Total Depravity and Fellowship

April 30, 2013April 30, 2013 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

Sometimes it’s hard to recognize just how relient we are on Christ. It’s so apparent when something doesn’t go right, or life gets stressed beyond where we are comfortable. This is where we find ourselves in complete depravity, needing everything from the Creator. If we look deeply in the words that Paul wrote to the Corinthians we see that he found great joy in feeling completely in need.

This week in the Basic Series, we talked about fellowship which ultimately comes down to the interpersonal relationship that we have with Jesus. It seems counterintuitive to think that an ‘internal’ relationship is directly responsible for our external ‘fellowship’, but through the scriptures I think that we can see how it directly plays out.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Fellowship is about relationship, and relationships are built around trust. Trust is built off of mutual vulnerability, allowing others to see and feel our depravity. It’s incredibly scary and it causes us to pull back. But God. His power is made perfect in our weakness, as we see above. He wants us to recognize that it’s not in the fellowship that we as a group are made strong, it’s in Him. See the relationship with Jesus works different than the relationship or fellowship that you have with your friends or even with the Church. God himself came down in human form, vulnerable to sin and capable of death. His resurrection defeated death and sin, so we can rest him him. There doesn’t have to be mutual vulnerability because like the song, His love never fails. Fellowship will fail, friendship will fail, but God…. our love fails,

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17)

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:8-13)

Paul can, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” because he knew that God’s grace and sovereignty never fails. His love never fails. If we continue to breakdown how these passages lace back into our vertical relationship with Christ we see that God is love, and

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:8-13)

The greatest gift from God is love. The power of Christ is love. Without the power of the Holy Spirit we cannot love even one person. We can’t love ourselves, we can’t love our kids, we can’t love our friends, we cannot love. You can’t have fellowship, and you definitely can’t have true communion without the power of the Holy Spirit.

The passage in James continues to reenforce this point.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

Count it all joy, my brothers (community), when you meet trials of various kinds (depravity), for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness (love). And let steadfastness (love) have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Depravity looks ugly and it is. We are all capable of murder, but it’s God’s grace and continuing sanctification working through us that provides us with a glimpse of what it’s like to love. Through that insight we can start and work towards loving each other in community. True fellowship. It’s through his gospel that we find love, the words of his scripture and a interpretation of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

So my challenge today is that we focus on our interpersonal relationship with Jesus. We work towards a greater communion with Him so that we can have a greater communion with His bride.

Facebook Prayer

April 27, 2013April 27, 2013 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

I think the more appropriate prayer looks something like this:

Dear God,

Thank you for all that you have done for my family, friends and loved ones. Please continue to give them the boldness to spread the gospel wherever you would have them go. Father, I pray that you will continue to purify them through the refiners fire so that they can look more like your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for your promise to always be with them thank you for continuing to bless them with the grace and mercy that they don’t deserve.

O and as for the blessings, thank you Father for blessing us with more of You.

We ask this in Your Son’s almighty name,

Amen.

There has been some questions to why I would repost a prayer that looks significantly different than the image that that was reposted. Comparing the prayers I think that you will find that the prayer I wrote really focuses on thanking God for all that he has done and asks him for more talent to complete the tasks that Jesus set forth before ascending back into heaven. Matthew records that Jesus commands us to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

The Great Commission

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20

The first part of the prayer focuses on the Great Commision and asking Jesus to continue to provide boldness to teach all that Jesus commanded. I think that one of the best examples of boldness that we see in the bible is Stephen in Acts, proclaiming the Gospel to the Jewish leaders knowing that he was possibly signing his death warrant.

Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?” “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:48-50

For my family and friends, I want that kind of boldness. The boldness that makes a difference, the boldness to do what Jesus commanded. I know that this idea looks different from what has been taught before but it’s what Jesus wants. We find out more about what that boldness and life looks like in Luke 9.

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:23-27)

and

The Cost of Following Jesus

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62)

Obviously, the scripture points out that the cost of following Jesus is high. You actually have to give up certain amenities (read everything) in order to make that commitment. Thats a far cry from the prayers that read something like, “God, I want, I want, I want, I want….”. The cost of following Jesus looks more like, “Jesus, here is what I have and it’s yours.” And the real kicker to this whole idea is that “In the beginning God, created…. “ so all that you have is not yours anyway.

The main point here is that it’s not what you can give, it’s what has been given to you. Jesus paid the ultimate price of being crushed on the cross.

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

He was crushed so that we can live, he died to save us from ourselves and our selfish desires.

The prayer doesn’t get any easier from here. It reads “Father, I pray that you will continue to purify them through the refiners fire so that they can look more like your Son Jesus Christ.”

