Truth, Transparency & Humility

Recognizing our sins and weaknesses is called “honesty”, and speaking about them is “transparency”.  “Humility” is a state of mind that comes from respect for the greatness in others, and in the supremacy of God.

Thinking on our sins and weaknesses or talking about them does not make us humble.  What it can do is prevent us from fulfilling our destiny.  However, respecting greatness in others, and in God, opens the door to knowing about them.  And in knowing comes companionship with God.  God loves to turn humble men into great men, like Himself.  Amen.

God's purpose in blessing

God has given many blessings to His people, not only for their benefit but for the benefit of those around them.  Earlier this week I wrote of how both the Jewish nation and Christians had an identical purpose in God’s plan: to be a light to those around them.

We can see from Old Testament scripture that God did mighty works in order to display to the surrounding nations not only that He was God, but that He had chosen Israel as His people.  Besides working miracles, the Lord blessed Israel as a people, and their herds and crops, and He gave them victory over their enemies.  In like manner, the Lord blessed Christians, bestowing His Holy Spirit on them and equipping them to overcome.  He made His Word come alive in a people who were destined to become the Word of God in the flesh, just like Jesus, Whose Spirit they were born of.

To the extent that God blesses, we see that there is a correlating responsibility towards God’s purposes.  The Jewish nation did not put God first and saw His blessings as things they were due, or had deserved because of their place in God’s kingdom.  Eventually their city Jerusalem became known as the city that shed innocent blood (Ezekiel 24:9).  Jesus told the Jewish people “And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.”  The blame of the failure of salvation fell on the people who had the light to save their nation, and the nations surrounding them.  Further, the Lord blamed Jerusalem for killing prophets and others He had sent to them (Mathew 23:37).  Because she (Jerusalem) was stuck in her ways, and stuck on herself, she did not listen to the Lord’s prophets, but went the way of the world.

Interestingly, in Revelation we see a very similar discourse.  Just as in Ezekiel 16, where God calls Jerusalem a whore, the unfaithful church is also called a whore, and the Lord tells her that she had the blood of the saints and prophets in her (Rev 16:6; 17:6).  After the Lord takes the voice of the bridegroom and bride from her, these charges are made against this whore; “By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.  In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth. (Rev 18:23-24)” Though she (the unfaithful) had been blessed with the Word of God to share with the world, instead she wanted the world’s friendship.  Not wanting to offend those of the world who would love her, she hid God’s true gift of salvation and led the unsaved to believe they were accepted by God when they were not.  Having begun as His beloved, this whore is also cast off because she too rejected the voice of God sent to her, preferring to love the world more than God.

Jesus puts it this way; “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Luke 12:48).  Perhaps we are failing to see that our faith is not for our personal benefit alone.  If we neglect our salvation (Hebrews 2:3), which is great, and we receive blessings but are not a light to those around us, we also will be seen as unfaithful to God’s purposes in our own lives.  When Christians fail, wrongs continue on the earth.  Murders and rapes, kidnappings and thefts are not prevented, but rather, evil men continue in their evil.  Because we have the potential for so much good, our failures allow evil to reign on the earth.  And, if we call evil good (Is 5:20), then we shut the door of salvation on those to whom we are sent as a witness.

 

God looks at our potential to be overcomers, and if we fall short of that potential, we will be held accountable.  Brothers and sister in Christ, let us overcome our selfishness and seek to do good to others and fulfill our callings on the earth.  God has given us much; let us apply faith to our works for the benefit of all around us.  Amen.

Confidence

We are molded by our thoughts.  In fact, our mind can become a battle field of good against evil, and true wisdom against false counsel (2 Cor 10:3-5).  Our character is molded by what we allow ourselves to dwell on.

Often times, we listen to thoughts about our mistakes and the wounding outcome of them.  In our understanding of the matter, what went wrong could have been prevented if we had done or said the right thing.  This is the counsel of the mind, and is useful if it is receiving counsel from the Lord.  But so often we dwell on wounding events in our lives without asking God how we can walk forward into the grace He has for us, and the ability to do well. 

