Following Jesus Son of God …

Jeshua stands up again and this time his “posse” is with him.  Zerubbabel and the boys are also on line with the purpose of God.

(Ezra 5:2 ESV)  Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

Like yesterday, Jeshua arose, he stood up when it was time for him to stand up.  AND the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.  The spiritual leaders “had their back.”  Musketeers. . .all for one, one for all, glory to God most high.

Sometimes (often?) we miss these opportunities because we forget who we are.  Their enemies in the land tried to intimidate them, asking for their names so they could tattle on them to Darius the king.  But they didn’t budge.

Why or how did they stand up to this tremendous pressure?

1. They knew who they were, as they stated in Ezra 5.11:  “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth.”
2. They were doing what God told them to do; they were honoring their calling.  “and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago.”

Maybe there is a couple thousand years in between their story and ours, but the issues are the same.  Will we stand up as the servants of the God of heaven and earth and bring him glory?

Will we stand up and embrace our calling?

Glory to you, O God!  Glory to you!

Then arose Jeshua. . .

• Ezra 3.2-3
• Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening.

Something needed to be done, and his fear was not going to take his focus from God. 

What better can we do than draw closer to God when we are unsure and afraid.

So, I’m asking you.

When will you arise?  Then Dave arose. . .or Bill. . .or John. . .or Susan. . .or. . .

Will we rise to the occasion knowing that God is God?

That’s what I have told myself several times lately.

2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Recession, war, personal relationships, health. . .

Not a spirit of fear.

The sky is not falling.  Chicken Little, get the heck out of here.

God says, “Not a spirit of fear.”

God is the most amazing recycler of all.  Today on the radio I heard about a successful toy company in which all their toys were produced from recycled milk jugs.

But God takes my fear as I lay it before him in faith and believe his words and makes courage.

I give God my fear and he gives me courage in return.

Groovy!

This thought just rattled around in my head at work this week.  How many times had I run into this, not with just poor little immature sheepies, but men who were supposed to be pillars of the church pushing aside the reality of God for the perceived reality they drew from their social and work life.

“Well, in the real world we need to. . .”

Yes.  Some would have us believe that God’s words need tweaked in certain “real world” circumstances, probably more people than you think or would care to admit.

You have heard this, haven’t you?  I certainly did both implicitly and explicitly while a pastor from other men in leadership.  Sometimes in the real world you have to adjust God’s truth.  You know, tweak it so it fits.  Adjust these figures on the budget or attendance so things look better.  We change our speech and our behaviors to fit the real world.  Alter our preaching in a certain way so we are not out of step.

Can’t get carried away with faith and the love of God and such, now can we?

Can you see how foolish this is?

We can’t stay the course with clear biblical teaching because it wouldn’t be understood or accepted.  Even in the church, where we have elders who fan the flames of gossip instead of insisting that people speak to the person who has offended them or they think has offended them.  We won’t sit down and talk face to face as that is too intimidating.  Instead we will handle this over the telephone and leave out the person being discussed.

We not only allow God’s truth to be shoved aside for our version of reality, but so often, we, as professing Christians are the ones to kick it to the curb.

I just can’t get over it.  “In the real world. . .”

Explain that one before the throne of God.

We have not been given a spirit of fear but these times could be fearful if we let them.

Men I have know for years who are shaken, and rightly so, because they have lost their jobs.

Worker guys, have worked for years, always worked, supporting themselves and their families, now no job.

And I am sure you have these people in your lives also, or maybe you are one of them.

Let’s pray for our friends.

(Ephesians 1:16-21 MSG)

I couldn’t stop thanking God for you–every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks.

But I do more than thank. I ask – ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory – to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him – endless energy, boundless strength!

All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever.

It’s another world I wish I could communicate, at least that is how the thought came to me yesterday at work.

Life with God I mean.

Whether it would be communicating this to my two youngest sons who don’t realize what they are missing, living in a world where God is barely a conscious thought, or whether it would be communicating this to 90 percent of the people who fill the pews every Sunday but are distant to God because their religion and their daily walk keep him at arms length.  They don’t realize what they are missing with their words only Christianity.  They haven’t experienced the love and presence of God because they have kept their hearts at a distance.

In the world I wish I could communicate, God is real no matter our circumstances.  He is there, not just in concept or memory, but there there, living, breathing God of the universe.  And in that other world, I can go to God anytime for what I need, which so very often is mercy and grace to help me along the way.

He welcomes me to approach him, as he understands the enormity of the task, the pain of the road.  Don’t forget he lived here for over thirty years as one of us.

In the other world, a person spends a bit of time also looking toward the horizon knowing that life is more than what we see.  In this world of God, life is the moment and forever at the same time.

Many who have the world of God confused with the world of religion sometimes speak of “the real world” when living in the world of God means faith.

Think how ironic that is.  The world as we perceive it is “the real world,” but the world as described for thousands of years in God’s holy book is what?  Not real?  Pretend?  Good to a point and then we have to take over?

And to live in their “real world” certain things are necessary, like lying for the greater good of the local fellowship, misinterpreting the words of God for the sake of our agendas, misrepresenting the church budget so people will still give their money, using good business sense when faith doesn’t seem to be panning out.

We’ll stop there as this list is long and dark.

Yes, I think I’ll stay with the other world, the one God speaks of where loving God and loving our neighbor are not pushed aside for theology or agendas.  Forgiveness and mercy and grace mean something.  A world where righteousness and holiness are being built into and ground into our hearts and minds as God attends daily to our lives.

One last thought:  To live in this world of God demands huge resources.

Just like any expedition or adventure, you have to have adequate supplies.  And how unique is this journey?  We need provision for each day of our lives, and, then, when we expire here we need resources that continue forever.  We can’t arrive at the threshold of eternity having exhausted our resources.

So what a sigh of relief as we realize that we have everything we need in Jesus Christ.  Included in God’s offer of eternal life is abundant provision for each day of life on this Earth that continues when I cross the horizon to eternity.  Jesus paid it all as he shed his blood in full payment for our sins.

Jesus chose death so we could choose life.

So in Jesus Christ I can live now and forever in the presence of God.

I like God’s world better.

—————

Honor, vision, mission, sense of purpose – Glory to God!

That’s what this text is saying – Glory to God in our service to him.

How do I speak “as one who speaks oracles of God” except that I have a sense of vision and purpose as to what it means to be a servant of Christ and an instrument in the hands of Almighty God.

This statement gives us no call at all to self-importance but to God’s glory and our extreme obligation to honor him in every service and work he lays in our hands.

We bow down.  We embrace our calling as ministers and servants of the Most High God.  And then we serve.

So if I am called to speak, let it be the words of God.

Do you see how thrilling this is?  I can actually do this.  You can.  Anybody who is willing to bow before the throne and accept her or his calling can allow these hand-crafted works or our Redeemer to flow through their lives like a great rushing Wind.

So if I receive a work order from the King, then I carry it out as his servant, his steward, his minister, the person he has chosen for a specific task on the planet at this point in time.

If I have a vision for the work of God, then I can do the things he trusts me with in his strength, and even as I just now write that, I take a big gulp of mercy and grace and my heart is filled with gratitude that I can  actually be a part of what God is doing in his redemption plan.

Thank you, Father!

Psalm 91-Music by Sonicflood

Sonicflood-Look to love