by David Scott Robertson
(Mat 22:23 NIV) That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.
(Mat 22:24 NIV) "Teacher," they said, "Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him.
(Mat 22:25 NIV) Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother.
(Mat 22:26 NIV) The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh.
(Mat 22:27 NIV) Finally, the woman died.
(Mat 22:28 NIV) Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?"
(Mat 22:29 NIV) Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.”
The Sadducees claimed there was no resurrection.
(One preacher explained that’s why they were “sad-you-see!”)
Where in the world did the Sadducees get the idea that there was no resurrection?
The answer is in my question.
They got that doctrine “in the world” not from God.
Jesus set the record the record straight once for all
As to why the Sadducees (a very sincere and religious people group)
Entirely missed the important doctrinal truth of the resurrection.
Jesus revealed to them two things they did not know:
1. The scriptures
2. The power of God
The same could be said of
Mormons,
Jehovah’s Witnesses,
Muslims,
Hindus,
Buddhists,
New-agers,
And any other cult or pseudo-Christian cult.
(Mat 22:29 NIV) Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.”
(Hosea 4:6 NIV) “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge…”
(Col 2:2 NIV) My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,
(Col 2:3 NIV) in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
It takes God to know God.
It takes the Holy Spirit to lift words from the printed page
And transform them into spiritual food to a sincere and hungry heart.
(1 Cor 2:14 NIV) The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Lord Jesus, help us to do two things better this year:
1. To know the scriptures
2. To experience the power of God
DSR
3/31/03
Monday, March 31, 2003
Sunday, March 16, 2003
Love at First Sight
by David Scott Robertson
(Mat 20:30 NIV) Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
(Mat 20:31 NIV) The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
(Mat 20:32 NIV) Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
(Mat 20:33 NIV) "Lord," they answered, "we want our sight."
(Mat 20:34 NIV) Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him."
Can you imagine what it must be like to be born blind?
How about being born blind thousands of years ago in a culture that offered no welfare, no social services, no handicapped helps, rules or protection?
How would you handle these assignments?
Describe to a blind person what a rose looks like…
Describe the color red…
Describe what a dog looks like…
Describe a camel…
Describe your mother's hair…
I wonder, which is worse: To have been born blind and never seen at all or to have seen and then lose the privilege?
At any rate, life was very, very hard for these two men the Bible describes.
Now, imagine this:
Jesus shows up in their world.
A light touch later of the Master's hand and behold!
The first sight, the very first sight the blind pair saw was the face of God!
It was love at first sight!
Their eyes, brain, and senses immediately began to function in an unprecedented way!
Talk about sensory overload!
Their eyes probably drank in the rivers of sights - everything, absolutely everything and everyone they looked at for the first time they looked at for the first time!
Oh, how I would have loved to have been there!
But the best part was that the two ex-blind men experienced love at first sight.
The love of God expressed through the compassion of His Son.
They had seen the face of Jesus…
…the face the prophets longed to see but never did.
…the face that modern-day Christians long to see but rarely do.
…the face that one steady gaze satisfies the deep places in your soul.
What a rare and unusual privilege these two obscure and extremely blessed former blind men had! How many people in the history of the planet can testify with them "I was blind but now I see?"
Out of dark tragedy these two blind men emerged into a bright world filled with hope.
Now only dark memories remained…
How disappointed their parents must have been on the day that they made the discovery that their sons could not see.
The hardships this must have created in trying to raise these handicapped children…
The inability to function properly in society,
The absence of a normal childhood,
The teasing of unkind teenagers,
The inability to work and make a living rather consigned to beg to sustain themselves,
The impossible thought of marrying and having a family…
Who among us that has the gift of sight to read these words can even begin to understand?
(John 9:2 NIV) His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
(John 9:3 NIV) "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
God had a plan from the foundation of the world for these two blind boys.
God knew them and loved them right from the start right up until the fateful day.
One day, God's watch read "due season."
One day was "the fullness of time."
One fine day two blind fellows were at the right place at the right time.
It was at this intersection that desperate need and God's power collided.
(Mat 20:34 NIV) "Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight AND FOLLOWED H IM." [emphasis mine]
Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands saw the face of Jesus of Nazareth as He walked the dusty roads and spoke words with authority like no other. Most saw Him but never knew Him, fewer still followed Him.
But the Bible specifically says that these two men followed Him.
Two nameless, happy men walked with God.
I like to think that they went on to live fruitful, productive lives in society.
Maybe they picked up a trade.
Every day was a wonder, every chore a delight, every mundane task tolerable, palatable, no, enjoyable, because of the gift of sight!
At last, at long last, they were able to "earn" a living and make a contribution to the family's income!
