REVIEW
So currently, we are learning how to get spiritually fit – understanding that the same way that we get in shape physically is the same way we get in shape spiritually. Yes, we have to eat right and we have to exercise properly, and in so doing we can develop our inner man like we can our outward man. We’ve seen this in First Timothy 4:6-8 where the apostle Paul makes the comparison between physical nutrition & exercise and spiritual nutrition & exercise. These verses say, “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” Therefore, if we want to become good servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are going to have to do two things: We have to be properly “nourished” and we have to “exercise” ourselves toward godliness. No, not physically; we are talking about doing these things spiritually. But what we have learned is that in order to get spiritually fit, we have to first become spiritual – and this is being born again. So we looked at the various Scriptures where being born again is described and saw how it is a literal transformation that takes place in the spirit where the Holy Spirit impregnates us with the Father’s seed, and we become a new creation in Christ Jesus. Then, and only then, are we able to grow up and become fit spiritually. Which we then looked at in part two – We learned that once we get born again, we then have to grow up spiritually and become mature Christians. We learned that just because one is born, that doesn’t automatically mean that they can develop like an adult can. No, even though a baby is born with all of the bones and muscles that it is ever going to have, the child has to grow up and mature physically in order to unlock their full potential in fitness. So we looked at what are the signs of spiritual infancy / immaturity and how one grows up in their salvation – because again, we have to be mature in the Spirit in order to truly become in shape spiritually. So last week we learned that once we’ve born again and have grown up a little spiritually, what the first thing someone who desires to start exercising and get in shape needs to do. And we saw that a lot of physical fitness experts will tell you that the first step to getting in shape physically starts right between the ears. In other words, it is cultivating the right attitude and mentality that goes into getting in shape. I explained that one thing I remember hearing my wife, Shannon, say (who has a degree in health & fitness, mind you) is that if someone who has decided to start working out can just “get to the door” of the gym, they have overcome the first obstacle. Anyone here who has either endeavored to get in shape or allowed themselves to get out of shape will tell you that there is a lot in this flesh that will try to keep us from going to the gym. It’ll try to convince you and I that it’s too tired, it doesn’t have the energy, it was a hard day at work, it doesn’t want to roll out of bed, etc., etc., etc. But we saw that just as consistent as those obstacles are, is the following statement people make who press through and exercise anyways when they didn’t feel like it: They will say, “Man, I’m so glad I went to work out today! I feel so much better!” And I told y’all that I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard something similar right here – People tell me all the time about how they were tempted to not come to church, but they pushed through and came anyway. And when they left, they told me – “Pastor, that service was just for me! I needed to hear what you had to say.” So when it comes to working out spiritually, the lesson I learn from this is we have to overcome the flesh’s tendency to try and talk us out of doing what we need to do and what’s best for us – and this all starts between the ears, right? You see, there is a war on the inside of us—flesh versus spirit. It is the nature of God against the nature of Satan. Yes, it is Isaac versus Ishmael; Jacob versus Esau; Cain versus Abel. It’s brother against brother. And through this battle on the inside of us we are doomed to live a roller coaster Christianity if we do not learn to live by the spirit, which comes through developing our spiritual nature to where it runs the show. But what we specifically learned last week is that there is a third party within us. No, we are not just a spirit and a body. We also have a soul, and the soul is the middle-man in this. In fact, we saw him as the arbitrator in this constant battle for control. So we learned that whichever part of us can convince the soul to team up with it is the part of us that will win. So, if the flesh is persuasive enough saying, “Hey soul, let’s take this path right here. It is best for us and it’s easier. Come on, let’s go this way …” and then the soul obliges by thinking in that direction, that is the path your life is certain to take. But, on the other hand, if the spirit man can convince the soul to go the other direction – by getting the soul to think like it thinks – then the spirit and the soul will override the lusts of the flesh. So we learned that that’s why the attitude & mentality that we possess is the first and most important variable – because this victory in becoming spiritually fit begins with the soul. That’s when we have to just “get to the door” – that is, decide that we are going to do what we need to do more than what we want to do. And once you and I press through the adversity & struggle of our flesh and do the right thing, it’ll start getting easier. STARTING SMALL So let’s look at some other attitudes that are important to adopt in the soul when it comes to physical fitness because in learning about good mentalities to have for getting physically fit, we can learn good mindsets to have regarding getting spiritually fit … So now that we’ve entered the door of the gym, what do we do next? You see, it can be quite intimidating to see all of the equipment, causing us to become overwhelmed as we are getting started. Well, this is when those that seem to be somewhat among them (I speak concerning the so-called health & fitness experts of this world) will tell you another very important mindset to have – and that is, you have to start small. You see, inside a lot of gyms are men & women who have been working out for a long time. These “gym rats” have been religiously going through their exercise routine for so long and it is evident when you look at them. Well, that also can be discouraging because it’s hard for us to see how we can ever get to that point ourselves with our current condition. Do you think this might happen in church too? There are some who have been at this for a long time and they have obviously applied themselves to growing spiritually, so now they appear to be strong in faith, they know how to love others well, and their knowledge of God seems to be well beyond others. Well, that too can be intimidating for some of us. So in both of these instances whether it’s at the gym or at church, we need to remember – no one got to where they are now overnight! No, everyone had to start somewhere. So while the world likes to say, “Go big or go home!”, in this case, we might better say, “You better go small, or you will go home. This is why it’s important that we learn to start small as the experts tell us … You see, what these professionals say is that one of the pitfalls of successful exercise is that people try to do too much too quickly. In other words, while they want the results that they see in others like people running marathons or pumping a lot of iron, they don’t have the patience or work ethic to build up to that place. Sure, they might want to possess that tone, fit body or those huge pecs & biceps, but pressing through the time of building the body up to that place is where most fall short. You see, it’s tempting to wait for a burst of motivation or the “perfect moment” to tackle everything at once. But this mindset often leaves us overwhelmed or stuck in a cycle of procrastination. Therefore, starting small works because it’s achievable, and it builds momentum. Think about it like pushing a heavy boulder. The first push is the hardest, but once it’s moving, the effort becomes easier. Tiny steps—like tidying a single shelf, setting a 5-minute timer to journal, or taking a short walk—are those first pushes. They’re manageable actions that remind you that progress is possible. Small wins also give you a sense of accomplishment. They release dopamine, the “feel-good” chemical, which motivates you to keep going. This is how one tiny shift today can snowball into meaningful growth tomorrow. This is when they say that starting small is a key to getting the ball rolling in the right direction. And when they say small, they are not just talking about lifting a small amount of weight at the gym or running on the treadmill for a couple of minutes. They are talking about figuring out how we can simply add movement to our regular activities. In other words, intentionally adding small things like simple movement to our day-to-day activity. Here’s another reason small steps are effective: they eliminate the fear of failure. When the goal is tiny—like writing just one sentence instead of a whole chapter—you’re more likely to take action. Over time, these small actions compound into bigger results. Here are some examples of how we can do this from the natural perspective:
So what does all of this have to do with exercising spiritually? Well, you can do the same with your spiritual exercises. I think a lot of people see what they can and should be, but they see it as too far off. So what does that do? It does the same thing we’ve seen that it does naturally; it zaps the motivation. So some things we can do to start small with spiritual things is maybe to:
It just takes a few steps in the right direction to start pushing that “boulder” to where you gain some spiritual momentum. But the key is not despising the day of small beginnings. That sounds like a Scripture, doesn’t it? So let’s look at the chapter that this truth is found in and learn some more about this good mindset to possess when it comes to getting spiritually fit. REBUILDING THIS TEMPLE In one of my favorite chapters of the Old Testament – Zechariah chapter 4 – we see the LORD encouraging a man named Zerubbabel, who was called to rebuild the LORD’s temple. But what I see in this prophecy is a very detailed description of the mentality that one who desires to accomplish any monumental feat must possess. In other words, this chapter shows us the right attitude to have when it comes to building or rebuilding anything for the LORD. In fact, it was the Temple of God that he was called to rebuild, correct? So what is the Temple of God according to the New Testament? What did it symbolize? Well, First Corinthians 6:19 says, “… do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you …” So today, God’s temple is not made with hands. It was built & created by God. And God has chosen to inhabit this flesh & blood body as His Temple. So as we consider this very example in Zechariah chapter 4 of the rebuilding / reconstruction of the Temple of God, I don’t think it’s too far-fetched for us to compare this to glorifying God in our bodies through both spiritual & physical exercise and nutrition. Right? So let’s look at this prophecy in detail and learn what the right attitude is as we decide to exercise our spiritual temple and glorify God in both our spirit and body. And what we will find in this prophecy is the beginning process of building / rebuilding the LORD’s temple and how our small beginnings in doing so are to be handled correctly. So let’s begin at the beginning of this chapter and learn some good, healthy mentalities to have as we are starting out in getting in shape spiritually. WAKE UP AND LOOK UP Now in verse one, it starts out by saying, “Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.” Now this goes back to the point we made last week of how we have to press through the flesh’s tendency to keep us from doing the right thing, doesn’t it? Yes, sleeping through the chance to exercise and develop ourselves spiritually is always something that we need to “wake up” from. We see this communicated by the apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 5 as he exhorts us, as children of light, to walk in the light we possess. Then he goes on to say that we need to arise from the dead and let Christ give us this light. This proves that even though we are spiritually alive, we can appear as though we are dead by simply being spiritually asleep. Paul describes this as having fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Then in verse two, we see the angel asking Zechariah a question – “And he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ So I said, ‘I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.’ ” So after waking the prophet up, the first thing the angel said to him was a question – “What do you see?” And this is likewise an important question for us. You see, what we can see is important because if we can’t see it, we can’t accomplish it. Did you know that everything that is created has to first be seen by its creator? Yes, there must first be a vision in order for something to be invented. Well, when it comes to our spiritual growth & fitness, we have to be able to see it. We have to see ourselves as fit! We have to see ourselves as strong! We have to see ourselves as in shape spiritually! But what was it that the LORD was showing Zechariah? It was a solid gold lampstand! Now does anyone out there have any idea what a golden lampstand symbolizes in the Bible? Well, at the beginning of the Book of Revelation, it is clear that the seven golden lampstands represented the seven churches of Asia Minor. So here, it is not a stretch to see that what the LORD was showing Zechariah was a representation of God’s people – the church of their day which was Israel. So the way I see it, the thing that we have to be able to see is that the real us – that which God has created in His image and likeness – is to Him a golden lampstand. The lampstand represents the light of the world that the LORD’s people are to be to this dark & perverse generation. But being called “golden” lampstands indicates how the LORD sees us in regard to value. You see, gold is widely considered this world’s most precious commodity, right? So to the LORD, He sees His church as valuable & precious! Now if you consider the seven churches of Revelation that were all called golden, they weren’t all so perfect. No, most of them were rebuked by the Lord Jesus for some pretty bad flaws they had. Yet, even in their imperfections, they were all considered golden. Church, we need to know that even though you and I are very flawed and imperfect vessels, the LORD still sees us as valuable. Yes, our mistakes & failures do not change the way He both has created us and sees us. Amen! So if this is how He sees us, then this is how we need to see ourselves! And I can guarantee you that seeing this “golden lampstand” that Zechariah saw is what will unlock more potential in us. Yes, as we see ourselves in the light that the LORD sees us, we will be more inclined to reach the level He has envisioned for us. Amen? THE TWO OLIVE TREES So this golden lampstand had some very specific attributes, didn’t it? It had a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. But I want you to notice how verse two goes on to say – “Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.’ ” And this was a very significant part of the vision he was seeing! The significance of this part of the vision Zechariah had, was that the olive trees that were planted on both sides of the lampstand were (as the Amplified Bible brings out) “supplying it continuously with oil.” You see, in their day, they used the oil that came from olive trees to burn in these kinds of lamps. Therefore, olive oil, to them, represented a supply of something that was extremely needful and important. So, by not having just two vials of olive oil, but two olive trees planted at its side, this lampstand would have a constant supply of the oil needed to burn continuously. Now we know through the things revealed in the New Testament that oil always represents the anointing. And if you look ahead to the end of Zechariah chapter 4 (verse 14), the angel tells Zechariah specifically who these two olive trees represent: He says that they represent the two anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth. Now Zechariah does not go into specifically who these two anointed ones are in this chapter, but again, we can interpret this prophecy through the rest of the Scriptures: In the Book of Revelation, we are told that these would be the two witnesses who would come in the end times, during the tribulation. But notice that Zechariah describes these as those who were standing beside God. To me, this shows that they had to be more than just a human. Yes, they had to be equal with God the Father themselves. So, who would those two be? You got it – The Spirit and the Word! The two anointed ones are the Second and Third Person of the Godhead—the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit—because both of them are referred to as anointed. Jesus is called the “The Anointed One” (i.e. Christ) and the Holy Spirit is referred to as “the anointing” (See First John 2:26). Therefore, it is these two anointed ones of the Godhead that were going to supply the ability to Zerubbabel and the children of Israel to fulfill God’s will for their lives. (We will see this described more shortly) Likewise, the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit—the Anointed One and His Anointing are Who will give us that continual supply of grace to let our spiritual light so shine before men and to empower us to grow into our full spiritual potential! NOT DESPISING THE DAY OF SMALL BEGINNINGS So, let’s move on to what we are told next in Zechariah chapter four, and see exactly the message that this prophecy was intending to communicate to all the “Zerubbabel’s” out there: Zechariah 4:6-10 says, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts. ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ” Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” You know, things like physical and spiritual exercise can feel like an insurmountable mountain too, right? I’m sure the mountain that the angel of the LORD was referring to here was the mountain of rubble left behind by the destruction of the Temple. So the first thing that went into the reconstruction of the Temple was what? It was “attitude.” Now verse 10 gives us that very important Biblical principle through a question – “For who has despised the day of small beginnings?” This is obviously a question that condemns the idea of despising the day of small beginnings, right? You see, the LORD knows that small beginnings, while oftentimes despised by those who are walking in them, are necessary for building that person up to the ultimate outcome that He has for them. But the word “despised” here is the key word. While we think of this word as meaning to hate or feel contempt for something, the Bible describes this word as simply not placing the appropriate value on something. Our biblical example of this is when we are told that Esau “despised” his birthright. Now Esau didn’t hate his birthright. He just simply didn’t esteem his birthright like he should have, which the LORD saw as him despising it. So despising the day of small beginnings would describe not seeing the value of that time period, and that’s what we need to avoid when it comes to these small beginnings – not having the right attitude. Why is having the right attitude important when it comes to these small beginnings? It’s because if you don’t have the correct mentality, you won’t make it from the small beginning to the desired outcome. If the Lord called you to do it and started this good work, He will see you through. Just be faithful in little, so He can make you ruler over much—expanding your ministry opportunities and granting you grace all along the way! GRACE, GRACE! And what is really cool about this biblical account is that we can glean from it what the LORD considers the right attitude to have during these days of small beginnings. So let’s look back at verses 6-7 because contained in these verses are what I believe to be the right way to think when it comes to the building up of our spiritual temple … Again, the angel told Zechariah – “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.” The message that this vision of the lampstand and the olive trees was intended to communicate is wrapped up in this one statement that the angel said was the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel – “ ‘It’s not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” You see, the Lord was saying that it was only going to be by the ability of His Holy Spirit that this awesome task was going to be accomplished. It was not going to be by the might and strength that Zerubbabel possessed, but only by His Spirit. You know, the Bible says, that unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who try and build it (Psalm 127:1). That means that unless the Lord does the work of building, we are wasting our time—for while we can do some things, it is not worth talking about. Now what are these words “might” and “power” referring to that the Lord of hosts was telling Zerubbabel that this great task was not going to be accomplished by? The word “might” denotes his collective strength. In other words, this word focuses more on the amount of outside help that Zerubbabel had—such as, the number of people he had working for him or the resources they had to work with. The Lord was saying that he was going to do his work for God, but it was not going to be by the resources or outside help that he had. It was going to be by the Spirit of God. And I believe this is a word for so many of us. It is certainly tempting to lean on our own “might”—that is, maybe our financial resources or on how many people we have helping us. But what we must always strive to do is not put our trust in this outside help. Yes, we need money to do certain things and, yes, we need people to help us, but we must always keep our eyes on Him as our source and not on numbers of dollars or numbers of people. I have learned that the Lord oftentimes will not let you put your trust in these things. I have lost partners and then, right after they quit supporting our ministry, the Lord would add someone else. The same has happened in my church: you’ll lose someone and then the Lord will give you another (sometimes two) to take their place. So, I say all of this to say, keep your faith and trust in Him and not in numbers. That got King David in trouble, and will get us in trouble as well. So again, “might” refers to collective strength and outside help. So, this means that we are not going to be perfected by anyone else’s help, but by the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual development is not going to come from spending a great amount of time listening to other preacher’s sermons; it is going to come from hearing what the Holy Spirit is saying to you. It is not going to come from hanging out with other believers; it is going to come from spending time in God’s presence and fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit. Now I am not discounting the importance of listening to teaching tapes and reading books that are godly because they are good in their place. What I am saying though is that you are not really going to grow, apart from spending time with God Himself. His presence will transform you faster and greater than any other person’s presence will, and just one word from God will impact you more than thousands of words from man. Of course, God can speak to you and affect you through these natural things, but there is no substitute to just you and God fellowshipping together. Now the word “power” deals more with Zerubbabel’s own, individual strength—referring to his own individual ability (i.e. his intellect and strength) to bring this great work to pass. So, God was saying that he was going to do his work for God, but it was not going to be by his own cleverness, abilities, or physical strength; it was going to be by the Spirit of God. This is also a great temptation—to lean upon our own understanding and on the things we are good at. We have to avoid even taking the wisdom we have accumulated and the abilities God has given us, and putting our trust in them rather than in Him. So how does all of this apply to us being fruitful for God? It means that we are going to accomplish God’s will and do what is pleasing in His sight, not by any intrinsic values in ourselves or by any help from without, but only by the help of the Holy Spirit. This is a very important thing to understand, especially for us under this new and better covenant. The apostle Paul was the one that God gave the fullness of this revelation to: In Romans chapter seven, he explains the utter frustration that comes to the man or woman who tries to keep the law in their own power. He says that although they have it in their heart to do what is pleasing in God’s sight, they lack the ability to do it because of the weakness of their flesh. But in Romans chapter eight, Paul provides the solution to this dilemma: It is the Holy Spirit! You see, before Romans chapter eight, the Holy Spirit is only referred to once or twice, but in chapter eight alone He is referred to scores of times. What can we conclude from this? If we are going to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law, we are going to have to walk in and be led by the Spirit of God. We cannot really please God with the arm of the flesh. It is only by the Spirit of God that we can live a life of pleasing God. In regard to this: In order for us to become all that God intends for us to become in our spiritual lives, we are going to have to depend fully upon the grace of God and not on our own might and power. Amen? So again, this means that you are not going to grow up spiritually in your own strength or because of any outside help. You and I cannot will it to happen. It is only going to happen through your personal fellowship with Jesus Christ and through the ability of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the proper mindset that we need to possess when going into the building up of our spiritual temple is that it’s not going to happen through our own might or power. It’s going to happen by the might and power of the Holy Spirit! Amen! THREE IMPORTANT WAYS OF THINKING But then, how do we cooperate with the Holy Spirit? How do we allow Him to do it in us? Well, it begins with thinking a certain way and possessing a certain mindset. So I want you to notice what the Prophet Zechariah says next: He says, “Who are you, O great mountain?” He begins with the question of disrespect. He was basically saying, “I don’t even know who you are. You’re nothing.” Then he says that, before Zerubbabel, this great mountain would get flattened and become a plain. And then he even went as far as visualizing the capstone being put on this project. Do you see what was happening here? We see three huge steps that went into the reconstruction of the temple that started right between Zerubbabel’s ears.
Let’s begin with the way we address our mountain … The beginning of this verse has always reminded me of Jesus’ words to His disciples in Mark 11:23 that “Whosoever shall say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things that he says shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he says.” And like it is in this popular verse, Zechariah 4:7 shows the mountain being addressed, not God. You see, there is a time to pray and there is a time to say. There is a time to pray to God, but not when it involves mountains that are standing in our way from accomplishing great things for God. This is when we must speak to the mountain! And in this prophecy, the “mountain” is certainly being confronted—not a literal “mountain”, but the seemingly impossible task in front of Zerubbabel (and perhaps, visually, the huge pile of rubble from the previous Temple Solomon had built). The prophecy states, “Who are you, O great mountain?” Notice that this is seemingly a statement of disdain and disrespect; you could interpret this phrase this way— “Who are you, mountain? You are nothing to God’s Spirit! You might seem great and insurmountable in the natural, but to God, you are a piece of cake.” Likewise, when we are doing something for God, in the natural, it might seem too difficult or impossible. This is when we are to prophecy to our “mountain” with disrespect for its abilities, and say, “Who are you, O mountain of carnality? Who are you, O mountain of debt? Who are you, O mountain of disease? You are nothing to my God!” Then the prophecy continues with— “Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!” In other words, “You might seem like a mountain right now, but you shall be completely removed!” What an awesome statement of faith! It totally looks beyond the insurmountable problem before, it and looks with the eyes of faith to the eventual manifestation of God’s promise. You see, it is important for these things to come out of our mouths. As Jesus said, we must speak to the mountain! Yes, it is only when we “prophecy to our mountains” that they will be removed and become a plain before us. But specifically, I want you to see that, by faith, the mountain is said to have become a plain. So in our case, it will be us declaring what we will become before we have any evidence of it in the natural. Notice the next statement in this prophecy— “And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!”’ Bringing forth the capstone describes the completion of rebuilding God’s house. In other words, it describes them reaching their goal. So our seeing ourselves reach our goal of spiritual fitness is also very important. And what was the response going to be? They would be shouting and praising God for His grace that truly got the job done! You see, when we do things for God the right way, which is by the power of His Holy Spirit and not in our own ability, the response will be a resounding— “It is all a product of the grace of God! It was done by God’s grace!” In Ephesians 1:3-5, we have a list of different things that God has done for us in our salvation, and in verse 6, Paul says that the result of all of these things that God has freely given us would be— “So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.” (NLT) This should be the response to everything in our lives, including everything we accomplish in pleasing God - “Thank you God for the grace that enabled me to do that!” This also reminds me of Mark 4:27 where, when describing how the kingdom works, Jesus describes the fruit coming with the words, “and he himself does not know how.” I believe this is the most powerful statement in this parable and is the point Jesus was trying to get across. This sower planted the seed in good ground and then there was nothing else he could do but rest! After the process of time, the seed began to sprout and grow, and he didn’t even know how it happened. You see, this is the only way God will allow you to grow spiritually. He is not going to let you try and force fruit in your life. He will actually oppose you! Why? Because He wants all the glory! He does not want you to be able to take credit for your growth. He wants you to be like this sower, who had to say when asked about the harvest he had in his field - “You know what, all I did was put the seed in the ground. I couldn’t tell you how those little seeds produced all this. It just happened on its own. I can’t figure it out. I don’t know how!” Church, these are just some of the attitudes that we need to possess during the days of starting small. We need to first wake up and not let our flesh decide what we are going to do. No, we need to press through the flesh’s tendency to not exercise spiritually and one of the ways we do this is by what we see. We need to see ourselves as fit! We need to see ourselves as grown up and in shape spiritually. But we can only do this by knowing how God’s sees us – and that is as golden! By knowing that He sees us with value & potential, it will inspire us to work out all the more. Then we realize it’s not by our own might or by our own power. No, it’s by the Spirit of God that we will develop. Unless He builds the house, we labor in vain. Amen? And finally, it comes down to our attitude towards the mountain: We need to not respect it in the least. We need to declare its removal. And we need to see the finishing touches being applied. Church, when we have this kind of attitude, there’s no mountain that can’t be tackled – And that includes the mountain of spiritual weakness & lethargy. Amen!
