Episode 50- Chapter 26 Part 2
Transcription
Hello friends and welcome to the latest in a series of podcasts which follow along with our book The Wizard of God. This is Steve Roy and today we continue to explore the homecoming of the four friends. The old church has been destroyed and they want to rebuild, but not according to the old pattern. They've seen behind the veil in the land of God and they want to build something knew. But how will they convey to the people back home what they've seen, heard, and tasted?
Sadly, the experience of those who make up the tiny congregation in the old church is like many Christians. Their life is similar to that of the children of Israel who spent years wandering in the desert, never reaching the Promised Land. For these Christians, the grace of God in their lives begins and ends with being set free from Egypt. Yes, in the desert, God sends enough provision to keep them alive, but at the end of the day, they're still wandering in the desert, hoping they'll have enough to survive another day. Their promised land is far away and more like a dream than a possession.
In John 10:10, though Jesus said he came for this purpose, to grant the life of God to all who come to him. In the Amplified Bible,
“The thief comes only in order to still, steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they might have and enjoy life and have it in abundance to the full till it overflows.”
My friends, I've got good news. Jesus is our promised land. He is in us and we are in Him. And therefore we forever dwell in the promised land of God, capital G, the land of abundant grace, mercy, and blessing. We have past tense, past through the desert, and into eternal life.
John chapter 5 verse 24, Jesus said,
"Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not commit a judgment, but has passed out of death into life."
1 John 5:11 says,
“This and this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son.”
So as Christians, in Christ Jesus, born of the Spirit, the life of God dwells forever in us and we dwell in Him. All those in Christ have already passed out of death and into life abundantly. The free offer of life is the gospel, the good news Jesus came to bring to the world. Sadly though, the gospel presented to many believers is more about them than Jesus. They hear more about what they need to do than about what Jesus has done. At best, the message is a mixture of the two, with the emphasis, of course, on what they need to do for Jesus. Week after week, message after message, the to-do list goes on and on. It sure seems like it's up to us to finish the work Jesus began, but on the cross he said it is finished.
Have you ever wondered what Jesus finished on the cross? Well, here's what the scripture says John 19 verse 28,
“After this knowing that all things had already been accomplished to fulfill this scripture He said, ‘I am thirsty.’
A jar full of sour wine was standing there so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and brought it up to his mouth. Therefore, when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
The scripture says Jesus accomplished all things, all things that had been foretold in Scripture, all things needed to grant us eternal life. This is why the message is called The News, a joyful announcement of something which has already taken place, is finished. So what part do we play in his finished work? Jesus summed up our work in one sentence. Here's the context. The previous day he had fed the multitude, with five barley loaves and two fish. He had departed, but the crowd followed him. They wanted more. Chapter 6 verse 27, Jesus said,
"Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you, for on him the Father has set a seal."
The Father God has set a seal. Verse 28,
"Therefore they said to him, 'What shall we do so that we may work the works of God?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
Jesus answered simply that our only work was to believe on him. One thing, only believe. So simple. However, when most people hear the word believe, they think of a mental state, a state of mind. But in Romans 10:10, Paul teaches that it is with the heart man believes. When people think about things of the heart, they'll most think of the organ that pumps blood or of emotions.
Friends, believing on Jesus is not of human organs. It's not merely a state of mind, which includes an emotional state of mind. When the Bible speaks to the heart of man, it's speaking of the center of who we are, our spirit man. Jesus came to give the gift of life, the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who were spiritually dead, meaning separated from the life of God. The giver of a gift has much to do, but all that is required of the one receiving is to behold, recognize it as a gift, and receive. I can think of no better example of how this works than that of the Samaritan woman.
Again from John chapter 4 verse 10,
“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
Eternal life is a gift to be received, the gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift is the spiritual food, the living water of life, God freely offers to all who thirst. Our work is to receive the gift and drink. But first we must know the gift. Again, when most people hear that they must know something they think of a mental state. Well the Greek word translated "new" or "know" in John 4:10 means to be aware, to perceive, to behold. It's a seeing that becomes knowing, knowing that is a gateway to grasp spiritual truth, reality from the physical plane. But knowing grasping spiritual truth can be problematic for those who have been fed lies about the nature of God. To many of these, God has been portrayed as the one who demands and condemns not the giver of free gifts. Left to our own, the spiritually dead don't know, can't comprehend their hopeless state.
