Beware of Confusion on your Cross

On Thursday the 26th for practicum I was scheduled to preach. My sermon was titled, “The Throne of Glory”, the ironic twist being that this throne (Matt. 19:28; 25:31) is not the Father’s throne in heaven, nor the Davidic throne that Jesus will rule from in Jerusalem at His return, but is His cross. The punch in my message was that to have a faith that does not participate in Jesus’ cross is not a saving faith, and to not find this participation as glorious will cause such a one to be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

This is a teaching that has been maturing within me for nearly a year now. I was over-prepared, very practiced, and definitely pre-prayered. There is more than just a theological concept that I own concerning this – I walk this out with sincere intentions. During my morning hours in the prayer room I could tangibly feel the Father’s delight over me, and I had the excited expectation of building up to a breath-taking conclusion for those listening, hoping to recreate the feeling in them that the Lord birthed in me over this amazing truth.

At my turn, I took the mic, my instructor prayed for me… and immediately I felt… empty. Empty perhaps isn’t the best word. Confused is closer to the point. I don’t have language for this, but I knew that God had taken a huge step back, so to speak. At once a stupor came upon me, and everything seemed to go wrong. Trying to stir up something, I read my first quote: “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up…” Nothing. I forgot all my power statements, accidentally gave away the ending that I wanted to build up to (which did more than just ruin the conclusion – their understanding wasn’t yet groomed to handle the paradigm shift I was sharing), and I kept losing my place in the word and in my notes. All around I came across as if I never pray, didn’t study, and had taken on something too big. During constructive criticism, the class thought I was saying the exact opposite that I wanted to convey.

My emotions were going haywire – Why did God do this to me? Was I deserving of this? I felt so stupid in front of my classmates. What was the purpose of all this? My mind was sluggish for some time after this – nothing added up. It took the weirdest prophetic word that I’ve ever received to get myself back into agreement with who the Lord is, why I do what I do, and what it was that just happened. The word, essentially, was this: “You really did awful, and by it I don’t feel so bad about not having done well myself last week – your dying up there brought me life! You lived out your message: isn’t that glorious?!”

It took me a minute to get my bearings after such an odd, yet potent word. In the end I was filled with the Spirit’s laughter, and finally was able to see that what had just happened at the podium my Father in heaven took pleasure in doing. As my opening statement proclaimed, He crucified me up there, that He might raise me up in power. How was it that I did not recognize what all was taking place? My message, His absence, and even the lectern being wooden all pointed to crucifixion! What shrouded my eyes, and brought such confusion to my mind?

Not long afterward the Spirit brought to my remembrance some passages of the Passion. “…My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death” (Ps. 22:15); “…it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief” (Isa. 53:10). It was the Father who in love did this to His Son, yet there were others who in hatred stretched out their hands against Him, of particular note, targeting His face and head:

“…His visage was marred more than any man…” (Isa. 52:14); “And having blindfolded Him, they [the corrupt Jewish leadership] struck Him on the face…” (Luke 22:64); “…when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him [of Herod's gorgeous robe; Luke 23:11] and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified” (Matt. 27:26-31).

The Lord sought to lift me up, and desired that I find it glorious, yet the enemy beat at my head in hopes to keep me from conscientiously embracing my cross. Too often we run from crucifixion, wrongly thinking that it is the devil who killed Jesus. Scripture tells of a rather different account: Satan did not want Jesus on that cross, but offered Him a way out (Matt. 4:8-10), rebuked Him through Peter for speaking of it (Matt. 16:21-23), and while on the cross attempted to trick Him off of it (Matt. 27:38-44). Indeed, Paul wrote that the Jews would not have crucified Jesus if they had known the power of His death (1 Cor. 2:8).

