For anyone who may be interested my book "Every Nation Under Heaven" is now available.

 Have you ever wondered how you fit into God's great plan for the ages?

Every Nation Under Heaven explains the overarching plan of God and His relationship to the nations and kingdoms of this world. Ultimately, EVERY believer has a roll to play in God's great plan of redemption. This book will help you understand your place in that plan, and if you are a church teacher in search of lesson material, this will make a great Discipleship Class or Sunday School Class teaching series.

For more information you can visit my website https://tonywthomas.com/ or purchase from the publisher at Pathway Bookstore.

Be blessed,

Tony Thomas

The Public Lives of Successful Christians: Part 3 - Pursuing the Good.

The Public Lives of Successful Christians

Pursuing the good.

(7) "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (8) For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (9) Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? (10) Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? (11) If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (12) "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. [Mat 7:7-12 ESV]

Ask, Seek, Knock.

If verse seven is taken by itself, it would seem to give God a “vending machine” feature. However, if we look deeper, we see that there is an increase in the intensity of the pursuit of that which is good. The passage starts with instruction to “ask”. Certainly this is a worthwhile instruction. As simple as it may seem, sometimes we do without simply because we fail to ask.[1]

The next instruction is to “seek”. Seeking carries a more intense sense than to simply “ask”. “Knocking” denotes even more persistence on the part of the one who is making petition.

•         Why does Jesus give us this word picture?

•         How do you think a believer’s spiritual maturity affects the way that God responds to them?

The Parental Example.

Jesus uses the example of a caring parent to illustrate our relationship to God. Our petition to  is made on the basis of a child to a loving Father.  The point is this:

•         If fallible, flawed people instinctively care for their children, how much more will a Holy God care for his?

The Qualifying Request-Good Things.

Jesus tells us that if we ask, seek and knock we will receive the “good things” God has for us.

It is quite possible for us to want something good that God has for us, but not be enthusiastic about the process to receive that good thing.

For example, here are good things a parent should give a child.

•         work ethic

•         morality

•         integrity

•         spirituality

The child will someday appreciate these thing, but will often not be enthused about the process to receive them. Similarly, we often do not appreciate God's methods even though we trust his motives. The Lord never leads his children into paths that are destructive. He leads us in ways that are both instructive and constructive.

The link to the “Golden Rule”.

It has been said that whenever you see a “therefore”[2] in scripture you need to see what it is “there for”. In this case, it is drawing a link between good things we receive from God, and our treatment of others. It is fair to say that (most?) often the good things of God come through the hands or hearts of other people.

An example or persistence – Bartimaeus[3]

"As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." And he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me recover my sight." And Jesus said to him, "Recover your sight; your faith has made you well." And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God." (Luke 18:35-43 ESV)

Questions

•         For what does God really wants me to ask, seek, and knock? What is the good thing that I am to pursue?[4]

•         How have I seen the progressive revelation of God's will in my life?

•         How do cynicism and impatience get me into trouble regarding God's will for my life?

•         My most important pursuit is______________________.

•         Why does God want me to pursue the good things he wants to give to me anyway?

To view the next lesson in this series, click HERE.

---

[1]James 4:2

[2]In the KJV

[3]Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus - Mark 10:46

[4]Luke 12:24-34, Matthew 6:30-34

Jesus Strikes Back...

I have simplified this as best I can. It may still be a bit tedious, but I think it will be worth it.

    The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the baptism and temptation of Jesus. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that he immediately left the Jordan River after his baptism to spend forty days fasting in the Judean Wilderness. At the end of those forty days Satan came to him to  tempt him.

    The first temptation overcome by Jesus was a challenge by Satan for Jesus to use his divine power to satisfy the desires of his own flesh; that is, to transform stones into bread to satisfy his hunger. In the second, Satan took him to the pinnacle of the temple and (using a misquotation of scripture) challenged Jesus to throw himself from the top of the Temple and land safely at the base. In the third temptation, Satan shows Jesus all of the Kingdoms of the World and offers to surrender them all to him in exchange for one thing that Satan wants above all else; that is, worship.

