Intimacy – Wisdom From the Word

Authority and Abiding

Recently I was rereading one of Rick Joyner’s books and was struck by this quote, “Spiritual authority is not gained through knowledge but through our union with Him.”[1] In reflecting on it I see the importance. After all Jesus had some things to say on the subject. He referenced it as abiding.

⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. John 15:7 (NKJV)

The context here is Jesus talking about the importance of being connected to Him, like a branch is to a vine. It is obvious when we think about it. We don’t see apple or pear branches or grape vines bearing fruit independent of the tree or main vine. The reason is obvious. They need to draw nurture and sustenance from the main vine or branch because it is connected to the roots.

Let me dig a little deeper! Years ago, I kept a bonsai tree in my office at work. What I discovered through some research is that there were two reasons bonsai trees were grown in a shallow dish. One was to occasionally put it in a sink or bucket and soak the tray and roots in water. The other, and more important reason, was that when you prune the branches you need to take the bonsai tree out of the pan and prune the roots at the same time to prevent overgrowth. I prune my apple tree every year but each year the amount it grows more than replaces what I prune. The reason? I don’t pull it out of the ground and prune the roots each time I prune the branches! Every year the roots grow deeper and stronger and so the branches have more to draw on to both grow and produce fruit.

Now back to abiding. Jesus is the source of life for the fruit bearing branches, us. If we want to produce fruit, we need to do the two things Jesus said are necessary. First, we need to abide in Him, then we need to let His words abide in me. Doing this will lead to us walking in spiritual authority and answered prayer. Abiding is about a daily ongoing relationship. Letting His words abide in us is about choosing obedience and adherence to His word.

When our hearts are at rest in Him the desires and words that flow forth from us are carried by, and rooted in, His life. It isn’t just about reading and speaking scripture, it is about abiding and life so that we read and speak the right scriptures needed in the present moment. When we are speaking with someone and we receive a word of wisdom for their situation or a word of knowledge about their life that comes from the Spirit because in that moment we are abiding in the vine, Jesus. Another way of saying this was written by Solomon.

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 your paths. Proverbs 3:5–6 (NKJV)

Thus, let’s abide in Jesus and walk in the spiritual authority He releases through us. After all, our spiritual authority is not simply grounded in knowledge about Jesus but through our relational union with Him.

NOTE in my next post, which may take a little longer to research and write, I will address Penal Substitutionary Atonement and some of the other historical theories to help ground us in what scripture teaches and defend us against error.

[1] Joyner, Rick. The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand (Kindle Locations 504-505). MorningStar Publications. Kindle Edition.

Two Places at Once

Recently I was hiking on top of a mountain and there was a boundary marker delineating the border between two provinces. If I stood with one foot on either side of the boundary I could be ‘in two places at once.’ Cute. Yet, there is a deeper and more important aspect, scripturally we were originally designed to live in two places at once, the natural earthly realm and the heavenly spiritual realm. I believe Adam and could see in both realms, hence Eve could see and interact with serpent, a spiritual being and throne guardian, not a talking snake. I think one of the things that made them aware of their fallen state was the shift in what they were able to see and interact with. Whether that is accurate or not, doesn’t change what we were designed for.

We were created to live in two places at once, the natural and spiritual realms, after all, at the consummation of the age the New Jerusalem, the Lamb’s bride, the Holy city, comes from heaven to earth and the two realms are joined. In the meantime, if we have a better understanding of how we are called to function now we can live out of an awareness of both realms.

Paul made some comments about being in two places at once in both Ephesians and Colossians.

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:4–6 (NKJV)

² Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. ³ For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Ephesians 2:4–6 (NKJV) Colossians 3:2–3 (NKJV)

Jesus also had a perspective on this concept.

¹³ No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. John 3:13 (NKJV)

Jesus more than any of us knew what it was to live in two places at once, to be in home in both the natural and spiritual realms. While I don’t expect any of us to fully live this out to the degree that Jesus did, He did set an example for us to follow. We follow His example by paying attention to what Paul wrote.

The obvious practical issue is delineating the how. I know in my own life often during the day my thoughts are drawn heavenward. That is, I am drawn to prayer, worship and reflection, sometimes in the midst of a group of people. It also means that heaven has a perspective on my days and decisions and I need to factor in heavens perspective in my decision making. Lastly, I can simply abide in His presence at any time and all times by turning my mind and heart toward Jesus. This is our call, to believe we are seated with Him and thus set our affections upon Him.

