If you walked up to a fellow believer 50 years ago and said, “God spoke to me and revealed. . .,” they would assume that you had been reading your Bible that morning. Today if you walk up to someone and say the same thing, a whole different sentiment is conveyed. Today it would be assumed that you heard a “still small voice” whisper in your ear, you got an “impression,” or you “felt led” to do something.
Unfortunately, “hearing from God” in modern evangelicalism has nothing to do with reading the Bible and understanding it. Instead, it has to do with a very subjective, personal, feelings-based practice of trying to hear God speak apart from Scripture.
It is my contention that this second, and very new and modern, view that impressions from the Lord is the norm is not only subjective, dangerous, and presumptuous, but also grossly unbiblical.
That is not to say that people in previous centuries never claimed to be led by impressions, nudgings and feelings. There were many who did. However this notion, which today is nearly a sacrament among evangelicals, was historically frowned upon, warned against, and rejected as being quite contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures - which it is.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92) was England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1854, just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 20, became pastor of London's famed New Park Street Church (formerly pastored by the famous Baptist theologian John Gill).2
Spurgeon is one of my favorite figures of church history. Known as the “Prince of Preachers,” Spurgeon preached over 36,000 times during his pastoral ministry, often to crowds in excess of 10,000 people in a day without electronic voice amplification!
Although examples could be offered where Spurgeon believed and acted on impressions he believed were from God, whenever He discussed such things, he warned of the dangers of such a mystical approach to being led by God.
Some Quotes from Spurgeon
"Likely you have crossed paths with folks who think that every spiritual idea that presents itself to their minds must be God speaking to them. They measure their spirituality by the number of such impressions that they receive and follow. If they don’t race after some course of action, they think they are disobeying the voice of God. So, they follow after every still, small voice and feeling carte blanche, as if it were a directive from God, because they believe it is.
I have known people to lay aside all sound doctrine, rational thinking, and Scripture itself to follow after what they believe God was telling them through “impressions.” Spurgeon warned against this in Sermon 2185, “I hope that none of us will ever fall into the snare of following the guidance of impressions made upon us by texts which happen to come prominently before our minds. You have judgments, and you must not lay them aside to be guided by accidental impressions.”
Spurgeon was addressing the practice of seeing in Scripture some message customized for them which they think is mysteriously contained in the text. This personal message is somehow “given to them by the Holy Spirit” when it springs off the page.
By what should we order our life? Strong impressions or Scripture? Spurgeon answered this in his eloquent and even humorous way in a Sermon.
“Some, I know, fall into a very vicious habit, which habit they excuse themselves - namely, that of ordering their footsteps according to impressions.
“Every now and then I meet with people whom I think to be rather weak in the head, who will journey from place to place and will perform follies by the gross under the belief that they are doing the will of God because some silly whim of their diseased brains is imagined to be an inspiration from above.” There are occasionally impressions of the Holy Spirit which guide men where no other guidance could have answered the end. I do not doubt the old story of the Quaker who was disturbed at night and could not sleep and was led to go to a person's house miles away and knock at the door just at the time when the inhabitant was about to commit suicide - just in time to prevent the act.”
In the same sermon Spurgeon confessed, “I have been the subject of such impressions, myself, and have seen very singular results.” By “singular” Spurgeon meant, “extraordinary, remarkable, or exceptional.” There are times when we act upon what is in our heart or mind because we feel strongly inclined to it (when not in violation of Scripture) and we find that God grants remarkable results.
I don’t doubt that those who think God leads through impressions have themselves felt such strong leadings. We all have feelings and thoughts come to our mind. The question is, “Am I instructed in Scripture to treat these impressions and feelings as God’s revelation to me? Should I live by such impressions?”
Spurgeon answers, “But to live by impressions is oftentimes to live the life of a fool and even to fall into downright rebellion against the revealed Word of God. Not your impressions, but that which is in this Bible must always guide you. ‘To the Law and to the Testimony.’ If it is not according to this Word, the impression comes not from God - it may proceed from Satan, or from your own distempered brain! Our prayer must be, ‘Order my steps in Your Word.’”
Common Sense over Impressions
I believe that God can and sometimes does providentially direct our steps by the ordering of suggestive providences. Since Scripture teaches that God is sovereign, we must conclude that His unseen hand is directing all things. Sometimes this is felt and sometimes this is seen. We can believe this, which I do, without falling victim to the folly of believing that this means God is whispering directives in our ears.
All these strong providences and suggestive circumstances must be tested by common sense at least and certainly tested by the Word of Truth. Spurgeon explains this:
“It needs a deliberate and judicious reflection to distinguish between the actual and apparent in professedly preternatural intimations, and if opposed to Scripture and common sense, we must neither believe in them nor obey them. The precious gift of reason is not to be ignored; we are not to be drifted hither and thither by every wayward impulse of a fickle mind, nor are we to be led into evil by superstitious impressions; these are misuses of a great truth, a murderous use of most useful edged tools. But notwithstanding all the folly of hair-brained rant, we believe that the unseen hand may be at times assuredly felt by gracious souls, and the mysterious power which guided the minds of the seers of old may, even to this day, sensibly overshadow reverent spirits. We would speak discreetly, but we dare say no less.”
Spurgeon’s Balanced Perspective
Spurgeon did not “despise” those who received impressions and did say, “Such strong impressions are not to be despised, and I have no doubt that highly spiritual minds do become like a photographer’s sensitive plate, and do receive impressions. What another man may be a fool for talking of, such men may truly speak of, for God does sometimes reveal his will in this way.”
I would agree with that assessment, with the caveat that the “spiritual mind” is the one controlled not by impressions but by the Word of God. He who is governed by the Scripture is thus governed by the Spirit. The one governed by the Spirit will order his steps according to the Word of God, not impressions. His heart and mind will be so influenced by Scripture that he will find himself proving and doing the perfect will of God (Romans 12:1-2). Therefore, it would be the Word which impresses the mind and not some additional revelation. Such a ‘Word directed,” Holy Spirit-controlled man or woman will find themselves knowing and doing the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. God’s will in a given situation is brought to light as the person, submitted to the Scripture, walks in the Spirit.
For Spurgeon, the tendency of some to be guided by impressions was something that needed constant reproof and warning. Sometimes following such feelings and impressions ended up producing, in the words of Spurgeon “singular results.” In other words, it worked out OK. But far from being a rank pragmatist, Spurgeon recognized that under the “guidance of the Spirit” in “impressions” people committed “follies by the gross.”
A Final Word From Spurgeon
There is an obvious deceptive danger in judging your duty by impressions. Spurgeon comments in a Sermon, “Others, too, judge of their duty by impressions. ‘If I feel it impressed upon my mind,’ says one, ‘I shall do, it.’ Does God command you to do it? This is the proper question. If he does, you should make haste, whether it is impressed upon your mind or not; but if there be no command to that effect, or rather, if it diverges from the line of God's statutes, and needs apology or explanation, hold your hand, for though you have ten thousand impressions, yet must you never dare to go by them. It is a dangerous thing for us to make the whims of our brain instead of the clear precepts of God, the guide of our moral actions. ‘To the law and to the testimony,’ - this is the lamp that shows the Christian true light; be this your chart, be this your compass; but as to impressions, and whims, and fancies, and I know not what beside which some have taken, -these are more wreckers lights that will entice you on the rocks. Hold fast to the Word of God, and nothing else; whoever he shall be that shall guide you otherwise, close your ears to him. If at any time, through infirmity or weakness, I should teach you anything which is contrary to this Book, cast it from you, hurl it away as chaff is driven from the wheat; if it be mine and not my Master's, cast it away. Though you love me, though I may have been the means of your conversion to God, think no more of what I say than of the very strangers in the street, if it be not consistent with the teachings of the Most High. Our guide is his written Word, let us keep to this.”
Much of this article was written by Pastor Jim Osman - Kootenai, ID
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
The Crucifixion (WARNING:Graphic Content)
What did it cost Jesus for you to be saved? What does the crucifixion look like? What does Jesus dying for you mean?
These words that follow are hard to read when you know they are being done against our Saviour but you should still read them. Each believer should know some of just the phyiscal cost brought against Jesus. It is sobering to see what it cost for us to be called, Christian!
