Follow and Followed

Jesus tells people very pointedly “Follow me” (cf Matt 4:19, 16:24-26, John 21:22).  It is of eternal importance that we can say along with the childhood song “I have decided to follow Jesus. Not turning back, no turning back.” Its indeed a heart check to ask ourselves if we are only being religious or truly following Jesus. And yet even greater and more astounding than this (it even sounds bizarre to our ears!) in discerning our heart relationship to Christ is to ask “Is Jesus following you?”

            Now on the surface this sounds almost heretical. “God the Son follow me?! No, I’m the servant and I follow Jesus!”  As off putting as this may sound, it is indeed true. Consider with me the event in Matthew 9 where Jairus approaches Jesus about his daughter’s death. “While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live.” (Matthew 9:8) Then wonder of wonders we read this next: “So Jesus got up and followed him…” (vs 9)

Jairus was a man of powerful influence being a synagogue leader. People in town would listen and often do what he asked. Is this the case here? Was it a man of prestige using his position of authority to boss Jesus around? Not in the slightest. Again, Jairus came in and ‘knelt before Him” showing his humility and desperate need of Jesus. The text then surprisingly says Jesus “followed him.” In other places, Jesus would say ‘bring the boy to me” (Mark 9:19) or the crowds would flock to see the place where Jesus was. But here Jesus follows Jairus. Previously Jesus had just commanded Matthew to follow him. So Matthew “arose and followed him.” (Matt 9:9) What was it about Jairus that moved Jesus to get up and ‘follow him’? Jesus could have healed from a distance (see Matt 15:28) but instead Jesus follows Jairus.

Sure the girl’s body was in another location and sure regarding Jesus’ humanity He may not have ‘known’ where they lived. But textually it’s more than that and it’s something that should give us great encouragement about who our Lord is.

Let’s look at the broader context to clue us in. Previously, Jesus called Matthew to follow Him and soon after Jesus is eating and fellowshipping with all of Matthew’s outcast crowd. The Pharisees noticed this and complained about Jesus “eating with tax collectors and sinners.” (vs 12) Jesus issues a stern warning and challenge: “Go and learn what THIS means: I desire MERCY and not sacrifice.” Why did Jesus eat with these rogues? Because He IS a God of mercy.

Next story: Fasting (vs 14-17). Jesus’ disciples don’t fast now because it is a time of celebration that the God of mercy is with them. He’s not turned them away but brings joy to sinners in His own Person. Others who love tradition and various regulations over the God of mercy will find no occasion for rejoicing while He is there with them.

Further, note the event that happens along with Jesus going to Jairus’ home: the woman with the issue of blood. She touches Jesus’ garment because she believes He can and WILL heal her. She believes Jesus is that merciful.

The following story: the blind men on the roadside. (vv 27-3) What is their cry? “Son of David, have MERCY on us.” (vs 27) And how does Jesus respond? He asks them if they believe “He is able to do this?” They say “yes” and Jesus heals them based on their faith in Him. Now they believed He had power, but the basis of their appeal was to Jesus’ mercy. (vs 27)

Here’s the point: Jesus is merciful. It’s only when you see Him as filled with mercy that you and I will call out to Him in BELIEVING prayer. Jesus’ commendation of the faith of the people in the stories is not about them having great generic faith. Unfortunately, this generic definition of faith or believing is often what is urged upon Christians to have more of. I don’t know of any Christian who doesn’t want more ‘faith’.  But seeking to have more faith will never arrive if we are just pursuing ‘more faith.’ Something must feed it and grow it. And what we see in this text is the thing which solidified their faith: Jesus indeed was able but He was also merciful.

We can believe all day that God has incredible power. The heavens and the earth show His unfathomable power. But what good does this do for our faith if it is divorced from seeing this same Holy God in relation to a bunch of sinners if He is not full of mercy? We will run from such raw power and holiness. It is His mercy that gets our attention. And note(!) it is our belief in His mercy that gets His attention!!  Why did Jesus follow Jairus? Because Jairus trusted the powerful, merciful Jesus to raise His daughter. Now when you get the Creator’s attention to get up and follow you that’s saying something.

Here’s a final word of encouragement. We follow Jesus. That’s our calling. When we truly see and delight in who He is we will grow in our faith. It will happen automatically. And when we see Jesus as the Merciful Jesus our faith will shine, plead with Him, and delight in Him. When you pray, pray because He is merciful. (See Hebrews 2:17) Don’t wait until you get all those sins fixed in your life. Don’t wait until you learn to pray the right way. Don’t wait till you get more religiously devoted. Come to Jesus and bask in His overflowing mercy in His blood stained cross. It’s what He delights in! It’s when you appeal to His mercy in your following of Him that you get His undivided attention. And you will find out when you pray to Him who ‘desires mercy’ (vs 13) that He will soon follow you to the place where you need Him to answer prayer. Blessed be His merciful Name!

A Biblical View of Evangelism

           Christianity has always emphasized the need for believers to share the gospel. Countless ideas of how to do this have been emphasized through the millennia of the church. Some have heralded the gospel in the marketplace, some have shared with individuals, some share through the weekly preaching of the word, some through service projects and on and on it goes. But regardless of the avenues of how the gospel has been shared, personal evangelistic endeavors have fallen on hard times. Some Christians share, however most do not evangelize at all. Although there are various reasons for this, two of the main factors for this are the professional delegation mindset and revivalism.

First, the professional delegation view is in much of modern evangelicalism. The staff member, whether the sole pastor of the church or an outreach specialist, is tasked with doing the work on behalf of the church. Search the internet for job descriptions for a pastor. He would need 80 plus hours a week to fulfill the business criteria laid out in a typical job description. He’s to do sermon prep (often for 2-3 messages a week), business meetings, be the face of the church on civic issues, weddings, funerals, visiting all members, emergency needs, budget planning, vision planning, theological study (is there even any time for this?!), and let’s not forget be the town evangelist.

What does the church do? They come and listen on Sunday morning while the deacons are there to make sure the pastor or other staff member has been all things to all people in all places at all times. Again, what have the members done? Much of nothing magisterially wise. They’ve certainly not shared the gospel with anyone in the previous week. But they did show up to service, listen, give a little money, and then leave out to their favorite Sunday restaurant. The church completed its mission for the week because they were able to once again fund their church representative the same way a congressman who works on behalf of the citizens. The church did its work in and through the hireling. The hired professional shared but the members didn’t. The hireling was all things to all people but most of the individuals of the church were not.

