Month: April 2018

59. House of Prayer

 Matthew 21:13 My house shall be called the house of prayer.

Mark 11:17 My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer.

Luke 19:46 My house is the house of prayer.

 The promise is that the House of God shall be called the House of Prayer; and not only called but “is;” and not just for some but for all peoples; no one is excluded from coming into God’s presence for prayer. House = Temple = Presence of God on the earth. Jesus is the Temple, the very presence of God on earth; the church, believers in Christ, is now the presence of God on earth. All people, and all kinds of people, are invited and welcome to come before the Lord in prayer; through the work of Christ access is granted to all.

This promise means for us that we may come into the Presence any time to bring our requests, petitions, praise and worship before His Throne of Grace. Jesus opened the way. There is no other way to God except through Christ, but through Him the way is opened for us and for all people at all times and for any reason. Prayer is always available; God is always available; Love is always available; Forgiveness is always available. This promise encourages us to avail ourselves of this access early and often.

58. Ransom

 Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

 The promise of this Gospel passage is that the Son of man will be a ransom for many, and, of course, for you and me as well. A ransom is a payment made to a kidnapper or a slaver so that it will free the kidnapped or enslaved person. For the most part, the analogy is clear enough: Jesus died as the ransom price for your soul and mine, thereby freeing us from the control of the person to whom we do not legitimately belong. This is clear: Jesus served by giving his life as a ransom for us.

What is not so clear or explicit in the Biblical analogy is this: to whom is the ransom paid? The short answer: The Enemy; the enemy is Sin, Death, and the Devil all three as one, or one of these three separately. The probable culprit is the Devil since he tempted us to Sin, which results in Death. So the ransom would be paid to all three or to one or the other separately. Sin has given the Devil legal right to our souls and now he owns and controls us; we are also slaves of sin; and Death is the ultimate master who can claim us when he wants (with God’s permission).

Created human beings belonged to God by right of created birth. Adam, and each one of us as well, surrendered that ownership to the Enemy who usurped the ownership and control of our lives, our persons and our eternal destiny. God cannot legally demand our souls back from the Devil for our Sin gives him the legitimate right to rule. Until our sins are forgiven we belong to the Devil, and Sin and Death. This is where Jesus, the Son of Man, steps in and gives his life a ransom, paid to the Devil, who kidnapped and enslaved us. Now, Satan has no more right to our life, Sin is not our master, and Death cannot claim us. The blood of Jesus ransoms us and we are back where we belong—we belong to God; I am my Beloved’s and He is mine.

We solidify that filial relationship, that eternal belonging, that adoption as sons every day when we repent and believe the Gospel. This Ransom Promise means that Sin, Satan and Death have no claim on our life, although they still try to tempt us to believe that. But we win the court trial: the ransom is paid; the promise is true.

57. All Sins Forgiven

Matthew 12:31, 32Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Hoy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world neither in the world to come.

Mark 3:28, 29Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.

 The main gist and most important aspect of this promise is that “all sins shall be forgiven.”Even blasphemy against the Son of Man or any kind of blasphemy will be forgiven. Blasphemy, cursing, swearing, taking the Lord’s name in vain may be forgiven, and this promise should be remembered.

However, an exception is made in regard to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. If all other sins are forgiven except this one, it is natural to ask, “Why?” The standard answer is that this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is on purpose, intentional, deliberate, and it is done with full awareness of the consequences, that is, he will never have forgiveness and he is in danger of eternal damnation. This blasphemer knows exactly what he is doing and what it means and he does it anyway. If one ever wonders whether he has committed this sin then he can be sure that he has not.

