(part 2 of 2)
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am you God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10
Most of us are familiar with these words spoken by the Prophet Isaiah. Words that God has been encouraging His people with since the earliest of times…
“Do not fear, for I am with you.”
More than just a statement made by a righteous God, these words are a promise made by a loving, heavenly Father. A promise that speaks of His abiding presence in our lives. Throughout the Old Testament, when facing a lack of water, a shortage of food, a devouring plague or an imposing army…God encouraged His people not to fear…because His presence would be with them. In each situation, God demonstrated that with His presence came provision, providence and protection. However, it was not simply a promise for those who lived in the times of Abraham and Moses. Jesus draws attention to it in Luke 12:29-32:
“And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”
God continues, today, to bring provision to those who make seeking Him a priority in their lives. We must learn that whether we are facing a job loss, an illness, an enemy, or uncertainty that what we need most is not a career change, a cure, deliverance, or an answer. What we need to know, above all else, is that God is with us. When we are secure in the fact that God is with us, then fear cannot maintain a place in our lives.
The other avenue by which fear finds it’s way into our hearts is when we lose perspective of our relationship to God:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name, you are mine.”
Isaiah 43:1
When we fail to realize how much God loves us, how He sees us, and how He desires to respond to us as His children we open the door to fear. Fear cripples your relationship with God by separating you from Him through rejection, consequences and failure. We disengage with Him because we fear that we have displeased Him and that He will reject us. We disconnect from Him, because in our fear of displeasing Him and others, we refuse to risk failing; burying our talents and gifts; robbing the body of Christ and those around us of the blessings God has created us with. We avoid Him, because we are fearful of the consequences that our actions have created and we must eventually face.
Ultimately we just lose sight of God’s amazing love for us:
“And we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
1 John 4: 16-18
God’s love and promises are sure. He is with you! He has redeemed you! You are His! Do not fear!
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
“Fear Factors”
(part 1 of 2)
“What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.”
Job 3:25
What would you do, if one day you woke up and everything you feared came to pass? That is a sobering thought, but that is precisely what happened to Job. In a moment, Job lost his wealth, his source of income, his children, and his health. To make matters worse, his friends and his wife all turned against him. Job was grieving, heartbroken and in pain, but his greatest hurt was that God seemed to have abandoned him.
Job, like all of us, had played out this nightmare scenario in his mind before. It is evident in Job 3:25 that he had thought about it and came to dread the idea of any of these things happening to him. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Satan came to God and was given permission to test Job. He was not allowed to take Job’s life, but basically everything else was fair game:
“Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has and he will surely curse you to your face. The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Job 1:8-12
Satan then methodically goes on a rampage destroying Job’s herds, wealth, children, health and relationships.
For a long time I felt like Satan was “randomly” attacking Job to try and cause him to curse God, but after reading Job 3:25 I realized that Satan was not being “random” at all! On the contrary, he was targeting Job in specific areas…areas in which he feared. Although God had given Satan permission to test Job, it was Job’s own fears that Satan used against him.
Everyone of us could probably make a list, like Job, of the things we fear. Scenarios that we have played out in our minds, a hundred times, that are crippling us emotionally, physically and spiritually! Fears, that if we allow them to, will stop us in our tracks, strip us of our confidence and leave us feeling abandoned.
However, God has not given us a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7), but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. In trying to get a handle on fear, I began to reflect upon all the fears, both rational and irrational (phobias), that people struggle to overcome. When I considered them all, I began to realize that all of them stem from one of two things:
1. We have lost the inward sense of God’s presence in our lives.
2. We’ve lost perspective regarding our relationship with God.
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
“What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.”
Job 3:25
What would you do, if one day you woke up and everything you feared came to pass? That is a sobering thought, but that is precisely what happened to Job. In a moment, Job lost his wealth, his source of income, his children, and his health. To make matters worse, his friends and his wife all turned against him. Job was grieving, heartbroken and in pain, but his greatest hurt was that God seemed to have abandoned him.
Job, like all of us, had played out this nightmare scenario in his mind before. It is evident in Job 3:25 that he had thought about it and came to dread the idea of any of these things happening to him. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Satan came to God and was given permission to test Job. He was not allowed to take Job’s life, but basically everything else was fair game:
“Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has and he will surely curse you to your face. The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Job 1:8-12
Satan then methodically goes on a rampage destroying Job’s herds, wealth, children, health and relationships.
