Complete the Thought (CTT)

When quoting scripture it is vitally important that we not pluck small segments out of context. Sometimes that means reading the verses leading up to the quoted text… many times it involves reading on beyond the quoted text. Sound doctrine demands we check our cliches, church-isms, and quick-quotes against the whole of scriptures, lest we deceive ourselves and those who follow.

CTT | The yoke will be broken by the anointing

Faithful Stewardship 2 Comments

CTTI heard a snippet from Joel Osteen’s message from June 01, 2014 “You Are Anointed” (not completely by choice, Chris Rosebrough did a quick review of it in his Friday episode of Fighting For the Faith). Joel misquotes Isaiah 10:27, but it isn’t completely his own doing. I’ve heard this misquote before, so I thought I would chase down its origins and share that today.

For starters, true to form, Joel doesn’t go on to teach anything Biblical in his sermon. In previous blogs, we’ve looked at the meaning of the words “Christ” and “Messiah” and how they both mean “the anointed one” of God, which points to Jesus. Therefore, whenever someone talks about “the anointing” they are indeed invoking very strong imagery, on the level of King Saul, King David, and Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus warned of false christs, and anti-Christs. To keep the language as plain as possible, it should be read as “false anointed ones” and those who are “anti-God’s anointed”. However, Joel doesn’t explain any of this, nor is his definition of the so-called “anointing” that rests on everyone in his audience fit anything found in scripture. He’s just repackaging his narcissistic drivel about “positive thinking”. I mean, he opens up with the notion that this anointing was the most powerful thing on Earth, but then he says your negative thoughts can invalidate it. Anyway, the point of this post the text he used, not the false notion he preaches.

The partial verse I’ve heard quoted is as follows: “the yoke will be broken by the anointing” or “it’s the anointing that breaks the yoke”.  It comes from Isaiah 10:27… but ONLY if you read the KJV (and the NKJV maintains this mistranslation). First, let’s look at the verse in its immediate context in a couple of good translations including footnotes (feel free to search others you like):

Isaiah 10:24-27 English Standard Version (ESV) 24 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. 25 For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26 And the Lord of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. 27 And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”[a]
Footnotes: [a] Isaiah 10:27 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

Isaiah 10:24-27 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
24 Therefore thus says the Lord [a]God of hosts, “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian [b]who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. 25 For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction.” 26 The Lord of hosts will arouse a scourge against him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the sea and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt. 27 So it will be in that day, that [c]his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because of fatness.
Footnotes:
[a] Isaiah 10:24 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
[b] Isaiah 10:24 Lit he
[c] Isaiah 10:27 I.e. the Assyrian

So, what does the KJV (and NKJV) have (see this link to view ESV/KJV/NKJV parallel)?

Isaiah 10:24-27 King James Version (KJV)
24 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.
26 And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

Isaiah 10:24-27 New King James Version (NKJV)
24 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. 25 For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction.” 26 And the Lord of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt.
27 It shall come to pass in that day
That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder,
And his yoke from your neck,
And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.

So how did this get translated this way? The word in question is “shamen“. The short definition is “fat” or “to grow fat”. Here is another case where I really like the approach taken by the ESV. There isn’t much in the text to fully explain the meaning of the word “shamen” here, so they went with its short definition “fat” and left the footnote. In this case, and in the greater context of Isaiah 10, I tend to agree with the NASB and even the NIV where it is translated “And the yoke will be broken because you have grown so fat (Is 10:27 NIV)”. The MSG (I strongly recommend you stick to a Biblical diet that is MSG-free!) just avoids it outright and leaves the thought at “the yoke will be broken”. So what is going on here?