But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord . (Malachi 3:2-3)

I pray that my friends and family go through the trials and the tribulations and have been set forth for them before the beginning of time. I pray that they go through them so that they can be refined, so that they can continue to become more like Jesus. I pray that they walk through them pressing deep in the gospel and trusting that Jesus will be with them through the entire journey, that they will glorify the one who deserves all glory. Psalms 23 reads:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Jesus didn’t say that it would be easy, He didn’t say you would get everything that you want. He said that he loves you. We see the Jesus, all man, all divine weeping for he loved his people so much.

Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” (John 11:35-36)

We see at the end of The Great Commision that Jesus will be with us always, to the end of the age. He’s with us now, the one who loves the world and loves you.

Paul lays out so clearly in Romans that grace is a gift from God. We can’t work our way to heaven. Jesus is the only way.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. (Romans 5:15-18)

My prayer reads a little different from most that you will read on Facebook. It’s deeper, it’s very real. When I pray for my friends in family, I pray for a deeper relationship with Jesus, whatever the cost. I know that regardless of what that looks like, the joy and happiness, the freedom and family is worth it. Its worth it because I love them enough to show them Jesus. I love them enough to trust that the Holy Spirit will change hearts that need to be changed and continue to provide the guidance that Jesus promised. Thats why I pray the way that I pray.

This Weeks Teachings

April 23, 2013 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

Each week for The Crux Student Ministry I lay out some going deep questions for our “cell family” or small group teaching. This week is based on the Fellowship portion of Francis Chan’s Basic series.

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Acts 4:32–35

All the believers were one in heart and mind.

This passage is loaded with Christ’s vision of the church. All the believers were one in heart and mind… Do we as a group have a gospel centered life? What does that look like? How can we center our lives around Jesus and what he said. How much easier would our life be without the drama of selfish desires? How much weight do you put in the things of this world and how does it effect your relationship with the Church? You know, the people we do life with…. or do we?

No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.

This passage started out discussing Christ’s vision of the church, that all the believers were one in heart and mind. The scripture then goes on to talk about our possessions and the things that we have. Do you think that the scripture is pointing us to something greater than our earthly possessions? What would you be more willing to give at this point, your TV or your talents and time? If the Holy Spirit truly empowers us to do all, then why as a family is it so hard to share our talents? Is it a pride issue? Are our talents and time our most prized possessions?

With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

The Church is suppose to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with power. Do our daily testimonies look powerful? Do we act out our testimonies daily? Do people see us differently? It’s said that the, “us against the world” mentality is the most dangerous and bonding mentality there is. As a Church, do we say, “it’s us against the things of this world?” How do you think that would play out in our daily walk and testimonies? Isn’t that the mentality that Christ calls us too?

And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.

Honestly, what are your needs? If we as a Church don’t know each others needs, than how can there be “no needy persons among them?” How vulnerable does it make you to lay out all of your needs? Would that force you to rely on Jesus for strength? Would that build a more intimate relationship with the Church? Wouldn’t that really focus our lives on the cross? How much more real would that make the Church?

I’m talking real, as in, in your face, true life on life family. You take the pretenses and the judgement and throw it out the window and trust that the people around you are walking in grace and therefore there is nothing that can’t be brought to the table. I’m talking about family. How do we get our fellowship to look more like that?

Grace on Display

April 23, 2013April 23, 2013 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

There comes a day
When a man falls down
In his hand he holds
his bruised and broken crown
It usually comes to his dismay
For he was proud in sin
Throughout his day

His false throne in his kingdom remains vague
As he cries his thoughts are disruptive, haunting and plagued
And Satan stands above claiming the day
Before the Light comes into play

But the scene changes quickly when he chooses to say
The name of the great Redeemer
Who washes the sin away

Jesus Christ The Lord
The Creator of the clay
Has changed his life forever
And it’s to whom he must obey

In his current state
He knows he cannot stay
For he has been shown
The Truth, the Light, the Way.

The cost was heavy, but it was He whom chose to pay
So that we could walk in the light
As God’s grace on display.

Holy Spirit Thoughts and Reflections Pt. 1

April 22, 2013 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

After teaching out Francis Chan’s BASIC series on the Holy Spirit last night I’ve been in some deep prayer and thought about who the Holy Spirit is and how God uses the Spirit in us. Lately, I’ve been exploring Shai Linne‘s Lyrical Theology Pt. 1 and he has some deep insight into the theological aspects of the Holy Spirit.

