Shadow and Substance

(Col. 2:17, Heb. 8:5-6, 10:1, 11:1, 12:18-25)

Jesus taught in parables to use earthly frames of reference to teach heavenly realities.  He asked to what He could compare the kingdom of heaven.  He spoke of the kingdom.  He never taught us how to build a church.  He was focused on us entering the kingdom.  He builds His church His way.  We do best to simply allow Him to fit us together.

Similar to His teaching in parables, the Lord gave to Moses the law and the model of the tabernacle.  Many years ago, I visited a museum with a full scale model of the tabernacle in Pennsylvania.  I appreciated that.  I had already studied the scripture and sat in on teaching concerning the tabernacle and it’s relation to our spiritual lives.  It is valuable, even critical, to understand the process and progression to enter the Lord’s presence.  In simpler words, the tabernacle shows the way to get close to God.  Once there, our purpose is to stay there.  Fellowship, close relationship, has been God’s purpose and desire.  He walked with Adam in the cool of the day.  Enoch walked with Him.  Jesus said, He and the Father are one.  That is close.

Jesus prayed that we, His members, those who have received His words, would be one as He and the Father are one.  This goes beyond agreement in our thoughts with one another.  Much of our thoughts are too low.  They do not align with the thoughts of God.  How important is it that the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts are pleasing to Him.  No question mark with that thought.  It is of the greatest importance that we grow up into His mind and His heart.  As this happens, it becomes our delight to do His will.  It becomes spontaneous, naturally spiritual we might say.  Alignment with the Lord, true oneness with Him is a process.

While it is a process, we find times we call breakthrough.  We find ourselves thrust out of old ways, more into the continual newness of the Spirit.  We may find ourselves restrained, restricted in some way and we want to break out.  True freedom is not the absence of restraint, for our self-centered self wants its own way.  The Lord brings us to be constrained by His love.  Like a little child, we want and when we have, we do not want to let go.  When we see the Lord’s ways are better than our desires, we learn to follow His lead.  The breakthrough is like the Passover out of Egypt and like the entrance into Canaan.  They were very different but both brought a maturing.

In the wilderness time between these two significant transitions, the Lord gave the tabernacle as instructive.  In that day, a few saw beyond the structure to pursue the Lord.  Namely these were Joshua and Caleb.  Consider that their families, wives and children were included with them to enter the land.  I should check out the record to confirm this but I will leave that to you.  I mention this because Joshua later says that he and his house will serve the Lord.  Joshua knew that Moses had something more and so he hung close and stayed at the door when Moses went into meet with the Lord.  All of this I mention that we might see that all of us are called to be like Joshua, to be hungry to pursue what we see in others as substance, as something more than what we have known.  We want it to rub off on us. As we pursue, we will find the Lord’s calling and choosing.  So it was with Moses, so it was with Joshua and Caleb, so it was with the twelve.  Now, Jesus has offered to all, “If any man would come after me, let that one take up his cross and follow me.”  Anyone!  This goes out to every man, woman, and child.  I am convinced that children can begin to follow the Lamb of God.  Some are called from the womb.  Some hear the call later.  When you hear, respond.  It is worth the cost.  In the shadows we learn, we begin to understand.  Don’t stay there.  The Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, is calling.  When you hear, get up and follow.  It is worth every cost.

An Upward Gaze

(Colossians 3:1,2, Eph. 2:6-10, Luke 10:38-42)

Set your affection, your mind, your gaze upon things above.  Why?  Christ is there.  He has ascended.  He is no longer bound to the earth.  He said it was to the benefit of those with Him that He leave the limitation of an earthly life and then the Spirit would come.  It is to our great benefit today that He has become a life giving Spirit and been poured out.  This one, Jesus, was seen by many as He ascended.  And they heard, after He had passed from their physical sight, that He would come again.  For this moment, let us not pursue all that is in His full appearing.  He said that the timing of that event is with Father alone.

That man, Paul, who said he had been a Hebrew of the Hebrews, came to understand the magnitude of what God had accomplished in Christ.  The incarnation, the son of God taking the form of the son of man, was the necessary operation to allow this one, Jesus, to become the faithful high priest of God’s house.  In Christ here, God was displaying more fully and perfectly His intention from before the foundation of creation.  Paul understood and teaches us that Christ Jesus is the representative man, appointed by God, the second, the last Adam.  John did the same in his first letter.  As Christ died for all for sin, all died in sin.  Now we can choose to say yes and agree to be dead to sin and alive to righteousness.  At every turn, say yes to Him, to the Spirit.  Choose His righteousness as your portion.

Many dangers, toils, and snares are found along our journey.  Grace is the answer.  It is not knowledge of stuff, a better handle on our doctrine.  Now understanding matters but that is not our foundation.  Christ is the rock, the ground that enables us to walk steadily. And He will change us.  Beholding Him we are changed from glory to glory.  Too often we are side-tracked into issues.  That is part of our learning, our journey.  Some endeavor may seem important or valuable.  Is the Lord in it?  Is He leading you into it.  We find that as we go on, others may be led by the Lord into certain areas, ministries, places of true spiritual activity but it may not be for us.  Nothing to be anxious about here.  If we find its not working, we can ask Him.  Better to ask Him beforehand but we all learn in different ways.

Best is to set your sights on Him and learn to be still and listen.  We find He searches our hearts and turns us from our own efforts to a cooperation with Him.  We hear more keenly and follow more closely. We learn to follow the Lamb wherever He leads us.  Jesus said Mary had chosen the better part.  To sit at His feet and listen is best.  Yes, we will be active in making preparations for Him.  Martha was doing that.  Jesus corrected her complaining about her sister not her actions.  We should be careful not to criticize one who may not ppear active but who has drawn aside from all the distractions to listen.

If we will see our place with Him in the heavens, in the spirit, and move there to behold Him, He will change us.  There we gain His perspective.  There we mature as sons seeing what our Father is doing.  There we can hear Him ask who will go for Him.  From there He sends us on His mission for us.  We will experience what it means to be seated with Him in His place of authority.  Then we will not be turned aside so easily to pursue other lesser things.  And we learn that true nature of God which is meek and lowly of heart.  That is how Jesus describes Himself when calling us to come to Him.  Now we come to Him where He is, seated on a throne.  All this the very work of God, following His great intention before we ever existed that He would have us where He is. This is not a reality to see only as future.  The fulness of it is yet coming but it is for us to believe into it now.  Make it your desire.  It is already His that you be near Him.  He is near us.  The kingdom of God is in our midst today.  His righteousness, His great peace, His unspeakable joy.  Receive it today.