1 Thes. 5:1-11

Ephesians 1:15-23

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

Romans 15:4-6, 12-13

Romans 5:1-5

What do these verses tell us about the return of Christ?

In what ways do the passages describe the need to be ready?

What actions accompany those who believe in and are preparing for His coming?

In what ways does hope fuel these actions?

What is the Spirit showing the Church or ourselves regarding our need to live awake and embrace the hope of our calling?

Last study we considered that the reality of Christ’s resurrection and the acceptance of His sacrifice on our behalf are the foundation of our hope. This week we are considering how we can experience hope in our daily lives.

Let’s look at Romans 15:13.

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

The promise in this verse is outrageous hope, abundant hope from the God of hope.  This verse is not just describing human optimism. It is supernatural hope that is available  now. But I ask how? 

Here again we see the role that the Holy Spirit plays as the trusted servant between the God of hope and us. He brings the things of God to earth and imparts them to those who believe. It is that word, believe, or in other translations, trust, which is the connector in this verse. The God of all hope awaits to fill with joy and peace. The Holy Spirit comes in power to release abundant hope. The fulcrum upon which this transaction pivots is our belief or trust in Him. 

So what does belief and trust actually mean? It is clearly not just an intellectual understanding that Paul has in mind as the trigger.  I will borrow from the Bible commentator MacClaren who broke belief down even further as TRUST, CONSENT and DESIRE. 

I trust God is who He says He is and I trust that what He says is true.

I consent to my life and circumstances looking His way not mine; I submit to His will.

I desire His glory more than my comfort, happiness, or success.

We could also look at these three words in this manner:

I trust that God is who He says He is and that His word is true, even when my circumstances may indicate otherwise.

I consent to HIs will not mine, even when it conflicts with my agenda for my life.

I desire His glory more than my comfort and happiness, and am willing to pay the cost.

When we position ourselves in this way, MacClaren goes on to say that we release “no shrunken stream, no painful trickle but a great exuberance [of hope] which will pass into your inner nature in the measure of your capacity to trust and desire.”

If we insert those words into Romans 15:13, we get a fuller and I would say more costly picture; “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in His character, consent to His will and desire His glory, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” 

I love the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her main character, Tom, is a slave whose belief and trust and consent and desire are stretched to unimaginable limits by the cruelty of slavery. It is under the savagery of slave owner Simon Legree that Tom, whose hope and faith in Christ were steadfast marks of his character, is crushed to the point of utter despair. How could Romans 15:13 be true now as despondency and despair blocked out any glimmer of hope? Let me share a lengthy quote from this beautiful book,

“The atheistic taunts of his cruel master sank his dejected soul to the lowest ebb; and though the hand of faith still held to the eternal rock, it was with a numb and despairing grasp. Tom sat like one stunned at the fire. Suddenly everything around him seemed to fade, and a vision rose before him of one crowned with thorns, buffeted and bleeding. Tom gazed in awe and wonder at the majestic patience of the face; the deep pathetic eyes thrilled him to his innermost heart; his soul woke as, with floods of emotion he stretched out his hands and fell upon his knees, – when gradually, the vision changed: the sharp thorns became rays of glory; and in a splendor inconceivable, he saw that same face bending compassionately toward him, and a voice said, ’He that overcomes shall sit down with me on my throne, even as I overcame and am set down with my Father on his throne.’ 

How long Tom lay there, he knew not…. But the dread soul crisis was past, and, in the joy that filled him, he no longer felt hunger, cold, degradation, disappointment, wretchedness. From his deepest soul, he that hour loosed and parted from every hope that is in the life that is now, and offered his own will an unquestioning sacrifice to the Infinite [God of all hope].”

Tom trusted God, even when his grip was slipping due to the wretchedness of the life that God seemed unwilling to free him from. Tom consented to surrender to God’s will, not his own, though he could see no purpose for his life in his evil engulfed world, and Tom’s desire was for God to receive glory though his body, mind and emotions were drained of their capability to lift themselves in praise. Upon the fulcrum of patient, persistent albeit imperfect belief, was the tipping point for the Holy Spirit to pour out overflowing hope. 

God, the God whose ways and thoughts are higher, is the God of hope. May He give you hope for your journey as you trust in, submit to and glorify Him.

Titus 2:11-14

Romans 8:18-39

1 Peter 1:3-9

Hebrews 10:23-25

What do these verses tell us about the return of Christ?

In what ways do the passages describe the need to be ready?

What actions accompany those who believe in and are preparing for His coming?

In what ways does hope fuel these actions?

What is the Spirit showing the Church or ourselves regarding our need to live awake and embrace the hope of our calling?

