Missions Paul

Fire in the burning bush; fire in the wilderness guiding the Israelites to the Promised Land; Abraham and Moses both saw the fire. One of the symbols of Christianity is fire. If the Bible regards fire as the supreme need of the Church and the final gift of God. If the prophets of old associated fire with the Messiah. If our God is a consuming fire. If the gift of the Holy Spirit is a baptism by fire. If Christianity is a religion of fire. If we are saved by fire. If fire is so important then we definitely need it.

“for our “God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12 v 29)

We must remember that the fire of God is coupled with the altars of man. He consumes altars with fire.

 Elijah built an altar, “Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.” 1 Kings 18:38-39

Solomon built an altar, “When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. ² The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. ³ When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground,” 2 Chronicles 7:1-3

The fire came because there was an altar.

The final altar was the cross of the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. As He ascended to heaven he sent the fire from heaven.

At Pentecost we have to see beyond the phenomena, the noise, the violent wind, the tongues of fire, speaking in tongues, drunken-like behaviour. If we do then we will then see men and women whose lives were saturated with the Spirit of God. The passion of God possessed them with an intensity of a fire. They burned and they shone for Jesus. A holy passion for righteousness, a consuming enthusiasm for the salvation of the lost. They were sold out for Jesus.
The fire of God is unique.
The fire of God is not sent for a few emotional experiences. The fire of God brings power. Power to go and power to be.

Today give your heart to Jesus, prepare an altar and invite Him to come to you and He will. God consumes altars.

So we know because of what the author has just written that we will not be shaken. But that doesn’t mean we parade with arrogance nor that we just take this position as granted or like we deserve it.

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our “God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12 v 28-29)

Therefore we are thankful. Therefore we worship with deep reverence to Him.

An old man is on the pier feeding the seagulls, they land all around him, on his shoulders, his hat, feeding off what he had in his bag. Why is this man doing this? Why does he come here every week?
The man is Eddie Rickenbacher, a famous pilot in World War 2. His plane the “Flying Fortress” was shot down in 1942 and no one thought he would be rescued. He and eight passengers survived in 2 rafts for 30 days. They fought thirst, the sun and sharks some of which were 9 feet long. But what nearly killed them was starvation, within 8 days they had no more food left.
But in these rafts they would have a daily devotion to God. One day after a devotion Rickenbacher leaned back with his hat over his eyes to get some sleep. Within a few moments he felt something land on his hat. He knew in an instant it was a seagull. They were hundreds of miles from land, where had it come from? In an instant he grabbed the seagull. They all ate the bird and the intestines they used as fish bait. Rickenbacher never forgot that sacrifice. Every week he went to the pier to feed the seagulls, to say thank you.

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was ‘thank you’, that would be sufficient and that would summarise your position.

The Jew spends every day focused on thankfulness. In fact because of a legend regarding a plague that took the lives of 100 people in one day during King David’s reign the rabbi’s came to understand the spiritual reasoning for the plague and thus instituted the need to say 100 blessings of thankfulness to God.

Here is a Jewish prayer: “Even if our mouths were filled with songs like the sea, our tongues with joy like its mighty waves, our lips with praise like the breadth of the sky, if our eyes shone like the sun and the moon, and our hands were spread out like the eagles of heaven, if our feet were as swift as the hind, we should still be incapable of thanking You adequately for one thousandth part of all the love You have shown us.”

He has given all you need to be unshakeable. He gives you His presence. He bridges the distance between Himself and you. He has come to you and the reason why you will not be shaken is because His Spirit is with you. He gives you His power. He untangles your mess; He restores and revives you to go again; He cleans your life and chooses you every day to follow Him and the reason why you will not be shaken is not because you are better than anyone else but it is because of His power within your life.

We are thankfully not shaken and we will be so.

For in the hour of our darkest day
We will not tremble, we won’t be afraid
Hope is rising like the light of dawn
Our God is for us, He has overcome

For we trust in our God
And through His unfailing love
We will not be shaken

I wonder what worshippers are thinking when they sing this song. I would imagine it is about the challenges they are facing today. It may not be what our author/pastor is thinking in these verses as he writes to the community of Christians to do all he can to stop them turning back to Judaism.

Yesterday I was listening to the promotion of a new Radio 4 play soon to be released, centred around an attack on the financial structure of our nation, no one was able to get hold of any cash! The bank system collapsed. Well, I am not sure if the play is any good but I thought it not strange at all that certain plays were being written for such instability is all around us. The world is shaking. Nations are rising against nations. Fear dominates. The impact of the pandemic still resonates. Natural disasters are happening every week.