Maybe these men even went on to meet a special woman, fall in love, get married and raise a family. What bedtime stories these men could tell their own sons and daughters about the time that Messiah came to town and touched their lives!
For all we do not know about the lives of these two former blind men
This one thing we do know…
…they followed him (Matthew 20:34).
The conclusion of the matter to my view:
To be born blind is not the worst thing that could ever happen to a person.
To see Jesus Christ, and not become His follower, I should think, is a far greater tragedy than blindness.
DSR
3/16/03
(Mat 20:30 NIV) Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
(Mat 20:31 NIV) The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
(Mat 20:32 NIV) Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
(Mat 20:33 NIV) "Lord," they answered, "we want our sight."
(Mat 20:34 NIV) Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him."
Can you imagine what it must be like to be born blind?
How about being born blind thousands of years ago in a culture that offered no welfare, no social services, no handicapped helps, rules or protection?
How would you handle these assignments?
Describe to a blind person what a rose looks like…
Describe the color red…
Describe what a dog looks like…
Describe a camel…
Describe your mother's hair…
I wonder, which is worse: To have been born blind and never seen at all or to have seen and then lose the privilege?
At any rate, life was very, very hard for these two men the Bible describes.
Now, imagine this:
Jesus shows up in their world.
A light touch later of the Master's hand and behold!
The first sight, the very first sight the blind pair saw was the face of God!
It was love at first sight!
Their eyes, brain, and senses immediately began to function in an unprecedented way!
Talk about sensory overload!
Their eyes probably drank in the rivers of sights - everything, absolutely everything and everyone they looked at for the first time they looked at for the first time!
Oh, how I would have loved to have been there!
But the best part was that the two ex-blind men experienced love at first sight.
The love of God expressed through the compassion of His Son.
They had seen the face of Jesus…
…the face the prophets longed to see but never did.
…the face that modern-day Christians long to see but rarely do.
…the face that one steady gaze satisfies the deep places in your soul.
What a rare and unusual privilege these two obscure and extremely blessed former blind men had! How many people in the history of the planet can testify with them "I was blind but now I see?"
Out of dark tragedy these two blind men emerged into a bright world filled with hope.
Now only dark memories remained…
How disappointed their parents must have been on the day that they made the discovery that their sons could not see.
The hardships this must have created in trying to raise these handicapped children…
The inability to function properly in society,
The absence of a normal childhood,
The teasing of unkind teenagers,
The inability to work and make a living rather consigned to beg to sustain themselves,
The impossible thought of marrying and having a family…
Who among us that has the gift of sight to read these words can even begin to understand?
(John 9:2 NIV) His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
(John 9:3 NIV) "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
God had a plan from the foundation of the world for these two blind boys.
God knew them and loved them right from the start right up until the fateful day.
One day, God's watch read "due season."
One day was "the fullness of time."
One fine day two blind fellows were at the right place at the right time.
It was at this intersection that desperate need and God's power collided.
(Mat 20:34 NIV) "Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight AND FOLLOWED H IM." [emphasis mine]
Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands saw the face of Jesus of Nazareth as He walked the dusty roads and spoke words with authority like no other. Most saw Him but never knew Him, fewer still followed Him.
But the Bible specifically says that these two men followed Him.
Two nameless, happy men walked with God.
I like to think that they went on to live fruitful, productive lives in society.
Maybe they picked up a trade.
Every day was a wonder, every chore a delight, every mundane task tolerable, palatable, no, enjoyable, because of the gift of sight!
At last, at long last, they were able to "earn" a living and make a contribution to the family's income!
Maybe these men even went on to meet a special woman, fall in love, get married and raise a family. What bedtime stories these men could tell their own sons and daughters about the time that Messiah came to town and touched their lives!
For all we do not know about the lives of these two former blind men
This one thing we do know…
…they followed him (Matthew 20:34).
The conclusion of the matter to my view:
To be born blind is not the worst thing that could ever happen to a person.
To see Jesus Christ, and not become His follower, I should think, is a far greater tragedy than blindness.
DSR
3/16/03
Saturday, March 8, 2003
Ten Considerations of the Power of the Cross
by David Scott Robertson
1. Consider that the cross -- Actually divided the Trinity
The King James version of the Bible says in 1 John 5:7: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
One God eternally existent in three Persons - that's the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. If you think too hard about the concept of the Trinity you can lose your mind, if you don't think hard enough about it you can lose your place in eternity with God! It's a large thought.
But when He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ - God necessarily turned His back on sin. That's why Jesus cried out while on the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" (Matthew 27:46 NIV) Answer: Because a holy God cannot tolerate sin. Isaiah 59:2 says: "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."
