Every Christian...well let me not say that...As a Christian there have been times when I have questioned the propositions of the Christian faith. If what we profess is true, why are some many of us behaving like atheists? If my Christian walk hinged on the fact that Christians were the best people to know I would have gone astray long time and mostly because of ministers of the Gospel. I have had too many encounters with pastors who have done me wrong to belief that these men in ministry are perfect. I have failed God too many times as a minister to not know the imperfection that dwells on the inside of some many of us men in ministry.
As a young man growing up I thought they was a certain peculiarity about deacons and those person on the church board. The first church I attended quickly shattered that utopia. I saw church politics at it heights when by-laws that were never read out in the church were used to lock the young people out of a meeting and deny us the opportunity to vote on keeping our pastor. When I was appointed a deacon in the church I am now a member of it final came home to me that deacons are humans of the lower nature just like the rest of the church. This revelation was not due to the quality of the other deacons, but when I thought that I was a deacon with all my issues and with God working overtime on setting me straight I knew I was not the only one.
Paul in Philippians 2:12 says we are to "...continue to WORK out your salvation with fear and trembling," The truth is that those who are set over us are accountable to God and the scripture is clear on the punishment of anyone who leads another person astray. Still the responsibility is mind to "work".
Over the last 14 years I have had many discouragement, but I made up in my mind to work.
I lost my best friend in a car accident in 2002, but I made up in my mind to work.
I lost my brother to a bullet in 2002, but I made up in my mind to work.
I lost my sister in law and my niece in child's birth in 2002, but I made up in my mind to work.
I lost my cousin to a brain tumour in 2002, but I made up in my mind to work.
I lost one friend to a bullet less than 100 meters from my house in 2002, but I made up in my mind to work.
I lost another friend to some unknown illness in 2002, but I made up in my mind to work.
(I feel something lifting me up)
I lost my fiancee in 2003, she just left mi, but I am better for it, because I made up in my mind to work.
I lost my job in 2004, they fired me, but I am better for it, because I made up in my mind to work. (I feel like preaching it)
I lost all that, but I didn't lose my mind...because I made up in my mind to work.
I have failed God so many time, but he is still bringing me through, because I made up in my mind to work.
I didn't have much to call my own in the way of assets, but I made up in my to work.
I have lived without knowing where my next dollar is coming from, but I made up in my mind to work.
Your life is in a whirlwind...Have you made up in your mind to work?
Your brother is hooked on crack...Have you made up in your mind to work?
Your sister is sick with cancer...Have you made up in your mind to work?
You are sick and in constant pain...Have you made up in your mind to work?
Your ministry seems meaningless and trite...Have you made up in your mind to work?
Your marriage isn't going right...Have you made up in your mind to work?
You find it hard to stay away from that woman or that man...Have you made up in your mind to work?
What every you are going throughHave you made up in your mind to work?
Because the beauty of all of this is that its God himself who is working in me to work according to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13) "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." In verse 11 Paul had declared that every knee will bow and every tongue with confess. Not a group of knees and tongue, but every...individual. It is against that background that I and you as individuals must work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but also with the assurance that God is working in us to will and to do according to his good pleasure and purpose.
Well a suh mi si it...wha yu think?
Thursday, 13 December 2007
Spiritual Warfare
Introduction
Creation came out of the goodness, infinitude and immensity of God. It wasn’t that God was bored and just thought, “Well, I will make myself some toys.” It wasn’t that man had a desire to be created. Although there is much mystery surrounding the pre-creation mindset of God if we can use such a phrase to speak about God.
God created man in the complexity of His divine self as the crowning ornament of His material creation. I believe that what Christ taught us to pray in the so-called Lord’s Prayer existed in the creation of Adam and Eve in the atmosphere of perfect fellowship with God. The pre-fall state of the created world was in a sense fashioned from the order of heaven. The laws of heaven governed the earth. In other words, the kingdom of earth was existing in a sense in the Kingdom of Heaven.
We can link the fall of Lucifer to the fall of man in that it was this enemy of God who disguised himself as a serpent and tempted Eve and beguiled Adam. With the fall of man creation was thrust into the middle of a battlefield. It became kingdom against kingdom. The kingdom of Light against the kingdom of darkness. The reality has always been however that the King of kings rules in the Kingdom of kingdoms. Hence victory is guaranteed.
BC (Before Christ)
Israel’s understanding of warfare was of a more physical nature, I do believe though that God’s decrees to Israel to fight, there was an underlying spiritual reason.
Isaiah 14 gives us an understanding of Lucifer being behind kings whose powers are used for oppression and evil.
In the verses before it is clear that it is a reference to the king of Babylon.
But as if Isaiah changes his focus to not just the king but also the power behind the king.
No where in the scriptures can we point to God sending Israel to war against a nation that was not wallowing in corruption and being anti-God.