For a long time I felt like Satan was “randomly” attacking Job to try and cause him to curse God, but after reading Job 3:25 I realized that Satan was not being “random” at all! On the contrary, he was targeting Job in specific areas…areas in which he feared. Although God had given Satan permission to test Job, it was Job’s own fears that Satan used against him.
Everyone of us could probably make a list, like Job, of the things we fear. Scenarios that we have played out in our minds, a hundred times, that are crippling us emotionally, physically and spiritually! Fears, that if we allow them to, will stop us in our tracks, strip us of our confidence and leave us feeling abandoned.
However, God has not given us a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7), but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. In trying to get a handle on fear, I began to reflect upon all the fears, both rational and irrational (phobias), that people struggle to overcome. When I considered them all, I began to realize that all of them stem from one of two things:
1. We have lost the inward sense of God’s presence in our lives.
2. We’ve lost perspective regarding our relationship with God.
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Thursday, May 12, 2011
“Dying to Live: The Resurrected Life”
(part 3 of 3)
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! “
Luke 24 1-6
As I meditated on this passage I identified a couple marks of a resurrected life that I believe are relevant for every born again child of God! The first thing that I perceived was that Jesus, after His resurrection, refused to stay among the dead! The angel asked the women… “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen!” Resurrected people don’t live in cemeteries. Although we lived among the dead at one time, God has called us by His grace out of that old life:
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.”
Paul goes on to say in Ephesians that God has raised us up with Christ and seated us in heavenly places! You can’t live in heavenly places if you are still trying to live among the dead! As you move away from that dead way of life you can be certain that there will be those to whom news of your “resurrection” will seem like nonsense:
“When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the other with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.”
Luke 24: 9-11
It isn’t characteristic of a “dead person” to leave their tomb! That is why Peter upon hearing their words ran to the tomb. Gazing inside he saw all the things associated with a dead man… the stone, the slab, the linens, but the dead man was gone. Scripture tells us that Peter left the tomb “wondering”. You see, a resurrected life is one marked by uncharacteristic changes. A dead man is lifeless, stationary, lacks creativity and is unable to reproduce. A resurrected life looks different and acts different. A resurrected life is full of life, hope, and passion. After Jesus’ death, the disciples were locked behind closed doors when Jesus appeared to them. Luke 24:37 tells us:
“They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.”
The last picture they had of him was beaten, bloodied and hanging on a cross. They didn’t recognize him…ALIVE! Likewise, there will be lots of folks to whom news of your resurrection is going to seem like nonsense, because they only remember you as being “dead in sin”. They won’t immediately recognize the changes in you. Like Jesus, you will carry around the scars of your past life, but you will also carry with you the life that is in Him too!
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! “
Luke 24 1-6
As I meditated on this passage I identified a couple marks of a resurrected life that I believe are relevant for every born again child of God! The first thing that I perceived was that Jesus, after His resurrection, refused to stay among the dead! The angel asked the women… “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen!” Resurrected people don’t live in cemeteries. Although we lived among the dead at one time, God has called us by His grace out of that old life:
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.”
Paul goes on to say in Ephesians that God has raised us up with Christ and seated us in heavenly places! You can’t live in heavenly places if you are still trying to live among the dead! As you move away from that dead way of life you can be certain that there will be those to whom news of your “resurrection” will seem like nonsense:
“When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the other with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.”
Luke 24: 9-11
It isn’t characteristic of a “dead person” to leave their tomb! That is why Peter upon hearing their words ran to the tomb. Gazing inside he saw all the things associated with a dead man… the stone, the slab, the linens, but the dead man was gone. Scripture tells us that Peter left the tomb “wondering”. You see, a resurrected life is one marked by uncharacteristic changes. A dead man is lifeless, stationary, lacks creativity and is unable to reproduce. A resurrected life looks different and acts different. A resurrected life is full of life, hope, and passion. After Jesus’ death, the disciples were locked behind closed doors when Jesus appeared to them. Luke 24:37 tells us:
“They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.”
