Tag: blog

Understanding The Glory Of God

Understanding The Glory Of God
Go even deeper with the podcast of this message

Glory to God! This is something that most Christians have heard at one point, maybe in a song, or while someone was preaching or even while reading the Bible. But what does it mean, what is glory, what does it have to do with God and how to we give glory to Him?

Depending on which branch of Christianity you are apart of you may be familiar with pictures of God’s glory being anything from the sick being healed to people singing and dancing, to a magnificent cathedral decked out in gold or fine art or it could be a picture of a person coming to know Jesus. While there may be some traces here and there of God’s true glory in these pictures it is far from an accurate picture of what God’s glory actually is.

What Is Glory

Usually when we look at the concept of glory outside of the church we usually see pictures of grandness or power. The old phrase “for the glory of Rome” comes to mind which spoke of Rome’s power, dominance, authority, expansion and control of the people so that the state itself would grow and continue to consume. Or we see in sports where glory is seen as the afterglow which comes from a mighty victory where the champion(s) are exalted and recognized for years because of their accomplishments.

What these interpretations of glory have in common is that they are fleeting, based on works and are easily erased by others who come later. No longer is Rome the master of the Mediterranean but is the capital of a struggling nation a fraction the size the empire once was. Those who attained glory through sports are replaced by new champions and they become a fading memory or a statistic quoted by a color commentator on occasion.

When it comes to God’s glory we are dealing with something which is eternal, powerful and unstoppable.

When it comes to God’s glory we are dealing with something which is eternal, powerful and unstoppable. In the scriptures we see that God’s glory is spoken of constantly in places such as Psalms 24:7-10, 29:3, Exodus 33:18-23 and Isaiah 40:5. The glory of God at its core is the manifestation of God’s power and presence throughout creation (both natural and spiritual) it is the sonic boom that ripples through the air when God speaks. We see this in Exodus 24:16 when God’s presence came down upon Mt. Sinai, it came with clouds, thundering, smoke at a great billowing voice that terrified the people.

This same presence came again during the dedication of the temple in 2 Chronicles 7:1-3, where the power and presence of God was so overwhelming that the priests couldn’t even go into the temple. The glory of God is power, transcendence and holiness in full display for people to recognize, it is the wave which rises from the sea to crash upon the shore. The water is always there but at certain times the waves rise up for all to see and come crashing upon the shore. At times the waves are so great that they sweep inland and cause great destruction because the structures created by men and women cannot resist the force of the water that rose up out of the sea and entered their domain.

The glory of God is power, transcendence and holiness in full display for people to recognize, it is the wave which rises from the sea to crash upon the shore.

So it is with God’s glory at different points throughout history God has risen up and released His presence upon the world of men and women. At times He has swept away the structures made out of pride or ignorance, other times He comes to bring much needed water the barren fields and still other times the water has come to renew, restore and heal the people. At its core the glory of God is His nature, power, dominion, love, holiness, justice and will released into creation.

Living In The Shadow Of God’s Glory

We understand Heaven as the place where God’s presence and glory are able to shine without any hinderance , but if that were to happen here on earth nothing would survive. It would be like staring into the sun at high noon on a clear day, however this is possible when there is an eclipse. You see Jesus acts as a proverbial eclipse which allows the light of the sun to shine and allows us to gaze upon it. Jesus is that protection which allows us to behold God’s glory in a tangible way (rather than just an intellectual or theological way).

Now I’m not saying that the glory of God is absent from Jesus I am actually saying the exact opposite. The glory of God is just as strong in Jesus as it is in the Father, however through the atonement and covenant relationship we have been offered through Jesus we are able to behold that glory. Unlike Uzzah who died touching the presence of God on the Ark of the Covenant we are made alive by that same presence through the Holy Spirit within us.

At the mount of transfiguration in Luke 9:31 we see God’s glory radiating from Jesus, but it did not consume Peter, James or John but rather moved them to revere and worship Jesus because He is God. Jesus in Matthew 19:28 speaks of sitting on a throne of glory (or glorious throne in some translations), where He will rule over creation as God.

Notice that Jesus is not in competition with God because through the Trinity they are both equal (Hebrews 1:3). Just look at what it says in 1 Peter 4:7-11 and focus on what it says in verse 11 “that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” We see this idea of one brining glory to the other go the opposite way in John 11:4 where Jesus was to receive the glory for the resurrection of Lazarus.

What Does It Mean To Bring Glory to God?

If God’s glory has to do with his power, nature, holiness, dominion and will then how can we bring glory to God. How can we give Him what He already has in abundance (it’s actually limitless)? To understand this we have to go back to the original Hebrew and Greek. The word translated into glory was also translated into several other English words. In Hebrew that one word is translated into English as beauty, splendor, fame, honor, admire, magnificence, weight, power, majesty, heaviness, and importance. While the Greek word doxa is translated in the New Testament into the words glory, boast, praise, honor and glorious.

Our ability to give glory to God is not tied up in us giving God more of His own presence but it has to do with us recognizing that power, presence, love, holiness, justice, dominion and will through us honoring and loving Him.

Our ability to give glory to God is not tied up in us giving God more of His own presence but it has to do with us recognizing that power, presence, love, holiness, justice, dominion and will through us honoring and loving Him. The two go together God moves in power, love, conviction and we move in gratitude, obedience, honor and love. Look at what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:15-18

“15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (NKJV)

Through Jesus we are able to witness and partake in the glory of God being poured out into the world. No longer do we hide our face from the sun but now through the atonement and the protection of Jesus we can look upon God and what He is doing through the spreading of the gospel, the expansion of the Kingdom and the working of miracles. Rather than being burned up by the light and power of God that shadow cast by Christ allows the glory and nature of God to transform us, it strips away the filth of the world but does not destroy us, so how can we help but to worship, honor, thank and proclaim God.

We can now see a clear progression of glory which looks like this:

God > Jesus > Believers > Jesus > God

Does that progression seem strange? What did Jesus say in John 17:20-23? In verses 22-23 Jesus said “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” God moves through Jesus and his adopted brothers and sisters to unleash upon the world the words and power of God so that the world will be able to witness the truth and presence of God.

The works of Jesus done through believers brings glory to God by testifying of his goodness and power towards other people so they can accept and believe the gospel so they to can be part of the same relationship we have with God so others can be delivered through the gospel

We should look at ourselves as being living and breathing representations of the Ark of the Covenant. The ark was the symbol of God’s presence among Israel and it housed God’s words, a testimony to His power (Aarons rod and the manna) and it was infused with God’s presence and glory. All of those facets live inside of us so we to must see ourselves as being like the ark instead of just and average Christian who may or may not have a prayer answered and just hopes for a quiet life where no one is disturbed.

How Do We Hinder God’s Glory?

Our ability to limit the expression of God’s glory upon the earth and our ability to glorify God is tied directly to our ability to sin. When we sin it is like building a dam to hold back a mighty river, our actions attempt to throttle the power and presence of God being released into the Earth. When we rebel, or disobey, or ignore what God has called us to do He lifts His glory off of us until we come to a place of repentance.

When we are in sin we cannot honor God because our actions show that we honor ourselves and our own desires more that God. When we sin we are declaring to the world that God is weak and powerless because despite our claims we still live and do as we please without fear of reprisal or correction. When we sin we no longer look at the sun through the eclipse of Christ but rather bury our heads in the dirt and end up like those Paul spoke of in Romans 1:21-23.

When we sin it is like building a dam to hold back a mighty river, our actions attempt to throttle the power and presence of God being released into the Earth.