They imagine themselves as alive and so perfectly capable, able to work for what they need. But praise God the Holy Spirit has come to reveal Jesus and the free, gracious gift of God to all who thirst. To truly know or comprehend spiritual gifts or anything spiritual in nature requires spiritual knowledge or revelation. This includes knowing God and the gift of God, the gift of God, the Holy Spirit who comes into our spirit and we are born again, our spirit is now born again of the spirit of God.
But we need to know this, comprehend it, and walk in it. In Matthew 16, Jesus asks his disciples,
"Who do people say that I am?" There were a variety of opinions.
“But then he asked, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ Matthew 16:16. Simon Peter answered,
‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my father who was in heaven. I also say that you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
Jesus announced to Peter that the spiritual revelation of who he is, the Christ, the Savior of the world, was the rock, the foundation of the church he would build. Jesus is the foundation of all things, but we can only know Him by the Spirit of God. I believe Jesus said the same to us today, as he did to Peter, that flesh and blood cannot reveal Him.
But praise God, all who have been born of the Spirit have known, do know Jesus by the Spirit of God. And so, friends, as it says in Galatians, “Having begun by the Spirit, We must continue this way.” We almost continue to know him by the Spirit, and not be distracted or deceived into trying to know him through flesh and blood. Trusting in the flesh is the bewitching deception that Paul warns against in the book of Galatians. Here's Galatians 3, starting at verse 2 from the New Living Translation.
“Let me ask you this one question. Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not. You receive the Spirit because you believe the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be after starting your new lives in the Spirit? Why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?”
This is the same perception that continues to trap so many Christians who want to know God. They want to please God. The false message comes along and tells us what we need to add to what Jesus has finished. But friends, let me ask you one question. How can you add works, conditions to a free gift?
It's impossible, of course. So any attempt to add to the gift is to reject the gift. We begin by the Spirit and we continue forever in and through the Spirit of God, the free gift of God. So once Jesus is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, all that remains, the one thing, our work, is to believe, to drink the living water in us, to receive of Him, to believe that Jesus has finished and receive of His fullness, and His grace upon grace will flow in us and through us. By believing, which includes receiving of him. Jesus is revealed in us and flows through us. This is our work for God.
Again, Jesus did no ministry in power of his own humanity.
And John 14:10, he says,
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?"
The words that I say to you, I do not speak of my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does His works. Hallelujah. Just as Jesus was in the Father and the Father was in Him. So Jesus and the Father are in us and we are in them. Jesus is the living cornerstone, having eternal life, the life of God and Himself gives this life to all His people, all who come and believe on Him. The church Jesus is building is a spiritual house.
He is the foundation, the cornerstone. And as we spoke of in part one verse of chapter 26, we are the living stones cut from Him. In Him and through Him flow all things. And so all that is done, all the work is pure and holy and acceptable to God, as all the work is of Him. But sadly, to many Christians, in the house they live in, the house they call church, the presence of God seems far away, distant, and untouchable. But God's design from the beginning of time was that he would be with his people.
Here's Matthew chapter one, verse 23, quoting a prophecy from Isaiah 7:14. It says,
"Behold the virgin shall be with child "and shall bear a son, "and they shall call his name Emmanuel,"
Which means translated God with us. Good news, friends. We don't have to wait for heaven to experience the presence of God. Emmanuel has come. Jesus, God is with us now. Imagine living in the revelation of the abiding presence of God. I know it often feels like you're all alone. It feels like God is far away. But friends, this can't be true. Jesus, Emmanuel has come. And he and the Father now live in us, we are so joined with God that our new identity is called "in Christ Jesus." Friends, join with God. Join to God is who we are.
Second Corinthians 5 teaches that old things, including our old identity, have passed away. They're gone. They don't exist. So all things have become new. This is what it means to be born again of the Spirit of God. So feelings are just feelings, which come from what we're mindful of, what we're discerning. If we're discerning, judging reality from our natural senses, the world, the flesh, and the enemy will continue to tempt, try to trick us into seeing ourselves according to our old identity, as merely human, only flesh and blood, as spiritually dead, lost, and alone. But as Christians, we are firmly and forever in Christ Jesus.
