treasures and heaven’s king

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 6 20 Matthew 6:19-24.  Jesus did not oppose his disciples having personal possessions, but he did warn them not to lay up treasures on earth.  He wants to prevent his followers from being possessed by their possessions.  There are three very practical reasons why our master steers us away from the pursuit of personal wealth.

  1. All personal wealth is temporary.  If the moths and rust do not get to it, the thieves (or the government) will.  Treasures laid up in heaven are as permanent as God is  (19-21).
  2. Pursuit of personal wealth turns your light into darkness.  Your eye is the lamp of your life.  If it focuses on your stuff, then all that stuff will block the light.  If your light does not shine, then people who need the Father will not find him (22-23; cf. 5:14-16).
  3. Pursuit of personal wealth prevents you from serving God.  You may join a church, and call yourself a Christian, but your daily decisions are based on your loyalty to your real master.  the word translated money here is mammon, an old Semitic word that can be rendered “what you trust in.”   In the end, we serve what we trust in.  Jesus warns his disciples that trusting in a closet full of treasures is a stupid thing to do.

LORD, give us the wisdom to make wise decisions about money and personal possessions.  May they never rule over us.  May they never come between us and our devotion to you, or our witness.

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religion and heaven’s king

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 6 1 Matthew 6:1-18.  Jesus did not oppose practicing acts of religious piety, but he warned his disciples not to practice them to gain a present “reward” (1,2,4,5,6,16,18).  There will be rewards in the future, but disciples should focus their attention on representing heaven’s kingdom on earth by doing God’s will (10).  This will bring glory to the Father (5:16).

  1. Giving to the needy expresses the love that our Father has for them.  By doing it in secret, disciples of Christ reflect the praise back on God himself (who prompted it) and not themselves.  He gets the glory.  Rewards follow in the Father’s timing (1-4).
  2. Praying for daily needs expresses submission and dependence upon our Father.  By doing it in secret, disciples of Christ ensure that their audience is God alone, and that their words are not wasted.  By not heaping empty phrases they show sincerity.  By keeping their prayers focused on God’s will they avoid selfishness. By reflecting God’s grace through forgiving others they demonstrate that God is just in forgiving them (5-14).
  3. Fasting for special needs expresses a strong desire that God’s will prevails in times of crisis or critical decisions.  By doing so in secret disciples ensure that fasting remains about God and his will, not their own.

There are countless things that believers do that potentially draw attention to ourselves.  We are commanded to be salt and light (5:13-16) and there is no way we can obey that command and keep our devotion to Christ a secret.  But these three acts of religious piety are singled out.  These have the greatest chance of backfiring and becoming about us, instead of about him.

LORD, when others depend on us to meet their needs, help us to reflect the glory back to you.  When we seek your face for our needs, help us to do so with integrity.

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the scriptures and heaven’s king

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 5 48 Matthew 5:17-48.  Jesus taught his disciples to have a different attitude toward the Law and the Prophets (that is, the Old Testament scriptures)  (17).  He particularly warned them not to follow the path established by the scribes and Pharisees (20).  What was the sin of these religious experts that kept them from the promise of entering Christ’s coming kingdom?  They reduced the teachings of scripture to certain bite-sized chunks:

  1. “you shall not murder” (21),
  2. “you shall not commit adultery” (22),
  3. “whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce” (31),
  4. “you shall not swear falsely” (33),
  5. “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (38),
  6. “you shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy” (43).

They established these commands as the limits that the Law required, and so as long as someone did not go beyond those limits he was deemed safe.  Jesus taught his disciples that this view of the scriptures is backward.  Kingdom living is not a matter of establishing the limits to our sinfulness.  It is a life that is constantly going beyond the limits of what is expected.  It is…

  1. reconciling with anyone who you are angry with (21-26),
  2. tearing out your eye to prevent lust (27-30),
  3. staying faithful to your spouse (31-32),
  4. being true to your word so that an oath is not necessary (33-37),
  5. going the extra mile instead of retaliating evil (38-42),
  6. loving your enemies (43-47).

Kingdom living is being perfect because your heavenly Father is perfect (48).  He has promised you sonship by his grace.  

LORD, teach us to love like you love.  Teach us to live in your limitless perfection.

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promises from heaven’s king

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 5 3 Matthew 5:1-16.  Christ’s message and ministry brought light to a dark land.  He now challenges his disciples to live up to that message by being salt and light so that others may see their good works.  What is the payoff?  They will mourn, be persecuted, betrayed and falsely accused by their brothers.  Why would anyone want to take up such a challenge?  The only reward they can be assured of in the present  is that their works will bring glory to their Father in heaven (16). 

