My last blog entry focused on what I called the invisible war. We are at war. Our enemy is not flesh and blood but an invisible host of powers and principalities. We looked at how these invisible hosts are layered, methodically organised and deceptively tucked behind “flesh and blood” – individuals and corporate entities. They are able to attach themselves on individuals and organisations lying in wait for an opportunity to kill, steal and destroy. As Walter Wink put it “When a particular Power becomes idolatrous, placing itself above God’s purposes for the good of the whole, then that Power becomes demonic.”

Seeing how deceptive our enemy is and the smoke and mirrors that appear in our daily struggles, the danger is always to wage war against the immediate human intermediaries in front of us. The apostle Paul cautions against that.

Ephesians 6:12 (NLT) For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

The moment we engage with human elements in our battle, we lose our purpose as ambassadors of Christ. The church’s purpose on earth is to exert Christ’s authority on earth so that men and women are freed from the bondage of sin and demonic control. When we treat the human elements in this invisible war as our enemies, we lose the right to be a blessing to them as we are called to be. We need to focus on the real enemy behind the human elements and corporate bodies. We need to battle against the invisible forces behind the evil that is being done and minister the good news of Christ to the individuals and organisations that are visible on earth – calling them back to their original purpose to serve their Creator and Redeemer. Making the distinction between our war against the invisible forces in the heavenly realm and our ministry to the visible elements in the earthly realm is critical in spiritual warfare.

The only way we can successfully wage war against demonic powers while preserving our divine call to seek and save the lost is to make prayer our weapon of choice. I’m not talking about meaningless word utterances that we sometimes call prayer. I’m talking about relentless prayer. The type of prayer that is persistent and unrelenting, until we see the enemy retreat and give up spiritual territory. The prophet Daniel saw this form of battle raging in the heavenlies in one of his visions.

Daniel 7:21-22 (NKJV) “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

Relentless prayer is our only weapon in this invisible war. Praying and keeping on praying until God speaks the word of judgment on our enemy. That favoured judgement will turn the tide in our battle and give us the ability to posses the kingdom. The end result will not only be an end to spiritual hostility and invisible barriers but also a redemption of lives and corporate structures.

Delayed prayer – a favoured strategy of the enemy

Paul spoke of being aware of Satan’s devices or schemes.

2 Corinthians 2:11 (NKJV) lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

One such scheme or device I have noticed that is frequently used by the enemy is delayed prayer. The reason the devil focuses his attention on delaying answers to prayer is to create an illusion that God has not answered our prayer.

Answered prayer is the most spiritually exhilarating and nourishing thing you will experience in your faith journey. Answered prayer always takes you to another level or dimension in your relationship with God. Answered prayer produces unshakable convictions. That is why Satan’s main activity is to delay answers to prayer. I have come to a place in my christian journey that I no longer believe there is such a thing as unanswered prayer. Unanswered prayer creates inconsistencies with the Word of God. That old strategy of the serpent – “did God really say”.

Unanswered prayer is an attack on the Father’s character

Unanswered prayer is a character assassination against God. Unanswered prayer suggests that God is not listening. He doesn’t care. He is not that good Father the Bible claims Him to be. Unanswered prayer accuses God of reneging on His promises. Unanswered prayer is inconsistent with the nature of God. Even the ungodly prophet Balaam prophesied about the unchanging nature of God in the context of His promises.

Numbers 23:19 (NLT) God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

To allow a belief system that accommodates unanswered prayers is to bring God down to a human level. To fail to act on a word is a lie. To allow the notion that God can fail to do what He promised is tantamount to calling Him a liar. No relationship can survive lies. Unanswered prayer will eventually create a divide between God the Father and the child of God.

Unanswered prayer is incompatible with the power of the name of Jesus

The Bible is adamant in declaring the pre-eminent, supreme, invincible, unlimited power of the risen Christ. Look at some of the bold statements of Scripture pertaining to the power of Jesus Christ.

John 14:12-14 (NLT) “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

Philippians 2:9-10 (NLT) Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth

Acts 3:16 (NLT) “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.

Colossians 1:15-18 (NLT) Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.

The Bible is full of emphatic statements about the inexhaustible power of Jesus Christ the risen Saviour. To believe in the possibility that our prayers might not get answered, is to relegate to a lesser power the person whose name we use as guarantor in every prayer we utter.

So I have decided to no longer allow myself to believe that there is such a thing as unanswered prayer. I believe to accommodate any idea that God does not answer prayers dilutes the power of prayer. So to me unanswered prayer is not a thing. I have concluded that every unanswered prayer in my life is actually a delayed prayer. I want to present two case studies to prove my point.

UNANSWERED PRAYER: CASE STUDY 1 – Daniel 10:1-13

The prophet Daniel was in a position where he was troubled because he was facing the possibility of an unanswered prayer.

Daniel 10:2-3 (NKJV) In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

He is in mourning. What was he grieving about? Daniel received a vision but was waiting for answers in response to his vision. He saw turmoil ahead but didn’t know what to do or how to respond to it. The twenty one day wait for an answer caused him grief. Why? I believe because he sensed that it was inconsistent with the nature of the God he served.

DANIEL RECEIVED AN EXPLANATION FOR THE DELAY

Daniel 10:12-13 (NKJV) from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.

Note the phrase “from the first day”. In other words God’s nature is to answer prayers immediately. The angel was giving no room for Daniel to develop a theology that God sometimes does not answer prayers. There can never be any space for doubt to fester. When we engage in prayer it must be with a sense of certainty that God hears and God responds to every prayer.

Matthew 7:8 (NKJV) For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

It would seem like Daniel had such confidence. That is probably why he went into grief mode as he couldn’t understand the seeming indifference to his plea on God’s part. I find the opening statement of the angel very revealing – “from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard”. God hears every prayer the moment it is uttered. If God hears, God responds. It’s the Father’s nature. He responds to the voice of His children.

