"May You Be Covered in the Dust of Your Rabbi"

Anyone who has seen Rob Bell's "Dust" video has heard of this concept. This has become a very controversial video because in it Bell makes the coment, "Everyone talks about believing in God. But do we realize that God believes in us." Of course the Evangelical world jumped all over this statement (for reasons that seem silly. Why do Christians LOOK for reasons to argue?). But as I was preparing to teach my Life Group lesson this morning I started to find something interesting in the Gospels.

We are teaching through the Book of Matthew. We've just finished going over Jesus' baptism and what appears to be his immediate tempting after 40 days in the wilderness. But Matthew 4:12 indicates that after Jesus hears of John's imprisonment, He leaves for Galilee. Then after he arrives there, we are told of the call of Andrew and Peter, followed by James and John. Great story. But it is only a part of the BIG Story.

John's account of the Gospel tells that after Jesus' baptism, John declared to Andrew and "another disciple" that they should go follow Jesus. We read that they approach Him and ask where He is staying. Jesus answers, "Come and See." (Most scholars believe that the other disciple was John, the brother of James.) Andrew then goes and tells Peter that he has found the Messiah. Phillip and Nathanael are called. Jesus then heads to Galilee.

We see His first recorded miracle of turning water to wine at the wedding in Cana.

Jesus returns to Jerusalem for the Passover and cleanses the Temple for the first time.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night and hears, "You must be born again."

Jesus' disciples baptize many (more than John the Baptist and his disciples, which causes a bit of controversy.)

John the Baptist declares, "He must increase, and I must decrease."

It is then that we read Matthew 4:12, where Jesus hears of John the Baptist's imprisonment and returns to Galilee.

OK. Great. Interesting. What's the point?

Peter and Andrew, James and John have not yet been called to be His disciples.

They're back working their trades. Rob Bell calls them the "not good enoughs". Jesus has begun His minsitry. Throughout this time you hear no mention by name of any disciples (following the end of John chapter 1), just a generic reference to "disciples."

We all know that Peter, James and John will become Jesus' "inner circle." But look at all that has happened before they come on board.

Stop for a moment and meditate on what this must have been like for them. Immediately following Jesus' baptism, we know that these four (if you include Andrew) desired to follow Jesus - even acknowledging that He is the Messiah. But they aren't called for what is likely months.

What was that time of waiting like?

Are you in the waiting room?

The Faithfullness of God in His Covenants With Man - Part 8 The Davidic Covenant

A Man after God’s Own Heart

As we have seen, Israel fails to honor its part of the Mosaic Covenant. They repeatedly rebel against God.
Then Israel rejects Him as their ruler. They go to the Prophet Samuel and demand that he select for them a king, like the other nations have. Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin is selected, and fails horribly. God commands that the Amalekites be completely destroyed, and Saul disobeys. Because of his disobedience, God tells Samuel that Saul’s kingly line will be cut off.
God commands Samuel to go to the house of Jesse, for it is there that God would show him who the next king would be. Jesse brings his sons before Samuel and all seven are rejected by God. “Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all the young men here?’ Then he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep’.” (1 Samuel 16:11) David, a young shepherd with a heart for God is chosen.

The King is Coming
2 Samuel 7:8-17; 1 Chronicles 17:7-14

God makes a covenant with David. This covenant is one that would continue throughout history, to all of David’s descendants.
There are seven provisions to the Davidic Covenant. The first provision tells that the line of David would continue forever. We know that, to this day, at least one descendant of David lives – Jesus!
The second is that Solomon would rule after David. This is proven true because the one who is said to have ruled after David would also be the one who would build the Temple as a house for God, which is the third provision.
The fourth provision states that David’s throne would continue forever. That throne is occupied in the spiritual realm through Jesus today.
Fifth, though Solomon would sin against God and be disciplined for it, the line of David would not be cut off as Saul’s was.
Sixth, the seed of David’s sons would come, and God would establish His kingdom. This Seed is Messiah.
Finally, this kingdom established through the Seed would last forever.
This reference to the Seed takes us back thousands of years to another covenant. The Adamic Covenant is the first time we hear of this Seed. We know from that covenant that the Seed would be bruised by Satan, but would ultimately crush Satan’s head. Now we learn that the Seed would also reign as king forever.
Because of this covenant the people of Israel begin to await the Son of David. He would be the Messiah; the One who would come and defeat their enemies and establish an eternal, perfect kingdom upon the earth.
But the kingdom of Israel divides after just two generations following David. The Northern Kingdom, Israel, and the Southern Kingdom, Judah, both rebel against God and are judged. The Divided Kingdom is conquered and the people placed in captivity. After a time they are allowed to return to the land, but they never again see a true son of David sit upon the throne in Jerusalem. Centuries pass, and the people hold on to the hope of the conquering Messiah to come.
But the people fail to remember the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who proclaimed God’s judgment during the Divided Kingdom period. He, among other, spoke of another covenant to come.

"If General McClellan does not want to use the Army, I would like to borrow it for a time..."

"McClellan was better at organizing than fighting. He was highly intelligent, but couldn't wage a successful campaign. He always had an excuse for not engaging the enemy: his men were outnumbered (actually, they were not); he needed more troops; and it wasn't a good time or place or season for a battle. Once, Lincoln was so frustrated at McClellan's failure to act that he sent the general a telegram that read, "If General McClellan does not want to use the Army, I would like to borrow it for a time, provided I could see how it could be made to do something."

Jesus mentioned the Church just two times during His earthly ministry. He mentioned the Kingdom 100 times. Which do you believe He put greater emphasis on? Let's look at the two mentions of the Church. We will start with the second, more obscure reference found in Matthew 18. This mention is in regards to conflict and discipline within the Church. We see that Jesus realized that interpersonal relationships would become a challenge for the Church.The first mention is the famous discussion that took place at Caeserea Phillipi. Jesus and His followers have just travelled a great distance to this location. It is a great, rock wall with a stream below it. Jesus asks His followers, "Who do the people say I am?" They respond, "Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist or one of the prophets." Jesus replies, "Who do YOU say I am?" Peter responds with his famous confession, "You are Messiah, the Son of the Living God." Jesus then mentions the Church: "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."That's it. Just those two mentions. One in reference to conflict, the other in reference to a body or congregation who will advance on the gates of Hades, and will break through those gates.What? - you ask. Where does it say that? "The gates of Hades will not overcome it." We usually look at this from a perspective of the Church defending itself from the Enemy. But gates are defensive in nature. Gates do not advance. Therefore, we can conclude from this passage that Jesus is expecting His Church to be advancing against the Enemy. This goes along with the 100 mentions of the Kingdom. We are to pray, "Thy Kingdom come...on Earth as it is in Heaven." We see Jesus say in Luke 17:21, "...the Kingdom of God is within you."The Church is not the end, but instead is a MEANS to an end. The focus is on advancing the Kingdom of God in the hearts of men. We are to be offensive in nature. We are to be actively on the battlefield, attacking the strongholds of the Enemy. But what are we doing?

The Church is better at organizing than fighting. The Church is highly intelligent, but doesn't usually wage a successful campaign. The Church always has an excuse for not engaging the enemy: we are outnumbered (actually, we're not); we need more troops; and it isn't a good time or place or season for a battle. Could it be that Jesus, the LORD of Hosts, is sending us this messsage? "If the leaders of the Church do not want to use the Army, I would like to borrow it for a time."