Heavenly Calling

"Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.." (Heb 3:1 NET)

Take note, be aware, of not just anything but Jesus.  Take note how our High Priest lived whilst on earth.  Why?...because we are partners with Him in a heavenly calling.  Jesus came from the eternities or eternities to, as Hebrews teaches, bring "the message of salvation", and those who heard the message and communicated it, "God confirmed their witness with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will." (Heb 2:4 NET)

How could his be?...because "Jesus....now crowned with glory and honour....suffered death, so that by God's grace, he would experience death on behalf of everyone"  (Heb 2:9 NET) so that, "both He that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one," (Heb 2:11 KJV)

Did you catch that..."all of one"?  Through His death, we are all made of one.  That means the same, united, undivided, of the same origin, born from above, sons and daughters of the Most High God, called to be partners with God our Father, acting as one unit, to the heavenly calling as Jesus did.

How amazing that God our Creator, who made us "flesh and blood", should "likewise share in our humanity," (Heb 2:14) and that "through death He could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is the devil)."  Because Jesus shared in the experience of our humanity, He qualifies as a compassionate and understanding High Priest before God our Father, for "He himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted."

Incredible that Jesus suffered temptation but remained without sin.  He was obedient to His call and remained obedient to His Father with whom He had a loving, intimate relationship.  Jesus said in John's gospel that those who love Him obey His commands and this principle was clearly demonstrated in His own obedient relationship with God.  Jesus testified of Himself, "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 on my own initiative, but the Father residing in me performs his miraculous deeds." (Jn 14:10) and again, in case you missed it, "For I have not spoken from my own authority, but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me what I should say and what I should speak." (Jn 12:49) Jesus only did and said what His Father commanded because out of their love and respect relationship, they moved as one unit with one heart and mind, to love on and bring healing and restoration to children who had gone astray.

So Jesus was fully obedient to the Father and because He "loved righteousness and hated lawlessness, so God, your God has anointed you over all your companions with the oil of rejoicing." (Heb 1:9). Obedience brings the joy and the power of the Holy Spirit to play in our lives even as it did in Christ's life.

Hebrews 3 talks of the faithfulness of our High Priest to God's calling, "faithful to the One who anointed Him."  "But Christ is faithful as a Son over God's house.  We are His house, if in fact we hold firmly to our confidence and to the hope we take pride in." (Heb 3;6)

So all of this is pointing to the fact that we too need to be faithful and obedient to the call on our lives, for as children of the Most High, and brothers and sisters in Christ, we too have a commission from heaven.

Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.The one who believes and is baptised will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; they will pick up snakes with their hands, and whatever poison they drink will not harm them; they will place their hands on the sick and they will be well.” (Mark 16:15-18)

Just a few things to note on this passage.  Jesus commanded "Go".  This is for all disciples of Jesus, that's you and me.  This is not just for missionaries, priests, evangelists or preachers. How challenging is that.  We can go into our community, workplaces or to family and sow seeds by explaining what Christianity is about when given Holy Spirit opportunity to do so.  But we have to be willing, obedient  and listening, even as Jesus obviously listened to God.  We also need to get over our fear.  There is eternity at stake...scripture out of Jesus' mouth clearly states that those who don't believe are condemned.  There is no, "I'm a good person, so I will go to heaven".  All of us are sinners and the bible is absolutely clear, sin separates us from a Holy God which is the whole reason a Holy God sent His only Son Jesus to die for us, so we can receive eternal life when we believe.

Lastly, for those of us who believe, signs and wonders will follow when we step out in obedience.  Jesus promised, "I tell you the solemn truth, the person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (Jn 14:12-14)

There are broken and hurt people out there who desperately need the touch of a Saviour through our hands and words.  Let us believe that, like Jesus prayed for us,  "I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one." (Jn 17:11) and “I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one – I in them and you in me – that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me. (Jn 17:20-23)

We are one with Him.

Destiny in the Words of Jesus

I read a devotional the other day which pointed out the first Holy Spirit recorded words of Jesus as a boy of 12:- "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?"  (Luk 2:49).  His final recorded words in John  19:30 were:- “It is finished”.    From His first recorded response to His mother’s frantic cry, after having searched for him for 3 days, to His final words on the cross we see destiny and purpose fulfilled.  From a boy of 12 with a heart for the Father’s business, Jesus already knew His destiny and was taking it seriously, discussing spiritual themes with leaders in the Jerusalem temple. What an amazing destiny that was completed on that bloody cross in His early 30’s, having lived His life to the glory of the Father and reached a lost mankind.   He lived His life with purpose and vision and He allowed nothing to divert the plan that had already been settled in the eternity until He could utter the final words of His Life, “It is finished” – Father’s business on earth completed for the eternal destinies of those who would follow Him.

This reminds me of the Apostle Paul, who after His radical conversion, also knew God’s destiny for his life and could utter at the end of his ministry on earth, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2Ti 4:6-8)

We all have purpose and destiny in Jesus Christ.   There is a higher calling to just living our life on earth.  It is also to be concerned with the Father’s business and Jesus can be our example of living life this way.  The first recorded words in Matthew 3:15 was in answer to John the Baptist – “But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness."  Righteous living!  Jesus was concerned with living righteously and fulfilling everything that had been prophesied about Him.  John did not want to baptise Jesus, who he knew was the Lamb of God who could forgive him his sins but Jesus wanted to fulfil all righteousness by being obedient to His Father. 

