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THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – WHAT’S IN A NAME?

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WHAT’S IN A NAME?

“When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived.

“Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took Him up to Jerusalem to offer Him to God as commanded in God’s Law: “Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God,” and also to sacrifice the “pair of doves or two young pigeons” prescribed in God’s Law.” Luke 2:21-24.

What’s in a name?

In western culture we pay little attention to the meaning of the names we give our children. We like the sound of them; they have some family significance; or we name our children after some person who has meaning for us. Some people even invent names just to be different. In some cultures children are often named after the circumstances of their birth.

Both the parents of John the Baptist and of Jesus were careful to name their babies according to God’s instruction via the angel Gabriel.

In Hebrew thought, a name was a prophetic utterance of character. In the case of John and Jesus, their earthly mission was prophesied in their names. “John” – the anglicised form of the Hebrew, “Yochanan”,  means “Jehovah is gracious”. It was John’s task to be the forerunner of the one who would bring “grace and truth” (John 1:17) from the Father. Jesus (Yeshua) was to be the Saviour of the world.

Perhaps one’s mind immediately strays to a significant personality in the Old Testament – Jacob, Isaacs’ son. He was the second of twin sons. He was born clutching the heel of his brother and was given the name Jacob, meaning “one who follows”. His character, however, followed another meaning, “supplanter” or “cheat”, and he lived up to his name until his encounter with the angel of the Lord at Peniel when his name was changed to “Israel” meaning “prince with God”.

When Moses asked the Lord to show him His glory (Exodus 33:18), God responded by saying, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.” (Exodus 33:19 – NIV). What a moment for Moses! He was to be given a private and intimate revelation of the deepest depths of the heart of God.

“Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…” Exodus 34:6 NIV.

The angel Gabriel announced to the shepherds that a Saviour had been born in Bethlehem; “He is Christ the Lord.” If we recognise that it was to the second person of the Trinity that God the Father assigned the earth, then it was the pre-incarnate Jesus who revealed Himself to Moses. To Him was given the name above every name – Jesus – to whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:11- NIV).

Enshrined in that name was everything that He was, everything He came to do and everything He was to be on the earth and in the lives of people who believe in Him. When we address Him as the Lord Jesus Christ, we attribute to Him and affirm all the offices He fulfils – absolute Sovereign, Saviour and Anointed One.

Jesus is the name in which we find salvation (Acts 4:12); shelter (Proverbs 18:10); forgiveness (Psalm 25:11); provision (Genesis 22:14); healing (Exodus 15:26); peace (Ephesians 2:14); righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21); and the comfort and nearness of God’s presence (Matthew 1:23).

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – AMAZING GRACE!

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AMAZING GRACE!

“When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore a son. Her neighbours and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her.

“On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But the mother intervened: ‘No. He is to be called John.’

“‘But,’ they said, ‘no one in your family is named that.’ They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named.

“Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, ‘His name is to be John.’ That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise – Zachariah’s mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!

A deep reverential fear settled over the neighbourhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, ‘What will become of this child? God has His hand in this.'” Luke 1:57-66.

Zachariah was finally released from the silence inflicted on him because of his unbelief. What transpired in those nine months when he spent a lot of time with his own thoughts? Whatever went on in his mind, he was completely transformed, especially when he saw Elizabeth’s girth beginning to increase and he realised that the angel’s promise to him was real.

It was a discipline he probably would not like to go through again but it was necessary and he learned his lesson well. He was quick to obey the Lord’s instruction regarding the naming of his son. Contrary to custom and culture, he would not allow the present company to call him Zachariah. He backed up his wife’s declaration that the baby’s name would be John – meaning “grace”.

With this act of obedience came Zachariah’s moment for truth. Through the angel Gabriel, God has spoken an amazing prophecy over the child that was to be born. Now the baby boy had safely entered the world and all the things spoken about him were about to be played out from this time on. Zachariah and Elizabeth would be witnesses to and a part of the life of this unusual boy, filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth and ministering in the power and spirit of Elijah.

What did Zachariah feel like, especially as an elderly first-time father, when he looked into the ruddy little face of his new-born son, knowing that this was a very special and hand-picked child who was his responsibility to raise and train in the ways of the Lord? Did he also think of the fact that he might not even live to see his son into adulthood or into the fulfilment of his calling to be the forerunner of Messiah? Who would take over his role when he was no longer there?

This must have been an overwhelming moment for the old man. He displayed his confidence in the promises of God by giving him the name John. Why John? Was it because everything about the child was pure grace?

It was God’s grace that produced the miracle of conception and birth for an elderly couple who were well beyond childbearing years. It was God’s grace that gave them this special child, whom Jesus called “the greatest of the prophets”. It was God’s grace that took away the reproach of barrenness from Elizabeth and flooded her heart with gratitude for His mercy.

Most of all, it was God’s grace in its fullest measure that would be revealed through the Messiah who would be coming into the world, and who would be the focus of John’s ministry.

