Seeing Jesus As Your Way

For many people, happiness and joy is always out of reach.  We hope changed circumstances in the future will make things better, but quite often when we arrive at our destination we face another set of problems.  Like a man looking for an oasis we stumble from mirage to mirage, exhausted and increasingly disillusioned.  We swallow our fantasies and grow sick when they never deliver what they promised us.  Man looks for relief, rest, contentment, fulfillment, and satisfaction, and yet to reach for them is grasping for the wind.

When I worked at a church in the United States, people would often come off the street asking for something.  People would ask for food, money for petrol, bus tokens, to use the phone, for a lift, to leave their car in our carpark overnight, for counselling, anything.  I remember one man in particular who asked for money to fix the transmission on his van.  During my initial conversation with him, it seemed like his broken transmission was the only thing which concerned him.  If only he had his transmission fixed, his life would be fixed to.  I came to find out the reason why the transmission was so important was because this individual was living in his van.  There were a lot of broken things in the man's life; the transmission happened to be his biggest priority at the moment.  When it was fixed, something immediately sprang up to fill the void.

We are all the same.  When the poisonous "If only..." thinking takes hold on our thinking, be warned.  "If only I was out of this relationship..." "If only I had this better job..." "If only people respected me..." "If only I could have a decent holiday..."  "If only" thinking never ends and is never satisfied!  It is reasonable for us to take note of physical pain and treat it medically, even as it is wise to maintain our vehicles so they are able to safely transport us.  But unless we learn to be content in God in our current situation - despite our pain or difficulties - we will not be content even when our dreams come true.  There will be something else waiting to rob you of your joy and contentment.  It is only when we recognise Jesus Christ and a relationship with Him is our only means of being made whole that we can experience true joy and peace which cannot be taken from us.

This truth is illustrated when a blind man called out to Jesus as He came to Jericho.  Jesus stopped and bid the man be called to him.  The man rushed over to Jesus, and Jesus asked him what he desired.  The man said, "Lord, that I might receive my sight."  Mark 10:52 reads, "Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road."  It is telling that after Jesus opened the man's eyes, he used them to follow Jesus, the One who had made him whole.  I believe with eyes of faith this man understood.  His eyes would likely grow dim with age and one day close permanently in death.  So often we are without contentment and ask God to change our circumstances.  In the instances when He does, our tendency is to immediately ask for the next thing instead of following Him today in joyful thanksgiving.  Perhaps God is gracious and good to allow difficult trials so we will realise we need Him and not just something from Him.  The blind man who Jesus made whole teaches all who are willing to see.  Jesus said "Go your way," and the man did:  Jesus was his way, truth, and life.

Hearing and Pleasing God

"Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord."

Colossians 3:20

After Jesus explained the Parable of the Sower to His disciples, He warned them:  "Take heed therefore how you hear." (Luke 8:18)  Though all in the parable heard the Word of God, only those who received the Word and put it into practice were fruitful.  The hearts represented by the footpath, rocky soil, and thorny ground all heard the same words but they were prevented from having the intended effect.  Only with humble and repentant hearts can we receive God's truth and walk in obedience.

Recently the worship team at our church has played Chris Tomlin's song "Good Good Father."  It is a sweet song which I know ministers to people who need a reminder that God is a good Father to those born again through faith in Jesus Christ.  Not all people have had a loving, close relationship with their biological dads.  It is comforting to know God loves us despite our sins and the offer of His unfailing love is not dependent upon our performance.  Yet we have a responsibility to abide in God's love, and we do this through keeping His commands (John 15:10).  If we only hear what is being said without comprehending the implications, we will never receive or experience all the joy, peace, and comfort on offer by God.

There is one line of the song which reminds me of the importance to take heed how I hear.  In the song it speaks of hearing a tender whisper of love in the night and then comes the phrase:  "you tell me that you're pleased and that I'm never alone."  Be careful how you hear!  These are true biblical statements when understood in their proper context.  Nothing can separate me from the love of God, but should I choose a path of disobedience I cannot walk in His love.  It does not please God when His children embrace sin.  Jesus says He will never leave or forsake me, but that does not mean I cannot willfully depart from the presence of God or grieve His Spirit.  I do not believe it was the intent of the songwriter to offer comfort to people who are far from God, but if not heard correctly it only offers false hope.

As Colossians 3:20 says, there are things we can do which are pleasing to God.  This suggests we can also do things which are not pleasing to God.  For those who are in doubt, the Bible plainly states this.  The writer of Hebrews quoted from Habakkuk 2:3-4 in Hebrews 10:38:  "Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."   It is not just the apostate or unregenerate who do not please God, but those who live according the flesh.  Romans 8:8 says, "So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God."  Though Christians have the Holy Spirit, we live in a body of flesh and can walk according to the flesh.  That is one reason why we sin.  Should we walk in the flesh or unbelief as Christians, it is not pleasing to God.  God still loves us and we are His children even when we make mistakes, but He is certainly not pleased with us when we choose sin.

When the prodigal son demanded his inheritance from his father in the parable, he took his money and spent it on himself.  All that time whilst he was living "high on the hog" he remained his father's son and was loved by him.  Yet he separated himself from his father and thus his love.  He ended up destitute and his only companions were pigs he fed.  Do you think it pleased his father when his son took his money and ran away to satisfy his lusts?  No!  But do you think the father was pleased when his son returned home?  Absolutely!  He rushed to embrace his son, lavished him with gifts, and gladly received him back into his home with celebration.  It was not the "tender whisper of love in the night" which caused the son to return home, but the realisation he had been a great fool in going his own way.  He was humbled, brought to repentance, and was able to receive his father's love, even as people must repent and come to God in faith to receive His love.  How sad it would be for a person living in sin to be comforted in his disobedience that God unconditionally takes pleasure in him and justify his departure from God!  Take heed how you hear!