So, at the cross, something that had never been before nor will ever be again - actually happened - the Trinity experienced separation. As God withdrew His presence from the sin of the world, embodied in His beloved Son, light went with Him and for three hours the light of the world was gone - and there was a great darkness. That day, the SUN/SON died. But during the darkness, the Bible says in Luke 23:45, "the curtain in the temple was torn in two."
You may be going through a dark period in your life. But I want to encourage you that something powerful might be going on behind the scenes and you wonder if God is even there? The I AM is there and He is very much at work through the power of the cross!
2. Consider that the cross -- Made God "our" Father
The Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons of men could become the sons of God.
John 1:12 proves this when it says: "Yet to all who received him [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." That's what being "born again" is all about. Being adopted into God's family as a permanent relative.
This next verse I'm going to quote, when Jesus said it out loud for the first time, I believe it shook the devil to his core! Why? Consider the implications of Jesus declaration to one of His followers just after His resurrection:
(John 20:17 NIV) Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and YOUR Father, to my God and YOUR God."
And I can almost hear Satan gasping, in complete and utter horror and disbelief: "What do you mean THEIR FATHER? I know You are the Son of God, even my demons know that, but THE MOST HIGH IS NOW THEIR FATHER?"
You see, the New Testament scriptures had not yet been written - so Satan couldn't read ahead and find out what was going to happen next to Jesus - Satan had no idea that the cross wasn't going to end in defeat but was going to accomplish the purposes of God.
Had the devil realized the power of the cross and what Jesus' death on it would accomplish for mankind I believe he would have modified his strategy and forsaken his plan to kill the Christ. How do I know that?
Because the New Testament scripture written at a later time reveals God's manifold wisdom:
(1 Cor 2:7 NIV) No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.
(1 Cor 2:8 NIV) None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."
God is now OUR Father by the power of the cross!
3. Consider that the cross -- Scarred the body of Jesus Christ forever
(John 20:25 NIV) So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he ["Doubting Thomas"] said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
(John 20:26 NIV) A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"
(John 20:27 NIV) Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
Here we have the scarred resurrected Christ! But really, that's interesting but that's not even the point that blows me away! The point I want you to meditate on is what's called "the incarnation." That is, God becoming a man. There are lots of world religions that would have man to become God, but the Christian faith is the only one in which God becomes man.
I am convinced that this side of heaven you and I will never fully comprehend nor appreciate what it meant that God, the infinite God who created quadrillions of stars and has every single one of them named, condescended to become a man and live in a human body. The Son of God / the Son of man. Jesus Christ - fully God, fully man.
See here's the twist: the Bible teaches us in John 4:24 that:
(John 4:24 NIV) God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Notice in the Old Testament that whenever Jesus appears in His pre-incarnate state, He is often referred to as "the Angel of the Lord." He didn't get a body until He was born of a young Jewish girl named Mary.
But notice this: Jesus, AFTER His resurrection, REMAINED in a body. God-in-a-body AFTER he had finished the work His Father had prepared for him to do! Think about it!
And to this day, to this hour, He remains in a glorified body, the first fruits of what you and I are going to inherit because of the power of the cross.
4. Consider that the cross -- Was very likely the scene of an unseen showdown
Don't you think that Lucifer and his fallen angels were there at Golgotha that day to boast, brag, and arrogantly belch out their apparent victory to their angelic counterparts?
We can't prove it, but I don't have any problem believing that the entire heavenly host turned out for the event of the ages - I think every last one of them was there to witness the most amazing scene that had ever been since the creation.
The very One whom the angels had worshipped was now terminally tacked up on a cross, bruised, beaten, naked, dripping with sweat and blood and foul smelling spit from the His enemies. How could this possibly be? Can you just imagine the party hell was throwing on a hill called Mt. Calvary?
Can't you just feel the tension and stress of Michael the archangel and thousands of his warring angels just hovering…totally powerless to intervene because they had not received a whisper of an order from Jesus or the Father concerning this matter?
I know they were they because the Lord told His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane: "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53 NIV)
Can you imagine the jeers and taunts of one-third of the fallen angles now established as principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places casting insults on the remaining two-thirds of the faithful angels who stayed behind with God as heaven's Champion lay nailed to a cross?
Did the demons taunt and tease the heavenly host with jabs like: "Who made the right choice? Did we not say join in the rebellion with us? Did not our master Lucifer rightly say he could be like the Most High?"
I don't know if this happened but I find it hard to believe that the devil and the hounds of hell weren't there to witness their finest hour and gloat in their alleged victory. But to the dismay and agony of the angels Jesus gave no command nor called on His Father to do so, but followed through with what He had said earlier: "But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" (Matthew 26:54 NIV)
The power of the cross.