            What is this? It’s unbiblical is what it is. It is modern business practice that has taken over the function of the church instead of an ‘every member a minister’ mindset of Ephesians 4:11ff. The result has been evangelistically (among other things) disastrous for the church. Members hide behind the profession hireling as if the church overall is evangelistic. “We are doing something via the professional. We picked a good hire for this job.”  Members now have a “Get out of jail free” card to rest on the excuses of I’m scared, I don’t know what to say, I’m not good at it, I don’t have time, our Church (via the paid professional) is doing something, what if people get upset about me sharing?, etc. so that they don’t sense the urgency to witness. This mindset needs repented of and prospective pastors need to call the churches to a reality checks on this professional surrogate mindset.  In short what has happened is that the Great commission mandate that is intended for every believer is now off loaded onto the professional hire. All the evangelistic mandate backpacks are taken off the members and thrown on the hirelings back. Pastors or others who accept this mindset are doing a great disservice to the church. They should set Biblical expectations up front. If the members are not sharing the gospel, then the Church is not faithful regardless of how much the paid professional is evangelizing.

            Second, the influence of revivalism has in many ways had a bad effect on personal evangelism. What is revivalism? It’s the evangelistic revival type services where the target is only lost people, the traveling evangelist who does a series of meetings for the local church, the camp meetings, the youth summer camps where the speaker shares the gospel in every session, etc.

How has revivalism hurt personal evangelism? One way as noted above is that only the professional evangelist can hold gospel meetings and rightfully share the gospel, therefore the members don’t have to because again it was outsourced to the professional, etc. But this is not the point I want to emphasize here. Revivalism has hurt modern evangelism because of its reductionistic view of sharing the gospel. It is true in what it says about why we share the gospel, but it’s not the whole truth of what Scripture teaches. And anytime we have a truncated view of something it will have unintended (and often unwanted) consequences.  And what is the truncated view of revivalism? Revivalism has emphasized that we really only share the gospel to see people saved. Well, what is wrong with that you may say? First, it is spot on that we share the gospel so that the lost will be saved. However, this is not the FULL biblical view.

Let’s assume that this is the only aspect of sharing the gospel: what’s the effect on evangelism?  Well, it’s the very thing we see today in modern evangelicalism. People won’t share for fear of saying the wrong thing. “What if I don’t get it exactly right? What if people don’t believe because of what I did or did not say?”  The result: people don’t share because revivalism has had said the only valid motive for witnessing is seeing the lost saved. “I’ve shared and people don’t get saved. I’m doing something wrong or God is not wanting to use me, therefore I don’t share anymore.” This unbalanced view of gospel proclamation from revivalism has helped reduce the number of folks in church who witness.

So what’s missing? A God centered approach to evangelism. We share because God’s glory in His plan for the ages is at stake. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified regardless of the response of people. One of the biggest faults in modern evangelistic thinking is it is very much geared to ‘response’ activity. But Scripture grounds our evangelism in the Triune God revealed in Christ and Him crucified. Our sharing is way more than just wanting lost people to get saved.  Our evangelism is used by God, not to just see people saved, but to bring a judgement basis against those who refuse to believe. Over and over in Scripture we see that the proclamation of God’s word leads to salvation AND judgment!  Isaiah was told to preach until the people were hardened so that God would then judge them and burn them down to a remnant stump in Isaiah 6. (How’s that for motivating your church on why the need to share the gospel?! It was God’s inspired motivation to Isaiah which he gladly took up.) The majority died under judgement from Isaiah’s evangelistic preaching. But he was successful in God’s eyes. Jeremiah was the same (Jer 1:18). Jesus told then present Jerusalem what would happen to them (Matt 13:13).  Their destruction in 70 AD was them ‘filling up their sin’ to judgement (Matt 23:32). What was the basis of this? Jesus preaching to them the gospel of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15). The examples of this are so many it would take a book to write out.

What’s the point? The issue is that the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles preached the gospel. Yes, it was to see people saved but over and above that was the mission to exalt the Lord in His plan for the ages: judging unbelief and saving sinners by grace to put His glory on display. A myopic view of sharing the gospel will tempt you to quit when you are not good at it or see repeated rejection. But having a God-centered, God-justifying-His-actions theology via sharing the gospel will fuel you to proclaim His majesty in the gospel whether God graciously saves them or in righteousness God burns the wicked to the ground from rejecting His terms of peace. Either way, God is magnified. And that’s the reason to share the gospel. Not their response. Not how good you are at the task. Not if you are good at convincing others or not. But that Christ would be lifted up and God will handle the results for His glory. That’s a Biblical evangelism that lasts through every encounter. So let us share the gospel with all. There is no need to stumble on how people may or may not respond. Our goal is to exalt Christ and that happens every time we share the gospel. We share and God determines the results. That’s freedom in sharing because Christ is kept at the center, no man’s response.

Stumbling Blocks

Jesus came to save sinners. He was concerned about men’s faith of whether they believed (and kept believing) in Him or not. In Matthew 18:1-6 He talks about humble faith using a believing child (vs 6) as an example of what everyone’s faith should look like. Jesus expressed great warning about anyone causing one of these ‘little ones who believe in me to sin’ (vs 6). In the following sections, I want to point out that this is a partially bad translation that makes you miss Jesus’ connections in the whole surrounding sections of the text. ‘To sin’ in vs 6 is literally ‘to cause to stumble.’ This means we cause someone to get tripped up over something. Jesus’ loving concern is that His children are not made to trip and stumble over things leading them to fall into sinful temptation. It’s important to note that Jesus does not say that the stumbling issue in and of itself is bad. Read that last sentence again. It’s key.

            He says whatever the issue is be careful because it COULD lead to someone falling into temptation (18:7).  His concern is that these stumbling issues prevent people from ‘turning to Him (vs 3), humbling themselves (vs 4), and believing in Him (vs 6)’.  

