Fire Upon The Earth

Today we will be looking at Luke 12:49-53.

It has often been the dream of man to have a place where everything was peaceful and people coexisted in perfect harmony.  In the 1970’s there was a famous Coke commercial that had a group of young people singing about such things.  It was a bit cheesy however, with a line about buying the world a Coke.  Regardless, even the politics of the day differ not because we can’t agree that a world in perfect harmony would be good.  Rather they differ due to disagreements about how that can be done, and whether it can be done at all.  This brings us to Jesus.

Today, many see Christ as the perfect picture of world peace.  It is true that he is the Prince of Peace and at his birth the angels proclaimed, “peace on earth and good will toward men.”  Yet, our passage today makes it clear that the message of God to mankind through Jesus was more complex than a simple slogan like, “make love not war!”  In this chapter Jesus has been warning his disciples that he would go away and the condition of their hearts would be tested.  How they respond to these tests will affect how Jesus treats them when he does come back.  It is the misconceptions we have about Jesus and the “Messiah” or Savior, that cause us to miss what Christ is actually doing.

His First Coming Brought Fire Upon The Earth

Jesus starts out with a statement of purpose.  “I have come to bring fire upon the earth.”  If this doesn’t sound very much like Jesus to you then it is probably because you have fallen into a common misconception about him.  It is the view that at the first coming Jesus had come to fix everything wrong with the world.  That is, he would remove all the bad guys and put all the good guys in charge.  Of course the people of Israel were wrong about Jesus removing all the bad guys.  Yet, the misconception only changes.  Now we say that Jesus took out the real enemy (Satan and sin’s guilt).  Thus now we can fix it all and the world is on an ever progressing trek towards Utopia because of what Jesus did.  This passage along with many others stands as a roadblock to such thinking.  The statements of Jesus here stand much of modern Christianity on its head, at least in the West.  We tend to labor under the misguided principle that Understanding and Compromise will unarm every warrior and solve every dispute.  It tends to think that people are basically good and the real problem is miscommunication, or perhaps better, malcommunication.  Jesus lets his disciples know that they are not headed into a peaceful situation, nor would it develop down the road.  In fact Jesus is going to make it much worse, i.e. he is bringing fire upon the earth.

The symbol of fire is connected to judgment in general.  However, more properly think of it as making a distinction.  It always burns up the bad and leaves behind the good.  Thus when the Bible uses the image of purifying metals, it is the fire which breaks down the metal so that the bad impurities can be brought out and removed.  The good metal is then poured into a cast and tempered.  So fire is only bad to that which is impure and bad.  However, it is good to that which is pure and good.  Similarly, Paul uses the image between wood, hay, stubble and metal.  Things that are done for our flesh and the purposes of this world are considered wood, hay and stubble. But the things we do for Christ and his eternal purposes are like precious metals and precious stones.  The fire of Christ’s judgment will distinguish which works are worthless and are burned from those works which are valuable and still remain.  Thus the test of fire reveals Truth and Eternal worth.  So what is this fire that Jesus is going to ignite?  The fire could be connected with the Holy Spirit poured out upon believers.  This is true and the picture is given in Acts 2.  However, the context does not point towards the Holy Spirit.  This fire is going to cause division.  I believe that Jesus is the fire (His works and His Teachings).  It is he himself who is the polarizing fire and in fact he is also an accelerant to the underlying divisions that already existed in the hearts of people.  When the truth of Jesus is taught and the life of Jesus is lived out, it is like fire in the midst of a culture that consumes the bad and purifies the good.  It is easy to accept that there is a God.  But, once Jesus says that this is what God looks like and what His nature is like, you are going to have those who disagree.  When Jesus gives commands to his disciples, you will immediately have people who are going to disagree with such narrow commands.  When Jesus says that the cross is the path to salvation (i.e. Utopia), even now we can feel our flesh shrinking back from such a thing.

It is easy to see the fire that is raging throughout the Middle East due to the promotion and rejection of Jesus.  However, we should recognize the same thing is being played out here in the West and especially here in America.

