Proverbs 24:16  (NLT)

16 The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.

One of the big challenges Christians face is feeling the pressure to be “perfect”. The pressure comes from the world around us and often from ourselves when we worry how our life affects others as a witness for Jesus. The Bible is continual help and reminder for us that there has and always will be a gap between a Holy God and a sinful man. Jesus Christ bridges that gap for us and as we live our daily lives Solomon’s advice reminds us that the witness of our lives is not in our failure but in our Faith to get back up continue forward learning from our past and improving our future in serving others.

When we begin to think about the spiritual nature, power and existence of the Church we feel the empowerment of how the spirit can be effective in all areas of life not just in a Bldg that is physically recognized as the Church. We can also loose a bit of our footing because the spiritual side of our lives is not as a solid as where we think we have our feet planted every day. While it can make us uneasy it doesn’t need to trouble us. Jesus said that we as believers would know the Truth and the Truth would set us free ……..

John 8:32    And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

Our spiritual lives are the most manipulated and attacked by the devil because we seek to fill our spirit but often drift from God to look for answers. We will continue to develop our thoughts on our spiritual revelation of the Truth.

JOSHUA 1:9      Courage in the Day to Day Struggle

In the direct access to God thru Jesus Christ God’s plan was fulfilled and Jesus words to Thomas are complete.

John 14:1-6 (NLT)

Jesus, the Way to the Father

14 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”   5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

Peter also confirmed this in his sermon to the religious leaders of Jesus day after Pentecost:

Acts 4: 11-12 (NLT)

Peter and John before the Council

11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

‘The stone that you builders rejected  has now become the cornerstone.’

12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

With Jesus’ perfect life lived, sacrificial death and resurrection God’s plan of salvation was complete the Church now had a permanent starting point ( cornerstone ) and foundation. The challenge then and today is that when Jesus died on the cross and the veil was torn we were provided direct access to God. Through our confession of Faith in Jesus Life, Death and Resurrection we no longer need an intermediary to go on our behalf to God.

John 4:24  (NLT)

24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

If we come to God in Spirit and Truth then the physical pieces of worship have to take on a secondary place in our mindset of our relationship with Jesus Christ and what it truly means to be a Christian. If our confession of faith is a condition of the heart confirmed in our spiritual identity then the term Church takes on two very distinct views. One is a physical property such as the Temple of the Old Testament and of Jesus Day right thru Paul’s Churches to the street address where our local congregation gathers today. The second is a spiritual identity of Jesus followers that have made a real heartfelt confession that matches Peters in Matthew 16. This view and position of the Church represents the true value and power of Jesus Church today. It is a spiritual commitment that goes with a person where ever they go and does not render God applicable only if there is a formal gathering place for his Word to be heard and lived. The Church then resides in the heart of every believer and opens the power of the Church to Faith and not simply where it is or by what name it is under.

Matthew records another spectacular event at Jesus crucifixion for us

Matthew 27: 50-52  ( NLT )

50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, 52 and tombs opened.

From the Old Testament understanding the Veil was used to separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The instructions God provided in Exodus were for the veil to be made of purple and scarlet fine twisted linen and it was to hang as a partition between the Holy Place and Most Holy Place. The Holy Place contained the Alter of Incense, the lamp stand and the table for the bread of presence. The Most Holy Place contained the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. The veil was used as a door to access God and was only passed by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement. The veil told sinful man that he could not approach God accept by God’s prescribed path thru the Priest. The priest could only enter with the blood of a substitute sacrifice and then only on the Day of Atonement. It was a constant reminder that sin separates man from God. There was and is only one way into God’s presence and that is by a blood sacrifice. Jesus death on the cross provided a final Atonement for all sin and provided a direct path to God. The writer of Hebrews clearly aligns this for us :

Hebrews 10:19-20  (NLT)

A Call to Persevere

19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.