Jesus Himself goes the extra mile to guard against putting a stumbling issue before people so that they will find life in Him. In the previous section in the preceding chapter, Peter is confronted by the tax collectors whether he and Jesus paid the tax. He immediately said ‘yes’ to apparently avoid any trouble from the authorities. (side note: It seems Peter as usual had a knee jerk reaction. No evidence suggests Peter had talked to the Lord about this previously. The following conversation seems to suggest Peter didn’t know Jesus’ stance on it.) After Peter goes back to Jesus, Jesus engages Peter over the tax issue because He divinely heard the conversation of Peter and the tax collectors (17:24-25). Jesus said because He is the Son of the Father and He has made His disciples ‘children of God’ that they are therefore exempt from paying the temple tax of their Heavenly Father’s house. Jesus and His followers have a right to NOT pay the Temple tax. But then Jesus goes the extra mile: “but that we may not cause them to stumble…” (17:27). Some English translations say “offend, give offense”. This captures the idea but the intertextual connection of 17:27 with 18:6,7,8, and 9 is lost. The words “give offense, temptations to sin, to sin” is the same Greek wording for “cause to stumble, stumbling blocks.”

            Again, Jesus’ concern is about anything that would cause someone to get tripped up over coming to saving faith and continued faith in Him. Jesus had a right to NOT pay the temple tax. But He pays it for the benefit of the tax collectors not to stumble over Jesus refusing to pay the tax and thereby making the taxmen’s job easier. Jesus saw it as an unnecessary right to hold onto FOR THE SAKE OF others eternal welfare. It was not a sin for Jesus to pay the tax. It just wasn’t required. Isn’t this Philippians 2:1-11 in action? Further, Jesus warns about causing others and your own self to stumble in Matthew 18:1-9. Why? Because “it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish” (18:14).  These little ones are the ones who ‘believe in Jesus’ (18:6).

            For years I read Matthew 18:10-14 differently. First, I read it as reflecting a general disposition of God to save sinners. Then I saw it more specifically as God’s desire to save His elect. But now seeing it in context, I think I see it in a better light. The searching for the lost sheep is in the context of one of these little ones having been made to stumble. While 17:24-18:9 is about Jesus’ good example and our responsibility to not cause others and ourselves not to stumble so everyone will persevere in faith in Jesus, 18:10-14 is the other side of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints: God’s sovereign preservation of His sheep. Even if one of His little lambs stumbles, if they are truly His sheep, their ultimate guarantee of them continuing in the faith is that the Great Loving, Sovereign Shepherd will do whatever it takes (leave the 99 other sheep-vs 12) to restore His little sheep that has temporarily stumbled so that it will not eternally stumble unto perdition (18:9). Jesus and all of heaven are happy when one who has stumbled has been returned to fellowship with the Shepherd and his fellow sheep (18:13).

            There is a stumbling that has temporal effects and there is a stumbling that has eternal effects. Jesus is Sovereign but He works through means. He shows how not to cause others to stumble by His own example. He warns us from causing others and ourselves to stumble. It can have everlasting consequences. The warning will turn us from stumbling issues so that we and others continue in faith in Christ. What issues cause temporal versus eternal stumbling? Jesus doesn’t tell us and that’s because any and all temporal stumbling could lead us and others to eternal stumbling. The difference will be both of us turning from causing stumbling blocks and more importantly Jesus Himself bringing us back from stumbling. Who are the true sheep? Those who persevere in faith show they are His by not stumbling and losing faith. The continuing in faith is evidence that we truly are His sheep. The restoration from stumbling also shows that Jesus has come for you to turn you back to Himself once again. He will not lose one of His sheep.

So what can learn from this?

1. The Heart of Jesus –
   1.  Here is One who loves His children and also hates sin. He hates sin for what it is and also for what it does to His children: it causes them to stumble.  Do you and I hate sin because of what it does to us and others in making us/others stumble away from Jesus? May we love Him who loved us by hating stumbling blocks.
2. 1. Here is One who lays down any and all rights without sinning to win men over to His love for them. It was a right of Jesus that He didn’t have to pay the temple tax. It was greater love shining forth to pay it for the sake of the tax collectors to help them come to saving faith so as not to stumble over the situation. Here is love and compassion on display in our Redeemer. What rights are you willing to give up so that others are not caused to stumble? If Christ had not set aside His rights, no man would be saved. What are you willing to give up that others may be saved?     
      1. Philippians 2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,^[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be held onto for an advantage,^[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,^[c] being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
3. Stumbling blocks are real. May we by Divine grace see them for what they are and remove them from our lives and out of the way of others so that the path to Jesus is wide open for any who wish to come and continue in faith. Is holding to your rights worth hindering others from coming to know the Lord and them persevering in faith? As Paul says, God forbid!

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God

Matthew 16:13-20 is the Caesarea Confession of where Peter confesses Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (vs 16). Much debate has surrounded what Jesus said next: “You are Peter (Greek: Petros) and upon this rock (Greek: Petra) I will build my church” (vs 17). What did Jesus mean by this statement? There are several views of this text and each one has important implications for how we see the church, who Christ is, and the missionary enterprise.

• Was Jesus saying the Peter was going to be the chief leader of the entire church? This is the view of the Catholic church whereby Peter is here recognized as the first Pope or “father” of the church. What’s the evidence for this? The Greek is in the singular “you” in vs 18 and more importantly in vs 19 where Jesus says to Peter “I will give YOU the keys of the kingdom…whatever YOU bind on earth shall be bound in heaven…” This seems to be the intention when Jesus is speaking directly to Peter after his confession. Now the issue for the Catholic church is not only to exegetically prove, not just here but throughout scripture, that Peter is the first Pope (Latin meaning “father) of the church. This is an impossible task as we will see. Second, it cannot be assumed that apostolic authority/succession is conferred to other men. This ALSO must be proved exegetically from scripture-it cannot be accepted via fiat declaration such as “The other popes have Peter’s authority because they are connected with him.” This dogmatic assertion must be proven from scripture, which it can’t. Inferences are not exegesis. Another problem with saying Peter himself is the supreme leader of the church is that Peter is rebuked by the Apostle Paul for falling into error (Galatians 2:11-14). Further, Peter pretty much disappears from the scene midway through the book of Acts. The focus stays on Paul. Hardly strong evidence for Peter being the first Pope and most important figure of the early church. Peter’s own life shows he is not infallible and hence not the foundation of the church.
• Was Jesus saying this was about Himself when He spoke to Peter? Other references in scripture call Jesus the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20) and He is called the Rock that followed Israel around in the wilderness (1 Cor 10:4). Further, Peter just made the confession about WHO Jesus is. However, the phrase “this rock” is feminine ruling out that it’s talking about Jesus (obviously masculine) and the speech is directed TO Peter. Note again the play on words in the Greek: Petros and Petra. The speech does have something directed towards Peter, but is it about Peter in and of himself? No, as we saw above.
• Was Jesus saying this about Peter’s confession about who Jesus is (You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God)?  It seems ‘this rock’ is the true confession in connection with Peter. We will see more nuanced thought on this below 

So what is the answer? How do we solve the dilemma? Biblically, how do we keep the Catholic Pope from claiming full apostolic authority and changing church doctrine at whim (as different Popes have done over the centuries) since they beleive he is the foundational rock and supreme authority of the church? More importantly, how do we keep Christ as the center of our thinking when Jesus is talking directly to Peter and saying something specifically to him?