Is this any different than what happened to Israel, they failed to see the Ark of God as the symbol of God’s glory and presence among them and instead treated it like a good luck charm. Eventually this logic led to the Ark being captured by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4). Then later on in the days of Jeremiah the people used the presence of God in the Ark at Jerusalem to excuse them of how they were living in idolatry and sin. It is ironic then that after the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon that the Ark disappeared never to be seen again.

If the glory and presence of God in your life can be compared to a crown then sin can be seen as you lifting that crown off of your head. However through the forgiveness and atonement made available to us through Jesus He comes and places that crown back on our heads, at which point we honor and thank Him for that forgiveness. That is how we glorify God by publicly showing love, honor, thanksgiving and testimony of what He has done to us to the world around us.

We now see how the glory of God is His love, power, holiness, dominion, justice, mercy, and will released into the world like and unstoppable wave. We also see how we are to respond to that pouring out but honoring, thanking and proclaiming to others what God has done to us. Therefore, don’t wait any longer and go out and proclaim what those in heaven declared in Revelation.

Revelation 5:11-13 “11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,  “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (NKJV)

 

 

Creative Commons LicenseUnderstanding The Glory Of God Cameron Conway is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

 

SMOG product shot 1

Are you looking to develop your relationship with God and better understand the Bible? Pick up a copy of one of my books today.

Understanding Who You Are: A Survey of 21st Century Christian Beliefs
Amazon.com paperback, eBook | Amazon.ca paperback, eBook
Indigo, iBook, Nook and more HERE

Six Minutes of Grace: The Key To Finding Happiness and Purpose
Amazon.com paperback, eBook | Amazon.ca paperback, eBook
Indigo, iBook, Nook and more HERE

Six Minutes of Grace Journal
Amazon.com paperback | Amazon.ca paperback

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Why The Church Fails To Conquer The Gates Of Hell

gates of hell
Go even deeper with the podcast of this message

What kind of impact is the church supposed to have in the world? Is it a continuing impact or one that ebbs and flows? Does yesterday’s victories guarantee that the territory taken by a church will remain indefinitely? These are questions that are rarely asked by people in the church and the state of most congregations attest to this ignorance. Far too often we assume that all of yesterday’s work, prayers and victories will be enough to sustain us continually. That we essentially rest on our laurels following a brief and intense season of spreading the gospel, making disciples and expanding the territory of the Kingdom of God here on earth.

We have seen over and over again stories of revivals of times past, or outpourings which rejuvenated regions become just that, stories. Did the Welsh revival guarantee that Wales would always have a strong and vibrant church in it? Did the Azuza Street revival cancel out all of the problems, idolatry, brokenness, and wickedness that came to California afterwards? Did the Great Awakenings do enough to make it so that there was no more need of the gospel to be preached because everyone was assumed to be a believer? I am seriously asking these questions, because this is how many people think and when you question this mindset people don’t know how to respond.

We first must accept the fact that the borders of the Kingdom are not set in stone here on Earth.

We first must accept the fact that the borders of the Kingdom are not set in stone here on Earth. Those borders are able to expand out into the world like light pressing into darkness but it also means they can contract back in as well. As it is with light the issue is not that the darkness overcame the light but the issue is that the light dimmed until it could no longer shine into the darkness. This is the story of the church, this is the story of many churches and this is the story about many denominations and organizations.

Hell’s Gate

What did Jesus say to Peter in Matthew 16:18? Jesus spoke of the strategy the church would use to expand the Kingdom by saying “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against.” This is a very common verse among both Protestants and Catholics (a debate I’m not getting into today) but I want us to focus on the last part of that verse that says “the gates of hades (hell) shall not prevail against it.” This is a revelation given by Jesus that has been continually misinterpreted for generations. The common thought is that here Satan and his forces are on the offensive and that his gates are marching against the mighty city of the church. As long as the church remains behind its walls it will remain safe and vibrant because those gates will never prevail against the church.

In reality what is happening here is the exact opposite of what people assume, it is not the gates of the enemy which are on the offensive it is the church. Jesus is saying that as the church goes out and proclaims the gospel of “Jesus is Lord and the Son of God” Satan will be unable to hold back the tidal wave that has been unleased upon him. You see the gates of hell will not prevail as long as there is constant pressure against them, they will break open and allow its territory to be reclaimed and restored through the gospel. However once that pressure which opened up the gate is gone the gates will be shut, repaired and are reinforced.

It is not the gates of the enemy which are on the offensive it is the church.

We look at verses in the Bible such as Revelation 12:17 and forget that this is a war which we are in against the darkness. This is not a last stand like the Alamo or Helm’s Deep but open warfare that we are engaged in. The gates of hades/hell came into being following Adam’s fall and during those generations Satan walled off fallen mankind from God in order to keep them in slavery and in darkness (John 3:19, 8:12, Ephesians 5:8).

Always Forward

What we have to understand is that there is more than one gate into the territory of the enemy, think of if as an open prairie land with concentric circular walls every 50km or so. When the kingdom is active and expanding it pushes through a gate like a torrent of water and it spreads throughout that entire 50km territory and eventually begins to bump up against the next wall and gate of the enemy. When the church fails to continue pressing into Satan’s territory it resembles flood water that is slowly receding from the reclaimed land. Eventually the water will dry up and the old walls and gate of the enemy will be repaired forcing the church to have to retake the land all over again.

This is the story of the church, it is the story of tidal waves of prayer, power and progress which tears through one of the enemy’s gates. Then the church (or a local congregation) moves into its new territory and within a generation it becomes complacent. Then like water after a flood it slowly recedes back to where it came from. At times the kingdom has been able to push through several layers of the enemy’s entrenchments but those victories are not indefinite. Constant pressure must remain against the walls and gates of the enemy to maintain the reclaimed territory. This pressure comes from prayer, evangelism, holiness, justice, love, acts of power, acts of kindness, an unwavering devotion to the great commission, praise, worship and unity.

Far too often places which used to be fortresses and mighty lighthouses of the faith have crumbled from the retaliations of the world and the absence of a living church. Think about it, there was a time when Turkey, Alexandria (in modern Egypt), and Carthage (in modern Libya) were capitals of the Church, but not any more. Places such as Germany and England were the carriers of the gospel to the New World and the Far East but now relish in having nothing to do with Christ any longer.

The territory taken by the Kingdom through the church is not guaranteed to remain part of the church indefinitely. Each generation must take up the mantle and continue the pressure against the gates of the enemy.

The territory taken by the Kingdom through the church is not guaranteed to remain part of the church indefinitely. Each generation must take up the mantle and continue the pressure against the gates of the enemy. There’s an old saying that goes “freedom is always one generation away from extinction” and the same sentiment can be applied to individual churches, each one is only one generation away from collapse. This is not some pie in the sky idea, research shows that inevitably each congregation will come to a tipping point where it must rejuvenate itself and begin to advance again or if it does not, it begins a slow steady decline into death.

I’ve been a part of several churches that faced this crossroad; two of them no longer exist, two went through massive leadership and congregational upheavals and one is still making its decision. This is the real battle which churches face: how to remain alive, like a seed they are planted and they grow up into a tree but time, wind, rain, snow, ice and even fire come against it. Eventually the tree has to come to a point where it begins to drop seeds so the land around it can be covered in trees. Or the tree can succumb to the pressures of nature and begin to wither, eventually it will collapse into the ground and slowly be converted to earth (dirt). The choice is life or decay, one brings reproduction and the other brings death.

The best the fallen tree can hope for is to become fertilizer for the other trees around it which endured the pressures of the world. That is of course if the entire forest isn’t cut down and carried away to be made into lumber or paper to be used by others. Which leaves nothing but barren dirt and rock to try and begin the process of restoration all over again, a process which could take generations.