Hebrews 9:11-12 (NLT)

Christ Is the Perfect Sacrifice

11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

The tearing of the veil from top to bottom was witnessed and recorded so it could be verified that it came from God and could not have been torn from the ground by man. Jesus’ life was the veil between a sinful man and a Holy God and thru his death and the shedding of His blood we gained direct access to God. His life is an example for us but it alone cannot save us. Salvation comes only under the shedding of His blood on the cross. The tearing apart of this veil gave everyone direct access to God that made the old way and the purpose of the old veil obsolete and no longer needed.

John 8    ( NLT )

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”  34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.-Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

In July of 1776 our country declared its Independence and Freedom from tyranny and oppression with the Declaration of Independence. I have included it here because I don’t think we as a country read and apply it as we should in our day to day lives. This initial statement of Freedom opened with a foundation in God and His power in both creation and our lives. The scripture from John 8 highlights Jesus declaration of Freedom and Independence from Sin. Our initial challenge in life is much like the religious leaders of Jesus day in that we feel like we are independent and can solve our lives in our own way. We do not like to admit the weakness that we are a slave to anyone or anything much less to our worst enemy – ourselves. The real secret to our happiness / sadness, positive / negative, success / failure looks clearly into our eyes when we look into a mirror. John 8:36 confirms Jesus statement that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and NO ONE can come to God except thru Him.

We are thankful and can celebrate today our freedom from sin in our confession of faith in Jesus Christ for our forgiveness. We also celebrate those that are serving our country today both here and in foreign lands to protect our right and freedom to worship freely and live in a free country.            “The patriot’s blood is the seed of Freedom’s tree.”  ~Thomas Campbell

The first key reference we have to the nature of the Church was very early in Jesus ministry. John writes the account of Jesus first miracle at the wedding in Cana and his first Passover celebration with his friends. John records for us the first time Jesus cleared the temple and accused the religious leaders of making it a “marketplace”. The confrontation resulted in the exchange here :

John 2: 18-22   ( NLT )

18 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.” 19 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” 21 But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said

Jesus sets forward the spiritual nature of the Church in His resurrection. This supports the confession of Peter in Jesus being the Son of the Living God and Jesus confirmation that His Church would be built on that foundation. A foundation of Faith in Spirit and not location or structure.

Matthew 16:16-20 (NLT)    Peter’s Declaration about Jesus

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. ¹⁸ Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’),  and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

The resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning is the cornerstone of Christian faith. It is the fulfillment of the Promise made by God to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Delivered and advanced by Moses and Joshua and predicted by all of the Prophets. Jesus sacrifice in death provides forgiveness of sin in a perfect sacrifice for all mankind and his resurrection confirms the promise of eternal life. These facts summarize the New Covenant and provide a path forward for God’s people in the Church. God is eternal and complete in all He does so going in a New Direction without aligning it with the Old would have left too much ground for division. There is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood and that stands in agreement between followers of both the old and new testaments. A belief in Christ simply acknowledges God’s Power and Love to provide a perfect sacrifice that could be offered one time and cover all people’s sins. In our next post we will discuss the confirmation of the physical link between the old and new covenants………  

Matthew 21: 12-13  ( NLT )

Jesus Clears the Temple

12 Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 13 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

After Jesus entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday we find him in the Temple but not to preach or teach but to confront the heart of the Church at that time. The Old Testament practice of sacrifice was in place and like most things God entrusts to us we find a way to serve our own best interests and call that part of our religion. The sale and exchange for animal sacrifices allowed for people to travel in and out of the temple without carrying animals around with them and once inside buying a dove, pigeon or other animal that could be offered by the priest on behalf of the buyer for their forgiveness.

This process while fulfilling the physical process for forgiveness lacked the spiritual connection to the sacrificial system God initially setup with Moses for repentance and forgiveness. The sacrifice was to come from one’s own stock of animals and be one of the best that was available. This offering from one’s sustenance would require reflection and repentance for any sins and that had been committed in asking for forgiveness and in committing to a better way of life going forward.

