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"Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

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Deliverance, Again. Luke 24:13-16.

April 11, 2020 /
“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.”

“We are marching towards this new thing God is about to reveal; we are marching towards the New Jerusalem.”

Gethsemane felt like a distant memory, His precious Blood long dried now; browned—at least what was left of it that is. His Cross, bare. His tomb, empty. Everything that had once filled them with such hope, painted bright with the broad brushstrokes of possibility, those areas of their lives that had been infused with faith and joy and a future in Him—because He had said it was so— as dried up and brown now as His spilled Blood. But how? How could this have happened? Why? Why didn’t He save Himself? Save us all? Why didn’t we see this coming? Distractions are designed to force you to make adjustments to your area of focus. –Pastor Mike Padgett.

They had been expecting Him—their Messiah, to come and fight. To raise up an army. To deliver them from the death-like grip of Roman oppression as David, the mighty warrior King would have…

There’s a real danger in looking backward when something new is standing right in front of you. Not only will looking back blind you from being able to recognize the new thing standing before you—but looking backward also robs the hope new-ness offers. And so it was with these two men. Heads bent, heavy from grief and disbelief. They were certain they had just lost forever the One person that meant everything to them. Grief has a way of blinding us to those who are walking right beside us.

Jesus had been with them for some three years. He had foretold of His death and resurrection on numerous instances while He was with them. “…He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” –Mark 8:31; Luke 13:33; Matthew 16:21. He’d also told them that He had come to do the will of His Father. “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”—John 6:38. Not once did He ever mention fulfilling their will—nor His own. That day on the Emmaus road they hadn’t yet grasped that this Jesus, their Messiah—ours too, was their Paschal Lamb. Would quite literally throw Himself in front of the enemy of their souls—ours too—in a way no David, no mere man ever could. They had no clue the power in this Lamb’s Blood! They didn’t understand its reach extended far beyond the doorposts and lintels of their ancestors…

Christ was right there with these two. This same Christ whom they had walked with and ate with. Had slept beside and had their hearts and minds and bellies filled by His teachings was walking side-by-side with them now. And, yet, they weren’t able to recognize them. The Scriptures tell us they were kept from recognizing Him. It wasn’t until Jesus broke the bread and blessed it that their eyes were finally opened. For whatever reason, the Bible doesn’t elaborate, it wasn’t until they saw this familiar action being performed that their eyes were finally opened, recognizing Him. “When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.” –Luke 24:30-31.

That got me to wondering: So how much of Jesus, His nearness and wisdom, His desiring for us to see beyond our natural seeing do we miss in our everyday walk with Him because we’re not able to recognize Him in anything other than what’s familiar to us? This newly resurrected Christ had been keeping stride with Cleopas and this other disciple all the while—and nothing. Not a clue. Not only did they not recognize Him by sight, but His voice was obviously foreign to them as well.

Are we being offered some glimpse into our resurrected appearances within this verse? I digress…

In allowing Christ Jesus to be sacrificed, God had just done this new thing. Actually, He had just fulfilled an old agreement. No more sprinkling the people with the blood of slaughtered animals. “Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” –Exodus 24:8. From now on, there’d be no further need for walking between slaughtered animals. His covenant with Abraham confirmed and undergirded through Moses, (Exodus, chapters 19-34) fulfilled now in His Paschal Lamb, Christ Jesus. “So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram… –Genesis 15: 9-10;17-18.

Notice that it was only God who walked between these bloody carcasses. He was that “smoking firepot with a blazing torch.” Abram was in a deep sleep. The covenant made with Abraham and Moses has always been God’s alone to fulfill. From the very second He stood over the dark void, until the very second the feet of Jesus touch this earth for a second time, only God is, has been, or will ever be, worthy to uphold His covenant. He is the only One without sin. Only God has ever been capable of fulfilling the promises He’s made to any man. Man, on the other hand, has broken every promise we’ve ever made to God. We’ve never once managed to hold up our end of the covenant…

And as it was with those who have gone before us, those who swore to keep God’s commands, to follow His ordinances, His ways, so too is it with every one of us today. Sinners all, in need of salvation. In need of the Blood. In need of what had been offered to us way back in the garden—a relationship with God.  This broken relationship restored now, made possible once again through Jesus, our Paschal Lamb. In God’s offering of His only Son, never again would the blood of an animal be required to atone for the sins of a people—any people, us. No more animal blood need be painted on doorposts and their lintels. “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. –Exodus 12:13-14. What had been required by God’s law; a foreshadowing—has become a memorial now, a homage, an altar of remembrance, our unfathomable privilege…

“Why is tonight different from all other nights?” Because God had just sacrificed the only Lamb, the only sacrifice, that is wholly acceptable in His sight; His pure, sinless, spotless Son. The Lamb of God Himself. Because He chose to cover us, as He did Adam and Eve and Abram and Moses and Joshua and all of His children before us—as well as those yet come. This same God who had covered Adam and Eve with bloody animal skins in the garden—a foreshadowing, knew death was coming for every first-born in Egypt, a judgment, yet another foreshadowing, flung Himself in front of death and, in offering His own Blood said, “Not this one!” God, with Jesus in mind, protected His people eternally with the shed blood of a lamb or a kid so that He might deliver them—leading them out from under the grip of the one who sought to oppress them, destroy them. Leading them instead, back into right relationship with Himself…

Sound familiar? It should.

God is still delivering us out from under the death-like grip of that same one whose sole mission in this life is to steal from us, destroy us, and finally, to kill us. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10. This part of the story has never changed. It started in the garden with the words, “Did God really say”, and it will continue until the day Jesus returns and puts an end to him.

Friend, many things in this life will not change until Christ returns. That’s just a fact. If you’re waiting to get it right or for things to be right before you come to know Christ, you, my dear friend, will miss out on all that He has for you both now, and in the world to come. More, you will have been as blind as those friends of Jesus who failed to see what was right in front of them. That same Christ that was with them is walking right beside you now. He’s just waiting for you to ask Him into your life. And I promise you, that if you do, honestly ask Him I mean, then He will open your eyes to all that God has for you, has yet to come in this world, just as He did for those two.

