Journeying into Jesus Part 2

I ended my last post saying I would look at how to practically behold Jesus and explore whether there was a difference between coming to Him and coming to the scriptures and a difference between reading the scriptures devotionally or for study purposes. The answer is that the scriptures are a means of encountering Jesus, though not the only one. Worship is for me, and many others, a key means of encountering Him. We also need to remember that while we can never live rightly outside of the bounds of scripture, the book of the Lord must never become more important than the Lord of the book. The scriptures are a means to an end, not an end in and of themselves. They point us to Jesus but we can read them and never encounter or draw close to Him.

When we come to the scriptures it makes a difference whether we are reading them to find information, which has its place as the various areas of our lives need to be in-formation, or to encounter Jesus. When we read them to encounter Jesus we come with a different heart attitude, asking what He is speaking to our heart in the moment. Below is a simple example of the difference.

13  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

I can read this verse and look at the historical context and conclude that Paul wrote from prison, Roman prisons were not pleasant places, yet somehow Jesus sustained Paul. Jesus will sustain me. A logical process with logical inferences and a process that has a right place in our spiritual journey. I could come to this same verse devotionally and think, “Jesus, today I can draw on your Spirit, I can look to You for wisdom in the choices I need to make.” As I continue I begin to actually feel His presence and strength and a confidence in His love and care grows inside of me.

To behold Him I could take this same verse and by faith sit before Him meditating on the reality of His presence and become aware of Him just being with me. I could then open my spirit to release love to Him and receive love from Him. As I become attuned to my own spirit and sit with Him I become more attuned to His Spirit in me leading and drawing me. In my own experience this is a major aspect of living a transformed life. The times I fail to do this are the times I fail to live in and out of spiritual rest.

In our busy and at times frenetic culture, we need places of retreat. As Gene Edwards wrote so wisely, “Nowhere will you find a more untroubled place of retreat than in your spirit.” I encourage you to regularly go to this place. In my next post I will further develop the practical mechanics of sitting with Jesus.

Journeying into Jesus

Journeying into Jesus Part 1

March 25, 2014

What is the Father after in us once we are converted? This may seem like a strange question but He is both looking for, and actively seeking, to bring something about. His post conversion work in our lives is laid out by Paul.

28  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29  For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Romans 8:28-30 (NKJV)

Prior to digging into this passage let me share two other key things Paul taught.

19  My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, Galatians 4:19 (NKJV)

27  To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27 (NKJV)

Paul shared with the Galatians that his apostolic heart cry was to see Christ formed in His people; in fact that was what Paul expected to happen after people were converted. Paul later wrote to the Colossian church that the great mystery of the Father was Him planting Christ in His people to unveil His glory. Is that what we realize He is about in our lives?

As Rick Joyner wrote in his recent book The Path,

Life is all about Jesus. If we stay close to Him, we will be changed by Him. Then we will begin to see with His eyes, hear with His ears, and understand with His heart. The way to fulfilling our purpose is to follow Him. He is The Way.

Jesus is the way not in the sense of a path moving from point A to point B but a way into the depths of intimacy with the Godhead, the Father, Son and Spirit. John 3:16 is instructive here because of the meaning of a little Greek preposition. Most of us likely know the verse,

16  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)

The phrase ‘whoever believes in Him’ would best be literally translated as ‘whoever believes into Him.’ It doesn’t come across as proper English grammar but the correct meaning is presented. The word translated as ‘in’ is the Greek preposition  eis.

eis – a primary preposition; to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figurative) purpose (result, etc.); Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.

The idea of believing in Jesus isn’t about believing that He is or was but about believing to the point where we enter into a relationship with Him! That is why Paul wrote what he did to the Corinthian believers. This was his desire for their experience.

14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV)

We are called into a communion of intimacy with the Godhead. The fruit of this is what Paul put forth in Romans 8:28-30,

  • being called according to His purpose,
  • predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus, and
  • being justified and glorified in Jesus.

Our Father seeks to use everything in our lives to point us toward one reality, the conforming of everything we are to carry the image of Jesus. We like Jesus are to be about the our Father’s business, representing Him, or more accurately, Re Presenting Him to those we encounter. We cannot speed up this process, just like we can’t plant the garden on Monday and harvest it on Tuesday. However, gardens grow better with watering and weeding and careful preparation of the soil. So while we cannot speed up His process we can hinder it by not properly preparing the soil or not weeding or watering.

The best way to cooperate with His process and deepen His image in us, our watering and weeding, is taking the time and effort to spend time beholding Him, as Paul noted.

18  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

Given that the scriptures tell us transformation comes about through beholding Him, how do we do that in practice? Is there a difference between coming to Him and coming to the scriptures? Do we come to the scripture differently when reading devotionally rather than studying? I will address these practical issues in my next post.

