Trusting Father’s Promises

In Jesus’ parable of the sower we may be deceived into thinking that the world has a means of drawing us into a closer relationship with Father, which Jesus addresses with the third defective soil. The seed that falls among the weeds gets choked out because of the power of the weeds. Spiritually, Jesus referred to the things of this world that distract the individual from the things of Father by deceiving them to think that love of the world can lead us to God—or that we can both love the world and the kingdom, which Jesus declared was impossible. The fact is that things of the world are attractive, and they do offer some enjoyment. If the world was the spiritual equivalent of eating vegetables, few would be tempted. At the time of this writing, I am sixty-three years old. In those years, I have never been tempted by Brussels sprouts. There is a good reason for that—I have no affection for them. However, I do have affection for coffee and dark chocolate. Like coffee and dark chocolate, the world offers dessert for our eyes and desires; hence, we are tempted.

What we fail to grasp is that the kingdom offers a better solution; if we wait a bit longer, we will be rewarded. We also get tripped up because we are all familiar with the advantages and pleasures the world has to offer, whereas we have never completely experienced the joys of the kingdom. We are required to trust the good word of Father. However, if we doubt his goodness and love, then we may also doubt the beauty of the kingdom and be tempted all the more to follow the world. We become like children who are offered a candy bar in the store. We can accept the candy, or we can trust our Father’s word that he has a much better gift for us at home. If the child trusts their father, the candy bar will not tempt him or her much, but if the child questions their father’s judgment regarding surprises, then he or she will play it safe and choose the candy bar, only to shed tears upon finding out what he or she missed at home. The question is for us is how much do we trust our heavenly Father?

Believe Jesus’ Warning

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus instructed his disciples to watch and pray that they might not fall into temptation, because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). Earlier that evening, Jesus had warned Peter that Peter would deny him. However, Peter refused to heed Jesus’ warning. When Jesus told Peter and the other disciples to pray so that they would not fall into temptation, Peter failed to grasp the connection with what Jesus said earlier, and so he fell back asleep. Later that night, Peter fulfilled exactly what Jesus had said he would do and what Peter denied that he would do. Temptation overcame Peter, who failed to pray so that he would not fall into temptation. Actually, Peter’s failure was not when he denied Jesus; it occurred earlier in the evening when he failed to believe Jesus’ warning. If Peter had taken to heart what Jesus had said, then he would have been so distraught that he could not have slept in the Garden. Jesus was just as tired as the disciples, probably more so, but he could not sleep, because he believed the prophetic declarations in Isaiah 53 about the suffering he would endure. Had Peter prayed and asked Father for the strength not to deny Jesus, Father very well may have intervened so that Peter would have been strong enough to overcome the temptation to deny Jesus whom he loved.

Peter’s failure reminds us of an important truth. We can be tempted and fall, even in areas that are strengths in our life. For Peter, his love of Jesus was an area of strength. Jesus pointed this out when he restored Peter in John 21; three times, he asked Peter if he loved him. In the end, Peter responded that Jesus knew Peter loved him. These questions were not for Jesus’ information, but for Peter to have an opportunity to confess what Jesus knew to be true. Jesus was drawing out and revealing the truth of Peter’s love for Jesus so that Peter could find encouragement in that after his denial. In other words, even though we may be strong in a certain area, we still need our Father’s strength in that area.

Childlike Forgiveness

The topic of forgiveness reveals another example of Jesus’ teaching—that unless we become like children, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Children respond to hurt very differently than others who are older. When a small child gets hurt while playing with other children, he or she goes to a person in authority: mommy, daddy, or a teacher. In tears, the child explains what happened. The adult provides comfort and reassures the child that everything will be alright so that the child can go back and play. In a few minutes, the child is playing, even with the one who hurt them, as if nothing had happened. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus modeled this childlike approach. In Mark 14 we see Jesus in anguish in anticipation of his suffering; it is at this time where we see the only time in the Gospels that Jesus addresses Father as “Abba Father,” which in English could be translated as “daddy” or “papa.” In Jesus’ prayer, he became like a small child enduring the pain of his life and seeking comfort from his daddy. From that point forward, Jesus showed no more anxiety, but faced his ordeal with calm courage. As we grow older, we tend to share our hurt with others who may sympathize but cannot provide us with the comfort and assurance that we need. We may never go to our Abba Father for the comfort and assurance to know that everything will be alright so that we can go back “to play,” free from hurt. We may even conclude that Father abandoned us in our time of need. Therefore, we return with damaged relationships and our guard up.  We struggle to forgive those who have hurt us and become increasingly isolated, until we turn to our heavenly Father for the comfort and courage to overcome the challenges and hurt we encounter.

