Nehemiah and Restoration

Nehemiah lived during a time when the people of God were attacked. They were taken as prisoners of war and their land was destroyed. Nehemiah went back to Judah to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. The story of Nehemiah is an amazing story of restoration. It tells of the hardship he went through during the process and the provision and protection God provided.

Restoration takes time. God could have easily rebuilt His city overnight but instead He wanted His people to be part of the rebuilding process. Brick by brick they rebuilt. Their sweat and blood was in the wall of Jerusalem now. Their healing was not handed to them overnight but instead God wanted their DNA to be part of the story of restoration. They could now own their story of redemption. They could point at the restored wall and tell how they helped bring restoration. It was not just a story someone told about this thing that happened that one time. It was personal. There is something powerful about owning your story. 

Their past did not disqualify them from their future. Their sin did not disqualify them from restoration. Because they repented, God restored His city. Previously, Israel and Judah had turned from God. They sinned greatly and were even worse than some of the nations they displaced when they came to the Promised Land. They knew God’s laws and had stories of His provision yet they chose to ignore God. They were just distant stories bordering on fairy tales and myths. They did not own their history. God sent prophet after prophet to warn his people of the coming destruction if they did not repent. They did not listen and invading armies destroyed the two nations.

But God’s love is enduring, everlasting (Ps 100:5, Ps 136). His love does not end and does not change. Just as a loving father disciplines his children, so a loving Father disciplined His children. His children repented and God allowed them to rebuild their city walls in fifty-two days. “And when our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God” (Ne 6:16).

God longs to rebuild His people. This begins by spending time with Him. When we spend time with Him, He tells us who we are. He tells us who He is and how we are to respond out of that. Things change when they are restored. No longer is it weak and falling apart but whole.

Promises through Rest

In Isaiah 58 God talks about the kind of fast he desires: feeding the hungry, freeing the oppressed, taking care of the poor. In other words, the kind of fast God desires is a fast from self. God then gives a promise to those who choose this kind of fast:

“And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 58:11-14 ESV)

That first sentence is a great promise—“I will satisfy your desire in scorched places...” In a place of desolation, I will satisfy your desires. I will make you an oasis in the midst of brokenness. An oasis was a place of rest from the desert. Before this can happen though, God needs to rebuild what we thought was lost. He needs to raise up the foundations that crumbled and restore the ruins that were forgotten years ago. He wants to restore dreams and bring healing to the hurt places of our hearts.

As God begins this process we will begin to be known as a “repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.” In other words, as we are restored, God uses us to bring restoration in others so they in turn can bring restoration to others. This is true revenge against the devil. As we are healed in one area, we have special authority over it. We have a testimony. Revelation 12:11 says, “And they have conquered him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” When we receive freedom, we get to go to others who are hurting in that area and we can tell them our story of redemption and walk with them through their story of redemption.

God promises insteads. Isaiah 61 gives a good list of instead. Instead of ashes, a beautiful headdress. Instead of mourning, gladness. Instead of a faint spirit, a garment of praise. Instead of shame, a double portion and everlasting joy. Where you were hurt, God wants to bring restoration and freedom. It does not mean the memory goes away but it does mean you are no longer controlled by the memory.

Rest is a big part of restoration. God created a Sabbath for a reason. When we take time to rest and be restored, we can quiet our hearts and can readjust where needed. We can find joy despite our circumstances. We can hear God’s voice and follow his direction. We can take delight in the LORD. He loves it when His people spend time with Him. He wants to show us off to the world. When kings took over a land, they would ride on the heights of that land. It was a thing of honor. They would inspect the land as well as display their power for the conquered lands. The Father wants to give us an inheritance. All we need to do is accept it. He is offering it to us through Jesus. Jesus is the Way to the Father and He longs to know you and tell you how much He loves you. It does not matter what you have done. He will always accept you. He will always bring restoration to His people. He is just waiting for us to come to Him.

Who is the Father? pt II

In the last post I talked about forgiveness and the role of the Father. Now, I want to talk a little about his roles. (Check out the 1 Peter series for more).

Jesus is talking about the Father in the Sermon on the Mount and is telling the audience the Father is a good provider. Look at creation and see how God provides for the animals. The birds don’t farm yet God feeds them. The flowers don’t make clothes yet Solomon wasn’t dressed as gloriously as any of them. These things weren’t made in His image. Imagine how well the Father takes care of those made in His image! We don’t need to worry about anything. We will be provided for. Then Jesus says this, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (Lk 12:32). I can worry about being provided for but the Father one ups me. He wants to give me the kingdom. In fact, He is pleased to give me the kingdom.

Our Father is also a king. A king has unlimited resources and reach beyond that of anyone else in the kingdom. He has authority to declare life and death, to imprison and set free, to bring peace and justice. He runs and is responsible for everything within that kingdom. He can give this authority to anyone he chooses as well. As the child of a king, we have access to the kingdom’s resources. It’s the concept of an ambassador. Never will you see a shabby consulate. Even the poorest countries have lavish consulates. The ambassador has the backing of that country and is a representative of that country.

But guess what, as a child of a king, we have access to his emotions as well. We can know not only the Father’s insight into a situation but we can also know his heart on it. Father God shares His emotions with us. Sometimes, all we have to do is ask.

As a child of the king we can spend time in the throne room anytime we want, not just in select times as a townsperson or even an ambassador can. He loves talking with us. There isn’t anything too small or too big that we cannot talk to him about. He loves talking with us. He has so many good things for us and longs to tell us how He sees us.

One of the things I love to ask Him is How do you see me right now? He sees all good things. There may be things I need to work on but it isn’t a negative thing. The Father isn’t disappointed in me if I doubt that He is faithful to fulfill His promises. He gets to prove himself faithful and through the process grows me in faith. Abraham is a good example of this. In the Old Testament, we see Abraham doubted all the time but in Hebrews it says he never wavered in his faith. God didn’t count the wavering. It was irrelevant. There was a time that Abraham believed God to be true and that is what God looked at. The times he missed it wasn’t what God focused on. It’s like a kid learning to walk. We don’t look down on them for falling down. It’s when they are walking that we count it and focus on it.

