Isaiah and the Holy Spirit…

I was awed this week as I studied for my sermon on Isaiah  63:10-14

I was reading along and then the teaching on the Holy Spirit came bounding into the picture.  (Isaiah 63:7-19). The Holy Spirit is mentioned three times in a short few verses! This is truly amazing, as you can run your search engine and find only a few scattered references to the Holy Spirit in the OT. But here in Chapter 63, we see THREE verses that carry the teaching of the Word concerning the Third Person of the Trinity.

Isaiah 63:

9 In all their distress he too was distressed,
and the angel of his presence saved them.
In his love and mercy he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them
all the days of old.
10 Yet they rebelled
and grieved his Holy Spirit.

 

11…Where is he who set
his Holy Spirit among them,
12 who sent his glorious arm of power
to be at Moses’ right hand,
who divided the waters before them,
to gain for himself everlasting renown,

13  …Like a horse in open country,
they did not stumble;
14 like cattle that go down to the plain,
they were given rest by the Spirit of the LORD.
This is how you guided your people
to make for yourself a glorious name.

 

Powerful stuff!

Out of these verses come a very neat sermon outline…. and food for the soul concerning the operation of the Holy Spirit in the lives of His precious possession. YOU are HIS precious possession, child of God in Christ!

We find here that the Holy Spirit is truly a person, and He is bent on comforting us and helping us… and being ‘among us’ in times of stress and turmoil. In v. 14 we are told “they were given rest by the Spirit of the Lord.”

REST… First of all, rest for our souls, in bringing us to salvation in Christ Jesus. Secondly, rest for our spirits as we are confronted with the daily challenges that come our way. REST… for the weary, 21st Century “road-warrior” rushing around in insane traffic to be where they need to be. REST… for the child of God who has been bombarded with bad news… poor health, others bad decisions, financial need… the stuff of life.

I was enthused to present this message, it gave me a sense of hope that God is there… and He is not silent. (To borrow a Francis Schaeffer phrase.)

Yes, the Holy Spirit in Isaiah !

 

“…whithersoever…”

Proverbs 21:1:  “The king’s heart is in the and of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

I love that word …”whithersoever…”  – roughly translated into modern English as “wherever” or “which ever way God wants to” or “in whatever direction He wishes”.  Isn’t that a cool KJV word?

A little side note: I left the KJV in the dust back in the ’70′s, but have recently found that there are some irreplaceable words that are lost to most of us who read modern English. I used to bristle at those kinds of KJV ‘isms’, thinking that they were of no use to the modern world. Not to mention, the time involved in trying to explain them to people who just want to learn the Bible.

BUT… I have since come to appreciate some of those ‘tortured English’ words and phrases. Just take a look at some of the modern translations of the Bible. What do they do with some of those words and phrases… they ‘jazz them up’ so you will take notice!  Well… I have come full circle and found that using some of those really wild KJV ism’s is just the thing to pique someone’s attention… and smile in the process.  (Not sure about that smile… maybe it is a reminder of reading Shakespeare in class in High School… and all the fun you had…. don’t know.)

Be that as it may, in our Adult Bible Class, Proverbs 21:1 comes up as the focus of a discussion on the Sovereignty of God in our lives.  In the process of making decisions and trying to ‘look your best’ at a job interview, we must ultimately come to the point of trusting the God of Glory to turn the heart of the person in authority to be doing what He intends to be done in your life.  That’s where the “whithersoever” comes in: that no matter what the decision, it is God who is superintending and balancing for your good, the final outcome of the matter.

Admittedly, that is scary (at least for most of us who are realists). However, this verse reminds us of the incredible and amazing power of God to move in other people’s lives to make decisions that affect us… for God’s glory and honor. And the “withersoever” is not that God is not sure where this thing should go, but that the person making the decision has no idea why he is making that decision on your behalf!  Ain’t that cool!

How about a personal example.