Reader beware...
The Garden
The physical trauma of Christ begins in Gethsemane with one of the initial aspects of His suffering - sweat like drops of blood. It is interesting that the physician of the group, St. Luke, is the only one to mention this. He says, “And being in agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.”
Though very rare, this is phyiscially possible, the phenomenon of hemathidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process alone could have produced marked weakness and possible shock. This does not mean this is what happened to Jesus but it is possible. Luke could have been just describing Jesus' sweat was heavy and full, like blood but not blood.
After the arrest in the middle of the night, Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas, the High Priest. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiaphas. The palace guards then blindfolded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify them as they each passed by; they spat on Him and struck Him in the face.
Condemned to Crucifixion
In the early morning, Jesus, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and exhausted from a sleepless night, was taken across Jerusalem to the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia. It was there, in response to the cries of the mob, that Pilate ordered Bar-Abbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion.
Flogging first
Preparations for the scourging are carried out. The prisoner is stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached to the ends of each. The heavy whip is brought down with fill force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back and legs.
At first the heavy thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper into subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows.
Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is stopped.
The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with His own blood. The Roman soldiers see a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be a king. They throw a robe across His shoulders and place a stick in His hand for a sceptre. A small bundle of flexible branches covered with long thorns is pressed into His scalp.
Again there is copious bleeding (the scalp being one of the most vascular areas in the body). After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers take the stick from His hand and strike Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tire of their sadistic sport and the robe is torn from his back. This had already become adherent to the colts of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal, just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, cause excruciating pain - almost as though He were again being whipped, and the wounds again begin to bleed.
The walk to crucifixion
The heavy beam of the cross is then tied across His shoulders, and the procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves and the execution detail, begins its slow journey, The weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and falls. The rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tries to rise, but human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance.
The nails of crucifixion
At Golgotha, the beam is placed on the ground and Jesus is quickly thrown backward with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep in to the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The beam is then lifted in place at the top of the posts and the titulus reading “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” is nailed in place.
The pain of crucifixion
The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each. As he pushes Himself upward to avoid the stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones through the feet.
Crucifixion - the medical effects
As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by His arms, the pectoral muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen.
Six hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins. A deep crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.
The compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues - the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the brain. Jesus gasps, “I thirst.”
Crucifixion - the last gasp
He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. With one last surge of strength, He once again presses His torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters His seventh and last cry, “Father, into thy hands I commit My spirit.”
Apparently to make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance through the fifth interspace between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. Immediately there came out blood and water. We, therefore, have rather conclusive post-mortem evidence that our Lord died, not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.
- Condensed and edited from "The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ" by C. Truman Davis, M.S. March, 1965
These words that follow are hard to read when you know they are being done against our Saviour but you should still read them. Each believer should know some of just the phyiscal cost brought against Jesus. It is sobering to see what it cost for us to be called, Christian!
Reader beware...
The Garden
The physical trauma of Christ begins in Gethsemane with one of the initial aspects of His suffering - sweat like drops of blood. It is interesting that the physician of the group, St. Luke, is the only one to mention this. He says, “And being in agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.”
Though very rare, this is phyiscially possible, the phenomenon of hemathidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process alone could have produced marked weakness and possible shock. This does not mean this is what happened to Jesus but it is possible. Luke could have been just describing Jesus' sweat was heavy and full, like blood but not blood.
After the arrest in the middle of the night, Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas, the High Priest. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiaphas. The palace guards then blindfolded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify them as they each passed by; they spat on Him and struck Him in the face.
Condemned to Crucifixion
In the early morning, Jesus, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and exhausted from a sleepless night, was taken across Jerusalem to the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia. It was there, in response to the cries of the mob, that Pilate ordered Bar-Abbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion.
Flogging first
Preparations for the scourging are carried out. The prisoner is stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached to the ends of each. The heavy whip is brought down with fill force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back and legs.
At first the heavy thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper into subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows.
Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is stopped.
The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with His own blood. The Roman soldiers see a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be a king. They throw a robe across His shoulders and place a stick in His hand for a sceptre. A small bundle of flexible branches covered with long thorns is pressed into His scalp.
Again there is copious bleeding (the scalp being one of the most vascular areas in the body). After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers take the stick from His hand and strike Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tire of their sadistic sport and the robe is torn from his back. This had already become adherent to the colts of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal, just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, cause excruciating pain - almost as though He were again being whipped, and the wounds again begin to bleed.
The walk to crucifixion
The heavy beam of the cross is then tied across His shoulders, and the procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves and the execution detail, begins its slow journey, The weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and falls. The rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tries to rise, but human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance.
The nails of crucifixion
At Golgotha, the beam is placed on the ground and Jesus is quickly thrown backward with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep in to the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The beam is then lifted in place at the top of the posts and the titulus reading “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” is nailed in place.
The pain of crucifixion
The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each. As he pushes Himself upward to avoid the stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones through the feet.
Crucifixion - the medical effects
As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by His arms, the pectoral muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen.
Six hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins. A deep crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.
The compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues - the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the brain. Jesus gasps, “I thirst.”
Crucifixion - the last gasp
He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. With one last surge of strength, He once again presses His torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters His seventh and last cry, “Father, into thy hands I commit My spirit.”
Apparently to make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance through the fifth interspace between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. Immediately there came out blood and water. We, therefore, have rather conclusive post-mortem evidence that our Lord died, not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.
- Condensed and edited from "The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ" by C. Truman Davis, M.S. March, 1965
Jesus, Spoken of Outside of the Bible
Because these words do not come from our Bible, they can not be fully trusted. They are letters, with their origin in the time of Christ, which makes them valuable but open to error or exaggeration. They are an interesting read, as they describe Jesus the Christ.
The letter from Pontius Pilate to Tiberius Caesar
This is a reprinting of a letter from Pontius Pilate to Tiberius Caesar describing the physical appearance of Jesus. Copies are in the Congressional Library in Washington, D.C.
TO TIBERIUS CAESAR:
A young man appeared in Galilee preaching with humble unction, a new law in the Name of the God that had sent Him. At first I was apprehensive that His design was to stir up the people against the Romans, but my fears were soon dispelled. Jesus of Nazareth spoke rather as a friend of the Romans than of the Jews. One day I observed in the midst of a group of people a young man who was leaning against a tree, calmly addressing the multitude. I was told it was Jesus. This I could easily have suspected so great was the difference between Him and those who were listening to Him. His golden colored hair and beard gave to his appearance a celestial aspect. He appeared to be about 30 years of age. Never have I seen a sweeter or more serene countenance. What a contrast between Him and His bearers with their black beards and tawny complexions! Unwilling to interrupt Him by my presence, I continued my walk but signified to my secretary to join the group and listen. Later, my secretary reported that never had he seen in the works of all the philosophers anything that compared to the teachings of Jesus. He told me that Jesus was neither seditious nor rebellious, so we extended to Him our protection. He was at liberty to act, to speak, to assemble and to address the people. This unlimited freedom provoked the Jews -- not the poor but the rich and powerful.
Later, I wrote to Jesus requesting an interview with Him at the Praetorium. He came. When the Nazarene made His appearance I was having my morning walk and as I faced Him my feet seemed fastened with an iron hand to the marble pavement and I trembled in every limb as a guilty culprit, though he was calm. For some time I stood admiring this extraordinary Man. There was nothing in Him that was repelling, nor in His character, yet I felt awed in His presence. I told Him that there was a magnetic simplicity about Him and His personality that elevated Him far above the philosophers and teachers of His day.
Now, Noble Sovereign, these are the facts concerning Jesus of Nazareth and I have taken the time to write you in detail concerning these matters. I say that such a man who could convert water into wine, change death into life, disease into health; calm the stormy seas, is not guilty of any criminal offense and as others have said, we must agree -- truly this is the Son of God.
Your most obedient servant,
Pontius Pilate
__________________________________________________________________
The Emerald of Caesar
This Likeness of Jesus was copied from a portrait carved on an emerald by order of Tiberius Caesar, which emerald the Emperor of the Turks afterwards gave out of the Treasury of Constantinople to Pope Innocent VIII for the redemption of his brother, taken captive by the Christians.