NOTE This post will lead into the next one, Authority and Abiding

The Glory of His Inheritance Part 2

Think back to something you waited for with great anticipation – it may be a thing or an event. We have all had moments in our lives. I know in my experience the event sometimes matches the anticipation and at other times it doesn’t. I know a common experience in our culture is that many things are promoted via empty hype, the phenomenon of over promising and under delivering. Yet I am confident it is not going to be that way for Jesus. As previously noted, He went to the cross, ‘for the joy set before Him,’ and Isaiah wrote of Jesus being satisfied by the travail or anguish of His soul (Isaiah 53:11a). Now we will look at what will satisfy Jesus, what will being Him joy, the one thing He is anticipating.

To understand what Jesus will receive we need to understand what He is looking for. This is revealed in scripture. It starts with the following statement about Abraham in relation to his sojourning and searching.

⁹ By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; ¹⁰ for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:9–10 (NKJV)

In faith Abraham dwelt in the land that would become Israel never finding what he was ultimately seeking. This city he was looking for was tied to a memory of Eden and a prophetic glimpse into what was to come. A paradise and city constructed by Yahweh with Yahweh dwelling in it. We will eventually come to the consummation of this theme.

After Abraham the theme of a dwelling place is picked up in Yahweh’s interactions with Moses then later also presented by Paul and Peter in expressing the purpose of the church.

⁸ And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. Exodus 25:8 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19–22 (NKJV)

⁴ Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:19–22 (NKJV)

In each of these three passages from scripture we see expressed the desire of Yahweh for a dwelling place and the fulfilling of it in the how He is building His church. He is shaping us as living stones into a spiritual house, His dwelling place. Next time we will look squarely at the deeper identity of this dwelling place and the fulfillment of what Jesus has long anticipated.

Seeds

In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8 Jesus says the harvest from the seeds depends on the condition of the soil. We see that in Jesus own ministry. He spent His earthly ministry sowing seeds and changing lives but the degree of change was commensurate with the commitment to Jesus’ message. What prepared the soil of Israel was John the Baptist’s forerunner ministry warning and exhorting people and calling the nation to repentance and baptism. Though we don’t have much recorded about it in the scripture we know that prayer also paved the way for Jesus’ ministry. One example is Anna.

³⁶ Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; ³⁷ and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. ³⁸ And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Luke 2:36–38 (NKJV)

This pattern of prayer and proclamation is evident in scripture and in every move of the Spirit I have studied in church history. We see it in the history of the Moravians and their 100-year prayer meeting that birthed modern missions. We see it in the life of Evan Roberts and others in the Welsh Revival, we see it in the intense travail of Frank Barlteman and others in the Azusa Street outpouring that birthed the worldwide Pentecostal Movement. I don’t know of a significant movement that arose without it

Now back to scripture regarding sowing. Like Jesus, Paul also addressed the issue of sowing. Below are a couple of examples, the first from 1 Corinthians.

⁵ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. ⁷ So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. ⁸ Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 1 Corinthians 3:5–8 (NKJV)

Paul’s primary point to the Corinthians was that they were not to elevate one leader over another and choose to follow one over another as God is the source of fruitfulness. His other point is that the sowing or planting is our job, God gives the increase or harvest.

We also see Paul addressing sowing and reaping in Galatians.

⁷ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. Galatians 6:7–8 (NKJV)

Once more we see that the sowing is our responsibility and the fruit comes from the Spirit.

We see this principle of sowing and reaping on a broader scale in another place in scripture. Keep in mind Jesus’ seed sowing in His earthly ministry was His teaching along with the demonstration of the kingdom. Look at The Great Commission.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “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.” Amen. Matthew 28:18–20 (NKJV)

This is Jesus’ command for us to sow and see a harvest from all nations. An important piece here is we can view this as a command to make disciples from all nations, which is reflected in Matthew 24:14, Jesus’ message about the gospel of the kingdom. We could also look at Matthew 25:31-34 where Jesus refers to sheep and goat nations. In that some see a call for the church to disciple nations. Lastly, we could see The Great Commission as a call to do both. You decide.