Pray Boldly

In the Old Testament, men like Abraham and Moses boldly made assertions to God. In the case of Moses, Scripture informs us that God changed his mind due to his bold prayer, even though God had commanded Moses not to pray for Israel. Moses disobeyed God’s command and prayed that God would not destroy Israel for their rebellion.  Scripture tells us that God actually relented and changed his mind, preserving Israel (Exodus 32:1-14).  Before that Abraham had boldly interceded for Sodom, asking that if 10 righteous men could be found would God preserve the city (Exodus 18:22-33).  As followers of Jesus, we are in an even more intimate relationship with Father than either Abraham or Moses was. While they never had the privilege to refer to God as “Father,” we’ve been commanded to speak to him in that way. This means that, not only can we approach God with the same boldness as Abraham or Moses, but that we can even be as bold with Father as Jesus was, because he has given to us the right to be called children of God. To lack boldness with Father indicates a hesitancy on our part to enter into a close relationship with him. We assume that if Moses had not interceded for Israel, God would have destroyed them. Thus, to refrain from making bold affirmations and declarations to Father means we may not see and experience what God is willing to do for us. 

Applying What Jesus Taught

The great challenge of following Jesus, is applying what he taught, but Paul’s statement in Ephesians 5:15-17 to know God’s will indicates that we are to understand what Jesus wants without it being explicitly stated. Jesus seemed to expect this from his disciples and marveled when they didn’t grasp it. After the disciples told Jesus to send the people away to get food, Jesus told his disciples to give them something to eat (Matthew 14:16). When they balked at the command, Jesus showed them how. Based on Jesus’ warning about the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, the disciples assumed that Jesus was talking about the bread they had forgotten to take with them. But Jesus expected them to understand that they didn’t need to worry about bread anymore, since he had shown them how to feed the five thousand and then, again, the four thousand. He expected them to understand that he was warning them about the teaching of the Pharisees and Herod (Mark 8:14-21).

It is as if Jesus supplies the “if” part of the statement and we are responsible to arrive at the “then” part. If, with Jesus, the disciples could feed the five thousand, then they no longer needed to worry about bread or any material need. While Jesus didn’t explicitly say the latter, he clearly expected them to live by this freedom from worry. For example, Jesus reserved his greatest praise for the centurion who requested that Jesus not enter his home in order to heal his servant—the centurion understood Jesus’ authority. Jesus didn’t need to be present; all he needed to do was say the word. The centurion understood that he, as an officer, had the authority to issue a command to a soldier and it would be done—even though he didn’t actually observe the obedience. Jesus, being an even greater man with even more authority, surely would have a similar power over disease. Jesus praised this man and even marveled at his faith, declaring that he had never observed such a faith in all of Israel (Matthew 8:5-13). The centurion grasped, without being taught, that if Jesus was who he revealed himself to be, then it would not be necessary for him to be present in order to heal the servant. The centurion became a model of how we are to live out what Jesus taught.

This concept of comprehending Jesus’ teaching opens up a whole new realm of living it out. Not only are we responsible to follow what Jesus taught directly, but under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are to exercise our faith and live out the implications of all that he taught—which aren’t specifically stated. This may be what the author of Hebrews refers to in Hebrews 6:1-2, when he urged his readers to go beyond what we often assume is the bulk of Christianity: repentance, faith, baptism, laying on of hands (which refers to receiving gifts, healing, and appointing leaders), resurrection of the dead, eternal life, and the coming judgment. In this statement, the author of Hebrews exhorts his readers to expand their walk with Jesus beyond where most Christians live their lives. When we live out by faith the implications of Jesus’ teaching and expect him to do more than what he explicitly said in the Bible, we cause Jesus to marvel at our faith.

