"TO PLEASE HIS HEAVENLY FATHER" by John Piper

Jesus did not wrestle his angry Father to the floor of heaven and take the whip out of his hand.  He did not force him to be merciful to humanity.  His death was not the begrudging consent of God to be lenient to sinners.  No, what Jesus did when he suffered and died was the Father’s idea.  It was a breathtaking strategy, conceived even before creation, as God saw and planned the history of the world.  That is why the Bible speaks of God’s “purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Timothy 1:9).

Already in the Jewish Scriptures the plan was unfolding.  The prophet Isaiah foretold the sufferings of the Messiah, who was to take the place of sinners.  He said that the Christ would be “smitten by God” in our place.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities…All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:4-6)

But what is most astonishing about this substitution of Christ for sinners is that it was God’s idea.  Christ did not intrude on God’s plan to punish sinners.  God planned for him to be there.  One Old Testament prophet says, “It was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10).

This explains the paradox of the New Testament.  On the one hand, the suffering of Christ is an outpouring of God’s wrath because of sin.  But on the other hand, Christ’s suffering is a beautiful act of submission and obedience to the will of the Father.  So Christ cried from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).  And yet the Bible says that the suffering of Christ was a fragrance to God.  “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). 

Piper, John.  The Passion of Jesus Christ.  Wheaton:  Crossway Books.  2004.  22-23.

"QUOTE" OF THE WEEK

“Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”  Ephesians 5:2.

When they were released, they went to their friends.  Acts 4:23

There are people in our world today who believe they can be who God has called them to be apart from His people.  Not John and Peter.  Because they were being faithful witnesses for Christ, they were colliding with the world.  And because they were colliding with the world, they rightly understood that they needed the church for strength.  So when they were released, they went back to their own—They banded together with their brothers and sisters in Christ and prayed for more boldness.

When you stand strong for Christ, you are going to collide with the world.  And when you collide with the world, you are going to need the support of your brothers and sisters in Christ—you are going to need the church.  

Is this your perspective?  Do you see your need for God’s people?  If not, chances are good you are not faithfully doing what God has called you to do, because if you were you would be getting push back from the world and would be looking to God’s people for strength.  Persecution drives believers together.  In his commentary on Acts, John MacArthur said, "If we confronted the world system more aggressively, the resulting opposition would drive us closer together and enrich our mutual dependence." 

For more on being bold for Christ and how to respond for Him when the world pushes back, click HERE and listen to "HOW TO RESPOND TO PERSECUTION pt. 1 & 2."

MacArthur, John F., Jr. Acts. MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1994.

"QUOTE" OF THE WEEK

"It is noteworthy that the first thing Peter and John did after being released was to go to their own companions...They reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them and no doubt received comfort and encouragement from the others. A primary benefit of persecution is that it results in greater solidarity. Persecuted believers naturally draw together for mutual support...If we confronted the world system more aggressively, the resulting opposition would drive us closer together and enrich our mutual dependence. That real unity marked the early believers."  –John MacArthur

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.  Acts 4:31

Being Spirit-filled means to be under the influence of—under the control of—in submission to the Holy Spirit.  And though we are told that there are many fruits that come as a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit, we learn in Acts 2 and in Acts 4 that Spirit-filled people speak the word of God with boldness. 

God calls for His people to boldly proclaim the truth of His message and then trust in the Spirit of God to use us, the people of God preaching and teaching the Word of God, to bring people to saving faith so that His Kingdom advances.  A good way to test yourself to see if you are filled with His Holy Spirit is by asking yourself whether or not you are being faithful to God by sharing His message when the opportunity presents itself.    

Peter and John and others in the early church most certainly did.  We learn in the first part of Acts that they were faithful to share God’s message and when opposition came they did not run and hide—they did not shrink back, but they expected it and were submissive to it and were spirit-filled and took every opportunity to proclaim God’s message of redemption with boldness. 

"QUOTE" OF THE WEEK

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

When we hear the word BOLD, we often think of someone or something standing out and being set apart.  The paradox in Scripture is that being bold in a good and godly way involves humility.  It means to live in such a way that God is magnified and glorified—to live in a way that Christ sticks out and where He is the central focus. 

Yesterday, we mentioned that there was no better example of this in Scripture than John the Baptist.   There was not anyone more daring and bold yet humble and lowly than him.  His primary goal in life—his main role in ministry was to prepare the way for the Lord—to direct people to Him.  In Luke 3 he says,

He who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.  Luke 3:16  

When explaining his ministry in John 3:30, he says, “He (Jesus) must increase and I must decrease.  

There is not a better example for us of what it looks like to be bold for Christ than Him.  And the clear and simple application to be made by us is this, “Are we ministering in this way?”  First, “Are we involved in ministry?”  And if we are, “Are we ministering in such a way where the spotlight is off us and on Him?”  Scripture is clear that our lives are to be one BIG flashing arrow pointing to Christ.  He is to be the person we are to look to and trust in and direct others toward and His message is to be the message we proclaim.

For more on being bold for Christ, click HERE and listen to “BEING BOLD FOR CHRIST."

"QUOTE" OF THE WEEK

"He must increase, but I must decrease."  John 3:30

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.  And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.  Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.  And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.”  And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.  But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”  And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.  And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.  Acts 3:1-8

I said on Sunday that many of us are like this lame beggar in Acts 3.  There are many in our world today that are looking for happiness in things that pale in comparison to what God has to offer.  They go out day after day in pursuit of a few coins thinking that will make them happy and go home night after night empty, unfulfilled and miserable. 

That’s the way the lame beggar is in this story.  But when he encounters Jesus through Peter and John, he gets more than he could have ever imagined.  That’s the way it was for me when Jesus found me.  I was looking for something more in this life—I wasn’t looking for Jesus, but something more and when Jesus found me and gave me life in Him, I got more than I could have ever imagined.  I just wanted to be happy, Christ gave me joy everlasting.  I wanted a good life in the here and now; with Christ I got eternal and abundant life with Him and with His people, forever. 

"QUOTE" OF THE WEEK

"The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.  To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here...[These] are but shadows; but God is the substance.  These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun.  These are but streams; but God is the ocean."  -Jonathan Edwards