Verse 12

The body of Christ, like our physical bodies, has many parts. This is one of many metaphors used in the Scriptures for the church--that is the sum total of people who believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and who have truly confessed Him as their Lord.

Verse 13

Whether we are rich or poor, retired or unemployed, clergy or laity, white, black, red, yellow, or a combination, Hispanic, Germanic, Jewish, Polynesian, Native American, plain-ol' American or Martian, we are all a part of the one body. No one is more valuable or less valuable than anyone else in the body of Christ.

Verse 14

How many churches have one or a handful of active members? The pastor, maybe the song leader (who might also be the pastor), a few Sunday school teachers. Everyone else is a spectator, and everyone except the pastor and music team is a spectator during the worship service. The majority of the congregation is not involved except as passive recipients, beyond perhaps attempting to answer the odd question in Sunday school.

Verses 15-16

Which is it more prestigious to be? A foot or a hand? An ear or an eye? If your part in the body seems less prominent or attractive, that doesn't make you less necessary. All members of the body are needed. Imagine doing without your feet or your ears. Even for those of us whose ears don't work as well as they once did, we treasure them. Wouldn't we look odd without them? And how would we wear our glasses? If you or I consider ourselves to be less necessary and therefore don't use the ministry gifts God has given us, we cripple the whole body. We are needed.

Verse 17-20

As far as sensory organs are concerned, the eye takes prominence in the human body.  Next would probably be the ear. Smell (and taste and touch) run a distant third, but we still relate strongly to them. So the whole body isn't an eye--we need and use all of our senses, and the body of Christ, the church, is no different. If we must rely on the giftings on one or a handful of persons while all others are silent, we are severely handicapped.

Verses 21-22

Paul has exhorted the "lesser" parts of the body not to feel inferior or neglect to offer their gifts. Now he reminds the more prominent parts of the body not to forget their need for the hands or the feet or even the seemingly "weaker" parts of the body.

Verses 23-27

I've spent a lot of thought and prayer trying to figure out what Paul meant by the "less honorable" or "unpresentable" parts which need to be treated with greater modesty. My commentaries say this means the entrails, and though this wasn't exactly my first thought on the matter, it doesn't help in any case. I don't know whether the feet and the hands and the ears and the eyes refer to any specific ministry gifts, but the "unpresentable" parts obviously refer to people who need some sort of protection from being openly seen as they are or as they appear to be.

One commentator suggested this may refer to brothers or sisters who have fallen into some publicly disgraceful sin and have repented and are being restored. This could be, but I don't see that this would correlate with the body parts we typically feel the need to cover, let alone the body parts that would have been covered by the Corinthian Christians (they covered most everything in those days). While it might be shameful to display these parts, that's not because the parts have somehow done something wrong that needs to be kept from prying eyes.

I wonder if this doesn't refer to those "irregular" people who are present everywhere in small numbers, and mildly embarrassing because of their social disabilities. If, out of love, we cover for one another and particularly for those socially inept though well-meaning members, wouldn't this correlate? They are needed because of a wide range of reasons . . . First, Christ died for them and loves them. Second, they too, carry a part of the image of God. Third, they help us to learn to respect everyone, and to learn from and love all our brothers and sisters, even those who seem different or odd.

Or Paul might be referring to the bumbling new believer who has a great abundance of enthusiasm but is still fleshly and lacking in knowledge and humility and love and all those things Jesus develops in us as we walk with Him. Would it not please our Lord that we cover for these new little siblings? Yet they, too, have a wealth of things to teach us. What loving and responsible parent has not learned volumes from his or her children?

Perhaps Paul is talking about that needy member of the body who always seems to have a disaster in her life . . . medical, marital, parental, financial . . . you name it. This person is always in the midst of an emergency. Nevertheless, God does expect us to take care of her--she's our sister. We're not sure why all these things seem to follow her around, but she doesn't need to be scrutinized by the world, so we cover her.

Whoever these people may be, we're to treat them with love and extra care. In this way, every member of the body has equal respect . . . whether it's the respect of people who recognize and value giftings and service to the body or the respect of caring for a needy sibling.

We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. If one member is honored, we, the loving family, are not envious but overjoyed. If one member suffers, we are not annoyed, but we truly suffer with him. Think about the last time you had an infected toenail. Did your whole body not suffer with it? But where was the pain? Only in one small part. We need to care for one another well because we are all one in our Lord.

Verse 28

Here we have another list of gifts, different from the list in verses 8-10, though overlapping in some places. These are not offices to which we might appoint people we deem called of God or competent or deserving. These are functioning parts of the body who are what they are because God has made them so.

As far as gifts of the Spirit, Paul consistently lists "tongues" or "languages" last. I don't know whether he lists it last because it is the least of gifts or because the Corinthians so highly valued it. As is often the case today, that which was least beneficial to the body was also the thing everyone wanted. The gift of speaking in unknown languages is a good gift and a useful gift, though it's not the best gift. God doesn't give bad gifts. The problem is, I think, that we have so highly valued it that we have exalted it above all other spiritual gifts. As a result, it is frequently the only gift we're able to receive.

Verse 29-30

Paul asks, "Does everyone have every gift?" Today we might add, and does anyone have all the gifts to enable him to carry on all the ministry of the body whilst everyone else sits in pews saying nothing and trying to keep their minds from wandering? His point . . . we have differing gifts. None of us has it all. We need one another, and we needn't fret because we don't have this or that coveted gift--we each have the gifts God has chosen for us. Nevertheless, we can desire and pray for the best gifts, as we'll see in verse 31.

Charismatics will tell you that the gift of a personal prayer language is evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Here, Paul asks, "Do all speak with tongues?", with the implied answer being, "No." However, he follows the question with another: "Do all interpret?" I believe that the Charismatics are right in saying that this question refers to the public gift, not the private gift of tongues and that everyone can, indeed, have his or her own prayer language. However, I do not believe that this gift is either evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit or that the lack of it is evidence of not being filled. All believers are filled with the Spirit and though Scripture does give some support for a "second blessing," I don't think the gift of tongues is required evidence of having received that additional infilling.

We don't all possess all the gifts, nor does any one person possess all the gifts. We need each other. That's the way God designed the church to operate. What I lack, you supply and what you lack, another supplies. Only together do we see a complete picture of our Lord.

Verse 31

Some use this verse to negate all that Paul has just said about the spiritual gifts. "I show you a more excellent way." Does this mean we no longer need the spiritual gifts? Let's think of this more excellent way as the foundation to a house. If you have the foundation, do you cease to require walls and a roof? Will you be satisfied without electricity or water? Not in this country. "A more excellent way" does not mean we don't need the gifts or that the gifts aren't worth having. It just means they're not worth having alone. What good are walls without a foundation? Not much, and not for long.

The more excellent way does not cancel all that Paul has written of spiritual giftings. If it does, why did Paul waste his time going through all this? How much simpler to have said, "Oh you don't need all that. Forget about it. Come here--I'll show you the good stuff."

Rather, I hear him saying, "Yes this is good--and you should go for the very best of the gifts." What are the best gifts? I've heard it said that the best gifts are the ones needed at the moment, and I think that's a great definition. I doubt Paul would disagree with it, but I think perhaps what he had in mind were prophecy and teaching and gifts that do the most to build the body.

All this, and there's something even better! And Paul's going to tell us about it . . . next time.

Grace and peace,

Cindy

But we should actually not expect anything less from these people because if they used scripture correctly they would testify against themselves.  All they can do is continue to try convince you they are correct, that this verse applies to us (the church) and this whole revival thing is scriptural, so that one day they can slap you with a one world religion membership card.

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The True Former and Latter Rain

The first Pentecost was the birth of the Church and marked the event of when the Holy Spirit was first given. It was directed towards the Jewish people who were to bring the gospel to the nations. While this has become a cliché for the so-called new revival, there are numerous differences between then and now.The Holy Spirit came like a mighty rushing wind at this first assembly. We don't see this repeated at any other time in Scripture so we should not expect to see this today. Also, the shekinah glory appeared over each person in the upper room in the form of a visible presence. We should not expect to see that today either, because it was never repeated in the New Testament. It was a singular act showing a physical manifestation that the Spirit was first given in the upper room to a gathering of a faithful remnant.

The believers spoke in other tongues. Others heard them in their own languages giving praises to God. This was a sign for those who were unbelievers. It was then that Peter gave a bold sermon on what this relates to.