Take a listen here:

Lyrics:

Chorus

You gave us breath, you gave us life
Opened our eyes to see the Christ
Holy Spirit we worship You
Spirit of God we worship You

Now you live inside of us
You help us serve the God we trust
Holy Spirit we worship You
Without You we can do nothing at all

Verse 1

(tim)
Spirit of God, in ourselves we’re lifeless
So we ask You now for Your powerful help to write this
God the Spirit, we worship Thee
You’ve been one with the God the Father and God the Son for All Eternity!
One in Your Substance, One in Your Honor
Spirit–You are the love between the Son and the Father!
Spirit –You’re the Creator whom we are praisin’
Plus You’re God’s personal agent of re-creation!

(shai)
We see You at creation hovering over the face of the waters
You were faithful to order the waves and their borders
We spread death- the type to contaminate earth’s inhabitants
But You’re the breath of life that animates the inanimate
You filled Your servants with skill, knowledge and intelligence
To build the tabernacle where God and man could fellowship
Where the undeserving elect could serve You with reverence
Behind the curtain- Your essence, a picture of worship in heaven

(tim)
You revealed in Your Word- it says in, Ezekiel 37
Breath of God–You’re the Worker of Resurrection!
To raise from the grave the depraved and enslaved
A new race You’ll create through Christ, the perfect Servant-Shepherd

(shai)
Speaking of Christ, we can see Him in shadows and types
The prophets, kings and judges You empowered to battle and fight
You even had them write it down- the ultimate story
The sufferings of the Christ and the subsequent glories

Chorus

Verse 2

(tim)
Holy Spirit, for Your deeds we are stunned, in awe
Like how in the virgin’s womb You conceived the Son of God
Then when He was baptized within the Sea
On Messiah You descended to empower His entire ministry
Empowered His miracles He displayed that amazed men
Empowered Him to overcome temptations of Satan
To be the Firstborn from the dead of God’s New Creation of saints
From the grave You have raised Him- so You’ll raise them
Jesus promised You’d send His thoughts
You’re the anointing oil flowing from the King’s head at Pentecost
Down to His body, His kingdom You spread across
Making effectual the message of the precious cross!

(shai)
The book of Acts is not about the acts of the Apostles
But the acts of the Holy Spirit impacting with the gospel
Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria to Africa
Empowered your servants like Stephen when they were massacred
Ananias and Sapphira lied to You
So you put them both to death to show the church what a Holy God can do
You set apart Paul and Barnabas for the work of missions
You worked in the church’s division over circumcision
You take Christ’s objective cross work and vindication
And then apply it to the elect through regeneration
You saved us from the lake of fire, make us like our great Messiah
Graciously You take us higher- praise to You, our Sanctifier

(Chorus)

Verse 3

(tim)
You’re the Author of Scripture and its illuminator
Our God-given picture to see the Ruling Savior
Your thoughts are in-scripted on our hearts with conviction
And You’re the Father’s provision who renews our Nature

(shai)
With our nature renewed, now by grace we pursue
Conformity to the Savior through the faith that’s from You
The fruit You produce is proof that Your people are real
Directing our thoughts to Jesus when our evil’s revealed

(tim)
You reveal our evil and the mercy of the cross
And You seal Your people and ensure that none are lost
Spirit of Adoption, You disperse His love abroad
Within our hearts and spirits so we’re sure we’re sons of God!

(shai)
And with that blessed assurance, we’re set for the warring
We’re kept by Your warnings and we’re prepped for endurance
You provide gifts- even miracles assuredly
But fruit is a better gauge of spiritual maturity

(tim)
You unite us to Jesus so we can die to lust
Spirit of Christ- You’re the presence of Christ in us!
(You) already began His resurrection life inside of us,
so when He returns, by Your might we’ll rise from dust

(shai)
In Revelation, we see Your presence before the throne
Forever You will help us to reverence the Lord alone
You’re the source of all life and yet Your story’s precise
Amazingly, You do it all for the glory of Christ!

Chorus

Without going through and unpacking this bit of lyrical genius I think looking right back into scripture will provide some deeper insight into what the Bible presents as the Holy Spirit.

Warning: The rest of this writing is scripture based. If you are looking for some level of what I think or what a certain denomination presents, you aren’t going to find it here. We believe that the scripture is infallible and sufficient for our understanding. What you are about to read may press your current beliefs or how you were raised. Let the Holy Spirit guide your heart through the scriptures that are being presented and it is my prayer that my writing is driven by the Holy Spirit and that in turn you will find wisdom and understanding in my words.

Selective OT Old Testament Scriptures on the Holy Spirit:

The Holy Spirit as an agent in Creation:

Genesis 1:2 ²The earth was ^bwithout form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

As we see in Genesis 1:2 God presents the Holy Spirit right after he creates the Heavens and Earth. We can derive several things from this passage. First, God didn’t create the Holy Spirit. He created the heavens and the earth and the Holy Spirit was with God and is God. The idea of the Trinity is one of the few things in the Christian faith that we have to take on faith, because it can’t be explained by our limited knowledge. I will eventually write on the Trinity but at this time we know that the Holy Spirit existed with God. Second, the Spirit is an entity that comes down to the Earth. It’s important to acknowledge this simply because the we see throughout the Bible the the Spirit falls on people and indwells in them.