Our track record of behavior is not what God is here or what keeps us here. If we fall down, we get up and we look to Jesus for all things. Who we are in Christ is 100 % by the grace of God and God is faithful to keep His promise, hallelujah. Our part is simply to receive the gift of God. As Jesus told us, American woman, his gift is living water. So our part is to drink. Drink, receive the gift of God, which is the Holy Spirit. This is how we will know, comprehend who we are and what is real, what is spiritual and what is of the flesh.
As the Holy Spirit enables and teaches us to operate through our spiritual senses. Ephesians 1 -6 announces that we are accepted in the beloved, that we are bestowed with God's glorious grace, which also means we are highly favored. Again, this is God's plan, and Jesus has finished all that is needed to secure our acceptance in the family of God for all time.
From the Garden, though, the first temptation. All temptations have always been to get us to question our identity. Has God said this? When Jesus was tempted by the devil, it was, "If you are the Son of God." All temptations we face will begin this same way. Our status in the grace of God never changes, but it is by faith, believing what God has said that we access, experience this glorious grace. But I've got more good news. This faith is not of ourselves, in our head, but in our new heart. Our born-again spirit is part of the gift of God. It comes with the grace of God. As the grace of God is revealed, as the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to our spirit, the gift of faith simply flows into our hearts. Ephesians 2, verse 8 says,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Hallelujah. From here, as the Holy Spirit illuminates truth to our spirit, we discover the grace to believe, and we walk in who God says we are.
In Galatians 2:20 Paul said he, meaning the old Paul, no longer lived, but the Christ lived in him. He said he now lived, which of course includes knowing, perceiving, believing, by the faith of Jesus, not by his natural senses, not by his natural faith. It is by spiritual seeing, spiritual believing, knowing that we access the grace in which we currently and forever stand. To have access means we are presently in the presence of God. Using our spiritual sense as we know, not academically, not theologically, but experientially, know by the Holy Spirit, Jesus and His gospel. Of course, we don't stop at merely knowing about Jesus.
We don't stop at receiving the invitation to the Feast of God. We don't memorize it, frame it and hang it on our wall, sing songs about it as if it's far way? No, the imitation has been sent so that we will attend the feast. So we go, we enter in, we dine, and we taste and see all the goodness, all the glory of God. And as we taste, our spiritual eyes are open to who we are in Christ and who He is in us. Our feelings are transformed. Jesus said, "My peace, my joy I give to you." His peace and joy are of course perfect, so they don't come and go based upon circumstances. His peace is spiritual, not natural. So if we get distracted by the world, the flesh or the enemy, and we begin to see things through the distorted lens of the flesh, once we become aware, we simply turn back to Jesus and receive of His fullness and His abundant grace upon grace. What I've just described, friends, is the normal Christian life.
In their journey through the land of God, the four friends had come to know Jesus. They dined with Him. They dined with His abundance. They knew Him. So rebuilding the old church, according to the old ways, is not an option. Friends, can you imagine a gathering of the people of God who are living this normal Christian life, actively attending the Feast of God, allow me to imagine a normal church service. So many come to church to pray or to be prayed for. Referencing Isaiah 56, Jesus said that his Father's house was to be a house of prayer for all people.
But in the New Covenant, in Christ, the house of God is not made of wood, brick, or mortar. We are the house of God, hallelujah, and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit dwell in us. So in his church, as his church comes together, prayer flows continuously. But not from fear or lack, but in his presence. We pray from thankfulness, from sweet fellowship. This is not to say that we are presently experiencing all the grace that's available to us, but if we believe We have all things in Christ. We continually draw near and receive of His ever-flowing grace upon grace.
If anyone among us is thirsty, we help them to come to Jesus and drink. As those in Christ, we don't pray for God to give us something more than Jesus and what He has finished, but we draw near and receive all that is ours right now in Him. We take the initiative and we come to Him and drink. Prayer is again simply sweet fellowship with our Father, the God who is love and who loves us perfectly and eternally. In the Holy Spirit, we live in the awareness of the presence of God who abides with us and in us eternally.