Peter has just stood up among the 11 who were accused of being drunk and states that they are not drunk. Their accusers who were mockers were mistaken because they heard them speak in other languages. Yet we hear from promoters of the new revivals, that these people were drunk in the Spirit, acting like drunks. Peter says that they were not drunk, meaning they were not acting like that. He then relates this to the prophet Joel. If one examines the context more carefully, this takes on a completely different meaning.

Today the Latter Rain adherents believe in a last day’s revival unlike any other in history. The Bible speaks more specifically on a great falling away instead of a harvest in the last days. This movement is an outgrowth of the restoration kingdom now movement and claiming to bring restored truth to the earth. It is mostly anti-Israel and applies eschatological passages for Israel to the church. This involves numerous false teachings such as the manifested Sons of God doctrine, that certain believers will not die but be made immortal in these last days. That there will be an army led by new prophets and apostles into the greatest manifestations of spiritual gifts the church has ever seen. Miracles will be greater than even the apostles.

A common mistake is taking the scripture in Acts 2:17 which says: 'God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh.' This verse is being used to substantiate what is happening in the new revivals today. This is not the meaning of this verse and cannot be applied today. The question that needs to be asked is when does this prophecy occur?

What exactly did Peter mean when he said this and quoted Joel 2:28? Peter says in his Kerygma in Acts 2 quoting from Joel 2 and purposely stops because the later part of this verse and next chapter is for a different time period. If we go back to the book of Joel (2:28-32 ), we find that the timing of these events are just before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord. The location where this takes place is Israel. The people being referred to are the Jews. Peter himself makes perfectly clear who he is speaking to and where he is. (Also Joel 3 states: 'for behold in those days and in that time...' It then goes on to speak of Armageddon and judgment). This is also mentioned earlier in Chapter 2:10-1 1. So we see that this is speaking specifically to the Jewish nation concerning a future event. What Peter is referring to in Acts 2 does not include all of what happened in Joel 2. This is known as the law of double reference in which a prophecy has a partial fulfillment at that time and a complete fulfillment at a later date. This can be classified as a literal prophecy with application (a pre-fulfillment). There is a similarity in one point of the text, yet he quotes all of it from Joel. This one point of similarity has to do with the manifestation of the Spirit. What Peter said is this is “like that” (Acts 2:16) not this is that! In Acts 1:4-5, we read about the promise that Jesus told the disciples: “John baptized you in water but you will be baptized with the Spirit not many days from now...” This promise that Jesus made to the disciples was followed not many days later with the fulfillment of the promise of the prophet Joel. If one looks carefully at Joel and then at what took place in Acts 2, we see that it was not fulfilled in a completely literal sense at that time. Ex: They did not prophesy or dream dreams. We should also notice that Peter quotes Joel mentioning that the sun is darkened and the moon is turned to blood-red: 'Blood and pillars of smoke before the coming of the great and terrible Day of the Lord'. So this is clearly referring to a specific time and a future event. None of these natural phenomenon’s had occurred in Acts 2 but had some similarities. Those at Pentecost were experiencing a glimpse of what would happen by the Spirit at the end of the tribulation period, which would bring revival to Israel as a nation. This would be a greater harvest in number and in spiritual manifestations will be given to people of all ages both men and women alike.

All of the book of Joel is uniquely linked to the national salvation of the Jews preceding Christ's return it is referring to the Tribulation period. In verse 23, we find the phrase 'the latter rain' that has been used and is still being ascribed to revival: 'Be glad then you children of Zion and rejoice in the Lord your God, for He has given you the former rain faithfully and He will cause the rain to come down for you. The former rain and the latter rain is in  September, the first month of the fall feast days (V.24). The threshing floor shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.' The fall feasts begin in September in the Jewish calendar.

In Joel 2:27, the phrase 'former rain' is used in the spring, and the 'latter Rain' denotes the autumn. Joel is saying that in the Millennium, both of these rains will occur in the first month. God will pour out His provisions on their crops, thereby giving Israel abundance and restoring the material blessings to their nation which will prove that God is with them again, and that their shame has been removed. Truly the meaning conveyed here is physical rain needed to restore wheat, wine, and oil. What's even more important is that the latter rain is in the first month. Truly the meaning conveyed here is physical rain needed to restore wheat, wine, and oil. In Israel you have two rainy seasons called the former and later rain. At the end of the spring rain you had a harvest that was for grain, at the end of the Autumn season you had a harvest which was for fruit. But you also have a long hot summer in Israel. Israel basically has two seasons Israel is agriculturally reliant on its water supply because it doesn’t rain in summer. To understand this now spiritually. The former rain the latter rain are two rains and they correspond to the 7 feast days given in Lev.23. In the first portion the former rain, 4 feasts of Israel were fulfilled in the spring season by Jesus' first coming. The last three feasts will be fulfilled by his 2nd coming as he literally comes to earth to bring his kingdom and rule the nations.

Israel is Gods timepiece for nations. The clock is now stopped and is known as the time of the Gentiles and it corresponds to the summer period on the Jewish calendar. It is a time of working and plowing the ground getting the land ready for the next harvest. Now this idea of why the rain comes and stops and the 2nd rain is stronger than the first rain. The rain comes in the beginning and the end, it shows us why so many Jews were saved in the beginning of the Church and why so many will be saved in the end as Romans 11 says. This is the spiritual application of former and latter of the two rains. It is the latter rain that is so abundant that it is like two seasons put together. This Spirit is poured out on Israel, this first harvest takes place 7 weeks after Passover and it is the grain harvest. On Pentecost three thousand were saved on this day as the first harvest. But we are looking at these feasts Jesus fulfilled in his first coming Passover/unleaven bread, first fruits and weeks. In between is the summer season the church age the time of the Gentiles and grace. There is very little rain for Israel. In the Jewish calendar the latter rain corresponds to the autumn feasts of Trumpets, day of Atonement, the feast of Tabernacle (booths).

After this he says (v. 28), He pours out His Spirit on all flesh. What flesh? Specifically Israel's for their salvation. Zech.12:10: “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son,” In Acts 2: The words 'your sons, your daughters, your old men, and your young men' are all referring to the fact that God is speaking to Israel then and also in the future. When Peter quoted this, it was to the Jews who were there in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. The future fulfillment also refers to the Jews in Israel. This is not applied to the unsaved Gentiles but to all the flesh of Israel (Rom. 11:25). The timing of this event is in the tribulation v.31 before the great and awesome day of the Lord. In Rev.6:12 it relates this event with the sixth seal of the tribulation. V.32 it is the remnant that calls upon his name.

They are called Gods army but this does not mean they are his people. In the same way Cyrus was called Gods shepherd Isa.44:28 he was given all the kingdoms of the earth Ezra 1:2, 2 chron.36:23,  He was called God's anointed Isa. 45:1:”Thus says the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, Nebuchadnezzar was also called Gods servant  Jer. 43:10: “ 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, “

If we go back to Joel 2:20 it refers to the defeat of the Northern Army, God himself removes it. “His stench will come up and his foul odor will rise because he has done monstrous things.” They will be judged and destroyed in the tribulation (Many refer this passage to Joel's Army as an army doing God's will through signs and wonders from the Latter Rain being poured out on them). However, the context in which we read about Joel's Army clearly shows that this army is destructive to Israel (vs. 3, 5, 6), and God will destroy it. So why would anyone want to be part of this army. v.25 This army is described as locusts that have brought ruin. In v.28 we find it is after this army marches and is destroyed, that God will pour out his Spirit. This all occurs just before the end of the tribulation. Peter inserts “in the last days” for his application of this verse. Why? Because he stops before v.32 of Joel “ And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls.” So there is an ultimate fulfillment to occur for this prophecy that happens in Jerusalem to the Jewish people who are saved from this destructive army which marches through their land. It is Gods way of humbling them and bringing them to repentance.

Joel 3:1 says “in those days” and “at that time.” This describes the time period which ends with Armageddon, as he gathers all the nations into the valley of Meggido for judgment. In vs.12-15 he enters into judgment which is found in Rev.14:18. In Joel 3:13 he puts in the sickle for the harvest (Rev.19:15). v.15 the sun and moon grow dark and the stars become dim (also found in Mt.24:29, Rev.6:12 ). It is in these days that the complete fulfillment will occur. The judgment of the nations begins after the Tribulation ends, just before the Lord sets up His millennial reign (Mt.24 continues into Mt.25 where he separates the sheep from the goats). Only at this time will peace between the nations occur. While there is typology we do not use it to interpret doctrine it is to illustrated it. Doctrine is to interpret typology. Keeping those things in the context in which they were written is most important. If one is not within the sphere of the author's original meaning, then the Word is no longer communicating truth. The only way one can get around this context is to spiritualize or allegorize this passage, ripping it from its intended context. Which is exactly what we find these teachers for the new revival doing, applying it to themselves. While there is a spiritual application we find it is to Israel and to the unsaved, giving it no application for the church today.

