Welcome to the feast

The greatest story ever told has a scope and complexity in its narrative and characters that exceeds all known literature. To some, it is a mysterious volume of allegorical myths. To others, it is a mass of contradictions. It is the story of God and his creation, involvement with and salvation of man. It gets messy, because people are messy, but God’s purpose is not thwarted. The greatest story ever told is not great because man figured out how to salvage himself. It is great because God, driven by love, has, through patience and mercy saved men.

Welcome to the Feast

In the Bible, we are guests at God’s banquet. A modern reader struggles to make sense of this story written so differently to our modern texts and popular novels. The structure of the Bible story is based upon Israel’s festival calendar (detailed in Leviticus 23). Consider the pattern or process you might follow when hosting a dinner party. Our to-do list is arranged to illustrate its parallel structure:

A. You send your invitations

B. You cover the table with a cloth

C. You lay out place settings & cutlery

D. The guests are seated

C1. The food and wine is served

B1. The feast is consumed

A1. You recline, full & satisfied with an digestif

The invitation (A) anticipates the satisfied diners at the end of the party (A1).
The table cloth (B) dedicates the table for the dinner (B1).
The placement of the cutlery (C) is matched with it’s use to eat the food (C1).
At the center of this event, the guests (D) are seated. Will they partake of the meal? Will they enjoy the party? It’s a simplistic example, but hopefully you see a parallel cycle of forward movement.

The Bible story is similar. God has given us an invitation, he has prepared life for us, he has called us to himself, he has given us his Word. Will we receive it? Will we make it a part of ourselves? When we do, we have “a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (c.f. 2 Peter 1:11).

From the beginning of the Bible God has purposely laid the table for us so that we can read, follow the pattern and enjoy feasting on his Word.

The pattern starts in Genesis 1, continues through the Old Testament, and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The exact details of the pattern will vary using different motifs, allusions and imagery, but the goal of the process is the same.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. … And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. ~ 1 John 5:13, 20

 

Looking at Spiritual Growth as if through a matrix

You think that’s air that you’re breathing?

Sometimes the business of spiritual growth is a bit of an intangible, unobtainable, clichéd carrot on a stick that religious elites use to chastise the unenlightened. Or so it might seem.

Have a look again at that passage in Galatians 5:16-26, this time check it out through a lens of biblical theology (i.e. the repeated and progressive unfolding of God’s revelation in the Bible) and see if some of the pieces start to fall in place. Biblical spirituality is not some aloof, monastic experience. It’s a bread and wine thing – something you can eat and drink in real life. But, if you can swallow the red pill for a second and take another look, you might see how the entire Bible points us towards this.

Consider the growth of a child – those around the child notice the child’s growth. The child is not conscious of their growth though – but it is happening. Growth is organic, it not constructed.

Growth is slow and growth is permanent. Except for the mysterious case of Benjamin Button, once you grow, you don’t get younger.

However your externals do change. Your preferences for clothing fashions, the cars you drive, houses you live in – all of these change according to your tastes, the environment, condition of the economy etc. However, if all you have are Spiritual externals, then you are going to fluctuate and go back and forth and up and down.

Eventually you are going to fail completely to keep up that external appearance and our true nature and it’s inevitable works of the flesh will be manifested and we will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Instead, we must turn, repent, and come under the influence of the Holy Spirit – not the external, impotent efforts of our flesh.

A. Conduct – v.16
A command is spoken by God intended to create true life – Spiritual life.

B. Conflict – v.17
The man of flesh, the first Adam rebels against God’s Spirit – conflict results

C. Construction – v.19-21a
The man of flesh wants to create his own law and ascend to God on his own terms. In fact, he wants to take the place of God.

D. Consequence – v.21b
God tests man’s law and it fails. Instead of being a true law of righteousness it leads follows into the wilderness of disobedience where they perish because of their unbelief and rejection of God’s Spirit.

C`. Cultivation – v.22-23
The man of Spirit – the second Adam, produces the fruit from the tree of life which fulfills God’s law and writes God’s law onto our hearts and transforms us from the inside out.

B`. Crucifixion – v.24
The man of Spirit – responds to the conflict of the man of flesh and defeats him through a substitutionary death. For it is not behaviour change that redeems and transforms the man of flesh – but death to sin and new life in Christ.

A`. Conduct – v.25-26
Those risen with Christ – alive in the Spirit are the only ones able to live in God’s covenant and enjoy the life of righteousness. Which is evident in worship, fellowship with Jesus Christ.

Have you experienced the “matrix?”

Some related posts:
How are you growing?
Book Review of The Bible Matrix
When did the Reformation stop… for you?

 

Thick as a brick

Peter says we are: “like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” – 1 Peter 2:5

“Living stones” are like modern day bricks used for building construction. Consider this, a brick never:

• challenges or disobeys the builder;
• rejects the builder;
• complains about other bricks;
• resents other bricks for being more prominent;
• feels sorry about having to be broken to meet the builder’s purpose.

A brick, once used in a construction, stands, together with the other bricks and building materials, as a testament to the craft and design of the builder! When looking at the bricks, it is the designer and builder that gets the praise for the finished product not the individual bricks.

“we are … God’s building” – 1 Corinthians 3:9 – we could learn much from bricks!