The ultimate rewards are all in the future.

  1. the kingdom from heaven (3,10),
  2. comfort (4),
  3. inheriting the planet (5),
  4. righteousness (6),
  5. mercy (7),
  6. seeing God (8),
  7. being called the sons of God (9),
  8. great reward (12).

Jesus’ sermon on the mount must not be read as if he is a Rabbi passing out commandments to kingdom wannabes.  He does not tell his disciples that they must do x, y, and z if they ever want to become kingdom citizens.  He starts with grace.  He tells them that they are salt and light already (13-14).  He challenges them to live up to who they are by God’s grace.  He promises them a future that will make up for all they have to suffer between the promises now, and the fulfillment then.

LORD, we accept who we are because of your grace. we accept citizenship in your kingdom.  We trust you to make us who we should be.  We trust you to keep your promises.  We hunger and thirst for your righteousness.

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light from heaven’s king

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 4 16 Matthew 4:12-25.  Jesus moved from his home town of Nazareth to the great city of Capernaum.  From there he launched his year-long great Galilean ministry.  The region had a reputation of spiritual darkness and physical danger.  It was the perfect location from which to proclaim the message because the need was so evident there.

  1. Jesus’ message was exactly the same as that of John the Baptist (3:2; 4:17).  Evidence of the need for repentance was all around them.  They were far away from the bastions of hypocrisy and political power.  Here there was only fear and need.  He would have an audience here (12-17).
  2. Jesus’ chosen disciples were not people of standing or influence.  They were fishermen.  The only strong point on their resumes was that they were learning how to do something.  This was the kind of student that Jesus wanted.  He wanted people willing to learn how to do what he was doing.  He could make them fishers of men (18-22).
  3. Once news got out that Jesus was preaching the same message that John did AND he was backing up that message with demonstrations of God’s healing power – they came.  People came from everywhere.  The darkness came to the light.  Jesus was preparing to go into some of those other regions, and to send disciples there with his message.  But first, he will send some locals who had been healed or delivered from demonic bondage to prepare the way (23-25).

LORD, bring the light of your gospel message to our land.  The need is great here.  Teach us, so that we might reach others.  Empower us so that people might be drawn to you.

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testing heaven’s king

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 4 7 Matthew 4:1-11.  Jesus responded rightly to each of the devil’s temptations in this narrative.  He used the word of God to combat the challenges the tempter brought to him.  Yet it is equally clear that there are fundamental flaws in the challenges themselves.  Sometimes our prayers sound more like Satan’s temptations.

 

  1. “Lord, I need something, and I am looking for your miraculous provision.  Give me this one thing and I will know that you are the Son of God”  (3-4).
  2. “Lord, I have placed myself in this dangerous position because I just know that you are going to miraculously rescue me. I claim your promises from Psalm 91!”  (5-7).
  3. “Lord, I have given up something for you, so I know you are going to give me what I want”  (8-10).

When our prayer lives amount to nothing more than testing the LORD to see how much he is willing to do for us, we have missed the point of coming to him.  Prayer is not about putting the Lord to the test.  It is learning to live on every word that comes from his mouth as if it were our daily bread.  It is taking our eyes off our own desires and needs, and worshipping and serving him alone.

LORD, teach us to pray in such a way that we do not imitate the tempter.  May we learn to come to you for your sake, not our own.

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preparing for heaven’s king

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 3 3 Matthew 3.  The life of John the Baptist was consumed with one task: preparing Israel for heaven’s king.

  1. His call for repentance was directed not toward the pagan masses, but toward a nation whose heart had forgotten that their God was holy, and they must conform to his holiness.  He is coming to be among them, and they are not ready (1-3).
  2. His life was not consumed with his own needs.  He ate what was available: locusts and wild honey.  He spent his personal time getting his people ready for their Lord (4-6).
  3. Many were deceived into thinking that the Lord’s coming could only mean peace and joy.  John knew that God was coming in wrath.  He condemned the Pharisees and Sadducees because their lives did not live up to their professions of godliness.  They were not ready (7-10).
  4. He knew that the power of the Holy Spirit could not reside in a people whose heart had not repented.  He preached of a Messiah who would judge and destroy his own people, clearing his own threshing floor, burning up the chaff.  The power of the Holy Spirit would only be for those who survived the judgment of unquenchable fire (11-12).
  5. After having met Jesus, John felt unworthy to baptize him. When he did, he saw the visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, and resting on the king.  He heard the Father’s voice, owning Jesus as his Son.  Ready or not, heaven’s king is here (13-17)!