Joel’s book is about the tribulation period and Israel, so there is no justification for putting his prophecy as being fulfilled before the tribulation or being about the Church. The Church today is trying to either make his kingdom on earth now with ruling Apostles and Prophets, or waiting patiently for Christ to bring the kingdom to earth, with him physically being there to rule. Personally I’ll wait for the real thing!

Permission received to re-print article The True Former and Latter Rain from LET US REASON ministries by Mike Oppenheimer.

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All in a morning's work.

"I saw this in the dumpster last night," he said. "Figured I might be able to use some of it, maybe sell it for the cash." I didn't ask him who would buy the stuff or what he would do with the cash when he got paid. To tell the truth, I was a bit anxious when I pulled up in my car and said: "What are you doing?" He looked at me and said: "I don't know, what are you doing?" For just a moment, I realized that a woman asking a man in this part of town the question I had just asked could be shall we say, misinterpreted.

So, I quickly told him I was on my way to work, and that I worked for the church. He told me he was on his way to work too and gestured at his shopping cart.

I didn't know exactly what else to say, so I just asked if I could take a picture. He hesitated a moment. "I'm not a cop," I said, trying to reassure him. He was fine with it, and he seemed nice.

You can see in the picture that he kind of smiled and waved when I took the shot. We were within 4 blocks of two United Methodist Churches. What are we doing in our communities to reach out to folks like Dave?

We bemoan a declining membership. All the while forgetting, dismissing people who are hungry and poor. People who push a shopping cart half-clothed around just to find something, anything they can use to get by in a world that pushes them aside. It's painful for me to admit that there have not been many times in my life when I invited someone like this to church.

Let's face it, most of us United Methodists do not run in the same circles as this guy.

The pain comes in the reaching out. That's my scar.

What's yours?

]]> http://joshhlim.wordpress.com/?p=846 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:31:02 +0000 J. Lim http://joshhlim.wordpress.com/?p=846

Of first importance, hardly capable of being overemphasized, is a general hermeneutical consideration concerning the way Acts is to be read. If, as is too often the case, Acts is read primarily as more or less random samplings of earliest Christian piety and practice, as a compilation of illustrations taken from the early history and experience of the church--a more or less loose collection of edifying and inspiring episodes, usually with the nuance that they are from the "good old days, when Christians were really Christians"--then we will tend to become preoccupied with the experience of particular individuals and groups recorded there, to idealize that experience, and try to recapture it for ourselves. But if, as ought to be the case, Acts is read with an eye for its careful overall composition and what we will presently see is one Luke's central purposes in writing, then these passages and the experiences they record come into proper focus.
- Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., Perspectives on Pentecost (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R) 23. 

Answer:  These are great questions!  The chasm that divides OT and NT isn’t as wide as some make out.  To be sure, there are differences between the two “dispensations” (a “dispensation” is a fancy word that describes the mode and means of how God operates at different points in redemptive history), but the differences are largely superficial and do not affect the foundational truth of Scripture that a person is justified by faith (Genesis 15:6). 

So to answer your first question (the difference between OT and the NT regarding the Holy Spirit), in the OT you see the Holy Spirit coming upon people and leaving people.  Two prime examples of this concept are Samson and Saul (the first king of Israel).  In Judges 13-16 we see the tragic story of Samson.  Three times we read the phrase “the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon [Samson]” (Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14).  During these times, Samson was imbued with great physical strength and was able to perform mighty deeds and defeat the enemies of the Lord.  However because Samson was basically a profane man, when he allowed Delilah to cut his hair (Samson was under the Nazarite vow, which prohibited from cutting his hair, among other things), that was the “last straw” for God and we read these words:  “And [Delilah] said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ And he awoke from his sleep and said, ‘I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him” (Judges 16:20).

We see the same thing with King Saul.  In 1 Samuel 10, we see Samuel telling to Saul saying that the Spirit of the Lord “will rush upon him” and he will prophesy (1 Samuel 10:6, 10).  We also see early in Saul’s reign the Spirit of the Lord coming upon him and enabling him to raise an army to defeat the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11:6).  After Saul’s disobedience regarding the Amalekites, we see the Spirit of the Lord departing from Saul (1 Samuel 16:14).

Both of these examples demonstrate that the Holy Spirit was not a permanent indwelling influence in the lives of God’s people during OT times.  The Spirit enabled people to accomplish God’s will, but it was always temporary, and it didn’t always enable faithful people either (e.g., Saul).  This is in stark contrast to the NT doctrine of the Holy Spirit.  At Pentecost, we see the Spirit coming upon the people of God and permanently indwelling them.  Peter, during his Pentecost sermon, sees this phenomenon as a fulfillment of the OT prophecy (Joel 2:28-29).  The NT epistles flesh this out more.  Paul says the church is the temple of God and his Spirit dwells within us all (1 Corinthians 3:16).  Later in the same epistle he says that each believer is a temple for the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).  Paul writes in Ephesians that we are sealed in the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14).

So regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit we see a big difference between the OT and the NT.  The OT times belong to an older dispensation in which God mediated his sovereign will differently than in the NT.  For example, God mediated his will through the nation of Israel and the Mosaic covenant.  However, as we read in Galatians, this older dispensation was never meant to be permanent.  Paul argues that the law was a guardian until the time of Christ (Galatians 3:24).  Paul further argues in Colossians that the law is a shadow and Christ is the substance (Colossians 2:17).  That is why all of redemptive history centers on the person and work of Jesus Christ:  Everything in the OT points forward to Christ and everything in the NT points back to Christ.  Even in the OT God was hinting that a “new” way was coming when the Spirit and Law would no longer be external, but internal (Ezekiel 36:26-27; Jeremiah 31:31-34).

The answer to your second question (regarding faith and salvation in the OT) is similar to the first question.  The linchpin to dispensational teaching is the progressive nature of God’s revelation.  God revealed his will “piecemeal” if you will throughout history (Hebrews 1:1-3).  What this means is that we cannot hold OT saints to the same standards as NT saints.  We have the final revelation of God’s will in Jesus Christ, so for us salvation is a matter in placing our faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  However, an OT saint would know nothing about Jesus.  God, being gracious and merciful (Psalm 103:8), only expects people to respond to the light that is available to them.

Now the bedrock of salvation is, and has always been, faith (Genesis 15:6).  Paul uses this argument in Romans 4 to show that Abraham was saved by faith and not by works of the law.  The only thing that Abraham placed his faith in was the promise of God regarding the everlasting covenant he made with him (Genesis 12:1-3).  The same would apply to every OT saint.  No one would put up a serious argument that King David was “saved.”  Why was he saved?  Because David was a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14).  It wasn’t anything David did, but the content of his character (to borrow a phrase from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.).  David had a heart of obedience even if his actions always didn’t bear that out.  When he committed his sin with Bathsheba and was confronted with it, he repented immediately.  When Saul committed sin and was confronted with it, he became defensive and tried to rationalize.  I believe that a heart of faith toward God and a heart of obedience to God’s revealed will would be enough to save any OT saint.

Originally answered for GotQuestions (www.gotquestions.org) on April 15, 2008.

Luke 10:38-42

Here we have at the outset the essential ingredients for a grand, harmonious get-together—a lively, intriguing special guest with some interesting companions and an eager, hospitable hostess.

And then the human factor intrudes.

And anybody who has ever grown up with a sibling can appreciate what happens next—Mary plants herself at Jesus’ feet and is seemingly hanging on his every word.

Martha meanwhile has gotten a little frazzled and fussed as she scurries about, presumably trying to be the perfect hostess—laying out refreshments, bowls of cool water, and towels, and tending to the guests’ every need.

What’s becoming obvious to anyone who cares to notice is that she’s getting miffed at her sister for not helping out.

Now do you think that Mary just might have an inkling that Martha is starting to do a slow burn?—or is Mary so spell-bound, so mesmerized by this rabbi, that she’s clueless?

Well, it’s hard to imagine that Jesus’ scolding improved Martha’s attitude.

Can’t you see her leaving the room in a huff and pouting in the kitchen while perhaps one can detect in Mary’s face just a trace of smugness?

For there’s nothing more guaranteed to inflame rivalry between sisters than dressing one down in public while praising the other.