I was looking to get some further and specific training in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). I asked the owner of a nursing facility I was working in as a Chaplain to lay out a significant amount of money to make this happen, and fulfill other requirements. In my way of thinking there was no possible way that the owner of the facility was going to decide ‘in my favor’ … or so I surmised. One day, I was playing my trumpet music for a luncheon for the facility, and the owner was so impressed with my dedication to the people there, that he said to the Administrator at the time “give him whatever he wants.” And I was on my way to another avenue of ministry and service as a Chaplain (Now working as a Hospice Chaplain). That was 7 years ago. I can imagine the owner saying something like “why did I do that?”  Well, we know that the Lord turns the heart of the owner “whithersoever” He wishes!

“God Moments

I’ve been thinking about God’s incredible mercy and love in bringing me into a relationship with Him that will never end! It’s sort of like those “God Moments” every true believer has every now and then  (some more often than others). When we are on the road and we are missed in a ‘near crash’… and we escape with no more than an elevated heart rate! Those moments come when one of your adult children thanks you for what you taught them about faith when they were younger! It’s moments that cause us to reflect on the immense character of God and we stand in awe of Him!

I’d be lying if I told you that I have these “God Moments” every day, multiple times a day!  Some days are filled with routine, and with incredible split-second timing to be where I need to be for ‘whatever.’  Sure, when we finally stop the “Wild Mouse” ride and look around (dizzily), we force ourselves to look for God in our circumstances.  Yes, we are thankful, yes we are aware of the magnificent God who is tending to our souls even when we are not!

(Aside… I have always felt ‘ill-at-ease’ in confessing things like this. I have always felt like I am holding up, for the world to see, how ‘un-spiritual’ I really am. I have always feared that others will judge me for my lack of deep spirituality when I reveal thought like the above…. I suppose it’s time to get over that.)

I like “God Moments”.

I crave those moments when it is clear that God is getting my focus… and I truly worship.  Sometimes I am moved to tears when I am over-whelmed by His love, in spite of myself. I want to package the moment and put it into a 3 point sermon that will show everybody the path to the “God Moment.”  But it doesn’t work like that.

I have always taught that we need to “create and environment” where true spirituality and flourish.  I need to systematically eliminate things in my life that hinders the pathway to those incredible brushes with Heaven.  Or take those things that are hindrances and ‘turn them around’ to be tools to help us in our journey.    – I can’t tell you how you can do that… it is entirely personal and private – between you and God.

One last thought here.  I can’t program “God Moments” into my schedule…. how absurd! The pathway seems to be in daily taking time to stop and look and listen.    -

“God Moments” happen.

Feelings….

It’s been a while since my last post, so I am back now.

Life is good. We face all sorts of circumstances in life that create multi-faceted situations that either depress us, or send us ‘thru-the-roof’ with unexplained joy. Not every day can be a happy day. Things go wrong, things happen… and just ‘things.’ There are so many variables for whether we have a good day or bad day. Jerry Bridges, a Christian writer talks about this in his books. Whether you are having a “good day” or “bad day” God is still in charge, and He will use you to glorify His Holy Name even though you ‘feel’ like you will never be able serve him. It’s on a “day-to-day” basis for most Christians. And my opinion is that is the way it should be… “daily walking close to thee…” (Just a Closer Walk). We worry too much about how we “feel”… and don’t worry enough about living moment to moment. OK, I had a few bad days this month. I felt disconnected and maybe even a little bit ‘on my own’. But that ‘feeling’ is just that – a ‘feeling’ – a momentary splash of emotion, physical symptoms, and mental attitude. That’s what ‘feelings’ are. They are temporary. It is only God who who is not affected by these fleeting human characteristics. (Except, of course, Jesus in His humanity). So, we accept our human-ness and realize that one day may have more emotional/spiritual/physical challenges than another. But at the same time, we have a supernatural God to intervene and bring us back to reality.

OK, feelings are important – mainly because they are such a large part of our lives. But we need to check our feelings against the backdrop of God’s love and mercy. We look at ‘yesterday’ and rest in God that He will lead us through the crazy forest of life…. and we WILL come into a “wide space”.