It is easy to misunderstand hope. It is also easy to misplace hope. We often lose hope when a desired outcome does not occur. The disciples on the road to Emmaus give us one glimpse in scripture of those who, like us, have wrestled with misunderstood, misplaced hope. We read the account of their conversation in Luke 24:13-27 as they walk on the road accompanied by the unrecognized, risen Christ. As they recount to their companion all that had occured, how Jesus was delivered up to death by the chief priests and rulers, they sadly add, “we had hoped that he was the one to deliver Israel.” Even though they had received the report from the women and the disciples of an empty tomb, they are nevertheless crestfallen that what they had hoped for was not fulfilled. Jesus then takes them on a journey through scripture; “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”

One of the scriptures that I am sure he shared with them was in Daniel 7:9-14. The scene that is portrayed in these verses is of a heavenly courtroom with the Ancient of Days seated on his flaming throne. “The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.” Before Him were those to be judged, ten thousand times ten thousand standing before the awesome magistrate. But just then the courtroom door bursts open. Another enters in, one like a son of man, who approaches the Ancient of Days just as his books open to begin to render judgments. The son of man presents himself before the Ancient of Days. What is it that he presents?

To answer that question, let’s look at Hebrews 9:24-28 where we read, “For Christ has entered not into a holy place made with hands … but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.” And what did he offer on our behalf? Picture if you will, an altar of sacrifice at the entrance of the courtroom. “He entered once for all into the holy place by means of his own blood” in order to “purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” I believe the son of man, in Daniel 7, paused as he entered to present his own lifeblood on that altar, so that when the books of judgment are read, for all those who have put their faith in the Son, their record is completely cleared. Paid in full.

So returning to the men on the road to Emmaus, after Jesus tells them about himself in the scriptures and joins them at their home, blessing the bread and giving it to them, he vanishes. Suddenly their hope is revived and properly placed upon the crux of lasting hope, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. They return immediately back to Jerusalem to share with the disciples their new found hope, “The Lord has risen indeed!”

   The apostle Peter writes to the suffering, persecuted saints in Turkey to remind them that they have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The words of this old hymn capture the same sentiment:

Our hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus blood and righteousness

On Christ the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.

The resurrected Lord Jesus, presented the offering of Himself on behalf of all those who would surely have been found guilty according to the deeds that were recorded in the book of judgment. His sacrifice was acceptable to the Ancient of Days for all people for all time. He was then given dominion, glory and a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. He invites all those who believe in Him by faith to be participants in His everlasting kingdom. 

These are the unshakable pillars of our hope.

Rev. 22:10-14

Isaiah 32:9-18

Rev. 3:1-6

Rev. 3:14-22

Acts 3:17-21

What do these verses tell us about the return of Christ?

In what ways do the passages describe the need to be ready?

What actions regarding repentance accompany those who believe in and are preparing for His coming?

What is the Spirit showing us about the Church or about ourselves regarding our need to live awake and repent?

A fitting response to God’s mercy in showing us our spots is to repent. “Forgive me Father, for I have sinned” as the prodigal said to his father. But repentance is more than confession, it is more than being sorry or sad. Repentance seems to come when we are at the end of ourselves – no more excuses, no more rationalizations, no more vain attempts to get our act together and do better. Repentance comes when we are cut to the heart and laid bare by God’s merciful conviction. What results is a holy disgust for our own sin mingled with a holy sadness for grieving the heart of God which drives us to our knees. “I choose to turn away from that thing that has grieved You and to turn to you. Strengthen me, Holy Spirit to flee and turn, as you work in me to will and work for your pleasure.”

The well known passage of 2 Chronicles 7:15 presents a prayerful pathway of repentance.

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins and heal their land.”

We are a people called by His name. My behavior and my attitudes reflect upon the name I bear. My sin does not just hurt me or others, it also sullies His name.

Humility precedes repentance. True humility takes off all masks, refuses to blame or justify. As Isaiah 66:2 states, “This is the one to whom I will look, he who is humble and contrite and trembles at my word.” 

Prayer is the cry of the penitent heart to a merciful God. “Father, I don’t want this anymore. Father, I am sorry for disobeying, I am sorry for dishonoring You. Please help me to turn.  I trust You, Holy Spirit, that by your leading and power, I have all that I need to forsake my old ways and walk with You. Jesus, thank you for your beautiful and powerful blood that cleanses me. Please forgive me, Jesus.” The simple cries of the contrite heart are heard and received. A broken heart, godly grief, a cry for mercy and strength, God will not despise.

