Author: missionspaul

Determined like flint

Luke 9: 51 “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”

We must face up to that which opposes us and not run from it. Do not flee in fear, stand in faith.

The Apostle Paul wrote “we face death all day long” (Rom 8:36);

Isaiah prophesied the Messiah would ‘set his face like flint’ (50:7) and Luke probably taking from Isaiah here records how Jesus “resolutely set out to Jerusalem”.

I used to sing as a child: “Because He lives I can face tomorrow …” So face it, don’t run from it.

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13)

Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

What path are you on today? Are you where God put you? Then remain there, don’t be moved. Don’t let people pressure you to be where you should not be or do what you are not called to do. But resolutely keep going.

It takes courage to do what God is asking you to do. So get it.

It will probably mean you have to say NO to easier paths.

It does mean you live a life where the needs of others are more important than your desires.

Whatever today holds be determined to follow the path Christ has led you on.

You are not who you think you are.

Luke 9: 46-50 “An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”  “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”  “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

They had all got their own healing stories. Of course Peter was the one who had the revelation of who Jesus was. Moreover he along with James and John had been chosen to accompany Jesus on the glory mountain. Some of the other disciples had failed to drive out the demon from the young boy who was having seizures. Mix some jealousy and derogatory remarks in there with more than a sprinkling of condescension and you soon have set off a battle of the giants to see who actually would be the top dog. In an ironic twist of what seems to be unity, they had tried to stop ‘someone’ not of their tribe setting a person free from a demon in Jesus’ name. I mean how dare that person attempt such a thing when they are the greatest?! The fact that this ‘someone’ is doing something that the majority of them had failed to do with the boy with seizures is another matter!!

What did Jesus say?

You are not who you think you are or who you are portraying to one another.

If only half of what we claim to be happening was indeed happening then our church buildings would be filled to capacity.

In the case of the disciples it wasn’t only who was the greatest but who would be the greatest.

Who has the greatest vision of what is going to happen?

What did Jesus say?

He called a little boy to stand next to him and in front of them all.

This little child is now standing alongside the greatest human that ever lived, the Son of Man, the Messiah and so many more titles that have ever been bestowed on anyone! Opposite the child are a bunch of windbags arguing because they all believe they are the greatest.

I believe Jesus was saying this, “I am not standing with any of you am I?”

“Look at who I am standing with?”

“I am with who you think I would not be with.”

“I will always choose to stand with the least.”

“More than that, if you want me, My Presence, then I come through the least not those who think they are the greatest, not you.”

“Oh and stop being so partisan!”

 

 

Don’t slow down

Luke 9: 43-45 “And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. While everyone was marvelling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”  But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.”

Jesus wasn’t distracted from his purpose by the praises of man nor by the lack of understanding from his followers.

What is your Jerusalem?

What do you believe God wants you to do? What is that calling? This next 12 months where are you heading?

If you know what that is then don’t let anything distract you.

Don’t get enamoured by those who think you are wonderful. Their comments of encouragement could tempt you to stop and inject that praise drug and it could slow you down or even knock you off the path completely.

If you know what that is then don’t worry if your friends don’t fully get it.

Your closest could be blind to where you are headed and what you are trying to do but if you wait for them to fully understand then it will be them that set the time-frame and not the Lord.

Stick to it. Keep going. Don’t stop now.

 

Demons and healings and other things

Luke 9: 37-43 “The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. ³⁸ A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹ A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. ⁴⁰ I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.” ⁴¹ “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.”

Yesterday Peter, James and John were in the cloud of glory, the brilliance of Christ’s majesty, they heard the voice of God, Christ was transfigured and they were changed forever. Today they are off the mountain, with the crowd and importantly facing reality.

What is your reality today?

It could be a reality that is out of control. You have tried but you cannot change it. You have gone to everyone, even the disciples of Jesus, but still there is no change.

The enemy of your life may have taken your only son. Your enemy may be plaguing what is so precious to you, like a lion with its kill, the boy was alive but only just, the father knew one of these days a seizure would finally finish him.