We don’t have lack in the Father. 2 Peter 1:3-4 says He has given us everything we need for life. He even gives us promises of what He wants to be for us and who He is making us into. We have the joy of getting to discover these. It’s like a treasure hunt. The promises are already there and our true identity is already there, we get to discover them.

Who is the Father?

If you know who God really is, trust is a non-issue. It is easier to take that step needed to turn a dream into a reality when you can trust the person who promised that dream. Corrie ten Boom tells a story of crossing a rickety bridge by car. By sight it did not look strong enough to hold a car. However, the driver inspected the bridge, not their faith in the bridge. The bridge was stronger than it looked, and they passed without trouble. “Very often, we tend to look at our faith, and we know our faith is big and strong, or weak and small. But we shouldn’t investigate our faith; we should investigate the Bridge.” (I stand at the door and knock, pg 38).

The last post focused on Jesus, and this time we are going to look at Father God. This is where we often put a lot of false perspectives on God. When we are hurt or there is a lack of a father in our lives, we often portray this onto Father God because we haven’t experienced anything else. However, Father God wants to give us a true view of Himself. He wants us to see Him as He really is.

Our Father is gentle. He is a shepherd over his people. He watches out for us and cares for us. He fights for us and comforts us. He speaks our identity over us. It is up to us to accept His good gifts. He wants to bring healing to our past hurts and free us to see Him as He truly is and others as He sees. I’ve learned that if it sounds too good to be true about the Father, it is probably true.

I recently heard a good teaching on Matthew 18 and the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. The king calls in one of his servants who has a monstrous debt of 10,000 talents. This was the largest number in Greek and the largest denomination of coin. Basically, the servant owed a billion zillion dollars. The first question is why did the king let it get this far. However, the king decides to forgive the servant.

Out of gratitude the servant goes out and tries to get his friend to pay him back. Instead of enjoying the gift he was just given, he decides to work his way out of it. He chokes his friend (a huge humiliation) to try to get him to pay. He humiliate his friend in an attempt to force him to pay back his debt. The servant knew that the debt does not go away. Someone has to take the hit. What he did not fully realize was the massive hit the king took on his behalf. He did not trust the king’s justice. Maybe he thought he would change his mind later. Because of this, the servant was handed over to the torturers. Jesus ends the story by saying this is what the Father will do if we don’t forgive from the heart. Wow.

So how do we forgive? The best way I have learned to do this is to imagine I’m in a court room. My Father is the judge, and Jesus is my lawyer.

Accuse the offender before my Father who is Judge. I accuse that person of everything my heart is screaming, no matter how illogical my brain says it is. When I have accused them of everything my heart screams, I choose to forgive that person. I ask Father to bring His perfect justice on my behalf and I give up my right to rehearse my lines against this person in this situation again. Then I walk out of the courtroom.

1. I ask for justice on my behalf and give up y right to accuse the offender of these things in this circumstance again.
2. I have to trust that the Father will bring justice on my behalf and that the justice will be enough. How do justice and forgiveness go together? Romans 12:19 says, “’It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the LORD.” This is why I ask Father for justice.

If I choose not to forgive the person, I am tortured by it. That unforgiveness, that sense of injustice, eats at me. It affects me in ways I don’t realize until I’ve forgiven that person. I am speaking from experience on this.

3. After I’ve forgiven the person, I then get to confess my part in it. I ask for forgiveness and the Father always forgives. It does not matter what I’ve done. He always forgives. Jesus paid my debt in full. There is nothing that He did not pay for.

Ultimately, forgiveness comes down to a trust issue. How much do you trust your Father?  

This next part will take some time. Sit down with a journal (and coffee) and spend some time talking with the Father. Ask Father to show you who He really is. Ask Him if there is anything standing in the way of you seeing Him as He really is. If there is a particular memory and you are angry that the Father did not show up, ask Him where He is in that memory. You may need to grab a friend to help you walk through this. Know that the Father loves you so much. It is so easy to walk away because of hurt but what if there is more? He wants to talk with you, snuggle with you, tell you how much He loves you. We only need to take the time to sit with Him and listen.

Do you know who you trust?

In Luke 4:14 Jesus is in Galilee and goes to His home church. He goes up front to read and the attendant hands him the scroll. However, instead of reading where they left off last week- as was customary- Jesus instead searches out one of His promise verses. He finds Isaiah 61 and begins reading his mission statement.

 

The Spirit of the LORD is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favour...

 

The rest of the chapter beautifully describes the healing and restoration He will bring and the restoration we get to bring because He has restored us.

 

When Jesus says He is coming to restore, it would remind them of the year of Jubilee. Jesus came to release us into the year of Jubilee. Take a look at Leviticus 25. The 50th year was a year of Jubilee. It was a year of celebration. You would not plant or harvest this year because it was a year of rest as well. God promised the 49th year would produce enought for three years.

 

You would also return property. If someone sold property, it was because of financial hardship. You did not move around in those days. You had your town and your family had been there for generations. When you sold land, you took away from your sons' inheritance. God wanted that returned to the seller so His people were not dispossesed and homeless.

 

Go back to Luke 4 and look at the power of Jesus' words. They create life. There are multiple times in chapter four where His voice and words are emphasized:

 

• 4:22- "All spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth."
• 4:32-"[the people] were astonished at his teaching for his words possessed authority."
• 4:36-"For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits and they come out!"
• 4:41- In contrast, Jesus would not let the evil spirits speak. He only wanted His voice to be the one that speaks over us.
 

Jesus only needs to speak and things are created. He is, after all, His Father's Son. Back in Genesis the Father spoke and the world was created. Now, the Son is walking on Earth and His very words have healing power. another name for Jesus is the Word (Jn 1). Jesus follows His Father's example in this too:

 

John 14:10-14-- The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am giong to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name this I will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commands. And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth...

 

John 15:7-12-- If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you...

