Through His Eyes

Psalm 118:1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2 Let Israel now say, "His mercy endures forever." 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, "His mercy endures forever." 4 Let those who fear the Lord now say, "His mercy endures forever." 5 I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. 6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 7 The Lord is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. 8 It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in princes. 10 All nations surrounded me, But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. 11 They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. 12 They surrounded me like bees; They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. 13 You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the Lord helped me. 14 The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. 15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation Is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. 16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. 17 I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the Lord. 18 The Lord has chastened me severely, But He has not given me over to death. 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord, Through which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This was the Lord's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. 27 God is the Lord, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. 29 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Did you ever wonder what Jesus saw and thought about as He rode into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives? One thing we know for sure; He knew exactly what He was doing. We know He knew He was riding into a hornet’s nest, and He knew He would not be bringing peace to that nest, but a sword.

A sword of God’s glory, which would divide the false from the true.

Psalm 118 tells the story of that gloriously inglorious ride, through the eyes of the rider, Who is Messiah. Rather than a white charger, the vehicle was the colt of a lowly donkey. Rather than riding in a gloriously high seated position commanding adoration, Jesus rested lowly on the foal’s back, right at eye level. His glory would penetrate the heart.

That He was fulfilling prophecy by His action is undeniable. But even in this, the Divine nature of His sovereignty was on display. “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied…” The rest is History, told in Psalm 118…

-Pastor Bill

Playing Favorites

James 2:1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Who’s your favorite – and how does that affect how you respond?

We all have favorites. It’s only natural. If you lived in Denver right now – would you be for Peyton Manning, or Tim Tebow? If republican, are you for Mitt Romney, or Rick Santorum?

Who is your favorite apostle? Is it John, or Peter? (Those are the two who consistently poll the highest.) BTW – Peter usually comes out on top.

Funny thing, favorites. Who we favor. Thinking more highly of one over another. I wonder; where does that come from?

They tell us we form an opinion of someone within the first thirty seconds of meeting that person. It’s called a “first impression,” and we are also told, “first impressions are VERY difficult to overcome.” True, isn’t it?

James teaches us the threshold of the church should be the place where this idea of favorites and favoritism should and must end. When we understand the notion of the church being our lives - rather than any building - then we further understand the notion of playing favorites must end at the threshold of our lives.

As the half-brother of Jesus, it must have been painfully fascinating for James to watch as Jesus extended His hands to touch some pretty untouchable people. This may have been upsetting or even disgusting to James. Can you imagine James watching as Jesus touched a Samaritan? Or, even worse – a leper?

This concept of ‘untouchable’ people had been fostered by a misinterpretation of Jewish Law, and Jesus was forthrightly setting all of it aside. There could be no misinterpretation of God’s intent. God is love. God is unconditional love. Jesus, God in flesh, lived that out. We are not to play favorites, we are to favor everyone. This is the love of God.

-Pastor Bill

Things to Remember

Hebrews 13:7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. 15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. 

The Book of Hebrews is obviously designed to be a very memorable book. The doctrine presented here is a full representation of the Christian faith, all the way from the beginning. The intricacies of the Book of Hebrews are quite amazing, demonstrating once and for all God had a plan all along, and His plan to bring a Redeemer in Christ had been announced even in his teaching to the Israelites, and in the ceremonies and demonstrations found in God’s Law.

Jesus is in every bit of that. Jesus is God, and the Law is God’s Law, and all of the Old Testament is not cast away, but foundational to the New. How incredibly important to our understanding all of this is…

But what can we take away? What are the life applications of such towering doctrine?

To conclude the Book of Hebrews the author turns not so much to ‘what we know’ as to ‘how we live,’ in the places we live, in light of the doctrine we have learned.

Last week we talked about life in relationships, and particularly marriage, which is intimate fellowship designed by God.

This week we see applicational instruction for life in the church, which is also intimate fellowship designed by God.

Marriage is intimate fellowship which is inescapable, as is life in the Church. We are not to cut and run, we are to live and learn…to be servants, and to be submissive to authority.

As much as we instinctively object to most notions of submissiveness, here we really need to pay attention, because we are learning to submit to Jesus.

-Pastor Bill