When Jesus Takes Over Your Temple

17 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Luke, Our Spiritual Process

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A.W. Tozer quote, discerning truth, John the Baptist's ministry, last days of Jesus, Like 20:2, obeying God's last revelation, old cross new cross, rejecting Jesus' authority, religious leaders, simple truths before deeper truths, the reason for parables, the Temple

Jesus spent the last week of His life on earth occupying the Temple. He kicked out the money changers and set up shop. Everyday He would teach in the Temple and spend the night at the Mount of Olives. Like the Passover Lamb, the people of Jerusalem could examine Jesus for faults. The religious leaders tried unsuccessfully to entrap Him with trick questions.

During those days of examination, the religious leaders wanted to know, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” (Luke 20:2) By the way, things haven’t changed much in two thousand years. People still ask this same question, except they state it this way… “Who gives you the right to tell me how to act and live.”

How did Jesus answer this type of question? The easy answer would have been… “I am God and what I say goes.” He would have been justified for doing so… but He didn’t choose this avenue. Instead, He brought up John the Baptist’s ministry. At first glance this makes no sense. Why bring up John? He was beheaded by Herod. Jesus did so because it was a question about authority. These leaders were rejecting Jesus’ authority for the same reason they didn’t believe in John’s authority.

Here is the point – If we cannot discern God’s movements in the most basic of ways, what makes us believe we are ready for deeper revelations. The truth is that no one can give another person a revelation beyond what the Lord has already provided. This is why it is impossible to grow, hear, or discern deeper truths without first growing up in simple truths. This issue of authority was something everyone appeared to discern from Jesus’ ministry. All the Gospels recorded how the people marveled at Jesus’ authority. “He spoke as one having authority.” Discerning authority or sensing it….should be an easy task, even for a beginner. When the chief priests and religious leaders continued to challenge Jesus’ authority, He resorted to communicating truths via parables.

I hear these types of statements all the time…”The Bible is too difficult to understand! Why doesn’t God just speak plainly? Why does God use parables?” If our current revelations and truths from God appear to be foggy, it could be we haven’t obeyed His last words to us. This is what Jesus was trying to communicate to the religious leaders. Had they believed in John’s message, they would have believed Jesus’ message. Since they rejected John’s word, He couldn’t help them understand His authority. Jesus told another parable and they shouted at the end….”May it never be!” (Luke 20:16)

When we reject God’s word for us, we enter into a cycle of never being able to understand God’s word. The religious of Jesus’ day actually believed God existed for the sake of Israel, not Israel for God. How do you view the Lord?

Does God exist to keep the Baptists going or do Baptists exist for God?
Does God exist to keep the Methodists going or do Methodists exist for God?
Does God exist to keep the Catholics going or do Catholics exist for God?

Plug your particular denomination in here….. Over 90 percent of Americans claim to believe in God, but what kind of God do they actually trust and know?

For each of us, the day must arrive when Jesus enters our temple and takes over. When we allow Him to do so, everything will change. If you are struggling to get there… reflect upon the Lord’s last words. It could be your obedience is lacking. The Lord can’t deepen His word until you become obedient. Don’t make the mistake of questioning His authority. We are His temple. The Lord doesn’t exist for us, we exist for Him.

Blessings – From God’s Incubator,

Pastor

What Jesus Wants You to Know about the End Times

24 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by eisakouo in The Lord's Return

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conduct and character, deception, distractions, end time events, fear, look up, Luke 21, the Temple

⁷ They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” ⁸ And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. ⁹ When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.” Luke 21:7-9

The background of Jesus’ teaching on end time events surrounds the temple. When Jesus forecasted the imminent destruction of the temple, the disciple’s ears were pricked. They wanted to know more. Most people want to know more about futuristic events. I would assume you are no different. But Jesus, in His wisdom, didn’t tell the disciples what they wanted to hear. He related information they needed to know.

The disciples, like many of us today, were concerned about the wrong things. They wanted to hear information that would be of no real value to them, other than to satisfy their own curiosity. Jesus was more interested in affecting their conduct and character rather than satisfying their curiosity.

Jesus, however, knew that if the disciples looked for signs they would be susceptible to deception. He virtually avoided their question and focused instead on character issues.

In the midst of all these tumultuous end times events Jesus specifically warns the believer about three very real dangers in Luke 21.

Deception (8) – With all the information we have been given about end-time events by Jesus, the apostles, and others… you would think deception would not be an issue. Jesus specifically warned us that there will be an increase in deception and the tremendous potential for people to be deceived. If Jesus says deception will be our number one problem, then most assuredly it will. Unfortunately, the group who will mislead the greatest number of people will be Christians. They are the ones who love making predictions about the date and time of Jesus’ return.
Fear (9) – How many times did Jesus tell His disciples not to be afraid? Evidently fear will run rampant in the end times. It is a mistake to take any one prophecy of Jesus or those in Revelation as infallible proof that the end of the age is immediately at hand. As troubles do intensify and increase, the true believer is told to “look up” for their redemption. They are not encouraged to “look at” troubles, hardships, and difficulties.
Distractions (34-38) – This point is difficult to make because every generation since the time of Christ has been distracted to some degree. But evidently the distractions will be greater as we head toward the end of days. To combat this very issue Jesus told several parables in a row to communicate the need for everyone to be watching, waiting, and ready for His return.

Let me tell you a modern story that mimics Jesus’ parables.

Have you ever heard the story of Jeff and Janell’s first date?

Janell was expecting Jeff to show up. She was dressed up and waiting patiently. However, by the time he was an hour late, she figured she had been stood up. So, she took off her makeup, put on her pajamas, gathered all the junk food in the pantry, and sat down to watch tv with the dog. Just as her favorite show was coming on, the doorbell rang. It was her Jeff. He stared at her wide-eyed: “I’m two hours late and you’re still not ready?”

As someone once said, “God may not be early, but He is never late.” Put your wedding clothes back on and be ready!

Blessings,

Pastor