Tag: Jim Goforth
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Oswald Chambers speaking on Enoch said, “the test of a man’s life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments in life, but what he does in the ordinary times.”
Enoch was a man, a husband, a father, a grandfather, and he walked with God… He was in the 7th Generation of Man in Creation.
Genesis 5:23-24 Enoch’s life lasted 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him
So he lived walking with God, and then he was no longer on the earth, but he was still WITH God.
There are just five verses in Genesis, two in Hebrews, two in Jude regarding this man. Yet the first verses and the last verses are 3000 years apart, and here we are 5000 years after, and we still know him.
Genesis 5:19 tells us that his father’s name was Jared. That name means, “to go down, bow down.” he is recorded to have lived 962 years, and yes I believe in a literal understanding. Though we can’t relate to that, he was 162 when he fathered Enoch. That’s sort of hard to imagine, but if I live to be 100, it would mean that my oldest son was born about the same time in my life, which is about 20% of my life, just like Jared’s son was born at about the same ratio of his life.
Interestingly, Enoch was 65 when his son, Methuselah, was born, which turned out to be roughly the same ratio of his life.
If he lived 1/5th of his life, he had done many things, seen many things in life.
He worked, working the ground, raising animals, probably lived close to his family. He met a woman, fell in love with her, and she became his wife. Then, they had a son.
What was life like? Don’t know much, but his son, Methuselah, had his son Lamech, and Enoch would have been 252, and lived another 48 years, yet was not still on earth when his Great Grandson, Noah, was born. Yet Lamach said about Noah, “this one will bring us relief from the agonizing labor with our hands, caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.”
Well, seven generations, and the sin of Genesis 3 was hard. He was working the ground, raising a family, and he had other sons and daughters…
What else do we know? 3000 Years after he left his earth…
Jude wrote Jude 14-15 tell us that he was a Forceful Preacher of Prophesy saying that he prophesied, “Look! the Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and convict all the ungodly…”
WOW… we don’t know much more
But most significantly, the writer of Hebrews has the “Hall of Fame of the Faithful” in Hebrews 11…
Faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen… by this our ancestors were approved… Hebrews 11:1-2…
Then 11:3 By faith we understand the universe was created by God… made from things that are not visible 4 by faith Abel offered a better sacrifice… he was approved as a righteous man… because God approved his gifts… though dead, he still speaks through his faith
Point being, God gave instructions for how to live, how to worship – Abel followed, Cain did not.
Then step forward many generations to Enoch.
Hebrews 11:5 by faith, Enoch was taken away… did not experience death… God took him away… FOR before he was taken away he was approved as one who pleased God.
That word, approved is the word, martyreo = testify, bear witness. The Testimony of Enoch’s life was that he pleased God – euaresteo = pleasing and interestingly this word is both a verb AND a noun. Because he acted in pleasing God, he WAS pleasing to God.
Now, then, just to be sure that we GET THE POINT… the context then of verse 6 is often quoted alone, but here in the context of the life of Enoch, it is a challenge to us to be like Enoch and these faithful in Hebrews 11
… he was approved as one pleasing to God 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draw near to him must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who seek him.
Oh, some believe IN God, but don’t obey God, believing that God has expectations that we must follow.
Compare Abel and Cain… both came to God in perceived worship, but only one of them worshiped as instructed and from the heart.
Remember God told Cain… if you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? He had been told, but he would not.
Yet, Enoch was approved, his life gave a witness, that as a man, husband, father, grandfather, worker, friend, preacher, he believed God, sought to obey God, drew near to God, walked close to God, in line with God, according to the Lord…
… and then, he was no more on earth… yet he was still WITH God.
My desire and full expectation for now and into eternity is to be with God, pleasing to God, giving that testimony – One Step One Walk… at a time…
Enoch walked with God – halak = to go, to come, accompany, to behave
Let it be said of me… that I “behaved, accompanied God, coming and going”
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Let me just ramble for a minute as I did yesterday morning looking at this passage.
The Word “boast” or “boasting” is kauchaomai – Paul kind of likes this word. He uses it 10x in his letter to the Romans, as well as 10x in his First Letter to the Corinthians. but in the Second Letter to the Corinthians he uses it 16x just in chapters 10-12.
