Many Proofs (4/25/11)

Shalom,

 

     Please begin by reading Acts 1:1-3.

 

     The words used for "many proofs" in different versions of the Bible are all strong.  There's infallible proofs and convincing demonstrations and unquestionable evidences.  Jesus gave his disciples positive proof that he was alive and not just some ghostly manifestation.  Luke's Gospel dealt with this in 24:38.  Jesus said, "Look at my hands.  Look at my feet.  You can see that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don't have bodies, as you see that I do."  He left those who saw him with as much proof, actually more than enough, for them to know that his post-resurrection appearances were real events and not some kind of hallucination.

     This isn't just proof based on the report of witnesses, but this was proof by touch and sight.  When the scriptures say Jesus "appeared" to them, the word is very specific.  It means that they literally eyeballed him.  He was seen and perceived as real by those who saw him and talked with him.  They had real experiences, not dreams or visions.

     Skeptics throughout history have tried to pass off these sightings of Jesus as merely hallucinations.  They claim the disciples were caught up in mass hysteria or at the very least had overactive imaginations.  But can you believe it was only a hallucination, when at one point over 500 people saw Jesus?  That's a very large crowd to think that they all were hallucinating or under some spell.  If Jesus never rose from the dead, why didn't anyone produce his body to prove the stories wrong?  1 Cor 15:16 states that "he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time."  That's an amazing amount of people to be fooled by an illusion at the same time.

 

     In the 40 days that Jesus spent on earth after his resurrection and before ascending to heaven, he made 11 recorded appearances to the disciples.  He did this to help them see the fact that he was truly alive.  He didn't banish all doubt from people's minds, but he did establish the reality that he was truly a living, breathing, and very real person.

     Jesus spoke with them, ate with them, walked with them, and sat with them.  He appeared and disappeared in miraculous ways.  When the doors were locked he had no trouble getting in or out.  He appeared out of nowhere and left the same way.  He gave them enough convincing proof by his demonstrations of his reality to encourage them in spreading the Kingdom after his ascension.

     The facts are that there's enough evidence of the resurrection of Jesus so that all humans should believe in the reality of him as Savior and Lord.  There are enough historical, archeological, and manuscript evidences to accept his reality based on these alone.  Atheists and unbelievers have worked hard to deny or disprove the fact of a Risen Lord Jesus.  Some have come to accept him Savior after finding the evidence overwhelming, verifying and not disproving the fact of the Resurrection.  Some have continued to deny and challenge the evidence through their stubborn denial of the God of the Bible.  Just know that the evidence is real and people are left "without excuse" (Rom 1:20) for their continued refusal to believe.

     But we still need faith.  The facts won't save us.  The infallible and convincing proofs won't get anyone saved or into heaven.  We need to build and improve our faith on these facts, but they aren't what will get us into or keep us in the Kingdom of Heaven.

     Former Vice President George Bush represented the United States at the funeral of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.  He was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow.  She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed.  Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid to close it, she performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed.  She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest.  There in the citadel of secular, atheist power, the wife of the man who'd run it all hoped her husband was wrong.

     Mrs. Brezhnev hoped that there was another life, and that the same Jesus who showed mercy from the cross, might yet have mercy on her husband.  The Resurrection of Jesus changed the course of history forever.  The stone wasn't just rolled away so that others could get in and see that Jesus was gone.  The Resurrection is the key to our Christian faith.  It secures all the promises of heaven for us.  It ensures us that Jesus, the Firstfruits of all who will rise from the dead (1 Cor 15:20-23), will raise us up from the dead unto eternal life.

 

     First, Jesus rose from the dead, just as he said he would.  Matt 16:21 says, "From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."  Therefore, he'll also accomplish everything else that he promised.  His Word can be trusted and counted on forever and ever.  Once the reality of the event is established, there' no more need to look any other place for answers.  The Bible is true and we can trust what it says.  Christianity is historical.  It's based on real events that occurred in Israel about 2000 years ago.