^“At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.” (Hebrews 12 v 26-27)

It seems the author is thinking of the prophecy of Haggai in 2:6-7, “In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

Haggai is thinking back to the same period of time that the author is speaking of, Mount Sinai. But he is also looking ahead.

Change is coming so Haggai believes and it did. Jesus came. But Haggai had an end-time shaking in mind along with the Hebrews Pastor/author. This will be a wholesale shaking of the world as we know it. God is once more going to shake His world. The ending of all that we know and the beginning of the new for it will be the return of Christ. Has it started?

When He comes everything that Christ has held together will be released. Christ sustains everything and when He comes He will stop sustaining. He will take His hand off this world and what we know will change.

But what we and the community of believers are told is that because we belong to Christ we will not be shaken. We shall remain.

For we trust in our God
And through His unfailing love
We will not be shaken
We will not be shaken
We will not be shaken

It doesn’t matter who you have become or what you have done. You can start all over. This is the gospel. This is the only gospel. There is not alternative to match this gospel. It must not be refused.

“See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? ²⁶ At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.” (Hebrews 12 v 25-27)

Contrasting what happened on Mount Sinai (the Law was given that couldn’t be kept) and Mount Zion (the cross of grace that Christ completed for us) the author tells the community that they must not refuse this gospel. Why? Read the verses again and here are 3 reasons:-

• It is God who is speaking this gospel. This is not just a treaty of words but the truth of what He has done for the whole world. The gospel also carries a warning. Everyone knows John 3:16 but v18 is as important, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” If we are warned on a daily basis that another firm are recalling a certain product so do not eat and do not use then how much more if God is warning us?
• The consequences of refusing the voice of the gospel from Mount Zion will be greater than that of the voice of the Law from Mount Sinai. Their ancestors refused to go into the land God had promised and suffered the consequences. They wandered into the desert and never came out of it. They died there because they refused to enter. Those who refuse this gospel will face a greater consequence. Eternal punishment is real. Someone told me the other day they didn’t believe in it as if the New Testament is all pleasure and the Old Testament is all punishment. Talk to Ananias and Sapphira about that! If you refuse the Mount of Grace then there is only the Mount of Law left.
• The only way to survive the judgment is to hold on to the gospel. Only Joshua and Caleb survived the desert, they were the unshakeable ones. Those who hold to the gospel will survive the shaking. God will once more shake the earth but this time also heaven. Mount Zion shook Mount Sinai and everything that it represented: the Law and the sacrifices. Gospel-carriers will remain standing and will not be condemned but will be commended for their life.

This is why the Gospel of Jesus Christ must not be refused.

Having reminded the community of what they have not signed up for (Mount Sinai) which was an experience that separated them from God, being so afraid of His voice and unable to approach His presence.

Now in what is in the original one long sentence the Pastor/author tells the community of believers that they have such a lot to walk away from. Judaism has nothing compared to Christianity. Holding on to the faith and not going letting go is hugely important.

“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³ to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12 v22-24)

Mount Zion – Yes we also have a mountain! It is not Sinai but it is Zion. We don’t have a place where God came down with the Law but we have a place where God came down with Grace.

The city of the living God – We have a city which the ancestors didn’t. They had the mountain but no city. Theirs was the wilderness. We have the living God who we draw near to not away from. He is living in us!

The heavenly Jerusalem – They wandered looking forward to a heavenly city of which their ancestors and the prophets after them longed for. Through Christ we understand that we are already citizens of this heavenly city.

Thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly – We know there are not just a few angels (beings used by God in previous Old Testament stories) but rather myriads of angels gathered around the throne and at work on this earth.

The church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven – this is not a denomination or a non-denominational church, but the church being the community of Christ followers throughout the world who are the chosen of God, the inheritance of God and loved by Him whose names are in heaven’s book of life.

God the judge of all – but more than what they think for He is the God who has satisfied His judgment because of Christ on the cross.

To the spirits of the righteous made perfect – Not in the sense that we are without sin but we are justified and our eternity secured.

To Jesus the mediator of a new covenant – there is only one way and that is Jesus and that is the way we are following.

To the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel – Not all blood that has been shed is righteous blood, Abel’s wasn’t. We are people of the blood, Jesus’ blood!

Now that’s a lot to walk away from!

Your experience as a Christ follower is spiritual. The author is now contrasting the 2 mountains, that of Sinai and Zion. The first was physical and the second spiritual. The first was where the law was given in order to move the people into holiness. It failed. The second was a complete transformation of the heart. It has succeeded.