 

John 16:23-24-- Truly, truly I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full...

 

Take a look at those chapters. There is a lot of good stuff there.

 

 

 

Jesus came to bring us freedom. His words have creative power. Where do you need to ask Him to bring you into freedom?

Intro to Trust, Desire, Hope

God is teaching me a lot about hope. This summer has been an interesting one full of change and redirection. It did not look anything like I expected. I do not entirely know what I was expecting to learn but I know this was not it. Much of this summer was spent battling with the fact that my dreams and my circumstances do not match up. Endurance despite my circumstances was a big theme. All this has led me to study hope.

Before this summer all I knew about hope was that “Hope deferred makes the heart sick but longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Pr 13:12). It took me a while to remember that I do not have to live in the ‘hope deferred makes the heart sick’ part of the verse. I can be instead looking ahead to the ‘longing fulfilled is a tree of life.’ I do not have to look at my circumstances as a gauge of where I am spiritually.

Right now I know that I am coming closer and closer to longing fulfilled. I can see it on the horizon. I do not know how all this is going to work or what it will look like but I know I am getting closer and closer to stepping into them and living in the fullness of these dreams.

I have big dreams. I want to change the world. I want to see and bring about restoration. I want to cultivate a greater hunger for God in the church. I believe God has great plans for His people and right now He is preparing us to walk in the fullness of them. I believe He placed these desires for greatness within us so that they will drive us to Him because He is the one who can fulfill them.

Trust is the first step in this process. We need to trust that our Father will fulfill His word. When we can trust the Father, He can better grow desires and dreams within us. Hope is the longing for those desires to be fulfilled and the belief that they will be fulfilled.

These next several posts will be more about what I am learning about these things.

Circumstance and Promise

Pt XI of XI

Continuation of Inheritance

Romans says Abraham grew strong in faith as he gave glory to God (Ro 4:20). How do we grow stronger in faith? Through worship. Revelation 12:11 says, “We have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.” This isn’t something that is going to happen. It already happened. John is recounting what already happened. We already overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. We get to say, “Look, Jesus already overcame you and He lives in me and I in Him so therefore I will overcome you as well. And look, these are the other times I’ve already overcome you by the power of Jesus living in me so I know I am going to win again.”

Our praise has an influence on our level of faith. The more we worship God, the more our faith rises and we increase our ability to overcome. We are focusing on God in these moments and his power not on the problem and our inability. When we take our eyes off our circumstances we become enraptured with whom God is, then suddenly it doesn’t matter that my circumstances don’t match my promise. I know that God is faithful and he will make His promises come true.

David is a great example of this. He was told he was going to be king then shortly after this he escapes into the desert as an exile because the king is trying to kill him. He is in the desert for some 10 years but knows that God will get him to the throne. You circumstances may not match your destiny yet but that doesn’t mean you aren’t to go from being hunted to ruling. The wilderness prepares us for the throne. It is in the wilderness we get an upgrade and step up to a new level of authority so we can enter the Promised Land knowing we can rely on God as He tells us. There are giants in this land that we get to conquer and slay. We have a promise—this is our land. God even called it the Promised Land.

Inheritance

Pt X

Contiuation of Promises

 

God gave us an inheritance that we can fight with. It is something we can use and is beneficial to us.

1 Timothy 1:18-19—This charge I entrust to you Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience.

I don’t know where you stand with prophecy but Paul is saying here that those promises and prophecies spoken over us are things we can fight with. We can use our promises to fight against that unbelief and those doubts that creep in saying God doesn’t want to use you for this, you can’t do that... etc.

As part of a new kingdom, we have weapons of warfare. God has given us His armor to fight with. He has equipped us with everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pe 1:3). In Isaiah 58 we see God put on the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation (Isa 58:17). We, like His children, copy the Father and also put on armor just like His. We see a list of our armor in Ephesians 6. We need to use the armor God gives us. If we trust the armor God gives us has the ability to protect us but we never use it, it is becomes useless. It is meant for use.

Satan is a “roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Pe 5:9). He makes a lot of noise, but because we are in Christ, we are already victorious over him. Satan has no power over us anymore unless we give him power. Stand firm in faith and resist him (1 Pe 5:9). He has to flee when we submit ourselves to God (Jas 4:7). Sometimes all we have to do is resist him.

We are victorious in Christ (1 Co 15:57, 1 Jn 5:4, book of Revelation). God always leads us in a triumphal entry (2 Co 2:14). You do not have a parade celebrating victory if you lose. We are operating from a place of victory. We do not have to surrender when God has already declared victory over us. This means we no longer have to give in to fear or shame.

Jesus has overcome the world and by extension so have we.

-        John 16:33—In the world you will have trouble but take heart for I have overcome the world.

-        1 John 5:4-5—For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

-        Romans 8:37—We are more than conquerors.

So, if Jesus lives in us and he has overcome the world and we overcome the world by believing that Jesus is the Son of God and we are more than conquerors, than we don’t have anything to fear. God’s name is Love and he says that perfect love casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18).

So what does this mean?   

1.  It means we don’t need to fear lack because we don’t have lack in the Father. 2 Peter 1:3-4 says He has given us everything we need for life and has given us promises as well. This implies the Father’s given us everything we need now as well as in the future.  

2.   We don’t need to fear that we have no purpose. We are anointed by the Holy Spirit, set apart, dedicated (2 Co 1:22). When you anointed something, you were setting it aside for a specific purpose. You have purpose.

3.    We don’t need to fear that God will not do as He promises. Isa 57:13-19 talks about how God will do what He promised. Psalm 146:6 says he is faithful forever. The NLT puts it: He keeps his promises forever. I didn’t earn these promises. They won’t be taken away. They can be delayed if I’m not cooperating with the Holy Spirit in preparation for the fulfillment of them but they will not be taken away. If I didn’t earn them then it follows that I can’t work to keep them. Romans 4 talks about the promise God made to Abraham. God made a promise of children to Abraham based on his righteousness of faith, not based on the law (Ro 4:13). If it was based on his actions, they could prevent the promise from coming true.

