Unique: Part 2 - "A Unique Light"

Many if not all of us find it difficult to believe in truth. Perhaps it is because there are so many competing worldviews and we all have been affected by lies. Let's face it, some times  we are tempted to believe that it is just easier to lie to ourselves and live by those lies as though they were true. This ease is short lived because eventually the lies become unlivable. What we are in need of is the light if reality to shine into our lives of twisted lies so that we may make sense of our world.

To believe in a truth claim we must first understand that truth claim. The progression often follows this simple pattern; revelation plus listening equals understanding. Jesus came as the light of the world (revelation). Are you listening?          

To explore this further, lets us look at John 1:6-13. 

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 

7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 

8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 

9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 

11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 

13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

In looking at the many aspects of this text, I want to focus our attention on the idea that Jesus provides a unique understanding and right to become a child of God. This thought is understood within the following four observations.

1. John the Baptist was a witness to the distinct light of Jesus. V. 6-8

Here we see the purpose of John the Baptist's ministry and an example of at least part of our role as Christian. We are to follow John's example of being a witness to the light of Jesus. John was providing the revelation that it listened to, would bring understanding concerning who Jesus was and what He came to accomplish. In this text light is uses as a metaphor for understanding and reason. In other words John was a witness to the understanding and reasoning that Jesus would bring into the world. 

2. Jesus is the true light. V.9

This verse teaches us that the understanding and reasoning brought into the world by Jesus is the one true way of understanding and reasoning concerning God, and our relationship to Him. Again I must ask, are you listening to Jesus or are you coming up with your own truth?

3. The distinct light of Jesus is rejected. V.10-11

The point made in verses 10 and 11 are of no surprise and things have not changed in over 2,000 years. People continue to reject the truth as revealed by Jesus because they believe that their own understanding and reasoning will bring about a better life. This is true even though as John points out Jesus is present in the world that He has made. The question must be asked. Why are people rejecting the Present Creator? 

4. Jesus gives the right to become children of God to all those who believe. V.12-13

Though Jesus was, and continues to be rejected though He is the Present Creator, many have decided to set to listen. Notice the pattern that John Lays out in these verses. The progression is, receiving Jesus then believing in Him which then leads Jesus to give the right to become a child of God. This receiving can be seen as accepting His revelation of Himself, God and our current condition. Believing in Him is an active believe that involves surrendering our lives unto Him. At this surrendering Jesus then gives us the right to become God's children.

To complete this thought may you walk as children of the light as explained by The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:1-21. The key phrase in this text is found in verse 8, “Walk as children of the light” Prayerfully move though the following steps that are directly from this passage. 

Twelve Steps on the Path of Light
1. Be imitators of God. V.1
2. Walk in love. V.2
3. Speak cleanly and wisely with thanksgiving. V.4
4. Let no one deceive you with empty words. V. 6
5. Do not become partakers with those who speak empty words. V.7
6. Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. V.10, 17 
7. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but expose them. V.11
8. Look carefully how you live your life, not as unwise, but as wise. V.15
9. Do not get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. V.18
10 Speak to one another in such ways that are pleasing to God. V.19
11. Give thanks always. V.20
12. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. V.21

Distinct Part 1: "Expression"

How do we as Christian understand and communicate the uniqueness of Jesus within a culture that is attempting to blend all religious figures together? As with most issues, we find our answer when we search the Bible and follow the examples of those who also sought to identify God as the one true God. Religious pluralism is not new to our day. It has been a part of human history for as long as it has been recorded. In both the Old and New Testaments we find examples of religious followers distinguishing their god from the gods of others. These distinctions usually had to so with specific actions or territories of a particular God. An example of this is found in chapter one of the book of Jonah. As Jonah was attempting to run away from God, he boarded a ship bound for Tarshish which was in the opposite direction of Nineveh the town to which he had been called. God then caused a storm to arise and those aboard the ship sought to find out who's god was causing it. As they addressed Jonah, He referred to God (YHWH) as the creator of  the sea and the dry land.  

In our day we are, from within a storm of moral and religious issues, being asked to identify God and in particular Jesus Christ. John in his gospel account beings by describing the nature of Jesus. Over the next three weeks we will be discussing John's description of Jesus to better understand the His distinct nature. This week we will focus on verse 1-5. In these verses we are told that Jesus is the unique expression of God. 

