Or watch the Video Zoom Session of our Study on YouTube:
Except by Revelation
“Jesus answered and said
to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”’ Mat. 16:17
It’s impossible to figure out God with our feeble, fallen
intellect. The shark contrast demonstrated in the New Testament is that, while
religious leaders were debating how to figure out God, and pretty convinced
that they had, Jesus was revealing Himself to simple folks. Obviously, the
religious types got it so wrong that they actually crucified the Lord of
Glory.
I Co. 2:14 states this with clarity for us, “But the natural
man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
I used to share the gospel
with a client of mine who was a retired college professor. His response to me
was that he taught the Bible in university, asif tosay,“what could you
possibly have to tell me.”
Derek Prince, in Rules of Engagement says,
“Ever since, (the fall) the attainment
of knowledge has been one main goal of humanity.
Over the last two or three centuries this has expressed
itself in an ever-increasing emphasis on science...This
explosion of science has not, however, solved humanity’s
most basic problems: injustice, cruelty, war, poverty,
disease.”
This is where our intellect
has taken us and no less so in the sphere of religion. Man is perhaps more
confused now than ever concerning the character and ways of God.
Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “’for
My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the
LORD. ‘As the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and My thoughts
than your thoughts.”’
Isn’t that just common sense?
Heb. 7:7 NLT says, “And without question, the person who has the power to
give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.”
So what about us??? Can we figure God out? After all, we have His word,
and His Spirit dwelling within us.
Well, we should be very
careful and circumspect about that. Look at the religious landscape today,
just within Christianity. Paul said to the church in Corinth, “For where
there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and
behaving like mere men?”I Co. 3:3
If you look at the narrative
from our opening verse (Mat. 16:17) Peter is praised by Jesus for hearing from
the Father, but in just a few verses Jesus will say to the same Peter, “Get
behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the
things of God, but the things of men.” Mat. 16:23
Should we not be humble, and
willing to repent, in considering the times and ways in which we may not
have “rightly divided the word of truth”?
We genuinely believe that the
Bible is inerrant, and the complete revelation of God to man, but it is not the
exhaustive revelation of God. Deut. 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our
God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children
forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” And Jesus Christis,
“theWordbecamefleshanddweltamongus,”Jn. 1:14
“the image of the
invisible God”Col. 1:15
This does not give license to people like Joseph Smith, the
prophet Mohamed, or Sun Myung Moon, who claim to have revelation, to deserve
any consideration by the born again child of God. The Bible is the cannon, and
is not subject to interpretation or alteration.
How
should we rightly divide the word of truth?
1) Know it! Study it.
Meditate upon it. Pray over it.
2) Consider the whole
council of God; Genesis to Maps.
Don’t cherry pick verses and build a doctrine around them.
3) Pray, asking God for
wisdom and discernment concerning passages
and doctrines that are confusing. Js.1:5
4) Consider the answers that
you come up with. Are they self-gratifying or glorifying to God?
Remember this; that in spite
of Peter’s lapse in Mat. 16. God was still able to execute His divine purpose
in his life and in His over arching plan.
Revelation comes sovereignly
from God to unveil His purpose in space and time. What we do with it could
be considered the free will of man...but that is questionable too.
-----Join
us for another Bible Study Next Week -------
or
Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”,
"Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247
podcast!
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are
those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the
opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other
authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not
necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may
represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of
Christian Discipleship
Today’s photo of a somewhat dark and foreboding sunset
over Port Noarlunga in South Australia comes to us from Dave Baun Photography (https://www.facebook.com/DaveBaunPhotography)
who shared this solemn scene on Saturday stating: “An unplanned stop at Port Noarlunga was perhaps the last time I had to
regret not having the camera with me. Since then it is almost always with me
wherever I go, just in case! My next visit there I was happy to capture this
moody sunset.”
We can only imagine the scene Dave wasn’t able to
capture at Port Noarlunga on the day he didn’t have his camera, but his and our
loss, has become our gain as his regret caused him to be committed to having
his camera on him virtually at all times so he could capture the beautiful moments
of life as they happened, even when he didn’t expect it.
Well, it’s Monday and I chose Dave’s rather dark
sunset photo because I received a few reports of loss and brokenness over the weekend.Although I guess I could be in a dark mood
because another weekend has expired and the first day of the work week has come
with snow in my area, I am in a quiet place this morning because I learned of a
sudden death in the family on Saturday and of the possible disillusion of a marriage
on Sunday.