I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, but the Holy Spirit calls me by the Gospel. I cannot accept Christ without the Holy Spirit, He does in me what I cannot do: believe the Gospel. Without the Holy Spirit, I cannot and I will not believe in Christ nor receive the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, if I should knowingly reject, resist and deny this work of the Holy Spirit there is no other means by which I can believe or be saved. No one else, including myself, can help me if I blaspheme the only Helper. The Holy Spirit struggles with our resistant and recalcitrant soul until it surrenders and believes; and He will not cease striving. But should I willfully, purposely and knowingly blaspheme Him and turn Him away then He will say, “OK, I will now cease striving to bring you to faith.” For this reason, the blasphemer has no forgiveness and has no way to find forgiveness. He is forever lost and condemned and he knows it. This knowing and intentional blasphemy against the Holy Spirit does not seem common (I personally do not know of anyone who has done this), but though improbable, it is possible. The flip side of this lone negative is the positive: you can be sure your sins are forgiven.

The promise remains: all sins shall be forgiven. The Holy Spirit assures that message to the heart and no one or nothing can take that peaceful assurance away.

56. With you always

 Matthew 28:20And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

 The Gospel of Matthew begins with Immanuel, “God with us,” and ends with the promise that Jesus will be with us always. Jesus came from the Father to be “with us,” indeed, to be God with us. Now resurrected from the dead He lives forever and promises to be “with us always, even unto the end of the world.” Jesus with us = God with us; for Jesus is God.

The incarnation of God in the flesh on our earth is an amazing mystery and miracle. God, the Second person of the Trinity, and a human being, born of the Virgin Mother, is united in the Person of Jesus Christ; this is a mystery. Now in this age, after the Resurrection and before the Second Coming, this God-man will be dwelling in us as the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity; this is a mystery. “God with us” is a mystery from beginning (Christmas) to end (Easter).

We will never, even in eternity, be able to fully comprehend: 1) The Trinity, 2) The Person of Christ, 3) the union of God and us. What does “I am with you” mean? It means dwelling in us, making our spirits continually alive. It means surrounding us, as a halo and protective shield to guard and keep us, to help and guide us. It means the Presence of God in us and around us all the time to bless. How all that “in, with, and around” works out is beyond our ability to comprehend. But however we see it or understand it the promise is still believed.

Jesus will be with us in another special way for the forgiveness of sins whenever Holy Communion is celebrated according to the Gospel; for in it the Body and Blood of Christ is “in, with, and under” the bread and wine. This, too, is a mystery for us to be believed and received by faith. We do not see or feel the power of the Presence of Jesus in Communion, in the Gospel, or in our daily lives, but the power is present in truth and reality whether we believe it or not, because He promised.

55. Life Eternal

 Matthew 25:46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

 We finite human beings cannot grasp eternity; we cannot imagine anything outside of time, before time or after it. We can almost grasp time without end but not time without beginning. We cannot imagine how God exists in eternity without time; and we cannot imagine how we are living and will live in such a kingdom where there is no time.

Eternity is not time without end but no time at all. We have to think of it as future because that is the only way our minds can wrap around it. The real truth is that eternity is also right now and right here. Eternal life is not just life after death; eternal life is also life during this present death. Since we cannot experience this, feel this, or think rationally about it we have to believe it. That is why God gives us promises: to see what we cannot see. We exist in both worlds at the same time; at the same time we live in a world bounded by time and space and in a world unlimited by time and space. This impossibility must be believed since it cannot be understood.

God is Spirit, and He does live in both worlds simultaneously. This God invaded this space-time physical world in the person of Jesus Christ. He lived in our earth so we could see what we cannot see: God in human form, man as he/she was created to be. This person, as God and as a human being, died on the cross. The eternal God died on a cross: this is impossible and incomprehensible to us; thus we must believe the Word.The Infinite, Eternal God died for our Infinite, Eternal Sin (sin against an infinite God is an infinite sin).

We will “go into life eternal” at the end of the Age. We are already there, but at that time we will lose this earthly time-bound life and without that limitation we will see eternal life. In that sense we “go.”It is true to say both: right now we “go to heaven” any time and when we die we “go to heaven;” now by faith, then by sight.