Is this your reality today? If not, it is certainly the reality of those around you.

“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

I have heard many sermons on this question of Jesus. Some saying he was speaking to his disciples, others that he was addressing the crowd.

All I know is that it doesn’t look like he was questioning the distressed father nor his broken son. It was not to them that he was challenging a lack of belief or a twisted path of life. It was not to them that he was wondering how long he could keep on doing this. No, to them, he wanted them to come and He is still calling the broken to Him today.

Now, I don’t know if Peter, James and John rolled their

eyes disapprovingly at the disciples having come off the glory mountain. I don’t know if they whispered to the other 9, “What’s matter with you? You are so weak!” It does sound like something that could have been said. Certainly in the age of spiritual competition and arrogance of 2019 we can believe it. We do know that the disciples asked Jesus about this later as Matthew and Mark record it and Jesus tells them they could have done this if they had been praying and fasting.

I think perhaps the reason why they could not deal with this father’s reality is because the condition of their heart, the state of their mind was not in a good place. Breaking demonic power does not come about because of saying a few words or laying your hands on a person. It comes about because of the authority and power in your life at that moment. If you live in a place of prayer and fasting or if you have been on the glory mountain and seen the Son of Man then you are carrying the power that is needed.

The times when I have backed off in ministry are the times when I know I feel inadequate not because of ability or gifting but because of His Presence which I have not had time or the will to pursue and practice.

In order to drive out the demonic you need to be with who the demonic has broken. Bring the boy to me. Broken, scarred, battered and bruised in the hands of Jesus.

In order to rebuke the demonic you need His Presence. Fostering the presence and the glory in your life.

We are called to bring wholeness to people’s lives and repair broken families. It doesn’t matter how this is done. There is no style to copy. The demonic is realised differently in different nations and cultures of the world. But as people of the Glory mountain and people who pursue His Presence we engage with the humanity of people and do all we can to heal a broken world.

 

Today and the Next day

Luke 9:37 “The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.”

The next day is not today.

• When you wake up to a next day then you know you are still on earth. You have come down the heavenly mountain to a large amount of work before you. Yesterday would serve for the next day. How will you live in your next day? Will what God has done or said today have any effect on your next day?

 

The next day is not today.

• The next day you deal with the responsibilities of what was held in your today. Luke 10:35 “Thenext day he took out two denarii and gave them to the “Look after him,” he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” The Good Samaritan kept to his commitments that he had made in the yesterday. Will you go back to the people and the places where you had previously made promises? The next day could cost you. Are you ready for that?

 

The next day is not today.

• The next day is a continuance of your today which is pursuing your destiny in God. Luke 13:33 “In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and thenext day – for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” Even the next day of Jesus’ life had another next day. Until the day came which the Father had ordained for Him to lay His life down. On that day there was no next day. It was just Today.

 

Next days are for earth only. Today is for the eternal home.

• In your Today the Messiah can come to you. Luke 2:11 Todayin the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
• In your Today miracles can happen. Luke 5:26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, ‘We have seen remarkable things today.’
• In your Today salvation happens. Luke 19:9 Jesus said to him, ‘Todaysalvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
• Today heaven can call you home. Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, todayyou will be with me in paradise.’
• Are you ready?

 

Yesterday a friend died, she never made it into her next day. She remains in the TODAY for ever and ever. I’m starting to notice I am losing more friends in my Today and I wake to the next day and I grieve. But those I grieve for are so happy in their TODAY.

The Cloud of God

Luke 9: 34 “While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.”

I will go and visit a friend today who is 36 years my senior and who is dying in hospital. The cloud of God has appeared suddenly, it certainly seems very quick that her health has gone from her.

• You do not know when the cloud of God will appear so live your life in fear of the Lord now.

 

The cloud has enveloped her. This makes me smile as my friend could never use that word correctly. Whenever she prayed she would pronounce the word envelope as if God was going to put us all in one and pop a stamp on us and post us. She of course meant that God would surround us with His presence.