     When Jesus rose from the dead, he fulfilled the purpose of the Father.  His death on the cross had provided the blood sacrifice necessary for redeeming us from sin.  His three days in the grave, experiencing the torture of Hell for us completed the atonement.  We don't need faith to know he rose from the dead, because it's a historical fact.  We need faith to trust in the ability of the redemption provided through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  To be redeemed we must accept by faith that our salvation is real because of what Jesus accomplished.

     Second, it's the living person Jesus, not some imposter who's the ruler of Yahweh's Kingdom.  Jesus told us "I am returning to my Father" (John 20:17).  Jesus ascended to heaven to take his place at the right hand of the Father.  He entered the Father's presence by right.  He didn't need help to get to him like we do.  He was obedient unto death and was able to enter the throne room of heaven in power and authority.  We now say "Jesus is Lord."  This isn't just a part of the creed we follow, but it's supposed to be a way of life.

     The disciples who saw Jesus in his post-resurrection appearances were convinced by the "many proofs" that this truly was the same Jesus they had known for three years of traveling ministry.  He continued to teach and instruct them, to prepare them for the ministry he had established.  He enabled them to preach and proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom.  That calling now falls on us.  The task isn't completed.  There are many people who need to have the Gospel of the Kingdom proclaimed in their hearing today.

     Third, we can be certain of our own resurrection because of what happened to Jesus.  Death isn't the end for us.  There is eternal life with our heavenly Father ahead of us.  This affirmation has been recognized around the world for the past 2000 years.  It's part of the creeds many churches proclaim on a regular basis.  The Apostles Creed states, "I believe in... the resurrection of the dead, and life everlasting."  The Nicene Creed includes, "we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come."

     Jesus is the Firstfruits.  He was a single seed planted which is now producing an abundant crop of redeemed souls.  He was buried alone, but he's no longer alone.  All those who have died as faithful believers are residing in his presence (2 Cor 5:8).  We can be assured of our personal resurrection because Jesus rose from the dead first.  Rom 10:10 informs us that belief in the resurrection is one of the foundational points of our faith.  "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord.' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

     About 1930, Communist leader Bukharin journeyed from Moscow to Kiev.  His mission was to address a huge assembly.  His subject was atheism.  For a solid hour, he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity, hurling argument and ridicule.  At last he was finished and stood over what he believed to be the smoldering ashes of men's faith.  "Are there any questions?" Bukharin demanded.  A solitary man arose and asked permission to speak.  He mounted the platform and moved close to the Communist leader.  The audience was breathlessly silent as the man surveyed them.  At last he shouted the ancient orthodox greeting, "Christ is Risen!"  The vast assembly arose as one man and the response came crashing like the sound of an avalanche, "He is Risen indeed!"  This strongly stated truth refuted the hour-long tirade simply and directly.

 

     Can you stand in the power and joy of what Jesus accomplished on your behalf and make the same loud proclamation?  Can you speak the profound truth of the Risen Christ to our unbelieving and atheistic world?  What Jesus did back then still changes lives today.  It still applies and it still works.  It wasn't just for a chosen few, but was meant to redeem the sins of all the humans who ever have or ever will live.

     Jesus is real.  Jesus is alive.  The proof is there for the finding.  But don't depend on the facts.  Trust the Savior with all your heart and believe what the Bible tells us.  The Resurrection is the basis for the all the witnessing and ministry members of the Body of Christ do all around the world.  The irrefutable truth is that Jesus rose from the dead.  Help other people discover this truth and share the keys of the Kingdom with them.

     Go forth and proclaim:  Christ is Risen!  Christ is Risen indeed."

 

     Blessings & Peace,  Mike

Malchus: An Eye Witness Account (4/18/11)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading John 19:17-37.

 

    Hello, my name is Malchus.  I was the personal servant of the High Priest Caiphas during the capture and trial of Jesus the Nazarene.  If you're familiar with the Gospel account, you've heard my name before.

    Since Jesus healed my ear in the Garden of Gethsemane, I felt the need to follow him throughout that long, terrible night and day.  I will take you along with me as I recount what I saw when our Savior laid down his life for us all.

 

    I was in the mob sent to Gethsemane by the Jewish leaders looking for the counterfeit Messiah known as Jesus of Nazareth.  The High Priest sent me along with them to be able to give him an account of all that happened.

