Predictors versus Indicators

The past is not a very good predictor of the future. I see many Bible teachers using the what has happened to try and say what will happen. Historians also. They are rarely right.

One thing many Bible teachers do get right, from my viewpoint at least, is that things do happen for a reason. Nothing is random. Events get pushed along by some force, or forces really, because there are always several reasons that something has happened.

We can see 'indicators' and then we make choices based on those things. The wise know how to spot indicators that are not obvious to the untrained eye. "for we walk by faith, not by sight." - 2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV

Character is a good indicator. Our 'Faith' is based on God's demonstrated character. That applies to people also and loosely to groups but because leadership changes hands and circumstances change even that is not the best 'predictor'.

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." - 2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV

God tells us certain things about what he will do and how He thinks and that information is 'precious' because it gives us hope in a very uncertain world.

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The Stranger Becomes A Friend

Thinking about faith this morning. Really this word means trust and in order to trust we must be aware of a thing and some of it's attributes.

The word 'stranger' is used for a person who is an unknown quantity. We know they exist but we don't know much about them other than that they are different from us in some way. They are outsiders.

"You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us'? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ' God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' " - James 4:4-6 ESV

This speaks to me. A stranger could be an enemy or they could become a friend.

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him." - Romans 8:5-9 ESV

Some teach that the natural man hates God and the soul needs 'help' from God in order to believe in Him but when i look in the scriptures i see that individuals see God as a stranger and God is estranged from man and will never 'buy into' the system we have created that is outside His holiness.

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility." - Ephesians 2:13-16 ESV

The fallen man sees God as a powerful stranger who made rules and then demanded we follow them but the cross shows us a God who loves us and bridges the gap by coming to us and serving us. If we look at God through the lens of the Gospel we see that He Is a friend and not an enemy.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." - Hebrews 11:1-6 KJV

I could go on and quote the whole chapter...

Faith is seeing God as He Is and that pleases Him. It is impossible to please God if we see Him as a stranger or an enemy. Once we see that He loves us we can give Him love in return and that is a glorious exchange.

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Winning, Giving And Worship

Worshiping this morning... Jesus is amazing... He has put His righteousness on our account... we can be winners in Him and there don't need to be any losers in order for us to win...

"And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, 'Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death...' " - Revelation 12:10-11 ESV

The accuser has not been cast down yet. This is a future event but the path to victory is the same.

"He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes." - Mark 6:38 KJV

I'm looking at my lunch and I have a little but not much... still... I'm worshiping and giving it to Jesus to bless.

The accusation is that we only have enough for ourselves and even then it may not be enough. The promise is that we win by... 'the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death'... my life... my lunch... my bread... my fish... or we can give it to Jesus.

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Fellowship That Illuminates Truth

Jesus is sitting on a throne in Heaven right now and the people that have gone before us who believed in Him are there also. I often wonder what that must be like. It must make Jesus very happy that those people are there. He Is God who forever took on the 'form' of a man and people need people no matter who you are.

Jesus really had no one to fellowship with on Earth that understood Him. You can see His frustration at times...

"And Jesus answered, "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me."" - Matthew 17:17 ESV

"Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" - John 14:8-9 ESV

So many things must have seemed 'self-evident' to Him but the people around Him were blind to those realities.

As a thirty year old man He met with an older teacher in Israel that seemed to know some things. Most of the other teachers stood against Him but not this one. This one wanted to meet and talk...

"Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "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." Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" - John 3:1-12 ESV

I read this and see Jesus as a 30 year old man hoping to connect with an older respected person but they hit a wall because the older man is blind to what Jesus plainly sees as true.

Ministry is often filled with times when we converse with others and find that they know something deeply that we were blind to. Then on other days we know something that the Spirit taught us that the other person is blind to and gracious interaction is needed to bridge that gap.

"Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit." - Matthew 15:14 ESV

So true.

