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Of the various ways Jesus referred to Himself – I find the extended parable in John 10 of the Good Shepherd exceedingly sweet. In vs. 11 He says plainly “I am the Good Shepherd.” And I want to take a minute to see 10 things in this parable that Jesus reveals about Himself that ought to make the heart of every Believer sing.
I’m Reid Ferguson, and this is Through the Word in 2020.
I hope you’re keeping up with our reading schedule. We don’t have much further to go in finishing out the year. And passages like those today in John 10, Revelation 3:1-6 and Daniel 1:8-2:49 are truly rich. But this parable Jesus tells about Himself in John 10 just rejoices the heart in spectacular ways.
I note 10 things.
Jesus is the one, the only one the “gatekeeper” allows to pass. Who or what is the gatekeeper? The Law. The Law had us pent up and imprisoned. And no one can pass through it to freedom. None but Christ alone. He fulfilled the Law, so that it can be no barrier to Him. He enters, that He might become our Shepherd and bring us out.
He calls His own by name. Jesus knows us each. Intimately. Personally. Indeed, He is the one who names us for Himself, and then calls us each individually. We are a large flock, but He never looses sight of each and every one.
And He does indeed lead us. He never leaves His sheep to their own devices. He is always calling to us through His Word, and pricking our ears by His Spirit. He leads us out from the constraints of the Law to the joy and freedom of cleansed consciences, forgiven sins, full justification, and the unbreakable promise of the resurrection.
He goes before us. He never sends us where He is unwilling to go Himself. Even to the cross. And He goes before us even there that we might know that in Him, our safety is assured.
He came to grant us abundant life. Life in the reality of God’s creation, plans and purposes. Not mere existence, but plunged into the meaning of life itself – in Him.
The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He dies in our place. He spares nothing, not even His own life to rescue us from sin and condemnation. And yet He also ever lives to make intercession for us.
He knows His own. He is not just acquainted with us – He knows us. Every doubt, fear, foible, failing and concern. Nothing troubles our heart or mind that He is not immediately aware of, and present to meet us. If no one else in all the world really knows us – He does. Nothing is hidden from Him. And nothing He knows alters His love.
He will bring in His sheep from all corners to make us into one flock. And what marks them all out as one is that all His sheep listen to His voice. His global work culminates in joining all His into one in Himself.
He gives to each of His sheep – eternal life. Eternal, not temporary. They will never perish. They cannot perish. For He is their Shepherd, their guardian. He will bring them safely home to the Father. Each one will make it.
No one can snatch His sheep out of His hand. No one. Not Satan. Not the World. Not some other person. Not even ourselves. Not only can no one snatch us out of His hand, His solemn prophetic word here is – no one WILL take us away from Him. For we are a gift to Him from the Father, the Father who is greater than all – God almighty. And none can overcome Him.
As you celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow – remember the glory of your Good Shepherd. This is His theology of His own care for us.
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Justice. It’s a word we hear a lot these days. Though usually prefaced by a word like “social” first – “social justice.”
Webster’s defines justice as “the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments.” Of course, all of that implies there is some standard against which we can judge what is just and what is not. And every society builds its laws around its own understanding of right and wrong. Sometimes that understanding is informed by God’s Word, and sometimes not.
Not surprisingly then, God’s Word has a lot to say about justice – especially from God’s point of view. And out of our 3 readings today, John 4:46-5:17; 1 John 5:1-5 – it is Ezekiel 16-19 where justice gets some pretty interesting treatment.
I’m Reid Ferguson, and we’ll explore justice just a bit today on Through the Word in 2020.
God and God’s people had a controversy about justice.
God said, if an evil guy repents and walks with God, he’ll be treated accordingly and if a righteousness guy goes off the tracks and starts doing evil – his previous good doesn’t count. They thought God wasn’t just.
Where the Israelites erred was on 2 counts: a. They were measuring justice by how they thought things ought to work rather than the way God said it is to work. b. They set up their own standard, and didn’t like it that God got to impose His.
Now it doesn’t take a lot of looking to see that our human justice systems have their problems.
In some places, justice is for sale. And justice can be perverted for all kinds of reasons: Racial prejudice, backdoor bribes, people with status getting off easy, high paid and high powered attorneys cutting deals – you name it. But this much is sure – however justice among men may fail, God’s justice cannot.
There is a day of reckoning where there will be utter impartiality as one stands before the God who knows all and cannot be influenced by any outside power. He will judge each and every one of us – no matter how we may have escaped that justice in this life. His rules. His standards. His justice. For all.
And this is why the Gospel is so important. For God is so just, that He cannot let any sin or sinner go unaddressed. So how can there be salvation for any? As Ps. 130:3 says: “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?”
The answer? The satisfaction of God’s justice against sin, punished – really and truly. But in His system, against His willing Son, on behalf of all those who put their trust in Him. Justice carried out, and yet grace and mercy provided.
You and I my friend will one day stand before Him. We will have to give an answer for every wrong inclination, desire, act, word, deed and thought. And there will be a just judgment for all of them.