    The first thing I remember that night is what happened when we approached the followers of Jesus.  All of sudden one of them stepped forward to confront us.  He asked, "Who is it you want?"  The leader of the Temple Guard spoke up and answered, "Jesus of Nazareth."

    This is when things really began to happen.  Jesus said, "I am he."  When he did there was such power and authority in his voice that it caused all of us to stumble back and fall to the ground.

    Then Judas identified Jesus for us in the prearranged manner, and the soldiers stepped forward to take him into custody.  It was then that one of his followers jumped out with his short sword.  I dodged a direct blow, but felt the searing pain of the blade severing my ear.

    The next thing I knew Jesus was holding my head and I felt an incredible warmth in place of the pain.  I don't know how he healed me, but I determined to follow his every move from that point on.

 

    First, we went to the house of Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas, the High Priest.  He had requested a personal audience with the man who had caused such a stir among the Jewish leaders.  The meeting was very uneventful, since Jesus never spoke a word.  Annas asked question after question, getting redder in the face as he went on.  His lack of composure was in direct contrast to the calm quiet of the Nazarene.

    Then we went to the High Priest's home to present Jesus to the Sanhedrin.  Even though it was strictly against Hebrew Law, they gathered in the middle of the night.  I have learned much serving as the High Priest's servant, his personal assistant.  The Mishnah required all proceedings and verdicts to be given only during daylight hours.  This was definitely overlooked this fateful day.  Also the first day of Passover was to be a day of rest.  The Sanhedrin was forbidden to meet during a religious festival, but here they gathered to look over Jesus like a gang of vultures.

    In spite of the outright breaking of the law that many of them found to be so precious, they quickly tried and convicted Jesus of blasphemy.  Even though they couldn't get the proper testimony from the witnesses they called, he was condemned to death, another travesty of the law.  All time restrictions and procedures were ignored due to the High Priest's well-crafted plan and the fear of the Sanhedrin that they might lose their influence and control over the people to this gentle man.

    After this mockery of a trial, the Temple Guard took Jesus outside and began to beat him.  I was sickened at the joy these lesser men took in trampling one they had feared just a short time ago.  When they tired of beating Jesus, they placed him in a small room above the courtyard to pass the final hours until dawn awaiting his sentence of death.

 

    When Jesus was brought before Pilate the travesty of justice continued.  First, Pilate tried to avoid dealing with Jesus by sending him to Herod.  But when Jesus remained silent before Herod's questions and requests, he was beaten again.  After Herod mocked him, he sent him back to Pilate.

    Pilate did all he could to set Jesus free, partly out of fear due to his wife's dream.  But also because he found Jesus to be such a noble man in the face of the Sanhedrin's anger and the obvious fact that they were railroading this man.

    As he presented Jesus to the crowd, some of Caiaphas' men circulated near the back of the crowd.  They shouted as previously instructed, "Take this man away!  Crucify him!"

    Within seconds, a few drunks also took up the cry, looking to generate some excitement.  Their hoarse voices prompted others in the crowd to join in.  The gathering began to turn into an ugly mob and the shouts soon became a unified chant.  "Crucify him!  Crucify him!"

    To try and appease the crowd, Pilate said he would have Jesus scourged.  The crowd finally quieted down as Pilate had Jesus escorted to an inner courtyard where the whipping pillar is located.  The High Priest motioned for me to follow.  I hesitated.  He gave me such a vicious look I knew my own life would be in danger if I didn't obey, so I went in.

    At the whipping pillar, the Roman soldiers gathered around Jesus.  One soldier already had a purple robe.  Another one had gathered thorn branches and twisted them into a crown to force upon the head of Jesus.  The vulgar talk among the soldiers made it clear that they found it humorous that this lone, naked figure claimed to be a king.  They were venting their hatred of the Jews on this defenseless man.