We often do many things well.  In fact, if we will take time to listen to the Lord He will walk though our minds with us, bringing His thoughts, assurances, and wisdom.  At the end of the day we can lay our heads down inspired by the wonderful God we serve.  It’s a place of inner security and fellowship with God.  I’d call that confidence that the following day will be a good one, no matter what the outcome.

Paul writes to us several times about confidence.  He himself was confident of his ability to minister to people.  He said that the words from him, written on their hearts, were letters for everyone to read (2 Cor 3:2-6).  When his ministry was in question, Paul did not step back.

Paul also writes about the confidence we have with God.  When persecuted, he wrote that the Corinthians should not be discouraged.  Paul knew that discouragement leads to lack of confidence.  Instead, Paul wrote that they could approach God with freedom and confidence.  Lack of acceptance did not cause Paul to step back from what he was doing, and neither did undermining by false brethren.

Our enemy works against us, discouraging us from finishing those things we are called by God to do.  He wants us to “shrink back” from God (Heb 10:35-39).  But it is with confidence and perseverance we will finish what we do, and receive our reward.  Perhaps if we entertain positive thoughts about ourselves we feel proud.  However, God also entertains positive thoughts about us.  He does not mold us by reviewing painful memories over and over again.  God does not bring lessons by the contual handling of our mistakes, nor of other’s mistakes either.  He does not destroy us with daily woundings.

Though God does often bring light into dark matters, it is with a spirit of Grace and a building up of our character.  We will be molded by His thoughts if we defeat the counsel that discourages us in our minds.  And with confidence, our lives will succeed in the purpose to which we are called.  Amen.

God's Temple: War & Peace

We often think of David as a man after God’s heart.  When in Antioch, Paul spoke from the scriptures about David, saying that God “found David son of Jesse a man after (His) own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” (Acts 13:22) Though we admire David, I’ve also wondered why he wasn’t chosen to build God’s temple.   David himself said that, though he made plans to build the temple of God, the Lord told him “You are not to build a house for My Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.” (1 Chron 28:2–3). 

Because David did the Lord’s will in unifying Israel by slaying her enemies, it may seem a contradiction that the Lord did not allow him to build His temple.   However, the Lord chose a man of peace; David’s son Solomon.  Solomon recognized that the Lord wanted to make His people famous for their God so that people who did not know God would come to his temple and worship Him there (1 King 8:41-43).  Isaiah wrote that God’s house was a “House of Prayer for all nations” (Is 56:7).  When we understand the purpose of the temple, then we understand better who should build it.  A man of war was needed to unify the nation of Israel.  However, a man of war could not bring aliens into God’s House, for they feared David.  God planned a reign of peace under Solomon; a time wherein God’s fame would spread to those who did not know Him so they could find Him in Israel, and worship in His house.

There has always been a plan for those who did not know God to come to know Him through His people.  The Temple was a physical representation of God’s spiritual house in the New Testament.  We, His people, are the “living stones, being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood” (1 Pet 2:5).  We are God’s light to a lost and dying world.

Before we see the wedding of the Lord to His Bride written about in Revelation, it is written that He comes to vanquish His enemies (Rev 19:11-16).  He comes as a man of war to do all that God asks of Him.  His victories precede the time of peace wherein He will accept His Bride, described as God’s City, the “new Jerusalem,” (Rev 21:2), or the new City of Peace. 

All the skills and gifts that it took to defeat God’s enemies also unify God’s people into His Beloved.  And yet, just as in the day of building God’s Temple, the Bride will display peace to the world, as is her name. 

In the City of God there is a river of Life, with trees which have leaves for the healing of the nations (Rev 22:2).  God is building His people with those attributes that will make peace come between the nations.  He is building His Bride with love, patience, kindness, and forbearance.   They will trust, honor and forgive their brothers, preferring others over themselves.  Though devoted to God, they will have brotherly affection, being sincere in word and actions.  Their compassion and forgiveness will make God famous to outsiders. 

When we understand God’s war, then we also understand the peace that follows.  The Lord comes as a Man of War, putting all His enemies under His feet.  Then He subjects Himself to the One who put everything under Him, “so that God may be all in all,” (1 Cor 15:28).  When God comes to the City of Peace, the new Jerusalem, He will dwell with His people (Rev 21:3).  God is building us into a Bride that partakes of and offers healing.  Amen.

