Noah, the movie, not Noah from the Bible

I only recently saw the move "Noah"with Russel Crowe. Even knowing that it differed quite a lot from the Bible beforehand, I was still disappointed. I was a bit puzzled by the movie and how it was different from the Bible. I even recognized the word "zohar", but not making the connection to its meaning as the book of Kabbalah.

To me the greatest misrepresentations where the character of the Creator (who are totally without mercy in the film, while being merciful to righteous Noah and his family (and all the surviving animals) in the Bible. He also made clear His intentions in the Bible and there is no indication that what Noah did or why was unknown to his neighbours... rather that they did not pay attention to his message. Being obedient to God in the Bible therefore has a totally different result on Noah's character... one of mercy and thankfulness, rather than the inner struggle of the movie.

And finally the dots connected when I read the following article: http://drbrianmattson.com/journal/2014/3/31/sympathy-for-the-devil . ... So much makes sense now. Even why God is portrayed as "the baddy", mean and merciless. This is always been the ploy of the enemy, right from the garden of Eden when he accused the Lord of being deceitful and not wanting the best for Adam and Eve. Truly he is a liar and the father of the lie!

The works of Christ

"Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
I never really read what was written here until recently. As I was reading this passage my eyes were drawn to the phrase "the deeds of the Christ". What were these "deeds of the Christ" (or "the works of Christ" as in my translation)? It is not called "the deeds of Jesus". It wasn't simply the fact that Jesus were doing wonders. Many prophets (e.g. Moses, Elijah, Elisha) did wonders in the past. But it was specifically works that identify the Messiah (the Christ / the Anointed One). Isaiah 35: 5-6 among others, makes it clear that these were signs of the coming Kingdom...
“He will come and save you.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.“
This why it is not simply called the „deeds of Jesus“, since it was not simply miracles, but very specific miracles that were prophesied to be Messianic („the deeds of the Anointed“).

Disciples make disciples 5

What is the gospel, the Good News to which the first disciples testified?

Mark 16:15-20 - "And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs."

1. If you believe the gospel and are baptised, you will be saved. So it is something to believe, but what? The beginning of the book of Mark says:
Mark 1 - "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ... John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ... And he preached, saying, “After me comes He who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” ... Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”"
2. It is all about Jesus Christ (Yeshua, the Anointed One), the Son of God!
3. It involves repentance and forgiveness of sins (agreeing with the earlier Hebrew Scriptures!).
4. Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit (so it includes promises concerning the Holy Spirit in e.g. Joel 2).
5. It involves the Kingdom of God (which are clearly connected to the Son of man/Messiah in the Hebrew Scriptures from before: e.g. Dan.7).

Luke 24:36-53 - "As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God."
1. The fulfilment of the Scriptures.
2. The Messiah should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.
3. Repentance and forgiveness of sins proclaimed in His Name.
4. For all nations (again in accordance to the previous prophecies).

Acts 1:4-11 - "And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”"
1. The power from the Holy Spirit when we are baptized with Him.

Matt.28:18-20 - "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”"
1. Diciples of Jesus.
2. Baptized in the Name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
3. Teached to obey all the teachings of Jesus (including all on the Kingdom of God).
4. He is with us.

Joh.20:19-23 - "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”"
1. Receiving the Holy Spirit.
2. Sent as Jesus was sent (disciples making disciples).
3. Forgiveness of sins.
---===---
What is your definition of "the Gospel"?

Disciples making disciples 4

How?

 By now we know who this Jesus is, giving His last command: The First to rise from death, the One seated in the place of authority at God's right hand, the promised Messiah fulfilling all that the Scriptures foretold. We know that the command is to make (and be) apprentices of Jesus from all the nations. But how are we to do this?

Matt.28:18-20 - "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”"
Two things are mentioned here:

1. The authority of Jesus. We do not go on our own initiative, but in His authority. The One to whom all authority belongs, He sent us.
2. He will be with us always! How? Read below for the how.

Mark 16:15-20 - "And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs."

1. If we believe, He will work with us, confirming the message (of repentance and forgiveness of sin - see Mark 1:4 & 15 and Luke below)

Luke 24:36-53 - "Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God."

1. He first opens their hearts to understand the Scriptures. Knowing how God kept His promises concerning the Messiah is the basis of my faith in Him for all His other promises.
2. They were to wait for the promise of the Father, the power from on high. If we do not experience the power of the Holy Spirit, we dare not try to do things in our own strength. Many say that the Holy Spirit has already been poured out once for all on that day of Pentecost. However, we read that afterwards the believers were repeatedly filled with the Holy Spirit again (e.g. Acts 4:31). And we are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph.5:22). Too much "evangelism" is done in the strength and wisdom of the natural man and it causes more harm than good!