    Several soldiers forced Jesus to bend over the waist-high pillar.  This place had known many beatings and scourgings.  It had run-offs gouged into the ground around it to drain the blood away.  Flies collected on the small pools of red that remained from the earlier whippings of two convicted thieves.  A large man stood ready on each side of the pillar, each holding a whip of leather strands woven around sharp bits of metal, bone, and pottery.  They waited for a signal from the governor to their centurion.

    After he nodded, the soldiers kicked Jesus' legs apart to expose all parts of his body equally to the vicious whips.  With a grunt of effort, one of the men swung his whip down, cracking the nine thongs of leather across the back of Jesus.  As he pulled his whip away, his companion aimed lower and lashed savagely from the other side.  The sharp objects embedded in the whips raked Jesus as the whip curled around the inside of his thighs.  Incredibly, Jesus never cried out.

    After this cruelty, Pilate brought Jesus back before the crowd and got the same result as the first time.  More shouts of "Crucify him!"  Pilate even tried to bribe the crowd by offering them the murderous Barabbas in place of Jesus, but that failed, too.

    After Pilate washed his hands, Jesus was taken away to Golgotha.  Golgotha, the hill of the skull, was just north of the city.  It wasn't named, as many think, for the skulls of the dead abandoned around the excavation sites.  Jewish Law forbids the exposure of human bones.  Instead, as anyone can see, the hill of the skull is just that: a high, rounded and rocky plateau which looks like the hollow-eyed skull of a man.  The work done by wind and rain left a dull gray image.  Two shallow caves, side by side, and a lower, larger cave centered below; form the eyes and gaping mouth.  At certain times of the day, when the sun's light casts black shadows across these depressions, it becomes such a vision of a gaunt face that any wind moaning across that barren place reminds you of the cries and groans and curses of all the men who have died tortured deaths on that hill.

 

    Crucifixion is a simple process.  After the upright beam is positioned, the cross beam is set on the ground.  The victim is forced onto his back and laid across it with his arms extended.  A long, sharp nail is placed at the groove of the wrist, and driven through the flesh into the wood.

    Once the victim is secured to the cross piece, soldiers use ropes to draw him upward, and they bind the cross piece to the upright with nails and ropes.  At this point, the soldiers are far from finished.  If the victim were left hanging in this manner, death would arrive too quickly from suffocation as the body's unsupported weight pulled against the lungs.

    So the soldiers place one foot on top of the other before driving another spike through flesh.  Only then would the soldiers step aside, their work finished, for now.

    The pain is so great that a man is sometimes unable to scream.  His brain floods with agony from the different parts of his body crying out in pain.  Flies arrive to settle on his eyes and nose and ears to torment him even more in their pursuit of blood.  Yet the real pain hasn't begun yet.

    The man will usually choose the lesser agony of hanging from the nails in his wrists, simply because it's so unbearable to place any weight on the spike in his feet.  His lungs will strain for the sweetness of air until his throat rattles.

    A man's will to live is an unreasoning desperation.  It can even ignore his wish to die to end the pain and suffering.  So eventually he will fight for air by pushing up with cramping thigh muscles, painfully supporting his weight on the iron spikes in his feet.

    When he can no longer endure this pain, he will sag again, until his lungs suck for air and he pushes his weight on his ankles again.  He will alternate between these two agonies, knowing it may take hours and sometimes even days before exhaustion and dehydration finally send him into black oblivion.

    This death is what awaited Jesus.  There's a merciful Jewish tradition that allows women to offer the condemned a cup of strong wine mixed with myrrh to numb their pain.  When it was offered to Jesus, he refused it.

    He said nothing throughout all the soldiers did to him.  He said nothing when they drove him to his knees.  He said nothing as they pushed him onto his back to nail him to the cross.  He said nothing as the point of the first spike was pressed against the flesh of his wrist

    As for me, I was a coward.  I turned my head.  The hammer came down with a peculiar clang and thud of iron.  The iron entering the wood made another disturbing sound.  In contrast to these two forces, iron's impact against the flesh is soundless, if not for the screams of the victim.

    Jesus, however, met the beginning of his death with full submission, as silent as a slaughtered Passover lamb before the altar.  Only a low grunt escaped his lips.

    When I found the courage to look again, blood streamed dark from his pierced body and soaked into the hard, cold ground.