Psalm 33:6 ⁶ By ^pthe word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by ^qthe breath of his mouth all ^rtheir host.

Ezekiel 37:1–10 The Valley of Dry Bones 37 ^dThe hand of the Lord was upon me, and ^ehe brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;¹ it was full of bones. ²And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³And he said to me, ^f“Son of man, ^gcan these bones live?” And ^hI answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴Then he said to me, ⁱ“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ^jO dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause ^kbreath² to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶^lAnd I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and ^lcover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, ^mand you shall know that I am the Lord.” ⁷So I prophesied ⁿas I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, ^oa rattling,³ and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸And I looked, and …

1 Samuel 10:9–13 ⁹When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. ¹⁰When they came to ^vGibeah,⁴ behold, a group of prophets met him, ^oand the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. ¹¹And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? ^wIs Saul also among the prophets?” ¹²And a man of the place answered, ^x“And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, ^w“Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

The Holy Spirit source of inspiration and power:

Ezekiel 11:14–21 Israel’s New Heart and Spirit ¹⁴And the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁵^q“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,² the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ^r‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ ¹⁶Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet ^sI have been a sanctuary to them for a while³ in the countries where they have gone.’ ¹⁷Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^tI will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, ^tand I will give you the land of Israel.’ ¹⁸And when they come there, ^uthey will remove from it all its ^vdetestable things and all its abominations. ¹⁹^wAnd I will give them one heart, and ^xa new spirit I will put within them. ^yI will remove the heart of stone from their flesh ^zand give …

Ezekiel 36:22–32 I Will Put My Spirit Within You ²²“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^yIt is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, ^wwhich you have profaned among the nations to which you came. ²³^zAnd I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. ^aAnd the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. ²⁴^bI will take you ^cfrom the nations and gather you from all the countries and ^dbring you into your own land. ²⁵^eI will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from ^fall your uncleannesses, and ^gfrom all your idols ^hI will cleanse you. ²⁶And I will give you ⁱa new heart, and ⁱa new spirit I will put within you. ⁱAnd I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷^jAnd I will put my Spirit …

Obviously, we are going to go very deep with this study. My prayer is that you will continue to read and reflect on the passages above and contemplate not only the theological underpinnings of this study, but it’s practical application in your life.

Join me in some converstation about what we read here. You can follow me on Facebook and on Twitter and we can continue to press into the gospel.

Also check out this Podcast called ‘The Helper’ which happen to spring up this morning. God is good. Justin Buzzard does a wonderful job preaching out some practical aspects of the Holy Spirit.

Fear of the Lord

April 21, 2013 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

As we read the scripture we find that God has unchangeable characteristics and works in ways that we can’t fathom. The fear of The Lord, like in the passage that’s highlighted focuses us on the fact the God is sovereign and that we should not only focus on his unwavering love, but on his ultimate and unbridled power. I think we can start in

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 ESV)

And recognize that nothing started before God, hence he is the creator of all. That power alone is nothing short of awesome. We couldn’t exist without the Creator and with that mindset and a reverent fear we start to take “us” or our selfish wants, desires, and egos out of the walk with Him.

We can also pull out several passages in scripture that show God as the judge and again sovereign ruler over all such as

and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning. But the sonsof Korah did not die. (Numbers 26:10, 11 ESV)

Where we see God open up the earth, swallow the disobedient Israelites as a warning to the rest as they proceed through the wilderness. Two things with this passage, God is showing what happens when you step away from him and want to be a slave to something over than his rule, the Egyptians in this case. And two that He continues to show grace by not destroying the sons of Korah. We can also we that God offers multiple opportunities and is not quick to anger but will be the judge in His time.

The argument then goes to…. That was the Old Testament God, but as we see in

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part ofit and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold theland for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. (Acts 5:1-11 ESV)
God strikes down two people in the beginnings of the first church in acts. There is lots here but for this discussion I think that it shows that God didn’t change throughout thescripture.

I think that if we truly visualize the description of God in several key texts we can also see that we would be so blown away by Holiness and Majesty that our natural reaction would be to fear The Lord, just as Isaiah did in

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:1-5 ESV)
And John did in
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. (Revelation 1:12-18 ESV)
Both men of God trembled at his feet. I think that if we had that experience we would have a better understanding of why fear is the beginning of all knowledge. If we chose not to have a reverent fear of The Lord I feel like we start placing ourselves above Him, not truly embracing his complete and perfect power, his Love and his Holiness.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8 ESV)