Notice that Jesus first has to go through a baptism.  He had already been water baptized and Spirit baptized at the same time.  So the imagery here is pointing forward to a baptism of suffering culminating in the cross.  Another image Jesus uses is that of a poisonous cup of suffering.  On the night of his betrayal he asks the Father, “if possible may this cup be taken from me.  Nevertheless Your will be done.”  The cross and the death of Jesus were a critical part of this fire that Jesus was igniting.  After he suffered these things, he is resurrected and spends many weeks explaining to his disciples what he wants them to do.  Like a small fire being kicked, the disciples become many different embers catching flame in dry tinder.  This necessity of the cross in the life of Jesus and his followers becomes a stumbling block that our flesh hates and rejects.  “I will not be a doormat!”  “Forget being crucified!  I am going to do the crucifying!”  These harsh rejections of the way of Christ make the fire all the hotter.  As long as God’s people entertain the delusion that God’s path would not involve suffering, we would continue to resist His plan and stand in the way.  Thus Jesus brings fire that polarizes not just the world, but even his own people Israel.  “Who’s on the Lord’s side?  Come on over here to the Messiah who died.”   It doesn’t sound like a winning proposition does it.  A true follower of Jesus is one who has crucified the objections of their mind, heart and soul and cling to Jesus no matter what suffering comes their way.  Why?  They do so because they are convinced that it truly is the path to salvation and Utopia.  However, much of the world today is not enamored with such a vision.  Why do we need God and such a horrible plan of salvation?  We will build Utopia ourselves!  Whether it is radical Muslims hacking heads off of Westerners, or scientists manipulating DNA in a laboratory, in many different ways mankind is seeking a way of its own making.

In verse 51, Jesus comes back to this.  Rather than peace, he would bring division to the earth.  He goes straight to the one institution that is the most resilient against division and that is the family.  Now don’t get Jesus wrong.  He definitely is the Prince of Peace and God really does desire peace for any who will come to Him to receive it.  But the reality is that many would reject his terms of peace.  The work and teaching of Jesus would bring in a good harvest and yet, it would be hated and ignite a war even among family members.  The point here is not that it is inevitable.  Clearly a whole family can serve Christ and live in peace together.  But if they do, it will not be because of the familial tie.  It will be because they have all embraced Jesus and his peace reigns in their hearts.  Believers have peace with God in that we are no longer His enemies.  We are also given the internal peace of God that passes all understanding.  This gives us the ability to live in peace with each other.

However, no Utopian society would be brought to the world through the First Coming of Jesus.  How we deal with this concept of Utopia is at the heart of who Jesus is.  We have two choices before us: the path of the cross, which is submission to God’s way, or the path chosen at the Fall, which is rebellion and rejection of God’s way.  Essentially it is, “We can do it.”  We will do what we want.

The world has many divisions (race, gender, religion, and politics to name a few).  However, Jesus points to the most basic of all biology.  Even families will split over the reality of who Jesus is and what he calls us to be and do.  Remember, “There is a way that seems right in the eyes of a man, but in the end it leads to death.”  Which way will you choose?  The path that looks like death leads to life and the path that looks like life leads to death.  The fire throughout our land is only going to burn hotter.  Israel’s greatest fire was ignited right before its judgment.  We as a nation are at a crossroads and many are in the valley of decision today.  Make sure you don’t allow misconceptions about who Jesus is cause you to choose the wrong path.

Fire Upon the Earth audio

Ready For The Second Coming Of Jesus

Today we will be looking at Luke 12:35-48.

Leading up to this portion of Scripture, Jesus has been warning his disciples about the temptation to tie their hearts to the things of this world and miss out on the things of God.  In short they will not be ready for their personal judgment.  Here Jesus connects this to a time of Judgment that is still future; the [Second] Coming of the Son of Man.  As difficult as it was to accept, Jesus clearly taught in many places and times that he was going to leave his disciples behind and they would need to be faithful until he came back.  It was upon this coming back that he would judge the nations and give the authority of the nations unto his followers.  This idea of being ready for his coming is central to all that Jesus taught from the cross to his ascension.

Now it is easy for modern man and even modern theologians to state that Jesus and his disciples were just mistaken.  That is, Jesus taught and they thought that he was coming back in their life time.  First of all, let me point out that Jesus continually referred to a long delay that would tempt his followers to quit looking for his coming.  Also, second of all, if you had to put together important principles for people of the last 2,000 years, how would you go about it?  In other words, did the message, “Be ready for my coming,” have no meaning or affect upon previous generations?  It is clear from history that those believers who expected Christ to come back lived very different lives from those who created theological explanations as to why Jesus wasn’t literally coming back (i.e. they spiritualized the statement and treated it as a metaphor).  Even though we do not know the day nor hour of his coming, we are told even commanded to be ready.  So what does that look like?

