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Dreams, Visions, and the Holy Spirit | Pentecost Sunday (King’s Cross)


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INTRODUCTION

How often have you heard someone say, “The Lord told me…?” Or maybe you or someone you know had a dream or vision in which they believe God was directing them. Or maybe sometimes you wish you had a direct word from the Lord.

We are no position to limit or deny God’s freedom to speak directly to anyone, but the Bible is clear that God’s clearest and fullest Word is Jesus Christ and the Scriptures spoken by His Holy Spirit (inspiration) (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The gift of the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost was not about giving a new or additional word; rather, the gift of the Holy Spirit is about giving believers the ability to actually hear the Word already given (illumination) (Jn. 14:26).

The Text: “… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened…” (Eph. 1:15-20)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The apostle says that after the Ephesians had come to faith in Christ, he began praying for them that the Holy Spirit would give them an even fuller knowledge of God (Eph. 1:15-17). Even though they were already Christians, he was praying specifically that the “eyes” of their understanding (or minds) would be given even more light (Eph. 1:18). Specifically, he says he was praying that they would know the hope of God’s calling, the glory of His inheritance (Eph. 1:18), and the greatness of His power at work in us (Eph. 1:19). He was praying that they would experience the same power in their own lives which raised Jesus from the dead and set Him at God’s right hand (Eph. 1:20).

CONVERSION & SANCTIFICATION

Scripture says that to the unconverted the gospel seems like foolishness (1 Cor. 1-2). It’s like there is a veil over their hearts, blinding their minds, so that they cannot see the light of Christ in the Scriptures (2 Cor. 3-4). At conversion the Holy Spirit is given and you begin to see the glory of Christ, but that same Spirit begins a life-long process of opening your eyes to more and more of the hope, inheritance, and power in Christ (Eph. 1:18-20). The final step in this process is called glorification, when we will be transformed to be able to see Him as He is (1 Jn. 3:2). To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, ‘How can we meet Him face to face, till we have faces?’

HE IS THERE & HE IS NOT SILENT

In the meantime, God has spoken clearly, but we are slow to believe all that He has said. Our eyes are not yet adjusted to His glory. Our ears are dull. But as Francis Schaeffer once said, God is there and He is not silent. He is always speaking in His creation: day unto day, night unto night, in every language (Ps. 19:1-4). And He has spoken most clearly in His written word (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

The apostles were given unique signs to confirm their authority to speak on behalf of God, including visions and dreams (2 Cor. 12:12). And where their word has initially gone, God has often confirmed it with extraordinary signs and wonders (Mk. 16:20). But the apostles urged Christians not to look for visions or some other word from the Lord, but rather to cling to the Word of God that was spoken to them and written down: “Now we beseech you, brethren… that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us… Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (2 Thess. 3:1-2, 15, cf. 3:14).

Likewise, in 2 Peter, it says that God’s “divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature…” (2 Peter. 1:3-4). And he goes on to say that he’s writing these things [those great and precious promises] so that they will remember them when he is gone (2 Pet. 1:15). He affirms that the apostles were eye witnesses of Christ’s glory on earth (2 Pet. 1:16-18), but then he says something extraordinary: “we have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet. 1:19-21). The written Scriptures are a more sure word than any vision or dream or spiritual experience.

APPLICATIONS

It is true that we long to see Jesus Christ face to face, to hear Him speak directly to us, but right now, in our current state, His Word in the Bible is a more sure word than any vision or dream.

You might say that you wish God would talk to you, and this is the clear answer of Scripture: He is talking to you all the time. But this is a bit like an ant asking for Einstein to explain his theory of relativity. Or change the image: it’s like looking up at the night sky and seeing a few stars but then looking through a telescope and seeing thousands. The stars are there all the time; you just can’t see them. You don’t need another word, a dream, or vision; you need your eyes opened by the Holy Spirit.

The Lord is not telling you to disobey Him. The Lord is not telling you to dishonor your parents, sleep with your girlfriend, or steal from your neighbor. You don’t need to pray about whether to become a drug dealer or accept homosexuality or transgenderism. The Lord does not contradict Himself.