David’s Understanding of war and victory seemed to be deeply embedded in the spiritual than the physical. When we look at the Psalms we find verses like these:
Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.
One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple. (27:3 & 4)
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine. (33:16-19)
The reality is that Israel found warfare to be both physical and spiritual at the same time.
AD Anno Domini
The New Testament is littered with evidence of the belief that most if not everything we face on earth has some spiritual undertone.
The Gospels
According to the four biographies of Christ, His central focus was not to ushering a new brand of religion called Christianity nor was it primarily to institute a universal gathering of grace-rescued humans called the Church.
In Mark one we learn that the central thing in the mandate of Christ when he stepped out of eternity and became an inhabitant of time was to make manifest and to declare the kingdom of God.
The beatitudes of Matthew speaks about the kingdom inheritors and the application of the laws of the kingdom in mercy, grace, joy, comfort and so on. The Sermon on the Mount was another citation of kingdom principles.
Luke in his second chapter speaks as a true historian and gives events of celebration fitting only a king. He speaks about the God-ward praise uttered by Anna a prophetess and Simeon a righteous devout.
John begins holding nothing back as he immediately proclaims the immensity and infinitude of the Word. Then he announced that it was this very God who created and rules everything who allowed himself to call the confines of Mary womb home.
Throughout the pages of the Gospels we see the authority of Jesus being demonstrated our demons and even over Satan. If anyone was mindful of the fact that there was an immanent warfare it was the Christ. He was not assuming that intellectual reasoning could wrought the salvation of a man. He was not of the assumption that carnal swords and shields could bring about the deliverance of Israel. He took the fight to the enemy where it was meant to be fought in the first place. The battlefield was the spiritual realm.
The Epistles
Of course the first scripture to be mentioned from the epistles in this regard is Paul’s. When we look at Acts 19 we see that Paul’s experience in Ephesus was one of
Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on believers who had not been baptized in the Holy Spirit. (v1-7)
Rejection of his persuasive intellectual arguments in the synagogue paralleled by the spreading of the Gospel of the Kingdom through Asia (8-10)
Miraculous signs and wonderings by God through Paul. (11-12)
Demons overpowered of the seven sons of Sceva who had been using the name of Jesus without the power of the Holy Spirit on their inside. (13-16)
Repentance by the believers from their evil deeds. Persons gripped with reverence and fear burnt scrolls of witchcraft worth over 136 years worth of wages. (17-20)
The revival in Ephesus became bad for business for evildoers and idol makers. (23-41)
It’s along these lines that Paul would have written his pastoral and doctrinal letters to the believers in Ephesus. Under the leading of the Holy Spirit Paul penned, Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Quotes from the Contemporary
Spurgeon
…for the world is a battlefield, and the Christian’s occupation is war.
Christians are expected to fight with their feet in the battle against sin and Satan. Indeed, they must fight with all their powers and faculties. That grand promise has been given to us, "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly" (Rom_16:20).
Luther
Christ and Satan wage cosmic war for mastery over Church and world. No one can evade involvement in this struggle. Even for the believer there is no refuge—neither monastery nor the seclusion of the wilderness offer him a chance for escape. The Devil is the omnipresent threat, and exactly for this reason the faithful need the proper weapons for survival.
Questions:
Is there a real hand to hand, foot to foot combat against demons and Satan now?
How do we fight this battle?
Does it go away when we ignore it?
Creation came out of the goodness, infinitude and immensity of God. It wasn’t that God was bored and just thought, “Well, I will make myself some toys.” It wasn’t that man had a desire to be created. Although there is much mystery surrounding the pre-creation mindset of God if we can use such a phrase to speak about God.
God created man in the complexity of His divine self as the crowning ornament of His material creation. I believe that what Christ taught us to pray in the so-called Lord’s Prayer existed in the creation of Adam and Eve in the atmosphere of perfect fellowship with God. The pre-fall state of the created world was in a sense fashioned from the order of heaven. The laws of heaven governed the earth. In other words, the kingdom of earth was existing in a sense in the Kingdom of Heaven.
We can link the fall of Lucifer to the fall of man in that it was this enemy of God who disguised himself as a serpent and tempted Eve and beguiled Adam. With the fall of man creation was thrust into the middle of a battlefield. It became kingdom against kingdom. The kingdom of Light against the kingdom of darkness. The reality has always been however that the King of kings rules in the Kingdom of kingdoms. Hence victory is guaranteed.
BC (Before Christ)
Israel’s understanding of warfare was of a more physical nature, I do believe though that God’s decrees to Israel to fight, there was an underlying spiritual reason.
Isaiah 14 gives us an understanding of Lucifer being behind kings whose powers are used for oppression and evil.
In the verses before it is clear that it is a reference to the king of Babylon.
But as if Isaiah changes his focus to not just the king but also the power behind the king.