John 14:13-14 (NKJV) And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Answered prayer glorifies God (renders or esteems Him glorious). Every answered prayer magnifies, brings honour, gives weight to who God is. If answered prayer glorifies the Father then unanswered prayer damages His name and His reputation. That is why Daniel needed to know this – “from the first day…God heard your prayer” and dispatched the answer. So there was never any question whether Daniel’s prayer was going to be answered. It wasn’t unanswered prayer – rather delayed prayer.

The angel gives us some incite into the going ons in the invisible war when a prayer is uttered by a believer.

• “but the prince of Persia withstood me” – delayed prayer is the enemy’s strategy.

• “Michael came to help me” – spiritual warfare is real.

• “I have come because of your words” – Daniel’s persistent and heightened prayer gave momentum during the war that was raging.

That’s the importance of refusing to settle for unanswered prayer. When we allow ourselves to believe God has decided not to answer our prayer, we accept something that is not a Kingdom principle. God has not given that to us. A decision to settle on the idea of an unanswered prayer robs us of our inheritance and robs God of His glory. Daniel knew the nature of God. He answers when we call on Him. So he kept on praying until he got the answer. Relentless prayer is a powerful weapon in this war against demonic delay to our prayers.

UNANSWERED PRAYER: CASE STUDY 2 – Luke 18:1-8

The parable of the persistent widow is an important lesson for every believer who is in the midst of delayed answers to prayer. Jesus told a story of an unjust judge who did not fear God neither did he fear man – he wasa rule unto himself. A widow harasses him until he gets worn out and gives judgement in her favour. The lessonJesus draws from this parable is the most important teaching on prayer as far as I am concerned. Let’s unpack that:

Luke 18:6-8 (NKJV) Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

• We see the response of God in the midst of delayed prayer – God will “avenge”. It’s a very strange word to use in the context of prayer. The greek words poieō ekdikēsis was used. The word poieō means to execute and the word ekdikēsis means revenge;. Jesus was implying that God will execute revenge for every delayed prayer.

  Why avenge? – because delayed prayer is an onslaught against the nature of a good Father who gives good things to His children. Delayed prayer implies God doesn’t care; God’s not there; God’s forsaken me;

  Why avenge? – because your pain is His pain. Christ bore your suffering and the fact you are still suffering negates the work on the cross. It’s not ok. It will never be ok

• We see the response of a believer in the midst of delayed prayer – “elect who cry out day and night” . Relentless prayer is our only weapon when faced with delayed prayer. Why cry out day and night? It’s because you know it’s out of character for God not to respond to your needs.

• We see the right idea of God to hold on to when facing delayed prayer – “bears long with them”. God is not distant from you. If anything He is closest to you when you are in the midst of your battle for an answer to your prayer. There is a sense that God is affected by the delay as much as we are. He bears long with you. He is at your side while the war rages on.

• We see the right attitude to cultivate in the midst of delayed prayer – “He will avenge speedily”. There is no such thing as unanswered prayer. Just delayed prayer. It is the nature of God to answer prayer.

DON’T MISS THE POINT OF THE PARABLE

Luke makes it very clear why Jesus told us this parable.

Luke 18:1 (NKJV) Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart

If there was such a thing as unanswered prayer, it would be cruel on Jesus part to string us on and say keep praying and don’t give up. Jesus was making it really clear – prayer is always answered. When you prayer you need to be prepared to keep on praying until you receive the answer to your prayer. That’s how prayer works – you pray and God answers. So when you haven’t received your answer – keep praying. When faced with unanswered prayer you should know that is not an option. Keep praying – not just persistently (continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition) but relentlessly (with unceasing intensity).

Jesus’ summary statement after the parable is a sobering thought.

Luke 18:8 (MSG) But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?

Unanswered prayer gives me an out to stop praying. Delayed prayer puts the responsibility on me to keep praying, believing that God always answers prayers. Are you willing to be persistent – not only persistent but relentless in your praying until you see your prayer answered? That’s the faith Christ will be looking for when He returns.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS UNANSWERED PRAYER – JUST DELAYED PRAYER. KEEP PRAYING – IT IS THE NATURE OF GOD TO ANSWER PRAYER.

One of the most significant contributions the apostle John’s apocalyptic writing has given us is a window into the unseen world. The visions John saw in the Isle of Patmos was filled with animals, mystical and Biblical creatures, woven into a narrative that was full of symbolic meaning. Christians throughout the centuries have treated it with a whole wide spectrum between taking the book to be overly literal, to parking it in the too hard basket and deciding to get to it one day. Some choose to use it as a crystal ball and predict dates and events that lead to Christ’s second coming. Others find it as a useful tool to scare folks into the Kingdom.

The recent pandemic has stirred up renewed interest in the book as folk seek to bring parallels between the book of Revelation and current global events. My focus however is a practical one. I’m going to a passage in Revelation to use it as a spring board for us to understand an important theme throughout the Bible – the existence of an invisible war.

Revelation 12:7-9 (NLT) Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

The idea of an invisible war is not intellectually appealing to our western worldview. We have glorified the sciences to the point anything that is not based on scientific evidence is seen as either untrue, superstitious or insignificant to modern man. Any conversation around angels and demons or supernatural powers and principalities are usually avoided. The Western Church is not spared from such embarrassment. We gloss over passages in the Bible that refer to the supernatural and reassure ourselves that our focus should be on good living rather than engaging in thoughts and beliefs that are so heavenly minded but of no earthly use.

The Bible however has no reservation about acknowledging the presence of evil forces. Jesus himself engaged with demonic forces and spoke openly about the devil’s sole purpose to kill, steal and destroy. The New Testament authors recognised that the church and it’s activities were in direct opposition to unseen evil forces. What is clear in Scriptures is the fact that we are in an invisible war.

The attacks of the enemy however are not blatant, frontal assaults. They are layered, methodically organised schemes, with a long term strategic plan to deceive even the elect. If we were to see it coming, none of us would ever align ourselves with the devil. As children of God, we are hard wired to recognise the enemy of our soul. That is why his strategy is to use a combination layer of demonic power displays and men and women deceived by evil and fleshly ambitions. In Revelation 13 John saw a three layered smoke screen created by the devil to deceive the world into worshiping him – the dragon who is the mastermind of this strategic scheme, beasts empowered to do “astounding miracles” and beasts empowered to speak words against God and deceiving “all the people who belong to this world”. The strategy taken at face value seems to indicate that the devil deceives by creating optical illusions and ideological blinkers.