Scripture says that if even an apostle or angel from heaven preaches another gospel, God damn him (Gal. 1). This would apply to Mormonism and Islam – both of which claim that angels spoke to their founders and radically altered what the Bible says. Dreams and visions can deceive and confuse: “to the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Is. 8:20).

So let this be the prayer of our hearts: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Ps. 119:18).

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The Spirit of Wind & Fire | Pentecost Sunday (Christ Church)


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INTRODUCTION

As we celebrate the Pentecostal gift of the Spirit to the church, which is how God created the church in its new covenant form, we should make a point to pay close attention to the way His arrival is described. And that means paying thinking carefully about the wind and to the fire. At that glorious day of Pentecost, the wind was heard and the fire was seen.

THE TEXT

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Matthew 3:11).

“John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire” (Luke 3:16).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In these two passages, John the Baptist says basically the same thing, but we should still take note of the differences. In response to inquiries about whether or not he was the Christ, John replied that his baptism with water was nothing compared to the one who was coming. The coming one would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. In Matthew, John says that his water is “unto repentance,” and that he was not worthy to carry the coming one’s shoes. In Luke, he says that he was not worthy to undo the latchet of the coming one’s shoes. Because we are told that everyone was abuzz with the question about whether John was the Christ (Luke 3:15), there is no reason to assume that these are different renderings of the same quotation. John was no doubt asked the same question more than one time, and the gist of his answers was always consistent.

THE FEAST OF WEEKS

In the Old Testament, this festival was called the Feast of Weeks (Lev. 23:15; Deut. 16:9). The Greek name for it was Pentecost, from a word meaning fifty. The festival was calculated as landing fifty days after the wave offering that was lifted up at Passover. The celebration was over the conclusion of the grain harvest—it was a harvest festival, which God marked by bringing in a harvest of three thousand souls.

This fulfillment was inaugurated on the day of Pentecost when the disciples were all gathered in “one place” (Acts 2:1). The chances are good that this was the same place in which the Last Supper was held, which means that we have a “type scene” in which the conclusion of the Lord’s earthly ministry and the beginning of His Spirit-inspired ministry are bookended. “THE former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach . . . ” (Acts 1:1).

A MIGHTY RUSHING WIND

When the Spirit was poured out, the first thing we are told about it is that it sounded like a “rushing mighty wind” (Acts 1:2). Remember that the Greek word for Spirit (as in, the Holy Spirit) is the same word as the word for breath or wind. The Holy Spirit could be called, without irreverence, the Holy Wind. The sound was “from heaven” and it says the sound filled the house where they were sitting. This is what the Spirit loves to do—He loves to fill. The room was filled, and then the people in it were filled (Acts 2:4). Notice that this was the sound of such a wind—it is not that the furniture was blowing about.

It was a mighty wind that brought the plague of locusts to Egypt (Ex. 10:13). The enemies of God were driven like dust before the wind (Ps. 18:42). The Lord’s wind will unite the ancient nations (Is. 11:15). But the image of wind refers to more than just power—it means life in the Old Testament (Job 12:10), and the Spirit of life in the New (John 3:8).

We are told not to be drunk with wine, but rather to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). But it was this filling that made people wonder whether or not they were drunk (Acts 2:13).

THE PRESENCE OF THE GOD OF FIRE

The sound of wind came, but the appearance of that of cloven tongues of fire, resting on the heads of the disciples. Think of each of them as an altar, and the fire of sacrifice burning on the top of the altar.

The Lord appeared to Moses in a flame (Ex. 3:2). The Lord was a pillar of fire for the Israelites (Ex. 13:21-22). The glory of the Lord was a “devouring fire” on Sinai in the sight of all Israel (Ex. 24:17). The fire of God comes in judgment. “And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: And it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day” (Isaiah 10:17). “For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29).

Fire also communicates holiness. “A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about” (Psalm 97:3). It is a holiness that cleanses. “But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap” (Mal. 3:2). We should want to receive the gold of God, the kind refined in fire (Rev. 3:18).