__________________________________________________________________________
Josephus, the "Antiquities Of The Jews"
This is a quote from Josephus, from his historical first-century writings entitled, "Antiquities Of The Jews," Book #18, Chapter 2, section 3.
"Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day."
____________________________________________________________________
The Description of Publius Lentullus
The following was taken from a manuscript in the possession of Lord Kelly, and in his library, and was copied from an original letter of Publius Lentullus at Rome. It being the usual custom of Roman Governors to advertise the Senate and people of such material things as happened in their provinces in the days of Tiberius Caesar, Publius Lentullus, President of Judea, wrote the following epistle to the Senate concerning the Nazarene called Jesus.
"There appeared in these our days a man, of the Jewish Nation, of great virtue, named Yeshua [Jesus], who is yet living among us, and of the Gentiles is accepted for a Prophet of truth, but His own disciples call Him the Son of God- He raised the dead and cured all manner of diseases. A man of stature somewhat tall, and comely, with very reverent countenance, such as the beholders may both love and fear, his hair of (the colour of) the chestnut, full ripe, plain to His ears, whence downwards it is more orient and curling and wavering about His shoulders. In the midst of His head is a seam or partition in His hair, after the manner of the Nazarenes. His forehead plain and very delicate; His face without spot or wrinkle, beautified with a lovely red; His nose and mouth so formed as nothing can be reprehended; His beard thickish, in colour like His hair, not very long, but forked; His look innocent and mature; His eyes grey, clear, and quick- In reproving hypocrisy He is terrible; in admonishing, courteous and fair spoken; pleasant in conversation, mixed with gravity. It cannot be remembered that any have seen Him Laugh, but many have seen Him Weep. In proportion of body, most excellent; His hands and arms delicate to behold. In speaking, very temperate, modest, and wise. A man, for His singular beauty, surpassing the children of men"
The letter from Pontius Pilate to Tiberius Caesar
This is a reprinting of a letter from Pontius Pilate to Tiberius Caesar describing the physical appearance of Jesus. Copies are in the Congressional Library in Washington, D.C.
TO TIBERIUS CAESAR:
A young man appeared in Galilee preaching with humble unction, a new law in the Name of the God that had sent Him. At first I was apprehensive that His design was to stir up the people against the Romans, but my fears were soon dispelled. Jesus of Nazareth spoke rather as a friend of the Romans than of the Jews. One day I observed in the midst of a group of people a young man who was leaning against a tree, calmly addressing the multitude. I was told it was Jesus. This I could easily have suspected so great was the difference between Him and those who were listening to Him. His golden colored hair and beard gave to his appearance a celestial aspect. He appeared to be about 30 years of age. Never have I seen a sweeter or more serene countenance. What a contrast between Him and His bearers with their black beards and tawny complexions! Unwilling to interrupt Him by my presence, I continued my walk but signified to my secretary to join the group and listen. Later, my secretary reported that never had he seen in the works of all the philosophers anything that compared to the teachings of Jesus. He told me that Jesus was neither seditious nor rebellious, so we extended to Him our protection. He was at liberty to act, to speak, to assemble and to address the people. This unlimited freedom provoked the Jews -- not the poor but the rich and powerful.
Later, I wrote to Jesus requesting an interview with Him at the Praetorium. He came. When the Nazarene made His appearance I was having my morning walk and as I faced Him my feet seemed fastened with an iron hand to the marble pavement and I trembled in every limb as a guilty culprit, though he was calm. For some time I stood admiring this extraordinary Man. There was nothing in Him that was repelling, nor in His character, yet I felt awed in His presence. I told Him that there was a magnetic simplicity about Him and His personality that elevated Him far above the philosophers and teachers of His day.
Now, Noble Sovereign, these are the facts concerning Jesus of Nazareth and I have taken the time to write you in detail concerning these matters. I say that such a man who could convert water into wine, change death into life, disease into health; calm the stormy seas, is not guilty of any criminal offense and as others have said, we must agree -- truly this is the Son of God.
Your most obedient servant,
Pontius Pilate
__________________________________________________________________
The Emerald of Caesar
This Likeness of Jesus was copied from a portrait carved on an emerald by order of Tiberius Caesar, which emerald the Emperor of the Turks afterwards gave out of the Treasury of Constantinople to Pope Innocent VIII for the redemption of his brother, taken captive by the Christians.
__________________________________________________________________________
Josephus, the "Antiquities Of The Jews"
This is a quote from Josephus, from his historical first-century writings entitled, "Antiquities Of The Jews," Book #18, Chapter 2, section 3.
"Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day."
____________________________________________________________________
The Description of Publius Lentullus
The following was taken from a manuscript in the possession of Lord Kelly, and in his library, and was copied from an original letter of Publius Lentullus at Rome. It being the usual custom of Roman Governors to advertise the Senate and people of such material things as happened in their provinces in the days of Tiberius Caesar, Publius Lentullus, President of Judea, wrote the following epistle to the Senate concerning the Nazarene called Jesus.
"There appeared in these our days a man, of the Jewish Nation, of great virtue, named Yeshua [Jesus], who is yet living among us, and of the Gentiles is accepted for a Prophet of truth, but His own disciples call Him the Son of God- He raised the dead and cured all manner of diseases. A man of stature somewhat tall, and comely, with very reverent countenance, such as the beholders may both love and fear, his hair of (the colour of) the chestnut, full ripe, plain to His ears, whence downwards it is more orient and curling and wavering about His shoulders. In the midst of His head is a seam or partition in His hair, after the manner of the Nazarenes. His forehead plain and very delicate; His face without spot or wrinkle, beautified with a lovely red; His nose and mouth so formed as nothing can be reprehended; His beard thickish, in colour like His hair, not very long, but forked; His look innocent and mature; His eyes grey, clear, and quick- In reproving hypocrisy He is terrible; in admonishing, courteous and fair spoken; pleasant in conversation, mixed with gravity. It cannot be remembered that any have seen Him Laugh, but many have seen Him Weep. In proportion of body, most excellent; His hands and arms delicate to behold. In speaking, very temperate, modest, and wise. A man, for His singular beauty, surpassing the children of men"
Sunday, March 29, 2009
God's Wills
God's will is reveal as three wills in the Scriptures; the first is His sovereign will. This will is beyond the understanding of man and angel. It is the will of God that is always fulfilled as He works out everything out to His perfect council. No accidents are ever occurring in the plan of the Sovereign Lord.
Psalm 33:11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.
The second will is the Lord's moral will. This is His holy law. He revealed to the earth His heart. What He desires and commands of the earth morally. Ever human but Jesus has broken His moral will. To break it is death, damnation and condemnation of the person. All the world is guilty before God. Each person must repent and turn to the sacrifice of Jesus as He experienced the wrath of the Father's holiness on Himself for every sinner.
Proverbs 28:9 One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.
The third will is the Lord's particular will for every person on the planet. He has created us for good works and we should walk in them. How do we many discover these works of God? By obeying the Word of God.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[a] your paths.
If we desire to know the Lord's particular will for us than we must first live out these five truths:
1. I MUST know His Son as my Lord & Saviour
If I have not received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour than how could I ever know the Father? His will is that I would believe His Son.
2. I MUST desire Christ-likeness
The Lord has predestined every believer to be conformed to the image of His Son. If you have no desire to look like Jesus in character than don't receive Him as your Lord and Saviour.
3. I MUST serve Him right now, in His Body, according to His Word
The Scriptures give many clear, uncomplicated instructions on how to do the will of God. The church is Jesus' vehicle that He created to work His sheep. Each are a part of the other. We must be willing to be servants of each other.
4. I MUST communicate with Him through prayer
Prayer is a two way communication between two beings who love each other and desire to know each other. As we speak to God, who is listening, than He "speaks" to us mainly through His written Word. The truth is not subjective (inside me and letting me interpret it how I feel), the Truth is objective (outside of me to command me to follow in obedience from my heart). It is important to view prayer as two way.
