The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here. (Luke 11:31-32 NIV)
Since we've just finished a long detour through Jonah, we will look at verse 32 first and come back to the Queen of the South tomorrow.
When Jonah arrived in Nineveh, looking considerably disheveled, he walked through the streets proclaiming an eight word sermon. ("Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.") Of the 120,000 people in Nineveh, 100% of them repented in sackcloth and with fasting. The king issued a decree that "everyone call urgently on God... give up their evil ways and their violence."
As I read the words of the king's decree, I am speechless. The king of Nineveh demanded that the citizens fast and repent. It was not optional. He meant business and he led the way by his own example. When the king repented in sackcloth and with fasting, the citizens did, too.
It seems impossible for this to happen in any city, any country. It is especially incredible because the people of Nineveh were fierce Assyrians who had considerable evil ways and violence from which they needed to repent. They had as much sin as... well, as us. They were as sinful and far from God as our country. They were as disinterested in righteousness as we in America seem to be.
One day, the people were living in their sin and embracing the evil to which they were accustomed. The next day, Jonah, the rebellious prodigal, walked through the city with his tiny little sermon. The Spirit of God descended on hearts throughout the city. Repentance fell. Hearts changed. Evil fled.
It happened in Nineveh, and it could happen here. Pray that it will.
Jesus said that the men of Nineveh would rise up and condemn us at the judgment because of our failure to repent. They repented when Jonah (one of the least likely of God's prophets) spoke a few words from God. It wasn't eloquent preaching, and it wasn't flashy or fancy. The Spirit moved and Nineveh repented. The people of Jesus' day had God Himself, much greater than Jonah, yet they refused to repent. We, the people of modern times, have the Holy Spirit present with us, yet we, too, refuse to repent.
When judgment comes, the men of Nineveh will condemn us before the throne of God for our failure to heed the word of God despite such amazing opportunities to come to Him. There will be a Judgment Day and everyone will answer for how we responded to the Word of God. Having spent our lives "playing church" will not be acceptable. Jesus called us to radical obedience, the kind that causes us to give up the pleasures of the flesh, deny ourselves, and serve Him.
Discipleship is not optional for a believer. Discipleship is not optional for Christians.
You might notice that I separated those two terms. The term "Christian" was originally used to describe believers who were such faithful disciples of Christ that those around them considered them "little Christs". In this country, the term has come to mean "someone who attends church regularly". It's a tragedy, because the loss of meaning indicates our loss of understanding. Being a Christian is supposed to mean we are disciples of Christ. If we expect to live in eternity with Christ, who has gone to prepare a place for us, we need to understand that He expects us to follow Him until He returns.
Discipleship is not following from the back of the pack. Discipleship involves careful Bible study, diligent application of truth to our lives, willing hearts and hands that serve. Will we fail sometimes? Of course. We don't live our lives in failure, though. We are to rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us and correct us. Our goal is to be like Christ.
One day, we will be held accountable for our response to Christ. If the men of Nineveh looked at my life, what would they see? How would they view my response to God? How would they view your response to Christ? Are you a disciple or just one in the crowd?
Eight words from God changed a city and the lives of 120,000 people. Pray that the decree of the king, "call urgently on God and turn from evil", will be the cry of our hearts today. May the Spirit move in us like He did in Nineveh so long ago.
Showing posts with label judgment day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label judgment day. Show all posts
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Teach Us to Pray, part 32: The Keys to the Kingdom of God
And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 'Give us each day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" (Luke 11:2-4 NASB)
We are currently studying the Model Prayer of Jesus and parsing the phrase "Your Kingdom come". Yesterday, we looked at how we receive the Kingdom of God in the form of His word and the effect it has on our lives. Today, we are exploring the "keys of the Kingdom". There are two passages of particular note and I have included them here.
In the passage in Matthew 16, Jesus had just asked the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" and Peter had responded with that declaration of faith and truth, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus commended his faith and promised Peter the "keys of the kingdom". That promise has made its way into the vernacular with the image of the apostle Peter standing at the pearly gates with a huge set of keys, deciding who can enter and who cannot, but that was not what Jesus intended at all.
Instead, the word used here is kleis and is used metaphorically to indicate power and authority, specifically the power and authority to help people gain knowledge. On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood and spoke in such a way that thousands came to faith in Christ. He metaphorically opened the door to faith for them. What we forget about that day is that, after the ascension of Christ, Peter and the other disciples, along with quite a few believers, had spent weeks together in continuous prayer and worship. His power and authority flowed out of the time he had spent in prayer and fasting. His spiritual knowledge was the expected outcome of his discipline.