The apostle Paul put it this way:

Ephesians 6:10-12 (NKJV) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Paul is making it really clear that whatever opposition we are experiencing as christians are not merely occurring in the physical realm. We are battling forces we cannot see. The word “wiles” in the NKJV is translated as “strategies” in the NLT, and “schemes” in the NIV, NASB and ESV. It is the greek word methodeia which means travelling over (a picture of being taken on a journey). It speaks of a deceptive scheme that is present, lying in wait to carry us away on a journey of deception with the purpose of eroding and eventually eradicating Christ’s influence in a believer’s life. These supernatural demonic forces are organised in such a way that they are deceptively tucked behind “flesh and blood” individuals and corporate entities.

Biblical scholar Walter Wink’s ground breaking trilogy on Powers and Principalities released in the eighties is as relevant as it was when he first wrote them. In his book “Naming the Powers: The Language of Power in the New Testament”, Wink speaks of two poles, the invisible and the visible that are co-dependant in their existence:

“I will argue that the “principalities and powers” are the inner and outer aspects of any given manifestation of power. As the inner aspect they are the spirituality of institutions, the “within” of corporate structures and systems, the inner essence of outer organizations of power. As the outer aspect they are political systems, appointed officials, the “chair” of an organization, laws-in short, all the tangible manifestations which power takes. Every Power tends to have a visible pole, an outer form-be it a church, a nation, or an economy-and an invisible pole, an inner spirit or driving force that animates, legitimates, and regulates its physical manifestation in the world. Neither pole is the cause of the other. Both come into existence together and cease to exist together. When a particular Power becomes idolatrous, placing itself above God’s purposes for the good of the whole, then that Power becomes demonic. The church’s task is to unmask this idolatry and recall the Powers to their created purposes in the world – so that the Sovereignties and Powers should learn only now, through the Church, how comprehensive God’s wisdom really is (Eph. 3:10, JB).”

For those of us who have lived in the either/or world of spiritual warfare on one hand or social action on the other, Wink brings another perspective of how the physical (visible) and the spiritual (invisible) worlds cannot be seen separately. If we truly want to see transformation occur, if we are serious about seeing our prayer for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, then we need to engage in both the invisible and the visible world.

The first step towards engaging in this invisible war is to be aware that what we see in the visible has invisible structures that hold them together. Whether it is something christians may perceive as “good” (eg the church) or something somemay perceive as intrinsically evil (eg communism), it is in the idolatrous practices that make it susceptible to demonic influence. A christian organisation, with Kingdom values and Kingdom vision can very easily be influenced and manipulated by demonic powers, when leadership begin to idolise certain agendas, ideologies or belief systems at the expense of their testimony. You see it clearly manifested in unChristlike behaviour in the Board room or careless engagement with the outside world irrespective of the harm it is causing to their relationship with God or those they are engaging with.

The invisible war is as real as the visible struggles we experience on a day to day basis. Unless we begin to engage both dimensions simultaneously, we are not going to see the transformation we are longing for in our lives, our families, our cities and our nations. There are three players in this two dimensional war. Divine influence and demonic manipulation both operate in the invisible, while worldly systems and human interactions are visible and tangible. If we are to affect both the physical and the spiritual, the invisible and the invisible, we must see spiritual warfare as both intercessory prayer to dislodge spiritual strongholds in the invisible realm and active engagement with individuals and organised structures if we want to impact the visible.

We need to recognise that the battle begins with thinking patterns. It is always first and foremost a battle of the mind. Words become seeds that form patterns of thought. The first three chapters of Genesis is our clue. The perfect world that was good and very good (Genesis 1-2) began with these three words – “And God said”. The carnage that followed from chapter 3 onwards began with three words – “did God say?” Words carry ideas and thought patterns. That is why it is critical that christians know where their thoughts are dwelling in.

Philippians 4:8 (NKJV) Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Every idea begins with a thought. Then a pattern of thoughts (mediations) create ideologies and systems of thinking. These systems of thinking become habitual thoughts and dominate our worldview and influence the way we talk and act. If the thought originates from God then the end result will be creative and redemptive. If the thought is not from God then it has a potential to be corrupted and manipulated by human or demonic influence. Here then is our starting point if we truly want to engage in the invisible war.

Invisible warfare requires supernatural weapons

If we are to engage in dismantling the powers and principalities that dominate our environment, we need to accept the fact that an invisible war cannot be fought through physical means. Invisible forces require us to engage with divine weapons.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NKJV) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ

Paul makes it clear where the focus of our warfare is – every ideology, religious belief, cultural worldview, societal norm that sets itself above God. In other words the moment anything that becomes more important than what’s important to God (loving God and loving neighbour as self), that thought process is idolatrous and should be taken down. How? Moment by moment monitoring of every thought ensuring it is subdued to the obedience of Christ. Our words and our actions as we interact with each other and with the world will reveal to us how effective we are. For a start I suggest these practical habits:

Believe in the supernatural

Whether you believe it or not invisible forces are present and are influencing your environment around you. Burying your head in the sand is not going to make it go away. The sooner you embrace the fact that the supernatural is real, you can then lean on the Holy Spirit and engage in this invisible war.

Fill your mind with Scriptures

Understand that the strategy of the enemy is focused around thoughts and habitual thinking patterns. To encounter these “traveling thoughts”, be aware of what you are filling your mind with. Stop filling your mind with the junk in the internet. It will only reinforce carnal thinking and make you susceptible to human and demonic influence. Fill your mind daily with the Word of God.

Be obedient to the conviction of the Holy Spirit

Make a conscious decision to submit to God knowledge instead of human ideas that have exalted itself over God. The Holy Spirit will put a check in your spirit when ideas have exalted themselves above God. Usually in the form of a lack of inner peace or a heaviness. When experiencing it, take captive of the thought pattern that is dominating you and submit it to Christ.