Remember how I was talking about the different promises God made in the OT and in the prophets about how he would restore his people? Do we get to see these fulfilled? We are a fulfillment of a promise. We are children of promise. God promised to restore his people and give them a new heart and place His Spirit in them. We are a fulfillment of that. Even as Gentiles we get to partake in this promise and are a fulfillment of this promise. God promised that the nations would come to him not just his own people. (Galations3:29) And if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Promises

Pt IX

Continuation of Promises and the Mind of Christ 

Why are the Father’s promises important? The promises allow us to escape the corruption of the world. (2 Pe 1:3-4)

The Father gives us promises of what He wants to be for us and who He is making us into. We have the joy of getting to discover these. The promises are already there and our true identity is already there, we get to discover them. There is joy in finding treasure. If you are willing to seek it out, you will find it (Mat 7:7). He has given us promises so we can connect into the Father’s heart and therefore escape the corruption of the world. When we see as the Father sees suddenly sin no longer has a great appeal.

Some good questions to ask the Father are: how do you see me/ what is your heart for me, what are your promises for me, what does it mean to be a child in your kingdom, this is what my circumstance is but what do you want to be for me in this. Then listen. Write down your thoughts. Get to know the Father's voice. Ask a godly friend to do this with you and use the Bible to check what you think the Father is saying. If it doesn't match up with the Bible, toss it. If it does, find references you can put next to those promises.

Some promises to get you started:  

If we are lonely—I will never leave you nor forsake you (Dt 31:8). I am with you always even until the end of the age (Mt 28:20).

I won’t have enough— The Father promises that he has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pe 1:3). He has given us all blessings. This doesn’t mean he gave us some and someone else got different blessings. No he has given us all blessings.

Ephesians 1:3-14 is similar— We were blessed with every spiritual blessing. Not just some, but every blessing even as he chose us before the world was made. We have access to these blessings now. We get to discover them now. The Father even tells us about our forthcoming inheritance. We are sealed with Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance. He is the down payment of heaven, a taste of what is to come.

If you need to see God as a provider— He provided a lamb in the place of Isaac in Genesis 22. He gave Elijah bread in the desert and provided food for Elijah and a widow and her son during famine (1 Ki 17). Jesus fed 5,000 people (Mk 6).  Matthew 6:25-34 talks about how God cares for his creation and these aren’t made in His image. How much more will He provide and care for those who are made in His image.

If we are stressed—Jesus gives peace. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (Jn 14:27). “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).

If we are rejected—Isaiah 41:9-14 —I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the LORD your god who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid O Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you, declares the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

Promises and the Mind of Christ

Pt VIII

Continuation of Put Off the Old and Put on the New

Discovering who you are as the new man is like a treasure hunt; it’s exciting, fun. When you are in a treasure hunt or playing hide and seek, what you are looking for is already there. We just get to discover it. The same is true in discovering our identity as a new creation. What we are already exists, we just get to discover it. God has given us his great and precious promises (2 Pe 1:4). They are promises of who God is and of who we are. These promises are things we get to discover and clues as to what God is growing us into and where He wants to take us.

As a New Creation, we need to know the mind of Christ. When we see as Jesus sees then suddenly our perspective changes and we see our circumstances in a whole new light.

Our thinking changes as we renew our minds (Ro 12:2). If we go play outside and get muddy and dirty, we don’t put clean clothes over our dirty ones and call it good. We take off the dirty clothes and put on clean clothes. We take off the old way of thinking and put on the new. Restoration causes transformation. I love how the word rest is in the word restoration. Resting is God’s way of rebuilding us. It is building us into a place of strength, of peace. It is home. It is the place we commune with God. We need to rest and be restored, renewed so we can be changed to be more like God (aka godly).

We have the mind of Christ (1 Co 2:16). We are seated in heavenly places with Him (Eph 2:6). Not only this but we also have the Holy Spirit who “will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (Jn 14:26). 1 John 2:20—we have all knowledge by the Holy Spirit. We don’t need to hold onto lies anymore because we were given Truth, and one of Jesus’ names is Truth (Jn 14:6).

So, if we have the mind of Christ and He is Truth, then He can tell us who we really are and suddenly those lies don’t have power anymore. The more we spend time soaking in the Father’s presence, allowing Him to tell us who we are, the less those lies stick and the clearer our vision becomes. What we hear starts to sink from our heads to our hearts and we start to believe what the Father says about us. We start to see things as the Father sees and we get a whole new perspective on our circumstances.

Put off the Old, Put on the New

Pt. VII

Continuation of Seeing with the Father's Eyes

 

The first way to do this is to put off the old self and put on the new. Romans 6 says to present yourselves as alive from the dead. You are no longer the dead person but the new person which means we no longer need to think as the old person but rather as the new. Ephesians 4:22-25 says, “Be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” We do this by taking off lies and speaking truth to those around us for we are all members of one body.

Colossians 3:9-10 says the same thing. Do not lie to each other for you have put on the new self which is renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 2 Corinthians 3:18-4:2 says the same thing. If what we are saying over someone doesn’t pull them up into their new nature and the new way of thinking, then don’t say it. We aren’t to speak lies over each other but rather truth.

The more we see God, the better we can become more like Him and mirror him (1 Jn 3). One of Jesus’ names is Truth. The more we focus on Truth, the less we focus on the non-reality. Jesus came that we may live life to the full (Jn 10:10). Jesus took care of sin so we could walk in the fullness of life. This means there is no more lying. No more complaining. No more pity parties of I’m not good enough. He took away stress and anxiety. Jesus took all that negativity away from us at the cross. He died so that we would no longer have to live in that.

Seeing through the Father's Eyes

Pt VI

Continuation of Children and Heirs

 

This frees us up to see as the Father sees. When we are no longer living by the world’s hierarchical system, we see other’s worth and identity as the Father sees it and we can call if forth in them. Just as the Father had grace on us, so we get to have grace on others. Grace looks like focusing on someone’s identity not their behavior. The more we know our identity, the more we can see other’s identity and the less their behavior and words stick to us.