The only helpful plea in that day will be: “But Jesus already died in my place – and I am His!”
If you know that to be true and have cast yourself upon His mercy in trusting Jesus’ substitutionary death on your account – justice was carried out at Calvary. It is finished.
If not – you will have to face the eternal justice your sin deserves yourself.
This is God’s system.
Based upon His standard of perfect holiness.
It is miraculous.
And available to all who call upon the name of Jesus Christ.
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Jesus meeting the woman at the well of Samaria is one of the most beloved of the Gospel accounts. And with good reason. Jesus deals gently and yet forthrightly with this woman. He confronts her sin, but not so as to condemn her, but to deliver her. In His weariness we see His humanity, and know He knows our weariness too. In His thirst He shows His humility, asking for a drink of water. And in His conversation, He makes one of the most profound Spiritual revelations we need to grasp.
We’ll talk about that a bit today on Through the Word in 2020.
While it is usually thought that Samaritans had that name because they lived in Samaria, in fact the name most likely derives from a Hebrew word meaning something like “law-keepers.” Religiously, they only held to the Torah – the 1st 5 books of the Old Testament. And considered themselves more Biblically accurate than the Jews. After the Babylonian exile, they opposed the rebuilding of the Temple. They worshiped on Mt. Gerizim where Moses pronounced blessings on Israel. Hostilities between the Jews and the Samarians ran high.
So when the woman asks Jesus about who is more accurate in worship, it is not surprising. This was part of their identity. But Jesus turns the conversation. She believed she lived among the more Biblically accurate. But at the same time, she was living a lifestyle condemned by the very Torah she was so proud to own.
But then He shifts even more. He says the Jews actually are more Biblically accurate – but in both cases, the question isn’t mere theology – it is “Spirit AND truth.”
Similar to Paul’s assertion on Mars Hill, that they worshipped an “unknown god.” They had a form of worship, but they did not truly know this God nor His purposes or plans. The Samaritans had a truncated Judaism all their own. The Jews had a more accurate religion. But any religion apart from that moving from the types and shadows – no matter how accurate – to the substance, is still without merit.
We need accuracy, truth, yes, but apart from the Spirit of God Himself, we are just accurate dead men. So even if she became more Biblically accurate in rites, rituals, etc. and accepted the whole Old Testament and Temple worship, she would still be lost. Because all of these point to Christ. And apart from Him, accuracy means nothing.
The contrast here in “Spirit and Truth” is between mere accuracy (doctrinal) and life in God – obtaining the substance.
The substance is not the Law of Moses. It is Christ Himself. It is salvation though faith in His atoning sacrifice.
And that will produce a new well of living water within, which will lead to a life not rooted in “getting it right”, dotting every theological “I” and crossing every doctrinal “T” – but beholding, trusting and serving Christ.
I pray you know the truth today – that no religion can reconcile you to God – no matter how accurate. Only Christ can do that. And that He is the One who gives you of His own Spirit, that you might walk in truth, and in concert with that truth.
All of the Bible is written so as to reveal and lead you to Him. For in Him alone is eternal life.
2 Corinthians 12:1-10 / “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” (John 12:21)
As we’ve been noting for the past number of weeks, Paul has been in the middle of an extended defense of his ministry.
It’s not because Paul is concerned about himself, rather that the Church at Corinth not be led astray from “a sincere devotion to Christ” – alone. 2 Corinthians 11:3 ESV / But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
The so-called super-apostles thought they were simply wooing the affections of the Church toward themselves away from Paul. And if that were the whole matter, Paul could care less.
But in wrapping up this part of his letter to the Church, he needs to address one more aspect of how the super-apostles appeal to people – and it could not be more timely for us today.
It is in fact a crescendo. He’s been leading up to this as the end of his whole discussion on the issue. It is vitally important.
He sets the stage in 2 Corinthians 12:1 ESV / I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
There has never been a time in human history when some haven’t tried to garner influence over others by claiming that they have had some sort of supernatural experience, dream or vision which confers special status upon them and gives them spiritual authority over others.
The question isn’t whether or not people may have supernatural experiences at times – clearly that is so.
In Peter’s sermon at Pentecost he cites Joel and that in this new advent of the Holy Spirit: “Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” What that is supposed to look like we’ll try to get to some today. And, Paul is going to tell us about one of his own supernatural experiences in this very text.
But what he will argue is, that such experiences say nothing about him or anyone else in terms of whether or not they should be regarded as special or have unique authority so as to be listened to. This same problem gets brought up Colossians 2:16–19 ESV / Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
Some at Colosse created special holy days, taught what foods Christians should or should not eat and even about special relationships to angels rooted in visions they’ve had. And apparently talked about in great detail.
This, they did rather than simply clinging to the foundational Gospel truths centered in Christ!
This week, I did a simple search on YouTube with the words: “Jesus Told Me.” Among the 1,000s of hits I got were these:
“Jesus told me the age of the earth.” – This young man dreamed meeting Jesus, and Jesus says to him “Ask.” Apparently the most pressing thing he could think to ask his Creator and Savior at that moment was – “what is the age of the earth.” And Jesus says: “6,000 years old, roughly. Really, it’s 5,800 give or take, it really doesn’t matter. 6,000, it’s a good number, stick with it.”
