Jesus Christ – Page 6 – Alaska Bible Teacher

Loving His Throne

“A Christian is not a person who believes in his head the teachings of the Bible. Satan believes in his head the teachings of the Bible! A Christian is a person who has died with Christ, whose stiff neck has been broken, whose brazen forehead has been shattered, whose stony heart has been crushed, whose pride has been slain, and whose life is now mastered by Jesus Christ.”

-John Piper

“But we are citizens of Heaven; our outlook goes beyond this world to the hopeful expectation of the saviour who will come from Heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Philippians 3:20, MSG

It seems to me that the purpose of our life is not to find our freedom. It’s really meant to find our Master.

But the idea of being a slave to anyone is repugnant. We chafe at this, and yet man was never meant to be separated from the Lordship of Jesus. We’re instructed repeatedly with the New Testament idea that “our life is not our own” Over and over God proclaims Himself as the King.

That troubles us somewhat.

Not so much when life is fairly good, granted, but in those hard moments when a decision must be made between enjoying the titillating “lusts of the flesh,” or accepting the fruits of the Spirit. This is one of those “lordship moments.” They come and go, and they show us exactly who we are.

If you’re really going to be authentic–a legitimate and real disciple, then you must determine who is going to be in charge, and this isn’t one of those casual decisions. Your decision must become a settled issue.

You must securely fix the throne in your heart and spirit.

The thief on the cross knew salvation, he was promised an eternity with God simply by faith. But I submit to you that he had put himself under the Lordship of Jesus, simply by recognizing the sign, “the King of the Jews.” I believe he saw and understood its implications. Jesus was King! He knew and understood.

This is a very hard word for some, but so many of our personal issues hinge on this.

I know this first-hand. It is a monumental struggle. You must admit to not only having Jesus as your Savior, but you also must put your life under His total Lordship. You need to pick up your cross daily in order to follow. You need to learn how to kneel.

I’ve chosen a depiction of Jesus on His throne to open up this post–it’s done on purpose, even if it’s an artist’s take. I simply want you to understand the supreme call He has on your life. Here’s Bob Dylan, and he nails this idea down:

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

You must learn, here and now, how to kneel before the Sovereign King.

His Joy is Yours Now

“Then [Ezra] told them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold.”

Nehemiah 8:10, Amplified

The people of God are grieving; they are filled with sorrow. They are fully aware of their sin, and understand how awful they have become. They’re overwhelmed, and can’t really accept what God was doing.

Nehemiah and Ezra have their hands full.

Grief often turns into depression. Joyless living opens us to the pressures of Satan, and he tries to manipulate us to do his work. Now this is a terrible thing, and it’s also a sad way to live. Nehemiah understands what is happening.

Sometimes our emotions drive us, and we can see nothing but our sin. Our hearts are filled with melancholy and introspection. They closed their hearts to thankfulness and joy. Instead they wept, they could see little hope when Ezra read the Word from the pulpit.

Galatians 5:22 tells us that the Holy Spirit is residing within–it’s called “fruit” and it grows in the heart of an obedient believer who has submitted himself to God. It is not just a good attitude. Joy is never contingent on circumstances.

A few things to remember.

Joy is the evidence that He lives inside us.

We need a devotional life.
Known sin must be renounced and forsaken.
We must abandon the “works of the flesh.” (Gal. 5:19-20)
We must ask Him to fill us with His Spirit.
We must learn how to worship authentically.

A key for me, I want to emphasize this, as I’ve finally seen this in my own discipleship– I need to pursue Jesus, and not joy itself. If I think that I will find joy apart from knowing Him, is wrong and perhaps a bit dangerous.

I will end this with something that must be thought through. I hope you will.

“To say that it is the Christian’s duty, his moral obligation, to be joyful. That means that the failure of a Christian to be joyful is a sin, that unhappiness and a lack of joy are, in a certain way, manifestations of the flesh.”

RC Sproul

He’s Inside of You

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,”

Ephesians 3:14-18

Prayer often does what preaching can’t. Some need a reminder. This idea of being “rooted and grounded in love” is crucial to growing up Christians. And it most often happens when the preacher is driven to his knees by a sticky situation.

After over 30 years I’m starting to see that my teaching has certain limits, but prayer on the other hand, always drives discipleship home.

You must settle on this spiritual fact, only a disciple can make a disciple. Too many preachers are believers themselves who don’t have a real prayer life. They end up using the pulpit (and the worship) as their sole ‘means of support.’ I can guess you can see how tragic this becomes.

A prayer meeting is almost unheard of lately, but I still believe that there are small groups of Christians who believe that both doctrine and prayer are God’s way of growing us up into His image. These two must be blended before real growth can begin.

“Strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”

Prayer is Paul’s way of building up the Ephesian church. In my personal opinion, he was locked up in a Roman prison for a couple of good reasons–the first is that he would discover he could disciple at a distance. And second that his prayer was an exceptional way to build the Church. Paul starts to understand this, and he rediscovers a new way to pray.

Paul’s prayer becomes a tool of considerable force.

Ephesians 3 papyrus from c. 275 A.D.

from wikipedia.org

The “inner being” is what he’s aiming at, and it’s Paul’s way of touching the heart of anyone the Holy Spirit is dealing with. Mr. Dry Eyes will never reach the hearts that the Father is working in. Rather Mr. Crying Tears does the Father’s work. It’s not impeccable logic or great theology that completes the work, but the deep, deep cry of the heart.

“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,“

The immense power is Jesus living inside of us. Faith is God’s own key that He gives. Love is our root; it helps us grow. It gives us stability which is critical living in a confused and fallen world.

“Salt, when dissolved in water, may disappear, but it does not cease to exist. We can be sure of its presence by tasting the water. Likewise, the indwelling Christ, though unseen, will be made evident to others from the love which he imparts to us.”

Sadhu Sundar Singh

The Jealous Heart of God

“They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes.”

Ezekiel 6:9, NLT

Hollywood talks about “the force,” but the Bible reveals something far more than that. The Holy Spirit is personal, not something but Someone. Even though He is a Spirit and has all the attributes of God, He also has a personality and can be offended.

He grieves, Ephesians 4:30
We can quench His Spirit, 1 Thessalonians 5:19
He is outraged (some translations say insulted), Hebrews 10:29

It’s also critically important to understand the jealousy of God. Twelve times in the OT we read this about God. (To be jealous can be good, and it can be bad.) Here’s just one verse:

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.”

Zechariah 8:2

in the Hebrew the word for jealous means “to become intensely red.” It has the thought of a face becoming flushed with deep emotion. This shows that God truly loves His covenant people. He’s concerned for them.

We find that the Holy Spirit is disturbed by faithlessness.

We can insult Him. We can grieve Him.

God can be hurt by our decision to ignore Him and sin. He’s disturbed by our commitment to anything but Him. This is the essence of idolatry and that hurts Him. God insists that we turn to Him first, and by faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, live under the control of the King.

We can become traitors. Does God weep for us?

“If we be married to Christ, and He be jealous of us, depend upon it this jealous husband will let none touch His spouse.”

Charles Spurgeon

How to Die Well

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Psalm 23:4, ESV

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”

Psalm 116:15

“Death is like my car. It takes me where I want to go.”

Pastor John Piper

Our generation simply doesn’t know how to die well. There are many conflicting messages and attitudes which have steered us away from the reality of dying. Much of it is the natural development of unbelief. Our pop culture develops this and gives it momentum. We are trying to convince ourselves that “death is impossible, my life will not end.” But we’re escaping into a delusion. And it only intensifies as we age.

We are running from what is real.

There is a Latin phrase, Ars moriendi (“The Art of Dying”) which the Church practiced in past generations. In the past, Christians would be buried as close as possible to a Church building. Many would be interred within the very walls of the Church. The understanding was that the dead were part of the congregation. That there was only a thin veil that stood between the living and the dead.

The dead didn’t just vanish. They still live. We just don’t see them.

Our generation is confused. We have forced death to wear a mask. We insist on a significant camouflage to hide the reality of sickness and death. No one really ever talks about it, and so no instructions are given on how to die well. So we don’t, and we die poorly–often in ICUs. We die sedated, separated and unable to process dying. We never help our families process it.

For many, the fear of dying is intense and paralyzing.

It’s time for the Church to step up and guide us to our next step. Our pastors and elders have got to prepare us to die well. It is a part of being a disciple. It is discipleship, and dying is inclusive. We need somebody to prepare us for the inevitable and the certainty that is approaching us. I need someone that will help me face my own death.

You know what? No one escapes.

And the reality of that drives some of us mad, or addicted, or psychotic. The idea of filling a casket up for forever is incomprehensible. We cannot live with this sick idea of dying. It disturbs us on the deepest level possible. It is completely evil.

Psalm 23 has been pure comfort and healing for generations. And it is an excellent starting point for us. Verse 4 develops the idea of traversing death. The writer has incredible insight of passing through death. This verse alone is worth billions of dollars in gold.

Psalm 23 has been pure comfort and healing for generations. And it is an excellent starting point for us. Verse 4 develops the idea of traversing death. The writer has incredible insight of passing through death. Psalm 23 has made me a very wealthy man. His Word has become my rich treasure.

“Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal- a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body.”