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (NIV).

Learning To Be A Son – Chapter Ten – The Father’s Blessing

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LEARNING TO BE A SON

CHAPTER TEN

THE FATHER’S BLESSING

Unlike slaves who have no rights in the house, a son has a right to his father’s name, his father’s home and his father’s inheritance.  As children of God the Bible teaches us that we have these rights.

The Father’s name

It was Jesus’ mission to do two things – to reveal the Father and to take us to the Father. Jesus took pains to teach His disciples the true nature of the Father, both by what He said and by what He did. He was in constant conflict with the religious authorities because He insisted that the law of God was more about mercy than about rules.

In His high priestly prayer on the eve of His death, He assured the Father that He had revealed His name to His disciples – not the names by which He was known in the Old Covenant but by the name “Father” which was foreign to them because they did not understand the fatherhood of God.

Adam and Eve lost their rights by rebelling against God, and became slaves to fear through Satan’s deception. By His death Jesus would reconcile those who believe in Him to the Father and they would be “adopted” into His family as His beloved children, restoring to them everything they lost at the Fall and especially the fellowship He intended from the beginning.

His first message to His disciples through Mary after His resurrection was:

Go . . . to my brothers and tell them, “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ (John 20:17b)

His death had brought about a new status. From God’s perspective they were now on a par with Jesus – He was not ashamed to call them brothers (He. 2: 10). Everything that Jesus was as a son was potentially theirs as well. The Father loved them just as He loved Jesus. They were given the Spirit of adoption, and the witness of the Spirit that they were children of God, as are all those who believe in Jesus.

Jesus not only told them about the Father; He also showed and taught them how to relate to the Father as His sons and daughters in loving submission and obedience. He gave them the right to use His name as their authority for approaching the Father. He revealed the nature of His Father enshrined in His name.

The Father’s house

It was the Father’s desire from the beginning of time to dwell with His people. Even when sin drove the first pair from God’s presence, He still desired to live among them. The tabernacle was His way of showing them His desire and at the same time, making it clear that they could not approach Him except through animal sacrifices. These were a picture of what He had promised – one who would crush the head of Satan and bring them back into fellowship with Himself.

The temple was the permanent structure in Jerusalem which took the place of the tabernacle for the same purpose. But even the temple was symbolic of something better. God cannot be contained in a building, but He has chosen to make His dwelling in the inner shrine of His human temples. All those who have been bought by the blood of Jesus are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

Satan targets what is most precious to God – our fellowship with Him. Sin and all its spin-offs, independence and its fruit, i.e., making our own rules, cuts us off from fellowship with the Father.

But not only does He want to have continuous fellowship with us through the Holy Spirit, as sons our role is to “continue the house”. As His sons and daughters, it is our role both to reveal who He is and to bring others back into the household of God.

The Father’s inheritance

As the children of God we have a legal right to His inheritance. As co-heirs with Jesus we have an inheritance which is far superior to material things. Our inheritance comes to us through what God has promised (Heb. 6:12; 2 Cor. 1: 20). What had God promised? He has promised that we become partakers of His divine nature (2 Pet. 1: 3-4)

The problem is that the earth and all mankind have been corrupted by sin. God is untainted by corruption and He cannot have fellowship with that which is corrupt. God took care of the problem by sending His Son to deal with our sin and to restore His nature in us so that we can escape the corruption that is in the world. Just as Adam passed on his corrupted nature to every generation, Jesus has restored His nature in all who believe His promises, the perfect nature of the Father which He refines and purifies in us through the discipline of hardship and suffering (Heb. 12: 10)

The inheritance is already ours because the testator, Jesus has already died. It is our responsibility to make the promises of God ours through faith and patience, not what we want to make our lives cushy and comfortable, but to form in us the fullness of God’s nature in the likeness of His Son.

He calls us to leave the world and it corrupting influences and be separated to God. He has promised to dwell with us and to be our Father and we will be His sons and daughters                                                                      (2 Cor. 6: 16-7:1).

The Father’s nature

God is holy love. He is separated from everything that has been corrupted by sin. As His children, He insists that we be separated from sin to Himself. God is generous. He requires that we show who He us by our generosity, not only with our resources but with our attitudes.

The manifestation of God’s sons

Sin corrupted the whole universe which is waiting in pain for the manifestation of the sons of God (Rom 8: 19-21). This will be the sign that everything will be restored, including the heavens and the earth. Jesus’ return will be the cue for the restoration of all of creation and the final judgement of the rebellious angels who followed Satan. They will be condemned when God is vindicated.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

For more details, check my website:

http://luellaannettecampbell.com/

Have you read my blogs on www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com ?

 

 

 

 

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The Great Divide

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THE GREAT DIVIDE

“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above very name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11.

This is Paul’s song – the greatest declaration ever made and the greatest song ever written.