“What Jesus told me about the Church.” Churches will not help you grow spiritually. They are only hirelings. No exceptions. Only go to Jesus, not Churches. Apparently, Jesus has reversed the New Testament teaching on the Church.
“Jesus told me Paul is a liar.” You cannot trust anything Paul said, he was a complete fake leading people away from Jesus.
“Jesus told me we are at chapter 4 of Revelation.” Never mind that Rev. 4 is a vision of Heaven and not chronological but perpetual. She goes on to say that the phrase in Luke 10:18 where Jesus said “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven” if translated into Hebrew reads: “Barak Obama.” Jesus told me to dance Jesus told me to stop wearing makeup Jesus told me to stop drinking and partying around. Jesus told me to convert to Islam.
Kevin Zadai: “What Jesus told me about the election.” Which after you blow all the smoke away and wasted your 20 minutes amounted to: If we vote and pray, we’ll be a part of forming history.
There’s a news flash! Jesus must be hard up for more hard-hitting information!
And much in line with the Colossians passage here, Jesus told him that the angels have a schedule to visit people in the night and give them dreams.
Recently, I watched the documentary of Marvin Heemeyer who in June of 2004 – in a bulldozer he specially fabricated to take vengeance on those he thought wronged him – did 7 million $ of damage to stores, the Town Hall and other buildings before taking his own life. On the detailed audio tapes he left behind – he said over and over he was doing this because God told him to, and God verified it by all sorts of providential signs.
All sorts of people everywhere are trying to gain influence in Christ’s Church based on dreams they’ve had on just about every topic imaginable, but especially about the current election and politics. It is astounding. I cannot emphasize enough, along with Paul in this passage – the fundamental truth of Isaiah 8:20 ESV / To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
Please hear me Church – What Jesus is saying now is what He HAS said! Open your Bible. Take the time to study it and understand it properly.
This IS His voice.
So Paul begins this section by saying look – these guys talk about their dreams and visions and spiritual experiences – and I could too. BUT! 2 Corinthians 12:1 ESV / I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
THERE IS NOTHING TO BE GAINED BY IT. Nothing.
So I had a spiritual experience. So what?
In fact, because such things have such a tendency to inflate the ego and generate ill results – God has taken extensive measures to be sure I CAN’T boast in them.
Let me make note of something here that you may not have thought of before.
No less than 35 times in the Gospels, we are told this or that happened concerning Jesus, to fulfill what had been prophesied in the Old Testament.
Matthew 2:14–15 ESV / And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Jesus by His own testimony brought nothing new. He was fulfilling all the types, shadows and prophecies of the Old.
Matthew 5:17 ESV / “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Take for instance His exchange with Nicodemus in John 3. He takes this highest of Jewish teachers to task because he should have known what Jesus was on about – if he really understood his Bible. And so Jesus’ talks about the new birth in reference to Ezekiel.
In fact, He never once talks about what Heaven was like before He left it. Never mentions ant dreams, or revelations at all. The silence is deafening. When John the Baptist sends men to ask if Jesus really is the one or if they should look for another, He in effect tells them to look around and see if the Messianic passages of Isaiah are being fulfilled?
Even in John 13:34 ESV / A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. He is essentially quoting from Lev. 19 except for the phrase “as I have loved you”: The new dimension brought on by the prophesied advent of the Holy Spirit to be sent.
Remember how even Paul took the Gospel he had received by revelation and submitted it to the other apostles in Jerusalem who confirmed he was preaching the Gospel they had already received from Jesus.
I cannot issue this warning enough to you all Beloved – do not, do not, DO NOT, receive some new revelation from anyone. Hold fast to the Word of God already preached to you and what you hold in your hand and can examine – the Bible you already have.
Every cult, every false religion, can trace its origin to someone claiming to have some new revelation and to reveal secrets they’ve been privy to.
No matter how persuasive, eloquently expressed, even supernaturally accompanied – reject it. How much more explicit could Jesus have been in Matthew 24:23–26? ESV / Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.
They will come telling you how you can find Jesus better because of their revelations.
And they lie.
Now to be honest, if all I had before me this morning was this opening verse – it would be enough for us to really digest and stand on. But we must finish the portion.
Contrary to much Pop-Christianity, there is nothing to benefit others in the relaying of our secret experiences with God. Even if they are authentic! They contribute nothing to others but to incite misdirected admiration, speculation and turn eyes from Christ to yourself.
This is Paul’s example and how he proceeds in his argument.
You want to hear about spiritual or paranormal experiences? Try this one on: 2 Corinthians 12:2–4 ESV / I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.
One reason why Paul picks this particular event in his past may be because it predates his ever coming to Corinth.
It is a way of saying if such an experience was important for your spiritual growth – I should have brought it up when I first came here. But no, I’ve been silent about it.
It would have run contrary to what he said in his first letter: 1 Corinthians 2:2 ESV / For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
His supernatural experiences could add nothing to the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. In fact, they’ll detract from it.