Waiting Servants and The Lord’s Instructions

Jesus gives a parable (a true-to-life story that pictures spiritual truth) to help us understand what it means to be ready.  The parable is that of servants waiting for their master to come back from a wedding feast.  Now Jesus told several such parables and the emphases and particulars often change.  In some places we are the virgins awaiting the bridegroom to take us to the feast.  In others we are invited to the wedding by the Father of the bride.  Here we are the servants waiting for the master to come back from “the wedding” (we are not told whose and it seems to be irrelevant for the point Jesus is making).  Each of these different parables have their spiritual significance.  In fact in Revelation 19 we are told that a wedding feast for Christ and his bride is thrown right before Christ comes back to judge the nations.  So what is expected of these servants in this parable and how does that relate to us?  Let’s look at the instructions of Jesus.

First, they are to have their waists girded or tied up (like a belt).  In the culture of that day long robe type clothing was what they wore.  If one had work to do they would pull up the robe and tie it around their waist so that it would not slow them down and get in the way.  Thus, this is about being ready to work.  If you showed up on a muddy construction site in dress shoes and slacks, everyone knows you are not going to be any help in the labor that needs done.  So believers today can ready themselves for Christ’s coming by “being dressed for work” and all hindrances tied up or put aside.  This idea of being ready for service for this parable is a present readiness for service at his coming.  Yet Jesus and his apostles also challenged believers to be ready to do the work of the Father for everyday.  Jesus told his parents, “didn’t you know I must be about my Father’s business?”  Also, in 2 Timothy 4:2 Paul tells the young minister Timothy, “Preach the Word!  Be ready in season and out of season….”  What does it mean to be ready in season and out of season?  It is a way of saying be always ready (in this case to proclaim the gospel and teachings of Christ).  Thus the believer has two layers of readiness.  We must tie up any activity of our life that might trip us up and hinder us from serving Christ; particularly sins of the flesh.  Instead of living life as “fully” as we can, the believer restrains themselves and looks to the Spirit of Christ for direction rather than to the Spirit of this Age of consumerism, materialism, and sensualism.  Are you ready for service every day?  Whether or not Jesus comes back today, it makes a huge difference in the life of a disciple if they are ready for service because the Holy Spirit will impact a lost world through such a person.

Next we are told to have our lights burning.  On one hand this part of the parable is about our ability to see.  Without light it is impossible to serve at night.  This is a dark world and yet, Christ has given us the light of Truth.  Like a light to a dark room, the Truth of Christ enables us to understand the “room” of this world and our life.  Yet, the light of God’s Word is not just to help us see so that we can choose what we want to do.  Rather, it helps us to see and it directs us in what we should be doing.  Thus the person who has their lights burning is a disciple that is living by God’s Truth and his instructions.  Now notice, a lamp can be lit or unlit.  God’s Word is light.  But if it is not believed and lived out by a person (the lamp) other humans will never see the light.  Thus a burning lamp requires being filled with oil (the Spirit of Christ), having our wicks trimmed (pruning off sin and its destructive effects), and the continual maintenance of that initial God-given spark of life.  Is your life readied for the return of your master?  Do you have your lamps burning or has the flame gone out?  Another parable (The 10 Virgins) warns us that if we don’t get our lamps working today, we will be caught unaware and unready.  We need to realize that our enemy the devil will seek to distract us from our proper service.  Once he has us distracted he will move quickly to extinguish our lamp.  We need to be the kind of waiting servants that are not just sleeping until the master returns.  Rather we are continually monitoring and preparing our life for his return.

This leads us to the third instruction: we are to be watching for his coming.  The life of a believer needs to be one of expecting the Lord to come at any moment.  This will affect our perspective and our attitude.  Some may be tempted to withdraw from society and retreat into a well-stocked bunker.  However, this would actually be disobedience to the directions of the Holy Spirit.  We are to be busy with His business today and ready for His business of tomorrow.  Those who truly expect the coming of Jesus will be more careful how they live.  But when we doubt his coming or think it will never “really” come (literally), we will tend to walk in the flesh, never really getting around to service and hindered on every hand in making any preparations.  Notice that the passage speaks of Jesus coming in the second or third watch.  The first watch is the easiest to remain vigilant.  It requires less effort to remain alert and often others are still awake.  Similarly, the last watch of the night (4^th watch) is easier as well.  You have gotten good sleep and are merely waking a bit early to be vigilant.  But the 2^nd and 3^rd watch are the hours that are late at night and early in the morning so from 9PM to 3AM.  The main point is that he will come at a time when it is not easy to stay vigilant.  In fact he says that his disciples would not think it would be the time.  “Surely, he won’t come now it’s after midnight.”  We are to be prepared especially in those times when we don’t think he would come.  Thus this is an always expecting him attitude.  This should not make us “no earthly good.” Rather, it should make us all the more busy about our Father’s work so that nothing will be undone when he comes.  The enemy seeks to steal the treasure of God’s truth that has been given too you.  If you do not watch, he will steal the very things that make for your faith.  Guard your heart.