Before the beginning of time, Lucifer set out to usurp God’s position in heaven and take over the ownership and control of the earth. He lied to the first pair by posing as the ultimate authority. They listened to him, did what he said, and plunged the entire universe into moral darkness and chaos. He, Satan, the deceiver, has gone on hoodwinking people ever since.

God had already laid His plan to prove the devil wrong before the earth was born, and to bring him to judgment so that He could restore His creation to its original perfection without the interference of His arch enemy, the Liar. His plan was Jesus, sent to earth as fully human, to live under the authority of the Father and in the power of the Holy Spirit as the lowest of the low, a servant; nothing.

Instead of acting and reacting like fallen human beings, hating and retaliating like the master they served, Jesus absorbed all of humanity’s hatred of God by serving, loving and forgiving God’s enemies. He showed the powers of darkness and the race of rebellious human beings that love is more powerful than fear. Why fear? Because the human race is driven to hate God because they are afraid of Him. They know that He has the power to destroy them.

God put Jesus at the mercy of His enemies to do with Him what they chose. When they had finished with Him, He was mangled, bled out, humiliated and dead. Then they sealed His broken body in a cave and left Him to rot. Death was Satan’s final weapon against Him and he thought he had won!

But it did not end there. On the third day, Jesus broke death’s hold; with a burst of divine power He came back to life and walked out of the tomb through an enormous boulder sealed with a Roman seal. What Satan thought would put paid to Jesus’ claim to be Lord was the seal of his doom. Jesus’ death and resurrection was the final proof that He was God, not the devil, and He was Lord, not the usurper.

“Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death – that is the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Hebrews 2:14, 15.

What a moment! Now the Father had every right to declare who was Lord -Jesus! He earned and owned the title as His right. The Father put Him where He belonged, in the place of supreme authority, and gave Him the name that was His alone – Yahweh! Kurios! Lord! Supreme Commander of the nations and of the universe!

“…The end will come, when He hands the kingdom over to God the Father, after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:24-26.

Daniel saw this event in a prophetic vision centuries before it happened.

“In my vision I looked and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13, 14.

This glorious declaration also holds a warning. It is not only for those who believe in Jesus. Paul declared that it is for “every knee”. This includes every knee. Even the devil and his minions, and every person who sides with him, will be forced to bow on that day, obviously not in worship but in defeat to acknowledge that Jesus Christ, not the devil, is Lord.

While we are still in this life, we have a decision to make. Who is Lord? If we choose to side with the devil and believe his lie, when we eventually bow to Jesus we will seal our eternal fate, and it will be our choice, not God’s that decides where we go. If we are convinced that It is Jesus who spoke the truth, our destiny with be with Him forever.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Kept – By The Power Of His Name!

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KEPT – BY THE POWER OF HIS NAME! 

“‘I pray for them. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

“‘I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.

“‘While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by the name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.'” John 17:9-12 NIV.

What a power-packed prayer! Not much asking — in fact only one request, but nevertheless full of assurance and affirmation!

What can we learn from Jesus’ prayer?

The first thing I notice is that this was a Son talking to His Father, expressing His confidence in and submission to the Father — not begging, cajoling, bargaining, demanding or manipulating. This is Jesus, Son of God, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, communing with His Abba in the language of intimacy and trust.

Secondly, Jesus expressed His oneness with the Father. Everything they owned, they shared. The men whom Jesus loved and trained for three years belonged to the Father, given to Jesus as a sacred trust. During His earthly life He protected them by the power of God’s name.

Where did the idea come from that is bandied about in many parts of the church today that we must “plead the blood of Jesus” over our loved ones and possessions, when the Bible teaches us that we are kept by the power of God’s name? Unlike us humans who blindly follow the error of others because it sounds good, Jesus knew the Scriptures!

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10 NIV.

Everything that God is, is in His name; His character and His attributes are represented by His name. To invoke the name of God is to call on His love, mercy, grace and power to intervene on our behalf. When Moses requested to see God’s glory, God revealed His name.

“Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory.’ And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.'” Exodus 33:18, 19 NIV.

From what was Jesus praying that His disciples be protected?

We erroneously think that the devil is our worst enemy. If that were true, we would be helpless victims of his wicked schemes. No, we are our own worst enemy because there are in our old, selfish natures the seeds of self-destruction. We have the power to choose. God has given us His nature (2 Peter 1:4) but it is our responsibility to nourish that nature through faith in His promises. We are transformed into His image by gazing at Him (2 Corinthians 3:18) and contemplating His glory – His name.

Kept – by the power of His name – not some external power descending on us from above but the power of God’s nature wrought in us and at work in us by the Holy Spirit that makes us immune to the deception of the devil because we know the truth and can discern his lies.

Thirdly He was one with the Father in their nature and in their purpose to redeem mankind through His death. He would not deviate from the Father’s plan no matter what the cost. It was His passion that His disciples become one as He and the Father are one because, in that unity was the power to witness to the world that He was no self-appointed upstart but that He had come from the Father.