Even God’s best gifts, if not handled rightly, can detract from Christ. As to why he speaks about it in the 3rd person, lots of theories exist. Perhaps because it was so sacred. As he says, some of what he heard isn’t lawful for a man to repeat.
Maybe it was a way of detaching himself from it – how he mentions a few verses down that because of such visions God needed to drop him down a peg so he didn’t think it made him special in any way. And then there was the Jewish tradition of not including oneself in visionary accounts.
No matter what the reason, the basic idea is clear – he had had such experiences, but they could not contribute in any way to anyone else’s growth in Christ. So they were useless, even counter productive to mention. When wrestling with similar issues in the revivals of his day Jonathan Edwards wrote: “It is by the mixture of counterfeit religion with true, not discerned and distinguished, that the devil has had his greatest advantage against the cause and kingdom of Christ…By this means [Satan] deceives great multitudes about the state of their souls; making them think they are something, when they are nothing; and so eternally undoes them; and not only so, but establishes many in a strong confidence of their eminent holiness, who are in God’s sight some of the vilest of hypocrites.”
2 Corinthians 12:5–6 ESV / On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.
i.e. I don’t want you to think any more of me than what I really am. The only thing you need to know about me is that I am weak, frail, human being who proclaims a glorious message about a glorious Christ – to which I contribute nothing. In fact, this dynamic is so crucial in God’s eyes: 2 Corinthians 12:7–9 ESV / So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
As supernatural as my visions were, so God supernaturally acted to keep me from pride over them.
I know there is much debate and speculation about his “thorn in the flesh”.
I take as his meaning that it was some sort of demonic harassment – perhaps through those who so violently opposed him everywhere. That they were demonically inspired in their rage and violence. He suffered so much from it that he earnestly and repeatedly prayed for it to be removed.
No doubt it is the kind of thing that would make him fearful and reluctant to keep preaching the way he did. All of the physical attacks, beatings and betrayals had to be daunting. Whatever it was, it hindered him. Humbled him. And God refused to remove it.
It forced him to rely on nothing other than God’s grace alone to continue. An so he can conclude: 2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV / For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Look at this litany, and in it, don’t miss his meaning. He finds himself beset by: a. Weaknesses – Most likely physical sickness and disability – but any perceived personal defect or shortcoming. b. Insults – Reviling and mistreatment by others, especially misunderstanding. Whatever opened him to being thought ill of, hence engendering insults. c. Hardships – Difficult external circumstances. d. Persecutions – Actual dangerous, intimidating and vicious opposition. e. Calamities – The distress brought on by major loss and misfortune, especially when prolonged.
Now he is no masochist. He isn’t content with such things because he likes them. No, he is content with them because he knows how they rob him of pride and self-reliance, so that the Gospel and the Gospel alone takes center stage. So that Christ and Him crucified is not detracted from by drawing any admiration or attention to – himself.
Nothing could have been absolutely more antithetical to the super-apostles than this point of view.
They sought attention. He deflected it – so the spotlight was always upon Jesus Christ.
Now I want to bring this portion to a close by means of the great application that seems to emerge from the entire discussion here, and from the Bible as whole on this topic.
And everything we’ve considered thus far and need to consider is this: Anything or anyone that takes our eyes off of Christ and on to anyone or anything else is soul-destroying.
Let me note three things in this regard. 1. The Warning of Jesus This warning could not have been sounded any more powerfully than it was by Jesus Himself as we saw in Matt. 24. He told us such things will proliferate the longer His return delays.
And some of them will be so convincing, so persuasive that even many who profess to be Christ’s will be deceived. Only those truly born again will pick up on it. And the pressure to acknowledge or sanction the individuals will be enormous and perhaps costly. If you don’t buy into their dreams and visions, you’ll be looked at as anti-spiritual.
1. The Warning of Jesus 2. The Example and Teaching of Paul Spiritual gifts don’t make you spiritual, and spiritual experiences don’t make you special.
We should have learned that lesson from 1 Cor. Never was a Church more gifted and less Christlike than that one.
Look at Solomon and his visitations. He ended in disgrace.
Balaam’s donkey had a spiritual experience too. So what?
Judas lived with Jesus for 3 + years. Eating, walking, listening, and being sent on healing and preaching missions.
And ended up as the ultimate betrayer.
He experienced Jesus healing lepers; giving sight to the blind; walking on water; feeding the 5,000 from a few loaves and fishes; casting out demons and even raising the dead. And in the end – all of his collective experiences meant nothing to his soul. They didn’t change him one iota.
No one’s dreams or visions can contribute to my soul’s growth in Christ more than the Word, and the Spirit’s illumination of it and influence to walk according to it.
Do you remember Jesus meeting up with the 2 on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection? Look carefully at what Jesus does with them there: Luke 24:25–45 ESV / And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
He takes them – the resurrected Jesus takes them back to The Word! Why? Because experiences come and go. They fade. The memory of them morphs over time. But the Word of God abides forever.