Demons aren’t those who want you on your cross – it’s your heavenly Father who desires this. And to keep you from it, and from seeing the glory of it, fallen angels will primarily attack your head, first by temptation, then verbally through family and through those who hate you, and finally, when nothing yet has stopped you, in a last ditch effort they will aim to physically harm your head that you might remain up there yet confused throughout it. It is not dying that we are to beware of, but rather of confusion leading up to and then while upon our cross.

Death upon a cross is glorious: “… what you sow is not made alive unless it dies” (1 Cor. 15:36). Do you want, as James and John did (Matt. 20:20-23), to be seated to Jesus’ right and left in the age to come? This is a righteous desire, but do you know what you are asking? In all of our farsightedness, we must be cautious not to neglect foresight. We must seat ourselves beside His throne of glory in this age, beside His cross, for it is only on Golgotha that we are ever explicitly told of people “seated” to His right and left (Matt. 27:38)! Do not allow the enemy to steal this truth away from you, for it will set you, sustain you, and satisfy your desire to be with Him where He is – first on the glorious cross, unto a glorious habitation of eternal joy and thanksgiving.

Be found with understanding

When confronted with great trials, we often do everything in our power to acquire as much knowledge as we can about those things which cause fears to manifest in us. When people are told they have cancer, for instance, more than likely the first thing that person wants to know is what kind, where, how bad, and is it treatable. This information is believed to somehow disspell the fear of cancer and of death, yet really knowing these things can do little to heal the person. What the victim of cancer really ought to drive themselves into is not the knowledge of cancer, but rather into the knowledge of God who formed the body, took on our frame, and died for us that through faith we who believe in Him may never die. It is the knowledge of the Creator, not the cancer, which will bring ultimate restoration, as it is in Him alone that we can entrust our hope.

A similar example is the phenomenon that children, when shown erected dinosaur bones, will initially back out of the room by a mixture of nightmarish fright and awe, yet when simply told the great beast’s name, there is that sudden familiarity. If truly faced with such a monster out of doors, knowing the name of the leviathan will do nothing to keep the child from harm. As with the case of Job, to fear the creature over the One who is its maker is to have no understanding at all. In the end, a man with a high IQ will taste just the same to a dragon as some mindless sheep; all his memorized data will prove unable to save him in the day of calamity.

The subject of the end of this age in the church of Jesus is grossly treated much like terrible lizards or a malignant disease. Mounting up knowledge about the great and terrible Day of the Lord cannot save anyone, unless it is predicated by a healthy relationship with this Lord who was, and is, and is to come. As a student of the living word and a teacher of eschatology, I have found that those who treasure the book of Revelation largely do so not for its pervading Christology, but for its many avenues of debate. Those who are drawn to apocalyptic Scripture typically are so because of a fascination with “esoteric” theology, deceived in some quasi-Gnostic way that this understanding will cause them to be beacons of light in even the worst raging storm. These ones are unaware of their blindness and wretchedness, and, not unlike the Laodiceans, are oblivious to the startling fact that Jesus is not in their midst, but in a final plea is knocking to be let in for their own sakes. Only intimate fellowship with the God-Man Jesus will sustain us in the last days.

And this is how Revelation begins. From the first sentence John makes clear that this particular unveiling of Jesus’ identity was specially given by God that His servants might understand His predetermined end-time events. Without this revelation of Jesus given in ch.1-3, the marvelous things described in ch.4-22 will only cause you to stumble and fall. Trusting in a chart of dates, events, and people can only cause offense in the day of great shaking. It is not the self-proclaimed scholars, but the people who truly know their God who “shall be strong and carry out great exploits” (Dan. 11:32). In the book of Acts, Jesus gives to His apostles an order of events: they are to tarry in Jerusalem, then He will pour out His Spirit, then they will go out into Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. However, when these events began to unfold, even the apostles were taken aback. “Whatever could this mean?” was a common question, and the answer given was never to point to a chart, but always to proclaim Jesus. It was the untrained and the uneducated who had fellowshipped with Christ who were pillars in the persecuted church. Have we graduated beyond the apostles of the Lamb, thinking ourselves smarter than they, and therefore more apt to be faithful than they? The eleven forsook Jesus in the Garden for a lack of belief that He had to suffer and die – what will happen to those who, like the Pharisees, believe they know the Messiah better than His closest friends?!