As we have noted in our last blog entry, the New Testament assumes that christians will experience many trials. Not only do the Scriptures assume suffering, the Bible seems to be preoccupied with seeking to encourage and strengthen believers in the midst of trials, tribulations and suffering. The apostle John’s words in Revelation 1:9 says it all.

Revelation 1:9 (NLT) I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us.

For John, the christian experience is not one done in isolation. He speaks of a partnership that he offers the churches he is writing to in this unique apocalyptic, prophetic letter. As I read this verse I see the very definition of what church is meant to be. We are to be partners:

Partnership in suffering

We never do suffering alone. The christian life is one of partnership. The community we call the church is to be the place of comfort, refuge and a safe harbour. The apostle Paul saw a correlation between our suffering, the comfort we receive from God and the ability for us to comfort others.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (NLT) All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.

The one who seeks to comfort others must first experience comfort from the God of comfort. The more one experiences the comfort of God, the more one is able to share in the sufferings of others with the comfort that they have received from God. That is why those who have suffered much have a greater propensity to comfort those who are in the midst of trouble.

No one should suffer alone. If truly the christian life is one of partnership in suffering, then church must be a place of comfort. The first step to dismantling the institution of the church is to humanise it again – to embrace our human frailties and recognise that suffering inevitably is experienced by everyone. But in the presence of suffering, the christian becomes a reservoir of comfort as he or she experiences the downpour of comfort, cascading from the Father. Then only will we experience this community of care Paul describes – “… as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.”

Partnership in God’s Kingdom

Not only did John offer himself as a partner in suffering, he also spoke of partnering with them in the Kingdom life. Living the Kingdom life is meant to be a shared life of people who love God and love one another. Paul modelled it in his life and we can see it lived out in these words:

Philippians 1:3-8 (NLT) Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

Imagine experiencing a relationship like that in church life. Here is a man bound with chains imprisoned for the Gospel and sending out such love that without a doubt would have resonated deep in the heart of the believers in Philippi. The relationship is one of shared experiences. There is a mutual sharing of not just suffering, but also of kingdom life – “defending and confirming the truth of the Good News”.

Partnership in patient endurance

John saw himself as a partner in suffering, a partner in Kingdom life and a partner in patient endurance. The early church began the journey with words that reflected the imminent return of Christ. As years went by, it became very clear that believers needed to be instructed on patient endurance. John as the last of the original twelve, speaking as one who has suffered and endured the life of a disciple of Christ, offers himself to the readers as a fellow brother who is sharing in the life of patient endurance. Now more so than ever before the church needs to learn patient endurance.

Suffering has a shelf life. It will come to an end. All our trials and tribulations will end either on this side of eternity or when we cross the threshold of our present life. When someone is in the midst of their darkest moments, it is very difficult to see beyond the thick fog of adversity. Again we go to the words of Paul:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NLT) That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

That’s why we need partners in patient endurance. We need to remind each other that suffering has a shelf life. It will end. We need to help each other look beyond the pain, the discouragement, the disappointment and see what’s on the horizon – what is to come will last for eternity.

Suffering is part of the christian experience. But suffering does not have the final word. We are called to patiently endure simple because in the end – we shall overcome. The old African American spiritual says it best: 

We shall overcome, we shall overcome

We shall overcome someday

Deep in my heart, I do believe

We shall overcome someday

That is ultimately every christian’s destiny. We are overcomers – in the end we shall overcome. As we live in anticipation of our final outcome let us remember:

WE NEVER DO SUFFERING ALONE. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS ONE OF PARTNERSHIP

Sacrifice is not a word we hear too often in Christian life. I wonder how many sermons we have heard throughout our church life focused on suffering and sacrifice. Yet every New Testament book from the Gospels right through to the Book of Revelation talks about suffering and a life of sacrifice as a normal part of a Christian’s life. We may even say that the New Testament seems preoccupied with seeking to encourage and strengthen the reader in the midst of trials, tribulations and suffering. It is as if the writers of the New Testament assumed a life of suffering and sacrifice was part and parcel of the Christian life. A quick look at early church history and we can see why this was so.

In this day and age, the only group of people that seem to be prepared for a life of sacrifice are those enlisting in the armed forces. Military personnel are trained and prepared for a life of hardship, suffering and sacrifice. They and their families are indeed a very special breed of people. Some countries honour their military folk better than others. The United States for instance takes great care in honouring members of their defence force. Airlines in the US single out military personnel and give them priority boarding as a gesture of honour and appreciation. It is very common to see Americans walking up to a uniformed personnel and thanking them for their service.

Sacrifice is a good word. In fact sacrifice used to be a common word in Christendom. Just as with military service, sacrifice was something the early church expected of every Christian. Without sacrifice it was impossible to follow Jesus. In fact Jesus spoke about counting the cost of being His followers in Luke 14:25-33.

(NLT) And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. “But don’t begin until you count the cost…So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.

We have sugar coated Christianity to a point that speaking about a life of sacrifice has become unpopular to say the least. In some quarters we may be accused of preaching another gospel or the gospel of “ungrace”. The reality however is that anyone who signs up to be a Christian will face times of testing, trials and tribulation. Jesus spoke of coming to Him as if it was enlisting in a life of service and sacrifice. This is how He put it:

Luke 9:23 (NLT) Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

No sugar coating. Just the raw facts. Not very popular and definitely not mega church sermon material. Here is Christ’s pre-interview checklist.

Pre-interview Checklist prior to becoming a follower of Christ

You want to be a Christ follower?

√ Are you ready to give up your own way?

√ Are you prepared to take up your cross daily?

√ Are you willing to follow Jesus?

FIRST ITEM IN THE CHECKLIST – Give up your own way

The first step to becoming a disciple of Jesus is the willingness to give up all of your ways.

“All of my ways?” Yes all of your ways.

“How about I give up Sunday morning and tithe regularly to my church? Can we start with that and see how we go?”