As much as I could “Monday morning quarterback” these
situations by offering my speculations and reflections, I am choosing to remain
silent and am deciding just to pray for the people who are at the heart of
these tragedies knowing from experience that those who suffer a major trauma
like a sudden death or sudden break in relationship don’t necessarily need our
words as much as they may need our prayers or presence.As I am not immediately involved in either of
these situations, my presence isn’t expected or required and inserting my self
into them would be unnatural and could be met with hostility. No matter how well intentioned, people don’t appreciate
a “buttinsky” especially in the wake of major loses like these.
So instead of unnaturally inserting myself into
someone else’s pain, I am praying for both situations.I’m praying for God to help those mourning
the death of their loved one and praying for God to help those who seem to be separating.
Not too long ago, I was chastised by a person I
respect because they felt I didn’t take the feelings of others into
consideration when I blogged about a mutual friend’s untimely passing. So I am
choosing to follow Paul’s advice from
Romans
12:15 (NKJV) where he advised the saints in Rome to 15 … weep with those who
weep.
So as Christians, let’s remember to weep with those
who weep and pray for them. Where appropriate, we can offer the hurting our
help or presence but let’s realize that although we may have the answers to
life and death in Christ, we should be wise in how and when we share that
wisdom.
Anyway, in light of these tragedies, the end of the
weekend and inclement weather don’t seem to be a big deal and if we are mourning
the loss of the weekend or our favorite sports teams, we should remember that others
around us may be going through some life changing traumas that won’t just dissipate
as the today clears up and draws to an end.
As always, I would encourage us to look to the Lord
and count our blessings and to be guided by Him in all the things we do. So
keep walking and talking with God and try to love your neighbors as yourself.
Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible
Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verse is:
Revelation 3:7 (NLT2) 7 “Write this letter to the
angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is
holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can
close; and what he closes, no one can open.
Today’s verse reminds us that what Christ opens, no one can close
and what He closes no one can open.
Not sure if where our resource, “The
NLT Bible Promise Book for Men” was going when they chose a verse from
Revelation to put under the general heading of “Success” without explanation,
but I suppose beyond the “end times context” of Revelation and Christ’s general
warnings to the seven churches of antiquity to repent, I suppose this verse does
point to God’s sovereign will behind all things, that if He doesn’t open up an
opportunity for you, it just won’t open, and if he “shuts a door” no amount of
trying on our part will change it.
With this “hard truth” that sometimes there are no
second chances or that sometimes the answer is no, we could despair, but what
it should do is cause us to draw close to God in prayer to help us to receive
His guidance to follow His will where we can be ready to walk through the doors
that He opens to us and to move along to the next thing when a door
closes.
Losses in life sometimes can’t be regained. We have
to accept that “that door is closed”, grieve the loss and move on.
However, even out of tragedy, God can move all
things together for good to those who love Him. So let’s realize and respect
God’s sovereign will and walk with Him and allow Him to guide us to the new
opportunities that He opens for us.
___________________________________________
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink’s “The
Sovereignty of God.”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase Bonhoeffer’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
THE
SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
ByARTHUR W. PINK
CHAPTER FOUR
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN SALVATION, continues.
3. The Sovereignty of God the Holy Spirit in
Salvation
Since the Holy Spirit is one of the three
Persons in the blessed Trinity, it necessarily follows that He is in full
sympathy with the will and design of the other Persons of the Godhead. The
eternal purpose of the Father in
election, the limited design in the
death of the Son, and the restricted
scope of the Holy Spirit’s operations are in perfect accord. If the Father
chose certain ones before the foundation of the world and gave them to His Son,
and if it was for them that Christ gave Himself a ransom, then the Holy Spirit
is not now working to “bring the world to Christ.” The mission of the Holy
Spirit in the world today is to apply the benefits of Christ’s
redemptive sacrifice. The question which is now to engage us is not the extent of the Holy Spirit’s power—on that point there can be no
doubt, it is infinite—but what we shall seek to show is that His power and
operations are directed by Divine
wisdom and sovereignty.
We have just said
that the power and operations of the Holy Spirit are directed by Divine wisdom
and indisputable sovereignty. In proof of this assertion we appeal first to our
Lord’s words to Nicodemus in John 3:8—“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and
thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” A comparison is
here drawn between the wind and the Spirit. The comparison is a doubleone: first, both are sovereign
in their actions, and second, both are mysterious
in their operations. The comparison is pointed out in the word “so.” The
first point of analogy is seen in the words, “where it listeth” or “pleaseth;”
the second is found in the words “canst not tell.” With the second point of
analogy we are not now concerned, but upon the first we would comment further.
