Only those who have lost an adult child could fully appreciate David’s pain. The rest of us probably appreciate the justice that takes place here. But where is the glory? Yes, we want the rebellion put down. Yes, we want Absalom put in his place. But to have him brutally speared to death while hanging by his hair in a tree? Hmmm. . . So how does being speared to death differ from some other type of punishment? Justice is served.
Let’s fast forward 1,000 years. The Son of David, the Son of God is hanging on a tree. He has been condemned in a human court to die. He has been condemned in the Eternal court to die. Why? In the Earthly realm He was condemned because He claimed to be the King, the Son of God. In the Eternal realm He was condemned because He claimed the sin of man. He became sin for us. God was now serving justice upon the sin of man. Death had come to Him who knew no sin. The rebellion of man was being put down. He was brutally speared while hanging on the tree. So how does this spearing differ from other deaths? This death paid for an eternal debt of sin. Do you suppose the Father mourned, “O my son Jesus—my son, my son Jesus!” But the story does not end here. Absalom remains in his grave. Jesus rose again. He conquered sin and death by coming alive again on the third day. Here is the glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PSALM 83
There are certain confederacies and governments today that do not believe in the right of Israel to exist (Such as ISIS and ISIL.) In their opinion, the only good Israel is a non-existent Israel. Sounds much like the enemies of Israel referred to in this Psalm. Asaph asks the Lord to do some pretty awful things to them. Why does he request such events? Notice the stated goal for the retribution:
Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish, That they may know that You, whose name alone is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.
I would rather have awful things happen to me, which would lead me to a personal knowledge of God, than live a life of luxury and ease yet never find Him. The awful things would become a blessing. Why? The awful things would lead me to a clear relationship with the Almighty. I would rather live a life of deprivation which would lead to knowledge of the glory of God than live a life of comfort and never taste His glory. His glory is just that important. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
DANIEL 4
As I write, the USA has completed one night of airstrikes into Syria against the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa. The Middle East is and always has been a quagmire of rebellion and fighting. For millennia it has sucked the resources of the world as leader after leader has tried to rally troops to become the dominant force in that part of the world and control the people. This is nothing new under the sun. What would be new would be a leader who would be somewhat successful at uniting that part of the world and holding it in unity for his lifetime.
Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus the Great, and Alexander the Great were three rulers who were somewhat successful at that task. Nebuchadnezzar was able to control the area from the Brook of Egypt west through the Arabian peninsula, northwest to the border of present day Turkey, northeast to the Median empire or present day Iran. Nebuchadnezzar was remarkable in that he was able to gain enough unity to conquer such a large territory. He was also remarkable in that he was able to build the great city of Babylon. He conquered and he built. He had accomplished great things. One of the major reasons that he was able to accomplish all of this is because he was a tool in God’s hands in guiding human history. He was raised up by God to discipline Israel, God’s chosen nation.
In the midst of his accomplishments, he not only overstepped his bounds in punishing Israel, but he became proud, thinking he had accomplished these things by his own ability. He failed to give honor to the glory of the Lord in producing these things—even though he had Daniel as his advisor. The result? He ate grass like a bull for 7 years. My Old Testament prof in seminary was of the opinion that the main reason that he was able to regain his throne was that Daniel covered for him for the seven years of madness and of course, the Lord’s intervention. The Lord intervened in order to teach us all a lesson about Him and about our pride.
After the Lord restored Nebuchadnezzar’s senses, He said this, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.” He was not bitter about having lost 7 years of his life to mental illness and a nasty diet. Rather, he accepted what happened to him as his just reward for how he had treated the King of heaven.
Hmmm. . . . Our King, King Jesus, controls the destiny of human history. What is happening in the Middle East does not catch Him by surprise. He uses even the sin of man to accomplish His designs in human history. There are enough enemies of Israel surrounding her that if they could unite under one common leader and one common purpose, they could destroy Israel overnight. ISIS will not accomplish its objective because it is too short sighted to unite with her common enemies to destroy Israel. There are so many enemies of Israel, ISIS, Syria, Egypt, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Al Qaeda, Saudi Arabia and the list goes on. What keeps them from uniting? Perhaps it is the One who restrains. Perhaps it is this one miracle that keeps Israel alive. He keeps them from uniting in order to accomplish His designs in human history. As the tower of Babel prevented mankind from accomplish whatever it wanted in history, so perhaps the Lord confounds the minds of the leaders of the area in order to preserve His chosen nation.
There is a simple lesson to be learned from this passage and from our current events. All the ways of the Lord are true and all His ways are just. With that in mind, we should be very, very careful with congratulating ourselves with our accomplishments. It is best to keep our eyes on Him to see what He wants to accomplish, lest we end up eating grass and unable to trim our fingernails. He controls it all using our wills. The question is whether or not we will work for Him or against Him. The God who can make things give praise to His glory is the one I want to serve and worship. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
GALATIANS 1
Quite frequently we have a guest at our table. The guest is a neighborhood boy the same age as Liam. Liam often begs to have his friend eat with us. He loves his friend. I guess you could say that the boy enjoys our riches (a meal) at Liam’s expense. Quite frankly we wouldn’t probably invite the boy if it were not for Liam, and the boy probably would not accept an invitation if it were not for Liam. Verses 3-5 are about as succinct a statement concerning the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ as one can make. His glory involves incredible grace toward His own children. The little acronym, God's Riches At Christ's Expense, applies very well to describing a part of that glory. In the midst of a world that constantly assaults the value of who we are in our own eyes, in the eyes of others and even in God's own eyes, we can be assured of the riches of God poured out upon us. He has lavished His own love upon us. He has declared us to be His own children. He did this because Jesus gave Himself for our sins.
The glory of Jesus involves an incredible peace that we have with God. Before we found Jesus, there was this underlying current of unrest in our lives. It was the current that God was angry with us, that God was against us. Indeed, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. But Jesus delivered us from this present evil age. We no longer are under the wrath of God, nor is God indifferent to us. We, who are in Christ, have peace with God.
The glory of Jesus involves His obedience. He died for us and delivered us according to the will of our God and Father. That is incredible! There is obedience even within the Godhead. The Son obeys the Father. The Spirit obeys the Son and the Father. He was obeying when He went to the cross. He was obeying when He delivered us out of this present evil age. Our own obedience comes as a result of being united with Him. Once we are united with Him, His obedience is able to flow through us.
It is a dangerous thing when people begin to teach that our obedience leads to our being delivered from this evil age. Why? Because for one thing, it is simply not true. For another thing, it robs Jesus of His glory. Our justification is all about Him. Our sanctification and obedience is all about Him. It is grace. It is His glory. Relax! Enjoy His table! Enjoy His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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