1. The Warning of Jesus
2. The Example and Teaching of Paul 3. Our responsibility to properly steward our spiritual experiences
Again, from Paul’s example and teaching, we catch this: What IF you or I are given some sort of dream or vision?
Rule #1 – Keep it to yourself.
A remarkable feature of the rest of the book of Acts and of the rest of Scripture – apart from the Revelation – is that there is not a single such dream ever communicated to the church at large for their use in terms of spiritual growth. Never.
When Paul receives the vision to go to Macedonia, or on the ship on his way to Rome, or Peter & his vision to go to Cornelius’ house – those are all directly connected to Gospel ministry – never as mystical curiosity. When Jude wrote because he was concerned that some might be loosening their grip on the faith delivered once and for all to the saints, he notes that those who are contributing to that problem are those who “rely on their dreams”. The result being:
Jude 12–13 ESV / These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
When Peter, James and John saw the vision on the mount of transfiguration – Jesus told them not to even mention it to others until after He was risen. They took that seriously.
Mark probably came to know it from Peter later on. Note 2 things:
a. Mark, from Peter, relates that Peter was so terrified in that encounter, he didn’t know what to say and so stupidly said “Let us make tents for you and Moses and Elijah.” It is not a shining moment for Peter. b. When Peter does say something about it, it is about 30 years later. And then tells his readers they should look not to his account, but to the more sure word of prophecy! It might be safely said that no one had a more supernatural experience than Lazarus. 4 days dead and in the grave. And yet not one syllable about what he experienced. No one. As far as we know he never ventured beyond Bethany, never went on the speaking circuit and never wrote a book about it. How unlike today! Why? Because his dying and being raised from the dead held no importance in itself. The importance was in who raised him.
If Christ draws you more intimately to Himself by some supernatural experience, then please, for Jesus’ sake, treat such intimacy as sacred and don’t profane it by telling others. Especially not in detail and interpreting or misinterpreting what it might mean. To do so violates that intimacy, and due to our fallenness, by default makes people attach specialness or importance to us which does not belong to us.
It shifts the spotlight from Christ to our experience.
Measure it by the Word. Enjoy it. And be quiet about it. It is as unseemly to talk about it as it is to share intimate details of your marital life.
Do you want people to know you better, think better of you, or think more of Christ?
Then point them back to the Word. Where you KNOW they can encounter Him, with or without a supernatural experience.
Why is all of this so absolutely essential? Why is Paul so adamant? John 5:22–23 ESV / For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Because Colossians 2:9 ESV / For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV / And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. No supernatural experience makes us any more special or spiritual, than the miracle of Balaam’s donkey speaking made it more human. Our transformation into Christ’s image – God’s ultimate goal and supreme blessing for us – cannot be located in anyone else’s vision, dream or experience.
It is in beholding Christ!
2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV / For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Would you know God? Would you know the deep things of Christ? It is all in Him!
Hebrews 1:1–4 ESV / Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
How can a second-hand hearing of someone else’s experience add to that? How can telling you MY experience add to that?
Of course it can’t. It can only shift the spotlight from Him. And that is the most soul-destroying thing which can be done – to turn anyone’s eyes away from Christ – and on to their dream, vision or experience.
Jesus alone perfectly reveals the Father. It is Christ who left His glory to take on the likeness of human flesh. It is Jesus who walked in perfect obedience to the Father. It is He who suffered and died for our sins. It is Jesus who rose from the dead after atoning for our sins and now sits at the right hand of the Father. It is Jesus who intercedes for us continually before the throne. Jesus who is our Advocate when we sin. Jesus who with the Father sent the Holy Spirit. Jesus who will raise us from the dead when He returns. Jesus who will judge the living and the dead. And Jesus who is Himself our great reward. And you want me to think something about you because you had some dream or vision or revelation? Blasphemy!
Tell me about Him as He is on the pages of the Bible and leave your dreams and visions out of it. Jesus alone can deal with our sin. Jesus alone is the means to know God more deeply, accurately, intimately and perfectly. The only thing I’ll boast about says Paul is that I am a weak, sinful, no-account who brings absolutely nothing to the table but the Gospel I preach. As was true in his first letter so now – and it is why he is so vehement against these super-apostles who are drawing crowds by talking about their dreams and visions: 1 Corinthians 2:2 ESV / For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Let this be the final word this morning: Philippians 2:5–11 ESV / Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Let us get ourselves and our experiences out of the way, so that men and women can see Jesus.
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
Sometimes, when Christians with differing views of certain doctrines debate with each other – they indulge in what some call “dueling verses.” This guy sights a certain verse and then his opponent cites her verse – and they seem to contradict. On they go, like in a fencing match. Never stopping to consider that since the Bible is penned from front to back by the same Holy Spirit – that these passages do indeed – harmonize. But we’re not seeing it. Just such a thing arises as we look at our readings today from Psalm 127, Jeremiah 38:7-40:16, Luke 24:36-49 and 2 Peter 3:1-13.
More on that today on Through the Word in 2020. I’m Reid Ferguson.