“The wind bloweth where it pleaseth … so is every one that is born of
the Spirit.” The wind is an element which man can neither harness nor
hinder. The wind neither consults man’s pleasure nor can it be regulated by his
devices. So it is with the Spirit. The wind blows when it pleases, where it
pleases, as it pleases. So it is with the Spirit. The wind is regulated by
Divine wisdom, yet, so far as man is concerned, it is absolutely sovereign in its operations. So it is
with the Spirit. Sometimes the wind blows so softly it scarcely rustles a leaf;
at other times it blows so loudly that its roar can be heard for miles. So it
is in the matter of the new birth; with some the Holy Spirit deals so gently
that His work is imperceptible to human onlookers; with others His action is so
powerful, radical, revolutionary, that His operations are patent to many.
Sometimes the wind is purely local in its reach, at other times widespread in
its scope. So it is with the Spirit: today He acts on one or two souls,
tomorrow He may, as at Pentecost, “prick in the heart” a whole multitude. But
whether He works on few or many He consults not man. He acts as He pleases. The new birth is due to the sovereign will of the Spirit.[1]
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this
publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to
reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries,
or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication,
and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the
author may represent.”
Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
Or watch the Video Zoom Session of our Study on YouTube:
Lord, Open Our Understanding!
“And He opened their
understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures.” Lk. 24:45
How often have you used the
phrase, “I believe that we have a misunderstanding”?
Understanding can be pared
into two types:
Understanding the way things are; how things work.
Understanding people, and their intent.
In both cases God is the
Author of true, accurate, and appropriate understanding.
Regarding the way things are,
Ex. 31:1-6 tells the account of how God called Bezalel, and “filled him with
the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner
of workmanship.”vs. 3
They may have acquired some
skills up to that point, but we must never forget Heb. 3:4,“For
every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God.”
Prov. 4:7 says, “Wisdom is
the principal thing;
Therefore get
wisdom.
And
in all your getting, get understanding.”
When faced with situations,
tasks or problems that seem to defy solution, this is the time to turn and ask
the One who created all things. See Js.
1:5
I marvel at the ingenuity of
man. I sometimes marvel at my own abilities, but so much more over the talents
and abilities of others concerning that which I could never figure out apart
from the grace of God.
This ingenuity is an act of,
what is called, “common grace” weather the possessor of such admits it or not.
It comes from somewhere, and we know that the source of all good is God.
See Js. 1:17
More tedious, at times, is the
capacity to know, or understand. another person. This relies upon a confluence
of factors including language, cultural framework, past encounters, and depth
of relationship.
It is often life’s greatest
joy to truly understand another person in all their complexity. Wearetruly,“fearfully
and wonderfully made.”
Imagine trying to figure out
God. This is the effort of every false religion. Paul says, “O the depth of
the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His
judgments, and His ways past finding out!”Rom. 11:33
Apart from revelation, we fail terribly.
The Scriptures may lead the
natural man into some practical wisdom in order to navigate life. This was the
intent of the Law.
On the road to the village of
Emmaus, two men, who knew the Scriptures, were walking, and talking, and trying
to figure out what had just happened, when Jesus came along side and walked
with them. In this encounter they heard some of the greatest preaching ever
heard, but yet did not understand. They say, “Did not our heart burn within us
while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” Lk. 24:32
Pr. James Finn observes this
pattern from this text:
“He took...He blessed...He broke…and He gave”
“Then their eyes were open and they knew Him” Lk. 24:30,31
Remember, the call to eternal
life, from Jn. 17:3 is to, “know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
You have sent.”
In all our interaction with
God we should pray for revelation. Otherwise, we will be swept away by winds of
false doctrine.
Jn. 16:13 says, “The Spirit
of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.”
Wait for the taking, the blessing, the breaking,
before giving!
-----Join us for
another Bible Study Next Week -------
or
Join our “Victory over
the Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of
Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are
those of the author, M.T. Clark, or Arthur Cincotti, only, and do not purport to
reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries,
or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication,
and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the
authors may represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of Christian
Discipleship
Practicing Solitude and Silence – Knowing When to
Retreat - Purity 931
Purity 931 01/03/2023
Purity 931 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the reflection of the forest shoreline
in the waters of Cliffiside Lake with the shadow of trees in the foreground
comes to us from Fred Dimmick who captured and shared this scene from Highlands
NC on social media on January 1st.Fred started off the New Year right and I look forward to sharing more
of his “views” as the year progresses.