After all, Jesus could have said something to Martha that was a little sympathetic and comforting like, “Martha, you’ve been waiting on us hand and foot all night—you must be worn out—come sit next to me for a while and then later we’ll all pitch in and clean up.”

Of course, Luke is describing two characters who are very familiar to us.

He is describing the Marys and Marthas we have known; he is describing the Marys and Marthas we have been.

The story of Mary and Martha highlights the way that Marys and Marthas down through the ages have always been at odds with each other, how they have always jostled, scuffled, and competed with each other for approval, recognition and renown.

Well, are we a Mary or a Martha?

Are we naturally inclined to be a dreamer or a doer?

Are we a Mary who takes time to smell the roses or are we a Martha who tends the roses, who waters and trims them, who looks out for aphids, who makes sure there are roses to smell?

Are we inclined to ponder the great mysteries or take care of business?

Do we subscribe to the old Army motto, “Don’t just stand there, do something,” or the revised hippie version of the 1960s that maybe Mary would prefer, “Don’t just do something, stand there.”

William Faulkner was a very productive writer but he had definite Mary tendencies.

As a young man, he was fired from a job as postal clerk because, instead of sorting the mail, he kept slipping off to read a novel.

Now which was more important—his brooding over these novels in preparation for becoming a Nobel Prize author or getting the mail out?

Well, I suppose if you had been desperately waiting for a subsistence check to arrive, you could have cared less about Faulkner’s literary development.

As far as I can see, there’s very little evidence that any of us chooses to be a Mary or a Martha or some combination of the two.

It’s more a matter of discovering that we are one or the other, that, for better or worse, like it or not, this is the temperament with which we will make our way in the world.

And if we have any doubts about which camp we belong to, whether we’re a dreamer or a doer, those who have come to know us will make it unmistakably clear to us.

There was the time I was supposed to meet our West Virginia relatives at a restaurant half-way between Charleston and Dayton—somehow I got a little distracted and whizzed right past the designated meeting place—my brother-in-law saw the car come and go and said, “There goes Bob in a big old daze!”

And, of course, the Mary and Martha syndrome, the relentless, ravenous struggle for recognition, the struggle to justify ourselves, the struggle to establish ourselves as someone significant, the struggle we are all engaged in, is not just a family thing.

The Mary and Martha syndrome flourishes in every parish, every corporate office, every teacher’s lounge, in other words, wherever people gather to collaborate and work together but in some way or other also end up strenuously competing for recognition.

The Mary and Martha syndrome accounts for a lot of resentment and squabbles among parish folk as each of us tries to stake a claim to being notable and significant.

So the question is: can the Marys and Marthas, the dreamers and doers of this world, who seem to be so fundamentally at odds with each other, ever be reconciled?

The gospel says yes—for those who have ears to hear, the gospel resolves this seemingly insoluble dilemma by completely re-defining our value and our vocation.

You see, the world tells us that we earn our worth by doing something distinctive, something sensational, something that sets us apart from others.

Of course, this worth that the world assigns us is never really secure, because with the world, it’s always, what have you done for me lately?

And the world insists that our vocation is to develop the most impressive solo act, the most dazzling one person performance, we can pull off.

Sometimes the need to win recognition as a solo performer takes an interesting route.

The other day I heard a gentleman who’s definitely more a doer than a dreamer interviewed on the radio—he happens to make his living as a pickpocket—he said, “You’re telling me I don’t have any skills—I can reach around two people and fish out some woman’s pocket book from her purse without anybody knowing it—I don’t have any skills?!” –well, I guess we’ll do whatever it takes to feel special!

The gospel turns all of this on its head—the gospel reveals to us our true identity and our true vocation.

When Jesus chides Martha for flitting from one distraction to another and commends Mary for attending to the one necessary thing, I wonder if this is “the one necessary thing” Jesus is referring to—learning our true identity and vocation.

Don’t we naturally tend to understand ourselves as self-made and self-generated, that we started out with zero and have sired and authored our selves and our abilities, that our choices and accomplishments are the product of our own fashioning, that our very experience of moment-to-moment aliveness proceeds from our own self-sufficient resources?

And so perhaps “the one necessary thing” for Mary, Martha, and us is to be born into a new understanding of ourselves and our vocation.

The Good News is that each of us is a son or daughter of God, that we arrive on this earth with the most prestigious label possible, that the supremely unique, indescribable self that each of us is is God’s continuous gift to us, that the essence of you, what makes you the incomparably radiant you that you are, is God’s never ceasing, never failing gift to you, and that all that we are and all that we are capable of, even the most basic acts of thinking, perceiving, feeling, deciding, moving our limbs, is a gift.

The Good News is that the inexpressibly rich, vibrant life that pulses through us, courses through us, roars through us, the life that animates, equips and empowers us, is nothing less than God’s life unceasingly poured out for us—for God is life and to love life is to love God.

We might go so far as to say that in our moment to moment experience of this life that we so cherish, God breathes through us and circulates our blood, God sighs through us, God sings through us, God suffers through us, God loves through us, and in our savoring of pleasures large and small such as grilling out on a summer evening God enjoys through us—as the old Prayer Book service says, “we are in Him and He in us.”

The Good news is that we are intimately related to the whole garden of creation that issues from the same source of life as our own selves and thus we naturally relish and delight in nature’s abundance—Tolstoy made this entry in his diary: “Rejoice! Rejoice! Life’s task, its destined purpose, is joy. Rejoice in the sky, the sun, the stars, in grass, trees, animals, and people. Be like children—rejoice forever.”

But the Good News insists we are most intimately related to our neighbors wherever we may find them who are also sons and daughters of God, who also, whether they know it or not, have received everything including their very lives from the same God who is the life of all.

As far as I can tell, the purpose of evangelism is to somehow inform people who may think they are of little worth and don’t count for much that their very selves and the life that flows through them partake of the splendor of God.

And the Good News about our vocation is that we are not called to be soaring, stand-alone soloists who bask in the glory of their individual performances.

The Good News is that each of us is called to be a voice in the Gospel chorus—each of us is called to join the chorus that sings the music of God’s true democracy, the music that is greater than any of us—each of us, whether we’re a dreamer or a doer, is called to contribute our real but limited gifts to the chorus, for all voices are needed but no voice is dominant—and when we sing together, and, remember, everyone’s voice is indispensable, the music is greater and more glorious than anything we could produce on our own.

Whenever we sing together the music of God’s true democracy, the music of God’s universal welcome and mercy, the music of abundant life for all, then the greatness of the music lifts us and all the fussing and carrying on that ordinarily plague us fall away, and all our gifts are enhanced exponentially and the music soars and we forget ourselves and we sound better than we ever imagined—and we find that the music impels us to be more merciful, helpful, and joyous.

The Rev. Robert Dwight
8 Pentecost
Christ Episcopal Church
Dayton, OH 7/22/07

http://www.sovereigngracefellowship.org/topical/church_part7b.mp3

Russia has invaded Georgia!!!

• Our Georgia
• Atlanta
• What was on
• Ray Charles mind

Oh, by the way, Dr. Thunder is my new name for...

• Jesus
• Hey-Seuss
• Yee-Haw Way

That's right people.  Mongolian Girl is right back on track after having a bad few days of being fearful of making Dr. Thunder jokes!

Especially influential to my comeback from fear has been watching the Olympics. 

No, watching the Olympics has not been influential due to my being inspired by the years upon years of preparation by the many athletes and all of those yakkity schmackity ceremonies.

It has been influential due to having so many bad little Mongolian Girl thoughts going around in my cranium while I'm watching.

• Noticing they are calling this the "XXIX Olympiad" and wondering out loud,

I coulda swore the Greeks or Romans or somebody was having some kind of thing they called the 'Olympics' more than 29 years ago.

• Seeing that one of the Chinese gymnasts has ripped the skin from one of his biceps during his parallel bar routine and saying out loud,

Get that little man a medal!  Leaving flesh on the bar should be an automatic win!

• Watching one of the women's indoor volley ball competitions and saying out loud,

Jeezuh!  If someone spiked a ball at me like that I would do the following:

1. Crap my little volley ball shorts
2. Fall face down on the court
3. Cry and whimper a little bit
4. Find that bitch's car in the parking lot and slash her frikkin' tires

I've also been unduly influenced to get back to making Dr. Thunder jokes due to having attended a Catholic mass today.

Especially by my dear friend Ms. Morning who attended the same mass and participated in the following conversation with me in the parking lot afterward:

I said,

Hey Mornin'.  You make it through that mass OK?