NOT MESSING AROUND

The prophet Amos declared “woe to them that are at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1). Having been given the gift of this wind and this fire—meaning that we have been given the gift of a Person who is like

this—we need to take care to keep in step with the Spirit. We are told to keep in step with the Spirit . . . “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25, ESV). But what does this mean? At a minimum, it means wind and fire.

“Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (Revelation 3:19).

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So Much Better Than The Angels (King’s Cross)


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INTRODUCTION

Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended into Heaven. This is called the Ascension, and we celebrate that historical event on this Lord’s Day. The text before us says that the Ascension means that Jesus is so much better than the angels. Today we consider what that means.

The Text: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son…” (Heb. 1:1-2:9).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In the Old Testament, angels had been God’s more common messengers telling the prophets His Word (Heb. 1:1), but in the last days of the Old Covenant, God spoke directly by His Son, Jesus, the heir of the world by whom all things were made (Heb. 1:2). Being the brightness of God’s glory, the exact image of His person, and upholding all things, having purged our sins, He ascended and sat down on God’s own throne, far above all angels (Heb. 1:3-4).

Christ had a right to this glory because He is God’s own Son (Heb. 1:5). What angel is worthy of the worship of angels (Heb. 1:6)? Angels are certainly God’s ministers, but the Son sits on the throne of God and rules all things forever (Heb. 1:7-12). Angels are ministering spirits, but Christ reigns until all His enemies are put beneath His feet (Heb. 1:13-14).

Therefore, we must give far more earnest heed to His Word (Heb. 2:1). If God guarded His Word thundered by angels in the Old Testament, how much more jealous is He of the Word of His Son, even as it has been passed down by those who heard Him directly (Heb. 2:2-4)? The angels are not the ones inheriting the world; rather, this was God’s design for man, who was made a little lower than the angels but created to rule all things (Heb. 2:5-7). Jesus was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death in order to be crowned with glory and honor and bring many sons to glory (Heb. 2:8-10).

FOUR TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS TEXT

1. This text gives us a glimpse of a biblical cosmology: the angels were present and cheering when God laid the foundations of the earth (Job 38:6-8). Angels sometimes appear in human form (e.g. Gen. 19, Dan. 10), but also seraphim (fiery, dragon-like creatures) (Num. 21, Is. 6) and cherubim (sphynx-like creatures) (Ez. 10), as well as the “angel of the Lord,” a “theophany” of Christ Himself (Gen. 32, Ex. 3, Jdg. 13). Since angels are described as ministers and guardians of men, it seems likely that angels would have been like tutors for Adam and Eve (“a little lower than the angels”) (Ps. 34:7, 91:11, Mt. 18:10). Since Satan appears to be a fallen seraph, he was the original false teacher (2 Cor. 11:13-14). When man sinned, cherubim became guardians of God’s presence (Gen. 3:24, Ex. 36-37, Gal. 4), delivered the law (Gal. 3:19), and enforced His justice (Ps. 78:49, 1 Chron. 21). The only way back into God’s glory was through their swords, but no one could do that and survive.

2. So Hebrews is emphasizing the supremacy of the New Covenant by underlining the supremacy of Christ: No man or angel dares claim God’s majesty (Heb. 1:3). No man or angel dares sit on God’s throne (Heb. 1:8). No man or angel has laid the foundations of the earth or can claim to have made the galaxies (Heb. 1:10-12). No man or angel may say that his years will never fail (Heb. 1:12). No man or angel could taste death for sin and survive (Heb. 1:3, 2:9). To ascribe all these things to Christ is either perfectly just or utterly blasphemous. This is either a lie and fabrication, or it is delusional madness, or it is historical truth and reality. People try to split the difference and say that perhaps it was all a very pious mistake – they all had a very spiritual experience, and it changed their lives. But that isn’t what Jesus or the apostles said (e.g. Mk.10:37, Lk. 14:26, Heb. 1:13, 2:8). Either Jesus was a liar, a lunatic, or He is Lord.