And to you my brothers and sisters, if you’ve become stagnant in your walk with the Lord, I pray you will begin to stir up your faith, your gift—repent, earnestly seek His face and will and direction for your life. The price Christ paid that you might be restored— have a relationship with God at all, was far too dear for you or me—for any of us to let grow cold or stale…

Again and again, God has delivered those He calls to Himself. Delivered them from every kind of sin, sickness, and dis-ease. “It is finished.” So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. –John 19:30. We don’t serve a one time—one chance God. Thankfully, we serve a God whose mercy is new each morning. An Intercessor who sits at the right hand of the Father, praying for us day and night. A God who is ever offering us the opportunity of a new life in Himself…

Friend, if you don’t know this Jesus personally, in this holy season of hope and renewal, won’t you ask Him to break bread before you that your eyes may be opened too? He did it for them, if you truly desire it, He’ll surely do it for you …

Whether you know it, or not. Recognize it, or not. We are marching towards this “new thing” God is about to reveal; we are marching towards the New Jerusalem…”  

My highest prayer for you today is that you’ll march with us. If you have yet to ask this Jesus to come and break bread with you, make Himself real and recognizable to you, then please, don’t let this moment pass. “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” –Revelation 21:5.

Never Alone. Psalm 23:4

April 4, 2020 /
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

Have you ever found yourself feeling so alone? The heaviness of a loneliness that declares itself your only companion is a weight we were never meant to carry. King David seems to have understood this side of our humanity. Throughout the Psalms, we get a glimpse into some of his deepest, most emotional experiences, as we are taken on a journey through this one man’s life… 

Just chapters before this faith-filled passage, in Psalm 13, we find King David crying out to God because he felt incredibly abandoned. But what caused him to come out of his crisis still trusting in God, the Good Shepherd? How could someone in such distress turn their weeping into a song of praise? King David seems to have responded to emotional turmoil with faith and praise. 

Responding to despair with faith can only stem from a deep-rooted relationship with God. There must be an understanding that God is constant. He never changes. He is good, regardless of life’s circumstances, and He is with us in all circumstances. There is a reason why we are reminded, several times, throughout the scriptures, that God will never leave us nor forsake us. He will never abandon us. (Deut. 31:8; Josh. 1:9; Isa. 41:10; Matt. 28:20, to name but a few). It has been said that it is not God who leaves us, rather, it is we who tend to walk away from God. As we spend time with the Lord daily, we develop an awareness of His presence in our lives. Reminding ourselves of who God is, is essential to remaining steadfast on Him, as the Solid Rock. When we remind ourselves of who He is in the midst of the trial, we put to death our flesh that would rather complain and wallow in self-pity. As we remember who the Father is, it becomes more natural for us to respond to the valleys with prayer rather than doubt. This lifestyle of prayer inherently causes us to remember that we are not merely talking to the air but to an extremely near God who cares for us more than we’ll ever know. 

Psalm 23 is an excellent example of what it means to edify our souls… 

In this passage, it seems as though King David was not in the midst of a trial; he was simply reflecting on the goodness and faithfulness of God. For believers today, this means that it is important to make a habit of praising God in the good times so that in the ‘not-so-good times’ we can remember who He is and what He has done for us. If our attention is never brought to His faithfulness, we will be shaken in those moments when we need to remember it most. Praise is like a muscle; the more we exercise it, the stronger it becomes. As we spend time in praise daily, we’ll learn to exercise our praise muscle so that, when we don’t feel like praising, praise will, nevertheless, become our natural response to whatever we’re feeling. Praise will have become part of our muscle memory. 

There are 5 principles that we can take away from this passage in which David acknowledged the hand of God on his life: v. 1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures…” Jesus provides rest for our souls. In the peaceful seasons, acknowledging the rest that we have in our communion with Him helps us to live in awareness of His goodness. 

v. 2-3 “… he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” I love the peace oozing out of this passage. Our God is a God of restoration. As we walk with Him and trust Him, He brings us to a place of complete peace that surpasses all understanding. In this process, we grow in trust and confidence in Him that we can’t explain. It is an understanding that He is in control. 

v.4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” It’s easy to see God’s hand in hindsight when we’re standing on the victorious side of a trial. There are times when we know we couldn’t make it through a certain situation on our own. May we never forget His kindness in those moments! He is our strength and protection. Draw your strength from the One in whom the wind and waves obey. The God who created the entire universe is not just with us because he has to be, but because he desires to be! He is near. The valley does not always look the same in every season. Sometimes, it can present itself as a trial in your emotions or it can be a conflict in relationships. Whatever it is, you are not alone. He is with you. It is a promise! 

v. 5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” In the middle of the trial, whatever that may be, God is our provision. He wants to bless us. According to Webster’s dictionary, the word blessing means; “imploring happiness on another.” God does not want us to be miserable. He wants to bless us beyond measure. Often when we hear blessing it’s easy to think of material things, but by definition, a blessing is a prayer of happiness. What will bring happiness in this season? Is it something physical, or is it peace, joy, or favor? God knows our needs even better than we do! When we abide in His presence and yield our lives to Him, He will bless us far more than we could have ever imagined! 

v. 6 “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” God’s favor is afforded to us when we rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This verse highlights some of the trade-offs for submitting our lives to the Lord. Like King David, we must be confident that the goodness and love of God will be our portion. His favor follows us wherever we go. As children of God, we are never alone. He is with us always. He knew that in this life we would have our fair share of highs and lows, but He promised we wouldn’t have to walk it alone. 

Rest, restoration, strength and protection, provision and blessing, and favor are all available to us as we allow Him to walk with us. Is He enough for you today? If not, I’d 

challenge you to dig deep and ask yourself why not? When we get to a place where He is enough for us, we begin to journey through life with unwavering confidence that He is who He says he is, and we are who He says we are. I pray that you will begin to exercise your praise muscle so that you will respond to the dark valleys in praise, knowing that He is right there with you. As you draw near to God He will draw near to you. Then, now fortified, you’ll lift your eyes and be able to say with confidence, “God is good, even when life is not.” If you are reading this and feel that this is not for you because you don’t “follow Jesus” I want you to know that the opportunity to follow Him is available to you today. God so loved THE WORLD (me and you), that He gave His Son (John 3:16). He came for you before you even knew of Him. If you want to walk with this Jesus who will never leave or abandon you, the Bible says to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Call on His name, for He is near.

Welcome, Kendra Santilli!