Studies in 2nd Peter

A number of years ago I preached a series of messages on 2nd Peter which I intended to turn into a book. Well, time and anxiousness got to me and I decided to release some or all of this in this format. (I never liked the idea of “posthumous” publishing… where someone else has control of final edits.) So, I humbly submit this introductory piece in the hopes of posting more of my work “until He comes.”

STUDIES IN 2nd PETER…

II Peter 3:18 is my theme verse – “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.” The goal of this writing is to help Christians grow in maturity in Christ. Some of the concepts that I desire you to be excited about may not be new to you, but we all need reminders that we, as God’s people, need to follow hard after God.

First of all, the inner spiritual condition of the heart is the most important thing in life. The Bible tells us that “the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” I Samuel 16:7.

We are addressing the concept of spiritual priorities. The problem of keeping priorities in proper biblical perspective is a daily exercise of deeply significant proportions. It is my experience that many born again people have enormous difficulty in this area. Many are so interested in the outward appearance of things that the matters of the heart are pushed back into a long list of “things to do.” This trend must be resisted at all costs.

We need to ask ourselves for example, do I get more excited about the play-off game on TV than I do my personal devotional life? I suggest that if your earthly interests absorb more of your time than your spiritual disciplines than you are sure to be ready for a spiritual re-evaluation.

Secondly, I wish to address the mediocrity that Christians are satisfied to remain in through-out their Christian experience. Status quo is not where Christians should be. Yet it seems to be so very prevalent in our churches today. To be honest, I like safe, familiar things as much as you do. But we need to ask ourselves if we really are “safe” with lulling ourselves to sleep with mediocrity in our lives and the life of the church. No, we do not need to change for the sake of change. What I am writing about is the attitude that is too often a part of the life of the church that resists change because it is just that- change. I am sure you have heard the “seven last words of the church” – “We’ve Never Done It This Way Before.”

Thirdly, “backsliding” is not normal. There are many believers who have come to think that “backsliding” is a normal part of the Christian life. I challenge that thinking. It is almost as if the average Christian accepts “backsliding” as part and parcel of being born again.

Forthly, I am deeply disturbed by the way Christians treat each other. After 20 years in the pastorate, I am convinced that the church would be a better place to minister in if Christians were more polite to each other. Good interpersonal relationships are vitally important to the life and health of the local church.

Fifthly, Christians need to be more concerned about others than themselves. Phillipians 2:3-4. I am concerned with the growing trend of Christians who are “self” conscious. There seems to be a pre-occupation with the self that pushes others out of our lives. This is manifested in various manners. For example, the popular movement “to feel good about yourself” is broadening its influence and tightening its grip. I don’t like it. The purpose of each believer is to exercise his spiritual gifts for the betterment of the body.

Am I over-reacting? I think not. Christians have got to stop feeling sorry for themselves and get on with the business of holiness and growth in Christ. I have become increasingly disturbed with those who suggest that we must be “whole” ourselves before we can minister to others. I suggest that we worry less about ourselves and think about others.

My main target is the heart of the believer in Jesus Christ. My pastor’s heart experiences a dull pain (metaphorically speaking) as I live and work with Christians struggling to move forward in their Christian lives. I ache in my soul for Christians who do not know the joy of having peace with God as a regular, daily, normal part of life. So many believers have settled for a life of turmoil and confusion, and this causes me to weep. May God use these writings to cause the believing Christian who reads it to seek change in his or her life.

The Christ of Christmas

Wonderful Counselor!, Mighty God!, Everlasting Father!, Prince of Peace!.

What a wonderful Savior we have! He came to “Save his people from their sins…”;  he came to redeem us and give us the assurance that we can have peace with God!  Isaiah’s prophesies (Chap. 7 &9) bring us to the point of worship when we think of the magnificent God we have. Or rather the magnificent God who has us!

Christmas time is a time to reflect on the Savior, who humbled himself to come to us, and experience all that we experience in this life. It is comforting to know that Jesus truly knows our every trouble. He responds to us as all of the majestic names imply. He is there to speak to our hearts, when we feel there is no one who understands (Wonderful Counselor). He reminds us everyday (if we open our hearts and minds to him) that He is in control as the “Mighty God”.   I read a small poster today in someone’s office that said “God Morning, this is God. I will be handling all your problems today. I don’t need help. Relax and enjoy your day.” Our Jesus is the “Mighty God.”

We also are reminded by Isaiah that we have a loving, caring Father who provides eternal life for “those He came to save”…. He is our “Everlasting Father.  But in addition to all of these descriptions we see Jesus as our “Prince of Peace” – He is the only way to true and lasting peace, both personally and for the world.

We worship Jesus Christ, our mighty Savior at this Christmas time. We praise Him, and rejoice with all the angels in heaven at his choice in coming to perfectly represent the Father to man, and to perfectly represent man to the Father!

Here is a link to my sermon on Isaiah 9:6 the “Prince of Peace”

What to do about all those pesky sinners in our churches…

OK,  the Church has people in it who sometimes sin and do damage to the body..

In response to being told of a certain sinful behavior he observed, this is what I wrote to my beloved brother:

Dear Brother….
I am very pleased that you feel comfortable enough with me that you are willing to share some of your thoughts.

Now, following Matthew 5 and 18, if you confront the person and if the person stops doing/saying stupid, sinful things, then the issue is over and should not be repeated. However, if the person continues to live in disobedience by acting the part of the “fool” that “says whatever is on his heart”, then the next step of discipline comes into play, specifically, one or two others should plead with the sinner to stop, and repent. Eventually if that does not work than you “take it to the church”… and in our setup, that means the Eldership gets involved and seeks to resolve any outstanding sinful behavior by prayer and gentle persuasion so the person can be reclaimed.

One thing that is definitely not the best approach is for the person who sees another person sinning, or hears a person speak sinfully,… is to come to the Pastor or Leadership with a report of a sin without first challenging that person to not do that. In the case you mentioned, the best approach would be that since the person was “spoken to” and given an alternative suggestion, (and did not ‘carry on”), then it is over and done.

So, the bottom line is that everyone who comes to our church and and is a part of the body (which you and… are) should be personally responsible to say something to anyone (including me or any other leader), if they say something stupid.

I hope the above lets you know how much I love you and want you to know that I am training all our church family to think and approach problems Biblically.

In Christ,
Pastor H

The Power of Christ in your life.

In preaching through the Gospel of Mark,  I came to chapter 5:1-20, the person possessed by demons and delivered by Christ.  Rather than concentrating on the demon part, I choose to concentrate on the power of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver us from Satanic power and control.  Without Christ living in you (Col. 1:17) you have no protection from those spiritual forces that C.S. Lewis so cleverly described in Screwtape Letters. When you trust in Christ, 1 John tells us “greater is the One in you than the one in the world” (meaning, Christ lives in us and Satan has no power over us). Thus we have the promise of our Savior, that He will deliver us from that type of bondage. Of course, we can choose to jump into that type of bondage … the kind of things that we all face as human beings, the habits and addictions that come us so easily. In saying that, we know we have a choice in the matter. We can choose to follow our Savior, or choose to follow our own sinful desires.

In the case of the man in this passage, we find that when he was delivered, he wanted to join the band of disciples and be near Christ. But our Lord told him to stay put, and tell the people of that entire region the ‘great things the Lord has done for you” (NKJV). We can draw numerous applications for this, the least of which is that we need to testify to the greatness of God in delivering us from the power of  Satan to control us.  And to say this humbly, we need to recognize the weakness in our own lives as being able to “no” to those things that we know are evil.

One last observation, the demons recognized Jesus as “the Son of the Most High God” (Hebrew name: El Elyon). This is very significant, in that we learn to the true identity of Christ early in the Gospel! He is God in the flesh. One can only imagine the impact that must have had on the disciples.  And for us, the impact is that when we think of who is that “lives in us”  (Col. 1:17 “Christ in you the hope of glory”), we should immediately worship and praise Him. He has delivered us from Satan, our selves, and from the power of  sin. What a wonderful Savior we have!

Communion

Communion… a participation with Christ.

1 Cor 10:16 ¹⁶ Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (1 Co 10:15-16). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

The emphasis I want to place on this text is first of all: 1. Christ’s participation with us; and 2. Our Participation with Christ (in the “cup” and “bread” of communion.)

Through-out the entire ministry of Jesus here on this earth with his disciples he made it very clear that HE was participating with us in our humanity! In every aspect of our lives, He was there to experience our joys and sorrows and even death itself.    In Hebrews 4:15-16 we find:

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Heb 4:15-16). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Jesus knows all about our human suffering and intimately knows his own as a shepherd knows his sheep. Jesus experienced the sadness of losing a friend to death… he sympathizes with us as well. Jesus experienced the greatest temptations (Matt. 4) that all of us experience in kind. Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses. He sees us fail… and loves us still. He truly participated in our human experience… and still to this moment participates with you in the struggles that you and I face.

The second thing to see is that this passage (I Cor. 10:16) talks about our participation with Him! Partaking of the cup and the bread in the service of Communion is not just a remembering of what Jesus did for us. It is an actual, act of our will to participate with Him in the ongoing life of the child of God. By this I mean that we live our lives with a conscious awareness that our Lord Jesus Christ is right here with us as we seek to face the challenges of daily life in a broken world.

The meaning of this “particiption of the body/blood” of Christ is emphasizing the reality of the living Christ’s presence in our daily experience. And the Communion Service is one way to be reminded of that fact. When we partake of the elements of the “Lord’s Supper,” we are declaring that Christ is MY savior and Lord, and I recognize that there is a ‘higher calling’ on my life. Paul said it this way – ‘you are not your own, you are bought with a price’… and that price is the precious body and blood of the Savior!

An end note on this is that when we partake together, we realize that is more than simply the physical crucifixion (burial and resurrection) of Christ that we are talking about, it is a daily, moment-by-moment experience of knowing in our hearts that the Lord is near, and we can live confident expectant lives, because not only does He participate in our lives… we participate in His!

Prayer in general

We come to God in prayer and look at it as an offering to Him. We offer up to him “a sweet smelling sacrifice”  by yielding to Him in total dependence.  I believe that is the key for a satisfying prayer life: prayer is not a painful duty, but a willing submission to God’s will for my life. It is a recognition that I am totally dependent on my Heavenly Father to listen to my heart cry, and also realize that without Him I am lost.

Sometimes we have moments of desperation. We remember those fleeting moments when we feel like stopping the car and getting out and falling down on the ground and worshiping our Savior, and envision ourselves lost in prayer and praise. In our real world, that probably would not be the best thing to do… but at our earliest convenience we should do that in a safe environment.  In the mean time, we can humble ourselves wherever we are and whatever we are doing, and call out to Him who loves us… entering the throne-room in a blink of a tearful eye – driving, working… whatever.

We are desperate for that time of communion with God… and we find our souls filled with satisfaction in God (to borrow John Piper’s language). We are truly happy, as only a child of God can be happy being in the presence of God’s ‘one and only Son.’  Our desperation turns to relief and we are refreshed, sometimes in a brief moment, sometimes after an hour on our knees.

I believe this is the ‘end’ or goal for the believer and prayer. To have our hearts so moved by knowing we have been in His holy presence, that we are ‘terrified’ (in the sense of a full realization of Who it is we are talking to)… and relieved that he has not treated us ‘according to our sins’ (Psm 103), but loves us so much that he delights in our presence!

This concept of God ‘delighting in our presence’ is something that most believers do not ‘get’. In fact it is only that last number of years that I have begun to understand the full meaning of that concept. (I give credit to Dr. Piper again,) How could it possibly be that God would love me even though I am falling so very short of His glory… and yet He does love me… and this causes us to desperately seek communion with Him in prayer.

This is not meant to be a ‘systematic’ on the subject of prayer, but a ‘starting point’ for me, (and hopefully for whoever reads this.) It is my prayer that you will have those ‘desperate’ moments… and so you too will find full satisfaction in our God.

test – linking