Blessing for Faithful Servants; Punishment for the Unfaithful

Now Jesus speaks to the blessing that belongs to those who faithfully execute his will and heed his warnings.  Jesus says in verse 37 that when the master comes he will gird himself and serve his faithful servants.  There is a certain beauty to this promise.  We gird ourselves to serve him today and he promises to gird himself and serve us when he comes.  That doesn’t mean he hasn’t already served us and is not serving us today.  The very nature of our God is service.  Christ served us by laying his life down at the cross to pay the price for our sins.  Christ is serving us by giving the Holy Spirit to those who believe upon him and intercedes for us daily.  Christ, however, is going to serve believers in that day he returns.  He will put down the scoffers and mockers who have persecuted the faithful and he will give all authority into the hands of his saints.  You might notice that Jesus acted this out on the night of his betrayal.  He makes them to sit at a meal, picks up a towel and washes their feet.  Who are we that he would be mindful of us to serve us in such a way?  That is the eternal mystery.  The God of heaven rejects the proud and great of this world and stoops down to serve the outcasts and the off scouring of the earth.

In verse 41 Peter asks a question because he is confused that it would be possible for one of them to not be ready for their lord.  But instead of answering Peter Jesus plows on in pressing the point.  Jesus points out two adjectives that he is looking for in his disciples: Faithful and Wise.  In this case they really are facets of the same thing.  The wise servant is not one who has figured out many great ways to serve the master.  Rather, he is the one who is faithful to the instructions that the master gave.  The master will make such a servant ruler over all that he has.  This scope of authority and its future expansion is a clear indication that God has rewards and duties for us in the age to come.  If we are faithful with God’s things in this life then in the age to come he will give us things that will be ours to do with what we want.  Yes, the usurpers have taken over the earth and exercise the authority thereof, but Christ will come and remove them.  This will be a day in which his followers are given greater authority.  Thus the blessing is being served by Christ himself and being given greater authority.  Yet, now we turn to the unfaithful.

In verse 45-48 we see those who cease following the instructions because of the delay of Christ’s return.  We can see all around us the evidence for why Christ would warn about such things.  These unfaithful servants don’t quit.  Rather they begin to abuse the other servants and their place or position within the house of Christ.  Next to this is the temptation to eat and drink to drunkenness.  Thus the unfaithful servant uses the master’s things to satisfy the desires of their flesh (i.e. partying with the master’s supplies).  As drunkenness is to drink so gluttony is to food.  This person is no longer prepared for service, a lit lamp, and expectant of Christ’s return.  They have overturned such an agenda and live to please their own flesh.  Their heart is tied to the things of the world at the expense of the things of Christ.

Thus Jesus says that his coming will surprise them.  They will not only think he is coming but they will be “unaware.”  Awareness is crucial in everything that we do in life.  This person is dulled to the very things Christ wants them to be perceptive.  No matter how faithful we are, if we stop being faithful we are in jeopardy.  We don’t say a person ran a good race because they the first quarter of it well.  If they quit and walk off the track they did not run a good race.  I could prepare for and expect Christ’s coming for 50 years.  But if I give up and start living for my flesh, I then put myself in jeopardy.  The “party it up” life desensitizes us to the purposes and times of God.

Yet, being surprised is the easy aspect to this.  They will also be appropriately punished.  In fact the “cut him in two” is a clear statement of execution.  The unfaithful servant will be given the portion of the unbelievers (aka the enemies of the master).  Thus they are clearly eternally lost.  Now, I need to bring this to a close.  It is clear that Jesus points out the perfect judgment that will be exercised.  Those who know better what they should be doing will be held more accountable and receive a worse punishment.  God is a perfect judge and that can give us relief on one hand and cause for concern on the other.  Do I want to be an unfaithful servant who is punished or a faithful servant who is blessed?  Faithfulness to these commands is what will make the difference.  Maranatha!