March 28, 2020 /

As the Overseer of Sonsofthesea, I have the great honor of introducing to you our newest staff member, Mrs. Kendra Santilli.  An anointed woman of God and gifted worship leader. Kendra uses her fresh, dynamic voice, whether in song or through the written word, to usher us into the presence of our God. Be on the lookout for her first post, “Never Alone”, coming April 4, 2020. You won’t want to miss it! Her fire, devotion, and passion all easily evident in her pure, yet powerful voice. God has chosen Kendra, in this season of her walk with Him, to co-labor with me in this ministry. And we here at Sonsofthesea and our partner, Highland City Church, are ever grateful to Him for her voice! We pray you are blessed by what the Lord will share with you, through her ministry. I trust you’ll join us in welcoming Kendra as God’s latest, ‘Fisher of Men!’ I know you will be both blessed and well-fed as she shares with you all that the Lord has placed on her heart, for such a time as this. And now, in her own words, Kendra…

My name is Kendra and I was born and raised in Southeastern Massachusetts. I was raised in a Christian home, which gave me the foundation to grow into a confident child of God. I have been a part of  worship teams for many years. Recently, I have become the worship director at my local church and have the honor of leading worship regularly there. God called me into nursing when I was 19 years old and said I would be a missionary nurse. Although I am still discovering the depths of that calling, I have learned that the nursing profession is, in itself, a mission field. I believe as a Christian I can bring hope into any situation I come into. Writing is a new adventure for me, and I pray that you will be blessed as I share what the Lord shows me.

Inheritance. Ephesians 1:14.

March 28, 2020 /
“The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him

How blessed we are, children of the Living God, to have our inheritance sealed firmly, eternally, in the All-powerful hands and Body and Blood of Jesus! “For him who did not know sin, in our behalf He did make sin, that we may become the righteousness of God in him” –2Corinthians 5:21. We who don’t have to wait as the world so often does, for a kinsman to die before what has been bequeathed to us, becomes ours. How blessed we are that this is not God’s economy! As His beloved children, He has, from the very foundation of the world, made it so that our whole inheritance be made available to us the instant we are sealed in Him. He has afforded us, through the finished work of His Son, our Lord, complete access to all that He owns. “Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence” –Ephesians 3:12.

I’m not talking here about some cheap “name it and claim it” unlimited line of credit for all those ‘things’ we feel we need. I’m referring instead to something far greater and higher, more holy and precious. I’m speaking of having unfettered access to the very Throne of God! oF being able to walk boldly, day or night, into the very presence of the One who not only created us but every star and wave, every blade of grass and snowflake, every bird and the worm it eats. All that we will ever need in this lifetime foreknown by God, knitted into us as we were, or currently are, being knit together in our mother’s womb; chosen in Him before the creation of this world. As surely as our limbs and eyes and lips and fingernails were formed, so too were the promises of the Living God knit into us as well; manifesting themselves in that exact moment when, in 6 or 10 or 20 or 50 some aught years after our natural entrance into this world, the Holy Spirit would come and breath on us, bringing about yet another birth; our second birth.

This new birth instantly transforming us, making us a new creation, spiritually speaking that is. Snatching us out of the deadly grip of the powers of sin and darkness found in this world, and tucking us safely away in the Kingdom of Light, to be with Him always. “Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” –John 3:3-8.

Our rebirth now complete, our transformation eternally sealed, secure. We are changed, made new, in what can only be described as “the blink of an eye”. Mortal to immortal, filthy sinner into a dazzling white saint. Image-bearers of the Righteousness of Christ; our clothes now matching His, reflecting Jesus’s likeness back to God each time He looks upon us; we now clothed completely in His brilliant, pure, and perfect Righteousness. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!” –2 Corinthians 5:17.

Every-thing we could ever want or need is found in Christ Jesus. Sealed eternally in that same Ruach breath of the One who stood over the dark void and called forth the whole world out of nothing-ness. Him who said, “Let there be.” And there was…

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” 1 Peter 1:3-5.

No document any man might draft has ever, nor will ever, be more binding or everlasting than God’s Word. Could ever come close to bestowing upon any living soul the unfathomable, uncountable, unplumbed riches stored up for us by our Father God; regardless, his name or title, contrary to how wealthy or prominent or powerful he may be. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ…” –Ephesians 1:7-9.

Why then, would any man choose instead, to live off of the crumbs that might fall from another’s plate when he can have guaranteed, unfettered access both now and forever, to the bountiful inheritance God has prepared in advance for all of His children? Why would we ever be satisfied with, strive after, mere earthy possessions, no matter how great their value, when we can have “the Pearl of great price” and with Him, everything else that God has prepared for us, in this life and in the life to come. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it…” –Matthew 13:45-46.

Our thanks are due to God for all temporal blessings; they are more than we deserve. But our thanks ought to go to God in thunders of hallelujahs for spiritual blessings. A new heart is better than a new coat. To feed on Christ is better than having the best of earthly food. To be an heir of God is better than being the heir of the greatest nobleman. To have God for our portion is blessed, infinitely more blessed than to own broad acres of land. God hath blessed us with spiritual blessings. These are the rarest, the richest, the most enduring of all blessings; they are priceless in value. –Charles Spurgeon.

Friend, if you’ve yet to meet this God who has this same inheritance stored up for you, I encourage you to call out to Him today. He is nearer to you than you think, and just waiting to hear you sincerely ask Him to come to you and show Himself real. Please, don’t go without all that He has for you for one more minute; both now, and in the world to come…

Perspective.

March 25, 2020 /
“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.” 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.

Greetings to you sonsofthesea family and friends and followers!

 I pray this finds each of you, and your loved ones, engaged, encouraged, and healthy! Know that we here at sonsofthesea and Highland City Church, continue to keep you lifted-up before the Father’s Throne of grace. We do hope that you are using this time afforded us all—this hour of a great pause wisely, seeking the Lord and drawing in closer to Him? That you might build a more intimate and lasting relationship with Him. Our prayer, starting with our own lives and ministries, then reaching out to cover you and yours in this hour is this: “Lord Jesus, have your way in my life. In my every waking hour I surrender all that you’ve allowed me, every breath and desire, every possession and idea, my family and resources, my priorities, and perceived needs, into your hands. I choose instead to desire what you desire. Teach me now, today, in this hour, to seek after those things that are eternal, surrendering to you all of the wood and hay and straw in my life. Every area of weakness or lack of faith. I choose today instead, faith and hope and more of you, Lord. I choose to let go of all of my need for control and those things I’ve thought, and foolishly think still, I cannot build the life I was after without. Give me new eyes, Holy Spirit, new wants and desires, new goals. Allow me to emerge on the other side of this time of pausing reflecting a brighter, more pure reflection to a lost and dying world of this new creation I am in You. This salt. This Light. Teach me to cease striving for treasures that can be lost or stolen in the blink of an eye, and chase after instead, focus on, instead, storing up eternal treasures. Lasting and true. Those things built with pure gold and silver and precious jewels; things no thief can steal, nor fire destroy. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen…

Friends allow me to share this powerful reminder of just who we, as Christian, as His beloved, are.

