Episode 18- Chapter 14 Part 2
Transcription
Hello there, and welcome to the latest in a series of podcasts that follow along with our book, The Wizard of God. This is Steve Roy, and today we're going to be looking once again at chapter 14. If you haven't already, you're invited to download a free digital copy of The Wizard of god from our website, wizardofgod.com. Or if you prefer, you can buy a paper copy through Amazon or Barnes & Noble. In these podcasts, we're going chapter by chapter, discussing our character's journey through the land of God. So if you haven't read chapters 1 through 14 yet, and /or listened to the previous podcast, please do. Okay?
Well, let's get started with part 2 of chapter 14. In the last podcast, we began to discuss why Christians fall short in receiving the abundance of the grace of God. We've proposed that traps were at least partly to blame.
We saw that the bait used in the most effective traps is always perceived as a good thing by the pray. We discussed the trap of adding good works to the finished work of Jesus. This is the hallmark of the false gospel.
Good works are good, and this is what makes them very effective bait. But there are a wide variety of good baits used to trap Christians to keep them from receiving their inheritance. But to be lured by it, a trap you must be looking, seeking, hungry for something you believe you don't have.
Most people, Christians included, feel and so believe that they lack all sorts of things. Well, what would you say if I told you that everything you truly desire was already yours? I mean yours for the taking at this very second. Religion teaches that we are to slave away for God now and any reward will come much later and only to those who do their jobs to the letter, of course. It's the carrot on the stick that the creature never gets to eat. But is this the Christian message? Jesus told a parable once about a son who believed he was missing out on life, and a brother who believed in the work now, party much later, doctrine. For the sake of time, I'm going to assume that vast majority of everyone listening is somewhat familiar with what's commonly called the parable of the prodigal or lost son.
So much time can be spent exploring and receiving from this amazing parable, but I'd like to focus on the erroneous notions both brothers had about their father's character, ways and how this led to a blindness to what they already had and thus what they lacked.
Here's a very brief recap. A father had two sons. sons. One son demanded his inheritance early. The father granted his request and he immediately left home to party. We'll pick up the story in Luke 15 verse 13. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
Prodigal means riotous, reckless, wasteful. To cut to the chase soon after when the money ran out, the party was over, and the son found himself working, living and eating with pigs. The scripture says, when he came to himself, and it came to a census, he decided to form a religion. Well, I added that part, but think about it. He formed a covenant in his head to present to his father in the hopes of being allowed to enter the ranks of his father's hired servants.
Verse 17 of Luke Luke 15, "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have enough bread to spare, and I perish with hunger? I will arise and go to my father and say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.'"
My friends, many a religion has come from humble beginnings such as these. So much I'd like to say here, but you know the rest of the story. When the son returned home, the father didn't even listen to the terms of his covenant as another covenant was already in force. Such an important lesson here.
So many people who desire to draw near to God come with a covenant in mind in terms of their own making and idea, a plan of how they will draw near and receive from God. These covenants fail because God is the covenant initiator.
The Lord God initiates covenants, not man. To draw near to God we must discover His covenant and His terms. What the Prodigal Son didn't realize was there was already a covenant in place, one that His Father had initiated long ago, a covenant of grace and sonship. The Prodigal was forgiven, restored, redeemed, and received as a Son.
The truth is, contrary to what you believe, he had never ceased to be a son. The father immediately called for a great feast, a party to be thrown in his honor to celebrate his return for a son who was lost had now been found.
Enter the character of the elder brother. He also had a religion, one that he established to himself. Pick up the story in verse 25 of Luke 15.
“Now his son was in the field, and as he came and drawn near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of his servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come,’ and because he has received him, safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ But he was angry, it would not go in. Therefore, his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father,
‘'Low these many years, I've been slaving for you. I've never transgressed your commandment at any time, and yet you never gave me a young goat that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him."