Be Ready Audio

Seeing the Light in a World of Darkness

This week many will be celebrating Christmas, but will they truly understand what the celebration should be all about?  Today we are going to look at Mattew 1:18-25 and see some of the events of that first Christmas.

When we look at the news events of 2014- outbreaks of Ebola, terrorism and the rise of new terrorist groups, the slaughter of young kids, Russia threatening Ukraine, even unrest on our own streets in Ferguson and beyond- we are reminded that some things haven’t changed so very much.  Israel was under the rule of a maniacal king who even killed members of his immediate family.  Rome was controlling the area under the tyranny of its military might. Scores of little children were killed that year in Bethlehem in senseless violence.  At the root of all these things, whether then or now, is a thing that God calls sin.  At Christmas we do not just celebrate Hope and love, rather we also celebrate the answer that God has given mankind for the darkness that exists in our heart and covers this planet.

Jesus Saves Us from Our Sin

There are many things that we may wish God had fixed, however, in Jesus His focus is upon the sin of mankind.  The angel told Joseph that his name would be Jesus because he would save his people from their sins.  Jesus literally means “God saves.”  This is a critical part of His nature that we need to recognize and live out ourselves.  At His heart, God is a being who saves things and people.  There are some parts of the Christmas message that may seem to have fallen short.  Joy to the world and peace on earth?  Even though the words of Jesus could bring Peace to anyone in the world, many have rejected it and in doing so rejected his peace.  The lack of world peace is proof that Jesus won’t be winning any beauty pageants soon- most contestants give lip service to wanting world peace.  But, let’s back up and make sure we understand what we are talking about with this word “sin.”

In general sin is defined in the Bible as transgressing the boundaries or laws of God.  The Garden of Eden is the foundational story here.  The trees represented the boundaries created by God.  The serpent (who is later revealed as the Devil and Satan, Revelation 12:9; 20:2) deceives and tricks Eve and Adam to rebel against God’s boundaries and laws.  As innocent as this may seem, it is the root of all our problems today.  We have been infected with an insidious mental virus that motivates us to not accept such boundaries and laws, even when they are good for us and others.  Now sin is not just the things we do, but also the things we don’t do that we should.  God created us to be like Him.  Thus when we reject that aspect of our own nature we sin by omission.  Now sin is not just a legal problem.  Some believe that if we could just get rid of “God” and this idea of boundaries and laws, then we could create Eutopia on earth.  Now think about that in the natural.  What country today, if they got rid of all laws and boundaries, would then quickly become anything but a hell-hole of seething violence and bondage?  In other words, the laws do not create sin they only stir it up.  God created this world to operate in a certain way.  He created mankind to operate in a certain way.  But sin twists and perverts the way things were meant to work for no other purpose than to rebel against God’s creation.  This causes problems that cannot be overcome by humanity.  Instead we will build ever stronger prisons for ourselves through our attempts at even becoming God ourselves.

When we talk about sin the first thought that comes to our minds is the sins of others.  Yet, the Bible says, “none are righteous, no not one.”  So sin is not just this collective thing that hangs over the head of mankind.  It is also a very personal thing that riddles our hearts.  The whole purpose of the Law of Moses was not to fix Israel.  But rather, its purpose was to trap religious and spiritual people who think that they are good enough because they compare themselves to others.  Everyone who tries to live by the Law of Moses found themselves being labled a "sinner" over and over.  Even in our own society under man made laws we see the same effect.  We break laws all the time.  Yet, we tell ourselves that it is okay because we aren't as bad as others, or the laws weren't important.  Now this is with a man-made law.  Laws are necessary for us to be able to live together in a society.  Yet, our own heart chafes at them, not just because they are unjust, but often because they keep us from doing what we want.  There are dangerous attitudes that can develop when we approach this issue.  On one hand we can try to make laws the answer because of man's sin.  On the other hand we can try to treat laws like they are the problem.  This "sin nature" problem is pointed out by laws, but cannot be fixed by it.  Like a metal detector, it can point out where the metal is, but it can't pick it up for you.  There is a part of us that wants more laws to restrain others and yet we don't want any of those laws to hold us back.  Similarly, we want God to "fix the world" but we don't want Him to mess with us in doing it.  I am a sinner too.  Jesus was sinless.  Yet, he came into the world under the specter of sin.  His mother would not be believed by society.  He would always be the "Illegitimate" child of Joseph and Mary and even that would be a question regarding who the true father was.  We chafe at being called a sinner when we truly are.  Yet, Jesus lived his whole life under this shadow.