We all can get momentarily lost, sidetracked, or distracted, losing sight of our identity. Especially in times as trying as these—it’s easy to lose sight of ourselves. Who we are and are called to be—in Christ Jesus? Allow me to throw out this precious, powerful, succinct reminder—to myself first, and then to you. I read it just this morning in my own time of devotion, and it made my breath catch. And here now, at almost the end of my workday, it has yet to have taken its hands off of me. It has sifted me and humbled me and re-centered me. I pray it touches you as powerfully…

“The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me. This leads to deep humility and confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself or less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.” –Tim Keller.

Remembrancers…

March 21, 2020 /
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:2.

We here at Sonsofthesea are praying for you and with you as we pass through this current storm. May your hearts and minds remain open to all the Lord is saying to you personally, as well as to His Body as a whole. We’re also lifting up those God has entrusted to you to Shephard or minister to; be they a congregation of people or individual family members, or neighbors. Know that we as a ministry, as well as our partner, Highland City Church, are seeking God’s will during this season of imposed social distancing. Yet though we are observing those rules and guidelines given us by our leaders, both civic and spiritual, we are more committed than ever, in these tenuous times, to draw ever closer to God. To staying linked to Him. Too fast and pray. To going deeper, that we might come out the other side of this current storm stronger, with a new fire in our belly. Moving forward then, with a clearer vision of the Lord’s instructions for any new direction in which He might have us to go—to lead, share with, encourage you; those God has entrusted to us.

Perhaps He’s calling us all into a time of renewed simplicity and power? A genuine caring for others and not simply for self, as witnessed in the Acts church?

We, as 20th century Christians, have the privilege, via God’s written Word and the paradigms it contains, to witness both the clarity and power that can happen when God’s people emerge from where God has strategically placed them—their places of refining and preparation. From Moses who emerged on the scene after 40 years in the desert to help lead God’s people out from under Egypt’s oppressive rule. To watching John the Baptist step forth onto the world stage from his place of preparation in the desert into being used to call a people to repentance; preparing the way for the Lord’s arrival. We’re able to witness Elijah too. Used by God to call His people back to Himself and away from their pagan gods and idols—from the Baals. And then there is the Apostle Paul, who, after being in the desert for some 3 ½ years, we witness emerging in power to help spread the Gospel message to the gentiles. And there are countless others that a thorough search of the Scriptures will reveal emerged to intercede for or lead God’s people during times of great testing and trials as well. Were used to help usher in a fresh wind of change, God’s plan for His Church, for the world. Biblically speaking, Esther and Mordecai jump to mind.

And then there are the likes of the more contemporary men and women of God He has, and is using still. The likes of Spurgeon, Moody, Jim Elliot, Christine Gibson, William J. Seymour, C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham, and Reinhard Bonnke. Straight onto those hundreds of thousands of missionaries, apologists, prophets, and evangelists around the world whom God uses to help edify, encourage, and correct both His people and the world.

We as Christ-followers, as His children, are being afforded these same types of gateways today that our biblical forefathers once tasted—perhaps greater still as the time for Christ’s return draws closer by the minute…

I do believe God is supernaturally opening doors that have been kept purposefully closed until now. Their sudden opening creating timely points of access into people’s lives—their very hearts, that we’ve not witnessed, most of us anyway, in our lifetime. Just as He did for Moses and John and Paul and Esther before us. I believe the true question remains: How will we use this time we’re being afforded? Are we seeking God’s face that we might somehow be used by Him to help usher in His next great move? His will? Are we asking Him to reveal to us a clear vision— not only for what our lives and ministries will look like, more, a clearer, bolder vision as to how to help guide His people, our neighbors, in times such as ours?

My brothers and sisters, as a fellow servant of Jesus Christ I urge you, I challenge myself, to intentionally set aside a designated time to come before the Lord wholeheartedly, in surrender, on our faces and knees, as I’m certain most of you have and will continue to do, crying out, seeking to clearly hear from heaven; that we might come away with a renewed boldness, a fixed determination to serve God with our whole heart. Any remnants of our half-stepping are burnt-up, left in a pile of discarded ashes. So that we, like Moses and John, Paul, and Esther, will offer God’s people His Truth, in love. Be it popular, or not. We will not back down. We will instead, boldly, faithfully, do what we have been called to do; our #1 priority. Help ready His people for Jesus Christ’s soon return…

Listen now, to Charles Spurgeon’s words delivered to his congregation on July 13th, 1879. This excerpt is taken from his sermon, a charge, to each Christian man and woman within earshot in a time when both he and they were facing a great war, a depression, and all of those spiritual and societal challenges that were associated with them. I pray we hear his words, more than they permeate us, every fiber of our being, now, today, as our communities, our world, faces these unchartered times. Remembering nevertheless, that though the world may not know what might be coming next—God most certainly does. None of what we are experiencing has caught Him off guard. He is Sovereign. His plan for this world fixed, certain, and will continue to unfold, in His divine timing. So then, my brothers and sisters, being assured of this Truth, let us join our prayers together as One Body seeking the will of God for His Church, our lives and ministries and families, and neighbors. That we might emerge a stronger, purer, more holy people who will wholeheartedly turn back to God; from the greatest to the smallest, in repentance, and with a renewed devotion to God…

You are part and parcel of the nation, for you share in its protection and privileges, and it is yours as Christian men to feel that you are bound in return to do all you can in the midst of it to promote truth and righteousness. What then? What course should we now pursue? Let us make confession of sin on behalf of the people as Moses and Jeremiah and Daniel did aforetime. You may not consider that to be sin which I judge to be so, but, my brother, you see sin enough all around you of one sort or another. Take it to yourself, and as the high priest went in to the holy place to plead for the people, so act you as a priest before God, in your quiet personal devotions. Confess the sin of this nation before God. If it will not repent, repent for it. Stand as a sort of consecrated sponsor before God, and let the sin lie on your heart till you fall on your face before the Most High. Remember, the saints are intercessors with God for the people. Ye are God’s remembrancers, and, as ye are called to make mention of his name, keep not silence day nor night, but in this hour of trouble pour out your hearts before him. Get you up to your Carmels and cry aloud, you that know how to cry unto God, that he may send deliverance, and when you have prayed for this people and asked the Lord to forgive its sin, and also to take away the chastising rod, then all of you promote by your daily lives, your precepts, and your actions, “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report.” Be on the side of temperance and sobriety: be on the side of peace and of justice; be on the side of everything that is according to the mind of God, and according to the law of love. Love God and your fellow men, and seek to promote all interests which look that way. I believe that a country can never have a larger blessing, a truer safeguard for the present, or a firmer security for its future greatness, than a band of praying men and women who make mention of it before the throne of God –Charles Spurgeon.

