Step by Step …!
April 15, 2012
Mark 4:28
Introduction
- It was 2000 years ago when Jesus our Savior cried out, “It is finished!”
- When Jesus cried this out, it was not because his suffering was at last complete
- No, it was because the work that he had been sent to do was complete
- So what was the work that Jesus was sent to do?
- Was it only to heal the sick and bring wholeness to the mentally afflicted?
- No, the task he had been set was to reconcile man with God, and restore a right relationship between man and God
- 2 Cor 5:18-19 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”
- In doing this, the way was made open for man to come into God’s presence
- The whole purpose in man’s existence is to live in relationship with God, being obedient to Him, and to live in His presence for all eternity
- Personally, I long for a closer, deeper walk with Jesus
- I hunger for it and am actively seeking it
- In the next weeks we are going to journey towards God’s presence
- We will be talking about it in church, and I want to ask you to join me as we develop a closer walk with God!
A journey
- As we read through the Bible, we see time after time, how God worked with people over a period of time
- A major example is the Israelites leaving Egypt – God didn’t take them the short way, he took them through the windy dusty roads of the wilderness.
- It wasn’t his choice that they spend 40 years there, it was their own rebellion that led to that punishment
- But by the same token, he also did not take them the short way, along the road that went straight from Egypt to Palestine
- David went through all kinds of hardships and experiences before he finally sat on the throne, for which he had been anointed around 20 years before
- There is a principle here – God wants to develop character in us
- This takes time
- So we are on a journey with God
- Mark 4:26-29 – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head
- 2 Cor 3:18 – from glory to glory
- Our development as Christians is a process
How we got to where we are
- Did you know that our natural state is to be in close relationship with God?
- In the events of the garden of Eden, it is clear that God fellowshipped with Adam and Eve, he spent time with them
- Gen 3:8 – God walked in the garden in the cool of the day, and he called to Adam – where are you?
- 1 John 4:19 – we love because he first loved us
- God initiated this relationship with mankind
- Man was created to have communion with God
- Of course, we know the story, that man sinned and so became cut off from God
- Isa 59:2 – your iniquities have separated you from your God
- Man actually hid from God
- But this was not just Adam and Eve
- It has been repeated time and time again in our lives too
- We pull away from God and as a consequence we live at a distance from God
- Jesus made it possible for us to be reconciled to God
- There is a route to follow, a road to tread
- Many have walked this road before us, and it lies ready for us to walk upon, step by step
The way back to intimacy
- God provided us a vehicle for understanding how to regain the intimacy that God has intended for us
- That vehicle is the structure of the tabernacle in the Old Testament
- So much of what happened there is symbolic of and teaches about our relationship with Jesus.
- As the priests, worked in the tabernacle, there would be a progression, from the entrance to the tabernacle area, to the altar of burnt offering, representing Jesus, the Lamb who was slain
- There is the laver, a basin of water, where the priests would be cleansed, as we are by the blood of the Lamb
- There is the table of shewbread, representing Jesus the bread of life
- There was the candlestick representing Jesus, the light of the world, and the oil representing the Holy Spirit
- There was the altar of incense where our prayers are presented before God on a continual basis
- And finally there is the veil which was torn in two at the moment of Jesus’ death, telling us that we now have full and complete access to the Father, through Jesus’ death and our justification
Conclusion
- This coming week, I want to encourage us all to devote time in prayer, as we commence this journey together
- I know most of us have accepted Jesus into our lives, and we are saved
- But if you want to go deeper with God, go on this journey with me
- Don’t allow past problems and difficulties hamper you in your quest
- Lay these things aside, as Paul tells us in Hebrews 12:2 – let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles … Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.
- If we have not been praying, ask for forgiveness and start over
- If we have been praying, keep it up, and ask the Lord how you can grow in this area of your life
And next time we will commence this journey toward the presence of God
April 15, 2012
Mark 4:28
Introduction
- It was 2000 years ago when Jesus our Savior cried out, “It is finished!”
- When Jesus cried this out, it was not because his suffering was at last complete
- No, it was because the work that he had been sent to do was complete
- So what was the work that Jesus was sent to do?
- Was it only to heal the sick and bring wholeness to the mentally afflicted?
- No, the task he had been set was to reconcile man with God, and restore a right relationship between man and God
- 2 Cor 5:18-19 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”
- In doing this, the way was made open for man to come into God’s presence
- The whole purpose in man’s existence is to live in relationship with God, being obedient to Him, and to live in His presence for all eternity
- Personally, I long for a closer, deeper walk with Jesus
- I hunger for it and am actively seeking it
- In the next weeks we are going to journey towards God’s presence
- We will be talking about it in church, and I want to ask you to join me as we develop a closer walk with God!
A journey
- As we read through the Bible, we see time after time, how God worked with people over a period of time
- A major example is the Israelites leaving Egypt – God didn’t take them the short way, he took them through the windy dusty roads of the wilderness.
- It wasn’t his choice that they spend 40 years there, it was their own rebellion that led to that punishment
- But by the same token, he also did not take them the short way, along the road that went straight from Egypt to Palestine
- David went through all kinds of hardships and experiences before he finally sat on the throne, for which he had been anointed around 20 years before
- There is a principle here – God wants to develop character in us
- This takes time
- So we are on a journey with God
- Mark 4:26-29 – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head
- 2 Cor 3:18 – from glory to glory
- Our development as Christians is a process
How we got to where we are
- Did you know that our natural state is to be in close relationship with God?
- In the events of the garden of Eden, it is clear that God fellowshipped with Adam and Eve, he spent time with them
- Gen 3:8 – God walked in the garden in the cool of the day, and he called to Adam – where are you?
- 1 John 4:19 – we love because he first loved us
- God initiated this relationship with mankind
- Man was created to have communion with God
- Of course, we know the story, that man sinned and so became cut off from God
- Isa 59:2 – your iniquities have separated you from your God
- Man actually hid from God
- But this was not just Adam and Eve
- It has been repeated time and time again in our lives too
- We pull away from God and as a consequence we live at a distance from God
- Jesus made it possible for us to be reconciled to God
- There is a route to follow, a road to tread
- Many have walked this road before us, and it lies ready for us to walk upon, step by step
The way back to intimacy
- God provided us a vehicle for understanding how to regain the intimacy that God has intended for us
- That vehicle is the structure of the tabernacle in the Old Testament
- So much of what happened there is symbolic of and teaches about our relationship with Jesus.
- As the priests, worked in the tabernacle, there would be a progression, from the entrance to the tabernacle area, to the altar of burnt offering, representing Jesus, the Lamb who was slain
- There is the laver, a basin of water, where the priests would be cleansed, as we are by the blood of the Lamb
- There is the table of shewbread, representing Jesus the bread of life
- There was the candlestick representing Jesus, the light of the world, and the oil representing the Holy Spirit
- There was the altar of incense where our prayers are presented before God on a continual basis
- And finally there is the veil which was torn in two at the moment of Jesus’ death, telling us that we now have full and complete access to the Father, through Jesus’ death and our justification
Conclusion
- This coming week, I want to encourage us all to devote time in prayer, as we commence this journey together
- I know most of us have accepted Jesus into our lives, and we are saved
- But if you want to go deeper with God, go on this journey with me
- Don’t allow past problems and difficulties hamper you in your quest
- Lay these things aside, as Paul tells us in Hebrews 12:2 – let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles … Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.
- If we have not been praying, ask for forgiveness and start over
- If we have been praying, keep it up, and ask the Lord how you can grow in this area of your life
And next time we will commence this journey toward the presence of God
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