A FAMILY PORTRAIT (Part 2)

The Family Trek

“Now the LORD had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.” Genesis 12:1.

Introduction

In one sense it’s true to say that Abraham went out not knowing where he was going. For Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would afterward receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” He might not have known where on earth he was going. However, he certainly knew he was walking towards heaven, for Hebrews goes on to say, “For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” Hebrews 11:10.

Like Christian in Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress Abraham was heading for the Celestial City. Abraham wasn’t rushing out to hammer in some wooden stakes in a land grab, you know, like what they did in the Wild West frontier of America. Abraham wasn’t after a handful of dirt. Every human being gets awarded that in the end. In fact all we are is a handful of dirt, and that’s what we’re awarded on our coffin when we die. “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return” Genesis 3:19b. You’ll get a plot of land – six-foot deep!

Abraham was seeking more than dust, more than a piece of real estate. He was seeking much, much more than that. Instead of hammering in stakes he was upping stakes. Abraham was looking for a City not built with hands – the Celestial City. Abraham was looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of his faith. The Jesus who was eventually going to come through his own loins. “Get you out of your country ... to a land that I will show you.” Who spoke these words to Abraham? Was it one of the wooden or stone idols of the land of Ur of the Chaldeans? Ur was full of pagan idols. Ur was apparently the name of a moon goddess. The word “Ur” means brightness or flame. However, One brighter than the moon appeared to Abraham! One brighter than the sun – ten thousand suns!

Stephen in his address before they stoned him says, “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran” Acts 7:2-3. The only other place in Scripture where God is called the “God of glory” is in Psalm 29. There David says, “The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is over many waters.” This is the God who poured out the water jars of heaven upon the face of all the earth in judgment. This is the God who poured out fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. This is the God who appeared to Abraham – to lead him to glory.

Christian in The Pilgrim’s Progress had just climbed the hill called Difficulty. Two men came running up to him. One was named Timorous the other Mistrust. They told Christian that they were turning back.

Timorous said, “The farther we go, the more danger we meet with; wherefore we turned, and are going back again.”

Mistrust said: “Just before us lie a couple of lions in the way, whether sleeping or waking we know not; and we could not think, if we came within reach, but they would presently pull us to pieces.”

Then said Christian, “You make me afraid; but whither shall I fly to be safe? If I go back to mine own country, that is prepared for fire and brimstone, and I shall certainly perish there; if I can get to the Celestial City, I am sure to be in safety there: I must venture. To go          back is nothing but death; to go forward is fear of death, and life everlasting beyond it; I will go forward.”[1]

Jesus Christ says, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking    back, is fit for the kingdom of God” Luke 9:62. O Christian, what are you afraid of? The LORD has given you His Word. And His Word endures forever. He has made you a promise, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” King David knew this when he wrote, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” The God of Glory appeared to Abraham to bring him into His Celestial City. Abraham trusted that the LORD would lead him there. And now Abraham is with the LORD in Glory – even the Celestial City. And so are all who trust in the God of Abraham who manifested Himself in the LORD Jesus Christ. He is the same LORD who says, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit everlasting life.” Matthew 19:29. He is the same LORD who says, “Have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of  Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” Matthew 22:32. The same LORD who said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” John 8:56.

So let us begin to tie things together. God called Abraham out of Ur – out of the “flame.” Abraham was to leave his family and all their false gods behind and he was to trust that the God of glory was going take him to a place of glory. Ahead, as we follow the life of Abraham, you’ll see that your journey to the Celestial City is fraught with danger just as it was for Abraham. However, remember we as Christians are all in this together. Like Abraham there will be many obstacles to be overcome. No doubt we’ll make many mistakes along the way but trust in the LORD always. You can’t go back. There’s nothing there – nothing but death! The LORD, after many had turned from following Him, said to those who remained, “‘Do you also want to go away?’ Then Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 6: 67-68.

It’s nice to know who you are and where you come from. But don’t spend your life looking at church records. Don’t spend your life walking around graveyards looking at headstones. For that is to go barking up the wrong tree. All you’ll find are a bunch of dead relatives. As the angels said to the women the day Jesus was resurrected, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” If you trace your family tree back far enough and you’ll come to Adam. And Scripture says that we are all dead in Adam. But those who are grafted into Christ’s Family Tree shall live with Him in glory forever! For Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though He may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” Luke 11:25-26.