The reality is that most church leaders will be really happy if you just gave up your Sunday morning and tithed regularly. “We can work with that. That will keep the institution we call church afloat.” So if it’s “church-ianity” you are looking for, then just a few adjustments to your lifestyle will be more than enough. But if you are looking to be a follower of Christ, then be prepared to give up your own way.

It get’s worse as you read on the later verses of chapter 9 of Luke’s gospel

Luke 9:57-62 (NLT) As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Sounds a little harsh doesn’t it? Why can’t we throw the guy a bone? Let’s ease the guy into commitment. It’s the modern church way. Let’s get them through the door first, then prepare them for the tough stuff. That’s not the Jesus way. He made it crystal clear right from the onset – there’s a price to pay to be a follower of Christ – are you ready to give up your own way?

SECOND ITEM IN THE CHECKLIST – ARE YOU PREPARED TO TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY?

It is worth keeping in mind that Jesus hadn’t died on the cross yet. So when the crowds heard him say take up your cross – how would they have understood it? The cross was one of the most heinous punishments the Romans had for criminals. Crucifixion was so inhumane that Roman citizens were exempted from this punishment. The criminal facing crucifixion carries his own cross and walks towards a certain destiny – imminent death. Wonder what’s going through his mind? Do you think he was fixated on how offensive his neighbour was the other day? Do you think he was preoccupied about how his wife burnt dinner last night? Of course not. Everything becomes trivial in light of his impending torture and death. The cross he is carrying reminds him, every step he takes, that his life is already over.

Paul’s life of carrying the cross looked like this.

Galatians 2:19-20 (NLT) For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

For the apostle Paul, the Christian life mandated crucifying the old self. Living the present life with the constant awareness that he was dead but Christ lived in him. And living everyday required him to trust in Jesus – who loved him and did the crucified life for him.

So back to the pre-interview checklist. You still want to be a follower of Christ?

√ Are you ready to give up your own way?

√ Are you prepared to take up your cross daily?

√ And the final item in the checklist – Are you willing to follow Jesus?

THIRD ITEM IN THE CHECKLIST – MAKING ROOM FOR THE OTHER

During the times of Jesus on earth, what would it have meant to the listeners to follow Jesus on a daily basis?

– The woman at the well (John 4): Society thought him to stay away from those Samaritans. What does Jesus do? John chapter four says “he had to go through Samaria”. Why? Cos he had to talk to the woman at the well. He had to make room for her so it required him to deviate from societal norms. If you wanted to follow him, you had to be prepared to go against the grain.

– Blind man Bartimaeus (Mark 10) – Crowds throng the great healer, hoping to receive a blessing. No one gave blind Bartimaeus the time of day. In fact his cry for help was an annoyance to them. “Shut up, the holy man has no time for a sinner like you.” But to their amazement Jesus stops. Calls him and asks him an intimate question – “What do you want me to do for you?”. If you were following Jesus, you had to be prepared to make room for the least of those in society.

– Zacchaeus (Luke 19) – Another day, another mindset to be shattered. This time you face a wealthy chief tax collector. Everyone hates him. One of those concessions made by society. Some people are just scums of the earth. Pariahs, who deserve public scorn. Zacchaeus however is used to the social distancing practices around him. It doesn’t stop him from making his way through the crowd, up a tree to see Jesus. Isn’t it sad how many hurdles people have to clear to get to Jesus? Again Jesus stops. Makes room for Zacchaeus. “I must stay in your house today.” Following Jesus can sometimes mean hanging out with people your church peers might not approve of. Note what the crowds said about Jesus – “All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.””

This is why it is hard to follow Jesus. He goes to unpopular places, hangs out with unpopular people, and does unpopular things. You still want to be a follower of Jesus? Are you prepared to follow him to the point you make room for the “other” – the one that is different, the one that doesn’t belong, the one that doesn’t fit the norm. The one who is weak. The straggler, the struggling, the vulnerable and the one in need.

The only way you will survive enlisting as a follower of Jesus:

√ GIVE UP YOUR OWN WAY

√ TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY

√ SO YOU CAN MAKE ROOM FOR THE OTHER EVERYDAY

So you’ve enlisted as a follower of Christ have you? That’s great. So have I. Then the word sacrifice won’t be an issue for you. But if you are anything like me, I have to remind myself of this checklist daily.

√ Give up my own way – I give up the need to please myself

√ Take up my cross daily – I remind myself daily I am dead, Christ now lives in me

√ Why do I do this? Cos I want to follow Jesus. And to follow Jesus I must make room for the other everyday. 

So I invite you to do the same. Let’s not kid ourselves. Following Jesus does require sacrifice. But don’t let that stop you. The rewards that come with knowing Him outweighs the cost. Compared to a life without Him – it’s no sacrifice.

What’s your plan after you die? When faced with this question, most people’s response would be around their end of life plans. The New Zealand government has a website with information about the sorts of things that you need to think about before you die. Some of the things they suggest include the following:

• organise your affairs – having a will, appointing powers of attorney

• planning your funeral – what happens to your body – burial or cremation

I looked and I looked and I couldn’t find any advice on plans for the after life. Of course I didn’t expect to find any advice on life after death on a government website. The Bible however expects us to be planning for life after death.

Easter Sunday Is One Big Reminder That There Is Life After Death

Easter Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. Every year the church sets aside a weekend so Christians can remember, celebrate and reassess our lives to see if we are truly accessing the Resurrected life Christ has made available to us. The weekend has become quite a controversial weekend in the history of humanity, even more so these days. Paul put it this way:

1 Cor 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness

In other words to people who are religious it is offensive. “What? You get forgiven because a man died on the cross for your sins? You don’t have to do anything? No need to follow certain instructions, certain lifestyle, mandatory activities to be saved?” Religion would say – “That’s sacrilege, that’s offensive to think that God has given us a free pass because one man died on the cross for us.”

To the rest of the world it’s foolish nonsense. “A man dies for the sins of the world and God raises him up from the dead on the third day? That’s bogus nonsense”

A stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks.

