The King

Don't you love the providence of God? Don't you love it when your Bible readings collide? This morning i read 1 Samuel 4-8, Luke 22 and Psalm 89.

1 Samuel 4-8 is both instructive and upsetting. Israel is defeated in battle by the Philistines, somehow they decide that if they take the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them they will be guaranteed success. Wrong, Israel is defeated, the Ark is captured and Eli dies as a result of the shock. But as wrong as Israel was about the Ark being a good luck trinket, they were right about it's power. The Ark is placed in the temple of Dagon, but the statue of Dagon can not stand with the Ark. He falls, his limbs broken off. That's so cool. Then the Ark brings disease wherever it goes in Philistia, and is eventually returned.

Israel have obviously had enough of this. Surely rejecting God and having a king 'like the other nations' is the answer. Of course! Samuel warns Israel what sort of king they will get in return for rejecting God, while, probably at the same time writing the book of Judges. Israel will get a King who will take their sons, their daughters and their crops.

Luke 22 sees the beginning of a dark and glorious coronation. here is God's King, God's anointed, God's man. Here is the Messiah. This is the King who will not Lord over his people as the Gentiles but will serve His people. Willing die for His Father and His people. At least Israel is consistent. They didn't want God to be their King in 1 Samuel, and they don't now. But i love how God works, i love that Israel's rejection of God as their King results in God's Son being crowned King.

In Psalm 89 there is great hope. Hope in God's promise to David, hope that in times when God's people are crushed God is faithful. Hope that God will not hide Himself forever because He is faithful to Himself.

Jesus is truly God's King, crowned with thorns, dying to save His people. Even in darkness, even in rebellion, God is King, God is faithful. Since listening to Carson's talks on Jeremiah i've been thinking about my hearts reaction to God as my King and Father. Do i want a King? or just a forgiver? Someone to kindly overlook my failures. This Easter lets look at the cross. Let's see God's man, the Godman, God's King, Jesus, doing what we could never do for the sake of His subjects. And lets be humbled around the cross, and rejoice.

'a thousand times worse...a million times better'

A couple of people have already linked to this post on the Prodigal Son/God by Glen Scrivener. But it deserves the largest readership it can get:

When we sin, do we consider ourselves to be in the pig sty - the long journey back home stretches ahead of us? Or do we consider ourselves to be already in the Father’s arms? There’s a big difference.

I remember speaking with a Christian man about his extra-marital affair from years earlier. As he spoke about the pain of those memories I said to him “You realise that in the midst of the very worst of that, Jesus was rejoicing over you as a Bridegroom rejoices over His bride.” He paused for a long time and said “That makes it a hundred times worse!” I said “Yes it does. A thousand times worse.” We think that we manage to sin away in a corner somewhere. No, no, no. Just read 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 to see that we are very much united to Christ in our sin!
We stink of pig in the Father’s arms. That’s a thousand times worse than stinking in the sty. But it’s a million times better too.

The point of our turning - and our life of turning and turning again to the Father - is in His unchanging embrace. When you sin don’t imagine yourself alone in the sty. You are there in His arms - reeking and held fast. It’s a thousand times worse. A million times better.

Preaching and/or teaching

Bish shared this quote from Michael Jensen:

"I was speaking with a prominent English conservative evangelical not so long ago, and we were talking about preaching. He had a gripe: the phrase 'bible teaching' ...it has crept into the evangelical vocabulary to describe what used to be called 'preaching'. A church is great, we will say, because 'the bible teaching is excellent'. But, he said, the vocab change is significant: it represents a shift to a more cognitive, flat and explanatory style of discourse. The hearers will not be exhorted or edified so much as 'taught'. What's more, and perhaps more seriously, we talk less of preaching Christ, but of teaching the Bible. A subtle but significant difference perhaps?

Very challenging indeed. This is in some ways why i prefer preaching from the Old Testament to the New. If i spent thirty minutes talking about the Passover from Exodus 12 it's probably easier to notice the lack of Christ exultation than if i was preaching from a letter, for example. I often find that when i'm in the New Testament i assume the Gospel rather than find out and show how this page is covered in the blood of Christ. I want to preach, i want to enthrone, i want to exult, i want to demonstrate Jesus Christ from the pages of scripture as more valuable than anything we have or will ever have, see or will ever see, taste or will ever taste. Anything ever.