She said,

Oh yeah sure.  I'm not tortured by being raised Catholic anymore.  And, even if I was, I still believe in a God because I ended up sitting right beside some chick who apparently thought we were at some Pentecostal service because she was doin' all kinds of hand waving, singing, dancing around.

I said,

Woulda kept you nice and distracted if you were going to freak out, eh?

She said,

Oh hell yeah.  I only wish I would have had a snake in my purse so I could have handed it to her to see if she would bite its head off or something.

And then we gave one another a big hug and laughed like hyenas.

And then I went further into the parking lot to hide behind a big pickup truck to smoke a cigarette where Ben and his brother and a bunch of our friends found me and said,

What are you doing over here?

I said,

I don't want anyone seeing me smoke.

And they all looked at me as if I had two or three heads because I rarely hide anything I say or do.

So I said,

Chill out my freaky friends.  I must have at least one day a year of pretending to be a good little Catholic girl.

And Ben said,

Babe, you don't have to hide behind a truck for that idea to become a reality.  We'll get that good little Catholic girl thing figured out at home.

And I thought,

Gawd I love my fuckin' husband!

Right after mass we took Ben's brother home as fast as possible because that poor man just had his appendix taken out something like a week ago and was damn near fried.

Poor guy.  Watching him practically fall over in the back seat of the car due to exhaustion on the way to his place was just too much.

I said,

Oh buddy.  You're just about fried, aren't cha?

He said,

I can't wait to take off all of my clothing and lay around naked on the couch watching the Olympics.

And we all laughed and then Ben said to his brother,

What are you making for dinner tomorrow?

His brother said,

I don't know man.  I can't even think about that right now.

Ben said,

I hope you make grandma's mac and cheese.  I love that so much I could put one little macaroni shell on each one of my nipples and lay around naked watching the Olympics.

And we all laughed some more.

I said,

Honey, I wish you would let me blog about the 'Circus Nipple Event'.

He said,

No way.

And we all laughed some more because the 'Circus Nipple Event' is one of the funniest things Ben has done since I've known him.

But he refuses to allow me to blog about it.

He said,

Just blog about the macaroni shells on my nipples.  That should make you happy.

I said,

Unbelievable!  You will let me blog about macaroni shells on your nipples but not about the 'Circus Nipple Event'.

And then he gave me that big-eyed silent stare that makes me know I do not yet have permission to blog about the 'Circus Nipple Event'.

After we dropped Ben's brother off at his place to lay around naked watching the Olympics we came home and, of course, layed around naked watching the Olympics.

Until the phone rang and Ben answered it and, when apparently the person on the phone asked him what he was doing he said,

Laying around naked watching the Olympics.

And I thought,

And he won't let me blog about the 'Circus Nipple Event'.

And by the time I started paying attention to the TV again it had changed from the Olympics to the Russian's invading Georgia and I started thinking about the fact that there is at least one person who lives within 20 miles of us who is thinking,

Russia has invaded Georgia!!!

Our Georgia
Atlanta
What was on
Ray Charles mind

And now I'm sitting here thinking about how much that would have annoyed me several years ago.  How much I would have complained and bitched and copped an attitude about someone getting all confused about their geography.

I'm also thinking my attitude about this kind of thing has so vastly improved that I would, should the opportunity arise, probably do a little bit of encouraging of others if they were talking about building a state militia to go help our pals in Georgia.

Except that I probably won't because people who get confused about Georgia and Our Georgia have a tendency to get a little pissy when it comes to little tricks being played on their minds and might end up stopping by to 'have a little chat' with me about it once they figured everything out.

And, I assure you, that 'little chat' would be much worse than getting a ball spiked at me by one of those indoor volley ball playing bitches in the "29th" Olympics.

Plus, they would have probably heard me make some kind of Dr. Thunder joke and already be in an extra big swivet about it which would make their 'little chat' extra bad.

God chose Pentecost, the feast of the fiftieth day after the Passover, to disclose that he had changed the world forever. Pentecost celebrated the end of the grain harvest and God’s creation of a new nation of Israel by the covenant of the Law of Moses (Exodus 23:16). (See also more on the feast of Pentecost at www.jewishencyclopedia.com). Israel’s prophets announced that God would renew his people by a new giving of his law (Micah 4:2, Jeremiah 31:33-34, Ezekiel 36:24-28, Hebrew 12:18-29). John the Baptist also announced that God’s Messiah would sift his people like the grain harvest and gather the wheat into the barn (Luke 3:15-18). So God was doing something new in Israel, fifty days after he had provided his own lamb, his own son Jesus, as a sacrifice for the freedom of his people and the world from the bondage of sin. The Apostle Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles that morning and answered the question: “What does this mean?” Thousands gathered to hear, as he quoted from the prophet Joel to explain things. What they were witnessing was the fulfillment of God’s promise to pour out his Spirit on all flesh (See Acts 2 and Joel 2). The result of this miracle would be fantastic and far-reaching.

First, God’s promise of the Holy Spirit was for all flesh. Second, everyone who received the promise of the Holy Spirit would be so endowed with God’s word that they would be able to prophesy (or speak forth) the words of God, male and female and young and old. Indeed, God’s people would be a nation of priests and prophets administering the gospel and providing counsel in the word of God for the whole world (Exodus 19:5-6, Jeremiah 31:31-34, 1 Peter 2:9-10, 4:10-11, and 1 John 2:20-21). Third, God would manifest wonders that would shake and change the form of this age and this world; for this is what the apocalyptic descriptions symbolize (Isaiah 13, Jeremiah 4, Zephaniah 1, Micah 1, and Matthew 24). Fourth, the offer of salvation would be made to all, so that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Lastly, Peter preached about the installment of their king that day. When Jesus poured out the promise of the Holy Spirit, he also exercised his righteous judgment as Lord to separate and gather his people into his kingdom. The kingdom of God was the special hope of Israel; the very act of God to change the form of this world so that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

How can such a great beginning continue in us with greatness today? By greatness I do not imply we should seek the Barnum & Bailey greatness of the Greatest Show on Earth. I mean the greatness exemplified by the early Christians who lived for their King in the power of faith, conviction of truth, joy of fellowship, zeal of holiness, energy of love, confidence of hope and strength of endurance. All this power came from the Holy Spirit. This is part of the picture I glean from Acts. In the Apostle Peter’s sermon summary recorded in Acts 3, Peter proclaimed the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel’s forefathers through Jesus whom God chose as Messiah to redeem His people. He proclaimed that Jesus is exalted in the heavens until the time of his return when he shall restore all things. This will be the consummation of Israel’s hope of the kingdom of God. Yet he also preached the good news that those who choose to believe and turn in repentance to Jesus as the Messiah will receive the blotting out of their sins. In essence Peter’s proclamation is similar to his Pentecostal sermon, but instead of linking the gift of the Holy Spirit to the forgiveness of sins, Peter instead announced that times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

This is my expectation for enjoyment of the Pentecostal blessing which was poured out by our Lord Jesus upon all flesh. My expectation is times of refreshment from the presence of the Lord. As the church and as Christians we may experience the blessing of the Holy Spirit and the Lord’s presence in many different ways. All his sovereign ways are righteous, and his Spirit rules the times even if it appears to us to be ordinary or even a time of decline. Many showmen focus on the way of revival by creating an expectation of the greatest show on earth. Church history provides ample evidence that the Holy Spirit is capable of great demonstrations of Christ’s sovereignty. But some only see the power at work in Pentecost, the Reformation, the great awakenings, the Restoration, and other contemporary movements and revivals.

One interpretation of church history views the time after the first century as a dark age of the church’s apostasy. Yet the Holy Spirit clothed the Christians of this same historical period with power that amazed and convicted their contemporaries. They simply remained faithful and so overcame the most intense persecutions. They were victorious over the darkness of the Roman Empire, the greatest pagan empire in world history up to that time. At the same time they faithfully preserved the scriptures, and articulated and fought to preserve the foundational doctrines of the identity and nature of Jesus Christ, who is the foundation and cornerstone of God’s spiritual house. Clothed with power from on high they kept the faith and Christ changed the form of their age and of this world. I am not disregarding that leaders in the early church embraced heresies and institutional practices that imitated the ways of the world (See Acts 20). Even when according to the parable of Jesus in Matthew 13, the enemy succeeds in mixing the weeds among the wheat; nevertheless Christ is sovereign and still changes the world forever through his gathered, devoted and faithful people because they are clothed with his power from on high.