And of course the worship is glorious. In the continual presence of God, we never sing songs asking for God to draw near to show up. This would be madness, as God has already drawn near and has established us in Christ. As those who are filled with God, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, how could God draw any nearer?
And consider this, what more is there for God to give us than himself? So, we worship in, which means we worship through the Holy Spirit. Of course we never sing songs about being thirsty, but as Jesus taught, whenever we're thirsty, we come to Him and drink and drink of the living water of the Holy Spirit. As we drink, praise and worship flow effortlessly from the fountain of eternal life, the living water that dwells within us. Hallelujah. In these gatherings, teachings and preaching is simply the serving of the feast of the grace of God. As Jesus is of the Melchizedek priesthood, those in his ministry are of the same. As most of us have sat under other ministries, let's look again quickly at the foundation of ministry, the ministry of Jesus to his church.
Psalm 110 verse 4 from the Amplified says,
"The Lord has sworn an oath and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 6 verse 20 and the first several verses of Hebrews Chapter 7 establish that Psalm 110, the Psalm 110 verse is speaking of Jesus and his ministry. So what was the pattern of ministry under Melchizedek? It's a quick study. As the only recorded ministry of Melchizedek is in Genesis Chapter 14. The context is Abram returning from battle, reading from the Amplified, here is Genesis 14, starting at verse 18.
“Melchizedek, king of Salem, Ancient Jerusalem brought out bread and wine for them. He was the priest of God Most High. In Melchizedek, blessed Abram, Abram, and said, ‘Blessed, joyful, favored be Abram by God Most High, creator and possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed, praised, and glorified be God Most High, he was given your enemies into your hand.’ And Abram gave him a tenth of all the treasure he had taken in battle.”
The ministry of Melchizedek consisted of bringing Abram food, bread, and wine, and blessing him. This blessing included confirming, reminding Abram of his identity, reminding Abram of the blessed grace of God towards him.
Hallelujah! Just like Abram, we're continually returning from battles, physical and spiritual. So we need this same ministry. Melchizedek didn't come out to give Abram a high five and discuss battles yet to be fought. He didn't give Abram a to-do list to prepare for future battles. Abram was weary, so he brought him bread and wine and blessed him.
He reminded Abram who he was, not what he needed to do. Once again, Second Corinthians 3 clearly teaches that the Spirit always ministers, which means to tangibly give life the life of God. The life of God is what we need at all times, for all things. There can be no argument, friends, that the ministry we just read in Genesis 14 is the recorded ministry of Melchizedek, the priesthood which Jesus established, and he is a priest forever according to. So ministry, in the church Jesus is building, clearly must be this same ministry.
It clearly must center on feeding and blessing the people of God, reminding them who they are in Christ, who Christ is in them, and serving them to bread in the wine of the Spirit. This is the ministry of the Spirit, the ministry that gives life to those who are battle weary and in need of encouragement. One way the bread and the wine of the Spirit have served is when pastors, teachers, minister the Word of God by the Holy Spirit.
Second Peter chapter 1 verse 2, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his glory and virtue, by which you have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Brothers and sisters, this says we have already past tense been been granted all things, which includes all things in the physical and spiritual realm.
Through the ministry of spiritual words of life, through believing these words, receiving them, the veil of natural understanding is removed, and we see and we perceive and we partake of God's precious promises. As we do, we die on His life, His divine nature. Through spiritual revelation we receive of His fullness and again His grace upon grace.
Our spirit lives, feeds on every word that comes to us from God. True ministers have come to know that serving the life of God is simply a matter of drinking and flowing of the living water which is in them. They have come to know that all ministry is of the Spirit, so they never try to minister, they drink. And the gift of God, the tangible life of God, simply effortlessly flows from them to others.
What I'm describing is a gathering where everyone is ministering in and receiving of the Holy Spirit. Of course, in this environment, the gifts of the Spirit will flow. The people will be fed and God will be worshiped in spirit and in truth. Does this sound like a church service you'd like to attend, a fellowship of believers you'd like to belong to?
Well friends, here's some amazing news. It's all been granted, and so it's all possible today. The feast is ready now. No excuses apply. All the good works were finished by Jesus. All we have to do now is walk in them. Ephesians 2 verse 10 from the Amplified says, "For We are His workmanship, His own masterwork, a work of art.