No where in the scriptures can we point to God sending Israel to war against a nation that was not wallowing in corruption and being anti-God.
David’s Understanding of war and victory seemed to be deeply embedded in the spiritual than the physical. When we look at the Psalms we find verses like these:
Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.
One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple. (27:3 & 4)
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine. (33:16-19)
The reality is that Israel found warfare to be both physical and spiritual at the same time.
AD Anno Domini
The New Testament is littered with evidence of the belief that most if not everything we face on earth has some spiritual undertone.
The Gospels
According to the four biographies of Christ, His central focus was not to ushering a new brand of religion called Christianity nor was it primarily to institute a universal gathering of grace-rescued humans called the Church.
In Mark one we learn that the central thing in the mandate of Christ when he stepped out of eternity and became an inhabitant of time was to make manifest and to declare the kingdom of God.
The beatitudes of Matthew speaks about the kingdom inheritors and the application of the laws of the kingdom in mercy, grace, joy, comfort and so on. The Sermon on the Mount was another citation of kingdom principles.
Luke in his second chapter speaks as a true historian and gives events of celebration fitting only a king. He speaks about the God-ward praise uttered by Anna a prophetess and Simeon a righteous devout.
John begins holding nothing back as he immediately proclaims the immensity and infinitude of the Word. Then he announced that it was this very God who created and rules everything who allowed himself to call the confines of Mary womb home.
Throughout the pages of the Gospels we see the authority of Jesus being demonstrated our demons and even over Satan. If anyone was mindful of the fact that there was an immanent warfare it was the Christ. He was not assuming that intellectual reasoning could wrought the salvation of a man. He was not of the assumption that carnal swords and shields could bring about the deliverance of Israel. He took the fight to the enemy where it was meant to be fought in the first place. The battlefield was the spiritual realm.
The Epistles
Of course the first scripture to be mentioned from the epistles in this regard is Paul’s. When we look at Acts 19 we see that Paul’s experience in Ephesus was one of
Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on believers who had not been baptized in the Holy Spirit. (v1-7)
Rejection of his persuasive intellectual arguments in the synagogue paralleled by the spreading of the Gospel of the Kingdom through Asia (8-10)
Miraculous signs and wonderings by God through Paul. (11-12)
Demons overpowered of the seven sons of Sceva who had been using the name of Jesus without the power of the Holy Spirit on their inside. (13-16)
Repentance by the believers from their evil deeds. Persons gripped with reverence and fear burnt scrolls of witchcraft worth over 136 years worth of wages. (17-20)
The revival in Ephesus became bad for business for evildoers and idol makers. (23-41)
It’s along these lines that Paul would have written his pastoral and doctrinal letters to the believers in Ephesus. Under the leading of the Holy Spirit Paul penned, Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Quotes from the Contemporary
Spurgeon
…for the world is a battlefield, and the Christian’s occupation is war.
Christians are expected to fight with their feet in the battle against sin and Satan. Indeed, they must fight with all their powers and faculties. That grand promise has been given to us, "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly" (Rom_16:20).
Luther
Christ and Satan wage cosmic war for mastery over Church and world. No one can evade involvement in this struggle. Even for the believer there is no refuge—neither monastery nor the seclusion of the wilderness offer him a chance for escape. The Devil is the omnipresent threat, and exactly for this reason the faithful need the proper weapons for survival.
Questions:
Is there a real hand to hand, foot to foot combat against demons and Satan now?
How do we fight this battle?
Does it go away when we ignore it?
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
See my Distress Lord...See!
If you would like and this would probably make more sense to you if you do, read II Samuel 16:5-14 before reading this.
As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul's family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king's officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David's right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, "Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel! The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood!"
Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head." But the king said, "What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, 'Curse David,' who can ask, 'Why do you do this?' " David then said to Abishai and all his officials, "My son, who is of my own flesh, is trying to take my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today."
On Sunday while at Reach Out I started perosing through my Bible to find something appropriate to share with the attendants. Because of how my week was it was hard to have spent time just meditating on what I wanted to share. I think this was God's doing to show me this verse. As I contemplatively looked through the scriptures I came upon the afore mentioned verses.
Now here was David in one of the most embarrassing and probably lowest period in his life. In chapter 15, Absalom puts in motion his conspiracy and in due time had David fleeing for his life from Jerusalem. In the first verses of chapter 16 he is told a lie by Ziba about Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son and David's surrogate son in a sense. Here was King David in a turmoil, spiritual, emotional, psychological, economical and physical turmoil. This shifting that was taking place in Jerusalem impacted on him as a whole being. If I was preaching this from the pulpit I guess at this point I would ask "what has gone wrong in your life that is causing a blizzard in your entire being?" There are some situations that only impact a part of our being, but there are others that take a toll on our entire person.