The other side of this promise is that others go away into everlasting punishment; this is just as incomprehensible not only because we can’t understand but also because we don’t want to understand it. We cringe and avoid thinking about “everlasting” punishment. Unending punishment and torture seems to our finite minds to not fit the crime: How can sins only piled up for 80 years deserve eternal punishment? The only answer we have is that sins against an infinite God are infinite sins and can never really be satisfied with any amount of punishment. Only the death of the infinite God could satisfy the infinite punishment for sin. We don’t like it because we don’t understand Holiness; and we do not really understand Love, only our own distorted, insufficient, warped, limited, self-centered version of human love. Infinite Holiness, Infinite Love, and Infinite Life is real, the only thing that is real.

54. Inherit the Kingdom

Matthew 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

 God had a kingdom in mind for His created humans before He began to create the universe. Then He created the universe for people to live in and enjoy under His gracious and beneficent rule. After the humans rejected God’s rule and His Kingdom intention, God did not give up on His original purpose and plan. He would send His own Son into the created world to redeem people for His Kingdom; He would defeat the evil opposition to the fulfillment of His purpose; the Enemy would have to ultimately submit to the Sovereignty and Lordship of God the King.

This eternal kingdom planned according to His eternal purpose was prepared for those who would eventually inherit it; and the Lord will not be thwarted from His original purpose and intention: The Kingdom will Come. When Jesus stood on the dusty earth He proclaimed, “The Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the Gospel.” Those who believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ entered into that beautiful kingdom, now, here, in the midst of the temporal earthly kingdoms of the world.

One Day, believers will inherit that promised kingdom in all its fullness: the spiritual and the physical will be melded together in the new heaven and new earth. One Day, the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of the Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. One Day, every piece of God’s plan will be brought together in a beautiful spiritual and physical whole. Meanwhile, we live in two worlds, being continually assaulted by the one and continually rescued by the other. One Day, those on the right hand, blessed by the Father, will inherit that glorious, wonderful, beautiful and eternal Kingdom whole and entire. That’s a promise we can live with.

53. More given

Matthew 25:29 For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance.

Mark 4:24, 25 Unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given.

 The one talent was given to the man with ten talents, and Jesus makes the general promise that to the one who has more will be given. The reason seems to be that more will be given to those who have faithfully used what they have received and wisely used it to produce more. The principle seems to be that those who have been faithful and responsible with a little will be given more so that they will do more with it.It is a truth that those who give to the poor and to the Lord will be given more so that they will give yet more to the poor and to the Lord. When God finds a conduit to promote and distribute His gracious goodness He gives to that conduit so that even more will be distributed. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus speaks this saying in the context of paying attention to what you hear and then more will be given. Hearing God’s Word results in God giving more and more: so listen!

To use God’s gifts wisely and well requires wisdom and love for God and others. God will endow them with more gifts for He knows they will be used wisely for His Kingdom purposes. God grants the wisdom and graceto His servants for their talents to be put into Kingdom use. The promise to receive more encourages us to use what God has given us for the good of others; it is encouraging because we know that we never really lose what we give awayfor the love and glory of God. On the contrary, the promise says we will actually gain, not lose. The giver or the doer does not give in order to gain, but he knows that he will. The Christian just knows that God will take care of His own in His way; and His way is grace and generosity.

Even more, the promise is that this person will have abundance. The abundance will come at God’s grace and decision, and it will come in ways that only God can count. We may not even see the abundance but it will be there. There will be an abundance of spiritual blessings as well as some material gain.

 

 

52. Ruler

 Matthew 24:46-47 Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him rulerover all his goods.

 Matthew 25:21,23 His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee rulerover many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.

 This conditional promise is for faithful servants who faithfully carry out God’s will and commands. Those who are faithfully going about their called ministry and being faithful to the few things God called them to will be made rulers over many things of God. These faithful servants will enter into the joy of the Lord. There is a direct causation between being a faithful servant over a few things and a ruler over many things; being faithful today directly results in responsible oversight later. This general truth is applicable to living and growing up: when one learns to responsibly handle a few small tasks he is granted oversight of many larger ones.