Well, what we have here is an example of someone trying too hard to connect dots. The Hebrew word “shemen” (strongs.8081) also translates to “fat” and “oil”. So, if the KJV folks had confused shamen with shemen, they might have wanted to translate it “oil” rather than “fat”. Unfortunately, the leap from “oil” to “anointing” isn’t really justifiable in the Hebrew. It’s a connection that requires too many steps. Sure, you can make oil out of rendered fat, but that is not the only source of oil, and anointing oil most likely had other ingredients (I may look into that further sometime) or oils from herbs or spices where the rendered fat might be a carrier oil. Still… do you see how far away from the text we have to go to “justify” this KJV translation? For me, it’s just too far a jump to work in “anointing” and the vast majority of solid translations are in agreement with the definition of this word pointing to fat or fatness.

Now, let me be very clear, Jesus did come to set the captives free (Luke 4:14-21 ESV), and said that His burden is light and His yoke was easy (Matt 11:28-30 ESV); therefore, I am not saying that yokes cannot be broken by the Anointed One of God (Messiah, Christ, Jesus). But this verse is rarely cited as a reference to God the Son. It is most often cited to justify the “anointing” of an individual claiming a special anointing from God (contemporary apostles, evangelists, prophets, etc). We need to stop accepting the misquoting of Scripture simply because the general idea “sounds about right”.  Misusing Scripture is its own sin and it is very dangerous, and must be corrected. If what you are teaching cannot be plainly taught in Scripture (in context) then you should not be teaching it (Titus 1 & 2).

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
In Him,
Jorge

CTT | David and Goliath

Faithful Stewardship 7 Comments

CTTToday’s CTT is going to be a little bit different. Undoubtedly you’ve heard the story of David defeating Goliath in your Sunday school class growing up, or perhaps in an adult Church service, or maybe on ESPN. Okay, well, if you caught it on ESPN, you probably only know it as a colloquialism for “an underdog’s victory”. If you grew up in an emergent/emerging/seeker-sensitive church, you probably heard sermons that tell the story of David defeating Goliath and then asking you, “what’s your Goliath?”. If you grew up in an NAR church, you’ve undoubtedly been taught that this was reflective of the “5 fold ministry”, possibly even emphasizing the office of the Apostle. We aren’t going to discuss any of that here today. The Bible isn’t about us, it is about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The primary text for this CTT will be 1 Samuel 17 (ESV). Please, do take the time to read this passage in its entirety and double-check my work. In yesterday’s post, we looked at what the people of Israel were looking for in the Messiah, the Christ. We looked at how many of the prophesies regarding the Christ come as a promise to king David, that there will always be a man sitting on the throne of David. Now, we are first introduced to David, the youngest son of Jesse, the Ephrathite from Bethlehem, in 1 Samuel 16. The Lord God sent Samuel to anoint David as King of Israel, and the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and rushed upon David from that day forward. God chose David, and led Samuel to him. Notice the testimony of David that is given to Saul before any recorded acts of valor:

1 Samuel 16:14-23 (ESV) 14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

Quite the testimony. I think it is important to highlight who David was before the Goliath encounter. God had already chosen him, anointed him, and He was with him. He was already a skillful musician, a man of valor and a man of war, prudent in speech and of good presence. Too often, these qualities are overlooked in favor of eisegeting an “underdog story” about how we all are called to “defeat our own giants”. That, would be a very incomplete thought, indeed. Let’s move on to the next chapter.

1 Samuel 17 (ESV)  1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
…
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
…
19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.

24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.” 26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 27 And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”

Okay. Now keeping a finger here (or opening up a new tab in your browser), let’s look at some other verses.

Luke 2:1-6 (ESV) 1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
…
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
…

Matthew 3:13-17 (ESV) 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Luke 4 (ESV) 1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil…13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
…

John 13:21-27 (ESV) 21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

So, here we have the setup. As Goliath challenged Israel to send a man to fight him to decide the fate of all of Israel, so too we have God’s Anointed, the Christ, the Messiah about to take on once and for all the battle for all of mankind. The last time Satan went toe-to-toe with mankind, he secured victory in leading Adam to rebel against God by sin. However, his victory came with a promise made to the serpent regarding eve, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15 ESV). Adam failed, but a rematch was scheduled, and now the battle lines have been redrawn. The Apostle Paul articulates it well in Romans:

Romans 5:18-19 (ESV) 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Now, lets return to 1 Samuel 17

1 Samuel 17:28-30 (ESV) 28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” 30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.