The last picture they had of him was beaten, bloodied and hanging on a cross. They didn’t recognize him…ALIVE! Likewise, there will be lots of folks to whom news of your resurrection is going to seem like nonsense, because they only remember you as being “dead in sin”. They won’t immediately recognize the changes in you. Like Jesus, you will carry around the scars of your past life, but you will also carry with you the life that is in Him too!
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
“Dying to Live: The Crucified Life”
(part 2 of 3)
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20
Before Christ demonstrated a resurrected life, He first exemplified a crucified life. A life that we are called to imitate. What then is a crucified life? I think the passage above defines it for us best… “I” no longer live!” To live a crucified life is to die to the “I” in each of us! The “I” is that part of us only concerned about ourselves…our needs, our desires, our ambitions and our plans. Scripture calls it our old nature or the flesh! It is what Jesus went to the cross put down.
That is why the cross is such a powerful emblem. It opposes the flesh and stands in stark contrast to the “I” in each of us. The flesh doesn’t want to suffer, be inconvenienced, give up anything, or better anyone else. The cross, however, stands as a beacon of another way to live. The world, which caters to the flesh, hates the cross. The world provokes the cravings of the sinful man, enflames his lusts, and bolsters his pride:
“Do not love the world on anything in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world- the cravings of the sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world.”
1 John 2:15-16
All of these stand in clear contrast to the love of God demonstrated by Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. Before the cross there were only types and shadows of how we should live nestled in God’s Word, but the cross of Christ created a unmistakable distinction between the flesh and God’s will. It is why James wrote:
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes and enemy of God.”
James 4:4
There is no gray area! We cannot love the world and love God! In Galatians 5:24, the apostle Paul tells us that “Those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” If your “I” has been crucified, then the world will have nothing to offer you that you want. That is how you determine what part of your “I” has yet to be crucified. What does the world have to offer that still interests you…music, movies, sex, alcohol, drugs, power, position, money?
If we truly see the crucifixion as a significant spiritual event in the life of Jesus, then we must also value the distinction it established between the things of God and the things of this world. We must no longer conform to the pattern of this world:
“Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Romans 12:1-2
In light of the cross, It is time we start examining the “uncrucified” parts of our lives!
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20
Before Christ demonstrated a resurrected life, He first exemplified a crucified life. A life that we are called to imitate. What then is a crucified life? I think the passage above defines it for us best… “I” no longer live!” To live a crucified life is to die to the “I” in each of us! The “I” is that part of us only concerned about ourselves…our needs, our desires, our ambitions and our plans. Scripture calls it our old nature or the flesh! It is what Jesus went to the cross put down.
That is why the cross is such a powerful emblem. It opposes the flesh and stands in stark contrast to the “I” in each of us. The flesh doesn’t want to suffer, be inconvenienced, give up anything, or better anyone else. The cross, however, stands as a beacon of another way to live. The world, which caters to the flesh, hates the cross. The world provokes the cravings of the sinful man, enflames his lusts, and bolsters his pride:
“Do not love the world on anything in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world- the cravings of the sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world.”
1 John 2:15-16
All of these stand in clear contrast to the love of God demonstrated by Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. Before the cross there were only types and shadows of how we should live nestled in God’s Word, but the cross of Christ created a unmistakable distinction between the flesh and God’s will. It is why James wrote:
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes and enemy of God.”
James 4:4
There is no gray area! We cannot love the world and love God! In Galatians 5:24, the apostle Paul tells us that “Those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” If your “I” has been crucified, then the world will have nothing to offer you that you want. That is how you determine what part of your “I” has yet to be crucified. What does the world have to offer that still interests you…music, movies, sex, alcohol, drugs, power, position, money?
If we truly see the crucifixion as a significant spiritual event in the life of Jesus, then we must also value the distinction it established between the things of God and the things of this world. We must no longer conform to the pattern of this world:
“Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Romans 12:1-2
In light of the cross, It is time we start examining the “uncrucified” parts of our lives!
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Thursday, April 28, 2011
“Dying to Live”
(part 1 of 3)
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
Galatians 6:14
As the Body of Christ, Christians all over the world will be recognizing two major events in the life of Jesus Christ this week: His crucifixion and His resurrection. These two events though individually rich with meaning are also intimately tied together. For without the crucifixion there would be no resurrection. And without the resurrection there would be no hope! However, this connection between the two must be balanced.