By understanding what it means to be a child of the king, we learn to live in the palace not on the edge of the kingdom. We don’t get our thinking from the gutter but from the throne room.

The book of Romans talks about how our old self was crucified with Christ and we were raised with him so we are no longer under the dominion of sin but under grace. The law was our guardian but now we are adopted as children of the Father and have direct access to the Father as his children.

Romans 8:14-17—All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not received the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you received the Spirit of adaption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father! The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Galatians 3:23-26—Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

 

It is no wonder that Jesus had such harsh words for the Pharisees because of their legalism, and so did Paul for the Judiasers. They were trying to put the law on the New Covenant. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We have to work for death in the kingdom of darkness but God freely gives life in his kingdom. What the Pharisees were trying to do was mix the two kingdoms. They were living as though they were still under a task master or a guardian not under a good Father who accepted them simply because they are His. They wanted the benefits of God’s kingdom but the rules and regulations of the kingdom of darkness that allowed them to measure achievement and standing.

By trying to work for the kingdom of God they were totally missing it and leading others down with them. They wanted intimacy without a commitment. It doesn’t work that way. In the Kingdom of God we do not gain standing based on merit. We have standing because of whose we are not because of what we do.

As children we are also heirs and have access to the kingdom’s resources. In the Roman world the heir would have a signet ring with the family crest or symbol on it. It was representative of the family’s authority and power. A son would receive his father’s seal and with it the authority of his father. Luke 15:22—the Father gave the prodigal son a ring. This was a signet ring. In a similar fashion, kings would give certain people their seal to do the king’s will. They would then have the authority of the king and the resources of the king (A great example is King Xerxes and Haman from the book of Esther).

2 Corinthians 1:22 says the Holy Spirit is the Father’s seal of ownership and sonship on us. We bear the seal of the Father. There is so much untapped authority we are not using as seal bearers.

In John 14:10-14 Jesus is talking to his disciples at the Last Supper and He is being very frank with them. He tells the disciples that He does what the Father tells him to do. He is a representative of the Father, doing the Father’s work. We are now representatives of the Son for the Son lives in us just as the Father lives in Jesus. Jesus says that we will do greater things than He did here on Earth. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.”

We are ambassadors with the backing of the kingdom’s resources. Never will you see a shabby consulate. The ambassadors represent the wealth and power of their nation. They have access to it and use it. The same is true for us.

Children and Heirs

Pt V

Contiuation of Ransomed from Darkness into Light

 

So, what does this mean for us? First of all, it means that now that we are in the Kingdom of God, we are his adopted children and heirs.

We have full access to the Father as his children whom He deeply loves. We aren’t created to live at the edge of the kingdom as slaves. We were created to be with Him in the palace. In Genesis 1 God tells Adam and Eve to rule over the earth. That didn’t change at the Fall. More than that, the Father seated us with Christ in heavenly places (Eph 2:6).

We are made in His image and are his children so we should reflect Him to the world. We represent Him here on Earth. We are spies in the enemy camp showing and displaying the goodness of God and turning people. We create a hunger for God through our actions. We become sheep among wolves, a tasty treat so others can taste AND see that God is good. When others see the goodness of God is us, they are attracted to that, not our eloquently prepared arguments and speeches. It is heaven in us that draws people.

Our old self was crucified with Christ so we could be free from the dominion of death and sin. We are no longer slaves but sons. We don’t need to keep going back to the old kingdom, the kingdom of death. We are not the old man anymore. We are a new creation; we are made in the likeness of our Father. No longer are we dominated by sin. We dominate sin. We no longer have a sin nature, though we may have a sin habit. We’ve been born into a new kingdom where we rule. We are co-heirs with Christ and seated in heavenly places with Him (Eph 2:6).

If we go back to the old kingdom and its way of thinking, we step down from our place of authority and go from ruling to being ruled, from sons and heirs to slaves. No wonder the devil wants to deceive us into believing we are still subjects in his kingdom.

We fight from a place of victory knowing Jesus has already overcome the world (Jn 16:33). We fight from a place of rest and love knowing our identity is secure in Him. We cannot earn our identity nor can we work enough to keep it or increase/decrease it.

Ramsomed from Darkness into Light

Pt IV

 

continuation of Promises of Restoration in the Prophets

We are now in the Kingdom of God. We were ransomed from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light (Col 1:13).

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God (1 Peter 1:17-21).

 

The first thing Peter does is calls God Father. Our Father is our judge and he is impartial. We were ransomed from the kingdom of sin. To require ransoming means that we were stolen. We were taken from the Kingdom of God and enslaved in the kingdom of darkness. The highest price was paid for us, Jesus’ blood. Our worth was so high that Jesus’ blood was the cost for our ransom. That is how valuable the Father says we are.

If God sent Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners, imagine all that he has for us now that we are saints in his kingdom (Ro 5:8-10). That is what God did for us while we were enemies. We were in an opposing kingdom. Take some time and revel in that fact.

If you want more on this, see my previous posts Call on Him as Father, Impartial Judge, Ramsomed, The Precious Lamb We Did not Buy, to name a few.

Promises of Restoration in the Prophets

...Pt. III

Continuation of Redemption Promised

All throughout the OT, we see Israel turning from God and God imploring them to return. The books of the prophets are some of the most beautiful writings on this. They do contain warnings and list Israel’s offenses against God but they also have the most beautiful promises of restoration.

You have Hosea, whose life is a living picture of how God pursues his unfaithful bride. She continues to walk away and commit adultery but Hosea keeps seeking her out and bringing her back even when she has children by other men.

Isaiah has the most beautiful promises of what God will do for his people and how he sees his people—chapters 40-66 especially. He tells the end story there of how He will restore His people and restore to them more than what they lost.

Isaiah 43:4, 5—Because you are precious and honored in my sight and because I love you, I give men in return for you and peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not for I am with you.

