Tim Hayes – Page 47

Ready to Vanish

Well after Christ’s resurrection, as the Apostle Paul penned Hebrews (circa 67 CE), God’s temple in Jerusalem, the earthly picture of His heavenly temple with its ceremonial ordinances and sacrificial system, was as functional as ever. (He 8:4-5)

Yet Paul said God’s old covenant with Israel, built around this temple and its priestly activity, was decaying, growing old, and “ready to vanish away.” (He 8:13) Shortly afterward (circa 70 CE), Rome destroyed God’s earthly temple, halting the entire sacrificial system and Israel’s ability to keep this old covenant.

But this wasn’t the first time. Previously, in 586 BCE, Babylon destroyed the temple, similarly disabling the sacrificial system and Israel’s ability to keep God’s covenant. This first vanishing of the covenant lasted for 70 years while Israel was in exile, but it didn’t make either the covenant or the sacrificial system obsolete. Why then would anyone think the second instance did? The true temple in heaven, after which the earthly counterpart was modeled (He 9:24), has never missed a beat. (Re 11:19)

One reason might be that, when left to ourselves, we’re innately disposed to hate God and His law (Ro 8:7), jumping at any excuse to dismiss His way as irrelevant or obsolete. (2Ti 4:3)

The cross of Christ didn’t displace either the temple or its sacrificial system; animal sacrifices have always been God’s way of pointing us to the cross, helping us understand the nature of Christ’s atoning work. (Jn 1:29)

Without this tangible expression of propitiation (1Jn 2:2), enabling us to relate intimately and practically with the concept of atonement, most of us are hindered in our ability our grasp the nature and significance of the gospel mystery; many in Christianity remain alienated from God (Mt 7:21-23), worshiping another Jesus and preaching another gospel. (Ga 1:6-7)

Yet even with the temple and sacrificial system in place, Israel missed God’s intent so completely, corrupting and abusing its design so thoroughly (Ro 10:3), that God stepped around them to work His plan for world evangelism another way. (Ro_11:15)

Meanwhile, YHWH’s Heavenly temple still stands, eternally relevant.(Re 16:17) Its earthly counterpart will eventually be fully restored (Re 11:1-2) — there’s nothing in it inconsistent with the gospel.

Torah is holy, just and good (Ro 7:12); it’s God’s moral standard, defining sin and righteousness (1Jn 3:4) so long as Heaven and Earth remain. (Mt 5:18)

God’s temple, His kingdom, and all His laws are amazingly beautiful (Ps 27:4); we do well to seek God in them, keeping His commandments, enjoying them as He intended (Ps 119:111), longing after them (Ps 119:40), and looking forward to their glorious revelation to all Mankind. (Mi 4:2)

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Christ in You

One of the mysteries of the Faith is Christ in us, our hope of glory. (Col 1:27) When Father conceives us with the word of Truth (Ja 1:18), He joins Himself with our spirit, becoming one with us. (Ep 5:30)

The fact that every believer has Christ in them, working uniquely and imperceptibly in and through them (Php 2:13), makes all believers equally valuable and important, creating a healthy humility and interdependency among us all (Ep 5:21), encouraging us to edify one other, and leveling the playing field, so to speak.

Christ in us, the foundation of the church, encourages the mature to listen intently to the young, seeking the unique revelation of Christ in them. It discourages the domination of the learned, and the exclusion of anyone sincerely seeking Christ from active participation in the assembly. (1Co 14:26)

The fact that none of us have yet fully attained to Christ (Php 3:12) welcomes diversity; we can all learn from each other while holding each other accountable, and critically evaluating all that is being taught, maintaining personal ownership of our own faith.

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All Things but Loss

What have I given up for Christ? What have I sacrificed trying to find Him, to know Him and follow Him? (Mk 10:28)

Sometimes it feels like I’ve lost a lot, albeit foolishly at times. A prestigious career, family, friends, wealth. I think I could’ve lived so much more comfortably, safely, with so much less suffering. (Mt 16:26)

But what have I actually gained? I have, indeed, found Christ. I know it. I should be comparing what I’ve lost with Who I’ve found.