5. I MUST be willing to obey no matter what!
The instructions for us to obey come from the scripture. The scriptures are for training us in doctrine, reproof, correction and training in righteousness so we will be equipped for every good work. God loves you to love others but He gives you room to choose how this will look for you but the command is to love.
God loves His people. He has laid down clear teachings to work into our very lives. We must learn again to trust Him. To value every word of God on record and see how this principles of old reveal the heart of the Father.
In the day when almost every one says, "God said to me" or "God told me to...". We seem to have taken the usual and made it common. The special and made it every day. God loves His people so He gave them His written Word so they would know what He is thinking and saying. May we learn to follow His Word for in it is eternal life!
Psalm 33:11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.
The second will is the Lord's moral will. This is His holy law. He revealed to the earth His heart. What He desires and commands of the earth morally. Ever human but Jesus has broken His moral will. To break it is death, damnation and condemnation of the person. All the world is guilty before God. Each person must repent and turn to the sacrifice of Jesus as He experienced the wrath of the Father's holiness on Himself for every sinner.
Proverbs 28:9 One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.
The third will is the Lord's particular will for every person on the planet. He has created us for good works and we should walk in them. How do we many discover these works of God? By obeying the Word of God.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[a] your paths.
If we desire to know the Lord's particular will for us than we must first live out these five truths:
1. I MUST know His Son as my Lord & Saviour
If I have not received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour than how could I ever know the Father? His will is that I would believe His Son.
2. I MUST desire Christ-likeness
The Lord has predestined every believer to be conformed to the image of His Son. If you have no desire to look like Jesus in character than don't receive Him as your Lord and Saviour.
3. I MUST serve Him right now, in His Body, according to His Word
The Scriptures give many clear, uncomplicated instructions on how to do the will of God. The church is Jesus' vehicle that He created to work His sheep. Each are a part of the other. We must be willing to be servants of each other.
4. I MUST communicate with Him through prayer
Prayer is a two way communication between two beings who love each other and desire to know each other. As we speak to God, who is listening, than He "speaks" to us mainly through His written Word. The truth is not subjective (inside me and letting me interpret it how I feel), the Truth is objective (outside of me to command me to follow in obedience from my heart). It is important to view prayer as two way.
5. I MUST be willing to obey no matter what!
The instructions for us to obey come from the scripture. The scriptures are for training us in doctrine, reproof, correction and training in righteousness so we will be equipped for every good work. God loves you to love others but He gives you room to choose how this will look for you but the command is to love.
God loves His people. He has laid down clear teachings to work into our very lives. We must learn again to trust Him. To value every word of God on record and see how this principles of old reveal the heart of the Father.
In the day when almost every one says, "God said to me" or "God told me to...". We seem to have taken the usual and made it common. The special and made it every day. God loves His people so He gave them His written Word so they would know what He is thinking and saying. May we learn to follow His Word for in it is eternal life!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Transformation in a Church Body
What has been the way the LORD has transformed His people? What process do they normally go through as a church discovering the will of the LORD? What would a church body look for if they believe God is supernaturally using them as His people?
I believe you begin to see five responses:
1st Response: A Correct Heart Attitude Towards God’s Holiness
Isaiah 57:15
For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“ I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Contrite:
1. caused by or showing sincere remorse. 2. filled with a sense of guilt and the desire for atonement;
Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the LORD:
“ Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
2 For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the LORD.
“ But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.
2nd Response: A Hatred Of Sin
Proverbs 16:6 …And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil…
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, …
3rd Response: Private & Corporate Prayer
Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication,…
Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Acts 9:11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.
4th Response: Immediate Obedience To The Revealed Will of God
1 Samuel 15:22 So Samuel said:
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Mark 3:35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification:
1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Peter 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
5th Response: Declaring to All the Works of God
Acts 14:27 Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
When you see these five responses of the church body you know that this is the work of the LORD in their midst. Church, let's pray for the LORD to do things that only He can do --- REVIVE HIS PEOPLE!
I believe you begin to see five responses:
1st Response: A Correct Heart Attitude Towards God’s Holiness
Isaiah 57:15
For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“ I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Contrite:
1. caused by or showing sincere remorse. 2. filled with a sense of guilt and the desire for atonement;
Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the LORD:
“ Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
2 For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the LORD.
“ But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.
2nd Response: A Hatred Of Sin
Proverbs 16:6 …And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil…
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, …
3rd Response: Private & Corporate Prayer
Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication,…
Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Acts 9:11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.
4th Response: Immediate Obedience To The Revealed Will of God
1 Samuel 15:22 So Samuel said:
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Mark 3:35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification:
1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Peter 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
5th Response: Declaring to All the Works of God
Acts 14:27 Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
When you see these five responses of the church body you know that this is the work of the LORD in their midst. Church, let's pray for the LORD to do things that only He can do --- REVIVE HIS PEOPLE!
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Sunday Without The Sermon
What would church look like if we took away the pastor, the music and worship, the buildings, the programs and HOME Groups?
What would you have left?
The answer of what is left is what impacts and what resounds in our church! It is where our church’s health lies. Because doing church is not about the pastor, the "stuff". These things can be also done in a cult. So what is left?
What we have left is God, His people and His mission! The church is always on the move because the LORD is always on the move. The church's mission is the Father's mission, nothing more and nothing less. The mission of the church is to see that the Father is glorified in every land, tongue and person in the whole world.
We don't need buildings or electric guitars to get this accomplished. He need the Spirit of the LORD. Buildings and guitars are only to be used to further His mission, never to become the focus of it.
On Sunday I never preached the message I had prepared because I was sensing the LORD was attempting to speak with us again about His mission; His heart. After Theresa, a new member the Lord added to our body just a week ago, spoke, the message I had prepared didn't seem right, in light of what I was experiencing. I know it is a risk to just open up the service to "whosoever" but the risk is worth it to hear the LORD.
Different ones spoke. Each coming from a certain view or sense that they were experiencing. It was good to hear directly how the LORD was working in the individual lives in the congregation. The one voice my spirit really responded to, although the others were needed, was Kellie's observation about the wall coming down.
I sense, there is a wall that's coming down. It is difficult for me to even identify what the wall is. It is not that the people do not want God or that there is great sin in the camp or that people are not declaring their faith. The wall is just a wall. A wall that resists the Spirit of God in some way as to stifle His presence. I also know the LORD could just blast through any wall if He so chooses but He seems to wait for His people to recognize it and make the necessary adjustments in our lives.
Church, God is up to something in our midst. He is about a great work. He desires that we fully join Him. This will mean adjustments on each of our part. Are you and I ready to make the changes?
I spent all of Monday with the LORD. In the evening, I went to our auditorium and poured my heart out before Him. I read the Scriptures. I'm writing this Blog while still at the church building, seeking the mind of the LORD.
Church, let's pray. Ask the Father to open up your heart and mind so He can speak right into you. Ask Him about your immediate relationships, are they healthy and holy? Ask Him about the secret areas of your life, are they clean and pure? Ask Him about the instructions He has commanded you in times past, were you obedient and carried them out? Ask Him to wash your feet again and set your heart on solid ground so He may use you to His glory and praise!
Ask Him,... then listen!
What would you have left?
The answer of what is left is what impacts and what resounds in our church! It is where our church’s health lies. Because doing church is not about the pastor, the "stuff". These things can be also done in a cult. So what is left?
What we have left is God, His people and His mission! The church is always on the move because the LORD is always on the move. The church's mission is the Father's mission, nothing more and nothing less. The mission of the church is to see that the Father is glorified in every land, tongue and person in the whole world.
We don't need buildings or electric guitars to get this accomplished. He need the Spirit of the LORD. Buildings and guitars are only to be used to further His mission, never to become the focus of it.
On Sunday I never preached the message I had prepared because I was sensing the LORD was attempting to speak with us again about His mission; His heart. After Theresa, a new member the Lord added to our body just a week ago, spoke, the message I had prepared didn't seem right, in light of what I was experiencing. I know it is a risk to just open up the service to "whosoever" but the risk is worth it to hear the LORD.
Different ones spoke. Each coming from a certain view or sense that they were experiencing. It was good to hear directly how the LORD was working in the individual lives in the congregation. The one voice my spirit really responded to, although the others were needed, was Kellie's observation about the wall coming down.