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REVIEW
So a couple of weeks ago we started a new series on how to get spiritually fit. And when I am talking about getting in shape spiritually, I am not referring to what a lot of people consider to be “spiritual.” No, I am referring to our inward man, called our spirit, getting fit and in good shape. And the fact is, the real us that lives on the inside of this flesh desperately needs to be nourished & exercised just like our body needs these things. We see this in First Timothy 4:6-8 where the apostle Paul makes the comparison between physical nutrition & exercise and spiritual nutrition & exercise. These verses say, “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” So we can see how the apostle Paul likened how we get in shape spiritually to how we get in shape physically. And as I told you in the beginning – that is how we are going to tackle this subject of getting spiritually fit. We are going to look at how this works in the natural and see how it works the same way spiritually. So in week one, we looked at the first and most foundational part of being spiritually fit and that is becoming spiritually alive by being what the Bible calls “born again.” We looked at the various Scriptures where being born again is described and saw that this is how one is made spiritual. But we saw how being born again is not just some metaphorical way of describing someone having a new life. No, it is a literal transformation that takes place in the spirit where the Holy Spirit impregnates us with the Father’s seed, and we become a new creation in Christ Jesus. But we saw that the awesome part of all of this is that when you are born of God, you’ve got all the spiritual genes that you need to be fit, in shape, and strong in your spirit! In other words, you inherited your spiritual DNA/genes from HIM and, therefore, have His nature and potential. Now in the natural, not everyone is born on the same playing field. That’s because we inherit whatever our parents inherited physically & mentally. However, spiritually speaking, we are all on the same playing field, being born again from the same Heavenly Father. Yes, for everyone who has experienced the new birth has been born with ALL of the characteristics & qualities that they need to be strong and fit in the spirit just like their Heavenly Father. So since you’ve got God’s divine nature, you’ve got His potential when it comes to getting fit. But last week, we looked at just because one is born, that doesn’t automatically mean that they can develop like an adult can. No, even though a baby is born with all of the bones and muscles that it is ever going to have, the child has to grow up and mature physically in order to unlock their full potential in fitness. So we talked about how just as we all must be born again spiritually, we all likewise must grow up spiritually. Sure, we might have all experienced a lot of grace right after we were born again to where it felt like the Lord was carrying us & feeding us, but that usually doesn’t continue forever. And I believe that’s because the LORD wants us to grow up – learning to walk on our own and feeding ourselves. But we learned that just like it is in the natural, just because we’ve been saved for decades doesn’t mean we’ve automatically grown up. Think about it from the physical: There are a lot of people that even though they have become 20, 30, or 40 years old, they still haven’t grown up a lot. Sure, they might have gotten bigger physically, but mentally & emotionally they still act like a 10-year-old. Well, I believe that same thing happens to a lot of born again, Spirit-filled Christians. Sure, they might be spiritually alive, but they haven’t grown much over the years. That’s on us, church! It’s up to us to grow up and hit the gym. The LORD is not going to do this for you. We all must decide how to become spiritually mature and to get in shape in our inward man. So we saw that the Bible actually talks a lot about spiritual infancy and shows us that it is a much more widespread epidemic in the Lord’s church than most realize. Yes, there are several New Testament passages of Scripture that talk about being babes in Christ and most of these verses are not commendations. So we looked at most of these and learned what spiritual maturity looks like and how we grow up out of spiritual infancy … Some of the things we learned included that the fruit of being spiritually mature is the fruit of the Spirit, not the gifts of the Spirit. Yes, we learned that what made the Corinthians carnal was that they were walking in things like strife and divisions. So even though they had an abundance of gifts, the fruit of the Spirit wasn’t as developed, which kept them in spiritual infancy. So we learned spiritually mature people learn how to clothe themselves. Yes, they will choose certain spiritual behaviors even when they might feel like something else just like a naturally mature person learns how to both dress and behave in this world. We also learned how another trait of maturity is learning how to talk, and how that is exactly what the word for “babes” meant – unable to speak. So evidently God considers a mature person as someone who knows how to use & control their tongue. Also, the New Testament teaches us that a spiritually mature person discerns what to eat. Yes, just like a baby doesn’t have the filter of knowing what it should ingest, likewise spiritual babies tend towards eating whatever doctrine that appeals to them. So what is the solution to spiritual infancy? How do we grow up spiritually? We saw that this comes through both crying out (i.e. hungering & thirsting for) pure spiritual milk that comes through both fellowship with the LORD and through His Word. When we put our whole heart into getting to know God better and becoming disciples of His Word, we can’t help but grow up in our salvation. Amen? JUST GET TO THE DOOR Now then … Now that someone has been born again and has matured spiritually, they are in that place in life where they can truly get fit and in shape spiritually. So what is the first thing someone who desires to start exercising and getting in shape needs to do? What is the best way to go about getting started to get fit? Well, a lot of physical fitness experts will tell you that the first step to getting in shape physically starts right between the ears. In other words, it is cultivating the right attitude and mentality that goes into getting in shape. Well, I believe that is also true with getting in shape spiritually. Yes, there are certain mentalities and attitudes that go into becoming spiritually fit. So over the next couple of weeks, I want us to look at some of the ways of thinking that propel us to go into health & fitness so that we can learn how our frame of mind also impacts our spiritual health & fitness. Let me start out this week by giving you a good example of what I’m talking about: One thing I remember hearing my wife, Shannon, say (who has a degree in health & fitness, mind you) is that if someone who has decided to start working out can just “get to the door” of the gym, they have overcome the first obstacle. Anyone in here who has either endeavored to get in shape or allowed themselves to get out of shape will tell you that there is a lot in this flesh that will try to keep you from going to the gym. It’ll try to convince you that it’s too tired, it doesn’t have the energy, it was a hard day at work, it doesn’t want to roll out of bed, etc., etc., etc. But just as consistent as those obstacles are, is the following statement people make who press through and exercise anyway when they didn’t feel like it: They will say, “Man, I’m so glad I went to work out today! I feel so much better!” Now I am going to get a little ahead of myself, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard something similar right here – People tell me all the time about how they were tempted to not come to church, but they pushed through and came anyway. And when they left, they told me – “Pastor, that service was just for me! I needed to hear what you had to say.” So when it comes to working out spiritually, the lesson I learn from this is we have to overcome the flesh’s tendency to try and talk us out of doing what we need to do and what’s best for us – and this all starts between the ears, right? BROTHER VERSUS BROTHER Church, you have to know that this flesh that we have is diametrically opposed to nourishing & exercising our spirit. Our bodies will actually war against us doing what we have to do to get spiritually fit. We learn this in Galatians chapter 5 where the apostle Paul teaches us that the flesh is opposed to the spirit and the spirit is opposed to the flesh – these being contrary to each other. Let’s look at this verse … Galatians 5:17 says, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” Now regarding this term “Spirit” remember – there are no capitalized words in the original language. Capitalizations were added by the translators based on whether they feel this word pnuema was referring to the Holy Spirit of God or some other kind of spirit such as an evil spirit or our human spirit. Therefore, I believe the battle that is being described here is our new nature in Christ versus our old nature in the flesh. So when we see the phrase “the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh,” we are talking about our born-again spirit versus our old man of the flesh. In fact, this word “lusts” literally means “desires or longs for.” So, what does this mean that the flesh “desires” against the spirit and the spirit “desires” against the flesh? The key is in understanding what the word “against” means here. Both times it is used in this verse, they come from the Greek word kata which carries the idea of something that is suppressing and dominating. So, for example, what the phrase “the flesh lusts against the spirit” literally means is “the flesh desires to suppress the spirit.” Likewise, Paul goes on to say that “the spirit desires to dominate the flesh.” And then Paul goes on to say that “these are contrary to one another.” This means that they are “opposites” and, therefore, “opposed to” one another. Oh, there are so many different analogies I could use to describe the opposition that we have between our spirit and our flesh. They are the world’s biggest “rivals”—like two sports teams or “adversaries” who are constantly “warring” against one another. The competition is fierce. The hatred is evident. And the rivalry will never end. Like two amateur wrestlers who are pitted against one another, both trying to pin the other down. That describes the flesh and the spirit—both in us, desiring to drive and control us. And notice what the apostle Paul says at the end of this verse – “… so that you do not do the things that you wish.” Do you know why you have had those points in your Christian life where you didn’t seem able to do the things that you really wanted to do—meaning, you had a desire to do the right thing, but there was a part of you that seemed to drive you in the other direction? We’ve all been there. In fact, the apostle Paul described this frustrating condition in Romans 7:15-25 – “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” You see, Paul realized that the flesh is utterly corrupt and bent on sin. Therefore, this flesh is always going to try and pull us away from godliness, righteousness, holiness, and spiritual growth. But the truth, that Paul brought out in Romans chapter 8, is the reason we have those times where we seem unable to do the good, righteous and holy things that we desire in our hearts to do, is because we are walking in the flesh and not in the spirit. That is why Paul encouraged us in the previous verse (Galatians 5:16) to walk in the spirit to where we will not do the things our flesh lusts for. In other words, if we walk by the spirit, we won’t walk by the flesh and, as a result, will be able to do the things we wish! Amen! You see, there is a war on the inside of us—flesh versus spirit. It is the nature of God against the nature of Satan. Yes, it is Isaac versus Ishmael; Jacob versus Esau; Cain versus Abel. It’s brother against brother. And through this battle on the inside of us we are doomed to live a roller coaster Christianity if we do not learn to live by the spirit, which comes through developing our spiritual nature to where it runs the show. WHO IS THE ARBITRATOR? But let me remind you – you are not just a two-part being. You don’t just have the inward man and the outward man, a spirit and a body. No, you are a THREE-part being, also possessing a soul. And the truth is that the soul is the variable in all of this. Yes, whichever nature – spiritual or carnal – that can get the soul to team up with it is the part of us that is going to win and run the show. Let me show you an insightful teaching by Jesus that echoes this, found in Luke chapter 12: It starts off in verse 13 by saying – “Then one from the crowd said to Him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ ” So notice our teaching starts off with enmity between two brothers – sounds eerily similar to the situation between Jacob & Esau doesn’t it – as they warred over their birthright & blessing. Again, like we just saw in Galatians chapter 5, there will always be this striving between the two natures we have – given by our earthly father and our Heavenly Father, our earthly mother and our Heavenly Mother, the Holy Spirit. And because of this striving within us, we do the same thing that this young man from the crowd did – we go to Jesus about it, hoping that He will fix it. But notice Jesus’ response in verse 14 – “But He said to him, ‘Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?’ ” So Jesus’ response to this man’s plea was simple – He said that He wasn’t called to be their judge or arbitrator. Now what is an arbitrator? It’s an independent party officially appointed to settle a dispute between two or more. Jesus said that He was not that. So what we can learn from this is that Jesus isn’t the one that’s going to fix this struggle between our two brothers. Yes, Cain will always want to kill Abel, Ishmael will always mock Isaac, and Jacob will always want the birthright & blessing. This struggle will continue until the Great Judgment at the Second Coming of Christ. But until then, He is not the Judge or Arbitrator. But what He will do is teach us the why’s behind the struggle. And in this case, it was this brother’s covetousness that fueled the strife between he and his brother. Notice the rest of verse 14 … “… And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’ ” Then in Luke 12:16-19 Jesus gives them a parable, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” You see, the soul is kind of like the middle-man - or you could say, the soul is the “yes man.” In other words, the soul is the third part of us that determines the direction of our life – because whichever part of us it agrees with, is the part of us that will dominate our life. Notice in verse 19 that Jesus quotes this fleshly man as saying, “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ ” First of all, notice that this man said that he was going to say something to his soul. Now what part of this man do you reckon was trying to persuade his soul to take it easy and hoard up these treasures? That’s easy – that was obviously his flesh! So what would the regenerate, righteous part of this man desire (if he possesses the new nature)? It wouldn’t be hoarding up treasures for himself. It would be looking for ways to give to others. In short, it would be love, goodness, kindness, etc.; not covetousness. So whichever part of us can convince the soul to team up with it is the part of us that will win. So, if the flesh is persuasive enough saying, “Hey soul, let’s take this path right here. It is best for us and it’s easier. Come on, let’s go this way …” and then the soul obliges by thinking in that direction, that is the path your life is certain to take. But, on the other hand, if the spirit man can convince the soul to go the other direction – by getting the soul to think like it thinks – then the spirit and the soul will override the lusts of the flesh. I guess we can then say that our soul is the arbitrator. Yes, it is the part of us that calls the shots and determines what direction we will take. Amen? That’s why the attitude & mentality that we possess is the first and most important variable – because this victory in becoming spiritually fit begins with the soul. So that’s when we have to just “get to the door” – that is, decide that we are going to do what we need to do more than what we want to do. And once you and I press through the adversity & struggle of our flesh and do the right thing, it’ll start getting easier. But for most of us, we’ve given our flesh what it wants when it wants it for so long. So don’t expect it to just roll over and play dead and let us get in shape spiritually. It will dig its heels in and resist those spiritual exercises. That’s when we have to say, unlike this man did in Jesus’ parable – “Soul! You have been laid up for far too long! No more taking it easy! It’s time to eat & drink right! It’s time to get happy about some spiritual exercise!” So let’s get our soul on board, church! Let’s start thinking like a fit person! Let’s have the attitude of someone who is bound to get in shape and quit letting this flesh run the show! INTRODUCTION
So last week we started a new series on how to get spiritually fit. We did this because during this time every year, people are making all kinds of New Year’s resolutions to start exercising, eating better, and getting in shape physically. So I felt led for us to start out the New Year focusing on what is much more important than getting physically fit and that is getting spiritually fit. Now when I refer to getting in shape spiritually, I am referring to our inward man, called our spirit. And the fact is, we are not just our outward man; we have a spiritual nature on the inside of us, and it’s this hidden man of the heart that is going to live forever. Therefore, our spiritual condition is of even more importance than our physical condition. But most people don’t even realize that they are a spirit, much less know that it needs to be developed. However, the fact is, the real us that lives on the inside of this flesh desperately needs to be nourished & exercised just like our body needs nourishment & exercise. And from what we saw last week, we do this the same way spiritually as we do it physically. Let’s look again at our golden text that describes this – First Timothy 4:6-8. It says, “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” Now of course, we know that Paul was not talking about eating right & exercising physically. No, he was talking about being nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine as well as exercising ourselves toward godliness. So what Paul was referring to was eating right and exercising from a spiritual standpoint. But you can see how the apostle Paul likened being in shape spiritually to how we get in shape physically. Yes, in order to be strong & in shape in spirit is the same way we become strong & in shape physically according to the Holy Spirit who inspired Paul to write this. So as I told you last week, that is how we are going to tackle this subject of getting spiritually fit. We are going to look at how this works in the natural and see how it works the same way spiritually. Amen? So last week, we looked at the first and most foundational part of being spiritually fit and that is to become spiritually alive by being what the Bible calls “born again.” We looked at the various Scriptures where being born again is described and saw that this is how one is made spiritual. But we saw how being born again is not just some metaphorical way of describing someone having a new life. No, it is a literal transformation that takes place in the spirit where the Holy Spirit impregnates us with the Father’s seed, and we become a new creation in Christ Jesus. So no, this is an actual new life that is birthed within us that came from the incorruptible seed of God which totally changed the nature of our spirit man to reflect the nature of our Heavenly Father. But we saw that the awesome part of all of this is that when you are born of God, you’ve got all the spiritual genes that you need to be fit, in shape, and strong in your spirit! In other words, you inherited your spiritual DNA/genes from HIM and, therefore, have His nature and potential. Now in the natural, not everyone is born on the same playing field. That’s because we inherit whatever our parents inherited. Some of us are gifted in certain areas, while others are gifted in other areas. So in this case, some of us sure got the short end of the stick when it came to some of these physical and mental things. However, the same is not true spiritually – for everyone who has experienced the new birth has been born with ALL of the characteristics & qualities that they need to be strong and fit in the spirit just like their Heavenly Father. No, in Him, we are capable of both developing into His image and according to His likeness (Genesis 1:26)! Therefore, there is no excuse for any of us who have been born from above to not become as good looking, smart, and successful as we can possibly be because the genes of our Heavenly Father are all extraordinary! Yes, you’ve got God’s divine nature, my friend! Spiritually speaking, you’ve got His eyes! You’ve got His hair! You’ve got His physique! You’ve got His giftings & His capabilities! Praise the LORD! TIME TO GROW UP! BUT now that we are born again, that doesn’t mean that you and I are good to go. Sure, the new birth might have granted us entrance into the kingdom of God and gave us some eternal security, but there is more to be had. Just like a baby is born into this world alive and with all of the bones and muscles that it is ever going to have, the child must still grow & develop. Yes, both its bones have to grow, and its muscles have to develop. However, all of this is not automatic. That baby has to be properly nourished and certain physical things have to start happening so that it can build itself up the way God designed it. Now a lot of what is done for a baby in order for it to start growing up is provided by grace, right? No, a baby can’t survive on its own - if it was born and it was all left up to him or her to feed itself, that baby would die. So it needs its parents, not only to survive but to thrive. And did you know that it works this way spiritually as well? I think a lot of us have had this as a part of our testimony – that when we were born again, it was as if God carried us for a period of time. Yes, there was extra grace on our lives where it’s easy to read & study the Word, go to church, to pray, etc. So it was like the LORD was carrying us & feeding us like a parent takes care of their child during its infancy. Some call this early season of being married to the LORD right after we were born again, our “honeymoon” experience. But as I’m sure we’ve all experienced, the honeymoon always ends. Yes, that same kick start grace doesn’t always seem to remain throughout our Christian walk. People have speculated as to why this seems to be the case, but the obvious conclusion that we come to is this: We cannot expect the LORD to carry us through our entire spiritual life just as we wouldn’t expect a mother or father to continue doing everything for their baby as it grows out of infancy. No, the child has to start learning how to feed itself. It has to learn how to walk on its own. It has to GROW UP! And I believe that is what our Heavenly Father wants from all of us – that we would grow up in our salvation and tap into that grace for ourselves. This is where our getting spiritually fit comes into play. It is us intentionally & deliberately deciding to grow up & develop spiritually. Now just like it is in the natural, just because we’ve been saved for decades doesn’t mean we’ve automatically grown up. Think about it from the physical for a moment: There are a lot of people that even though they have become 20, 30, or 40 years old, they still haven’t grown up a lot. Sure, they might have gotten bigger physically, but mentally & emotionally they still act like a 10-year-old. Well, I believe that same thing happens to a lot of born again, Spirit-filled Christians. Sure, they might be spiritually alive, but they haven’t grown much over the years. That’s on us, church! It’s up to us to grow up and hit the gym. The LORD is not going to do this for you. We all must decide how to become spiritually mature and to get in shape in our inward man. So that’s what I feel led to talk about this week – growing up out of spiritual infancy. Did you know that the Bible actually talks a lot about spiritual infancy and shows us that it is a much more widespread epidemic in the Lord’s church than most realize? It sure does! There are several New Testament passages of Scripture that talk about being babes in Christ and most of these verses are not commendations. So let’s go through some of these New Testament verses that talk about spiritual immaturity and glean from them both what are the symptoms of being babes in Christ and how to grow up into maturity. Again, all of these things are what are going to cause us to grow to the place where we can become spiritually fit – for you cannot take a 5-year-old and develop them like you can someone who is 25. There’s just something about maturing & blossoming physically that enables one to enter into the full potential of their physical condition. WHAT SPIRITUAL MATURITY LOOKS LIKE Now the first Scripture I want us to look at is found near the same ones we looked at last week – First Peter 1:23. Again, the apostle Peter talked to his readers presuming that they had been born again by saying, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever” (Verse 23). Then after he makes this statement, he quotes an Old Testament verse that talks about how God’s Word indeed never fails and will outlast all of these natural things. But notice what he goes on to say at the beginning of the following chapter (First Peter 2:1) – “Therefore (So because you have been born again of God’s incorruptible seed which will live and abide forever), lay side all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking …” So notice that the very first exhortation he gives to the born-again believer is to lay aside some vices (i.e. works of the flesh). Therefore, a big part of growing up is to what? To stop wearing certain things. You see, the word that is used for “laying aside’ here describes putting something off or taking it off and throwing it away. It’s used in Acts 7:58 to describe how those who were about to stone Stephen “laid down” their clothes at the feet of Saul. And isn’t this a big sign of immaturity in this natural world as well – how people dress? An immature person who is behaving childishly will say, “Well, I’m just going to wear what I feel like wearing.” Well, wearing what you feel like is generally going to be a characteristic of an immature person. But someone will say, “Yeah, Pastor, but I just believe in being real.” Well, what they really mean by saying they are just being real is they are being real carnal because how many of you know a characteristic of being childish is to do and say what you feel like doing and saying. These people don’t hold jobs well. They don’t make many friends. And they certainly don’t prosper in this world. Well, the same is true in God’s kingdom. We have to clothe ourselves in what the LORD deems appropriate, not the way our flesh wants to. My flesh will want to speak its mind, give its opinion, etc., etc., etc. But my spirit chooses the opposite wardrobe. How many of you know that when you grew up, you had to learn how society works? You had to dress appropriately. You couldn’t just say everything you thought. No, in order to thrive in this world, you can’t just do everything you want to do and say everything you want to say. Now the Book of First Corinthians shows us a lot more about what being spiritually mature looks like. Most of us know that this church was rich in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Yes, they had an abundance of spiritual gifting, but as Paul goes on to say in First Corinthians 3:1-3, that didn’t make them spiritual. The apostle Paul starts by saying, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.” So here we see that these spiritually enriched children of God were, in fact, still children. He even went as far as calling them “carnal babies.” We all need a spiritual father like that, huh? Did you know that the word “spiritual” here literally just means “non-carnal.” So here, he is saying that being spiritual is the opposite of being babies in Christ. I oftentimes like to say that all you have to do to be carnal is NOTHING. Well, the opposite is true as well, all we have to do to be spiritual is just get rid of the carnality. But when I speak of “carnality,” what are we talking about? Well, let’s look at the rest of these verses and see if we can get a clue as to what the Holy Spirit considers carnal … Verse 2 goes to say, “I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;” So here we see that one’s ability to handle spiritual truth is indicative of how spiritual one is. Therefore, how much one can handle oftentimes can show their spirituality. Hebrews 5:12-14 describes this same thing when the writers said that their readers had become dull of hearing: They went on to say, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” What is being described here is how milk is the only thing the immature can drink because they are “unskilled” in both how to eat solid food and because their discernment level isn’t where it needs to be. You see, we’d be fools to give a baby a ribeye. It couldn’t chew the meat up for one. And it would probably choke on it. It is simply not what a baby can handle. Well, that’s where a lot of Christians are at. They can’t get to the good stuff because they haven’t even started teething yet. Now don’t be mistaken – milk isn’t a bad thing. We all need it initially and it is an important part of spiritual growth. It’s just that we don’t want to still be on the bottle when we are out of the stroller. This reminds me of a prophetic vision I heard a minister once had of a grown man sitting in a stroller with nothing but a diaper on and one of those bonnets on its head. In his left hand, he had a pacifier, and in his right hand, he had a bottle of milk. And this man was crying up a storm like a baby. This minister said that when he saw this, he thought it was the funniest thing he ever saw until the LORD then said, “That’s that way you look to Me right now!” LOL! Then in verse 3, Paul very bluntly told this church – “for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” So here we see that all of this stuff like envy, strife, and divisions within God’s people is CARNAL. In other words, people that yield to these vices are carnal and spiritually immature. You see, there are lot of Christians who think that the ones who are spiritual are those who can quote a lot of Scripture, speak in tongues, or prophesy. Others think that being spiritually mature is simply how we carry ourselves, and so if we act like adults and pretend like we are humble and are nice & kind people, that we are spiritual grown-ups. All of these things aren’t necessarily bad, but they aren’t necessarily spiritual either. So what is being spiritual according to the apostle Paul here? It is not being envious. It is not catering to strife. It is not being divisive. This isn’t necessarily an exhaustive list, but it was what these “carnal Corinthians” were doing. For a more exhaustive list of what being spiritual mature looks like, just look over at Galatians 5:22-23 where the fruits of a truly spiritual life are described – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These nine fruits are characteristic of spiritually mature people. And spiritually immature people do the opposite, and these are called the works of the flesh – things which include, yes, adultery, murder, idolatry, fornication, etc., but they also include things like hatred, jealousy, contentions, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambition. So don’t be deceived. Know that when people are truly operating in the fruit of the Spirit, they are the spiritually mature and those who operate in the works of the flesh are the spiritually immature and have likely never got off the bottle. It’s tight but it’s right. But let me add one more thing – What we oftentimes do (and this too is a sign of immaturity) is when someone else might be walking in the flesh towards us, meaning that they might be operating in strife against us, we tend to justify our ungodly response and have offense in our hearts towards them because, after all, they started it (Notice the way that phrase sounds, “Well, they started it!” Sounds a little immature, right?) Well, if you are spiritually mature, you won’t do that. When we are grown up in the Spirit, we will still walk in the fruit of the Spirit even when the other person might be operating in the flesh and totally in the wrong. Yes, if I stop loving them, being good & kind to them, and lose my peace & joy, then I am not being spiritually mature. So my point is that there are some things we need to be mature in but other things we need to be simple concerning. Yes, like a baby doesn’t understand a lot of things - being simple to certain evils that are in the world - we need to be simple concerning evil. But on the flipside, we need to seek to have understanding concerning spiritual things. The apostle Paul said in First Corinthians 14:20 — “Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.” The word for “understanding” describes one’s cognitive abilities. In other words, the mind’s ability to comprehend and understand things like a baby grows in its cognitive faculties. And what is something that a baby needs to grow up in? I’m glad you asked. Let’s look at a few verses that describe to us how babies grow … HOW BABIES GROW UP Back in First Peter chapter 2, we see what we can do to grow up out of spiritual infancy … In verse 2, Peter goes on to build upon this idea of being born again by saying, “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby.” So here, he tells them (and us) what a newborn Christian is to do – and again, notice that it is what a physical newborn will do – “desire the pure milk of the Word.” Some translations say to “crave” this spiritual milk. Others say to “long for” it. And what does a baby do when he or she is craving this nourishment? They cry out for it! Yeah, you don’t usually have to guess when a baby is hungry, do you? They will let you by lifting their voice and crying out for some milk! And why do babies cry out for this milk? It’s because they haven’t grown up enough to ask for it: Did you know that in one of the main words that is used to describe spiritual “babes or children” it literally describes one with the inability to speak. So it was as if in the language of their day, one of the main ways they described this particular infant was that they can’t talk yet. And I’m here to tell you that is a distinguishing characteristic of a spiritual babe in Christ – they haven’t learned how to talk. Now this goes both ways: On one hand, it might mean that they just only use their tongue to spew venom on others, not understanding that both death and life are in the power of the tongue. Yes, spiritually immature folks will not guard what they say. The Book of Wisdom, full of the wisdom & understanding that the LORD blessed Solomon with, is loaded with truths about how important our words are and how things like our words, lips, and tongues are like weapons that can hurt both us and others. So although the world likes to say, “Sticks & stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me,” actually, that’s a lie! Words absolutely can hurt, and the truth is, there are a lot of us here today who have been mortally wounded by words. So a spiritually mature person understands this and chooses their words wisely … But not just to avoid speaking bad things, but to speak LIFE! James 3:2 says, “For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.” Sure, we all stumble in many things – whether we are mature or not. The occasional stumbling in our Christian walk is not what makes one immature. But do you know what does show one’s maturity – our words. Notice James says, “if anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man …” The word used for “perfect” here is the Greek word teleios, and is the word used to describe someone who has come to full age and is fully grown. In other words, it describes an adult or a mature person. Therefore, a spiritually mature person is someone who doesn’t stumble with their words. So we evidently need to learn how to talk if we want to become spiritually mature, right? But speaking of “words,” let’s look back at First Peter 2:2 and see how Peter describes this milk … Now I know this verse says to desire the pure milk of the Word, but that’s actually not the best translation. You’ll find that most expositors like to translate this as spiritual milk. So what is this “spiritual milk” that we are supposed to be crying out for? Well, isn’t the LORD called El Shaddai, the All Breasty One? Doesn’t Peter go on to say in verse 3 – “if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious”? So this spiritual milk speaks to me of more of that close & intimate fellowship that we are supposed to enjoy with our Heavenly Father. Yes, the Godhead is meant to provide us with the spiritual nourishment that does what? Well, at the end of verse 2, Peter says, “… that you may grow thereby.” Other translations say, “that you may grow up in your salvation.” So what is it that is going to cause us to grow up in our salvation (or we might say, “grow up spiritually”)? It is a hunger & thirst for pure spiritual milk (i.e. true spiritual things). So it’s having a heart that craves to be fed by God. Yes, it is a hungry heart that seeks His face and desires to know Him and His ways like a baby seeks & desires his or her natural nourishment. Amen? So if I’m growing up, I’m hungering & thirsting after righteousness. I know I need the truth, and I am crying out for it. Hunger is always a symptom of being healthy. Amen! But there are things that we need to be careful of as we hunger for this spiritual milk, and that is eating things that can harm us. So, guess what else babies are capable of doing in their ignorance? They will eat whatever they can get their hands on! We see this in Ephesians 4:14-15 when the apostle Paul says, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—” Notice how these verses describe how spiritual maturity comes: It begins with the five-fold ministry. God gives us these gifts to equip us. And they equip us by building up the Body so that it becomes a “perfect” (or, mature) man, growing up to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Amen! So just like we have the five main food groups, we have the five main ministry leaders that are meant to nourish us. But I want you to notice the next thing Paul said in verses 14-15: He then went on to describe how that through this spiritual maturity, we are no longer to be “children,” which is the same word used for infants or immature little children. And what did he use as an example of this spiritual immaturity? It was being “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” In other words, spiritually immature people tend towards ingesting everything they hear, and like little children in the natural, have no filter on what is good to eat and what’s harmful. Amen? So spiritual babies are easily susceptible to error and can get deceived very easily. Here’s another good Scripture that describes the state of the spiritually immature: Second Timothy 4:3 says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” This means that in the Last Days and in the Lord’s church, that we will see a rise in this – people having ears that itch to only hear what they want to hear. These verses say that they will not tolerate “sound doctrine.” Did you know that the word for “sound” here is the word translated “health” in Third John 2? So what Paul was referring to here was “healthy doctrine.” So do you see how this happens? Because as a general rule, people will be spiritually immature and babes in Christ, they will not want to eat healthily. They will heap up for themselves teachers who will preach what they want to hear and how they want to hear it. We might say they will gather up “cooks” who will give them what they want when they want it. This is why we need sound, healthy preaching & teaching of God’s Word. It is what nourishes us like milk nourishes a baby. But this is also why we need that healthy spiritual milk that comes directly through our fellowship with God, to where He has become our provider & nurturer. This is how we grow up in our salvation – through His Word and through relationship with Him. Let’s no longer be spiritual babies (i.e. immature Christians), saints! Let’s grow up in our salvation by learning how to walk, how to talk, what to eat, etc. In doing so, we will grow up in our salvation and become spiritually mature in Christ. INTRODUCTION