• We do not know when His presence will make a final appearance and indeed envelope us to take us home. Therefore we live in fear of the Lord now.

 

She has entered that cloud. Confidently, boldly and without fear (unlike the 3 disciples) joyfully looking forward to meeting her many old friends who had gone into the cloud ahead of her.

• One day we all will be approaching that cloud. Whether we do it without fear is determined by whether we live in fear of the Lord now.

 

We need the cloud

Luke 9: 34-36 “While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” ³⁶ When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

Look how similar this is to what happened previously with Moses in Exodus 24:15-16 “When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.”

A cloud appeared. Have you been experiencing change? It could be the cloud.

And covered them. Even the people who you are with may look like they are no longer with you. Your vision has gone and solitude has set in. Have you failed? Should you give up? No, it is the cloud. You are in the cloud.

And a voice came from the cloud. And what is the agenda? What is the voice saying? It will always be about these 3 things:

The revelation of Jesus: This is my Son.

The recognition of His love: Whom I love.

You being a disciple of Him: Listen to Him!

Sukkoth

Luke 9 v 33 “As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)”

Peter wanted to prolong what God was wanting to conclude.

Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets, had been speaking to Jesus about his suffering and death and now they began to leave.

Peter races in:

This is good!

Let us keep going! Of course he wants continuity. He did miss the first half whilst he was asleep after all!

Let us house what we are experiencing!

Peter doesn’t know what he is saying. He hasn’t understood the whole experience.

But Peter did understand more than perhaps we do.

The Transfiguration took place many believe during Sukkoth, the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. This festival celebrates all that God did for His people during the wilderness years. During this week long ceremony the Jews live in temporary shelters or booths. Attached to the feast are 2 further ceremonies, the water and the illumination. The water ceremony celebrating God’s provision in the wilderness and the illumination ceremony focuses on His presence as a pillar of fire by night. Sukkoth celebrates what will be the last great prophetic event when the Messiah comes to earth and establishes His kingdom in God’s land. They are on the mountain with Sukkoth in their minds and then the 3 disciples see the greatest illumination show that they have ever seen!

So when Peter suggested building the 3 shelters he was declaring:

“I get it! THIS IS IT!”

The message came back which is still the same today, the kingdom is here but it is to come.

Peter wanted more on the mountain. God wanted more down the mountain.

Your life is off the mountain. That is where God is sending you.

Let thy kingdom come!

WAKE UP IT’S THE TRANSFIGURATION!

Luke 9: 28-32 “About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.”

As they would do in Gethsemane, they fell asleep. Jesus’ closest friends, who had been chosen to be with him for the raising of Jairus’ daughter only weeks ago are now with him on this mountain trip.

During the hours of prayer they fell asleep. They were tired from walking and what may have been an emotional rollercoaster of the eight days since Jesus announced he would die and that they would have a cross to carry also. That’s perhaps their excuse. We may be able to understand this ourselves and not be too critical. I am continually being asked by friends and colleagues if I am getting enough sleep. I am for sleeping. It is good. But there are Red Bull moments when sleeping is the last thing we should be doing.

At what point did they wake up? Luke suggests that they became fully awake once Jesus had transfigured into his heavenly appearance and after Moses and Elijah had arrived.

• These 3 apostles knew they were called by Jesus to accompany him in prayer, but they fall asleep.
• During the prayer of Jesus he is transfigured and the Son of Man in Daniel’s vision is now on that mountain. But they are asleep.
• The Glory of God is shining all around, the once-in-a-lifetime Revelatory divine experience is right there and they are asleep.
• The brightness of the moment, brighter than the midday sun and yet they are closed in the darkness of sleep.
• If it was not for the Grace of God they would have missed the Glory of God completely because of their sleep.
• They woke from their sleep, it took some time, they had to become fully awake, but they then saw and heard but didn’t properly understand. Their sleep had missed the move from the earthly to the divine in the place of prayer. The prayer of Jesus was the explanation but their sleep blinded them to it.