I’ve been told not to celebrate Easter. They say it’s a pagan festival. “Celebrate passover instead. At least there are certain requirements, protocol and rules that come with that feast. It is more sacred than the frivolous free grace we seem to throw around.” I think Passover is a wonderful celebration especially if you have a Jewish heritage. But Passover is not Easter. Passover recognises the death of a lamb, the sufferings of the past – but has no answer to the hope Christ has given us through His death and resurrection. Easter says the lamb died, rose again and ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father and now gives access to the throne room with open arms. Passover is not Easter.

The world on the other hand tells me forget about Easter. It’s gibberish nonsense just think of fluffy bunnies and chocolate eggs and let the weekend slip by. Both groups want this weekend to go away as fast as possible so that we don’t have to talk about resurrection and life after death. Yet the Easter weekend is the core of the Gospel.

The Easter Weekend is the heart of the Gospel message

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (NKJV) For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen…

Christ died for our sins

We need to get this into our thick skulls. I can’t do anything about my sins. You can’t do anything about your sins. That’s why Christ died a brutal death. Christ died for our sins. It isn’t easy for us to accept such a message. Nothing is free. What’s the catch? Where’s the small print? Surely there’s something I must do?

Ok, maybe Christ died for my past sins, cos I didn’t know better. Now that I’m a Christian I must now deal with my sins. I must be held accountable for my current sins and my future sins. The fact of the matter is you can’t. You can try as hard as you want to but you can never overcome sin on your own. Not now not ever. That’s why there are so many Christians living with their sins. We are trying to deal with it ourselves. Christ died for ours sins – period. Our past, our present and our future sins. Christ and only Christ can and has dealt with our sins.

Transformation does not come by our own will power and determination. It is the grace of God that transforms us. Instead of leading a sin focused Christian life, why not focus on Christ and His imputed righteousness in us. Why not put all your effort in activities that keep you in His presence. Stay in His presence. Encounter Him daily and see how He transforms you. Watch how the more you abide in Him and His words – watch how the appetite for sin starts wearing out and the desire for the things of God become more pronounced.

Christ died for our sins – so there is no more chasm between you and God. The way to God is flung wide open. Let’s stop living a sin focused life and start focusing on how we can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace” (Heb 4:16). Let this be our daily goal – not just entering into His throne but staying in His throne room every moment of our days on earth. Being “seated with Him in Heavenly realms” (Eph 2:6) is not just how we are now positioned in Christ, it is also how we should perceive who we are in Christ and how we should practice our daily life of faith from that vantage point.

Christ rose again

Not only did Christ die for our sins, He rose again. While Christ’s death dealt a fatal blow to sin and it’s power over our lives, Paul sees Christ’s resurrection as the doorway to living life from an eternal perspective. Chapter fifteen of the first letter to the Corinthians is dedicated to defending the physical resurrection of believers. Christ’s resurrection has implications on death itself.

1 Corinthians 15:16-19 (NKJV) For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Paul is implying that there is a correlation between what you believe about the resurrection of Christ and what you believe about this present life. There were Christians in Paul’s day who were denying the resurrection of the dead. They weren’t questioning Christ’s resurrection but they were saying that our lives end after death. There is no such thing as life after death.

Paul exposes the futility of believing in the resurrection of Christ without believing that His resurrection has altered the way we live our lives in this present life.

(NKJV) If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

(NLT) And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

(AMP) If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hoped only in this life [and this is all there is], then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied.

Most Christians live as if this is the only life we are living – 80 years, 90 years however long and we give no thought to what happens after life as we know it ends. We live as if “this is all there is”. Paul is saying if this is it, then Christians are to be the most pitied bunch on planet earth. Imagine Paul living his life the way he did. Preaching the gospel in every city he went to. Experiencing revival as well as riots wherever he went. Beaten, shipwrecked, left as dead, in and out of prison, constant suffering for the sake of the gospel. For what? Merely to effect this present world. If this is it – I can see why he would say we are a people “most miserable and to be pitied.

What’s the point of believing that Christ has risen, if it doesn’t affect us in our daily lives. I want to take the liberty to paraphrase the apostle. Paul is saying that it is a pitiful sight to watch Christians go about their daily lives, living as if this is the only life we are living – not realising that this life on earth is only a brief part of a life that spans for eternity.

THIS IS NOT IT! Death is not the end. So I ask you again, what’s your plan after you die The point I’m trying to make is that everything we do on earth in this present life, should be done with eternity in mind.

Take Jesus for instance. He lived for 33 years. What did He do in that 33 years? Most of those around him were hoping he would topple the Romans. For what? If that’s all Jesus did, six hundred years after Jesus died, Jerusalem was taken by the Sassanid Empire (Iran). Then the Arabs took over, then we had the Crusades, then the Ottoman empire, then the British took over and finally we saw the separation of the West Bank and Israel and the Jews return to what we call Israel in the present day.

If Jesus came and lived “as if life under Roman rule was all there was”, then he should have used his powers to overthrow the Roman Empire. But he didn’t. Jesus didn’t come with a one generation plan. He lived his life on earth with eternity in mind. He didn’t live as if this life is it. He lived to bring the afterlife to the present. He didn’t say one day you will experience the after life. He said NOW you get to taste the after life. So he forgave sins, healed sickness and diseases, cast out demons, raised the dead. He calmed the storm, walked on water to get to distressed disciples, he multiplied food for the hungry. He didn’t come so that the Kingdom of God will come one day – He proclaimed the Kingdom is here!

This is what Paul was trying to say to the church in Corinth.

If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hoped only in this life [and this is all there is], then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied.

A Christian living as if this is all there is – is not living the Christian life at all. If this is all there is – we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied. Why? Because we preach unlimited, borderless, boundless hope but live as if our hope is limited to our present circumstances, in this present life. When we are sick don’t we pray for healing? When in need, don’t we pray for provision? We pray “Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” – that’s boundless hope. That’s hope without limits. In other words we are constantly on a daily basis endeavouring to bring what’s available in the after life to the present life. So if the afterlife doesn’t exist, the entire Christian life is a fraud.

