What Amos Has To Say About The Church

/ nickfjackson / Leave a comment

In Amos 6, Israel is rebuked for sleeping on their ivory beds, eating lambs from the flock, singing idle songs, and anointing themselves with the finest of oils. Why is this so wrong? Because they are not grieved over the spiritual ruin of Israel. They are experiencing a season of abundance which has led to them forgetting about God, rejecting His Word, and oppressing the poor. Israel is physically rich but spiritually they are bankrupt.

As I read this, I began to think about the church here in America. The church has so many blessings, and yet in many ways we are bankrupt. People are content with gathering together on Sundays to perform religious activities but then they go home and for the rest of their week they lay on their ivory couches watching countless hours of T.V. and doing whatever they want all the while abandoning the mission of God.

Surely God cannot be happy with this. And surely we cannot rejoice over this. Now admittedly, their are many good things the church is doing here in America. And we need to praise God for the freedom and the blessing we do experience.  But to at least some degree, we ought to grieve.
– We ought to give that there are so many Christians that think discipleship is about a certain day of week rather than a lifestyle.
– We ought to grieve that there are so many Christians who know so little about the Word of God.
– We ought to grieve that there are so many Christians who do not share the gospel with others.
– We ought to grieve that there are so many Christians who would do not look to serve those around them.
– We ought to grieve that there are so many Christians who are what Jesus says in Revelation 3, lukewarm.
– We ought to grieve that there are so many Christians that get more fired up over building projects than the spread of the gospel in unreached areas.
– We ought to grieve that there are so many Christians who consider their involvement in the church as optional rather than a foundational part of being a follower of Jesus.

And I’m sure we could list countless more ways. My point is not to say that the church in America is worthless or that their is nothing positive at all. Their could be many blog posts written on the good things that are occurring within the churches of America.  But this post is written in response to Amos 6, and that passage is about how God’s people forgot about God.  And if we take an accurate look at the church, I think there are many ways we can see how christians have forgotten about God or at least compartmentalized God to certain part of their life.
So what do we do? I am sure their are many actions points that could made here. But let me just give 2.

First, let’s pray. Let’s pray for our hearts and the church as a whole. Let’s pray that the Spirit would convict us of sin, refine us, and build us in our faith. Let’s pray that we would become captivated with the joy of the gospel. Let’s pray for the church to know and live out its identity in Jesus.
Secondly, let’s read God’s Word and obey it. Here in America we have the privilege of having so many Bibles and being able to read them just about anytime we want. Let’s take advantage of this. Let’s read, memorize and seek to obey all Jesus calls us to do. The Bible is the food that our soul needs. The Spirit uses the Word to bring us to faith and grow us in our faith. And it will only be when we share the Word with others that they too will come to faith.

Our Guilt and God’s Grace

/ nickfjackson / Leave a comment

In Ezekiel chapters 4 through 24 God lays out the sin of His people.  The conclusion, they are guilty.  Throughout these chapters God explains the judgment that will come upon them.  He will destroy, the temple, the land, the people, everything.  In 5:15, God says I will make Israel “a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror to the nations all around you, when I execute judgment on you in anger and fury, and with furious rebukes.”

These chapters are filled with blood and judgments.  There are times when reading these chapters, I find myself saying, “okay God, I get the point, they are guilty.”  But the more I read, the more overwhelmed I am with the sin and guilt of Israel.  I find myself agreeing with God, they must be judged.  While God’s judgment is fierce, it is just and good.  The more we understand sin and it’s offense against God, the more we will hate it and the more we will embrace the judgment of God against it.

When reading these judgment-filled sin-laden chapters it’s easy to become arrogant and think how stupid Israel is for continuing in its sin.  I found myself saying, “come on Israel, don’t you see how foolish you are.”  It was when I said that, that God was gracious to reveal to me my sin and how foolish I am.  For I am no different than Israel.  I pursue selfish fleeting pleasures instead of the God-centered all-satisying joy-filled purposes of God.  I regularly think about the building of my kingdom instead of the Kingdom of God.

Just like Israel I stand guilty before God.  Just like Israel I need a Savior.  Just like Israel I need the grace of God.  Just like Israel, I need Jesus.

I have heard many people say they don’t enjoy reading the O.T. prophets because they are so full of judgment and sin.  But what I have found is that the more I understand the sin of man and the judgment of God, the more I understand what Jesus did at the cross.  Jesus took the wrath of God that I should have received and in return gave me peace with God.  We must read the prophets, for in these prophetic books we see our sin, we see the wrath and judgment of God, and we see our desperate need for Jesus.

