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Pentecostal Waters (Pentecost 2023)

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INTRODUCTION

As we commemorate the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we not only remember that the Spirit was given to us. We also remember that the Spirit is given through us. The Spirit flows out from us to heal all of the sick places.

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In Ezekiel’s vision, he is brought to the door of the temple where waters issue forth, run down by the side of the altar, and flow east (v. 1). The man with Ezekiel took him a thousand cubits east and this river was to the ankles, another thousand and the water was to the knees, another thousand and the water was up to his loins, and after another thousand it was deep enough to swim (v. 3-5).

On both banks of this river were many trees (v. 6). The man told Ezekiel that the river flowed down to the desert and eventually would reach the sea, resulting in the sea being healed (v. 8). This river would give life. There would be so many fish that fishermen would spread their nets and catch boatloads of various kinds (v. 9-10). While the river will bring healing and blessing, there are some marsh places that will remain unhealed (v. 11). Because the waters from the sanctuary feed the trees, they won’t die. They will produce new fruit for food and leaves that will heal like medicine (v. 12).

EZEKIEL’S TEMPLE THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

The temple Ezekiel sees is the Christian Church and the river flowing from that temple is the Holy Spirit. This becomes clear by considering two other texts closely associated with our sermon text.

In Revelation 22, right after John beholds “the bride, the Lamb’s wife . . . the holy Jerusalem,” he sees the river of life as Ezekiel did. It proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. On either side of the river, there is the tree of life, bearing fruit every month with leaves that were for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:1-2).

The second text is John 7:37-39 where Jesus cried out on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, calling those who were thirsty to come to Him and drink. Christ said, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). John adds, ” But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39).

EAST OF EDEN?

A great amount of confusion comes because we do not know where we are. Many Christians think that they are still east of Eden. But God has said that in the day He cleanses His people, “they shall say, ‘This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden'” (Ezekiel 36:35). Ezekiel’s temple vision—a vision of the Christian Church remember—was full of Edenic imagery (cherubims and palm trees). After the fall, God set His cherubims at the east of Eden so that we could not get back to the tree of life. But Ezekiel saw the glory of God come from the east and enter into this New Eden (Ezekiel 43:2).

A RIVER OF LIFE

We may not be east of Eden. But there are some still out there in those desert places to which the river flows. Many Christians make the mistake of thinking that the muck of the marshes will climb their way up to the temple of God and pollute it. But water flows downhill after all. We have believed in Christ and just what He promised has come to pass. The Holy Spirit—the river of living water—flows out of our hearts to the world bringing fruit and healing with it.

FROM THE SANCTUARY

Knowing where we are is foundational. Knowing that the river is flowing is essential. But we must progress to see how this particular operation works. Christ is the source of this Living Water. We are not the headwaters. Christian living is diametrically opposed to the way one lives without Christ. Apart from Christ, all you have is the flesh. But Christians walk by the Spirit. We come to Christ and drink. Doing so, we find that water has welled up in us and flows from our hearts.

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come . . . Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

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Take Over the World (Pentecost 2023)

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INTRODUCTION

Paul’s vision for the church of Crete was not narrow in scope. He was’t just trying to get them to have more polite manners at the dinner table. This letter is an instruction manual for a culture war. Titus is tasked with laying the groundwork for conquering the globe with the Gospel. Crete may be a mess, but if the wind of God blows, the dry bones will live and move once more.

THE TEXT

Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost […] Titus 3:1ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul’s movement of thought has gone from elders & their households specifically (1:6-9), to Christian households in general (2:1-10). He now broadens the circle a third time to encompass all Christians’ duties as citizens (3:1-3). Crete was the home of many mercenaries, as well as many busy harbors, which brought in all manner of riff-raff; the population of Crete was notorious for villainy. Christians were to live in stark contrast. They should live in mindful submission to the magistrate, eager in good works (v1), refusing to join the course banter & brawling of the unbelieving, and instead should be marked by gentleness coupled with harnessed strength (v2).