Well, it’s Tuesday, and for the vast majority of us –
“it’s back to life, back to reality”- but not for me! I didn’t ask for this “extra
day off” but am glad to have it.My job
requires us to work the occasional Saturday and my occasion is this weekend. So,
while I won’t be looking forward to the “one day” weekend ahead of me, I will
be using today to fully recharge my batteries by spending the day practicing
solitude in a full day retreat where I will use the hours I normally would be
working in prayer, fasting, and study as I plan to review John Eldredge’s “Resilient” to, as the subtitle
says, “restore my soul in these turbulent times”.
In
Matthew 6:6 (NKJV) Jesus instructed us: 6 But
you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray
to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who
sees in secret will reward you openly.
So after posting this message, I will be shutting the door and
going to the secret place and don’t plan on re-emerging until the study is done.
In our modern lives we are often busy going from one thing to
the next, charging ahead but today the Lord has put it on my heart to unplug
and rest in His presence in relative silence.
Solitude and Silence are practices that don’t get a lot of
headlines but are spiritual disciplines that should be regularly utilized in
our walk.
In this noisy cramped world, we need to shut it off every once
in awhile and go solo into His presence and listen to the Lord’s got to
say.
So although the vast majority of us might not be able to do
this today, I encourage you to schedule some time for just you. Take a “day
trip” with the Lord – take time to get alone and get quiet and see what He has
to say to you.Spending time in solitude
and silence may make it possible to hear what He has to say and to see what
direction your path will take next.
Keeping it short and sweet today. So until you get that time alone, keep walking
and talking with God.
Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible
Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verse is:
Revelation
20:10 (NLT2) 10 Then the devil, who had
deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the
beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever
and ever.
Today’s verse was under the heading: “When the evil around you
seems powerful…” and so Revelation 20:10 tells us the final destination of the
devil in the lake of fire where he, along with the beast (the Anti-Christ) and
the false prophet who are yet to be revealed, will be tormented day and night
forever and ever.
Hell is not Satan’s kingdom it is his prison. He is not the equal
and opposite of God. He is a created being, a fallen – rebellious angel who
will be Hell’s most infamous inmate. While there is evil in this world and in
the spirit realm, those forces of darkness will not prevail and will be judged
and punished for their wickedness.
Those who put their faith in Christ alone will be forgiven and saved
from God’s wrath and so for the Christian this verse while rather dark is
actually good news and is declaring God’s supremacy and His reclaiming of His
kingdom.
So no matter how dark things may seem to be getting in our world,
and scripture indicates that things get worse before they get better, ultimately justice and goodness will prevail
as God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
So Christians should be filled the hope for that future fulfillment
and be diligent in sharing the good news of the kingdom of God and the gospel
of Jesus Christ and endure through whatever trials we may face now knowing and
trusting that God will put everything right in the end, and that He is working
all things together for the good of those who love Him and that are called to
His purpose.
___________________________________________
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink’s “The
Sovereignty of God”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase Bonhoeffer’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
THE
SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
ByARTHUR W. PINK
CHAPTER ONE
GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY DEFINED, continues
The sovereignty of
the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite. When we say that God
is sovereign we affirm His right to govern the universe which He has made for
His own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that His right is the right of the Potter over the clay, i.e., that He
may mould that clay into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and
another unto dishonor. We affirm that He is under no rule or law outside of His
own will and nature, that God is a law
unto Himself, and that He is under no obligation to give an account of His
matters to any.
Sovereignty
characterizes the whole Being of God. He is sovereign in all His attributes. He is sovereign in the exercise of His
power. His power is exercised as He
wills, when He wills, where He wills. This fact is evidenced
on every page of Scripture. For a long season that power appears to be dormant,
and then it is put forth in irresistible might. Pharaoh dared to hinder Israel
from going forth to worship Jehovah in the wilderness—what happened? God
exercised His power, His people were delivered and their cruel task-masters
slain. But a little later, the Amalekites dared to attack these same Israelites
in the wilderness, and what happened? Did God put forth His power on this
occasion and display His hand as He did at the Red Sea? Were these enemies of
His people promptly overthrown and destroyed? No, on the contrary, the Lord
swore that He would “have war with Amalek from
generation to generation” (Ex. 17:16). Again, when Israel entered the land
of Canaan, God’s power was signally displayed. The city of Jericho barred their
progress—what happened? Israel did not draw a bow nor strike a blow: the Lord
stretched forth His hand and the walls fell down flat. But the miracle was
never repeated! No other city fell after
this manner. Every other city had to be captured by the sword!
Many other instances
might be adduced illustrating the sovereign exercise of God’s power. Take one
other example. God put forth His power and David was delivered from Goliath,
the giant; the mouths of the lions were closed and Daniel escaped unhurt; the
three Hebrew children were cast into the burning fiery furnace and came forth
unharmed and unscorched. But God’s power
did not always interpose for the deliverance of His people, for we read: “And others had trial of cruel mockings
and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they
were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about
in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented” (Heb.