In our Luke passage, the Disciples had trouble reconciling Old Testament passages about a Messiah who would vanquish all enemies and usher in the Kingdom of God, with Jesus dying on the Cross. They had neglected the “suffering servant” passages and never thought they both had to apply.
In 2 Peter, there are those who look at the Old Testament predictions of how God will judge the world, and cannot reconcile it with a continuing human history. They don’t understand His amazing patience in calling many to salvation yet.
And in Jeremiah we have God’s judgment poured out on His people for their sin, contrasted with Psalm 127’s insistence that even though we sin, and suffer for it, yet life is not only worth living, but children born even in the worst of times are still a heritage from the Lord. And it is this very point I’d like to call your attention to today: the reality that children are a gift from God remains true, no matter the circumstances. This is a display of truly amazing grace. And the World has no category for it.
Every time a child is conceived, whether that be in the context of a loving, monogamous home, in fornication or even rape, we are led to see how our God blesses instead of curses.
Those who indulge in sex outside of marriage, ought to be punished. But one way they are not – is in conception.
Conception is not punishment.
Ever.
It is rather, a token of grace in the midst of sin.
Here is where God shows up.
God gives life in place of the death we deserve for our sin.
It becomes an astounding type of the salvation which is in Christ. If only we would see it.
And if we could hear it, this is true even for the victim of rape. God in His amazing grace brings life out of the pain, the violence and the tragedy. It is a miracle – meant to show how He blesses in the very worst of all circumstances.
It is meant to draw our eyes toward heaven in wonder and awe. And so that the victim may take comfort, that though sin sought to destroy, God has overruled and brought forth life instead.
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
The Bible has a lot to say about God’s glory, about His name or His reputation. And in reading through chapters 46-49 In Isaiah, we read this remarkable portion in Isa 48:9-11Isaiah 48:9–11 ESV“For my name’s sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
God takes His glory seriously. It seems only fitting that we do too. But what does that really mean? We’ll try to scratch the surface of that a bit today on Through the Word in 2020. I’m Reid Ferguson.
Along with our Isaiah passage this morning, we also have Luke 21:1–9 and James 2 to consider. But it is the Isaiah passage just cited that I’d like to highlight today. For the glorifying of God appears to be a topic of some confusion.
To some, it appears as though God has an ego problem. After all, He announces that the reason why He has been so patient in dealing with Israel’s sins is that He’s done so for His own sake, lest His name should be profaned. But ego isn’t the issue in any of this at all.
If God had a big ego, when you turned over a leaf it would have a little label on it “Designed by God.” He’d plaster images of Himself all over or in our day, certainly have a reality TV show. No, He is so humble that many claim they cannot perceive Him even in the display of His genius and power in Creation. Though in truth, they are denying the obvious.
The reason why God is so jealous for His name is because as the source of all good, and because He can bestow no higher good upon His creatures than Himself – love demands He be seen, grasped and rejoiced in for who and what He is. And this then dictates what it really means to “glorify” God.
Quite simply God is most glorified, where He is most revealed.
Glory is not something added to Him – it is the outshining of His being. When He speaks here of keeping Israel for His own name’s sake or glory, He is not saying “so I’ll look good”. He is saying, “I AM faithful. That is my nature. And I am determined to reveal that about myself. I will not go back on my promises or let them fall to the ground. I will be glorified (revealed) that all may know Me and trust Me for who and what I am.”
God doesn’t need a public relations team to make Him look good. He just needs to be seen as He is. And as we read in Hebrews 1:3, He is seen best in Jesus Christ. Because He is the “radiance of the glory of God, and the exact imprint of His nature.” And why 2 Cor. 4:6 tells us that the knowledge of the glory of God is found in the face of Jesus Christ.
Jesus revealed the Father fully. That is how He can say in John 17 that He had glorified the Father on earth. In doing all the Father’s will – He made the Father known. All of which finds its absolute apex in the Cross. When not just the faithfulness of God is seen in the fulfillment of His promise of redemption, but His holiness is seen in judging sin, His mercy in the atonement made in Jesus’ blood, and His grace in requiring it to be proclaimed to the world.
Glorify Him today Christian – make Him known. Declare His goodness and glory in the cross of Christ.
I’ll be away until next Thursday. Until then, keep reading!
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
What does God want from me? Have you ever asked that question yourself? Or heard someone else ask it? It’s a most important question. A right question. And the answer holds the difference between Heaven and Hell. Between mere religion and true salvation. And the answer not only demonstrates the amazing condescension of God to fallen human-kind, but holds the key to the very reversal of the Fall itself.
The word faith in our day, has become something of a wax nose. People use it in a variety of ways: to refer to some sort of amorphous spirituality, as referring merely to a positive outlook, for belonging to some religion or religious group – as being part of a faith community and even just as a vague belief in God or the Bible.
Interestingly and most importantly, the Bible never once uses faith in such ill-defined ways.