 

Risky Business for Men

Speaking about Epaphroditus, the Pastor of the Church at Philippi, Paul says:

Welcome him in the Lord with great joy and honor men like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me. ~ Philippians 2:29-30

The motto of the USS Dallas nuclear-powered attack submarine of the United States Navy is “First in Harm’s Way.” That’s the type of risk spoken of here. Epaphroditus risked his life, put himself in harm’s way, and almost died for the work of Christ to make up for the help the Philippians could not give to Paul.

When he says “honor men like him”, it is a call for godly leadership. A call for men of courage that put service before security.

Why are there so many bored and unfulfilled men that have lost the spirit of adventure they had as young men?

Why aren’t they risking anything anymore? Is it because they don’t have anything to live for, any challenge, any goals bigger than themselves?

Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live. ~ Mark 8:35

If you want to live… go for broke for Jesus Christ! Give up your life. Give up your reputation!

It is sad when a man, rather than being the spiritual leader of his home, is a detriment. He resents his wife’s growth. He’s afraid of it and limits it. One of the greatest challenges you will ever face in your life is to live for Jesus Christ in front of your wife and your family, friends, work associates. Are you man enough to do it?

Why is it, that evangelical Churches (in Australia) are full of girls and women who want to know and serve Jesus Christ and not men? Al Stewart says, “It’s because that’s who we cater to.” We sing soft songs that would sound better in a karaoke bar being sung by a teenage girl to her boyfriend. We hold “morning tea” for the ladies to have a bickie and chat. We have girl’s night’s out. We have women’s conferences, women’s Bible Study Fellowships.

We have failed, because we don’t honour men like Epaphroditus. We mark him as a trouble maker. He’s unstable. We don’t like him. He might do something without asking permission – we better shut him down.

Epaphroditus was just an ordinary guy, not a super star, but 2000 years later we’re still talking about him. When I look at my life and work, as a man, how much is it going to count 50 years from now? Or 100 or 1000? Will it make any difference? Will yours?

 

Would you like some cheese with your WHINE?

One of my previous employers use to host a Friday afternoon social that consisted of some drinks and snacks. The snacks would vary depending on which team member had done the shopping, but one thing was consistent; there was always a nice bottle of wine with a few cheeses and usually a loaf of sour dough and olive oil dip. The afternoon provided a way to wind down at the end of the week, debrief and catch up with colleagues that you had been too busy to speak to earlier and otherwise relax before heading off into your weekend. It was something to look forward to, particularly if the week had been a little long. At 4:00pm each Friday, it was “tools down” and time to push away from the desk and gather in the break out area for a drink. My wife and I also enjoy an occasional wine and cheese night at home with a movie. The idea is pretty much the same, relax, wind down and enjoy a small treat.

But there is another type of “whine” that isn’t so enjoyable or relaxing. You know, the whiner, the martyr, the cynic, the perfectionist – they just can’t seem to talk without complaining about someone or thing. They have the un-delightful talent of making any interaction painful.

What does God’s word have to say about dealing with this habit of complaining? In Philippians 2:14-16, Paul says,

Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

How do I do that? It is not achieved by a mere act of will power. It is an effect or result of living out the inner reality of the gospel of Jesus in the strength and power of the Holy Spirit (spoken of in verse 12 & 13).

When we are truly meditating upon and believing the gospel of Jesus Christ, our complaining is undone. Our complaining says, ‘I am entitled to better than this.’ Whereas the gospel says, ‘I am entitled to be judged for my sin and sent to hell for eternity. Thank God for his grace and mercy to me.’ When we put the gospel first, we will gladly sacrifice all types of ‘complaining’ for the sake of the salvation of others.

When Paul says the result of not complaining is we “shine as lights in the world“, he is alluding to Daniel 12:3, “Those who are wisewill shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

The point he is making is that people believing the gospel, will react differently to the circumstances in life. A complaining Christian is speaking and acting as though the gospel isn’t true.

How do you make a positive impact so that the world takes notice? Not by whining. Instead, speak the word of life, sacrifice your own agenda and give yourself to Jesus (v.16-18).

Choosing not to complain is an act of self-sacrifice. It is a loving decision to enter into personal suffering, loss and inconvenience for the sake of Jesus and others. Jesus entered our broken lives and pain and took it upon himself to give us life. He chose not to exercise his entitlements and instead died for our sins, in our place and we are called to sacrificial service for the sake of others coming to faith in Christ.

 

One is NOT the loneliest number

Solidarity occurs when we act as one. As Freddy sang;

One man one goal one mission,
One heart one soul just one solution,
One flash of light yeah one god one vision

Now, I’m pretty sure that Freddy Mercury didn’t have in mind exactly what I am referring to. But his words sum up the essence of the power of unity and solidarity. To share a common goal and pursue that together creates powerful momentum for any cause. In the case of the Church that unity is based in and upon Jesus Christ not our own efforts to create or keep it.

In Philippians 2:1-2 Paul summarises Christian unity with 4 expressions:

“Be like minded“; “Have the same love“; “Be one in the spirit“; “Be one in purpose“

As he says these things he is cautious to make sure they understand the difference between unity and uniformity. Uniformity is where we seem to be all the same on the outside and for the sake of appearance we choose to keep up that façade. Our unity as Christians is not because of our language, culture, nationality, education or occupation. Our unity is because we are joined, partnered together, with Jesus Christ. What Paul says here is that our thinking, actions and purpose can be united, not when we all look same, but when we are all shaped by the gospel and our lives are centered upon Jesus.

When we believingly trust in Jesus there are consequences in your life – changes in attitude and priority that will affect your sense of relationship and experience of unity with other Christians.