The Work of Apostles and Prophets

When we look at our current practices in our churches, we wonder how they would change under a leadership that includes apostles and prophets.  One thing I recently asked a pastor was if he knew what each member in his congregation’s calling was.  This was a church of 12 – 18 members, and he answered me “no.”  There is nothing wrong with not knowing another person’s calling.  In fact, we personally often do not understand our own callings until later in life.  However, to develop the individual functions of members in the body of Christ, someone will be told at some time what each one is called to do.  That someone is usually an apostle or a prophet.

It would greatly change the way a church operated if it considered itself a body, and that each member had a life-sustaining function.  If a person considers that they are the head of the body (church), he will find uses for the other members that help meet his vision for the body.  However, the real head, Jesus, already has a vision for the body of Christ.  And Jesus is calling the apostles and prophets back into the body of Christ to help build it up.

If a man calls himself an apostle because he draws other churches to join his network, he is not doing the work of an apostle.  If a man calls himself a prophet because he gets many people to donate to his orphanages, that man is not doing the work of a prophet.  Each is doing what is called “expansion”, being their own head of the body of Christ they are affiliated with, and yet not building them up into what each member should be. These leaders are taking members of Christ’s body and using them for a different purpose than what Jesus intended His mature members to be.

Each member of the body should become mature.  If we look at the body of Christ as we would look at a physical body, we could say that the members are made up of cells.  Using that example, when a new cell is born in the bone marrow, we would say it is immature.  It has not been “defined” yet as to its intended use and so is called “undifferentiated”.  It lacks a defined mature cell structure.  After cells mature they can perform the function for which they were intended.  Mature cells which lack the normal orderly arrangement of the cells from which they belong are called “dedifferentiated,” and become the components of cancer.  They once performed their function, but then lost that which enabled them to perform, and they became an agent of death in a living body.

I am using the example of the human body to illustrate a spiritual concept.  If we each as parts of a living spiritual body do not mature, we cannot perform a function that the body needs.  And, if we lose our ability to perform our function, a death occurs in the body of Christ.  Spiritually speaking, that is how serious it is that we have healthy churches, the spiritual bodies of which Christ should be the head.  We should have the five-fold ministry building the church, member-by-member, each in his or her God-given calling, nurturing the body into maturity through the gifts each one supplies (Eph 4:11 – 16).

Let us welcome God’s true apostles and prophets into the Body of Christ and grow up into the unity of our faith as we mature together.  Amen.

Love; what a lot to give

There are a lot of God’s children waiting for Him to make their lives into something great.  God doesn’t intend on giving us the world.  Fortune, fame, and other worldly aspirations are not part of His plan for most people’s lives.  Being spiritual in order for God to use us in a fantastic way is not the heart-motive God is looking for.  When we try to be overly spiritual, we forget how to be human, and being human is a gift, given by and expressed through love. 

Our enemy lost his place, and God’s affections, to humans.  He would like to waste our time and our lives telling us we’d be happier with the world instead of God’s Kingdom.  But to love God is to come alive, and to live with His Kingdom in our hearts is to begin to know love. 

The heart cannot begin to come alive and to love without our permission.  We need to be sincere about our affections in this life.  We should not try to be someone we think SomeOne else would love when He already loves us.  Neither should we think it an unworthy thing to love others whom He loves.  The great thing that God is making our lives into has already begun; it began when He loved us.  What a lot we have to give.  Amen.

The Failure of the Seven Churches

The first century churches suffered losses that we at the end time may be the most impacted by.  The gifts offered by Jesus to the overcomers would have allowed them to win greater victories and walk in greater authority.  At first glance, Jesus’ warnings to the seven first century churches in Revelation  seem harsh.  In retrospect though, we see that present-day Church experiences lack power and faith because prior generations did not overcome.  We also lack large chunks of our “foundation”, which should have been provided for us to build on.  However, God has always had a faithful remnant, and if we look at the end of Revelation, we do see overcomers.  There has always been those who loved Jesus and laid down their lives, picked up their cross, and followed Him alone.