If we find someone who sees beyond what we see it is wise to be quiet and listen. The Spirit will give witness and we have scripture to act as a guide. Real wisdom will never fall outside what scripture says. Wisdom from above will be illuminated by scripture and will connect concept to concept. Jesus will be central. Grace will be in the mix. God will become bigger and Heaven will seem closer.

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Seven Attributes Of Jesus Revealed To Seven Churches

In order to have eternal perspective in any given situation you and I need to know something specific about God. We need to know who He Is and how He functions...

"Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works..." - Revelation 2:1-2a KJV

"And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works..." - Revelation 2:8-9a KJV

"And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works..." - Revelation 2:12-13a KJV

"And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet [are] like fine brass; I know thy works.." - Revelation 2:18-19a KJV

"And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works..." - Revelation 3:1 KJV

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works..." - Revelation 3:7-8 KJV

"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works..." - Revelation 3:14-15 KJV

Seven is a number representing completion is the Bible. That concept comes from the Hebrew. It is why we have seven days in a week. Seven days give us a complete cycle. God is addressing seven Churches in these chapters for a reason. These seven statements are things that the 'angel' (leader/representative) needed to know about Jesus. Putting them all together gives us a complete view of what we need to know to handle every problem we face.

Every statement is followed by 'I know thy works'. Jesus is telling us and them who He Is and that He sees what they are doing. That order is important because we need to think that way also. We are wise if we look at Jesus to see who His Is first then put what we are doing second and in the context of who He Is.

I'm going to read these seven statements again and again today because they are special. You can't see this in nature, anthropology or through self examination. This is who Jesus Is and only He can tell us that and He does so we can be equipped. It will change what we do and when we do it if we know what God says here about Himself.

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Good, Pleasing And Perfect

I really like how this translation treats the second part of this passage...

"... Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." - Romans 12:2 NLT

That word translated 'perfect' is teleios (Strong's G5046) and it comes from the same root as...

"When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and released his spirit." - John 19:30 NLT - teleō (Strong's G5055)

Who is the one who is going to be pleased when you look back at your life? You are.

Who is going to say 'God was good and He had a good will towards me every step of the way.' You are.

Who is going to say, 'God's will was perfect lacking nothing. He had every detail covered.' You and I will.

Say those things now by faith. They are true statements. Your emotions will start to respond if you say them out loud.

"Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful." - Psalm 33:1 NKJV

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;" - Philippians 4:4-5 ESV

"My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed." - Psalm 71:23 KJV

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Finding Jesus In Revelations

"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near." - Revelation 1:1-3 ESV

I have studied this book before. I read some of it days after I became a Christian and had nightmares about it. It has been decades since then. I have taken classes focused on this book... heard sermons... preached messages focused on passages.

Still. Today as I read the first few verses they seem fresh to me.

This book can seem like a puzzle. Names. Events. References to other parts of the Bible. Mysteries. 

The other day I got before God and said something like, 'I want to come at this book like I know 'nothing as I ought to' and have you teach me.' then I started to just look for Jesus in each chapter. What was God saying? What is His attitude? What was His tone? I skipped the names and events and just looked for Him.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."" - Revelation 1:1-8 ESV

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last," - Revelation 1:1-17 ESV

"'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary." - Revelation 2:2-3 ESV

"And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."" - Revelation 4:9-11 ESV

"...saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."" - Revelation 7:3 ESV

There is more, so much more, but Who do you see reading this? I see someone who cares deeply and knows people. He sees, observes and rewards. Those who experience Him can't say enough about Him. He is sensitive to pain and suffering. He times things and doesn't rush.

This is MY Jesus. I am His and He has become mine. 

The events are important... sure they are... but Jesus is revealed here and those things blur in the backround as He comes into focus for me.

This book scared me but now I want to eat it like candy.

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." - Revelation 22:16-21 ESV

Come quickly Lord! Thank you for this book. It is a great gift.