Years are measured in seasons. In much the same way, life is also lived in seasons. Although there is some continuity as we move from season to season, there can also be great differences and those differences can demand different perspectives, attitudes, and strategies to navigate well. We must navigate three feet of snow and eight-degree temperatures in February in very different ways than we navigate 95 degree heat in August.   One extreme requires a roaring fire while the other begs for air conditioning. One requires heavy clothing and lots of layers while the other demands light, breathable cottons. One season is lived primarily indoors while the other calls us outdoors. Just about the time we get one season figured out another presents itself. That change can be frustrating, but on the other hand, most of us are also eagerly awaiting the variety that a new season brings.

Sometimes, the God who created seasons for a planet spinning in space, may also call us to a new spiritual season as well. Sometimes the call comes at unexpected times for us while for God that time was appointed before the creation of the world. Moses is a prime example. The hand of God was clearly on Moses as a child who was marked for a great destiny. As you recall, to avoid extermination by Pharaoh, Moses had been placed in a waterproof basket and hidden in the bull rushes along the Nile by his Hebrew mother. The daughter of Pharaoh found him in the water and adopted his as her own. He was raised in the palace and given the training and advantages of Egyptian royalty. At some point he became aware of his Hebrew heritage and began to sense that somehow he was to be a major player in delivering his people from slavery. One day, he witnessed an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and in a moment of anger killed the Egyptian and hid his body. Within hours, Moses had been discovered and fled from Egypt to the backwater country of Midian where he married, settled down, and became a shepherd. He fled Egypt at the age of 40 giving up every advantage he had as a son in the royal house. Then for 40 years he lived the quiet, unassuming life of a shepherd.
At the age of 80, however, Moses had an unexpected encounter with God in a burning bush and a new season was thrust upon him. Suddenly, out of nowhere, God picked up the thread of the destiny he had assigned to Moses and called him to return to Egypt and finish the job. Moses was not excited. He had left Egypt confused and afraid with a quick demotion from the palace to the pasture. All he had experienced related to the call that God was resurrecting was failure. He no longer saw himself as a leader or a hero. He simply saw himself as a hapless shepherd destined to live and die living in dusty tents in Midian.

With each excuse Moses offered, God responded that he would go with him. Moses continued to push back. “Who am I to do such a thing? Who will I tell them sent me? What if they won’t believe me. I’m no public speaker. Lord, send someone else.” The text tells us that the Lord began to get angry. He had given Moses every assurance and had even demonstrated a coupe of miracles. More than anything, God kept assuring Moses that he would be with him and enable him every step of the way. God never sets his people up for failure.

So what was Moses’ problem? There are probably several themes that created pushback in Moses about this new season to which he was being called. First of all, he no longer saw himself as a leader or anyone special. He had tasted failure and disappointment forty years earlier and he had no desire to taste that again. Secondly, life was comfortable and predictable. It wasn’t great, but he had adjusted to it and found a sense of security and contentment in what he was doing. Now God was wanting to launch him into the unknown. If he were younger that might appeal to him but he was two-thirds of the way through life. Moses died at 120. He was already 80. For us, if we think we might live to be 90, then two thirds of our life would be 60 years old. Most of us aren’t willing to step into a totally new season at that age. But that is exactly what God was calling him to do.

Even though the call to lead Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness might seem better suited for a younger man, God seems to be more concerned about character than age. He can impart strength but he waits on us to develop character. The Moses who saw himself as a great leader was arrogant and rash. A man who was humble and had shepherded sheep for 40 years could now shepherd people and would lean on God rather than his own abilities. For Moses, the fullness of time for this new season came after Moses himself had been seasoned.

So what if your season is about to change? What if God is not calling you to the next thing (a continuation of what you have already been doing) but a new thing that is totally different from what you have known before? What if he is wanting to pick up the thread of your destiny that you laid aside years ago. Would you be willing to step into that season that would be full of spiritual productivity and adventure? Or would you, like Moses, find every reason to stay where you are and die peacefully but without having experienced the fullness of God and his glory that Moses discovered after he finally said yes.