He obviously believed in the slave now, no parties, only work, religion. And verse 31, "And he, the Father, said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.' But it was right that we make merry and be glad,
for your brother was dead and is alive again was lost and is found." The meaning here, when the Father, was everything I have, has always been yours. The Father was telling the Son, 'You could have had a party and dined at your own feast any time you wanted.' All that he desired, believed that he lacked, was already his, was always his. People are lured into traps by bait that promises to satisfy a craving for something they lack, or they perceive that they lack.
The elder brother needed to be freed from where he was trapped, so he could dine. So many Christians are taught, and so opportune. within the religion of the elder brother. But what did the elder brother really crave? What was the bait that the prodigal fell for? Was it merely prostitutes, booze, and parties? Or was it something deeper that bewitched them?
After the parade, setting out in the wagon, the four friends are being lured into what I believe is the most devious and powerful trap of all. [BLANK _AUDIO] Do you recall how extremely happy and excited Grace was at the beginning of Chapter 14 to finally have an interactive meeting with the wizard?
Think about this. She came to the EC to ask for help and finding her way home. It was her only moded for traveling to see the wizard. However, now she seems captivated by the mere possibility of meeting and talking with him. She's gone. clearly enchanted by the wizard and the EC. As a result, returning home has taken a back seat, at least for now. Grace is being seduced by something more alluring, more powerful than her desire for home. But what could possibly cause Grace to forget about home and family?
Is she just infatuated with the wizard? If so, what makes him so attracted? What is the real allure, the charisma, of the wizard in the EC?
I'm going to introduce what I believe is the most devious, powerful trap, the most captivating, appealing bait of all, glory. You're probably surprised by this. I understand. And this is why glory is so deceptive and effective. Most people have no idea they desire. it, much less seek it. Friends, I believe the less for glory is why most people do much of what they do day by day.
Stay with me and I'll explain. I use the word glory because this is the word used in the Bible. We use other words today, like fame, celebrity, status, to be popular, stardom, the longing to be noticed, to be seen, to be the best, brightest, to shine above the crowd. Our glory is simply who we are, our identity. I believe the desire, the lust for individual glory is the original sin. Yes, Adam and Eve fell for this, but first there was another. Many believe this passage describes the fall of the evil one, who at one time shined as the sun with the glory of God. This is from Isaiah 14 verse 2. "How have you fallen from heaven, you star of the morning? "Son of the dawn, you have been cut down to earth, "you who defeated the nations. "But you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven. "I will raise my throne above the stars of God, "and I will sit on the mount of the assembly "in the recesses of the north. "I will ascend above the heights of the cloud. "I will make myself." like the most high." The evil one wasn't content with the immense glory bestowed on him by God, though he was literally illuminated with it. He wanted his own glory. He wanted to be the source of the glory. He wanted the glory that was apart from, beside, equal to, or above God. This is what he listed for. Whether you believe the Isaiah passage chronicles the fall of Satan or not, clearly the desire to have a glory apart from God was the root cause of his fall.
This is the original and great temptation. It remains the greatest temptation, the most alluring, captivating and deceptive temptation of all. Glory is what evil is all about. I will have, I will be the best, the brightest, the most glorious in everything and to myself regardless of the cost.
And yes the evil one lays the same trap that he fell into from Genesis 3 verse 5. He says to eat for God knows that on the day you eat from it the forbidden fruit your eyes will be open and you will become like God knowing good from evil.
He told Eve, you will become like God. The supreme tragedy is, she already was like God. More on this later. So much more we could say here, but two people who had everything were persuaded to see themselves as deficient and to desire to seek more independent of God. I will, I will have, I will be, the most awesome, the brightest star in the heavens. We're number one. We're number one. Modern culture is obsessed with who's number one at everything and anything.
Who's the greatest of all time? Everything is a competition. Sports, of course, business, who is the richest person in the world, who has the most views, the most likes, the most followers on social media, the biggest house, the most, the most, the most, most, most, most, talented, the most beautiful. The list is never ending. The EC knows what people are longing for.