A church that focuses solely on the crucifixion and Christ’s atoning for our sins will be devoid of hope as it grieves and agonizes over the price that was paid. Overcoming our flesh, rejecting worldliness, and exposing sin become the order of the day. With so much focus on sin, it is not long before they would drift into legalism.
A church, however, that focuses solely on the resurrection and the hope of eternal life would be devoid of conviction as it addresses the abundant life, the love of God, and our glorious future. Sin isn’t seriously addressed. It isn’t long before a congregation, like this, would become morally lax.
It takes both of these events to give a clear presentation of the Gospel message. The message of Christ is powerful because of the relationship between the cross and the empty tomb. To separate them cripples the effectiveness of our message. The Apostle Paul saw just how powerful each of these events were in the life of Christ. For in one breath he declares:
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
1 Corinthians 2:2
By simply subscribing to this passage of Scripture, some may believe that Paul saw this event as being “more significant” in the life of Christ than any other event. However, later in the same book Paul penned these words:
“For is the dead are not raised then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”
1 Corinthians 15:16-18
Understanding the power and intimate relationship of these two events is significant in the life of a believer. The New Testament is peppered with passages proclaiming that we are to “die daily”, “take up our cross” and “crucify the flesh.” While at the same time saying… “I have come to give you life more abundantly”, “We’ve been made alive with Christ”, and “We are a new creation.”
The question then becomes… “How do we die and live at the same time?”
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
Galatians 6:14
As the Body of Christ, Christians all over the world will be recognizing two major events in the life of Jesus Christ this week: His crucifixion and His resurrection. These two events though individually rich with meaning are also intimately tied together. For without the crucifixion there would be no resurrection. And without the resurrection there would be no hope! However, this connection between the two must be balanced.
A church that focuses solely on the crucifixion and Christ’s atoning for our sins will be devoid of hope as it grieves and agonizes over the price that was paid. Overcoming our flesh, rejecting worldliness, and exposing sin become the order of the day. With so much focus on sin, it is not long before they would drift into legalism.
A church, however, that focuses solely on the resurrection and the hope of eternal life would be devoid of conviction as it addresses the abundant life, the love of God, and our glorious future. Sin isn’t seriously addressed. It isn’t long before a congregation, like this, would become morally lax.
It takes both of these events to give a clear presentation of the Gospel message. The message of Christ is powerful because of the relationship between the cross and the empty tomb. To separate them cripples the effectiveness of our message. The Apostle Paul saw just how powerful each of these events were in the life of Christ. For in one breath he declares:
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
1 Corinthians 2:2
By simply subscribing to this passage of Scripture, some may believe that Paul saw this event as being “more significant” in the life of Christ than any other event. However, later in the same book Paul penned these words:
“For is the dead are not raised then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”
1 Corinthians 15:16-18
Understanding the power and intimate relationship of these two events is significant in the life of a believer. The New Testament is peppered with passages proclaiming that we are to “die daily”, “take up our cross” and “crucify the flesh.” While at the same time saying… “I have come to give you life more abundantly”, “We’ve been made alive with Christ”, and “We are a new creation.”
The question then becomes… “How do we die and live at the same time?”
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Thursday, April 21, 2011
“Separating the Holy from the Common”
“So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common.”
Ezekiel 42:20
At the writing of this passage, Israel had been in Babylonian captivity for 25 years. In a vision, God showed the prophet Ezekiel the dimensions of the new temple that would one day be rebuilt in Jerusalem. He showed Ezekiel the outer courts and its gates, the inner courts and its gates, the rooms to prepare sacrifices, rooms for the priests and the Temple. After describing what was inside the Temple area an angel of the Lord led Ezekiel out through the east gate and showed him the wall that surrounded it. The angel told Ezekiel that this wall is to separate the holy from the common.
Immediately after this, the glory of God came and filled the Temple. Before God filled the Temple, He made certain that the wall between the holy and the common was in place! This is a Word from the Lord to you! You are God’s Temple according to 1 Corinthians 3:16:
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
God desires to fill us with His Glory, but the wall between the holy and the common must be in place. God would not allow that which was unclean into the “inner place”. Before the Israelites were taken into captivity, the priests of Israel had forsaken this wall:
“Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.”
