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Jesus Was There

/in /by

John 2:1-3 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.2 Jesus also was invited with His disciples to the wedding.3 And when the wine was all gone, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no more wine!

I’ve restarted a personal meditation series I began a year ago – but life happened and distracted me. What is the topic of my quest? Looking for the humanity of Jesus in the Gospels. When I initiated my search I utilized the Gospel of John (probably because it is my favorite of the Gospels). After prayer I sensed the Lord wanted me to begin with the Gospel of Mark. Why Mark? More than any of the Gospels it expresses the humanity of Jesus like none other. For example: Mark 7:34 And looking up to heaven, He sighed as He said, Ephphatha, which means, Be opened! Mark 8:12 And He groaned and sighed deeply in His spirit and said, Why does this generation demand a sign? Positively I say to you, no sign shall be given this generation. Meditating I came upon two passages: Mark 1:10-11 And when He came up out of the water, at once he [John] saw the heavens torn open and the [Holy] Spirit like a dove coming down [to enter] into Him.11 And there came a voice out from within heaven, You are My Beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.

Several things stand out: Since Jesus was conceived by the Spirit why did He need the Spirit to enter Him? Jesus knew He was God’s Son why did the Father believe He needed His affirmation? (Which incidentally was tested by the devil, If You are the Son of God... not Since You are the Son of God) When we look at Jesus strictly from the perspective of Divinity, discounting His humanity, we dismiss everything He wrestled with as a man. In other words, He wouldn’t have needed encouragement from His Heavenly Father, and satan’s temptation wasn’t really a test.

As I continued reading Mark 1 I stumbled upon this verse: What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God! (Mark 1:24) Even the demon acknowledged the humanity of Jesus: What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? He acknowledged where Jesus was from – Nazareth. (a town in Israel – not Heaven) In my limited experience of deliverance ministry I have been surprised that demons know the truth better than a lot of Christians. Yet, simultaneously the demon acknowledges Jesus’ Divinity: I know who You are—the Holy One of God! Unfortunately most Christians see Jesus only from the Resurrection and Ascension – downgrading His humanity as if He were hiding behind humanity like a mask. What should truly alarm us is this Scriptural fact: But when the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He [Himself] will testify regarding Me. (John 15:26) The Holy Spirit testifies about Who Jesus is. Why is that alarming? If I am not seeing, knowing, and recognizing Jesus as fully God and fully Human I am disconnected from the One Who teaches, testifies, and reveals these things. In other words, I am not abiding in Him. John 15 warns if I am not abiding, or remaining in His Presence, I will be broken off and thrown into the fire like a withered branch. (John 15:2)

Why am I saying all of this? Returning to our opening passage in John 2 a couple of things stand out: Wine is a symbol of the Holy Spirit (See Ephesians. 5:18). They had no more “wine.” (Implying, they were low on the Spirit). Jesus’ mother, and disciples were in need of more of the Spirit. But here is what captured me: Jesus was there! Jesus, as a man, conceived by the Spirit – needed more of the New Wine of the Spirit. If we are going to walk with Him in His Third Day Resurrection, then surely we – who have been born-again of the Spirit, raised to walk in His Resurrection Life, – need more of the infilling of the Spirit. Since Jesus was there – in need of MORE of the Spirit! Why wouldn’t we also need more of His Spirit? On the other hand, where Jesus is – there is MORE of the Spirit. Did you catch that? In other words, if we have Jesus dwelling and reigning within us – we will have more of the Spirit manifesting through us. Now the question is, Who and What is manifesting in and through you? More of the Spirit? More of Jesus? or More of you? More of the Devil? Those who have had the MORE of Jesus and the Spirit – quickly recognize when they are running low.

Set This Place on Fire!

/in /by

2 Timothy 1:6-7 That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands [with those of the elders at your ordination].7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

Elijah was a man on fire for God calling fire down from heaven. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were men who walked in the fire with Jesus and were not burned. Jesus is the Burning Man in the book of Revelation. The Upper Room saints, praying in agreement with the Word of God and the Promise of God, were set ablaze as the Spirit of God was poured out on them and they were immersed in the Holy Spirit and Fire. Yet, the Apostle Paul has never laid hands on any of us – so what chance do any of us have of stirring up a fire within?

1 Thessalonians 5:16-20 give us a clue: Always be joyful. 17 Continually be prayerful. 18 In everything be thankful, because this is God’s will for you in the Messiah Jesus. 19 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Instead, test everything. Hold on to what is good. 22 Keep away from every kind of evil. ISV

This could be broken down into several directives: be joyful; pray continuously; give thanks continuously; do not put out the Spirit’s Fire – His Grace; do not despise prophecy; hold onto what is good; avoid evil. At the heart of this is a desire to be with Jesus and to host the Holy Spirit’s Presence. What seems to be impossible – like always being joyful and praying continuously – is made possible by two key factors: Holy Spirit and Rigorous Thanksgiving. If you are always giving thanks you have no time for anything that is not joyful. If you are always giving thanks you are continuously praying – because thanksgiving is prayer. If you are overflowing in all three you don’t have time for evil. In fact, I know from personal experience you are inclined to a holiness you can’t even imagine. When all of those factors come together – you become a fire – and there is no room for fear. Fear is the currency of Hell – while Faith is the currency of Heaven. (Just writing about all of this makes me smile).

The Contemporary Christian band, Third Day wrote a song years ago titled: Consuming Fire. Here are some excerpts from the song’s lyrics: Set this place on fire. Send Your spirit, Savior. Rescue from the mire, yeah. Show Your servant favor, yeah. Yes, our God, He is a consuming fire and the flames burn down deep in my soul. Yes, our God, He is a consuming fire. He reaches inside, and He melts down this cold heart of stone. Did you realize that inside of you there is a flame? Did you ever try to let it burn, let it burn, let it burn?

William Wood reminded us two weekends ago: “When you sow a thought – What does it reap? It reaps an action. When you sow an action it reaps a habit. When you sow a habit it reaps a lifestyle. When you sow a lifestyle it reaps a destiny. So there is a divine connection between what you are thinking today and what you are fulfilling tomorrow. Today’s thoughts are literally the prophetic voice of tomorrow’s destiny.”

What about you? What are you sowing into? What are you reaping? Are you fulfilling His Manifest Destiny for your life? Did you realize that inside of you there is a flame? Did you ever try to let it burn, let it burn, let it burn?