*The Special Quinquagenary Blog Post Release!
This post marks number 50 in the two and half year journey of FROMDEATHTOLIFE.blog! The truth of God’s Word has been preached through this website site to viewers from over
God willing, I’m not slowing anytime soon.
25 countries at a steadily increasing rate.
I thank the Lord for this growth and
I thank you for your support as well.
So, I didn’t ask Sidney if I could write this about him; I did however, mention to him that I was thinking about using his living-example as a topic for an upcoming post.
I’m unsure if he thought I was serious or not; but I was serious.
Sydney is a young gentleman at our family’s home church, who — at some point in his young life — God grabbed by the collar and pulled up tall and straight and told him to get to work. And, like me, he chose to embrace it and he started to stand up tall; probably taller than I have been, honestly.
Almost every single event I’ve attended, volunteered for; or even avoided — by Compassion Church in Hannibal — the 27 year old with a heart for freedom, was most likely, found supporting his fellow ‘Warriors-in-Christ’; while probably suffering from a bit of sleep-deprivation and insomnia; simultaneously, from overnight shifts and the caffeine it takes to keep that going.
On Thursday nights — at the Future Leaders Outreach Center — there is hardly a meal where Sidney isn’t — at the very least — a fly on the wall; but more often than not, if a need pops up, Sidney is available and doesn’t hesitate to be a part of ensuring the best possible outcome. We all can really rely on Sidney, and everyone appreciates that.
Today my friend surprised us all by getting on stage and laying out a powerful testimony; baring on stage, embarrassing things that most wouldn’t want whispered between two friends.
At some point in my journey — in this quaint, small-town in the middle of the central Midwest — I became aware that following Sidney’s example in work ethic and perseverance would be a good idea and it has led to a few extremely fulfilling opportunities.
To serve as a member of the church’s “Dream Team;” is a privilege I hardly made a fuss about at the time but — to me — the invitation was a real honor and a huge motivation. I was not even aware of the overhead title of ‘Discipleship Team’ until I was asked to speak on stage for a short two minute message at both services on Superbowl Sunday.
I was elated; though — also — my faith had foreseen successes of many kinds and even though the feeling of God’s abundance is wonderful — in the moment — true faith, somehow, makes it predictable.
Not to belittle promotion! There is a fine line between faith and arrogance; but after God moved every mountain I’ve ever seen, each mountain — though equally majestic and satisfying — is just simply less “impressive.”
Jesus didn’t jump for joy when Peter pulled the coin from the fish’s mouth in Matthew 17; He was already prepared to do it that way. That’s how God showed Him it would happen, so when it happened that way, he wasn’t impressed; even though it was wildly miraculous.
If the coin wasn’t in the fish’s mouth when the Father told Him to go look there, then I believe Jesus would have been surprised; and for the first time in His life, He may have been confused which is not Godlike and — I believe — an impossibility.
Matthew 17 is just amazing. I read it tonight, checking facts for this post and God showed me something that I find extremely important. I deleted everything I had and wrote this down.
The chapter starts with Jesus taking a few of His early church ‘leaders-in-training’, up the side of a mountain to meet with His Dad — God. It’s called the story of “Transfiguration,” but don’t let the big word scare you, cause we’re not even going to talk about it. 🙂
I want to talk about the words God actually said in verse 5;
“This is my Son, whom I love…”
Sidenote: verse 6 mentions how; “when the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.”
I want to express how this story relates perfectly to the post I wrote titled; “Six Feet Under and Thriving;” where — upon committing his very first sin — Adam had been ejected from the realm of light — the realm God lives in — and became afraid of the voice of the Father; because he could no longer see Him.
In this story, as Jesus tapped them on their shoulders, telling them to chill out; when His disciples looked up, “they saw no one, except Jesus.”
So, once again, lack of information — visual, in particular — has the hearer quite afraid of God’s thundering voice.
Anyway; later in the chapter, a man brings his son to Jesus — the Man God just called His own Son. He begins to beg Jesus to have mercy on the kid.
Jesus heals him, but then, abruptly and suddenly, calls the people “perverse;” which means, wrong, or backwards. I believe also that the word ‘hypocritical’ works because, as we later see — in the seemingly unrelated story of the coin in the fish’s mouth — these people were absolute hypocrites. But we don’t understand why yet. At least I hadn’t figured it out up until this point in the chapter.
And at the guidance of my Bride, I encourage a breath here. I am going somewhere; there are a lot of directions, okay? But before we charge on; lend to me your trust that we are getting somewhere.
So Jesus brings up His own death here; out of absolutely nowhere! And his disciples, though saddened by it, just; ‘move on.’ No one else, says a word about dying. They probably thought He was nuts and they all just, awkwardly, let Him get away with it.