It was through the loins of Abraham that Christ in His humanity came. From Adam, Seth, Shem, Abraham all the way down to Jesus Christ. Wouldn’t you like to belong to that Family Tree? We’ll according to Scripture we are grafted into Abraham’s Family Tree through believing in Christ! Think about it, instead of looking through old church archives for your rellies, you can just crack open the Bible and see them listed in its pages! However, you won’t see your name written there. You’ll just have to take it on faith. For Jesus has the record of His Family Tree all the way back to Adam through Abraham. And this Book is called “The Lamb’s Book of Life.”

So instead of skulking around graveyards with big magnifying glasses looking at moss-covered headstones, you need to come to Jesus. You need to ask Him if you are one of Abraham’s offspring. But before you do, keep in mind what the Scriptures say, “Know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham” Galatians 3:7. As the Scripture says,  “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6. You must believe, for that’s what faith is, belief, and that’s what Abraham had.

Jesus says, “Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:50. God has honored Abraham by listing his name in redemptive history as the “Father of the Faithful.”

Conclusion

We’ve been reminded that genealogies denote continuity. A Family Tree only tells you where you’ve come from. It is to look back and find all sorts of criminals and skeletons in your closet. God told Abraham to get out from his country and kindred. Therefore, Abraham stopped looking at his Family Tree and went on a Family Trek. So let me ask you where you are. Are you stuck up a Family Tree somewhere, hoping that you’re descended from royalty? Are you hoping that some rich rellie has died and left you a fortune? Or are you turning your back on all of that and going on a Family Trek to the Celestial City? Well, let me remind you that if you are a Christian then fellow believers are your family. We are in this together!

All Christians who are waiting, like Abraham, for that city which "has foundations, whose builder is God” are your family! Let me encourage you by reminding you of the One who is related to us. He is even our blood relative – the blood He shed on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins! They called “His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” Luke 1:21. He kept God’s Law perfectly on behalf of all His family. For all men are sinners and fall far short of His glory. He propitiated the wrath of God for the sake of His people. He became our substitute and covered the sins of every Christian with His own blood. And yes, like those in our Family Tree He died. However, the God of Glory raised Jesus from the dead that we might have everlasting life through believing in Him. So, as Christians let’s encourage each other in the LORD along the way.

Yes, it’s good to know where you’ve come from, but it’s even better to know where you’re going!

---

[1] Vol. 1, pt. 2, p. 26. (Check John Bunyan volumes for reference)

LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED

“‘Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And where I go you know, and the way you know.’ ⁵Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?’ ⁶Jesus said to Him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:1-6. (NKJV)

These well-known words of Jesus are like opening up a chest full of treasure! Gold, sparkling gems, precious jewels and a deed for a house, a mansion! It’s all yours simply through believing in God and also Jesus, His only begotten Son! For, He says, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”

And what might cause our hearts to be troubled? Lack of wealth, ill-health, and certainly the death of a loved one? Well, as tough as they are Jesus says we shouldn’t fret too much about these things. Why? Because He has fixed all of our problems! But, you have to trust in Him to produce the results. He is telling us to believe in Him!

Jesus is not saying that you shouldn’t grieve the loss of a loved-one. Jesus wept at the tomb of His friend Lazarus! However, He is saying that He has made everything right for you – if you are believing in Him, which is to say that there will come a day when all wrongs will be righted by God!

Some of the newer translations of the Bible render the word “mansions” as “rooms.” “In My Father’s house are many rooms.” However, I would much rather dwell in a mansion than a room! Wouldn’t you? The word simply means that there are many dwelling-places – enough for all who believe. Jesus then said that He was going to prepare a place for you.

Never mind rooms or mansions, the Devil, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry offered to Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, the things he had stolen, if Jesus would bow down and worship him, Satan. The idea was that instead of Jesus going through all the ordeal of going to the cross and being crucified He could have it all simply by surrendering to Satan and becoming one of his followers.