True Peace

In 1938 Neville Chamberlin returned to London declaring that there was peace in their time, because he had worked out an agreement with Adolf Hitler. It wasn’t a lasting peace, because in the fall of 1939 Great Britain and France were at war with Nazi Germany. Chamberlin’s definition of peace is what we experience and often seek in this world. While we hope it is long lasting, it is temporary. Jesus described another type of peace in John 14. Jesus leaves peace with us, which removes a troubled and afraid heart. Jesus’ peace cannot coexist with trouble and fear; his peace is mutually exclusive with trouble and fear. Jesus’ peace is not what the world defines as peace, that is absence of violence, but a calm and peaceful spirit and heart. The sense that all is well between the person and God. Such a state of being permits the person who possesses Jesus’ peace to truly rest, even in the midst of difficult circumstance. This relates to what Jesus declared as our basis for rejoicing; we rejoice not because of what we have or what we can do, but because of our relationship with God our Father. While peace in the world is always temporary, the peace that Jesus offers and gives is permanent and cannot be removed by events that we encounter in the world and that is the basis of great joy!

A Troubled Spirit

Did you realize that Jesus felt troubled and agitated, but he instructed his followers not to? Isn’t that a curious contrast? Jesus felt troubled outside of Lazarus’ tomb in John 11:33; later he experienced a troubled spirit on Palm Sunday the Sunday before his death (John 12:27). With his disciples, Jesus felt troubled in his spirit when he revealed to his disciples that one of them would betray him (John 13:21). Yet he instructed his disciples to stop their hearts from being troubled in John 14:1. In other words, Jesus experienced trouble in his spirit so that we need not experience it. Afterwards, he explained why they should not feel agitation in their hearts; they were to trust in God and in him, because he was preparing the way for them to God and that they knew the way. His explanation generated questions; Thomas claimed that they didn’t know the way, but Jesus corrected him. They did know the way, because he was the way, the truth and the life, through him all needed to go to the Father. Since they knew Jesus, they knew the way to God their Father. Then, Philip wanted to see the Father, but again Jesus enlightened him. If they had seen Jesus, they had seen God the Father, because the Father was in Jesus and spoke through him.

Situations in this life cause our hearts trouble, we see things, we hear things that disturb us, but Jesus gives us an answer; look to him. He is the solution and will show us the solution out of a troubled spirit, because a troubled spirit is not the answer; Jesus is.

God’s Will

Anyone who has participated in team sports knows the importance of each player listening to and implementing what the coach taught. For even one player to ignore the coach’s instructions and do what he or she wants can be disaster for the team. If all the players were to follow their own will instead of applying the coordinated instructions of the coach, that would result in chaos. It is curious how often a team filled with the most talented players does not win the championship. Rather, it is the team that applies the program of the coach and plays together that wins. Following the will of God in place of our own will has much in common with a team working together with their coach to achieve goals that they could not reach if they followed their own will independently from their coach.

When we voluntarily place ourselves under someone’s authority, there are potential risks. When we make that decision, we place our control and desires under their authority. That being the case, we need to make sure we completely trust the individual under whose care we are ready to live. When we pray for Father’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, we declare that we are ready and willing to submit our own will and desires to those of Father—even when we may not agree with Father’s will. Jesus exemplified this submission in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he asked for the cup to be removed from him, but then added not his will, but his Father’s (Matthew 26:39). Jesus’ preference was not to go to suffer on the cross, but he was willing to see God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven, just as he taught us to pray (Matthew 6:10). It takes great trust in God and in his goodness for us to pray what Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer.

The Kingdom of God

When Jesus taught us, his followers, to address God as Father by implication we also identified ourselves as his children. Therefore, the fact that we are children of God impacts our relationship to his kingdom. Paul declared to the Philippians that we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20), therefore citizens of God’s kingdom, but the kingdom is also our Father’s which means it is ours as his children to inherit. When Jesus taught us to pray “Your kingdom come”, that kingdom we declare through prayer is also ours as God’s own children. When I was in college, I worked for Sears and attempted to be the best employee I could. Nevertheless, my name was not “Sears.” If it had been, I believe my perspective would have been quite different, because I would have been working in the family business. For followers of Jesus, the kingdom of God is our family business!

Delegated Authority

Several years ago, I remember riding in the car with my sister, whose husband was an officer in the Air Force. When we drove onto the base, the guard saluted her. I asked her why, because she was not in the military nor was any of us in the car. She explained that their car had a sticker that identified its owner as an officer. The enlisted man saluted the authority that the owner of the car possessed. Since Jesus has identified us with his name, we are to treat one another with the same respect and dignity that Jesus’ name requires. While we are children of God and are therefore identified with his name, we have also received his authority as his ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). We have the same authority to bring reconciliation with God as Jesus did, because we are identified with Jesus’ name. The more that the followers of Jesus grasp and internalize that which Jesus taught about who they are, the more they will see their thinking and consequently their lives transformed by the Holy Spirit who dwells within them.