They have cravings, and the EC wants them to know they understand. They see their need, and they want to help them achieve their heart's desire. But there's a catch. Yes, of course, we'll grant you a wish, Grace. No problem. But first, we need you to do this little favor for us. It will be good for you to take your eyes off of us. yourself for a while anyway. Let us help you to discover a deeper purpose for your life.
The wizard points out the futility of seeking happiness by focusing on oneself. It doesn't work and most everyone knows this. Find yourself by losing yourself for a greater cause. This is where you'll find meaning, purpose, your true destiny. History is filled with charismatic leaders who attracted huge numbers of followers with this message. using glory as the bait. Again, there is truth here, and this is why it is so effective. We do grow tired of looking in the mirror, obsessing over ourselves and our problems. This invitation to find a higher calling has a powerful appeal to many.
The call to find our true destiny. That's code, by the way, for individual glory. Self -centeredness is a day. end, for sure, but we need to be careful who and what we're giving ourselves to, who and what we're trusting in. Evil self -centered people use others' selflessness and desire for something greater than themselves to achieve their own selfish ends. But the call from the wizard to do this for me and then I'll do this for you?
Hear this, this amounts to receiving glory as a payment for services rendered. Friends, any glory that can be bought or bartered isn't glorious. It's worthless.
But the wizard assures Grace that the EC is only trying to help people who are down and out by inviting them to come to the EC. The EC is a glorious place. The lure of the EC is not simply to live in a nice city as opposed to a bad one.
The lure, the prize, the bait is pure glory. the beautiful buildings, the beautiful perfect people, the meeting in the great hall, everyone and everything appears brilliant.
And glory is exactly what Grace longed for, craved back in Texas, though she never articulated it. She wanted to shine, to break out of the gray mundane into vivid colors,
to be dazzling and beautiful. And this is precisely what the wizard is offering. to her. Glory is such a powerful bait. If people lose hope in achieving individual glory they often comfort, medicate themselves, watching others try. Today we usually only use glory in association with fame like Olympic athletes trained for years for their moment of glory. Most religion condemns people for seeking glory.
Seeking glory is the opposite of what religion teaches its followers. And religion, only God has glory. We have none, and we are told to be content with this. Well, in an age of unrestrained glory seeking, no wonder religion is losing popularity. But is glory the desire for glory? Even seeking glory, a bad thing? Is it a sin?
In Psalm 8, David writes this in verse 3. He says, "When I look in the night sky, and see the work of your fingers, speaking to God, the moon and the stars you set in place, what are mere mortals that you would think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and awe. To crown means to surround with.
Friends, we were created in glory as glorious beings, a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and awe. than God. Your Bible may use the word angels instead of God, but this terrible translation is only because the translators couldn't bring themselves to write God.
The word translated in verse 5 is Elohim, the Hebrew name for God. Ponder this verse. It is truly amazing. Glory my friends is what we gave up, gave away for nothing, an infinite glorious sight. Remember in Genesis 1 verse 26 and God said let us make man in our image after our likeness.
This is who we are, created a little lower than God in the same image, crowned with, surrounded with infinite glory, the infinite glory of God. It truly can't possibly get any better than this and deep down my friends we know it.
Please hear me, we were created as glorious beings. We lost, gave away, traded this glory, but we've never forgotten who we truly are. Our glorious creation. The memory is dim, maybe a shadow, but somehow we remember who we were created to be. And compared with this glory, nothing else, no Of course it can't.
This is the source of the unquenchable thirst, the longing endemic to the human race. Make no mistake, the glory of God is what you, me, and everyone you know longs for at the deepest level. This is the longing that the poets, the artists, fail to describe.
They fail to describe. to describe it, to reveal, to unveil. Though nothing else can satisfy this craving, we continue to try. And throughout history and to this day, people sacrifice their lives in the pursuit of glory. I could spend a long time giving examples from mountain climbers to Arctic and outer space explorers to the hundreds of people who've faltered their death attempting to take the most epic selfie.