We all need to be reminded of the relationship with God that we have been called into.

“You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; ¹⁹ to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, ²⁰ because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” ²¹ The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”(Hebrews 12 v 18-21)

This relationship is not untouchable. God’s presence had come upon Mount Zion and Moses was called up that mountain as the representative of the people. But they themselves were commanded not to touch it. The presence of God was too holy for them to set their feet on it or touch it. “Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death.” Exodus 19:12. Their sin separated them from their Holy God.

This relationship is not unlistenable. In what sounds like an explosive volcano taking place the people wanted it to stop. ““Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Exodus 20:19. Their sin meant they wanted a mediator they couldn’t bear the holy Word of God.

This relationship is not unapproachable. On the giving of the 10 commandments, “When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance… Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.” Exodus 20:18-21. Their sin caused them to back off from God.

So of course the reverse is true. We will see that tomorrow.

But today be thankful for Jesus. For through Him you are not separated; you can hear God speak to you and you do draw near with full assurance.

This is the truth of your relationship with God.

One of my colleagues is running the London Marathon today with his daughter. He has told me of how in the training runs he has had to run much more slower in order to help his daughter keep pace and complete the training. He will do the same today. They will cross the line together.

We need to take care of our own souls but that of others too. Church is not a place to only worship but it is a community that learn to care for one another in this race.

The author is concerned that these Christians may either drift from their commitment to Christ or abandon their faith altogether. Here are some examples of what has already been said: 2:1-4 “We must pay more careful attention …”    4:12-13 “Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”    6:4-8 ” It is impossible … if they fall away … they are crucifying the Son of God all over again”    10:26-31 “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”  

For far less reasons people have abandoned their church communities and walked also from God. If their prayers are not answered the way they wanted they have given up. But this persecution was real and painful and there was more to come. It begged the question, was becoming a Christian a mistake? Had they done the right thing? If they hadn’t made their commitment to Christ then they would not be facing this suffering.

“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. ¹⁶ See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. ¹⁷ Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.” (Hebrews 12 v 15-17)

There is no indication in the story of Esau that he was sexually immoral, so perhaps (as with the prophets) the author/pastor is pointing to the idolatry of Esau. He disregarded the benefits that were his for a temporary relief to his hunger, a bowl of stew.

I know a man who God called to plant churches. Today he won’t attend any church. He preferred a bowl of stew.

Let’s pay attention to ourselves and each other.

Here are some things to look out for:

1. Grace not performance. Our best holiness will still need to be surrendered to His pure grace. Watch out for those who seem to be going through the motions.
2. Godliness not bitterness. Is there a long-standing resentment, a hardening of the heart which refuses to be reconciled? It is to nurse the anger and to take care of it, thinking over and over on the offending conversation and the injury that it caused you.
3. Guidance not impulsiveness. Are people asking for advice? Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew; Aaron created a golden calf for worship to please people; Samson found Delilah and lost his eyesight; Eli kept silent with his sinful sons and lost God’s presence; Moses struck the rock twice and missed the Promised Land. None of these people needed to have ended how they did. If only they had considered before they acted.

With stark warning the community are told that just like Esau who came to his senses and with tears wanted to turn the clock back he couldn’t. He reached the point of no return. If these Christians returned to Judaism it would be the same. They would forfeit the blessings God had for them.

It is the Esau warning not to let go and not to let others do so also.

The horizontal and the vertical.

You can’t have one without the other.

And it does take effort.

I understand all too well there are some people that the bridge has been burnt and they simply will not respond to reconciliation. However there cannot be consecration without at least the pursuit of reconciliation.

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12 v 14)

Remember when Paul decided he would take the Nazirite vow for a period of 30 days in which one of the things he had to do was not to cut his hair during that time (Numbers 6:1-21). This vow was for those who wanted to give time to draw closer to God, for the separation of their life from the pressures of the world and to give oneself wholly to the Lord. After 30 days their hair would be cut and presented at the temple as an offering in the fire.
The Apostle Paul had decided to take this vow.

1. Paul chose to stay in Corinth and especially living in such a wicked city it warranted the need for commitment to God.

Sometimes to remain in a situation you have to re-consecrate yourself to God to give you the strength to stay. Consecration means you are securing your position in perhaps a very insecure surrounding. That position is to God and your relationship with Him in the place He has brought you.

2. Paul made some strategic decisions and that happened during his time of consecration to God. He would leave Silas and Timothy behind to train leaders and the church whilst he would take Priscilla and Acquilla and go to Syria.