Paul is going somewhere. In 10:17 he says, let the one who BOASTS, boast in the Lord. Paul is not boasting for approval, but for attention because he has a JOB to do. and he knows 10:18 that the Lord will be on the one who commends him, whose approval he seeks.
Then in chapter 11 Paul describes his “job” in a similar fashion to John the Baptist in John 3. Remember when John’s disciples came up to him about this new “upstart” that’s getting all the attention, and he’s doing “our thing” and baptizing people.
John then says in John 3:29, that he is just a friend of the groom. It was the role of the best man, as we would know him, to make everything ready and bring the bride to the groom.
All the friend of the groom wanted was to make arrangements, bring the bride, for the groom to be pleased, and the bride find fulfillment in the arrangements. Other than that, the friend took a backseat. Certainly, he wanted / needed to present himself well, as a representative of the groom, but then he would decrease and he (the groom) must increase, John explained (3:30)
Paul has his role in a similar way. Paul’s great concern was for the people of the church, as he desires to bring them TO the Groom and protect them from distraction from that destination.
Reading these chapters, there were obviously deceivers in their midst, and to build their case, they had been boasting about their knowledge and qualifications. So, Paul decides to play that game.
They obviously were boasting in themselves, but Paul says, boast in the Lord.
But I love the game he plays starting in 10:15 – “Alright… I’ll play the fool and boast a little. 11:20… I’ll take the dare, talking foolishly… and boast.
Then Paul gives his “resume” for suffering in 11:23-29 – read that… woah.
Then 11:30 – “I’d rather boast in my weaknesses”. But 12:1 It’s not really profitable to boast, but if necessary, I could talk about visions I’ve seen. 12:6 just telling the truth here… Then he boasts of the great struggles, 12:7-10 – physical afflictions / weaknesses, that God has allowed and will not take away because God’s grace is sufficient and God’s strength is made perfect in his weakness.
I know I’m rambling… but why all of this? Paul wants a faithful, blessed, purely presented Bride
11:2-3 (CSB) I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy… because I have promised you in marriage to one husband – to present you a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
What is his job?
- Bring people to Jesus
- Offer them to Christ as an act of “Evangelistic Worship”
- Protect them from false teachings and false acting
- Guard against deception
Adam and Eve took their eyes off of truth, love, and promises. The evil one has always called into question the Goodness of God and the Word of God, and those who knowingly or unwittingly do his work, still do the same.
These followers were in danger of the same, and so it happens in the church the danger of being seduced – phtheiro = corrupt, destroy, ruin.
What we teach, in the church, what we allow is very important. Adam and Eve had a perfect relationship with God like none other have ever experienced, and yet still they were seduced, corrupted, destroyed, ruined.
Well, we have an opportunity to now be another voice in the struggle against deceivers and deception
So,
- Let’s be IN Love with Jesus
- Let’s be On Mission
- Let’s be Careful and Faithful to step in between truth and deception
- Let’s Preach a Clear Jesus, that is based on the Word of God, and offer a Pure gospel, Clearly and Faithfully, doing everything in our power to present the Bride to Christ.
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So, in the growing face of division on the ethnic front, my frustration is often that the church is either silent, or so loud that you can’t hear, and generally loud about the wrong things.However, in the reality that the church, especially the church of a lighter hue of skin, is often silent on these issues, there is an opportunity.
Do you ever have a friend who never says anything, and then they finally speak, and everyone just stops and listens? Well, silent church, it’s time to speak. It’s time for the church to be the church. It is time for the church to model Our Lord, humble ourselves and get into the equation, in order to draw men to God.
The idea of one group or another thinking that they have supremacy over another is ludicrous. The idea of differing “races” is first designed to divide us. The truth genetically is that there really is only one race, the human race. There is so little difference between differing ethnicities that you cannot divide us into “races” genetically. A difference in hue of skin is not enough to call for supremacy. We are different ethnicities, we are different nationalities, we are differing cultures, but even those are not limited to hue of skin or language spoken. Some of the greatest atrocities in history have been carried out in the name of supremacy. Even if supremacy were a reality, what should be the attitude of the one who thinks themselves supreme?