Can you imagine...one switch and suddenly everything that God promised you is thrown into a whirlwind. Remember David's ascent to the throne was not out of selfish ambition or pulchritude. It was divinely ordained and orchestrated for the glory of God and the redemption of our souls. Although God being sovereign can switch the flow of history like he can with a might river...He has somehow bond himself to His Word. And David was a part of his promises to Israel. Like we are a part of his promises to the eagerly expectant creation that has been waiting for our manifestation.
There is something in us that our world is awaiting like a family awaiting the birth of a child. Like any pregnancy there are phases of discomfort. But these are processes of progress and necessary for fruition. Now here is where I would bring in the above scripture...after facing all that, David is now being accuse by Shimei and stoned. He accused David of being a man of blood in killing Saul's household...He saw David's plight as the wages of David's sin against Saul...He saw Absalom's reign as being by divine design...and he also called David a scoundrel. Not only was David in political turmoil, but here he was now undergoing further personal persecution.
Now If I were in David's shoes I might have loved the counsel of Abishai. "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head." How many of us wouldn't like someone in our armoury of friends like this lad. Reminds me of Peter. But David rebuked him and then concluded "...let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today."
I must confess that when I first read this scripture I thought to myself "this is really hard to preach." But having reflected on it, I think I would love to get up and really preach on this, especially when I consider the thrust of David's contemplation. In the midst of what he was going through he saw this as an avenue that God could use to enter his situation. Somehow in the mind of David God seemed to have not been paying attention, but probably this cursing might get the Lord's attention. "God might see..." when we read the Psalms we know that David knew God was all seeing, so it wasn't that he thought God was uni-focal, he knew God was omni-focal. But he just felt God was not paying attention. He was seeing, but not seeing!
Oh Lord, I have missed this so many times and probably its because in those time I feel I had God's undivided attention. But even when we are wrongfully persecuted we should still listen to the providence of God before reacting. Its not that David would not be mindful of what Shimei did, but he was more focused on what God was doing. Even though David forgave Shimei when he was returned to the throne we see in I Kings 2 that he was still mindful of what was done to him and gave advice regarding it.
What are you going through that is causing you distress that God can use as an avenue to do you good?
WELL...A SUH MI SI IT, WHA YU THINK?
As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul's family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king's officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David's right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, "Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel! The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood!"
Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head." But the king said, "What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, 'Curse David,' who can ask, 'Why do you do this?' " David then said to Abishai and all his officials, "My son, who is of my own flesh, is trying to take my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today."
On Sunday while at Reach Out I started perosing through my Bible to find something appropriate to share with the attendants. Because of how my week was it was hard to have spent time just meditating on what I wanted to share. I think this was God's doing to show me this verse. As I contemplatively looked through the scriptures I came upon the afore mentioned verses.
Now here was David in one of the most embarrassing and probably lowest period in his life. In chapter 15, Absalom puts in motion his conspiracy and in due time had David fleeing for his life from Jerusalem. In the first verses of chapter 16 he is told a lie by Ziba about Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son and David's surrogate son in a sense. Here was King David in a turmoil, spiritual, emotional, psychological, economical and physical turmoil. This shifting that was taking place in Jerusalem impacted on him as a whole being. If I was preaching this from the pulpit I guess at this point I would ask "what has gone wrong in your life that is causing a blizzard in your entire being?" There are some situations that only impact a part of our being, but there are others that take a toll on our entire person.
Can you imagine...one switch and suddenly everything that God promised you is thrown into a whirlwind. Remember David's ascent to the throne was not out of selfish ambition or pulchritude. It was divinely ordained and orchestrated for the glory of God and the redemption of our souls. Although God being sovereign can switch the flow of history like he can with a might river...He has somehow bond himself to His Word. And David was a part of his promises to Israel. Like we are a part of his promises to the eagerly expectant creation that has been waiting for our manifestation.
There is something in us that our world is awaiting like a family awaiting the birth of a child. Like any pregnancy there are phases of discomfort. But these are processes of progress and necessary for fruition. Now here is where I would bring in the above scripture...after facing all that, David is now being accuse by Shimei and stoned. He accused David of being a man of blood in killing Saul's household...He saw David's plight as the wages of David's sin against Saul...He saw Absalom's reign as being by divine design...and he also called David a scoundrel. Not only was David in political turmoil, but here he was now undergoing further personal persecution.
Now If I were in David's shoes I might have loved the counsel of Abishai. "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head." How many of us wouldn't like someone in our armoury of friends like this lad. Reminds me of Peter. But David rebuked him and then concluded "...let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today."