Now let’s look at the seven churches and see what lessons there are for us to learn. In learning, we will lay a better foundation for the next generation to build on.

Ephesus

This church was admonished to return to its first love; the movement of God’s Spirit amongst them.  Because Ephesus did not return, its lampstand was removed.  Iin our times, many ministers want to focus on the power of the Holy Spirit. However, the concept of the lampstands is summed up as this: the flow of the Holy Spirit is found in the Word of God, which keeps the Church’s lamps lit. God’s Word coupled with His Spirit keeps us afire, not demonstrations of His power. Though we would make a mistake to separate God’s Words from His Spirit, we would also make a mistake to elevate the power of God’s Spirit above His Words.

When the power of God’s Spirit coupled with His Word goes out of the church, men are not regenerated by the Spirit, and God’s word only becomes head knowledge.  The faith of men then lags due to lack of understanding brought by the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit.  Also, the spiritual structure of the church, brought by revelation to apostles and prophets (Eph 3:5) is gone.  Because apostles and prophets lean heavily into the Spirit for guidance, and defend the faith by His gift within them, a church that lacks the Holy Spirit will find very little in common with them.  Eventually, religion becomes mechanical and work-oriented for the congregation, and the five-fold ministry becomes powerless.  Pastors lead the churches as an organization instead of God’s treasured people, and a gap grows between them and Laypersons who are the true ecclesia.  Though much work can be accomplished in an organization such as this, it is devoid of God’s Spirit. A church without a lampstand has the structure of religion but is devoid of the Life that sustains godliness.

Smyrna

The church at Smyrna was going to face persecution, but for those who were faithful, even to the point of death, they would receive the crown of life and not be hurt by the second death.  The crown of life was reserved for authentic Christians, those who were faithful no matter the cost.  When sincere service to God wanes in the face of loss or persecution, the world replaces it. 

In Jesus’ parable of the Sower and the Seeds, He pointed out that some hearts are like rocky places; there isn’t enough good soil for the word’s roots to take hold. When persecution comes because of the word, that heart will become offended at the word, and the person will fall away (Mt 13:21). Still, some Christians will treasure the word of God, even in persecution, while others will not. The letter to the church in Smyrna was a word to two kinds of Christians; authentic ones, who would never taste of the second death (in other words, they would also be resurrected, like Jesus was; see Rev 20:6) and those who were not authentic.

Which leaders were left to tend to the matters of the church if they did not have the crown of life?  The leaders left to tend God’s churches were those whose hearts were rocky, who compromised with the world when things didn’t go their way. They could not prepare God’s people to have courage, nor could they prepare the rocky soils of other’s hearts to become suitable for God’s Seed.  Therefore, faith could not grow and the works of God which were less popular died due to opposition. 

Pergamum

Men have always tried to find a way around personally bearing a cross in their own lives. That is the nature of our flesh. Few would follow Christ if they knew that His image in them would bring them to suffer on their own personal cross before they experienced the glory of sitting with Jesus on His throne.  Jesus asked the Pergamum’s to get rid of their false teachers; those who taught that they could have the benefits of this life as well as to be able to walk with Him.  In a believer’s life, the flesh is put on the cross, which comes before we experience the authority of the throne.  Many of Jesus’ own followers fully expected Him to set up a kingdom on this earth in which He would rule with them (Lk 19:11). They could not have foreseen the crucifixion. So it is with us, that we fully expect in this life to rule and reign with Christ, not fully grasping that we will have a personal cross to bear first in order to follow Him. 

Those who overcame the teachings of falsehood were rewarded with pure teachings, (hidden manna), personal purity (white stone) and a new name (often the mark of promotion given to a victor).  Without the hidden manna, the Church has been unable to grow in its knowledge of God.  And without personal purity God cannot confide in men concerning those mysteries waiting to be revealed.  Remember, the Lord told John that he must “prophesy again about many people, nations, languages and kings.” (Rev 10:11).  These matters will not be revealed to unholy men, but to the holy.  When Christians no longer mix their religion with the world, God will be able to speak deeper things to His Church.  Until then, we must realize that many seemingly important prophecies have been mixed with the imaginations of men, for men are hungry for information from God.  Those who love information for information’s sake will lack discernment between truth and error.  In our generation, we suffer from a lack of pure teachings from God.