I am being convicted by my own writing! – which is much more terrifying than being hunted by a wild beast could ever be (Jas. 3:1). God Himself is coming down in the fullness of His glory and majesty, and all will be laid bare and laid low before Him. It is not death that we should fear, but the One who will cast Death itself into the lake of fire! Our fear of death causes us to cling to the things of this world because we lack faith in the resurrection of the dead. The fear of death subjects us to bondage (Heb. 2:15), and deliverance can only be had in “Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father” (Rev. 1:5-6). Becoming a friend of Jesus is to have true understanding.

The seven churches were never encouraged to overcome tribulation by special, secret knowledge. We see instead that it is only those in Christ who do not fear death that overcome Satan in all of his rage (Rev. 12:11). When the churches overcome their disbelief in the resurrection, it is then that their accuser will be cast out of the heavens. And we find that Jesus’ seven epistles given to all the churches have three strategic points: to give a revelation of who He is (“the things which you have seen”; cp. 1:12-17), our necessary response to His identity (“the things which are”; cp. “I know your works… repent…”), and the covenantal curse or blessing promised us based on our actual reaction to His unchanging nature (“the things which will take place after this”; cp. “Repent, or else… To him who overcomes…”). All of these three things stand upon faith in the resurrection, as these letters are given by Him “who lives, and was dead, and behold, [is] alive forevermore” (1:18), and make glorious promises only to those who are about to face pain and death.

These days are fast approaching, but will you be found with understanding in those days? Do not fall into the common presumption that simply being born-again is enough. Jesus warned five of the seven churches that if they were to continue on as they were, He would judge them exactly as He would Satan, the beast, the false prophet, and the harlot. The other two (Smyrna and Philadelphia) were assured crowns of life only if they held fast unto martyrdom. The first name given Jesus Christ in this last book is Faithful Witness, who was the Firstborn from the dead (1:5). If we are thinking upon the mystery of the number of the beast more than on the mystery of Jesus, then we’re already deceived and in danger of giving way to cowardice and unbelief (21:8). Our all-consuming desire must be to engage, encounter, and emulate Jesus. This is our safety, but more than that, to do so is to give to Him the reward of His sufferings. And for suffering for His name, He promises to us reward as well. Let us be ones found with understanding in the Day of His return, for our sakes and for His.

How to be made Perfect

Why did Jesus lay down His life? What was accomplished on the cross? Sacrifices in the temple already atoned for sins (or, covered; removed sins), a truth made plain in that the author of Hebrews wrote that “if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law” (8:4). What animal sacrifices could never do, however, was to cleanse our conscience (9:13-14; 10:1-2). When he wrote that “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (10:4), speaking of the Day of Atonement (cp. Lev. 16:6-10), he did not mean that these sacrifices had actually done nothing all along, because clearly they did atone for sins (Lev. 17:11); what is meant here, then, is that these sacrifices could never cause a man, let alone a corporate people, to be perfect (Heb. 10:1).

But this is what Christ’s sacrifice was able to do that no other could. And this is what is meant by the promise of the new covenant, where God will no longer remember our sins (Jer. 31:31-34). When our Messiah was cut off, He ended sacrifice and offering (Dan. 9:27a), meaning that there was no longer a need for the Day of Atonement, because by His blood we are made a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), able to attain perfectness and to enter the promised Sabbath rest of God (Heb. 6:1; 4:9). This is because in Christ we stand before God as sons, now able to have a right relationship with Him. Our old man died with Christ, and our new man was risen with Christ. I am not the same man I once was, and I can testify of this because of His blood and my own crucified – or judged (Col. 3:5-11) – old man (cp. Rev. 12:11). His was not what is so commonly termed a “substitutionary” death, but a dying that we must sympathize with through daily participation if we are to ever cease from sinning (Rom. 6:1-11).