Beloved, take heart. Be encouraged! You serve a loving, merciful Father. And know, we here at Sonsofthesea, and our partner at Highland City Church, are praying for you, your families, ministries, and, our neighbors. We encourage you in this time as well, to take all that you hear from the swirling masses of “spiritual authorities” before the Lord for confirmation. God will give you wisdom ad discernment if you seek after it. The same with secular authorities and news stories, be wise, check your facts!

And to you, new friend. If you haven’t asked Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord and Savior, may we encourage you to do it right now! With all that is changing in our world, what better time than today to invite Him in! Remember, no man is promised tomorrow, so please, don’t let this moment pass you by! “Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call on Him [for salvation] while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6.

Surrounded. 2 Kings 6:17

March 14, 2020 /
“And Elisha prayed and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

I was like this servant. Truth be told, there are moments, both in my life and ministry, when I still am. Blind that is. Not God. There’s a news flash! Not all-knowing or seeing. Rather I’m frail and human and so very much in need of the One who is God. Who does see all, know all; because I can sometimes forget that there is more than one type of sight—ways of seeing a person, place, or situation. Of starring into the face of what is so clearly hidden in plain sight; yet seeing only the natural enemy army before me. An army that mirrors back to me my weaknesses and failures and inadequacy. Blind in my desire to so want to serve God and his people, those He has placed over me with excellence,  I sometimes move foolishly, carelessly, in my flesh, in my own strength, instead of waiting for the Lord to release me—to open my eyes to what is truly in front of me. What it is He’ll have me see. By His grace, He has covered my rookie mistakes and any potential crisis was averted. My natural sight having blinded me from seeing what is truly surrounding me, at all times; the angels my Father has given charge over me. Their aid, and His strength…

“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them” –Psalm 34:7.

Am I alone in my testimony? The only one who has, perhaps in their walk or ministry, missed the mark?

Not seeing what was standing right in front of them? Spiritually speaking that is. Or not recognized what was truly available to them, or. more, what was coming at them, their leadership, or the Body, because they looked at a situation, or failed to see a thing because they were, I was, looking at it, at that person, with natural eyes only? I know of at least one other who was as blind as I have been. Dare I say perhaps as blind as you’ve been too? One whose spiritual eyes failed him as well. Elisha’s new servant. My apologies. I can’t introduce you. I can’t share his name with you because the scriptures don’t tell me his name, only that he is Elisha’s assistant.

If we’re not paying attention though, we’ll mistake him for Gehazi, Elisha’s first assistant. We first hear of Gehazi in 2 Kings 4:12. However, he leaves Elisha’s service covered in leprosy and shame in 2 Kings 5:27. So this one, this unnamed servant who sees only the army of the Arameans, this natural enemy army surrounding him and his master, is then obviously new. Perhaps he’s Gehazi’s replacement? Either way, what’s obvious is, replacement or not, he’s yet to have caught the gift of seeing beyond the natural realm and into the spiritual, as Elisha, his mentor has.  “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom” –2 Kings 6:12.

So what is this ‘opening of his eyes’ that Elisha prayed for? This seeing? Surely Elisha’s servant wasn’t blind. Had he been blind, he wouldn’t have been able to see the Aramean’s surrounding them at Dothan…

Elisha had prayed for his spiritual sight to be activated. For the eyes of his understanding to be open, that he might truly see. Elisha prayed for his ability to see beyond his seeing in the natural. A gift from God alone. I’ve heard it described this way: Spiritual things are not perceived by the natural man with his natural sight. But we compare revelation or spiritual perception to the act of seeing because of their similarities and because the results of the two are the same, namely a coming into the experience of knowing something beyond the shadow of a doubt. The natural man is in darkness regarding spiritual things, that is he can’t perceive them unaided. Without light, we cannot directly perceive God or His kingdom though we have the testimony of creation and the inward testimony of our conscience. When the Holy Spirit comes, however, bearing His influence on the soul of man it has the same effect as light has upon the natural eyes of man. His influence causes man to perceive the things of the spirit. Like light, the greater the influence the greater the level of perception. The result of a man receiving the light of the Spirit is perception and he becomes absolutely convinced of the truth of the object he saw as if he had seen it with his natural eyes. (Emphasis my own)

This ability to see into the spirit realm is indispensable for those God has called to minister to His people.

To be able to see what is coming that we might cover our leaders and those God has placed under our care. We cannot operate in our appointed offices without it. Especially those prophets and seers, intercessors, and priests whom God has called to the frontline of this ongoing battle between Himself and His enemy and ours, Satan, that great deceiver. We must be able to see, to discern, the will of God for His people and for our own lives and ministry. How else will we be able to sound the alarm? Warn others of what is coming against them? Encourage them to repent and seek God, unless we first know a thing for ourselves. See it coming for ourselves if you will. Perhaps Elisha’s servant was so newly appointed to the man of God, this gifted prophet who himself had received a double-portion anointing from his mentor, the prophet Elijah, that Elisha had yet had the opportunity to have laid hands on the young man and pray God stir-up the gift that was just waiting to be called out from within him? I ask this based upon the Truth that God does not call anyone into any office, into His service, unless He alone has also blessed and provided us with everything we will ever need, not only to walk out our salvation in this world but to fulfill that call or office for which He has called us. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” –Ephesians 2:10. Or, perhaps, Elisha was not slack at all but rather waiting on God’s appointed time. Waiting for that moment God alone had foreordained for Elisha’s new servant to be introduced to seeing beyond the natural and into the spiritual realm…

The scriptures are replete with just such instances of this same intense first experience with seeing into, and properly interpreting, the spirit world. Daniel no doubt understood the “suddenly” of just such a moment. The Apostle John too. Ezekiel and Samuel as well, just to mention a few. Daniel 7; Revelation 1:1-2; Ezekiel 1; Samuel 3.

Here’s the thing beloved: If you have been appointed to some office, some position within the Body of Christ, know, with all certainty that you are there because of God; whatever His reason for allowing you to be there. He alone places us in positions of leadership or authority. Know too, that since He has placed you there, you carry within you everything you’ll ever need to complete the task you were appointed to fulfill. That said, understand this as well: You will have to learn partner with the Holy Spirit and those He has placed in positions of authority and leadership over you to develop, draw out, hone, fine-tune, what God has already deposited in your belly. Also, to remain humble and teachable enough, as Elisha’s new servant did, to receive what we need, be it prayer or guidance or correction from those God has placed over you—to speak into you, to help train you and cover you when you inevitably get it all wrong on occasion—just as he did.  As I have. As you will too. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” –Hebrews 12:11.