To begin this discussion read Isaiah 42:5 along with our main text John 1:1-5: These verse are very similar because they are expressing the same person.

Isaiah 42:5 

"Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:" (ESV)

John 1:1-5

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God. 

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Isaiah and John are using similar descriptions and we are to do the same today. For the remainder of this post I will be focusing on the passage from John by listing five qualities of Jesus that we have been given by John. Along with these qualities I am providing possible applications that we are to use in our daily relationship with God through Jesus. 

1. Jesus is the expression of the mind of God. V.1-2

    NOTE: Based upon the literal meaning of key words within this first verse it can be interpreted as,“a progression of thought not three independent statements. Disagree with me is you desire, but the following is my personal translation of verse one. I do not claim that my interpretation is authoritative, I simply offer it for mutual understanding.“At the origin I was an utterance of mind, this utterance of mind was the advantage of Deity the utterance of mind I was God.”

Application: Embrace God’s thoughts toward you as revealed through Jesus.

2. Jesus is the creator of all things. V.3 Application: Put your hope in the creative power of Jesus.

3. Jesus is the possessor and give of life. V.4

            

Application: Live it to the fullest.

4. Jesus is the giver of reason and understanding. V.4

    
Application: Allow Jesus to help you make sense of your world.

5. Jesus overcomes to ignorance that is associated with wickedness. V.5

   
Application: Understand that what we are being told is political correctness is in reality the

darkness trying to overcome the light.

May all that makes Jesus unique be alive in you and may we be a church that expresses the uniqueness of Jesus as we bring people to Him.

   

Real Good #6: "Christians Offer Hope"

In life we put our faith in many things and in many people. At times this is proven to be very rewarding yet at other times disastrous. Our level of faith is largely affected by our view of the past. We can apply faith to our current position in life if we look at our past and find reason to do so. Much of why people today struggle to put their faith in God is because they look at their past and find disappointment. In order for them to put their faith in God they will have to come to the conclusion that their difficulties of the past have been resolved by God to their own benefit or growth. In other words in order to put their faith in God they have to believe that God has been working for their good within their trouble.

Hope on the other hand has to do largely with our view of the future. We can live hopeful lives when we believe that our future will work out for our good. Hope by definition is trusting that what needs to be sorted out will be so in the future. With hope we can live joyfully in the midst of trouble. When hope is lost, joy is an impossibility.

What the Christian has to offer is hope in God that produces a hopeful soul. A hopeful soul rest in the fact that God will some day make all the wrongs right and heal all that has damaged the heart and soul of His people. Christians believe that this healing has begun in and through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. David speaks to this hope on Psalm 62 as he describes his application of his hope in God as the ability to wait silently.

Psalm 62 

1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. 

2 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. 

3 How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 

4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah 

5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. 

6 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 

7 On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. 

8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah 

9 Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath. 

10 Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them. 

11 Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,

12 and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work.

This Psalm can be broken down into the following three parts:

1. David describes his hope as waiting on God as he is attacked by his enemies. V. 1-4

2. David's call for others to place their hope in God. V.5-8

3. Hope is not to be placed in the "estate" of man. V. 9-12

The intent of this Psalm is to help the reader put their trust in God, without hoping in wealth, strength or the promises of men. Without God we are left to put our hope in ourselves and the power structure of our society. Christians offer a better answer to the question of where we are to put our hope. Everyone puts their hope in something for it is impossible to believe that isolation and self-sufficiency is a suitable way to heal the hurts and disappointments in this world. What David displayed in Psalm 62 can be applied in such a way that we live with a hopeful soul.

In verses 1-4 David teaches that a hopeful soul can wait on God in silence. When we are tired of the rants that we call prayer, ssilence in the presence of God becomes the most eloquent and peaceful form of prayer. This silence is a quietness in your spirit that allows us to experience the presence of God as He searches through our hearts, revealing to us that which we would never otherwise understand about ourselves.  

In verses 5-8 we come to understand that a hopeful soul provides an example by which we can call others to hope in God as well. We like David become examples of expectation. As we wait on Him, we are to expect from God only that which would be good for God to give. In this way we live in this as examples of transparency concerning our own inabilities and the necessity to trust.  