11:36, 37). But why? Why were not these men of faith delivered like the others?
Or, why were not the others suffered to be killed like these? Why should God’s
power interpose and rescue some and not the others? Why allow Stephen to be
stoned to death, and then deliver Peter from prison?
God is
sovereign in the delegation of His power to others. Why did God endow
Methuselah with a vitality which enabled him to outlive all his contemporaries?
Why did God impart to Samson a physical strength which no other human has ever
possessed? Again; it is written, “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for
it is He that giveth thee power to
get wealth” (Deut. 8:18), but God does not bestow this power on all alike. Why
not? Why has He given such power to men like Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller? The
answer to all of these questions is, Because God is Sovereign, and being
Sovereign He does as He pleases.
God is
sovereign in the exercise of His mercy. Necessarily so, for mercy is directed by
the will of Him that showeth mercy.
Mercy is not a right to which man is
entitled. Mercy is that adorable attribute of God by which He pities and
relieves the wretched. But under the righteous government of God no one is
wretched who does not deserve to be
so. The objects of mercy, then, are those who are miserable, and all misery is
the result of sin, hence the
miserable are deserving of punishment not mercy. To speak of deserving mercy is a contradiction of
terms.
God bestows His
mercies on whom He pleases and withholds them as seemeth good unto Himself. A
remarkable illustration of this fact is seen in the manner that God responded
to the prayers of two men offered under very similar circumstances. Sentence of
death was passed upon Moses for one act of disobedience, and he besought the
Lord for a reprieve. But was his desire gratified? No; he told Israel, “The
Lord is wroth with me for your sakes, and
would not hear me: and the Lord said unto me, Let it suffice thee” (Deut.
3:26). Now mark the second case: “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death.
And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus
saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I
beseech Thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before Thee in truth and
with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight. And
Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the
middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and
tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David
thy father, I have heard thy prayer,
I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go
unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years” (2
Kings 20:1–6). Both of these men had the sentence of death in themselves, and
both prayed earnestly unto the Lord for a reprieve: the one wrote: “The Lord
would not hear me,” and died; but to the other it was said, “I have heard thy
prayer,” and his life was spared. What an illustration and exemplification of
the truth expressed in Romans 9:15!—“For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will
have compassion on whom I will have
compassion.”
The sovereign
exercise of God’s mercy—pity shown to the wretched—was displayed when Jehovah
became flesh and tabernacled among men. Take one illustration. During one of
the Feasts of the Jews, the Lord Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He came to the
Pool of Bethesda where lay “a great
multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the
moving of the water.” Among this “great multitude” there was “a certain man
which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.” What happened? “When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a
long time in that case, he saith unto him,
Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answer Him, Sir, I have no man, when
the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but when I am coming, another
steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked” (John
5:3–9). Why was this one man singled out from all the others? We are not told
that he cried “Lord, have mercy on me.”
There is not a word in the narrative which intimates that this man possessed
any qualifications which entitled him to receive special favor. Here then was a
case of the sovereign exercise of Divine mercy, for it was just as easy for
Christ to heal the whole of that “great multitude” as this one “certain man.”
But He did not. He put forth His power and relieved the wretchedness of this
one particular sufferer, and for some reason known only to Himself, He declined
to do the same for the others. Again, we say, what an illustration and
exemplification of Romans 9:15!—“I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”[1]
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this
publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to
reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries,
or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication,
and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the
author may represent.”
Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
Today’s photo of the reflection of the sky in the
waters on the shores of Kingscliff Beach in Adelaide South Australia comes to
from Dave Baun Photography. Dave shared this photo with the news that it has
been a week since his eye surgery and although the healing isn’t complete yet
and recovery is hard because he can’t practice the craft that he loves so much,
he still wanted to share this scene to point to some good news: that in the
Land Down Under where things are sort of, well upside down from our perspective,
the summer weather is returning. While
we are just beginning to deal with the fact that winter is not only coming but
is here in full force in places like Buffalo, Dave is experiencing the hope of increasing
recovery and warm summer days.
Something as simple as a report from a friend on the
other side of the world can really point out just how big the world is and when
I look at today’s photo in Australia, I can’t help but to think of the television
series “Lost” and the befuddled rock star Charlie’s question: “Guys, Where are
we?”
Where are we indeed?This message is coming in late today because I have the day off I decided
to “let the Lord wake” me and apparently He decided I could get some sleep as I
woke up at the late hour of 5:30 am! So we start today with more rest than usual,
and thoughts that are probably contrary to most in my reflections on yesterday’s
Thanksgiving holiday.