Ancient Israel’s Infatuation With The Gates Of Hell

To see these receding waters in action among God’s people we can look back at the history of Israel, especially after the division of the monarchy. This was a time that came after the pinnacle of the kingdom after the reign of David and Solomon. It was a time of decline, lost territory, no faith, and reverence towards God was replaced with appeasement and idolatry. It was an age of compromise where the people wanted both God and the ways of the world.

The people once again wanted to be like the nations around themselves and fell into idolatry. This was an age of child sacrifice, the construction of false altars paid for by the kingdom, pagan festivals and assimilation into the cultures around Israel. This process did not begin under the divided kingdom but under the leadership of Solomon, who in an attempt to please his wives allowed them to continue serving the gods of their homelands (1 Kings 11:1-8). Solomon commissioned the building of altars, he even made sacrifices to idols on them and eventually he drifted away from God (1 Kings 11:9). In the heart of Solomon a prophetic picture of what was happening to the nation as a whole began to emerge.

The people wanted enough of God to retain their identity and covenant blessings but they also wanted all of the other gods as well to get their blessings

The people wanted enough of God to retain their identity and covenant blessings but they also wanted all of the other gods as well to get their blessings. The people only worshiped YHWH when they saw the other gods were not listening, and when YHWH did help them it was only a matter of time before they went back to their idols. The people were infatuated with the ways the Philistines, Assyrians, Edomites, Moabites, Egyptians and Babylonians to the point that they also worshiped their gods. Israel saw gods which appealed to their flesh because they replaced relationship and holiness with service and obligation.

It wasn’t long before the seeds scattered by Solomon corrupted the nation as we see through his descendants who sat on the throne of Judah.

2 Chronicles 28:1-4 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord, as his father David had done. 2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made molded images for the Baals. 3 He burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the [a]high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. (NKJV)

2 Kings 21:4-6 “4 He (Manasseh) also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.” (NKJV) (See Deuteronomy 18:10)

Jeremiah 32:35 And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.’ (NKJV)  (see also Ezekiel 16:20-25, 20:31, 23:37)

For those of you who think that “passing through the fire” is a metaphor here is an account from a first century Greek historian by the name of Plutarch who made this observation about Carthage (a similar culture to the Philistines who are both of Phoenician origin) “… but with full knowledge and understanding they themselves offered up their own children, and those who had no children would buy little ones from poor people and cut their throats as if they were so many lambs or young birds; meanwhile the mother stood by without a tear or moan; but should she utter a single moan or let fall a single tear, she had to forfeit the money, and her child was sacrificed nevertheless; and the whole area before the statue was filled with a loud noise of flutes and drums that the cries of wailing should not reach the ears of the people.”

Then there is this 12th century rabbinic commentary written by Rashi about Jeremiah 7:31 “Tophet is Moloch, which was made of brass; and they heated him from his lower parts; and his hands being stretched out, and made hot, they put the child between his hands, and it was burnt; when it vehemently cried out; but the priests beat a drum, that the father might not hear the voice of his son, and his heart might not be moved.” That is how far Israel fell into idolatry and the ways of the world despite being God’s chosen people and having a covenant with Him. It is no wonder that God allowed the Babylonians to come in and remove a faithful remnant from the land before it was cut down like a forest which was nothing but dead and decayed trees.

Even in modern times the allure remains, just consider this article (another here ) about Uganda in 2010 a nation supposedly in the midst of revival:  “The Ugandan government told us that human sacrifice is on the increase, and according to the head of the country’s Anti-Human Sacrifice Taskforce the crime is directly linked to rising levels of development and prosperity, and an increasing belief that witchcraft can help people get rich quickly… They capture other people’s children. They bring the heart and the blood directly here to take to the spirits… They bring them in small tins and they place these objects under the tree from which the voices of the spirits are coming, Asked how often clients brought blood and body parts, the witch-doctor said they came on average three times a week – with all that the spirits demand from them.”

This is the same mentality which was alive in Israel once they had fallen away from God. They saw the idols as a means to achieve wealth and power, which is why Baal was widely worshiped because he was the god responsible for rain and the harvest. The parting of the Red Sea and the reign of David did not spare Israel from the responsibly to faithfully serve God, they trusted in previous victories and used that knowledge to excuse their behavior and sins because they assumed that God would never do anything about it (Jeremiah 14:13-14).

The parting of the Red Sea and the reign of David did not spare Israel from the responsibly to faithfully serve God

 

The Church’s Failures Against The Gates Of Hell

Often it seems that the church better resembles the Samaritans after they were relocated into the Kingdom of Israel by Assyria. Those who brought their old gods with them and only recognized YHWH because of the troubles they encountered in the land.

2 Kings 17: 32:34 “32 So they feared the Lord, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places.33 They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. 34 To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the Lord, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the Lord had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel” (NKJV)

They sought appeasement and not relationship, the Samaritans wanted to live as they did before but wanted the benefits of YWHW so that they would not be tormented by the lions in the land. It seems that the modern Western church has fallen victim to the same mindset, except instead of serving Baal or Chemosh it serves the gods of money, programs, humanism, self-idolatry, lethargy and appeasement. The gospel becomes a hindrance to the branding of the church and the name of Jesus has become too offensive scaring away many potential customers… I mean members .

The Gospel becomes a hindrance to the branding of the church and the name of Jesus has become too offensive scaring away many potential customers… I mean members.

It doesn’t help that as a body we are constantly gorging ourselves on our brothers and sisters in Christ, the church better resembles a roving band of cannibals than the loving sheep Jesus called us to be. We are divided on every issue from theology to music to the color of the carpet, each church is an island to itself because everyone inside of it as also a lone island unwilling to work with the others. And when we are united the problem faced by many today is that they are too busy to serve God because they are under bondage to the gods of debt and obligation.

The Holy Spirit has gone from being the witness of the power and nearness of God to having to be the master bridge builder just to get enough people together to pray that the gospel would be preached. The church is unable to maintain its constant pressure against the gates of hell because each droplet of water is arguing (Luke 11:17) with the other about which direction to push in, how hard to push and how much better the old days were when we lived in a cloud.

What should be a tidal wave dissipates into a mist which does nothing more than crash and condense along the walls of the enemy and evaporates as soon as the sun rises.

What should be a tidal wave dissipates into a mist which does nothing more than crash and condense along the walls of the enemy and evaporates as soon as the sun rises. Why is it that we look at this mist and call it a tidal wave? Why do we ooh and aah at what is ineffective and call it glorious? We create the Church of the Mist to commemorate the day the mist finally reached the wall. Then a couple of years later the Church of the Mist divides and the Church of the Fog is born and we have two congregations worshiping something that never did anything to expand the kingdom all the while convincing themselves that they are changing the world, even though they can’t see that world because of the wall and gate they are unable to overcome.

Eventually entire theological books are written to justify the mist, they study the mist to discern if it is the mist spoken of in Genesis 2:6 or if it is a cloud which came down from the sky all the while ignoring what God actually wants us to do. They praise God that occasionally on a good day some of the mist can make it through the gates and God willing perhaps a puddle could form on the other side. “Oh Lord we pray that we could be as that puddle then in the last days a remnant could bypass this gate and enter the other side.” This sounds absolutely ridiculous when you compare it to how the church is supposed to operate in this world.

Look At Me I’m The Kingdom Now!