We are in a season of acceleration. Maybe it’s an “end-times” thing but global and social changes are happening at an incredible pace. I believe God will be asking many of his people to step into new seasons with him that may be an expansion of what they are already doing or something very different from what they have ever known before.

The world is shifting and God has a hand in it. Every shift will open up new opportunities for his kingdom to expand on earth and he will be looking for people to use in significant and, perhaps, unprecedented ways in those moments. If the call comes will you be available? I ask myself that question as well. Perhaps, if we actually anticipate the possibility we will be much more ready to say yes. Pray about it. Dream about it. Even ask for it…if you dare.

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.      I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13

When Paul wrote his letter to the church at Philippi, he was writing from a Roman prison. The church at Philippi had sent him some supplies and Paul was thanking them for their concern and response to his needs. He was quick to say that he appreciated their gifts but that his needs had been met in Christ because he had learned to be content in every situation of life. In this letter, we learn that contentment, in the sense that Paul uses it, is an essential key to happiness.

The word translated “content” is a very strong word in ancient Greek philosophical circles. It was the state that all Greek philosophers aspired to as a state of being totally unaffected by the world around them and emotionally self-sufficient. You see this mindset of total, unquestioning acceptance in eastern religions. It is the idea of being self-contained so that nothing upsets a man’s inner world of peace. Eastern mystics often strive to reach that state of inner peace through total, unquestioning acceptance of their circumstances and a disregard for personal needs or comfort. It is ultimate expression of fatalism that says whatever happens, happens – so just accept it.

Paul did not mean “contentment” in the same sense because Christians are never to be indifferent to the needs of the world around them or to be self-contained and self-sufficient. We do not live a life of fatalistic acceptance because we are more than conquerors in Christ. However, Paul had discovered a Christ-sufficiency that guarded his heart and generated an internal contentment even in prison.

Paul experienced that internal contentment as peace and goes on in this same letter to say, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.        And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil.4:6-7). How many of us are in search of peace in our hearts? How many of us would be willing to give anything to alleviate our anxiousness, our angst, and our internal restlessness that never lets us enjoy the moment or find peace in the midst of the storm?

I believe Paul’s secret to contentment and peace was his strong conviction that God was in the midst of every storm with him. Paul did not believe that God caused his hardships because he knew who the enemy was. However, he did believe that God was with him and that God would insert his purposes into every situation. For Paul, every obvious victory and every seeming defeat offered an opportunity to discover more about the Father and more about Jesus. In the midst of crisis, Paul saw an opportunity to discover who God was going to be for him in that crisis. It was a chance to discover a new facet of the Father’s love and power that he had not known before.

He believed that both seasons of plenty and seasons of lack were opportunities for thanksgiving. In a season of plenty, thanksgiving was prompted by the harvest that had just occurred. In a season of lack, thanksgiving was prompted by the harvest that was on the way. Paul had learned to see God’s hand and feel his presence and his working in every situation.

In a circumstance where we might feel that God had abandoned us to injustice and hardship, Paul still saw the hand of God. Early in his letter he wrote, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly” (Phil.1:12-14).

Even in a prison cell, Paul saw the hand of God at work. God was working something in Paul as well as through Paul in his present circumstance. Because of that, Paul found a spiritual capacity to be content or at peace with life at any given moment because even the hard times had an eternal purpose for him. His thanksgiving was based on what he believed God was doing and would do in each moment. He said that prayer and thanksgiving in any crisis would guard our hearts and produce a peace that transcends or goes beyond our understanding.

The key is to know that God will work something good out of every circumstance in which we find ourselves. He is not absent, he is not indifferent, he is not powerless. He is working and a heart of thanksgiving opens up our spiritual eyes to see, first of all, who he is and then what he is doing.

We live in a world and a culture that works hard to produce a state of non-contentment. Every add you see in a magazine or on television tries to convince you that you need at least one more thing for happiness or fulfillment – a new car, a cruise, a new look, or the perfect house just beyond your budget. The devil also whispers that what you have is not enough – you deserve more or you deserve better – a more attentive or better looking spouse, more money, more power, more influence, or more fame. With each of those temptations he promises more significance, more happiness, and more contentment.