Thyatira

This church failed to see the harm a false prophet did to their congregation.  She was symbolically called “Jezebel” and taught that spiritual authority could come into the believer’s life by mixing unclean, demonic spiritual knowledge with Christianity.  Men and women did not repent of the gains from spiritual adultery.  False teachers taught their listeners to run after knowledge and the experiences of others, thereby numbing the congregation’s hearts to their relationship with God.  They did not think it mattered to God if the works they did came from another spirit, as long as what they did was validated by the unity of experiences others had. However, Jesus searches our hearts and minds and knows the source from which our works come.

The overcomers, who did not follow false teaching, were given true authority.  God does not give authority to those who search into the “deep things of satan.”  There are many religions that see “other” spirits as helpers.  But our God is a jealous God and will not suffer to have His people’s works polluted by satan. 

The overcomers also received the “morning star”, which is the Spirit of Prophecy.  Those who submit to God’s word have it written on their hearts and minds.  They know truth from error, and false teachers from true teachers.  These overcomers were to be set in place in the churches to keep out the wolves that would devour the flock by their evil teachings.  Without people who have the Spirit of Prophecy and true authority in Christ, the Church has become a mixture of truth with error. Men’s words became powerless.  As prophecy and prophets went out of the church, men ruled by the understanding of their own minds.  The structure of the churches also became a man-appointed hierarchy instead of one that served the brethren by building up their faith.  And sadly, the enemy of the Church has put in place many unclean spiritual works which look inviting to the undiscerning.

Sardis

Because of their spiritual slumber, the church at Sardis was not a vital part of what God was doing.  They were content with their reputation for having done good works, forgetting what God had originally given to them.  Their complacency allowed them to drift from serving God in the Spirit, to doing works of the flesh.  God pointed out that these works were imperfect.  Because they did not repent, Jesus came “like a thief” and removed their spiritual inheritance.  All they had left to hand down to future generations of Christians were their worldly traditions and works of the flesh.  In future generations some Christian churches developed good works, such as orphanages and hospitals (as an example), but many did nothing. 

We call these churches the “frozen chosen” because they are not vital, having no heart-felt faith to motivate them.  They have a form of godliness but deny the power. (2 Tim 3:5)

What did this church lose due to their complacency?  Jesus said these overcomers would wear white, and he would have their name confessed to God and His angels.  Their prayers would have brought powerful results, and their commands for healing and deliverance would have been attended to by both God and the angels.  We have an example of prayers that met with disastrous results in Acts 19 where the sons of Sceva commanded demons to leave, in the name of “Jesus, whom Paul preaches.” (Acts 19:13).  The demons answered “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” (vs 15). Their name had not been confessed to God nor to His angels, because they were not Christians wearing white.  Those who seek reputation among men by doing powerful works cannot wear white.  However, those who seek reputation with God by keeping their faith alive and their works based on His word will have God’s ear, and His power will be in their lives.  The failure of this church to overcome left a legacy of tepid prayers and powerless ministries.

Philadelphia

The faithful in this church were admonished to hold onto what they had received, and to not give up their crowns (Rev 3:11).  One of the most powerful influences against faithfulness in the church is the brethren.  Not all brethren will want a faithful man to stop serving God and give up his place in the church, however there are sufficient amounts of unspiritual brethren who will pressure a man to cede to their will.  When a man feels alone in what he is doing for Christ, the pressure to “fit in” is great.  When faithful men cede their authority to those who do not do God’s works, their voices are silenced by the false brethren who exert their own wills over God’s divine purposes for His people.  When individual people do not feel as if what they do matters to God, it steals personal intimacy from the church. 