Would it not have been far easier for Jesus just to swear allegiance to Satan than to go through the hell of His crucifixion? Don’t miss what Jesus is saying in these verses. He is saying that He is going to prepare a place for those who believe in Him. Going where? He was going to the cross at Calvary!

He was not just going to tidy-up a room before your arrival in Heaven. He wasn’t just going to make few beds, clean out the cupboards and hoover the carpet! No! He was going to purchase you a mansion! But more than that He was going to purchase you yourself – if you are a believer in Him!

He was going to suffer the wrath of God so that you will not have to suffer it when you die! He was paying God in full the price that we human beings owe to God for not giving God our undivided attention and utmost obedience in everything we think, say and do! Jesus put God first in everything. None of us do! I don’t!

So, the gateway into !His Father’s house was by way of Jesus’ obedience in everything even unto His death on a cross. Jesus lived the perfect life that none of us can live and He paid the penalty that according to the Bible each of us owes God.

Now, we have heard about Neil Russell’s action-packed life, how he travelled here, there and everywhere! As a sergeant, as one of the “Rats of Tobruk” he won a medal – a D.C.M. (Distinguished Combat Medal). Neil was a very brave man indeed as well as being a loving father and grandfather. It seems that his life was full of adventure.

As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ he will at present be with His Lord in glory. He will be awaiting the resurrection at the Last Day, that’s the day when he gets his body back, his renewed body! That’s the day when he gets his room, his mansion! Meanwhile, like the rest of us here, Neil has to wait for the Lord to work all things together for good, to bring His great plan to its final conclusion!

So, what is God’s great plan? Well, in brief, He was going to create creation. He was going to make mankind in His own image. He was going to send His Son, the middle Person in the Trinity, into His creation as a human to live a perfect life representing all who believe in Him, He was going to pay the death-penalty we owe to God for not following God as we should, and He was going to be raised from the dead, and return to Heaven.

Then He and His Father were going to pour out the Holy Spirit, which They did. Then at some future point after the Holy Spirit has worked with the Word throughout the earth He is going to resurrect us all from our graves and judge the living and the dead! Then all His followers are going to live with forever with Him here on the renewed earth!

 When Jesus was on earth His disciples were wondering where He was going. Jesus said to them, “You know the way.” It was then that Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” I reckon I’d be exactly like Thomas. “Lord, what are You talking about? Show us in concrete terms. Seeing is believing and all of that!”

How did Jesus respond to Thomas? ^“Jesus said to Him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6. I became a believer in Jesus Christ through wrestling with this verse! Who does this Jesus think He is? God? I thought it was the most arrogant thing for any human being to say, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The Bible makes it clear that Jesus is the Mediator between God and man. The way to God is through Jesus Christ. There is great comfort in knowing the way! It means that we can stop pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps! It means that we can stop beating ourselves up for being failures when it comes to pleasing God! God knows you cannot save yourself. That’s why He sent a Saviour into this world, His only begotten Son! He is the way!

He is the way into Heaven. He is the way to get right with God. He is the way to have your sins, all your sins past, present and future forgiven. He is the way to a clear conscience before God. He is the way to find comfort when grieving. He is the way to getting a room in God’s house, a mansion!

Let these words of Jesus sink in, be comforted by them, Jesus said … “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Therefore, “Let not your heart be troubled.”

A FAMILY PORTRAIT (Part 1)

A FAMILY PORTRAIT (Part 1)

“This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood … Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah. After he begot Terah … Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot … Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai … But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there … Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 11:10-12:3 (truncated)

Introduction

Have you ever wondered why the Bible makes such a big deal of genealogies? I’m sure most evangelicals just skim over them as they read through the Bible. I’m, of course, presuming that most evangelicals read through their Bibles! Anyhow, what do you do when you get to one of these genealogies such as the one (abbreviated) above? Remember 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

So then, what benefit to us is a family tree of a bunch of people who died thousands of years ago? Well, for one it shows that Christianity is a religion that deals with real flesh and blood people. However, more than that, genealogies in the Bible demonstrate continuity.

The Bible isn’t just a book of “wise sayings” though it is full of “wise sayings” (e.g., Proverbs). No! The Bible is also the record of the History of Redemption.