Here is where we must do whole Bible exegesis. What does this mean? Scripture must interpret scripture. If we keep reading the Bible over and over and over, and we put the pieces together we should get a complete picture. Here’s what I think is going on here: Jesus is speaking to and commending Peter ONLY in relation to his true and praiseworthy confession of who Jesus really is. He is not granting authority a la carte to Peter but only in relation to the inspired God given revelation of what Peter said (16:17). This is in seed form to Peter what will then be in the apostles and prophets themselves in the rest of the New Testament. Peter, ONLY on the basis of his confession and as a foreshadowing of what the other apostles and prophets will likewise do, will exercise the keys to the kingdom and build Christ’s church. This same authority will extend to the church itself ONLY in relation to its confession of who Christ is and not on the mere fact that they are a gathered people. (This further needs fleshed out of what the church is but for now we can clearly say it’s only those willing to confess as Peter did here that make up the church…anything else gathering together under the name of a church is a mere social club or religious group-but not the church Jesus is talking about.) In summary: Peter, the apostles and prophets, and also the church will exercise divine authority to extend Christ’s kingdom and build the church to the degree and only on the basis of a true understanding AND proclamation that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” 

So what’s the evidence for the points above?

1. Peter is commended in relation to his confession ONLY and not in his person in and of himself.
   1. Evidence: Read the next section. Peter no sooner confesses who Jesus is, but then turns and rebukes Jesus for as the Christ needing to go die for sinners. What did Jesus say? Well, if Peter was the first Pope and had divine authority (which Catholics claim the Pope has), Jesus would have agreed with Peter and never went to the cross. But Jesus calls Peter “Satan” and tells Peter to “Get behind him” (vs 23). Certainly no equal authority with Christ and for Christ is put forth here. Further, even the Apostle Paul had to rebuke Peter’s living and proclamation that denied the truth of the gospel (See Galatians 2). Peter was not infallible – the true confession was. In short,  Peter was commended when he upheld the truth and rebuked when he didn’t uphold the truth. So when Jesus says to Peter He will build His church upon ‘this rock’, it’s Peter being used by the Lord in relation ONLY to his true confession of the identity of who Christ is. Otherwise, he fails (vs 23). Further, in the Greek text, the feminine antecedent ‘this’ in the phrase ‘this rock’ is simply grammar agreement about the feminine word “Petra” and not of necessity related to Peter himself (though there is a Greek play on words), which would be a masculine antecedent. Again, it could or could not be in explicit reference to Peter. That indeed may be the point. It is ambiguous enough to lead us to look at the text overall. Peter has no authority in and of himself but only in relation to his understanding and true proclamation of who Jesus is: “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Christ rebuking his is false understanding of Jesus is further evidence for this. His true confession and this alone allows Peter to help build Christ’s church.
2. This is statement to Peter is in seed form to what Jesus will communicate and say to the other apostles and prophets.
   1. Point: what Jesus says to Peter in relation to the confession is extended to the other apostles and prophets. Evidence for this is in vs 20. Upon the apostles hearing the exchange between Christ and Peter, Jesus “charged the disciples (plural) to tell no one that he was the Christ.” How does this support the idea that the others are included in relation to the true confession that Peter made? Because they all heard and been instructed that what Peter was given in his confession was divine revelation given by God Himself (vs 17) and that Peter’s rebuke of Jesus going to the cross was Satanic in origin (vs 23). They too will have the same commendation and authority to build the church because the task is built on the divine revelation of who Christ is and not in and of themselves. Jesus told them not to spread this reality of His identity that they now know due to Jesus and Peter’s exchange. This implies that they TOO will be CONFESSING and PROCLAIMING the same divinely inspired revelation of who Jesus is at a later date. And it also means that they will NOT proclaim a non-crucifed-for-sinners Christ that Peter was rebuked for articulating. They have instruction of what TO proclaim and what NOT to proclaim. If this was ONLY for Peter, then Jesus’ instruction in vs 20 to the disciples (plural) wouldn’t make sense. The implication is that since Jesus forbade the rest of the disciples along with Peter about not spreading his identity at that time means that they too carry the same authority in building the church of God based on the true proclamation of who Christ is.
3. This authority to build the church extends to the church itself as they also proclaim Peter’s confession.
   1. Evidence: As soon as two chapters away in Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus speaks about church discipline. He makes the same point about divine authority the church has in binding and loosing (18:18) that He previously said was the way the church would grow through Peter’s true confession of who Christ is (16:19).  Peter is told he will bind and loose, and the church will be able to bind and loose also. This section on church discipline relates to the true confession of who Christ is because those in sinfully broken relationships are denying the reality of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Vs 20 says part of the specificity of Christ’s identity is that He is the One who is the Son of the Father (vs 19 – My Father) and the One who is covenantally “WITH them” (vs 20). To restate the evidence, we see Peter has authority to build the church in relation only to his true confession of who Christ is, the church likewise is given the same authority as they also boldly proclaim who Christ is. (18:18)
4. What does this mean for us?
   1. What it doesn’t mean: It doesn’t mean that those who see a special authority inherent in any man, self-proclaimed prophet, Pope, council, etc are on solid ground and ‘blessed’ of the Lord. Just as worse is if they claim this for themselves. It is Satanic (16:23) and a mass delusion for anyone to claim intrinsic authority in any man, system,  leader, or extra revelation outside of Scripture.  There is no authority other than Divine revelation that is given about who Jesus is.
5. 1. What it does mean: You are on equal ground with the greatest saints and apostles of all time IF and ONLY IF you proclaim “Thus says the LORD.” You have as much authority as Scripture if you stick with what Scripture says. You can be used by the Lord to help build the church and kingdom of God. You do not need men’s approval, you do not need marketing techniques (sorry to bust your bubble modern evangelicalism), you do not need special training. You have the true Divine revelation of who Christ is. Him we proclaim and the gates of hell will not prevail, even against you, exalting the blessed Son of God before the eyes of the world.
   1. This confession of who Christ is by Peter is the apex in the gospel narratives. In the gospel of Mark, it starts off identifying Jesus as “the Son of God” (1:1) and ends with the declaration of Jesus as the “Son of God” (15:39). Right in the middle of the gospels, we get the fulcrum of who Jesus really is: “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matt 16:16) It means we have one message about Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God: Christ and Him crucified (See 1 Corinthians 2:2 with Matthew 16:21). Preach Christ. Preach Christ as He is revealed. This will awaken the church. It will also awaken the gates of hell. It will be God’s means of raising the dead to life. It will be the message so that the earth will be filled with knowledge of the glory of YWHW as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). Let it be our dying words. But more importantly, let it be our living words for today and as for as long as it is still called today.  