I share all of this to lead to a point. I believe when we teach, we can sow seeds of righteousness in the lives of individuals, cultures and nations. I am Canadian and I know seeds of righteousness were sown in the founding of our nation. We were originally known as the Dominion of Canada based on Psalm 72:8, which is inscribed on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

⁸ He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Psalm 72:8 (KJV)

We can thus pray that this will be fulfilled and His dominion realized in our nation. This is but one example.

As I post this I have just returned from a vacation in Portugal. While there, as we traveled, I sought to discern what the Spirit wanted me to intercede for. I know that while historically there was a religious mixture in Portugal there were many seeds of the gospel and truth sown in the nation. At the beginning of our trip I was led to pray that apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders and intercessors would be raised up from among the people. Later while traveling through the countryside on more than one occasion He led me to pray that the spiritual seeds sown in this land would sprout and a harvest would come forth.

If we look at the pattern the Spirit led me to in prayer the main focus was on raising up proclaimers and intercessors. The latter part was for these seeds to come to life. I only saw this pattern upon reflection as I was led to write this, not while I was engaged in it. There were other things He led me to do but this example is sufficient.

This now comes back to each of us. In our lives let’s seek to follow Him each day and look for what He is leading us to pray and proclaim so that we see the fruit Jesus desires in our lives, cities and communities.

Holiness

Depending on our church background and experience you may have different views or understandings of what constitutes holiness. Thus, it seems we should begin with defining the term holiness before relating it to prayer.

In my experience holiness was generally presented as related to behaviour, a list of do’s and don’ts. While there are do’s and don’ts in scripture, our behaviour is to flow from our heart attitudes. Jesus put it this way.

⁴⁵ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 (NKJV)

What we carry in our heart is reflected in our words and actions that flow from our heart.

²³ Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)

When we see that holiness is more about our heart attitude, we can begin to make sense of a phrase in Psalm 96:9, “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!” This was highlighted for me over thirty years ago through a song. I attended a church where one of the pastors, Gordon Dyck, wrote a song about holiness based on part of Psalm 96 (I don’t know if others contributed to the writing). I do remember the words.

I will worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness

Unto His throne room I now come

With my voice lifted up, hands raised on high

I will render the praise due unto His name

Worship the Lord!

Over my years of involvement in the church I haven’t regularly heard holiness linked to beauty, but there it is in scripture, “The beauty of holiness.” The concept of holiness is a reference to something set aside for a sacred purpose. This setting aside is a separation from darkness to reflect light. The word ‘beauty’ in Hebrew refers to an adornment, glory or attire. In essence the beauty of holiness is to be adorned with or attired in holiness! Holiness is the garment we are to wear as we worship!

While holiness in Psalm 96 is connected to wearing something. When we come over to prayer it is also connected to fragrance. The majority of people in the worldwide prayer movement are familiar with the harp and bowl model, the connection between worship and prayer.

⁸ Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8 (NKJV)

Incense has a fragrance. The point here is that our prayers have a fragrance.

If we reflect back on the tabernacle and temple the priest offering the incense had to wear specific garments and a label on the turban on his forehead that said, Holiness unto the LORD.

³⁶ “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD ³⁷ And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. Exodus 28:36–38 (NKJV)

Now if you are still with me, we need to put all of the pieces together. The high priest carried a fragrance (the incense), wore special garments and had holiness engraved on His forehead. His calling was to walk in a heart of holiness. Jesus was the ultimate representation of all of these symbols. Thus, Jesus could walk into dark places and not be tainted by them, He brought light to darkness because He was adorned with the beauty of holiness and carried the fragrance of heaven.

The more our hearts fully walk in and with Him the more fully we have the same effect on the environment around us and the more effective our prayer life. We are called to both be with Him and like Him. Let’s carry that awareness into the prayer closet and our daily interactions and live in the ‘beauty of holiness.’

What a Waste

What a waste! How many times have you heard the expression? Usually uttered to highlight how an individual has misused their life, talents, finances or similar. It carries the connotation of bad decisions, which I am confident we have all made at some point in our lives. I know when I was coaching sports I would at times have a gifted athlete without a commensurate work ethic. It brought this expression to mind. Yet, in the broader context I wonder if ‘waste’ depends on our perspective.