3. If Jesus is God, His Word is the Word of God. Hebrews says that God has been speaking since the beginning in various ways (Heb. 1:1). And if there is a God and He has spoken at all, no human being may treat that casually, but if that God has now spoken clearly through His own Son, by whom He made all things, it is pure insolence to ignore Him (Heb. 1:2, 2:1-3). While the prophets and patriarchs and Israel had no excuses, it might have been understandable for someone far off to not be sure what the angels/prophets meant by their messages. But when Christ has come and spoken plainly, when there are hundreds of witnesses of His resurrection, four written testimonies, and over a dozen more documents attesting to what He said and done, there is no excuse (Acts 17:30-31). He has spoken. What will you do with His word?

4. Christ is King, and He will have dominion. Angels are ministers and servants. But Christ ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:3). All the angels worship Him (Heb. 1:6). He sits on the throne of God (Heb. 1:8). He loves righteousness and hates all evil perfectly (Heb. 1:9). He made all things (Heb. 1:10). His kingdom is forever (Heb. 1:11-12). He ascended and must reign until all His enemies are made His footstool (Heb. 1:13). Christ is Lord. Christ claims all things in Heaven and on Earth, and this necessarily has implications for all rule and authority (Mt. 28:18-20). He is reigning until everything is in submission to Him: every nation, every city, every family, every business, every husband, mayor, president, judge – until every knee bows.

CONCLUSION

Christ became man to taste death, to eat death for us (Heb. 2:9). This was the promise of the prophets: “He will swallow up death in victory” (Is. 25:8). Christ, the Eternal Son of God, humbled Himself to be a little lower than the angels in order to suffer death for us who deserve death, in order to take away our sins, in order to restore us to the glory of the Father. “Know ye not that we shall judge angels?” (1 Cor 6:3, cf. Heb. 2:5).

We do not yet see all things put under Christ, but we see Christ crowned with glory and honor. We see Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high, and He will get His reward. You are either with Him or against Him. You are either under His blood or you scorn His blood. He is King. So crown Him.

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The Ascension and You (CC Downtown)


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INTRODUCTION

Think of how you might feel if you were suddenly notified that you had been made a guest of honor at Buckingham Palace. In order to make it in time you were to immediately hop on the private jet that was waiting for you. However, through some cruel twist, you would not be allowed to change your clothes, freshen up, or brush up on which fork to use for the salad and which one for the main course. You might arrive and find yourself absolutely overwhelmed with the sense that you had two left feet, your hands were all thumbs, your mouth was full of teeth, and your mind full of cobwebs. The doctrine of Christ’s ascension, unlike the sense of being “out of place”, is meant to lead us by faith to understand that we are made acceptable before God.

THE TEXT

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. John 20:17

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Mary Magdalene had been conversing with who she though was the caretaker of the garden. Her request was that he give her the body of Jesus. However, after speaking her name she sees that He is in fact Jesus, risen from the dead. We know from Matthew’s account that she clasped His feet (Mt. 28:9). Here, however, she is instructed to refrain from touching Him. During His earthly ministry, His disciples ate with Him, infants and children were brought to Him for Him to touch and bless them, nor had He forbidden His feet to be washed. But now, after His resurrection the disciples must not think that He has simply gone back to factory settings.

Evidently, Jesus cautions Mary to not hold on to the old way of being near to Christ. Rather, as He will soon explain, a more potent way of enjoying His fellowship was soon to come upon all His disciples. His body was the same body. He could still be touched. He could still eat. He could start a fire on the beach to cook fish. But His body was also somehow––marvelously––different. He could walk through walls. He could disappear at will. Though the body was the same body, He was on His way to the ultimate glorification that a human body had ever attained. Thus, Mary must not cling to it.

Why? Jesus explains that He has not yet ascended to His Father. The implication here is that by ascending to the Father there is not a decrease in the fellowship which His disciples enjoyed with Him; rather, the glory and joy of their fellowship with Him is going to be increased. She is tasked with going to deliver a message to the rest of the disciples. That message regards His coming ascent. This message she is tasked to communicate to the rest of the disciples is profound for being at once simple and unfathomably deep. Christ is going to ascend to His Father. But by His ascent you should be assured that His Father is also Your Father. He is going to be brought unto His God, and this means that His God is also your God.