5. Consider that the cross -- Forever established the "priesthood of believers"
When we come to the cross and repent of our sins, we are transformed by the power of God into what 1 Peter 2:9 says "…a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
In the Old Testament, to be a priest, you had to be a Levite. A male Levite. A male Levite between the ages of twenty and fifty unblemished without defect. And even if you made the cut, the farthest you go in your priestly role was into the holy place in the tabernacle or temple.
As a ordinary priest you couldn't get into the Holy of Holies, the place where the glory of God dwelt - ("the glory" was a miraculous, supernatural, physical, visible glory cloud called "the shekinah" that hovered over the ark of the covenant) - and only the high priest was permitted to go in to the Holy of Holies, and even then only one time per year.
But because of the cross, everything's changed.
Now YOU AND I, by God's personal invitation no less, extended to us in Hebrews 4:16: can "…come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
When the twelve tribes of Israel were receiving their royal inheritance from God, eleven tribes received land, one tribe received the priesthood - the Levites. God Himself was their inheritance. The priests were privileged to minister unto the Lord. In the same fashion, God has chosen us to be in HIS ministry and join Him in HIS work. And what ministry might that be?
(2 Cor 5:18 NIV) "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
(2 Cor 5:19 NIV) that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
(2 Cor 5:20 NIV) We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."
Our job is to go and make disciples. It's called the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). It's God's dream and will and desire that none should perish but all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
The cross has transformed us from sinners to saints, from servants to sons, and from pagans to priests of God Most High to win the lost and make disciples.
The power of the cross!
6. Consider that the cross -- Proved that God loves us
(John 13:1 NIV) "It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love."
What was the full extent of His love?
(Rom 5:8 NIV) "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
(John 15:13 NIV) Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Since we were children many of us were brought up singing:: "Jesus loves me this I know / for the Bible tells me so…"
God loves me. God is love. We've heard it so much it's old news. If we're not careful we can become jaded, desensitized to its impact. How many of you reading this are parents? How many of you have only one child in your family? Would you be willing to give up your child to die for a terrorist? How about a child molester? What about sacrificing your beloved offspring for a serial killer? A backslidden housewife? Even if you had twelve children, would you be willing to let even one of them die for somebody else's mistakes?
But that's exactly what God did for us through the power of the cross. There's an old chorus of a hymn that says it so well: "Amazing love how can it be that thou my God should die for me?"
7. Consider that the cross -- Purchased forgiveness for mankind's sin: Past, Present & Future
God's not up in heaven with a cosmic baseball bat ready to thump us on the head every time you and I mess up. The Bible says that "…But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Romans 5:20).
Another wonderful promise of God that we can count on concerning obtaining forgiveness for our sin, even those we consider most despicable, is found in Isaiah 1:18:
"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."
We don't have a "revolving door" salvation experience. That is to say, that every time you and I make a mistake that God blots our name out of the Lamb's book of life.
1 John 2:1 teaches "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One."
No matter how bad you think your mistake is, it cannot overcome the power of the cross:
(1 Cor 1:18 NIV) For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
8. Consider that the cross -- Provided for all our needs in this life
Everything we need pertaining to life and godliness God provides. God knows you've got to eat, send the kids to school, pay your taxes, and put gas in the car.
Our Heavenly father knows that you need to pay your cable bill, buy that new bass boat, get a new set of clubs…(Sometimes what we perceive as a need God knows is really a desire.)
Goes DOES NOT have a problem with you having things as long as things don't have you. As a matter of fact, He LONGS TO BLESS YOU and give you the desires of your heart and put you on display to this entire world that there is a difference between those who serve God and those who do not. He's not trying to keep something FROM YOU but He's trying to get blessing TO YOU through your obedience!
The cross provides for all our needs and they come in a thousand varieties. (Phil 4:19 NIV) And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
Every need supplied through the power of the cross and the resurrected Christ!
9. Consider that the cross -- Gives us power over the devil
Jesus said in Luke 10:19:
"I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you."
Because of the power of the cross, it's not a fair fight. You see, "No weapon formed against us shall prosper!" (Isaiah 54:17).
On the other hand, the weapons that God has equipped us with work very well:
(2 Corinthians 10:4-5 KJV) "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…"
Because of the cross, we have been clothed in the righteousness of God in Christ - we are dead and our lives are hidden with Christ in God - hidden - Jesus is our "cloaking device" that hides us in the secret place of the Most High under the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91)!
Under our robes of humility we are encased in the full armor of God - we're covered with His blood. If the devil could get through the blood of Jesus he'd be a saved devil.
And if that's not enough, "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them." (Psalm 34:7 NIV)
The cross gives us power over the devil!