The church and the Kingdom of God are interconnected but they are not always the same thing. We need to see the Kingdom as the overall territory where the gospel has taken hold, where people are delivered, healed, restored and discipled. While the church acts as fortresses, watchtowers and schools within that territory which is controlled by the great King. Scriptures such as Romans 14:17, 1 Corinthians 4:20 and Luke 17:20-21 don’t speak of the Kingdom as being a natural entity but something which is demonstrated through us and exists within us. It is described within us as being joy, righteousness, peace, power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The Kingdom exists in Heaven and in the spiritual realm but God is looking for people and congregations who are willing to bring that Kingdom into the Earth in a tangible way. The problem is that people no longer see their place in the Kingdom beyond sitting in a chair on Sundays and paying their tithes. We have lost the personal urgency to be a witness of the Kingdom wherever we are and in the midst of the place God called us.

We have lost the personal urgency to be a witness of the Kingdom wherever we are and in the midst of the place God called us.

I’m reminded of something Leonard Ravenhill once said “Sunday morning shows how popular the church is; Sunday night shows how popular the preacher is; prayer meeting shows how popular God is.” What is it that drives people into a church is it programs, music, day care, coffee, conversation, activities or is it the living presence of God. I’m not saying that all of those other things are bad but they must collectively come second after God. Otherwise we run the risk of all of those secondary things taking priority over the gospel, discipleship, the moving of the Holy Spirit and God’s presence.

We need unity, prayer and action to maintain this pressure upon the gates of the enemy so that they will crumble and all of those trapped within those walls can be freed from sin and eternal death. When we take our hearts out of the world we are finally able to see things according to God’s vantage point. Then when enough people have this heavenly perspective unity is born and the faint mist begins to transform back into the might tidal wave of God’s power which is able to topple over the gates of hell allowing the church and the gospel to press into new territory to see people healed, saved and delivered. Just don’t forget to always keep up the pressure against the enemy’s defenses so we don’t lose what God has given to us.

SMOG product shot 1

Are you looking to develop your relationship with God and better understand the Bible? Pick up a copy of one of my books today.

Understanding Who You Are: A Survey of 21st Century Christian Beliefs
Amazon.com paperback, eBook | Amazon.ca paperback, eBook
Indigo, iBook, Nook and more HERE

Six Minutes of Grace: The Key To Finding Happiness and Purpose
Amazon.com paperback, eBook | Amazon.ca paperback, eBook
Indigo, iBook, Nook and more HERE

Six Minutes of Grace Journal
Amazon.com paperback | Amazon.ca paperback

Creative Commons LicenseWhy The Church Fails To Conquer The Gates Of Hell Cameron Conway is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Posted on by — 2 Comments

Living Under Judgment and Loving It

living under judgment
Go deeper with the Podcast of this message

At one point or another you’ve probably heard a Christian talk about God’s judgment falling on some person, place, organization, or even on yourself. Biblically it is the great equalizer that reminds us that one day we are all to stand before God for our celestial hearing (Revelation 20:11-15) before we either enter Heaven or eternal punishment. But this idea has been abused and misunderstood to the point that people inside and outside of the church have become numb to the concept of God’s judgment, or they even believe that it vanished after the cross.

What gets lost in our understanding of Scripture is that God is not just storing up all of His judgments for the last day like some vindictive squirrel, but He is watching and judging the world, the church and ourselves constantly. A fact that many people no longer accept thanks to overzealous doom and gloomers. In Micaiah’s encounter in 1 Kings 22 he shows us God’s judgments in action. Here the prophet witnesses God passing judgment on the kings of Israel and Judah by relaying a scene from the heavenly courtroom of the eternal King who made judgment against them, and sent out someone to enact it.

God is not just storing up all of His judgments for the last day like some vindictive squirrel.

Far too often we become fatalistic with the concept of judgment when it comes to God but at the same time our everyday lives paint a different story. From what I can tell by the primetime TV schedule it seems that a lot of people have a love of reality TV shows featuring performers and Judges. I’m not exempt as even my wife and I watch America’s Got Talent. There the judges are an intricate part of the show as they act as coaches and gatekeepers of the talent.

Without them anyone could make it onto the show and the ones who are actually talented and could win may be blocked out by the sheer number of people. Without these judges it would better resemble the Gong Show than a talent competition. The judges are there in that show to (for the most part) separate those who are talented from those who just think they are. That is the first judgment, the second judgment comes when trying to encourage those who have talent to improve themselves so they can survive in such a competitive arena.

At times in these shows they will mock and ridicule the contestants but in the finale you always see the ones who took their criticisms seriously and consistently bettered themselves and their craft throughout the process. It was less of a process of condemnation and expulsion and more of a refining process which was brought about through the challenges set before them.

Perhaps this is how we should be looking at God’s judgment in our own lives. Going forward I want to you only look at yourself and your own situation. Don’t think about how so and so needs to read this, or I wish _______ would get a hold of this. No, first of all you must apply this to yourself rather than running out as some sort of Divine Justice Warrior imposing your pet peeves upon others and calling it holiness.

Spared From The Great Judgment But Awaiting Debriefing

Facing judgment while we are part of this world should be seen as process of refinement and not condemnation. How we respond to God’s judgments and critiques of our life today will determine our final judgment. It is like someone staring at their phone while walking, they keep their heads down and keep scrolling but with each step they get closer to the edge of a pier. People may try to yell at the person to “watch where they are going” or God could speak to their heart and say “look up” or even “look up, or else!”

If the person doesn’t look up they’ll eventually fall off of the pier and might even blame God or others for what happened. This is how God’s continual judgments of our lives work, we set upon a course that could lead in destruction, ruin, pain, frustration or vanity and He tries to correct us before we plummet down our own proverbial pier (whether you land on the ground or in the water varies). God has a higher perspective than we do and uses that vantage point to judge, correct, direct and counsel us.

How we respond to God’s judgments and critiques of our life today will determine our final judgment.

At the same time God is not just looking to provide course corrections but He is looking to correct the issues in our heart as well. The personal excuses we come up with for different behaviors or even the ideas of “that’s good enough” does not equal a job “well done” in the eyes of Jesus. God through Jesus uses His judgment which comes from a place of love and mercy to refine us as individuals into the image and shape of Jesus (working this process through a church is usually done in conjunction with the five-fold ministry).

Jesus was not quick to condemn but spoke out in immediate judgment so that they would be spared future judgment and condemnation.

We see this process of judgment and refinement in action with Jesus’s words to the seven churches in Revelation chapters two and three. Here Jesus tells these groups of believers the good, the bad and the ugly of how He sees them operate. Jesus was not quick to condemn but spoke out in immediate judgment so that they would be spared future judgment and condemnation. Here Jesus was speaking out of love to preserve these parts of His body, He wasn’t looking for an excuse to amputate them. Jesus was looking to restore them and to purge them of any evil influences and the barnacles of the world and its ways.

When we talk about the Judgment of God it is something so much higher and powerful than anything we could see on a reality TV show. It has to do with our eventual debriefing of our natural life on Earth. I’m not talking here about the judgment which separates those in Covenant with God from those outside of it. I want to talk about the second judgment which falls upon us who have received and follow Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:9-11 “9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.” (NKJV)

John 5:22 and 9:39 paints for us a picture of how Jesus came into this world as not just at simple lamb but also as the eternal King and Judge of the universe. We see that God’s judgments flow through Jesus and that Jesus is testing the hearts of the people to see who will actually recognize and follow Him. From that point on those who do recognize and receive Jesus are not excused from any further judgment but rather begin to live a life filled with the encouragement, judgment and refinement of God to make us into what we were originally created to be.

Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 shows us how our lives which have been redeemed through Christ are no longer dictated by our own desires, but they are to be directed by Jesus. Given all that Jesus has done for us it is a very reasonable request. It would be no different that if a person was rescued from a nomadic lifestyle where they lived outdoors without shelter and was suddenly transported to the most expensive penthouse in Vancouver. They would have to undergo a process of change and adaptation to match their new living environment. The nomad couldn’t set rabbit traps by the bus stop, go to the bathroom in a hole he dug in the boulevard, have a campfire in the living room and so on. The same picture can be applied to a day care worker, they could not get away with acting like a four-year-old for eight hours a day and keep their job. They are working among the children, but they are not acting like a child while they are working.