We seek His face, not just His blessings. Repentance is not merely an avenue to garner God’s blessings. It is a pathway for restored relationship and intimacy with Him. It is possible to use repentance, if we can call it that, as a means of manipulating the Almighty. God called the Israelites who were in exile out on this behavior in Zechariah 7. “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and the seventh month for these 70 years, was it for me that you fasted?” This penetrating question cuts to the heart. God saw through their religious behaviors as being a means for God to give them what they wanted rather than for God to give them renewed hearts to love Him. We are called upon to seek His face simply because we love Him.

As we recognize whose name we represent, as we humble ourselves before His gaze, as we pray the simple cries of the heart to be forgiven and set free and as we seek His face alone, then we are in the proper position to turn, to repent of our wicked ways.   And He will hear from heaven, forgive our sin and heal our land.

2 Peter 3:1-18

1 Peter 1:13-21

1 Thess. 4:1-8, 13-18

Luke 21:34-36

What do these verses tell us about the return of Christ?

In what way do the passages describe the need to be ready?

What actions regarding living a life that honors the Lord accompany those who believe in and are preparing for His coming?

What is the Spirit showing us about the Church or ourselves regarding our need to live awake and be holy?

We continue to look at God’s call to be a holy, sanctified people. Those who are awake are taking this call seriously while also recognizing that spot recognition and removal are a process. 1 Thessalonians 4 speaks to this:

“Finally brothers and sisters we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more…for this is the will of God, your sanctification…For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards God who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

If we go back to the illustration of the light in the lantern, God’s desire is that we walk with Him in a manner that pleases Him more and more, but to do that, we have got to get the junk out of the lantern case so that the light within can shine. Sanctification is God’s will for His people. The Holy Spirit is the presence and power of God within to lead us in this process. One of the motivations to submit to the process of spot removal is so that the light of the presence of Christ can shine outward through us to the world around us. We are called to be the light of the world, a city set on a hill. Another motivation to engage with the Lord in cleaning out our junk is so that our light shines upward to please and honor the One whom we love, like a bride preparing to meet her groom.

In Ephesians 5, Paul gives us this picture of sanctification likening it to a bride being prepared for her husband.

“Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,” In Hebrew culture this translates to Jesus paying the bride price for the people he loves. The price was His blood, His life, to have the church as His beautiful bride.

“That He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,” This describes the period of preparation for the bride to cleanse and purify herself before marrying her husband. This corresponds to the Jewish custom of the betrothal period.

“So that he might present the church to himself in radiance, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish before him.” (Eph.5:25-27) Here is the wedding, where a purified and radiant people are united at long last with the One who loved them and gave Himself for them.

A story in Genesis that beautifully depicts this process of a bride being prepared for her husband is the story of Rebekah and Isaac. In Genesis 24 Abraham calls his oldest servant who had charge of all that he had, Eliezer, to go back to the land of Mesopotamia from which they had come to get a wife for his son, Isaac. He takes ten camels and choice gifts and embarks on the 520 mile journey.

 Eliezer finally arrives at the well outside the city and prays, asking God to show him who Isaac’s prospective bride might be. He prays specifically that a young woman would come to the well, who when asked, might be willing to not only give him a drink but would also  provide water for all ten of his thirsty camels – that would be about 500 gallons of water! Rebekah comes to the well and not only gives Eliezer a drink but volunteers to draw water for his camels until they are done drinking. What a girl! 

Eliezer then asks to stay with her family and he is welcomed into their home with traditional Middle Eastern hospitality. Eliezer then tells all that his master Abraham has sent him to do; find a bride for their kinsman Isaac. As well he tells them all about his specific prayer for God’s leading being answered by his interaction with Rebekah at the well. Rebekah’s father and brother discern that this encounter is God’s doing and they consent to give Rebekah to become Isaac’s wife. Eliezer then presents them with the choice gifts that he had brought as the bride price. He tells the family that he intends to begin his return journey the next day. So soon? Rebekah’s family suggests that she stay behind for 10 additional days and begin her journey then, but are willing to let Rebekah decide. “Will you go with this man?”, they ask. She replies, “I will go.” So the next day Rebekah and a few companions mount the camels to begin the 21 day 520 mile journey back to Canaan. 

 As I think about this story, I get the sense that this account is a depiction of a bigger story, even our story. Could Abraham be a type of God the Father who is seeking a bride for his one and only Son. Could Eliezer the servant, whose name means, the God who helps, be a depiction of the Holy Spirit, whose work is to find and prepare those who choose the Son. Could Isaac be a representation of Jesus, the unseen bridegroom who pays the bride price. Could Rebekah be us, those who have said yes to the Holy Spirit, to leave behind life as we knew it, in order to believe in and belong to the unseen Son? 