Even the rejection/rebuke by his brothers points to Jesus.

John 7:2-7 (ESV) 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.

See also Luke 4:16-30 (ESV)

Now, lets finish up the story in 1 Samuel:

1 Samuel 17:37-51 (ESV)

37 And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

The significance of the 5 smooth stones that points to Jesus? Chris Rosebrough talked about it this way, “Jesus was pierced 5 times, once in each hand and each foot, and a final piercing in his side.”  I would also like to add that Goliath fell dead from a single stone. I believe this points to the fact that Christ’s death was once and for all as Paul described in Hebrews 10.

Hebrews 10 (ESV) 1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”

17 then he adds,

“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

May the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, be forever praised! The primary lesson of the story of David and Goliath, is its foreshadowing of Christ’s victory of sin and death at the cross. Can other parallels be drawn from this narrative? Perhaps, however I would caution you against reading yourselves into this text. We aren’t all “called to slay Goliaths”, for the battle is clearly, and unequivocally the Lord’s. This narrative, as well as the whole of Scriptures, is focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the love of our Living God.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
In Him,
Jorge

A very interesting archeological examination of the possible battlefield can be found here: http://www.netours.com/content/view/241/69/

CTT | Where there is no vision, the people perish…

Faithful Stewardship 1 Comment

Inigo Montoya Meme from the Princess BrideA commonly used proof text for both “vision casting” leaders and “new apostolic reformation” leaders is pulled from Proverbs 29:18a, normally quoted from the KJV

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) 18 Where there is no vision, the people perish

This verse is most often used to suggest that since the people perish due to a lack of vision what they need to survive is a pastor who casts visions or a prophet who shares visions. The first problem with this notion, is that nowhere else in scripture (that I’m aware of) is this idea supported. The idea that without a vision-casting pastor or a prophet the people perish. Neither the ability nor the responsibility to cast a vision is listed in any of the criteria for an Elder, Pastor, or Deacon. Prophetic vision is a good thing, when it comes from the Lord God. Prophetic Visions always point back to God, whether they are of blessing, of punishment, or of promise. The problem comes when self-proclaimed NAR prophets/apostles focus their teaching/preaching/training on their visions over what is written in Scriptures, the Word of God. We’ll get to this point in a bit, but don’t worry, this will be a short post.

First, let us take a look at the full verse (yes… a major portion is left off of the end) in the KJV and in 3 translations that I consider to be solid translations of the Bible.

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) 18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Proverbs 29:18 (NKJV) 18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.

Proverbs 29:18 (NASB) 18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law.

Proverbs 29:18 (ESV) 18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.

That’s the thing about reading a proverb, most of them present dualistic thought. If a verse starts out doomed, you don’t have to guess what the opposite is, just keep reading. The opposite of “perish/unrestrained” is to keep the law and be “blessed/happy”. To keep the law. What is the law? Well, we know what the Apostle Paul had to say in his instruction to Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:10-17 (ESV) 10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

So then, even when we are without a Prophet of God sharing Visions from the Lord God, we are not truly without prophetic vision because we have the Scriptures. We are actually at a distinct advantage over the children of Israel who heard the word of the Prophets, for we not only have their writings, we also have the Gospel of Grace, the revealed Promised One of Abraham, of the seed of Eve who crushed the head of the devil and laid down His life as the atoning sacrifice for our sin. This is why neither the Apostle Paul nor the Apostle Peter included “casting vision” in their establishment of the office of Elder/Pastor. Peter especially was told to “feed God’s sheep” and Paul exhorts Timothy to “preach the Word“.

We’ve already taken a hard look at the test of a Prophet of God found in Deuteronomy, but I’d like to visit a couple of examples in the Old Testament of clear abuses of “vision casting” and how much it angers God when people follow after visions rather than the Word of God.