In a season where New Year’s resolutions are being made to start exercising, eating better, and getting in shape physically, I felt led for us to start spending some time focusing on what is by far more important than just getting physically fit. You see, we live in a carnal world, and so one thing that this world will always tend towards focusing on is the things of the flesh. So, one of the most obvious things the world will place value on is how we look & feel in our body. Now let me interject this – It’s not that these things aren’t important at all. We are going to learn in this series that there is some value to being physically fit, but that is absolutely not what is most important. No, what is of much more importance is not the condition of our outward man, it’s the condition of our inward man. You see, we are not just this physical body that we live in. We are a spirit, not just a body. We have an inward man, not just an outward man. And it’s this hidden man of the heart that is going to live forever. Therefore, our spiritual condition is of even more importance than our physical condition. Now most people don’t even realize that they are a spirit, much less know that it needs to be developed. But the fact is, the real us that lives on the inside of this flesh desperately needs to be nourished & exercised just like our body needs nourishment & exercise. So for this reason, I felt led for us to have a little different New Year’s resolution, and that is to get into shape spiritually and becoming fit and healthy in our inward man. Now let’s take a look at a passage of Scripture that describes to us how spiritual fitness is a real thing. These verses will be our golden text for this series … “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”
Now notice in these verses how we see the apostle Paul encouraging his son in the faith, Timothy, to be a good minister of Jesus Christ by being sure to teach the truth accurately. But what we see him then doing is showing him how to be this good minister, and that is through first, being properly “nourished” and then by “exercise.” Now of course, we know he’s not talking about eating right & exercising physically. No, he is talking about being nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine as well as exercising ourselves toward godliness. So what Paul was referring to was eating right and exercising from a spiritual standpoint, which brings up an interesting question … Is how we get in shape & fit physically and naturally the same way we get in shape & fit spiritually? It sure seems so, doesn’t it? Yes, in order to be strong & in shape in spirit is the same way we become strong & in shape physically. And that is how we are going to tackle this subject of getting spiritually fit. We are going to look at how this works in the natural and see how it works the same way spiritually. Amen? YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN But before we get into any of this about getting spiritually fit, we have got to first deal with the necessity of being born. That might sound strange to you, but the fact is, if we have never been born again, we have nothing to exercise. Yes, you have to first become spiritual before you can become spiritually developed. It would be like saying that an unborn child needs to get fit and in shape. No one in their right mind would ever say that, right? Well, it’s just as ludicrous to assume that someone who hasn’t been born again can ever get in shape spiritually. It’s an impossibility. So, in order to get fit spiritually we have to first become spiritual, and that is by being born again. Now I know that phrase might be unusual to some of us, but it’s a Biblical phrase that is repeated throughout the New Testament. Jesus coined this terminology to describe one’s ability to enter the kingdom of God in John 3:1-8. So let’s look at how this phrase is used throughout the New Testament by beginning in John chapter 3 … In this profound chapter, Jesus was having a conversation with one of the Pharisees, a man named Nicodemus. And this man came to Jesus by the cover of night saying, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (verse 2). So Jesus answered him in verse 3 by saying – “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Now while some might think Jesus was speaking metaphorically, I don’t believe He was. I believe He literally was saying that one must be “born from above” (the literal rendering of “born again”) in order to both see and enter God’s kingdom. One of the reasons we know this is true is because of Nicodemus’ response in verse 4 – “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” So Nicodemus thought that Jesus was being literal, albeit that He was talking about being born again physically. But notice that Jesus didn’t correct anything other than this Pharisee’s misunderstanding about being physically reborn. No, Jesus simply explained that the new birth that He was referring to was spiritual in nature by saying that “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (See verse 5). You see, both the being born of water and the Spirit can mean a couple of things: Regarding the being born of water, Jesus might have been referring to how in physical birth that a woman’s water would break where the baby was being birthed from. The Hebrews used the term “water” to describe this process of physical birth. But Jesus might have also been referring to being born again through the waters of baptism – meaning, that when one repents and goes through the sacrament of being baptized in water, that is closely associated with the time one is born from above. Either way, I believe there is truth to be found because, yes, one certainly has to first be born physically in order to be born again, but in order to experience this new birth, they also need to identify with the Lord in His death, burial, and resurrection, which is what water baptism is all about. Now the being born of “the Spirit” likely refers to the Holy Spirit’s role in the washing of regeneration and the renewing of our inward man (See Titus 3:5). But it also could refer to our spirit man and not necessarily to the Holy Spirit as it has to be determined by the translators whether the term “spirit” is to be capitalized or not. What that means is that the context of the verse is what determines whether we are talking about our spirit or the Holy Spirit. Like the being born of water, both of these possibilities are consistent with the truth because we know that being born again is a work of the Holy Spirit and also that it is our spirit man that is being reborn. Amen? In fact, the phrase being “born again” can be translated as “born from above.” And to me, this is consistent with the idea of this spiritual new birth because in order to be born again, you have to have parents that initiate the process, right? Some will ask, “Well, that’s the part the Holy Spirit plays, right?” Yes, but He is simply carrying out the process of being born “from above” – meaning, when we are born again, we are born from our Heavenly Father and literally become His children. So technically, when we are born again, we are born from above – that is, from heaven where our Father resides. Amen? So I say all of this to say that being born again is a prerequisite to being spiritually developed and fit. Now there are some who believe that just because you are born again, that you are already as spiritually developed as you are ever going to be. I don’t believe this is the case, and let me give you give one reason why … How many of you know that Jesus was born “born again.” No, He had no need of being born again like every one of us. The reason being is because we were not born of man. No, He was born of a virgin, which means that the fallen nature of mankind is not where He came from. He was born of His Heavenly Father through His mother, Mary. Therefore, He was born spiritually alive because His Father was Life Himself. But notice what we are told in Luke 2:40 concerning Jesus … It says, “And the child (Jesus) grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” Notice that even Jesus, who was born of God and had the life of God in Him, became strong in spirit. Now do you think that it’s going to be any different for us? Do you think that if the Christ Himself had to grow up spiritually, that we won’t? Absolutely not! So what we can take from this is that even when we are born again and are made spiritually alive, we still need to be developed and made strong in spirit just like Jesus. But again, it all starts with being born again. And if we haven’t been reborn spiritually, we cannot become strong spiritually. EVERYTHING STARTS WITH A SEED You see, church, everything starts with a seed! Everything, including our spiritual growth! You started with a seed. Each and every one of us started out as the seed from our father and then when that seed was “planted” in your mother, you were conceived. It is the same spiritually—The new creation that we were born again as, started with a seed. The apostle Peter elaborates on this in his first epistle: First Peter 1:23 says, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” Notice that Peter addresses his readers, presuming they have been born again already. That’s why he said here, “having been born again …” But then notice how he goes on to give us some more specific information on what we were born again through … He said that it was not of corruptible seed but incorruptible. This is really important because the Holy Spirit’s point here is that while we were born again the same way we were born physically, it was not the same seed. Now it is important to realize that Peter is not referring to the seed of a plant, but to the seed of a man … The Greek word used in this verse for “seed” is sperma—which is obviously where we get our word “sperm” from. Peter was saying that just as we are physically born after the seed of a man is planted in the womb of a woman, likewise we are spiritually born again after the seed of God is planted in our hearts. Yes, the analogy is correct— When one is born again, he or she has received God’s spiritual seed! You see, all of us were born physically by the seed of our earthly father. And that is why every one of us were born spiritually corrupted. Why? Because death was inherited through Adam’s seed. So every man’s seed is corrupted spiritually. So what Peter’s point was is that when we were born again, that was not corruptible seed. Meaning it didn’t have death in it. It wasn’t cursed. No, the seed we were born again through was “incorruptible” – meaning, it didn’t have the death or curse that man’s seed possessed. No, God’s seed only has life & blessing. Therefore, it’s incorruptible. You see, we understand that the seed of a man is the carrier of all the nature and attributes of the man that it originated from. Therefore, it should not surprise us that the seed of God that we receive when we hear and receive the gospel contains the nature and attributes of our Heavenly Father! Wow! That is a powerful truth! So this is the seed that we were born again by – His Word. But then notice what the apostle Peter specifically describes that seed as – “… through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” So, the born-again experience occurs when we hear the Word concerning Jesus and that incorruptible seed is planted in our hearts. So, I say all of this to say that everything from our physical birth to our spiritual rebirth began with a seed, and this is how all fruit begins—with a seed. Amen! Therefore, if these two awesome miracles originate with a seed, how much more will other miracles begin with a seed? Amen! Therefore, when we receive the truth of God’s Word, we become born again. This is when God’s divine nature is placed within us—when we receive God’s “seed.” This means that we have received His divine DNA! (Quick little nugget: Did you know they say DNA actually forms letters and words? We are created by His Word!) When we were born again, we received a new nature that will compel us to grow up to be like our Daddy. Just like we grew up to resemble our natural parents in appearance and personality, likewise we will grow up to resemble our Heavenly Father in spiritual appearance and personality. It is in our spiritual DNA! And this seed of God has no death abiding in it—only life everlasting! Therefore, we are born again of an incorruptible seed because the Word of God lives and abides forever! Hallelujah! We now have eternal life and, therefore, have the capability of growing up to become more and more like our Heavenly Father. THE FATHER’S SEED Let’s look at another verse that further describes this truth of the new birth … In First John 3:9, the apostle John says, “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and He cannot sin because He has been born of God.” Now when it comes to this verse, most people get hung up on the “cannot sin” part. Of course, this does not mean that someone who has been born again cannot commit a sin and miss it occasionally. This would not be consistent with this First Epistle of John itself because he said in the first chapter that if we say that we have no sin, we are a liar, and the truth is not in us. He went on to say that if we do sin, that we can confess our sins and be cleansed from all unrighteousness. So, from these Scriptures we can see that John is not saying if we are a Christian, then we will live spotless lives. So, what is he saying? The first thing we need to understand is that when this verse words things like “does not sin” or “cannot sin” it is not to be read like we talk today. If I were to say, “I do not sin” or “I cannot sin” you would hear that I’m saying that I never commit a sin. But in the Greek language, words have different tenses. Therefore, when the Bible uses a phrase like “does not sin” you have to look at the tense that is used in the verb because that will indicate whether the writer was talking about “having done, doing, or continue to do the sin. And in this particular situation, the tense indicates that we will not continue to do (or, practice) sin. Therefore, we can see that John is not referring to a Christian avoiding every specific act of sin; he is referring to how a believer does not continue a lifestyle of sin after he or she has come to know the Lord. And what is the reason that the apostle John gives that whoever has been born of God does not continue in sin? He says that whoever has been born of God does not sin because God’s seed remains in him! So what does John mean when he said that God’s seed remains in us? Well, just like in First Peter 1:23, the word “seed’ comes from the Greek word sperma which is obviously where we get the word “sperm” from. So, what we can begin to see now is that when the Bible speaks of being born again, it is not some symbolic term of having a new beginning or something else like that (although the new birth does provide a new beginning). No, when we are “born again” we literally are reborn in our spirits. How? Because God’s very own “seed” is placed in us and remains! Now let’s look at this from a natural and physical perspective again: What is inherent in the seed of a man? A man’s sperm carries in it the DNA of the father! So, when we are physically born, we are born with the DNA of our earthly father. This means that we have his nature and will grow up to look and act like him in certain ways (Of course, the mother determines part of this as well). So, now apply this to being born again: When God’s seed is placed in us and we are born again spiritually, the same thing occurs: We essentially receive the spiritual DNA of Almighty of God! In other words, we receive His genes and His nature! God is love, so love becomes our nature. This is why John went on to say that we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. This is also why peace and joy are immediately experienced. It is because He is the God of peace and He is joyful God, so joy and peace are products of His nature. And, yes, all of the rest of the fruit of the Spirit – patience, kindness, goodness, self-control, etc. are all resident in that new nature that is within us! Let’s look at the Amplified Bible’s classic translation of First John 3:9 because I believe it perfectly illustrates what this verse is saying: It says, “No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God’s nature abides within Him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within Him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.” Church, because we have been born of God, we have the LORD’s principle of life and His divine nature within our spirit. This changes our behavior and propels us to being godly and sharing in His characteristics. THE DIVINE NATURE Let’s look over at a passage of Scripture in Second Peter chapter one that goes along these same lines: Second Peter 1:3-4 says that “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” These verses start by saying that it was “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness …” So it was His divine power (or His godly ability) that has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness. That means it was Him who gave us the opportunity and capability to experience His life and to be godly. Thank You, LORD! You see, church, we don’t give ourselves these things. We were begotten again to life and godliness because, in His divine ability, He gave us all these things! Yes, this is how you and I were made partakers of God’s divine nature—through His exceedingly great and precious promises! Notice that the apostle Peter said in verse 4 that through these great promises of the gospel, we have been made partakers of God’s divine nature! So this is just another way of saying what First Peter 1:23 said – that we are born again by the Word of God. The word “partakers” is important. It literally means that we have become “sharers” of something. Sharers of what? Of His “divine nature.” The word “divine” describes “divinity” and thus what is “godly.” The term “nature” comes from the Greek word where we get our English word “physical” from, and describes one’s “physical origin” – thus, our innate nature or characteristics. So when you put the words “divine nature” together, we see that we have become sharers in His “godly characteristics”! And let me remind you that “sharing” is when someone gives of their own to someone else, letting them partake of it as well. That’s what God did: He shared with us His godly nature, His divine characteristics. And, no, this does not make us “God,” but it does show that He made us to share in His nature by the new birth. Hallelujah! Now let’s look at Ephesians chapter 4 and see a couple of the specific “divine characteristics”—the image and likeness of God Himself—that the apostle Paul said we have been given … Ephesians 4:24 says, “and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Notice that Paul said that this “new man which was created according to God” was created “in true righteousness and holiness.” Wow! Did you know that this was in your Bible!?! What Paul is describing this image and likeness of God that we’ve been created in as, is “true righteousness and holiness.” Therefore, saints, our new nature that we inherited from Christ through the new birth is created in God’s true image of holiness and according to His true likeness of righteousness. Amen! And notice that He calls this holiness and righteousness—true righteousness and holiness. That is opposite of false righteousness and holiness—because if there is a true kind, there must also be a false one. So, what is the false kind of righteousness and holiness? That would be the man-made kind, and that is what we must strip ourselves of—that self-righteousness and man-made kind of holiness that puts its confidence in the flesh! Church, this true righteousness and holiness is something that has been given by grace and not something we grow into or something that eventually will be created in us through our own self-effort! This is how we were created at the new birth! We are not trying to become righteous or holy; we already have been created righteous and holy! Our only job now is to start putting on this new nature and spiritual identity and wearing it in our everyday lives! So, this would be Trey’s Translation of Ephesians 4:24: “and dress your outer lives with the new nature you have been clothed with on the inside, which was created in God’s very own image and likeness—absolutely righteous and thoroughly holy!” Amen! WE’RE JUST BORN THAT WAY! So what does all of this have to do with getting spiritually fit, you ask? Well, like I said, in order to get fit, strong, healthy, and in shape, you first have to be born & alive. A dead person can do nothing! Likewise, a spiritually dead person can do nothing to be spiritually fit either. But the cool part of all of this is, when you are born again, you’ve got all the spiritual genes that you need to be fit, in shape, and strong in your spirit! You know, in the natural, some of us were born of parents that maybe didn’t have a lot of athletic ability and we were born with other physical disadvantages. In other words, not everyone has the same advantages as others when it comes to physical abilities. Now, on the other hand, those same people who were born with physical disadvantages might have been born with a higher IQ or other soulish qualities that give them an advantage over others in other areas. My point is – not everyone is born on the same playing field. That’s because we inherit whatever our parents inherited. Some of us are gifted in certain areas, while others are gifted in other areas. So in this case, some of us sure got the short end of the stick when it came to some of these physical things. And here’s the kicker: We didn’t do anything to deserve it either. It was a gift of grace from daddy & mama – meaning we were just born this way, and we didn’t have to do something right or wrong to turn out the way we did physically! That’s just how it works. Well, the same is true for all of us who have been born again: We have received by grace all of the qualities, nature, characteristics, genes, and DNA of our Heavenly Father. No, we didn’t do anything to deserve it; we were just born again that way! Amen! And the good news is that your Heavenly Father that you’ve been born of has ALL of the characteristics & qualities that you need to be strong and fit in the spirit. No, there are no disadvantages here! In Him, we are capable of both developing into His image and according to His likeness (Genesis 1:26)! So there is no excuse for any of us who have been born from above to not become as good looking, smart, and successful as we can possibly be because the genes of our Heavenly Father are all extraordinary! There are no disadvantages to being born of God’s seed, only advantages! Yes, you’ve got God’s divine nature, my friend! Spiritually speaking, you’ve got His eyes, You’ve got His hair! You’ve got His physique! You’ve got His giftings & His capabilities! So we’ve got the foundation for being as fit & developed spiritually as we can possibly be. We all do! IF (and that’s a big IF) we’ve been born again! INTRODUCTION
So on New Year’s Eve, I was thinking about the coming year and I was drawn to another “2025” that we have in the Scriptures – 2 Chronicles 20:25. So I believe that this is a Word for us on this New Year – that the LORD wants to bring us into SO MUCH in 2025. This Word is certainly consistent with the LORD’s heart throughout Scripture as He is most definitely a God of increase (Psalm 115:14) and He always gives us hope for our future. But the problem is that when it comes to so many of us, we don’t seem to always find the fulfillment of these Words from the LORD. Yes, far too many Christians are just wandering around in their life, never realizing their purpose nor having a vision for their life. Saints, living in this wandering and aimless state is actually a product of the curse of the law, which we are redeemed from according to Galatians 3:13. Friends, the Lord wants us to know what our purpose is and wants our lives to be full of vision and focus as we press forward in fulfilling our destiny and dreams. He doesn’t want us to live lives of uncertainty and searching around blindly for what our heart is looking for. No! Having no direction and vision is a curse! God wants us to walk with clear purpose into the plans He has for us! Amen? As I’ve considered this truth, I was drawn to one of our most loved verses, Jeremiah 29:11. In this beloved verse of so many, we have God’s heart concerning the plans He has for us. It says, “For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” THE THOUGHTS HE THINKS First of all, I want you to notice that God is actually thinking about you and I … Did you know this – that the Lord actually thinks about us? Glory to God! We tend to spend more time talking about our own thought life and how we are to keep our minds set on Him, but did you know that God practices what He preaches? For example, He told us to set our minds on things above, right? (see Colossians 3:2) Well, He also does this, but He sets His mind on things below (i.e. you and me)! Praise the Lord! Psalm 139:17-18 says, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand…” Wow! Now that is a lot of thoughts! And when David wrote this, he was referring to just the thoughts that God thinks of him personally! Glory to Jesus! And did you know that since God is no respecter of persons, His thoughts are just that precious and innumerable about you too? Now most Christians do not have a problem believing that God is constantly considering them; what they do have a hard time believing, however, is that those thoughts are good and positive thoughts. But again, what does Jeremiah 29:11 say that He thinks about us? “For I know the thoughts I think toward you… thoughts of good and not of evil, of peace, to give you a future and a hope.” My brothers and sisters, God is not thinking evil about you! He is focusing on the good in you! And why? Because He loves you more than you can possibly imagine! You see, this fact that we are constantly on His mind reemphasizes to us a very important truth – and that is that He loves us. You know, when we fall in love, one characteristic of that love is our minds become filled with that other person. We think about them all the time when we are at the height of that love. And why are we thinking so much of that person? It is because they are in our heart! Saints, God actually holds us in His heart! He does not just tolerate us or make Himself have to think good things about us. No, He thinks good thoughts about us because we hold a special place in His heart! In other words, we are important to Him because you do not rent space in your heart to people or things that are not important to you. No, what is in your heart is what is valuable to you! Therefore, we must be extremely valuable to the Lord if His heart and mind are so inclined towards us! Amen! PLANS FOR OUR PEACE Now it should be noted that the word “thoughts” in the beginning of this verse carries more of the idea of plans, purposes, or intentions. However, we know that in order to have a plan and purpose, you must first give thought to those plans and purposes, right? So the word “thoughts” is also a good word for us to consider because it shows that (as this Hebrew word is also translated in other passages of Scripture) God is “plotting, scheming and devising” a grand and glorious future for us! Amen? You know, when we hear words like to “plot, scheme and devise,” we usually gear towards the negative, but that is not the case here. In the mind of God, His “scheming” revolves around our blessing! In other words, God’s thoughts towards us are thoughts that conspire for our good and welfare. Praise Jesus! A good example of this is when in Genesis 50:20, Joseph said to his brothers that what they did to him, they meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. The word “meant” used in this verse twice are the same Hebrew word for “thoughts” in Jeremiah 29:11, and here we see how this word literally describes his brothers “scheming, plotting, intentions, and purposes” for evil against him but how the LORD had different “thoughts / plans” for Him. You see, with man these thoughts/plans for us might not be so good. In fact, they might very well be as evil as Joseph’s brothers’, BUT GOD! But the LORD has different plans and thinks different thoughts for our future! Amen! My friends, the mind of Christ is filled with wonderful plans, purposes and intentions for your life! He has a plan for you! You might not think He does; but He does! That’s why I believe it is significant how the first part of Jeremiah 29:11 is worded… Notice again that the Lord says, “For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord …” Why does He say, “For I know the thoughts…”? Evidently, it was because His people believed He was thinking something else! Did you know that this is still true today? So many of God’s people have a totally incorrect perception of what God is thinking about them. They think God is harsh, critical and fault finding – always focused on our sin and shortcomings. This is why the Lord went on to say in Jeremiah 29:11 that the thoughts and plans that He knows He has for us are for peace and not of evil. Evidently this is exactly what His chosen people believed He was thinking about them – thoughts of evil. Nothing could be further from the truth! As we have already seen, the exact opposite is true! On a side note, let me show you why people think this way about God. It’s because they think that He thinks the way they think. In other words, most people will judge others according to how they would do things. If they think someone is always conspiring against them, it’s usually because they think that way. It’s tight but it’s right. You see, while God certainly is well aware of all of our faults and failures, He does not focus on the negative. No, in fact, God is focused more on our potential and His good plan for us than all of the ways that we fall short of His glory. Sure, we tend to focus on the negatives in people, but not God! No, First Corinthians 13:5 tells us that love thinks no evil. Amen! Other translations say, “(love) keeps no record of wrongs,” “(love) does not count the bad” and “it doesn’t keep score of the sins of others.” So listen – if God is love (1 John 4:8), then that means that God keeps no record of wrongs, He does not count the bad things in us, and He doesn’t keep score of our sins! Amen! In fact, the Scriptures teach us that our sins and lawless deeds He remembers no more (Hebrews 10:17)! Why? It’s because He has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12)! So His thoughts, plans and purpose for us are of “peace” and not of evil … Now, of course, the word “peace” comes from the Hebrew word “shalom” – which means more than simply having an absence of conflict. Shalom describes “completeness, wholeness, soundness, success and welfare.” It basically describes having nothing missing and nothing broken in our lives. So we can see that God’s thoughts and plans for our lives involve making them complete, whole, sound, successful and with nothing missing and nothing broken! Amen! And not just “peace” for the present, but “peace” for our future. This is why Jeremiah went on to say that the LORD’s intentions were to give us a future and HOPE! How many of you know that the LORD is called the God of Hope (See Romans 15:13)? He doesn’t just have hope to give; He IS hope! That means that, in Him, there is always hope. It doesn’t matter how impossible it may seem to us that things can turn around. It doesn’t matter how much we feel we have aborted His plans for our future. In Him, is always hope! So we have clearly seen God’s heart on the matter… He has good thoughts and plans for us and for our future! His purpose for us is to live lives that are complete, whole, sound – with nothing missing and nothing broken in them – both today and forevermore! Amen and amen! HOW TO WALK IN GOD’S PLAN AND PURPOSE But how many of you know that not every Christian walks in the reality of this? We would be naïve to think that all of God’s children actually walk in this complete and total fulfillment of Jeremiah 29:11. We would be foolish to think that we all experience the height of His goodness and the extent of His hope. I would go as far as saying that the vast majority of God’s children do not experience what Jeremiah 29:11 describes. So the question is – Why? Why do so many of God’s people not experience this wonderful hope and future that God has for them? Well, I believe the Lord has shown me that some of the reasons for this are found in this very chapter – Jeremiah chapter 29. So what I want us to do today is look at a few truths listed here in Jeremiah chapter 29 because I wholeheartedly believe that in them lie some integral keys that unlock us fulfilling what God’s heart is for us to walk in. You see, as it is with so many Scriptures, we tend to take these truths and lift them up out of context, and in doing so, we miss the complete picture of what God was trying to communicate to us. And Jeremiah 29:11 is no different! While so many believers can quote this verse, the vast majority of them have zero knowledge of the verses surrounding it. So let’s take a look at this entire passage of Scripture and glean from the truth of God’s Word … Now when you look at verses 4-28, you will notice that the margins are a little different in most of our Bibles. The reason for this is because whoever compiled Jeremiah’s prophecy wanted us to know that it is actually a letter that the prophet Jeremiah wrote to the exiles who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon. And the purpose of his letter was to give some specific instructions and exhortations to these exiles while they were in Babylon, which included our beloved verse 11. So let’s begin looking at this letter recorded in the Book of Jeremiah in detail and see what principles are included in it that will help us to enter into those thoughts, plans and purposes that the Lord has for us … HOW TO FIND GOD’S WILL I want to draw your attention first to the couple of verses that immediately follow Jeremiah 29:11. Immediately after saying that He knows the thoughts He thinks towards us and that they are plans of peace, a hope and a future, the Lord says in verse 12, “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me …” Now this is significant, saints, because the word “then” shows us “when” we will call upon Him and pray to Him. And when will this be? When we start thinking the way God thinks about us! Then we will call upon Him and go and pray to Him! That’s good stuff right there! So when we truly understand that God has a good plan for our lives (i.e. we are convinced that He has a good plan with a hope and a future) we will start calling and praying to discover that plan! Thank you, Lord Jesus! You see, if we are convinced that the Lord has a good plan – meaning, this truth is established in our hearts – we will seek after it. For one to say they believe God has a purpose for them, yet they never search for it with any semblance of persistence and zeal, I highly doubt that they believe in their hearts that He has something good for them. Why? Because faith without works is dead (James 2:20). And this leads me to my next point: This praying and calling upon the Lord is not a passive thing either! Notice what Jeremiah said next in verse 13: He said, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” You know, one of the main reasons that many of God’s people do not truly uncover His plan for their lives is because they do not put their whole heart into discovering it! Sure, they hope they will discover the plan of God for them. They sure would like to know. But do they ever spend time seeking to know it? Do they get serious enough to fast and pray concerning what God’s purpose is for their lives? Sadly, not many do this. Like I said, they would like to know His plan and purpose, but they don’t love to know it! What I mean by that is they don’t want to know it to the degree that they’re willing to spend any time, effort, and energy to find it! You see, God has told us time and time again in His Holy Word that when we ask, we shall receive, when we seek, we shall find, when we knock it shall be opened for us (Matthew 7:7-8)! But this asking, seeking and knocking is not just the casual – “Well, I knocked a couple of times, but no one came to the door. I guess they weren’t home, so I’ll just leave.” No, we are talking about a kind of asking, seeking, and knocking that is persistent and that is not willing to quit! Amen! And it is not that God is like some old miser up in heaven who is unwilling to give you what you want until you beg enough. No, it is just that sometimes we must press through