Compared with Christ, when I do the math, whatever it is that I’ve lost really doesn’t add up to much; it pales in comparison. (Php 3:8-10)

Really now. Would I give up Christ for anything else? For anyone else? Not a chance! Would I give up anything I know about Him, or of Him? Would I purposely move just a tiny bit farther away from Him for anything temporal? No, I wouldn’t. Really. Nothing, absolutely nothing compares, on any level, with Christ. (He 11:24-26)

I’m so sorry I ever find in myself any resentment or regret for pursuing You; it grieves me deeply. (Ro 7:24) You’ve never required me to forsake anything good that I hadn’t already made into an idol. You’ve cared for me abundantly and faithfully all along the way, and suffering for you has been a privilege. (Php 1:29)

I can’t pursue both this world and Christ (1Jn 2:15-17); I’ve made my choice. (Mt 6:24) If I had it to do all over again, I’d choose You again, a million times over. Yes, always the same, no hesitation, none at all.

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Honor All

One of our primal lies is that human value is tied to beliefs or behavior; we tend to honor those who believe and act as we think they ought, and to dishonor those who don’t, to shame them and feel contempt for them. But God says we’re to honor everyone (1Pe 2:17), even our enemies. (Mt 5:44)

This doesn’t mean we’re to like everyone, or to consider them desirable company. To honor someone is to treat them with respect and dignity, to acknowledge their value and worth. It has nothing to do with approving their beliefs or behavior.

What gives someone worth is the fact that God has made them in His image. (Ge 9:6) When we disrespect someone we’re disrespecting their Creator (Ja 3:9), their Lord, their Master. (1Co 11:3) They represent Him and are accountable to Him, not to us. (Ro 14:4)

Disagreeing with someone, thinking they’re wrong, is simply to acknowledge that they haven’t yet found the truth; God hasn’t opened their eyes to see what we see. (Ac 26:18) It doesn’t mean we’re better, or more important or valuable or worthy. We’re all beggars when it comes to either truth or goodness; we only have what we’ve been mercifully given by God. (1Co 4:7)

To puff ourselves up in our knowledge (1Co 8:1), or to feel threatened when others disagree with us, to feel dishonored when they say we’re deceived or in error, is to buy in to the enemy’s lie and to walk in darkness ourselves. It is associating human value or worth with belief or behavior when there’s no relationship between the two.

God Himself is the only One Who has the right to look down on another with disdain or contempt, to shame them, to disvalue them. (Da 12:2) When we do this it’s pride (Ps 123:4), usurping His role, pushing Him off the eternal throne and climbing upon it ourselves.

Let’s not make this mistake any longer, living in the lie; every human soul is infinitely valuable because the stamp of divinity resides upon us all. The beautiful and the plain, the learned and the ignorant, the righteous and the wicked, everyone is a brother or a sister bearing the indelible likeness of our Creator: Jehovah God Himself.

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Seek the Lord

A universal human trait, with very few exceptions, is that we don’t seek after God. (Ro 3:11) We cruise through life, salving our conscience in whatever religion we happen to be taught growing up, or maybe none at all, content to keep God at a distance. We may not even be aware that we’re doing it, spiritually asleep at the wheel, and we’re unconcerned about it.

Most people who call themselves Christians appear to me to be this way; letting Christianity happen to them, passively going along with the religious flow of their family, friends and culture, not seeking God out for themselves. (Mt 7:21-23) If they were born in another culture I think they’d as soon be Muslim, Hindu, atheist, it wouldn’t matter. They aren’t striving to enter the kingdom, seeking God Himself, to know Him and walk with Him.