Let me share some examples. We begin with Eric Liddell. From a cultural perspective he wasted his life. One hundred years ago at the Paris Olympics ago he refused to run the 100 M, his best race, because the heats took place on Sunday and he wasn’t going to compete on the Lord’s Day. He instead ran the 400 M and won Olympic gold. The beginning of a storied athletic career? No. In 1925 he returned to China where he had been born to missionary parents. Eric went as a missionary; he died there in 1945 in a Japanese internment camp. Popular culture may have viewed his life as wasted; heaven keeps a different accounting.

The 1981 movie Chariots of Fire chronicles the events surrounding the Olympics. I saw the film around the time it came out. I wasn’t walking the Lord at the time but a line from the film was deeply impressed upon me. In the movie his sister was critical of his running and asked if he should be running or devoting his life to God. Eric responded with the now famous quote, “God made me for a purpose. God made me fast and when I run I feel His pleasure.” In researching it there is debate about whether the line from the movie is an actual quote from Liddell but he certainly embodied it. The scene is not true as his sister was a child on the mission field in China with their parents and when Eric won at the Olympics they didn’t know for months until they received a letter. What is known of Liddell is that he did say a less famous quote, “God made me for China.”

Now to a couple of scriptural examples, Mary and Judas, beginning with Judas, one of the twelve.

¹ And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Matthew 10:1 (NKJV)

Judas was given the same power as the rest, the word here is actually exousia, generally translated as authority, which is how the ESV translates it. Nothing in scriptures suggests that Judas failed to walk in these same demonstrations of power and authority as the rest of the twelve. Even so, he didn’t end well. Judas betrayed Jesus (Matthew 26) and was so embittered that the doorway to his heart was open and Satan entered him.

³ Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. ⁴ So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. Luke 22:3–4 (NKJV)

Judas eventually took his own life (Matthew 27:5). What a waste.

As an addition there are two other things about Judas that speak not to Judas but to Jesus’ character. We see them in the verses below.

⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. John 6:64 (NKJV)

¹² While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. John 17:12 (NKJV)

Jesus knew from the beginning that Judas would betray Him and would be revealed as the ‘son of perdition’ yet still invested in Judas. A waste from the perspective of some, to others a revelation of Jesus heart to invest and give expecting nothing in return.

Now to Mary. I have written before how I am convinced that Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene are the same person (see the link below to a previous blog post). I am not the first one to draw this conclusion from a study of the scriptures as I have researched it in the past and others have come to the same conclusion at various times in church history.

Given that Mary was an immoral woman and tormented by seven demons (Luke 7:36-8:2) the early part of her life was wasted, in a worldly way. The latter part of her life was very different. The story of her love for Jesus and willing to waste all on Him is well known (John 12:1-8). The question before us is best summarized by something I heard Jack Deere say in a sermon many years ago, he spoke about Mary and said something like, “We will all waste our lives on something. Why not Jesus?” http://wisdomfromtheword.ca/intimacy-opportunities-part-2/

In His Image Part 4

The final aspect of being made in His image that we will look at is fellowship and communion, something the rest of the creation that we observe does not have. That is, animals cannot commune and fellowship with God. Angels can to an extent commune and interact but they lack something found in the new creation, Jesus’ nature (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21). All of this is rooted in something that we may not think about often, or ever, communion and fellowship originate and take place within the Godhead. As believers we are called into an intimate communion and fellowship with the Godhead (2 Corinthians 13:14, 2 Peter 1: 4, 1 John 1:3) but only because that is something that eternally pre-existed within the Godhead.

We see this fellowship in Jesus’ teaching and high priestly prayer in John. In His teaching and prayer Jesus referenced the love between the Father and Himself and the role of the Spirit.

²⁰ At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. John 14:20 (NKJV)

³¹ But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here. John 14:31 (NKJV)

⁹ “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. John 15:9–10 (NKJV)

²⁶ “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. John 15:26 (NKJV)

¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. John 16:13–15 (NKJV)

²⁸ I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.” John 16:28 (NKJV)

Implicit in these verses is the fellowship between the three persons of the Godhead. Being made in His image we are called to enter in and participate in this eternal fellowship. We do that by fixing the gaze of our hearts upon Jesus. Jesus and Paul expressed the same truth, the same glorious opportunity, in similar ways.