Heaven is not the absence of consequences, it is the ultimate consequence and what we do here and now lives forever there.

We must understand that Heaven is not the absence of consequences, it is the ultimate consequence and what we do here and now lives forever there. This is what is meant by a heavenly debriefing that we are to give account for what we did in this world, and that includes given an account as to why we did not listen to God when He spoke to us about a great many things. It is one thing to say that you made an honest uninformed mistake it is another thing to say you willingly made a mistake even though you were warned that doing it was a mistake. I fear many people will be facing that judgment more than the former.

Growing Through Sanctification

Eventually God will ask you the question “How did you live your life?” This begs us to ask ourselves right now questions such as: “How have I contributed to the work of the Great Commission?” “Have I been forgiving and loving?” “Am I a living witness of Christ to others?” “What have I done to build and strengthen the kingdom?” “Am I a benefit or a hinderance to the Holy Spirit’s work here on Earth?” “Do I tolerate habitually sin in my life?” “Am I judgmental, prideful or selfish?” “Do I obey God am I too busy to pay attention or follow through on what I heard?

To be able to answer these questions positively we each need to go through the process of sanctification, the process of God reforming us into Jesus’s image. When we become a believer in Jesus the Bible says that we are reborn, we are made into a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17-19), we have been changed from death to life, and so on. Accepting Jesus as who the Bible says He is comes at a cost, a high cost – it costs you your life.

Much like how a caterpillar goes through the process of transformation from something that crawls around into something that can fly, so to have we been transformed by the cross and the resurrection. The process of sanctification can be seen as our battle to break out of the cocoon of grace God places us in after we receive Christ. It is that struggle to once and for all cast off the way our life used to look because once it has been shaken off you are able to fly.

By accepting God’s various judgments about our life, thoughts, actions and intentions we are being helped in our process of sanctification. In reality, by listening to God we are able to avoid greater judgment through our commitment to sanctification. This is why we have to continually ask God to refine ourselves and to point out what needs to change or improve in lives. The best place to look for advice on how to grow in sanctification and avoid judgment is to look at the life of Jesus. He is our example and the root of our identity, everything God tells us to do and think comes from how Jesus acts and thinks.

The Three Main Areas of Judgment

In the process of sanctification we need to continually look at the three areas I believe God is most concerned about judging and refining us in the most: our thought life, our interpersonal life, and our Kingdom life.

1) Our thought life has to do with everything that goes on inside of us, what we think, feel, desire, believe and so on. It the part of our lives which is hidden from others but not from God (Hebrews 4:12) and we are promised (Romans 2:16) that God will judge this inner life within us. This is the part of our being which Jesus said is the source of evil thoughts and actions (Matthew 15:19, Acts 8:22), and it is the battlefield of the “War Within Our Heart.”

Just because no one can see or hear our thoughts does not mean that we are not guilty of displeasing God.

Just because no one can see or hear our thoughts does not mean that we are not guilty of displeasing God. Jesus said that lust was equal with adultery and that hatred was equal with murder (Matthew 5:22, 28). This internal part of our life is where fear, pride, selfishness and unforgiveness dwell. However, when we allow God to judge us and lead us through the process of sanctification and Christlikeness those wicked traits are replaced by faith, hope, love, forgiveness and the rest of the “fruits of the spirit” (Galatians 5:22-26).

2) Our interpersonal life has to do with how we live and interact with our family, friends, coworkers, church members, strangers and so on. In these cases we are judged in how we treat others, how our thought life becomes a reality, what we value in people and whether or not we walk in love (I don’t mean as a push over but actually caring for people). Matthew 5:22 and James 5:9 speak warnings about how we are to conduct ourselves with others, in that we are to avoid hatred, judgmentalism and baseless complaining (Matthew 12:33-37). God will judge our actions according to our heart’s intentions (Romans 14:12-13). Even if we do a “good deed” for a person it will be disqualified if our intentions were not pure, such as helping someone today to take advantage of them tomorrow.

The lack of sanctification and welcoming of God’s judgment in our lives is what produces most of the strife and interpersonal issues in the church. Why would a person want to go to a church if they just see the people acting as cold, political, argumentative as the secular world? The issue is the many Christians are unwilling to allow the renewing of the Holy Spirit to happen in their hearts because they either believe the they don’t need to, they already know everything, or they use grace as an excuse to act however they please. Grace is not a crutch to excuse our old nature, it is a new leg for us to stand on (Revelation 21:7-8).

Grace is not a crutch to excuse our old nature, it is a new leg for us to stand on

3) Our Kingdom life has to do with whether or not we did our part to contribute to the Great Commission. I’m not talking about everyone joining the ministry, but each individual has a responsibility to share the gospel, disciple other believers and to move in the spiritual gifts God has given to them. This is the parables of the Talents and Minas in action whereby God asks us what we have done with the gifts, talents, and opportunities He has given us to proclaim Christ and bring glory to Himself. Paul called us ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20-21) not spectators, we are representatives of the King in a foreign land and it is our duty to share the culture and power of Heaven in this world. Our Kingdom life also must deal with matters such as worship, reading and studying the scriptures, prayer, intercession and other matters. God created us for relationship, and Jesus became a sacrifice to restore that relationship. Our Kingdom life is not just proclaiming the Gospel but it is also our living relationship with God. Everyday God is looking for us to spend time with Him as a loving Father and His judgments are not out of anger or malice but to help us in bringing others into the same relationship that we have.

Kingdom life is not just proclaiming the Gospel but it is also our living relationship with God.

All of this is a progression from what our heart thinks, to what our body does, then all the way up to how we will use those two facets of our being to proclaim the gospel, so others can be freed from eternal judgment.

Stanley’s Cup

What would happen if we took on a worldview that said everything is awesome and perfect all of the time and you never need to improve? What would your life look like? What would the church look like? This is a life without sanctification or the concern of judgment, it is what happens when we erase these parts of God’s nature and expectations of us.

Let me put it this way, this way of life is like a hockey coach who has accepted a philosophy that no one needs to improve because everyone is already the best version of themselves that they can be. As long as they can express themselves and their desire to play that is all that matters. The coach then goes about placing the intentions of the players above their physical performance, it’s the “as long as you tried” approach which allows people to avoid having to work and improve.

Now imagine if there was this mentality where you had a bunch of people who had never played hockey before and were allowed to think that they were the greatest and there was no reason to improve because they expressed the very best they thought they could do. Then somehow you place that team up against one from the NHL. What would happen? They would be crushed and defeated to the point where they would never want to play again.

Hope In Judgment

This is a ridiculous example but it paints a picture of what it is like when we reject sanctification and God’s judgment on our lives. We never progress spiritually, and we end up like the congregation which the book of Hebrews was written to, one that was dependant on milk and unable to eat the spiritual meat of the Bible. We need to seriously take 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 to heart: “31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.” (NKJV)

For us as believers judgment does not have to be about condemnation or punishment but it can be about refinement and becoming more like Jesus so we can be a better witness in this world. However, when we ignore God there are consequences for rejecting His warnings of judgment and His calls for sanctification. We can see the consequences clearly throughout the New Testament in place such as 1 John 3:36, Acts 5:1-16, Acts 13:8-11, 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, 1 Timothy 1:20 and so on.