Another part of the story of Jesus is that he breaks down the "us vs. them" mentality.  The "righteous" Jews had developed an attitude of spiritual elitism over the other nations.  But in Jesus we see that we are all sinners.  Whether secular Romans or religious Jews, the sensual woman at the well or the "spiritual" medium in Ephesus, the truth of Jesus confronted the sin of all people and yet gives the offer of being saved from it.

Thus sin is pictured as a lack of light.  This spiritual darkness covered the whole world, not just certain parts of it.  It started with rejecting God's Word about His boundaries and laws.  Then succeeding generations left such light behind in ever greater bounds; causing the shadows to quickly become pitch darkness.  In the days of Jesus, even people who wanted to please God were having trouble finding reasons to continue living for Him.  The only thing they had left was the promise of God's "Anointed One" who would be the Savior, a bright light of Truth coming into this dark world.

Jesus is God With Us

The miraculous birth of Jesus is called the virgin birth.  Although much extra-biblical stuff has been added to this, we need to set the record straight.  The Bible simply states that before Mary ever had sex (known a man) God caused one of her eggs to be fertilized.  If you have a problem with such a creative act then you really have a problem with everything to do with the Creation.  Fertilization is merely the insertion of the information needed to awaken life in the egg.  Thus the it is called a virgin birth because the woman having the baby had never had sex.  The Bible never claims that Mary was somehow "preserved as a virgin" in the birth of the Baby (i.e. as if she had never had birth).  Neither does the Bible claim that Joseph and Mary never later had children in the natural way.  It states quite the opposite.  Matthew reminds us of the prophecies of the Bible regarding the Savior.  These prophecies often pointed out what the Savior would do, but very few on what his entrance would look like.  One thing was clear from the book of Isaiah, He would be called Immanuel because he would literally be God with us.  It is easy 2,000 years later to scoff at such a thing as just another mythology amongst the many religions that spoke of Gods having demi-gods with women.  Such people see the other myths as the explanation or source of the Jesus story.  Yet, isn't it just as plausible that all of the mythologies have a source that is a real event even more ancient then they?  Isn't it just as plausible that all of these religions were trying to get back to something that mankind once had, in the Beginning?

There was a time when we walked with God back in the Paradise of the Garden of Eden.  When Noah and his family stepped off of the ark, they all knew this history.  It was there that God walked with Adam and Eve and explained his ways and designs for them.  Within the consciousness of mankind is the recognition that Eutopia or Paradise is not possible without God coming down to help us.  Thus, as the generations after Noah rejected the things taught by God, they did retain the idea of a god coming down to help mankind.  Thus, whether men look to other spirits, the occult, aliens or even transhumanism (where we make ourselves gods), we know the answer currently lies beyond our capabilities.

It is in the Garden of Eden that mankind chose the path of sin, darkness and rebellion.  This darkness not only affects our relations with one another, but it also affects our thinking.  Like a lost person we are unable to "think" our way out of the current darkness that smothers the souls of men.

One of the themes of the Bible is that God does not abandon mankind.  Starting in the Garden and throughout the ages, He had given promises to mankind (in what we call prophecies) pointing to a time when He would once again dwell with us.  A number of years ago a Christian scientist named Peter Stoner set out to use statistical probability to show the miraculous nature of all the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled.  He took 8 prophecies and determined that the probability of any one person fulfilling all 8 of them was about 10^17 that is 100 quadrillion.  To understand this number he used this illustration.  Picture the whole State of Texas being covered with silver dollars 2 feet deep with one of the dollars painted red.  Your chance of finding that coin in one try while being blindfolded is about 10^17.  This is a statistical impossibility.  Yet, there are more than 8 prophecies about the first coming of Christ.  There are actually around 300 depending on how you list them.  Most of these things were uncontrollable by Jesus and those around him.  By telling history in advance, God validated his prophecies so that when Jesus came we would know that he had come down and that he truly was, as Isaiah said, Immanuel ("God with us)."

The birth of Jesus fulfilled the prophecies about his coming.  But what if he had grown up to do nothing special or of any significance?  It is not just the things said about the child, but what he then went on to do.  Jesus is the singular man of all history that towers above the deeds of all others.  None even come close to comparing to him in his life and affect on the world.  It is the life of this child and the affect it had on the world that confirms he is the one.