²⁴ “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. ²⁶ And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:24–26 (NKJV)

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)

Jesus prayed that as His followers, as those made in His image, we would behold His glory! Paul was simply echoing that in 2 Corinthians but making it explicit that it is an opportunity that lies before us in this life. This is available to us and as we by faith fix the gaze of our hearts upon Jesus, we are transformed from the inside out! We experience what Paul presented as his great apostolic heart cry in his first letter, the forming of Christ within us (Galatians 4:19). This is truly the culmination of being made in His image. A foretaste and the fullness when we step from time into eternity (1 John 3:2).

Hope Resurrected

As we celebrate Resurrection Sunday let’s us turn to the scriptures in hope. In doing so I first want to reflect on the crucifixion. Obviously, there would have been no resurrection without Jesus sacrificial death. His body died that day on the cross. He was the sacrificial lamb on our behalf (1 Peter 1:17-21, Revelation 13:8). However, a number of other things died as well. The hopes and dreams of His followers died. Whether that was ruling and reigning with Jesus over Rome, or as in the case of Mary, simply being with Him, those hopes perished. We will come back to this.

Now, while we generally turn to the gospels for the resurrection, I am looking at Romans. It is in the letters of the New Testament that we see the impact of the resurrection. Paul made some interesting statements that highlight this fact.

²² And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” ²³ Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, ²⁴ but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Romans 4:22–25 (NKJV)

Here is the Greek word that we translate as justification – δικαίωσις dikaiōsis; the act of pronouncing righteous, acquittal: – justification (2).^[1]

The context here is Paul explaining how Abraham was treated as righteous by Yahweh due to his faith. Righteousness was accounted, or put to his account. Paul then says righteousness is charged to our account as well when we embrace Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. He then makes an interesting statement. Jesus was ‘delivered up because of our offenses.’ Here he is referring to the crucifixion. Jesus’ sacrifice was to pay the penalty for our sins. The next statement is even more interesting. Paul says Jesus was ‘raised because of our justification.’ Justification is a legal term and linked to righteousness. We are declared righteous because the Father is legally justified in doing so due to Jesus’ sacrifice. The efficacy of Jesus sacrifice was validated by the resurrection.

This is why earlier in Romans Paul presented the gospel as a revelation of the righteousness of God.

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16–17 (NKJV)

Here is the Greek word that we translate as righteousness – δικαιοσύνη dikaiosunē; from 1342; righteousness, justice: – right (1), righteousness (90).^[2]

The gospel, the good news is that God is in fact just and right in extending salvation to us because of what Jesus accomplished.

Now we come back to other things that have died. In Romans 4 Paul uses Abraham’s faith to point to the crucifixion and resurrection so we need to look at what Abraham believed and then experienced. The context was Abraham and Sarah not having a child. Paul tells us that at this point in their lives the ability to conceive a child had died in both of them. Yet, by faith it was restored, resurrected if you will! As we reflect on that and the impact of Jesus resurrection, I think we need to go beyond the legal aspects of righteousness and justification. I believe we need to be like Abraham and look full in the face of hopes and dreams that have died and then look to the lamb to believe for their resurrection! Paul encourages us to do with these words.

³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32 (NKJV)

Let’s look to the Lamb.

Look to the Lamb song

Jesus Culture, Lindy Cofer, Bryan & Katie Torwalt – Look To The Lamb (Official Visualizer) – Bing video

^[1] Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries : Updated Edition (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).

^[2] Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries : Updated Edition (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).

Presence

Of the many interesting and important things Jesus said, the following two are relevant to introduce our subject, Presence.

⁸ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. Luke 16:8 (NKJV)

¹⁶ “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Matthew 10:16 (NKJV)

Here Jesus encourages us to be as wise as the world around us. He doesn’t tell us to function as them, hence His exhortation to be ‘wise as serpents and harmless as doves.’ We are to exercise godly wisdom in the world, not behave like the world in our daily interactions.

As we look at Presence, first some background that relates to the scripture references above. While Christmas shopping, I saw an ad prominently displayed on a large screen in a store, “Here for the Presence.” Now, as a public service announcement, I don’t recommend going to a mall in the afternoon in mid December! However, as I had done that, I had plenty of time to reflect on the ad while waiting in line. That aside, the ad caught my attention and stirred my heart. Some clever marketer hit on promoting the idea that people came to this store not merely to shop but to experience a certain atmosphere, a presence in that place. Which meant there had to be something beyond the merchandise drawing them. That could have been being part of a certain subculture, a sense of identity and belonging.