I sense, there is a wall that's coming down. It is difficult for me to even identify what the wall is. It is not that the people do not want God or that there is great sin in the camp or that people are not declaring their faith. The wall is just a wall. A wall that resists the Spirit of God in some way as to stifle His presence. I also know the LORD could just blast through any wall if He so chooses but He seems to wait for His people to recognize it and make the necessary adjustments in our lives.
Church, God is up to something in our midst. He is about a great work. He desires that we fully join Him. This will mean adjustments on each of our part. Are you and I ready to make the changes?
I spent all of Monday with the LORD. In the evening, I went to our auditorium and poured my heart out before Him. I read the Scriptures. I'm writing this Blog while still at the church building, seeking the mind of the LORD.
Church, let's pray. Ask the Father to open up your heart and mind so He can speak right into you. Ask Him about your immediate relationships, are they healthy and holy? Ask Him about the secret areas of your life, are they clean and pure? Ask Him about the instructions He has commanded you in times past, were you obedient and carried them out? Ask Him to wash your feet again and set your heart on solid ground so He may use you to His glory and praise!
Ask Him,... then listen!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Good Friday?
Too often, throughout the Body of Christ, we do things out of religious obligation, many never knowing why we perform this or that religious act. As "Believers," we simply believe, assuming that SOMEBODY - our leaders (we hope) - have a handle on things, and we move along, often too ashamed to ask for fear of making waves.
Ask almost any child how many hours are in a day and you'll get "24" as the answer. Multiply that by 3 days and you get 72 hours every time. When we know that Jesus arose from the grave on what we refer to as "Easter morning," if we work backward for one 24 hour period, we land squarely on Saturday morning, right? When we work backward for a second 24-hour period, we wind up squarely in the middle of Friday morning. Finally, when we work backward for a third and final 24-hour period, there we are, squarely in the midst of Thursday morning.
Why do we still think it happened on Friday?
Was Jesus referring to a LITERAL 3 Days/3 Nights when He said He'd be "3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth" and so fulfill "the type of Jonah" (Matt 12:39-40), what did He mean? How about when He said, "The Son of Man must suffer…be killed and AFTER 3 days rise again" (Mk 9:31)? Three days and three nights is 72 hours, right? Working BACKWARDS from Resurrection Sunday brings us to…Good Friday?
NO! Good Wednesday, actually.
HOW SO?
The Hebrew day was measured from one sunset to the next (6PM to 6PM), generally referred to as "evening to evening" (Lev 23:32; Ex 12:18). The Roman time-keeping method was midnight to midnight. Several Scriptures refer to the variances in Hebrew vs. Roman time: Jn 19:14 (6AM to sunrise); Mk 15:25 (9AM on the day of crucifixion); Matt 27:45 (noon to 3PM). The 'twelve hours in the day' referred to in John 11:9 referred to sunrise and the twelve hours of the night FROM sunset. Here's where the expression 'a night and a day' in 2 Corinthians 11:25 denotes a complete day.
So, 6PM on Saturday (the Sabbath) started the first day of the week (our Sunday), important when studying the resurrection accounts. Jesus was killed the 3rd hour (Hebrew time, 9AM) and hung on the cross 3 hours. At the 6th hour (Hebrew time) darkness covered the land until the 9th hour (noon to 3PM), completing the 9 hours of agony on the cross. Because the NEXT day was the HIGH Sabbath, beginning at 6PM, the body was placed in the borrowed tomb just before sunset (Jn 19:31).
WHERE DOES "EASTER" COME FROM?
The early translators of the Scriptures translated the Greek word for "Passover" (the whole week of the festival) as "Easter." Why? This was a pagan festival named for the Saxon goddess, Eastra, which no doubt got her name from the Assyrian/Babylonian goddess of fertility, Ishtar (which explains the eggs and reproductive rabbits as the poster children for the occasion).
Familiarize yourself with these New Testament 3-Day Signs:
Matt 12:39-40; Matt 14:32; Mk 8:2; Lk 2:46; Lk 13:32; Jn 2:1; Jn 2:18-21; Acts 9:9
Here are the 3 Days/3 Nights of Calvary as referred to in Scripture...
The following examples speak of 3 days AND 3 nights:
Jonah 1:17; Esther 4:16; Matt 12:40.
THE SABBATH DAY. WHICH ONE?
Scripture reveals that Israel observed the weekly Sabbath, the 7th day of the week (Ex 20:8-11; 31:12-18; Deut 5:12-14). Additionally, besides these WEEKLY Sabbaths, there were FESTIVAL Sabbaths! If any of these fell during the ordinary week, they counted it as an EXTRA Sabbath in that week, meaning there were sometimes TWO Sabbaths in one week: the FEAST Sabbath and the WEEKLY Sabbath.
So, there were TWO Sabbaths in the Passover week, the week of Jesus' crucifixion: the FEAST Sabbath, or HIGH Day, as well as the WEEKLY Sabbath.
THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS
There are 16 references in the New Testament speaking of the 3 Days/3 Nights of Christ's redemptive work. In His first mentioning of His sufferings (Matt 16:21), Jesus says He would be 'raised again the third day.' In John 2:19, He had already mentioned 'three days' as the time after which He would raise up 'the Temple of His body,' This expression occurs 11 times in regard to His resurrection. The expression 'after 3 days' (Mk 8:31), is used to describe the same event. This shows that 3 Days/3 Nights MUST include 3 days and the 3 PRECEDING nights. The full 3/3 is evidence of the resurrection on the THIRD of the THREE DAYS, each preceded by a night.
1) the HIGH Day of Jn 19:31 was the FIRST day of the feast; Jesus "gave up the ghost."]
2) the FIRST DAY OF THE FEAST was the 15th day of Nisan which began at SUNSET on the 14th
3) SIX DAYS BEFORE THE PASSOVER (Jn 12:1) takes us BACKWARD to the 9th of Nisan
4) AFTER TWO DAYS IS THE PASSOVER (Matt 26:2; Mk 14:1) takes us to the 13th of Nisan
5) THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK (resurrection day, Matt 28:1) was from our Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset, fixing the days of the WEEK.
6) Going BACKWARD from the THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS (Matt 12:40) we arrive at the day of BURIAL, before sunset on the 14th of Nisan, i.e., BEFORE our Wednesday sunset!
This makes the 6th day before Passover the 9th of Nisan, our Thursday sunset to Friday sunset. Before Wednesday, Nisan 14th (commencing on Tuesday at sunset), was the PREPARATION DAY on which the crucifixion took place. All four gospels agree this was the day of the Lord's burial (before our Wednesday sunset). The bodies should not remain on the cross the Sabbath day, "for that Sabbath was a HIGH DAY," therefore, not the USUAL 7th day, or WEEKLY Sabbath (Jn 19:31).
WHAT'S FOR SUPPER?
Since Jesus was crucified on PREPARATION DAY, He could NOT have eaten the Passover lamb at the Last Supper. It wasn't slain till evening of the 14th of Nisan (afternoon). On that day, the daily sacrifice was killed at the 6th hour (noon) and offered by the 7th hour (1PM). Clearly, this did not take place till 4 hours AFTER the Lord had been hanging on the cross and wasn't completed till the 9th hour (3PM) when HE GAVE UP THE GHOST.
No Passover Lamb could have been eaten at the Last Supper the previous evening, though Jesus had sent Peter and John to make arrangements to eat the Passover (Matt 26:18; Mk 14:14; Lk 22:8-15). John 18:28 CLEARLY indicates that the Jews brought Jesus before Pilate in the early morning, careful not to enter the palace so they could avoid becoming ceremonially unclean as "they wanted to be able to eat the Passover." This refers to the whole festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread, which lasted seven days and included a number of meals.
Rather significant that the lambs were killed when THE Lamb of God actually died. With these facts, we can piece together the events of the Lord's last week as recorded in the Gospels.
As for the 3 Days and 3 Nights before His resurrection, they were as follows:
1) FIRST NIGHT AND DAY IN THE TOMB:
The First Day of the Feast (THE HIGH DAY), the 15th of Nisan, our Wednesday sunset to Thursday sunset.