Jeremiah 23:23-32 (ESV) 23 “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. 29 Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the Lord.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.

Ezekiel 7:23-27 (ESV) 23 “Forge a chain! For the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence. 24 I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the strong, and their holy places shall be profaned. 25 When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none. 26 Disaster comes upon disaster; rumor follows rumor. They seek a vision from the prophet, while the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders. 27 The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are paralyzed by terror. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Zechariah 10:1-5 (ESV)
10 Ask rain from the Lord
in the season of the spring rain,
from the Lord who makes the storm clouds,
and he will give them showers of rain,
to everyone the vegetation in the field.
2 For the household gods utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
they tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.

3 “My anger is hot against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;
for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
4 From him shall come the cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler—all of them together.
5 They shall be like mighty men in battle,
trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the Lord is with them,
and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.

These Prophets were speaking to the children of Israel during the time of the Babylonian Exile. There was much evil done in the sight of the Lord during that time, a time that had befallen them as punishment for their sin. My point here is to highlight the danger in relying on the dreams of dreamers and self-proclaimed prophets without exercising discernment, and without knowing the Word of God. Notice the language here, “My anger is hot against the shepherds” for they have neglected their duties. This is where Jesus is so angry with the Pharisees, for even after God relents and ends the Exile and even uses Cyrus the Great to rebuild Jerusalem, they once-again grow cold in the things of God and do what is evil in God’s sight, they forget their role as shepherds and preach themselves.

I know that for many of the younger pastors, their desire is to do the right thing and I want to say that their heart is in the right place. But this whole notion of “vision casting” is dangerous and unbiblical. A young pastor should first seek to emulate Timothy and Titus by doing that which they were told to do. Those of us who have been blessed with the Word of God are not in jeopardy of perishing or casting off restraint if we remain in God’s Word. There is no fear of falling away to false doctrines if we remain in the Word of God above all else.

I do believe that the gift of Prophecy is still available today because it is a gift of God the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 14), but God the Holy Spirit will never give a prophetic vision that will conflict or draw away from His own divinely revealed, God-breathed, Scriptures. He won’t. There was a time in my life when I longed for a personal, prophetic word to be spoken over my life… and that longing became its own idolatry, because I wasted years of my Christian life NOT reading and studying God’s Word. Anything that rises above the Word of God draws believers away from God.

It is my prayer that each of you reading this attends a good church of the Titus 2 variety, with faithful leadership and a deep commitment to the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

In Him,
Jorge

CTT | Let him who is without sin…

Faithful Stewardship 3 Comments

CTTMy family has been sailing along rough seas of late. Recent conflicts regarding personal relationships, biblical discernment, and major life changing decisions have weight heavily on us all. As I was praying over some of the recent events and decisions, the biggest question that troubled my mind had to do with whether or not I should have spoken up, or rocked the boat. I was reminded of a story found in the book of John.

By this time in Jesus Ministry, the Pharisees have already sought to arrest Jesus. Jesus is now being much more blunt about who He is, the Mana from heaven, and the promise of the Holy Spirit. Many were seriously considering whether Jesus was the Prophet or even the Christ. Still others plotted against Him. So the end of Ch 7 we have the final day of the Feast of Booths.

John 7:53 (ESV) They went each to his own house,

John 8:1-11 (ESV)

1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

This is such a beautiful picture of the Gospel of Christ. Notice that Jesus isn’t saying they were wrong to point out her sin. Jesus didn’t say they were falsely accusing her of her sin. Jesus first established that He alone was worthy of condemning this woman. Let him who is without sin among you… Only Jesus fit that description. According to the Law, these men were correct. The Law identifies sin which brings death. Let’s see how Paul explains this in Romans:

Romans 7:4-13 (ESV) 4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. 7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

So then, does this mean that we who have sin in our lives should never call out sin in our brothers/sisters lives? Not at all. For it wasn’t the identification of sin that Jesus challenged; rather, it was the condemnation of the woman, or to put it in another way, her judgment. Jesus was establishing that only He who is without sin is fit to Judge or Condemn sin. Jesus showed her mercy, and then told her to go and sin no more. Christ came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it in Himself, to then lay down His life as the atoning sacrifice for all sin, so that He could extend Grace and Mercy to those who believe in Him and obtain the gift of everlasting life.