Faith in the Bible always, without exception refers to acknowledging that God has spoken, that what He has said is true, and ordering one’s life in concert with what He has said. This is why Scripture can tell us that apart from faith, it is impossible to please God. Or if I could put it in a nutshell, what does God want from you and me? To be believed. And not believed vaguely – but so as to trust His promises, listen to His warnings, grasp His character, fear His judgments, and seek His blessing and rewards. To understand who and what He is and why He does all He does by virtue of what He has said and revealed about Himself in His Word. To be – believed. And to act as though what we’ve heard must be acted upon appropriately.
Why is this kind of faith so essential? Because failure in it is what led to the Fall in the Garden.
Adam and Eve disbelieved God and His warnings, and believed the Enemy and their own reasoning above what He had said. And from that day to this – that inherent distrust of God, and disregard for His revelation is at the core of all human sin. And all that sin brings with it. Had our first parents believed Him, and ordered their lives in accordance with what He said – the Fall would never have happened.
So it is in salvation, we’re brought back to this most crucial place. Will we believe what He has said about our guilt, our sin, our impending judgment and the Gospel of the cross – of believing the revelation of Jesus’ substitutionary atonement and be reconciled to God by believing and obeying it? Or not?
This, is saving faith.
But note this from our Hebrews portion today. How God’s promissory covenants are for our sake, not His.
He, who cannot lie, who is infinitely holy, in order to cement His promises in our minds – makes overt covenants or promises. He swears to us. He doesn’t do this as a necessary part of His nature. His intention is sufficient. But because we are fallen, unbelieving and faithless, He confirms such promises with signs and seals, and makes covenants for us to bolster our faith. They are a concession, not a necessary mode of acting on His part.
He does more than just wait for us to believe as we ought – He steps forward, makes His promises and then swears an oath before us so that we might know that His promises are sure, and cannot be broken.
What does God want from you? To be believed. Nothing delights Him more.
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
One dictionary defines axioms as statements or propositions which are regarded as established, accepted or self-evidently true. Saying something like the sun rises in the east and sets in the west is – axiomatic. It doesn’t need proving. It is self-evident.
The framers of the Declaration of Independence wrote axiomatically when they began the 2nd paragraph with: “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” That all men are created equal and have certain rights. They believed that statement didn’t need proving, it was as plain as day to everyone.
The Bible is full of such axioms. It begins with one – perhaps the fountainhead of all axioms: “In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.” It is so self-evident, the Bible never wastes a single letter on trying to prove it. And in Ecclesiastes 8:8, we encounter 3 axioms. 3 we do well to grasp and take to heart. For they help us understand and live in reality, as God knows it. Especially for the Christian.
I’m Reid Ferguson; you’re listening to Through the Word in 2020.
Axiom #1 from from Ecclesiastes 8:8 reads: “No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death.”
Man’s quest for immortality is a fool’s errand. Looking for serums, treatments and technologies to try and cheat death is a multi-billion dollar pipe dream. As Hebrews 9:27 reminds us “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.”
We cannot escape it. Death will come to every one of us until Christ returns. There are no exceptions. Cryogenics, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, cloning and all other such methods will not take away the very unavoidable reality that each of us dies because of the sin we share with Adam; and each and every one of us will have to stand before the judgment bar of God to give an account of ourselves on the last day.
Only for those in Christ are the terrors of death and judgment removed. For when by faith His righteousness is put on our account, even as our sin was placed upon Him on the Cross – death for the Believer becomes the an entrance to our everlasting reward, and His righteousness the basis upon our acceptance in the presence of the Living God.
That too is axiomatic. Or at least it should be.
Axiom #2: “There is no discharge from war.”
The Christian life is a battle, from the moment we are born again until the day we see Him face to face. We must be engaged in resisting the Devil’s lies, the World’s allurements to make power, possessions and pleasure the end-all, and dying to the desires of indwelling sin. There is no peace treaty to be made with any of these. There is no discharge, no being excused from this relentless battle.
Do not be thrown by that reality, nor overwhelmed by it. He has provided all we need to keep engaged up until the final victorious moment. And engaged we WILL be no matter what. Don’t imagine that war will end in this life or you will begin to grow weary in an unreal expectation.
Axiom #3: “Nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it.”
No sin, no matter how pleasurable, how seemingly beneficial at the moment, no matter how seemingly valuable is worth it or actually provides freedom. Only slavery. No sin lived in, excused, tolerated or caved into is freeing. It will only find us damned.
We cannot cheat death or judgment. We cannot stop fighting sin. No sin will ever pay off the way it lies to us it will.
This is why we need a Redeemer.
This is why we need the saving work of Jesus Christ.
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
It was a beautiful clear day, early in the morning with very little traffic. I was behind another car driving down a main thoroughfare at maybe 30-35 miles per hour. With no other cars in sight – at first – the car in front of me began to cross left over the double solid yellow lines. It was then I saw the car coming the other way. But it was too late. In a moment’s time, the car I had been behind struck the car in the oncoming lane head on.
The driver in the car I was behind was unconscious and badly injured. The elderly couple in the car he struck were in very bad shape. The husband died .
And why all this tragedy? Distraction. The driver I was behind, had dropped something on the floor and was trying to recover it, causing him to drift into oncoming traffic and taking the life of another.