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on the cross! (Philippians 1:5-8)
The most Supreme Being in the universe, who has lived in and out of time for eternity, who created all things, who is himself completely pure and holy, did not consider his Supremacy something to be flaunted, but emptied himself, made himself nothing, took up the clothing of a servant, and served!
What should the church, the people of God be doing in the world? No less. We may be ourselves “innocent” of any wrongdoing, though that is probably not true, but still even if we are, there is action to be taken. We are given the ministry of reconciliation by God in 2 Corinthians 5. That, I believe, includes reconciliation between God and man, and people to people. Why, because Paul also says in Ephesians that the great mystery of the work of God is that people who were separate are brought together by God. People who were God’s Special people, and people who were not, are brought together by the work of Christ at the cross. How can WE do any less?
The expectation of God has always been that his people would be loving toward outsiders in an effort to bring them inside. Oh I am not talking about our right and expectation to defend ourselves against those bent on destruction and desolation. But the issue is that God always has a place for the outsider who desires to be in.
Homeless/Displaced, Fatherless, Faithless, Spouseless, Voiceless –
God has always reached out and always calls his people to do the same. Why? Because we have ALL been on the outside. We all needed to be brought in, and Christ has made that possible for all of us.
I don’t want to take time for an exhaustive exposition of the scriptures on this topic, but let me bring up a few
Exodus 22:22–24 (NIV84)
22 “Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
Expectation? Responsibility? Accountability? Yes, yes, yes.
Deuteronomy 10:18–21 (NIV84)
18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. 20 Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.
Did you see verse 19 “and you …” there is an expectation and a reason … “for you yourselves were … (so) fear the Lord … serve … hold fast … he is your God”
In Deuteronomy 16:11 – every category or division of persons are called to Praise and Worship God together
Deuteronomy 24:17–22 (NIV84)
17 Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this. 19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
What does God think about our failure to join him in these things? Notice here what God says, AND that the response of God’s people is “Amen” (so be it)
Deuteronomy 27:19 (NIV84)
19 “Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
Psalm 10:14, 18 (NIV84)
14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.
How do we understand love?
In 1 John 3:16-18, we see love, and see the expected response from those who know the love of God.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.”
Love requires action and is directed toward those who need it, not just toward those to whom we want to give it, or to those who give it to us. But if the scripture stopped there, Jesus did that, we would be left to decide if we should just say “thank you” or if something else was expected of us in response. But then the Holy Spirit inspired John to continue in v17 …
and WE ought to LAY down OUR lives for our BROTHERS …
Then speaking materially John says if we see our brother in need (having ability to meet the need) and do not meet the need, how can the love of God be in us?Brothers and sisters in Christ, this takes the Spiritual response of Christ that entered the Physical Realm of laying down his life, then ties it to material needs … But the principle is there. If there is a need, and we CAN meet the need, but will not, how is that a reflection of one who is indwelt by the Spirit of God? So then John tells the Church what to do in v18 …
let us not love with words or tongue, but with action and in truth …
What should the church be doing and saying?
It is time for the church which is often silent, to speak up. Here is our opportunity. It is time for the church, which is often seen in the posture of kneeling in prayer, or standing in worship, to get busy walking in truth and acting in love. I tweeted out today, “if the church Lives Love, we earn the right to speak. When we do NOT love, we cannot speak, we lose our right to lead when we do not Live Love.”
So then, let me come back to two scriptures and close,
Psalm 146:5–10 (NIV84)
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— the Lord, who remains faithful forever. 7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, 8 the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10 The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord.
This is what God does. He is our hope, he is the hope of the one who is hopeless and will but turn to him. Remember Isaiah quotes God as saying “Turn to Me and Be Saved all the ends of the earth.” Oh that the Church of the Lord would live like he lives IN us. That we would be a place that upholds the cause of the oppressed, hungry, the prisoner, the blind, the broken, the displaced, the fatherless, the spouseless. If God stands with them and for them, we better get on God’s side.