The passage in Matthew 17 followed the transfiguration. Jesus and the disciples who had accompanied Him to the mount of transfiguration returned to find the other disciples unsuccessfully trying to heal/cast out a demon from a boy. After Jesus healed the child, He told them that they could not heal him because of the "littleness of your faith" and also said that some things could only come out by prayer and fasting.
How does all this relate to the keys of heaven? Matthew Henry says that the keys of the kingdom of heaven are knowledge and discipline. He related this discipline to the admitting of people into the church and disciplining sinners, and he may be absolutely correct, but I am inclined to believe that, because of his faith, Peter received the keys of knowledge and discipline so that he was able to share the gospel in a clear and concise way (knowledge), with the result that many people came to Christ through his preaching.
Peter also had knowledge from the Holy Spirit that allowed him to know what God would have him do in healing those who were sick and performing miracles. That knowledge came from the discipline of time spent in prayer and fasting. He "loosed" people from disease and the bondage of sin and did incredible miracles in the name of Christ. His preaching and teaching "bound" them to Christ. (Of course it was the Holy Spirit working through Peter and not Peter himself doing the loosing and binding.)
The amazing thing is that you and I have been granted this same Holy Spirit that Christ gave to Peter and the other disciples. We, too, can have the faith of a mustard seed. We, too, can have the keys of knowledge and discipline, if we will.
This binding and loosing, then, comes about only because of the permission of Jesus and the knowledge that His Spirit gives. When we spend time in prayer and when we fast, we gain insight and power. We gain important keys that help us to "lock and unlock", to "loose and bind". What does that mean to the way that we pray? I generally think that those for whom I pray (and I myself) need to be loosed from the power of Satan and that they (and I) need to be bound to the mind, heart, and will of Christ. Jesus told Peter that he would give him that authority and implied that the church would be built on the same faith that Peter had. We, too, can have power and authority, if we will.
I don't have the power and authority of Peter, though, and you probably don't either. It grieves me to say that, but grieves me even more to realize that the reason I don't have it is not that Christ is not willing to grant me power and authority, but that I am not willing to sacrifice as Peter sacrificed to have it. Peter walked away from his business and spent his life preaching and teaching for Christ. He endured physical hardship, beatings, imprisonment, the scorn of his fellow man, and persecution that ended in a martyr's death. He did it all willingly and counted it as joy to suffer for his Lord. Peter held tight to Jesus and kept a very light hold on the things of this world.
If I lack the power of Peter, it is because I want the things of this world more than the power and authority, the knowledge and discipline that Jesus promised. I read those words, shudder at the truth of them, and recognize that it is truly pathetic. Why would I prefer comfort over the incredible delight of following Christ, even when it is hard, knowing that my eternal reward in heaven will be more than adequate recompense? This should not be.
I know that my Redeemer lives and reigns and is returning. I know that there will be a day of accountability for all the choices I have made, including my choices for or against faithfulness, boldness, and obedience. I know, yet my life often says different. My choices suggest that I doubt that I will answer for doing nothing while my brothers and sisters in Christ suffer severe persecution and death. My life implies that I do not expect to answer for doing nothing when the people Christ loves are hungry, cold, and losing their homes, their children, their way of life, all because of their faith.
While I sit idly by and do so little, people suffer, die, enter eternity without Christ. One day, I will answer for it. One day, we will all answer for it. Time is short, and we must decide. Will we live for Christ or not? If, then, we choose to live for Christ, let us really do it. Let us embrace the Cross, embrace the discipline so that we might receive the power, the authority, the knowledge that brings transformation - first to us, and then to those whom Christ would call to Himself.
We have a choice to make, so let's make it. Let us live like we believe.
Start now, and keep on until Jesus calls us home.
We are currently studying the Model Prayer of Jesus and parsing the phrase "Your Kingdom come". Yesterday, we looked at how we receive the Kingdom of God in the form of His word and the effect it has on our lives. Today, we are exploring the "keys of the Kingdom". There are two passages of particular note and I have included them here.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19 NASB)
And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. [ But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." ] (Matthew 17:20-21 NASB)
In the passage in Matthew 16, Jesus had just asked the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" and Peter had responded with that declaration of faith and truth, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus commended his faith and promised Peter the "keys of the kingdom". That promise has made its way into the vernacular with the image of the apostle Peter standing at the pearly gates with a huge set of keys, deciding who can enter and who cannot, but that was not what Jesus intended at all.