The result of Philadelphia’s failure to overcome was that men forgot that they could know God.  Though Jesus promised Christian followers that He would make known to His disciples the Father (Jn 17:26), many church leaders said it was not possible.  Many people would love to hear from God and yet church leaders are plagued with doubt that their congregation can be spoken to, and come to know their heavenly Father.  By looking at what the overcomers would receive, we see that the opposite is true.  God’s intention was that His people become a permanent part of the church, have the name of His works written on their heart, and have both the Father and the Son’s names written on their hearts.  Intimacy with God brings a person into the center of who He is and what He is doing.  Because the church has lost this, both their knowledge of God and their works have floundered.

Laodicea

This church kept its status quo and did not make the effort to meet God’s expectations of change.  They saw their church as acceptable and rejected the purity found in God’s holy plan for their personal purity and for the soundness of their corporate works.  Their religion eventually took on the form of Humanism, which we have in many churches to this day. Humanism allows people to offer one’s personal best as being the best there can be.  Because this church was unwilling to exchange their best for God’s perfect will, they lost their fellowship with God. 

Though God corrects and disciplines, it is because He loves us and covets our fellowship (Rev 3:19-21).  Imagine what the Church would be like today if men had sat at the spiritual table which the church at Laodicea was invited to, eating with the Father and the Son.  If they had overcome their man-made throne of acceptable works, they would have sat down in great authority with Jesus in His throne.

In reflecting on what the seven churches of the first century lost due to failure, it is only fair to ask ourselves if we will overcome.  The next generation is counting on it.  Amen.

Getting the Bigger Picture

One of Man’s errors of thinking is that his mistakes won’t make a difference when looking at the big picture.  That thinking couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Each man’s works and words are a foundation for more to be built upon, and with their silence and mistakes comes more error and dysfunction in what is being built: the Church.  You’ll notice in the book of Revelation that the Lord saw each church’s failure to overcome as a very serious thing.  His warnings are commensurate with the dire legacy of dysfunction that the Church would leave to the following generation.  The ensuing spiritual warfare that followed each church’s demise became heavily weighted against future Christians.  Without the gifts God desired to bestow on them, the next generation of Christians lacked the resources to by which to win.

We have inherited many of the bad fruits from prior generations, but some good fruits also.  In the 1900s God brought back the ministry of the Holy Spirit, which became the second rain (Joel 2:23 James 5:7).  God is looking for a harvest from His seeds planted by the faithful.  He brought the baptism of the Holy Spirit once to begin a work and He again baptized these seeds with His rain.  Though the Church had lost much after the former rain, the second, or latter rain renewed the gifts of the Spirit, and then also the callings of Prophets and Apostles.  God is completing His Church, making His Bride ready for the Bride groom.

Raising up spiritual leaders and Prophets caused problems in the modern churches. These men and women do not fit into the dysfunctional religious system handed down to us from previous generations.  During the past dark times pastors led churches, some finding good works and spreading the word of God.  They managed without the help of the Apostles and Prophets, and it is no wonder that most do not see the need for them now.    Some Pastors who have labored hard to start a church feel as if they own the church, and have a sense of reward from the benefits the church brings them.

In the 20^th century, it was hard enough for most of the pastors to control the movement of the Spirit, much less share authority in their churches with newly arriving Apostles and Prophets.  Some pastors have let the Holy Spirit move through them and share what He is speaking, but they fear chaos would result if their congregants ministered to one another in the Spirit.  Surely these restrictions prevent building the body of Christ up into maturity, as the five-fold ministry is called to do (Eph 4:11-13). Though pastors were the “glue” that held churches together in previous generations, it was through the losses of the first century churches that this happened.  Though these leaders are reluctant to listen to and incorporate the words of Apostles and Prophets, nevertheless, it is God’s design that they be installed in their rightful place in the church. It is only the full ministry of all five ministries that will bring the body of Christ into her fullness and prepare her for her Groom, Jesus Christ.

In my next lesson I will write about the devastating losses of each of the first century churches and how their failure to overcome affected Christianity today.  Those things which the Lord sought to put into place through people in the churches had the ability to shape the Bride.  If we look at Jesus’ letters to the seven churches in Revelation we see an invitation to overcome, paired with warnings of what the alternatives would be.  In examining their failures we will see many reasons for the lack of power and faith we see in our present-day Christianity.  Amen.