LORD, may the passion to get our people ready for your presence consume us!

Posted in commitment, destruction in hell, discernment, ethnic Israel, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, preparation, second coming | Tagged | 2 Comments

the destiny of heaven’s king

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 2 15 Matthew 2:13-23.  Who you are right now is the result of a thousand decisions – some large and some small – and those decisions shaped your destiny.  The catalysts for those decisions are various.  In Jesus’ early life, his parents made many decisions that ultimately led to his being where he needed to be, and some of those decisions protected him from enemies, like Herod.  They listened to the wise men, to angels in dreams, and to their own common sense.  At some point in time they looked back on those decisions and discovered that their lives had been mapped by the scriptures.

  1. They fled to Egypt until the death of Herod the Great.  “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet (Hosea 11:1) ‘out of Egypt I called my Son.’”
  2. Herod, thinking that they were still in Bethlehem, had all the young boys in the town killed.  “Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah” – a prediction that the Rama region would experience a great loss of children.
  3. After Herod’s death, they decided to return, but resettled not in Judah, but in Galilee … “that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled  ‘he shall be called a Nazarene.’”

Nothing about Jesus’ life was mere chance or random circumstance.  He had a destiny, and his life was mapped out by the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit had revealed some of the salient points of that destiny in the writings of the prophets.  The scriptures reveal that this same Jesus is going to come again.  It is his destiny.

LORD, Your destiny is sure.  When you come again to fulfill the predictions in the scriptures, may we be ready to welcome you.

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the virgin birth of heaven’s king

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 1 23 Jesus’ birth was completely natural; there was nothing supernatural about it.  His conception was the miracle.  The human DNA that would have come from Joseph in a natural conception came from the Holy Spirit instead.  Matthew tells the story by emphasizing four names:

 

  1. Joseph knew that the child would not be his, so at first he was determined not to finalize the marriage.  An angel revealed to him by a dream that this even would not bring shame to his good name.  This was the work of God’s Holy Spirit.
  2. Mary’s good name was at stake as well.  The LORD did this not to shame her, but to give her the honor of bringing heaven’s king into the world.
  3. The child’s name would be Jesus, a variant of Joshua, meaning the LORD’s salvation.  He would deliver his people from their sins.  He can deliver us from our sins as well.
  4. His nickname will be Immanuel – from the Hebrew IM (with) ANU (us) and EL (God).  God himself visiting the planet he created in the form of heaven’s king, Jesus.  Isaiah (7:14) had predicted that the Messiah would be called by this name.  The deliverance he would offer would be much more than any earthly king could accomplish.

The glory of God’s only begotten was masked by the shame of rumors that his birth was illegitimate.  Jesus lived his entire earthly life under that veil of suspicion.  That was only a small part of the shame he endured so that you and I mught inherit his glory.

LORD, we cling to the old rugged cross, so despised by the world.  We accept gladly the shame associated with calling ourselves by your glorious name.  We know the truth.   You are Immanuel.  You are Jesus.

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the earthly family of heaven’s king

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 1 1Matthew 1:1-17.  The Gospel of Matthew is a great adventure story by which readers are confronted with the reality that they have been visited by an extra-terrestrial: heaven’s king, Jesus Christ.  Matthew first encountered the king when he was called to be his student, his disciple.  When the Holy Spirit tasked Matthew to write this great adventure story, he prompted him to begin with Jesus’ family line.  Some of the people mentioned in the genealogy suggest reasons for this:

 

  1. The list begins with Abraham.  His name reminds the reader that God has given us a long history of promises he intends to fulfill by his grace.
  2. Central to the list is David.  God made a covenant with David and assured him that his dynasty would be an eternal one.  How was God going to accomplish that when the king reigning in Jerusalem in Mary and Joseph’s time was an Edomite puppet to a pagan Roman emperor?  Stay tuned.  The story will show how God will do the impossible.
  3. This genealogy is the record of a nation as well as a family.  The Old Testament history that records the birth, progress, triumphs, and tragedies of that nation is seen in the names listed.  Heaven’s king will decide the destiny of that nation. He is their destiny.

LORD, thank you for coming into time and history.  You are heaven’s king, but you are also earth’s Savior.  You are one of us, and know our problems, but you are also God’s solution. Praise your name!

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