Rebekah then travels through a wilderness guided only by the servant. I would imagine that Rebekah had a lot of questions for Eliezer as they traveled, “What is my husband-to-be like? Describe him for me. What is his character like? Tell me the truth about him.” And so he helped Rebekah to get to know Isaac and how wonderful he is, so that without having seen him, she grew to love him. But the journey was a long, bumpy, dirty, rough trek. Camel riding is not a luxury ride and camels are particularly surly animals. Once we have said yes to become a follower of Christ by believing that He has paid the bride price for us, we commence our own difficult wilderness journey to meet Him. But we do not travel alone. We are accompanied by the God who helps, the Holy Spirit, who is continually guiding us and preparing us by removing our spots, wrinkles, blemishes to be radiant for the One who loved us and gave Himself for us.

  The story of Eliezer bringing Rebekah to Isaac ends in Genesis 24:63 – 66

“Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening, He lifted up his eyes and behold, there were camels coming. Rebekah lifted up her eyes and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel and said to the servant, ‘Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?’ The servant said, ‘This is my master.’ And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done [and that she had done] …she became his wife and he loved her.”

“Right now the Holy Spirit [the God who helps] is poking at the dying embers of your love for Jesus. [Perhaps you are tired of this camel ride and have lost sight of who it is that you are preparing to meet.] It is because he desires to set your heart on fire with love for him! Are you allowing the Spirit of God to convict you of sin and unbelief? If so, rejoice! He wants you to be cleansed from every spot, every wrinkle on that day when you [finally dismount the camel] meet him [your bridegroom] face to face. So yield to His leading. Let Him do His [sanctifying] work in you completely – and you will truly know what it means to walk in the Spirit.” (worldchallenge.org May 14,2021)

The call to holy living has a purpose. It is preparation to meet our Savior. Just as a bride wouldn’t dream of showing up for her wedding in a disheveled and dirty condition, so we who belong to Him can let the Holy Spirit do His sanctifying work in us as we ready ourselves to be united with Him.

Titus 2:11-14

Romans 13:11-13

Isaiah 52:1-2, 7-11

1 John 3:1-7

What do these verses tell us about the return of Christ?

In what way do the passages describe the need to be ready?

What actions regarding living a life that honors the Lord accompany those who believe in and are preparing for His coming?

What is the Spirit showing us about the Church or ourselves regarding our need to live awake and be holy?

Those who are awakening and becoming more and more aware of His return are characterized by a seriousness about obeying Jesus’ call that we be holy as He is holy. However the more we are made aware of His perfection, the more we recognize our faults and how unlike him we are. We see our spots.

Years ago I cared for my mom as her encroaching dementia became increasingly evident. She needed cataract surgery and since she still enjoyed looking at the newspaper, we thought this surgery would be beneficial. After her first successful surgery, she returned to her apartment to spend the night. In the morning when I arrived to check on her, she was in a state of fury. When I asked her what had made her so angry, she pointed to her face and said, “Look at me. Do you see them all over my face?”  Puzzled, I meekly asked, “What?” “The spots!!! They weren’t on my face yesterday. Someone must have come into my room and put them all over my face! Who would do such a horrible thing?” As you realize, no one had put the spots on her face; they were there but because of her cataracts, she couldn’t see them. But now that she was “awakened” by her surgery, she could, to her own horror, see clearly what she didn’t know was there all along. This is similar for us as we draw closer to the Lord, to walk with Him. Our spots, that we may not have seen before, become more evident and also more distressing. 

So how do we deal with the spots? Over the next two studies as we study holy living, we will talk about the necessity of walking with the Holy Spirit in His ministry of spot removal which in scripture is called sanctification. 

We begin our lives as a child of God by faith in Jesus’ perfect and complete sacrifice for our sin. Isaiah reminds us that though our sins were red as scarlet, He has washed us white as snow. Because of the power and efficacy of Jesus’ blood to completely blot out our record of wrong, we are now seen by God as holy. It is because of this cleansing that the Spirit of God, who is Holy, can now reside within. 2 Cor. 6;19 states, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your bodies.”

An illustration that helped me to understand the complete cleansing that God speaks of became clear one snowy day as I was looking out at the trees in the front yard. It was a sticky snow that completely covered the tops of each and every branch and twig; a perfect blanket of uninterrupted whiteness, that is if one looked at the tree from above. From below, the rough bark with all of its blemishes and imperfections could still be seen. Suddenly it became clear to me that God the Father views me from above, while I view myself from below where the rough underside of the branches are visible. Indeed from His view, we who have received Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf are white as snow.