Ezekiel 22:26
If we are going to live holy and righteous before the Lord we must maintain a wall of holiness that distinguishes between clean and unclean; the common and the holy. God would have me tell you that many of you are profaning what is holy inside of you by what you are allowing in!
Israel’s priests had forsaken the wall, they had profaned the inner courts by allowing that which was unclean and unholy inside. This grieved the heart of God and He looked for someone who would bear a burden for holiness:
“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”
Ezekiel 22:30
Our God is still looking! He is looking for a people who will once again become concerned about what is holy, build up the wall, and guard the gates. We are God’s Temple and must distinguish between the clean and the unclean, the holy and the common, if we are going to maintain our inner holiness.
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Ezekiel 42:20
At the writing of this passage, Israel had been in Babylonian captivity for 25 years. In a vision, God showed the prophet Ezekiel the dimensions of the new temple that would one day be rebuilt in Jerusalem. He showed Ezekiel the outer courts and its gates, the inner courts and its gates, the rooms to prepare sacrifices, rooms for the priests and the Temple. After describing what was inside the Temple area an angel of the Lord led Ezekiel out through the east gate and showed him the wall that surrounded it. The angel told Ezekiel that this wall is to separate the holy from the common.
Immediately after this, the glory of God came and filled the Temple. Before God filled the Temple, He made certain that the wall between the holy and the common was in place! This is a Word from the Lord to you! You are God’s Temple according to 1 Corinthians 3:16:
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
God desires to fill us with His Glory, but the wall between the holy and the common must be in place. God would not allow that which was unclean into the “inner place”. Before the Israelites were taken into captivity, the priests of Israel had forsaken this wall:
“Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.”
Ezekiel 22:26
If we are going to live holy and righteous before the Lord we must maintain a wall of holiness that distinguishes between clean and unclean; the common and the holy. God would have me tell you that many of you are profaning what is holy inside of you by what you are allowing in!
Israel’s priests had forsaken the wall, they had profaned the inner courts by allowing that which was unclean and unholy inside. This grieved the heart of God and He looked for someone who would bear a burden for holiness:
“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”
Ezekiel 22:30
Our God is still looking! He is looking for a people who will once again become concerned about what is holy, build up the wall, and guard the gates. We are God’s Temple and must distinguish between the clean and the unclean, the holy and the common, if we are going to maintain our inner holiness.
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Thursday, April 14, 2011
"The Sign of Jonah”
“The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested Him by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.” Matthew 16:1-4 Jesus had scarcely left the place where 4,000 people had been miraculously fed, when He is approached by the religious leaders of His day. These men prided themselves on being knowledgeable and made certain to express their abilities among the people. However, the one thing they could not understand and, in fact, were blinded to, was the coming of Jesus Christ. Although He came precisely as was foretold in Scripture, they did not see it. Although He did miraculous signs and wonders…healing the sick, lame, blind and deaf…they would not believe it. It did not matter how may were saved, healed, delivered or fed! They were truly not interested in the people or their needs. Even if Jesus had opened heaven itself, no sign was going to make them believe. Jesus understood this and told them that “No sign will be given you, except the sign of Jonah.” This statement should cause us to stop and think! What sign is so significant that Jesus Himself would take time to point it out? The sign of Jonah is better explained to us in Matthew 12:40: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Jonah’s time spent in the belly of a huge fish was a foreshadow of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. Jesus is telling them that if they are going to believe a sign, the only one that matters is that one! Believing it is critical to our salvation! Romans 10:9 declares: “That 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.” If we do not believe that Jesus Christ was raised to life…WE ARE NOT SAVED! Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, was vomited out, and brought salvation to Nineveh. In like manner, Jesus spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, came out, and brought salvation to all mankind. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most significant miracle that ever happened. It is THE sign for all generations. In fact, Jesus said it is this sign that generations will stand in judgment over: “The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.” Matthew 12:41 We will not be condemned over whether we believed Noah built an arc, Moses parted the Red Sea, or David slayed Goliath. We will, however, have to answer the question… “Do you believe that Jesus Christ died, was buried and after three days rose again!” Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
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