Praying Effectively

My wife and I just had an anointed discussion and time of prayer concerning abortion and the elections that will be decided today. We hate abortion, but when it ends, what will take its place? I say this because the true enemy of unborn babies is not Planned Parenthood, but the spirit of murder and the spirit of sexual immorality. It’s quite easy for us to take a stand against the killing of “fetuses” (which is Latin for baby), as we will never commit or support it; however, to say that we will never be found in agreement with murderous or sexually immoral spirits causes us, including me, to pause. To pray, “God, cast out the murdering spirits in America,” while harboring that very same unclean spirit within me, is to ask God to remove me from His presence! Interceding for abortion to end is safe; for the destruction of the spirit of murder, encroaching. This is only so because we pray for God’s kingdom to come, thinking ‘I can keep my own kingdom as well’ with all its disagreeing doctrines, and vainly imagine there can be peace between the two. This can never be so, and indeed, misunderstands the very purpose and power of the cross.

Rhetorically glamorous and invigorating prayer is ineffective if it is not spoken in faith by one who is in agreement with the One on the throne who is being entreated. Strategic intercession is unity with God and with your fellow man; is growing an intimate history with God; is from the place of having nothing in ourselves yet having everything in Him. Voters this day, having been bombarded with multifarious opinions and white noise for several months, will shut the door on all that and finally be left alone for but a short moment of silence, and cast their vote. Through campaigning, potential candidates will have made their (and their opponent’s) stances known, in the hopes of gaining supporters, voters, and victory. Through prayer, we can avail much more than mere campaigning, for one man who fellowships with God is always a majority. Hence, my exhortation to righteousness, for “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (Jas. 5:16). Lord, show us mercy, and let Your will be done; refine Your church that we would pray with authority; capture hearts, and shift set intentions and expectations – when all eyes are on Ohio, pull a fast one in California. Amen!

the apostolic vs. an apostle

School started Monday the 11th, and because I’ve been led to enroll in the Apostolic Prayer and Preaching Program (AP3) here at IHOPU, I thought it good to study what exactly an apostle is, and how they differ from the apostolic. (Most of this is from my own past personal studies, though some is taken from recent class discussions.) I definitely have an apostolic calling on my life, though I would hesitate to say that I have been called to be an apostle. What I do know beyond the shadow of a doubt is that the Lord of hosts has called me to be a General in His army. Some would say that is synonymous with “apostle”, but if this is true, then judging by my study, I have a long way to go before I can be sent!

We are all, as children of God, called to be apostolic, but only some of us have been called to wear the mantle of the Apostle. This holds true for all of the five-fold ministry: some are prophets, but all can prophesy; some are evangelists, yet all ought to evangelize. An apostle is as a priest, and an apostolic person is as a priestly person. To cast out demons and to heal the sick is apostolic, but pastors and teachers have this power just as do apostles. This is because the apostolic is by the Holy Spirit, who we all have, whereas one’s apostleship is by a holy mantle, which not all have. To serve, fast, have pure eyes, a tamed tongue, and the eager desire to give – all for love – is to have apostolic power, as it is subjecting yourself to His authority, but this is still not what an apostle is.

Apostles are those who are Spirit-filled and sent from the New Jerusalem, who have been given by the Lord powerful authority to summon all creation to subject itself to Jesus Christ, having the anointed right to steward God’s blessings and curses upon it, and to co-govern all that is His (cp. Matt. 10:1-14; Heb. 2:5-10; 3:1). It follows then that as a person in authority, an apostle is also under authority (cp. Matt. 8:5-13), and they are appointed first, being above all other members of Christ’s body (1 Cor. 12:28). But though they are first, they are displayed by God Himself as last, “as men condemned to death” (4:9), “being made as the filth of the world” (v.13). To be an apostle is not as glorious as some would make it out to be, nor is it as common (too many claim apostleship, yet lack the holy character and the clear signs of an apostle; 2 Cor. 12:12).