I must confess that when I first read this scripture I thought to myself "this is really hard to preach." But having reflected on it, I think I would love to get up and really preach on this, especially when I consider the thrust of David's contemplation. In the midst of what he was going through he saw this as an avenue that God could use to enter his situation. Somehow in the mind of David God seemed to have not been paying attention, but probably this cursing might get the Lord's attention. "God might see..." when we read the Psalms we know that David knew God was all seeing, so it wasn't that he thought God was uni-focal, he knew God was omni-focal. But he just felt God was not paying attention. He was seeing, but not seeing!
Oh Lord, I have missed this so many times and probably its because in those time I feel I had God's undivided attention. But even when we are wrongfully persecuted we should still listen to the providence of God before reacting. Its not that David would not be mindful of what Shimei did, but he was more focused on what God was doing. Even though David forgave Shimei when he was returned to the throne we see in I Kings 2 that he was still mindful of what was done to him and gave advice regarding it.
What are you going through that is causing you distress that God can use as an avenue to do you good?
WELL...A SUH MI SI IT, WHA YU THINK?
Tuesday, 20 November 2007
Know
Some years ago while at the seminary (and this memory is as faint as it can be so I can’t remember who, when or why but) I remember someone saying that even Evangelicals (think the reference was primarily to Pentecostals and Charismatic groups) have fallen into a state of just being nominal organisations. In the context back home we say an election won by the Jamaica Labour Party in a country that political commentators have said over and over again is a People’s National Party Country. This might very well be true, people will tell you that I am a labourite (Jamaica Labour Party supporter) or a socialist (People’s National Party supporter), but in the end those who matter the most are those who get in and stand firmly behind they professed allegiance.
A similar situation exists in the Irish context, where one has to belong to one side or the other. In my experience here, most of the persons I have come in contact with have belong to one side of the fence…at least nominally. In church on Sunday the speak spoke about leading a young man to Christ who had been a Baptist from birth, but had never come to know Jesus.
That dear friends is the important reality in this life in the Kingdom. Do we know him? The Greek and Hebrew paint an interesting picture that gets blurred when we read our English translations. When we look through the Old Testament (written in Hebrew) we find the use of the term know to connote sexual relations between a man and his wife. This lends a vivid picture of knowing someone and the intimacy involved in this knowledge of the person.
The Greek paints another picture using diverse terms to capture the type or level of knowledge it is speaking about in the particular context. In 1 Corinthians 13:12, we see Paul pointing to the fact that we have a hope of coming into the fullness of knowledge knowing all things as everything is known about us by God. This is clearly a hope for the future. We shall epignosomai (fully perceive) even as we are epegnosthen (fully perceived).
That is something to look forward to in the glorious return of Christ. There is a reality now however that we are called to and this is to know Christ. Philippians 3:9-11
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
10 I want to know (gnonai) Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
A similar situation exists in the Irish context, where one has to belong to one side or the other. In my experience here, most of the persons I have come in contact with have belong to one side of the fence…at least nominally. In church on Sunday the speak spoke about leading a young man to Christ who had been a Baptist from birth, but had never come to know Jesus.
That dear friends is the important reality in this life in the Kingdom. Do we know him? The Greek and Hebrew paint an interesting picture that gets blurred when we read our English translations. When we look through the Old Testament (written in Hebrew) we find the use of the term know to connote sexual relations between a man and his wife. This lends a vivid picture of knowing someone and the intimacy involved in this knowledge of the person.
The Greek paints another picture using diverse terms to capture the type or level of knowledge it is speaking about in the particular context. In 1 Corinthians 13:12, we see Paul pointing to the fact that we have a hope of coming into the fullness of knowledge knowing all things as everything is known about us by God. This is clearly a hope for the future. We shall epignosomai (fully perceive) even as we are epegnosthen (fully perceived).
That is something to look forward to in the glorious return of Christ. There is a reality now however that we are called to and this is to know Christ. Philippians 3:9-11
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
10 I want to know (gnonai) Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Paul makes some connections between knowing Christ and the realities of that knowledge. The term above signifies to be taking in knowledge, to come to know, recognize, understand. This is where we are being pointed by the apostle. Have we really recognized who Christ is and the implications of knowing Him. We might say well we can’t know Christ fully, but when you find the scripture to that effect let me know. However, I don’t want to be misunderstood as saying that there is no mystery in Christ, because there is much. But there is enough to be known about him to produce the effects that Paul speak about.
What are the implications of knowing Christ. Well just in listing form since I am already going beyond the attention span of most of my readers. In verse 9 Paul speaks about two things in my mind,
1. the knowledge that comes through faith and
2. the righteousness that comes through that knowing-faith.
Knowledge in some sense is not the basis for our faith, but rather the product of our faith. It is after we have placed our faith in God that we come to know God. In verse 11 we see the likely reward of knowing Christ is the resurrection to glory from the dead for those of us who will die. Verse 10 speaks about the height of our knowledge, the resurrection of Christ…none has ever risen above him since He is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Then there is the depth of our knowledge, his death (including his burial)…being buried, He descended into hades and took the keys of death and the grave. There is also the width of our knowledge, His suffering…the process and progress of becoming like Christ is partaking in his suffering.