The History of Redemption begins with the First Man Adam and ends with the last Adam Jesus Christ. Luke chapter three traces the lineage of Jesus as to His humanity, from Mary through her father Heli all the way back to Adam the son of God. I’ll just mention in passing that Matthew in his Gospel tells us that the father of Joseph, Mary’s husband is called Jacob. I know it’s extra-Biblical, but the Jewish Talmud states that Mary’s father’s name was Heli. Therefore, I believe Luke’s Gospel records the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Adam!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you and I could trace our roots all the way back to Adam? Then we would know where we’ve come from! But then again, it doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out all of us must be descended from Adam! If Adam was the first man then we must be related to him. And of course the Bible tells us that all of us are. However, I’m afraid that to look at Adam is to look at Bad News because the Bible tells us that we all died in Adam. The whole of humanity died to God when Adam our earthly father sinned against God (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21; 22).

So, after that brief introduction, let’s get on with it. In the following we’re being introduced to Abraham, or “Abram” as he’s known here. (The LORD changed his name from Abram to Abraham later). Anyway, we’ve been given some of his family history. He’s descended from Shem who was one of Noah’s three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth). And just as an aside, the name Semitic in “Semitic Peoples” comes from the name “Shem.” The Old Testament historian Albert Edersheim says,

Regarding the division of earth among his three sons, [ie, the sons of Noah], it may be said generally, that Asia was given to Shem, Africa to Ham, and Europe to Japheth.[1]

Presumably Albert Edersheim took the Tower of Babel into consideration when he wrote that. Because, as you know, it was after that episode that God scattered man from there “abroad over the face of all the earth” Genesis 11:9b.

So, we pick up the story, His-story, the history of Redemption in a place called Ur of the Chaldeans. Abraham dwelt there with his family when the Lord said to him Genesis 12:1, “Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father’s house, to a land I will show you.”

Let us look at a couple of things in general in the following, The Family Tree and The Family Trek. The general gist of what we’re looking at is this: It’s good to know where you’ve come from, but it’s even better to know where you’re going!

The Family Tree

A family tree lets you know where you have come from. It never ceases to amaze me the way some Australians brag about some of their ancestors. I mean everywhere else in the world they try to hide the skeletons in the closet! But not in Australia! Lots of Australians are proud of the fact that they’re great grandfather or whatever was a convict. And when you look around you today it’s not hard to see that many are trying hard to keep the family tradition alive!

Crime always seems to be on the increase. However, I don’t know if you’ve noticed that something else is on the increase. More and more people, it would seem, are tracing their family tree. I have an Australian relative who was tracing her family tree. She was in Scotland and England looking at old grave-stones and church records. I suppose knowing the history of your family gives you a sense of belonging. It’s nice to know where you’ve come from, who your family is. Just ask someone who was adopted as a child if they’d like to know who their real family was, but what’s the LORD doing with Abram here? Well, He’s going to make a new family out of him.

In fact we’re told in Genesis 12:2 that the LORD is going to make a great nation out of Abram. Before the Flood there had been two great families: The Family of Cain and the Family of Seth. One family was the seed of the serpent and the other the seed of the woman. You’ll remember the LORD said to the serpent after the fall, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed.” Genesis 3:15a.

We know that the ultimate Seed of the woman is the last Adam Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16). However, Jesus was a long way ahead in the future. So, after the Flood nations began to form from Noah’s three sons. And through the loins of Shem eventually Abram arrived in the year 2165 BC according to one reputable scholar.

The LORD here has chosen Abram and he is going to make him into a great nation. However, we see that there’s a little snag back in Genesis 11:30, “But Sarai was barren; she had no child.” Abram’s wife Sarai was unable to give Abram any children. A slight technical difficulty if there ever was one! It makes you wonder why God didn’t choose a man whose wife could conceive. However, as the angel Gabriel said to Mary, “With God nothing will be impossible.”