You have to forgive my somewhat morbid outlook that
I have at times. As a child of the late seventies and early 80’s, graduating in
1990, I was raised in the heart of the cold war with entertainment that prophesied
nuclear holocaust, took delight in the works of Stephen King, and was
eventually into music artists that had disdain for the hypocrisy of polite
society because of its tendencies to “keep people in their place” and that restricted
or judge the “free life” that we wanted to live.
The freedom a lot of my gen x contemporaries and I
wanted was freedom from any restrictions or judgements of what we wanted to do,
usually surround things like sex and drugs, but we also sought to make society
repent of its former violent, racists, and materialistic ways. The nineties were like a reboot of the sixties
as the Berlin wall came down and we had grand ideals of peace and peaceful easy
living.But we also had that contrast of
nihilism, because we had lived in the fear of nuclear holocaust for most of our
lives and now that we discovered we might just have to live to see old age, some
of us didn’t have a clue what we wanted to be when we grew up. I had spent so
long living it up that I didn’t prepare for the future! When you live a good
part of your life thinking “nothing really matters”, it can be quite a surprise
when you realize they might.
One of the things angsty teens and young adults,
traditionally rebel against is the institution of family, and yesterday I
suspect that there may have been several Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving celebrations
that had pride in how their gatherings differed from the traditional family
gathering.
But you know what? For the most part, as much as we
love our friends and as wild asthe days
of our mad existences may have been in our youths, as we move through life that
those ideals and friendships of youth generally fade away and you see that what
was so important for a few years in our teens and 20’s turned out to be the
things that “didn’t really matter”.Don’t
get me wrong, I still love all my friends from my youth but in terms of
Thanksgiving plans for 2022, they didn’t play a part, and the thing that
remained was “family”.
However in the landscape that divorce chisels into
our society and our immediate experiences, even that can cause things to be “:upside
down” from what we were used to.The Facebook
photo of large “whole” family gatherings may be considered sweet or annoying
from your perspective, but you have to admit that the brokenness of the traditional
family has their appearances decreasing.
Year after year the changes can be subtle, but as
the kids grow up and family members are lost to divorce or death, sometimes
they can be quit jarring.Yesterday my step kids, from my second
marriage, met with their father for “Thanksgiving Breakfast” that turned out to
be lunch and while I of all people certainly understand the difficulties for
meeting all those familial obligations of honor, something about the idea of a “Thanksgiving
Breakfast” just offended me.
This wasn’t God’s plan for sure.I am sure these things weren’t our plan either
but there they are. “Nothing spells dysfunction like “Thanksgiving Breakfast”.
The hilarity and the absurdity of it actually caused me to google – “What did
the pilgrims have for breakfast?”but as
gleeful as I was to start typing out that malicious question, my heart sank as
google started to complete the question as it often does when someone else out
there asked the same question. And I was
saddened and somewhat ashamed because I imagined that the question I submitted
as a joke was possibly submitted in full sincerity as someone out there was desperately
trying to create something “traditional” around their nontraditional
gathering.“Guys, where are we?”
Another tradition that I enjoy is the Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade but even that staple of Thanksgiving tradition seems to
increasingly be revealed for the materialistic ad campaign that it is and
because it highlights current events and trends it reveals the moral slippage that
our country has gone through since I was a child.Without being specific, let’s just say that some
things on display during yesterday’s parade would have never been deemed as suitable
for public consumption. Again, I have nothing really grotesque to point to because
the grotesque ain’t what it used to be as what some would call progress could
very well be seen as corruption from a Biblical world view.
And thus as I watched the parade yesterday the nihilism
of old and the apocalyptic reality of Biblical end times prophecies came
together and made me think of something rather macabre: What would happen if
Jesus came back on Thanksgiving Day in the midst of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade?
And at first my thoughts were of a Rapture, where a
small number, probably very small (perhaps unnoticeable?), of the people would
simply vanish, causing parade staff to seek to fill empty spots as the parade
would just keep marching on…
But then I thought of a post Rapture, Revelation 14 return
of Jesus Christ on Thanksgiving Day where God’s wrath would be poured out where
there would be few if any men left standing….
Revelation 14:14-20 (NLT2) says 14 Then I saw a white cloud,
and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on
his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came
from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle,
for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.” …..19 So the angel swung his
sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s
wrath. 20 The grapes were trampled
in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a
stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.