The Big Picture

Today’s lesson is on the “big picture”.  When we look at discipline, we often think of punishment as God’s means to shaping our character so that we will behave better.  Well, as children that may be what parents are aiming for; better behavior.  But what do hardships and trials form in adults?  Hebrews 12:7 tells us that we are to “endure hardship as discipline: God is treating you as sons.” Further, “God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness” (verse 10). We see a bigger picture for God’s purpose of discipline: He is shaping our character so that we will be like Him.

Seeing the bigger picture helps us individually, and corporately.  When we look at the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, we see that they were under the guardianship of the Law because they were children in their faith and not yet adults.  Paul writes that “as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.  He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.” (Gal 4:2) and that “the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ (so) that we might be justified by faith.” (Gal 3:24).  Though the Law was important, it was not God’s end-purpose.

In the Old Testament one problem that occurred was that the scribes and the Pharisees thought the Law was God’s full intention and the end-work of His purposes.  They missed the coming of their Messiah because they thought the Messiah would fit into Temple Worship and the Law.  They received judgment ultimately because the discipline did not form God’s character in them, neither did the law.  Because we have an account of God’s dealings with the Jews there is every opportunity to learn from their mistake and be prepared through faith for Jesus’ second coming.  But, will we, as the New Testament Church, suffer the same problems as the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time?

In looking at the bigger big picture, what has God wanted from the beginning that we see is accomplished in the end of His Word?  In the beginning, we see that God fellowshipped with Adam and Eve.    In the end, God has a people of His own (Rev 22:3-5).  His work amongst men has been to draw them unto Himself.  In ancient times, when nations were in their infancy, God brought up a man of faith. Through him (Abraham), God established a nation.  This was so that the nation of Israel would be a light to the nations (Is 42:6; Lk 2:32) and then all would come to know Him. The Temple leaders and Jewish rulers did not comprehend God’s bigger plan because they were stuck on the Law and the Temple. 

What prevented Jesus’ contemporaries from seeing that He was, indeed, their Messiah?  One thing was that these leaders had their eyes on this world, whereas the father of their faith had his eyes on the City made by God (Heb 11:10).  The Jews were more impressed with what they could build than what God wanted to build.  Will we do the same?

The Father sent His Son so that men could see for themselves what He was like.  Jesus’ death released the Holy Spirit so that many could become sons and daughters of God, to show the world what He is like through their lives.  God’s people are no longer contained within one nation, but are in every nation to be a light to those around them.  However, like the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time, many Christians have built their own kingdoms instead of the Father’s.  It has become too painful for them to personally lay their lives down for others.  They do not seek the City God built, but are in love with what they themselves can build for God.

We are to work for God.  In fact, there are good works appointed to each one (Gal 2:10) because people see God in our good works (Mt 5:16).  But when men see us do good works for our own sakes, they see us, and praise us.  God can get lost in what we do, and faces of people come to the forefront.  If we are laboring for what we can have and who we can be in this world, God’s name will not be on people’s lips; ours will be.

The concept of seeking and laboring for the City with true foundations, “whose architect and builder is God,” (Heb 11:10) is the concept of faith in God and leaning into God’s works.  If we build on our own, we labor in vain (Ps 127:1).  God is building a City that endures, which we see in Revelation 21:2.  It is the Bride of Christ.  For men to think God is interested in buildings and programs is for men to think like the religious leaders who missed the first coming of their Messiah, Jesus.

On 3/2/08 the Lord gave me a dream wherein I saw a house on top of the mountain of the Lord.  There was a table saw with saw dust all around on the floor, and the house was only half finished.  I understood that the generation before ours had been working to build the house of the Lord, but our generation had stopped its work.  In the months and years since this dream I have come face to face with the main reason the work of the Lord has stopped; religious leaders are becoming more interested with physical buildings and personal renown than with building God’s spiritual house.  Peter writes that “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).  When the leaders of our churches stop building up the lives of their people, God’s work stops.

In my next lesson I will talk about God’s big picture for the Church and why His judgments at the end of time are so severe.  God bless.