Let us do the things which are well-pleasing in God's sight.  Love and pleasure are not the same thing.  Psalm 147:11 says, "The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy."  This word "pleasure" in the Strong's Concordance means, "to be pleased with, satisfy, and accept."  God is a good, good Father to His children, and we ought to ensure we are good children in whom He is well-pleased.

What Did God Say?

We are so blessed to have the written words of God.  The scriptures can introduce man into a growing relationship with God and illuminate the path of righteousness.  In our world of memes, cliches, and catch-phrases, God's Word can be tweaked to suit our views and distort His meaning.  Satan sought to undermine the words of God from the very beginning with Eve, questioning what He had said.  Had Eve held to exactly what God said without suspiciously and selfishly wondering why He gave the command, she would have been on firm ground.

People have a way of influencing others.  It is not just the people "in authority" who have this power:  even friends and acquaintances can possess profound influence.  Take David for instance, a man who had been anointed as king.  When on the run from murderous king Saul, David had an opportunity to avenge himself.  King Saul entered a cave alone where David and his men were hiding.  It was a vulnerable moment for Saul, but equally dangerous for David because of the temptation set before him by his loyal men.  1 Samuel 24:4 says, "Then the men of David said to him, "This is the day of which the LORD said to you, 'Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.' " And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul's robe."  I have searched the scriptures, but in no place has God ever said such a thing.  God had promised to deliver David from his enemies, yet never for the purpose of doing to others "as it seems good to you."  David wisely refused to obey the urging of his friends.

The followers of Jesus also did their best to influence Him - not that they were successful!  After Jesus told his disciples that He must suffer many things, be rejected, arrested, and crucified, Peter rebuked Him.  Mark 8:33 reads, "But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  Jesus had decided to follow the will of the Father, not to live life according to the wisdom of men.  We too must exercise this same discernment afforded all Christians by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  God has provided His Word so we can test the spirits to see if they are of God.  Like our mouths taste food, so our ears weigh the words to see if they match what God has said.  False balances are an abomination to the LORD, and our words must be carefully weighed as well.  All claims of those who say they speak for God should agree with God's Word, for He will not contradict Himself.

The Great Timekeeper

I hold to a belief which is becoming increasingly rare in the world and the church:  the literal interpretation of the Genesis account that God created the heavens and the earth.  Beliefs concerning the origin of the world and the age of the earth are considered by many "not essential for salvation," and therefore many people figure it an issue of small importance.  Whether we take God at His word or not is always a massive issue, regardless if salvation is at stake.  Great errors have entered the church when people have strayed from the literal interpretation of scripture and inserted man's ideas.  The idea of Darwinian evolution and billions of years never came from the scripture.  I tell you truly:  if you cannot take literally the Genesis account of creation, you will also diverge from literal interpretations down the line when it suits you.  It is a slippery slope many have fallen down and found themselves unable to stand again.

As we read through Genesis 1 with Tribe (year 11 through young adults) at Calvary Chapel Sydney, it struck me that time began before the heavenly bodies were created.  Genesis 1:3-5 says, "Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. ⁴ And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day."  It is fitting God would cause light to shine in the beginning, for in Him is no darkness.  God made a division between the Day and Night without the movement of heavenly bodies.  The last part of verse five is critical:  "So evening and morning were the first day."  I find it intriguing the Jews mark the beginning of a new day with the setting of the sun, in the evening.  This mention of evening and morning of the first day reveals time had begun.  Without the need of the Sun, Moon, or rotation of the earth, the 24-hour day was governed by God from the beginning.

This is an amazing truth.  For people who believe our ordered universe, galaxy, and planet just happened to come into being without design or the power of God, the common assumption would be time on earth is determined by the alignment of the heavenly bodies and the rotation of the earth.  I believe the scripture refutes this.  I submit to you that time is not dictated by heavenly bodies at all, but the God who created time gave them to us so we could mark time.  This is a monumental difference.  Into a void where there was no earth God caused the light to shine and immediately the clock began running, so to speak.  God separated the light from the darkness, divided the waters above and below in the earth's atmosphere, and divided the water from the dry land.  He caused the earth to bring forth seed bearing herbs and fruit trees, all after their own kind.  And yes, He did this in a matter of days because He is God.   It wasn't until the fourth day that God created the Sun, Moon, and stars.

Genesis 1:14-19 says, "Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. ¹⁶ Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. ¹⁷ God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ So the evening and the morning were the fourth day."  God is responsible for time, not the heavenly bodies.  God gave us the Sun and Moon to indicate signs, seasons, days, and years.  He also created the stars - more stars than can be numbered.  Leading astronomers in the Middle Ages reckoned there were over a thousand stars, but with the advent of the telescope that number was exponentially increased!  Psalm 147:4-5 says of my great God who made the stars, "He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. ⁵ Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite."

This world will keep on spinning as long as the God who made it intends.  God made earth the central point of Creation, and made man created in His own image as the primary focus.  There were 21 generations from Adam to Abraham, 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 generations from David to the Jewish captivity in Babylon, and 14 generations from the captivity in Babylon to Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:17, Luke 3:34-38).  These human markers are signposts of time indicating thousands, not millions of years have elapsed since God's voice boomed:  "Let there be light!"  Many generations have passed since Christ walked on this earth, yet there remains some to this day who have not bowed the knee to the tyranny of modern scientific interpretation which claims it knows better than God's Word.  What we see today is not so much a clash of science and religion, but contrasting views of worldly and biblical worldviews which impact how we interpret the same data.  Everyone agrees this world has a beginning and it must have an end.  The more Christians who stand on the firm foundation of God's Word without shame the better.  Let's decide to shine the light of God's Word on this world - even if they don't comprehend it.