Or maybe good teaching eventually morphs into preaching? The preachers i enjoy the most don't 'just' get excited about Christ while they're in the pulpit, they slowly and Biblically build their case from the text in front of them. Is preaching the overflow of good exegesis? When the preacher sees and applies whats in front of him he can't help but move to expository exultation? Teaching itself is just the communication of information, that's what teachers do in schools. That's not what the pulpit is for, BUT without this information what is it our idol manufacturing hearts are worshipping? I think we need Bible teachers, we need people to explain glory to us verse by verse, but that can't be the end of it. Surely this information then needs to be taken 'to the centre', and this is where it turns into preaching. The Bible is a glorious lens, and we need to look though it.

So this is my burden with the Senior High class tomorrow. Not to show them that Luke 15 is actually about the older son not the prodigal, not to get them excited about Luke's Gospel because Luke was so clever, but to show them how Luke 15 glorifies Jesus and to excite them about Luke's Gospel because of what it shows us of our Saviour.

I once was blind

Luke 18:9-19:28 seems to be about sight. Some people can't see Jesus, some can. Those who can, can because Jesus opens their eyes.

So what do the disciples, the blind man and Zacchaeus have in common? None of them can see. The disciples hear of Jesus imminent death, but the meaning is hidden from them, so they can't see. The blind man is blind, his lack of sight is obvious, Zacchaeus can't see, because (and when i discovered this i actually said 'wow' out loud) he was too short and had to climb a tree.

Eventually all three people/groups see. The blind man and Zacchaeus straight away, the disciples when Jesus rises and explains. This sight belongs to Jesus, He will impart it on those who faithfully seek. Also Zacchaeus was rich which proves the rich young rulers problem earlier on was not simply that he was rich.

I love Luke's Gospel. Luke is so clever at arranging material to show us who Jesus is and how we must respond. I don't think me and the doctor would be best mates, i'm far too messy for him i would imagine, but from the pages of his Gospel i admire him from afar.

ESV Study Bible Luke

You can read the introduction to Luke's Gospel in the new ESV study Bible here.

It looks amazing!

Revolution and reformation

I guess the link between evangelism and discipleship, or, better put, what to do with new Christians after they're saved has been a problem since Acts. Too often i've been involved when the approach has either been 'well, you were saved by grace but now you need to do this stuff', or people have ended up thinking 'i'm not saved by anything i do, so it doesn't matter if i live in the same way now that i used to'. Both with some obvious glorious truth applied in a horrible way.

And this is a serious business. Luke tells us:

When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.

"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters

"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."

The devil here is depicted as a strong man, someone who can look after himself and doesn't have too many worries about secutiry. His house is his domain, and he rules it without opposition. And yet, when a stronger man comes, the first man is disarmed. Suddennly his arnmour is useless to him, and he has no defence. he was been overthrown. Revolution has come to his house. This is the work that Christ has accomplished on the cross. He has disarmed the strong man, by his death and ressurection, he has overthrown the devils rule in the hearts of many, and rules there. Revolution has come.

But revolution on it's own is not enough. It's not just enough to have the devil overthrown. Our previous passion for the evil one must be replaced with an ardour for our new King, for our savior, the One who has overthrown. Look at the next paragraph. The evil spirits leave the house and can not find rest. So he returns. And what does he find? Not a fortress of love for the new ruler of the house, not a well defended refuge built at the foot of calvary, but instead a house 'swpt clean and out in order'. A house no longer under the devastating rule of the devil, but not aflame with anything else. Just well swept and put in order. Like a show home.

So what happnes? The enemy returns to the house, and the state of it is worse than before. Seven times worse. There was no defence, no home was made for the new King, no preparation made for the hardships to come. On the outside the house looked ok, but it was empty and void. A sitting target.

Our love must be replaced, we must fall for and commit to Jesus wholeheartedly, and more importantly than that, we must make sure that the people that respond to the Gospel in mission week season experience not only revolution, as one king is overthrown for the real King, but also reformation, as the affection and dedication for one king is replaced by affection and dedication for the real King. This is an impossible taks, which is why 2 Corinthians 3:17-4:6 is one of my favourite and most encouraging passages of scripture. We can't make the light shine, God does. Whats our part? preaching the Gospel. Not just to the unsaved but, since the Gospel is God's appointed means of salvation and sanctification, we teach new converts too. And people who have been Christians all their lives. And ourselves. Then, when this light shines brighter than any other Christians will understand why 'don't sleep around' is not a proscription but a prescription. Not something to steal life away, but to impart life and joy. Then we will see not just converts but disciples, people ready to give their all for thier new, revolutionising, reforming, saving, mission enabling King.