It is not enough to know facts about the kingdom of God to carry the title of an apostle (doctrine is not without action; Tts. 2); a true apostle operates in the power of the kingdom because he is intimate with the one Truth, and not mere facts, for knowledge puffs up, and love alone edifies (1 Cor. 8:1), as agape love is the constitution of God’s kingdom (Matt. 22:36-40). And it is not enough to be sovereignly called by God as an apostle; the twelve apostles of the Lamb could not subject demons without first subjecting themselves through prayer and fasting (Mark 9:18, 29), and Paul was tested and approved by God before he was entrusted with the gospel (1 Thess. 2:4). One’s mantle, once given by following Jesus and waiting upon Him, must be maintained, or it will quickly become useless and could even deceive you.

Do we have the correct understanding that Judas was an apostle; that he was given by God a mantle of authority, yet it was he who was called a devil? Do we see the damage caused by the “super” apostles – the thorn in Paul’s side? Do we take seriously and soberly that Satan’s ministers transform themselves into “ministers of righteousness”; that he too is raising up an army? Do we give heed to the overwhelming portion of Scripture warning us of false brethren in the last days, which even entire epistles are given to? And not only this, but to we who are sincere, are we building with gold, silver, and precious things, being the mysteries of the cross, or are we building with wood, hay, and stubble, being words without power (for power is found only in the crucified life)? We need to regain the vision of Jesus lifted up, not in His resurrection or in His return, but as the brazen serpent in the desert, for it was the crucifixion of the God-Man which Paul spoke of when he quoted Isa. 64:4, that “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). We must recover true agape love, for it is imperative that we reclaim the apostleship. Without them, we can never “come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).

Amen.

He came to bring a sword

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One thing I have asked from the Lord,

that I shall seek;

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord

and to meditate in His temple.

… my father and mother have forsaken me,

but the Lord will take me up. [Psalm 27:4, 10]

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I have become estranged from my brothers,

and an alien to my mother’s children,

because zeal for Your house has consumed me,

and the reproaches of those who reproach You

have fallen on me. [Psalm 69:8-9]

It would be a terrible thing for me to exhort us all to be ambassadors of heaven but to ignore warning of the implications that will inevitably affect those dearest to us, our family. Holiness is either offensive or it is attractive. I could define “holiness” as a verb: that which severs fleshly relationships yet enjoins heavenly relationships. Too seldom do I ponder, prepare, and pre-prayer for this though, and too often do I find myself terrifyingly tempted to avoid topics with them beforehand, or compromise during one, or become embittered afterward, wondering what all it was that led me to such darkness of heart. For it is our closest kin who have the greatest impact in our lives, and are those whom we care for the most; thus their voice has quite a foothold, and – hear me – this is not a negative thing, but is made to be an occasion for blessing! However, my question is how do we love Jesus whole-heartedly and obey His command to love others, when it is loving Him fully that frustrates and even infuriates those I love the most?

Because it’s not so much that I shy away from confrontations concerning my faith, as I take them to be opportunities to teach and to test and to testify; neither am I worried of how I may carry my own heart, knowing that God has anointed me with His fragrance; rather, what I fear is how they will react to the anointing upon my life – will it be to them as the aroma of death? Sadly, knowing that the story of the past continues even to the present, history would somberly advise me to not get my hopes up for their future. But the Spirit – ah! the life giving Spirit – gives hope to the hopeless and raises the dead. (And hope is not the same as wishful thinking, any more than faith could be likened to idly tossing coins into a fountain, only to stroll away unmoved.)