We need to lay hold of what Paul has said:

2 Corinthians 7:9-10 “9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

God does not bring to His children warning, correction or judgment for the sole purpose of hurting or condemning us, He does it so we avoid condemnation, the consequences of sin, the judgment of Himself and others. God does not want to bury us in depression but instead wants to set us free, but this only happens when we are willing to confront the issues God brings into the light. Repentance leads to sanctification and sanctification helps us avoid any negative judgment by God, and it strengthens our witness to this world.

Now what will you do? What has God been speaking to you that needs refinement? What do you need to change or improve? What will you do?

SMOG product shot 1

Are you looking to develop your relationship with God and better understand the Bible? Pick up a copy of one of my books today.

Understanding Who You Are: A Survey of 21st Century Christian Beliefs
Amazon.com paperback, eBook | Amazon.ca paperback, eBook
Indigo, iBook, Nook and more HERE

Six Minutes of Grace: The Key To Finding Happiness and Purpose
Amazon.com paperback, eBook | Amazon.ca paperback, eBook
Indigo, iBook, Nook and more HERE

Six Minutes of Grace Journal
Amazon.com paperback | Amazon.ca paperback

Creative Commons LicenseLiving Under Judgment and Loving It. Cameron Conway is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Posted on by — 1 Comment

The Secret Name of Jesus Christ

Go even deeper with the Podcast of this message!

As Christians we declare that we follow the one and only true Son of God called Jesus Christ.  We believe that He came from Heaven through a virgin birth, lived in Judea two thousand years ago, performed miracles, was crucified and resurrected from the dead so we can be part of the New Covenant and receive atonement. Everyday thousands of people utter the name of Jesus, some in prayer, others in worship, while others use the name to display frustration.

We open our Bibles and see the name Jesus, we go to church and (hopefully) hear the name Jesus being spoken from the front. We assume that everyone over the past two thousand years has called out to the name of Jesus Christ as well. Even back when He was walking the earth the crowds went out to hear the words of Jesus Christ and to witness His miracles, or did they?

The Secret No One Is Telling You

Today we just assume that because we call Him Jesus Christ that everyone else throughout history has as well. It is the belief that the way it is now is the way it has always been because we are always right and nothing really changes in the world. It’s like how people assume that places such as New York city, Istanbul, or France have always gone by those names. However, that’s not true; New York used to be called New Amsterdam, Istanbul was called Constantinople, and France was called Gaul. Be it because of changes to a language, invasions, or a differing of opinion names change over the decades and centuries.

Even if there aren’t the changes mentioned above, differences in language can change a simple name into a myriad of variations. Take Germany for example, that isn’t the nation’s actual name it’s the English version of it, in French it’s called Allemagne, while the Germans themselves refer to it as Deutschland. The same goes for nations in the Bible, what we call Egypt the ancient Jews called Mizraim, or that Tarshish is southern Spain and Yavan (Javan) is Greece.

Isn’t Jesus His one and only name and isn’t that what everyone called Him during His ministry, first name Jesus, last name Christ?

We see then that names may change over time but the things they identify remain the same, but what does this have to do with Jesus? Isn’t Jesus His one and only name and isn’t that what everyone called Him during His ministry, first name Jesus, last name Christ?  Have you ever questioned why Christ his last name, I don’t remember there being a Mary and Joseph Christ in the early pages of Luke, no there’s something missing here, something that’s been forgotten.

If Christ isn’t His last name then Jesus is still His first name right?  It may shock you to know that no one ever referred to Him as Jesus when He walked the earth.  In those days He was called by fellow Judeans “Yehoshua.” That name was the one given to Him when He was eight days old during His circumcision ceremony. It is the name Mary called Him by as a child, the name He was known by in the synagogue, and it was the name the apostles would have recognized Him by: Yehoshua from Nazareth the Messiah.

Lost In Translation

If Yehoshua is His name what does it mean? Yehoshua is interpreted from Hebrew/Aramaic as “Yahweh the Savior” or “Yahweh our deliverer.”  While the name Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Mashiach (Messiah), which literally means the anointed one and his anointing. To be anointed means to be covered and/or soaked by either oil or the Spirit of God, David being anointed by Samuel for example (1 Sam 16:12-13).  Therefore, when we casually say the name Jesus Christ we are literally saying “Yahweh our savior and deliverer from Nazareth (literal definition varies between “branch” and “guard”) the one covered with the Spirit of God.”

How then did we go all the way from His name being Yehoshua to Jesus? In Jesus’s time because of Roman (and earlier Ptolemaic Greek) rule it was customary to for Jews to have two names. They would have their Hebrew/Aramaic birth names and an alternate Greek name which was either a direct translation or something unique. Take Peter for example, with his multiple names, he was Simon (Shimon; to hear and one the twelve tribes) in Hebrew, Cephas (stone) in Aramaic and Petros (stone) in Greek. We see this with other disciples as well as Matthew who was called Mathaios (gift of God) in Greek and Levi (to be joined and one of the twelve tribes) in Hebrew and with Judas (not Iscariot) who was called Yehuda (praise and is one of the twelve tribes) in Hebrew and Thaddeus (courageous heart) in Greek and Aramaic.

The reason for these double names is that while the people of Judea would speak Aramaic or Hebrew at home and among themselves, while Greek was the primary political and business language in the Roman Empire. If you did any business in the Roman Empire outside of what we know today as Italy you did it in Greek.  Even in our day we see the same phenomenon with English (and to a growing extend with Mandarin), where people and businesses will learn English to access new markets and to grow in the global markets.

To the Jews Jesus was called Yehoshua and to the Greeks and Romans He was called Iesus.

Through all of these political and linguistic influences which Jesus’s home country was facing we see then that to the Jews Jesus was called Yehoshua and to the Greeks and Romans He was called Iesus.  At its core both translations of the name carry the same meaning just in different languages, but how did it become the Jesus we know today?

We already know that the Greek translation of Yehoshua was Iesus, when the name was translated into Latin (the language of the Romans) it remained the same. It wasn’t until centuries later after the fall of Rome when the Latin language fractured into Spanish, French and Italian that things started to change. When Iesus was translated into French the “I” was turned into a soft “J” and would be pronounce as Jeyzu., This was because of the German influences of the language, as in Germans all of the “Y” names in Hebrew were turned into “J” names, such as Yirmeyahu to Jeremiah (for reference is was Ieremias in Greek). Later as the English language developed as an amalgamation of Latin, French, German and other languages the soft “J” was turned into a stronger German type hard “G” type pronunciation leaving us with the Jesus we know and love today.

But this is where things begin to get very interesting, if we were to make a direct translation from Hebrew to English of the name Yehoshua would not be Jesus but Joshua.

It’s hard to accept I know, but even in older King James Versions of the New Testament we see in two instances where Joshua and Jesus are used interchangeably.  In these two verses the writer is clearly speaking of the Joshua who came after Moses.  Yet His name was translated as Jesus because of the Greek texts which read Iesus.

Acts 7:45 Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; KJV

Hebrews 4:8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. KJV

The writer is clearly speaking of the Joshua who came after Moses.  Yet His name was translated as Jesus because of the Greek texts which read Iesus.

We even see this exact same translation in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the OT which was the most popular translation used in the time of Jesus. There it also translates the name of Joshua/Yehoshua into Iesous.

I guess that does it, I broke the church as we know it and we don’t worship the Son of God called Jesus, but the Son of God called Joshua. I guess its time to rewrite all of those popular worship songs. I can’t wait to start singing songs such as “Joshua Lover of My Soul,” “Joshua Freak,” “Just Give Me Joshua,” and “Turn Your Eyes Upon Joshua.” It also looks like anything from U2’s Joshua Tree album is now fair game for Sunday mornings, who knew? We can also use this knowledge to launch a hip new rebranding campaign; “are you hurting, and looking for purpose in life then come to the church of Joshua the Soaked and find love, peace and eternal life.”