D.L. Moody

No Doctor Could Heal Me

A woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years, who had spent all she had on doctors and yet could not be healed by any, approached from behind and touched the end of his robe. Instantly her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.”

Luke 8:43-45

(Matthew 9:20-22)

I just had to touch Him. I had to reach out and somehow get His attention. It was no longer an option. I bled all the time and it wouldn’t stop. It was constant, and it had been 12 miserable years. No one or nothing could cure this, no doctor, no medicine. I was so desperate. It had to stop, you must understand, I was dying.

I had spent so much money on so many doctors.

I had nothing left. Each doctor promised a cure and my hopes were always dashed. But then I heard about a teacher named Jesus, I was told He had the power to raise the dead and heal every disease He encountered. I don’t really know why, but instantly I knew only He could heal me.

I had an issue of blood, that meant I was ritually unclean and all that I touched became unclean. The temple was off-limits to me, I had been cut off from sacrifice and any kind of personal forgiveness for my sins. In my darker moments, I really wondered if God really had forsaken me? Was I damned?

After all, it had been 12 long years.

What I had to do must be done secretly and quietly. I knew I just somehow had to touch this man. I would have to wriggle my way through the crowd to get close enough. I would be violating ritual law and if I got caught and I’d be harshly censured and condemned. I was unclean and I knew only He could change that.

And I was always tired. Sometimes I barely could walk without feeling faint.

The crowds were packed all around Him, but honestly, I knew all I needed was just a simple touch. I knew Jesus had the power. I just knew it. I needed somehow to get close enough; I knew that everything depended on me somehow connecting with Him.

So I waited and watched. I tried to jockey myself and get in the right position. The crowds were tightly surrounding Jesus, I had to push, drive and squeeze. Sometimes I had to get on my hands and knees. But in that split second when He passed, I just managed to grab just the very outside corner of the tassel of His head covering.

And immediately the flow stopped. Just like that! I felt it inside, and immediately knew what happened. Finally I knew, deep down, I had been healed! I was clean.

_____

Please understand dear one, only Jesus can free you. If you can only reach out and touch Him, He will change you– forever.

“Christ is the Good Physician. There is no disease He cannot heal; no sin He cannot remove; no trouble He cannot help.”

James H. Aughey

The Leper Meets Jesus

“When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. ²And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” ³And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

Matthew 8:1-4

It was a wild scene, we can’t forget this. But it’s funny, Jesus through all this sees and hears this leper. He doesn’t respond to the crowd but to the diseased man. The text tells us that the leperous man was on his knees and he was “praying.” His pleas were directed at Jesus.

But remember, the end of the previous verses explains exactly what’s happening. Matthew 7:28-29, (MSG) explains their excitement–

“When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. It was apparent that he was living everything he was saying—quite a contrast to their religion teachers! This was the best teaching they had ever heard.“

The crowds responded wildly to the marvelous teaching of Jesus, and that was awesome. We really shouldn’t minimize that. However, in the Gospels, the “crowd” is pretty much a bad term, or at least a neutral one.

I suppose that Jesus seems to ignore the multitude’s extremely positive reaction. He knows it won’t last. The fickle crowd will soon cry out and demand His crucifixion.

But I understand, I’m that leper and He sees me.

Scripture tells me that Jesus now sits in heaven and makes intercession for me. He focuses on just me, I’m the center of His care–but I also know that attention is also on you, and others, and yet I’m assured that He sees me and each of His sheep. This should be a comfort. He concentrates and ministers to the person, and never to the multitude.

Jesus loves you, and He loves me too.

“So he told them this parable: ⁴“What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? ⁵When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, ⁶and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’”

Luke 15:3-6

Purity in an Impure World

First, let’s start off with a definition. Purity describes something that is not mixed with anything else. It’s not 80% of something, or even 99.9%, rather it’s fully and completely one thing. Purity also means to be solely without any additive, contamination or pollution.

Purity of heart is to be exclusively focused on one thing.

In the ancient Greek, the phrase “pure of heart” has the idea of straightness, honesty, and clarity. Probably the go-to Bible verse is found in Matthew 5:8. This is the definitive word on being a pure person, and the promise transmitted concerning “purity.”

“God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.”

Being a “pure-in-the-heart” person is the starting point for anyone who really wants to walk with God. If you’re truly serious about this, and really want to follow Him, then Jesus declares this to be where you begin.

This verse, 5:8, “strikes the very center of the target as he says, not ‘Blessed are the pure in language, or the pure in action,’ much less ‘Blessed are the pure in ceremonies, or in raiment, or in food;’ but ‘Blessed are the pure in heart.’” (C.H. Spurgeon)

We really must see this world as God sees it.