How God brought revival to Isaiah

How God brought revival to Isaiah

1. Read Isaiah 6:1-9 first.
2. It is important to understand that Isaiah was already a believer and that this pattern is not just a ‘salvation’ pattern, but one of intense spiritual renewal.
3. Vv 1-4.  –  Isaiah sees God in His glory thru divine revelation (today this revelation is captured for us in scripture). More specifically, he sees God in his holiness and exaltation.  
4. Vv 4-5 –   Isaiah, then in response (this is key-that the response comes after seeing God in his exaltation) sees the depth of his sin and moral pollution (and not just brokenness – which seems to vary in meaning in modern evangelicalism) in light of who God is. Sin is never biblically understood in isolation from the character of God. Sin is specifically defined in light of God’s character: for all have sinned and fallen short of “the glory of God”. Romans 3:23  And take note: it only comes after a divine revelation of God. Today, it would be produced by God’s word, the Bible.   
5. Vv 6-7  –  Only after Isaiah sees the depth of his sin before God does God bring relief to him in the gospel. Where is the gospel in these verses? The coal was from the altar of sacrifice where the blood atonement was offered up. This is Christ in gospel shadow who shed his blood on the cross, as the sacrifice who dies in our place, that we can have his saving benefits of escaping God’s wrath due to our sin before a holy God. We can only stand in the presence of God with blood atonement.
6.  vv 8-9 – Revival happens. The missional God calls for a response in light of the gospel freshly applied to Isaiah. His response? It is an exuberant, willing, and immediate yes to the open call.  He has experienced biblical revival.
7. Concluding thoughts:
   1. Revival doesn’t start with me responding, but with God revealing himself to us in his word. A biblical response only happens after a biblical revelation of God and from God to us.
   1. A call to repent will fall short of bringing revival without first God being exalted in the eyes of people. A contextualized preaching of repentance will be in light of the character of God compared to our character before him. A generic call to repent of sin will not move people to long for the gospel but sin that is seen in light of the glory of God will move the soul to long for God’s gospel deliverance.
   1. An isolated preaching of the gospel will not work either to bring about revival. The gospel has to be contextualized as it was for Isaiah. God did not start with the coal from the sacrificial altar. This point cannot be stressed enough.  The gospel in the form of the coal from the altar would never have moved Isaiah to revival. Today, with all the focus on gospel centered preaching, gospel centered teaching, etc., let us make sure it is biblically contextualized. It has to be set in the context of our sin and our sin has to be set in the context of the holiness of God, most often shown through the law of God and God’s revealed wrath against sin. And yes, Isaiah did sense the justice he deserves from the wrath of God even as a believer. Note his words of “woe” which means a pronouncement of just judgement upon himself.
   1.  Isaiah, a believer most often for many years, was revived. He was transformed radically and reawakened to God himself and being on mission with and for God. But it didn’t happen by him having the gospel only applied to him. It didn’t happen by him seeing his sin and the depth of his corruption. It began when God opened Isaiah’s eyes to see who this amazing, triune holy God was. This was the start and the foundation of Isaiah’s revival. The revelation of God’s character in his word to Isaiah opened to Isaiah, a believer, seeing the depth of his sin before God. The realization of the depth of his in led him to cry out to God about his sinful and corrupt state. Isaiah was now prepared for the gospel. It would find fertile soil to take root and bear fruit. He received the gospel upon his lips and was pronounced clean. Then, and only then was Isaiah radically changed by the gospel. Then and only then was Isaiah revived and ready to take on the world for the glory of God!
   2. When evaluating a revivalistic movement, ask if the above content and patterns are in the movement. Let God’s word guide you.

The Asbury Revival of 2023

Some reflections on the revival at Asbury Seminary

Yesterday, Thursday Feb 16^th, I attended the Asbury revival. What I say relates to yesterday and may or may not relate to all of the previous days of the revival.

My overall conclusion: this is NOT revival. This is not to say that there are not some good things happening there nor that the Lord wasn’t doing a great work at the start of these meetings. Again, I’m only referencing my point from being there yesterday. I want to give you the good that I saw there and the things of concern also. In short, it was a very mixed bag of marbles. There was good and concerning things in the meeting together.  So here are my takeaways from my time there yesterday. 