1 Corinthians 15:17 (NKJV) if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile.

Living with Eternity in Mind

So, Christ’s resurrection has life changing implications to a Christian’s way of life in this present life. The resurrection of Christ demands we live our lives with eternity in mind. What do I mean by living with eternity in mind? Let me put it in practical terms. Look at some Scriptures that show people living daily lives with eternity in mind. Listen to the language of resurrection. This is what hope that is not bound by time sounds like. This is how people of God lived life with eternity in mind.

The story of Job – living with suffering and with eternity in mind

The story of Job is a difficult book to read if we do not have a “eternity” worldview. Job himself couldn’t understand how living a righteous and godly life still got him to a place of suffering. He had a bone to pick with God and he was very honest and opinionated with God about it. He had no qualms about letting God know how he felt about the whole situation. At one point he was “threatening” to take God to court but complained that not only was God the only judge of the Supreme Court but He was also the one who legislated the laws. He could see the futility of his exercise but made it very clear how he felt.

No matter what Job was going through both physically and emotionally, it didn’t change the way he perceived his situation. Inspite of his suffering and confusion about his present circumstances, he continued to live with eternity in mind. Listen to the language of eternity.

Job 19:25-27 (NKJV)

For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

That’s what living with eternity looks and sounds like. “No matter what I’m going through right now – this is not it. There is more!” An eternity mindset keeps focus on boundless hope – transcending the present life of suffering into the afterlife of eternal joy in His presence.

The story of David – living with grief and with eternity in mind

In 2 Samuel chapter 12, David is faced with the possibility of losing his first child which he had with Bathsheba. The Bible tells us that he fasted and prayed intensely for his baby but on the seventh day the baby died. Look at David’s response in the midst of his grief:

2 Samuel 12:20-23 (NKJV) So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”

And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”

Listen to David’s words in the midst of grief. “Someday I will go to him”. That’s the language of boundless hope. That’s the language of someone living with eternity in mind.

Jesus and the final judgment – living mundane lives with eternity in mind

One more example about living daily lives with eternity in mind. This one is somewhat a “how to” verse – a practical guide on living a life with eternity in mind. Jesus was teaching the listeners about the final judgement and revealed to them what it would look like on judgement day.

Matthew 25:37-40 (NLT) “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

I can imagine the shock in each of their faces.

“What? You mean when I cared enough to make sure my neighbour wasn’t going hungry – that’s still resonating in eternity?”.

“What? When I saw someone needed some extra TLC, I cooked up a feed, went and spent time with them – that’s still resonating in eternity?”

“What? I saw someone without a warm jacket in winter and I had two jackets and gave them one – you are still talking about it here in eternity?”

“What you remember the visits I made to that dear one dying of cancer?”

“What you still remember the time I spent with the brother who was struggling with the stigma of a criminal record and he told me he felt like a normal person when he hung out with me – You still remember that?”

This is what living with eternity in mind looks like on this side of heaven – being there for the poor and the vulnerable, being kind, saying no to racism and any form of bigotry, standing with the oppressed and marginalised – everyday life making small differences to people’s lives – that’s what living with eternity in mind looks like.

I close with Paul’s conclusion in chapter fifteen.

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

So I ask you again – what’s your plan after you die? Here’s something that the government needs to add to their website

INFORMATION YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU DIE:

LIVE YOUR LIFE DAILY WITH ETERNITY IN MIND

Today we want to look at Colossians 2:16-18 (NKJV). Paul is correcting a fundamental flaw in the believer’s thinking that is taking them backwards in their relationship with Christ.

Colossians 2:16-19 (NLT) So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.

Paul is making it very clear that all the laws and rituals that are in the Old Testament were put in place to foreshadow what was to come when the Messiah Christ Jesus appeared. All the laws, all the festivals, all the holy days, everything the prophets spoke about were all fulfilled in Christ Jesus. They were all shadows. Christ is the reality.

TWO WAYS A SHADOW IS FORMED

A shadow is formed on a surface when something stands between a light and the surface. The shadow shows the shape, silhouette of the real thing. The laws and the rituals in the Old Testament were symbolic representations of things that were to come. They were symbolic acts that had spiritual meaning and experiences attached to them.

The sacrificial offerings didn’t begin with Moses. The first recorded sacrifices were done by Cain and Abel. Obviously they learnt it from their parents who were probably practicing bringing offerings to the Lord. Noah, Job and all the patriarchs of old made offerings unto the Lord. Moses got the revelation from God on how a corporate people could do what was already being done in an informal way by the godly people of old.

The first recorded tithing wasn’t during Moses time. Abraham was the first recorded person to tithe. Moses just formalised the process.

The laws and the rituals of the old testament were meant to be silhouettes, foreshadowing the coming of christ

The other way a shadow is formed in a place is when it is caused by something preventing light from reaching that place. A taller building blocking the sun from a part of your house for instance. That room never sees the sun and so potentially can get cold and mouldy. Man had taken the laws and rituals of God which were meant to draw people closer to Him and turned it into something that were restricted and preventing people from getting closer to Him. 

Instead of foreshadowing Christ, man interpreted the laws and the rituals to the point they were blocking Christ from the people and the laws became a stumbling block and hindrance to God

Paul was speaking of the latter when he said that all the religious requirements stood between us and God casting a shadow.

Colossians 2:17 (MSG) All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.

WHAT ARE THESE SHADOWS PAUL WAS TALKING ABOUT?

The things Paul referred to as shadows are things presented as required “supplements” (in addition to Christ) for a relationship with God. During Paul’s time some Jewish leaders were saying believing in Jesus was a good start but after that you need to be circumcised, and follow the laws of Moses. Otherwise you will not be saved. I call it the Jesus plus theology. Jesus plus the supplements. Jesus is not enough nutrition for you, you need to take some supplements. You need to do some additional things to continue to be saved. The shadows Paul was talking about were the commandments and doctrines of men.