Sometimes you have to know when to leave and who to leave behind. Not everyone can come with you but everyone needs to feel they are fulfilled in the purposes of God. If you leave then make sure those who are left are fulfilling their calling.

Sometimes you have to appoint new people to be your accompanying partners. This can be difficult if you are used to having certain friends who have walked your path for many years with you.

Consecration leads to stripping back all the distractions so that God can show us the right decisions to make.

3. Paul sailed from Cenchrea, an important harbour at the time, the place where a church had been planted and where one of the deaconesses, Phoebe, would deliver a letter to the Roman Church (Romans 16:1). It was here that Paul decided to end his vow at the place where he would literally distance himself from others and continue in His destiny.

Sometimes you need to get to the place where it is going to happen. Every chapter needs a new page. Many long for their destiny but don’t make the effort needed to get to the place where they will see what they long to see.

Paul had his hair cut. The vow of commitment had been made. His hair was just a sign of what had happened within. He cut his hair but his heart remained consecrated to God. The period of consecration comes to an end and we move forward. The landscape may remain but we are seeing things differently. Our destiny is clearer now we are consecrated to God.

Consecration to Christ is certain and for the purpose of commitment, strategy and destiny.

The horizontal and the vertical.

You can’t have one without the other.

And it does take effort.

I understand all too well there are some people that the bridge has been burnt and they simply will not respond to reconciliation.

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12 v 14)

Was it because the church was seeing people leave and return to Judaism that brought the divisions? For all kinds of reasons and for very weak ones church people find themselves falling out

I see a lot of wooden sticks being carried around these days to hit out at people but not many are formed into wooden crosses to be carried.

• The longer you stay in anger the longer time has to ruin that relationship beyond repair.
• The longer you stay in anger you say to God I don’t trust you to get the justice I deserve (so we hold out for another day after a restless night’s sleep) compared perhaps to the culprit who may not even know you are angry with them who simply trusts God who looks after the whole universe as well as their life whilst they get a restful night’s sleep.
• The longer you stay in anger the longer you look less like God who poured out his righteous anger onto Himself on the cross.
• The longer you stay in anger the less happy you are.
• The longer you stay in anger your life remains paused for longer and the less effective and productive you become for God.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-53375607 on the BBC website:

“Five people have been killed after attackers stormed a South African church, reportedly amid an argument over its leadership. South African police said they had rescued men, women and children from a “hostage situation” on the outskirts of Johannesburg on Saturday morning. They have also arrested at least 40 people, and seized dozens of weapons. The church’s leadership has reportedly been the subject of infighting since its former leader died in 2016. Police had previously been called to the church following a shoot-out between members in 2018.”

Now if that was not shocking enough, here comes the name of the church! The International Pentecostal Holiness Church!!

Anger that leads to sin opens the door for the devil to exploit and make things so much worse. It gives the devil the legal right to be there.

You see there can be no consecration before reconciliation or the pursuing of it.

While visiting in Haiti, Dale A. Hayes heard a Haitian minister illustrate to his congregation the need for total commitment to Christ.

The minister told of a man who wanted to sell his house for $2,000. Another man badly wanted the house but couldn’t afford the full price.

After much haggling, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the asking price with just one stipulation: he would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door.

After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So, the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned.

Soon the house became uninhabitable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.

The Haitian minister’s conclusion: “If we leave the devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ’s habitation.”

Do we need to call someone today? Do we need to have that coffee and talk it through, to pursue peace, strive to reconcile so that then you can enter into consecration. Perhaps reconciliation is actually consecration.

A woman rushed up to famed violinist Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) after a concert and cried: “I’d give my life to play as beautifully as you do.” Kreisler replied, “I did.”

If you plant a Chinese bamboo seed, it will sit in the ground for five years and appear to not be making any changes. Then, over a six-week period, it will grow 90 feet.

There is a giant Himalayan lily which spends most of its life looking like nothing at all but then after 5-7 years it grows to 9-10 feet tall and produces the most amazing delicately shaped flowers.

However, when it comes to human achievement and maybe even our own process of maturing, we are the most impatient. Discouragement is never far away.

Writing to a community of believers who have seen people return to Judaism the instruction is to keep going.

“Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed” (Hebrews 12 v 12-13).

You cannot afford to be knocked off course which is the understanding of becoming disabled. Being healed is to walk in wholeness of purpose.

Don’t be discouraged. Shake it off. Walk this journey well. Many have become side-tracked, wandering and drifting and they actually accomplish very little. But that doesn’t need to be you. No matter where you have landed in life, you may have lost it all, you can dust yourself down, make some good decisions, fix your eyes again and looking straight ahead move forward.