the flesh to uncover the riches of the Spirit! Amen! So, yes, a foundational key to discovering God’s plan and purpose for you is to begin seeking Him for that plan with all of your heart! Amen? But what do you do while you are seeking and searching? That is a great question; I’m glad I asked it. Let’s go back to the beginning of this letter and see what specific instructions the Lord gave to these exiles through Jeremiah … STEP #1- BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED In the beginning of this letter, Jeremiah starts out by addressing them – “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon” (Verse 4). It’s important to understand that it wasn’t the LORD’s plan for this. Just looking at this isolated verse can give one the impression that He instigated their being carried away into captivity, but no, it was their own numbskull decisions that got them in this predicament. As was usually the case with the children of Israel (and us too), our choices to not do things God’s way oftentimes lead to the struggles we experience in life. So always remember – if we are experiencing something that is consistent with what the Bible calls a curse, then it’s not God’s will for us. In this case, it was His chosen people who willed it, not God. Then in verses 5-6, Jeremiah goes on to immediately exhort the people to build houses and plant gardens, to take spouses and beget sons and daughters. He was basically telling them to continue living the way they would even though they were not in their home of Jerusalem. At the end of verse 6 he says, “… that you may be increased there, and not diminished.” It’s important to understand that he LORD is always about us increasing, no matter if we are in the penthouse or the outhouse. In this case, they were in the cellar for sure. Yet, even though they were in a less than desirable place in bondage in Babylon, the LORD still encouraged them to increase, multiply, and prosper – showing us that even if we are not in the job we want, even if we don’t have the ministry we desire, or even if we don’t have the marriage we’ve always wanted, that we don’t need to wait to put our best foot forward. Press in to let the LORD increase you where you are at, even if the end result right now is someone else’s prosperity. A good example of this is Joseph when he was enslaved to Potipher and in prison in Egypt. It didn’t matter where Joseph was or what undesirable situation he was in, he always did things with excellence and saw increase as a result. And, of course, we know what this led to – him experiencing his “Jeremiah 29:11.” Amen? The children of Israel did the same when they were in Egypt, didn’t they? From the days of Joseph to the days of Moses, they increased & multiplied in the Land of Egypt. Exodus chapter one talks about how they were “exceedingly fruitful” and how they “multiplied greatly.” They did this when times were good (when Joseph was around) and they kept doing it when times were bad (when they were oppressed by the Egyptians). So my point is that here is a good first step to fulfilling your purpose and vision – bloom where you are planted! You see, human nature tends towards not putting its best foot forward if it does not have a controlling interest in the place that it is planted. In other words, we tend to take better care of our baby than we do of someone else’s baby. But if God has put us somewhere – whether that be in a job, a church etc. - then our goal should be to show the same diligence that we would if it were our own business or our own ministry. In Ephesians chapter 6 we see similar exhortations to those of us who are serving under the umbrella of another… Beginning in verse 5, Paul addresses “bondservants.” Now the following exhortations can apply to anyone who is under the authority of someone else. He goes on to tell them – “be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.” So what we see here is the heart attitude we should have when serving is that we are ultimately serving the Lord, not the man. Now there is a reason that this exhortation is in the Bible, and do you know why that is? It’s because the vast majority of people do not do their job or serve in their churches with this attitude. Most people are men-pleasers and as long as someone is looking, recognizing their hard work etc. they will get the job done, but the moment eyes are turned away from them, they give a lack luster effort. As it has been said in the world – “Dress for the job you want, not for the job you’ve got.” This goes for not only how you dress, but the attitude and effort that you dress yourself with in your current situation. Friends, promotion comes neither from the east nor from the west; promotion comes from the Lord! (see Psalm 75:6) But one of the main reasons I see that the vast majority do not get promoted by the Lord is because they are not truly working for the Lord; they are working for man. So my point is that when we are currently in a situation where we are serving another man’s plan, purpose and vision, do it heartily as unto God, not unto man! Take ownership and put your best foot forward, knowing that as Ephesians 6:8 goes on to promise us – “whatever good any one does, he will receive the same from the Lord.” In other words, work hard for the authorities God has put in your life like you are serving Christ Himself. Then you will position yourself for promotion! Amen? STEP #2- SEEK THE PEACE OF THE CITY Yes, Jeremiah 29:4-6 tells us to live life to the full even if we are in Babylon. Don’t quit! Work heartily as unto the Lord in whatever situation you might currently be in. Trust the Lord to bless the work of your hands and to prosper whatever you set your hands unto. However, human nature is to simply gripe and complain about the way things currently are. Let me explain … They let their discontentment affect their attitude. Not only do they not do their work as unto the Lord and bloom where they are planted, but they despise it. You see, so many people despise the day of small beginnings, and the Scriptures teach us not to do so (See Zechariah 4:10). Now we all might tend to think we are not doing that, but I imagine the LORD might think we are guilty of this if we are not working diligently under the vision of someone else. So since we are unhappy with the thing that we are currently setting our hand to do, we do not show the same diligence and effort that we would if we had the job, family, ministry etc. that we desire. And this “despising” is so much more subtle than most realize. It causes offense that most never realize. A root of bitterness can spring up that defiles. And then we’ve got a heart that is ladened with weeds, briars, thorns, etc. that affect the issues of our life. This is why I believe Jeremiah went on to say in Jeremiah 29:7, “And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.” Wow! There is so much we can learn from this verse! What he was saying here is to actually, genuinely seek the peace of the city of their captors! That would be Babylon! That would be like us here in America being overthrown by another country and being carried away to that country to be servants there, and then the Lord telling us to seek the peace & welfare of that nation while we are there. I can only imagine what you might be thinking after reading that. Most of us are saying in our hearts – “Ain’t no way!” Well, that’s your problem. We have to be willing to do whatever the Lord tells us to do even if everything in our flesh & mind are completely opposed to it. In this case, it was a big part of the Lord leading them to those good plans He had for them. You know, one of the most obvious ways that we have done this is with our own government here in the United States. So many people (including Christians) have been so disenchanted with the state of our country for years. And while I do not disagree with the fact that we need a major change and intervention from God in the United States of America, this does not mean we should be sitting around and cursing our nation because we don’t like how things are going. This is not “seeking the peace of the city” that Jeremiah was talking about. Complaining about it is not praying for it. No, if we are seeking the peace of our country and genuinely praying for it, then the poor attitude towards things will be absent. And Jeremiah even went as far as telling them why it was so important to do this. It was because “for in its peace you will have peace.” This reminds me of First Timothy chapter 2 where the apostle Paul taught us to pray for all men, especially the kings and all who are in authority. And why? “… that you may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” (First Timothy 2:2). Now if you know anything about history, you know that the ones he was talking about praying for here were the Romans. Yes, Rome was the oppressing city where the kings (i.e. emperors) and all who were in authority resided. So essentially what Paul was showing his readers to do here was to seek the peace of Rome and the other Roman provinces, to pray for Caesar, his governors, etc. And this exhortation was made just before some of the worst, most ungodly Emperors that Rome had ever known would come into power. I wonder if the Holy Spirit might have been inspiring the apostle Paul to write this because He knew what was on the horizon if they didn’t. And I wonder if the church just ignored this or did it half-heartedly. I think both of these are very likely. So do you know what this teaches me? The reason why we don’t experience a quiet and peaceable life is not because of the king and those in authority, but because of the church’s failure to pray for the king and those in authority. Amen or Oh me? You see, we need to be praying for the peace of Jerusalem (absolutely!), but we also need to be praying for the peace of whatever place that we live in! Amen? For in praying for its peace, we will have peace! But this also goes for praying for your family, your job, your church etc. Saints, there are countless employees out there who are griping and complaining about how much they make in their job, but what if instead of them complaining, they would start using that same energy to pray for the success and prosperity of their employer? Do you think that just maybe if they started prospering, they would have more to pay you? Just maybe! But somebody will say, “Yeah well, they wouldn’t pay me any extra anyways.” But again, who is your employer? It’s ultimately the Lord! He is who we are to be serving whole-heartedly! So then, He is the One who can give us the raise that we desire by moving upon our employers’ hearts or by supplying our needs another way! Amen! So pray for the place that you are in. Pray for the peace and prosperity of those around you - genuinely and from the heart, seeking their welfare. For, as this Scripture promises, in their peace, we will find our peace! STEP #3- DON’T LISTEN TO HANANIAH! Then Jeremiah goes on to exhort the people in verses 8-9 to not listen to the wrong voices … He says in these verses – “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord.” You see, there was a false prophet in Jeremiah’s day that was speaking lies to the people. If you go back to Jeremiah chapter 28, you will see where a man by the name of Hananiah was prophesying to the priests and all of the people that the Lord was going to bring them and all of their stuff back to Jerusalem in 2 years. The gist of his message was that they do not need to get too comfortable in Babylon – for the Lord was going to break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar from them soon. Now while I’m sure these were comforting words in the ears of all the people and words their flesh wanted to hear, they were not accurate. In fact, in his letter to the exiles, Jeremiah gave them the true Word of the Lord that after 70 years are completed in Babylon, the Lord would bring them back to their own land (See Jeremiah 29:10). In other words, the truth he was giving them was that probably all of them were going to die in Babylon and their children or children’s children would be the ones to return to Jerusalem. Now, as history has taught us, Jeremiah’s words were not appreciated very much. Why? Because people want to hear what they want to hear. Their flesh doesn’t like receiving things that don’t cater to convenience, pleasure, etc. And church, this is something we need to guard our hearts against when we are in those days of small beginnings while we are on the way to the hope & future that the LORD has for us. Now these “prophets & diviners” are not always flesh & blood. Sure, it can be a video on YouTube, a preacher on television, or a newscaster on the radio, but sometimes it is the voices on the inside of us or what we dream up on our own. This is why Jeremiah wrote – “nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.” That indicates that some of the things we imagine were conjured up by us. Friends, when we are in our “Babylon,” we need to be careful not to heed the voices that we hear on the inside of us. For the flesh and soul love to feed us lies that enforce impatience and not remaining planted. We need to be careful not to feed those deceptions and uproot ourselves prematurely before the fruit can begin to come forth from the seed sown. This is a huge temptation that we need to resist – not to fight against or uproot ourselves prematurely before the fruit of God’s purpose can be produced in and through us! CONCLUSION Friends, these are just a few ways that you and I can be sure to stay on the path to entering into God’s plans and what He is thinking for our lives. These are some good New Year’s resolutions for you – No, it’s not to lose weight or to become more organized. It’s to … 1.Be convinced that God is thinking good thoughts about you, and He has a bright future ahead for you! 2.Start searching for his plans for you with all of your heart – that is, spending time in your prayer closet seeking His face with the aim of obtaining His thoughts! 3.Bloom where you are planted – working as unto the Lord with all of your might! 4.Seek the peace of the place you are currently in and pray for those around you to fulfill their glorious future as well. 5.Not listen to those “Hananiah’s” who would try to convince us to move and uproot ourselves from our place called there! Do these things and I will give you an unconditional guarantee that you will discover your purpose! Alright, so I believe are on the home stretch for concluding our series on the Names of God. But even though we’ve covered just about all of the Names God is given throughout the Old Testament, there is one New Testament Name which is above every other Name that I wanted to spend at least a couple of weeks covering.
But before we get into it, let’s review some of what we’ve covered thus far … We started out “hallowing” God’s Name by looking at the general Name used for God and the first Name He is given in the Scriptures – Elohim. We learned that Elohim describes exactly what most people’s view of God is – that He is the all-powerful, sovereign Creator who rules over all and is the judge of all. But we saw that, unfortunately, this is as far as most ever come in learning who God is. So that’s when we started looking at a few of the other Elohim “subtitles” that He was given like El Roi, El Elyon, and El Shaddai. These Names further described who God really was. But we learned that even these derivatives of Elohim were not enough to fully encapsulate who the LORD is. So that is when we looked at the Name that one might consider God’s “legal name” – Yahweh. I say “legal name” because this is the technically correct Name that God likes to go by. And one of the reasons for this is because no other name could have fully described all that the LORD is since He is so great, magnificent, and glorious. We learned that Yahweh literally describes the One who was, is, and is to come. He is the Great I AM. Therefore, this ever existing One simply IS. But what I love about this Name is that it is basically an open-ended title because it begs the questions – What is He? Who is He? How is He? And Why is He? So for thousands of years Yahweh began answering this question of who He is by revealing to His chosen people various Yahweh Names such as Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Tsidkenu, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Shammah, Jehovah M’Kaddesh, and Jehovah Rohi. All of these Names described specific characteristics that God possesses, and reveals to us who He is in terms of His nature and interests. And last week, we looked at one of the things that He is to us. Yes, we looked at what God is into and what we can expect out of Him – and that is for Him to be our Banner of Victory! We looked at His Name given in Exodus chapter 17 – Jehovah Nissi – and how God grants His people victory and always leads us in triumph. Church, it’s wonderful that God is not into us losing. Yes, He always wants us to win, and He has done everything He is ever going to do in Christ Jesus to secure our victory in this life and in the next. Be sure to go back and listen to that message this week if you missed it. It’s a winner! THE NAME ABOVE EVERY NAME But like I said at the beginning, as we move towards concluding our study of the Names of God, it is imperative that we spend some time looking at the Name above all Names. Yes, there is one Name that outshines them all, that every tongue will one day confess as LORD, and that Name is obviously JESUS! The apostle Paul speaks of Jesus’ Name this way in Philippians 2:9-11 when he said, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Now the context here is what Jesus laid down for us: Paul begins by saying that there was a certain mentality that Jesus possessed that we should aspire to have as well (Verse 5). And that mindset is that he emptied Himself of all of His Godhead privileges and was willing to let go of His glory to come become a human being like you and I (Verses 6-7). He then went as far as becoming the servant of servants and humbled Himself to the point of being crucified for us (Verses 7-8). So this is why His Father gave Him the Name above every other name and has honored Him to the degree that He has. Now it’s obvious that the names that His Name is above is specifically talking about any “name” we have on this earth – from any king, queen, prince, principality, or power. However, I believe this also applies to any other Name of God – that the Name of Jesus is to be held in the highest esteem. Not that the rest of God’s Names are substandard; just simply that the Name of Jesus has been given special honor by God and deserves the highest praise. I’m reminded now of a verse in the Bible that speaks of how God has magnified His Word even above His own Name (See Psalm 138:2). Well, what (or rather, Who) is His Word? The apostle John reveals God’s Word to be Jesus (See John 1:1). So it should not surprise us that JESUS is the Name above every other Name of God and the Name that He has chosen to magnify above all of His other Names. JESUS = SAVIOR Therefore, I think it is good for us to take a deep dive into this Name of God and give honor to the Name of God’s only begotten Son. So let’s begin where Jesus was given His Name in the beginning of the New Testament … In Matthew 1:21, we have the story of an angel appearing to Joseph in a dream and revealing to Him that this supernatural conception that had taken place in Mary was indeed by the Spirit of God. And the angel tells Joseph what He is to name Him. He says, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So this is how Jesus was given His Name. It was not by Joseph or Mary; God had a specific Name He wanted His only begotten Son to be called – and that was JESUS. Of course, “Jesus” was not what you would have heard Him called if you lived in His day. Jesus is simply the English transliteration of His actual Jewish Name, Yeshua. We talked a little about this when we went studied the Name, Yahweh, and the point we made is that its not necessary to squabble about what His technically correct Name is and demand everyone call Him that. I personally don’t think that the LORD cares what letters of the English alphabet we use when writing or uttering His Name. However, it is important to know what His Name means – And whether you like to call Him “Jesus” or “Yeshua,” both Names mean the same thing. And we don’t have a lexicon or some other Hebrew dictionary to know what Jesus’ Name means, for Matthew 1:21 tell us. Notice again how the angel told Joseph that he was to call His name Jesus “for He will save His people from their sins.” The word “for” denotes the reason why God wanted His Name to be Jesus. It was because He would save His people from their sins. In other words, because Jesus’ purpose for coming was to bring salvation to His people, the LORD wanted His Name to be the word for “salvation.” So no matter if you look up the Hebrew word “Yeshua” or the Greek word “Jesus,” you’ll find that they both describe salvation. Of course, to the Jew, this is exactly what they were expecting the Messiah to do – to bring salvation/deliverance to His people like He did through Moses when they were under the oppression of the Egyptians. In other words, the Messiah was said to bring salvation to the people of Israel, but they only heard that through carnal ears. Yes, they were looking for a physical deliverance from their Roman oppressors. But we know from verses like Matthew 1:21 and many others in the New Testament – the salvation that Jesus’ Name spoke about was first salvation from our spiritual oppressor, that is, the devil and the kingdom of darkness. You see, this is the purpose for Jesus coming. In fact, we have a bunch of other Scriptures that paint the full picture of this salvation:
So there is a broad scope as to why He came and what that purpose for His coming was, but it essentially boils down to this – The purpose for Jesus coming was to seek and save the lost, to give His life as a ransom for many in order to save sinners, and to destroy the works of the devil that we may have life and life more abundantly. Amen! All of these things that Jesus came to do can be seen in the Name His Heavenly Father gave Him. We see this described in Acts 4:12 when the apostle Peter addressed the Sanhedrin. He told them regarding Jesus’ Name – “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” So Peter was speaking the truth that salvation cannot be found in another – not Buddha, not Muhammad, and not any other name. No, all men and women must be saved through only one Name, the Name of Jesus! And one of the reasons for this is because none other has the Name of Salvation like Jesus does. Yes, Jesus’ actual Name is SAVIOR & SALVATION! YAHWEH YESHUA & JEHOVAH JESUS So you see, the Name Jesus or Yeshua literally describes Salvation. This is why I like to give God another Name and one that I believe is worthy of attention – YAHWEH YESHUA or JEHOVAH JESUS. Now this is not an official Name of God like the others we’ve covered, but to me, it is who our God is above all else. Yes, He is the LORD OUR SAVIOR or the LORD IS SALVATION. Let’s look at it in detail … Now again, Yahweh means He was, He am, and He will be. So it is generally translated like so – “The LORD is.” And then we come the Hebrew word/name for “salvation” which is Yeshua. Yes, this word describes something saved, but it also describes deliverance, aid or help, prosperity or welfare, victory or health. So you can see that while “Yeshua” can simply be defined as “salvation,” it means much more than that. It describes everything from prosperity to health, and not just being “saved” like we use the term. In fact, this Hebrew word gives us an almost identical definition of “salvation” as the Greek word for “saved” does. You see, in the New Testament, the word used for saved comes from the Greek word sozo which means “to save, heal, cure, preserve, keep safe and sound, rescue from danger or destruction, or to deliver.” The Spirit Filled Life Bible says that this Greek word means “to save from physical death by healing, and from spiritual death by forgiving sin and its effects.” As a matter of fact, this word “sozo” is not just translated “saved or save”; it is also translated “made whole, made well & healed.” So we see from both Yeshua & Sozo that “salvation” is not just a spiritual rescuing or deliverance; it also describes physical and natural salvation in every area of our life like our soul, physical bodies, finances, relationships, etc. And this is who the LORD is! He is Yeshua! He is Sozo! He is our Salvation, which also means He is our Deliverer, our Healer, our Provider, etc. Do you see all of the other Names of God wrapped up in this salvation!?! This is who Jehovah is! THE LORD OUR SALVATION And the LORD being salvation is threaded throughout the Scriptures as well. Yes, Jesus was forecasted throughout the Old Testament. You see, if you study out Scriptures that say that the LORD is salvation, you’ll be amazed to see how many verses there are …
I’ve counted at least 20 times that the LORD is specifically called our salvation in the Bible. In some cases, He is called my salvation as the author is specifically referring to who God has revealed Himself as to them. Sometimes He is referred to as something else along with our salvation, like a rock or light. But the fact is, that’s a lot of times that the LORD is specifically referred to as our salvation and not just as the One who does the saving. That means that salvation is what He is and not just what He gives. Saints, I just wanted you to realize today that just as the LORD is our Provider, our Healer, our Righteousness, our Sanctifier, our Shepherd, our Banner of Victory, etc. etc. etc., He is our Salvation too – which brings all of His other Names into one Name, the Name which is above every Name, JESUS! This is why I like to call Him JEHOVAH JESUS! THE ANGEL OF THE LORD Now I understand that the title “Jehovah Jesus” isn’t a Name of God that we see specifically mentioned in the Scriptures, but hey, there are a lot of terms we use in the church today that aren’t specifically mentioned in the Scriptures either. One example, is the term “Trinity.” The Scriptures don’t ever really use this word. However, that doesn’t mean that the concept of the Trinity isn’t implied. So even though man came up with this title for the Godhead, the idea of God being three beings in one is laced throughout the Scriptures. Well, the idea of Jehovah having another name, the Name which is above all names and the only Name that mankind can be saved by, is certainly implied as well. Yes, Jesus is that Name of God that shows that God is our Salvation. But you see, even though we celebrate the birth of Jesus during this month of December, it’s important to understand that Jesus didn’t come into being around this time some 2,000 years ago. No, Jesus was in the Old Testament too. Now He didn’t carry the Name of Jesus then. That Name wasn’t given until His physical birth that we see described in the Gospels. But His presence is throughout the Old Testament in the Person we see called “the Angel of the LORD.” Now this is not to be confused with an angel of the Lord. There is obviously a difference between the LORD’s angels that He sent messages through or that performed awesome feats through and what we see titled as “The Angel of the LORD.” This phrase comes from the Hebrew words that describe “a Messenger of Yahweh.” (Sounds a little like the “Word of the Father,” doesn’t it?) Again, the LORD’s angels can be His messengers, but sometimes there is a special “Messenger” who appeared to God’s creation. The first instance we have is in the story of Hagar in Genesis chapter 16 when the Bible says that the Angel of the LORD found her in the wilderness by the spring on the way to Shur after she fled from Sarai. This is when He said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude” (See Genesis 16:7-10). Notice how this Angel of the LORD said, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly …” That sounds like the LORD Himself is talking, doesn’t it? And that’s because He was! Yes, Yahweh Himself had manifested Himself to Hagar as “the Angel of the LORD.” And on top of this, if you recall, this is when Hagar named the LORD “El Roi” because she said that the LORD saw her. Therefore, El Roi was this Angel of the LORD, meaning God had appeared in the form of this messenger and spoke directly to her. Another instance is found in Genesis chapter 18 when the LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth trees of Mamre for two reasons – to inform Abraham and Sarah that their son of promise would be born the following year and to inform Abraham that he was going to destroy the cities of Sodom & Gomorrah. Now none of these three men that appeared to Abraham and Sarah are specifically called the “Angel of the LORD,” but I think that this is implied here because we are specifically told that the LORD appeared to Abraham (See Genesis 18:1). Another time, we see that the Angel of the LORD called out to Abraham on Mount Moriah when he was being tested to offer up His son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to the LORD: In Genesis 22:12, just before he was about to kill Isaac, the Angel of the LORD stopped him and said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” So again, the Angel of the LORD talked to someone like it was God personally talking to them – showing us that this particular Angel had to be some sort of manifestation of Yahweh Himself. And like the story of Hagar, we see again God being given one of His Names through the Angel of the LORD’s manifestation because this was of course the story where God is named “Jehovah Jireh,” the LORD our Provider. So we can see that this Angel of the LORD is certainly more than just your average angel. He is El Roi, the God who sees. He is Jehovah Jireh, the LORD our Provider. Yes, the Angel of the LORD is both Yahweh & Elohim! THAT WONDERFUL NAME But I want to share with you another time that we see the Angel of the LORD manifest Himself in the Scriptures because this one brings us full circle to who this Angel is and how awesome His Name is … In Judges chapter 13, we have the story of the birth of Samson, and I want us to look specifically at how Samson’s birth was announced to his parents by this ‘Angel of the LORD” … Judges 13:2-22 says, “Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, ‘Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.’ So the woman came and told her husband, saying, ‘A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, and said, ‘O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.’ And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, ‘Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!’ So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, ‘Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?’ And He said, “I am.” Manoah said, ‘Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?’ So the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, ‘Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.’ Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, ‘Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.’ And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, ‘Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord.) Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, ‘What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?’ And the Angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?’ So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on—it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. When the Angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife, ‘We shall surely die, because we have seen God!’ So what we can gather from this story is more evidence that this Angel of the LORD was indeed God because of all the descriptions …
You see, church, all of this points to the truth that Jesus is the LORD! Yes, He is that messenger (or we might say, the WORD) of the LORD because, like Manoah didn’t know that this was the Angel of the LORD here, many didn’t know who Jesus really was 2,000 years ago. Not only that, but the Angel’s response to Manoah’s question of if He was the Man was exactly what Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane – “I AM.” And we certainly know that Jesus’ Name is truly “wonderful” and indeed “awesome.” And finally, just as this Angel of the LORD ascended into heaven by the altar, likewise, JESUS ascended to heaven after being offered up on the altar of the Cross for our sins, to forever be seated at the right hand of God! Amen, church, JESUS is that Angel of the LORD and that makes Him GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. As the apostle Paul said in First Timothy 3:16 – “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.” Church, Jesus IS the Angel of the LORD, the Messenger of Yahweh, who was manifest in the flesh and received up in glory! He is the First and the Last, found in the beginning and revealed in the end. Amen! I AM THAT I AM But probably one of our best examples of the Angel of the LORD being Yahweh is found in Exodus chapter 3 in that very familiar story of Moses & the burning bush … This story begins in Exodus 3:1-2 by saying, “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.” Now notice here an important point that most haven’t noticed – that this voice of God that we know comes from the bush was specifically a manifestation of this Angel of the LORD! So everything we’ve ever envisioned of God appearing to Moses here in this burning bush is actually the Angel of the LORD! Then in verses 3-6 we are told – “Then Moses said, ‘I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.’ So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.’ Moreover He said, ‘I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.” Then after the LORD tells Moses how he has heard the cry of His people and how He has seen their oppression, He tells Moses what he is to do. But Moses asked a good question in verse 13 – that when he is asked by the children of Israel what God’s Name was that was sending him, what should he tell them? And we know the answer, right? In verses 14-15, the LORD responds with – “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’” And as we’ve learned already this phrase “I AM WHO I AM” is just the way of saying, “MY NAME is YHWH!” because Yahweh literally describes the One who was and who will be, and therefore, the One who simply IS. So this is who the Angel of the LORD declared Himself to be – the I AM! And guess who else declared “I AM” many times in their ministry? Jesus! THE GREAT I AM Yes, Jesus Himself identified with Yahweh during His earthly ministry. For this reason, many (including myself) believe this Angel of the LORD to be a preincarnate manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ! First of all, He once told the Pharisees – “Before Abraham was, I Am.” (See John 8:58). This was not just a simple statement of Him existing before Abraham. No, this was Jesus equating Himself with the voice of the Angel of the LORD that spoke to Moses through the burning bush referring to Himself as “I AM WHO I AM.” If anyone else had made these statements, it would have been blasphemy (That is what Jesus was accused of by the Jewish leaders, who then arranged to have Him crucified for such “blasphemy.” Yet that plot was ultimately ordained by God to fulfill the prophecy that Jesus would be crucified for the sins of all who would believe in His name). But now, I want us to look in the Gospels after Jesus was born and look at some of the other Names He is given. More accurately, we are going to look at some things that the voice that came from the burning bush said He AM. This will help you and I to better understand all that comes in our salvation package. You see, if you study the Gospels, you will find that Jesus made numerous statements of who He is, was, and evermore shall be. In fact, in the Gospel of John itself, Jesus made seven “I AM” statements, which both identified Himself as deity and revealed certain divine characteristics that He possesses. Yes, each of these statements serve not only as a reflection of His nature but also as a way of revealing how the LORD desires to meet our needs. In fact, Jesus fulfilled and affirmed numerous Old Testament prophesies about Himself through these “I AM” statements. It’s also important to consider that He knew who He was, and He wanted us to clearly know, too. He can’t be minimized to merely our “ticket to heaven” but must be seen as our daily sustenance, our direction, our protector, our sacrificial Savior, our victory over death, our access to the Father and eternal life, and our vitality and strength. So what are Jesus' seven “I Am” Statements? Let’s look at them in order to gain a fuller understand of who Jehovah Jesus really is …
The first one is found in John 6:35 where Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” He also reiterated this statement in John 6:41, 48, & 51. Jesus said this shortly after He had fed the five thousand in the beginning of the chapter. and the people wanted more supernaturally provided bread. This was an allusion to the supernatural manna that satisfied the physical needs of the Israelites in the wilderness, but only for a while. But Jesus didn’t want to keep filling their stomachs. He wanted them to see that physical food only satisfied hunger temporarily, but He was the One who could satisfy them spiritually. Jesus Christ satisfies our spiritual needs forever. He was saying He is the bread that provides true life. So those who believe in Jesus have life. The manna in the wilderness satisfied temporary hunger, and those who ate it eventually died. Jesus provides the bread of life that leads to life everlasting. Notice how Jesus said in John 6:35 that as the bread of life, that whoever comes to Him shall never hunger and whoever believes on Him shall never thirst. You see, Jesus knew what these people were really “hungry” for – it was for more bread from heaven like the manna they were fed in the wilderness. But what He also knew was that the things that we as flesh & blood think we want & need is not what will satisfy us. Only Jesus can satisfy the root of all of these needs. Church, the LORD is the only thing that can satisfy. He is the only One who can fulfill us and bring true contentment. And without Him, we will run around the same mountains trying to be made happy by this or that. For some, they will go from relationship to relationship trying to find happiness. For others, they will work tirelessly trying to make more money, thinking that will bring them the joy they are looking for. There are so many “cisterns” that we try and hold water with, but none of these baskets can hold the joy & peace that we are looking for. As the Scriptures say, they are all broken cisterns that can hold no water. Only the LORD JESUS is that fountain of Living Waters, that true bread from heaven that man is to live by (See Jeremiah 2:13). Amen! Jesus is the answer to our discontentment, and is the only way to have joy and be fulfilled.