Journeys with Abraham Part 8

In my last post on Abraham I want to look at how Abraham lived after Yahweh cut a covenant with Him. He had two more recorded failures; in one he was again deceptive about his relationship with Sarah (Gen. 20:1-7). The other was his relationship with Hagar that produced Ishmael. Scripture records that Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born (Gen. 16:16) and we have no record of Yahweh interacting with him again until he was 99 and Isaac was promised as a child to Sarah. It is in this encounter (Gen. 17) that Abraham had his named changed from Abram (exalted father) to Abraham, (father of a multitude) and Sarah has her named changed from Sarai to Sarah (princess).

15  Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16  And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” 17  Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18  And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” 19  Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20  And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21  But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” 22  Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. Genesis 17:15-22 (NKJV)

Abraham interceded for Ishmael but while Yahweh promised blessing to Ishmael and his descendants He said He would only establish His covenant with Isaac.

The other great change that following Yahweh cutting a covenant with Abraham (Gen. 15) was that he became a great prophetic intercessor. He interceded with Yahweh to have Sodom spared and in his intercession said one of the things that often touches and comforts my heart, “Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?” It was a rhetorical question; assuredly He did, would and does.

We think we are doing well when we reach 100 years. After Isaac’s birth, Abraham was 100 at the time; he lived 75 more years, with no recorded failures and carrying a heart to bless others.

During this time period he did two very significant things. The land had been promised to him by Yahweh and sworn through a covenant, yet He still had to do something with the promise. Likewise, though we have many potential spiritual blessing we often have to do something to position our heart to receive them. We cannot earn blessings, wages are earned, and blessings are gifts that are given. Yet often we need to be in the right position, whether it is geographically, walking in the right relationship that will help us receive, or having the right heart posture. Positioning ourselves is like picking up a cell signal. The signal is there in the room but unless my phone is turned on I won’t receive anything.

What significant things did Abraham do? First, he purchased Sarah’s burial plot. Though he lived in a land promised to him by Yahweh he had to purchase a portion. What is the further spiritual significance? Jacob/Israel told us just before his death.

29  Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30  in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. 31  There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. 32  The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33  And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. Genesis 49:29-33 (NKJV)

Years ago a dear friend and I were discussing where she wanted to be buried, my question was, “Who do you want to be resurrected with?” It hearkens back to what Israel said to his sons when he died in Egypt.

We can also reflect on what happened at Jesus crucifixion. At His physical death when He had paid the price for sins Jesus atonement released a foretaste of what awaits all who believe in and receive Him.

51  Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52  and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53  and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Matthew 27:51-53 (NKJV)

The burial place of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah was south of Jerusalem but perhaps they were some of the ones who were resurrected in this unique event and appeared to many in Jerusalem.

The other significant thing Abraham did was walk in obedience prepared to sacrifice Isaac. The story is told in Genesis 22:1-19, some key verses are below.

2  Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Genesis 22:2 (NKJV)

5  And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” Genesis 22:5 (NKJV)

18  In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” Genesis 22:18 (NKJV)

The above verses highlight some key points. Isaac is referred to as Abraham’s only son. Biologically he was not, but in terms of affection he was. They walked three days to Moriah (the modern day temple mount, near where Jesus was crucified). Abraham told the men with him that he and Isaac were going to worship and return. His confidence in Yahweh’s character and covenant had so grown that he believed if he was being called to sacrifice Isaac then Yahweh would raise him up as the promise was to and through Isaac. The last key point was the promise that through Abraham’s seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. This promised seed is Jesus and His sacrifice of Himself released salvation to the earth.

May we be like Abraham and lay down the things He calls us to lay down that we may walk in His promise and provision.

Journeys with Abraham Part 7

In this post on Journeys with Abraham I want to look at the covenant Yahweh cut with Abraham and the events leading up to it.

I noted that when Abraham entered the land he encountered Yahweh and built an altar and began to worship Him (Gen. 12:6-8). He was at this time at Shechem, about 60 kilometres north of Jerusalem (Jebus at this point, it was named Jerusalem by king David). He then moved and pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai, about 10 kilometres north of Jerusalem, built another altar and worshipped Yahweh. Following this he went down to Egypt due to the famine and when he returned he again dwelt near Bethel (Gen. 13:3-4).  In Genesis 13:18 we find that after Lot and Abraham separated Abraham moved his tent south of Jerusalem and lived in Hebron,  about 45 kilometres south of Jerusalem, and built an altar and worshiped Yahweh. This is the third altar he built and a pattern had been established. Worship had become an ongoing part of Abraham’s life. The significance of this pattern of worship is revealed following the battle Abraham engaged in to rescue Lot. On his return he was blessed by Melchizedek, who many believe was the pre-incarnate Jesus appearing in bodily form.

18  Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19  And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20  And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all. 21  Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” 22  But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23  that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’ – Genesis 14:18-23 (NKJV)

Upon being blessed by Melchizedek Abraham gave tithes to him and the king of Sodom who was present offered Abraham a reward. He refused because he said he had made on oath to Yahweh whom he described as “the Possessor of heaven and earth” the exact language Melchizedek used and language Abraham seemed familiar with. Clearly through his worship Abraham had received a greater revelation of this one he followed out of his former home and whom he now served.