10. Consider that the cross -- Breaks the chains that bind us
There's not a hook, a habit, a bondage, a chain, a scheme or a plot hatched in hell that is so strong and powerful that it can withstand and overcome the power of the cross of Jesus Christ.
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36 NIV).
The apostle Paul wrote in:
(Phil 1:19 NIV) "for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance."
Did you ever stop to think that you may be going through what you're going through so that later you can help somebody else get through what you got through?
What the devil means for harm in your life, God is going to turn around for your good! God absolutely delights in taking the arrows that the enemy shoots at you and has the splendid ability to catch them in mid-air and transform them into blessings to lay at your feet.
How is that possible? Through the power of the cross! Because Jesus reconciled us with our Creator and dealt a fatal blow to the sin issue that separated us from God, we have been set free from fear and lust and pornography and dope and any and every weight that we have tolerated or invited to be part of our lives.
The power of the cross of Jesus Christ and His mighty resurrection effectively deals with legal and illegal intrusion into our life by our adversary, the devil!
The writer of the old hymn was absolutely right when they wrote:
At the cross / at the cross / where I first saw the light / and the burden of my heart rolled away / it was there by faith / I received my sight / and now I am happy all the day.
DSR
3/8/03
1. Consider that the cross -- Actually divided the Trinity
The King James version of the Bible says in 1 John 5:7: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
One God eternally existent in three Persons - that's the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. If you think too hard about the concept of the Trinity you can lose your mind, if you don't think hard enough about it you can lose your place in eternity with God! It's a large thought.
But when He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ - God necessarily turned His back on sin. That's why Jesus cried out while on the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" (Matthew 27:46 NIV) Answer: Because a holy God cannot tolerate sin. Isaiah 59:2 says: "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."
So, at the cross, something that had never been before nor will ever be again - actually happened - the Trinity experienced separation. As God withdrew His presence from the sin of the world, embodied in His beloved Son, light went with Him and for three hours the light of the world was gone - and there was a great darkness. That day, the SUN/SON died. But during the darkness, the Bible says in Luke 23:45, "the curtain in the temple was torn in two."
You may be going through a dark period in your life. But I want to encourage you that something powerful might be going on behind the scenes and you wonder if God is even there? The I AM is there and He is very much at work through the power of the cross!
2. Consider that the cross -- Made God "our" Father
The Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons of men could become the sons of God.
John 1:12 proves this when it says: "Yet to all who received him [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." That's what being "born again" is all about. Being adopted into God's family as a permanent relative.
This next verse I'm going to quote, when Jesus said it out loud for the first time, I believe it shook the devil to his core! Why? Consider the implications of Jesus declaration to one of His followers just after His resurrection:
(John 20:17 NIV) Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and YOUR Father, to my God and YOUR God."
And I can almost hear Satan gasping, in complete and utter horror and disbelief: "What do you mean THEIR FATHER? I know You are the Son of God, even my demons know that, but THE MOST HIGH IS NOW THEIR FATHER?"
You see, the New Testament scriptures had not yet been written - so Satan couldn't read ahead and find out what was going to happen next to Jesus - Satan had no idea that the cross wasn't going to end in defeat but was going to accomplish the purposes of God.
Had the devil realized the power of the cross and what Jesus' death on it would accomplish for mankind I believe he would have modified his strategy and forsaken his plan to kill the Christ. How do I know that?
Because the New Testament scripture written at a later time reveals God's manifold wisdom:
(1 Cor 2:7 NIV) No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.
(1 Cor 2:8 NIV) None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."
God is now OUR Father by the power of the cross!
3. Consider that the cross -- Scarred the body of Jesus Christ forever
(John 20:25 NIV) So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he ["Doubting Thomas"] said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
(John 20:26 NIV) A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"
(John 20:27 NIV) Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
Here we have the scarred resurrected Christ! But really, that's interesting but that's not even the point that blows me away! The point I want you to meditate on is what's called "the incarnation." That is, God becoming a man. There are lots of world religions that would have man to become God, but the Christian faith is the only one in which God becomes man.
I am convinced that this side of heaven you and I will never fully comprehend nor appreciate what it meant that God, the infinite God who created quadrillions of stars and has every single one of them named, condescended to become a man and live in a human body. The Son of God / the Son of man. Jesus Christ - fully God, fully man.
See here's the twist: the Bible teaches us in John 4:24 that:
(John 4:24 NIV) God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Notice in the Old Testament that whenever Jesus appears in His pre-incarnate state, He is often referred to as "the Angel of the Lord." He didn't get a body until He was born of a young Jewish girl named Mary.
But notice this: Jesus, AFTER His resurrection, REMAINED in a body. God-in-a-body AFTER he had finished the work His Father had prepared for him to do! Think about it!