The dissolute life they (and Paul) once lived (v3), has been washed away by the kindness of God appearing (v4, Cf. 2:11-14). This salvation is “not by works” but by mercy, the two-fold mercy of regenerative washing & the renewing work of the Holy Ghost (v5). This mercy comes to us, in abundance, through Jesus Christ our Savior (v6). All the exhortations to good works throughout this epistle should be couched in this high-octane Gospel: justified by His grace (v7a). But this justification makes us heirs of God the Father & the eternal life which is found in His Son Jesus Christ (v7b, Cf. 1 Jn. 5:12, Heb. 7:16). The glory of the Gospel should cause those who believe it to maintain good works (vv8, 14); this point is clearly important because Paul repeats it once more in verse 14: “maintain good works, do not be unfruitful.” Believing in God, and being careful to maintain good works, is good and profitable unto mankind. This is how the church will subvert the ungodly world (v8b).

Paul then gives instructions as to what to do about the false teachers and division specialists who were bothering the church. Were he writing to us, he might says something like: “Don’t spend much, if any, time arguing in YouTube comment threads.” All these squabbles ––about Zeus’ birthplace (and if perhaps you were descended from him), or what specific angels did, or how thin you could slice the plain law of Moses––are all unprofitable (v9). Verse 10-11 gives us the only reference in the NT to a “heretick” and what to do about him: rebuke him a time or two, and then let him fall headlong into his self-deception (vv10-11).

Paul closes his letters with some final practical details, and final blessings of true Christian love and prayers for grace (vv12-15). One detail in this closing we shouldn’t overlook is that Paul expects Titus to get all this in place in enough time to be able to join him in Nicopolis by winter. Other men will take over what Titus’ began. An encouraging thought is found here, a true reformation doesn’t need a long time to get started, even while it will take generational faithfulness to sustain it.

ZEUS’ BIRTHPLACE

Some Greek mythology is actually at play in the background of this epistle. As the legend went, a cave on Crete was believed to be the place where Zeus’ mother hid him from his father, Cronus. Cronus had devoured all his previous children. But Zeus had been hid away on Crete, to be raised in secret. Once Zeus was strong enough, he overthrew his father, delivered his siblings from his father’s stomach, and then, by casting lots, the rule of Mt. Olympus was given over to Zeus.

Many on Crete believed that they were possible descendants of this Titan. Thus, the fables of lineage captured the social imagination. But along comes a rival story, a rival myth, and one that just so happened to be true. God the Father sent His Son. The Christ died in our stead, washed us with covenantal waters, and renews us by His indwelling Spirit. All of this means that those who trusted in Christ were made true heirs of the eternal life of God.

The divine life is yours; not by fables, but by faith. This Gospel is a potent story which upends dominant cultural narrative of their day. This divine life is yours because you have received a new paternity. In regeneration, God becomes Your Father. This takes place when you are washed in Christ & renewed by His Spirit. None of this is by your doing. It isn’t obtained your striving to get it from your Father. Rather, it comes to you by His grace & favor alone. Your Father is not a devourer like Cronus. Your Father gives you Himself, by giving you His Son (Cf. 2:14).

GRACE IN THE HARBORS

We might ask, why did Paul single out this island of scoundrels and scallawags as worth devoting some his best resources? The harbors of Crete were one of the main crossroads of the Mediterranean. Paul identified correctly that if these “lymph nodes” of commerce were conquered, it would have a disproportionate impact on the Gospel effort to take over the world.

But like the hymn puts it: not with swords loud clashing, or roll of stirring drums, but with deeds of love and mercy, the heavenly kingdom comes. This overthrow will come by the Christian church being vibrantly alive. The gracious gift of the Gospel is followed by the good works of the Spirit. As A.A. Hodge put it, “Grace in the heart cannot exist without good works
as their consequent.” We should also lay stress upon the fact that Paul’s vision is not an escapist mentality. He insists that these good works are to be done publicly, in the civil sphere, with an aim to bring about the total reformation of the culture of Crete.

God’s favor has been described & depicted in some wonderful terms throughout this letter: the kindness & love of God (3:4), the blessed hope (2:13), the hope of eternal life manifested in the preaching of Christ (1:2-3). Once this grace takes root in the harbors, it will overthrow empires. Paul’s strategy works at every level, from the individual to the empire. Where is the mess? That’s where God’s grace will appear, not to leave the mess as it is. Through Christ, abundance of grace is shed upon you. The Holy Spirit brings renewal. To use one example, the dead frost of winter gives way to the fresh life of spring.