Though this is true in God’s economy, He calls us to pursue holiness in our daily experience.This is where the rubber meets the road.  Another picture that can depict this is that of a lantern. I have a battery operated lantern that sits in a glass enclosed case. When we become a child of God, the light within the lantern case is lit, that light representing the Holy Spirit of God who now resides within. However the lantern case is often filled with junk that obscures the light. In my lantern case there was pride, shame, over-eating, lying, selfishness, anger, jealousy, bitterness, fear… I could go on and on, lots and lots of spots. So again I ask, how do we deal with the spots? How do I get the junk out of my lantern case so that the light within can shine more and more brightly? First let me say what doesn’t work. Trying my hardest to be good doesn’t work. Feeling guilty and punishing myself for failing doesn’t work. How often have I gotten on the hamster wheel of sinning, feeling shame and guilt, doing some kind of penance, resolving to never do it again, and then failing, only to repeat the cycle. Those who are awakening to their spots and their need for sanctification can depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit to do what our flesh cannot. 

“To set the mind on the flesh (to remove our spots) is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God for it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God…. If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” (Rom. 8:6,7,11)

It is the Holy Spirit’s job as it were to lead us into victorious spot removal. Philippians 2;12,13 tells us to, “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God (the Holy Spirit) who works in you both to will and work for His good pleasure.” There is an engagement between us and God’s Spirit who is at work within us both to desire holiness and to direct and empower our pursuit of holy living. This is God’s gift, His promise and with Him is the power to do what we cannot do. As children of God, we trust that we are in truth the temple of the Holy Spirit within us, we yield to doing the work of sanctification in His way and we depend on His supernatural power to work this out. We trust, we yield, we depend. Our willingness to change and our appeal for His help are met by His power and often this is a working out process over time. But this process is done in relationship with God whose desire for us is to shine brightly with the light of His Spirit. 

“The choice to stop sinning and start depending is not a willpower issue; it is an interpersonal issue. It is human resistance to the empowering, transformational presence of the Holy Spirit. It is the refusal to receive the Spirit’s loving presence and leading and instead putting confidence in my own ability to change myself. Learning to trust, love and draw life from the Spirit is difficult.”(D.A.Carson) But may I add, is possible and once we experience the difference between the mind set on the flesh, which feels like death – and the mind that is set on the Spirit which brings life and peace, we are less and less likely to refuse the Spirit’s help.

“When the goodness and loving kindness of God our savior appeared, he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but because of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our savior. (Titus 3:4)

More on this next week, but take heart, God is patient as we take His hand and let Him lead us as we pursue holy living.

It seems that every year as I look at the accounts of the last week of Jesus’s life, something new pops to the foreground. I find myself saying to myself, “I never saw that before! How did I miss seeing that all these years?”

This time around I am noticing, or I am being made aware of, the seemingly random people who are nevertheless critical to the events of that last week.

There is the owner of the donkey and its colt. Jesus instructs two of his disciples, very specifically, that upon entering the village in front of them, they will find a donkey and its colt which they are to untie and bring to him. If anyone asks them what they are doing by taking these animals, they are to explain their actions with these words, “The Lord has need of it.”

Sure enough, as the two disciples are untying the animals, its owner understandably asks, “Why are you untying the colt? (Lk.19:33) “The Lord needs it and will bring them back immediately”, they replied and the owner let them take the animals.

The circumstances of this story are peculiar, as the unsuspecting owner of the animals is swept up into the final account of Jesus’s life.

Then there is the woman who enters Simon the leper’s house, breaks her alabaster jar and pours out pure, pungent nard on Jesus’s head. The disciples are indignant because of this woman’s impulsive, wastefully disruptive act. “And they scolded her.” (Mk.14:5) Jesus comes to her defense. “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her?” What they saw as irresponsible and wasteful behavior was actually prophetic – anointing Jesus’s body beforehand for burial, and deeply profound – what she has done will be told in memory of her wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world!!! (Mk.14:9) How could she have known that her lavish act of love would have such significance.

There is another unusual encounter with two figures in the preparation of the Passover meal. Jesus sends two of his disciples into Jerusalem. “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’” (Mk.14:13,14) A man carrying a jar of water? This is highly unusual behavior for a first century Jewish man. Who is this man and why was he carrying water? Did he know to meet the disciples?  And who is the master whose house he enters? How did he know to have a room furnished and ready to host this holy meal?

Simon of Cyrene is described as a mere “passerby who was coming in from the country”, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Suddenly he is hauled out of the crowd and compelled to carry the cross under which Jesus is stumbling. The bloodied beam is placed on Simon’s back as he marches in the chaotic procession up to Golgotha. No one other than his executioners is as close to Jesus as Simon as he follows him on this final ascent. No one heard his reply as clearly to the women on the way who were mourning and lamenting. “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” (Lk.23:28) How could he have known that on his way to celebrate Passover he would intercept the march to the cross.