And to this day, to this hour, He remains in a glorified body, the first fruits of what you and I are going to inherit because of the power of the cross.
4. Consider that the cross -- Was very likely the scene of an unseen showdown
Don't you think that Lucifer and his fallen angels were there at Golgotha that day to boast, brag, and arrogantly belch out their apparent victory to their angelic counterparts?
We can't prove it, but I don't have any problem believing that the entire heavenly host turned out for the event of the ages - I think every last one of them was there to witness the most amazing scene that had ever been since the creation.
The very One whom the angels had worshipped was now terminally tacked up on a cross, bruised, beaten, naked, dripping with sweat and blood and foul smelling spit from the His enemies. How could this possibly be? Can you just imagine the party hell was throwing on a hill called Mt. Calvary?
Can't you just feel the tension and stress of Michael the archangel and thousands of his warring angels just hovering…totally powerless to intervene because they had not received a whisper of an order from Jesus or the Father concerning this matter?
I know they were they because the Lord told His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane: "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53 NIV)
Can you imagine the jeers and taunts of one-third of the fallen angles now established as principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places casting insults on the remaining two-thirds of the faithful angels who stayed behind with God as heaven's Champion lay nailed to a cross?
Did the demons taunt and tease the heavenly host with jabs like: "Who made the right choice? Did we not say join in the rebellion with us? Did not our master Lucifer rightly say he could be like the Most High?"
I don't know if this happened but I find it hard to believe that the devil and the hounds of hell weren't there to witness their finest hour and gloat in their alleged victory. But to the dismay and agony of the angels Jesus gave no command nor called on His Father to do so, but followed through with what He had said earlier: "But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" (Matthew 26:54 NIV)
The power of the cross.
5. Consider that the cross -- Forever established the "priesthood of believers"
When we come to the cross and repent of our sins, we are transformed by the power of God into what 1 Peter 2:9 says "…a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
In the Old Testament, to be a priest, you had to be a Levite. A male Levite. A male Levite between the ages of twenty and fifty unblemished without defect. And even if you made the cut, the farthest you go in your priestly role was into the holy place in the tabernacle or temple.
As a ordinary priest you couldn't get into the Holy of Holies, the place where the glory of God dwelt - ("the glory" was a miraculous, supernatural, physical, visible glory cloud called "the shekinah" that hovered over the ark of the covenant) - and only the high priest was permitted to go in to the Holy of Holies, and even then only one time per year.
But because of the cross, everything's changed.
Now YOU AND I, by God's personal invitation no less, extended to us in Hebrews 4:16: can "…come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
When the twelve tribes of Israel were receiving their royal inheritance from God, eleven tribes received land, one tribe received the priesthood - the Levites. God Himself was their inheritance. The priests were privileged to minister unto the Lord. In the same fashion, God has chosen us to be in HIS ministry and join Him in HIS work. And what ministry might that be?
(2 Cor 5:18 NIV) "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
(2 Cor 5:19 NIV) that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
(2 Cor 5:20 NIV) We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."
Our job is to go and make disciples. It's called the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). It's God's dream and will and desire that none should perish but all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
The cross has transformed us from sinners to saints, from servants to sons, and from pagans to priests of God Most High to win the lost and make disciples.
The power of the cross!
6. Consider that the cross -- Proved that God loves us
(John 13:1 NIV) "It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love."
What was the full extent of His love?
(Rom 5:8 NIV) "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
(John 15:13 NIV) Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Since we were children many of us were brought up singing:: "Jesus loves me this I know / for the Bible tells me so…"
God loves me. God is love. We've heard it so much it's old news. If we're not careful we can become jaded, desensitized to its impact. How many of you reading this are parents? How many of you have only one child in your family? Would you be willing to give up your child to die for a terrorist? How about a child molester? What about sacrificing your beloved offspring for a serial killer? A backslidden housewife? Even if you had twelve children, would you be willing to let even one of them die for somebody else's mistakes?
But that's exactly what God did for us through the power of the cross. There's an old chorus of a hymn that says it so well: "Amazing love how can it be that thou my God should die for me?"
7. Consider that the cross -- Purchased forgiveness for mankind's sin: Past, Present & Future
God's not up in heaven with a cosmic baseball bat ready to thump us on the head every time you and I mess up. The Bible says that "…But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Romans 5:20).
Another wonderful promise of God that we can count on concerning obtaining forgiveness for our sin, even those we consider most despicable, is found in Isaiah 1:18:
"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."
We don't have a "revolving door" salvation experience. That is to say, that every time you and I make a mistake that God blots our name out of the Lamb's book of life.