2) SECOND NIGHT AND DAY IN THE TOMB:
The Second Day of the Feast, the 16th of Nisan, our Thursday sunset to Friday sunset.
3) THIRD DAY AND NIGHT IN THE TOMB:
The Third Day of the Feast, the 17th of Nisan, our Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.
4) THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, the 18th of Nisan, our Saturday sunset, the THIRD DAY of Matthew 16:21, NOT the third day of the feast.
Considering these details, we can summarize that Jesus was actually crucified on a Wednesday, NOT a Friday.
WHY THE MISTAKES ALL THESE CENTURIES?
Two Sabbaths in one week, causing confusion in the Church to this day.
THE BOTTOM LINE
In short, Jesus was crucified Wednesday morning, the third hour. From noon to 3PM, there was darkness on the land. By 6PM, Jesus was in the tomb, as the bodies could not remain on the cross on a Sabbath day, for "THAT SABBATH was a High Day" (Jn 19:31). It was NOT a weekly Sabbath, NOT a Saturday. It WAS the Passover Sabbath…a Thursday.
Therefore, Jesus was crucified on Wednesday. Good Wednesday, if you like.
This is why on the Wednesday before Easter Sunday we have the LORD's Supper together and celebrate His death and sacrifice for us as believers.
People, sometimes ask me, "What does it matter anyway?"
It matters because it is important to follow the Old Testament pattern of Exodus 12, of the Passover Lamb. This is important because God gave us a pattern. A pattern about the most important event in all human history, the death of His Son. I do believe He is expecting us to honour the correct time frame.
Our attitude is important on these truths. This carefree attitude to Scripture has some churches sprinkling babies and calling it baptism or refusing to have the Lord's Supper or Baptism even in their churches and still saying it is okay.
Church, are not allowed to just change whatever we decide because we have a custom. If we discover the custom is wrong, we should change. If we refuse to change even though we know we are incorrect, will not we become like the Pharisees and Scribes of Jesus' day that would not give up the traditions of man in favour of God's ways?
We are to follow the patterns set down by the Lord Himself. When you didn't know this truth, you had an excuse but now you know. The Lord Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, so I'll hope to see you at Royal Heights!
Ask almost any child how many hours are in a day and you'll get "24" as the answer. Multiply that by 3 days and you get 72 hours every time. When we know that Jesus arose from the grave on what we refer to as "Easter morning," if we work backward for one 24 hour period, we land squarely on Saturday morning, right? When we work backward for a second 24-hour period, we wind up squarely in the middle of Friday morning. Finally, when we work backward for a third and final 24-hour period, there we are, squarely in the midst of Thursday morning.
Why do we still think it happened on Friday?
Was Jesus referring to a LITERAL 3 Days/3 Nights when He said He'd be "3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth" and so fulfill "the type of Jonah" (Matt 12:39-40), what did He mean? How about when He said, "The Son of Man must suffer…be killed and AFTER 3 days rise again" (Mk 9:31)? Three days and three nights is 72 hours, right? Working BACKWARDS from Resurrection Sunday brings us to…Good Friday?
NO! Good Wednesday, actually.
HOW SO?
The Hebrew day was measured from one sunset to the next (6PM to 6PM), generally referred to as "evening to evening" (Lev 23:32; Ex 12:18). The Roman time-keeping method was midnight to midnight. Several Scriptures refer to the variances in Hebrew vs. Roman time: Jn 19:14 (6AM to sunrise); Mk 15:25 (9AM on the day of crucifixion); Matt 27:45 (noon to 3PM). The 'twelve hours in the day' referred to in John 11:9 referred to sunrise and the twelve hours of the night FROM sunset. Here's where the expression 'a night and a day' in 2 Corinthians 11:25 denotes a complete day.
So, 6PM on Saturday (the Sabbath) started the first day of the week (our Sunday), important when studying the resurrection accounts. Jesus was killed the 3rd hour (Hebrew time, 9AM) and hung on the cross 3 hours. At the 6th hour (Hebrew time) darkness covered the land until the 9th hour (noon to 3PM), completing the 9 hours of agony on the cross. Because the NEXT day was the HIGH Sabbath, beginning at 6PM, the body was placed in the borrowed tomb just before sunset (Jn 19:31).
WHERE DOES "EASTER" COME FROM?
The early translators of the Scriptures translated the Greek word for "Passover" (the whole week of the festival) as "Easter." Why? This was a pagan festival named for the Saxon goddess, Eastra, which no doubt got her name from the Assyrian/Babylonian goddess of fertility, Ishtar (which explains the eggs and reproductive rabbits as the poster children for the occasion).
Familiarize yourself with these New Testament 3-Day Signs:
Matt 12:39-40; Matt 14:32; Mk 8:2; Lk 2:46; Lk 13:32; Jn 2:1; Jn 2:18-21; Acts 9:9
Here are the 3 Days/3 Nights of Calvary as referred to in Scripture...
The following examples speak of 3 days AND 3 nights:
Jonah 1:17; Esther 4:16; Matt 12:40.
THE SABBATH DAY. WHICH ONE?
Scripture reveals that Israel observed the weekly Sabbath, the 7th day of the week (Ex 20:8-11; 31:12-18; Deut 5:12-14). Additionally, besides these WEEKLY Sabbaths, there were FESTIVAL Sabbaths! If any of these fell during the ordinary week, they counted it as an EXTRA Sabbath in that week, meaning there were sometimes TWO Sabbaths in one week: the FEAST Sabbath and the WEEKLY Sabbath.
So, there were TWO Sabbaths in the Passover week, the week of Jesus' crucifixion: the FEAST Sabbath, or HIGH Day, as well as the WEEKLY Sabbath.
THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS
There are 16 references in the New Testament speaking of the 3 Days/3 Nights of Christ's redemptive work. In His first mentioning of His sufferings (Matt 16:21), Jesus says He would be 'raised again the third day.' In John 2:19, He had already mentioned 'three days' as the time after which He would raise up 'the Temple of His body,' This expression occurs 11 times in regard to His resurrection. The expression 'after 3 days' (Mk 8:31), is used to describe the same event. This shows that 3 Days/3 Nights MUST include 3 days and the 3 PRECEDING nights. The full 3/3 is evidence of the resurrection on the THIRD of the THREE DAYS, each preceded by a night.
1) the HIGH Day of Jn 19:31 was the FIRST day of the feast; Jesus "gave up the ghost."]
2) the FIRST DAY OF THE FEAST was the 15th day of Nisan which began at SUNSET on the 14th
3) SIX DAYS BEFORE THE PASSOVER (Jn 12:1) takes us BACKWARD to the 9th of Nisan
4) AFTER TWO DAYS IS THE PASSOVER (Matt 26:2; Mk 14:1) takes us to the 13th of Nisan
5) THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK (resurrection day, Matt 28:1) was from our Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset, fixing the days of the WEEK.
6) Going BACKWARD from the THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS (Matt 12:40) we arrive at the day of BURIAL, before sunset on the 14th of Nisan, i.e., BEFORE our Wednesday sunset!
This makes the 6th day before Passover the 9th of Nisan, our Thursday sunset to Friday sunset. Before Wednesday, Nisan 14th (commencing on Tuesday at sunset), was the PREPARATION DAY on which the crucifixion took place. All four gospels agree this was the day of the Lord's burial (before our Wednesday sunset). The bodies should not remain on the cross the Sabbath day, "for that Sabbath was a HIGH DAY," therefore, not the USUAL 7th day, or WEEKLY Sabbath (Jn 19:31).
WHAT'S FOR SUPPER?
Since Jesus was crucified on PREPARATION DAY, He could NOT have eaten the Passover lamb at the Last Supper. It wasn't slain till evening of the 14th of Nisan (afternoon). On that day, the daily sacrifice was killed at the 6th hour (noon) and offered by the 7th hour (1PM). Clearly, this did not take place till 4 hours AFTER the Lord had been hanging on the cross and wasn't completed till the 9th hour (3PM) when HE GAVE UP THE GHOST.