There is or was actually a joyous
worship song on Christian radio this year proclaiming that “Jesus is coming
back” but in light of the moral corruption that is prevalent in our society and
evidenced in families broken by divorce, sexual immorality, substance abuse,
and selfish materialism, I fear that the return of Jesus Christ will not be the
good news that the masses are waiting to hear.
Yesterday, I presented a short teaching
based on a devotional from John MacArthur about Enoch, and one of the things
that Macarthur drew from the few Bible verses on Enoch was that he “walked with
God” and He through naming his son Methuselah he warned others about the certainty
of God’s judgement on the people of his corrupt moral society.MacArthur pointed out that even though Enoch
knew he would never live to see the Flood that would come, he was still
faithful to warn others about it.
People really must have thought Enoch
was crazy, or at least a judgmental jerk, undoubtedly lecturing people of their
moral failures and encouraging them to repent and trust in the one true unseen
Creator God. But one day, because of
His relationship with God, Enoch did not collect $200 and go directly to the
grave, instead He was the first to
provide evidence of the possibility of being “raptured”. We can imagine the theories that would have
explained Enoch’s disappearance and I’m sure there were several quite
reasonable and plausible ones. I can think of a bunch.But God through His word, reveals to us the
truth about Enoch and a whole lot more.
God reveals to us what is right and wrong.
Our society is lacking mightily in respecting His standard.
God also has revealed to us the Way to
be at peace with Him,through faith in
Jesus Christ. And our society, and even what some would consider the “church” doesn’t
seem to have a good grasp on what that means either.
And finally, God tells us in Revelation
of how this world will end but few seem to have confidence in being ready for
that.
End times prophetic preachers vary in
their predictions, but some will sell you disaster supply kits and most have
been preaching for decades that Christ would come back at any minute.Their attempts to predict and “draw parallels”
between newspaper headlines and scripture haven’t always been spot on and may even
cause some to doubt the word of God because of their messages!
Me?I thought I had some prophetic giftings in the past, and sometimes I have
instances of having the feeling that “God set me up” as I walk into good things
or “God gave me a heads up” when I avoid bad things, but because of my “false
prophecies”, ideas about what would of should happen in my life that didn’t come
to pass, I am hesitant to prophesy anything specific about future events.
Instead, I unknowingly have adopted the
stance of Enoch.I concern myself with
my daily walk with God from day to day and moment to moment. But I also try to,
as lovingly as I can, warn people to secure their eternal destiny by putting their
faith in Jesus Christ, to live according to God’s standards for living, and to
respect the word of God as true: to believe and to understand that Jesus is
coming back.But like Enoch, I may not
live to see Christ’s return from the perspective of the earth.I may be coming with Him!
But I don’t know about that one way or
the other.But I do know that God loves us,
and He wants us to make peace with Him and to enjoy our lives with Him.So, I hope the end times imagining of Christ
coming back at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Judgement doesn’t freak
you out but encourages you to see that God is holy and encourages us to be on
His side when the wrath of God should come.
Ironically, all of this caused me to
remember Green Days’ song, Macy’s Day Parade’s lyrics and feel that somehow
they express the angst over the way the pageantry of the parade of life is
inadequate to satisfy us but amazingly there is a hope for the future, that
Billy Jo Armstrong may or may not know, lies in the person of Jesus Christ. The
lyrics say:
“Today's the Macy's
Day Parade
The night of the
living dead is on its way
With a credit
report for duty call
It's a lifetime
guarantee
Stuffed in a
coffin, 10% more free
Red light special
at the mausoleum
Give me something
that I need
Satisfaction
guaranteed to you
What's the
consolation prize?
Economy sized
dreams of hope
When I was a kid, I
thought
I wanted all the
things that I haven't got
Oh-oh, but I
learned the hardest way
Then I realized
what it took
To tell the
difference between thieves and crooks
Lesson learned to
me and you
Give me something
that I need
Satisfaction
guaranteed
'Cause I'm thinking
'bout a brand new hope
The one I've never
known
'Cause now I know
it's all that I wanted”
I think I might have shared this song
before. If I did I apologize. But even though things continue to change, some
things remain the same.This world and
our human relationships are inadequate, and were never intended, to satisfy us.
But I am thinking about what wasn’t long
ago a “brand new hope” for me, the hope that only comes through Christ
alone.Jesus gives us the hope of peace
in our lives on earth and the hope for everlasting life from here to eternity.
He is our only hope.
And even though speaking on the moral
standards and the reality of an end time judgement may be offensive,I have to tell you about them with the hope
that it will cause you to discover the hope that I have found in Jesus
Christ.