Jesus said in John 8:12 – “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” This second “I Am” statement of Jesus comes on the heels of a significant event – immediately after the forgiving of the woman caught in adultery. Of course, we know this story – the scribes and the Pharisees brought to Jesus this woman caught in the midst of adultery, and when they tried to put pressure on the Lord to condemn her according to the law, Jesus didn’t condemn her but offered her grace. But not only did Jesus show her mercy but He also told her to go and sin no more. This is when Jesus then gave this second great “I AM” statement that He is the light of the world. So being this light of the world like the Sun is the light of the earth, the LORD gives direction out of sin and into the light of life like He did for this adulterous woman. There is no cause for stumbling to those who follow His light, but for those who turn from Him, they will most certainly walk in darkness. Yes, Jesus is that great light that was given in Genesis 1:3 when God said, “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” And this was before the sun was even created. Therefore, the SON existed before the SUN was created – the true light of the world. You see, if we don’t have the light of the world, then we can’t really find our way out of the continuous stumblings in sin and other poor choices. We need His light to both walk correctly and to be able to see accurately. And Jesus is the only light that can provide us with these things. Jesus is the answer to our stumbling around in darkness. He is the light that gives direction, purpose, and hope.
Next, Jesus said in John 10:7-9 – “I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” This third “I Am” statement stresses that no one can enter the kingdom of heaven by any other means than Christ Himself. Jesus’ words in this passage are using the imagery of a sheepfold. He is the one and only way to enter the fold. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber” (See John 10:1). Yes, Jesus is that one door that gave one access to Noah’s ark. So Jesus is that door that one enters salvation through to be delivered from the wrath & judgment of God. So this statement also reinforces what He said in John 14:6 about being the only way to come to the Father. The only way to get into God’s “sheepfold” or “family” or “dwelling” is to go through Jesus – the door or entryway. However, that is not the only benefit of Jesus being the door. Jesus also said in verse 9 that not only is one saved by entering through Him, but that they are able to go in and out and find pasture. That shows me that Jesus is not only the door to our salvation and our home in heaven, but He is our door to find pasture outside of these spiritual things. So, He is the way to making us lie down on green pastures and our avenue to going beside the still waters. Therefore, He is the door to both a good life for all eternity and a good life now on this earth! Amen! Jesus is the answer to our inability to go in and out and find green pastures and still waters. He is our comfort and our rest.
Later in this same example, Jesus gives us our fourth great “I Am” saying in John 10:11,14 – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep … I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep, and am known by My own.” With this statement, Jesus was declaring Himself to be that good shepherd who would die for the sake of His flock. He was letting the Israelites know that, unlike a hireling who will run and leave a flock unprotected in order to save his own life when the wolf threatens the sheep, He will not abandon His sheep, but will keep watch over His people. And if He will lay down His life for His flock, then He most certainly will care for and love His sheep, knowing them each by name. In Psalm 23, David referred to the Lord God as Jehovah Rohi, the LORD our Shepherd, and in this passage, Jesus refers to Himself as the ultimate Good Shepherd who was about to give His life for His sheep and fulfill His Father’s plan of salvation for all people. But as our Good Shepherd Jesus not only gives us His life, but He gives us everything else as a result (Compare Romans 8:32)! Yes, the Good Shepherd leads us into the good life. In these verses, we see the opportunity to know Him is one of the benefits of Him being our Good Shepherd. So we can have a relationship with the LORD God through Jesus and we can experience so much more as evidenced by the 23rd Psalm. Church, when Jesus is our Good Shepherd, He does good by us! He provides us with direction, provision, protection, restoration, comfort, etc. The LORD is good, and He does good! Jesus is the answer for what we would call a bad life, full of no direction or provision. Knowing Him is the key to the life you’ve always been looking for.
The fifth “I AM” declaration that Jesus made in the Gospel of John is found in John 11:25. In this verse, Jesus said to Martha – “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” Jesus made this “I AM” statement immediately before raising Lazarus from the dead. He spoke this crowning statement of hope to His grieving friend, Martha, after she said that she knew that her brother, Lazarus, would rise again in the final resurrection. So Jesus felt the need to make it clear to her that He was and still is the resurrection and the life! Now Jesus was obviously talking about raising up Lazarus right then and not having to wait until the final Resurrection. So this shows us that Jesus is not only the Resurrection and the Life for us eternally, but He is this to us right now! And oh how Jesus most certainly is our Resurrection Life the moment we are born again! This involves us being born again and saved when our spirit is made fully alive by the power of the Holy Spirit, but it also involves our physical body being made alive by the Spirit of God. The apostle Paul talked about this in Romans chapter 8 when he said that the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies (See Romans 8:11). That means that God wants that resurrection life to impact us now, not just in the sweet by and by. You see, death always brought a sense of despair, hopelessness, and finality until Jesus spoke those glorious words, and then demonstrated them by bringing His dead friend back to life. Shortly afterward, Jesus showed the world that He had conquered the grave when He, Himself, rose to life three days after His death for the sins of all who would believe. Jesus is the answer for all that is dead. He gives life to anything or anyone He touches and raises them up.
Now perhaps the most powerful “I AM” statement by Jesus is the one He said in John 14:6 in response to Thomas’ statement of not knowing where He was going and not knowing the way. Here, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” This powerful “I AM” statement of Christ’s is packed with meaning: Like we just looked at in John 11:25, Jesus reiterated here that He is the life. This again shows us that the life is only found in Him. But Jesus included two other proclamations including him being the Way and the Truth: By saying that He is the Way, this is not merely one way among many ways to God; He is the only Way. In other words, like we saw in Jesus being the Door, Jesus is the Way to the Father. Then by saying that He is the Truth, Jesus is stating that all Truth is found in Him. The Scriptures say that “The entirety of Your Word is truth” (Psalm 119:160), and here is Jesus proclaiming that He is the truth—confirming His identity as the Word of God (see John 1:1, 14). So if I want to find the way, I need to find Jesus. If I want to know the truth, then I need to know Jesus. And if I want to have life, then I need to have Jesus. You see, this statement was significant to those of His day who were trying to gain access to God’s favor through the Law and their good works. And it is significant to us today because we are surrounded by many beliefs and religions claiming access to God and a way to earn God’s favor and eternal life, apart from Jesus alone. Jesus is the answer when we don’t know the way, when we are questioning what truth is, and when our life is in desperate need of a change.
Finally, we see Jesus in the same evening teaching about the Parable of the True Vine and its branches. And in the beginning of His teaching Jesus said – “I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser … I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:1,5) So the final metaphorical “I AM” statement in the Gospel of John emphasizes the sustaining power of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are the branches, and He is the vine. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit unless it is joined in vital union with the vine, only those who are joined to and abide in Christ to receive their power from Him produce fruit in the Christian life. But specifically by calling Himself the “True” Vine, that means that there are evidently “false” vines out there – again, other people, places, and things that we tend to grasp for to get life from. But no, Jesus is the only real True Vine and, therefore, the only true source of life & sustenance. So only by attaching ourselves to and abiding in Christ are we able to have His life flow in and through us. Then we cannot help but bear fruit that will honor the Father. In this metaphor, He is the gardener. In Him, and in His nurturing, tending, and pruning, you and I can grow to our potential and bear much fruit. Jesus was saying “Stick close to Me and you will be able to accomplish much for My Father’s glory.” Jesus is the answer to our fruitlessness. He is the only way for our lives to become truly fruitful and experience the life that glorifies Him. So just as the LORD gave Moses the answer to the question of who is it that was sending Him and what this One’s name is, Jesus is likewise the answer to everything we need! Yes, He is the only Way, the only Truth, and the only Life. One cannot take another way, believe something else as truth, or find life in something else outside of Jesus. He is the only Door and the Good Shepherd who leads us in and out to find the pasture we need. We cannot trust in any other “door” for salvation, but Jesus is certainly that Good Shepherd who will lead us in and out to find green pasture. There is no other Bread that can satisfy, no other Vine that can give life, and no other Light that can show us the way. Jesus is our only hope for resurrection and without Him we can do nothing. Yes, Jesus is always the answer – the only Name that can truly satisfy and save! THE LIGHT HAS DAWNED You see, the Name of Jesus contains so much wealth and depth. And it was even prophesied that this would be the case in one of our most popular Christmas passages of Scripture – Isaiah 9:6-7. In these verses, the Prophet Isaiah prophesied – “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.’” This is one of the most well-known prophecies about the coming Messiah. If you’ve been to a Christmas service before you’ve likely heard it read. And while it’s a great reminder during the Christmas season, it’s also a verse we should reflect on year-round because these truths about the Christ are not just reserved for the holidays, but they are the same yesterday, today, and forevermore! You see, these verses were not just intended to show Israel what was to come in the future at the time it was prophesied. Nor were they to just show us what came 2,000 years ago. No, these verses aren’t just to reveal what was or what was to come; they are to reveal to us who Jesus is and what He is still doing! So as we look at these verses in detail today, be sure to view them not as something of the past, but as truths that are still relevant today. Amen. But before we look at them in depth, we need to consider the context in which these words were written. You see, the Book of Isaiah is one of the most significant Books of Prophecy and one of the most important Books in the Bible. It is regularly quoted throughout the New Testament and also speaks of the coming Messiah and what He will do. It's for this reason that some call the Book of Isaiah the “Fifth Gospel” because of its unique and accurate description of Israel’s Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only does it give a description of His life and subsequent crucifixion, but it also describes His beginning – right here in Isaiah chapter 9. But the context of Isaiah 9:6-7 in particular is this: In the previous chapter, a picture of doom & gloom is painted to Israel. Invasion by the Assyrians was imminent and they would be oppressed for 13 years. This was not “gospel” to the nation of Israel and was widely considered a “conspiracy.” So at the very end of chapter 8, what we see is trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish, and how they would be driven into this dark time. However, in chapter 9, we see a prophecy of light and hope! Isaiah talks about a future for Israel where the darkness will be lifted! It’s a restoration to a bright future! And Isaiah prophesied that this will come about by a child that God will send who will become king. But this isn’t just any ordinary man; rather He will be called Mighty God and Prince of Peace, and his rule will never end! So in Isaiah 9:1-7 we see this incredible promise that the darkness will be replaced by indescribable glory that will never end. Verse 2 specifically says that “the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” This was a direct prophecy of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and Matthew records it as such in Matthew 4:16 of His Book. All this will be brought about by a baby Boy who will have a certain reputation. So let’s now begin looking at this powerful verse in Isaiah 9:6 … First of all, notice how our verse begins with – “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given …” Remember the context: Isaiah here is describing the future when God will provide a way out of the darkness, and that will come through the birth of a child. This passage is prophesying about the Light of the world and what the light is that He will bring to all who have eyes to see. When Isaiah started off with the word “For” he was giving the reason why God was going to accomplish what He said He would in the preceding verses (vs.1-5) – shining a light on their darkness/gloom, bringing them joy and their freedom being won. In other words, the Messiah was that light that would bring them true freedom. When Isaiah said “unto us” he was saying that He was coming for our benefit, and these were some of the benefits. So when it begins with “For unto us …” we can picture the light of the world coming into our dark world and giving us light. Yes, like beams of light radiate from the sun as it rises in the east, the Sun of Righteousness has risen with healing in His wings (literally, the rays of light that come from the sun). So unto us this light was given and now we can have hope because salvation has come! A SON IS GIVEN The Prophet Isaiah in prophesying of the Christ child who was to come said, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.” These are significant statements because in the first one, we have a reference to His humanity, and in the second, we have a reference to His deity. On one hand, He was born as a child in His humanity, and on the other, He was God’s only begotten Son given by His Father. So, while many Christians very admirably make Christmas out to be Jesus’ birthday, that is not entirely correct. Sure, it is His birthday regarding His humanity, but His entrance into the world on that evening was not the beginning of His life. He is, was, and always will be the beginning! We need to predominantly understand that when He was born that night, He was more than “Baby Jesus.” He was the everlasting Word made flesh! Yes, a Son was given on that night! So, Christmas should be viewed not so much as the birthday of little baby Jesus, but the glorious entrance of God’s greatest gift to the world—His only begotten Son! Another familiar passage of Scripture, John 3:16, says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes on Him should not perish but have eternal life.” This reveals to us a couple of awesome truths about this gift:
But this good news gets even “gooder” as we understand that the giving of His only begotten Son on the day that we traditionally celebrate as Christmas, God also freely gave us all things. Romans 8:32 says that if God did not withhold His Son from us, but freely gave Him to us, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things? In other words, with Jesus comes every other good and perfect gift of God! I would say it this way: Jesus is God’s gift wrapped under the tree. He is the gift. But when you unwrap Him, you find everything else that pertains to life and godliness! In Him, lies all the good and perfect gifts of the Father that we need and desire. As I considered these things this week, I was reminded of that oh so powerful Scripture in James 1:17 that says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” You see, Jesus was certainly that good and perfect gift given to us by our good, good Heavenly Father, but every other good and perfect gift in our lives has also come down from Him. He, in His unchanging nature of light, love, and life, consistently gives things that benefit and bless us. This is just who He is. So, Jesus is that good and perfect gift given to us by the Father, but again, He was given for us! Therefore, we are the reason for the season and the object of God’s love. This is why we tend to think of this verse as a Christmas passage because it predicts the birth of Jesus. And it certainly deserves a spot in our Christmas readings. However, the promise of this verse goes far beyond that. It’s a promise that God will restore his people and give them back a kingdom – this time, a kingdom that will be forever. Isaiah dives further into that in the coming words … THE KING’S DOMINION Isaiah further describes this coming Messiah, saying, “The government will be upon His shoulder …” What this is speaking of is that He will be a king, the King of kings in fact. If you recall in Matthew 2:2, we see how the wise men who came from the east asked, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” So even from His birth, those who were enlightened knew that He was born to be King. The word for “government” here describes the rule or dominion. So it might be better translated as the rule will rest on His shoulders. And this is a lavish title that paints a picture. Obviously, the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean that the dominion will literally be on His shoulders; but rather that He will be the One holding it up. You see, these kinds of lavish titles were common for kings to be given at this time. But what’s interesting is that His titles are going to get more and more elaborate. What Isaiah is doing is showing that this Child will be of God Himself. Then Isaiah said that the government would be upon His shoulder. In other words, He will bear the right and responsibility to rule and have dominion over God’s kingdom. First must come the breaking of the yoke and staff off our “shoulders” (See verse 4). Then we are translated into His kingdom (Compare Colossians 1:13) where His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Why? Because we are yoked together with Him now and He bears the full weight of that yoke for us on His shoulders. If we look ahead into verse 7, we see more about the King’s kingdom as Isaiah goes on to describe the Messiah’s reign … Next, he says, “Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end” (continuation of the reference to Jesus being the Prince of Peace). In other words, His kingdom shall be in a perpetual state of growth and increase. It will begin growing when He comes and it will never stop increasing throughout all eternity (Compare Daniel 2:35&44), like the leaven that infiltrated the three measures of meal and the mustard seed that grew into a large tree. The kingdom of God is characterized by growth – more specifically perpetual growth for all eternity. Then these powerful words are followed by – “Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.” You see, God promised David that he would never lack someone to sit upon his throne after him. Of course, we know that Jesus was the ultimate fulfillment of this being the seed of David when He was handed over the rule to God’s kingdom. And Jesus is seated upon His throne and He will never be succeeded… His reign is eternal! (See First Kings 8:25 / Second Samuel 7:12-13). The word “order” means “to prepare it or make it ready” and the word “establish” means “to sustain it or hold it up.” So this means that Christ was going to prepare David’s kingdom and hold it together after that. He will do this “with judgment and justice,” or more literally “with justice and righteousness.” God’s Word says that His throne is established upon righteousness and justice. It says that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy. What this phrase is basically saying is that the Messiah is going to take the throne of David and start ruling with justice and righteousness and continue to rule in righteousness and justice. A major point of emphasis throughout God’s Word concerning His kingdom is that it will be forever and ever and ever. This is said here when Isaiah is quoted as saying, “…from that time forward, even forever.” God wants us to be fully established in the fact that the kingdom we are citizens of is not limited to this temporal life, but is eternal. It will never end and will last for all eternity! With strong consolation like this, how much should we be seeking first the things that pertain to His kingdom while on the earth? But what I wanted you to see through this is that it was clearly prophesied that Jesus would be the King over His Father’s kingdom and that this kingdom would rule and reign forever. HIS NAME WILL BE CALLED But let’s go back to Isaiah 9:6 and look at what the Holy Spirit prophesied that the Messiah’s kingdom would be characterized by … In fact, Isaiah 9:6 teaches us a little bit more about His Name, specifically telling us what “His Name will be called” – that is, His character and person. Jamison Fausset Brown’s commentary translates this phrase as – ‘His essential characteristics shall be…’ And the very first thing we see that the King will be called is – “Wonderful.” Now as we saw in Judges 13:18, this was what the Angel of the LORD (which we learned was the preincarnate Lord Jesus Christ) answered Samson’s father with when he asked what His name was. The LORD responded with – “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?" Now this word for “wonderful” is most often used in connection with miracles, signs, and wonders. And truly Jesus Christ’s essential characteristics are miraculous and full of wonders, right? His entrance into this physical world was a miracle in itself (i.e. an immaculate conception through a virgin). His ministry on the earth was also marked with miracles, signs, and wonders. And His resurrection was the culmination of His life being “full of wonders.” So it should not surprise us that the Lord Jesus’ Name would be “full of wonders” as His life from beginning to end was characterized by signs & wonders. The next way Jesus would be characterized is as the “Counselor” … Some believe Isaiah’s intent was to say that He would be “the wonderful counselor” instead of both of these words being two different descriptions (compare 28:29). And I’m sure His counsel is wonderful, but let’s just focus here on what the “counselor” part means. The reference to Him being a Counselor denotes His ability to give sound wisdom, direction, and guidance as the ruler of His people. Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit being “another parakletos” and one way of translating that is “another of the same kind of counselor” signifying that He was His disciple’s counselor first. So this describes a king that is wise. This would cause most Israelites to think of King Solomon, the wisest person to ever live. But this King is far wiser than even Solomon, and he will lead his people with wise counsel that will not lead them astray. I’ll tell you – if you ever need direction, wisdom, or guidance, He’s Your Man! There is no man or woman on this planet who can offer the same counsel that the Counselor can – and one of the main ways that the Christ does this for us today is through the other Counselor, the Mighty Holy Spirit. Yes, the Holy Spirit has been sent to dwell inside of us, filling us with inexhaustible knowledge, revelation, and wisdom. Next, we see the Lord Jesus called “Mighty God.” Isaiah here is telling his readers that this king would not just be a man. No, He was a part of the Godhead as this was a very obvious reference to His divinity. So while other kings might have some of the attributes in this list, they would not have this one. But Isaiah did not just call Him “God” He described Him as the “Mighty God.” This word “Mighty” was a word used to describe a warrior, king, or hero. It is a reference to Jesus Christ – the Word who was and is and forevermore will be God – coming to the earth as a man in order to be our hero and deliverer us from this kingdom of darkness. So this king will be divine and will be mighty to save his people. Next, we see Jesus described as the “Everlasting Father.” Now this is not attributing Jesus to being both the Son and the Father because they are distinct entities in the Trinity. These words “everlasting Father” literally describe the “Father of eternity.” Thus “the Father of eternity” describes Him as being “the originator of the age to come” or “the Author of eternal life” or “or the source of the eternal kingdom which shall never end.” So this king’s reign will never end, but what’s more incredible is how he will rule. He is our father. In other words, he’s not going to rule by demanding subservience; rather he will rule as a loving and caring father. And finally, we come to probably the most well-known phrase in Isaiah 9:6 – the Prince of Peace. The common interpretation that the Jewish people had of this phrase was that the Messiah would put an end to all conflict and wars when He came. Of course, it is understandable why they believed this because there were other prophecies that referred to the Messiah’s reign being a reign of peace and tranquility. But, although these prophecies will be fulfilled in the millennium reign of the Christ, the peace that He first came to bring was peace between God and man (which will be followed by peace between man and man) If you recall, this gospel of peace was what was proclaimed at Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:14 when the angels appeared to the shepherds singing, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” What were they declaring? It was that with the birth of the Messiah, God has sent the Way for peace between He and mankind! Glory to God in the highest indeed! So this is one of Jesus’ main names because it’s what He came to do, bring peace. This peace isn’t just peace on earth, but also peace between us and God. This king is the ultimate peacemaker. Therefore, Isaiah 9:6-7 reminds us of who Jesus is and what He came to do. Like I said, when these words were written God’s people were in a dark season. This verse is a promise that God was coming to rescue them. The same is true for us today. Jesus entered into this world as a child to pursue you and I. Isaiah 9:6 shows us that God is wise, He is mighty, He’s our father, and He is bringing peace to us. When the storms of life come this is a verse we should cling to. God is with us, and He will provide for us. Isaiah concluded by saying- “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” All of this about the Messianic rule over God’s kingdom is a product of God’s intense, heartfelt desire. In other words, God really wanted to do this. Yes, He really wants to bring light into our darkness! Yes, He is zealous for bringing us peace and being our hero! So if God was this zealous about doing this for us, how much more should we be zealous in walking in this? Church, Jesus is the Name above all names! He is our Savior and, in this salvation is everything that pertains to life and godliness. Yes, in this salvation package is every good and perfect gift. So we might say that every other Name of God and all that God revealed Himself to be through these Names is contained in the Name of Jehovah Jesus. As we started out learning in this series, Jesus evidently thought the Names of God were important because He taught His disciples to pray by first “hallowing” God’s Names.
