The Holy Spirit - Revealing and Convicting (4)

 

“I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.

“All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” John 16:12 – 15. 

Now let me say something that may not have occurred to us, what Jesus is saying He is saying to us as a People, as His People; the Good Shepherd is speaking to His Flock. While we in no way want to negate the individual, and while we must not say that the individual cannot experience what Jesus is saying – in fact we affirm it – Jesus is speaking to us as His Bride, His Church, His Temple, His Family, His Flock. 

The Holy Spirit speaks to the Church, He guides the Bride into all the truth, He discloses Jesus to us, He takes the treasures of Jesus and reveals them to us as a People. Romans 12:1 – 13; 1 Corinthians 12:1 – 14:40; 1 Peter 4:10; and Ephesians 4:1 – 17 (and much else in Ephesians), portray an organic People in Jesus Christ, the Body of Christ. Note that Ephesians 4:1 – 16 gives us our trajectory; “the building up of the Body of Christ…the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ…grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.” 

In these passages we see the importance of the individual to the Body, the individual contributes to the health of the Body, and the Body contributes to the health of the individual. It is foolish to think that my arm can have a life of its own, and it is foolish to think that an individual Christian can have a healthy life without being joined to the communion of saints, the Body of Christ.  

While I can see Jesus Christ as an individual, while I can hear Christ as an individual, while I can touch Jesus Christ as an individual (and be touched by Him), I will see more of Him, hear more of Him, and sense more of Him as I experience the koinonia of the saints. I will also grow in Him as I fulfill my calling in His Body. 

What does this look like? Well, my sense is that each local gathering has its own expression…if it is allowed the experience and not constrained by old wineskins. My sense further is that this expression can change and take various forms organically, certainly one size or pattern does not fit all - we want organic substance, we want Jesus (let us hope), we desire to be faithful in mission, in worship, and in building up the Body of Christ – locally, regionally, globally. 

For sure this is a challenge, for believers are not generally encouraged to contribute their vision and experience of Jesus to the local assembly – they are programmed to sit and listen and give money and time and naturalistic talent, but seldom are they given opportunity to share Jesus with their fellow church attendees. By and large folks are content with this because this is all they know, it can be safe, and it doesn’t require too much relationally. As an acquaintance of mine used to say, “It is difficult to have followship with the back of someone’s head.” 

My observation is that often meaningful relationships in the Body of Christ are formed outside of local congregations with disciples who are passionate about Jesus, who want to spend time together, who want to get to know other disciples, and who want to share Jesus with the world. So – called parachurch ministries can often be the venue in which these relationships begin because people associated with such endeavors can be serious about Jesus – they often realize that if Jesus isn’t everything then He really isn’t anything. 

(Another example is that before I retired, I hosted a weekly lunch fellowship in my office. It consisted of men whom I had met through my business career – we shared, we prayed, we reflected on the Bible. I sure miss those times and those men.)

In my own life I have been blessed with friends over the years who are taking this journey with me, some of whom are now in the Presence of our Lord Jesus (yet I still sense them with me on the journey). I am very much the product of friendships, of relationships. I am the product of the communion of saints, which includes Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Augustine, Fenelon, Andrew Murray, C. S. Lewis, Dorothy L. Sayers, and many more. 

My point is that we need each other. We need one another to know Jesus in His fulness, we need each other to help us along the Way, we need one another to fulfill our calling in Christ Jesus. This is a hard thing in that only a minority of professing Christians are interested in discipleship and in relationship, it is a hard thing because Christianity, as it is practiced in the United States, does not encourage a functional Body of Christ. It is a hard thing because, while the Bible teaches us to lay down our lives for one another (1 John 3:16), much of the professing church caters to the “self.” Our religious organizations tend not to serve the people, but rather have the people serve the organizations. 

While the “ministry gifts” of Ephesians 4:11 were given by Christ for the “equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12), we have turned that concept on its head by viewing those in these ministries as being responsible for doing nearly all of the work of service…and sadly most of us in vocational “ministry” are only too happy to go along with this misconception…after all we need our paychecks.

Relationships in the Body of Christ are hard to find and they require investment to maintain (as do all meaningful relationships), but they are certainly worth it, they are treasures…and we really can’t live without them. With them we will see Jesus as never before, with them we will experience adventure as we never could imagine, with them we will know what it is to live life with a band of brothers and sisters, we will experience God’s high calling to His heavenly City…that City which will one day be clearly seen on this earth…that City which is our Forever Home. 

End Note: As a pastor, I never thought the structure in which I functioned was Biblical. I never thought our forms of worship were a holistic Biblical expression. My desire was, however, that we would discover Jesus and one another and that our ways of doing things would be transformed as we grew in Christ. As people were given permission to share what Jesus was giving them sweet things happened. As they were given opportunities for koinonia outside of Sunday, opportunities to know and be known in Jesus, they discovered Christ in His Body. On the other hand, there was at times fierce opposition to freedom in Christ, to the threat to the religious status quo, for some people do not like to surrender control. Sometimes, as a pastor, I got it more right than at other times, sometimes I got it wrong. Well, we do what we can by the grace of God…I hope. 

I’m still on my journey, and thankfully I still have some friends.

What about you? What does your journey in Christ look like? 

If you were to fall off the mountain, do you have friends to hold the rope? 