I’m not the final judge, of course; we can never know another’s heart for sure, but from what I observe, God isn’t the overriding passion of most people’s lives (1Co 16:22); they aren’t deligh t ing in Him, loving Him, obeying Him, abiding in Him, pursuing Him. Their focus is on this world, on themselves, on how to get the most out of this life. This is what God’s enemies look like; their end is destruction. (Php 3:18-19)

Having once been this way myself, I believe the only exceptions to this rule, those rare souls seeking God Himself at any cost as a manner of life, are of God’s elect, predestined, chosen by God according to His will. (Ep 1:5) Only these are His, and no other.

Seeking God and finding Him for ourselves isn’t optional; we’re each responsible for our own eternal state, no one else is. It’s the m ystery o f iniq uity: the God of Heaven, the vast, unfathomable Treasure available to all, that no one wants (De 5:29) until He turns our hearts to seek Him. (Je 24:7) It’s never too late; now is always a good a time. (Ho 10:12) Let’s encourage each other and seek Him together.

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Strive to Enter

When Christ was asked how many people would be saved, He told us to strive to enter Heaven, that many intending to enter will be turned away. (Lk 13:23-24) The Greek is agonizomai, from which we evidently get agonize.

The way to Heaven’s narrow, obscure; very few find it. (Mt 7:13-14) God uses this word few for the eight souls, of perhaps millions, who escaped the Flood (1Pe 3:20); most won’t make it.

But for any thoughtful soul, the second death simply isn’t an option. How then are we supposed to strive to enter?

Trying harder to be good certainly won’t work; the more we grow in holiness, the more sinful and broken we find ourselves to be, like filthy rags on our best day. (Is 64:6)

The more light we get the more of our own filthiness we can see; we’ll never be worthy on our own merit. We all need infinite mercy, a Savior to be continually cleansing us from our sin. (1Jn 1:7) We need perfect righteousness (Mt 5:48); and it needs to be a free gift (Ro 6:23), because we could never earn it.

In our striving we must not be looking primarily at ourselves, but at Christ (He 12:2), and what He’s done for us (Re 1:5), laboring to ensure that we’ve entered into the eternal rest (He 4:11) He’s provided, and that our lives obediently and joyfully reflect this reality. (1Pe 1:2)

God tells us to seek Him (Is 55:6-7), to feel after Him and find Him for ourselves (Ac 17:27), to examine our souls and prove our relationship with God (2Co 13:5), to make sure we’re His. (2Pe 1:10) Are the things that accompany salvation evident in our lives? (He 6:9) Do we love Him? (1Co 8:3) Is He precious to us (1Pe 2:7)? Is God Himself our portion in life? Is He the passion of our lives? (Ps 73:25)

If we haven’t found God yet, like the merchant seeking exquisite pearls, let’s follow after Christ, seeking God until we find Him (Je 29:13), until we know that we know Him (1Jn 5:13) and are abiding in Him. (1Jn 2:28)

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A Merchant

God’s kingdom is like a merchant seeking the finest pearls, who, finding one that’s so unbelievable, so fantastic, it captivates him: he liquidates all his assets, selling everything he has so he can buy it. (Mt 13:45-46) It’s a picture of those who strive to enter the kingdom (Lk 13:24), those few who find the way (Mt 7:14), who won’t settle for less. (Mt 11:12)

What exactly have we seen in God’s Kingdom that’s so attractive, so desirable, so amazing that we can’t live without it? Have we indeed sought His kingdom first, above all else? (Mt 6:33) Searched it out for ourselves, until we are overcome by it?