Look around, in our day the facade of false humility has disappeared and the unrestrained lust for glory is laid bare for all to see. All of social media is 100% about glory. YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, etc. Reality TV, sports, our careers, what we own, worry vacation, the glory of our children, the glory of our their children. achievements, our perfect social media family and relationships, the glory of our hobbies, our favorite sports team.
Hey, look at me. I'm the first to climb this mountain, sail this ocean, walk on the moon. I'm the best in the world at this thing, that thing, whatever. It doesn't matter as long as everyone looks at me.
Even artistic endeavors like music have ceased to be valued on their own merit and must win a competition to be validated. Art must beat out other art in an American idol competition to be validated.
I could literally go on for hours with examples of our modern-day glory obsession. It's everywhere. It's truly the matrix of our culture. But that, our desperate thirst, our lust for glory, can never be fully, never truly satisfied with earthly things, or through the adoration of man. Of course not. What finite glory could possibly replace being created in the image of God and crowned with the glory of God?
It can't even come close, but this is the bait. This is the trap. The Greek word translated "glory" appears 167 times in the New Testament. The literal translation is "glory." a good opinion.
On the surface this seemed kind of lame to me, but the true meaning goes much deeper. Our glory is our essence, who we are on the deepest level. Our true glory is our splendor, our divine identity. Created the image of God and surrounded with divine glory. This is who we are, who we were created to be. Again, what could be... possibly compare or replace this? You may be surprised to know that Jesus spoke a lot about glory. The Pharisees, the group who hounded and hated him, were all about it. They hated Jesus because he was freely giving away. The glory they were clawing and fighting so hard to take from each other, to hoard for themselves. He said this to them in John chapter 5, verse 44. "How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?" Jesus said, "Receiving, seeking glory from one another, would keep us from believing in God and thus seeking glory from Him." Think about this. Whoever we look to for our glory, whoever we are trusting to give us glory, we will receive glory. this is our God. Seeking glory from man sabotages our faith in God as we're actively trusting in man to give us our identity.
The Pharisees would have rejected the idea they were seeking glory and boldly proclaimed, "All glory is for God alone." In reality, they were the worst glory seekers of all. But Jesus didn't rebuke them for seeking glory only for seeking it from man instead of God.
God. He told them, "In order to believe, to have effectual faith, they must seek, or more to the point receive, actually, tangibly receive, glory from God." We're all glory seekers, denying that we crave it will only make us hypocrites and bring confusion. If you don't know what you're looking for, how will you ever find it? it? Jesus told us to seek glory, not to deny we crave it. Denying we are glory seekers will only leave us open to deception from those who know full well what we're looking for, and they'll trap us using glory as the bait. Sadly, this includes some religious leaders.
I think this song sums it up pretty well. Here's a few lines from “Mr. Jones and Me.”
“We all want to be big stars, but we don't know why and we don't know how. But when everybody loves me, I want to be just about as happy as I can be. Mr. Jones and me, we're going to be big stars.”
These are some very profound lyrics from Counting Crows. Think about it. We all want to be big stars, have glory, all of us. But here's the problem. We don't know why and we don't know how. So we live for the happy times when everybody loves us, which never lasts long, and know by the way never truly satisfies our deep craving.
When you have the whole of humanity craving something and they don't know why and they don't know how, this makes them easy targets for deception and traps of all kinds. The false religions give a than take of the way glory.
It is like dangling a morsel of food to a starving person. We'll do anything for it. Die for it. It happens all the time. Glory is a good thing. I might say the greatest thing and that which we desire the most of course makes the most effective bait of all. We're told by religion that the gruel it dishes out should be good enough. We should be satisfied with being kind of forgiven for our sins and the promise of one day going to heaven, even though most Christians don't even have this assurance. And heaven is where we'll experience glory, kind of, sort of, but not here, and certainly not now. well that's a big problem because we crave it now.
