|
Written by Geoff Wilson
|
God’s desire has always been to dwell “in the midst” of His people. The pattern was set with Adam and Eve as God walked “in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:9). Sin caused God to draw back knowing His glory would be destructive against humanity’s rebellion.
After the toppling of the Tower of Babel, God began again with Abraham. From his family grew a nation which was set apart for God. As this nation of Israel was brought out of Egypt and into the wilderness God instructed them to build a Tabernacle. There He would dwell and there He would meet with them. Five hundred years later, Solomon built an ornate Temple which God again filled with His glory. The nation’s sin ultimately brought destruction to the nation and this Temple. Just prior to Babylon sacking Jerusalem the prophet Ezekiel saw in a vision God’s glory lifting from the Temple, the city and the nation.
But God’s desire to dwell in glory amongst His people has never changed. John 2:19 records Jesus words “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.” John adds the commentary “the temple he spoke of was his body” (v.21). God’s glory now rested on the Son of God. True worshippers were no longer to come to the temple but to Jesus.
After Christ’s ascension and the pouring out of the Spirit, God’s glory had its final human resting place – the Church. Writing to the Corinthian church, Paul says “you yourselves are God’s temple … God’s Spirit lives in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16). The word “you” is plural meaning “all of you” are God’s temple. Jesus had promised to dwell in the midst of His corporate people (Matthew 18:20). The Church corporately now carries God’s glory (Ephesians 1:19-22). |
|
|
Written by Geoff Wilson
|
I love watching people. At a restaurant or any other public place, I enjoy sitting so I can see the people going past. I often wonder what kind of lives they’ve known.
In most cases, how we look on the outside and how we look on the inside are very related. A newspaper recently placed photos of two famous celebrities side by side. One was a hard living rock star of the 60’s and the other a world renowned actress who had taken care of her social and emotional life. The rock star looked at 15 to 20 years older than the actress. They were in reality almost the same age.
For the Christian, looking after our “inner” life is not an option; it’s a command. In what we call the “Great Commission” Jesus said “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:20). A ‘disciple’ was an apprentice to a master. An apprentice was taught by the master in the master’s particular field of expertise, with a view to the apprentice becoming as much like their master as possible (Luke 6:40).
Every Christian is called to be an apprentice to Christ, just as the first disciples were. We are to model our lives on Christ, to learn from Him, and to become as much like Him as possible. This isn’t just one of our callings. This is our central calling. Nothing else we achieve in life counts higher in God’s eyes than our success here. Failure to be like Christ is ultimate failure. This modeling is intentional and in this life, unending. But the rewards for success are not only extraordinary but eternal. |
|
Discipleship - Not a Choice |
 |
 |
 |
|
Written by Geoff Wilson
|
Ask six Christians what God has called His Church to do and you’re likely to get six different answers.
But anyone reading Matthew’s gospel would have been struck by Jesus’ final instructions to His disciples “… go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you …” (Matthew 28:19,20). The word translated “nations” means “people groups,” so the commission is not automatically to go overseas to other nations, but to evangelise all people equally without respect to their colour, age, gender or any cultural or national background. Water baptism is not only a symbol of the death of our old life and resurrection into the new, but was the early church’s outward sign that the one being baptised was now a dedicated follower of Christ.
Central to Christ’s command is the commission to “make disciples” who would easily be identified by their desire “to obey everything (Jesus) commanded.” We can only assume that someone claiming to be a Christian who doesn’t want “to obey everything (Jesus) commanded” is not a disciple, and so has not and is not experiencing “normal” Christianity. Because anything less than normal is subnormal, we could say their experience is subnormal.
Discipleship is a command and not a choice. Discipleship was never designed for the super-Christians. It was part of Christ’s design for every Christian and that means you. |
|
|
Don't Take God for Granted |
|
|
|
|
Written by Geoff Wilson
|
I wonder what it must have been like to be amongst those in the Exodus who went through the parted Red Sea. If there were more than 600,000 men, we can only assume the total was around two to three million. Although all were descendants of Abraham, that would have little impact on them. Abraham had died almost five hundred years earlier. All they really had in common was that the Egyptians had turned their men into slaves. Suffering usually brings people together, but there’s little evidence the people thought of themselves as a single unit. They had some leaders but no single man who had grown up with them and who they wanted to lead them. Moses was absent from their midst for all but the last part of their time in Egypt.
After bringing them out of their nation of slavery God directed them to Mt. Sinai. They would spend a year camped at its base. Here they were given the Law and here they constructed the Tabernacle. God would, for the first time ever, dwell in the midst of a people He had sovereignly called to be His own. The extensive and exacting description of how the Tabernacle was to be built demonstrated how important God’s requirements were. The one true God who fills the universe was manifestly dwelling amongst a rag-tag group of people who knew little of why they were even there.
We all but take for granted God’s indwelling in us personally, and with us corporately when we come together as God’s people. Tread carefully. The same God who showed Himself in glory then, now lives in you. Be sensitive. Honour Him; reverence Him; worship Him. |
|
Written by Geoff Wilson
|
I grew up near an area of extensive thick bushland. As kids we learnt where the creeks were and how to drink from them. You only drank from a creek where the water ran freely and quickly, and then only from the middle. Water to the outside was still and often stagnant.
There’s an obvious parallel in our Christian lives. Being in the centre of what God’s doing keeps us fresh. The more toward the outside we get, the more likely we are to lose that freshness. Why do people move to the outside? Probably because it’s slower and they feel they can control everything. They feel “comfortable” with an easier pace. It might even give them more “me” time. But what at first seems an advantage soon becomes a disadvantage. The heart begins to change. Whatever anticipation and excitement we had slowly drains. We notice the differences little by little. Others begin to see them too.
Your number one priority is your love-relationship with God. Don’t let anything get in the way of enjoying the passion and privilege of being a child of the living God. Whether you live a hectic spiritual lifestyle or not, is not the ultimate issue. Find what works for you. But keep in the middle of God’s stream. Don’t compromise what you’ve discovered and you’ll enjoy a rich and fulfilling life. |
|
|