    The Gospel of John is the most unique of the four gospel accounts. We sometimes use chapter one as an account of Jesus baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit. Technically it is not. It is a record of John the Baptist's dialogue with priests and Levites about his role in the kingdom of God. In this dialogue John the Baptist is recounting  the baptism of Jesus which had occurred a few weeks prior. The next day, after this dialogue, Jesus returns and John the Baptist makes a public proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah.

Here is what I find so interesting.

    In the wilderness Jesus repelled the temptations Satan brought to him, and upon his return Jesus begins a counter attack against Satan in the very same venues in which Satan had declared war.

 Counter attack #1: Transformation

   Three days after Jesus has returned from his wilderness experience he is at a marriage in Cana of Galilee. It is here that he performs his first miracle: he transforms water into wine...not privately for himself but publicly for the benefit of others. This act manifests his glory and causes his growing band of disciples to believe on him. There is no mention that he prayed over the water. There is no mention of the Father or the Spirit in this passage. This was an autonomous divine action by the Son of God.

Counter attack #2: The Temple

    A few days later he attends the Passover in Jerusalem. He enters the Temple and promptly throws the merchants and their livestock out. This marked his entrance into Jerusalem (and particularly the Temple).   His zeal for holiness is unmistakeable. His entrance is not self aggrandizing, rather, he openly chastises the merchants for polluting the house of the Father.

Counter attack #3: Nature of the Kingdom

    The third item of interest come from the next chapter, John chapter 3. While Jesus is in Jerusalem, a young ruler named Nicodemus comes to him by night to consult with him. Jesus immediately reads his heart and begins to discuss with him the nature of the Kingdom of God, and emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation.

1. Bread and wine are both symbols/types of the suffering of Christ. Satan tried to corrupt these symbols, Jesus reinforced them.

2. Satan tried to turn the Temple into a circus and Christ into a clown. Jesus cleansed the temple, and left the resurrection as his calling card.

3. Satan bargained with the kingdoms of the earth in an attempt to elevate himself. Jesus reveals the depth of the sacrifice of the Godhead so that he might give men the key to the Kingdom of God.

The wilderness temptations were not solely and attack on the Son of God, they were an attack by Satan on the Godhead as a whole. Notice the emphasis on each person of the Godhead in the progression of events. The Son, the Father and the Spirit are all emphasized in turn.

Additional thoughts...

...on throw yourself from the pinnacle

The challenge here was to make a spectacle of himself in the temple by doing something supernatural, and in essence trade his mission of salvation for a carnival act.

...on worship me and I'll give you the kingdoms.

Essentially Satan was offering Jesus a way around the cross. In exchange however Satan would be allowed to exalt his throne to the level of Godhood. by the very act of worship, Jesus would have been acknowledging Satan as a superior . [cf. Isaiah 14:12-14].

...on John 3.

 It is in this dialogue that the much quoted John 3:16 occurs (for God so loved the world...etc.), but we also see that in this passage the wilderness experience is still very fresh on his mind, for he says,

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." [John 3:14-16]

I, for one, have enjoyed this study. Hopefully it will inspire you as well. Blessings.

You Can Do More Than You Think You Can

Ever had a day that just wouldn't end? So did Jesus.

Recorded in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) is an account of one of the longest days in the Life of our Savior and his disciples. This day is so significant that it is recorded in all four gospels. Each writer illuminates different facets of the story, but it is the same story. It is a day of triumph and sorrow. It is a day of hunger and abundance. It is a day in which a little failure might have been seen as a big relief.

Here is the background to this very long day:

 John the Baptist is in prison...

    At this point in his ministry, Jesus popularity is growing, but his cousin John has been imprisoned  for several months by the local head honcho, Herod Antipas. In his prison on the shores of the Dead Sea, John has heard great things about Jesus from his disciples. Just days before this day John had sent two of his disciples to Jesus asking him to verify that he was in fact the Messiah, and they had returned to confirm this truth to John.

