I am a big deal!... and so are you!

You are a big deal to God. You are so valuable that Father launched a rescue mission for you. He loves you so much that He gave His Son as a ransom for you. We were born into an opposing kingdom. We were enemies of God. But then Jesus came and took our place. He paid the ransom price for us so we could be restored to God. He rose from the dead so we could have a relationship with our Father again.

You are such a big deal to God that He knows the number of hairs on your head (Lk 12:7). He knit you together in your mother’s womb (Ps 139:13). He knows the intricacies of your person. He knows this for millions of people and yet He knows your name (Isa 43:1). Our God is big. His very words formed the universe. This is the God who holds you in His hands. The same God who holds us close to His heart also measured the waters of the earth in the palm of His hand (Isa 40:11-12). He cares for you and loves you so deeply.

We do not need to fear God will leave us. He will never leave us (Dt 4:31, Ps 9:10). We are a big deal to Him and He is not going to let us get away. He loves us so He is not going to leave us. Even when we think we walk away, He is still there with us (Ps 139). He chose us as His own. He helps us and guides us. When we mess up, he does not throw us away; instead, He stands with us and helps us get back on track (Isa 41:8-10). Once we are in God’s family, that standing does not change. Our fellowship with Him may but our sonship in the family does not change (Lk 15:11-32).

He created the world for you. He created the earth to be inhabited (Isa 45:18). You have a place in this world. When we are tired, worn out and unable to rise, He gives us strength. He calls stars out one by one and does not grow tired:

Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:26-31 ESV)

Eagles have this incredible ability to tell when a storm is coming. Instead of wearying themselves by trying to fly against the storm or to fight the storm, they use the wind currents to lift themselves above the storm. They can be resting on the winds of the storm. When we wait on the LORD and a storm comes, He lifts us above the storm. We are still in it, but He is holding us right next to His heart.

If this is what God does for a bird, imagine what He does for his children! In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said He takes care of the birds and makes sure they have enough food even though they do not plant. He dresses the fields with flowers. The flowers do not sew their clothes out of fallen leaves or grass. Instead, God provides their “clothes” and beauty for them. He cares for us so much more than birds and flowers! We do not need to worry about our needs. Our Father knows what they are and He longs to meet those for us (Mat 6:25-34).

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.

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.

Jesus the Word

The book of John is full of identity statements. The first one we are looking at is Jesus as the Word of God. The book opens by giving others’ testimony about who Jesus is then shows through examples that Jesus is these things.

John the Author opens his book by stating who Jesus is. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. [He made everything and nothing was made without Him.] In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (1:1-4). By opening this book with “in the beginning” every Jewish mind would automatically go to Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...” John is saying Jesus is the Word and He was the means by which the world was created.

We also see John the Baptist declare Jesus’ identity. Jesus came from heaven and tells about what he has seen and heard. He is sent from God and “utters the words of God” (3:34). We have heard that Jesus speaks the words of God but now we get to experience this.

Chapter four opens with Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman at a well. She realizes Jesus is the long-awaited Christ and tells everyone in her town about Jesus. “[M]any believe in him because of the woman’s testimony... and many more believed because of his word” (4:39, 41). This is a transition story from the testimony of others to Jesus’ testimony about Himself. Now others are beginning to see the authority He has as the Word of God.

The next several stories focus on Jesus’ words. When He heals, John focuses on the fact that He speaks healing and restoration over people. He does not say that He touched people. It was not that Jesus was afraid of touching sick people but that John wanted to make a point about the power Jesus’ words have.

Right after the story of the woman at the well, John tells about a time when Jesus heals an official’s son. The father comes to Jesus asking him to heal his son. Instead of going to his house, Jesus just speaks healing over the son and declares that he is healed. “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way” (4:50). The same hour that Jesus spoke healing the man’s son was healed. He and his household believed in Jesus as a result of His words.

After this Jesus goes to Jerusalem for a feast and is walking down by the pool of Bethesda. It was believed that an angel would fly over the water and his wings would touch the water. When this happened, the first person into the water would be healed. This had become the hangout spot for everyone who was sick, lame, blind and paralyzed. Jesus is walking down by the pool and talks with a man. He asks him if he wants to be healed. I can only imagine the look on the man’s face. He was down there for that very reason but had no one to help him into the pool. Jesus then tells him to stand up, grab his bed and walk.

The Jews get mad that Jesus is healing on the Sabbath. Unphased, Jesus tells them that He is sent from God and does as He sees His Father doing. God created the world and brought life into the world so Jesus is restoring life to the world. Then He says a crazy statement: “An hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to also have life in himself” (5:25-26). Jesus is saying that when the dead hear His voice, they will be raised to life. His very words and voice will restore life. That is some serious power and authority!

Later, Jesus is teaching and the people are amazed at His teaching. “How is it that this man has learning when he has never studied” (7:15). Jesus wasn’t part of the religious training system. He did not have the training the Pharisees and priest had yet He had such insight and authority in His words that it left people amazed. The priests and Pharisees send men to arrest Jesus but they marvel at Jesus’ words as well. “No one ever spoke like this man” (7:46)!

A while later the Pharisees talk with Jesus about His crazy statements. He keeps declaring who He is— the light of the world, the word, the light of life... “So the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.’ Jesus answered, ‘Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I come from and where I am going” (8:13-14). He knows His identity. Regardless of what people keep saying, He knows that He came from heaven. He knows He is the Son of God. He knows He is the Messiah.  “[H]e who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him” (8:26).

Jesus continually shows the power of his words. He has authority in his voice. He declares something and it is, just as in the beginning where God created the world with His voice. Now, Jesus is walking on the earth and His very words spoken are creating and renewing life on earth.