 

    It was then I knew for certain that he was who he said he was, the Messiah.  I knew I would never be the same again, for I had committed myself to a new master.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike

My God! Why! (4/11/11)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading Matt 27:45-47.

 

    Matthew reports to us that a mysterious darkness covered the land for three hours.  A strange, weird darkness settled down over the world, obscuring the sun until it couldn't be seen anymore.  This supernatural darkness covered the land from noon until 3 in the afternoon.  It was a completely supernatural manifestation, not natural in any way.  Imagine a heaven-sent darkness lasting for three hours.  It was almost as if Creation was sympathizing with its Creator.  It's almost as if the Father said, "This is the darkest moment in the history of my Creation."

    When it says "all the land" it could refer to all of Israel or the whole of the earth.  Was it only localized to the Jewish nation, or did this darkness cover the entirity of the earth?  I can easily see this as a world-wide event, affecting all the earth because Jesus was on the cross for the sin of all mankind.  This supernatural darkness intensifies the desolation of what Jesus was facing.  It reaches its full depth as Jesus, made to be sin for us, experiences the horror of separation from his Father.  Sin creates this awful separation, and he cries, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

    The darkness can't be explained as an eclipse, or a sandstorm, or anything of a natural origin.  We need to understand this darkness as supernatural, showing the hand of Yahweh in our Messiah's sacrifice.  Darkness is associated with judgment in several places in the Bible.  We need to understand it here as pointing to Yahweh's judgment of sin linked directly to the cross of Christ.  That darkness meant judgment.  It was the direct judgment of Almighty God against sin.  It was the wrath of Yahweh burning itself out in the very heart of Jesus as our substitute.  In those dark hours, Hell came to Calvary.  Our Savior descended into it and experienced its horror in our place.

    After three hours of darkness we hear Jesus cry, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me."  It was during this time of darkness that Jesus was made "sin for us" (2 Cor 5:21).  He'd been forsaken by his Father.  The darkness was a symbol of the judgment that Jesus endured when he was made "a curse for us" (Gal 3:13).  This emphasizes the holiness of our Great and Righteous God.  How could our most holy God look with favor on his Son who had become sin for us?

    Jesus spoke these words in Hebrew and the spectators didn't really understand what he was saying.  They thought he was calling for Elijah to help him.  If they had been listening carefully they would have remembered the words of Psalm 22, and they would have understood the truth.  But they were blind to the truth because of the darkness of their own hearts.

 

    Every individual has blood on their hands.  Rom 3:23 says, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  This verse gathers up the whole human race into one statement and tell us we still fall short.  We're as guilty as the people of Jerusalem and Rome.  We also nailed Jesus to that cross.  We took part in his awful separation from his Father.  We're responsible.

    In order to understand our Messiah's words of anguish we need to go to Hell, but not in our present condition.  We would need to go to Hell with the full taint of sin just like the holy Son of God.  No one in Hell understands this condition.  No one on earth can either.  No person on earth, no sinner in Hell, can approach the experience that will enable them to understand the signiifcance of our Messiah's terrible cry.  Clearly we don't qualify.  The terrible truth is that we deserve what Jesus was suffering on the cross.  We deserve the punishment and pain, but even if we were to suffer something similar we still wouldn't know what Jesus went through for us.  We'd only be suffering for our own sin.  Jesus suffered for the sins of mankind.  The pure and holy Son of God, who didn't deserve punishment of any kind, took on the full burden of our sins.

    We don't fully comprehend these words because we don't fully understand the holiness of Yahweh.  The prophet Habakkuk said it well, "Your eyes are to pure to look on evil, you cannot tolerate wrong" (Hab 1:13).  Finite, depraved sinners don't understand how sin appears to an infinite, holy, and righteous King of Glory.  His attitude toward sin caused him to turn his back on his Son and forsake him.  Sin is serious business to Yahweh.  Sin is so serious that there is only one way it can be dealt with.  Heb 9:22 says, "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."  These words Jesus spoke from the cross reveal the reality of sin and holiness.  They also reveal the reason for the sacrifice of our heavenly Father's Son.