WASHED & RENEWED

Dead men have dead works. The wicked men were subverting others’ households (1:11) because they themselves were subverted (3:11). Sin is self-delusion. Paul includes himself, “For we ourselves were once” this way. Every time you sin, you, in effect are the fool saying in his heart, “There is no God.” Jesus told the Pharisees that by rejecting him as Messiah (the anointed Prince), they were showing that their father was the devil. Sin is unfruitful. Sin is dead works. Sin is the result of being a descendant of Adam, and his capitulation to Satan. The Spirit comes, and brings life. He brings a second generation. A new paternity. Pentecost wasn’t followed by the idleness of corpses, but with the activity of New Birth.

Your baptism tells you two things. First, you once were dead in Adam; and so none of your righteousness will suffice. Secondly, it tells you that God is your Father. You are an heir. Regeneration is not a matter of subjective feelings, but of the objective work of the Spirit, which renews you. Christ washes you, the Spirit renews you, and the Father calls you child. You are washed in wave after wave of the free grace of God through Christ, and then the Spirit renews you day by day, week by week, to bear the fruit of God’s life in you. Baptized in Christ you can know that God is your Father. Renewed by the Spirit, you are told to get to work taking over the world with Christ’s abundant life.

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Adoption, Forgiveness, & Glory (Pentecost 2023)

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INTRODUCTION

We live in a world that has rejected God the Father, and so we are a nation of bastards, fatherless and angry, fatherless and despairing. And this is why God sent His Son into the world: so that all the lost sons might be brought home, to adopt them as His own sons by His Spirit.

THE TEXT

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God…” (Rom. 8:14-17).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul is in the middle of an argument, but the central point is that whoever is led by the Spirit of God is a son of God (Rom. 8:14). This Spirit is the Spirit of Christ who was obedient to the point of death, condemned sin in His flesh on the cross, and rose from the dead (Rom. 8:2-3, 9-11). This Spirit is not of bondage to fear (because all of the condemnation for our sin has fallen on Christ in our place, Rom. 8:1-3), but rather, the Spirit of adoption has been given to us which teaches us to call God ‘Our Father’ (Rom. 8:15). This Spirit has been given to assure us that we belong to God as His children (Rom. 8:16). And this assurance includes the full inheritance of Christ and all of His glory, while sharing in His suffering (Rom. 8:17).

THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION

It has been rightly said that God has no grandchildren. The point is that salvation in Christ is a direct adoption by God the Father, in Christ, by His Spirit. Christ is the only Mediator between God and men, and what He mediates is His own relationship to the Father: we are joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). He freely shares everything with us.

Nevertheless, part of this inheritance is the people of God. Elsewhere, Paul prays that “ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18). “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member but many” (1 Cor. 12:13-14). Some of us have the great blessing of having grown up in a faithful Christian family, but many are starting from scratch, either as new converts or simply as being awakened to the necessity to follow Christ more faithfully. But all of us have been given the same Spirit of the Son, and in Him, we have all been given the inheritance of the saints. God has no grandchildren, but all of God’s true children have parents and grandparents in the faith.

THE SPIRIT OF FORGIVENESS

This Spirit is not a spirit of bondage to fear (Rom. 8:15). In Hebrews it says that Jesus partook of flesh and blood “that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:15-15). Bondage to fear is fundamentally fear of death, and the reason we fear death is because the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). For guilty sinners, death is punishment, and this is the power of the devil, Satan – the Accuser. He accuses us and condemns us for our sins, and we know that we deserve to die. But the Spirit of Pentecost is the Spirit of deliverance because Christ condemned all our sin in His body on the cross (Rom. 8:3). All our offenses were nailed to the cross, and therefore all the accusations, all the condemnation was blotted out by His blood (Col. 3:14). And now Satan has nothing on us, and the sting of death is gone (1 Cor. 15:56).

This same Spirit of forgiveness sets us free to forgive others. Guilt is one kind of bondage to fear, but bitterness is another. Many people are kept in bondage to fear by sin committed against them, often by parents or others close to us: fear that it will happen again, fear that no justice will be done. But bitterness is like chaining yourself to someone else’s sin (Heb. 12:15).

Forgiveness isn’t the same thing as trust. Forgiveness is a promise, not a feeling. It’s a promise not to hold someone’s sin against them before the Lord. And if someone isn’t repentant and hasn’t asked for your forgiveness, you can’t be fully reconciled. But you can and must have forgiveness ready for them. Have forgiveness ready like bread baking in your heart; have forgiveness like a bottle of fine wine waiting by the door. Be like the father in the parable looking down the road, ready and eager to run to them, because that is how you have been forgiven (Eph. 4:31-32). This Spirit gives this glory.