“In the NT ginosko frequently indicates a relation between the person "knowing" and the object known; in this respect, what is "known" is of value or importance to the one who knows, and hence the establishment of the relationship.” Our relationship with God is based and developed on us knowing Him. He is the object of our ginosko hence what is known is of great value and importance to us. 1 John 5:20 says, “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, [even] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” This "knowledge" is obtained, not by mere intellectual activity, but by operation of the Holy Spirit consequent upon acceptance of Christ.”
“In the NT ginosko frequently indicates a relation between the person "knowing" and the object known; in this respect, what is "known" is of value or importance to the one who knows, and hence the establishment of the relationship.” Our relationship with God is based and developed on us knowing Him. He is the object of our ginosko hence what is known is of great value and importance to us. 1 John 5:20 says, “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, [even] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” This "knowledge" is obtained, not by mere intellectual activity, but by operation of the Holy Spirit consequent upon acceptance of Christ.”
Step from the nominal God does not really care what we call ourselves, it matters more who we know and what we are propelled to do with our knowledge of him.
Let us seek to know!!!
Well a suh mi si it…wah yu tink.
Bibliography
Vine, W. E. "Know, Known, Knowledge, Unknown," Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Blue Letter Bible. 1940. 1 Apr 2007. 20 Nov 2007. < type="GetTopic&Topic="Know,+Known,+Knowledge,+Unknown#Vines">
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
THERE IS NEITHER...NOR
HOW MI SI IT: THERE IS NEITHER...NOR
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Since I have been here one of the things that have disgusted me the most at Murlough is the constant references of national identity. The Jamaicans...this is what is used to categorize the four of us who are here from Jamaica. Of course we are Jamaicans, but the reality is that's not what is being said. When I first came here in 2005 I was told that we were a confusion to the natives because of our names. Most of us on the first team were protestants but yet some of us had Catholic names.
One of the sad things about the history of this place is the fact that people here MUST fall into a category. Everything here is used to put a distinction between one and the other. Hence, in reference to the Jamaicans, the ignorance of our culture often times follows where even though no one here knows anything about the culture of Jamaica, there ignorance is used as a measuring rod to judge. We are classified, categorized and placed in a jar like specimens labeled Jamaicans, pros and cons.
I am guilty of this at times as well, but my antidote to this and I try to make a habit of thinking this truth is the fact that the culture that is superior to the Jamaican culture and all other cultures is the culture of the kingdom of God. One of the amazing things about culture is the fact that the culture of the dominant nation (super-power) normally spans most of the world and is known to most of the world's inhabitants. This can be seen in the exportation of English to west during the years of colonization and British reign. Now we can see the influence of America on the world in just about every sphere of life. Fashion, Sports, Slangs, Movies, etc. this is due to there currently position as the most public country in the world.
What if we as a people of God should elevate the culture of the Kingdom of God and discard these racial and national classifications, where there is neither...nor, but everyone is seen as all one in Christ. If we trace the abolition of slavery we will inevitably come to this realization. Men and women came to the truth of equality and oneness in Christ. If we trace the beginnings of any oppressive system or genocide we will recognize that these ensued from one persons elevation over the next in one way or the other. The culture of the Kingdom of God as I share on Sunday at Reach Out is a tacsy-turvy culture in which the first shall be last and the last shall be first...to keep your life you have to lose it...to be exalted you have to be humble...to gain wealth you have to give it away...to live you have to first die...to be the greatest you have to become the least...to love God you have to love man...and the list goes on and on.
I have often times heard "we have been doing it this way for 30 years." Might I say that that is the problem and the insanity of Christian work. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
John 21
5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered.
6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
Probably these disciples had been fishing on the left side of the boat all night and caught nothing. They were fishing in the same spot and expecting a different result each time they cast their nets out. When Jesus came and he brought a different angle to the fruitless situation immediately their labour bore fruit. This caused them to recognized that it was Jesus standing there. They had not gotten any closer to where he was, but because of the fruitfulness of their change of method they immediately knew that it was not there doing, but it was the doing of the man who had spoken and that Man was Jesus. Change is vital for growth and for staying alive. The culture of the Kingdom of God demands the neither...nor attitude in a deeper sense than just national categorization and it also calls of us to makes changes and align ourselves with God's commands and words.
Well a suh mi si it...wha yu tink.
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Since I have been here one of the things that have disgusted me the most at Murlough is the constant references of national identity. The Jamaicans...this is what is used to categorize the four of us who are here from Jamaica. Of course we are Jamaicans, but the reality is that's not what is being said. When I first came here in 2005 I was told that we were a confusion to the natives because of our names. Most of us on the first team were protestants but yet some of us had Catholic names.