1. The music was very God centered and Christ exalting. Modern Christian hits often seem very amorphous in their theology and vague in what they talk about. Not these songs. The songs celebrated Christ’s victory over death and sin for us. We sung about His exaltation as King of Kings. This was very good!
2. The people were singing to the Lord with great enthusiasm. God was most certainly glorified in the people’s heartfelt singing to Him. The words of the songs glorified God and had great truth in them so the Lord was honored when we were singing great biblical truth back to Him. This was very good.
   1. However, the same ones who sung these great content oriented songs could not seem to discern theological error when various people spoke or when scripture was wrongly explained but instead literally applauded and shouted at everything in an affirming way. I explain more of these concerns thru the letter.  
3. I often would see people praying. The place at front seemed to always have some folks there praying. People in the audience would be seated and praying. This was very good.
   1. The balance seemed to more on singing than praying/repenting, etc. What I’ve read and studied about the great revivals of the past is that there were great times of prayer, and prayer that was soul wrenching over their sin and God’s holiness. This did not seem to be present. Great revivals in the past would see people even outside of the indoor meeting who would be grieving over their sins sometimes weeks at a time until they received gospel relief from God Himself. We were inconvenienced about 30 mins in the rain before we got inside.
4. I and two others guys with me along with many other folks stood out in the rain waiting for an opportunity to go in. Even when we left the service the line was still probably 100 yards long with others waiting for their opportunity to go in, and yes they too were standing in the rain. It seems there is a hunger for people to meet with God in an authentic way. Some have come from Kansas and Canada to meet with God’s people in order to seek to meet with God Himself. It showed people are still willing to do hard things if they can really have the opportunity to meet with God. This is very good.
   1. One of the most concerning things I saw there was that there were no Bibles. It seems no one came expecting to look at God’s word or to encounter God in and through His word. They expected to encounter God at a building, with a seminary group of students, with the music, with the testimonies, etc. More of a consumer to go order placed at a restaurant. We just want God to meet with us in a consumer like fashion: God is stirring at a certain place so we will just show up …someone else has prepared the meal/meeting with God and we show up to consume. This is not biblical revival. The absence of God’s word is the absence of God. Period.  This point cannot be stressed enough. God does not move without His word! However, when some scripture was read, the light commentary on it was off. When students read scriptures, it would be followed by a personal, emotional reading of their own poetry they’ve written, or some word faith type pronouncement of ‘I pronounce victory over you’ or “I cast out the spirit of fear’ etc…Yes, these are literal testimonies that they audience lapped up and vociferously shouted about, and applauded.  If you don’t understand these type of “pronouncements”, understand that they are from the heretical word-faith movement of people like Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Jentzen Franklin, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, TD Jakes, etc. See here for a brief summary of word faith belief. https://www.gotquestions.org/Word-Faith.html
5. A few thoughts about the testimonies
   1. Faculty at the school asked for volunteers to come forward to meet with them and share a testimony of what God has done today or in the last several days if they’ve been there for other meeting times. The faculty would screen the testimonies to make sure they are legit and biblically faithful. This was good to hear.However, when the testimonies started it soon became apparent that either the faculty didn’t discern word faith tendencies in their testimonies, or the students misspoke (or didn’t share enough) to the faculty about their testimonies. The discernment of the faculty AND/OR(!) the content of the testimonies of the students/others was very weak regarding the gospel with the exception of 1 girl. From I had back pain and now I’m better, to one saying “The Lord is saying this to you” in reference to what the student was saying (as if God were speaking directly to the people thru the student…again, this is word faith “God told me” stuff), to several pronouncing certain victories over you, or casting out various spirits of (fill in the blank).  This smacked very much in violation of Jude 8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. Scripture warns about rebuking spirits. Jude goes on to warn further in vs 9-10 ⁹ But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” ¹⁰ Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.   The great archangel Michael would not even rebuke Satan, and yet several students sought to speak ‘prophetically” and rebuke several “spirits’ over the people. Again, the people enthusiastically applauded these pronouncements and the students enthusiasm and often loud speaking/yelling into the microphone these ‘pronouncements.’  One young lady spoke about her fear in pursuing a nursing career, of how difficult it was, and how she just didn’t have confidence in doing something so hard, But God spoke to her and showed her at the meeting that this was what God has called her to do and now she had assurance this was God’s desire for her life of how she could serve others. This was her basis for encouraging others that they too could have a God purpose for their lives. Again, the audience applauded and shouted ‘yesses’ to this. I don’t know if the Lord has called this young lady to singleness or not but why is this ‘revival’? Why is God affirming what she wants to do rather than God’s design for women? Why isn’t there a ‘revival’ that leads people to seek God’s normative pattern for living?  Listen to what the BIBLE says over the idea of how God seems to always ‘verify us’ in our choices. Again, true revival restores God’s patterns for our lives, not reinforce our personal autonomous decisions. Titus 2: 3Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good. 4In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited.   I’’m confused why revival means God approves of my individual decisions rather than the desire to rebuild the home and grow families. It goes without saying that the family structure in America and modern evangelicalism is in very bad shape. Further 1 Tim. 2:15 states the importance of God designed roles, though politically and modern evangelically incorrect – “But women will be saved through childbirth—if they continue in faith, love, and sanctity, with moderation.” This speaks to the importance of men being men and women being women, not amorphous, autonomous self designed living with God’s stamp of approval upon it. Motherhood is a great design and call by God; not women rushing off into society and conquering the world. Yes, Proverbs 31 does speak of a woman working wisely, but note the trajectory of scripture: women in the home, women grieving over no motherhood (see Hannah) rather than grieving about a personal career.…Again, where is the revival of the focus on the home, marriage, children, motherhood, and fatherhood according to God’s design?  
   1. One man who said he was a church planter came to read John 15. He only read about 5-6 verses of the chapter and made some comments on the text. He stated that too many pastors are busy doing things and not ‘connecting’, his definion of what it means to biblically ‘abide.’ He stated we need to connect and not be so busy. He then asked pastors who feel they’ve been too busy and not “connecting/abiding” to stand up. Several stood and again the audience cheered. This is good in that the people there are seeking to be supportive of our brothers. Then the man who read John 15 said, “if you are a pastor and were too embarrassed to stand, I want to just say…” and then in a little louder voice in the microphone, “I rebuke the spirit of embarrassment over you.” I quickly looked thru my bible concordance to see if I could see any verses that deal with the spirit of embarrassment, and too my surprise I could find none! Obviously I’m being sarcastic but my point is the careless, and lack of biblical fidelity that was passed off as ‘revival’ is very disconcerting. Again the crowd vociferously applauded and shouted in approval.  The other issue with his insight on John 15 was he was totally amiss about the meaning of the passage. In short, John 15 is about us abiding in Christ VIA HIS WORD!! Please read the parallels Jesus makes about Him abiding in us then a few verses later His word abiding in us: it’s the same! Jesus abides in us via His word not thru some undefined ‘connecting’ as the man put forth.
6. The faculty
   1. The faculty sought to pray with and come alongside the students. This was good.
      1. However an older lady who spoke several times raised some serious concerns. Below are her words… again which the people unanimously applauded and cheered on.
         1. “We’ve had an outpouring of the Holy Spirit here. We want others to come and experience this. We want you to experience the Holy Spirit”… My friend, this is not biblical language nor the pattern of scripture. When the Spirit comes, He will speak of Christ crucified and glorified not about your encounter with Him or about you seeking an encounter/experience with Him. You know you’ve encountered the Spirit by you rejoicing in Christ crucified and risen. Read John 14-16.
         1. After a song or testimony, I don’t recall, the same lady said “We just love the gospel.  Turn and share the gospel with someone beside you; tell them God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”  Now lest you think that she was saying this in addition to saying the gospel, she wasn’t. This was her understanding of the gospel. Folks all around understood this as her definition of the gospel bec they repeated without thought to ones beside them: God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. This is again is more word faith ideas and even something you would hear from Veggie Tales: “God made you special and he loves you very much.”   This is true, but it is ABSOLUTELY NOT the gospel. This is disturbing bec this is the leadership’s understanding of the gospel and again without reservation the people embraced it in the pews. Frightening to say the least. Again, the same crowd that could sing zealously gospel songs turned and repeated the false gospel message of the lady to one another. In my opinion, it seems the excitement of what people were experiencing authenticated any and everything that was done and said. This certainly seemed the case in the lady’s redefining of the gospel.  
7. I do want to be discerning about what the students may be desiring and what the faculty at the theologically moderate, left leaning seminary may be doing. I saw a seminary office of lady who teaches New Testament at the school. You can’t square this w/ the bible’s teaching of women not teaching men. Asbury has had major issues on biblical authority, women’s roles, and even the anti-biblical social justice movement they teach/support. (See here: https://asburyseminary.edu/elink/d-min-cohort-offered-in-social-transformation/)  Again, what was God doing w/ the students that beginning Wednesday and what is happening with an off kilter faculty can be different things. But the theological incongruity of the faculty’s theological stances at the school and words at the revival are highly concerning.
8. Some concluding thoughts
   1. American evangelicalism is in deep trouble theologically and profusely needs rebuilt in our churches. Hundreds of people from all walks of denominational life who can sing rich theological songs and then in the next instance applaud, yell, celebrate, etc to the same degree at gospel error tells me more of the desire for personal religious experience than it does of worshipping God in spirit and truth. There seemed to be no noticeable discernment between the good truth in the songs and the bizarre testimonies, lack of gospel understanding etc that was put forth at the meeting. The charismatic, word faith influence is very strong in evangelicalism and I don’t see it going away any time soon. We must separate from the Charles Finneyism like experience in our churches. For a good book on the difference of two approaches in revival, read God Sent Revival: The Story of Asahel Nettleton and the Second Great Awakening by John Thornbury. Short summary: Finney focused on experience, singing, with little biblical preaching. Nettleton focused on strong doctrinal preaching, God’s wrath, the deception of unbelief, etc. 15 years later, only 1 out of 10 people from Finney’s revivals were still in church. 7 or 8 out of 10 of Nettleton’s converts still were in church serving faithfully. Content matters. Means of grace matter. Preaching the word matters. Asbury is more in line with the Finney style revival than God’s work thru Nettelton. The end result of Finney’s revivals was called the burned out districts. New York and other northern states experienced revival under Finney only later to have people dull, bored, and indifferent to the full gospel. It set the stage for the radical secularization/liberalization of the North that we see today.Im not sure what happened that original Wednesday and between my time there yesterday whether they are the same or not. I hope for the gospel sake they are different. If this was what was happening last Wednesday, it raises lots of concern for the church.
   1. I want to say again: no Bible, no God of the Bible present. The fact that there were no Bibles in the hands of all the people that I saw in the lines outside when we were going in and when we came out nor of those who sat all around me nor of those in the hall ways (perhaps there were a few) is troubling and tells more about the experience sought than the desire to hear from the God of the Word.  The sparse reading of scripture was that: sparse. No biblical preaching, no exhortation from the word of God and again the brief commentaries about Scripture were off.  Here is the crux of the issue about the lack of Bibles there: all there were singing sincerely and from their hearts to the Lord. A response to the Lord apart from the word of God directing us is not a biblically based response because it is not based on the Bible. At best it’s a response in our energy and zeal but not one empowered by God’s Spirit thru His word.  Previous revivals under Edwards, Nettleton and others had people responding: first to God’s holiness and sin and then to the greatness of God’s redemption in Christ. This was not present from what I could see. It was we are here and we need to sing to the Lord. Again, this is not all bad, it’s just a really mixed bag of things. It is incomplete. Yes, the people blessed the name of the Lord thru song, but they were not led or taught the word of God. We encounter God in His word. The emphasis of encountering God there was being with others who loved God, singing good songs, and thru personal testimonies. In the end, it was/is a passionate song service towards the Lord, but is not revival.