Colossians 2:20-23 (NLT) You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

Mere human teachings he calls them. Note some of the words he uses – “seem wise” – “REQUIRE strong devotion, pious self-denial, bodily discipline”. What these men were really saying was:

• LOOK AT ME I’M “DOING” HOLY – dietary and religious observances

Colossians 2:16 (NLT) So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.

 

 

There seems to be a strong drive in recent years to return to Jewish practices. This seems to be a Western church phenomena. After living in the Western world for more than fifteen years now, I think I have an idea why there is a draw towards Jewish cultural practices. The European folk in the Western world have lost their cultural identity. With all the movements that are going on, Europeans have been relegated to being white. All the other races have their own languages and cultures unique to them but the European only speaks English and does not really have a distinct culture. This is especially true in the UK, US and countries like New Zealand and Australia. Some seem to be drawn to Eastern religions and adapt cultural practices similar to Hinduism or Buddhism. For the christian European however that is not an option. So the Jewish culture and practices become a natural draw card as these practices are from the Bible. I have no qualms about anyone wanting to adopt Jewish culture and practices as long as they know the festivals and practices that they are adopting are cultural and not Christian.

Let me elaborate further with two examples. Recently there was a group insisting that the Sabbath must be practiced on Saturday and the church meeting on Sunday has been influenced by the Emperor Constantine and the Roman Catholic church. While these thoughts may be amusing but they carry a very dangerous tone when we begin to insist that worshiping Jesus on a Sunday contradicts the Bible and is an offence to God simply because we are not meeting on a particular day ie. Saturday. My second son lives in the same city as me and my wife. He comes for dinner every Thursday for most of the time. What if one day he decides to visit us on a Tuesday and someone stands at the door and says to him, “its not Thursday, you can’t go and see your mom and dad. You can only visit them on Thursday.” Imagine how furious I would be when I found out that someone had the audacity to prevent my son from coming to see me. My son of course will walk right through him and come right in because he knows he can come see us any day, any time. Our home is his home. Sabbath on a Saturday is the shadow. Worshiping Jesus is the substance.

Another controversy is the church celebrating Good Friday and Easter. They say it is a pagan festival and should not be celebrated by the church. I find it difficult to believe that pagans want to celebrate Jesus Christ dying on the cross to save sinners and then rising from the dead on the third day. But I digress. They tell us we shouldn’t celebrate Good Friday but instead should celebrate the Passover. This is exactly the point Paul was making. Passover is the shadow – what happened on Good Friday (the day we have set aside to remember Christ’s death on the cross), that’s the substance. The Passover is a celebration of remembrance of the time Israel was delivered out of Egypt into a journey to the promise land. A real event for the Jews and they are commanded to remember that for eternity. What a marvelous deliverance it was. But as marvelous as that experience was, it was foreshadowing something coming for the whole of mankind. The Christ was coming to deliver the world from the bondage of sin and demonic oppression. Once Christ came the shadow was no longer necessary. The substance is Christ – His death and His resurrection. That’s why we celebrate Good Friday. We celebrate Christ the substance who died on the cross for all mankind. That’s the reality, no longer a shadow.

That’s why we no longer celebrate the Seder meal annually but celebrate the Lord’s table as often as we can. The night before Jesus died on the cross, he was celebrating the passover with them. He was probably having a meal similar to the Seder meal today. As the host he was meant to go through the dishes that were representing all the experiences the Jews had in Egypt. But the Gospel writers only record him taking two of the items on the table – the bread and the wine. Why? He told is why.

Matthew 26:26-28 (NLT) As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.

No longer do we celebrate the shadow of what is to come. We now celebrate the reality of what has happened. Christ is the substance. His body, His blood is now the reality. He is sufficient. He sustains us. He cleanses us from all sin.

Now back to Colossians 2. What those who were insisting on were to follow the laws and rituals which were mere shadows.

LOOK AT ME I’M “DOING” HOLY”. LOOK AT ME I’M “BEING” HOLY

Colossians 2:23 (NLT) These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

After “doing” all these things. After “being” all these things. You are still fighting your demons of anger, lust, unforgiveness, bitterness. Why? Because your are living in the shadows. Shadows cannot deal with the inner root problems of evil desires. The only thing that can transform us is a genuine, faith based relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord – not following rules and rituals.

The problem with chasing shadows is they present a faulty image of god. God becomes a mere illusion.

MOVING OUT OF THE SHADOWS

Get rid of the middle man

Paul speaks against any human intervention standing in the way of our direct access to Christ – “let no one judge you”, “let no one cheat you” (Col 2:16, 18). the Hebrews author is even more explicit.

Hebrews 8:6-13 (NLT) But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the LORD. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

Here we see a clear exhortation to no longer depend on an intermediary, whether it is a human being or whether they are a set of rules and rituals. God wants us to go to Him directly.

Go directly to the source – Christ Jesus

We need to grasp what access we have through the work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Paul uses these phrases – we are “circumcised in Him”, we are “buried with Him”, we are “made alive together with Him” (Col 2: 11-14). There is no longer the need for a priest to bless us. Go directly to Christ and receive His blessings. There is no longer the need to observe a certain Holy Day to experience God. Go directly to Jesus and you will experience God in His fulness.

It is all Jesus – Christ is the substance – no supplements required

Again I reiterate – we need to know what Christ has done for us on the cross.

Colossians 2:13-15 (NLT) for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

Col 2:19 (NLT) For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.

He has set us free once and for all from the bondage of sin and from the oppression of the evil one. No more condemnation. No more guilt and shame. Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

You are living in the shadows if you depend on any other source apart from Jesus Christ. Time to come out of the shadows and into His marvelous light. Let me close with this final passage from Galatians.

Galatians 3:5-7 (NLT) I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.

Have we put our faith in things we do, in our own effort, in things that are mere shadows? Could that be the reason we are not seeing the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit and the working of miracles? Could it be that the Gospel we are preaching is void of the power of God because we are focusing on human effort to get to God?

Time to come out of the shadows. It is all Jesus. Christ is the substance. No supplements required. Real Christians put their faith in him.