We learned that this means to honor and make holy His Names in our sight as we approach Him in prayer. Evidently, this is key for our prayers being effective, but why? It’s because by first hallowing His Name, we will go into our prayer times full of faith, confidence, and persuasion knowing who we are directing our prayers towards. No, there will not be that unbelief that questions if God is hearing us or if He will grant us our requests. We will know who He is and will have the full assurance of faith that gets the best results in prayer. And let me remind you that knowing who He is, is much more important to Him than knowing the technicalities of His various Names, like being able to rattle them off or how to pronounce them. I would much rather you know me as the person I truly am than just knowing what my name is. You see, there’s a lot of people out there who know who I am and know what I do (meaning, they know my name and that I’m the pastor of this church). But guess what? Most of these people don’t really know me. They don’t know what I’m into, what makes me tick, what I like to do for fun, etc. Even a lot of people that have come to church here for years don’t really know me. Sure, they know what I do and how I do it. But it’s like the children of Israel – the Scriptures teach us that they knew His acts, but Moses actually knew His ways. And why did Moses know His ways? It was because He took the time to get to know the LORD and He revealed Himself to Moses. That’s what we need to do, saints! We don’t need to go about this the way the majority of the church has. No, we need to pursue the knowledge of God, desiring to see Him for who He is in truth, and let Him reveal His true self to us through His Names. So we have covered most of His Names over the past several months, and last week we looked at what is probably one of the most well-known Names He has – Jehovah Shalom. We learned that while the word shalom is generally defined as “peace,” it means so much more: It describes safety & welfare like in the areas of health or prosperity, and at its root, this word describes “completeness, soundness, welfare, safety, and quietness. So we learned that the word shalom seems to best be described as “wholeness.” Essentially, we learned that this word which describes being whole, complete, or sound is similar to what we see in the New Testament Greek word for “saved” – the word sozo. You see, while “saved” is that general one-word definition for sozo, that word doesn’t totally describe what it means. Sozo describes being made whole, being healed, delivered, set free, etc. So I see shalom as the Old Testament counterpart to our New Testament word for salvation because both of these terms have one-word definitions that most people use that do not fully encapsulate their meanings. Not to mention, their meanings are extremely similar because they both describe being made whole, complete, and safe & sound. I like one definition I’ve heard that describes shalom: It’s this – Shalom is nothing missing and nothing broken. In other words, because it describes being complete, whole, and sound, there’s no room for anything to be missing, incomplete, or broken. Glory! So we learned that if the LORD’s Name is Jehovah Shalom, then this making things whole, complete, and sound, with nothing missing and nothing broken is a part of His nature! “Shalom” is who He is – the One who causes completeness, wholeness, safety. He is the God of peace – peace from war, peace from turmoil, and peace from strife, etc. Yes, He is the Prince of peace, peace being the fruit of who He is. So with the presence of the God of peace comes the presence of the peace of God – peace both on the inside and on the outside. Therefore, Jehovah Shalom obviously desires for us to have nothing missing and nothing broken in every area of our lives including our souls. And that’s exactly where this peace begins – in our heart, soul, and mind. Once we experience peace in there, finding peace on the outside becomes a lot easier. But it’s important to understand that this is His heart and who He is, church! He is shalom. He wants us whole. He wants us at rest. He wants us complete, sound, and entire – both on the inside and on the outside. He is our God of Peace, Jehovah Shalom! VICTORY OVER THE AMALEKITES Now the next Name of God that I want us to look at this week is technically the last covenant keeping, Jehovah Name – Jehovah Nissi. I will have one other very special Name that we will cover next week, but this is the last Jehovah Name of God on our list to cover. Jehovah Nissi surfaces in Exodus chapter 17 in a powerful story that Pastor Robert referred to last week at the beginning of our service. Let’s look at it … Exodus chapter 17 picks up the story of the Israelites shortly after they left their Egyptian bondage and were traveling to the land of Canaan under the leadership of Moses. While they were camped at a place called Rephidim, they were attacked by the Amalekites. Now it is important to understand that when Israel faced the Amalekites in battle here, that it wasn’t with an experienced & trained army. No, it was as a tribe of herdsmen escaping slavery in Egypt and travelling uncertainly to a promised land they hadn’t seen in over four hundred years. They travelled with women, children, and herds, not with horses, chariots, and an abundance of weapons. So they were basically trespassers travelling through the lands of fierce fighting peoples. But they were traveling with something else, something else that no other nation on earth had – the very presence of God. So Israel did not fight its battles alone. No matter how inexperienced or overmatched they were, they were never the underdogs. No matter how desperate they felt, they were never at a loss. Amen! So Moses put Joshua in charge of leading the Israelite army, charging him to choose some men to go and fight Amalek and his people. Moses said, “I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” That was the battle-plan. Now the rod that Moses was referring to was the rod that he had used at God’s direction to work miracles—including parting the Red Sea so the Israelites could escape the Egyptians, and also bringing water from a rock to quench their thirst in the wilderness, a miracle that had just happened before this situation in Rephidim. It was called the Rod of God. When the armies met in battle, Moses, along with his helpers, Aaron and Hur, was standing on a nearby hill holding high the rod of God in his hand. And the Bible tells us that as long as he held the rod up, Israel prevailed. However, as the day wore on, Moses got tired, and understandably so. You see, he was not a spring chicken anymore and as the battle continued to wear on, his arms dropped to his side. When this happened, the Amalekites rallied and began to prevail over the Israelites. So when Aaron and Hur realized what was happening, they came to Moses’s side, dragging a small boulder close for him to sit on and each took an arm and raised them again over the battle. As they did this, the Israelites started winning the battle again. All day long Aaron and Hur stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands with the rod held high, and God gave Israel the victory over their enemies. Yes, the people of Israel prevailed in battle that day. It was a day to remember, for it was the day God first showed them as a nation that He fought for them, that He led them into battle, that He protected and conquered on their behalf, and that He was their banner. WHAT IS A BANNER? So at the close of the battle, Exodus 17:14 says that the LORD told Moses to “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” So “Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner” (Exodus 17:15). So when Moses names the altar, “Jehovah Nissi – The LORD is my banner,” what was He saying? By building this altar and calling it “Jehovah Nissi,” Moses was showing that he recognized the Lord as the source of their victory. By building an altar, Moses was also creating a place of remembrance and celebrating what God had done. It was an expression of gratitude for God’s victory over the enemy. Yes, I believe He was referring to what wrought the victory they experienced that day – Moses arms lifting up the rod of God. Yes, during the battle, the miracle-working rod of God was like a banner flying over their army, identifying them as God’s people who were depending on Him for victory. It represented God’s power working on their behalf as it being lifted up caused them to prevail. So Moses’ staff served as a banner of sorts. I like the Spirit Filled Life Bible’s explanation of this in its note for Exodus 17:15 – “A banner is the pole like standard beneath which armies or communities rallied. When lifted up, it called the people together for battle, for meeting, or for instruction. This phrase also could have been a battle cry. Erecting an altar was Moses recognition of the presence of God. At this altar, he was honoring God as the giver of victory over the Amalekites.” You see, the first point in this commentary is technically what a banner is. Here, we see it described as a “pole like standard.” The Hebrew word itself describes something lifted up like a standard, signal, signal pole, or a sign. So we might say a banner could be a flag, a sail, or a sign. In this case, it was Moses’ staff. Now if we consider how banners are used, I believe it will begin to reveal some of what this title means. You see, we use banners for several reasons. These reasons are, but are not limited to:
Sometimes we hang banners from the rafters of arenas honoring champions. They are also raised to honor soldiers returning from war. They adorn public places to celebrate occasions or people who deserve honor.
Towns all over America raise banners on certain holidays every year to commemorate something dear to them – maybe it’s a patron, a hero, a tradition, or a special day.
Banners announce names and images which people can recognize from a great distance. Sometimes, they show the location and identity of a business or event so people can navigate to it.
Banners are also used to announce important events or to simply make people aware of a product. So no matter what the purpose is of the banner, they are meant to be visible. In other words, they are meant to be seen, unmistakable, and unignorable. Yes, they are attention grabbers. This reminds me of what the LORD ministered to me one time about the Truth itself. He told me that the truth is “that which is not hidden, which makes God known.” And when He said that to me, He began revealing to me how Jesus, who is most certainly the Truth, fits this description. He also showed me how the Word, which is also called the Truth, fits this bill. And also how the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, has an assignment to do the same thing. So all of the things we call the Truth are not meant to hide anything about the truth. Yes, they all make God known like “banners” make things visible and known. Now banners are also not just for those who see them; they are also for those who raise them. In other words, they are to draw people to whatever they are advertising. They are an invitation to that person’s gathering place. So when Moses built the altar and called it, “The LORD is my banner,” he was creating a place of remembrance and an advertisement & celebration of the LORD’s victory over the Amalekites. It was a declaration not just of who God is and what He has done, but of who they were as His people. ANY MORE BANNERS? God is called Jehovah Nissi – “God Is My Banner” – only in Exodus 17:15, but elsewhere in the Bible His “banner” is an illustration of His protection and salvation. Let’s look at a few Scriptures that refer to this: Psalm 20:5 says, “We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners!” Psalm 60:4-5 says, “You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. That Your beloved may be delivered, save with Your right hand, and hear me.” So I want you to notice that the Psalmists were tying together salvation & deliverance with their banners. Speaking of the Messiah who was to come, Isaiah prophesied, “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people … He will set up a banner for the nations” (Isaiah 11:10, 12). So Jesus Himself is prophesied to be our Banner – which we have beautifully illustrated through the Cross. Do you remember how Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (See John 12:32)? Well, we know that He is referring to being lifted up from the earth on a wooden Cross, right? When He was lifted up, He became God’s banner of salvation! In fact, the first time the Hebrew word nissi itself is used is in Numbers chapter 21 in the story of the bronze serpent set on the pole that was used to save the people who were bit by the snakes. Well, in verses 8 & 9 the word that is used for “pole” there is where we get nissi from. Now we know that this bronze serpent was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ because in John 3:14-15 He said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” So the Lord was telling us here that just as Moses raised up that pole and put the bronze serpent on it, He was going to be lifted up on that Cross. Therefore, the same way the children of Israel were told to set their eyes on that snake on the pole in order to live, we too must set our eyes on what Jesus did for us on the Cross in order to have eternal life. So, Jesus is ultimately our banner of salvation & deliverance! So this is how He is Jehovah Nissi to us today – by the victory we’ve received in Christ Jesus. WHO ARE OUR AMALEKITES? So yes, Moses built an altar and named it Jehovah Nissi, but did you know that the Bible tells us exactly why he did this? We know it is for remembrance, but verse 16 tells us the exact reason. Exodus 17:16 says, “for he said, ‘Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’” It’s important to know what it was about these various “ites” that the LORD had such a problem with. The New Testament teaches us how all of these things that were written beforehand are for our instruction and were types & shadows of the spiritual realities that you and I walk in today. Therefore, all of these various “ites” represented the same enemies that you and I face today. So what about the Amalekites? Who were they and what did they represent? Well, Amalek was a descendent of Ham. You remember him, right? He was one of the three sons of Noah – the one who dishonored his father’s nakedness. If you ever have a hard time remembering which one of Shem, Ham, and Japheth was the dishonorable son, just remember which one was the “ham” of the bunch. Not only that, but Amalek was the grandson of Esau, who went on to live in Canaan and obviously where the Canaanites (another bad group of “ites”) came from. And I don’t think I need to tell you that Esau too was a “ham” himself. But in honor of Thanksgiving being this week, let’s call him “the turkey.” So Amalek hailed from a bunch of “Hams & Turkeys,” amen? Now why do I make this point? It’s to show you that the Amalekites hail from a line of those who, while being birthed by godly characters like Noah & Isaac, deviated from righteousness and godliness and chose the sinful route. Where do you suppose they got that from? From the original sinner, of course – that is, Lucifer. You see, Lucifer was the devil’s name before he became Satan. So I see the Amalekites as being a good description of the “devilites” and the “demonites.” Yes, the Amalekites were those who turned from the ways of God and became a cursed people like the devil did himself. And this is very important for our story because it shows us what this story means for us: While we don’t have a threat of going to war with the Amalekites today, we are at war with the one they represent – the kingdom of darkness. This is why the LORD said this warfare with the Amalekites would be from one generation to another. It’s because it didn’t end with this one victory. No, the ones that the Amalekites represented would be a thorn on this earth for many generations to come – that is, the devil. And the Gospel is this – that through our Banner of Victory, the Lord Jesus Christ, God has granted us this victory over our Amalekites. Amen! So let’s look at some New Testament “Banners” that show us how the LORD has promised us victory over our “Amalekites,” the kingdom of darkness. OUR BANNERS OF TRIUMPH In Colossians 2:15, Paul says, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” Now this verse describes what Jesus did when He was resurrected on the third day. When He was made alive after spending three days and three nights in the pit of hell, Jesus plundered the enemy’s camp – totally defeating him. Amen! What did this look like, you ask? Well, let’s look at the words the apostle Paul used in this verse… Notice the first two words in this awesome verse – “Having disarmed”. Now this isn’t something Jesus is going to do; this is something He has already done- “having disarmed!” Amen! You see, one major mentality that we need to have regarding this is we are not fighting to get victory; we are fighting from a place of victory. Amen? The word “disarmed” describes “stripping the garments and/or armor off.” This word was used to depict the stripping of the enemy’s weaponry and artillery and leaving him without any weapons with which to retaliate with. One scholar even noted that this word describes “stripping to the point of complete nakedness.” The King James Version translates this word as “spoiled” which would describe Jesus as taking the possessions of the principalities and powers. Therefore, all of this means that when Jesus was resurrected, He totally whipped and stripped the enemy and left them with nothing. He took all of their armor away from them! This gives new meaning to the Old Testament verse that says, “No weapon formed against you will prosper,” doesn’t it (See Isaiah 54:16-17)? So since under the New Covenant, Satan has been stripped of his weapons that he used to keep us in bondage before Jesus came, now no weapon can even be formed against us because he doesn’t have any weapons anymore! Amen! So how could he ever defeat us if he doesn’t even have any weapons left? The only way he can, is if he can convince us that he’s got an effective weapon against us. The only way he can win is if he can get us to give up, thinking he’s won. No, saints, the only effective weapon that he can form against us now is the illusion that he even has an effective weapon! In other words, his only effective weapon now is deception! It is like someone who robs a bank with his pointed finger in his pocket. If that robber convinces the bank employees that what he is pointing at them is a real gun, then he can cause them to give him all the money. But if they know that he does not really have a weapon, then they will not give him squat! Amen? Now there are two other beloved Scriptures of mine that further verify this victory Christ has won for us … In Second Corinthians 2:14 the apostle Paul said, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ…” So we see here that the Holy Spirit promised us that God always leads us in triumph. No, not sometimes, not when God wills to, not when we’ve been good. No, God always leads us in triumph. So the next time the devil comes to your front porch and tells you, “Not this time!” you just respond with one simple word- “Always!” Amen! He always leads me in triumph! Now the word “triumph” that is used here and also in Colossians 2:15 in an interesting word: It describes a victory parade for a conquering army and its leader. Let’s look at the rest of Colossians 2:15 … The words “public spectacle” come from two different Greek words: The first is deigmatidzo and it means “to display, to exhibit; to expose to public disgrace.” This word was used to denote “the display of captives, weaponry, and trophies that were seized during war on foreign soil.” You see, in those times, when the war was over and the battle was won, the victorious king would return home and “display” the treasures, trophies, weaponry, and even the captives that he had seized during his conquest. So after Jesus stripped the enemy of all their garments and weapons, leaving them totally naked, He exposed their pitiful condition for all the hosts of heaven to see. He forever has “exhibited” them and “put them to an open shame.” Amen! This is why God prophesied that there would come a time when we would “look upon, gaze at and consider” satan and say, “Is this the one who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world a wilderness and destroyed its cities?” It’s going to be amazing to us when we will be able to see him for who he really is. We will be so awestruck that we will gaze upon him and ponder how in the world that he ever “shook kingdoms, destroyed cities, made the earth tremble, and made the world a wilderness.” It will not only be amazing, but it will also be very disappointing to realize that he did all of this by lies – which are his only weapon! The second word used for “public spectacle” is parresia which describes “boldness, confidence, openness.” So by adding this word, Paul was showing us that this grand celebration was no quiet affair either! On the contrary, Jesus “boldly, confidently, and loudly” exposed His disarmed and defeated foe. He completely humiliated the enemy when He exhibited him as defeated for all the world to see. Jesus rubbed his nose in it in a not-so quiet way! Amen! And that is where the word “triumphing” comes in that we already briefly defined in Second Corinthians 2:14 … The word “triumphing” comes from the Greek word triambeuo and referred to a “Roman triumph” which was basically “a glorious triumphal parade.” This was the triumphal procession (or parade) that the conquering leader would lead back into his kingdom after defeating his enemy. Do you reckon there were any banners being used during this celebration of victory? But notice that Paul said here, “Thanks be unto God who always leads us in triumph.” So now we can see that those principalities and powers that Jesus whipped and stripped were not the only ones that He led in that triumphant parade of victory; Paul was illustrating to us here that we were also being lead in this victory parade! Glory to God! No, Paul was not saying that we were in the same boat as the kingdom of darkness; he was saying that we are the soldiers that accompany Jesus after He spoiled the principalities and powers and led them in this parade that was humiliating for them but joyous for us. Amen! Again, we partake in His victory without ever having to fight in the battle! We just get to be a part of the festivities! But I want to show you one more Banner Scripture that illustrates to us the glorious victory that Jesus Christ has won for us … In First Corinthians 15:57, the apostle Paul says, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” So, again, we always triumph in Christ. Why? Because He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Saints, we already have the victory in every trial and tribulation that comes our way through the works of our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen! So in light of all of these exceedingly great and precious promises, what is our responsibility? If Jesus has already won the battle for us, what part do we play in experiencing this victory? Well, first of all, look at what verse 58 says here in this passage of Scripture. Paul goes on to say, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable …” So what he was saying was, “Therefore (in light of this victory Jesus gave us) be sturdy and immovable”. The devil will always turn up the pressure on us but all we are to do is stand and resist his pressure to give up. The only way the devil can defeat us is if he can make us stop standing our ground and quit. That’s why in the early church “patience” was the most the most desired virtue. The word translated “patience” meant “staying under power”. In other words, it was the power to stay under Satan’s pressure without moving. The early church had an extreme amount of pressure on them to deny Jesus, but they knew if they had “the queen of all virtues” (what they called “patience”) they would win one way or the other. But through First Corinthians 15:57 and Second Corinthians 2:14, what do we see that our response should be in light of this victory and triumph that we have? What do both of these verses start with? They both start with “thanks be to God.” So our response to trials and tribulations that come our way should be what? “Thanks be to God who always leads me in triumph and who always gives me victory!” In other words, our job is to thank God for the banner of victory that He has already provided. Amen! Keeping our focus on all that we have to be thankful for will keep that spirit of discontentment and discouragement under our feet where it belongs. Thanksgiving always precedes victory (kind of like Thanksgiving precedes Christmas)! CONCLUSION So God is our banner because of the saving power that He has shown in our lives. He is the One who always causes us to triumph and gives us the victory! Yes, in Him, we are more than conquerors like the Israelites were in that day! Therefore, because of this salvation & deliverance, we diffuse the fragrance of His knowledge in every place we go. Yes, our lives are like a banner that both celebrates and honors Him. Through our testimony, we remember & commemorate what He has done for us. The LORD our banner testifies of the goodness, faithfulness, and mercy that He has graced us with. Likewise, we are to be like His flags that represent & identify Him to others. Yes, He gives us a new identity, and our signet is “His children and His kings & priests.” But the ultimate privilege we have is to “announce” Him and His salvation to this dark & perverse generation. So we make Him visible and show the beauty of His transforming work. Church, God is our banner because all of this is an invitation, a summons, and a drawing to any who would believe and become a part of His victory! Amen! Church, knowing & understanding the Names of God is one of the most noble tasks we can have because as we learn to hallow His Name, we come to know & understand Him, which is the chiefest of things one can do.