 Jesus' own disciples are on their way back to him...  

   Before we can really appreciate this day, we must also know that Jesus had recently sent his disciples on an evangelistic mission around the towns and villages of Galilee. This is the day they would return.

How the long day begins...

Notice of John’s death…and Herod’s interest

    As dawn breaks on this day, Jesus is awakened perhaps by the running feet of John’s disciples. John has been beheaded and his corpse mistreated. Furthermore, Herod is interested in Jesus now. John’s imprisonment had taken place about seventy miles due south of where Jesus was. It is possible John's disciples with the question did not make it back to the prison before his execution.  Jesus begins to grieve for his forerunner.

News of successful evangelism...

   Just then his own disciples arrive with joyous news about the success of their missionary foray. Stories of evangelistic preaching and miracles abound. They decide to make breakfast. 

Then, the crowds arrive. They are pounding on the door. They are crowding in.

Solitude sought...

   Jesus commands that they row out of town to a stretch of abandoned shoreline. The crowds figure them out and beat them to the location.

Extemporaneous ministry...

    Jesus teaches and heals the multitude all day long.

Hunger and exhaustion...

    As evening approaches the disciples plead with the Lord to send the crowds away that they may go buy food. Luke records it by saying, “And when the day began to wear away…” Luke 9:12.

Vision-less disciples and catering...

    Jesus then tells his cadre of miracle working evangelist, “You feed them”… and they grab their wallets in dismay. (I’m paraphrasing here) “Lord it would take $20,000 to feed this bunch. We don’t have that kind of cash.”

    One disciple, Andrew, finds a boy with five biscuits and a couple of  sardines. Whatever the disciples planned to eat on their original picnic outing is now missing.

    Jesus blesses and multiplies the loaves and fish.

    The disciples now get to play waiter to 5000+ people.

    Then they get to play busboy to 5000+ people. They collect 12 baskets of leftovers.

Bed is an hour away...

    Jesus then commands his disciples to make a five mile journey in their ship while he dismisses the crowd. The disciples leave.

The kingmaker crowd...

    The crowd turns kingmaker and wants to force Jesus to be king. He retreats up the mountain to pray.

Jesus sees the disciples toiling on the lake as the sun goes down...

    As dark settles in Jesus can see the disciples a good distance from shore battling a head wind. He prays all night while they toil in the sea.

Jesus bails them out at dawn...

    Sometime between 3am and 6am he walks past them on the sea. They get scared. Jesus calls out. Peter gets bold. With the Lord’s permission he walks on water, then sinks, then walks back to the boat just in time to get off again.

And then it all starts all over again

   The disciples beach the boat as day breaks and the crowds begin to form again as the locals realize who has shown up. Later in the day, the folks from yesterday will show up as well.

Lesson we can learn from this very long day:

1. Perfection is the enemy of ministry. God did not call us to be perfect. He called us to be obedient. We cannot make the ministry failure-proof and be effective.
2. When the Vision is from the Lord, money is of no consequence. Jesus can turn a sack lunch into a catered fish fry.
3. Leftovers taste pretty good at 3am. I am quite certain that the disciples didn’t make it to the far shore with twelve baskets of fish and bread. The memory of the miraculous will sustain us in when battle headwinds.
4. Sometimes we row against the head wind. Just because we are battling the headwinds doesn’t mean Jesus isn’t watching. He is on the mountain interceding on our behalf.
5. Jesus calls “come” to the bleary eyed and exhausted. You will not be pretty in the hour of your greatest faith, and your not likely to walk on water when you are thinking straight.
6. Its okay to approach the work of the Lord with a plan, but once contact is made minister to the needs that present themselves. Jesus can “mess up” your day anytime he wants.
7.  The end is only the beginning. They returned for rest only to find the real work beginning. Your job in the kingdom of God may change, but it never ends.
8. You can do more than you think you can.

"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious!" -Vince Lombardi

[If you want to read about Jesus' "very long day"  you can do so in these passages in the Bible Matthew 14, Mark 6:30-37, Luke 9, John 6]

Jesus strikes back.