Slouching Toward Sodom and Gomorrah

Grace to you! Most people are familiar with how God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. God rained down fire and brimstone from heaven, devouring the cities and their inhabitants (Genesis 19:24). Both cities were known for their sexual perversion, especially in the area of homosexuality (See Genesis 19:5). Although all sexual perversion is shameful and sinful, homosexuality is a marker of a society’s moral debasement. We must say up front: God loves the homosexual as well as the adulterer. But God will by no means clear the guilty of their sin (See Exodus 34:7).

Biblically speaking, what does sexual sin tell us about our culture? What does it say about our belief systems other than just saying, ‘it is bad and shame on you!’ kind of mindset.  Remember, let him who is without sin cast the first stone. God desires to redeem the homosexual, the liar, drunks, thieves, etc., (See 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). So before anyone assumes this article is targeting the lone sin of homosexuality, think again. God loves sinners. He loves them enough He sent His Son to die for them and pay their sin debt that all who trust in Him can be forgiven and changed.

Romans 1:25 says the heart of all sin is that people love something in creation more than the Creator. People warp the truth about who God is, how He relates to the world, etc. to serve idols. We love God-substitutes. They are for our honor, our fame, our comfort, and for our wills being done. The True God however is about His fame, our holiness, and His will being done. The Apostle Paul states that the more people reject the truth of who God is, the more perverse their behavior becomes. In Romans 1:21, 24 people wouldn’t honor God so God let them debase their own bodies.  Still they wouldn’t repent, they kept rejecting God’s truth, and so God gave them over to homosexual passions (Romans 1:25-27). Surely this is the worst of it, right? Wrong, because if a society will not repent after embracing homosexuality, God gives them up to further judgment: to do any and every kind of evil (See Romans 1:28-32)!

So what does this mean for us? Clearly, we have seen America follow all three phases of coming under God’s judgment. First, we can see the broad sexual immorality put forth in the 60s. Second, the homosexual agenda from the mid 80’s to about 2010. And now, the third phase is opening up right before our eyes. Everyday something we thought would never have been promoted twenty years ago is celebrated on T.V. as ‘personal choice and freedom.’