In my brief interactions with the staff, I also sensed that they also were attempting to create a presence. The ad and behaviour were aligned and it was reflected in the long line up at the sales counter. There was congruence between the stated goal of the ad, ‘presence,’ and the behaviour of the staff. Thus, while still in line I put a note in my phone as I wanted to write about what I had encountered.

In my reflections I began to think about our gatherings as His body and wondered what drew us and whether we intentionally sought to create an atmosphere that would draw His Presence. My qualifier here is that there is a difference between the Lord’s omnipresence and the degrees of His manifest presence. I am focused on the latter. In my experience, with some notable exceptions, most events I have attended over the decades have focused more on gathering people than drawing presence. While we need people, we need them to encounter Jesus when we draw them. I deeply believe we should focus more on aligning all we do to draw His presence. I think we need to spend more time in corporate worship and prayer, seeking to bless the Father’s heart. I believe we need to create space for more to share their hearts and learn how to minster to one another as a body.

I believe that if we think and practice along these lines, we will draw His Presence and His Presence will draw us. Why not build our gatherings around Jesus’ agenda and engage in a wholehearted pursuit of His Presence the way it is reflected in scripture.

⁴ One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. Psalm 27:4 (NKJV)

⁸ When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Psalm 27:8 (NKJV)

¹¹You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 (NKJV)

Here is a song reflecting a heart desire for His Presence.

Lord Let Your Glory Fall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGdpMbZey4Y

A Thin Place

Three decades ago, I realized the important connection in Exodus 33 and 34 between opportunity and experiential reality and wrote about it. I have often come back to this awareness and I am still pursuing the experiential reality. Given how I view the importance of it I have written about it again.

Over the years I have heard a number of sermons regarding Moses’ prayer in Exodus 33 and his heart cry for Yahweh’s presence to go with them to the land of their promised inheritance. With the exception of one I heard a couple of years ago, I believe they all missed the point. I will delve into the verses below to illustrate what I mean.

¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ ² And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. ³ Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Exodus 33:1–3 (NKJV)

¹² Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ ¹³ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” ¹⁴ And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” ¹⁵ Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. ¹⁶ For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” ¹⁷ So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” ¹⁹ Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” ²⁰ But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” Exodus 33:12–20 (NKJV)

We see in these verses that Yahweh promised His presence as they traveled and Moses knew the importance of His presence, given he had spent so much time in it. Yet in spite of that assurance his heart longed for something more. He had the realization that while Yahweh’s presence was to be valued it didn’t automatically confer intimacy! It was the doorway or access point, a thin place. The opportunity to pierce the veil between the natural and spiritual realms.

We see a remarkable event being played out starting in verse 12. Moses had been on the mountain with Yahweh, he had spent hour upon hour interacting with Him in ‘the tent of meeting,’ that Yahweh’s visible presence rested upon. They met ‘face to face’ (though Yahweh spoke, it is clear from the text that Moses never actually saw His face). Here in verse 12 Moses in essence says, “You know me but I don’t really know You, who are You?” Moses has the realization that though Yahweh knows Him, all of his time with Yahweh has not given him a revelation of Yahweh’s character.

This whole episode wasn’t about whether Yahweh would go with them, it was about who Yahweh was, the one going with them.

Now we may wonder what this encounter has to do with us and our walk of faith. Let me carry it over to our prayer and worship times, whether individual or corporate. In both circumstances, like Moses, we are spending time with Yahweh. Like Israel, we have a given, His presence is with us. I believe prayer and worship times are thin places, places that provide the opportunity for intimate encounter. They are an opportunity to know Him, to ask Him to show us His glory (we see from Exodus 33:18-20 and 34:5-7 that Yahweh’s glory is His character).

Times of prayer and worship are ‘thin places.’ Places where if we are sensitive to His presence, we have encounter opportunities. May we use them in a wise and ‘timely’ manner.

Thin Place by Vineyard Worship captures this concept.

https://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&ei=UTF-8&p=thin+place+vineyard+worship&type=E211CA1485G0#id=3&vid=ec9b04d7e9e83c80adbcf7b44a2b4195&action=click