           

Lastly David addresses the truth that power to make things right belongs to God not popular opinion nor the opinion of the wealthy and powerful. The two groups that are contrasted here are the common citizens and the wealthy leaders of a society. Many reject on group or the another with the hope of finding fulfillment. If we refuse to hope in God, all that is left is to hope that the common people of our society will vote the right people into places of authority. It amazes me how so much blame is placed on government leaders when we are the ones that voted them into their positions. If the common people keep voting in the wrong leaders and the leaders can't make a difference it seems to be that neither can be trusted. Perhaps if both would put their hope in God and follow the wisdom of His word this may just get better after all. 

With all this in mind, may you form the discipline of waiting silently on God. Bare your heart and mind to Him then rest in silence allowing Him to speak and work in and through your life. As you do consider the following quotes. 

“The heart is ever prone to divide its confidence between God and the creature.”

Charles Mackintosh, in "Things New and Old, "1858

“Grace makes the heart move leisurely to all things except God.”  

Alexander Carmichael, in "The Believer's Mortification of Sin," 1677.

Real Good #5: Honesty With God

Some years ago I realized that my prayers were not very honest. In private, I would attempt to pray publicly acceptable prayers. I felt like I was lying to God and that He saw right through my lies to the reality of my heart. I realize that this is brings up issue concerning public prayers but I will not be addressing that here. I felt like the only person that I could be honest with was myself. I now understand that God knows me better that I do, and I have begun asking to Him to reveal my own heart to me. In this I have found freedom and security.

Many of you may not be totally honest with God and it is my hope that this post will help bring you the freedom to start. It is also my hope that you will be better equipped to help those in your life who are not following Jesus because they are hurt or let down in some way. The truth is, that Christians often fail to be helpful and because of this many stay away from Jesus.

In the Bible we find Mark recounting a story about a man who brought his demon possessed son to some of the disciples of Jesus. They were unable to help and this led to a huge argument among the disciples and a large crowd. We find this story in The Gospel of Mark 9:14-29. This story makes me think of the many riots we have seen breakout because people are not satisfied with how our leaders handle things. Mark does not report that fires were being set, nor does he say that people were looting menorahs from the local craftsmen. Thankfully Jesus showed up before anything too crazy happened. In fact when he did show up the people we was soon blamed for killing the boy. To say the least, this scene was intense. Please open your Bibles and read the text for yourself. If you don't have your Bible with you, follow this link http://www.biblestudytools.com/esv/mark/passage/?q=mark+9:14-29 .

Much can be said about this passage, but again my goal is to address being honest with God so I will limit myself to that and leave the other issues for another time. Right away we notice that when things go wrong, arguments break out and someone has to be to blame. Why could the disciples not help this boy? Why are so many not helped when they attend a church or go to a Christian friend while in desperate need? This is a serious issue and the cause of many being estranged from God.

As Jesus came on the scene, He was given an explanation of what has happened. Jesus responded by calling those involved in the argument, a "faithless generation". I don't think Jesus was blaming the father of a lack of faith, but the accusation was most likely directed toward His disciples and the group arguing with them. This statement by Jesus is explained and the end of the text when Jesus tells the disciples that such things are dealt with only through prayer. Putting these together and we can conclude that the disciples were trying to cast out the demon by their own power. This type of failure is similar to when we say that we want to do something for Jesus as if we are saying, "hey Jesus watch what I can do!" That usually ends just as bad as when we were young and we told our friends, "hey watch this!"

Continuing with Mark's account of Jesus' discussion with the father, we observe the freeing reality that we can be honest with God concerning how much we trust His ability and goodness. When the father brings the his son to Jesus he says, "If you can do anything have compassion on us and help us." This request reaches the level of honesty that we much all attain. The father's phrase, "if you can...", displays a mix of faith yet some doubt at the same time. This man had just been let down by those that follow Jesus, so will Jesus be any different? The question many are asking today is, "is God powerful enough to help me." The second part of the fathers question reveals his thoughts on the goodness of God. There may be things in your life right now that bring the same two questions to your mind. With this father as your example, ask Jesus the same question.

In response to the father's request, Jesus repeats the first line back to him. When Jesus does this, He is bringing that part the father's request to the forefront of the discussion. Here Jesus says, "All things are possible for those one who believes." The truth here is that faith must be in the person of Jesus. Once our faith is in the person of Jesus all things become possible. The father's response was one of desperation and honesty when he cried out, "I believe, but help my unbelief." There is not desperation that compares to that of a parent of a troubled child.

