The Journey Update

I have two tidbits to share with you today, and then a closing thought...

First, the bad news is that, as of this week, we no longer have a Young Women's Group on Tuesdays. The good news is that we are not leaving you hanging. We will be starting a new Twenty-Something Group on October 7. The group is open to anyone ages 21 to 29 and will meet at my place in Redlands on Tuesdays at 6:30pm. Cristina and I are excited to be able to open our home to you and to get to know you in a more relaxed setting as we grow in Christ together.

Second, I want to invite you to Fuel this month. We will be talking about "God's Gift," how we can become the difference in to each other's lives. We'll be discussing issues like why Christian fellowship is important and how we grow stronger spiritually. Fuel happens Fridays at 7pm in the Student Ministries Building at 495 N La Cadena Drive in Colton.

Just as a reminder: we no longer serve dinner beforehand. But you are welcome to come early to pray in the sanctuary on your own anytime between 6:30-7pm. This is a great time to praise God for His grace, to place the problems of your week in His hands, and/or just prepare your heart for our time of worship together.

Let me add just one more thing. It seems that there are a lot of us right now that are going through difficult times. You may be sick, in a tight spot financially, or in the middle of some sort of relational conflict. This being the case, it is not the time to resign ourselves to our situations but to God's grace. This is a time to examine our hearts and confess our sins. This is a time to seek godly wisdom and discipline in matters of study, sleep, diet, and budget. This is a time to stand firm in the face of temptation and pray against the schemes of the devil. This is a time to seek God in the midst of the trial and to give thanks for ALL He has done! It is time to pray and to press on!

Please keep your fellow journeyers in prayer this week and be open to letting God use you to help and encourage them.

Blessings!
Shawn

The Names and Nature of Messiah, Part 3: Son of Man

An important prophecy about the Messiah was recorded over 500 years before the time of Jesus by the prophet Daniel:

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

An important part of this prophecy is the term “son of man.” Literally, it simply means what one would guess: “human being.” But in this vision this human being is showing signs of being more than human. He was coming with the clouds, approaching God Himself, taking on authority, glory, and power, being worshiped, and ruling forever! This was no ordinary son of man. One massive question arises: How could this human being in the presence of God be worshiped by every nation and language unless He too was divine? Could this be the Son of God who will reign forever—the promised Messiah?

Of course, the scene described in Daniel has not yet taken place. It is linked to events prophesied in the book of Revelation which describe future events. But it is very significant to us now in understanding Who Jesus was claiming to be when He called Himself the “Son of Man” in the New Testament gospels. For instance, let’s look at Mark 2:1-12:

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

On this occasion, Jesus was claiming to be the “Son of Man” and acting like it. First, He forgave the man of his sin. As the teachers of the Mosaic law rightly pointed out, only God could forgive sins. But the Father had given Him authority as the Son of Man to forgive sins. Second, to show His authority in a tangible way He healed the man. This pointed to sovereign power the Father gave Him as the Son of Man. Note that, though Jesus was also God, He set aside His own authority, glory and power as God when He took on a human nature. From the time of His birth to the moment He died He used only the power and authority given to Him as Messiah by the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

While on earth Jesus lived a model life for us. The same Holy Spirit that was available to Him is living in us as Christians. Not only that, but Christ shares His authority, glory and power with us as His ambassadors in this world. Too often we forget that Jesus does not just offer us forgiveness but also eternal life. That means both that we get to live together in fellowship with Him forever and that He now shares the qualities of His life with us. His righteousness, His peace, His holiness, His power, His love, His wisdom, and so much more—God shares Himself with us in Christ through the indwelling of His Spirit! That means that no matter what the situation or temptation may be we are more than conquerors through Christ! So let’s add to our daily prayers a plea for God to teach us how to walk in the fullness of His eternal life every day.

The Names and Nature of Messiah, Part 2: Son of God

Romans 1:1-4 begins, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”

In the past, I have had a hard time understanding this passage. I knew that in eternity, before time began, Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father. That is to say that He and the Father have had an unbroken relationship from eternity past and will continue to share in that divine communion forever (the same goes for the Holy Spirit). There is no point at which Jesus became the Son of God. He has always existed; and He has never existed as anything or anyone but the Son of God.

What I did not know was how Jesus, the divine Son of God, could be “appointed” to be the Son of God. Were there other candidates? Who, or what, was He before this appointment? It didn’t line up with what I already knew to be true about Jesus, that is, not until I read about a promise God made to King David almost 1,000 years before Jesus took on a human nature and was born into this world.

David was known as perhaps Israel’s greatest king. At one point, he had decided to he wanted to make a temple for God, a place where the Ark of the Covenant (where God’s presence rested) could be housed and where sacrificial offerings could be made on behalf of the people. But God, through the prophet Nathan, told David that He had a different plan. Instead of David building a house for God, God would build a house (royal dynasty) for David. The promise is in 2 Samuel 7:11-16.