"It" is a funny thing. I am not referring to the 'It' that Craig wrote about, but that plays a part in what "it" is. "It" is that feeling when the air thickens in a service, when you feel that there is something else taking place, when the music becomes an experience, when ministry replaces performance, when worship takes over and peoples lives go from entertainment to encounter. "It" allows people the opportunity to leave different than they arrived. "It" only requires your sensitivity and acceptance, not your perfection or your performance. "It" changes how you see things. On Saturday night, "it" happened in Nashville TN.

We hosted the Gotta Have Gospel Jam, and over 1500 people came and experienced "it". I am not going to go in to all the details, but "it" crosses color lines, denominational lines, style lines. "It" can be experienced in the progressive church (like CrossPoint on Sunday morning, more on that in my next post) or the 3 hour marathon pentecostal show. "It" can be confused and fabricated at times, if the show is good enough. The filter for if the "it" is real, is if "it" happens without manipulation.

"It" is annointing, or presence, or God just showing up. I don't know how your church defines "it", and really it does not matter, but "it" is when God shows up and touches peoples lives. Embrace the "it" moments and let them change your life.

Building Dreams and Visions, Part 1 (Bentley)

Building Dreams and Visions, Part 2 (Bentley)

Discerning the Call of God, Part 1 (Bentley)

Discerning the Call of God, Part 2 (Bentley)

Encounter With Heaven Part 1

Encounter With Heaven Part 2

Encounter With Heaven Part 3

Healing and God's Sovereignty (Bentley)

Open Heavens, Part 1 (Bentley)

Open Heavens, Part 2 (Bentley

Reigning and Resurrection, Part 1 (Bentley)

Reigning and Resurrection, Part 2 (Bentley)

Restoring the Voice of Healing (Bentley)

The Gifts of Healing and Miracles

The Spirit of Infirmity, Part 1 (Bentley)

The Spirit of Infirmity, Part 2 (Bentley)

What is the third wave? Here is a fundamental Christian viewpoint:

1. Its History

In the early 1980s the Vineyard Christian Fellowship movement began with the ministry of John Wimber in California. He believed that people would become convinced of the genuineness of Christianity by seeing miraculous signs and wonders from God more than by being convinced doctrinally. He not only practiced this belief in the church he pastored, but he also teamed up with missions professor Peter Wagner to teach and encourage its practice in the Signs and Wonders class at Fuller Seminary. Others who emphasized these signs and wonders include Christian psychologist and speaker John White, former Dallas Seminary professor Jack Deere, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School faculty member Wayne Grudem. Support for this emphasis has also come from the ministries of such recognized Christian leaders as John Piper.

2. Distinctive Views

The movement’s supporters come from various evangelical backgrounds and do not necessarily want to be identified with traditional man-centered Pentecostal views. Some, in fact, have strong Calvinistic convictions. But all stress the presence of genuine signs and wonders from God today. Tongues-speaking is not emphasized as much as in the more traditional Pentecostal groups, but healings and especially the gift of prophecy are very prominent.

D. Other Contemporary Charismatic Emphases

Also present in more recent years are the ministries of several others who have a strongly charismatic approach and emphasis. These include those who emphasize a “health and wealth” gospel; the ministries of charismatic teachers such as Benny Hinn, Kenneth Hagin, and Kenneth Copeland; and the current ministries of Oral and Richard Roberts, John Arnott and the Toronto Blessing, Paul Cain and the Kansas City Prophets, and Rodney Howard-Browne and John Kilpatrick of the Brownsville Assembly of God Church and the Pensacola Outpouring Revival.

For more, please see George Houghton's part 1 and part 2 on the topic of Pentecostalism in general. I am aware that some have accused me of being opposed to the supernatural, of miracles. To answer those charges, read my testimonies part 1 and part 2 of miraculous faith healing from asthma, addiction, and a lung infection that doctors could not cure, killed several other people around the same time (including the actress that played the bride in "Meet The Parents"), and had stopped my breathing (I was minutes away from dying people). Also search my archives and take notice of how LEGITIMATE faith healing, miracles, and deliverance from evil spirits is a major area of attention of mine (regrettably I have gotten away from those topics in these past months and need to get back into them). 

But I must say that I was motivated to finally deal with Sid Roth after seeing him promote a pastor who claims that during his worship services, angel feathers, gold dust, and precious jewels would appear out of thin air. The pastor was also selling a book - with companion DVD - claiming to have discovered in scripture the secret for unlocking the power of God in your life that he was using to bring forth these manifestations (it is humility). Let me first state that Christianity IS NOT a secret religion. It is based on revelation from the Bible that is freely available to all. People speaking of finding secrets and unlocking spiritual keys are actually practicing gnosticism, which is based on using gnosis (secret knowledge) to advance spiritually and attain salvation. Gnostics were syncretists who assimilated elements of virtually every religion and belief system of the time that suited them in order to create their own abominations. And no, the gnostics did not invent the notion of secret or magical spiritual keys or codes embedded in religious texts. That idea long predated them, coming from the ancient near east mystery religions and cults. Basically, gnosticism was a mixture of Christianity, Judaism, and western (especially Greek) mythology and philosophy, and who knows what else. So, the third wavers that are convinced that they are finding some new - or rediscovering some lost - way of reading the Bible and worshiping God through Jesus Christ under the Holy Spirit are actually just rehashing the same vile dark deceptions that John, Jude, Paul, etc. took up most of the New Testament contending against. So much of what we know about Christian doctrine and practice in the New Testament was not information volunteered at the author's initiative, but rather came from an apostle writing an epistle to oppose some lie that people claiming to have secret knowledge or special revelation was passing around! 

But the primary issue that must be dealt with is the erroneous fascination of third wave pentecostals on signs and wonders: miracles and revelation. The reason is that it is BACKWARDS. This fascination is due to faithlessness by the alleged faithful. If you truly believe nothing else in the Bible but Genesis 1:1, the idea that God can work a miracle should be presupposed, basic, nothing to get excited over. Why? Because it is merely God changing something in the natural realm that He created in the first place ... very often things that would change anyway without a miracle! Further, not everyone who witnesses a miracle responds with faith. Case in point: the Pharisees. Despite all that Jesus Christ did, they kept telling Him "OK, just do one more miracle or give us one more sign and THEN we will believe that you are the Messiah." The Pharisees were simply the spiritual descendants of the children of Israel who refused to enter Canaan after seeing God work the greatest miracles that the world had ever seen to crush the greatest empire of the world AND miraculously sustain them with food and water AND the glory of God on Sinai AND the rock that followed them AND the pillar of fire by night/cloud by day that guided them. What was the problem with those Israelites? Well the least favorite book of this movement, the Book of Hebrews (which says that revelation was completed and ended with Jesus Christ in its opening verses ... or maybe 1 Corinthians with its denunciations of confusion and disorder in the church are the least favorite!) it is FAITHLESSNESS. If the basis of your Christian doctrine and affiliation is miracles and signs, trust me, it is never going to be enough, because just like a glutton with a piece of pie or a fornicator and sex partners or a greedy man and dollar bills, you will never be satisfied, you will always seek JUST ONE MORE no matter how much you have already had! 

So, the FAITHFUL who know well and good that God can perform miracles on the natural order ... we praise and glorify God over those things true, but those are not the things that we focus on, not the least because evil spirits can emulate those. Do not be offended! Evil spirits emulated several of the signs and wonders of YHWH in Egypt during their contest with Moses. People follow false religions for a reason! And the Bible itself says that the anti-Christ will deceive the whole world with his evil fantastic works, and that but for the grace of God even the very elect would be deceived by him also! 

So no, those who truly believe in God are not after by angel feathers, gold dust, and jewels popping up out of thin air! We are not after new visions, revelations, and secrets. Why? The reason is that those things, while impressive to behold, have no lasting value. They are not the things that the kingdom of heaven is built on. So what true believers love to see and hear about are CHANGED HEARTS as evidenced by CHANGED BEHAVIOR. Unbelievers hearing the gospel and getting saved. People confessing their sins and turning from them rather than using their works, church membership, background, or "anointing" to justify remaining in them. People overcoming the grief of losing a loved one. People forgiving those that have done them grievously wrong. The fearful becoming bold, the haters becoming lovers. THAT is what Christians should seek after and try to participate in. And those are what we Christians should be after. For it is a certainty that demons can motivate tongues and private prayer languages. That goes on in Hindu temples all the time! I have no doubt that a demon can cure - or at least temporarily alleviate - physical ailments. Were that not the case witch doctors, rootworkers, medicine men and women, etc. would go out of business tomorrow. The same with the diviners, necromancers, fortune tellers, etc. People have been seeking out mighty wonders, strange works, new revelations, etc. ever since man rejected the knowledge of God as Paul told us in Romans 1:18-32 for a reason! Not a few missionaries can relate dark spiritual happenings involving the demons that work through those false religions that would curl your hair even if you were bald! Check out "And The Word Came With Power" by missionary Jo Anne Shetler if you doubt. But an evil spirit cannot save someone's soul or change their heart! So why put all the emphasis on the things that Satan can imitate while ignoring the things that he cannot? I don't know about you, but while hearing testimonies about people delivered from asthma personally touch me because I was healed of the same, what I really love hearing about is testimonies of God delivering them from selfishness, hate, pride, lying, meanness, sloth, lust, and irresponsibility, for those character flaws and many more I had them, and let me tell you they were much more destructive to me and those around me than my asthma was! 