However, outside of God’s purposes, nothing will bring those things in any lasting way. Remember Adam and Eve. Satan convinced them that there was just one more thing they needed for happiness and that one bite from the tree would meet their need. To Satan’s delight, instead of peace and contentment, that next bite produced fear and shame.

Paul had definitely learned to look for more – but more of God rather than more of what the world offered. No circumstance could keep him from God so in every circumstance he could say, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Phil.4:4). Because of his relationship with the Father, Paul always anticipated good because God is good. He always anticipated victory, because God is victory. He always anticipated having enough because God is the God who provides. He always anticipated the ability to endure because he knew that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Contentment is great gain. Learn to find the hand of God in every circumstance and that contentment can be yours.

Okay…so I grew up in the late 60’s and 70’s when Jesus freaks and the Jesus Movement were a part of the underground, hippy culture. There was a song called Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum – a kind of a one hit wonder. It sounds very new age with contemporary ears but the theology behind it was sound if you got a little explanation. One verse declared, “I’m not a sinner, no I’ve never sinned. I’ve got a friend in Jesus.”

To some that sounded arrogant or downright blasphemous. After all, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:23). But another verse confirms the theology. “Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb.10:14). On the one hand, we certainly have all sinned and continue to do so less that we did, but on the other hand, God does not count those sins against us. If you inspected the ledgers of heaven, you would find no record of sin – past, present, or future. As far as God is concerned, you’re not a sinner, no you’ve never sinned cause you have a friend in Jesus. We need to get that truth in our hearts.

So many of us focus on our past, our sins, and our failures while God is focusing on our righteousness in Christ. It’s not that he doesn’t recognize our sins, but he does not define us by those sins. He defines us by the righteousness that is ours in Jesus. The passage above from Hebrews declares that by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. By the sacrifice of Jesus, you have been given a positional or legal status of sinlessness – forever – which extends both into the past and the future. God always relates to us on the basis of our position while he works on our condition. He is in the process of making us holy – matching our condition to our position – but he is not focused on our sin but, rather, who we are in His Son.

We would do well to so the same. Too many believers get focused on their sins, failures and spiritual shortcomings. Whatever we focus on becomes our identity. If we see ourselves and define ourselves as sinners in Christ, we will constantly live up to that expectation. If we see ourselves as righteous and holy in Christ that will become our identity and we will begin to live up to that set of expectations.

Many of us try to motivate ourselves to be more like Christ with criticism and name-calling. If we did that to our children we would be labeled as bad parents, maybe even verbally abusive. We recognize the power of self-image (identity) in our children and work to encourage and affirm them at every opportunity but often fail to recognize that principle in ourselves. Faith declares that what God says is true is true, even if it does not appear to be that way. By faith, we need to say what God says is true about us, so that God’s truth is deposited more deeply in our hearts and minds. It’s not arrogance; it is good theology that appreciates what the blood of Christ has done for us.

So…the next time the devil stirs up accusation and condemnation and tries to convince you of what a spiritual failure you are, just pull out a little Norman Greenbaum and sing in his face, “I’m not a sinner, no I’ve never sinned. I’ve got a friend in Jesus!” It’s good theology. Be blessed and sinless in Him today.

Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev.3:4-6)

In some ways, Sardis came off as the least pleasing church in the list of churches in Asia. Jesus charged them with living on a reputation that pertained only to the past. He pronounced them spiritually dead and charged them with not completing the work he had given them. He called them to repentance and obedience and warned them that if they did not “wake up” he would come when they least expected it to discipline them.

And yet, he was very aware of the few in their midst who had been faithful and had continued to serve while the rest had abandoned their calling. He described them as those who had not “soiled” their clothes. The Greek word translated as soiled means “to defile by sexual immorality and/or involvement in pagan idolatry.” Those who had coasted to a halt in their passion for Jesus and their service to God had drifted back into a mixture of Christianity and pagan immorality. They kept an appearance of faithfulness and maintained ties with the church but partied with the pagans on weekends.

God knows our hearts, our lives, our works, our secrets, and our sins. We cannot hide our unfaithfulness from him in the midst of the congregation on Sunday nor will our faithfulness go unnoticed even in the midst of the unfaithful. The writer of Hebrews told the faithful Jews, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” Notice that God notices.