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by human beings, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

First of all, this prophecy is about David’s son, Solomon, and subsequent heirs to the throne. Notice the phrase, “I will be his father, and he will be my son.” God is telling David that he is going to adopt Solomon (and those decedents who would sit on David’s throne) as sons and that He would have a relationship with them as their Father. In other words, whoever sits on the throne of David would be called a “son of God,” especially and ultimately the Messiah.

In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews applies this prophecy to Jesus as the divine messiah (1:5-9), who was a descendant of David, and who’s throne will last forever. When we put our faith in Him, we can participate in the relationship that He has with the Father. That is, God will be our Father too, and we His sons and daughters. But this prophecy is also about the future. And when Jesus comes back to establish His throne forever, we will reign with Him. Therefore, the Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 6:18, feels warranted in extending the prophecy to us as Christians.

So, now that I understand that “son of God” is a title applied to those who sit on the throne of David, I can reason that Jesus never began to be the divine Son of God; He always was. But He was appointed to the office of the “son of God.” In other words, He was appointed to sit on David’s throne as king. Not only that, but this appointment was “through the Spirit of holiness,” which means Jesus was consecrated by the anointing of the Holy Spirit to be the Messiah. Moreover, by His resurrection He was shown to be both God and Messiah Who would deliver us from the bondage of sin.

There’s even more to say about Jesus as Messiah. For those of you who heard the message on Friday, you know I’m adding much more here in writing than I could share with you in just one evening. So please check back soon to read the next installment of “The Names and Nature of Messiah.” Finally, as children of God who will reign with Christ one day, let me challenge you to rule over your own affairs well. Consider reading a chapter a day through Proverbs starting October 1 so that you can acquire practical wisdom for daily life.

The Names and Nature of Messiah, Part 1: The Christ

On Friday at Fuel, we ran out of time, and I was unable to finish my message. So, as promised, I will finish it here online. However, for the benefit of those not with us Friday I will briefly recap from the beginning…

Historical Baggage

The term, “Messiah,” has carried with it a lot of baggage over the centuries. I want to bring some clarity to our understanding of who the Messiah is and what that title actually means.

When Jesus came on the scene the Jewish people were expecting God to send them a warrior-king, like in the times of the judges, from the royal lineage of David, who would deliver them from the rule of the Romans. He would lead the people to victory, give them back their land, and rule over them in righteousness. But this was not exactly what God had in mind when He promised to send a Messiah.

The Christ

Messiah means “anointed one.” In Greek, the word is “Christos,” where we get the term “Christ.” So when we talk about Jesus Christ, we are calling Jesus the anointed one. But what does it mean to be anointed?

It is not much different than how our political system works. Whether McCain or Obama wins the election in November, our next president will not take office until January when he is sworn in. Whether it’s a president, a judge, or any elected official, our representatives in government don't officially take office until they are sworn in. Now, we don’t swear in just anyone, but only those who have already been elected and chosen by the people.

In ancient Israel, priests, prophets, and kings were consecrated into office by being anointed with oil. That’s how they were commissioned for office (2 Kings 11:12). Anointing with oil symbolized anointing by the Holy Spirit, that He was working through the anointed person, thus making that person sacred, or holy, because of the Spirit upon that person. Anointing was an outward sign that God had chosen a person for office and that He would empower that person to carry out his or her duties.

So, when we call Jesus the “Christ,” or the “Messiah,” we are saying He is the “Anointed One.” Specifically, He was anointed by the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit was upon, or with, Him and empowering Him for a certain purpose. But what exactly was He anointed to do?

One day, Jesus read a scripture from Isaiah in the synagogue which sounds a lot like a messianic mission statement: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” After reading it, He claimed that the scripture was being fulfilled in Him (Luke 4:16-21).

On another occasion, Jesus was talking with a Samaritan woman by a well. In the course of the conversation He revealed to her many things about herself that He shouldn’t have been able to know. But, most importantly, He revealed that He was the Messiah. Once she had told the people in her town about Jesus, some believed her based on nothing but her testimony while others came to see for themselves (John 4:16-26, 39-42).

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He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

“I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

The woman said, “I know that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

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I will not be offended if you do not believe in Jesus based on my testimony alone. But you do yourself a disservice if you dismiss Him altogether, without taking the time to find out for yourself Who Jesus really is. You may not have a chance to spend two days with Jesus in person. But at least read through a gospel or two (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) before you decide where you stand. As you read, ask yourself, “Is Jesus the promised Messiah?” and, if so, “What was his mission as Messiah?”

There’s more to come. I’ll be continuing with thoughts about the “Son of Man” and “Son of God” as the week goes on. In the meantime, why not read a gospel? Find out for yourself whether Jesus really is the savior of the world!