I remember reading a book by a man by the name of Curtis Crenshaw. He dedicated the book to his son with these words,

Every father wants a son; God has granted Me one. Naturally he has my name. My constant prayer for him is that he will stay in the truth of God’s Word, not be side-tracked into some false gospel, and that we shall spend eternity together in heaven. He is a joy to my heart.[2]

Abraham too wanted a son and so did his wife Sarah. However, it was going to take a miracle from God for this to happen. We’ll see also up ahead that Abraham and Sarah occasionally got side-tracked. Occasionally they got in trouble by venturing from the truth of God’s Word. However, the LORD was ever faithful to keep bringing them back onto the straight and narrow. But just before we move onto our second point let me ask you this question: Those of you who have done your family tree, Have you noticed that most, if not all your ancestors have one thing in common? They’re all dead!

All of Abram’s ancestors were dead and his father Terah was about to die in a place called Haran. Some of Abraham’s ancestors lived to good old ages. But nevertheless, to look at your family tree is to look at a bunch of dead rellies! And more people today are looking among their dead relatives as they search for meaning.

Some of our Asian neighbours even worship their dead ancestors. More and more today are asking the question: Who am I and where do I come from? Albeit in general terms, but the Bible answers those questions for us. You can look at all the grave stones you want as you seek to discover who you are. You can look at all the church records, all the Baptismal Rolls, all the Marriage Records, all the Obituaries, yes obituaries. You can look in all of these places but all your ancestors, like those of Abraham, are dead. All you’re doing is looking at records of a bunch of dead people in the pages of human history.

We’re all descended from Adam and we’re all spiritually dead in Adam. There’s no life in obituaries, there is no life in church records. There is no life carved on the head-stones of the graves of your dead relatives. And there’s a head-stone somewhere waiting for your name! There’s no life in these things, but there is life in the pages of Redemptive History. And that’s what the story of Abraham is all about – life! His family tree contained a bunch of dead people. He was the end of the line (or so it seemed). His family line was about to end with him (his wife couldn’t bear him any children). He knew from whence he had come, a long line of dead people, or was it? What about Enoch who was and then was not? What about your Enochs? What about your Seths? There’s something special about Abram’s genealogy. However, it wasn’t so much as to where it came from but more to do with where it was leading. It’s a good thing to know where you’ve come from but it’s even better to know where you’re going.

---

[1] Alfred Edersheim, Old Testament Bible History, Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, 1876-77, (1890 reprint in 1980), p. 58.

[2] Source reference

"SHOULD SCOTLAND BE AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY?"

“SHOULD SCOTLAND BE AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY?”

“Should Scotland be an independent country?” In less than two weeks from now the residents of Scotland are being asked to answer this question. What do you think? Well, here is what I think. I think that this is a redundant question. I think that that this question is merely rhetorical! I think that this question is simply a device being used to awaken the residents of Scotland. I think that there is a lot of wisdom behind this question!

How so? Well, because we now see that the tide is turning on the polls in favour of independence as the question works its way into the hearts and minds of the people. The question has certainly been working its way under people’s peely-wally and freckled skin! However, the question is wise in that it is far from establishing any sort of racial superiority of Scots. For, the credentials needed to vote in this referendum are proof of current residence in the geographical region of Scotland. Therefore, ethnicity is a non-issue. However, as a non-resident I am excluded from casting a vote either way.

Perhaps the downside is that as one who was foreign born but raised in Scotland I, like many others of a similar situation, feel as if I should have a say in this referendum. Why? Well, I have been an unofficial ambassador for Scotland and all things Scottish for over a decade throughout Canada and now over two decades in Australia. I have promoted the food and drink of Scottish culture, her dance and music, her other languages, both Gaelic and Lallans. I have spoken highly of her geographical location and her topography. I have promoted the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond and her attendant Ben, not to mention Loch Ness and her “monster!” I have written stories and have written and sung many songs about Scotland in clubs and at events. Alas! all this and more still does not qualify me to vote in the referendum on 18 September 2014.   

Should the current residents of the geographical region of what used to be Scotland vote against becoming a country again then I and those like me will never be able to become Scottish. I know that this must sound strange to those residents who are waging the NO! campaign. I am sure this is because they have not yet fully thought through the issue as whole. I say this because I have seen countless video clips in which those who are campaigning against Scotland becoming a country again say things like, “I love Scotland. I was born here. I am Scottish and I am British!” I have no reason to believe that these people are not trying to be truthful but they are clearly not in tune with what is going on! The whole point of the referendum is about the current residents of Scotland becoming Scottish! Clearly many in the NO! side are missing this! There is still time for the penny to drop. In for a penny, in for a pound, (Sterling that is!)