But fear not! Take heart, beloved! Don’t allow your pride to disqualify you from your assignment by thinking, calling into question your divine calling…

Just because you got it wrong this time, does not mean God didn’t appoint you or has somehow failed you. Humble yourself in the recognition that these are growing pains. You’ll get it wrong many times in your walk with Lord. I know I have! The shame is not in getting it wrong. The shame comes, the sin slithers in, when you allow pride to rob your anointing. Admit your blindness before God and men and the Lord will, in His divine timing, send one to pray that your eyes be opened, too. “Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” –1 Peter 5: 5-7.

Friend, if you are here today and haven’t familiar with the things this teaching contains, perhaps God has called you here today that you might ask Him to come into your life, as Lord and Savior, so that He might teach you. Opening your eyes to the Truth of His Son, Jesus, and all that He has for you to see and learn from Him? Won’t you ask Him to show Himself real to you now? He’s been waiting for your invitation. Listen to His Words, not mine: “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” –Jeremiah 29:12-13.

Take Courage, Beloved! 2 Corinthians 1:4.

March 7, 2020 /
“Who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Now here we have a very peculiar source of consolation in suffering. The thought that the apostle’s suffering benefited others soothed him in his afflictions, and this is a consolation which is essentially Christian. Consider how the old Stoicism groped in the dark to solve the mystery of grief, telling you it must be, and that it benefits and perfects you. Yes, that is true enough. But Christianity says much more; it says, Your suffering blesses others; it gives them firmness. Here is the law of the Cross: “No man dieth to himself”; for his pain and loss is for others and brings with it to others joy and gain. –F. W. Robertson, M. A.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Look at this young girl’s face. Her countenance speaks volumes. Her face a billboard for one who came hoping to hear one thing, but instead, heard something quite the contrary. Her hope snatched out from under her just as quickly as a magician makes a quarter disappear. She is downcast. Questioning. Searching. Disheartened. Dare I say fearful? I have seen this same expression all too often as of late. Many in the Body of Christ have been wearing this very same face. God has sent me to you, beloved brother, dearest sister, to re-mind you that your loving Father is right by your side. His all-powerful right hand holding yours—lending you His strength in your time of weakness. Take Courage, beloved. El Roi, “the God who sees me” is with you. “We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives!” –2 Corinthians 4:8 MSG.

The enemy of our God—our soul, is keeping busy. We have been lulled, however temporarily, into forgetting that we live in a fallen world. Eden no more…

One in which we both reap what we sow and, are suddenly seized by the inevitable end-result of having lived at all. A world in which God never promised us a trouble-free existence. “I have spoken these things to you so that you shall have peace in me. You shall have suffering in the world, but take heart, I have overcome the world” –John 16:33. A world that is filled with people who will one-day leave their mortal coils in the very dust from which they were created. He, our enemy, wants us to forget about this part. Conning us into believing we’ll live forever. That death is for others, not for us. He does everything possible to shift our focus away from God, from pursuing a life in Christ, a relationship with Him. From beginning to prepare ourselves for those things God has clearly foretold will come to all mankind. The saved and unsaved alike. No race or social class left exempt. As with death, disease and trials, tribulations, and hardships are among the great equalizers of this, our one human race. It is a sure sign of Grace when a man can trust in his God, for the natural man, when afraid, falls back on some human trust, or he thinks that he will be able to laugh at the occasion of fear. He gives himself up to jollity and forgetful-ness, or perhaps he braces himself up with a natural resolution—”To take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them.” He goes anywhere but to his God. –Charles Spurgeon.

I’ve received reports of loved ones being suddenly struck ill. One minute healthy and smiling, the next in peril or pain. Cancers being diagnosed, brain tumors and shingles attacking bodies, strokes leaving once strong and virile men at the mercy of bodies they can no longer control. Being washed now, dressed too, and fed by the very woman they once took pride in gallantly protecting—providing for. Minds once sharp and quick now muddled, processing as slowly as molasses pours. Others still whose memories are being wiped clean by Alzheimer’s. So frustrating! Such heartbreak. And yet, it is to these very souls that we must go fellow Christian, and, with a touch as tender as a child’s, hearts bursting with compassion and the love of Christ, uphold these words we find in today’s scripture verse.

For us as Christians, tribulation, trials, and sudden hardships should be expected; a thing we know with certainty will come. Christ made it clear to us that they would. And He cannot lie. The only unknown is the ‘when’ of it. That is for God alone to know.  Yet, as I’ve stated, Christ expects us to go to, sends us to, these very souls hip-deep in sorrow, shredded by recent loss, dazed by the 1-2 sucker punch of their child’s, son’s, brother’s diagnosis, and encourage them to fear not. To re-mind them that God sees them, knows what has just happened to them and that He has a plan to bring some-thing, some future good, from this seemingly rotten, pain-full, confusing circumstance—if, they’ll but trust Him. If they’ll but leave the door of hope cracked just enough that He might come into this, their worst nightmare, and flood them with, overtake them with hope. Comforting them, offering His strength to endure, press on and into Him…

But how? How do I go to one so raw, so exposed? What can I possibly say to them to help ease their pain or return to them just a glimmer of the hope they just lost? How do you and I go and comfort, bolster, build-up, offer peace to the one whose world just got turned on its head? We can only do this, offer this because we have first experienced it for ourselves. More, because the Spirit of the Living God lives in us, enabling us. He alone gives us the words, His Words. His peace. We can do this because we have experienced it first-hand. We know it to be real. We simply offer our Truth. His Truth. As tenderly and surely and deeply, yet as confidently and powerfully as Jesus Himself would! Is doing through us. We who have felt Christ come and wrap us in a peace that should not exist amongst the chaos of the moment. Strength to stand and take the next step and the one after that, after leaving the last ounce of the strength we possessed discarded, at the feet of that terminal diagnosis.

Have you been here Brother? Sister? Church mother? Pastor? Friend? Is it you I was sent back to encourage today? You whose hand I might hold and say, “fear not, beloved one, God is nearer to you than you could ever imagine. Closer to you than your skin and breath…”

Is it you that I was sent to share my survival story with? My, suddenly-that-day-when-the-bottom-fell-out-of-my-world-too, testimony? Because I have one, I do. One where I not only survived but thrived and grew and, as a result of my suddenly moment, God stepped into the very center of it and saved so much more than this my mere flesh, this temporary tent I call me. Jesus walked right into the messy middle of my fractured mind and commanded it to reroute. He commanded the clot in my brain to cease from doing any further damage, and He then lavishly, lovingly, poured healing balm over every area of my brain, restoring it. Jesus saved the real me, His child; safe. He saved my immortal soul; healing my mind and emotions, and a brain fractured and failing as the result of a massive stroke. He came calming that fear that that would well up inside of me each time I so wanted to move the left side of a body, a side I could no longer control. In those instants, God came with His peace, His strength, and re-minded me that there was never a moment, not one second of my life as I’d known it, including that very second a blood clot ripped through my brain, that I’d ever been in control of, could stop from happening, what could happen to this earthly tent I call my-self. None of us has that ability. That is His alone. He alone is Sovereign.