Praise Jesus for His Spirit, but my, what a paradox! For it is by His Spirit that I am born into His family and can now share in His emotions rightly, and because my home is Zion and Jesus my Husband, I desire to be with Him where He is, and as a child of God am able to, even presently; when in His presence, I become like Him – in His mannerisms, His beliefs, His heart – and because I am like Him, I desire that all would no longer see me in my thoughts or deeds, but only my holy Father who is in heaven; so I spend myself for their sakes, that they may bow the knee by love and not by unwilled submission; but in so doing, though I may never say a word, they detect about me His holiness, and consistently respond by shunning the love of Jesus, leaving me with no choice but to reply by praying, and fasting, and coming into His holy hill, which causes me to love Him and them more, but they Him and me less!

So, I’ve been meditating on John 7:5, which reads, “For even His brothers did not believe in Him.” What must have been His heart for these men whom He grew up with as boys under the same roof? I want to cry just thinking upon it. Were they in the crowd while their half-brother stood bloodied beside Pilate? Jesus was surely thinking about me while suffering on the cross, but a me nameless and faceless in the perhaps of dawning millennia; however, He must have had a clear image of His brothers while nailed there on that tree, and praying fervently for them who came from the very womb He too was nurtured in. And though as He grew they waned, Jesus never once showed them false mercy (acceptance of sins) or false justice (excusing sins); He lived a full life of love for His Father unafraid, knowing well enough that His obedience and extravagance would cause latent sin to awaken and become agitated in all (especially within His brothers) to the doom of many. That was a love for the Lord His God that I am largely unawakened to.

Jesus, help me in my weak sincerity! Lead me on the paths that I should go. And save my family members to the fullest, that they may serve you with thanksgiving for all their endless days. I ask for wisdom and strength to walk in righteousness, though by my walk many may resolve to follow you never, by their own choices and not mine own. Teach me the fear of the Lord, that I may gain all of You, and You all of me. Amen.

Ambassadors of the New Jerusalem

What did Paul mean that he was an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20; Eph. 6:20)? An ambassador is more than just a trustworthy representative of his kingdom’s principles, but is a resident of that kingdom! As I wrote before, for one to “spiritualize” such weighty, foundational, and concrete truths would cause that one to be unable to fully live by the power of an endless life, but would always struggle with and dabble in sin. There is a major difference between the person who has only mentally ascended to a vision to live in light of eternity, and the person who takes that and then experientially ascends into visions of the Light in eternity; both are good and necessary, but only he who dwells in heaven will actually be a sojourner and a pilgrim on earth, being in the world but not of the world. If the world does not hate you, then they do not consider you to be an ambassador (or, a residential representative) of heaven. If we are not with Jesus where He is, can we ever have unity, or will the world ever believe in Him or what He has done for us all?

Those who have seen and heard of that which is within the city made by God do not fall to the temptations of the devil, nor become ensnared by the results of either the loss or gain of earthly treasures, nor do they give way to impatience or complaining or entitlement or elitism. They who have truly seen and felt the living light of the Lamb will faithfully walk in and by that light, hearing His commands and keeping them. The Lamb’s commands are summed up in this: love others as He loves you. This ever radiant, ever proceeding, ever increasing light is like oil used for a burning lamp, and the Lamb who is liberal in His giving gives to all who approach Him, that they would be made to be shining lights in the world. To be sent by God, one must first dwell with God; to dwell with God, one must be born of God; to be born of God, one must first receive the love of His Son. We love Him because He first loved us; we choose Him because He first chose us; we dwell with Him because He first dwelt with us, taking on flesh that we might become children of God.

Moses as a servant ascended Sinai, and came back down with a glowing countenance, but we have not come to Mount Sinai; we have come to Mount Zion, and those who are sons, having believed in the Son, can ascend this holy hill, not by works, but by grace through faith, and come back down transformed into His image. This is our inheritance who are in the Son, and not just for a select few saints – though this does not negate that we must still prepare ourselves to come into His holy city, for “there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie” (Rev. 21:27; see also 22:15). I suggest to those who already believe in the Son to take communion before contemplative prayer, confessing all sin that you would be washed clean, and resolving to walk worthy of a child of God. As it is written, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14). And in daily contemplative prayer, simply ask Your Father to lead you into His presence, that you would not just see, but hear, taste, feel, and smell heavenly things, that you would truly be an ambassador of the New Jerusalem, that all through you might believe.