As the father cries out in utter desperation and honesty Jesus delivers the boy of demon possession. However the boy appears to be dead. I can only imagine the look of horror in the eyes of this father as his heart sank thing the worst had occurred. Then as only Jesus could do, He brought the son to his feet fully restored. The father's unbelief was helped.

Mark's account comes to a close with the disciples asking the honest question that so many wonderful Christians ask. Why could we not help. I have asked this question many times. Jesus' response to His disciples by telling them that prayer is the only means of help in this type of situation. The truth is, without prayer Christians are worthless to bring real help to those in need. The challenge here is that we must put our trust in the ability and mercy of Jesus. As these two are prayerfully applied, help will be found.

May you be open and honest with God for He already know the truth which is in your heart and may you prayerfully rely upon His ability and mercy.  

Keynote: Tim Keller - An Identity That Can Handle Either Success or Failure

Real Good #4: Someone Worth Listening To

There is not a shortage of advisers and everyone seems to have an opinion on how I should do things. If I followed every single peace of advice, I would be in constant conflict with myself and never head in any particular direction. The trouble for me is that most of the people who give me advice are smart and loving. It would be easy if stupid people would give me advice and I could simply cast it off. It would also be easy if people gave me advice because they hated me. In that case, I would at least know what not to do. Can anyone please give me advice on how to listen to advice? If someone did, then by what criteria would I judge that advice? 

I think it would be very enlightening to sit with many of you who read this and hear your stories about good and bad advice. I was once advised to slap my wife when she becomes unreasonable. Being that I am still married, you would be right in thinking that I ignored that little peace of empty headed advice. Perhaps after reading this, you may want to take inventory of the advice that you have followed or ignored. I think that you would discover that advice has had a very direct impact on the place your now find yourself.

As we continue with our series "Real Good", we now see that Christian offer people someone who's advice can be trusted. In fact, His advice should shape and define all of ours. Christians can offer someone worth listening to. The remainder of this post will focus on the idea that it is good to listen to Jesus.

There are several Scriptures that we can draw from concerning this issue, but an observation of Luke 9:28-36 will suffice. The main story here is what is often referred to a "the transformation". As Jesus goes to prayer, He takes with Him Peter, James and John. This is a turning point in the story as told by Luke. Just prior to this account, Luke addresses the question of Jesus' identity as discussed by Jesus and His disciples. They now understand at least a little bit that He is indeed their Messiah. It is now that Jesus must help His disciples clarify the His mission. 

In this prayer session something takes place that catches Jesus' three companions by surprise and as his custom, Peter blurts out non-sense. As they were praying Jesus' appearance is transfigured before them and the glory of God is seen in His face and clothing. Appearing with Jesus are Moses and Elijah. As if this was not startling enough and cloud descends upon them and a voice speaks saying this is My Son, listen to Him.   

Obviously there is much to be discussed concerning this passages, but for our purposes here I wish to point out four reasons why God's command to listen to Jesus is real and good. The Jews listened to Moses as the one through whom God gave them The Law. Elijah represented the prophets that has spoke concerning the arrival of the Messiah. Now as they understood Jesus to be that Messiah, they were instructed to listen to Him.

Here are four reasons that we are to listen to Jesus and why Christian have someone worth listening to. 

1. Jesus is glorified by God.

2. All that God had previously said finds its fulfillment in the mission of Jesus.

3. Our own understanding of the work of God will lead us to faulty conclusions.

4. Jesus is the Son of God.

You may be surprised or a bit let down by my four reasons as to why we are to listen to Jesus. I said nothing concerning ideas such as the advice of Jesus will help you accomplish your goals in life. The mission of Jesus was not and is not to help you with your goals, it was to accomplish the goals of the Father. To understand and be challenged to be a part of His mission, read Hebrews 1:1-4 below.

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 

2 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. 

3 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, 

4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

  

It is my hope in writing this, that you would be challenged to listen to Jesus because of His powerful mission. His mission is universal and results in our spiritual purity. May we, His church be on this mission knowing that it is based upon the authority of God. May we also be a church that is learning to listen.