It is the glory of the Lord that at the same time He has a sovereign plan for the ages, and yet, He permits the exercise of free will. Take, for example, this amazing blessing/prophecy of Jacob’s. The most pointed one is the prophecy concerning Judah. He speaks, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.” In ancient times when a ruler or law giver took his seat in court, his staff or scepter would rest between feet. The reference then is not that His rule would end when Shiloh comes but rather it would begin in full force when He comes. Then the people will obey Him. The word Shiloh means “Him to whom it belongs.” Obviously the scepter belongs to the Messiah.
Messiah is the ‘seed’ of Abraham, the descendent of Abraham. He is the one through Whom all the ethnic groups would be blessed. Jesus is that Messiah. He is descended from the tribe of Judah. He is the Lion of Judah as mentioned in verse 9. He is worthy of all our obedience. One day He will receive it. Let us not hold back from Him the obedience that He deserves. Is it not amazing that through disobedient people like Jacob’s sons, He can produce His sovereign plan, yet our free will remains intact? Now that is glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PSALM 47
Five times we are commanded to sing praises to our God. One of those times, we are commanded to sing praises with understanding. Well how else would one sing praises? It happens every Sunday. People enter into the sanctuary to sing praises. The songs are familiar. The mind shifts into neutral and lets the mood of the music take over. The routine is familiar. As the praises are sung, the words flow out effortlessly. The words enter through the eyes from the screen or hymnal, pass through the brain and are transformed into hopefully somewhat melodious sounds without really grasping the mind or the spirit. It is an age-old problem. It happens to us all more often than we would like to admit. One result of the problem is that the time of praise becomes lifeless without any transforming power.
Another extreme of the problem is to recognize that the understanding is being by-passed and react with great emotion and by the flesh try to stir up the understanding through the music. Its result is just as lifeless. Usually it leaves the participant drained emotionally rather than
transformed spiritually because of his encounter with the God of glory. What is needed is an experience of what Jesus called worshipping in Spirit and in Truth. We need His Holy Spirit to enlighten our understanding and empower our praises. Such worship brings us into the presence of the Father and transforms our lives.
We are commanded to shout unto God with a voice of triumph. Now if I am going to sing praise with a voice of triumph, what is it that I have triumphed over, and how did that triumph happen? In verse 5 the Psalmist says, “God has gone up with a shout!” Now what is that supposed to mean, and why is He shouting? Commentators usually say that the historical context here is referring to when David brought up the ark to Jerusalem with much shouting and singing and dancing. The ark has always been a symbol of the very presence of God obtained through the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of our Lord. When we shout to the Lord, it is shouting with the understanding of these things in mind. It is not mindless excitation of the flesh. It is Spirit empowered will and emotion because we understand what great things He has accomplished to secure our redemption! It will be finally obtained upon His second coming. It no accident that Paul says, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” His redemption is complete but it will not be fully realized until He returns. Yes, He shouts, and so ought we also shout!
As we sing praise, we should remember our inheritance (v.4). I thank God for the inheritance my wife received from her father, but when we die, we will not have it anymore. It will pass on to our children (if I don’t spend it first). Should I not be even more thankful for the inheritance that I receive from God? Peter says that inheritance is, “incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” So when I sing praise with understanding it is with a shout because of what He has done to deliver me (where I came from), but it is also a shout because of where He is taking me (where I am going). It is also a shout because of what I have now. Paul says that the Holy Spirit is, “The guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” I have the Spirit of God living in me, enabling me to live like Jesus lived, hastening the day of His coming! Now there is shouting ground!
Another reason to sing praises with understanding is because He is King of the earth. He is King in his providence over the earth. In His providence He has cursed the earth because of our sin. He is none-the-less in control! Yes, in the curse He permits the tornado, hurricane, blizzard, cancer, disease and maladies out of our control, but He is King! He is in control of the nations. Al Qaeda did not take Him by surprise, and He did permit 911 as he permits every other malady which we hate. He brought the curse to teach us the evilness of sin and our need for redemption. The evils of war and human deprivation are man’s invention, but He permitted it to cause us to turn to Him. He is not only king in providence now, but He will one day rule as King upon the earth bringing an end to man’s evil inventions.
When I consider all the above, I am left in wonder of His glory. I am aghast that I must be commanded to praise Him for His glory leaves me in awe! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Job 15
Eliphaz begins the second round of argument between Job and his three “friends.” Eliphaz gets very pointed and heated as the argument escalates. But what do we see of the glory of God. Eliphaz’ speech yields nothing but half-truths concerning God. True God is pure, but does He not trust His angels? True God does punish iniquity, but is it always in this life? Where is the glory of God? Maybe it is in the patience of God that He is willing to wait and let Eliphaz spout such vehement nonsense concerning His servant, Job. I wonder; is He as patient with me when I spout nonsense? I suspect that He is. Hmmm. . . How about you? Is He as patient with you? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
MATTHEW 27:51-66
Going to the airport is a different experience since 911. We used to be able to walk our loved ones right up to the gate to say goodbye or meet them right as they come off of the plane -- not so anymore. It is for our safety that the big posters are hung telling us that only ticketed passengers with boarding pass and photo I.D. are permitted past that point. It is for our safety that guards search our baggage and our bodies for dangerous weapons. It is for our safety that armed security guards stand ready to stop anyone who would violate the safety procedures. So too, the veil in the temple was hung for our safety.
Only the priests could enter the holy place of the temple. And only the High Priest could enter once a year into the Holy of Holies. The veil separated the holy place for the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was in pre-crucifixion of Jesus times the place where the presence of the Almighty God dwelt. To enter beyond the veil without the pre-requisite holiness was to incur the wrath of God. The veil was there for our safety. Without holiness we would instantly be struck dead as we would come into the presence of the Holy God.
A dear friend of mine came into my office today wearing a shirt that said, "Grandpas are dads with no rules." Americans have a hard time grasping the utter holiness of God. We tend to picture Him as some old grandpa smiling at the misdeeds of his grandchildren. Turning His back on our sin saying, "Boys will be boys!" If that were the case, then the death of Jesus would have been absolutely meaningless. But it is not the case. Our God is chiefly, holy. He is holy in all of His attributes. Without holiness we cannot see Him and live. The veil is there for our safety.
When Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. The Gospel writers make a big deal about that. It is not just an interesting coincidence that they decided to put in here. It was a great symbolic act that God did to let us know the power of the death of His Son. At the point when the powers of darkness seemed to have triumphed, when the life of the Son came to an end, when it seemed that the situation could not be any worse, the payment for holiness was secured! The Father was communicating to us the value of His Son's death. The veil was ripped from the top-the Father's end- to the bottom-our end. He had made it possible for us to have holiness through His death. The payment of the penalty of sin had been paid! The rules that were broken were satisfied! The earth quaked! The graves opened! Some of the saints who had died came out of the graves after Jesus' resurrection (I wonder, what were they doing in their graves until Sunday morning?"
The writer of Hebrews 10:19-22 tells us,
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
I can enter the very presence of God with full assurance of safety because His body was ripped in two for me. His blood has sprinkled my heart cleansing me of evil, washing away my sin. His resurrection gives me His holiness. No longer are there any cherubim standing as armed guards, ready to strike me down lest I should transgress His holiness. My ticket is secured in Him. I have my boarding pass in Him. I have my positive I.D. in Him, and it identifies me as: Child of the King! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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