So then, why DO miracles and revelation occur? Why does God work them? Let me start with my own personal testimony and go from there: God healed my body as part of His plan to draw me to Him and save me from my sins. And that corresponds to the Biblical record. God was not some two bit Las Vegas entertainer performing tricks for the ooohs and aaahs of alcoholics, adulterers, and gamblers. Some say every miracle, every revelation, every prophecy regarded in the Bible played a part in salvation - redemption history, a rough English translation for the German term Heilsgeschichte, God's plan to redeem mankind from His sin. Others take a broader view and say that it was part of God's plan to reveal Himself to mankind, with the ultimate and final revelation being His Son Jesus Christ. So, God parting the Red Sea was a salvation - historic act to deliver Israel, His elect nation that He planned to use to be a light to all nations and use to incarnate Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ's healing the Gentile woman's daughter in Matthew 15:21-28 was an act of revealing both God's love and mercy to mankind. Peter's vision while on the tanner's rooftop was God letting the Jews know that Jesus Christ came to bring salvation to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. You want to know about the importance of the floating axhead? Well try this link. Ultimately, God had a higher purpose for every miracle, every prophecy, every vision in the Bible. They were not done because people like to see visions. They were done to reveal Himself to sinful men living in a sinful world so that His chosen among them would turn to Him. 

The main thing to remember, third wave charismatics, is that the Bible makes it clear that everyone who works mighty works even in the Name of Jesus Christ will be saved. See Matthew 7:21-23! The Bible even makes it clear that everyone who receives a miracle in the Name of Jesus Christ will be saved! Remember the ten lepers! They all had faith to be healed by Jesus Christ. They were all healed by Jesus Christ. BUT ONLY ONE LEPER BOTHERED TO FALL AT THE FEET OF GOD AND GIVE HIM THANKS! Are you going to allege that a person who is not thankful for the work and person of Jesus Christ is going to be saved by Him? And let me tell you about the one ... HE WAS A GENTILE! Let me tell you about the nine ... THEY WERE JEWS! Do not misunderstand me, I am not going anti - Semite on you here. Just let me put it into the context. The Jews were in it for the miracle, the Gentile was in it for the God who worked the miracle! So, the Jews in it for the miracle in this story represent church folk who continually need to see signs and wonders to have some semblance of outward faith. In other words: THIRD WAVE CHARISMATICS AND ALL LIKE THEM WHO WILL ABANDON TWO THOUSAND YEARS OF SOUND DOCTRINE BASED ON THE BIBLE TO FOLLOW EMMA THE ANGEL AND SOME MAN WHO KICKS A STOMACH CANCER PATIENT IN THE GUT AND THE GUY DOES NOT EVEN GET HEALED! But Gentile in this story represents the person not in the church who repents and follows Jesus Christ not because they were looking for a miracle, but because they were seeking the God that works the miracle!

And guess what? At the beginning of the leper story, all ten were unsaved. Both groups were all in the same boat. But by the end of the story, only one group was saved, and the other group was unsaved. Can you guess based not on my words but on your knowledge of the Bible which group was saved and which group wasn't? And after you do that, apply that Sunday school Bible story to your own life situation and ask yourself which group YOU are in!

Here are a few pics of him

!!!

Many non-Christian cultures celebrate special days and events - and today, the Gregorian calendar (the calendar we use in the majority of the world today) is filled with all types of random days commemorating significant moments in history; from Jimi Hendrix' birthday, which is coincidental to mine (November 27th), to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles to remember the end of the First World War on the 11th of November, 1918, to the catastrophic September 11th.

Each day is thus filled with its respective significance and the western calendar used today is therefore a mark of western anthropology; just as the Chinese lunar calendar's timing of the Mid-Autumn festival is a time of celebrating the Chinese myth of the love story between a damsel on the rock orbiting the earth.  The calendar itself speaks of culture and ideology.  The Chinese calendar marks the myths, superstitions and religions of the Eastern Orient; the Gregorian now speaks of post-modernism, relativism and a global cultural melting pot.

What of the Jewish calendar which the LORD established?  Here, we find one of the most engaging and interesting aspects of Christianity, and how much the Calendar, the dates, and the feasts reveal the progression OF Christ.

Progressive Revelation of, not towards Christ in the Feasts

Just a cautionary note and perhaps a little bit of side-tracking: the title of this post is "The Progression of, not towards, Christ".  The reason I say this is because of the relatively modern establishment of the concept of 'progressive revelation', which speaks of Christ as if the saints only, over time, knew that the God they trusted in was actually the Son of God.  The implications behind this, is that Adam had no idea he believed in the Son of God, and believed (as far as he is concerned) in a mono-theistic God; then David, in Psalm 110, had spiritual foresights and glimpses into the Trinitarian behaviour, but they are merely glimpses; Isaiah, only when he is filled with the Spirit, was literally possessed by the Spirit when he wrote his book - the clarity of the Trinity was not apparent to Him even as he was writing the verses about the future non-acceptance of Christ in Jerusalem (thus the common phrase: "they wrote better than they knew"); and only until the time of the gospel writers, no one had the clearest and most revealed concept of Jesus Christ as Son of God and mediator in the Trinity.

With much respect to those who struggle or hold strongly to this view, the progression towards Christ seriously frustrates me on many levels.  Primarily, the arrogance of our assumption that Adam had no faith in Christ.  Let me explain: Adam had faith in the Seed (Genesis 3:15), called his woman Eve (the mother of all living despite being cursed with death in the same chapter!), who in turn called their son Cain the LORD-man (mistakenly and prematurely, which simultaneously reveals their mentality of their faith).  If anything, his faith isn't in the generic God - his faith is in the Seed considered as LORD-man, manifested through the burnt offerings which he taught his sons Cain and Abel as well (although the former forsook it).  I am not opposed to progression per se, because I am not saying that Adam knew where exactly Christ is born, what exactly Christ's name is.

What I am proposing however is the progression of Christ, which is an important distinction.  The progression towards Christ, is a progression towards allowing Christ the role he plays - that being the Redeemer and Mediator between us and the Father (and himself, for the matter, for both are our Judges).  This makes the assumption that in the Old Testament, none knew consciously they needed a mediator - their concepts were vague at best, but not explicit.  This simply has no scriptural warrant (Job 19:25).  What progression of Christ means the different manifestations of God's sacraments towards man; the different expressions of God towards man (be they Noah's ark; rainbow; circumcision; Passover; manna; Tabernacle; Mosaic Law), they continue to express the same Mediator, the same Truth, the same Redeemer - Christ.  Thus, there is a progression of Christ towards his incarnation, and these expressions, shadows and signs have always pointed towards the fulfillment of the incarnation.

This means that Jesus is clearly known, through these teaching tools.  The people did not only trust in the signs and shadows - they trusted in what the signs and shadows pointed towards, being Christ!  The New Testament is therefore not a book of 'revelation' - it is a book of fulfillment of the work of the Anointed One.  It is what the Old Testament had always pointed towards.  These feasts are simply a good way to express what the sacrifices could not - a school teacher if you will, like the rest of the Mosaic law.

What makes the feast stand out is for this reason:  it is tempting to look at the animal sacrifices and literally think they save them.  It is even tempting to think you are saved by your physical circumcision, and your diligence in obeying the law, despite the constant reminder from Moses not to be tempted to think so (c.f. Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6).

But where is such a temptation when you're looking at the Jewish Calendar?  What can YOU possibly do about these calendar dates?  They are absolutely external to us; these days were established from the LORD alone; and ALL of them pointed towards Christ and his work on the cross.  Like the sacrament of the rainbow, let this calendar speak of the extra nos (outside of ourselves) of Christ's work.  However, this did not stop people from being self-righteous from the observing of the days and months and seasons and years (Galatians 4:10) - and Paul is exactly making the same point I am making about the spiritual significance of these significant periods.