She knew she was caught, and she no-doubt expected to be stoned to death that very hour. There was no escaping her sin, nor the just punishment for her sin as outlined in the Law. She stood convicted, before the Son of God. It was only by His Grace and Mercy, out of His love for her, that she was forgiven of her sin and granted mercy rather than wrath. Jesus took upon Himself, the punishment for her sin… and He extends the very same offer of atonement to you and me.

You know, often times you will hear someone throw out a “don’t judge” as an attempt to silence those who are calling out sin. The purpose of the Law is to identify sin, and as such the Law is Holy. However, we are not sit in judgement, condemning our brother/sister for his/her sin, lest we be judged similarly. Let’s look at a couple of passages of scripture.

Matthew 7:1-5 (ESV) 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:12 (ESV) “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

None of us is without sin. We are justified through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, not by our righteousness. Therefore, none of us is worthy of casting the first stone of condemnation or judgement. But we are still to hold firmly to the Law for the identification of sin, to rebuke false doctrine and sinful living. However, once the sin has been identified and rebuked, we must quickly return to the Gospel of Grace of Jesus Christ.

James 5:13-20 (ESV) 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. 19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Matthew 6:14 (ESV) 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

It is imperative that we rightly identify sin, both in ourselves so that we might confess and in our brothers/sisters that we might bring him/her back into the faith. We must also forgive one another of their sins against us, lest we be judged by God in the same manner that we judge our brother/sister.  The world that does not know Jesus is incapable of understanding this concept, because it is beyond our flesh to forgive and love our brothers in this way. Only by the Grace of God can we walk in the Spirit and forgive and love as we are commanded to do in Scripture.  Once again, I’d like to close with the final prayer in Jude:

Jude 1:24-25 (ESV) Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

May the Lord bless and keep you,
In Him,
Jorge

CTT | There Will be Scoffers…

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CTTSo it seems that lately there has been a resurgence of biblical discernment, which is absolutely awesome.  The response to much of the correction has been the typical ad hominem attack of accusing anyone who disagrees or voices any concern as being basement-dwelling haters. Stephen Furtick has recently released a book about it (Crash the Chatterbox) and preached sermons promoting it. Having listened to 3 of these sermons, this book has nothing to do with sound biblical doctrine; rather, it is Furtick sermonizing his struggle with “the voices of haters” that are countering his vision. Recently, Beth Moore spoke at the awaken conference and spent a great deal of time “preparing” the audience for some big change that was coming, but rather than talk about the change directly, she spent the whole time giving a pep-talk about “scoffers”. (YouTube clip from 2/20/14). For today’s CTT, I want to focus on her introduction to the scoffers.

I believe that God placed it on my heart to tell you that as it comes, and it will if we’ll own our thirst, it will, if we’ll be willing to stop telling him what it has to look like, it’s coming, it’s coming. But we must be prepared in advance for scoffers . I will say that again. We must be prepared in advance for scoffers. I want you to look at one another and say, “Be prepared for scoffers.”
And here’s the thing. The unbelieving world scoffing is not going to bother us that much. We’ re used to them thinking that we are idiots. Can we just own that one? We’re used to it. Of course, they think that. We’ve got that one down. That’s not what’s going to bother us so much. What’s going to bother us, and I believe God is saying, “Get prepared for it so you know in advance it is coming” so when it does happen you’re not all disturbed and all rocked by it because it is going to come from some in our own Christian realm — our own brothers and sisters.
We’re going to have people that are honestly going to want to debate and argue with us about awakening and downpours. What do you want here? They’re going to say, that’s not the way it should look. You know what, dude? I’m just asking you, are you thirsty?