So, has anything really changed since then?  Don't we see darkness all around us and sin defeating us and tearing us apart?  Yet, we are not in the same predicament.  Some very real things have changed.  First, God is now with us.  Though Jesus goes to the right hand of the Father, He sends the Holy Spirit to dwell within those who believe in him.  This same Spirit of Christ leads us and guides us in the midst of darkness.  It lights our way.  Second, the suffering of Jesus provides for us forgiveness from our sins.  Thus in the midst of a world that is under the doom of judgment we do not have to fear.  We can believe on the sacrificial death of Jesus for our sins and have confidence in the midst of darkness.  Third, His suffering and life provides for us the courage to be faithful in the midst of a world of faithlessness.  This example of what to do and how God will reward burns in our hearts.  Lastly, His love compels us to believe for the salvation of others.  God could have judged the world on the day Jesus was crucified.  Yet, he pauses judgment in order to open the door of salvation for "whosoever" would believe on Jesus.  God says to all who will allow Him to conquer sin in their life, "come join my family and you will inherit paradise with me in the Age to come."  Join Him today!

Seeing Light in Darkness audio

The Lord's Prayer

Today we will be looking at Luke 11:1-4.  Here we have an account of the disciples asking Jesus to teach them how to pray.  Two things are leading them to ask this.  First, they make mention that John had taught his disciples how to pray.  Second, it mentions that Jesus had just finished praying.  There must have been something about the way he prayed that caught their attention.  These disciples had heard plenty prayers through their life.  They are not asking to be taught because they have no learning, but because they can see that the prayers of John’s disciples, and especially Jesus, are very different from what they are used to seeing.

I pray that as we go through this you will be hungry to be able to pray as we see Jesus praying in these verses.  If prayer seems like a chore that you never seem to get around to then please take time to either read or listen to this sermon and ask God to help you embrace Him through prayer.  God clearly intends prayer to be something far more intimate than most of us are used to experiencing.

We Need To Be Taught To Pray

In some ways prayer is like the response of a baby to their need, “Waaah!”  It is an almost unconscious cry regarding our sin and the sin around us.  The Bible speaks of a cry that comes up to God from men and women on the earth.  It is clear in some of those contexts that the people are not actually praying to the Creator.  Often they are worshipping false gods.  Yet, God hears the cry of their hearts.  However, at some point prayer must become a more intimate exchange in which we approach God, not as a child, but as an adult child who knows his father.  Simply put, we need to grow in prayer.  We see the disciples recognizing that need in their selves.  Do you see the need in your own life? 

The foundational part of prayer is the recognition that we need help from God.  As much as the modern age has felt that it can meet all needs, humans are still needy people.  In fact, many of the claims of the past have proven to be more difficult than first believed whether we are talking about viruses or social dynamics.  No matter how great our technology we will never be able to “fix” our spiritual problems or satisfy our spiritual needs without God.  Prayer is the humility to toss arrogance and pride aside, and ask God for help.

Notice that the prayer Jesus gives is not complex.  This prayer is simple enough that a child could pray it and yet great enough that no one can be said to have mastered it.  God is not interested in complex and long oratories from us.  He wants a simple, heart-felt prayer that comes from the heart.  In fact, it could be said that God listens to what our heart is saying more then what our lips are saying.  Isaiah 29:13 “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,” (ESV).

It is good to memorize this prayer and pray it even today.  It is a timeless prayer.  Yet, it is clear from the differences between this version in Luke and the one in Matthew 6 that Jesus does not intend this prayer to be something to memorize only.  A memorized prayer can become a rote prayer.  It can be a mechanical thing that is absent any thought or feeling.  It is best to see this prayer as a firm starting place that we can use as a model to help us move forward.

A Model Prayer

The first phrase teaches us how God wants us to approach Him, as a child to a father.  This is a picture of a close and intimate relationship.  Now I know that earthly parents are not perfect and some are downright evil.  Yet, God cares for you better than any earthly parent could ever care for you.  As we become adults our hearts need to turn from our parents and towards God as our source of strength and help in the time of need.

Now Jesus is speaking to his disciples.  Although all people on earth are God’s children by right of creation, not all are his children spiritually.  In John 1:12 we are told that “as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”  Thus believers in Jesus are not just physical creations of God.  But, we are also a new creation spiritually.  As his spiritual children we can approach with closeness and privilege whether we feel it or not.