Isaiah 57:18-19—I have seen his ways but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace to the far and to the near, says the LORD and I will heal him.

Isaiah 61:7—Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion.

 

Isaiah 62:1-5— For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet until her righteousness goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness and the kings your glory and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken and your land shall no more be termed Desolate but you shall be called My Delight is in Her and your land Married for the Lord delights in you and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman so shall your sons marry you and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

Jeremiah talks about what will happen to God’s people if they do not turn back to Him.

It talks about how He will restore them even though they won’t repent.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 – For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you declares the LORD and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you declares the LORD and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Jeremiah 33: 8-9—I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them.

Then we have Ezekiel. God tells the story of Israel as a faithless bride in Ezekiel 16. He saw her cast out as an unwanted child left to die in the wilderness and he saved her. He gave her beautiful clothes and jewelry and food. But she trusted in her beauty and paid people to sleep with her. Because of this Israel was exiled but God promises to establish an eternal covenant with his people. He continues to list the things they have done but concludes with I will restore you. This is what you have done but I will restore you.

Ezekiel 36:24-30— I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.

Then right after this God brings Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones and tells him to prophecy over them life. The valley of bones would come from a great war. Man fought against God and lost and died. But God promises to bring life and to restore so he has Ezekiel be part of his picture example. He speaks life over the bones and restores the bones to people. No longer is it a valley of dead bones but now it is a valley of people restored to life. In the New Testament we get to see this more clearly with salvation. Jesus came to restore life to us. We fought against God and died. But Jesus came and raises us to life so that we may live in Him.

The amazing thing is that Jesus was never Plan B. Man’s sin did not surprise God. He did not have to scramble for a Plan B. 1 Peter 1:20 says Jesus was chosen before the foundation of the world. Before Genesis 1:1 the plan was already set to save mankind. Before Adam was even created God already had a way to restore him. Talk about amazing love!

Redemption Promised

... Pt. II. 

A continuation of A Tale of Two Kingdoms.

It is in this perfect paradise that Satan enters as a serpent. He sows deceit into the pure sanctuary and brings forth death. As a result, all of creation is cursed. The woman saw the fruit was pleasing and desirable. She was being tempted to find pleasure outside of God. She is being told she does not have full pleasure in God. They turned from the Pleasure-giver and tore from Him. They were no longer filled with Him. Instead, they feel shame. They both hide in the trees that were to bring them pleasure.

However, it is at this bitter time that God makes a promise to restore his people back into his kingdom made clear by the appearance of His Son. Imagine that moment. You are full of shame, God curses things, you watch God kill and skin an animal and you are kicked out of the Garden, your home, the place you know you are meant to belong because you are with God and in a right relationship with Him. God tells them to get in this dead and bloody thing and they will be okay. Their shame will be covered. Later, God tells us to get in a dead and bloody thing that is now risen and alive and our shame will be taken away. We get the upgrade, the new and improved. Just as a lamb was slaughtered in the Garden to clothe the man and woman and cover their shame, so the final Lamb was slaughtered to remove their shame.

God curses the serpent and says one day you will be crushed by the descendant of a woman. Jesus was the descendant of a woman. He did not have an earthly father. Romans 16: 20 says, “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” We are one with Christ and get to take part in crushing Satan under our feet.

Fast-forward to Exodus. God brings His people out of the land of slavery and into the desert where He gives them a new identity as children of God. They are no longer slaves. It is in the desert that he washes away the identity of slavery and restores to them to their proper identity as children of God. They definitely don’t get it all the time and God gives them a picture example. He has them make the tabernacle. The tabernacle was made to look like the Garden of Eden—fruit everywhere, vines, cherubim covering the walls (Ex 36:8). He has them make the Ark of the Covenant. The base wood of the ark and the tabernacle is acacia, a thorn bush. It was not originally part of creation. God covers it with gold. The thing that was a curse is now covered in gold and used for something royal instead of firewood.

On top of the Ark of the Covenant are two cherubim, just like there are cherubim guarding the way to Eden. God will meet us between the two cherubim (Ex 25:22). Every year a priest was to put blood between the two cherubim on the ark on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16). This was when they offered a sin offering and a burnt offering and did the scapegoat. The amount of blood between them would look like someone tried to enter Eden and was slaughtered. Fast forward to the New Testament for a moment. Jesus did meet us between the cherubim and took the first blow to make a way. He was massively obedient and made a way.

The veil covered with cherubim was torn at crucifixion. Where cherubim once kept us from entering the garden of pleasure, the garden of fellowship, they could no longer do so. Before, only the high priest could only enter the Holy of Holies once a year. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn 3:8). The first thing God does is remove the veils with the cherubim; a way to God and the tree of life in Eden is reopened. The Garden of pleasure is where people can fellowship with God. A way back into the kingdom of God was made.

A Tale of Two Kingdoms

The Bible is really a story of God’s kingdom. It’s almost like reading a history book meets a fantasy, sci-fi book with a little bit of poetry and some philosophy/theology thrown in. But they all talk about the same thing—kingdom.

Genesis 1-3 provides an intro to this kingdom. Back in the garden God created a perfect world. It was a place where He and man could commune and have relationship. God gives man a purpose and tells him to be fruitful and multiply and to rule over the earth. All is well in God’s kingdom.

But in the undertones of this world another kingdom is lurking, the kingdom of Satan, of darkness. Revelation 12:7-17 gives us a glimpse of what was happening. There was a war in heaven. Ezekiel 28 says that Satan desired to be God. He was originally a guardian cherub, the secret service. But he desired to be God and so Michael and his angels defeated him and threw him down to earth.

But then Genesis 1 happens. It says the earth was formless and void, full of darkness. Suddenly light enters. Satan hears God’s voice creating things. Then the unthinkable happens. God makes man in His image and tells him to rule over the earth. What was Satan exiled to earth for? Wanting to be God. Now God makes man in His image and tells them to rule over everything on earth. This is when the two kingdoms really come into a clash.