This is a great opportunity dive into the Jewish calendar which I've touched briefly upon in Exodus chapters 23 and 34.

1.  Introduction to the Jewish Calendar

2.  The feasts (Leviticus 23)

3.  Oil and bread (Leviticus 24:1-9)

4.  Progression of Christ and the Three Pilgrimage Festivals

1.  Introduction to the Jewish Calendar

Taken from here:

Hebrew	English	Number	Length	Gregorian Equivalent
	Nissan	1	30 days	March-April
	Iyar	2	29 days	April-May
	Sivan	3	30 days	May-June
	Tammuz	4	29 days	June-July
	Av	5	30 days	July-August
	Elul	6	29 days	August-September
	Tishri	7	30 days	September-October
	Cheshvan	8	29 or 30 days	October-November
	Kislev	9	30 or 29 days	November-December
	Tevet	10	29 days	December-January
	Shevat	11	30 days	January-February
	Adar I (leap years only)	12	30 days	February-March
	Adar (called Adar II in leap years)	12 (13 in leap years)	29 days	February-March

Now, we must not look at the Jewish calendar is if it is identical to the Gregorian one which we use.  Although there are parallels to be made in identifying the corresponding Gregorian month to the Jewish month, there are additional months added in leap years (or literally, pregnant years).  The beginning of the month is normally established from observing the first teal of the moon, after the darkened moon - and therefore, each month is approximately 20-30 days, hence the discrepancy in some of the months.  However, the period between Nisan and Tishri are stable and unchanging: which means that the feasts and festivals and days of remembrance remain the same throughout those months.

Secondly, the 'first' month may be Nisan on the ecclesiastical year, but the actual first month of the Jewish year starts on the 'seventh' month - Tishri/Tishrei.  This is akin to the 'school year' of the Gregorian month, which begins often in September; for the Jews, Tishri is the 'first month' of the year - it is often referred to as a month of many significant days, from Rosh Hashanah on the 1st and 2nd of Tishrei (marking the beginning of the Jewish civil Year, as opposed to Nisan being the beginning of the Jewish ecclesiastical year), to Yom Kippur on the 10th (Day of Atonement), to the Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) beginning on the 15th.

The 1 Tishri is very significant.  It marks the same day where Adam and Eve were created; the sending of the dove after its return with the olive branch on Noah's ark; the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22.  With such a small taster of the significance of the day, each day bears its own significance in preaching the truth of Jesus.

With this background knowledge, we can turn to the feasts.

2.  The feasts (Leviticus 23)

The progression of the festivals/feasts is as follows:

Sabbath (23:3)

"Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings."

Before the festivals and the feasts, we begin with the remembrance of the first creation of 6 days (Exodus 20:11), ending with the seventh day of Sabbath, reminding Israel of the initial rest which the LORD took, before undertaking the work of new creation from the 8th day (John 5:17) onwards.  A new week, a new start. Deuteronomy 5:15 explains that this model of 6 days, then the seventh, is a model of our salvation as symbolised through the Exodus of Israel from Egypt.

The Sabbath is therefore a symbol of looking forward to the peace, the resting, of New Creation.  Do you take your Sabbath seriously?  Do you over-spiritualise it, and work every day without remembering that the LORD is in complete control and that our work is temporary on earth, for what-ever work we undertake is of two natures: the curse of Genesis 3 (the toil); or the Godly work of bringing people to the House of the Redeemed?  The former is temporary, and the latter is merely something we partake - for it is His work entirely, and not ours.  If even He rests on the Sabbath, what right do we have to work on the Sabbath?

Passover (23:4-5)

Lev 23:4-5  "These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them.  (5)  In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD's Passover.

So the first month of the ecclesiastical year begins with the Passover - but remember that the Jewish year begins with Tishri, not with Nisan - month number 7 is the 'first month' of a new year, not month number 1. This is the day that Christ went to the cross and died, and significantly so.  I have already considered the importance of the Passover in my exposition of Exodus 12.

Feast of Unleavened Bread (23:6-8 )

Lev 23:6-8  And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.  (7)  On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.  (8 )  But you shall present a food offering to the LORD for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work."

I've already looked at the importance of the feast of the unleavened bread, where one's waiting of leaven is the symbolism of one's attachment to the world (during the Exodus of Israel - Exodus 12:39).  This is a period of the onlooking hope of full-redemption by arriving at the spiritual Canaan (1 Corinthians 5:8 ).

Firstfruits (23:9-14)

Lev 23:9-14  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  (10)  "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest,  (11)  and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.  (12)  And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD.  (13)  And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the LORD with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin.  (14)  And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

This is a time of harvest; and the very first of the harvest is offered to the LORD as they waited for the full harvest to be gathered later on.  This is a reminder of birth of the new life through the seed; the day of the seed, the third day (and also Day 3 of creation - Genesis 1:11-13), on which Jesus rose again is a perfect example of new life (John 12:23-24).  Jesus is the Seed which gives life to the firstfruits (2 Thess 2:13).

Feast of Pentecost (23:15-22)

Lev 23:15-22  "You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering.  (16)  You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD.  (17)  You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the LORD.  (18 )  And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.  (19)  And you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings.  (20)  And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.  (21)  And you shall make proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.  (22)  "And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God."

Out of the ecclesiastical year, this is the first feast which is so fulsome -

(a) a grain offering (v.16)

(b) two loaves of bread to be waved, baked with leaven as firstfruit (v.17)

(c) seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bullock and two rams (as burnt offering v.18 )

(d) male goat for sin offering, two male lambs a year old as sacrifice as peace offering (v.19)

So this feast is one representative of the arrival at the Promised Land - for now, there is time to use yeast!

The Firstfruits marked the beginning of the harvest, as Pentecost marks the end of it; the firstfruits looked at salvation of those from the beginning of the world until Christ's second advent - and every Christian in this period is seen as 'firstfruits'.  However, the Pentecost looks at the fulness of this redemption - the revealing of all the sons of God in new creation (Romans 8:19).

However, how are we made the firstfruits?  By the power of the Spirit - which, unsurprisingly, is the day on  which the Spirit was given to Gentile and Jew alike in Acts 2.  Now, and not later, do we have the intimacy and fellowship with God in Christ.  We may not 'feel' it, or 'experience' it daily, but we taste the firstfruits of it.  The true intimacy we will experience with our new bodies in New Creation, but now we already know God because he knew us first (John 17:3); we already love God because he loved us first (1 John 4:19).

Out of all the feasts, this is the only one that required fellowship/peace offering.  Let's work through the progression: first burnt offering, then sin offering, then peace offering - it is tracing the work of salvation.  Christ's propitiatory work on the cross as burnt offering, his blood as our sin offering, and then the Spirit given as peace and fellowship offering.  Only by the power of the Spirit do we now that true communion with God, and this fellowship consists in the form of eating with God (hence the feast of Pentecost).  That is why we are a son of God, through the Sonship of Christ.

This does not end the analogy, for the latter parts of Acts 2 displays a sharing of the property of the believers.  "Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need".  This is a parallel to v.21 - 22.  Do not do any work, as a mark of rest; and you shall not reap to the edge of the land as a form of provision to the poor and the sojourner.

Day of Trumpets (23:23-25)

Lev 23:23-25  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  (24)  "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation.  (25)  You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the LORD."

This marks the coming of Christ, as the trumpet blast has signified so often throughout both OT and NT.  The ram's horn was sounded in Exodus 19; then again in Joshua 6:13, v. 16, v. 20; Isaiah 18:3, 27:13; Ezekiel 33:5; 1 Thess 4:16; Revelation 11:15.

Note in the references above that the trumpet is a two-fold sign: a sign of rejoicing for those in Christ, but a sign of dread and punishment for those without Christ - rightly so; are we going to be under God's wrath, or hiding in the cleft of the Rock?

Day of Atonement (23:26-32)

Lev 23:26-32  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  (27)  "Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD.  (28 )  And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.  (29)  For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people.  (30)  And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people.  (31)  You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.  (32)  It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath."

Some observations about this day -

(a)  No work (v.28 )

(b)  Who does not deny himself will be cut off (v.29)

(c)  Who works on that day will be destroyed (v.30-32) as a Sabbath.

It is quite clear that the Day of Atonement is a day of rest, combined with the significance of the Day of Atonement as a symbol of the death, resurrection and primarily the ascension of Christ, as well as the second advent of Christ (the High Priest's return from the Holy of Holies).  This is a hope of new creation, with