Along with many I too join in the concerns for the Church today. I think we need to grasp the important aspects of our connection to the world we live in; the desire for our own comfort; the attack on the faith of our ancestors; the diluting of the words of Jesus and the twisting of the truth to fit our lives.

Many are fearing that gender identity, expressive individualism and the stripping away of absolutes will weaken the Church to something we were never meant to be.

I too am in that group but I am realising something else this morning.

Maybe the greatest fear I have is that right now, the Great Intercessor is interceding, there are movements in the heavenly realms and the possibility for the Glory of God is right here and yet the Church is asleep. Maybe our sleep is seen in our focus on who we are, our identity, our need to be who I was created to be, my pleasures, what is important for me to be and have and to hold, the desire to be treated exactly the same as everyone else as for that is fair, right, true and just. Yet in our conferences, forums and working groups that take days, weeks, months and even years to come to decisions upon perhaps all we are doing is sleeping.

The Glory of Christ, who He is, far outweighs who we are. His brilliance shines brighter than our brilliance. His identity radically impacts our identity. Our hope is that in His Grace, He will wake us. In our waking we too will share in His transfiguration. The world needs to see the Body of Christ transfigured into the eternal, divine, powerful, majestic body. That we may stop talking about us and talk more about Him.

Wake us up, Lord!

The Transfigured Church

Luke 9: 27-29 ““Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.” About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.”

 

Some have said that when Jesus said some would not taste death he was referring to the end of the world. Others that he was referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70, or Pentecost. Luke along with Matthew and Mark place the transfiguration immediately after the first declaration by Jesus of his death and resurrection. Therefore, I think it is legitimate to think that ‘some’ (Peter, John and James) would not have to wait till they die to see everything, they would see the kingdom of God in this life and that is what Jesus was saying.

Peter would write about his experience later: “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” (2 Peter 1:16-18)

‘We were eyewitness of his majesty …’ they saw the kingdom of God on the face and body of Jesus. They were enveloped by the presence of God as the Law and the Prophets surrounded the Son of Man and they hear the perfect Word of God, the Torah of love. It was here on an ordinary mountain which became sacred that they experienced the Kingdom which would sustain them through the darkest of days as they laid their lives down for Christ. Within only a few years, James would be brutally killed by Herod for preaching the gospel. But he had seen the Kingdom.

Luke says about eight days, Matthew and Mark say it was the sixth day after the announcement of his death and resurrection. It depends on how you count. So count Monday to Monday and you either have eight days or six days depending on whether you count the first and last day. Similarly the time frame between the death and resurrection of Jesus is counted as three days.

So for around 1 week there isn’t anything recorded of what was happening between Jesus and the disciples. He had told them the hallmarks of discipleship and spoke of his Passion and then nothing. So … think on that for awhile. It is good to take time to do nothing new so that what you have heard, read or experienced can shape your life.

Then comes the transfiguration!

And the disciples have stepped into the vision of Daniel:

“Thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.  A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened… In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:9-14)

The disciples were not seeing some sneak preview into the future state of heaven, they were seeing the uncloaking of earth’s present. This Kingdom, this light, this glory, was who they had been following but it was now uncloaked, for a while, to give them the confidence to go forward unto death. Isaiah has come to pass, “Arise, shine, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1)

May the Church carry the Glory of the Lord and may this Glorious Light shine brightly to every person. May we remove our apathy. Let us be less concerned about programmes than His Presence. Let us stop talking the meaningless and the trivial. Let us talk the gospel, the glory, Jesus! May the world see a transfigured Church, may they see the Kingdom of God. May all the rules and regulations and all the prophetic desires be simply found in the Son of Man, in Jesus. As we lift up Jesus, as we declare Him then may the world hear a clear call to listen and to follow Him.

How will this ever happen?

“he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray” It is the connection between the earth and heaven. Prayer.

Let your kingdom come.