No Passover Lamb could have been eaten at the Last Supper the previous evening, though Jesus had sent Peter and John to make arrangements to eat the Passover (Matt 26:18; Mk 14:14; Lk 22:8-15). John 18:28 CLEARLY indicates that the Jews brought Jesus before Pilate in the early morning, careful not to enter the palace so they could avoid becoming ceremonially unclean as "they wanted to be able to eat the Passover." This refers to the whole festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread, which lasted seven days and included a number of meals.
Rather significant that the lambs were killed when THE Lamb of God actually died. With these facts, we can piece together the events of the Lord's last week as recorded in the Gospels.
As for the 3 Days and 3 Nights before His resurrection, they were as follows:
1) FIRST NIGHT AND DAY IN THE TOMB:
The First Day of the Feast (THE HIGH DAY), the 15th of Nisan, our Wednesday sunset to Thursday sunset.
2) SECOND NIGHT AND DAY IN THE TOMB:
The Second Day of the Feast, the 16th of Nisan, our Thursday sunset to Friday sunset.
3) THIRD DAY AND NIGHT IN THE TOMB:
The Third Day of the Feast, the 17th of Nisan, our Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.
4) THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, the 18th of Nisan, our Saturday sunset, the THIRD DAY of Matthew 16:21, NOT the third day of the feast.
Considering these details, we can summarize that Jesus was actually crucified on a Wednesday, NOT a Friday.
WHY THE MISTAKES ALL THESE CENTURIES?
Two Sabbaths in one week, causing confusion in the Church to this day.
THE BOTTOM LINE
In short, Jesus was crucified Wednesday morning, the third hour. From noon to 3PM, there was darkness on the land. By 6PM, Jesus was in the tomb, as the bodies could not remain on the cross on a Sabbath day, for "THAT SABBATH was a High Day" (Jn 19:31). It was NOT a weekly Sabbath, NOT a Saturday. It WAS the Passover Sabbath…a Thursday.
Therefore, Jesus was crucified on Wednesday. Good Wednesday, if you like.
This is why on the Wednesday before Easter Sunday we have the LORD's Supper together and celebrate His death and sacrifice for us as believers.
People, sometimes ask me, "What does it matter anyway?"
It matters because it is important to follow the Old Testament pattern of Exodus 12, of the Passover Lamb. This is important because God gave us a pattern. A pattern about the most important event in all human history, the death of His Son. I do believe He is expecting us to honour the correct time frame.
Our attitude is important on these truths. This carefree attitude to Scripture has some churches sprinkling babies and calling it baptism or refusing to have the Lord's Supper or Baptism even in their churches and still saying it is okay.
Church, are not allowed to just change whatever we decide because we have a custom. If we discover the custom is wrong, we should change. If we refuse to change even though we know we are incorrect, will not we become like the Pharisees and Scribes of Jesus' day that would not give up the traditions of man in favour of God's ways?
We are to follow the patterns set down by the Lord Himself. When you didn't know this truth, you had an excuse but now you know. The Lord Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, so I'll hope to see you at Royal Heights!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Living Out the Great Commission
Every church needs people that know how to live out the commands of Christ. His final words to His disciples were,... "“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
For a church body to take this command seriously than each person in the church body has to believe this command was given to them personally. Each person who calls themselves a disciple needs to know this is a command the LORD expects to be carried out.
When the church,at large, sees this command as for everyone then there seems to be little power given to the church. When the individual begins to take personal responsiblity the church comes alive.
As Royal Heights begins to feel the personal weight of the LORD's command we are seeing people come to Christ like never before. Last week a man who just joined the body a couple of weeks ago lead his friend to the LORD on Wednesday. I lead someone to the LORD on Saturday. And another person was having an unsaved person coming to the church on Sunday morning and he was lead to the LORD. He even came accepting the LORD with his baptism clothes in tow, so we baptized him that Sunday morning. As the morning continued and the service was over another man gave his life to the LORD and will be baptized this coming Sunday.
Something is happening!
Something beautiful!
Something Godly!
For a church body to take this command seriously than each person in the church body has to believe this command was given to them personally. Each person who calls themselves a disciple needs to know this is a command the LORD expects to be carried out.
When the church,at large, sees this command as for everyone then there seems to be little power given to the church. When the individual begins to take personal responsiblity the church comes alive.
As Royal Heights begins to feel the personal weight of the LORD's command we are seeing people come to Christ like never before. Last week a man who just joined the body a couple of weeks ago lead his friend to the LORD on Wednesday. I lead someone to the LORD on Saturday. And another person was having an unsaved person coming to the church on Sunday morning and he was lead to the LORD. He even came accepting the LORD with his baptism clothes in tow, so we baptized him that Sunday morning. As the morning continued and the service was over another man gave his life to the LORD and will be baptized this coming Sunday.
Something is happening!
Something beautiful!
Something Godly!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Friendships
John 15
"13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you."
What is a friend?
Below are some thoughts about friendship.
"Best Friends Listen to what you don't say"
-Samantha Norman-
"You'll always be my best friend, you know too much!"
"When it hurts to look back and your scared to look ahead you can look beside you and your best friend will be there."
“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
Proverb 18:24
“A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.”
Proverb 17:17
“He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king will be his friend.”
Proverb 22:11
“Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
James 4:4b
“A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they're not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they're not so bad.”
Arnold Glasgow
“If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.”
Moshe Dayan
“You can make more friends in a month by being interested in them than in ten years by trying to get them interested in you.”
Charles Allen
"13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you."
What is a friend?
Below are some thoughts about friendship.
"Best Friends Listen to what you don't say"
-Samantha Norman-
"You'll always be my best friend, you know too much!"
"When it hurts to look back and your scared to look ahead you can look beside you and your best friend will be there."
“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
Proverb 18:24
“A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.”
Proverb 17:17
“He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king will be his friend.”
Proverb 22:11
“Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
James 4:4b
“A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they're not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they're not so bad.”
Arnold Glasgow
“If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.”
Moshe Dayan
“You can make more friends in a month by being interested in them than in ten years by trying to get them interested in you.”
Charles Allen
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Teaching The Faithful
2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
If just preaching and teaching could get a church healthy and thriving by bringing in the lost, than it would already be done because we have spent much time in these two areas. Instead we discover that preaching and teaching alone do not get the transformation that is needed in a church until the third ingredient is added,...coaching.
The coaching model is based on the belief that the question is the answer. The coach is responsible for people finding the answers themselves and developing their own problem-solving skills. Spiritual coaches get the people to use the Scriptures in a practical way. A way that changes their every day life.
Coaching builds accountability by providing a safe forum for people to honour the commitments they have made. These commitments advance personal and organisational growth. You are not just giving them information, you are looking and expecting obedience to the Scriptures.
Coaching is collaborative as well as interactive and is like a dance rather than a premeditated or prescriptive process. The shared experiences, insights and solutions generated during meetings, move the person forward, which also allows the coach to grow even more.
Coaching is about having people grow on their own, Coaching helps people become more observant, so they can better respond to the events, problems, or situations that arise within their environment. They go to the Lord and the Scriptures for answers.
Coaching isn't about giving information, it is about responding to the needs of other people, people will simply resist, if information is forced on them.
Coaching consists of motivating people to reach their highest levels, by offering them opportunities and possibilities, not obligations. Coaching is the art of creating new possibilities that didn't exist before.
What is a spiritual coach?
A spiritual coach is a mature believer who walks with another while guiding them in the doctrine and practical ways of God. A coach's role is to provide a structure a foundation and support, so people can begin to self generate the results they want on their own. Learning and growth are achieved by both parties involved within the coaching process. In coaching, the relationship is objective and that focuses not only on what the person needs to do to become more successful, but also who the person is and how he thinks.
A coach works on the whole person and is multi-dimensional, rather than focusing only on what the person is already doing. The coaching relationship is built on choice, rather than necessity.
The Coach's role is to focus on strengths, not weaknesses. By bringing out the true life of a believer, by supporting, assisting and maximising people's strengths in Christ. He requests change and growth as well as informs and guides and empowers people to be accountable for their success and failures.
Be a Spiritual Coach!
