Calvary's View of Good Friday

Good Friday is coming, a day in which we commemorate the death of Jesus on the cross.  When we look at the Cross we can say this with certainty: it is evidence.  Proof.  God gives us something tangible, something real that we can emotionally identify with, something that we can wrap our minds around.  While many things may remain incomprehensible for us, when we look at the Cross we gain a clear understanding of the weight of our sin.  It is a wakeup call to us all. 

That is a challenge for us, to see sin and therefore salvation from Calvary’s view.  From all accounts of the crucifixion, we gain some critical insight about the cross.  As we put them together, we see…

1)    Silence (Mark 15:4 & 5):  “…And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? Behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marveled.”   While the deepest meaning behind Jesus’ silence was to show his acceptance of God’s will and peace under those circumstances, His silence also reminds us that as sinners, we are without excuse.  It serves to jog our memories just as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God…There is no fear of God before their eyes.”  Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.”

2)    Suffering (Matthew 27:26 – 31):  “…Then he (Pilate) released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.  And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.”  The slaps, the spitting, the punches, the scourging, all were to show us in no uncertain terms that sin’s wages will be paid out in physical terms.  This is true in this life and in eternity. 

3)    Separation:

a)    This is true in regard to God (Mark 15:34):  “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  This statement reveals the intensity of that separation.  As the darkness fell upon the land in the middle of the day, He who knew no sin, became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21).  He became a curse for us (Gal. 3:13).  According to Isaiah 53, it was the will of the Lord to crush him, to put Him to grief and make His soul an offering guilt (Isaiah 53:10).  The enmity between God and man was born by the Son of God upon the cross.

b)   It is also true in regard to man (Luke 23:48 & 49): “…And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.”  Towards the end of Christ’s struggle upon the cross, we find the soldiers gambling for his clothes (Matthew 27:35 & 36); and we also find His acquaintances (close friends) standing afar off as it says in Luke 23.  The point is this:  there may be pleasure in sin for a season, but that same sin will leave us empty and alone.

4)    Only Jesus will Satisfy:   As the Bible records it, declares “It is finished.”  His work was done.  He breathed His last and died on the cross.  He is taken down and buried in the borrowed grave of Joseph of Arimethia.  Come Sunday morning He rose from that grave with a body of flesh and bone, possessing all of the life and vitality of the Only Begotten of the Father.  And as He made Himself known to His disciples, appearing in the upper room, he stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you…” which seems as much like a greeting or salutation to us.  But it is so much more.  As Jesus was preparing His disciples for what was about to happen to Him, in John 14:27 he tells them, “…Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”  So as He stands in the upper room, having been victorious over sin on the cross, and victorious over death in the grave, His promise is the long-awaited peace of God with man.  It is the New Covenant in which the enmity caused by sin has been removed.  The peace Jesus speaks of is not the peace of the world which demands tranquility and the absence of conflict, but rather it is the nature of God’s reconciliation with man. 

That answers the question for us about the cross.  We see in a very tangible way what sin does.  But more importantly we see what God accomplished through the death of His son in order to redeem people from their sins and reconcile them to Himself.  And in that we can say “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

 

Keys to Victory

The opening words of Joshua 1 would become the keys to unlocking future victories for Joshua as he led the Israelites to a place of partnership and ownership in the promises of God.  In the same way they will help us enjoy as it says in the text, “…good success…” and to live victorious lives in Christ.   

There are three of them…

Key # 1 – Live like God’s promises are present realities (v. 1 – 3).   In this way we claim God’s will for our lives.  Having received His promises, and believing them, we live by faith as if they have already happened.  There is one key phrase that jumps of the page from verse 3, “…just as I promised to Moses.”  In God’s economy, it had already been done.  We by faith possess “all spiritual blessings in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).  By faith we can enjoy them.  By faith those blessings are a reality in the present.  We have the responsibility to live like it.    

Key # 2 – Remember the past in order to connect to God’s power in the future (v. 4 – 6).  God is saying, “I will not abandon you in the middle of the task I’ve given to you.”  And in this way, God is moving Joshua forward.  To be in step with what God had planned, he had to connect the power of what God had done through Moses to what He was about to do through him.  From this we learn that the proper way to revere the past is through the understanding that as God was with our forbearers, He will be with us.  His providence and grace toward them is a reminder that He will provide for and be gracious to us.  As Jesus used them to build His church, He too will use us as we walk with Him in faith. 

Key # 3 – Ongoing obedience is the only guarantee of future success (v. 7 – 9).  You will see that God’s commandments become His enablements.  Joshua was to be careful to do what God said, not in the sense that he was worried about making a mistake, but in the sense that it was his priority as a leader.  He was also to meditate on the Word, making it part of who he was, his daily routine, even his speech was to be seasoned with it (v. 8). Obeying it in faith gave Joshua the power to do his job and it redefined success for him.  It will do the same for us as well. 

God has promised to never leave us of forsake us so let us be strong and very courageous! And may we live victoriously in Him!

Don't Get Distracted

I know it has been a few weeks since the last post.  So let me remind you, setting goals and achieving success requires knowing where you are headed.  It also requires a plan.  And finally, you can’t afford to get distracted. 

That is where verse 27 of Proverbs 4 comes in:  “Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: Remove thy foot from evil.”

Focus is implied by not turning to the right hand or to the left, meaning that we concentrate on finishing what we start.  This necessitates setting aside things that serve as distractions, not matter what those things are because we can quickly get off track and become consumed by secondary non-essentials. 

Highly successful athletes often fall prey to distractions of their fame and fortunes, neglecting the very disciplines that got them to where they are.  The same is true in the business world.  And it is also true in the church.  We face the obvious danger of failing to set goals in the first place.  But distractions and stumbling blocks are equally as perilous to our success. 

