Friday, September 29, 2017

Love Letter to the Broken Hearted: Part 3 Humble yourself as a child

Matthew 18:3 NASB and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew chapter eighteen has a valuable lesson for us if we will look at it with fresh eyes. It is important for me to emphasize fresh eyes. Fresh eyes means in this case with a shift in paradigms. It is the shift that Jesus himself taught, and likewise the one that his first century followers who wrote the New Testament writings taught. What was the shift you ask? Well, according to John 5:39-40 it was a shift to a redemptive purpose for the scripture. You can also find it backed up in Luke 24:27 & 43-45. With this in mind... let's take a look at Matthew 18:3 in its wider context. Jesus disciples asked him a question. Here is the passage Matthew 18:1-6 NASB "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (2) And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, (3) and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (4) "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (5) "And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; (6) but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

If one has a paradigm that demands a legal constitutional reading of scripture the above words of Jesus could be very scary. However, with an understanding of first century Judaism, which would allow one to understand His words as his disciples would it takes on a significantly different meaning. Notice that Jesus called a child to Himself and set "him" before them. So, it was not just any child it was a male child. So what you ask? Well, in first century Judaism it was important for young boys to go to Torah school. In fact, they attended until the age of twelve. It was no doubt near a Torah school that Jesus was speaking with his disciples. They often met outside because the weather warranted it. So then, it is in answer to the question who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven that he calls this young boy to him. One can imagine that this was a young student. One who had not studied long. 

The point Jesus was making to his disciples was that they are going to have to turn around and forget what they have learned. The only way to enter the kingdom, much less be greatest, is to forget your religious upbringing. Think about that for a minute. I am not just pulling this out of my hat. I am basing it on what Jesus taught, and how things were in the first century. All of his disciples had been to Torah school. They currently may be fishermen now, but when they were young they went to Torah school just like this little one. But there is more in the story....

This little person also believed in Jesus. That is, he believed Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus also knew that there was a chance that as the little one grew up and learned in Torah school that he could be persuaded not to believe in Jesus any longer. The scribes and Pharisees, men similar to this little ones teachers, used the Torah to prove that Jesus was not the Messiah (John 7:46-52.) So who is Jesus addressing in the sixth verse of the above Matthew passage? It is anyone who uses the scripture to cause one to stumble, and not believe in the grace and goodness of God. There are tons of preachers who should be concerned about this. They take baby saints, just converted, and use the scripture to beat them over the head to get them to walk the chalk. 

However, this is yet another love letter to the brokenhearted. In fact, the entire scripture has the redemptive purpose of guiding one to a child like faith in Jesus, and the love and grace of the Father. Yet, how many times have you seen someone use this passage to beat people up. Jesus was simply telling his disciples that the only way that they will experience the true kingdom of heaven, which is also the kingdom of God is by faith. Faith in a loving Father that was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself not counting trespasses. One that had made Christ who knew no sin to be made sin so that those believing could be the righteousness of God in and through Him.

Friday, September 1, 2017

Love letter to the brokenhearted: Part 2

Matthew 11:28-30 HCSB "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (29) All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. (30) For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

This is a second post in the series, Love Letter to the Brokenhearted. I will post a link at the bottom to the first one in case you have not yet read it. 

If you are happy with your continual striving to please God this is not for you. But if you continually try to please God only to find that you are never certain you do, and are stressed out wondering if you are truly on the correct path then read on. It saddens me to see all the people who are striving to the point of being completely burned out to be obedient, to be a good saint, to help the church cause, to give enough, to win the favor of leadership, and on and on. This is not new. There were many in the first century in Jesus time that were under the same pressure. That is why Jesus spoke the words recorded in Matthew 11:28-30. There were then, and are now, a multitude of folks that were weary and burdened. If you are like a rat or mouse on a wheel, chasing you're not sure what. Get off!

The yoke of a disciple is easy and the burden is light. Too many leaders keep people on a treadmill, and dangle in front of them a carrot on a stick. You will be blessed if you do this. Your work will be rewarded and on and on. All the while, the leaders are not doing what they are supposed to do. What are they supposed to do you ask? They are supposed to be proclaiming the gospel, (God's Good News.) Instead, they ignorantly continue to try to keep you from sinning. They focus on sin. They focus on works. They focus on disobedience. They focus on God's wrath. They focus on what you must do to be in right standing with the Father. THEY SELDOM FOCUS ON THE GOOD NEWS!

Yet Jesus is saying come unto me and I will give you rest. Rest from what? Rest from striving. Rest from fear of the Father. Rest from a sense of failure. Rest from worry. This is why Paul spoke these words to the Corinthian saints. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses to them, and instead made the one who knew no sin to be made sin for the sinner, that the sinner might become the righteousness of God.... How so, by God's declaration!

There is so much misunderstanding about preaching. There is so much misunderstanding about the calling and mission of a preacher. The New Testament forcefully states that they should only preach the gospel. Preaching is not yelling at people. We have a connotation today of the word preach to be scolding. When the New Testament says go into the world and preach, it means proclaim. Shout it from the rooftops. Proclaim what? PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL! It is the ministry of reconciliation. The reconciliation is complete. Paul says tell people they HAVE BEEN RECONCILED to God. That is part of God's love letter to humanity. It is not presented often enough. Sure those who have ignorantly preached a different gospel, or something different then the gospel will be judged for that. One day they will give account, and realize their error, however that does not help the multitudes who have been brow beaten, and wearied, and burdened.

Just rest! You have been reconciled to God! Demand that your leaders dwell on the truth and proclaim the gospel. I guarantee that if they truly proclaim the good news that people will work and not be weary. They will strive out of love and not be burdened. They will run to assembling to hear the good news, and the Holy Spirit will use the good news to transform saints into the image of Christ.

If you are weary and burdened, it is not Christ that has caused it. It is men. REST!

Paul the Mystic, Paul the Rabbi: A confusing dichotomy that is detrimental to the mystical message.

 2Co 12:2-4   "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not kno...