My fellow Christians, let's just be honest, let's be real. This promise of future glory isn't enough, is it? It's not even close, and this is why so many Christians seek glory elsewhere because they find none in their religion.
This is an enormous problem. As Jesus told the Pharisees, "How can you believe?" if you seek glory for man? The glory we seek the glory Jesus speaks of isn't some stagnant good opinion brownie Points beside our name written in some dusty book in heaven the true glory of Jesus the one he the glory Jesus bestows on us is here and is now it is both imminent and transcendent It is glorious beyond human imagination, but thank God not beyond us to experience. Glory is who we are, where we are, and we'll all be lost in this life until we discover it.
Drink it in deeply and continually. I'm gonna end with more good news. Some of the most amazing mind-blowing news I've ever discovered. First here's a few more lines from Mr. Jones and me.
“Standing in the spotlight, I bought myself a great guitar. When everybody loves me, I will never be lonely. When everybody loves me, I will never be lonely.”
I'm sure most of you have never thought about what I've said in this podcast, in this way, but if you aren't in the glory trap, you probably have been, and most everyone you know probably still lives there, and a trap is a lonely place. place. So many of us are so lonely, and we grope for man's glory in a vain attempt to escape to comfort ourselves.
This is so tragic for Christians. It's an illusion, a deception. In Matthew 1 .23 quoting the prophecy about the coming Messiah, it says, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which has translated God with us." How awesome! But Jesus went further than with us. Before I read the Scripture, I want to ask you this question. Were all of Jesus' prayers answered? I've never met a Christian who didn't respond. Well, yes, of course they were. Hard to disagree with this. Well, okay. Here is Jesus' prayer to his father from John chapter 17 concerning you. In the first part of John chapter 17. 17, Jesus prays specifically for his disciples.
I believe all Christians are included in his prayers, but I'll pick it up later when he makes it clear he's praying for all believers. His earthly mission was coming to a close. He was praying that what he had come to accomplish would be fulfilled perfectly, finished to perfection. A huge part of his mission, I could argue, the consummation of his mission is found here. in verse 20 of John 17. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe you sent me, and the glory which you have given me, I have given them, that they may be one. just as we are one.
I am them, and you and me, that they may be made perfect in one, that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them as you have loved me.
Wow, wow, wow. And the glory which you gave me, I have given them. The glory of Jesus has been bestowed upon us.
The glory of Jesus is in us. What man lost in the fall was deceived into trading for nothing. What mankind craves most of all, Jesus came to fully restore our divine glory.
Pause and think about this. What we crave the most, Jesus has already given to any and all who ask and seek as a gift. gift. Let me be clear that glory can never be separated, never be apart from God. It is the actual tangible glory of God. The good news is as His children were never apart from God. Make no mistake Jesus prayed this prayer over 2 ,000 years ago from that time.
His glory, His good opinion, His glorious identity have been given to us, His children, right here. here, right now. Religion says,
"God is up there, way up there, and I'm down, way down here, left to struggle, to bind myself to please the deity." Jesus said, "God is in you. You are in him. You are loved even as the Father loved the Son.
This means you are loved with the same love shared within the Trinity. You are welcome to abide. Make your home in this love. This is your love." glorious identity as Jesus is.
So are you No wonder so many Christians are unsatisfied with the lame religion. They're being fed Restoring us to glory is why Jesus came. This is all part of the gift of God Jesus came to give us what we crave the most at the deepest level How amazing is this?
Religion teaches the opposite Religion uses the flesh to grovel and grope for what Jesus has already granted. Some may argue I'm taking this glory thing too far.
They may argue that what has this got to do with the gospel? I understand. Most people have been fed a steady diet of condemnation and death, not glory. Well friends,
glory has everything to do with the gospel. We're going to look at these verses. again in an upcoming podcast, but for now I want to read where Paul believes glory fits in the gospel or the new covenant.