See you there!

The ride of my life

A month ago I reached the end of what had been a wide plateau. A significant choice was about to be made, indeed, had to be made. It was as if I had been standing in line for the scariest roller coaster ride for three and a half years without really knowing what all that entailed, and suddenly had found myself facing that last minute decision to either strap myself in, or to step over and make my way down the exit ramp. With surprising clarity and sobriety, by the grace of God, I understood the importance of the moment.

Like the traveler in Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken, I was at a fork in the road and in the end chose the one less traveled by; yet unlike him, I was not sorry that I could not travel both – instead, I was sorry that I felt the less traveled path (to get on the ride) was an impossible one to choose. Not that it seemed impossible; it was impossible.

“Lord,” I said, “I long for You, and greatly desire for my Jesus to receive in me His full inheritance, but I know that it is not possible for me to get on this ride because I’m not yet ready, though it is what You would have me do. Help! Show mercy! Speak to me; assure me; embolden me!” And – praise Him – immediately He responded, “Just as Pharaoh had hardened his heart against Me, and so I upheld his ‘No’, you have hardened your heart for Me, and so I will uphold your ‘Yes’.” And the next thing I knew, I was locked in and clicking my way slowly up that mountainous track that all coasters begin with!

With arms raised and heart pumping, I await the plunge with eager excitement, knowing that it will carry me frighteningly fast, and far, and free.

theBETTERcovenant

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Keep this question at the forefront of your mind:

“How much more then ought we?”

Too often I hear that the old covenant was physical and carnal, but the new is spiritual and pure. True enough, but how does that phrase cause you to live? Sadly, most are disarmed and few are empowered by this. Yes, we are a generation of priests; yes, I am the temple of God; yes, Jesus is both our Sacrifice and High Priest in heaven’s tabernacle. But do not “spiritualize” these truths, deceiving yourself that the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek is somehow less than the priesthood of Aaron’s order. Do not think that the heavenly city of God is more easily approachable than the burning mountain of Sinai. And do not misunderstand God’s mercy; He does not overlook or excuse sin now, just as He did not before the cross. Do not confuse the new law spoken by Jesus to be more lenient than the old law spoken by angels.

Yes, Jesus’ sacrifice was better than that of what would have been endless animal sacrifices, but this does not mean that our priestly calling is less rigorous or demanding than what was required of the Levitical priesthood. Our cleanliness and strict attention to detail is more important now than it was for Aaron’s sons (cp. Lev. 10:1-3). The duties expected of us are more effective than those performed in the earthly temple, for we minister in the tabernacle of heaven with better sacrifices. And servants are surely not as bold as sons, yet sons ought to be more zealous for the law of their Father’s house than are His mere servants.

This is far from a yoke of oppression, for grace abounds all the more for those born again into His family (Rom. 5:18-21), that we would be able to shoulder the yoke that Jesus carries with us (Matt. 11:27-30). Grace is the unmerited divine strength to continue walking faithfully in holiness; it is not, as so many teach today, the Lord refraining from exacting punishment for sins committed, for God says, “Vengeance is Mine to recompense, and I will judge My people” (Heb. 10:30-31). If Moses was faithful in the old covenant by the power of the blood of goats, how much more then ought we be faithful who are in the new covenant by the power of Christ’s own blood?

Yes, we are sons of God; yes, we are in Christ; yes, we have access to the throne of grace by the blood of Jesus. But our free entrance into the Holiest of All in heaven is not without a period of waiting and careful preparation, just as Aaron was commanded. We still must diligently calm the winds in order to enter into the Sabbath rest of God (Heb. 3:7-4:16). Even now we are to go on to perfectness (Heb. 6:1), ever reaching to lay hold of the promises of the age to come. For when God found fault with the people of promise while they were yet under the old covenant, He promised to make with them a new and better covenant. However, were God to find fault with us now, there remains no other sacrifice for sins, for Christ was appointed to die only once.