As difficult as it is to stay on track with the Father in the face of persecution, it is often more difficult to stay on track in a fellowship of lukewarm and dispassionate believers. In that environment, over time it is easy to begin to believe that “lukewarmness” is the standard and is somehow acceptable to the Lord. In his letter to Sardis, Jesus is clear that a casual attitude toward the cross and a double-minded man who tries to dance with the Lord on Sundays while dancing with the world the rest of the week is unacceptable. It’s like a man who sleeps with prostitutes six days and week but comes home declaring faithfulness to his wife on Sundays.

But Jesus declares that the faithful walk with him and they dress in white – the color of righteousness and priesthood. He promises all of us that when we live a life of overcoming the enemy and faithfully remain in the ranks of heaven, we also will be dressed in white. Not only that but those who continue in faithfulness will have their names eternally written in the book of life. Jesus declares that he will personally acknowledge the names of those who do not compromise, who do not become casual or careless, and who do not lose their passion for the kingdom before the Father and his angels.

Too many believers had a heavenly fire in their hearts for a season and served God with energy and passion for a time. But after a few years the kingdom of heaven lost its fascination for them. The riches and pleasures of the world began to glow brighter than the treasures of heaven. Little by little they began to mix the “not so bad” things of the world with the good things of heaven and eventually they simply slipped back in the world while maintaining their “membership” at the local church. Many believers know that their faith is not what is used to be but are banking on God remembering what they used to do when they stand before him. This letter indicates that these “believers” are in a very dangerous place.

We can easily look down on those who have slipped away but we can all be tempted to do the same thing when, after years of going to church, our faith can seem ordinary, humdrum, less rewarding than what the world is offering, and has even become unpopular and criticized in the culture. We must all guard against this “natural erosion” of faith and passion. How can we guard our hearts and keep the fire alive? Be sure you stay around people who still have a fire in their bones for the kingdom. The heat from their fires will keep your embers burning. If your group of believers has settled down and made peace with the world, find a new group. Intentionally risk. Develop a habit of doing “crazy things” for Jesus. Go on mission trips to 3^rd world countries. Pray for the sick at the local HEB. Share your faith with a stranger. Pursue the gift of tongues or prophecy. Consistently do things that are a “little scary.”

Risking things for the kingdom and being around others who risk makes your life in Christ an adventure. It does not get boring or irrelevant. It keeps stoking the fires and the excitement of seeing God do miracles through you makes the promises of the world seem lackluster. I believe that Jesus will not only acknowledge your name before the Father and his angels on the Day of Judgment, but even now as we passionately serve him. Those who serve faithfully now are already known in heaven and your name is already spoken there. Remember when God asked Satan if he had considered Job? Remember the angel who told Daniel that he was already highly esteemed in heaven. If you are living four Jesus, your name is already spoken in the courts of the King. Live in a way to insure that your name never fades in the halls of heaven but is mentioned there often until you arrive in person.  Be blessed.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples (Jn 15:7-8)

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (Jn.17:1-5).

Both of the above quotes come from the gospel of John as Jesus moved quickly toward the cross.  They were spoken in the upper room and both contained thoughts about glorifying the Father by fulfilling our purposes on the earth. The first simply affirms a clear expectation that followers of Jesus will produce a great deal of fruit while serving the Father in this life and in doing so will bring glory to him.  The second affirms that Jesus himself brought glory to the Father by completing the work the Father had given him to do.

In Ephesians 2, Paul echoed these thoughts when he said that we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which have been prepared in advance for us to do. This might be one definition of our “destiny in Christ.”  That destiny would simply be to complete all the work that the Father has assigned to us in this lifetime.  Remember that in John 14 Jesus declared that those who believe in him would not only do the things that he had been doing but would do even greater things because he was going to the Father.  His words suggest that every believer has a great destiny and that the works God has prepared in advance for each of us are not insignificant but are of such importance and impact that they will bring glory to the Father.

In summary Jesus said that God has ordained eternally significant things for each of us to do – things greater than Jesus did;  that we are expected to bear much fruit to the glory of the Father; and that our goal, like Jesus,  should be to complete all the work the Father has given us for that glorifies him as well.  If that is true then the question becomes how much of that work will we leave undone that was ours to do?