So here we have these people, some whose names we know, Mary and Simon, others unnamed, the owner of the donkeys, the man carrying the jar of water, the master of the home that housed the upper room. Each of these people played a significant role in the Easter story. What if the man with the donkeys refused to let the disciples take them? What if Mary had taken the disciples’ advice and sold her bottle of nard and given the proceeds to the poor? What if the man carrying the water jar had refused to do so because it was not considered to be “man’s work”. What if the master of the house thought it would be too risky for him to have Jesus and his disciples in his home? What if Simon had decided that the trip from Cyrene (Libya) was too far and costly to come to Jerusalem for Passover? What is my point?

All of these people played a critical role in the final days of Jesus’s life but not because they planned it that way. Obviously we know none of the back story to each of these individuals and events, but there were decisions made along the way that positioned them to say yes. Yes, you can take my animals, yes, you can use my upper room for the Passover meal, yes, I will carry the water jar even if people will think less of me, yes, I will used my most valued possession to express the depth of my love for Jesus, yes, I will make my way to Jerusalem in obedience to Torah and to honor God. Did they know that their yesses would hold such significance? Did they realize that by saying yes, they would be fulfilling Old Testament prophecy? Could Simon have known that by saying yes, he would be walking behind the Passover Lamb of God, whose sacrifice would atone for the sins of the whole world? 

The answer to all of these is, “Of course not!”. In the course of making ordinary decisions, difficult decisions, scary decisions, costly decisions, decisions made to honor God with our time, our possessions, our reputation, our convenience, we are positioning ourselves to be written into God’s story. This is what encourages me as I read through the end of the gospels and consider these people, whose yesses allowed them to be so intricately woven into the salvation story. It is not just them though. It is us as well. Our yesses to God have more consequences than we could possibly know. Our yesses matter because they please and honor the One we love. Our yesses position us to be used in ways that we may never know about in this lifetime but in God’s economy, our yesses are woven into His redemption story.

I really enjoy gardening. I would consider myself a successful flower gardener and an aspiring vegetable gardener. If all that the vegetable garden had to do was to flower, I would be more successful, but obviously the point of this type of gardening is the harvest of its fruit: red, juicy cherry tomatoes, warm from the sun, crisp, fresh sugar snap peas, flavorful peppers, succulent summer squash, these are what we garden for.

When the Bible speaks about fruit, we might think of a summer vegetable garden yielding its bountiful crop. Or one might think of an orchard, apples, peaches, oranges, apricots, pears or even the berries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries exploding with sweetness. Is this what John envisioned when he wrote about, fruit, more fruit, much fruit and abiding fruit in John 15? Perhaps partially but not entirely.

What is a fruit and what is the purpose of fruit? A simple answer from Basic Biology.net is as follows:

The main purpose of fruit is to protect seeds during development.

They are also important for attracting birds and other animals.

Plants use fruit to entice animals to eat their seeds because they can then carry their seeds into new areas while the seeds are in their gut before releasing the seeds with their feces. 

Fruit is a seed carrier, a seed disseminator and a seed fertilizer which means that the most important function of fruit is the successful release of seed to perpetuate the existence of that plant.

I have thought a lot about this Basic biology definition of and purpose for fruit. It causes me to reconsider my understanding of John 15. Might the actual goal of the vine and branches relationship be the germination and release of the seeds carried within the fruit? The more fruit, the more seeds.

 In our kitchens, the goal is definitely the fruit. My family would be sorely disappointed if I  served them a salad of tomato, cucumber and pepper seeds! But in scripture it seems that the goal of the fruit is more in keeping with its botanical design as an incubator and disseminator for seed. The important part is the seed, nourished, ripened and released. So spiritually speaking, what is the seed? In the parable of the sower, the seed is the word of God. Jesus also referred to himself as a seed falling into the earth. I think of seed as Jesus, the living Word, the embodiment of the gospel, the resurrected King. Fruit is intended to sow Him, His life, His gospel, His Spirit, His kingdom. Fruit is not the objective nor an end unto itself; it is a Jesus disseminator. 

Prior to this examination, I understood fruit as the goal and the term fruitful to be measurable: numbers in attendance, positive responses, tangible visible outcomes. The focus was on particular results which were considered to be fruitful. How many people came to that event, how many posts on social media, how much giving?  But now I ask, was Jesus sown, was Jesus exalted, was Jesus character exhibited, was His kingdom extended? The focus is the seed. Jesus is the seed and the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of our lips that praises His name, the fruit of the proclamation of the Word is meant to attract people to Him. Spiritual fruit is an enticement for people to taste and see. In this way the seed of the life of Jesus is spread abroad.

