Always abstain from every kind of evil

So … as we understand it is Caught more than Taught …

The Last thing on Taking the Lead then is

3. Leadership Has a Clear Vision

Be, Live, Say …

If you continue chapter 5:1 it says “Be Imitators of God as Dearly Loved Children”
– Be Imitators of God as dearly loved children
Lift your eyes. Lift your target. Your family is going to follow YOU first, so don’t compare yourself to someone else, aim higher, imitate God
How?
As Dearly Loved Children
Stop saying I will do this as soon as I’m good enough, mature enough, it fits your schedule or personality.
No, as Loved Children – don’t you love it when your children try and imitate you? How do children imitate? The word is to mimic.
Imitate God like Loved Children
• What God does, You just do it because you are imitating God
• You don’t care how it looks, you just do it, imitating God
• You don’t care if it fits or looks cool, just do what God does
• You don’t care if you are good at it, you just imitate God
Like a child loving Daddy, knowing Daddy loves them

Be … Live …

– Live a Life of Love
Live a LIFE … not occasionally, weekly, monthly the word peripateo means walk, behave, conduct, in a manner of living
Make your life … LOVE – agape … This is not sensual love that makes me feel. This is not conditional love that asks what have you done for me? This is DEVOTION. We do it because we choose TO. How do we live this manner of life love.
• As Christ loved you … don’t miss that what he has done for you is a past action, a present reality, and a future expectation. Love like Christ, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
• He gave himself up … It is not enough to bring your children here to be taught God’s Word. And Send them to school to learn, and to a coach to be trained … You give them YOURSELF … it is the best you will give them, particularly if you are seeking God
• As a sacrifice … God loves it because he loves you … do it as an act of worship

Be … Live … Say …
– Say … back to 4:29 … we have to watch what comes out … Only let out what is beneficial. Only allow what is:
• Helpful
• For Building Up
• According to their needs

Men your wives, your children, need to hear your voice. But is what they hear helpful (good, fair, generous) Helpful to building up? Is there a positive future for those words? Is there a useful structure? According to their Needs?
Understand me men. I’m not saying you have to go around saying sweet nothings …
Sometimes correction is needed
Sometimes discipline
Sometimes Grace or Mercy
Sometimes it is an Apology that is needed from US
But Always it is with Love and an Expressed Vision of the Desired Future
That is Taking the Lead
So
Ephesians 4:31–32 (NIV84)
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

You know where do you get rid of it and where do you get what you need? His name is Jesus

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