What is coming for our nation is persecution of those who will stand for Christ. We must decide now to preach the truth but always in love (Ephesians 4:15). The Cultural Christianity days, aka ‘playing church’, are soon to be over. You must decide now if you will follow Christ in the midst of a nation that is currently under the wrath of God. May we stand strong for Jesus in the coming days. May God break our hearts for the world and their need for Jesus, just like we need Him (See 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)!

Putting the Bible Together

Grace to you! Reading and understanding the Bible can be an intimidating task. With over 31,000 verses in its pages, it’s hard to know how it all fits together. This week we are going to give you an overall grid by which to read the Bible. Understanding these three broad categories will help to know what Scripture is referring to and why.

The first theme we have to understand in the Bible is Creation. The first two chapters of Genesis recount the 6 days of creation. They show what God had originally intended. It gives us the idea of “how things used to be.”

The second theme we see in the Bible is corruption. In Genesis 3, we see the entrance of sin into the story of man. From man’s initial sin to every person born since then, sin has dominated the life of people. The theme of man’s fall into sin gives us the idea of “the way things ARE.”

Finally, the idea of salvation or recreation permeates the biblical storyline. From Genesis 3:15 and onward, God begins to make promises and take action to bring the Promised One who will all things better than ever before. This gives us the idea of “what things will be like.”  In summary, we see the Bible tell us what things used to be like, what they are now, and what they will be when Christ returns to restore all things.

So how does this help us when we read our Bibles? Well, when we read a passage of Scripture we have to think through these three themes. Sometimes a passage will deal with one, two, or all three themes together. Scripture uses this three-fold theme to present one united plan of God.

When someone sees that God created them, they see that God has the inherent right to command how they are to live. They will also see that man alone has dignity and value since he is made in God’s image whereas angels and animals are not. Yet we all see that the world as it is now is not a paradise. This is where the 2^nd theme comes to bear. Sin has infected and affected every aspect of God’s original intention. Man and the rest of creation labors under sin and its consequences. We long for something better but yet we along with others often make things worse! What is the answer? Where can hope be found?

The third theme shows that even in the midst of this world as it is now things can begin to change! “If anyone is IN CHRIST, they are a NEW CREATION. Behold, old things have passed away. Behold, new things have begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) The beauty of the third theme is that it is not only something we can look forward to in the future, but it can start to be a present reality for anyone right now as God begins His renewal of creation with each person that puts their faith in Jesus Christ!

How To Pray For America

Grace to you! Political season is upon us. It seems we can honestly say that the very foundations of the biblical worldview that made America are under attack. Most Christians realize this and pray for our nation. But why hasn’t God seemingly answered? Can America ever be a morally strong nation again? Biblically speaking, we need to examine how we are praying for our country.

In Isaiah 36 and 37, a very powerful pagan king named Sennacherib came to fight Jerusalem. They had destroyed every nation they had fought and now Israel was next! Sennacherib told Israel’s king, Hezekiah, that the God of the Bible was no different than the other pagan gods he had already defeated (See Isaiah 36:14-20) But as the old saying in the south goes, King Sennacherib “was barking up the wrong tree.” This pagan king had not only threatened God’s people but now he was mocking the living God.

King Hezekiah of Israel knew they did not have enough military strength to stop the Assyrians. So what did he do? Hezekiah took the threatening letter the pagan king sent to him and, “went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.  And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD.”  (Isaiah 37:14-15) So this was his strategy?! When thousands of armed soldiers and chariots are about to break through the wall and kill everyone, Hezekiah prays?!

But let’s notice his prayer. He does not think solely about his personal safety. Nor is his prayer focus for them to continue their life of ease and pleasure as they had always had before. No, Hezekiah prays a God-centered and God-honoring prayer. “Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God…So now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD.” (Isa 37:17, 20) Hezekiah says, “Lord, this pagan king has challenged you. Now, bust his teeth so that he and the rest of the world will know that you are the one true living God.”

How’s that for a politically incorrect prayer?! Hezekiah asks God to break Sennacherib’s power so that God would be known! So how does God reply? The Lord said, “Because you have prayed to me…and because Sennacherib has raged against me and his complacency has come to my ears, I will put my hook in his nose and my bit in his mouth, and I will turn him back on the way by which you came.’ (Isa 37:21, 29) The result? The Lord killed 180,000 soldiers of Sennacherib and then he was murdered by his own two sons (See Isaiah 37:36-38).

When we pray for God to move, do we pray because we want our way of life and our desires protected? In short, are we asking God to protect our creaturely comforts? Or are we concerned that what is happening is eclipsing God’s glory? Are we concerned about our America or the America (or any country for that matter) that should glorify God? One prayer God will ignore, the other God will answer in His own way.

Peace For All Who Trust Him!

Grace to you! Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” This verse alone has enough counsel in it to give us direction for all of life.

Often we hear bible messages talk about our Christian life. These are good but we have to remember the main character and hero of the story is God Himself. Biblically speaking, whatever we focus on or behold, that is what we become like. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) Note how this relates to our opening verse. Everyone who keeps their mind fixed upon the Lord will trust Him as the result. Our trusting Him leads to “perfect peace.” Interesting enough in the Hebrew language, it actually says “peace peace.” In English when we wish to emphasize something, we “HIGHLIGHT” the word some way. In Hebrew, they would repeat the word for double emphasis: “peace, peace!”

Our greatest need in any situation whether it’s a crisis or heart issue is to see God for who He is. In Isaiah 6, the prophet saw the Lord and afterwards was changed and willing to do anything the Lord asked (See Isaiah 6:8) This is the consistent biblical pattern. We don’t need more programs or techniques. We need to see God for who He is! When we see God, everything else comes into proper perspective, our hearts and lives are changed, and people are willing to commit their lives to Christ!

Luke 8 fits this same pattern, “²² One day Jesus got into a boat with His disciples, and Jesus said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, ²³ and as they sailed Jesus fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. ²⁴ And they went and woke Jesus, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.  ²⁵ He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even winds and water, and they obey Him?”

The disciples are fearful due to facing a stormy situation. Jesus awakens, calms the sea, and now the disciples are no longer afraid of the sea but of the One who silences it! (See vs 25) They didn’t have faith in Jesus because they didn’t understand Who He was. Why do we fear, lack faith, worry, etc? It’s because we haven’t seen God for who He is. So instead of trying another technique or program, why not ask God to “show you His glory.” (Exodus 33: 18) Peace comes as a result of trusting God. But you can’t trust someone you don’t know. Pursue knowing God and the other things will take care of themselves!