If just preaching and teaching could get a church healthy and thriving by bringing in the lost, than it would already be done because we have spent much time in these two areas. Instead we discover that preaching and teaching alone do not get the transformation that is needed in a church until the third ingredient is added,...coaching.
The coaching model is based on the belief that the question is the answer. The coach is responsible for people finding the answers themselves and developing their own problem-solving skills. Spiritual coaches get the people to use the Scriptures in a practical way. A way that changes their every day life.
Coaching builds accountability by providing a safe forum for people to honour the commitments they have made. These commitments advance personal and organisational growth. You are not just giving them information, you are looking and expecting obedience to the Scriptures.
Coaching is collaborative as well as interactive and is like a dance rather than a premeditated or prescriptive process. The shared experiences, insights and solutions generated during meetings, move the person forward, which also allows the coach to grow even more.
Coaching is about having people grow on their own, Coaching helps people become more observant, so they can better respond to the events, problems, or situations that arise within their environment. They go to the Lord and the Scriptures for answers.
Coaching isn't about giving information, it is about responding to the needs of other people, people will simply resist, if information is forced on them.
Coaching consists of motivating people to reach their highest levels, by offering them opportunities and possibilities, not obligations. Coaching is the art of creating new possibilities that didn't exist before.
What is a spiritual coach?
A spiritual coach is a mature believer who walks with another while guiding them in the doctrine and practical ways of God. A coach's role is to provide a structure a foundation and support, so people can begin to self generate the results they want on their own. Learning and growth are achieved by both parties involved within the coaching process. In coaching, the relationship is objective and that focuses not only on what the person needs to do to become more successful, but also who the person is and how he thinks.
A coach works on the whole person and is multi-dimensional, rather than focusing only on what the person is already doing. The coaching relationship is built on choice, rather than necessity.
The Coach's role is to focus on strengths, not weaknesses. By bringing out the true life of a believer, by supporting, assisting and maximising people's strengths in Christ. He requests change and growth as well as informs and guides and empowers people to be accountable for their success and failures.
Be a Spiritual Coach!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Evangelism MUST Include Discipleship
If you led one person to the Lord every six months, separated yourself and discipled them to the point that they became a mature Christian who could reproduce their faith, at the end of six months there’d only be two Christians. Then, if each one of you led one person to the Lord, separated yourselves and discipled them for six months, at the end of a year there’d be four Christians.
This doesn’t look as good to a person who could lead a thousand people to the Lord in a crusade and get them to confess Jesus. Most people would say, “Well, this discipleship method only produces four converts in the first year, whereas the other method would produce a thousand converts. We have to go with the other one.”
If we emphasize discipleship, the person who leads one person to the Lord every six months and those two do the same, in just a little over twelve and a half years they would evangelize more than the population of the world. Some people think That can’t be, but I challenge you to figure it out.
I’ve multiplied it out, and in a little over twelve-and-a-half years, one person discipling another person every six months, making them a reproducing member of the body of Christ, could evangelize five and a half billion people versus twelve-and-a-half thousand people with the other method.
If we could get you to where you not only experienced victory and maturity yourself but had a desire to go out and reproduce it in another person, if you became the trainer instead of the trainee, here are some of the things that could happen if only one person got a hold of this concept, followed the Lord to a place of maturity, and started discipling another person.
If you only did this with one person per year, at the end of one year, there would be you and the person you discipled—two. At the end of two years, there’d be four. But, if you could continue to follow that, at the end of ten years there’d be 1,024 people who had been discipled and were reproducing members of the body of Christ. If you continued, with only one person originally receiving this, at the end of twenty years there’d be over a million people. That’s awesome. This is the method of multiplication that the Lord established—going and making disciples, not going and making converts.
Our evangelism must include discipleship. A person who accepts Christ must be taught to reproduce their life in another. If they do not this is be the abnormal not the normal!
The LORD never asked if anyone wanted to become a Christian, He asked if they wanted to become a disciple. The difference between a Christian and a disciple is radical. Let's be disciples!
This doesn’t look as good to a person who could lead a thousand people to the Lord in a crusade and get them to confess Jesus. Most people would say, “Well, this discipleship method only produces four converts in the first year, whereas the other method would produce a thousand converts. We have to go with the other one.”
If we emphasize discipleship, the person who leads one person to the Lord every six months and those two do the same, in just a little over twelve and a half years they would evangelize more than the population of the world. Some people think That can’t be, but I challenge you to figure it out.
I’ve multiplied it out, and in a little over twelve-and-a-half years, one person discipling another person every six months, making them a reproducing member of the body of Christ, could evangelize five and a half billion people versus twelve-and-a-half thousand people with the other method.
If we could get you to where you not only experienced victory and maturity yourself but had a desire to go out and reproduce it in another person, if you became the trainer instead of the trainee, here are some of the things that could happen if only one person got a hold of this concept, followed the Lord to a place of maturity, and started discipling another person.
If you only did this with one person per year, at the end of one year, there would be you and the person you discipled—two. At the end of two years, there’d be four. But, if you could continue to follow that, at the end of ten years there’d be 1,024 people who had been discipled and were reproducing members of the body of Christ. If you continued, with only one person originally receiving this, at the end of twenty years there’d be over a million people. That’s awesome. This is the method of multiplication that the Lord established—going and making disciples, not going and making converts.
Our evangelism must include discipleship. A person who accepts Christ must be taught to reproduce their life in another. If they do not this is be the abnormal not the normal!
The LORD never asked if anyone wanted to become a Christian, He asked if they wanted to become a disciple. The difference between a Christian and a disciple is radical. Let's be disciples!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Babes in Christ
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
Imagine that you are viewing a movie of a new born child. You get to watch as the baby is delivered. Its an exciting time. You see the child be nurtured and coddled. The film progresses and you get to see this baby get cuter and cuter with each day. There are cute outfits, little, bows, rattles, and toys.
Then there are scenes of the child as it begins to crawl. This baby stumbles a bit and can't quite get all four limbs working together, but soon enough after a little more viewing you see this baby finally begin to crawl. This child seems to be developing normally. You watch as this child's life unfolds and development and growth become more pronounced.
But something goes wrong. The child stops developing. Though the child is growing physically, it isn't developing mentally and emotionally. And it soon becomes evident that as it develops into that stage where crawling is left behind, that something isn't right. It still crawls when it should walk. The child still mumbles as an infant when it should be developing language skills. It is stuck in the infant stage. The situation is sad.
This is what Paul is comparing the Corinthians believers, too. They are babes in Christ. They have not grown up.
What does a spiritual baby look like:
A baby is concerned with self rather than service.
A baby is concerned with argument rather than action.
A baby looks to human resources.
A looks to people rather than to the Master
o He needs to look to Christ.
o He needs to remember the cross of Christ.
o He needs to begin building.
o He needs to pray to be more concerned for others than Himself.
o He needs to ask God to teach him patience, kindness, and maturity.
~author unknown
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
Imagine that you are viewing a movie of a new born child. You get to watch as the baby is delivered. Its an exciting time. You see the child be nurtured and coddled. The film progresses and you get to see this baby get cuter and cuter with each day. There are cute outfits, little, bows, rattles, and toys.
Then there are scenes of the child as it begins to crawl. This baby stumbles a bit and can't quite get all four limbs working together, but soon enough after a little more viewing you see this baby finally begin to crawl. This child seems to be developing normally. You watch as this child's life unfolds and development and growth become more pronounced.
But something goes wrong. The child stops developing. Though the child is growing physically, it isn't developing mentally and emotionally. And it soon becomes evident that as it develops into that stage where crawling is left behind, that something isn't right. It still crawls when it should walk. The child still mumbles as an infant when it should be developing language skills. It is stuck in the infant stage. The situation is sad.
This is what Paul is comparing the Corinthians believers, too. They are babes in Christ. They have not grown up.
What does a spiritual baby look like:
A baby is concerned with self rather than service.
A baby is concerned with argument rather than action.
A baby looks to human resources.
A looks to people rather than to the Master
o He needs to look to Christ.
o He needs to remember the cross of Christ.
o He needs to begin building.
o He needs to pray to be more concerned for others than Himself.
o He needs to ask God to teach him patience, kindness, and maturity.
~author unknown
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