    When Jesus cried out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me," he gave full expression to his feelings of abandonment.  But these words also point out his continuing relationship of confidence, patience, self-resignation, and trust in the sovereignty of God the Father.  Jesus is crying out after the Father as well as crying out to him for help.  In the anguish of his awful godforsakenness, Jesus conitnues to trust.

    The word fosaken is made up of three words.  "To leave" meaning to abandon.  "Down" suggesting defeat and helplessness.  And "in" referring to the place of circumstance.  It is the forsaking of someone in a state of defeat or helplessness in the midst of hostile circumstances.  "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me, left me behind, deserted me."

    For the first time in the eternal life of the Trinity, God the Father turns away from God the Son.  The Father denies Jesus his presence.  He's forsaken of what he's known and lived with for all eternity.  For the first time the eternal fellowship between the Father and the Son was mysteriously broken.  In the anguish of his godforsakenness, Jesus still cries out to his Father.  He trusts even in his cry of desperation and desolation.

 

    Think of it.  Yahweh laid the penalty of your sinful heart on Jesus.  Yahweh made him the representative of all your sins and mine.  And he paid the penalty for us.  Think of gathering all the sin of humanity into one giant heap.  What a seething and broiling mass of wickedness.  Jesus came down to earth to take on that seething mass so Yahweh could blot out it's effect on us in one all-sufficient and comprehensive sacrifice.  And don't forget, it wasn't the Messiah's sin but yours and mine, our seething mass of corruption that Jesus identified himself with and suffered for.  No wonder he made such an anguished cry.  He didn't have to face this.  He only did it because of his great love for us.

    Jesus had never been separated from his Father, but he was willing to do it for us.  When he allowed the sins of the world to be placed on him, the Father had to turn away because of his righteous justice.  Jesus came down from the glory of heaven to save our souls by becoming sin in our place.  Jesus stepped in between absolute justice and our sin to satisfy the need for punishment.  Our sin deserves punishemnt and Jesus sacrificed himself on our behalf.

    Godforsakenness is a good word describing the depth of what Jesus suffered on our behalf.  When he cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me," he was beginning to experience the depths of Hell.  My Hell, your Hell, all the Hells of all the guilty sinners were burning their fires on him.  Jesus, the holy and righteous One, went through absolute Hell so we don't have to.

    Jesus paid the price, not for himself, but for each of us individually and personally.  In particular, he stood in our place.  He did it so you and I would never have to experience what Hell is really like.  Instead of you and me, Jesus went as our representative.  He took our pain and suffering upon himself.  He was our substitute, our replacement.  His pain, his cries of loneliness, his agonizing question from the cross are the prophetic manifestations of what awaits doomed sinners in the everlasting condemnation brought about by their unwillingness to seek forgiveness for their sin-guilt.

    These words from the cross are a divine revelation of what Hell is like.  It reveals to us the wrath of our Creator against all sin.  This is the clearest revealtion of the wrath of Almighty God given to us.  We should pay attention, and work at avoiding the experience by receiving the grace found in Jesus Messiah Master.

    These words also reveal the satisfaction of the debt we owe.  Yahweh prophetically told us how he would make provision to pay our sin-debt.  Isaiah 53:5 speaks of the suffering servant who was "pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him."  John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

    Jesus had to pay the price alone.  He tasted spiritual death for everyone in the world.  He felt the way a lost sinner feels, without ever having sinned himself.  The innocent suffering for the guilty.  No wonder he cried out in anguish.

 

    In these words we can begin to comprehend the love of our heavenly Father.  In these words we can begin to understand the depravity of sin when compared to Yahweh's holiness.  In these words we can begin to understand how the death of Jesus atones for our sins.

    Today Jesus is your advocate.  Today he pleads for you to believe in your heart that he died for your sins on the cross.  If you will hear him and ask forgiveness for your sins, you will be saved.  The salvation he offers is complete and all-sufficient.  It will save you for all eternity if you believe in Jesus and obey his Word.  You will have eternal life, joy in the presence of your loving heavenly Father forever.