Then … here is a vision for the church in the world today …
Psalm 68:1–6 (NIV84)
1 May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him. 2 As smoke is blown away by the wind, may you blow them away; as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God. 3 But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. 4 Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds— his name is the Lord— and rejoice before him. 5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. 6 God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
Oh could we tread on thin ice here and put ourselves, as imitators of God, in this equation? Let me say it this way …
Let The Church Arise, may the enemies be scattered; may their foes flee before them. As smoke blown away by the wind, as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God. May the righteous be glad and rejoice, be happy and joyful. Sing to God, sing praise to his name, and rejoice before him. But may we be more than worshipers in a church building. May the church, modeling God, be a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, believing we must, because God is on his throne in the Holy Place. May the church be God’s instrument for settling the lonely in our families, leading forth prisoners with singing instead of stealing their song. May their ever be room, for all, in our walls, who are needy and seeking. May there be NO ROOM, for those who will abuse and divide.
Let us, dear children, love, not just with words or with tongue, in silence and separation, but let us love with action and in truth, out of the church and into the streets.
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Luke 18, Jesus has a several famous encounters in this and chapter 19. But I started at what we call the “Rich Young Ruler”.
This story is in the midst of the ministry years. After this, he heals a blind man, then he enters Jericho and meets that diminutive man named Zacchaeus.
Before this, Jesus tells a parable showing that if we persist in prayer, we can know that God grants justice. Then in v9 he told a parable to some who “trusted in themselves” and took pride in their own goodness while looking down on others who didn’t live up to their self-created standards.
Then Jesus encouraged children coming to him. “Let the little children come to me because the kingdom belongs to such as these.” He takes it a step further to say that whoever does not receive the kingdom like a little child will never enter it.
In the midst of that, a young man and a ruler, asked, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
Now, if he was a “ruler”, then he wasn’t too “young”, as that’s a relative term. He wasn’t aged, but was old enough for authority, and asks, what must I do?. That of course is the wrong question.
How do little children come?
- With Excitement
- With Expectation
- With Faith
- With Openness
- With Humility
Jesus said, if you want a “to do list” – you have the law. “I have kept all these from my youth”. We all have a list of what we’ve done or tried to do… and yet, we ALL come up short of the glory of God.
Then v22 When he (Jesus) heard this, he told him, ‘you still lack one thing’ (leipo = fall short) sell all you have… then come follow me.
It is not what we DO, but who we follow and how.
If you read on, the disciples say, this is hard so the disciples wonder, then who can be saved?
- Jesuus answers, what is impossible with man is possible for God.
Yes, it is hard to follow Jesus, particularly when we have “wealth”, whether that is money, property, possessions, competence, or confidence – those things make it hard to follow Christ. I’ve often said it’s easier for the “down-and-out” to come than the “up-and-out”. They often have the hardest time coming to the Lord.
Jesus flips those two words. The root word for ability is dynamai (looks like dynamite) and means to be able. The word then “possible” comes from that root and is dynatos – possible/powerful. Yet if you add “a” to the front, adynatos = impossible. God DOES flip the script from impossible to possible.
- This one thing you lack… you are holding on to your own competency…
- Sell it all – Lay It Down… and
- Come Follow Me
That man went away sad… why? Because he wasn’t willing to comes as a child.
Children, generally, don’t have wealth, don’t have influence, but they come with excitement, expectation, faith, and humility, desiring to be touched by God.
Peter said, “Look, we have left what we had and followed you.” You can almost see him making a “check mark” in the sky.
Yes, Luke 5:11 they pulled up their boats on short, left everything, and followed him.
But when we “Leave Everything…” – LEAVE IT. Let it go. Stop Keeping score. Don’t expect reimbursement. As long as I keep score, I haven’t “LEFT” it. Jesus said to the man, “sell it all”… then “give away the profit”.
Interestingly, in John 21, after the resurrection, Peter and the disciples still had access to their boats and went back to fishing – but if you read it, Jesus came them a fresh call and commission – Then they TRULY Left Everything and gave the fullness of their lives to him, to the point of death.
Jesus tells them to rest assured that no one who has left everything – people, possessions, purposes, priorities, posture, anything – will be repaid much more now and in eternity.
Then he tells them WHERE following him will lead. It will result in the fulfillment of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, and so much more, as he will be… handed over… mocked… insulted… spit on… flogged… killed… but will rise on the third day…
v34 they understood non of these things… they did not grasp what was said…
I think sometimes, we don’t understand, so we do not go.
“I don’t understand this, Lord.”