Okay, so we have a couple of things going on here. First, we have a direct personal revelation of some future move of the Holy Spirit that we still don’t quite know what it is. In her warning, its safe to assume she would classify this thing as either an “awakening” or a “downpour” of the Holy Spirit. This is already shaky ground, because God the Holy Spirit was poured out on all believers (one of the reasons Jesus had to ascend into heaven, so He could send the Holy Spirit to dwell in us). If God the Holy Spirit dwells in all who believe and have been baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit…and that same Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the New Testament. What more do we need? Since she hasn’t actually said what is coming, there’s little more that can be discerned in regarding the particulars of the alleged move of God the Holy Spirit. However, notice she also claims that God is warning her to be prepared for “scoffers”.  But she’s not worried about unbelieving scoffers, she’s worried about Christian scoffers, our own brothers and sisters. Why the special warning against Christian scoffers, and is that a fair characterization of those who question the biblical soundness of whatever Beth claims is coming “if we own their thirst” (whatever that means)? Let’s look at what the Apostles had to say about scoffers.

Acts 13:36-43 (ESV) 36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 37 but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. 40 Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:
41 “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”
42 As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. 43 And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.

Here, we have Paul and Barnabas speaking in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia. They are preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here, the scoffer is the one who rejects the Gospel and perishes. It is not a direct quote from Habakkuk 1, and I’m very curious about the deeper meaning here. First, it seems the Chaldeans are the scoffers. Habakkuk’s response is interesting, for he recognizes that God has raised up the Chaldeans as judgment. The full response from God is in chapter 2, and I think what Paul is doing is not merely quoting a few lines; rather, he is summarizing the entire theme of Habakkuk 1 and 2. For this post, however, the point I’d like to make is that this isn’t really the kind of thing that can be ascribed fairly to Christians. But lets look for other references.

2 Peter 3:1-7 (ESV) 1 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

Notice here that the context of the scoffers remains the same, and that Peter is also referencing the holy prophets. Here, they are specifically scoffing at the second coming of Christ, the fulfillment of His Promise. Let us look at one more reference to scoffers.

Jude 1:17-22 (ESV) 17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

I encourage you to read the complete book of Jude (one chapter), a warning concerning false teachers. Here, again, the scoffers are unbelievers, following ungodly passions, worldly people devoid of the Spirit of God. Clearly, not Christians… not our brothers and sisters.

It’s a dangerous thing, to try to silence people before you’ve actually shared what you claim to be divinely revealed truth. Even worse when you focus your ire not on the unbelieving and ungodly, but on Christians, those who are indwelt by the same Holy Spirit who is responsible for any valid prophetic Word. The same Holy Spirit that warned us through the Apostles and writers of Scripture time and time again to keep to the faith, preach sound doctrine, rebuke false teachers and even to test the spirits. If you are speaking a Word from God, then let it be tested against Scripture. If the word you heard comes from God the Holy Spirit, it will not falter and it will not waver in light of Scriptures.  We have no need of any special warning against scoffers, as defined by the Apostle Paul, Apostle Peter, and Jude; however, if one comes, it should fall in line with the warnings that already exist in Scripture.

One final thought, God the Holy Spirit doesn’t need a hype-man. God’s people don’t need to be preconditioned for a Word of God, if indeed it is God speaking. For we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19; 1 Peter 2:1-10). It doesn’t mean that everyone is right, but the same Holy Spirit works in us to teach us and to grow us into the fullness of the knowledge of Christ. So, if you are speaking on God’s behalf, and a fellow believer (who is filled with the Holy Spirit) exercises biblical discernment, do not malign him and reject him as a scoffer. If you are caught in sin, it would do you well to be restored by a brother or sister. If the Holy Spirit is truly at work in you, then He will guide your conversation and search of the Scriptures in the Spirit of Truth. False teaching is to be called out, rebuked, and silenced, for it does not come from God.

I’d like to close this post with the final verses from Jude:

Jude 1:24-25 (ESV) Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

May the Lord bless and keep you,
In Him,
Jorge