I have simplified this as best I can. It may still be a bit tedious, but I think it will be worth it.

    The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the baptism and temptation of Jesus. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that he immediately left the Jordan River after his baptism to spend forty days fasting in the Judean Wilderness. At the end of those forty days Satan came to him to  tempt him.

    The first temptation overcome by Jesus was a challenge by Satan for Jesus to use his divine power to satisfy the desires of his own flesh; that is, to transform stones into bread to satisfy his hunger. In the second, Satan took him to the pinnacle of the temple and (using a misquotation of scripture) challenged Jesus to throw himself from the top of the Temple and land safely at the base. In the third temptation, Satan shows Jesus all of the Kingdoms of the World and offers to surrender them all to him in exchange for one thing that Satan wants above all else; that is, worship.

    The Gospel of John is the most unique of the four gospel accounts. We sometimes use chapter one as an account of Jesus baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit. Technically it is not. It is a record of John the Baptist's dialogue with priests and Levites about his role in the kingdom of God. In this dialogue John the Baptist is recounting  the baptism of Jesus which had occurred a few weeks prior. The next day, after this dialogue, Jesus returns and John the Baptist makes a public proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah.

Here is what I find so interesting.

    In the wilderness Jesus repelled the temptations Satan brought to him, and upon his return Jesus begins a counter attack against Satan in the very same venues in which Satan had declared war.

 Counter attack #1: Transformation

   Three days after Jesus has returned from his wilderness experience he is at a marriage in Cana of Galilee. It is here that he performs his first miracle: he transforms water into wine...not privately for himself but publicly for the benefit of others. This act manifests his glory and causes his growing band of disciples to believe on him. There is no mention that he prayed over the water. There is no mention of the Father or the Spirit in this passage. This was an autonomous divine action by the Son of God.

Counter attack #2: The Temple

    A few days later he attends the Passover in Jerusalem. He enters the Temple and promptly throws the merchants and their livestock out. This marked his entrance into Jerusalem (and particularly the Temple).   His zeal for holiness is unmistakeable. His entrance is not self aggrandizing, rather, he openly chastises the merchants for polluting the house of the Father.

Counter attack #3: Nature of the Kingdom

    The third item of interest come from the next chapter, John chapter 3. While Jesus is in Jerusalem, a young ruler named Nicodemus comes to him by night to consult with him. Jesus immediately reads his heart and begins to discuss with him the nature of the Kingdom of God, and emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation.

1. Bread and wine are both symbols/types of the suffering of Christ. Satan tried to corrupt these symbols, Jesus reinforced them.

2. Satan tried to turn the Temple into a circus and Christ into a clown. Jesus cleansed the temple, and left the resurrection as his calling card.

3. Satan bargained with the kingdoms of the earth in an attempt to elevate himself. Jesus reveals the depth of the sacrifice of the Godhead so that he might give men the key to the Kingdom of God.

The wilderness temptations were not solely and attack on the Son of God, they were an attack by Satan on the Godhead as a whole. Notice the emphasis on each person of the Godhead in the progression of events. The Son, the Father and the Spirit are all emphasized in turn.

Additional thoughts...

...on throw yourself from the pinnacle

The challenge here was to make a spectacle of himself in the temple by doing something supernatural, and in essence trade his mission of salvation for a carnival act.

...on worship me and I'll give you the kingdoms.

Essentially Satan was offering Jesus a way around the cross. In exchange however Satan would be allowed to exalt his throne to the level of Godhood. by the very act of worship, Jesus would have been acknowledging Satan as a superior . [cf. Isaiah 14:12-14].

...on John 3.

 It is in this dialogue that the much quoted John 3:16 occurs (for God so loved the world...etc.), but we also see that in this passage the wilderness experience is still very fresh on his mind, for he says,

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." [John 3:14-16]

I, for one, have enjoyed this study. Hopefully it will inspire you as well. Blessings.