Everyday, I’m walking and talking with
God and life is good. Every day, I’m think about a brand new hope, the one I
never knew, cause now I know, after years of suffering and searching, I know it’s
all that I wanted or could ever hope to have.
God bless you and keep you on this Black
Friday and as you go to work or prepare for Christmas, I pray that you know the
hope of Jesus and seek to share it with others.
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s
“Discipleship”, also known as “The Cost of Discipleship”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase Bonhoeffer’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
The Messengers
(An Interpretation ofMatthew 10)
The
Harvest
“Then Jesus went about all the cities and
villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the
kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds,
he had compassion for them, because they were ill-treated and helpless,[3]
like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to
send out laborers into his harvest’ ” (Matt. 9:35–38).
The gaze of the
Savior falls in pity on his people, on God’s people. It could not be enough for
him that only a few people heard his call and followed him. He could not
consider isolating himself aristocratically with his disciples and transmitting
to them in the manner of great founders of religions the doctrines of higher
knowledge and more perfect way of life separated from the mass of the people.
Jesus had come; he worked, and he suffered on behalf of his entire people. And
though the disciples wanted to have him all to themselves, and tried to keep
distant from him the nuisance of the children who were brought to him and of
some poor beggars on the side of the road (Mark 10:48), they had to acknowledge
that Jesus would not permit his ministry to be limited by them. His gospel of
the kingdom of God and his power to save belonged to the poor and sick,
wherever he found them among his people.
The view of the
crowds, which perhaps prompted disgust, rage, or contempt in his disciples,
filled Jesus’ heart with deep pity and grief. No reproaches, no accusations!
God’s beloved people were lying ill-treated on the ground, and the guilt for
this fell on those who were to serve them with God’s ministry. It was not the
Romans who had brought this about, but the misuse of the word of God by those
called to be ministers of the Word. There were no more shepherds there! Jesus
found God’s people to be a flock which was not led to fresh water, whose thirst
remained unquenched[6]—sheep, whom no shepherd protects from the
wolf, battered and wounded, terrified and fearful under the hard staff of their
shepherds, sheep lying on the ground. Questions, but no answer; need, but no
help; consciences kept in fear, but no liberation; tears, but no consolation;
sin, but no forgiveness! Where was the good shepherd this people needed? What
did it help here that there were scribes, who drove the people into the
synagogues by brute force? What did it matter that zealots of the law harshly
condemned sinners without helping them? What did it matter that the most
orthodox preachers and interpreters of the word of God were present, if they
were not filled with all of the mercy and all of the grief over the abused and
ill-treated people of God? What use are scholars of Scripture, pious followers
of the law, preachers of the word, if the shepherds of the church-community
themselves are missing?
¶ The flock needs
good shepherds, “pastors.”[8] “Feed my lambs” is Jesus’ last command
to Peter. Good shepherds[10] fight for their flock against the wolf
and do not flee. Instead, they give their lives for the sheep. They know all
their sheep by their names and love them. They know their needs and their
weaknesses. They heal their wounds, giving drink to the thirsty and lifting up
those who are in danger of falling. They feed them gently and not harshly. They
lead them along the right path. They seek the single lost sheep and bring it
back to the flock. The evil shepherds, however, rule by violence; they forget
their flock and tend to their own affairs. Jesus is looking for good shepherds,
and behold, there are none to be found.
That saddens his
heart. His divine pity embraces this lost flock, the mass of people around him.
From the human point of view, it is a hopeless picture. But it is not hopeless
for Jesus. Here, where God’s people stand before him ill-treated, miserable,
and poor, Jesus sees God’s field ripe for harvest. “The harvest is great!” It
is ripe to be brought into the barns. The hour has come that these poor and
miserable people are brought home into the kingdom of God. Jesus sees God’s
promise dawning over the masses of people. The scribes and zealots of the law
saw only a trampled, burned, battered field. Jesus sees the ripe, waving field
of grain for the kingdom of God. The harvest is great! His mercy alone sees
that!
Now there is no time
to lose. Harvesting cannot be delayed. “But the laborers are few.” Is it a
miracle, since this merciful gaze of Jesus is given to so few? Who could enter
into this work, besides those who have won a place in Jesus’ heart, who have
received from him eyes that can see?
Jesus is looking for
help. He cannot do this work alone. Where are the workers to help him? God
alone knows them and must give them to God’s Son. Who would dare to take the
initiative to offer to be Jesus’ helper? Even the disciples do not dare to do
so. They are to ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers at the right hour,
for it is time.[1]
Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1]
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship,
ed. Martin Kuske et al., trans. Barbara Green and Reinhard Krauss, vol. 4,
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 183–185.