But what we can do, are called to do, must do, is come to you and her and him amid your trials, your dis-eases, your crisis, whatever they may be and, right there in the messy middle of them, share the love of this same Jesus who met us, met me, dead center in my crisis. Assuring you, as only one who has experience, has a relationship with God, can. God is for you, beloved. He is right where you are, right now. He sees you and knows your fears and feels your pain. He once felt it all Himself. Remember, He is fully God, but Jesus when He walked this earth was also fully man. “He knows our pain all too well. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” –Hebrews 2:14-18.

Fear not beloved, all things, even those we label as, feel are, the worst possible things; our parents or children or loved ones becoming ill, must pass through the Sovereign hands of our loving, kind, just and mercy-full Father. And, know this: if He permits a thing, even some bitter thing, some circumstance or illness to touch our lives, their life, it is this same God who also holds your life, their life, in His hands. Whatever may come your way, God’s got you. Nothing. No-thing, no sickness, trial nor adversity can ever, nor ever will, separate you from God’s love for you. Ever. He has promised that to each of His children. If you are His today, then this promise is surely yours. You say, “I feel so dead and cold, I have not the spiritual vivacity and warmth and life that I used to possess. I used to come up to the Tabernacle and feel such joy and rejoicing in worshipping on God’s Holy Day, but now I feel flat and dull.” Oh, but do not be tempted to get away from Christ because of this! Who runs away from the fire because he is cold? Who, in summer, runs away from the cooling rook because he is hot? Should not my deadness be the reason why I should come to Jesus Christ?” – Charles Spurgeon.

Friend, if you or a loved one is experiencing a time of fiery affliction and you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, please, do not let today pass you by without asking Him to come into your heart as Lord and Savior. Invite Him into the middle of your pain-filled, messy circumstance, and then watch God do what only He can!

Forerunners, Still. Luke 10:1

February 22, 2020 /
“The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

As John the Baptist was then, so too are we today. Voices crying out in the wilderness: “…Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” –Isaiah 40:3.

One of the most remarkable facts about Christianity is the speed by which it spread over the Roman world. Think about it: in about AD 25, all we see is an oddball preacher in the Judean desert and his slightly younger relative in a backwater Jewish village named Nazareth. That’s it. Fast-forward a hundred years, and we have churches scattered through Judea, Syria, Asia Minor, Rome, and most likely elsewhere in the empire, such as Egypt. –Chad Bird.

When calling to mind those who were forerunners in the New Testament, I believe it’s fair to say that John the Baptist would, by far, be the most remarkable. Wouldn’t you agree?  The Prophet Isaiah foretold of this “Voice crying out in the wilderness” nearly 700 years prior to John showing up in the Judean desert. And the Prophet Malachi twice foretold of John’s coming 430 years prior to his arrival in the wilderness as well and is found in Malachi 3 verse 1: “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.”  Then again, in Malachi chapter 4 verse 5: “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.” The Apostle Luke, in Luke 1 verse 17, helps us to decipher why John is being referred to as Elijah here; listen to what he says: “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous [which is to seek and submit to the will of God]—in order to make ready a people [perfectly] prepared [spiritually and morally] for the Lord.”  And, in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus Himself makes clear the distinction between John and the Prophet Elijah: “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied up until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is [the fulfillment of] Elijah [as the messenger] who was to come [before the kingdom]” –Matthew 11:13-14.

For the remainder of our time together, let’s take a deeper look at others who filled this position also, this calling of being a forerunner for Jesus. Let’s discuss too, how this same calling applies to us today…

In order that we all start on the same foot, let’s move forward with a biblical definition of the word forerunner. KJV Dictionary Definition; FORERUNNER, n: A messenger sent before to give notice of the approach of others; a harbinger.

Recently, I was reading the Book of Romans, Chapter 16. In my New Living Translation, it’s entitled: “Paul greets his friends.” As I read, I was introduced to whole host of Paul’s friend’s—fellow brothers and sisters who’d faithfully served God during their time here on earth; serve Him still, as their devotion and courage and calling continue to stir up our own faith, and that deep longing within our hearts to follow after Christ all the more closely. I was intrigued by them, these heralds of the faith; so I began to dig a bit deeper into the lives of these people Paul took the time to make mention of. Who were they? I wanted to know more. What I’ve learned in part, is that I had, in fact, met these people (not all, but some) on the pages of my Bible. Some of these that Paul was recalling, sending greetings to, were amongst those 72 “other disciples” whom Jesus who had sent out in pairs ahead of Himself as forerunners in the opening verses of Luke 10. These were a diverse group of believers. These disciples consisted of those from various economic and social backgrounds, spheres of influence, as well as being in possession of varying gifts and talents. Some were teachers, some companions, others were wives, there were city officials and politicians too. Others still, were doctors and scribes. Some learned, some without any formal education. Men and women both. Married and single.

What united them each to the other, and to every other forerunner for Christ then and since, was their faith in, their love for, and their uncompromising commitment to, Jesus our Lord.

Some were young, like Timothy, Paul’s “son in the faith.” Others, such as Tertitus, the one acting here in Romans 16 as Paul’s amanuensis, were educated. Others still, like Gaius, were traveling companions of Paul’s. We first hear of this Gaius back in Acts 19 when he and Aristarchus were dragged into the local amphitheater at Ephesus during a riot which had been stirred up by local craftsmen who felt that Paul’s preaching of this Jesus was turning people away from the temple of the great goddess Artemis. And, as a result, was draining their coffers as well. And then there’s Rufus and his brother Alexander. Of this Rufus, Paul states that. “the Lord picked him out to be His very own.” And refers to his mother as a one who has been like a mother to him. Perhaps if I told you who Rufus’ father was, you would go back and reread Mark 15: 21 to see for yourself where it is we first hear Rufus’s name connected with his famous father’s: Simon, who was a Cyrene. The man forced to help carry the Cross of our Lord. Then there’s Erastus the prominent city treasurer and civil servant from Corinth, as well as Paul’s trusted fellow worker in the ministry. We also hear those familiar names of Priscilla and Aquila. Aquila, a tentmaker by trade, as was Paul, and a fellow Jew born in Pontus. This couple traveled with and worked alongside Paul, strengthening the early church.