What had happened over time to improve the efficiency of the process was the setting up of sacrifice selling and money exchange areas in the temple. The animals were not necessarily the best that could be offered, and the money changers made a profit for the service of exchange. This became an example in the fulfillment of Isaiah 

Isaiah 29:13 (NLT)

13 And so the Lord says,   “These people say they are mine.  They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

The heart of any matter begins and ends with the condition of the heart.  Jesus will continue to come back to the temple over the week in Matthew and try to guide the Church to an understanding that Church is not a physical place or process but a spiritual condition of the heart. Ultimately he will be rejected and put to death on the cross ironically for blasphemy against the Church. We will continue to follow the Church on this journey ……….

The Church

With our youth graduated and off into the summer lets take a short series of notes to look at the Church with respect to Pentecost. What did Church look like before Pentecost, after Pentecost and where is it today ……..

Acts 2 that we reviewed is considered as the birth of the Church in this new age with the provision of the Holy Spirit. Jesus resurrection and the presence of the Holy Spirit fulfills God’s promise in the plan of salvation for the world. Faith in the resurrection and our confession of that Faith in that Jesus died as a sacrifice for our sins and was raised on the 3^rd day to fulfill the promise of God in eternal life with Him. Sometimes we get really involved in the details of these activities to try and satisfy our logical and physical needs of understanding the Gospel.

This physical connection is what Peter tries to connect in Acts 2,3 & 4.  The physical connection was initially vital for the Israelites. They had followed the process according to the law as given to them by Moses in Deuteronomy. The physical process of a priest to intercede on their behalf for forgiveness, which was required because no one could keep the law, was what they understood.

Peter who had struggled with the physical and spiritual during his time with Jesus now got it but he would struggle again trying to get it across to Israel. In Acts 2 as he recounts the history of Israel and Gods plan of salvation fulfilled in Jesus Christ and points the results of the resurrection right at the nation of Israel.

Acts 2:36  (NLT)    

 ³⁶ “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”

This was a radical step forward in the belief system of God’s chosen people the nation of Israel. If we separate for a bit the whole discussion of the Messiah and His role in both politics and government to simply look at the actual real world day to day Truth that it brought to the Church it may help us in our lives.

In the fulfillment of any life altering event there is a usually a state of conception where long before anything was done a vision was spoken or thought. I.E. long before there is a wedding to be celebrated with family and friends there is a simple, often quiet declaration of faith and purpose between two people. The same is true for the Church – before the Death, Resurrection and Arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost there was a simple discussion and a declaration of faith set forward.

Matthew 16:13-20 (NLT)    Peter’s Declaration about Jesus

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  ¹⁴ “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” ¹⁵ Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. ¹⁸ Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’),  and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

The confession of Faith that Peter made that day is the confession that Jesus built the Church on and it is still the foundation of the Church today. There is nothing here about a particular city, area, building, government entity or any other physical identifying marker for Church. Only a confession of Faith in who Jesus Christ is ……………….

Deuteronomy 6:10-13  New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁰ “The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. ¹¹ The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, ¹² be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. ¹³ You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name.

The importance of allowing God and His Word to guide us is brought forward by Moses in the following 4 verses from our last post. It is a clear message to all of us and especially applicable as it is written in Deuteronomy. It is being given to a new generation of people that are preparing to go into a new land and embark on a new and different path forward. His advice here is in preparation to keep us from getting distracted when we go out into a bigger and different world. Our students and young folks will be going into a world where in many cases they will participate in a place and culture that will already be in place when they arrive. Moses helps us understand that while there are benefits and advantages in places where things are set up and provided for us I.E. – College Classes, Town Infrastructures, Company Pay Scale and Benefits ……. There is also the temptation to be drawn away from God and his purpose in our lives. He reminds us that no matter what path we take and what environments we go into that we are NOT to forget our foundation in God’s Word and his Love for us. Living our lives by keeping his Word in front of us and on our minds and hearts ( Vs. 5-9 ) will help keep us on the right path as we go forward into new places.