I can hear Jesus saying, “What DID you understand?”
“Well Lord, you said, ‘follow me’.
“So then, DO THAT, and leave the rest up to me.”
Here I come Lord… excited, expectant, humble, faith filled, following…
Touch me Lord.
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Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:1-2 to those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ 2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God…
Peter, though a “first follower” and leader, an Apostle chosen by God in Christ, did not think he had something that others could not have, but recognized that all can receive equal grace, equal promises fulfilled, because it’s all about, from, and through Jesus to all who believe.
So, may grace be multiplied to you…
Then he teaches such powerful things about growth in Christ in chapters one and two. And as he must have been aware that his days were numbered by both age and the attack of evil which would take his life as a martyr in the faith, he shifts to understanding that our days are numbered…
Since 3:11 these things are to be dissolved… so we should be holy and godly 12 as you wait…
If you live 5, 10, or 100 years, a “day” for the Lord… v8 is like 1000 years for us. So my life, over 60 years, has only been like about 90 minutes by the Lord’s watch. (if you know watches… I’m sure the Lord’s Watch must be a “Doxa” that’s why I have one)
So, if MY life has only been about 90 minutes… it’s only been about “two days” since Peter wrote these words, and then “any day now” he could come… or maybe in “5 or 10 or 90 minutes”.
With that understanding, focus on the right things, while you wait
v14 while you wait for these things…
- Be found without spot… at peace
- Recognize delay = salvation for someone else
- be on your guard… not led away by error… which can move us away from truth and purpose
Then 3:18
- Grow in Grace and Knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Oh my, sadly I know people who “seem” to be growing in Knowledge” but don’t seem to be growing in Grace – charis = grace, kindness, blessing, concession, favor.
I won’t make more of it than to say – Grow IN – axiano = to make grow, cause growth, full grown. It is a verb in the Present, Active, Imperative tense. That means “Right Now, you MUST cause to grow toward full growth and maturity.”
So, we don’t grow TO grace, that is a gift of God, but we are to grow IN Grace. We don’t achieve grace, but we do need to grow IN it.
I was born to my family, but then IN my family I did need to grow up to be who we are, love what we love, do what we do.
We raised our sons that way, “this is who we are, grow into that, or do not do this or that because that’s not who we are, so put that aside.”
Knowing that any day now Jesus is coming again, I want to grow up to be more like him today in grace, and know who he is, what he expects, what he does, and what he doesn’t do – then seek to be that.
In Grace – Grow to be Gracious, Grace Filled, Grace Giving, Grace revealing…
… So that I become more Special? Famous?… NO
3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – To HIM be the Glory, both now and to the Day of Eternity
Grow in Grace to Glorify Jesus, Make His Name Great, Make Him Famous, Make Him Glorious
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Most of us will never “see” the Lord with eyes or audibly hear his voice with
ears, but we have his Word and his Spirit within us.
God reveals himself to us and what then do we do with that?
How do we “see the Lord”? There are words that come to mind that Position us to see and hear the Lord.
- Posture
- Preparation
- Provision
- Presistence
- Presence
I was then looking at several passages where “saw the Lord” is shown. One that came to mind was in Daniel 7:13-14. Daniel saw the coming future of the full dominion of one like the son of man with clouds of heaven… given dominion, glory, and a Kingdom… every people, nation, and language to serve him in an everlasting indestructible Kingdom and then in v15 his reaction My spirit was deeply distressed and the visions in my mind terrified me.
Seeing God, sounds exciting, but it is frightening and carries responsibility.
But of course, the most famous passage is Isaiah 6. The prophet shares his testimony, In the year that King Uzziah died, I Saw the Lord…
Isaiah had a vision to prepare him to be used by God as his voice to the people of HIS day, but then literally to every generation since who seek the Lord. Isaiah was used by God to give us a clear picture of God’s call to his people, the Provision of the coming Messiah, and what the days would be like when he restores all things.
To See the Lord, Preparation has to happen and Posturing takes place. Sometimes this happens intentionally, and other times it is circumstantial.
I’ve read, pondered, taught, and preached from this passage many times, but the word of God is living and active… and I saw something yesterday that felt very real and relatable to me.