My study of these men and women helped me to get better acquainted with the rich and diverse history of our Christian faith. To not just casually glance over those names seen scattered throughout the pages of scriptures I read, but rather to pause and acknowledge them for who they are to me. My brothers and sisters—fellow forerunners. They are my—our, great examples of commitment and sacrifice, of endurance and losing it all that we might, they might, gain this Christ. Those whose feet have beaten down this often-trying path smooth, with their wisdom and struggles and failures, and sometimes by the shedding of their blood. We are blessed to be surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses for Christ. Those who, by example, encourage us to grow just a bit deeper in the realization that we, you and me and her and him, each one called by God, has been given, shares in, stand shoulder to shoulder with, those who went before us, those who were marked by Him too. Called, to share in the incredible privilege, this divine gift of being entrusted, called upon, hand-picked by God to be forerunners for our Jesus, too.

Let that sink in for a second. It should blow your mind! I know it does mine…

If you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, not a just-visiting-church-only-on-Sunday kind of relationship, I’m talking about a, He lives in your heart and your belly jumps, as Elizabeth’s did, at the mere mention of His name, kind of relationship. I’m talking about that yesterday I was addicted or stripping or walking out of the packy—and today I can’t wait to tell you all about this Man—this God-Man, this Jesus who came and loved me and washed me clean Himself. This same One who whispered Words of life so sweetly to me, that they will burn in the very marrow of my bones until that day He comes and takes me home. I’m talking about that kind of relationship. The kind that causes one to be a forerunner; because there’s no other way. You’re compelled to share this Jesus, this love and peace, this Truth of the One who came and made every-thing new within you; with anyone and everyone who’ll listen!

“Jesus Christ loves you with an everlasting love. And there is not one thing ever you could do to earn that love, but if you’ll but humble yourself and ask for it, He will come to you, as He did to me and Paul and Rufus, and He will make you His own. He died and rose again that you might have this new life…”

Won’t you ask this Jesus into your heart now, today? No man is promised tomorrow after all. Come, join us in being forerunners for Christ! You are needed as much as any ever were! There’s still much work to be done and no one else can do what you alone were created to do…

All of this, and much more, happened in the first 100 years. Followers of Jesus, far from remaining in little ghettos, keeping to themselves, were boldly bearing witness across the empire that another king was truly reigning over the entire world: the crucified and resurrected King Jesus. –Chad Bird.

Abandon. Philippians 3:7-9.

February 15, 2020 /
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith”.

Oh happy state! to be perfectly acquiescent, to lie passive in His hand, and know no will but His” –Spurgeon.

Paul realized he would never achieve perfection in his lifetime. Neither will we. Nor will that greatest of saints we’re able to call to mind. That state of perfection, Paul knew, had recently spoken of, would come in that glorious moment when he, once for all, would leave his earthen vessel in the very dust from which it was created, and return, at last, to our Father’s house. Having attained, only then, the fullness of all that Christ had for him. Standing, finally, in his heavenly body in the presence of the King he had longed to see face to face.

Perhaps it was this realization, in part, which drove Paul to live his life then, resigned to press, ever forward, in continuous surrender to this God he lived for. Since knowing he would not reach that perfect state this side of heaven, he determined in his heart than, to become more Christlikeduring his time here on earth. We would do well to follow after his example. Paul understood his own wretchedness, outside of Christ. He was as aware (through the revelation of the Holy Spirit) of his natural, unchecked inclinations, as any man true to himself is, and, of just how easy it can be to follow after those desires of the flesh. Yet he did not try to hide his sin nor the once blind, dogmatic, beliefs he’d held. Rather he exposed his weakness. Confessing them before God and man, allowing us an unabashed view of his humanity.

The thorn of searing regret ever stuck in his flesh; stayed only by the grace of God from hindering his work and overpowering his mind. “though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith” Philippians 3:4-9.

And, it’s not only in this Third Chapter of Philippians but also in Romans 7, that we witness this same forthrightness. Where we hear Paul’s confession, his angst. Where we bear witness to this very real, very human realization; one felt by us each, at some point in our walk with our Lord. “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway” Romans 7: 18-19. Paul has so aptly put into words for us all what it like to live in this awareness of the ongoing war waging within every child of God. Listen to what he writes in Galatians 5:17 concerning this same battle: “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires.”  Paul’s transparency allows us—aides us, in acknowledging that this same battle raging within him, wages within our own hearts as well. It rages, recognized, or not. Acknowledged, or not. Alive within the murky depth of, or the shame-filled, fear-filled, fractured surface of, every heart in whom He has placed His Spirit.

Yet, thankfully, Paul, via the illumination of the Holy Spirit, does not leave us there to figure out how best to fight, to gain ground, claim new territory, to have victory over, this ongoing battle he’s so freely spoken of—our base-ness. Rather, he points us towards Christ, towards the most advantageous, power-full battle stance any Christian can assume. Paul lets us know that any victory we may attain, any ground we’ll ever claim for the Kingdom, any success in ministry or relationship (think John Mark here) will only be found, attained, experienced, known, realized only in complete abandon to the will of God. Such abandon that, though ready to wage war on any foe at a moment’s notice, we recognize the battle we’re engaged in is not ours, it’s God’s. And, though, we are called to stand and fight, our victory has been assured by the finished work of the Cross. We never fight alone. We are incapable, in any real sense, of fighting in our own strength; without that is, doing more harm than good.

Beloved, for as long as we continue to reside this side of heaven, the Godliest of us will sin, falling ever short of God’s perfect standard. Paul knew this. I pray each of us, as God’s children, will come to truly know it as well. And, that, from such knowledge, our striving will cease. A total surrender takes place, and a complete abandon of our will be offered; freely, lovingly, whole-heartedly to our Lord. That whosoever will are released, as Paul was, I was, you were, he, she, and they were, each, freed from the bonds of religion, from the onerous striving to measure up to a standard only One could ever meet, Jesus. That perfect Lamb in whom all our striving after righteousness finds its rest. Just as one straightaway trusts water beneath them as a surety on which to surrender themselves, to float, be held up, may we with greater abandon yet, surrender our will with even greater surety to God. I pray our surrender to be so complete, we will only recognize its absence in that very hour we are safely home with Him….

Friend, how incredibly grateful I am to know, be certain of the fact, that when God sees me today, He sees Jesus. That because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, now, because of what He has done, I am covered, as with a royal robe, in Jesus’ perfect Righteousness. And I so want that knowing, that certainty, that peace to be yours as well. If you have come this far with me and find yourself asking, “what’s next?” “Where now?” I strongly encourage you to ask this Jesus into your own life, as Lord and Savior, you did not come this far by chance…

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” –Galatians 2:20.

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