As any passport holder will attest, presently the residents of the geographical location that used to be Scotland (i.e., the place pre-1707) are British not Scottish! One cannot become Scottish unless the residents answer in the affirmative the question being put to them on 18 September: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”

The question answers itself. To ask it presupposes that Scotland is not presently a country and will remain as a non-country until and unless her current residents democratically vote that it should once again be a country! Until the vote and the resultant changes based on it are subsequently effected the residents of the geographical location that used to be Scotland will remain British (regardless of their food and clothing, music and languages, highlands and islands, hills, lochs and lowlands). Independence means that you become like Canada, Australia, America, New Zealand, Jamaica, ad nauseam.

I do not have the vote but Scotland I have breathed your air. I have eaten your food. I have drunk your water (and your whisky!) I have studied both your languages. I have played the side drum in your pipe bands. I have studied your bagpipes. I have walked on your hills and I have swum in your lochs. I have rowed in your rivers and lochs. I have listened to the patter of your peaty burns. As a wean I have climbed your trees. I have sledged down your snow-clad hills. I have been pricked by your thorns and your thistles. I have scars on my fingers, knees and elbows from falling off bikes and bogies going down your braes. As an adult I have drank in your pubs. I have eaten in your restaurants. I have been educated in your schools. I have worked in your industries. I have married one of your daughters. I have studied your history. I have read poetry and stories from your best writers. I have studied your philosophy and your theology. I have read about your long list of inventors. I have seen your vast and positive contributions to the (now) independent countries of Canada and Australia.

Residents of Scotland realise your greatness! Realise what you have and who you are! Then condescend long enough on 18 September to put your mark on the ballot paper where it says YES! In answer to the wise and rhetorical question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” It is almost an insult to common sense to be asked this!

(The following is a link to a wee song I wrote about Scotland while I was living in Canada. Please excuse its amateurish production. It’s called “Bonnie Scotland: Here To Stay") -   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZJCprTkhlQ

THE SNAKE & THE STAKE

THE SNAKE & THE STAKE

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:14-15.

Introduction

Allow me to quickly paint the backdrop. The setting is this: A man has come to Jesus under the cover of darkness. His name is Nicodemus and he is a teacher of Israel. Nicodemus said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God.” It’s with that in mind that Jesus begins to teach Nicodemus that He has indeed come from God! In the clearest of terms, Jesus tells Nicodemus why He has come from God.

So, we are to notice that Jesus responds to people. His response to you will depend on how you look at Him! Nicodemus viewed Jesus as a “Teacher come from God.” So Jesus in turn responds by demonstrating the truth of Nicodemus’ statement In teaching Nicodemus “the teacher come from God” uses “concrete terminology.” He illustrates what He means using everyday terms. He reveals profound spiritual truth by using illustrations with which Nicodemus is familiar. For instance He speaks of water and wind to portray the invisible workings of the Spirit of God. He uses light and darkness as representations of truth and evil. And, the thing we will mostly be focusing on in the following, He uses Moses and the brazen serpent to illustrate the Gospel!

Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:14-15, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Nicodemus would be more than familiar with the passage of Scripture Jesus was referring to. And we need to be familiar with it too because it perfectly illustrates the Gospel!

The Snake

To say that Israel in the wilderness had a problem with snakes is an understatement! The Lord sent fiery flying serpents among the Israelites! These were snakes with fangs full of poison! And they were injecting deadly venom into their bloodstream as they bit people! To be bitten would be like having a jolt of electricity fired into you, like a cattle prod on full power, like a police stun-gun. Not only would there be a burning sensation at the puncture marks, but the muscles would begin to ache and burn! Every joint in your body would seem to be on fire. Your breathing would be affected and your heart-rate would fluctuate. Then would come the unquenchable thirst, fire in your mouth, in your body, all over.

Why did the Lord send the snakes among His people? It was a judgment against their sin. “The wages of sin is death”! The people were speaking against God and His servant Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness” They were saying, “there is no food and no water, and our soul detests this worthless bread.” God sent them manna from heaven and Israel detested it! Thus they were blaspheming God and despising His providence.