What do you think about this redefinition of biblical fruit? How does it strike you? Are you relieved? Are you shaken? Are you wondering if you agree? Read through John 15:1-8 with the seed disseminating definition of fruit in mind. What do you see? More importantly, ask the Lord what He sees. Lastly, consider these verses, Mal.2:6-8. The word that is translated, offspring, is actually the word for seed. God is seeking for the seed of God to be cultivated and disseminated through our homes, our marriages, our ministering to God and to others. 

What is the one God seeking? Godly seed.

MM

On a recent trip to the White Mountains with friends, we took a trail that led us around the perimeter of Profile Lake, the lake that once held the reflection of the Old Man of the Mountain. The Old Man rock formation has since tumbled off the cliff, but on this crisp fall day, the lake instead perfectly reflected the fall foliage of New Hampshire; red and orange maples, yellow birches, rust and burgundy oaks. The reflection also captured the deep blue of a clear  fall sky. 

The interesting thing about a reflection is that everything mirrored appears upside down. The trees appear upside down, the clouds, upside down; a beautifully exact representation across the surface of the lake, but all upside down. The only way to see things in their correct orientation is to look up. 

  This reminds me of Jesus’s teaching about the Kingdom of God. He was repeatedly describing the upside down nature of the Kingdom where the first are last and the last, first, where the servant is the greatest in the kingdom, where it is better to give than receive, where those who save their life will lose it but those who lose their life for Jesus’s sake will find it, where one prays for one’s enemies and the meek inherit the earth. Such teaching was upside down then – it still is today. 

If I look down and around at the world, what it values, how to get ahead, how it measures success, who are its “winners” and “losers”, I get a particular picture. But the truth is, this picture is upside down, just like the reflection in the lake. Only as I look up, by meditating on what Jesus taught about the nature of His eternal Kingdom, are things in their proper orientation.

The challenge then is to live in an upside down world system, that thinks its orientation is correct, while embracing the values of the King and His kingdom, and to do so with Christlike graciousness. 

What about you? Where have you experienced a divergence between the values of our culture and the values of Christ’s kingdom? Jesus’s sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 was a radical introduction to this clash of worldviews as he presented the right side up view from above. In his ministry over the next years, Jesus would demonstrate what Kingdom values look like. Who did he spend time with? What behaviors did he rebuke? Which did he commend? 

Here is an exercise: write out each of the beatitudes in Matthew 5: 1-12 and then think about today’s culture. What does it look like from the perspective of this world to be meek, merciful, pure in heart, to mourn, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be poor in spirit, to be a peacemaker, to be persecuted for righteousness sake? What do these look like from above? Challenging isn’t it. Have I adopted some of this world’s upside down value system without even realizing it? It is never too late to lift our eyes up and seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

Hebrews 10:36-39

Colossians 3:1-4

James 5:7-8

1 John 2:26-28

Ephesians 5:14-20

Matthew 25:1-13

What do these verses tell us about the return of Christ?

In what way do the passages describe the need to be ready?

What actions accompany those who believe in and are prepared for His coming?

What is the Spirit showing us about the Church or ourselves regarding our need to live awake?

As we received Christ Jesus as Lord, so too we live in Him. We received Christ’s sacrifice of Himself to atone for us by faith. And it is by faith that we continue to live to honor Him. Those who are awake, live by faith.  

Jesus told His disciples that when he comes again, it will be like the days of Noah. 

“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark. And they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away.” (Mt. 24:36)

Noah is given as an example of one who lived awake in his day. So what characterized Noah’s life? The account of his life in Genesis 6 gives us some clues.

Genesis 6:8 Noah found favor (grace) in the eyes of God.

Genesis 6:9 Noah was a righteous man and blameless in his generation.

Genesis 6: 9 Noah walked with God.

One could summarize that Noah was a man who lived a God-centered life. He lived to please and honor God and lived in relationship with God. All of these verses describe Noah before he was ever given the command to build the ark. Noah was unique and he lived an awakened, obedient life in relationship with God in the midst of an ungodly culture.

What characterized the lives of all the people around him? Again Genesis 6 provides a portrayal of Noah’s contemporaries.

Genesis 6:5 The wickedness of man was great upon the earth.

Genesis 6:5 Every intention of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:11 All flesh had corrupted its way

One could summarize all those around Noah as living selfish, self-centered, self-driven lives. They had exiled God from His rightful place on the throne of their lives and placed their own desires and ambitions there instead.

In response to the hardness of the hearts of men, God tells Noah, this man who lives awake because of his faith in the unseen God, what He plans to do.