When He makes this super out of place comment about killing the “Son of Man,” Jesus refers to Himself as — “the Son of Man,” instead of ‘the Son of God.” Which is wild, cause He is both.
Then He speaks of the temple being destroyed and rebuilt: and we all just move to talking about taxes.
The guard at the gate of the temple is now requesting the necessary payment due for their cost of entering the temple, and the guy is like; “Does your teacher pay the tax?”
Matthew 17:25 says they assured the tax collector guy that they do indeed respect the ‘temple of God.’
The verse goes on into the story;
“When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes — from their own children or from others?”
Peter answers the obvious; kings tax the citizens, not their own kids. And this is when Peter pays the temple tax with the coin he just fished out of the sea; miraculously.
But the important words in this passage are ‘son’ and ‘mercy.’
It started with God very clearly and without a doubt, confirming that, Jesus is His Son. That is a hinge point in these words, and without that knowledge, there is very little hope for us.
When God solidifies Jesus’ identity to Peter and his brothers on the “Mount of Transfiguration,” He makes it undeniably true. And as Jesus’ claim to be fully human — as a son of man — He’s stating the absolute obvious — that He, too, is a son. The Son.
So when the man with the sick ‘son’ comes asking for mercy, Jesus sees the connection immediately. That’s why He brings up His own death!
He’s pointing out the need for mercy and the backwardness of the people who are about to deprive Him of the very same mercy they require for themselves.
We desperately seek comfort and relief from Satan and all the things we see as destruction and pain in our lives; but it’s our very own choices that bring this stuff into our lives in the first place!
Jesus does show mercy to the man’s son and heals the boy, but it’s something He, Himself will soon be stripped of entirely — even being the Son of God.
Jesus isn’t trying to change the outcome, I believe he knows what needs to be done. But He does see the glaringly “dishonest scale” of justice in the eyes of the people who are about to exact judgement on His life; rather unmercifully, I might add.
When my fellow leader and friend, Sidney, stepped out onto the newly expanded stage of our quickly growing church, today, he stuck to being committed to purity and freedom. Oftentimes what that looks like is not-quite-literally ‘throwing yourself under the bus.’
And when I say committed, I mean, through everything.
Jesus lived committed.
And I commit myself to God’s righteousness — again and again — as well; it’s a daily decision; moment by moment, even.
While in the lime light, Sidney spoke of his past struggle with purity and also his path through addiction; neither of which I, too, am able to avoid entirely, myself to this day — and I cannot imagine any man who has not struggled, at least some, regarding the flesh in this way.
I must admit that I struggle almost daily, in my relationship with addiction, still. Everything is constantly trying to usurp the attention and affection that we’ve intended to give to God the night before as we laid our head down, but usually — in the heat of a passionate moment — we all struggle with integrity, greed, and most of all, pride.
Being committed to transparency takes work, but the wisdom in being transparent, “is proven right by its results;” says Matthew in chapter 11.
I started throwing myself under the bus every chance I get, now. I’m simply unable to feel the weight of possibly being ‘found-out,’ if I have already; immediately; and abruptly pulled the rug out from under myself before I can even think of hiding something that could trap me. I don’t want the pressure. I’d rather you stare me in the face and tell me you think I’m a horrible person, reject me and turn me away, than to lie to you and have you believe a version of myself I have to keep up with.
Sidney’s example makes me brave enough, also, to mention my weaning THC dependency — that still hangs on. I spoke of it in the past, and I bring it up again as to not “bear false witness.” It’s a ten commandment not to, and it’s important.
I’m not completely over it yet. There. I said it.
(Meanwhile this post sits for a week before going live. The temptation to cower could become unbearable at any moment; but I’m committed.)
I just really need mercy.
We all really need mercy.
That’s exactly what Jesus expresses in this chapter and in His crucifixion
When Jesus tells “Simon” to grab the payment for the taxes for them both, He — miraculously and divinely — provides the atonement needed for crossing the threshold into the presence of God; for both of them. And He’s relating this merciful act to his final merciful act on the cross.
And now we see where He looks at these situations and calls us obtuse.
But do you see the amount of thought the Bible demands?
I hope I got you thinking this week. I have so much enjoyment in digging like a mad-scientist into a pile of theory and apologetics.
Maybe I’m right about things. Maybe I’m wrong about a lot.
We’re all just doing our best. How about some mercy?
We all need it.
Thank you Sidney; for being the hands and feet of Jesus in my family’s hometown.
And praise the living God for His goodness; and the mercy of the cross.
Happy 50th post! Have an incredible week guys.
God bless you all.
– God Exists –
Did you know you can subscribe to this blog? If you’re an avid reader, submit an email address and you’ll receive a notification when a new post is published.
Don’t miss out!
Leave a Reply