What does Paul believe? In 2nd Corinthians, chapter 3, I'm hurrying to a close. Verse 7, "Now if the ministry of death engraved in letters on stones the covenant of the law," I'm reading from the Amplified.
I'll start again. "Now if the ministry of death engraved in letters on stones the covenant of the law," of the law which led to the death because of sin, if that came with glory and splendor so that the Israelites were not able to look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, a brilliance that was fading, how will the ministry of the Spirit, the new covenant, which allows us to be Spirit filled, how could it fail to even be more glorious and splendid? For if the ministry that brings condemnation, the old covenant, the law, has been glory. How much more does glory overflow in the ministry that brings righteousness? The new covenant, which declares believers free of guilt and sets them apart for God's special purpose.
Indeed, what had glory, the law, in this case, has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it, the gospel. For if that law, which fades away, came with glory, how much more must that gospel? gospel, which remains, and is permanent, abide in glory and splendor. The glory of God is revealed, it's manifested and poured out through the New Covenant.
This is who you are, where you are, and where glory is found. The gospel is where you'll find the source of the massive artesian spring of glory. Maybe you haven't thought much about glory in association with being a Christian. My friend the Gospel, the New Covenant abounds with, overflows with glory. These verses describe a treasure beyond comprehension. So how do we know this? More importantly, how do we access this? Begin by reading, pondering, meditating on these scriptures. Let hope come alive and believe the words are Jesus speaking to you.
His words are not dead ink on paper. Again he said in John 663, "It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh provides no benefit or profits. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and are life." The words of Jesus are Spirit and they are life. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to drink in His glory.
the whole kingdom is already in you. For a time I kind of operated within the religion of the elder brother. I know I wasn't the best worker like him, but I kept waiting for my work to be enough for God to grant my requests.
I felt desperate for grace and peace. I prayed, but I never never experienced them. One day the light dawned and I read this from 2 Peter verse 1. Simon Peter rebond servant and apostle of Jesus Christ to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours by the righteousness of God and Savior Jesus Christ.
​​This is you and me, my friends.
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the not knowledge of God in Jesus our Lord, for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. Through these, He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises so that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust. “
And what are they lust for? I'm sure you look at these verses in a later podcast, but for now, let them sink in. I found the grace and peace I longed for didn't come through working, praying for them, begging for them, but as a result of true knowledge, spiritual understanding. understanding, revelation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit. All the grace and peace and any other glorious thing I thought I lacked had already past tense been granted to me like the other brother everything the Father had was now and had always been mine.
The great and precious promises were the terms of this covenant of grace with me. Friends, these verses can contain the way of escape from the lust for glory apart from God.
We must become partakers of the divine nature. To partake means to eat and to drink, eat and drink of the divine nature. This and this alone satisfies the deep craving of man.
Maybe you're still thinking, "I don't crave, I don't need glory." My friend, maybe you've missed it. the great mystery of the gospel. What separates it a million miles from religion? Jesus said He would give us His glory.
He said it would be in us. His gospel abounds, overflows with glory. Sadly, this remains a mystery to many Christians. Perhaps those who taught you have been fully carried out the preaching of the gospel.
This is how the apostle Paul teaches it, now I'm almost finished. finished. Colossians chapter 1 verse 25. Paul says, "I was made a minister of this church, according to the commission from God, granted to me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of the Word of God." That is, the mystery which has been hidden from past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to his saints, to whom God willed to make known what the way of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is Christ in you, the hope of glory. If Christ is in you, you are rich with His glory, right now, right where you stand.
Speaking of rich, it's time to close. I'll end with a few lines of hope from a Rich, Rich Mullen song called "Verge of a Miracle."
“Clung to a ball that was hung in the sky, hurled into orbit. There you are. And whether you fall down or whether you fly, it seems you can never get too far. But someone's waiting to put wings upon your flightless heart.”
Amen, Lord Jesus. You have finished all things. Amazing grace indeed. Until next time, grace and peace be revealed and multiplied to you, my friend. Bye for now.