It is following this response by Abraham that Yahweh now cut a covenant with Abraham.

7  Then He said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.” 8  And he said, “Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” 9  So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10  Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11  And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12  Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13  Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14  And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15  Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16  But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” 17  And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18  On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates– 19  the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20  the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21  the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” Genesis 15:7-21 (NKJV)

In the covenant ceremony the two parties took animals and cut them in two and walked through the blood between. The covenant was a ceremony to honour and ratify a commitment enforceable by death. In fact a common expression of covenant language is seen in the books of Samuel and the era of the early kings in the following expression, or variation of it, ‘May God do to me and more’ (see 1 Sam. 3:17, 25:22, 2 Sam. 3:9, 3:35, 19:13, 1 Kings 2:23, 2 Kings 6:31) that in essence says, ‘May I be cut up and my blood spilled like these animals if I do not honour this covenant.’ In cutting the covenant with Abraham Yahweh passed between the animals as a smoking oven and burning torch. At the cutting of the covenant Yahweh again guaranteed this land to Abraham and his descendants and  a great darkness fell over Abraham and Yahweh told him his descendants would be in bondage for 400 years but would leave the land of their oppressors with great possessions. In this horrifying darkness and shedding of blood to create a covenant I also see a prophetic picture of the horror and darkness Jesus experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane just prior to His body being torn and His blood poured out to establish a new covenant – the one that saved us from eternal torment.

May we like Abraham have a pattern of being worshippers and walking with Jesus, knowing the great spiritual blessing we have in Him, and recognizing the great bondage He delivered us from through the horror of His atoning death upon the cross!

Journeys with Abraham Part 6

In my last post I looked at how Abraham’s obedience led to testing. We will now look at how his disobedience led to apparent blessing but subsequently created a problem that still plagues his descendants to this day.

10  Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11  And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12  Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13  Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.” Genesis 12:10-13 (NKJV)

Abraham had for some time now been going where Yahweh called and directed. He arrived at the land of promise, however, in response to the famine he left. Where did following Yahweh fit in and how does it connect to our lives? We have seen in following Abraham’s journey that he had some struggles with obedience but was always heading in the right direction. Here he changed direction and everything, very literally, went south, given that Egypt is south of Israel (Canaan at this point). Abraham journeyed south and went to live in Egypt to wait out the famine. He was now moving in fear instead of faith and got Sarai his wife (later Sarah) to lie to preserve his life.

As Abraham chose deception, because he believed it would preserve his life, the outcome was that Pharaoh gave him gifts for Sarai, Yahweh kept Pharaoh from taking Sarai to his bed and Pharaoh sent Abraham away and they returned to Canaan with the gifts. So there seemed to be no negative consequences to Abraham’s journey to Egypt and in fact he returned with further wealth. Yet one of Abraham’s descendants left us with this wisdom,

11  Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Ecclesiastes 8:11 (NKJV)

So while Abraham did not know Yahweh’s character he grew up with the rhythms and motions of agrarian life. He should have understood that often we do not immediately reap what we sow. The consequences of Abraham’s choices were revealed later.

Though he had come out of a pagan culture that really didn’t know Yahweh, Abraham had begun to follow Yahweh while not yet knowing His character. When we look at Abraham’s relatives that his grandson Jacob encountered we see that shrewd deceit and half truths was certainly part of the family culture and that was what Abraham engaged in rather than trusting Yahweh. So while Abraham had come out of the culture it was certainly not yet out of him. That is the process I referenced in an earlier post. Just as at creation Yahweh began separating light from darkness, so too in our lives He continually seeks to draw the darkness out of us to establish and reveal light.

So what was the final outcome of Abraham’s deception? While we are often taught in evangelical circles that God leads through circumstances we don’t need to look very far in scripture to realize that not only is that not true it is frequently the exact opposite of the truth. Yahweh frequently leads us in spite of circumstances! Abraham’s situation is a very good example of that. Based on his circumstances Abraham left Canaan and went to Egypt. Based on his circumstances Abraham sought to deceive Pharaoh. Later, based on his circumstances he conceived Ishmael with Hagar and created problems for Isaac’s descendants that persist to this day. The repercussions from that one decision, based on circumstances, have lasted thousands of years. When we look at it verse one there is a critical point.

1  Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2  So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. 16  Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. Genesis 16:1-2, 16 (NKJV)

Sarai, had an Egyptian maidservant. The scriptures do not tell us where she came from but given that her identity is highlighted the inference is clear that Hagar was one of the ‘gifts’ that Abraham received from Pharaoh. So eleven years after Abraham went to Canaan he now had a son in the land but from the wrong mother, his choice not God’s choice. Our decisions led by our circumstances rather than His spirit may have long lasting consequences!