This temporal life becomes a testing lab or proving ground for the heavy-duty responsibilities of governing the new heaven and new earth in eternity. What we learn here carries over to there.

Every human sinner wants to have the authority to make their own decisions and govern their own affairs according to whether it seems good or bad for them. This basic sin led Adam and Eve to want to be like God in the sense of running their lives. All human beings want to run their own lives; some want to run other people’s lives as well, but for the benefit of the ruler himself. And the more power the better: sin, strife and war results.

God gave the desire and authority to rule to Adam, but Satan turned it into a desire to rule others for his own selfish benefit. The ability and desire to rule over others for the blessing and benefit of the governed is so rare as to be non-existent. God is going to do the impossible and give transformed sinners the ruling and governing authority to run many things for the good of others. Selfish sinners cannot be allowed to rule the new heaven and new earth; therefore, transformation through death and resurrection is essential.

This is clear: God’s children will rule. This is not clear: what or who will they rule? It seems they will rule their own lives under God; they will rule each other in mutual love and trust; they will rule the animate and inanimate new Creation; and clearly, they will rule for the good and positive benefit of other people in perfect love. We can understand the beneficial rule of parents who have authority over their children to raise them well. For this they need wisdom and love. We also understand the abuse of this parental authority for the harm of their children. But it is still unclear to us what Jesus means by making us rulers of “all His goods” and rulers over “many things. But the promise is clear: we shall be made rulers. This means He will give us the love and wisdom to do so. For the present He will make us faithful servants. He is equipping us now; this training is implied in the promise to rule.

51. Words not pass away

 Matt. 24:35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Mark 13:31Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

 This is a statement of fact, an affirmation of truth, and a future certainty. This is the way it is and way it is going to be: the universe will one day be gone; the words of God will never be gone.

The universe, the heavens and the heavenly bodies, the earth and the works that are done on it, will pass away, dissolve, melt, and be burned up. The physical makeup of the present existence as we know it will simply be gone. Nothing temporal, physical, or earthly will last. This statement is a threat in the sense that it warns of the futility and uselessness of putting our trust in anything physical, no matter how good and pleasant; this statement is a promise in the sense that it reminds us that all evil will also disappear and have no lasting effect. The comfort is: “this, too, shall pass.”

The words of Jesus and of His Father, however, will never pass away but will go on and have lasting effects forever and ever. This promise is guaranteed: whoever hears the words of Jesus would certainly do well to listen to them and take them to heart.We who believe the words of Jesus are immediately passed over from death to life; we are transferred from the world of temporary transience to the world of eternal permanence.

The words of Jesus originate from and fill up the spiritual, invisible, eternal world where the life of God goes on forever (as does the life of whoever believe His words). These words of Jesus from that world also create, preserve and continually impact the physical world; these words have the power to give eternal life to our mortal being; these gospel words that create life also create new life. These words of Jesus can be counted on to carry us forever, and the love of Jesus will never stop.

50. Gather His Elect

 Matthew 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Mark 13:27And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

 The Prophecy about what will happen at the Second Coming before the Judgment of the Last Day is also a Promise: God will send His angels to gather the elect from all over the earth. When the Son of Man comes back to the earth to judge the living and the dead all those who are chosen will be gathered and appear before His Judgment Throne.

This is a beautiful promise for the believers in Jesus Christ, for they are the ones who are elected by God to believe and be saved for eternal life. You know you are elected if you believe in Jesus. The comfort of knowing you are an elect one is a blessed assurance that brings a calm and collected peace.You can look forward to a future in which you will be gathered with all the elect who ever lived and be brought to the Judgment, judged righteous, and brought into the eternal kingdom of God.

This is a simple promise that we cannot become lost, ignored or out of God’s mind. He will keep us until the end and then bring us all together at the end. The Bible answers two of life’s most important questions: Where did I come from? Where am I going? Worry, anxiety, doubt, fear, frustration and even sometimes anger are life-stealing emotions that have to do with the future. If our future is secure and we know what’s going to happen to us in the end we can rest more securely in the present moment.