    Tomorrow could be the day Jesus will become your judge.  If you refuse to accept his sacrifice on your behalf, his substitution, his taking your place of punishment, he will judge you and condemn you to eternal death.

    Please make a wise choice.  Choose life, that's why Jesus faced the anguish and horror of being sacrificed.  Our debt is paid in full when we ask Jesus to take away our sins and help us walk in his ways.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike

False Prophets (4/4/11)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading Jer 23:21-29.

 

    Satan is in the business of counterfeiting the good things of Yahweh.  There are many warnings in the Old and New Testaments for us to be wary of false prophets.  Without a doubt, the devil will go to any extreme to keep us from attaining the fullness of our alignment with the Holy Spirit.  And don't forget that there are some men who are greedy and power-hungry enough to not need the devil's prompting to be a false prophet.  And also don't forget that there can't be counterfeit without a real.

    David Cannistraci said, "Satan's chief aim through these false apostles and prophets will be threefold: to dilute, defile, and discredit the new apostolic movement.  Critics of the new move of God will point out the problems caused by false apostles and prophets in an attempt to dismiss the validity of all that God is doing."

 

    Words are powerful.  What we say and what we listen to really does matter.  This includes the Word of God.  Yahweh's Word is like no other.  It's infallible.  It's all sufficient.  It affects people in profound and unimaginable ways.  According to verse 29, it's a hammer able to smash rocks into pieces and an all-consuming fire.

    One of the first things we use a hammer for is pounding, even breaking.  The picture offered here is that Yahweh's Word is a sledge hammer.  Sledge hammers aren't normally used for pounding in nails, but for harder tasks.  Yahweh's sledge hammer can shatter and tear down old structures.  There are some obstacles in the way of the advancement of Yahweh's Kingdom.  They're manifesting all around our world.  We need to use Yahweh's hammer to remove them.  I believe Jeremiah share's this picture because of the call on his life found in Jer 1:9-10.  "See, I have put my words in your mouoth!  Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms.  You are to uproot some and tear them down, to destroy and overthrow them.  You are to build others up and plant them."

    A specific problem pointed out in this passage is the false prophets proclaiming their dreams to be from Yahweh when they were actually lies.  Yahweh called them "prophets of decit, inventing everything they say."  People continue to do that today, trying to con people into a false sense of security.  Many of these modern-day false prophets have proclaimed the same sort of message.  Yahweh has given the whole world hope for the future because he wants everyone to go to heaven, no matter how they've lived before repenting.  If the world will listen to Yahweh's Truth instead of the false prophet's lies, more will accept his invitation.

    All most of these false prophets want is some fame, to spend some time in the limelight.  They want to be invited to speak on Oprah and Ellen and other popular TV or radio shows so they can be the current sensation.  They're greedy for attention and will grasp at every bit of fame they can lay their hands on.  But the words they're speaking aren't from Yahweh.  They're from their own imaginations or they're demonically induced.  And sadly, these glory hounds could care less if they're undermining the Word of the Most High God.

    Most of these false prophets speak just like the ones in Jeremiah's day.  Yahweh's question in verse 23 points out their lie.  "Am I a God who is only in one place?"  These false prophets tell us that our God is far away, that he isn't fully present in our world.  They try to convince us that he isn't completely active and involved in our daily lives.  They directly contradict the Word of God and expect us to jump on their bandwagon.  They make outrageous claims about their connection with God and his angels, when in reality they are in contact with Satan and his evil horde.

 

    We have churches and pastors and Bible teachers telling people that the Bible is full of contradictions.  They say things like, "Oh, we don't believe the Bible literally means what it says.  No, we're too enlightened and modern to believe the Bible is infallible or inerrant."  Many people siiting in these churches and listening to these heresies don't have a working knowledge of the Bible and accept what these false teachers and prophets tell them.  Because these lies are spoken so often, many begin to set them as the concrete truth that they set their hearts on.  Then many of them defend these lies with strong emotion and are offended when someone comes in and speaks biblical truth.