In the YEAR that King Uzziah died… Uzziah was a great king, militarily, in building projects, and in his love and passion for God. Uzziah was a man who sought the Lord and led his people to do the same. But for Isaiah, it is believed that he and Uzziah were related, perhaps as an Uncle or Cousin. As King, as Family, certainly Isaiah looked up to Uzziah. Uzziah was King for 52 year, but Uzziah, in spite of success, had a great fall. Uzziah tried to step outside his role as King, and offer an Incense Sacrifice in the Temple, which is strictly forbidden, and God struck him with leprosy and his final days were spent in separation, disease, and disgrace.
All of this prepared Isaiah to seek the Lord.
Notice, in the YEAR that… not “in the day that” or “in the week/month that”…
When we lose someone close, a hero, it takes time to grieve, to mourn, to be humbled, “why Lord?”
I feel Isaiah, struggling, came to the Temple.
I’ve preached this passage many times, and so I won’t belabor the points… but Isaiah was Postured, humbled, he was Prepared, knowing that no one else was on the throne, so he Saw the Lord seated high and lifted up… The Lord is surrounded by servants and worshippers.
Isaiah Persisted in looking and staying there in the Presence, he didn’t run away or look away…
When he Saw the Lord, then he Saw Himself…
- Woe is me… I am ruined
We need to see ourselves, as we are…
- He Confessed his Sin – I am a man of unclean lips, among a people of unclean lips
I’m only conjecturing here, but it is interesting the confession he gives. a man of unclean lips. If he was grieving, I wonder about his days, what kind of statements and prayers had he offered. Were there perhaps honest “accusations”, spoken or unspoken that he made about “A God who would allow my king to die”. Or about “My hero that let me down”.
Just getting “real” here.
I remember losing a close friend to sudden death at a relatively young age. I was in a funk for a period after that. I wasn’t “angry” but I was “confused”. “Lord, why would this happen?” I didn’t “see” the Lord, or “hear” and audible voice, but one day in my office, I sensed the Lord ask, “Jim, are you going to figure this out?” I thought, “no”. Then the Lord impressed on me the question, what my friend was doing at that very moment; I sat forward in my chair and said, “he is Worshiping you.” Then as clear as a voice, I sensed the Lord say, “then why don’t you just join him, until or even if you never figure this out.” I said, “I can do that.”
My Focus Changed
Isaiah was aware of his sin and knew that he was “ruined” in need of being silent? My eyes has seen the King, the Lord of Armies”
At some point, we need to look away from what we face, who we idolize, what we don’t understand, and look at the Lord.
Then with Confession comes Cleansing. Romans 10:9 and 1 John 1:9 are powerful truths that match Isaiah 6:7. Yes, if we confess that Jesus is Lord… we will be saved… If we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse…
- 6:7 he touched my mouth… your iniquity is removed and your sin atoned for
Seeing the Lord, Seeing ourselves, Confessing Sin…
“Why doesn’t God speak to me?”
Have you looked? Have you Seen, Have you Seen yourself and Confessed sin? Well, if not, then you aren’t ready to hear anything else.
- Then I heard the Voice of the Lord… Who will Go for us?
- I said, Here I am, Send Me.
Yes Lord, it is a Process of lifting our eyes to the Lord, seeing, confessing, then hearing…
My mind immediately went to Psalm 121 – I lift my eyes to the hills 2 my help comes from the Lord 3 … your protector will never sleep…
Then I continued to read to Psalm 122:1 – the first verse I ever memorized as a boy, I was glad with those who said to me, ‘Let’s go to the house of the Lord’
Then I continued to Psalm 123 I lift my eyes to you, the one enthroned in Heaven…
And then finally to Psalm 124 if the Lord had not been on our side… they would have swallowed us alive… 6 Blessed be the Lord who has not let us be ripped apart… 8 our help is in the Name of the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth…
Go read all of those Psalms into 125 as well… My, My, My…
Look Up, Look In, Listen, and Respond
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Pip: Pastor Goforth opened up "the Google" this week, and what he found there might be the most convicting search result anyone has ever run.
Mara: This episode follows one extended study from pastorgoforth — Luke 14, the cost of discipleship, and a question that cuts right through comfortable church attendance. Let's start with what Jesus actually meant when he turned to face the crowd.
A Traveler or a Disciple
Pip: The setup here is deceptively simple: a massive crowd is walking with Jesus, and the post asks whether walking with someone is the same thing as following them. The answer, it turns out, depends entirely on what you mean by "with."
Mara: The Greek word behind "traveling" in Luke 14:25 is symporeuomai — to journey together — and it's the root of our word sympathy. The post frames the whole passage around that distinction: "Jesus is asking this great crowd — are you just sympathetic toward me, or are you my disciples?"
Pip: Sympathy is not discipleship. That is a short sentence with a long reach. You can feel warmly toward someone's mission and still be heading somewhere else entirely.
Mara: The post maps four traveler types onto that crowd — tourists, commuters, professional followers, and people just relocating — and holds each one up against Jesus's actual criteria from the end of Luke 14. Hating competing relationships, bearing your own cross, counting the cost, preparing for battle, renouncing possessions, staying salty.
Pip: That list is doing real work. Each item sounds like its own demand, but the post argues they all collapse into one.
Mara: Verse 27 is where the post plants its flag: "whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple." The post points out that the original audience had no resurrection theology to soften that image — they knew exactly what a man carrying a cross looked like, and it wasn't a metaphor. It was public humiliation, stripped of everything.
Pip: So every other item on the list — possessions, relationships, control, reputation — is already included in that one image. The cross-bearer has lost all of it before they even arrive.
Mara: The post closes with an Oswald Chambers line that reframes the whole thing: "Our Lord never proclaimed a Cause; he proclaimed personal devotion to Himself." The tourist follows a cause. The disciple follows a person, at whatever cost that person names.
Pip: Salt without flavor, the post says, isn't even good for fertilizer. At some point the question stops being theological and becomes very personal.
Mara: The distinction between sympathy and devotion is one that doesn't resolve easily — it keeps asking the same question every time you show up.
Pip: Which is, I suppose, the point. See you next time.
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Pip: Pastor Goforth is here to talk about the World Cup, and somehow also about everything — life, faith, dirt fields with large rocks, and why Americans keep asking when the scoring starts.
Mara: This episode follows one extended reflection on soccer, its global reach, and what the beautiful game turns out to have in common with how a life is actually lived. Let's start with the game itself.
O Jogo Bonita — What Makes Soccer Beautiful
Mara: The post opens with a question worth sitting with: what actually makes soccer beautiful, and why does that beauty seem to elude so many American sports fans?
Pip: The answer lands somewhere unexpected. Here is the line that pulls the whole piece together: "Futbol, Football, or Soccer is a Beautiful Game because it is much more like life. Anyone can compete. We must work together, think proactively, get in position, pay attention, be patient, stay at it when you are tired, just like life."
Mara: So the upshot is that the game's structure — ninety minutes of continuous play, low scoring, sustained effort — is not a flaw to be fixed. It is the point. The doing is the reward, not the scoreboard.
Pip: Which puts American sports culture in an interesting light. The post walks through baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and even pro wrestling, noting that each time a sport felt too slow or too unpredictable, someone added a faster payoff. Three-point shots, slam dunks, choreographed fights. We kept asking the game to come to us.
Mara: And soccer simply does not do that. Ninety minutes of play, maybe one goal, and the crowd sings the whole time anyway. The post makes a point about World Cup national anthems that is genuinely striking — at other sporting events, the anthem is performed at people. At the World Cup, the teams and fans sing it themselves, together, out loud.
Pip: There is something almost embarrassing about that contrast, and the post does not soften it.
Mara: The piece also draws on personal history — decades of playing, coaching youth teams, and carrying a soccer ball across four continents on mission trips, where it consistently opened doors that other approaches could not. The game as a shared language before any words are exchanged.
Pip: It closes on Colossians 3:23 — whatever you do, do it from the heart, as for the Lord. The beautiful game, it turns out, is also a sermon illustration that actually works.
Mara: And the invitation at the end is simple: if you have not watched, watch. Not to become a fan, but to understand what has the world so completely absorbed.
Pip: Patience, sustained effort, small victories inside a long stretch of doing — as life metaphors go, that one holds up.
Mara: More from Pastor Goforth next time. The game, apparently, continues.