Genesis 6:13, 14 “I have determined to make an end to all flesh… make yourself an ark.”

Genesis 6:22 “Noah did this, he did all that God commanded him.”

Genesis 7:11 “So on the 600th year of Noah’s life (after 100-120 years of work on the ark), on the 17th day of the month (preceded by a seven day countdown), they went into the ark and the Lord shut him in.”

What happened to everyone other than Noah’s family? They were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage. None of these are wrong things. So what did they lack? They lacked a faith- initiated, faith- sustained relationship with the living God. Matthew 24 tells us that when Noah entered the ark and when the flood came, the people who lived around him were unaware, oblivious, they knew nothing. How was this possible with Noah working on the ark in their midst for over 100 years? It is possible because they were asleep spiritually; they lacked faith.

Without faith it is impossible to please God. “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear, constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”

It was Noah choosing to walk with God daily, choosing to live to please God in the midst of a Godless generation, that positioned him to respond in worship and obedience to take on a 100 plus year construction project by building the ark. Noah’s decision to live by faith allowed him to be alert and awake to the will of God.

Jesus seeks the same today. As we choose daily to believe in Him and walk with Him, we are awakened to His work around us and in us. Jesus stated this simply to his disciples,

“When the Son of Man comes will he find faith on the earth?”

Jude 14,15

Zechariah 14:4,5

Mark 13:32 – 37

Matthew 24:29 – 31

What do these verses tell us about the return of Christ?

In what way do the passages describe the need to be ready?

What actions accompany those who believe in and are prepared for His coming?

What is the Spirit showing us about the Church or ourselves regarding our need to live awake?

The return of Christ is often far from my mind. I am not one who speculates on whether the conditions I see now are indeed signs of his imminent coming. I am content to believe that He will come when He will come. But could I be missing out on what the many scriptures about His return are intended to elicit? Might the teachings on Jesus’ return have been given to us  to awaken us with hopeful anticipation? The world as we know it will not continue on indefinitely. Jesus is coming. He emphatically states, “Surely, I am coming.” 

Mark 13:32 – 37 is one of the places where Jesus describes his departure as being like a man going on a journey who leaves his servants in charge, each with their jobs to do.  In this short parable he tells us three times that we do not know when the man, the master, who represents Jesus, will return. Verse 32 begins by saying, “Concerning the day and the hour, so one knows.” Verse 33 says, “For you do not know when the time will come.” Verse 35 repeats, “for you do not know when the master of the house will come.”

However, the point of the parable is not to just shrug one’s shoulders and ignore the reality of His return. Rather, three times Mark couples the words that we do not know when He is coming with words that indicate the desired response, keep awake. Verse 33 says, “Be on guard, keep awake.” Verse 35 repeats, “Therefore, stay awake.” And the parable concludes with verse 37, “What I say to you, (Peter, James, Andrew and John) I say to all: Stay awake!”

This parable is one of many places in scripture that links Jesus’ promised return with our need to stay awake. However, we also learn in other parts of scripture that remaining alert is difficult. I can relate. The anticipation of His return dulls as time goes by, it dulls as I am consumed with the here and now, it dulls as I find my satisfaction in the comforts and pleasures of this world. I recently read an account of a couple that had escaped to the United States from a country that imprisons those who promote Christ and His kingdom. In the United States they were free to worship, free to express their faith, free from the fear of persecution. However after a year, the wife of the couple begged her husband that they return to the land from which they had fled. She explained, “There is some kind of Satanic lullaby in this country and the Christians here are sleepy. I am afraid because I myself am beginning to get sleepy too.” For her the prospect of becoming dull and drowsy was more terrifying than imprisonment. Jesus is returning and she wants to be living fully engaged as His disciple.

Perhaps the shaking that we have experienced over the past years is meant to arouse us out of our slumber. Isa. 52 is a summons to a people who may have succumbed to the lullaby.

“”Awake, awake! Put on strength, put on your beautiful garments.”

“Shake yourself from the dust and arise!… loose the bonds from your neck.”

“The voice of the watchmen, they lift up their voice. Together they sing for joy, for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion.”

Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing. Go out from the midst of her you who bear the vessels of the Lord.” (Isa. 52:1,2,8,11)

One hears the urgency of Isaiah’s appeal to slumbering or drowsy people. Awake, awake! The time is now to live as He intends for His people to live. I believed that Isaiah’s appeal to apathetic, indifferent Israel could easily apply to the church today. Wake up! What do awakened people look like?

These studies are an exploration of those attributes and actions that accompany those who are spiritually awake. They are an invitation to allow the Holy Spirit to show us where we might have succumbed to the lullaby so that He can lead us to live fully to please and honor Him with no regrets at His coming.