How much more then ought we regard the blood of Jesus than they did of goats? How much more then ought we draw near to God through the veil of Jesus’ flesh than they did through the veil made of fine woven linen? How much more then ought we serve in the heavenly tabernacle made by God than they in the earthly tabernacle of goats’ hair? For if Aaron and his sons served in the shadow, then we who are the sons of God serve in the physical. And if the Levites were prevented by death, then we of Melchizedek’s order are enabled by the power of an endless life. To symbolize away such profound truths would be to make your life devoid of priestliness. There really is a temple in heaven where God’s throne resides, and we really enter into that throne room much in the same way that the Levitical priests daily entered the temple on earth. We cannot be casual or presumptuous about such weighty matters. For if those who offered profane sacrifices died by God’s consuming fiery presence under Moses’ law, how much more then ought we give worthy offerings, paying the more earnest heed to Jesus’ law? Therein lies true and abiding priestliness.

A crafty deceiving spirit

What I’m about to share here happened while on the Peoria trip, but with whom and in which church I’ve decided to leave purposefully vague for everyone’s sake. I was not present at this deliverance session, but I heard this straight from the one who ran it, so know that this account is trustworthy and that you ought to take heed from it. When I was told this, revelation washed over me, practically drenching me with a deeper understanding of Jesus’ warning on the Mount of Olives that those living in the last generation must guard themselves first of all from deception (Matt. 24:4; Mark 13:5). This story should cause you to press in for the gift of discerning of spirits like you never have before, because this is something I personally have never heard of until this trip.

A middle aged person was meandering around the church foyer, and this person was clearly recovering from a recent major surgery. Some eager young students approached this person, asking if they could pray for Jesus to bring healing. The older person agreed, and so they gathered together in an upper room. When the door shut, and the students began interceding – having given the person a quick explanation of what they were going to do, of how to receive prayer, and of what to possibly expect – it was then that the unexpected happened.

The recuperating person, who downstairs could barely move without pain, and then very slowly, began manifesting a demon. With erratic movements and another’s voice, this person was clearly under the authority of the kingdom of darkness. When the well trained students tried all they knew to do, they went to one who has been practicing deliverance and healing for over a decade.

Upon entering the room, the demoniac was seated and presently settled down, seemingly in the “right” state of mind and character. However, it was nothing but a show. Together, the students with the leader began to rebuke the demon and plead the blood of Jesus, and after much difficulty, the demonized person broke down into tears and praising God! Hallelujah! The young students were aglow, rejoicing with dancing, and preparing themselves to now address and believe for the person’s physical healing. The leader, though, kept seated and did not join them all in their excitement, but instead authoritatively rebuked: “You foul, deceptive spirit!” And the person, who the students thought to be free, again roared and raged with the voice and power of a demon! They were deceived! And not only that, but this demon deceived them in the same way once more in that very same deliverance session!

How terrifying! Are we abiding in the light such that we can instantly know whether one is in fellowship with Jesus or not? Do we honestly rely on the Holy Spirit to give us eyes to see beneath the surface and to search the heart, or are we merely external and suspicious? Have we laid hold of the heavenly gifts already given us, or have we remained impoverished because we have not yet entered through the open door set before us? How seriously do we take Paul when he wrote, “Now the Spirit *expressly* says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1)? O God, let it not be said of us who are of the last Adam that a crafty serpent deceived us! Make us burning and shining lamps, and cleanse our eyes from all wickedness, that we may rightly discern the foul from the holy. Give us grace to pursue righteousness all of our days, for we long to see the day of Your Son’s return! Jesus, we desire that You receive Your full inheritance, and will not rest until the kingdom of God is restored here on earth. Maranatha!