The ruler of the kingdom of darkness comes to the two made in the likeness of God and twists the truth just enough that they begin to doubt God’s goodness. They fear God is withholding from them good and out of fear choose the kingdom of darkness. By choosing sin man disobeys the kingdom of God and obeys the kingdom of Satan. We switched kingdoms. No longer were we under God’s kingdom but under the kingdom of sin. The rest of the book shows the out falling of that choice. Murder is introduced into the once-perfect world. Incest, abuse, rape, famine, poverty, self-promotion, lies, jealousy, rage. These are all things that are not of God’s kingdom.

However, look at Genesis 3. God is not going to let the kingdom of darkness take those who are made in His image. God goes out looking for Adam and Eve and finds them hiding. He didn’t let them hide from Him but looked for them. He loved them enough to look for them. They are full of shame and probably feeling pretty unworthy to be around God and wondering what is going to happen. Adam blames Eve, she blames the serpent and no one is willing to account for their actions.

God steps in and begins cursing things. I imagine God was crying as He did this. The serpent is cursed among living things and God promises that from the seed of the woman will come one who will destroy him. Then he gives the woman pain and curses the ground. Now thorns and thistles will cover the perfect creation and death is allowed. God then places cherubim and a flaming sword to prevent man from entering the garden where the tree of life is.

But this isn’t the end of the story. God continues to promise restoration for his people.

More to follow....

Seeking vs. Advancing

Have you ever thought about the difference between seeking and advancing the kingdom of God? There are promises in God’s Word for those who seek the kingdom but not for those who try to advance it (see Mat 6:33, Lk 12:31).

We live in a very works-oriented culture where our merits determine our value. This pours out into our social lives, work lives and even into our spiritual lives. We believe that Jesus came so we could have the free gift of salvation but after that we have to work for our worthiness and value. We have to advance the kingdom and start amazing ministries to show that we are good Christians. This is a lie. My worth is not found in what I do. I could be comatose in a hospital bed for the rest of my life and my value would not change. My worth would not change. So why is it, I keep trying to advance the kingdom instead of seek it? Why do I keep trying to work my way into acceptance instead of discovering what God has already given me?

A friend and I were talking about this and what it came down to was motives. What are your motives? Are you seeking ministry opportunities or are you seeking intimacy? Are you seeking God as a means to an ends or are you seeking God because of who He is? What if ministry is a side effect of intimacy? What if by seeking the kingdom, the side effect is it advances?

For example, I can seek the kingdom and it looks like writing and studying. I love to do these things. When I am seeking God writing is what comes out of my relationship with God. It comes from our conversation. It is Him teaching me and talking with me and what I write is just the fruit of that (though not all that I write is from God, some of it is just me). However, when I am writing for the purpose of proving to others (or myself) that I have something valuable to say, I am trying to advance the kingdom. I am coming to God so He can add words into what I am trying to portray. Instead of having a conversation with Him and knowing Him better I am coming to Him for filler or a topic, etc. and not for His perspective on the topic. I want something so I come to Him as the Answer Man in order to validate myself not to know Him and have Him tell me who I am.

So what does it look like to seek the kingdom? Seeking the kingdom is like a game of hide and seek. We are seeking what wants to be found and are exposing it to the light. When we seek the kingdom, we seek what is already there. When a miner is searching for treasure he is seeking treasure that already exists. He is just uncovering it. So it is with the kingdom. We are just uncovering what is already there. When we talk about identity, we are not calling into existence something that did not previously exist; we are calling out something that is already there. When you speak a word of encouragement or prophecy over someone, you are calling out something that is already there. The lies are covering it but we get to dig underneath that and call out the truth.

In Romans 8 it says, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved” (8:19-24).

Back in Genesis 1-3 we see the Garden as it was originally intended. Man is in his original environment. He is with God, and he is ruling over the earth. Then man sins and is kicked out of the Garden. Sin now ruins the original design and covers it like a weedy vine.

Later, God brings His people out of the land of slavery and into the land of promise. On the way He has them build the Ark of the Covenant. On this ark is the mercy seat and above the mercy seat are two angels. Back in the Garden, God placed two angels with flaming swords to guard the entrance into the Garden, that place of communion with God. Now, God says He will meet His people between the two angels on the mercy seat (Ex 25:22). Every year, the high priest would put the blood of a sacrifice of atonement (a sin offering) between the two angels. It would look like someone was slain trying to return to Eden. The high priest would do this once a year on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16).

Then Jesus comes along in the New Testament, and He is the sacrifice for our sins. He dies in our place as the Passover Lamb. When He dies, the curtain in the temple is torn. That curtain separated man from the place of meeting with God. God was said to dwell in the Holy of Holies, the place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, the place where God would meet with man between the two angels. Now, the curtain (covered with angels embroidered on it) was torn in two and a way was made for man and God to fellowship freely again.  

So how does this all relate to seeking the kingdom instead of seeking to advance the kingdom? Jesus reveals to us who we really are. The Father adopts us as sons and daughters and we are His children. We realize our identity in Christ. No longer are we slaves to sin because Jesus died and rose again so we could be free from sin. Jesus came that we would have life and have it to the full (Jn 10:10). He came that we may have freedom (Jn 8:31, 36). He shows us that we are sons of God. Remember how Romans 8 says that creation is longing for the sons of God to be revealed so that it too may be free? Jesus reveals us as the sons of God. Now we get to free others and even creation itself from sin and the distortion that sin brought. The truth is already there about who we are, we just get to uncover it. Sometimes that means we have to go through the crap to get to the gold but other times it means we just call forth the truth and let it shine.

Seeking the kingdom is all about our relationship with God. We seek Him (one of Jesus’ names is Truth—John 14:6) and out of our seeking Him the Truth is revealed and His kingdom is advanced. Jesus says to seek and we will find (Mat 7:7-12). We are not seeking the results but we are seeking Him first. The results come out of our seeking the Father.

Dig into the Word and ask God who He says you are. Ask Him to give you verses you can hold onto as words specifically for you. These are our promise verses. They are promises from God about who He is and who we are and who He is for us specifically.

