Give God no rest

Posted on April 27, 2016 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves; And give Him no rest until He establishes And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” (Isaiah 62:6–7, NASB95)

God is challenging believers to give God no rest until He establishes Jerusalem as a praise in the earth.

In the Lord’s Prayer, we are taught to pray, “your kingdom come.” This a petition that fulfils the command to give God no rest.

When I read about terrorists blowing themselves up, I can respond in fear, or I can follow Jesus’ suggestion to pray, “your kingdom come.” When I read of political leaders’ corruption, I can leave it in God’s hands by praying for the return of Jesus to set things right. When I consider my own failings, I can pray, “your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

We are invited to be bold before God. We are invited to plead for the establishment of peace.

One definition of gossip is telling a story to someone who cannot influence the outcome of that story. So when I complain about world events to someone who cannot change those events, it is like I am gossiping. The problem with gossip is that it riles up the hearer and does nothing to solve the problem.

It is better to bring the problem to the one who can fix it. This makes sense, but I often forget to do this.

This is why Isaiah’s reminder is so important. God is telling us that he wants us to bring our concerns to him. He wants us to pray for, long for, a day of ultimate peace. He wants us to beg for the ultimate establishment of his kingdom.

Let’s start begging.

Not of this world – Lessons from John 18:36

Posted on June 27, 2015 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

Lately I’ve been thinking about how the church should interact with the surrounding culture. In my country, society is moving rapidly away from the Judeo/Christian moral framework. Seemingly, every point of view is tolerated with the exception of an overtly Christian one.

In response to this, it is not difficult to find “culture wars” rhetoric that seeks to drive me to political action. The rhetoric plays to my fears of a culture that is alien or even hostile to the standards that are set by Scripture.

A book that I was reading today made reference to John 18:36 which says:

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (ESV)

It struck me that this statement informs me about how I should respond to those in power that often make decisions with which I do not agree.

Not a political agenda

The Kingdom of God will not be advanced through a political agenda. Jesus’ Kingdom has different rules of engagement than Pilate’s political world.

Not through coercion

Jesus repudiates the use of force for external coercion. Otherwise, Jesus would get his servants to fight.

In addition to Jesus’ Earthly servants, he also has the command of the angels. When you consider that one angel single-handedly took out an army of 185,000 soldiers (2 Kings 19:35), imagine the power of a whole legion of angels.

If Jesus had a political agenda, he certainly had enough resources to implement that agenda.

Bigger than this world

Our focus should not be on reformation of our society. Yes, the church has had an impact on society, but that effect cannot be the church’s primary goal. We are called to make disciples. In the process of making disciples, we trust that God will change people’s hearts and minds so that they want to live according to Scripture.

If there is any change in society, it is a result of God changing the hearts of a sufficient number of people for the societal change to take place.

The church cannot be satisfied with only a temporal change in the surrounding society. We are called to be agents used by God to bring about eternal change. We are called to help people move into a much larger kingdom.

Conclusion

While God does call some to engage in the political process to bring about temporal change (think of William Wilberforce), this cannot be the primary focus of the church. Our allegiance is to a much bigger King and a much bigger kingdom.

The blessing of being poor (in spirit) – Matthew 5:3

Posted on November 6, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre 4 Comments

Matthew 5:3 reads:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (NASB)

One must assume that Jesus knew what he was doing when he put this Beatitude first in the list. Blessed are the poor in Spirit. Luke’s record shortens this saying to simply, “blessed are you who are poor” dropping the qualifier “in spirit.”

Most of us spend a majority of our time and energy in an effort to avoid being poor, so this blessing seems to be at odds with our understanding of what life is about. Is Jesus talking about material poverty? Or does the qualifier in Matthew force us to limit our application of this blessing to the spiritual realm only?

The third possibility is that material poverty and spiritual poverty are connected in some way.

The word that is translated “poor” conveys the root meaning of “crouch” or “cringe” and carries the sense of absolute destitution. This is the word used to describe Lazarus in Luke 16:20. To be poor in this sense is to be without resources.

In Matthew 19:23 and Luke 18:24 Jesus indicated that it is particularly difficult for those who are rich to enter the Kingdom of God. Why is this? Certainly it is not because the rich are necessarily more evil than the poor. It is not because God’s grace is insufficient to save a rich man. And it is certainly not because God loves the rich any less than he loves the poor.

It is easier for those with material prosperity to maintain the illusion of control in their lives. They can think that they have achieved their wealth by their own effort and skill, and as a result they may be more likely to think that no-one else’s help is required. They are susceptible to thinking that they are self sufficient.

The good news of the Gospel is that we can inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, the precise blessing associated with being poor in spirit. Why do those without resources have an advantage in gaining the kingdom?

To appropriate the good news first requires that bad news is understood and accepted. The bad news is that without the work of Jesus on the cross, I am not able to attain entrance into Heaven. I must first admit my inability to make myself worthy of Heaven before I can accept the offer of salvation from Jesus. To achieve spiritual health, I must first acknowledge my disease and accept the cure.

This is precisely where the poor have an advantage. They do not have any pretense about whether they are in control. They are dependent upon others for their day to day existence. It is much easier for them to acknowledge their need of a a physical and a spiritual savior. Their eyes are not clouded by their material possessions.

I suppose the take-away for those of us in Western Society, who are rich enough to afford computers or access the internet, is that we cannot let our resources inhibit our relationship with God. It is so easy to be distracted in obtaining and maintaining stuff, that we can forget the God who made the stuff possible.

It is my belief that one can have wealth and still be poor in spirit, but it is difficult. Being poor in spirit is to come to terms with our helplessness in the spiritual realm and seeking the one who promised to never leave us (Matthew 28:20).

Throughout the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shows us how helpless we really are. If we are honest when reading this sermon, our eyes will be opened to what true righteousness is and we will be forced to admit how far short of the standard we fall.

As we move forward in the study of the amazing sermon, may it cause us to realize our poverty and turn to the one who promises spiritual riches (Ephesians 1:18).

They’re still clueless

Posted on December 31, 2010 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

It turns out that those popular kids in High School really were as clueless as me; they were just better at hiding it. Now the popular kids are elected officials and still clueless. I came upon this thought as I wondered why the decisions made by our government representatives seem to be getting less rational.

I have heard it said that it is insanity to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. Yet, humanity has been trying for at least 6,000 years to run things without God. The further we get away from the plan that God revealed to us, the worse the results are. Why am I surprised at the foibles of a government that is increasingly turning to Atheism as the state religion?

Jesus predicted that immediately prior to his return, things will get a lot worse. I should not be surprised that there is increasing hostility toward God and those who believe in Him.

As I move into 2011, I am reminded that as individuals and as a church, we have the responsibility to continue making disciples. The distinction between the citizens of Heaven and the citizens of this world will become more clear as we near the end. It is our job to be used by God to bring many into the Kingdom of Heaven before it’s too late.

It is my hope and prayer that God will bring revival to our country and that we will return to the principles upon which it was founded. But if not, we should not be dismayed because our King is soon to return to claim his throne.

Bring on 2011. We’re one year closer . . .