How would you expect God to respond to this kind of abuse from His own people? The Lord sent in fiery serpents and “many of the people of Israel died” for their sin. They ought to have been thanking God for His grace and mercy toward them. He had set them free from their captivity to Pharaoh in Egypt. He had done many miracles as He released them from their bondage. He even parted the Red Sea for them to cross without so much as getting a little toe wet! He had caused the waters to fully immerse His enemies and drown all of them.

The Angel of the Lord Himself went with them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. And all the thanks the Lord got was grumbling! So the Lord responded accordingly to them! “And many of the people of Israel died” Numbers 21:6. So as Israel looked around at all the death and mayhem they knew it had come from God.

God got their attention when He sent those fiery serpents into Israel. And the Israelites learned quickly that this was in judgment against their sin. They discovered that they were a wicked and a rebellious people. They knew that they were biting the hand that fed them, and they knew that the Lord was biting them back!

Where did all this rebellion against God begin with these people? We have to say that it began with the serpent in the Garden. Satan was the one who injected poison into the minds of Adam and Eve. He was the one who caused Eve to doubt the very Word of God, “Has God really said?”

Satan through the mouth and fangs of the snake injected His poison into the world, so to speak. As his venom began to take effect, rigor mortis slowly set into the bodies of Adam and Eve. When Adam and Eve saw the serpent they should have looked to the Lord and they would have lived. However, instead they turned their backs to God demonstrating that they were unhappy with God and His providence. Thus Adam and Eve became dead in their sins, and all mankind became dead in their sins with them.

To be dead in your sins means that you don’t care about God or His providence. By “providence” here we mean that which God provides for your well-being, pro-vidence. So who would grumble and complain about God and His providence? Well, Adam and Eve as they listened to the serpent and sinned in the Garden. Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. And let’s not forget every human being who has ever lived.

Romans 5:12 says, “Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men.” So we see that Satan, that serpent of old, has bitten Adam. His venom not only killed Adam but it spread to all mankind through him. To poison a river you go upstream to its source. To kill a tree you attack its roots. To kill the human race you attack the first man, Adam.

We’re all dead, dead in Adam, dead in our sins. Unless a Person trusts in God all of mankind is lost, extinct. Unless a Person appreciates His providence we’re all doomed to destruction. The trouble is that there’s nobody like this anywhere. That’s what the Bible tells us. Romans 3:11 says, “There is none who seeks after God.” Romans 3:13 says, “The poison of asps is under their lips.”

We have poison in our veins, venom in our blood. We need an antidote, an anti-venom, an antivenin. Where among the dead mass of humanity will One like this be found? One who will trust in God to provide for Him? Scripture says, “The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one” Psalm 14:4. “For the eyes of the Lord run to & fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” 2 Chronicles 16:9. Thus, the picture is of God scanning the earth looking into the face of mankind.

Where on earth is God going to find One who is loyal to Him? Where is He going to find one who trusts in God and His providence? You won’t find One like this on earth. Scripture says all earthlings are dead. The venom of the serpent has got under their skin and poisoned the lot of them. Therefore, the Person God’s looking for would need to come from somewhere else. He would need to come from God!

We’ve looked at The Snake and we’ve seen that his venom was injected into Man through Adam and has killed all mankind including you and me. Now let’s look at the stake.

The Stake

I’ll never forget a dramatic scene in one of the movies about the Titanic they’re always making. All these people with life-jackets on, hundreds of them, floating in the frozen Atlantic Ocean. They’d been in the water for ages waiting to be rescued. Only one lifeboat came back to look for survivors after the Titanic had sunk. There was a light shining from the lifeboat, scanning the faces of those in the freezing water. As the light shone to and fro on each face there could be heard the cry, “Is anyone still alive?” Alas! The lifeboat had been too late in coming back. Death had clasped his icy-fingers around the throats of all of those who looked like they might survive. They all had bobbed in the freezing water with their lifejackets on. But their blood had run cold and rigor mortis set into them one by one. They all were dead, all but one person on a piece of wood. The light from the lifeboat had shone upon her, but she look just like all the rest, dead. So she was almost passed by but she took courage called out to the life-boat ever so feebly. The whole audience in the movie theater gave a collective sigh when her cry for life was heard. She was lifted up into the boat and had blankets wrapped around her. God is shining His light into the face of all human beings. “Is anyone still alive?” No! Death has claimed every last one. The whole ship has gone under and they are going down to the grave with it. “Is there anyone still alive?” Wait! There’s one person on a piece of wood calling out for life! What is He saying? He’s saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