Promised Land Parallels

With this new understanding about Jesus’s name being Joshua things begin to get very interesting. Jesus lived out His earthly ministry according to the prophecies and scriptures written about Him (1 Corinthians 15:4).  God planned all the way back at the beginning what Jesus would do on the earth and how He would use prophets and other writers to declare what was to come, even if the true measure of what they received were veiled to them and their readers at first.  We see this same kind of divine planning which went into the life of Joshua, as many of the things he did were prophecies and guideposts towards the the second Joshua that would later come. These two lives are in many ways direct parallels of each other.  Just as the coming Messiah was hidden in the Law given to Moses, His destiny was revealed through the life of Joshua.

Joshua’s name in Hebrew was originally Hoshea which means “a savior deliverer”, (Num 13:8) but later his name was changed to Yehoshua, no longer a “savior/deliverer” but “Yahweh the (is my) savior/deliverer.” This name change happened after he spied out the land of Canaan and came back along with Caleb with a good report (Numbers 14:6) and tried to motivate the people to go and take the Promised Land.  That day he was renamed Yehoshua, no longer to be a savior/deliverer in his own strength but a declaration that Yahweh is the savior/deliverer of the people. That name “Yahweh is the savior & deliverer” is exact the name given to the Christ/Messiah and it is a continuation of the name Immanuel “God with us”.  Just like Joshua, Jesus came after Moses (a picture of the Law) to lead the people into a Promised Land, Joshua was appointed to lead the people into the physical land of Canaan while Jesus came to bring us into our Heavenly Promised land.

That name “Yahweh is the savior & deliverer” is exact the name given to the Christ/Messiah and it is a continuation of the name Immanuel “God with us”.

The parallels don’t stop there:

-Joshua sat in Moses’ tent and watched as God and Moses talked (Ex 33:11); Jesus sits at the right hand of God in the heavenly tabernacle and talks with God directly.

-Joshua refused to worship the golden calf at Mt. Sinai (Ex 32:17); Jesus refused to worship Satan in the wilderness.

-Joshua called on the people after spying across the Jordan to go and fight the giants of the land (Num 14:6, 30); Jesus conquered the Devil and calls His followers to go reclaim souls from the enemy.

– Joshua waited three days before crossing the Jordan (Josh 1:10-11) into the Promised land; Jesus remained in the grave 3 days before ascending to glory.

-Joshua crossed the Jordan on dry land (Josh 3:1-17) through a miracle of the Spirit; while Jesus was baptized into it and the Spirit appeared as a divine witness.

-Joshua who unlike Moses (the giver of the law) led the people into the promised land (Num 26:65, 27:18-23, Deut 31:14-15); Jesus who fulfilled the law leads us into the promised land of forgiveness, righteousness and total relationship with God.

-Joshua after crossing the Jordan circumcised every man (Josh 5:1-7); Jesus after crossing from death to life has circumcised our hearts and has written His law upon it.

-Joshua led the armies of Israel to capture the Promised Land (Deut 31:1-8, Josh 1:2-3); Jesus leads the armies of heaven and the church to expand the kingdom on earth.

-Joshua who uttered a cry and the walls of Jericho fell (Josh 6:16-20); Jesus who made His cry on the cross and the veil of the temple was torn in two.

-Joshua spared the life of the harlot Rahab (Josh 6:25); Jesus spared the life of the woman caught in adultery.

-Joshua who prayed that the sun should not set until he had completed the battle (Josh 10:12); Jesus upon the cross brought darkness over the land until he had declared “it is finished”.

-Joshua and the people faced betrayal and defeat because of the greed of one man Achan (Josh 7:19-26): Jesus was betrayed because of the greed of one man Judas Iscariot

-Joshua made a covenant with the heathen Gibeonites to spare them from the Judgment of God on the land (Josh 9); Jesus made a New Covenant for both Jew and Gentiles to spare them from the eternal judgment of God.

-Joshua made a public display of the fallen kings he had defeated (Josh 8:29, 10:24-26); Paul says that Jesus made a public spectacle of the spiritual forces He has defeated (Col 2:15).

-Joshua commissioned the 12 tribes to continue the fight and claim their territory (Josh 23:3-5); Jesus commissioned the 12 apostles to preach the gospel to every people, tribe and nation so the Kingdom would be spread.

Of all of these parallels the most important one is that Joshua came after Moses to bring the people out of the wilderness and into the promised land.

There’s Something About That Name

Jesus, Iesus, Yehoshua, Isa, Jezu, Yesu, Hesus, Iosa, Ihu or how it appears in any other language how we pronounce His name is not the issue as long as we know the power behind it.  The name in itself isn’t a magic word, the power comes from His actions, sacrifice, resurrection and in who He is.  Our faith in who truly He is will move mountains not whether we use an I or a J, or if we pray in Greek, Aramaic or English.  His blood, authority and dominion go beyond simple words. At His name, His true name “Yahweh our Savior the One covered with the Spirit of God.” every knee will eventually bow.

The name in itself isn’t a magic word, the power comes from His actions, sacrifice, resurrection and in who He is.

Where do we go from here? Understanding Jesus’s true name should awaken you even further to the purpose of His coming to earth, that we can see the parallels and previews of the life of Joshua and see its fulfillment through Jesus. We are to take this knowledge and use it to take that next step in understanding who Jesus is and how our lives revolve around that truth. That true name of “Yahweh our Savior the One covered with the Spirit of God” should be what we think about whenever we say His name, or read about Him, or pray, or even try to understand what it looks like for us to follow Him.

Jesus didn’t just come to make us good moral people, He came to save us from sin and its eventually outcome of death and separation from God. Like Joshua He leads us into enemy territory to retake the land in the name of God’s kingdom, but now rather then using swords we use faith, prayer, testimony, good works, love, compassion, power and the fullness of the Holy Spirit to do so.

It also means that we today as Christians must look at the life of Joshua and the people he led and do all that we can so that we don’t end up like they did in the book of Judges. Those who claimed a relationship with God but looked and acted even worse than the Canaanites they allowed to remain in their land, or those who would worship God only when they felt that Baal had failed or ignored them.

The secret name of Jesus must be known to us so we see Him as He truly is, our savior, deliver and King. We must take this knowledge and spread it to all people in all places that “Yahweh our Savior the One covered with the Spirit of God” has come to set us free and to bring us into the Heavenly promised land. The Law, our good deeds, or even our hearts desires cannot carry us into the Promised Land only Jesus can.

SMOG product shot 1

Are you looking to develop your relationship with God and better understand the Bible? Pick up a copy of one of my books today.

Understanding Who You Are: A Survey of 21st Century Christian Beliefs
Amazon.com paperback, eBook | Amazon.ca paperback, eBook
Indigo, iBook, Nook and more HERE

Six Minutes of Grace: The Key To Finding Happiness and Purpose
Amazon.com paperback, eBook | Amazon.ca paperback, eBook
Indigo, iBook, Nook and more HERE

Six Minutes of Grace Journal
Amazon.com paperback | Amazon.ca paperback

Creative Commons LicenseThe Secret Name of Jesus ChristCameron Conway is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Posted on by — 1 Comment

Praying Into Another Universe

Go even deeper with the Podcast of this message!

As Christians one of the great revelations that we are faced with is that there is more to this universe than we can see with our natural eyes. Beyond the veil of our physical universe lurks another parallel world, one which is able to interact and influence the world we see around us. It is here in this invisible and supernatural realm that forces of God and the forces of the Devil contend for control of the realm of mankind. With all of this spiritual activity going on around us the natural question is then, how can Christians participate in this unseen world?