Our Last Battle (19)

Only Aslan, Only Jesus

The Last Battle is the only book of the Narniad in which Aslan does not appear in Narnia. Yes, He is of course in the true and eternal Narnia, but He does not appear in the Narnia of the Shadowlands in the seventh book. Or does He?

As we witness the transformation of Tirian, as we see the wisdom of Roonwit, as we behold the love and faithfulness of the King’s cohort, we can see Aslan’s working within His People. In the remnant of Narnians who remain faithful to Aslan and the King, in their faithful deaths, we see the working of the transcendent Aslan, the Son of the Emperor-over-Sea. 

This is a reminder that we don’t know what the immediate or intermediate future looks like, other than we know that Jesus is always and forever with us. Isn’t this what matters? After all, aren’t we citizens of heaven and aren’t we looking for that City whose Builder and Maker is God? (Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 11:8 -16). 

The Stable was a portal of judgment for some, and a portal of heavenly glory for others. The inside of the Stable was greater than the outside. While the Calormenes thought they were driving Tirian into the Stable as an offering to the fearful Tash, Aslan was waiting to embrace Tirian into heavenly glory. Let us recall that as the rocks were falling on Stephen, beating out his life, that he beheld Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. Jesus stands up for those who stand up for Him. The King of kings stood to receive and embrace His brother and His servant Stephen, to welcome Stephen to Stephen’s forever home.

“But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one” (Hebrews 10:32 – 34). 

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation” (1 Peter 4:12 – 13). 

The professing church in America has created a multi-million (billion?) dollar industry out of prophecy, and we have sadly exported it to much of the world. It avoids the Cross of Christ; rather than calling disciples to suffering for Jesus and others, it concocts scenarios in which believers escape from trial, tribulation, and having to faithfully witness for Jesus Christ by laying down their lives as their Way of Life. 

This Babylonian industry often leads to political alliances that soil the garments of believers, teaching them moral and spiritual promiscuity, worshipping Tashlans. 

Jesus is not the center of this industry, but it is too big to fail for it has its claws into the souls of millions of professing Christians. Most pastors (those who are aware) dare not challenge its message, for their people have been seduced by it and they would sooner change pastors than change their thinking. The denominations which are home to these purveyors dare not challenge them because they represent money and membership. Publishers love them because they sell books and other media. They are too big to fail, they are bigger and more profitable than the Gospel. 

If we look to Jesus, if we look for Jesus, then we will learn to see Jesus, and though we may not “see” Him in one sense, we will love Him and we will rejoice with inexpressible joy and glory (1 Peter 1:3 – 9). 

Our message is to be Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2) and the goal and purpose of every faithful teacher and pastor and prophet and apostle and evangelist is to present the People of God as a pure virgin bride to Jesus, wedded to Jesus, wedded only to Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:1 – 3). 

The purpose of Biblical prophecy is to reveal Jesus Christ, and the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). 

Let me try to illustrate what I’m talking about, here is a quote from the website of a popular teacher:

“Every year, _____ and other renowned Bible prophecy teachers unfold hidden meanings and revelations concerning world events. This conference has become a favorite among prophecy enthusiasts, especially as end-time events continue to escalate at a rapid pace. Make plans to join _____ at the __________ or take advantage of these teachings available online.” 

What in the world is a prophecy enthusiast? And isn’t all wisdom and understanding found in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2: 3)?  And where is the Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ in all of this? What is the attraction? Who is the attraction? 

This teacher is too big to fail. He takes in too much money and has too great a following for his denomination to ever question his center of gravity – were that group to wake up.

O dear friends, Biblical prophecy unveils Jesus, it calls us to Jesus, it transforms our lives into the image of Jesus, it makes us more faithful witnesses to Him and the Gospel, it humbles us, it makes us agents of peace, it forms us to live sacrificial lives, cruciform lives, it teaches us to lay down our lives for the brethren. 

Biblical prophecy is not entertaining, and it does not appeal to our curiosity, nor does it call us to form alliances (political or other) with the forces of this world. Biblical prophecy is not escapist, preaching a doctrine of avoiding tribulation and pressure. 

For a thoughtful and Biblical approach to prophecy, I recommend Discipleship on the Edge – An Expository Journey Through the Book of Revelation, by Darrell W. Johnson, Regent College Publishing. You can also find some presentations by Johnson on YouTube.

One of the most insidious elements of the “end-times movement” is that it creates a false sense of security among its adherents. It has folks convinced that they will be removed from earth before things get bad, whatever “bad” may mean. This shallow thinking could only gain traction in an affluent society, for our brothers and sisters who are already in difficulties know better. This cotton candy thinking trains people to avoid the Cross, to avoid suffering for Christ and others, to avoid Biblical discipleship.

A poisonous fruit of this thinking is that when the time comes for tough decisions, we take the easy way out – rather than witness for Jesus we align ourselves with the pragmatic, with what we foolishly think is the lesser of evils – perhaps because we cannot conceive that we are called to suffer with Jesus and to suffer on behalf of others. 

If our lives are not formed by the Cross as our Way of Life, then we need not deceive ourselves that we will be faithful when severe times of testing come, we will have become like frogs in a kettle. 

Tirian and his cohort were faithful to Aslan though He did not appear, they loved Him even though they did not see Him…or did they?

What about us and Jesus?