Sons of Promise

In chapter 3 Jesus talks with Nicodemus. At this point, Jesus is known as a great teacher (3:2) and has caught the attention of the academics. In chapter 4 the Samaritans begin to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. By chapter 7 many in Jerusalem begin to wonder if Jesus is the Christ. However, they had no idea who He really was. And they had no idea who they were.

Right after Jesus confirms His identity that John declared beforehand, Jesus becomes really frank with his audience. Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here... You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he has nothing to do with the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.... Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God’” (8:42-47 ESV)

Jesus says, “[E]veryone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (8:34).

When we are born, we are slaves to sin. Jesus came so that everyone could be adopted into His family. He came to take us from being sinners to saints, from slaves to children. The moment man sinned in the Garden of Eden, we switched kingdoms. God made Adam of His own image and likeness but then Adam sinned and switched kingdoms. After this he then had a son in his own image and likeness, not in the image he was made in (Ge 5:3). No longer were men sons of God. Our bloodline changed. We became slaves to sin instead of sons. Now Jesus has come to restore mankind to the proper bloodline. He came so we could now become sons of God, children of promise (Gal 4:28).

Back in chapter one, John began to build this idea. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn 1:12-13). Now, instead of only one man being humanly the son of God (Adam), now all can have that lineage.

John 3:22-36 is the first pivotal moment. The previous three chapters are leading up to this moment. John the Baptist and John the Author are establishing who Jesus is. They tell us who Jesus is. Right after this, the book of John launches into a time of establishing Jesus’ authority as the Word of God. John does this by showing examples. Now we can see how Jesus is the Word of God. Now we can see the authority of Jesus’ words.

"I know that you are the offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my father and you do what you have heard from your father” (8:34-38). Jesus speaks out of what He has seen but they speak out of what they have heard. They haven’t experienced the truth. They think they have because they have heard but they haven’t experienced the Truth. They haven’t experienced Him yet. A slave does not get to experience what it is like to be part of the family. He only does what he is told. The slave can go from master to master, but the son is in the family forever. However, the son gets to experience what it is like to be part of the family.

“They answered him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did” (8:39-41).

You can tell they are offended because they get personal here. “We are not illegitimate children,’ they protested” (8:41 NIV). They know that Jesus’ mother did not have a husband when she became pregnant with Jesus. Jesus ignores this personal attack against His mother and continues with His point.

“The only Father we have is God himself.” (8:41 NIV) They thought they were already of the family of God just because they were Jews, the people of God. They may be the people chosen by God, but they were not yet of the family of God.

The people Jesus is talking with completely missed their identity. They are offspring of Abraham but are not his children. They did not understand who they were. They were descendents of this great man of faith but they did not share the same faith. They were slaves to sin instead of children of the promise made to Abraham.

However, Jesus doesn’t leave them at this point and go to a different nation where He might be better received. He keeps telling them who He is. He keeps after them. He isn’t going to stop talking with you and stop pursuing you if you push Him away. He will keep after you. He loves you too much to walk away from you.

God Will Confirm His Words

The book of John opens with John the Baptist stating this is who I am and this is who Jesus is. Then Jesus says this is who I am. In John 8, Jesus talks about who He is and almost point for point confirms what John the Baptist said about Him.

John 3—John the Baptist’s statements about Jesus    John 8—Jesus’s statement about who He is

Jesus came from heaven, we are from Earth (31)	I am from above, you are from below (23)
Jesus is above all (31)	I am judge (23, 26)
Jesus tells what he has seen and heard	I have much to say and judge, I declare God’s word (26)
We do  not believe Him (32)	We do not believe Him, specifically the Pharisees (13)
God gives words to those He sends (34)	I declare what I have heard from him  (26, 28)
God gives a limitless amount of His Spirit (34)	I am not alone (29)
If you obey the Son, you’ll have eternal life, if you do not obey, the wrath of God remains on him (36)	If you believe in me, you’ll live; if you don’t, you will die in sin (24)

Jesus confirms the words John spoke about Him. Remember that John said, “[H]e whom God has sent utters the words of God” (3:34)? Guess what, when we speak the words that God gives us, He will confirm them.

Now, we do need to be careful. This doesn’t mean we speak every thought that pops into our head and declare it as the word of the Lord. Be careful about this. God gives a stern warning about speaking presumptuously in Deuteronomy. “But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death. You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him” (Dt 18:20-22).

However, when God does give us something to say, do not be afraid to say it. God will confirm His words. His words will accomplish everything He intends and will not return to Him empty (Isa 55:10-11). They will leave a lasting effect on the listener. When God declares something, it will happen (Isa 48:3). He teaches us what to say. “The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen as one being taught” (Isa 40:4). 

How do we know the difference between our words and the words of God? Get to know His voice. Spend time in the Word and in prayer. Test what you hear. “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good” (1 Th 5:20). Make sure it aligns with Scripture. God does not contradict himself. If it doesn’t match with Scripture, toss it. If it does, I find it helpful to write down the reference next to the word.

Spend time with other believers who hear God’s voice well. This is probably the best way to learn. When we are with other believers, we can learn from them and learn to hear God’s words. We can test things out on each other and together discern if it aligns with God’s Word.

You will begin to know your Father’s voice. The sheep know the Shepherd’s voice (Jn 10:3-5). Soon it will become second nature and you will just know that it is God’s voice. It isn’t always something you will learn over night. Maybe you’ll have a burning bush moment like Moses did but for many of us, we learn God’s voice by being in His presence. We learn His voice by practice. If you hear something and it doesn’t sit right with you, it’s likely that isn’t God’s voice. If you hear something and it touches your heart so deeply, there’s a good chance it is God’s voice. But again, test everything with the Bible.

 

“Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there” (Isa 48:16). God is not silent. Quiet yourself and be still and listen. This takes practice. In our busy world it is hard to still ourselves. But keep at it. God loves talking with us and wants to talk with you. He loves you so much and wants to tell you this and more.