Joh.20:19-23 - "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”"

1. We are sent by Jesus just as the Father sent Him. We can expect the same power to work through us that worked in Jesus as long as we walk in total dependance on Him just as Jesus did.
2. We are commanded to receive the Holy Spirit. Does this imply that we are also involved in the process?

Acts 1:4-11 - "And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

1. They were baptized with the Holy Spirit for one purpose: in order to receive power so that they will be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. All too often Christians want the gifts of the Holy Spirit for all other ends... The Father will not give us a stone when we ask for bread, but then we should ask for bread and not for something else! :-)
2. The Holy Spirit is not the power, He is the Giver of the power. They received the Spirit who is the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of the Anointed, who anointed Him in order to send Him in the first place. That same Spirit is now available to us!

---===---

Disciples make disciples 3

What was Jesus' last command?

Having established Who it was giving the command, Jesus (Yeshua) of Nazareth, shown with power to be the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, what exactly was his last command? At first the gospel accounts might appear contradictory (and of course, whatever word of Jesus a certain gospel writes last, might not have been the actual last spoken words of Jesus on earth since there was 40 days during which He spoke with them after His resurrection). But on closer looks it becomes clear that all of them are saying the same thing in different words.

Matt.28:18-20 - "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”"


Mark 16:15-20 - "And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs."


Luke 24:36-53 - "Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” "


Joh.20:19-23 - "Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”"


Acts 1:4-11 - "And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” "

1. All nations (Matt., Luke), All the world, the whole creation (Mark), to the ends of the earth (Acts).
2. Make disciples (Matt.). What is a disciple? The Hebrew word for disciples is used for student in modern Hebrew. However, a disciples is much more than simply a student. It is much closer to the idea of an apprentice. It involves not simply transfer of knowledge (Luke: opened their minds), but actually the disciple doing the same things as die Master (John: as the Father sent me, so I send you).
3. Baptism was the public way to become a disciple of Jesus (a sign of repentance and forgiveness of sin: Mark.1:4-5), they are baptized into Him (Matt., Mark, Acts). This is good news! Repent and your sins will be forgiven in His Name (Mark, Luke)!
4. The nations are not to be simply taught what Jesus taught, but should be taught to do what Jesus commanded (Matt.) and do what He did (Mark, John). This includes the command to make disciples!
5. They were not to do it in their own strength (just as Jesus was first filled with the Spirit when He was baptized), but to wait to be baptized in the Spirit, to receive power when the Spirit comes on them. (Matt.28:20: I will be with you, Luke: stay until you are clothed with power, John: Receive the Holy Spirit, Acts: you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you). Although the Holy Spirit has been poured out, each one of us still need to filled with the Spirit before we can be His witnesses.

Disciples make disciples 2

Who gives the command?

Before giving them His last command, we are reminded who Jesus is:

Matt.28:18 - "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ”"

1. All authority in heaven and earth belongs to Him.

Mark 16:19 - "So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God."

2. He is seated in the place of authority at the right hand of God. (See Ps.110)

Luke 24:39-44 - "And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” "

3. He demonstrates his power/authority by His resurrection from death. No one else have ever done the same (which is also why it cannot be repeated in an experiment). ;-)
4. He fulfils all of the previous Scriptures. This confirms that He is indeed the Messiah, the promised Annointed One who was to come.
5. He foretold His death and resurrection. He kept his Word, no matter how unlikely they thought it beforehand. Will He not then also keep His other promises?

Joh.20:19-23 - "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”"

6. He was sent by the Father (God) and did nothing out of his own initiative (Joh.6:38, 5:19,30).

Acts 1:4-11 - "And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”"

7. He is the one who baptizes with the Spirit and with fire as John foretold (Matt.3:11)
8. He will come again in the same way as He went into heaven (See Dan.7).

I always assumed that Jesus went up higher until He could no longer be seen. However, interestingly is was a cloud which took him out of their sight. Could this be the same cloud which lead the Israelites through the desert (Ex.13:21)? The same cloud that previously overshadowed Jesus and his disciples and from which the voice came declaring Him to be His Son (Matt.17:5)?
---===---
The Command

Disciples make disciples 1

Jesus' last command

For now, I am just going to share the last command of Jesus to His disciples as found in Scripture. I will share what I learned from it in the next post. :-)

Matt.28:18-20 - "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”"


Mark 16:15-20 - "And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs."


Luke 24:36-53 - "As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God."


Joh.20:19-23 - "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”"


Acts 1:4-11 - "And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”"

Starting a series: Shavuot (Pentecost) 2014

Hearing the voice of God...