From the casual approach to serving God that many believers seem to take, there may be miles of warehouses standing empty in heaven that were constructed to contain all the fruit produced by those who believe – but much of the harvest never occurred. All of us, I’m sure, pass up some of the “good works prepared in advance” for us.  We miss the opportunities in the busyness of our lives or just turn them down on days that we feel weary or are distracted by the things of this world – not sinful things, just things.  But surely our hearts should long to bear as much fruit as possible for the one who died for us.

I and a few others got to pray with a great  lady yesterday who desired to receive a gift of healing.  I loved her spirit.  Even though she was retirement age she has no intention of retiring from service in the kingdom. She simply wants everything Jesus has provided for her so that she can fulfill everything God has ordained for her. The apostle Paul said that we should earnestly desire spiritual gifts because those gifts are necessary to bear the fruit in our lives that glorifies God. Spiritual gifts go beyond natural talent.  Though they may look the same at times, the results must be very different. One impacts the temporary while the other impacts the eternal.

Without the power of the Holy Spirit fueling what we do, we can produce no more for God than what unbelievers can produce for themselves or their worldly organizations.  In his own strength man can do impressive things – great buildings, great programs, great music, great drama, great marketing, great performances.  Sometimes, churches do impressive things – but in their own strength rather than in the power of the Spirit. I think Jesus had more in mind than that. When Pharaoh’s magicians could no longer match the miracles that God was doing through Moses, they finally said… “ This is the finger of God. “

I believe that should be true for the church. What we do by the power of the Spirit is not something that man should be able to do in his own strength.  The works that bring glory to God must go beyond that otherwise they simply point to the glory of man.  As believers we should never be satisfied with the ordinary but should desire every insight, every revelation, every gift, every dream, and every encounter that Jesus has purchased for us with his blood so that we might complete every work God has given us to do and do it in a way the honors the King of Heaven.  To settle for less devalues the sacrifice of Jesus.  You may want to reflect on that this Easter week.  Be blessed.

I continue to marvel at the people Jesus pursued.  The twelve would have gone completely unnoticed in the “Who’s Who” of Israel.  Their names would have evaporated from history within a generation or two even in their own tribe and family.  They were ordinary or even less than ordinary fishermen.  How many times had Peter gone fishing without catching anything until Jesus told him where to throw the nets? Others had been tax collectors or political zealots who were known to be assassins from time to time.  In Luke 19 we have another moment when Jesus pursues the unknown and even the hated.

This is a familiar story but still reminds us of something important. Luke recalls that as Jesus entered Jericho, crowds began to gather to see the miracle worker from Galilee. In the midst of that crowd was man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.  The text states that because he was a short man he climbed a tree so that he could get a glimpse of this controversial Rabbi who had come to his town.

We also need to remind ourselves that tax collectors worked for Rome and since Zaccheaus was wealthy, he had made his money by extorting taxes from his own people.  He was not paid a salary but lived off whatever revenue he took in above the amount that was owed to Rome. He was seen as a collaborator with the enemy and a willing part of the Roman machine that oppressed Israel. We’re told that as Jesus walked through the city, he reached the spot where the diminutive tax collector was sitting in the tree and stopped just for this enemy of Israel.  Remarkably, Jesus called him by name and told him that they would have supper together that evening.

The text says, “All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”  One of the astonishing things about Jesus was that he pursued and apparently preferred the hated, the down-and-outs, the impoverished, and the slandered over the rich and the religious. Not only that but he did not care that his reputation as a holy man took a lot of hits because of the company he kept. Remarkably, the time has come in America where our reputations will take hits because we choose to keep company with Jesus.  I also have to ask myself the question, “How could a perfect, sinless man be so comfortable in the company of prostitutes, tax collectors, drunkards, and the like?

How often have we heard sermons about a Holy God’s inability to tolerate sin?  How often have we been convinced that God despises sin and turns away from those whose lives are stained with the stuff of sin?  And yet Jesus sought out the very people whose lives totally missed the mark and tended to turn away from the religious instead.  In Jesus we see a God who is drawn to the rejected, who loves the unlovable, who truly does befriend the friendless, and who chooses the low-achievers for his team.  Jesus never left a person where he found him but he found them and loved them before they became great people none-the-less.