The Voice of God

/ nickfjackson / Leave a comment

In chapters 2-3 we read the account of God calling Ezekiel to be a prophet.  In 2:2 we see that the Spirit of God enters Ezekiel and God then says, I am sending you to the rebellious nation of Israel.  What I find so amazing in this passage is that Ezekiel is called to be the voice of God and he is to speak the words of God whether or not Israel listens.

Here are a few verses that show Ezekiel’s words are God’s words.

  • 2:7, “And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.”
  • 2:8, “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you.  Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
  • 3:1, “Son of man, eat what ever you find here.  Eat this scroll, and go, speak to house of Israel.”
  • 3:4, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them.”
  • 3:10, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart and with your ears.  And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

In 3:7, God says, “The house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to Me…”  What a crazy ministry, go speak to these people, but they won’t listen to you (I’m sure many parents feel like they have an Ezekiel type ministry). Later in chapter 3, God tells Ezekiel, if you don’t speak My words then I will require from you the blood of the wicked.  God makes it very clear, Ezekiel is to be His mouth piece.  He is not to worry about how other people respond. His ministry success is not dependent upon how many people repent at his message.  Ezekiel is to simply trust in God and speak and do whatever God calls Him to do.

Today, as the church, we are called to be very much like Ezekiel.  While we are not the voice of God in the same sense that Ezekiel was.  For God spoke directly to Ezekiel, and he would reply by saying, “Thus says the Lord.”  Today we have God’s authoritative word in written form (all 66 books that comprise the Bible). But we have been given the Spirit God and dwell within us and in 2 Cor. 5:20 we see that while here on earth we are called to be ambassadors for Jesus.  And that God has entrusted us with the message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:19).

We are called to love others and share the gospel with all whom we can.  But our success is not in how many people are saved (although hopefully many will be), rather, success is defined as being fruitful and faithful to God.  God is the one who ultimately saves, not us.   This is good news, for it saves us from thinking everything hinges on us.  It saves us from thinking that we are the ones responsible for getting people into heaven.  The beauty of the gospel is that God is the one responsible for saving people.  He is the one who can take our silly idiosyncrasies, our mistakes, our weaknesses and He can work powerfully through them.  All God desires from us is for us to faithfully follow Him.

Pray for the Court; Pray for the Church

/ nickfjackson / Leave a comment

We definitely need to be praying for our country and its leaders.   There are major decisions being made that have the potential to radically affect the relationship between the church and state.  Let us pray for wisdom for our leaders.  But also let us pray for wisdom, grace, mercy, and boldness for the church.

In 1 Peter 2:13, we read the church is to “be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.”

But we also read in Acts 4:19-20 after the High Priest and others told Peter and John to stop talking about Jesus they said, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”  And in Acts 5:29 after the apostles had again been told not to teach about Jesus they said, “We must obey God rather than men.”

Here is an article regarding potential rulings regarding Same Sex Marriage.

http://www.religionnews.com/2015/06/11/supreme-courts-pending-sex-ruling-dominate-southern-baptist-meeting/

The Awesome Throne of God

/ nickfjackson / Leave a comment

Ezekiel can largely be broken into 4 sections.

Chapters 1-3 – call of the prophet

Chapters 4-24 – Judgment against Israel

Chapters 25-32 – Judgment against other nations

Chapters 33-48 – Hope and Restoration of God’s People

Chapter 1 contains one of the most amazing descriptions of God’s throne in all the Bible. The chapter begins by pointing out that Ezekiel is in exile.  This is important because it shows us that God’s throne is not limited to the land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem, or the temple mount.  God’s throne reigns over all creation at all times, it is not limited to certain geographical locations.  This glorious picture of God’s throne is certainly one of grace for those in exile.  And it is a wonderful reminder for us that God reigns at all times in all places.  When we experience, pain and suffering, God reigns.  When we experience rejection and loneliness, God reigns.  When we experience hardship in relationships or in finances, God reigns.

The vision Ezekiel had of God’s throne is breath-taking.  Here’s a brief list of what he saw:

  • A stormy wind comes from the North.
  • A great cloud with brightness comes with lightning shooting all around.
  • 4 living creatures come forth with 4 faces (human, lion, ox, and eagle) and 4 wings (2 wings covered their bodies and 2 spread out touching the wings of another).
  •  The creatures went straight ahead and had the appearance of burning coals.  They moved like lightning.
  • Their were 4 wheels, one for each creature.  The wheels were covered with eyes and they moved with the living creatures, never turning.
  • Over the heads of the creatures and above the wheels their was an expanse like crystal.
  • Above the expanse was a throne and seated on this throne was one with human likeness.
  • He had the appearance of gleaming metal and fire and He was surrounded by brightness.
  • The brightness that surrounded Him was like that of a rainbow.