Instead, the word used here is kleis and is used metaphorically to indicate power and authority, specifically the power and authority to help people gain knowledge. On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood and spoke in such a way that thousands came to faith in Christ. He metaphorically opened the door to faith for them. What we forget about that day is that, after the ascension of Christ, Peter and the other disciples, along with quite a few believers, had spent weeks together in continuous prayer and worship. His power and authority flowed out of the time he had spent in prayer and fasting. His spiritual knowledge was the expected outcome of his discipline.
The passage in Matthew 17 followed the transfiguration. Jesus and the disciples who had accompanied Him to the mount of transfiguration returned to find the other disciples unsuccessfully trying to heal/cast out a demon from a boy. After Jesus healed the child, He told them that they could not heal him because of the "littleness of your faith" and also said that some things could only come out by prayer and fasting.
How does all this relate to the keys of heaven? Matthew Henry says that the keys of the kingdom of heaven are knowledge and discipline. He related this discipline to the admitting of people into the church and disciplining sinners, and he may be absolutely correct, but I am inclined to believe that, because of his faith, Peter received the keys of knowledge and discipline so that he was able to share the gospel in a clear and concise way (knowledge), with the result that many people came to Christ through his preaching.
Peter also had knowledge from the Holy Spirit that allowed him to know what God would have him do in healing those who were sick and performing miracles. That knowledge came from the discipline of time spent in prayer and fasting. He "loosed" people from disease and the bondage of sin and did incredible miracles in the name of Christ. His preaching and teaching "bound" them to Christ. (Of course it was the Holy Spirit working through Peter and not Peter himself doing the loosing and binding.)
The amazing thing is that you and I have been granted this same Holy Spirit that Christ gave to Peter and the other disciples. We, too, can have the faith of a mustard seed. We, too, can have the keys of knowledge and discipline, if we will.
This binding and loosing, then, comes about only because of the permission of Jesus and the knowledge that His Spirit gives. When we spend time in prayer and when we fast, we gain insight and power. We gain important keys that help us to "lock and unlock", to "loose and bind". What does that mean to the way that we pray? I generally think that those for whom I pray (and I myself) need to be loosed from the power of Satan and that they (and I) need to be bound to the mind, heart, and will of Christ. Jesus told Peter that he would give him that authority and implied that the church would be built on the same faith that Peter had. We, too, can have power and authority, if we will.
I don't have the power and authority of Peter, though, and you probably don't either. It grieves me to say that, but grieves me even more to realize that the reason I don't have it is not that Christ is not willing to grant me power and authority, but that I am not willing to sacrifice as Peter sacrificed to have it. Peter walked away from his business and spent his life preaching and teaching for Christ. He endured physical hardship, beatings, imprisonment, the scorn of his fellow man, and persecution that ended in a martyr's death. He did it all willingly and counted it as joy to suffer for his Lord. Peter held tight to Jesus and kept a very light hold on the things of this world.
If I lack the power of Peter, it is because I want the things of this world more than the power and authority, the knowledge and discipline that Jesus promised. I read those words, shudder at the truth of them, and recognize that it is truly pathetic. Why would I prefer comfort over the incredible delight of following Christ, even when it is hard, knowing that my eternal reward in heaven will be more than adequate recompense? This should not be.
I know that my Redeemer lives and reigns and is returning. I know that there will be a day of accountability for all the choices I have made, including my choices for or against faithfulness, boldness, and obedience. I know, yet my life often says different. My choices suggest that I doubt that I will answer for doing nothing while my brothers and sisters in Christ suffer severe persecution and death. My life implies that I do not expect to answer for doing nothing when the people Christ loves are hungry, cold, and losing their homes, their children, their way of life, all because of their faith.
While I sit idly by and do so little, people suffer, die, enter eternity without Christ. One day, I will answer for it. One day, we will all answer for it. Time is short, and we must decide. Will we live for Christ or not? If, then, we choose to live for Christ, let us really do it. Let us embrace the Cross, embrace the discipline so that we might receive the power, the authority, the knowledge that brings transformation - first to us, and then to those whom Christ would call to Himself.
We have a choice to make, so let's make it. Let us live like we believe.
Start now, and keep on until Jesus calls us home.
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