1 John 2:1 teaches "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One."
No matter how bad you think your mistake is, it cannot overcome the power of the cross:
(1 Cor 1:18 NIV) For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
8. Consider that the cross -- Provided for all our needs in this life
Everything we need pertaining to life and godliness God provides. God knows you've got to eat, send the kids to school, pay your taxes, and put gas in the car.
Our Heavenly father knows that you need to pay your cable bill, buy that new bass boat, get a new set of clubs…(Sometimes what we perceive as a need God knows is really a desire.)
Goes DOES NOT have a problem with you having things as long as things don't have you. As a matter of fact, He LONGS TO BLESS YOU and give you the desires of your heart and put you on display to this entire world that there is a difference between those who serve God and those who do not. He's not trying to keep something FROM YOU but He's trying to get blessing TO YOU through your obedience!
The cross provides for all our needs and they come in a thousand varieties. (Phil 4:19 NIV) And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
Every need supplied through the power of the cross and the resurrected Christ!
9. Consider that the cross -- Gives us power over the devil
Jesus said in Luke 10:19:
"I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you."
Because of the power of the cross, it's not a fair fight. You see, "No weapon formed against us shall prosper!" (Isaiah 54:17).
On the other hand, the weapons that God has equipped us with work very well:
(2 Corinthians 10:4-5 KJV) "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…"
Because of the cross, we have been clothed in the righteousness of God in Christ - we are dead and our lives are hidden with Christ in God - hidden - Jesus is our "cloaking device" that hides us in the secret place of the Most High under the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91)!
Under our robes of humility we are encased in the full armor of God - we're covered with His blood. If the devil could get through the blood of Jesus he'd be a saved devil.
And if that's not enough, "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them." (Psalm 34:7 NIV)
The cross gives us power over the devil!
10. Consider that the cross -- Breaks the chains that bind us
There's not a hook, a habit, a bondage, a chain, a scheme or a plot hatched in hell that is so strong and powerful that it can withstand and overcome the power of the cross of Jesus Christ.
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36 NIV).
The apostle Paul wrote in:
(Phil 1:19 NIV) "for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance."
Did you ever stop to think that you may be going through what you're going through so that later you can help somebody else get through what you got through?
What the devil means for harm in your life, God is going to turn around for your good! God absolutely delights in taking the arrows that the enemy shoots at you and has the splendid ability to catch them in mid-air and transform them into blessings to lay at your feet.
How is that possible? Through the power of the cross! Because Jesus reconciled us with our Creator and dealt a fatal blow to the sin issue that separated us from God, we have been set free from fear and lust and pornography and dope and any and every weight that we have tolerated or invited to be part of our lives.
The power of the cross of Jesus Christ and His mighty resurrection effectively deals with legal and illegal intrusion into our life by our adversary, the devil!
The writer of the old hymn was absolutely right when they wrote:
At the cross / at the cross / where I first saw the light / and the burden of my heart rolled away / it was there by faith / I received my sight / and now I am happy all the day.
DSR
3/8/03
Monday, March 3, 2003
A Prayer for the Nations
by David Scott Robertson
(Psa 2:8 NIV) "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession." - Jehovah God
(Mat 7:7 NIV) "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
(Mat 7:8 NIV) For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." -- Jesus
Today is 03-03-03.
A day like no other in the history of the world.
It is a day of world prayer.
It is time to pray.
Heavenly Father, You are the great God, Jehovah.
Jesus, you are King and Lord of all.
Holy Spirit, You are the agent of salvation, sanctification, and service in our lives.
Lord, we join tens of millions of other Christian believers around the world in prayer on this unprecedented day in the history of mankind.
Even as I write this, even as these words are read and the reader comes into agreement with this prayer,
We merge our faith with the multitudes of the disciples of Jesus,
And we add our voices with the throngs bombarding heaven with
Blessing and honor and intercession and petition on behalf of our world.
Lord Jesus, let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Grant that the church of Jesus Christ rise up as one body, under the headship and Lordship of Christ, in pleasant unity, to cease not day and night crying out for the souls of the lost.
Open the eyes of the pre-saved that the light of the gospel might pierce the darkness today.
Heal those that are spiritually deaf, spiritually blind, and spiritually dead.
Translate souls out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Your dear Son, Father God.
We cry out with all the earnestness we possess that you would pour out your Spirit upon all flesh that all might come to a knowledge of that truth --
The non-negotiable fact that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no man comes to the Father except through Him.
We bless those who curse us and pray for those who have spitefully used us.
We break every word curse spoken against the church of Jesus Christ and nullify by the authority of our Lord King Jesus every assignment against the advancement of the kingdom of God.