I still find that we, as God’s people, struggle with the notion that God doesn’t love us all that much or that God can’t use us for significant things because of our terrible pasts, our struggling presents, or our doubtful futures.  And yet we are the very ones Christ pursued.  We are the ones he went home with.  We are the ones he took from unremarkable careers or hated positions and made them leaders in the kingdom of God.  We are the ones he welcomed as they followed him from place to place – a former prostitute with a highly demonic past and nameless disciples who left jobs or, perhaps, were unemployed and had nothing better to do. And yet those and others like them were sent out to preach, heal, and deliver as representatives of the King of Kings.

God wants to do great things through us and yet we feel so unworthy and so incapable. When the Holy Spirit whispers to us about our destiny or opens doors for significant ministry roles how often do we turn those spiritual opportunities down because we don’t have the experience, the spiritual pedigree, or a faith that moves mountains.  Who among the twelve, or the seventy, or the crowds that followed Jesus from town to town had any of that to begin with?

My point is this.  As we follow Jesus through the gospels, we find him pursuing, loving, and spending time with ordinary people who often had huge issues. We find him hanging around former fishermen who seem very slow on the spiritual uptake. We find him hanging out with broken people who are desperately trying to figure out life – divorced people, selfish people, sick people, greedy people, working stiffs, and beggars.  He wasn’t offended.  He didn’t turn away. On the contrary, he embraced those people and made them his friends and even his confidants.  The truth is that Jesus not only loves you but he also likes you.

I think of us as old furniture full of nicks and scrapes and sweat rings where uncle Charlie always put his ice tea glass.  Jesus, as an artisan and restorer of fine furniture, is not annoyed by the nicks or scratches because each one tells a story.  If it’s broken, he will fix it but he loves to bring the pieces back to life, to give them beauty again, and to make then useful without erasing the very things that mark their history.  No craftsman wants to hang around the new, shiny pieces straight from the factory.  They are boring. They have no “character,” no “story,” so to speak.

Don’t avoid the Master and don’t hide the scratches and the dings of life.  He is quite comfortable with those and will gently make them into something beautiful. Enjoy the day.  Be real with Jesus and remember – he really does like to hang out with you…just the way you are.  Be blessed.

Did you ever have the feeling that someone envied you? Maybe they just simply came out and told you that they envied you, your lifestyle, your faith, your marriage, your talent, your stunning good looks, etc. It’s likely that they were giving you a compliment.  They were sincere and it was meant in a positive way rather than an “I wish I had what you have and I wish you didn’t” way.

To know that someone envies what you have or what you are often allows us to see those things through fresh eyes and to reassign value to some things we had come to take for granted or simply ignore. If a struggling person or a much younger person tells us about the envy the feel in our direction, we may feel a bit flattered but we aren’t blown away.  After all, value is relative. If someone without a car at all envies you because you drive a ’79 Ford Pinto, you still won’t feel that great about taking your girl to the prom in the Pinto.  You still know it’s an old beater.

But what if the rich, the famous, and the powerful began to sincerely indicate that they envied you for certain things?  You might begin to see whatever that was in a much different light. You would begin to sense the value, the uniqueness, or the special qualities of whatever they saw in you or in your possession that they longed for themselves.  Realizing that, you might begin to feel a little more significant, walk a little taller, and expect a little more out of life.

Consider these two verses:

               Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.  (Eph.3:8-10)

As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. (1 Pet. 1:10-12)

These are interesting verses. In summary, they tell us that there were mysteries that rested in the vaults of heaven for ages.  There were rumors and hints about God’s plan for redeeming Israel and, perhaps, even others.  The great prophets of Israel sensed that something was up and asked God to show them.  He would not.  Angels themselves longed to look into the plans of God regarding man.  God kept the files shut. But in the fullness of time, he chose the church and he chose you to announce the mysteries surrounding Christ, not just to the world but also to powers, authorities and angels in the heavenly realms.