THE SPIRIT OF GLORY

The Spirit has been given to guarantee our glory in the Son, and the text goes on to say this glory will include all of creation itself (Rom. 8:17ff). The Spirit restores, glorifies, and transfigures everything; the Spirit anoints for rule and battle (Rom. 8:37).

All wars are ultimately fought with and over glory. We fight for competing visions of glory, and we fight withwhatever we consider our greatest strengths. Many Christians are at a loss about what to do about the current madness assaulting what is left of Western civilization. But this is the battleplan: pursue the glory of your Father as His sons. Everything good triumphs over evil. Forgiveness triumphs over bitterness. Generosity conquers greed. Joyful marriage confounds perversion. Beauty overcomes ugliness. Therefore, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is lovely… cultivate those glorious things.

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Into Heaven Itself (Ascension Sunday 2023)

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INTRODUCTION

One of the reasons Christians are not as bold as they ought to be is because they do not know what covenant they are of. We have heard the stories of saints who have smelled of heaven; they have sizzled with the aroma of angels. And this is just what we are after. Some, not knowing the kingdom of heaven, have looked upon such saints and mistaken their boldness for pride, their freedom for madness. Some believers, even, who have drifted too far from the Heavenly Father, have made this same misjudgment. Even so, this is what we are after: the full assurance of faith seen in the likes of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before the fire, or Jonathan climbing up to the Philistine garrison, outnumbered.

THE TEXT

For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,

Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.

Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.

And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us (Hebrews 9:19–24).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

After Moses spoke God’s Word to the people at Sinai, he took the blood of calves and goats, mixed it with water, and sprinkled both the book of the covenant and all the people (v. 19). This was not just any blood but the blood of the covenant (v. 20) that covered the covenant people, the altar Moses had erected, and the book of the covenant itself (Exodus 24:7). Thus far, Paul refers to Exodus 24 when the Mosaic Covenant was inaugurated in blood.

Then he carries this theme further into the history of Israel. The tabernacle itself and the vessels of ministry were also sprinkled with blood (v. 21). The tabernacle and vessels did not exist yet in Exodus 24. So Paul carries the theme of “sprinkled with blood” to the Day of Atonement which we hear about in Leviticus 16. On that day, blood was placed upon the horns of the altar and even brought within the veil and sprinkled on the mercy seat. This sprinkling atoned for the holy place and the tabernacle (Leviticus 16:16, 20).

This blood atonement was necessary for in the law nearly everything was cleansed by blood; without it there was no forgiveness of sins (v. 22). Therefore it was necessary that the patterns of the things in the heavens should be purified with blood sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with a better sacrifice (v. 23). For Christ didn’t enter into man-made holy places, which were antitypes of the true, but into heaven itself to appear before God for us (v. 24).

A BIT OF WORLD EXPLAINING

Those last two verses can raise the eyebrow. They don’t make sense without a little world explaining. God did not merely tell Moses to build a tabernacle, but He told him to construct a tabernacle according to the type he saw on the mountain (Hebrews 8:5; Exodus 25:40). The Old Testament tabernacle was constructed according to a real, heavenly one.

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

The pattern God regularly uses is: from heaven to earth. It was this way in the beginning. He made the heavens and the earth, not the earth and the heavens. We pray that our Father’s kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven not in heaven as it is on earth. David’s soldiers could go marching out to battle only after he heard the heavenly army marching atop the mulberry trees (2 Samuel 5:24). Many of our problems in life come from trying to boss heaven around. The other problems come from ignoring heaven, as if it had nothing to do with things down here on earth. The solution to these problems is to live on earth as it is in heaven.

THE HEAVENLY THINGS THEMSELVES

The stage is now set for the potency of our text. Where has Christ gone? Into heaven itself. What has He done? He has purified the heavenly things themselves by His blood. He is in heaven “for us” (v. 24). In another place we hear that we are seated with Him in those heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). If you are forgiven there, you are forgiven here. By faith, you are already there while you are still here.

 BOLDNESS TO ENTER IN

The veil of the true temple has been torn in two and that veil is Christ’s flesh (Hebrews 2:20). You are in the holy place right now by faith in Christ. The tent made without hands has been sprinkled with Christ’s blood. The water from his side has washed you clean. The blood of the better sacrifice has been sprinkled on the true mercy seat, the true altar. The heavenly tabernacle is purified with you in it. What could you possibly be afraid of?