I for one want to come to know God more intimately and personally. I want to know Him in truth and have no false notions about who He is. And knowing His Names is a way to make sure that we have clear understanding of who He is as these various Names reveal to us His character and nature. You see, while our names might not tell others a lot about who we are as people, God’s Names do. Yes, when we see Him as Jehovah Rapha, we know that healing is one of His primary interests. When we see Him as Jehovah M’Kaddesh, we know that He is in the sanctifying business. When we see Him as Jehovah Rohi, we know that His mode of operation is of a shepherd. And like we learned last week, when we see Him as Jehovah Tsidkenu, we know that He Himself is righteous and He delights in making others righteous. So we have come to recognize Yahweh and Yeshua as our healer and provider, as the shepherd of His hosts, as One who sanctifies and makes righteous, as the faithful, present One, etc. And let me remind you that knowing who He is, is much more important to Him than knowing the technicalities of His various Names like being able to rattle them off or how to pronounce them. I would much rather you know me as the person I truly am than just knowing what my name is. You see, there’s a lot of people out there who know who I am and know what I do (meaning, they know my name and that I’m the pastor of this church). But guess what? Most of these people don’t really know me. They don’t know what I’m into, what makes me tick, what I like to do for fun, etc. Even a lot of people that have come to church here for years don’t really know me. Sure, they know what I do and how I do it. But it’s like the children of Israel – the Scriptures teach us that they knew His acts, but Moses actually knew His ways. And why did Moses know His ways? It was because He took the time to get to know the LORD and He revealed Himself to Moses. That’s what we need to do, saints! We need to take the time to get to know Him by inquiring of Him and praying over His Names. JEHOVAH SHALOM’S ORIGIN Now this next Name of God I want look at is probably one of the most well-known Names He has – Jehovah Shalom. One of the reasons it is more well-known is because the term shalom itself is very common. But even though we might be more familiar with this word, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we have the correct understanding of its meaning. And that’s what we are going to learn today as we study “Jehovah Shalom.” Now this Name of God is first used by Gideon when the Angel of the Lord appeared to him at Ophrah in Judges chapter 6 … In the days of Gideon, the children of Israel were living in a constant state of fear and trepidation because of the Midianites. The Midianites, a once defeated enemy, had reemerged from the East and began plundering Israel which caused the Israelites to live in hiding, dwelling in dens, caves, and strongholds in the mountains (See verse 1). You see, the Midianites would reap, destroy, and plunder every time the Israelites sowed, and this resulted in Israel becoming “greatly impoverished” (See verse 6) and to live in fear. So because of their predicament, they cried to God for help, and He sent them a prophet who reminded them that their own disobedience had caused their current troubles. So it is important to realize that their plight was not because God was testing them or even because the devil was attacking them. No, this was self-induced – for verse 1 shows us that the children of Israel (yet again) did evil in the sight of the Lord which resulted in them being delivered over to the Midianites for these 7 years. I say this to say that everything we will be learning today about God’s Name is not what the LORD was planning on doing for those who deserved it. No, it was to those who had brought this on themselves. And this is something that I believe we would do good to understand – that not all of our trials & tribulations are unjust. Yet, in the LORD’s great faithfulness, He promises to give us shalom. So the Lord did not just leave them with – “Hey, it’s all your fault, you know?” No, He also sent them Gideon – a man who was not immune from this fear and non-peaceful state himself: We find Gideon in verse 11 threshing his father’s wheat in the winepress “in order to hide it from the Midianites.” So Gideon was not threshing the wheat in the proper place, but in a private & unsuspecting corner because he too feared the Midianites. So Gideon was just like the rest of the Israelites, but notice how the LORD refers to him in verse 12 – “The Angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, ‘The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor.’” What an interesting way to refer to a man who was hiding in a winepress for fear of the Midianites. But as we see time and time again, the LORD likes to call those things that be not as though they were and called Gideon here what He knew he was to become. Now in verse 13, Gideon was perplexed as to why, if the LORD was still with them, they had all of these things happen to them. But the LORD never acknowledged this; instead He “turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?’” (verse 14). But even though the LORD commissioned Gideon to save Israel, he felt weak, frail, and incapable. However, his uncertainty and fear were dispelled by the promise God made to him of “I will be with you” (Judges 6:16). Then, to confirm the identity of the LORD, Gideon asked for a sign. When he witnessed the food he prepared for the angel miraculously consumed by fire, Gideon was filled with even greater fear. He had seen the Angel of the Lord face to face! The immediate response from the LORD was: “Peace be to you. Do not fear, you shall not die” (Judges 6:23). As a result of these words, Gideon’s heart was infused with confidence and courage. We might say, He experienced peace in the truest sense. And then the next thing we see is Gideon building an altar at Ophrah of the Abiezrites and named it “The Lord is Peace” or “Jehovah Shalom,” a tribute and reminder of the Lord’s provision and promise of peace. So now he could confront the enemy and undertake these great exploits for God. His encounter with the God of Peace had taught him that he was not alone and that the LORD would be with Him against the Midianites. Yes, the day he set out to wage war against a numerically superior enemy, Gideon enjoyed the peace of God. Church, we too can experience this shalom, not just after the enemies are defeated and the circumstances have changed, but like Gideon here, we can build our own altars of knowing God as Jehovah Shalom before our enemies seem defeated. Therefore, peace is not just the absence of our Midianites; it is the presence of the One in the midst of our Midianites. Let me say it this way – peace is not the absence of problems; it’s the presence of the answer to every problem. This is why Paul speaks of this peace as that which “passes understanding” because it is present in the midst of our den of lions to give us rest in the middle of the storms of life. Amen! So no matter what situation we find ourselves in or what circumstances we are experiencing, He wants to reveal Himself to us like He did to Gideon – as Jehovah Shalom. SHALOM! Now let’s look at this very common and recognizable Hebrew word shalom in detail … I say it’s more recognizable to most people because the word shalom is probably a word that you’ve heard before. For most of us, we’ve generally heard it used as a Jewish greeting. We here in America might greet one another with a “Hi” or “Hello,” but with some Jewish people, they like to greet with this word “Shalom” – wishing peace to the person they are acknowledging. But while the word shalom is generally defined as “peace,” it means so much more. So let me give you some definitions of this popular Hebrew word. Strong’s defines shalom as to be safe or to be well. It describes it as welfare like health or prosperity. And at its root, this word describes “completeness, soundness, welfare, safety, and quietness because the root word, salem, describes being whole or entire. So the word shalom seems to best be described as “wholeness.” Now why is this important to understand? It’s because this word shalom which describes being whole, complete, or sound is essentially what we see in the New Testament Greek word for “saved” – the word sozo. You know, we spent time here defining this word for “saved,” and while that is the general one-word definition for sozo, that word doesn’t totally describe what it means. Sozo describes being made whole, being healed, delivered, set free, etc. So I see shalom as the Old Testament counterpart to our New Testament word for salvation because both of these terms have one word definitions that most people use that do not fully encapsulate their meanings. Not to mention, their meanings are extremely similar because they both describe being made whole, complete, and safe & sound. I like one definition I’ve heard that describes shalom: It’s this – Shalom is nothing missing and nothing broken. In other words, because it describes being complete, whole, and sound, there’s no room for anything being missing, incomplete, or broken. Glory! THE GOD OF PEACE So if the LORD’s Name is Jehovah Shalom, then this making things whole, complete, and sound, with nothing missing and nothing broken is a part of His nature! “Shalom” is who He is – the One who causes completeness, wholeness, safety. He is the God of peace – peace from war, peace from turmoil, and peace from strife, etc. He is the ultimate Peacemaker – which is why, when we too are peacemakers, we are called children of God. In fact, we see “peace” described as one of the fruit of the Spirit, right? Well, the fruit of the Spirit are not just what God wants us to produce; they are what God Himself produces. Yes, they are called the fruit of the Spirit for a reason – because they are the Holy Spirit’s fruit. This means that they are a part of His nature and what He Himself is like. Therefore, peace is one of the Godhead’s core virtues that He possesses. But the fact remains, this is who our God is. He is this God of Peace, no matter how broken and unhealthy things seem to be in our lives, and no matter how much anxiety and fear are pervading us. Shalom is who He is, saints! In the New Testament, we see the Lord often referred to as this – the God of Peace. So this shows us that even from the New Covenant perspective, God was known as being associated with this peace well beyond the Book of Judges. In one of these instances, the apostle Paul said, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9). The context of this verse is that of peace: Paul had just shown us how a believer can walk in peace no matter the circumstance. He said to rejoice always (4:4). Then he told them to not be anxious about anything, but to pray about everything while being thankful (4:6-7). And just before our verse, he said to think only on certain things (4:8). So this leads us to the ninth verse where the apostle Paul brought them back to simply doing the things they learned from him and saw from his behavior. And if we would just do what he said and did, the “God of peace” would be with us. In Romans 15:33, Paul prayed the same things – “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” So, what did Paul mean by praying the God of peace would be with them? And what did he mean when he said that the God of peace will be with us if we do these things (Philippians 4:9)? Didn’t the Lord promise to never leave us nor forsake us? Didn’t He promise that He would be with us, even to the end of the world? Sure, He did! He was, is, and evermore shall be “Jehovah Shammah,” right? So, why did Paul say that God will be with us if we do the things that He both taught and demonstrated in his life? That seems contrary to these other Scriptures that teach us that God is with us simply because of who we are, not because of what we do, right? But we must understand that there is a difference between God being with us spiritually and Him being with us experientially (i.e. tangibly in the physical realm around us). God most certainly is with us all the time positionally—in the spiritual sense—but we also have the ability to have Him be manifested in our lives in an experiential and tangible way. But we need to understand that us physically experiencing Him is not automatic. If it were, we would all be experiencing it—for God is no respecter of persons. No, in my experience, only a few believers consistently carry the presence of the Lord with them in their everyday lives. But this is a blessed place to live, saints—where His presence is experienced, felt, and tasted. Amen! But the apostle of faith had a specific fruit of God’s tangible presence in mind here. Mind you, the context of all that he was teaching in Philippians 4:6-9 revolved around peace. So, it can be surmised that he is concluding his instructions on walking in the peace of God by saying “the God of peace will be with you,” right? Therefore, it is clear to me why Paul referred to God as “the God of peace” here: Again, it was because the subject up to this point in Philippians chapter four is the peace of God. Now here is a powerful truth: The fruit of having the God of peace manifested in our lives is having the peace of God manifested in our lives! In other words, when we live in the presence of the God of peace, we will live in the presence of the peace of God. So, when we have peace, we’ve experienced a piece of God. Hallelujah! That is what the Holy Spirit had in mind as He inspired this truth to be recorded! Therefore, the examples that the apostle Paul gave through his words and deeds are how we can experience more of the God of peace in our lives which, in turn, causes us to experience more of the peace of God in our lives. Peace is the manifest presence of the God of peace. This is important to understand, saints – that peace is the manifest presence of God. This is why time spent in the presence of God is so important – because it yields peace! ANTI-PEACE Now, on the contrary, strife is the manifest presence of the devil. But when you have the peace of God all around you, that’s proof that you have God all around you. Fear and strife are the devil personified, while love, joy and peace are the Lord personified! So if the presence of the devil is strife, confusion, and basically anything that is “anti-peace,” then we are to resist it! You see, if we look over at James 3:16, you will find a truth about strife that should cause you to avoid it like the plague it is. It says, “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” This verse tells us that where you find these little foxes of “envy and strife” you will find disharmony, confusion, and also every evil work. And notice that James doesn’t just say some evil works, but he says every evil work. Some examples of “evil works” are sickness, disease, infirmities, poverty and lack. Basically an evil work would be considered anything and everything that has come into this world as a result of sin & the curse and what the devil uses to steal, kill, and destroy. So this means that when we allow these “little foxes” such as strife to come into our lives, it packs its bags full of all these evil works and brings them with him. This would be similar to how, in the natural, these little foxes might bring certain diseases with them. Friends, this is what Ephesians 4:27 means when it says that we can “give place to the devil” in our lives. Why? Because when you give these little foxes place in your hearts, they spread their diseases. You see, there are many believers out there who love Jesus and serve Him faithfully but have allowed these little foxes into their homes. As a result, they are struggling against some of these “evil works” and do not understand why they are experiencing such difficult circumstances in their lives. And while we do need to understand that all difficulties we encounter are not necessarily a result of someone yielding to these “little sins,” the fact remains that some of them can be. This is why the apostle Paul exhorted the church of Colossae with the following words – “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15). What he was telling them was that because we are called to being one body of Christ, we have to let peace rule in our hearts – that is, let peace call the shots, not strife, contention, and division. You see, church, as First Corinthians 14:33 teaches us – God is not a God of confusion but of peace. So if there’s confusion and a lack of peace, then God ain’t in it. No, if there is confusion present, then it’s because the God of peace is not present. Jehovah Shalom produces the exact opposite of confusion. SHALOM ON THE INSIDE & THE OUTSIDE So when it comes to this peace that God is and desires to give, where does He desire to impact us? I ask this question because there are certain ways that we tend to think of peace. For example, for most of us here in the United States, when we think of peace, we first think of that inner tranquility and peaceful state that frees us from anxiety, fear, etc. But how many of you know that this is not all that peace describes? Sure, it includes having peace on the inside (that is, in our soul, mind, etc.), but the peace that Jehovah Shalom provides is also peace on the outside. So it’s not one or the other, but rather, it’s having peace in both our inner life and our outward life. As we’ve seen already, shalom describes wholeness, soundness, and completion, and it implies having nothing missing and nothing broken. Therefore, we are not just talking about that inward, tranquil state of the soul; we are also referring to peace in every area of our lives from our relationships, our finances, and our health. This peace on the outside might also be how we use it when it comes to wars & conflicts. So peace on the outside might be peace from war. But as we’ve seen, peace describes having anything in our lives made complete, whole, or sound. That could be our physical bodies, our bank accounts, our relationships, and the list could go on and on. Let me show you a few Scriptures where the God of Peace is referred to as doing such: One that we ought to be very familiar with as we spent months camping on it earlier this year is First Thessalonians 5:23. If you recall, this verse says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So notice that He is called the God of Peace, and what He is specifically stated to do is to sanctify us “completely” and that our “whole” spirit, soul, and body would be preserved blameless. What we see here is exactly what peace is stated to do – make everything “complete & whole.” And here it’s describing not just things on the inside of us like our spirit & soul; it includes our bodies as well. Second Thessalonians 3:16 says, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.” So here the apostle Paul said that our Lord of Peace will give us peace always and in every way. That sounds to me like the peace He is affording us includes any parameter of time and every circumstance of life. Amen! Hebrews 13:20-21 says, “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Again, we see our God of peace making us “complete,” but this time, it is in every good work to do His will. So this is obviously talking about more than just spiritual & soulish things. This is talking about having “peace” in every good work. Finally, Romans 16:20 says, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” Here the peace that God provides is said to crush Satan under our feet shortly. This is an obvious reference to the decimation of the devil and the kingdom of darkness when Jesus returns and puts His enemy under His feet. Therefore, peace here describes an end to the battle between good & evil. It describes something similar to what we would describe as a people or place having peace because there is absence of war. And this is certainly something that peace produces – from total absence of warring & fighting to the end to all of the curse on the earth. So all of this comprises what we’ve seen in all of God’s Names – Him being our Healer, our Provider, our Sanctifier, our Righteousness, etc. All of these Names describe shalom in the various areas of our life. But I think we do well to spend some time talking about Him being Jehovah Shalom on the inside of us … You know, there is a serious need for having peace in our hearts. If you’ve ever experienced this peace that I speak of, you know that it is one of the best feelings we can experience and one that money cannot buy. Well, as we’ve made the point of already, this shalom comes as a result of the presence of the Prince of Peace. I like to say it this way – the peace of God comes from the presence of the God of peace. So if we want to have peace on the inside, it can only come by the LORD taking up habitation in our heart. Now that isn’t all there is to walking in God’s shalom. The Scriptures teach us about ways that you and I can tap into peace and a lot of these revolve around what we focus on and fill our minds with. Philippians 4:6-7 teaches us how the peace of God will guard our hearts & minds and that is through us learning to cast all of those cares upon Him in prayer. Yes, by being thankful and taking everything to Him in prayer, we can experience more shalom in our lives. But this ultimately revolves around the way we think. This is why Philippians 4:8 goes on to describe only thinking on things that yield peace. Saints, you show me a person who is filled with doubt, anxiety, fear, and turmoil and I’ll show you a person who has stinkin’ thinkin’. In other words, there is no one out there who mainly thinks on things that are true, lovely, noble, of good report, etc. that are riddled with negative emotions. Sure, there might be someone who is not mentally well, but even they are not thinking right, which yields the negative emotions. I’m here to tell you, saints, where the mind goes, the man will follow. Yes, whatever we focus on in our hearts & minds is what will be produced in our souls. And I’m not necessarily referring to our lives replicating what we are specifically thinking on. That can certainly happen. But let me give you a good example of what I’m talking about that most people struggle with: Most people have no joy, are depressed, and have zero peace because their minds are always focused on themselves. Yes, they only think about things which concern themselves and you know this because this is all they talk about – themselves. It’s “me” in the morning, “myself” in the afternoon, and “I” in the evening. So many people spend all of their day thinking only on things which concern themselves, ranging from how they feel, what people aren’t doing for them, how they can be happy, etc., etc., etc. And I don’t think I need to tell you that this will only produce a fallen countenance. Why? Because we are not designed to have our minds full of ourselves. The LORD has designed us to be considering others and thinking about how we can love and bless them. Amen? Let’s look at a verse that is a great example of how shalom comes into our inner lives… Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” The fact the Bible says that He (the “You” here is Him), will keep us in perfect peace. Isn’t that what Philippians 4:7 says – that the peace of God will guard our hearts & minds in Christ Jesus? That means that it’s the peace itself, or rather the peace Himself, that will keep us in peace. But not just peace; perfect peace! And guess what Hebrew word Isaiah uses here – It’s shalom! But not shalom and some other word; He says, “shalom shalom” – thus the reason it’s translated as “perfect peace.” So this isn’t just any old completeness, soundness, or wholeness; this is a complete, sound, and whole kind of completeness, soundness, and wholeness! Amen! So how will the LORD of Peace be able to keep us in this perfect peace? It’s when those who trust in Him keep their mind stayed on Him! You see, church, the key to having this peace is keeping our minds focused on the LORD. The Scriptures repeat this truth time and time again. Even in the New Testament, we are taught that to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6). So if we are experiencing this shalom, we can conclude that we have evidently been keeping our minds stayed on the LORD and have been spiritually minded. On the flipside, if we are riddled with anxiety, fear, etc., then that means we haven’t been doing this. So Jehovah Shalom obviously desires for us to have nothing missing and nothing broken in every area of lives including our souls. And that’s exactly where this peace begins – in our heart, soul, and mind. Once we experience peace in there, finding peace on the outside becomes easier. But it’s important to understand that this is His heart and who He is, church! He is shalom. He wants us whole. He wants us at rest. He wants us complete, sound, and entire – both on the inside and on the outside. He is our God of Peace, Jehovah Shalom! REVIEW
So we have been studying the Names of God for a few months now and we are doing this not just to be able to win a theological argument and to be able to impress God or others with our knowledge. No, we are studying God’s Names in order to truly “hallow” who He is. That means that we are attempting to make who He is more holy in our eyes. And for what purpose? Why is it important to have hearts that both understand and glorify His Names? It is to know Him better and have more confidence when we approach Him! It’s all about knowing God, church, and no, not just knowing about Him, but knowing Him personally & intimately. So that is what we have been doing – coming to know our God more so that our prayer lives can blossom and our walk with Him can go to a different level. So we came to first know God as Elohim – the All-Powerful, All-Knowing Sovereign Creator who rules over all, and who is the judge over all His creation. Then we looked at a few of Elohim’s descriptors – El Shaddai, El Elyon, and El Roi. These three Names show us God as the All-Sufficient One, the Most-High God, and the All-Seeing Creator. We then turned our attention to the most accurate Name for God, the Name, Yahweh. We saw how this name describes God as the Great I AM, the self-existing One, and the one who was and is to come. Through this Name, the LORD essentially says, “I AM” and we would say, “The LORD IS.” Yes, this Name basically invites us and even teases us to know Him better by leaving an open-ended sentence of who He is. So then we saw how, through this Name Yahweh (which is commonly known as Jehovah in our English-speaking Bibles), He began to reveal Himself more specifically to His chosen people and answer that question – Who is He? So far, we have learned about six of His “Jehovah Names.” These Names are:
Most recently, we looked at the Name, Jehovah Jireh – the LORD our provider. We looked at the story where this Name came from – where the LORD told Abraham to go sacrifice Isaac in Genesis chapter 22 – and a couple of our biggest takeaways were how the Lord’s nature is to be a provider and how that provision comes into our lives. First of all, we learned how the LORD being called our provider should not surprise us because, in our lives, who is supposed to be the provider for us according to the flesh? It’s our earthly fathers. This is meant to be our first exposure to what provision is supposed to look like. And then, after we leave our father and become one flesh with another, who is generally meant to be the provider in that next relationship? The husband. And aren’t we called the Bride of Christ? Therefore, we are married to the LORD as His body, and we can expect that same “Jireh” tendency in our covenant with Him. So if the LORD is called our Heavenly Father and our Husband, then you will not meet a better provider than Him! Yes, God knows how to provide for His children and His bride. He delights in providing for His creation. He loves being the source of any and all provision – of course, first spiritually, but also in the physical realm. Now like I said, another big point that was made last week is how the LORD does indeed provide, and we saw how this provision came to Abraham for several reasons: Number one, he was willing to do what the LORD was asking Him to do. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t balk. No, he rose early in the morning and went where God told him to, which is a big point in God’s provision. He also believed God’s Word: We saw how from Hebrews 11:17-19 he was holding fast to God’s Word that in Isaac, his seed would be called – meaning, He believed the LORD would provide a solution. We saw that this was why Abraham said to his servants that he and Isaac would come back to them when they went up the mount together that God showed him. Then we saw how Abraham spoke out his faith further to Isaac when he said that the LORD would provide for Himself the necessary sacrifice – showing us that its important to use your words to activate the faith for God’s provision. And finally, we saw how where the LORD told Abraham to go had everything to do with the provision being present because the mountain that God showed Him already contained the ram that would wind up being the sacrifice. Therefore, the pro-vision – the ability to see the need beforehand – was already at the place God showed Abraham to go to. Therefore, his provision was where he was supposed to be, not necessarily where he was. Church, Jehovah Jireh is who He is. The LORD desires to provide for you. In fact, He has already made that provision. All you need to do is find out where He wants you and simply believe that He is who He has said He is. Amen! JEHOVAH TSIDKENU Now the next Name of God that I would like us to cover is one that is written all over your Bible – Jehovah Tsidkenu – describing the LORD our Righteousness. No, this Name of God is not a phrase that you’ll find in more than a couple of places, but what I am referring to as being all throughout the Scriptures is the concept of righteousness. Yes, the term “righteousness” most certainly is a word that is laced throughout our Bibles in both the Old and New Testament. You see, righteousness was what the LORD was constantly having to correct Israel about through His prophets – their inability to do what was right in God’s sight. And it was what the LORD came to restore to us through the Lord Jesus Christ and was a hot topic throughout His epistles to the church. So from beginning to end, we see righteousness as a word that is used over and over. Therefore, because the Lord speaks so much about it throughout His Word, we can see that it is in His heart in abundance – for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. But even though God speaks much about righteousness in His Word, there are only two uses of this Name “Jehovah Tsidkenu” in the Bible, and they are both in the Book of Jeremiah. So let’s look at both of these instances because we don’t just want to study what this Name means; we also want to look at the historical and Biblical context that this Name of God was given in. The first time Jeremiah speaks of Jehovah Tsidkenu is in Jeremiah 23:5-6 when the LORD said, “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Now it’s important to understand that Jeremiah was the LORD’s prophet during a very difficult time in Israel’s history. He was the man of God that both warned Israel of what was to come and also witnessed the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian empire as well as the destruction of the Solomon’s Temple. This was the period known as the “Babylonian captivity”, when the Israelites were exiled into Babylon. So Jeremiah was prophesying here to a people who were being carried away into bondage that there would be a restoration of Jerusalem through the reign of a righteous king, which I’m sure provided Israel with hope even in the midst of their difficult circumstances. The second time the Name “Jehovah Tsidkenu” appears is ten chapters later where Jeremiah again makes the reference to the restoration of Israel: Jeremiah 33:14-16 says, “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” So the LORD basically repeats Himself here to remind His chosen people of what He was promising to do for them. Church, I don’t know if we fully realize how important it is to have truths repeated to us like this. If Jeremiah’s listeners were anything like us, they probably had forgotten what the LORD had said a couple of chapters after he said them, much less ten chapters later. Therefore, the LORD repeating things to us is most certainly necessary. And here’s a good word of wisdom for us: When the LORD repeats things to us, they are truths that we need to pay special attention to. And this truth of the Branch of Righteousness who was to come is certainly the Truth that we need to hear. You see, what Jeremiah was ultimately prophesying about is this day & age that you and I are blessed to be a part of – the new and better covenant of the Christ. Therefore, when the LORD is called here – Jehovah Tsidkenu – THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS – it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is being prophesied about. So, Jesus is both the LORD of righteousness and the LORD our righteousness. This is important to understand because oftentimes the Jews were looking for an earthly Messiah when it came to the bondage they found themselves in. Yes, they were looking for some sort of a king to save them from various forms of oppression they incurred. During Jesus’ day, it was their Roman oppression, and during Jeremiah’s day, it was their Babylonian oppression. Yes, Israel had been through a variety of captivities – all self-induced, mind you: They had been enslaved by the Egyptians, conquered by the Babylonians, governed by the Persians and then by the Greeks, and finally, they were conquered by the Romans. So by the time of Christ, there were many movements pushing for an overthrow of their latest oppressors, and they looked towards the Messiah as prophesied in the Scriptures to come and deliver them from their worldly oppressors. This is where Jesus did not meet the expectations of many of the Jewish people. Instead of leading them in a political revolution, He repeatedly explained that his kingdom was “not of this world”, and that the real enemy he came to deliver them from was sin and their slavery to the devil. In other words, he was not aimed merely at their freedom from Roman rule, but at the freedom of all human beings from the tyranny of sin and death. Therefore, in the freedom that Christ brings, we can become truly righteous. And it is only through Jesus, the Savior of the world, who makes this righteousness possible. That is why he is our righteousness and why Jeremiah calls him “Jehovah Tsidkenu.” Now it is important to understand that God does care about the natural oppression that people face. It’s certainly not that He turns a blind eye to it. There is just something that is more important – and that is the spiritual oppression that people are under. Therefore, their Messiah came to first deliver God’s people from their spiritual bondage to sin and not to the physical bondage they were in. We do know that the LORD does indeed care about righteousness being executed on the physically oppressed because of how He constantly corrected His people about this very thing. Yes, we see Him oftentimes referring to the virtues of righteousness and justice in regard to what He expected His people to do for the poor, the widows, the orphans, their servants, etc. So it is clear that the LORD’s pet peeve was injustice towards those in need. So yes, our righteous LORD certainly cares about us practicing righteousness on the oppressed and needy. He has done this for us numerous times and He expects us to do the same for others. So for this to be repeated in Jeremiah’s Book and also to be a reoccurring theme in the rest of the Prophets, it must be a big part of God’s nature and Name because He is the LORD of righteousness. WHAT IS RIGHTEOUSNESS? So what exactly is “righteousness”? I don’t want to just assume everyone knows this term, but want it to be clearly understood. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines “righteousness” as so – Purity of heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law. Righteousness as used in Scripture and theology, in which it is chiefly used, is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes all we call justice, honesty and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is true religion. Now that’s about how clear righteousness is to a lot of people. Not only that, but that definition makes me realize that not only is it hard to comprehend, it’s hard to apprehend as well! So let me dummy it down for you: The term righteousness is just a religious cliché. But it’s really very simple – this term really just means “rightness,” that is, being right and doing right. And when I say, “being right,” I’m not referring to being right in our opinion or our doctrine. No, this refers to being right in God’s sight. This is why a good layman’s definition of righteousness is simply, “right standing with God.” Righteousness is the condition of being in right relationship with the Lord. So essentially being righteous is being considered righteous by God and therefore, our relationship with Him is “right” where it needs to be. Now another term that you’ll see used to describe this righteousness is justification or being justified. I like a play on words that I’ve heard used before – it’s “just-if-I’d (never sinned).” And that’s exactly what righteousness is – It’s being justified in the eyes of God to where, when He looks at me, He does not look at all of my mistakes and shortcomings. He sees me “just if I’d never even had those mistakes or shortcomings.” A rather comical story along these lines that I’ve heard my father in the faith tell before is when he had a job developing pictures in a photography studio. People would come into the studio to look at their proofs and say things like, “This picture doesn’t do me justice.” I never had the nerve to say this, but I often thought, “You don’t need justice, you need mercy.” LOL! And thanks be to God that all of us who once deserved justice for the things we had done have received mercy instead. That’s what righteousness is. So again, righteousness can simply be defined as “rightness.” I like to define it as so – righteousness is who or what is right in God’s sight and in agreement with His standards. And when you look at the various Scriptural examples of what the LORD calls “righteous and righteousness,” you’ll find that it is taking someone who is in a less fortunate position and elevating them up out of it. This can be meeting the needs of the poor, healing the sick, or providing for the orphan or widow. So again, in the Old Testament, when we see so much about the LORD correcting His chosen people about it, what we are seeing is God admonishing the Jews for not doing the “right” thing. And in the New Testament, when we see so much about righteousness being what God freely makes all of His children, what we are seeing is the LORD bringing His people into right standing with Him once again. So righteousness is both what we do and what we are. I call this positional righteousness and practical righteousness. Positionally speaking, we have been made right through the blood of Jesus and, practically speaking, we are also called to do what is right through the help of the Holy Spirt. So when God is called the LORD our righteousness, what that means is that He is the LORD of rightness. He is the One who delights in making people right and in agreement with His standards, and He is the One who desires right to be done for people who need help. This is His Name – Jehovah Tsidkenu. THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY Now it’s important to understand that while God has His own Names, the devil has his names too. And these names that he is given in the Scriptures likewise teach about who he is and what he does. You see, one of the devil’s proper names – “Satan” – literally describes an “adversary” or “opponent.” So when Lucifer rebelled against God and tried to take His spot, he became known as Satan – the adversary or opponent of God. He is the great adversary of all that is of God. Anything that God has authored or is doing, he will be right there to oppose it – and that includes us. In First Peter 5:8, he is specifically called our “adversary.” In this word lies a key to understanding one of his weapons that he loves to use against us. You see, this word comes from the Greek word antidikos and literally describes “an opponent in a court of justice.” In other words, the devil is “the prosecuting attorney.” This word antidikos comes from the word anti meaning “against” and the word dikos where the word “righteousness” is derived from. Therefore, this title of “adversary” describes Satan as being the one who is “against righteousness.” We see this characteristic of Satan play out in several places in the Scriptures: We see it first in the Book of Job (Job 1:6-12) where Satan comes to present himself before God regularly to bring accusations against people because he is the accuser of the brethren. But we also need to understand that not only does he accuse us before God, day and night, but he also will accuse us directly both day and night. In other words, one of his primary devices that he uses against us is condemnation! Another example of this is found in Zechariah 3:1-5 where we see how the high priest, Joshua, was standing before the Angel of the Lord and how Satan was standing at his right hand to oppose him. In this story, we see the devil standing there again at Joshua’s right hand like a prosecuting attorney. It is because this is his nature – to stand before our God both day and night in order to bring accusations against us. Saints, this is what the enemy does – He accuses! He lives to uncover our flaws, reveal our mistakes and expose our weaknesses. When we miss it in an area, he is sure to bring a case against us in an attempt to condemn us. Yes, the devil is constantly trying to make us feel guilty and worthy of punishment. The word “condemn” in the dictionary is defined as “to deem unfit for use” in reference to a building being condemned. And this is what the enemy desires to accomplish—to convince us that we are unfit to be used by God. So if this is what the devil spends all his time doing, you can bet the bank that God is doing the opposite! THE ADVOCATE The apostle Paul makes this point in Romans 8:33-34 when he asked the questions: “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?” and “Who is he who condemns?” That is clearly the accuser of the brethren, that prosecuting attorney himself, church! Then Paul goes on to answer those questions by essentially saying, “It ain’t God doing that!” No, he says God is the One who justifies! In other words, God is not the condemner; God is the justifier! Yes, and Jesus is the One ever living to make intercession for us. Just as it was with Joshua, the high priest – our Angel of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, responds to Satan’s accusations against us with, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” (Zechariah 3:2) Now for the rest of the story… Zechariah 3:3-5 goes on to say, “Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, ‘Take away the filthy garments from him.’ And to him He said, ‘See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.’ And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.” This is a beautiful picture of what the Lord has done to our filthy garments – that is, our filthy rags of unrighteousness. He has taken our filth from us! He has removed our iniquity and clothed us with His rich robe of righteousness! Amen! So the truth is that we have an advocate (i.e., a defense attorney) with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous (First John 2:1) and that makes the LORD the One who fights for our righteousness! You see, First John 2:1 teaches us some invaluable truths about the nature of the LORD of righteousness: Notice first that the apostle John said, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin …” So what was it that John wrote in his epistle? It was LOVE and it was TRUTH. But oh so many feel that sharing about God’s great love will only drive one more into sin. This was not at all John’s intention. He said here that he wrote the things he did so that his readers would not sin. But here is the part that GRACE imparts – “… And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Notice Jesus Christ is called “the righteous” here. That’s describing His nature as that of righteousness. But His point here is that if we do miss it, sinning and falling short of the glory of God, righteous Jesus is there to advocate for us with the Father. The word “advocate” comes from the Greek word parakletos which describes one called alongside of us. It was a term used to describe a legal counselor who would plead another’s cause before a judge. And this likely describes what we are told in Zechariah 3:5 when it says, “And the angel of the LORD stood by.” Isn’t this also the way Jesus described the Holy Spirit to us as well – as One called alongside to be our helper? That means that the Holy Spirit, likewise, is not a condemner. Sure, He will show us when we miss it and lead us from sin, but His nature is to be our defense attorney. Now we have this little saying in the world about playing “devil’s advocate.” And while I understand this just describes someone who pretends, in an argument or discussion, to be against an idea or plan that a lot of people support, in order to make people discuss and consider it in more detail, I don’t like to use it. Why? Because the terms “devil” and “advocate” shouldn’t be used in the same sentence, as the devil is the exact opposite of an advocate. So we can clearly see that both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are on the side of righteousness. And if they both are, then you can be sure the Father is too! Yes, the Godhead is on our side – Jesus being our Great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for us! And the truth is if He be for us who can be against us (See Romans 8:31)? In other words, if He, being the greatest defense attorney ever, is on our side then who can successfully win a case against us!?! Romans 8:32 implies that if God gave His only begotten Son for us then how could we believe that He wouldn’t forgive us of individual sins after we have been saved. If God was merciful to us when we were His enemies, how much more will He show us mercy now that we are His children? (Romans 5:9-10) So again, in Romans 8:33, the apostle Paul asks the question— “Who shall bring a charge (or, accusation) against God’s elect (i.e., favorite, picked out, the one God voted for)?” He answers his own question by saying, “It is God who justifies!” In other words, “The LORD is the One busy making people right before Him!” You see, God is the One who declares people innocent and righteous! Again, in Romans 8:34 he asks that other question— “Who is he who condemns?” And again, He answers his own question by saying, “It is Christ who died…” That simply means that Christ took all of our condemnation and died in our place! Praise God! But thank God, He didn’t stay in the tomb! Paul went on to explain— “…and furthermore is also risen.” Romans 4:25 says that He was raised for our justification. You see, it would not have been good enough for Jesus to just die for our sins. He also needed to be raised so that we could be justified with Him. So, Paul told us that He was not only raised from the dead, but He was also raised to the right hand of God, which is the ultimate place of power and authority. I think the next phrase is so awesome! Not only did Jesus die for us, not only was He raised from the dead for us, and not only was He raised up to the right hand of God for us. On top of all that, He is the one “who also makes intercession for us!” You see, Jesus is not the one bringing accusations and condemning us! He is the one standing between us and the Father, defending us as our Advocate and Intercessor! The devil is the prosecuting attorney, but Jesus is the defense attorney, which is essentially what an advocate is! You see, church, Jesus says to all of us what He said to the woman caught in adultery— “Where are those accusers of yours?... Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:10-11). So, if Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), then He is saying that to all of us today— “Neither do I condemn you!” Yes, the only time He will ever cast judgment on anyone is on that Great Judgment Day, when those who did not believed on Him will be condemned. But until then, He says “Neither do I condemn you” yesterday, today and forever. Amen! REVIEW
What is eternal life? Jesus revealed to us in John 17:3 that eternal life is all about knowing God and Himself. So this is what it is all about – knowing the LORD personally, intimately, and experientially. No, it’s not about religious practices and keeping a bunch of commandments. Eternal life is a relationship, not a religion. Therefore, knowing God is the goal and the bullseye of Christianity. And what better way is there to come to know God but by hallowing His various Names? Yes, these Names of God reveal to us His nature, character, and person. So if you want to truly come to know God, you need to know His Names as they describe Him to a T. So we’ve come to know God first as Elohim – the All-Powerful, All-Knowing Sovereign Creator who rules over all, and is the judge over all His creation. Then we looked at a few of Elohim’s descriptors – El Shaddai, El Elyon, and El Roi. These three show us God as the All-Sufficient One, the Most-High God, and the All-Seeing Creator. We then turned our attention to the most accurate Name for God, the Name, Yahweh. We saw how this name describes God as the Great I AM, the self-existing One, and the one who was and is to come. Through this Name, the LORD essentially says, “I AM” and we would say, “The LORD IS.” Yes, this Name basically invites us and even teases us to know Him better by leaving an open-ended sentence of who He is. So then we saw how through this Name Yahweh (which is commonly known as Jehovah in our English-speaking Bibles) how He began to reveal Himself more specifically to His chosen people and answer that question – Who is He? So we then learned about names such as:
In this last name we covered, we learned that Yahweh is the epitome of a Shepherd in that He leads, knows, cares for, and tends to His sheep. Even Jesus said of Himself – “I AM the Good Shepherd.” We learned how Jehovah Rohi specifically “feeds” His sheep first, showing us that God’s nature is to be sure to teach us His Word, giving us the spiritual nourishment that His sheep need. He then “keeps” His sheep, revealing to us that His tendency is to guard and protect His sheep. We even saw that Jehovah Rohi could be translated that the LORD is our Pastor – showing us that He is the Chief Shepherd over His flock. There were lots of good things that we came to “appreciate” about our Shepherd last week. JEHOVAH JIREH Now this week, we are going to cover one of the most well-known Names of God that we have in the Scriptures – Jehovah Jireh. And not only is it one of the most well-known Names God is given, it was one of the first Jehovah Names that appeared in the Scriptures. We see this Name mentioned in Genesis chapter 22, in the very familiar story of Abraham and his son, Isaac. So let me give you the backstory in case you are unaware of some of its details … In Genesis 22, we read the story of Abraham being commanded by God to take his son Isaac to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him. Isaac, of course, was the son of promise, a miraculous gift from God when Abraham and Sarah were old. He was the promised child whom God had said that He would make into a great nation. Might we say, he was God’s “provision”? Absolutely! God provided for them a son, giving both Abraham and Sarah the desire of their hearts when everything in the natural said it couldn’t be done. However, there came a testing time for Abraham and his provision. And that’s where we pick up this event – in Genesis 22:1. We are told at the beginning of Genesis 22:1 – “Now it came to pass after these things …” Now when you see a phrase like this, what you should immediately be asking is — What were the things that happened before what we are about to read? The reason being is because oftentimes this phrase lets us know that what is about to happen is tied together with the events that happened prior. So what was it that happened in Genesis chapter 21? Well, at the beginning of the chapter, Isaac was born, God fulfilling His promise to Abraham & Sarah. This is definitely important regarding what we will be covering in Genesis chapter 22. Then we have the situation where, when Isaac was being weaned, that Ishmael mocked him and subsequently Hagar and Ishmael were sent away from Abraham’s tent. This, likewise, will become a big part of our story that we are covering today. Then finally, we see how Abraham made a covenant with Abimelach – all of this culminating in Abraham planting a tamarisk tree in Beersheeba and there calling on the name of the LORD. I’ll tell you, church, calling on the name of the Lord is a big part of what we are covering in this series. And Abraham was showing us here how even he knew the importance of knowing & calling on God’s Names when it comes to walking by faith. Then Genesis 22:1 goes on to say – “… that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Here we see that God decided to “test” Abraham: Now this is a sticky topic. Does God test people and, if so, how does He do it? But before I answer that question, I want you to notice what happened when God called out to Abraham: Abraham responded with, “Here I am.” Now this is not the only time the Bible tells us of a time where God called someone’s name, and they responded with these words. Why is this important? It’s because I think it’s important that we are there when God comes calling. Now I understand we might be physically present, but having the ability to hear Him and being willing to be present when He calls our name is a whole different story. So I say that to say, that we need to always be present in the moment where God might be speaking to us and be willing to “wait” on the Lord (that is, be His servants ready to serve Him in whatever way He so desires). But back to this idea of God testing Abraham: The first thing we need to understand is that there is a difference between God “testing” His people and Him “tempting” His people. The Scriptures are clear that God does not tempt us with evil (James 1:13). You see, what was happening with the recipients of James’ letter when he said this is that they were under intense persecution as being Jewish believers. Families were being divided and they were being forced to leave their homes, jobs, etc. (See James 1:1). Therefore, because of this pressure that was being put on them, they were being tempted to sin and depart from the faith. So James was quick to let them know that God was not the author of these terrible things that they were enduring, Him being the author only of good & perfect gifts (See James 1:17). So no, God does not bring harmful & destructive things upon us that tempt us with doing evil like sinning and turning away from God. That should be obvious. However, “testing” is somewhat different: Just consider this situation with Abraham. He was being given a choice, wasn’t he? He was able to choose whether he would obey God or not, whether he would do what his flesh wanted or whether he would do what he knew God was directing him to do. And that is something that God might do with you and I. You see, Jesus taught us to take up our cross and follow Him. Why would He tell us to do this if it were automatic or easy? No, it’s not something the LORD will force on us. So all of these people that say that the unfortunate things that have come upon them such as physical afflictions and other forms of tragedy are just their cross to bear are incorrect. No, a cross is a choice. Jesus had the option to choose to carry His Cross. Therefore, if we cannot take up or lay down the adversity that comes into our life, it is NOT (and I repeat, is NOT) our cross. However, we might be presented with a choice that will test our loyalty to God, like will we do what we know is right or will we choose to do what is easy and convenient. And those kinds of things are sometimes tests that will show both God and us what is in our hearts. No, this choice won’t necessarily have a bearing on whether we go to heaven or not, but it may determine our usability to God and how much He can trust us with in the future. And in the case of Abraham, his passing of the test unlocked a tremendous blessing on the human race … Notice the rest of verse 2 – “… Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’” You see, I personally believe that if Abraham would have failed this test, God’s hands would have been tied as to being able to do the exact same thing that Abraham was being asked to do. Church, God believes in the concept of covenant. He is faithful to His Word and how He has set things up. So since the LORD gave this planet to mankind and gave us dominion, He needs us to do the right thing with this authority we’ve been delegated. So when the LORD established a covenant with this man of His choosing, Abraham, He needed Abraham to first be willing to do the exact thing that God would have to do to redeem the human race – be willing to sacrifice his son. And because Abraham was willing to follow through with it, the LORD was able to follow through with it Himself. Then the next thing we read in verse 3 is – “So Abraham rose early in the morning …” So, Abraham promptly obeyed, didn’t he? He did not hesitate to do this difficult thing that the LORD asked him to do, but rose early in the morning to follow God’s instructions. But while we like to view this situation through our eyes, I do not believe Abraham labored over this like most people would. No, he was willing to sacrifice Isaac “by faith”— meaning, he was not grieving over doing it. He wasn’t vexed by all the emotions that one might think would accompany sacrificing their own child. No, Abraham was a believer, being called “faithful Abraham” in the Book of Galatians. And the reason I can say this with such confidence is because Hebrews 11:17-19 reveals to us that Abraham acted in faith believing that God would raise Isaac from the dead. You see, Abraham had a promise from God. The LORD told him what Hebrews 11:18 says – that “In Isaac, your seed shall be called” (Genesis 21:12). Now this quote came from the time when Sarah saw Ishmael laughing at and mocking Isaac at the time when Abraham threw a great feast for Isaac on the day he was weaned. So when Sarah told Abraham to cast out the bondwoman and her son because Ishmael would not be heir with her son, Isaac, Abraham was very upset. You see, he obviously loved both his sons and did not want to lose Ishmael. But that is when God said these words to Abraham that “in Isaac, your seed shall be called.” What this meant was that Isaac was the only one meant to be his heir. In other words, Abraham’s name & lineage was to be passed on through Isaac. So then, after the LORD told Abraham this, we see one chapter later God testing Abraham. Now think about that – if the LORD told Abraham that in Isaac, his seed shall be called, why would God then terminate Isaac’s life? That wouldn’t make any sense unless you believed God didn’t mean what He said. But if you do believe that the LORD will do what He said and isn’t changing His mind or not holding true to His Word, then what’s the only conclusion you can have when He tells you to go sacrifice your son? It’s either that He isn’t really going to make you do it when you get there or that, as Hebrews 11:19 says, that God will raise Isaac back up from the dead if you do have to go through with it. So the reason that I believe that Abraham concluded that God was going to raise Isaac from the dead on that mountain is because he didn’t have a reference point of God not following through with His instructions. So if God told him to go to a mountain he was going to show him and sacrifice Isaac, that was likely what was going to happen. Therefore, the only way to reconcile what God had said to him earlier with what He was asking him to do now was a resurrection! Amen! Now think about that – Isn’t that tremendous faith? I mean, I doubt Abraham had ever heard of someone being raised from the dead, much less witnessed it first-hand. Yet, he believed it was going to happen here. And all because He had a WORD from God that “In Isaac, your seed shall be called.” Now why do I place such emphasis on this? It’s because what we are about to learn about Jehovah Jireh and how God being a Provider has everything to do with what we believe. Yes, taking God at His Word and putting faith in what He has said is what set Abraham up for God’s provision on this day. And I can promise you that today, that if we are going to see more of Jehovah Jireh in our life, then we are going to have to do the same. Amen? So like we said, Abraham rose early in the morning and took a couple of his men with him as well as Isaac and some wood for the sacrifice. Verses 4-5 pick up with this – “Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.’” Notice that it was on the third day when Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place where the sacrifice was to be made afar off. Significant events tend towards happening on third days, huh? And notice that we are told here that he “saw the place afar off.” What place? The mountain that He spoke about showing Abraham in verse 2. So what this means is that the LORD had a specific mountain for this sacrifice to take place on. And we will learn later in this message why this is so important. But notice what Abraham said to his helpers – “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” Wait, what? And WE will come back to you? Most read this that Abraham said this because he didn’t want his helpers to know what he was about to do, but I don’t believe this is why Abraham said this. I believe he said they were both coming back because of what we know He believed based on Hebrews chapter 11 – that God was going to raise Isaac from the dead after he sacrificed him! Then we read in verses 6-8 – “So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.’ So the two of them went together.” Church, this is where we first have the principle of God’s Name of Jehovah Jireh mentioned in the Scriptures – in these words Abraham spoke to Isaac that God will “provide” for Himself the lamb! HE WILL SEE TO IT Now we commonly know the Hebrew word for “provide” as jireh, but when you look it up, we “see” something a little different … You see, this word comes from the Hebrew verb, ra’a, which literally means to see, look, or understand. So you might be wondering, what does God seeing have to do with Him providing? Well, some interpret this “the LORD seeing” as the LORD will see to it – meaning, He sees our situation and the need and, therefore, “sees to it” to meet that need and provide for us in our situation. In fact, our own word “provide,” comes from the Latin word meaning, “to see before” (pro meaning before and videre meaning to see). So like we say that we will see to a matter; possibly this expression hits the nail on the head. Our Heavenly Father sees our need, and with divine foresight of love prepares the supply. He sees to a need to supply it; and in the seeing he is seen, in the providing he manifests himself. This becomes apparent in the story of Abraham and Isaac because, how many of you know, the ram that was caught in the thickets didn’t just miraculously appear there at the last second? No, that ram was provided well before the need ever manifested itself when God led it to be in that specific place at that specific time. It’s possible that the ram had begun its journey up the other side of the mountain at the same time that Abraham & Isaac began ascending it on their side. Well, is this not what the Scriptures teach us about the Lamb of God – that He was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world? (First Peter 1:20, Revelation 13:8, & Ephesians 1:4). In these verses, we are taught that Jesus was that “Passover Lamb” that was selected before the actual time of the sacrifice. Likewise, Jesus was that Ram that was picked out to be the provision for Abraham & Isaac. So Yahweh saw before … So, for God to see is for God to provide, as He does not just sit back idly when there is a need present before Him. Like he told us through James, if we “see” a person naked and destitute of daily food, we are to provide them with the things they are lacking (James 2:15-16). Therefore, the Name of God, Jehovah Jireh, literally describes God’s nature of being our provider. And this should not surprise us because, in our lives, who is supposed to be the provider for us according to the flesh? It’s our earthly fathers. This is meant to be our first exposure to what provision is supposed to look like. And then after we leave our father and become one flesh with another, who is generally meant to be the provider in that next relationship? The husband. And aren’t we called the Bride of Christ? Therefore, we are married to the LORD as His body, and we can expect that same “Jireh” tendency in our covenant with Him. So if the LORD is called our Heavenly Father and our Husband, then you will not meet a better provider than Him! Yes, God knows how to provide for His children and His bride. He delights in providing for His creation. He loves being the source of any and all provision. Of course, this begins with Jesus, that Lamb of God who is the sacrifice for our sins. But it includes anything & everything that we need that pertains to both life and godliness. We see in the Scriptures that He desires to provide us with all of our need (Philippians 4:19) such as the food we eat and the clothing we wear (Matthew 6:33). He even wants to provide us with more than just our own basic necessities; He will provide an abundance so that we can give into every good work (Second Corinthians 9:8). Not only that, but He even delights in providing us with the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4) and giving His children good gifts when we ask Him (Matthew 7:11). And this provision of good gifts isn’t just acceptable things; its good things that go beyond what we could have ever asked or imagined (Ephesians 3:20). I could go on and on with verses of the things God will provide for His people. But just know that the list has no end. It’s basically whatever we need, want or desire – that He will provide. If it’s wisdom we need, its wisdom He will provide (James 1:5). If it’s finances we desire, its finances He will provide. If it’s healing we want, its healing He will provide. There are no limits. Everything applies. The only thing God is not willing to provide are things that include sin and death. But outside of that, all things are game. HOW WE KNOW GOD IS A PROVIDER Now we will get back to how the LORD provided for Abraham & Isaac in this situation, but I did want to pick up in our story and see how it exactly played out … So then at the end of verse 8, we are told that the two of them went “together” up the mountain. To me, this is a significant phrase because it shows not just that they went but how they went – “together.” You see, Jesus willingly went to the Cross for us. Yes, He was the Lamb who delighted to do the will of His Father – only doing what He saw His Father doing and saying what He saw His Father saying. They did all things TOGETHER, and that includes the Cross. Genesis 22:9 goes on to say, “Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.” Again, all of this is descriptive of the place where Jesus was crucified – the name of that place was Golgotha, and on that mount, the LORD placed the “wood” in order, the middle Cross being reserved for His only Son. Then he “bound” Jesus, His Son, and laid Him on the altar, upon the Cross. Then notice what happened next … In verses 10-11, we read – “And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ So he said, ‘Here I am.’” Again, we see that when the LORD called Abraham’s name that he heard Him and responded with – “Here I am” – showing us that Abraham was always there when God was wanting to talk to him. So here we see Abraham’s willingness to follow through with the sacrificing of His son, Isaac. But when Abraham got to that point where he took the knife to slay his son, the Angel of the Lord calls out to him, stopping him. And we see that it was only a test, as the Angel of the Lord speaks these words to him in verse 12 – “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” So the test was complete, and Abraham passed with flying colors! And like I said earlier, this did something for all of us because now God was going to be able to return the favor for all of Abraham’s seed … Now one would think that God already knew that Abraham feared Him, right? He knows all things, doesn’t He? Well, of course He does. But this teaches us that God does pay attention to our works and us doing something with what we believe. Likewise, Jesus’ work on the Cross should mean something to us as well! You see, by Abraham not withholding His only begotten son, it proved to God that Abraham feared Him. Well, just as it was said that the Angel of the Lord knew that Abraham feared God because He did not withhold His son, His only son, from Him, likewise we should know that God loves us since He did not withhold His Son, His only begotten Son from us. Again, Jesus’ death on the Cross is the only proof you and I need that God loves us! Amen. You see, the LORD did not withhold His Son, His only Begotten Son, from us! He willingly offered up the Lord Jesus for us, and guess what? That likewise ought to do the same thing for us that Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son did for God. Again, He said, “for now I know that you fear God” because of Abraham’s willingness to offer up Isaac. Well, God’s willingness to offer up Jesus doesn’t let us know that God fears us, but it certainly should let us know that He LOVES us. Amen? You see, the Scriptures teach us that Jesus’ death on the Cross IS THE MANIFESTATION of God’s love for us (See First John 4:9). In other words, we don’t need any more proof that God loves us than Him being willing to sacrifice His Son for us. But the wonderful truth is that if He loved us enough to give us Jesus; He loves us enough to freely give us all things! Sounds like a Scripture to me … Romans 8:32 is such a powerful verse that reveals to us what our Heavenly Father did for us through the giving of His Only Begotten Son. In it, the apostle Paul says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” You see, we can be convinced that God is for us (See verse 31) because He did not spare His own Son for us. In other words, because God sent His Son, Jesus, to the Cross for us, we can be completely convinced that the love that inspired Him to do this for us, will freely “provide” for us anything else we need. It would be like you desperately needing a blood transfusion, and the only person’s blood that would save you was my son, Levi’s. Well, if I were to sacrifice his life, shedding his blood, so that you could live through his blood, then do you really think I would not give you something else much less valuable if you needed it? Of course, I would! Why? Because if I was willing to give you my best, why would I not give you the less? Therefore, we can be completely convinced that God will heal us, meet our financial needs, and do anything else we need in our lives because, through His love for us, He has given us His very best. This proves God’s love for us. So, what I believe the Holy Spirit wants us to understand is that the provision of Jesus is God’s manifestation of love. We need look no further than Jesus to know and believe that He loves us unconditionally. We need to not base God’s love for us on our circumstances. Just as we should not be moved by what we see, hear, or feel—only by what we believe—likewise, we should not let ourselves be moved off of our faith in God’s love by what we see, hear, or feel. We must simply believe He loves us because the Bible tells us so! Just like this simple childlike faith in the rest of God’s promises is what brings their manifestation to pass in our life, faith in His love is what yields a greater manifestation of that love in our lives. Amen? OUR PROVISION IS THERE So after the Angel of the LORD told Abraham this, notice what happened next … Genesis 22:13 says, “Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.” Now the provision was seen! Abraham already had seen that the LORD would provide through the eyes of faith, but now we have the substance of his faith – the ram caught in a thicket by its horns. This was what Jehovah provided – the substitute sacrifice! So when we are introduced to the LORD our Provider in the following verse, it’s important to understand that this is not in the context of the various forms of provision that we generally might think of like groceries, an automobile, a spouse, money, etc. No, the provision God made here was LIFE – more specifically, a life for a life. Yes, what the LORD provided here was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns – the substitute sacrifice for Isaac, His only son (See Genesis 22:13). Now this story is so very clear as to what we know the LORD has done for us: Of course, we know that Abraham and his only son, Isaac here typify Father God and His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus was a miraculous conception (i.e. a virgin birth) just like Isaac’s birth was also a miracle. Isaac was beloved of his father just as Jesus was loved by His Father. Abraham was told that all nations would be blessed by his seed. Well, that certainly has happened through our Heavenly Father’s seed, right? So yes, there is so much that parallels Isaac and Jesus. Therefore, this specific instance is clearly showing us how God was willing to offer up His Only Begotten Son as a sacrifice for us. However, the story shows us how God provided Abraham with a substitute sacrifice for Isaac. So now our story shifts from Isaac being a type of Christ to the Ram that was provided being a type of Christ – showing us how when we were the ones who should have been sacrificed because it was our sin that made a sacrifice even necessary, God provided for Himself a sacrifice to atone for our sin. Amen! So there are so many types & shadows here that point us to the Lord Jesus Christ and how God provided us with His life so that our lives could be spared. And then we come to the verse where we get this beloved Name of God from – Genesis 22:14. It says, “And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, ‘In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’” So once Abraham had this wonderful experience of God’s miraculous provision, he decided to name the place, the mountain that this miracle occurred on. He called it “The-LORD-Will-Provide” – that is, Jehovah Jireh. But what I think many miss about this story is that this provision had every bit as much to do with where it occurred as to how it occurred. If you recall, the LORD told Abraham at the beginning to “go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (verse 2). So first of all, he wasn’t to go to just any land; he was to go to the land of Moriah. And there, the LORD told him that He would tell Abraham which one of the mountains to offer the sacrifice on. Verse 3 goes on to tell us that Abaham did exactly what God told him to do by going “to the place of which God had told him.” Then in verse 4 we are told – “Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.” So somehow, Abraham knew that this specific place was the spot the LORD was showing him. And even one more time, just before Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, we are told in verse 9 – “Then they came to the place of which God had told him.” So I want you to notice how many times we are being told in this chapter about the place where this sacrifice was going to occur and how it was not just anywhere Abraham decided to go, but was a specific place of God’s choosing. Why do you suppose we have such an emphasis placed on this part of the story? Well, I believe it was because when it comes to God’s provision, we can’t just expect it to be just anywhere we go. God’s provision is always in the place we are supposed to be. You see, what was the provision in Abraham’s situation? It was the Ram, right? Well, what if Abraham would have gone to another mountain of his choosing and only partially obeyed God? Well, that Ram wouldn’t have been there. So the provision was where Abraham was - where the LORD showed Him to be. We have a great illustration of this in the game of football: A quarterback doesn’t throw the ball where the receiver is; he throws it where he is supposed to be. And just as it is with passes thrown to a receiver, God never throws the provision where we are; He throws it where we are supposed to be! You see, in order to receive God’s best, we need to be where God told us to be. And a big key to running the right routes is knowing the playbook – the Word of God. One of our best examples of this is found in First Kings 17:2-7 – “Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.’ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.” Again, we see that the LORD will lead us to the place called “there” and that’s where our provision is. God did not send Elijah’s provision to where he was; He sent it to the place He was supposed to be. This was a good combination of natural provision (the brook) mixed with supernatural provision (the ravens). Then notice that the brook dried up – showing us that the natural provisions are capable of drying up. This is why we don’t put trust in those things. Being in our place called there does not guarantee us not going through adversity. Therefore, the adversity should not lead us out of our place. Only the Word of the Lord does that (see verse 8). You see, what if Abraham would have received these instructions from the LORD and decided to not even go to the land of Moriah, but to stay close to home? What if he would have gone into this land, but rejected the mountain that the LORD showed him, saying, “I don’t like the color of the pews on that mountain,” “I don’t like the music on that mount,” “the people on that mountain don’t respect me,” etc. etc. etc. I’ll tell you, saints, this is much more of an epidemic in the Body of Christ than most realize. I fear that over half of the Christian population doesn’t go and stay in the place where the LORD has directed them. This includes everything from marriages, jobs, churches, friendships, etc. And what they fail to understand is that those places are where their provision is. It’s where Jehovah Jireh has ordained to take care of their needs. But we “wander” around our mountains looking for our provision when it is where we are supposed to be. It’s been well-said that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side. But the devil would love to have us chasing our provision, thinking its always in doing this differently or chasing after this. Church, the LORD is a provider. There is no doubt about this. He desires to provide us with everything we need spiritually & physically. But there is something to be said for being in the position to receive that provision. And a lot of times that has everything to do with being in the right place at the right time, with being obedient to do whatever the LORD tells you to do, and with believing His Word above all else. This is how we can know the LORD as our Jehovah Jireh. Amen. |
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