Of all the weapons in the arsenal of the Enemy of our souls it is this one which I find most deadly – distraction.
More on that today as we look at Esther 10–Job 2; Luke 11:27–32 and especially 1 Timothy 6:3–21 on Through the Word in 2020. I’m Reid Ferguson.
In this letter to Timothy, Paul had warned his young charge over and over to avoid and disentangle himself from any number of things which would do harm both to his soul, and those he was to minister to.
We can’t go back and list all that Paul warned him about here, but when get down to today’s portion, with its particular emphasis on not getting wrapped up in chasing material prosperity, he summarizes all of the previous issues he’d addressed. And Paul puts it this way: As for you man of God, FLEE these things!
But his exhortation isn’t just “stop doing X”. It is much more powerful than that. For the rest of vs. 11 goes on “PURSUE!” In other words, one can’t just stop being drawn off after the things of the World without a clear alternate direction. We never stop sinning in a vacuum but need to practice the opposite righteousness as the very means to do so.
We could well read it like this: “Flee these things BY pursuing these other things.” It is redirection. Refocus.
The Enemy of our souls as denominated in Eph. 2:2 has an incessant and ever increasing influence over the world in general, to keep all people – but especially those in Christ, diverted from what is essential, eternal and spiritual by a strategy of 24/7 bombardment of distractions. Some legitimate, some not. But all aimed at keeping us from what Paul outlines here.
So, what are we being diverted from? What are we to be giving ourselves to pursue in fleeing from all these distractions? 6 things.
Righteousness. Growing in the character of Christ while looking to the Holy Spirit to bring it to life in us.
Godliness. Devoutness in following Christ. Earnestly seeking out what pleases Him most.
Faith. Intentionally trusting God’s character, promises and Word. Looking to Him increasingly.
Love. Searching out His glories more so that I love Him more – with a love that then overflows to others.
Steadfastness. Patiently enduring stress and distress while trusting His care for us. Not running to other places for the comfort that is found in Him alone.
Gentleness. Refusing to buy into the anger and angst driven atmosphere of the day. Learning to be meek and mild in the face of a raging society.
These, are what Satan wishes to distract us from as our focus. And it is in the pursuit of these, that we end up fleeing materialism, false doctrine and “an unhealthy craving for controversy and quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions and constant friction.”
For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE
If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.
I don’t know if you’ve ever had the experience of truly being astonished at something – so overwhelmed at the sight, sound or spectacle that it’s etched indelibly on your soul – but I have. It was being within feet of a lightening strike. The telephone pole beside my car was blown into a shower of white hot coals that landed on the hood of my car and sizzled and smoked in the rain covered pavement. I trembled for hours. And it still affects me deeply when I recall it. Something of that was happening in Luke 9:37-45 when Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration.
We’ll look at that today on Through the Word in 2020. I’m your host, Reid Ferguson.
Along with Luke, Ezra 6:19-8:36; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-15; and Psalm 119:1-8 frame our reading for today. And it is the words of Luke 9:43 that catch my attention: “And all were astonished at the majesty of God.” The word for majesty here is only used 3 times in the Bible. And 2 of them refer to this event. That something of the majesty, the grandeur, sublimity and magnificence of God was on display in Jesus’ response to the demonized boy and His deliverance from the unclean spirit that had possessed him. The moment was uniquely electrifying.
Note just 2 things. First is Jesus’ utterance in vs. 41. The weight of it rests on sorrow at seeing how faithless and sin-defiled everything is. He had just been transfigured – experiencing His essential glory – talking with Moses and Elijah. And He is brutally thrust back into this fallen world – not like a baby, growing up in it as before, but violently. And it grieves Him. Like eating ambrosia one moment, and having a mouthful of maggots the next. He is feeling the weight of sin as heavier and heavier. It seems to be an expression of how He longs for His redemptive work to end all of this.
It truly is a stunning moment.
The second only the Redeemed can begin to grasp.
More astonishing; more important; more worthy of our attention and consideration – than the supernatural deliverance of this young lad – is the death Jesus was about to die.
How many things I assign more importance to than the brutal slaying of my Savior at the hands of men, and the grace of God in using that murder as His own sacrificial Lamb for our sins. These are themes worth pondering.
It is no wonder that God has power over the demons.
It is a wonder indeed that He would go to such lengths to justify lost men.
It is a wonder that He would give His only begotten Son to be our substitute.
It is a wonder that He would lay upon Him “the iniquity of us all” as Isaiah says.
It is a wonder that the God against whom we have wrestled with every fiber of our being, would not relent until He brought His elect to glory.
It is a wonder to behold such love, such mercy, such unfathomable grace.
It is a wonder to be given new life in Christ, the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life.
It is a wonder to be adopted into His family – to be set as sons of God with as much familial attachment as Christ Himself.
It is a wonder we are loved so.
The person and work of our wonderful Savior! Rom. 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”
Beloved, take a moment to be astonished at the majesty of Jesus Christ today. In the life, death and resurrection of our soon coming King.
ResponsiveReiding 