A kingdom is identified by its king, and a king is known by how he governs. Finding the kingdom of God precious then is delighting in God’s revelation of Himself in His Law. Despising God’s Law is to despise God Himself; a Jesus who minimizes God’s Law is a counterfeit. (2Co 11:4) The living God writes His laws into the minds and hearts of His own. (He 8:10)

We know that we’ve found God’s kingdom when all His commands become the rejoicing of our heart (Ps 119:111), more desirable than gold (Ps 19:10), than heaps of gold and silver (Ps 119:72), as much as all the wealth we could imagine. (Ps 119:14)

If this isn’t where we find our hearts, rather than cleaving to dust, let’s be like the merchant, choosing God as our portion, stirring ourselves up (Ps 119:18) to the vast treasure awaiting us in God. (1Co 2:9) Nothing else will satisfy; we’re made to walk with God, to feed in His majesty, to behold His beauty, to joy in Him, to be completely overcome by God Himself. (1Jn 1:3) Ask and receive, seek and find, knock and it shall be opened. (Mt 7:7)

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Honor the Son

God the Father will never judge anyone; He won’t condemn the wicked. That role He’s committed to His Son. (Jn 5:22)

To judge Man properly, Christ the Son must be omniscient; He must perfectly know the heart and motive of every action ever committed by anyone, fully understanding everyone’s background, troubles and circumstances. He must know the proper degree of shame and punishment to administer for lifetime’s of sin and rebellion, and He must do this with perfect neutrality and integrity, with perfect justice, with zero bias. This requires Christ to be perfectly and fully divine.

God the Father intends for us all to respect and honor His Son in this role of Judge, in the same way and to the same degree that we honor Himself. (Jn 5:23) There should be no difference in the way we reverence the Father and His Son.

Kiss the Son (Ps 2:12); magnify Him; praise Him; rejoice in Him, serve Him with fear and rejoice with trembling. (Ps 2:11) He came once as the Lamb (Jn 1:36), but He’s coming back to judge as the Lion (Re 5:5), and He will be very, very angry with the wicked. (Re 6:15-17)

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Kiss the Son

Once we see Yeshua Messiah as fully God, equal in divinity with the Father (Php 2:6) but lower in rank and submitted to Him (1Co 11:3), we begin to see it everywhere, as in the last of Psalm 2:12: “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”

We compare this with: “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” (Ps 118:8-9), “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.” (Ps 146:3), and “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” (Jer 17:5-7)

We can’t have it both ways: either Christ is fully God and worthy of our implicit trust, or He’s a mere man and shouldn’t be ultimately trusted. If God says that all those who put their ultimate trust in Christ are blessed, Jesus Christ must be the omnipotent, infinite, eternal God.

Kiss the Son, acknowledge His majesty, giving Him honor, reverence and glory. (Re 5:13)

Jehovah is angry when we don’t glorify Him as God. (Ro 1:18, 20) God’s Son is just like His Father; we can either trust, serve and respect Him as Almighty God or perish from the way; He’s a consuming fire. (He 12:29)

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Sell All

When Yeshua was advising a rich young ruler on how to inherit eternal life, He said, “Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” (Lk 18:22) Is God’s instruction relevant to us all? Is He commanding us to be homeless and destitute? How should we interpret Him?

Firstly, observe that Yeshua owned clothing (Jn 19:23) and shoes (Mk 1:7), and His disciples owned homes (Jn 20:10), so Yeshua isn’t against having personal possessions or owning property.

Then notice the context (Lk 18:18-21): Yeshua is advising an extremely wealthy man on how to invest in eternity. In saying, in effect, “Sell it all,” He’s telling the wealthy to downsize and live modestly, to sell off the extra they don’t need in order to take care of themselves and their families, and to give to the destitute and helpless, not give away absolutely everything they own and become impoverished themselves.

Yeshua is advising us all to live for eternity, to love our neighbors as ourselves and trust God to take care of us (Mt 6:33-34), rather than amassing earthly treasures and storehouses (Mt 6:19-21); our lives and all that we have are to be dedicated to Him. (Ro 12:1)

We each have gifts from God to enable us to be Christlike in particular ways (1Co 7:7), and thus we also all have weaknesses, where we’re not so gifted. Some are more easily tempted by materialism and covetousness than others; we must all be extra careful of extremes, especially where we’re weak. (Pr 30:8-9) God does purge love of this world from His own (1Jn 2:15-17), and He does this uniquely in each of us.

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