One of the sad things about the history of this place is the fact that people here MUST fall into a category. Everything here is used to put a distinction between one and the other. Hence, in reference to the Jamaicans, the ignorance of our culture often times follows where even though no one here knows anything about the culture of Jamaica, there ignorance is used as a measuring rod to judge. We are classified, categorized and placed in a jar like specimens labeled Jamaicans, pros and cons.
I am guilty of this at times as well, but my antidote to this and I try to make a habit of thinking this truth is the fact that the culture that is superior to the Jamaican culture and all other cultures is the culture of the kingdom of God. One of the amazing things about culture is the fact that the culture of the dominant nation (super-power) normally spans most of the world and is known to most of the world's inhabitants. This can be seen in the exportation of English to west during the years of colonization and British reign. Now we can see the influence of America on the world in just about every sphere of life. Fashion, Sports, Slangs, Movies, etc. this is due to there currently position as the most public country in the world.
What if we as a people of God should elevate the culture of the Kingdom of God and discard these racial and national classifications, where there is neither...nor, but everyone is seen as all one in Christ. If we trace the abolition of slavery we will inevitably come to this realization. Men and women came to the truth of equality and oneness in Christ. If we trace the beginnings of any oppressive system or genocide we will recognize that these ensued from one persons elevation over the next in one way or the other. The culture of the Kingdom of God as I share on Sunday at Reach Out is a tacsy-turvy culture in which the first shall be last and the last shall be first...to keep your life you have to lose it...to be exalted you have to be humble...to gain wealth you have to give it away...to live you have to first die...to be the greatest you have to become the least...to love God you have to love man...and the list goes on and on.
I have often times heard "we have been doing it this way for 30 years." Might I say that that is the problem and the insanity of Christian work. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
John 21
5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered.
6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
Probably these disciples had been fishing on the left side of the boat all night and caught nothing. They were fishing in the same spot and expecting a different result each time they cast their nets out. When Jesus came and he brought a different angle to the fruitless situation immediately their labour bore fruit. This caused them to recognized that it was Jesus standing there. They had not gotten any closer to where he was, but because of the fruitfulness of their change of method they immediately knew that it was not there doing, but it was the doing of the man who had spoken and that Man was Jesus. Change is vital for growth and for staying alive. The culture of the Kingdom of God demands the neither...nor attitude in a deeper sense than just national categorization and it also calls of us to makes changes and align ourselves with God's commands and words.
Well a suh mi si it...wha yu tink.
Monday, 5 November 2007
Animal Instinct
In Church on Sunday Night the speaker spoke about protection and how our major protection if from falsehood. It was a good sermon, this guy or man is the prospective pastor or pastor in courting for the Baptist Church. He spoke for 2 Peter 2 and looked at the reality that men who lived by certain ideological compounds are living at the base nature of animals. Well that's what I heard him saying. I agree with him. But as usual something struck my mind in a different sense. And hence the caption: Animal Instincts. The Bible uses animals at different points to show different aspects of the spiritual and practical operations of man.In 2 Peter it speaks about men who behave like beasts as they disregard the truths or God and speak lies for gain. These men are reduced to the base nature of life. For those who tasted of the kingdom and turned away from its goodness, Peter said they are like dogs who returned to their own vomits and swines who are washed clean and return to the Mud. Jude paints this brutish and beastlike image in his epistle as well about those who become like Balaam the son of Beor. Paul in Philippians tells the saints to beware of Dogs, men who do evil and mutilate the flesh. And Revelations captures a similiar picture in the last days in chapter 22,"Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the DOGS; those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood."But isn't there another side to it and look out for the booklet that I am hoping to write on this aspect. God also uses the animals to paint wisdom, sobriety, industrialism, bravery, boldness, aptitude and altitude. In these regard we think of the ant, the lion, the eagle and in another sense even the dog. Because I am hoping to develop this further here are some verses to consider:Proverbs28:1 The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!Chapter 3025 Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;26 coneys [d] are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags;27 locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks;28 a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings' palaces.There are many others, of course we know that those who wait on the Lord will be restrengthened and will soar as if they possess wings of eagles. Animals: to be and not to be!
The Church...A Foretaste of Heaven?
Now I was in church on Sunday morning and the speaker was speaking about unity. As he spoke and I thought about what to right regard this, I thought about the family that we had dinner with on Sunday last. Allan and Heather and how a diverse family they are; Heather is South African, Allan is Irish, They have grandchildren who are English, Canadian and American and in-laws that are diverse themselves, yet they are one family. I thought that would have been a sufficient thought to share. But then the preacher went on and said, the Church is a foretaste of heaven, as I shared at REACH OUT, I came across another quote that says Worship (Corporate) is a foretaste of heaven. Both of these are really saying that when we gather, particularly on a Sunday Morning, for cooperate worship its a foretaste of heaven. But flipping heck (pardon the french) is it really? Well, if the church I was in on Sunday was a foretaste of heaven I really think I would pass. Even the passing traffic seemed more exciting that being in that church. How many of us can identify with that? If your own local church on a Sunday Morning was a foretaste of heaven would you really be excited about heaven? If all we had to judge in terms of the worship in heaven was the cooperate worship on a Sunday Morning. Check this passage which is a glimpse of heaven in John's apocalyptical writings,Revelation 4:11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. Do those scenes represent the "foretaste" of what we have in Church. The sincere adorations of a might and awesome God. Charismatics are often times just loud, but empty, so lets not think I am talking about being loud. It has its place, well not in the church that I was in. But the scriptures sing forth an awesome experience. Richard Foster says, Worship is experiencing Reality and touching Life. I sincerely believe that cooperate worship should indeed be a foretaste of heaven, it is regretable that what is is not what ought to be. Foster continues on worship and says "it is invading the Shekinak of God, or better yet (and I think this is the actual reality) to be invaded by the Shekinah." The AWESOME, MAJESTIC, GLORIOUS, UNIQUE, AUGUST, GRAND, IMPERIAL GOD wants to manifest and invade our cooperate worship service, but is He welcomed?Well a suh mi si it...wha yu tink. TRANSLATION: That's how I see it...what do you think?
Revelation 4:11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."5:8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.14:2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. Do those scenes represent the "foretaste" of what we have in Church. The sincere adorations of a might and awesome God. Charismatics are often times just loud, but empty, so lets not think I am talking about being loud. It has its place, well not in the church that I was in. But the scriptures sing forth an awesome experience. Richard Foster says, Worship is experiencing Reality and touching Life. I sincerely believe that cooperate worship should indeed be a foretaste of heaven, it is regretable that what is is not what ought to be. Foster continues on worship and says "it is invading the Shekinak of God, or better yet (and I think this is the actual reality) to be invaded by the Shekinah." The AWESOME, MAJESTIC, GLORIOUS, UNIQUE, AUGUST, GRAND, IMPERIAL GOD wants to manifest and invade our cooperate worship service, but is He welcomed?
Revelation 4:11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."5:8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.14:2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. Do those scenes represent the "foretaste" of what we have in Church. The sincere adorations of a might and awesome God. Charismatics are often times just loud, but empty, so lets not think I am talking about being loud. It has its place, well not in the church that I was in. But the scriptures sing forth an awesome experience. Richard Foster says, Worship is experiencing Reality and touching Life. I sincerely believe that cooperate worship should indeed be a foretaste of heaven, it is regretable that what is is not what ought to be. Foster continues on worship and says "it is invading the Shekinak of God, or better yet (and I think this is the actual reality) to be invaded by the Shekinah." The AWESOME, MAJESTIC, GLORIOUS, UNIQUE, AUGUST, GRAND, IMPERIAL GOD wants to manifest and invade our cooperate worship service, but is He welcomed?
The Fruit of a Tree is Another Tree
went to a wee pentecostal church on Sunday morning and the man who was speaking, Angus, said one thing that stuck in my mind, "the fruit of a tree is another tree". As I thought about it, it really made more and more sense. Often times we see the fruit of a tree as the produce that we eat that's sweet to the taste and that soothes our palette. The reality is however that trees have not really been fruitful until they reproduce. Production is not the end result of the process of fruitfulness, it is reproduction. In the garden we were called in Adam to be fruitful and multiply. The fruitfulness of humankind is really in reproducing after our own kind. If a tree is never allowed to reproduce and the produce of the tree is always taken to the dinner table then when that trees dies, the season of the produce of the tree would have ended forever. If the tree is allowed to be fruitful through reproducing trees after its own kind then the season of its produce will live on. Isn't this what God has called us Godward to do. To reproduce after our own kind spiritually. Christians begetting Christians through the planting of the seeds of our lives in the hearts of others by our witness and our testimony. We are like trees planted by the rivers of living water, we must be fruitful and bring forth trees after our own kind. The Fruit of a Tree is Another Tree.
The Church is not Sexy Enough
Now for the caption of this email. I was at a Bible study tonight and there were some Germans there. We were looking at commitment and at one point started to look at the reason while 80% of 18 years old in the UK don't return to church. After we spoke for a while one of the Germans, a female, said "The church is not sexy enough." The truth is there is a sense that the Bride of Christ should be sexy enough to cause people to be attracted to her. The members of this body should be functioning and healthy enough to attract and allure. But there is also another side of her being the body of Christ that she will bare evidence of His scars by her challenge to purity that others won't find her sexy. She is in ideology and deed a stranger in this world. Finding the balance even in our own lives is not the easiest this to do, but I think it is necessary.
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