You see, we struggle on the front end knowing what we want.  We struggle just as much on the back end with follow through.  And it is only because we give up too soon.  When things get tough, we stop trying.  When life happens and we get distracted, we give up and stop dreaming.  When we make a mistake, we quit. 

We simply cannot afford to do that.  Make a commitment to stay true to the path before you and refuse to give up on your dream.

Come up with a Plan

More on the subject of goal setting, Proverbs 4:26 says, “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.”  The word translated “ponder” means “to weigh,” as in scales and balances.   The definition speaks of something my wife’s grandfather, Roy Thomas used to do.  When he had a decision to make he would take a piece of paper, fold it in half and begin to list the pros and cons on each side of the paper.  When he was finished, he would “ponder” or “weigh” the facts on his list and make his decision accordingly.  

Jesus spoke of this in regard to salvation: “…For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ ”  

I want to suggest that the process is the same no matter what we set out to do.  If we are going to build a building or save money or be healthy – it requires a plan.  If your goal is to have a better marriage, what are you going to do to get it?  If you want to retire, how are you going to afford it?  If you want to be healthy, what is it going to take in order to lose weight? 

Spiritually, we set a course and to get there we need to come up with a plan.  If we want our church to grow, how are we going to do that?  If your goal is to grow closer in your relationship with God, what are you going to do to foster that relationship?  If you are going to make disciples, we need to talk about whom and then talk about how.  The same foresight that it takes to accomplish any goal is also required when we speaking in spiritual terms.  We cannot afford to fly by the seat of our pants.

So we need to come up with a plan that matches our expectations.  What we are doing now will incrementally affect our future.  So let me encourage you to count the cost of what you are doing, because the decisions we make will in so many ways determine where we go.

Even if that decision is to do nothing. 

Know Where You're Headed

Without being trite - we are over a month into the New Year, and I’ve been unusually focused on my expectations for 2014.  To do so is to walk a fine line between faith and forethought.   Somehow we have been conditioned to believe that we cannot have both. 

And yet, both are required.

Proverbs 4:25 says, "Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you." (Proverbs 4:25).  Our sight and our gaze should be focused on the path ahead, both to watch where we are going and to show unswerving determination to our task. (Lennox, S. J. (1998). Proverbs: a Bible commentary in the Wesleyan tradition (p. 62). Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House) 

One of the challenges we face concerning our future is to know where we are going.  Obviously faith plays a large role in this, yet we are also encouraged to use sound judgment and wisdom.  A wise course develops from careful forethought.  So I began to ask myself, “Where am I going?”   And in order to answer that question, we have to talk about change. 

When did we become so resistant to change by the way?

Instead of addressing where we are now, let’s begin to talk about where we want to go and what we want to be. Once we get a clear picture of our preferred future, our behavior will change.  That’s what knowing where you are headed does.  It allows us to see where we are in relation to where we need to be.  Focusing on the past and telling me I need to be different is not convincing.  But point me toward my preferred future and help me discover what I need to do in order to get there…now I am inspired. 

So the best place to begin any conversation about change is to know where you are headed.  What could be?  What should be?  What must be!  And by painting a compelling picture of where we could be, we’ll become discontented enough with where we are to change.  (Stanley, Andy (2012-09-25). Deep & Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend (pp. 271-272). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.)   

The challenge is to know where you are headed.

Care amidst the Chaos

A finch landed in front of me at a traffic light this morning. 

Before my mind could finish thinking about how dangerous it was for something so small to be hopping and swooping about in traffic, it flew off to join hundreds more I had not even noticed roosting upon the wires above the road.  Each took their turns diving into traffic hoping, I suppose, to find nourishment among the cars.  I was struck by the fragility of the moment, how something so delicate could fearlessly go about its business among the chaos of modern transportation.     

I wish this happened more than it does, but sometimes in moments like this one, God speaks to me.  Watching this little bird I heard the Words of Jesus, “…not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29 – 31) 

It turns out they can do what they need to do, unafraid, because our Father cares for them.

And the same is true for me and you.  There is something so sweet, so tender and comforting in the idea that our Father knows.  He pays attention to the things we often fail to notice and is even concerned about the details that we can’t manage or control.  Sovereignly, He reassures us of His provision and care.

And so it turns out, we can do what we need to do – without fear – because our Father cares from us.

Late to the Party

I admit it. We are late to the party – by about 20 years!

Last year as we were going through a lengthy study of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, I began to wonder why the effectiveness of the New Testament church seemed so foreign to me.  I had read about it many times in the book of Acts and even studied church history in college.  What became clear to me, cast me into a personal metamorphosis that would result in complete overhaul of our ministry model.  It occurred to me…

We don’t experience the same things they did because we don’t do church like they did.

I know the culture has changed and that our situation is largely different.  But frankly, the needs of people’s hearts – our – hearts, have not.  And honestly, it has been my experience that what we know and what we are comfortable with have replaced the simple, effective ministry of the New Testament. 

Looking back, the church grew exponentially at Pentecost.  And they stayed together with mutual commitment, “…And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers…” (Acts 2:42)  And they multiplied through community, “…And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:46 & 47)

Can I just say - that is what I want! 

I want to see God add to our number as often as He chooses and as much as He chooses.  So we set out on course to model our church after the pattern revealed in the book of Acts.  Commitments were made to the Word, to prayer and to fellowship.  Small groups were started to build relationship and create community within our body.

So far it has been more successful than I could have imagined.  The dynamic within our church is changing.  People are growing.  They are finally getting to know people they have been in church with for years.  I know we are late to the party but…

Better late than never!