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Hearts Sprinkled Clean (Ascension Sunday 2023)

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INTRODUCTION

The Ascension of Jesus is one of the key glories of the gospel, and it really is part of the good news. Our Conquering King is our High Priest, and He has gone ahead of us, appearing in God’s presence for us.

THE TEXT

“For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people…” (Heb. 9:19-24)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

From the time God first confronted sin in this world, it has been accompanied with blood (Gen. 3). So when Moses renewed covenant with God’s people at Sinai, everyone and everything was sprinkled with blood for the remission of sins (Heb. 9:19-22). Hebrews seems to combine a number of different cleansings, summarizing the whole system from the initial covenant ceremony with various rites prescribed in the law (e.g. Ex. 24, Lev. 14:4ff, Lev. 16, etc.). What that earthly tabernacle pictured was Heaven itself and God’s presence, and therefore, what that Old Covenant dedication and cleansing foretold was the purification of the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices (Heb. 9:23). Thus, it was necessary for Christ to ascend into Heaven itself – the temple made without hands – to appear in the presence of God on our behalf (Heb. 9:24).

WHY DOES HEAVEN NEED TO BE CLEANSED?

One immediate question that ought to occur to us is: why does Heaven need to be sprinkled clean by the blood of Jesus? Isn’t Heaven perfect, pure, and sinless? Remember that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and therefore, they are both places that God created side by side, intending for them to mingle and overlap. We see glimpses of this with Enoch walking with God, the burning bush, Elijah riding fiery chariots into Heaven, the vision of the heavenly armies surrounding Elisha and his servant, the transfiguration, and of course the Ascension of Jesus. Heaven is not far away; it is near, but the original unity has been terribly strained by our sin. Thus, the ultimate goal is pictured in Revelation in the imagery of the Heavenly Jerusalem coming down to earth from heaven, and the dwelling place of God being with men (Rev. 21-22).

But that still doesn’t really answer the question of why Heaven needs to be sprinkled clean. Oscar Wilde once told a story about a picture that told the truth about a man, and while he miraculously remained young, the more wicked the man became, the more the picture grew old and hideous.

On the Day of Atonement, in the Old Covenant system, two goats were chosen, and the sins of the nation were confessed over one and it was released into the wilderness. The other was killed and the blood was brought into the tabernacle in order to cleanse the tabernacle from all the uncleanness of the people, their transgressions and sins (Lev. 16:16, 19). In other words, because Heaven is not far off, and God in His mercy has drawn near and bound Himself in covenant to a sinful people, there is a sense in which our sinfulness stains God’s glory and collects in Heaven – like in The Picture of Dorian Gray – and must be cleansed.

THE GREAT MERCY OF GOD

We live before God constantly, and in our sin, we foul His presence. As His image bearers, our sins lie about Him. God is the Great King of the Universe, and we are insolent rebels, spitting on His mercies, despising Him and His goodness, mad with our lusts and envy and bitterness and complaints. And He gives and upholds us, and like Israel in the wilderness, we only complain and turn to idols. But God in His great mercy sent His only begotten Son into the world to be the true tabernacle (Jn. 1:14), which means He came to become that Image where all our hideous sin might collect. And so it did. And when He was lifted up on the cross, He was lifted up like the hideous serpent pierced (Jn. 3:14). But whereas Oscar Wilde’s image only mocked and caused despair, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, and all our sin gone forever. And if that wasn’t enough, He ascended into Heaven itself, into the presence of the Living God, appearing there in the presence of God for us (Heb. 9:24).

CONCLUSION: HEARTS SPRINKLED CLEAN

In the following chapter, it says that because of the blood of Jesus, we enter the Holy of Holies with boldness, because He is our High Priest (Heb. 10:19-20). We draw near with true hearts with full assurance of faith because our hearts have been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience (Heb. 10:21).

How are our hearts sprinkled clean? First and fundamentally by agreeing with God that you are a sinner in need of His great mercy. But then whenever you confess your sins to God and anyone you’ve sinned against, He promises to cleanse us by the blood of Jesus and wash us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:7-9).

Which means that part of what Jesus is cleansing in Heaven is us because that is where we are seated with Him (Eph. 2:6). This also means that Heaven and earth have been reunited, and while we do not yet see all things under His feet, we see Jesus crowned with glory and honor (Heb. 2:8-9).

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