The Apostle Paul recognised the worth of obedience and righteousness when he penned this encouragement for the church:-

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” Tit 2:11-14 (Emphasis added)

“I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.” Rom 6:19

Walking in the footsteps of our Saviour is the call to “deny” ourselves but those who truly love do not find it hard to sacrifice for those of their affection.  Just look at how a man will woo a girl in their courting days.  If they live far apart, he will travel large distances to be together for weekends.  He and she will deny themselves sleep to spend that last moment together.  Yet the sacrifice hardly seems a hard thing, even when the tiredness becomes a battle the next day.  So it is when we fall in love with the Saviour.  We want to please Him. 

Jesus loved so much, He was willing to give Himself and pour Himself out and finally die on that cross so that we could be forgiven and given eternal life in Him.  He lived and He loved and He loved and He lived.

“Jesus said to him, 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Mat 22: 37-40 

The Apostle Paul, whose revelations came from Jesus Christ Himself, was quick to tell us that if we do not love, we are nothing (1 Cor 13:2) and that we are to pursue love (1 Cor 14:1).  In other words, we are to look for ways to love others and to come up higher in our love walk.

“Let all that you do be done with love.” 1Co 16:14 

It is in loving that we find living because God made us to give and receive love.  We are never happier than when we actively show kindness, friendliness and love to others and to God.  This is how Jesus lived, giving up His very life in the ultimate act of Love.

This 2014, let us try to walk practising loving others for doing so, in obedience to the Father, we shall help to make this world a better place and show others that we are His disciples.  The love walk is not an easy road but Christ has not left us alone to struggle and His promise to us is:-

Act 1:8  “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Let us lean on the Holy Spirit’s power for He is the One who sheds His love abroad in our hearts and we can ask Him to show us the way and help us to love even the “unlovable” in Jesus name, remembering that no one is out of the reach of the Father’s love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lord of the Dance

Psa 149:3  Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.

 

Having just returned from a missions trip to Fiji, I thought I would write down some of the thoughts I believe that the Holy Spirit gave me.  At one home church in Ba, the youth did a dance for us that really touched me.  I was brought to tears as the Holy Spirit was ushered in and the word I was given was "delight".  I could sense His delight in what the youth were doing, glorifying Him in the dance.

 

It really got me thinking.  Jesus is the Lord of the Dance and we are to follow, step by step, giving Him the lead in our lives.  In ballroom dancing, the man takes the lead and guides the woman in the dance.  This is a principle to adhere to with Christ our Lord and us, the church, His Bride. 

 

Jesus called all His disciples with "follow me and I will make you fishers of men". (Mat 4:19)  It is in following Him that we find our identity and destiny.  He makes us.  He leads us.  He tests us.  He gives us a choice.  When He calls, we either respond positively or we can respond negatively.  This tests our true commitment and our heart.  The disciples, on His invitation, immediately left all, laying down their careers instantly and went after him.

 

There is a cost in following the leading of Jesus.

 

Mat 8:19  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."

Mat 8:20  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

Mat 8:21  Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."

Mat 8:22  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

 

The scribe was making a declaration that he would follow Jesus but Jesus warned Him that in following Him, earthly comforts may have to be put aside if we truly prioritise Kingdom business.  We even need to be prepared to put our grief and emotions aside if Kingdom business calls first.

 

Mat 16:24  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

 

We need to be prepared to give up all we own if God calls us to; forsaking our pleasures, our needs, denying all of these earthly pursuits and coming against the "what about me?" for the sake of the Kingdom.

 

Jesus didn't promise that following Him would be a bed of roses which is why He told us to count the cost.  But the rewards in following Him are worth everything and the blessings that come in being obedient far outweigh anything that this world can offer.  His grace is sufficient for us and the Holy Spirit helps us to walk in righteousness when we lean on Him, trusting Him to overcome battles of temptation.  We will have an eternal reward too.

 

 

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."

Rev 19:8  And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Rev 19:9  Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."

 

The "wife" has made herself ready!  How?  "...by the righteous acts".  These righteous acts are those that are spirit led and acted upon with the love of God.  The Word tells us that our righteous acts are as "filthy rags" (Is 64:6) because, especially pre-salvation, we have the wrong motive – to show how good we are.  All things we do, prompted by the Holy Spirit of God and done with the pure motive of bringing glory to God, will have its reward in heaven. 

 

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Gal 5:18  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

 

It is being led by the Spirit that helps us grow up into the things of God because the Spirit may lead us where we really don't want to be taken.  Obedience to His voice always brings the blessing of God and spiritual change.

 

Mat 4:1  Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

 

I can't image that Jesus was totally delighted to be led into the wilderness to be tempted and tested by the devil for 40 days and 40 nights but He was obedient to the call and after His time in the wilderness came out ready to minister, full of Holy Ghost power.  This is the power of obedience.

 

Jesus is ready to dance with you.  He wants to take the lead and tango you into an exciting and fulfilling ministry directed by His footsteps with you leaning on His arm.  There may be times He will waltz you onto the dance floor just to be intimate with you and gaze into your eyes.  When He directs, and we follow, there is safety and excitement in His arms as we move to the melody of His music.