    These outright lies become the brick and mortar that harden and keep our hearts from moving closer to the living God.  We build a solid stronghold out of these lies right in the middle of what was once the sole property of our Lord and Savior.  A great problem is that all humans inherently want to stonewall our Creator.  Our sinful flesh thinks it can build up barriers to keep the God of the Bible out of our lives.  We think that we can find the answers to life without our Creator and Designer's help.  If not for his truth and the activity of the Holy Spirit, our world would be a very dark place spiritually.

    The false teachers and prophets directly contradict Yahweh's Word, and then tell us how we can find freedom and happiness outside of the Scriptures.  They try to get us to abandon "ancient traditions" for modern ones promising us self-promotion and self-actualization.  And in our ignorance we accept that we can self-actualize, making our dreams come true through our own efforts.  In the end we find ourselves playing with lies that Yahweh will smash and destroy.  His Hammer will crush our humanistically created defenses and ruin our arguments and spoil our ungodly insider information.  When that heavenly Hammer swings there will be no place to hide and nothing will be camouflaged when the full light of Yahweh's Truth is finally fully manifested.

    For the repentant heart, the Hammer of Yahweh's Word will smash stubborn hearts, rip out all that's rotten, and replace it with his truth and goodness.  Jesus suffered being hammered to a cross because of our stubbornness and unbelief.  As Yahweh told us in Ezek 11:19, "I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh."  Yahweh's Hammer is much stronger than anything in our created world.  Smashes means crushes and crumbles, breaking into small pieces.  The solid ground people who listen to false prophets think they're standing on will eventually be turned into a pile of rubble.  The intellectual arguments they built their personal doctrine on will be smashed into little, itty-bitty pieces.

 

    The fire of Yahweh mentioned is the kind that will burn until there's nothing left but ashes.  Yahweh's fire will totally consume anything that's grounded in this world.  The world's fire can't burn what is fully committed to Yahweh.  Remember the three Hebrew boys in Daniel 3.  Our Creator is in control of everything.  He won't allow lies to be spoken in His Name.  Ultimately, the lies and liars will be absolutely and totally consumed by holy fire.  2 Pet 3:7 says, "The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."

    In prairie country, people have been taught that the only way to escape from a range fire is to start a backfire.  Burn out a place in the grass where you can stand as the range fire passes by.  Because you've removed the fuel from around you, the fire will not touch you.  When the heat of Yahweh's judgment and condemnation burn against our world, the redeemed can be sure that we have a place to stand.  We have a place where Yahweh has already poured out his white-hot anger over our sin, the cross of Jesus.  Our Savior has already lit the backfire and prepared a place of safety for us.

    If our sins are burned away and gone, we don't have to fear the consuming fire.  Those who listen to false prophets and teachers will find what they're trusting consumed and they'll be left wanting.  Some are naive, casually listening for fun or entertainment.  Others are deliberately looking for different truth, purposefully denying and rejecting biblical truth.  We must reach out to those who both naively and deliberately trust in these messages of false hope and security.  We must work to help them discern Yahweh's truth.

    We, as the people of the covenant, must know both Yahweh's Word and the voice of the Holy Spirit to ensure that we're not believing in anything false or contrary to the Bible.  The wisdom we gain from Yahweh's Word will guide our choices and keep us on the path of righteousness.  The instruction we find in the Bible helps us to clearly see and discern between right and wrong, good and evil, Yahweh and Satan.  We like to say that there are blacks and whites, dark and light, that must be judged.  The grays that are so often glorified by false prophets and teachers will be easily recognizable as lies when we're walking with Jesus, and the moral and ethical grays are also clearly discerned as unbiblical positions.

 

    We have a choice.  We can listen to Yahweh, his Word and his Spirit, or we can listen to humanly and demonically contrived truth.  Sheryl Price said, "God is more willing to speak to us than we are ready to listen."  The mighty voice of our Creator is still speaking today.  He's never stopped speaking to those who will listen for his voice.  When a prophet speaks, make sure his words are backed up by Scripture.  When a teacher uses extra-biblical sources, make sure they're in agreement with the Bible.  Do these background checks with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

    Test the words of the prophets.  Test the words of the teachers you listen to.  Trust that your Father wants you to discern his truth, and pursue that truth with every bit of energy you have.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike