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Friday, August 28, 2009

"This Is My Beloved Son, Hear Him" (Father)

"I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word." (Psalm 138:2)

Of course, this is how we know The Blessed Trinity, "
Your Name and Your Word," Jesus Christ, "for whom every family in heaven and on earth is named."  But be very certain that without His Word, we would have no understanding of His Name.  The revelation of the Living Triune God has come to man in Jesus Christ--- "the Word [Who] became flesh and dwelt among us."  Names of God in the Bible find their meaning only in Jesus Christ.  It has become trendy in certain circles to talk of these names, but they are meaningless apart from Jesus Christ, for their definition, no matter how knowledgeable someone may be of Hebrew, is not in words, but in The Word Himself revealed in the Scriptures, Jesus Christ. 

I am quite concerned with the pop worship, prophetic prayer, and catch phrases which have emerged in some circles in recent years.  It is as though there is an insatiable desire for some new expression, some daily deep insight.  There is a spirit in much of the American church which manifests itself in, "We have to keep changing things or people will lose interest."  In reality this spirit is attempting to delve into things of which the psalmist said are, "
too incomprehensible for me." 

There is no greater, "new," or, "deep," than Jesus and His Words, the Bible. You can hear with great frequency today many people quoting some famous church leader with more awe than the "
God-Breathed" Word.  This is dangerous.  The Blessed Trinity does not exalt some insight of a man or woman above "all things."  Our text is quite clear.  "You have exalted above all things your name and your word," which is none else and none other than Jesus Christ.  Thus says Father, "Be quiet, Church-- 'Hear Him!'"

Father, in Jesus' Name, since You "
have exalted above all things your name and your word," that's what I want to do.  Amen.
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*     I will preaching in the CCE meetings over the weekend of September      12 and 13.
*     You are not "well read" until you go to:
     www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com

"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

Thursday, August 27, 2009

America, Guilty of Misplaced Fear

"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.  But I will show you whom you should fear...." (Luke 12:4-5a)
 
People are fearful of many things today, but there is little fear of what Jesus goes on to say, "....him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell."  After September 11, 2001, Americans were afraid to get on planes.  I was on my way to Israel just five days after that invasion on American soil, and the plane I was on from Pittsburgh had only one other person on it.  There is still much fear of so many things in the world today.  But according to our text, that fear is misplaced.  
 
Modern evangelicals and charismatics love to proclaim John 3:16, but they are very selective in their exegesis.  God gave us Himself in Jesus Christ, "that whoever believes in [Jesusshall not perish but have eternal life."  The "salesman" method today, however, is to emphasis only the, "eternal life," no mention of the, "perish," option.  But as in other promises of The Godhead, we have here, at the same time, promise and warning.  The promise?--- "eternal life."  The warning?---- "perish," more accurately, be "destroyed fully."
 
I really believe some people think that those of us in the Church who proclaim the "full gospel," such as the Luke and John texts, have some sort of mean streak in us.  Either we don't really love people or have just never dealt with our "issues."  I was preaching in a meeting of Covenant Church of Pittsburgh back in the late 1980's.  After the service a young man, who was not a regular part of the congregation, came up to me and asked me if I had a good relationship with my father.  He was quite clear that my preaching revealed some "unresolved issues."  The young man was obviously a person who had contrived his own "gospel."  He wanted "eternal life," but would have none of that, "perish" stuff. 
 
Jeremiah 32:40 says, "And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good...."  But there's more. "And I will put the fear of Me in their hearts, so that they will not turn away from Me."  Here is what Peter called, "exceeding great and precious promises," in the clear "promise and warning" theology of the Bible.  Anyone who walks in the "fear of Me...will not turn away from Me"--------------------- Best guarantee I know against backsliding.
 
Father, in Jesus' Name, "put the fear of [You] in [my heart] so that [I] will not turn away from [You]."  Amen.
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"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

"Better"

"....By so much more Jesus has become a surety (guarantee) of a better covenant." (Hebrews 7:22)

"....
so much more Jesus...."--- theme of the Bible, theme of the ages, theme of the Universe.  "....By so much more Jesus...."--- the Good News which Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and so many others enslaved by the false gods of this world are discovering more and more in these last days-- "by so much more Jesus has become a surety (guarantee) of a better covenant."

But "
so much more" than what?  The Covenant with the Jews was a Covenant which pointed them to Jesus Christ.  Jesus did not replace that Covenant; He fulfilled it.  "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day," Jesus said, "and He saw it and was glad." Isaiah spoke of the "Guarantee of a better...covenant" when he spoke of "Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
."  All believing Old Testament saints new "the better" was coming.  The Hebrew writer referred to Jesus as "so much better than the
angels
-- a better hope-- He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises."  And when the Holy Spirit says that all the faithful Old Covenant Saints, "having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise," He says the reason was that "God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us."

Make no mistake; the New Covenant is not a "replacement" covenant.  It is just "
a better covenant," better because the "first covenant" is fulfilled in "the new."  The Church did not replace Israel or the Jews any more than the Church or the Gospel "replaced" any other people group.  How would you like to live with the possibility that you could be replaced?!?  God "loved the world" and gave Himself for the world in Jesus Christ.  A person is only "replaced" when he re-places himself outside of Jesus Christ. 

Stay, continue, "
abide in" Jesus Christ and His "surety of a better covenant."  As we do, we have His "better promises,"-- "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages.  [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.]  And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that You are Better and always have Better for whatever I can come up with.  Amen.
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New, great articles at:          www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com


"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Where Is Your Delight?

"I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word."
(Psalm 119:16-NIV)
 
One could say, "Because 'I delight in your decrees[,] I will not neglect your word.'"  One of the meanings of the Hebrew word for, "delight," in our text is, "to fondle."  Does the modern church have this "delight" in the "God-Breathed" Word?   
 
Let me reiterate.  The Word of God is not a book.  The Word of God is a Person, the Person of the Living King and Savior Jesus Christ.  The Book is the revelation of the Person.  Stop asking, "What would Jesus do?" and start asking, "What does Jesus say?"  When we will know "everything(word) that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD," then, we will know what to do.  Frankly, many people who ask, "What would Jesus do?" cannot handle what Jesus is doing in the earth. 
 
Our text reveals the intimate relationship a Believer in the Living Triune God has with and in the Word of God.  A lot of people say good things, very good things about "The Word of God."  Yet few read The Word; even fewer read daily; and even fewer have ever read the entire "God-Breathed" Word.  Reality check- What I do is my "delight," not what I sayAccording to our text, if I really do "delight in [Father's] decrees," I make His Word my daily priority.  I will do nothing if I neglect His Word and I will say nothing if I neglect His Word, because if the Word of God is not my daily "delight," what I say and do is meaningless. 
 
I assert that the root meaning of, " Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart," is not some jumping around, clapping, hand waving, gushy feeling kind of delight.  It is, "I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your Word."   
 
Father, in Jesus' Name, You see my heart.  May I have this written there.  Amen.
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News, Commentary:    www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com
 
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

Monday, August 24, 2009

"Tell It to the Church"

"And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church." (Mt. 18:17)

Notice, it is not, "tell it to the pastor and the elder board."  No, the Church is not a rabble.  The Church has always been presided over by "ordained" leadership, "
bishops and deacons," also, "elders," and, "apostles."  But Jesus does not mention them in our text.  He just says, "Tell it to the church." 

The Bible says of the Church, "
So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another." I am "of" you and you are "of" me and together we are "of" all who obey Jesus Christ as one Body in Christ, the Church.  To be a member "of" the Church means to be "individually members of one another."  This Church, functioning in our text, is an awesome responsibility and loving privilege.  Now I am a firm believer in authority in the Church, and the "chain of command," but so few individuals see the "Bride of Christ" as a living organism, the physical manifestation of Jesus Christ in the earth, the Body of Christ of which they are an intricate and "needed" member.  The prevailing attitude is, "Oh, that's the pastor's job."  Maybe that's why so many just quit. 

Our text is so infrequently (almost never) practiced because most people just want to run their own lives and simply use the local church as a blessing factory instead of Jesus' Bride, a part of whom we are servants.  A study of the Bible and Church History, and our text in particular, reveals that the church is far more than a meeting place of people with common beliefs.  Many of the sins done in the Name of Christ by the church over the centuries were perpetrated because the "average" members just surrendered their privilege and responsibility to others.  But "
the Head of the Church," Jesus, is quite clear.  "Tell it to the church"---- defined in Hebrews as, "the general assembly," or, as the NLT puts it, "the assembly of God's firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven."

One can only speculate as to how many problems, not only in the Church, but also in nations, could be dealt with if "
the church" took her rightful privilege, place, and responsibility in society.  If we obeyed, "tell it to the church," maybe so many in "the church" would not be telling it to the courts and the government.

Father, in Jesus' Name, give me new insight into Your Church.  Amen.
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News, Commentary:          www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com

"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

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