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Defining a Disciple is an important thing.
I looked up on “the Google” the word “Traveler” and it says, “anyone who goes on a journey or frequently moves from place to place – it can broadly refer to tourists, commuters, business professionals, or people relocating”
Then I looked up the word “Disciple” on that information storehouse…
“a dedicated follower, student, or learner who adheres to and helps spread the teachings of another person or master”
In Luke 14, while eating at the house of a “leading Pharisee” on the Sabbath, Jesus tells a story of a man giving a banquet who invited many but people didn’t come, they had many excuses. That man told his servants, go into the highways and hedges and make them come in so that my house will be filled.
At the end of that encounter, then he is traveling and 14:25 says – Great crowds were Traveling WITH him. So, he turned and said to them…
Then Jesus defines a disciple by what they are and are not. My thought then is, “are we Disciples or just Travelers?”
That Greek word translated “traveling” is symporeuomai = to go with, journey together. It looks like and is the root word where we get our word “Sympathy”. Jesus is asking this “great crowds” – polys = many… “are you just sympathetic toward me, or are you my disciples?”
Now looking at that Google definition for the word “traveler”, are we just “spiritual tourists” or a Disciple? I’ve been a tourist many times. Tourists are there to see what’s happening, what has happened. Are we just “commuters”, heading somewhere else on the same path, but going to a different destination or for a different reason? Are we just “Professional Followers”, are we just “relocating”, or are we Disciples?
Then Jesus throws out several defining questions / statements that define a disciple in the end of Luke 14:
- They “hate” other relationships compared to Jesus. If not, he cannot be my disciple.
- Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple
- a disciple must Count the Cost – “Calculate” the CSB renders it, meaning giving careful thought o what must happen, what it will cost, and lay up the needed resources for completion. If not, other will say, “he started, but wasn’t able to finish the building.”
- a disciple must understand and prepare for the battle instead of giving up and “making peace” with the enemy
- If you don’t renounce all possessions, you cannot be my disciple
- Then, he says, as “salt” – don’t lose your “taste”. That word, = moraino = to be foolish, become tasteless. If we do, we aren’t being his disciple
Well, Jesus, what do you really think?
Think for a minute –
- Salt without flavor is truly useless, what’s the point? It isn’t even useful for soil or fertilizer, so just pitch it – Don’t just be a Traveler
- Other relationships have their place, but if they get in the way of following Jesus, you are just a Traveler, not a Disciple. You are just watching what might happen but not looking for life change.
- If you aren’t prepared to invest in the life of Christ, you might clear some land, lay some building materials, but not build the household of faith. That’s just a traveler who went, but had nothing to show for it.
- If you aren’t preparing for battle, you will make peace with the enemy; and his terms of “peace” are total surrender – if you think you “saved your life” you still lost it all – you relocated to the enemy’s realm.
- If you hold on to all your “stuff” but not Jesus, what will you have in the final accounting? You can’t take that stuff with you. Lay it down don’t be a professional traveler.
- But the Most Radical Thing he says is v27 – whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Think about that… How would they have heard that statement? In that day, they didn’t know Jesus was going to die on a cross and then when he did they didn’t understand the “why”.
But they knew, in the Roman World, that anyone condemned by the Romans for an awful crime or sedition – they were humiliated, stripped bare, forced to carry their cross of execution, then they were nailed on that cross in a public place for all to see.
Think about all of those definitions of what is NOT a disciple – The one who takes up the cross is all those things combined –
- all their worldly possessions were gone
- their family was of no value
- their taste was gone
- they were defeated
- they had no control
All of the OTHER statements are wrapped up in this one statement in v27 – Lay it all down and follow me
Are we “Tourists” – just came to see, take some pictures, get some souvenirs?
Are we “Commuters” heading somewhere else, but just traveling near Jesus?
Are we “Professional” Church folks?
Are we “Relocating”?
OR
Are we Disciples of Jesus Christ, laying everything else down to Follow, totaling humiliated, dead to everything else, counting the cost, and willing to bear it all to come after, that’s a Disciple, of Jesus?
“Our Lord never proclaimed a ‘Cause’; he proclaimed personal devotion to Himself.” – Oswald Chambers