And so what does Ezekiel do?  He falls downs on his face.  So here, Ezekiel is in exile, he see’s that His God still reigns and He worships Him.  Yahweh had not been defeated by the Babylonians; Yahweh had not been killed by the enemies gods.  Yahweh reigns and He has come to strengthen His people.

Here when Israel feels hopeless, lost, alone, and defeated.  God has come riding forth in all His glory and splendor that His people would still trust in Him.  It’s good news that we can worship God in all circumstances.  We can worship Him in the good, the bad, the pleasant, the painful, times of laughing, times of crying, in life and in death.

I love that our God is not distant.  God’s people have been disobedient.  They have forgotten Him and worshipped false gods.  They have whorred themselves to the nations.  God does not sit back and with a callous, “i told you so” heart,  throw judgment at His people.  But rather he draws near  and He gives great and magnificent promises. We’ll explore those promises as we journey through Ezekiel.  But one promise I love comes from Revelation 3:21, in John’s letter to the church of Laodicea.  There he writes, “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with Me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on His throne.”  This throne that is majestic and glorious is promised to all who believe in Jesus Christ.  One day, all who believe in Jesus will sit with Jesus on throne with the Father.  Praise God.

God Strengthens

/ nickfjackson / Leave a comment

I have been lazy in my blog writing this year and I am hoping to rectify that this summer.  This summer, I am reading through the book of Ezekiel.  Ezekiel is the one of the major O.T. prophets.  The book is full of sin, judgment, wrath, glorious visions of God and His throne, and hope.  It is a book I love more and more everytime I read through it.   The name Ezekiel, means, “God Strenghtens”.  And that is one of my prayers this summer for myself.  I am praying that my faith will be strenghtened and my dependency upon God will increase.

My plan is that as I read through Ezekiel, I will blog various observations, reflections and applications regading the text.  I pray that this journey will be a blessing to my soul as well as to you who follow along.  Praise be to the God who strenghtens.

2 Easter Resources

/ nickfjackson / Leave a comment

Here are 2 resources to better help you understand Good Friday, Easter, and the life of Jesus.

Desiring God put out an amazing article walking through the events of Good Friday.  It is a definite read.

A new book Titled, Behold the Kingdom of Glory by Russ Ramsey is really good.  It is a narrative of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  It is a fun read that has scriptures from all 4 gospels woven together.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it this Easter Season.

Serious Reading Requires Serious Marking

/ nickfjackson / Leave a comment

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17)

God’s Word is incredible.  With a Word He spoke creation into place.  With a Word He keeps this world spinning and with a with a Word He can stop it.  With a Word  Jesus brought Lazarus back to life.  With a Word He healed lepers and made the blind see.  With a Word He calmed the waves and made the wind stop.

And it is this Word that God has given us in the form of 66 books that make up the Bible.  God has given us His Word that we would know Him, love Him, come to faith, understand His will, become more like Him, proclaim to the lost, and so much more.

And so when we read God’s Word we should not treat it just as any good story and see how fast we can get through it.  For it not just a story, but it is THE STORY.  It is the story of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration.  It is this story that gives meaning and purpose to everything else.

When I read the Bible, I like to have an arsenal of pens ready to mark it up.  That’s right I mark up my Bible.  No lightning bolts have hit me yet so I guess it’s okay.

First, let me explain the pens that I use.   I use the Prismacolor Premier Finer Line Marker (set of 8).  Now these markers come in different point sizes.  I make sure to get the 005.  This is the finest point you can get which is very helpful when writing in a Bible with small margins.

Bbile

Secondly, I think it important to have some sort of strategy in the marking madness.  I assign a purpose to each color I use.  Since I am using a new Bible this year (The ESV Gospel Transformation Bible) I am trying a new marking technique.    It is a slight adaptation to  Jim Hamilton’s method which he posted on his blog the other day.

Orange – references to God’s glory or name
Black – knowing or fearing God
Green – time and geographical locations
Light Brown – sin and judgment
Dark Brown – repeated Words in a passage
Blue – reference to faith, believing, piety, etc…
Red – anything notable
Purple – references to Kingship, coming Messiah, royalty
Yellow pencil – references and actions of the Spirit
Pink pencil – promises of hope/restoration (especially helpful in the O.T. prophetic books)
Lastly, don’t forget to pray before, after, and during your reading.  You can mark up your Bible all day long and never experience any heart change.  The point of marking is to help you pay attention and understand what you are reading.  Your markings serve to highlight the truths and promises in God’s Word.  They are also a wonderful  means of helping you pray through the Bible.
I hope this helps you as dive deep into God’s Word.  Oh, one more thing.  Let me give you a few Bible reading plans to choose from.