This unveiling of God’s secrets began at Pentecost but continue through today.  The Spirit of God now reveals the mysteries of God to God’s people as they pour over the Word, seek him in prayer, or operate in the grace-filled gifts of the Spirit.  As they do, they announce these revealed mysteries not just to the rest of the body of Christ, but even to the angels who long to look into such things but must wait to hear them from us.

If we could only grasp the honor and the privilege that God has given us as his children we might feel more significant, walk a little taller and expect a little more out of life.  It really is amazing.  There is a real sense in which you are envied by the angels for he has entrusted to you and to every believer true riches that must be distributed by you even to those amazing creatures who stand in the presence of God.  Consider that privilege today.  Dig a little deeper in the Word.  Pray a little longer.  Ask God for a greater revelation of Jesus every day.  When you get it, share it with others and when you do you will be sharing with the angels as well.  Blessings.

“Jesus is Lord!” How often has that phrase been spoken in the past two thousand years?  It is an amazing theological statement full of implications but it can also be a phrase used so often that it loses its meaning to those who use it most.

We can also say with great accuracy that Jesus not only is Lord but has been Lord and will always be Lord.  The prophet Isaiah was given a great vision in the year that King Uzziah died.  It was a year of uncertainty in Israel.  A good king had died and the few faithful kings that ruled over Israel were typically followed by disastrous years of rule by wicked kings who forced God to send judgment on a rebellious nation. It was a year and a moment when Isaiah needed encouragement.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isa.6:1-5).

In his moment of need, Isaiah wass given a vision of the throne room of God which exuded the power, the glory, and the might of the one on the throne. This was his God and the one who watched over Israel. It was a reminder that even when the earth or our particular part of the earth is in chaos, there is no chaos or panic in heaven.  At the same time that this vision was meant to reassure Isaiah that “God was still on his throne,”  the sheer glory, power, and holiness of the Lord overwhelmed Isaiah with a sense of his own sinfulness.  Yet God immediately cleansed the prophet so that he could stand in the His presence. He then gave him his prophetic orders.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go and tell this people: “ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (Isa.6:8-10).

In John 12, the apostle quotes this passage from Isaiah about Israel but then says, “Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him” (Jn. 12:41). Isaiah’s vision opens up to us the glory that Jesus had in heaven before he put on flesh and became Son of Man.  He was Lord before the incarnation as well as after.  The word Lord, in both Hebrew and Greek simply means “one who has immense authority and one to whom great respect is due.” It is frequently applied to deity in both languages.

When we speak of Jesus as Lord, we echo his position of great authority and the immense honor due to him.  The N.T. speaks of his great authority over and over.

God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.  And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Eph.1:20-23)

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matt. 28:18)

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil.2:9-11)

As those who are in Christ by faith, we have the immense honor of not only serving the King of Kings and Lords of Lords but of knowing him as a friend and brother. It’s not always easy keeping the balance between friendship and kingship, between reverent awe and familiarity. And yet we have the privilege of doing just that with the one who made Isaiah tremble. It is possible, not because Jesus has been brought down, but because we have been raised up with Him and “seated with Him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6).

Three things we should remember today:

1. Jesus is Lord and as such should have our immediate and complete obedience in all things as well as our greatest respect. He isa to be honored above all.

2. Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth and he exercises that power and authority on your behalf. When you enter into seasons of turmoil and chaos in your life, remember Isaiah’s vision of Christ on the throne and remember that although he is the Lord who sits in unspeakable glory, he also knows you by name and watches over you as a friend, a brother, and as the Good Shepherd.

3. You are seated with Christ in heavenly places and you represent the King of Glory with immense authority that has been delegated to you by the King. As his representative (ambassadors) on the earth you are to re-present Jesus and do what he would do in every circumstance of life. Your words carry weight, your prayers carry weight, and your actions carry weight when you are faithfully serving Him. Because you serve a king with great significance you are a person of great significance.

Spend some time today imagining Jesus in all his glory and seeing yourself in that same throne room, sitting at his right hand, as his ambassador and close friend. You are eagerly waiting for your next diplomatic mission. How are you dressed? How do you feel? How do you sit?  How do you walk? How do you speak?  Carry that with you today because that is  who you truly are in Christ – King of Kings and Lord of Lords.