Created in Christ Jesus, reborn from above, spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used for good works, which God prepared for us beforehand, taking paths which He set so that we would walk in them,living the good life which He pre-arranged and made ready for us. Friends, we can put our “do-it yourself” down. This is the church Jesus is building. We just need to walk in what he's already finished and prepared for us. Our work is to believe on him. He says, "Come to me and dine. The feast is on."
Friends, all things begin and end as we partake of the divine nature of God. And the times when the church comes together is simply a corporate expression of the normal Christian life. We're living it together. Regardless of the lies and excuses you may have heard, we do not need to wait until heaven to die with Jesus. So many are praying, waiting for God to show up, and to give them a morsel of bread. Once again, here the invitation Jesus came to bring from his father, Luke 14. Verse 15.
“Now when one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, ‘Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.’ Then he, Jesus said to him, ‘A certain man gave a great supper,’ which means a great feast and invited many and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.”
This, friends, is an invitation to a great feast. The invitation includes the joyful announcement Jesus gave for all to come, for all things that the feast are ready now. The invitation is for all to come now. But how did the religious respond to God's gracious invitation? Sadly, verse 18 says, "But they all alike began to make excuses. At the end of the day, the self-righteous, the self-religious ones refused God's gracious invitation.
It's unimaginable but true, and it happens today, all around us. And sadly, many have yet to receive the real invitation of Jesus, this invitation to the feast. The invitation had drawn near and dying with God now. The invitation they've received has been altered and corrupted by so -called messengers of God, messengers who have themselves made excuses and refused to attend God's gracious feast. Jesus spoke of such as these in Matthew 23, verse 13. Jesus said,
"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people. You do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”
But friends, as we have heard the invitation, let's go in. The door to the feast is open wide. Let's go and dine. Let's go now. Don't be deceived or discouraged. The feast is ready now. All has been prepared by God. It's all of grace, so all we do is enter in. The Church must be built according to this pattern, in Christ Jesus. All ministry must be of the Spirit. Of course we must have new eyes to see this. The mind of Christ to even hope or imagine it. But the good news is, we do. Yes, friends, the feast is on. As Psalm 23 teaches, the table of God is set before us even in the presence of our enemies even in this world we live in. So don't be deceived by excuses just come and die with Jesus and as this church be filled. Hallelujah.
I want to leave you with a cover of a song called Gabriel in the Vagabond. It's a song of one desperately poor man who saw and received the gift of God and having received the gift Church breaks out in the street. I love this song because it's my song. Whoever you are, if you've been born again, it's your song as well. Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs are the kingdom of heaven." They will be the ones to see and receive the gift of God.
There's a man in the corner and his clothes are worn
And he's holding out his hand
You could see in his eyes as the people walk by
He knows they don't understand
You see, they just think he's gonna take their money
And then go and spend it on dope
Then a man stopped by and I saw a smile inside him
As he gently whispered hope
Well, the tramp started to cry, just kept saying
Why? Why? Why?
Can't you see I'm a dying tonight?
I'm 32 and I've got this one pair of shoes
And a bad taste in my mouth
I think it's clear to see that even God don't love me
Or else why would He leave me this way
Then Gabriel just smiled and said, "Be peaced, my child
Salvation is here today"
He got up to his feet and he sang Hallelujah
People were turning around in the street
He looked them in the eyes and he sang
Hallelujah
There's someone here you gotta meet
Someone you just gotta meet
When the vagabond turned around, well, without a sign
Gabriel just smiled and disappeared
When he looked to the crowd, they were laughing out loud
But he could not see them fore tears
When his vision came round
There was a young girl on the ground
I knew she was fine and hard to cope
She never was a fighter until he laid beside her
And gently whispered hope
They got up to their feet and they sang Hallelujah
People in the street were turning around
They looked them in the eyes and they sang
Hallelujah
Oh, there's someone here that we have found
They sang
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
We are the voices crying in the wilderness
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
The people in the street started their sins to confess
And a chorus of
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Every knee will bow and every tongue confess
And the voice of one crying in the wilderness
Crying
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
​
Gabriel and the Vagabond by Foy Vance