We find that scripture is not very kind to us. It seems that mankind defiles everything he touches. (I wish it wasn’t so.)

“The human mind is the most deceitful of all things. It is incurable. No one can understand how deceitful it is.” Jeremiah 17:9

Consider the following areas that are affected by out “fallenness:

Entertainment, movies, the internet
Politics, local, national and world
Religion, philosophy, theology and spirituality
Culture and art, literature and music
Education
Science and technology, medicine and psychology
Economics, wealth and poverty
Sexuality

The above list is hardly complete, and as I compiled it I got a little heavy-hearted. I had to ask myself, are we really this bad? Again the Christian must look at the Bible for wisdom and direction.

“All have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

“The heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live.” Ecclesiates 9:3

As Christians who spiritually understand the work and the love of Jesus Christ. We are called to know and love God, must continually reacquaint ourselves to the absolutely depraved condition of this world. No one, and nothing is exempt.

There is another verse I want to consider, it mentions purity twice!

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,” 1 Peter 1:22

Notice. The verse stresses that we have to take the initiative. Now I suspect that being pure is our responsibility. “Obedience to the truth” must lead to “brotherly love.” It’s not really a surprise that that’s where we end up.

To really see God, and to truly love others, requires purity.

When it comes to being pure we must become humble–that’s our starting point. Humility keeps purity from becoming false. We dare not become “holier-than-thou.” We can easily become hard, religious and judgemental. Becoming a “Pharisee” is easy and always possible.

I pray that this isn’t true.

The Great Sculptor’s Shop

“Written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

Romans 9:20, ESV

“Christianity is a world that is a great sculptor’s shop. We are the statues and there a rumor going around the shop that some of us are some day going to come to life.”

C.S. Lewis

Scripture describes the process of becoming like Jesus in different ways. But one is a potter fashioning something beautifully useful. He works to bring out something good from that which is formless. Both the potter, and the sculptor, fully intend to create something out of improbable clay or hard marble.

What sculpture is to a block of marble, so is a person who is being shaped into the image of God.

“For we are his workmanship.” Ephesians 2:10

The word used for workmanship is ποίημα, poíēma, and this word strongly suggests something that a creator does, and it’s also used in Genesis 1 to describe God making the earth. I suppose that it’s His “work” that goes into the reality of all we see. He designs it all.

God is also a sculptor, but not one limited to granite or marble.

Instead, He sculpts our characters. He can take a sinful human being and mold and chisel and hammer away until that person reflects something of heaven’s glory.

The Sculptor must do with us as the sculptor did with the stone. He must bring to bear upon us the sharp chisel of circumstances, of disappointment, of trial. These are tough, and sometimes painful. It seems that these things will destroy us.

The marble is chosen by the artist to meet the need. He becomes aware of the stone–you might say that he looks for the image hidden in the marble.

God is a sculptor, but not one limited to granite or marble. Instead, He sculpts our character. He can take a sinful human being and mold and chisel and hammer away until that person reflects something of heaven’s glory.

I beseech you to accept the chisel.

Let Him do the work of the Spirit in you. As He chips away it may seem like destruction. But the sculptor is a master, he has studied the marble and knows exactly what it takes to shape out what He wants.

Trust in His wisdom and love. He knows what He is doing. Of that I have no doubt.

Can you accept God’s tools? Do you trust Him?

The Church is Collecting Sinners

The following excerpt is from the devotional book, “Living the Message,” by Eugene H. Peterson. This pastor-professor is probably the person I want to grow up to be like; he has a gentleness and eloquence that is seldom seen–and highly respected.

Dr. Peterson died in 2018.

***********

“When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders, on observing this, conclude there is nothing to this religious business, except perhaps, business…and a distant one at that. Insiders see it much differently.”

“Just as a hospital gathers the sick under one roof and labels them as such, the Church collects sinners.”

“Many people outside are just as sick as the ones inside, but their illnesses are either undiagnosed or disguised. It is similar with sinners outside the church.”

“One way to define spiritual life is getting so tired and fed up with yourself you go on to something better, which is following Jesus.”

Some other quotes by Eugene Peterson:

“All the persons of faith I know are sinners, doubters, uneven performers. We are secure not because we are sure of ourselves but because we trust that God is sure of us.”
“Suffering attracts fixers the way road-kills attract vultures.”
“When we sin and mess up our lives, we find that God doesn’t go off and leave us- he enters into our trouble and saves us.”
“That’s the whole spiritual life. It’s learning how to die. And as you learn how to die, you start losing all your illusions, and you start being capable now of true intimacy and love.”
“American religion is conspicuous for its messianically pretentious energy, its embarrassingly banal prose, and its impatiently hustling ambition.”

Category: Jesus Christ