According to His divinity He is the eternally begotten Son of God. He is the Son of the Heavenly Father. Thus, in your union with Christ you are made a partaker of His divine nature (Cf. 2 Pt. 1:4). According to His humanity, He is the only one who perfectly served, worshipped, and obeyed the One True God; there was no instance in Christ of idolatry, falsehood, or uncleanness (Cf. Ps. 24). Thus, in your union with Christ, you are also made a partaker of His perfect humanity, and thus His service to & worship of God is now yours. Through Christ, God is your Father, for He has now adopted you into the joy of His household. Through Christ, the Father is your God, and your service to Him is acceptable. All of this because Christ arose from the grave and then proceeded to ascend to His place of ultimate exaltation and glory. As Matthew Henry put it: “The greatest joy of his resurrection was that it was a step towards his ascension.”

YOUR FATHER & YOUR GOD

It is unfortunate that Christ’s ascension is of so little cultural importance. When it comes right down to it, the Ascension really is the climax of Redemption’s story. After indisputably winning back His kingdom, the King receives His lawful crown. This is the happy ending of the story, even while some of the story lines still need to be resolved. By Christ ascending bodily to heaven, at least two things come to be true for those who have trusted in Christ and been baptized into Him. Notice the two things in our text: new Paternity and true Worship.

First, consider that the wrath of God was upon us precisely because of our first father. Paternity is inescapable. Adam passed on to all his children a sinful nature, because he willingly handed over the kingdom to a dragon. Jesus described Satan as being the father of those who make and believe lies. At the core of what it means to be an unredeemed person is that you have bought the lie that you are God. You believe that your sensibilities for what is good or evil are the best. And clearly, everyone should abide by your version of morality. Nevertheless, lies make fellowship impossible (Pro 18:8). Lies make family life impossible. Lies make justice impossible (Pro. 11:11). The result of a culture of lies is absolute carnage at every relational level: civil, religious, economic, familial. Christ ascending to His Father, should comfort you in this way. You now enjoy membership in a family whose Father is the source of all truth.

The best fathers are still imperfect fathers. A good father gives his children what they ask for, without refusing their requests. He provides for their every need. He guards them from all that would destroy them. In Christ, you can now ask the Father who made all things, from galaxies down to ants, for whatsoever you need. By this you know that the Father really does have your good in mind. This is a comfort in both our temptations and afflictions. Your Father picked this out for you. This circumstance is for your good. Your heavenly Father hears and answers your prayers, because Christ ascended.

Secondly, consider that due to the falsehood which our first father believed, we were brought to practice what Scripture elsewhere calls will-worship. The OT is full of instances of man crafting idols to embody what their overactive imagination wanted God to be like and do. Even worse than that, man sought to claim to be worshipping the true God, but with false means. So then, Christ, as the perfect man, offers perfect worship and service to God continually.

Instead of trying to appease the gods through guesswork, you can be assured that when you offer up your worship and service to God in Christ, it is received by Your God with gladness. Your worship, in this life, is still imperfect, but Christ offers perfect worship unto God on your behalf. Your labors for God’s kingdom, though they be inadequate and immature, are not in vain. Your labors aren’t the ground of your welcome or standing before your God. You stand in Christ, and He offers all your good works to His God, and they are reckoned as acceptable. You are not justified before God by your good works, but because Christ has ascended to His God, your life of worship and labor for God’s glory are received by Your God.

IN HIS PRESENCE

The central glory of all this is that Christ’s ascension is not the diminishment of fellowship with our Lord and Savior. He is present with the Father, that the Father, Son, and Spirit might be ever present with you. Christ’s exaltation makes it possible for you to know and believe two things: you are adopted into the warmth of God’s household and your service in His household is acceptable. Are you in Christ? Well then, you are welcomed by our Father into His everlasting fellowship. The Ascension leads us to understand that we shall one day ourselves stand before the face of God, beholding His glory, and not need to look away in shame or fear. Christ’s humiliation delivered you from your sin, and in His exaltation you are to understand the full extent of that deliverance. You are clothed in His righteousness. You are brought to rejoice with true joy. You are not out of place. You are most welcome.

 

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