A friend recently asked me: "How do you hear God? Is there an audible voice?" And I answered: "No, it is more like your conscience, an inner little voice." However, there is more to the way God speaks. He speaks through His Word, the Bible (the Scriptures). Before I became a believer, the Bible was just another book (fairly boring in many parts). However, when I became filled with the Spirit of God, suddenly everything changed! God spoke to me through the Bible... how did this happen? Mostly I saw parallels between my own life and whatever was described in a particular piece of the Bible. Then (through this "inner voice of the Holy Spirit") He would show me how He reacted or what He said in that particular instance and that the same therefore applies to me in my similar circumstance. This was more than simply applying those truths in the Bible that I was reading which is true for every-one and everywhere to myself. It was the fact that He showed me how those truths apply to me in my circumstances.


For example, yesterday I read from Hosea how Israel was going to be destroyed because of their sins. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me." I am going through a difficult time in my own life at the moment. What should I do?
"For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear and go away;
I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.
I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me."
Now, I knew there were some things wrong in my relationship with the Lord. I knew about specific sins and I asked forgiveness for them, but did stop doing them and neither did I really plan to stop doing them. But these verses made me realized how He feels about it. He will wound and then wait until I acknowledge my guilt and seek His face and in my distress earnestly seek Him. This was exactly what happened to me!
"“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for He has torn us, that He may heal us;
He has struck us down, and He will bind us up.
After two days He will revive us;
on the third day He will raise us up,
that we may live before Him.
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
He will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”"
And then, as I press on to know the Lord, I learn about His character and what He wants from me:
"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."
And then, as He was healing me:
"When I heal Israel,
the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,
and the evil deeds of Samaria;
..."
In the same way, He showed me what was wrong in my life as He was healing me. He showed me that when I asked forgiveness before I was like Israel:
"They do not cry to me from the heart,
but they wail upon their beds;
for grain and wine they gash themselves;
they rebel against me."
In the same way I was asking forgiveness, not from my heart, but simply so that things would go well.

Why this series?

So why am I writing this? Since the revival in the time of Andrew Murray, many South African churches have the custom to pray together for the 10 days before Pentecost (Shavuot). I am currently in a position where I am unable to attend any such meetings. As I was praying about this, asking the Lord what I should do, I thought about what I would do if I did have christian friends with me here? I would share about what Pentecost (Shavuot) truly meant and the promises for us today. And I would expect and depend on the Holy Spirit to show me from the Bible what to share. In that case, why not simply share with myself what I would have shared with them, still depending on the Holy Spirit to lead me? Well, even though I am currently isolated from christian friends, I still have contact via internet. If I am going to write it down, why not also share what I learn on the Internet?

What this is not

This is not a series of sermons or daily devotionals for you to read. The problem with a sermon is that most of the time it is the preacher that is being judged on how well he preached (and often judging himself on the same principle). If it was a good sermon, then my reaction is: "Wow, he did a good job!" Or: "Wow, he really have a talent to open the Bible so people can understand it!" Sometimes, the sermon will actually motivate me to do something different in my life, but this does not happen often.

The same is true to a certain extend for "daily devotionals". I am reading what somebody else have heard from the Spirit in the Bible. I am not putting down preachers or writers of devotionals (I love Oswald Chambers). But what needs to happen is for us to press on to know the Lord. To get to know Him "face to face" so to speak, since this is what He desires from us. To love Him (and others) as He loves us (and them). So this is not simply me telling you what a certain Scripture means.


I admit that I am convinced by most of what Frank Viola wrote in "Pagan Christianity" about our church services not encouraging us to grow. Alan Hirsch says much of the same things in "The Forgotten Ways". I think that we have lost too much of the original Jewish setting of the New Testament. The church has become a group of gentiles replacing Israel instead of being grafted into Israel (). While God has used our "traditional" sermon-based methods in the past, the fastest-growing church currently is the church in China. It mostly consists of "house churches", without any of the typical things we have become used to in our church services, but incidentally also more closely resembling what the New Testament churches looked like than a typical western church of today.

What I hope this will be

What this is, is rather me sharing what I have learned from the Spirit on a certain topic from the Scriptures with the idea that you would actually read those same Scriptures and hear the voice of God speaking to you in your circumstances through those same (or related) Scriptures. When I was a young believer, this is exactly how we grew. Each one shared from his/her own experiences what they have been learning from God in the past week. Use whatever I share as a springboard to add what you have learned from the Lord. Let it be for the mutual encouragement, to built one another up. Seek the Lord about the issues I mention and then share whatever He gives you to share. I pray that whatever He gives me will also be benefit others and that I in turn, will be encouraged by the work of God in your life.

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Next: Make discipelsMake disciples