Notice that in this prayer Jesus prays for God’s sake first.  He makes three requests on God’s behalf and then three requests on our behalf.  It is important that prayer not be all about us.  We need to learn to put God first.  Pray for God’s things first.  Do you remember when Jesus was talking about anxiety what he said?  He said to seek God’s kingdom first and then all these material needs will be provided.  It may not be our first inclination, but we need to be concerned with God’s things above our things.  Or better put, our things need to find their proper place within the things of God.

The first thing he prays for God is that his name be made holy (hallowed).  One’s name is their reputation and character.  We need to be concerned with God’s reputation and character.  He is good, gracious and just.  Yet, many refuse to see that.  They are convinced that the God of the Bible is not worthy of praise.  We need to pray that God’s reputation and character are viewed and treated as singularly different from all others.  His character should be seen as the highest and best that we seek to attain.  When we are praying for God’s reputation it will make us aware of how our own life helps or hurts God’s reputation. 

The next thing he prays for is for God’s rule; specifically the rule of God’s Savior.  Right now Jesus rules in the lives of believers from heaven.  Thus we can pray for an increase of that rule to other hearts.  However, the Bible promises a time when Christ will return and administer a righteous kingdom from earth.  Thus we are also looking forward to and praying for this coming of Christ.

The third thing is to pray for God’s will.  Do I desire God’s will to be done in my life?  In a sinful world it is easy to desire others to obey the will of God.  However, my heart must be changed as well.  Prayer and reading of the Scriptures is where we cut our teeth on understanding just how good God is and just how important it is to listen to his direction in our lives.

So Jesus prays for the Reputation, the Rule, and the Will of God first.  Then he turns to pray about our needs.  In some ways we all need God’s reputation, rule and will in our lives.  However, God also wants to hear our desires that we have for our self.  Clearly he invites and expects us to share those desires with him.  Part of growing in prayer is learning when a prayer is improperly motivated by our flesh and when it has a proper motivation.

The first need is our daily bread.  This physical need will be with us every day and will not go away.  But we see it prayed for with some restraint.  It is not “Lord, give me enough bread to last forever.”  It is only asking for the bread I will need to day.  There is a foundation of trust here.  Our physical needs have a way of making us go overboard.  But we can approach our heavenly father with the trust that he knows our frame and will provide for us.  Be careful of rejecting prayer and attempting to insulate yourself from any need.  There is a place at which wise preparation goes out of bounds and becomes a neurotic desire to have no needs.  If we follow that path fear and worry will become our masters in the end.  Of course physical food is a reminder of our need for spiritual sustenance, but we shouldn’t be too quick to spiritualize this point.  God cares for our physical needs as much as he does our spiritual.  But he will always prioritize the spiritual over the physical.

Second Jesus says to pray for forgiveness.  Sin is referred to as a debt.  When you think about it you can see that our sins against each other leave us owing confession and repentance to each other.  We also owe each other restitution.  Here we ask God to forgive us because we are forgiving those who have sinned against us.  Clearly it would pose a problem to ask for God’s forgiveness when we refuse to forgive others.  He will not forgive such brazen sin until we break our hard heart and repent.  Yet, what about the sins I have committed against others?  What obligations to others have I left outstanding?  These things can become barriers between us and God if we do not make them right with each other.  Romans 13:8 says, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other.”  This does not mean we never have problems, but that we keep short accounts with each other both in material things and especially in our sins.  To the degree that we see our own sin and deal with it, we will act with greater mercy to those who sin against us.  This will release mercy from God to us.

The third thing Jesus prays for us is God’s leading.  We need God’s direction to avoid the traps and temptations of the evil one.  We are promised that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to endure.  So the first thing we need to do is drop any excuses we have made and recognize that God wants to help us avoid it.  We must desire to be free from temptation not just externally but also internally.  Too many of us pray for God to take temptation away from us.  But the real problem is our heart’s desire for it.  Prayer is where we learn to lay down those temptations that our heart is drawn towards.  Ultimately Jesus prays that we will be delivered from the devil.  At the cross, Jesus completely neutralized the weapons of the devil.  However, we still need to learn how to walk in the victory that Jesus has secured for us.  We need God’s leading every day and in every way to avoid being manipulated by the devil. 

Don’t let the godlessness of this generation fool you into thinking you can live life without prayer.  Prayer is the fruit of true faith in God and it leads to His help and blessing in our lives.  That blessing takes on many shapes and forms.  However, every one of them will bring us through this world without becoming a casualty to our adversary.  So give yourself to prayer today in a simple yet heart-felt plea to God for the help that you need today!

The Lord's Prayer audio