Before we can talk about how to participate in this struggle we must look at why we can be an influence in this trans-dimensional battle.

Jesus The Invader From Another Universe (Presented In Technicolor)

In the gospels, we see numerous examples of Jesus using His divine authority to cast out demons and bring about physical healings for the people. Jesus was operating in a power and influence which reached beyond the world around Him. Jesus (through the power of the Holy Spirit) was able to bring about the reality of the supernatural realm into the natural and override the problems He was witnessing among the people.

Jesus operated in a power and influence which reached beyond the world around Him.

Jesus often spoke about another world, being born of the spirit (John 3:5-8), a place called Heaven, and about beings from another realm called angels and demons. Jesus in John 8:23 spoke about how He came from above and wasn’t of this world as opposed to those confronting Him who were from “beneath” (or below in other translations). Jesus demonstrated a clear divide between the world He was physically walking around in and the world that He originated from.

One world was broken, rebellious, decaying and consumed with the failings of humans, while the other realm was one of power, peace, holiness and is overwhelmed by the glory of God. It is no wonder that wherever Jesus went the world and people around Him were changed for the better. Thieving tax collectors became disciples, the sick were made well, the lost had found a loving shepherd, and those seeking God came face to face with Him.

Universes Collide (In 3-D)

It is one thing for Jesus to move in this power and to have an awareness of a realm beyond what the people could see, that is easy to believe. What becomes difficult to accept or comprehend came about during the middle of Jesus’ ministry. In an unexpected step Jesus took the power and authority He had as the Son of God and extended that same authority to the twelve disciples in Matthew 10:1. From then on we hear of the disciples going out and moving in the same power demonstrated by Jesus as they preached about Him (Luke 9:6). Now because of what Jesus did (even before the cross) those who followed Him in this world were able to do the same things Jesus did.

Not only did Jesus transfer that authority to the twelve but He also extended it to seventy other followers as well in Luke 10:17-19. It is these extensions of authority that give Christians today the right to engage with spiritual forces in the same manner and to the same degree that is recorded in the Gospels and in the book of Acts. Not only were a select few permitted to replicate this authority but all who believe in Christ. We see this in John 14:12-14 and in the account of someone outside of Jesus’ followers casting out demons in His name (Luke 9:49-50). It is through our Christ given authority and our relationship with Him which gives us the right to engage in the same acts of power and demonstrations of the Kingdom that Jesus operated in.

It is through our Christ given authority and our relationship with Him which gives us the right to engage in the same acts of power and demonstrations of the Kingdom that Jesus operated in.

In A World Under Siege Only One Thing Can Save It: Prayer

Once we understand the authority we have in terms of the unseen realm we must now look at our primary weapon, prayer. Not only is prayer our primary weapon it is also the lynch-pin in our living relationship with God. Our prayers can be compared to artillery shells begin fired off in the field of battle, they are launched from a great distance and can cause a great deal of destruction. However, we cannot just blindly fire off these artillery rounds of prayer without coordinates or a proper target, that is where our fellowship with God comes into play in our battle against unseen forces.

We now see that prayer is a mighty weapon and it is the vehicle through which we exercise our authority. To continue the metaphor the artillery gun is our authority the projectile is our prayer, the gun powder is our relationship with God and the explosion is the working of the Holy Spirit. Now that prayer has been identified as a powerful weapon our target must come into sight. It is not flesh but the spiritual forces which influence the natural world. Paul sums this up in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 as he speaks of the unseen battlefront moving against the Kingdom.

Understanding that our battle is against spiritual forces is only the first step in this conflict. We must develop our personal relationship with God, through that relationship we receive not just authority but the “coordinates” we need to effectively pray for God’s will to come into a situation. If at any point you think you’re unaware what God’s will is, you can always fall back on John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (NKJV) 

Let’s All Go Through The Lobby To The Deadliest Battlefield In The Universe

The final key in our ability to have an influence on the unseen realm is in our lifestyle and day to day actions. The fiercest battlefront we each face is the one for our own minds. It is the battle within ourselves which will determine if we either engage in the global spiritual battle or if we will retreat and go AWOL from our spiritual responsibilities to pray the Kingdom of God into this world.

This is why Paul spoke so candidly about our lifestyles in Romans 12:1-3 and taught about us not being conformed to this world and resisting how our flesh wants us to operate. There is a reason why Paul began his discourse on the Christian Armor with the call to first stand. If we cannot rise up or are under the oppression of the enemy we will never be able to properly fight in the great spiritual battle. Most people don’t realize it but our actions matter, our sins or lack thereof matter, our everyday conduct matters, our thought life matters! It’s these everyday decisions that will attempt to either usher in the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of the enemy. If we are broken, in sin and without faith we will not be able to pray with power, or at times even at all.

If we cannot rise up or are under the oppression of the enemy we will never be able to properly fight in the great spiritual battle.

Far too often we give unnecessary attention to Satan and his forces when what we are dealing with are heart and sin issues. Not every frustration, conflict, dark emotion or problem comes from demons or the like. It is concerning that we try to shift all of our responsibility to live according to Jesus’ teachings off of our shoulders and instead go off and chase the shadows of supposed demons because it is easier to blame them than it is to renew our minds and change ourselves.

I’m not discounting the harassing nature of demons or downplaying their desire to cripple and mute believers. Rather I am advocating that there are times when the only force that is working against us is really just ourselves, our desires, our stubbornness and our own wants.

This grand battle requires real work on our part, as we are to be both defensive and offensive against the enemy. James 4:7-8 makes this internal battle abundantly clear and highlights what is available for those who endure: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Once our hearts are right then our minds can become ready for the battle and then and only then can we engage in a prolonged effort to expand the Kingdom of God through prayer and actions.

Coming Soon To A Kingdom Near You

The initial question of how can a Christian participate in the unseen world should be answered with another question in light of what has been shown to be available to the believer. The question we should be asking ourselves now is, “how much will I participate in influencing the unseen universe?” Throughout this battle we must realize that Christians are already members of the victorious army of Christ, we must have a personal revelation that the war is won but the skirmishes continue. Satan and his minions still have power and an agenda to cause death and chaos but they are already defeated. They are a retreating army trying to set as many fires as they can while they run from their previously held territory.

We are to be aware of the spiritual universe and its impact on our own but we are not to fear it or what dwells within it. Now the words of Paul once again ring true from Philippians 2:9-11 because the name and authority of Jesus calls on all those not just on the earth but those above and below it to bow down before Him.

By the authority Christ has given us, through the power of prayer, combined with the ability to live holy lives we must no longer think of if we can, but yes we can. Yes, we can have relationship with the Father, yes we can live holy lives here on earth, yes we can heal the sick, and yes we can see the forces of evil defeated and chased away. We must see ourselves  as children of two universes We were physically born into a natural universe of matter and decay, but we have also been adopted into a spiritual universe of power and unending life. It is our job now to pray for God’s will and His Kingdom to spread throughout our world so the physical realm looks more like the Heavenly universe each day.

SMOG product shot 1

Are you looking to develop your relationship with God and better understand the Bible? Pick up a copy of one of my books today.

Understanding Who You Are: A Survey of 21st Century Christian Beliefs
Amazon.com paperback, eBook | Amazon.ca paperback, eBook
Indigo, iBook, Nook and more HERE

Six Minutes of Grace: The Key To Finding Happiness and Purpose
Amazon.com paperback, eBook | Amazon.ca paperback, eBook
Indigo, iBook, Nook and more HERE

Six Minutes of Grace Journal
Amazon.com paperback | Amazon.ca paperback

Creative Commons LicensePraying Into Another Universe Cameron Conway is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Posted on by — 1 Comment