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?

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....