We pray for our leaders, both governmental and spiritual leaders, that they might receive the wisdom of God that comes from an endowment of grace rather than a reliance on knowledge and earthly information.
Father, we give thanks to the Lord for He is good, and His mercy endures forever.
We trust in the protection of Psalm 91,
We ask for the blessing of Deuteronomy 28,
We pray the Prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10,
And we commit with Joshua in Joshua 24:15-16 that as for us and our households, we will serve the Lord.
No matter what.
Lord God, we pray that the anointing of the Holy Spirit to fall down upon the saved and unsaved from Los Angeles to New York City,
From Quebec to Mexico City,
From Rio de Janero to Surabaya, Indonesia.
We pray the Lord's grace to envelope entire people groups in Iraq, Iran, North and South Korea, and Afganistan. We pray that entire continents like Africa, Australia, Europe, Asia, and those in the former Soviet Union will be swept into the kingdom of God by the millions.
Lord, we acknowlege that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it.
We ask, we seek, we knock on the doors of heaven,
Petitioning you for a spiritual breakthrough in the lives of people.
We love you, Lord.
We ask for every single thing on Your holy agenda to be accomplished in Your time, in Your way, through Your servants, through your ministering spirits the angels, and through your soveriegn divine intervention.
Be glorified in the end of the end times and last of the last days.
We look to you in joy and in hope and we pledge allegiance to you,
As one nation of believers,
Under God,
Indivisible,
Proclaiming liberty through Christ Jesus,
And ultimate justice for all by faith in His shed blood,
Amen.
DSR
3/3/03
(Psa 2:8 NIV) "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession." - Jehovah God
(Mat 7:7 NIV) "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
(Mat 7:8 NIV) For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." -- Jesus
Today is 03-03-03.
A day like no other in the history of the world.
It is a day of world prayer.
It is time to pray.
Heavenly Father, You are the great God, Jehovah.
Jesus, you are King and Lord of all.
Holy Spirit, You are the agent of salvation, sanctification, and service in our lives.
Lord, we join tens of millions of other Christian believers around the world in prayer on this unprecedented day in the history of mankind.
Even as I write this, even as these words are read and the reader comes into agreement with this prayer,
We merge our faith with the multitudes of the disciples of Jesus,
And we add our voices with the throngs bombarding heaven with
Blessing and honor and intercession and petition on behalf of our world.
Lord Jesus, let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Grant that the church of Jesus Christ rise up as one body, under the headship and Lordship of Christ, in pleasant unity, to cease not day and night crying out for the souls of the lost.
Open the eyes of the pre-saved that the light of the gospel might pierce the darkness today.
Heal those that are spiritually deaf, spiritually blind, and spiritually dead.
Translate souls out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Your dear Son, Father God.
We cry out with all the earnestness we possess that you would pour out your Spirit upon all flesh that all might come to a knowledge of that truth --
The non-negotiable fact that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no man comes to the Father except through Him.
We bless those who curse us and pray for those who have spitefully used us.
We break every word curse spoken against the church of Jesus Christ and nullify by the authority of our Lord King Jesus every assignment against the advancement of the kingdom of God.
We pray for our leaders, both governmental and spiritual leaders, that they might receive the wisdom of God that comes from an endowment of grace rather than a reliance on knowledge and earthly information.
Father, we give thanks to the Lord for He is good, and His mercy endures forever.
We trust in the protection of Psalm 91,
We ask for the blessing of Deuteronomy 28,
We pray the Prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10,
And we commit with Joshua in Joshua 24:15-16 that as for us and our households, we will serve the Lord.
No matter what.
Lord God, we pray that the anointing of the Holy Spirit to fall down upon the saved and unsaved from Los Angeles to New York City,
From Quebec to Mexico City,
From Rio de Janero to Surabaya, Indonesia.
We pray the Lord's grace to envelope entire people groups in Iraq, Iran, North and South Korea, and Afganistan. We pray that entire continents like Africa, Australia, Europe, Asia, and those in the former Soviet Union will be swept into the kingdom of God by the millions.
Lord, we acknowlege that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it.
We ask, we seek, we knock on the doors of heaven,
Petitioning you for a spiritual breakthrough in the lives of people.
We love you, Lord.
We ask for every single thing on Your holy agenda to be accomplished in Your time, in Your way, through Your servants, through your ministering spirits the angels, and through your soveriegn divine intervention.
Be glorified in the end of the end times and last of the last days.
We look to you in joy and in hope and we pledge allegiance to you,
As one nation of believers,
Under God,
Indivisible,
Proclaiming liberty through Christ Jesus,
And ultimate justice for all by faith in His shed blood,
Amen.
DSR
3/3/03
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