Herein lies the vaccine, the antidote, the antivenin that cures the serpent’s bite. Paul the Apostle said to the Corinthians, “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” 1 Corinthians 2:2. He said to the Galatians, “God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Galatians 6:14. Through the cross of Christ, an instrument of death, the Lord provided the means of escaping death!

Moses had interceded on behalf of Israel in the wilderness. So God told Moses to set a fiery serpent on a pole, a snake on a stake. This is more commonly referred to as the brazen serpent. The American Medical Association has this as their emblem. God, in the Garden had placed a curse upon the serpent who deceived Eve. But here’s a serpent hanging on a pole bringing life!

So is Jesus being compared to a serpent? Only in that He too became like one who is cursed by God. Scripture says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13. And Jesus looked no different bodily from cursed humanity Philippians 2:7.

Jesus said to Nicodemus, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even        so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” It’s as if Jesus is saying: “There you have it Nicodemus, I can’t make it any simpler for you than that. I am the Teacher come from God. Look at Me and live! I am the One who has come from God to crush the serpent’s head, the serpent whose poison flows through your veins even as we speak. The serpent will bite Me too, but it won’t be fatal. He’ll only bruise My heel. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to let wicked men place Me on a piece of wood. The serpent’s fangs will pierce My hands and My feet as they pin Me to the stake. Every blow of the hammer will have venom in it. They’ll lift Me up and hang Me between heaven and earth for all the world to see. Then they’ll circle round taunting Me as My precious blood pours out of Me. All My bones will pop out of joint and they’ll begin burn! My tongue will cling to My jaws as if on fire. My thirst will be unbearable. O Nicodemus, as Moses lifted up the serpent, the fiery serpent, so too must I be lifted up. Look at Me, Nicodemus, and live!” Essentially that is what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus.

John in John 20:39 tells us that Nicodemus went with Joseph of Arimathea after the crucifixion and took Jesus’ dead body to prepare Him for burial. As Nicodemus cut those strips of linen and wrapped the dead body of Jesus surely he’d be thinking of the words the Teacher come from God had spoken to Him? “Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish.”

“But Teacher, You Yourself have perished. The serpent has killed You too”

“Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Trust Me Nicodemus. Look at Me and live”

“But Teacher, You’re dead! Your body is limp. Your brow is covered in blood! Your face is beyond recognition from the beating you took before they crucified You. There are bloody holes in Your hands where the nails were. There’s the gash where the centurion pierced Your heart with his spear. And Your feet are bruised and covered in blood where the spike went through. Oh Teacher, all Your talk of eternal life means nothing as I look at You now!”

Can you imagine the kind of thoughts going through Nicodemus’ mind as He attended to the Master’s body? To look at a Jesus as dead as yourself makes no sense whatever! The Apostle Paul says, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” 1 Corinthians 1:18. And, “We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness” 1 Corinthians 1:23.

How can a dead Saviour save anyone when He can’t even save Himself? That’s what Nicodemus was wondering as He handled the dead Savior. However, Jesus didn’t remain dead, did He? He was lifted up early on the morning after the Sabbath. “Nicodemus, even so the Son of Man must be lifted up.”

After His resurrection Jesus was seen by over five hundred people 1 Corinthians 15:6. Not the least of them Thomas, Doubting Thomas. What did Jesus say to Thomas? “Do not be unbelieving but believing” John 20:27. Then Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen yet believed”

Do you believe? Do you really believe? What makes you think you believe? Maybe you’re just sitting there with your life jacket on thinking that the Lord is going to come back and save you. But maybe He’s been shining His light in your face but you’ve already froze to death! Maybe it would take a jolt from a fiery serpent to thaw you out a little! Maybe you’ve been complaining about God and His providence like Israel in the wilderness.

Is your mind everywhere else when you’re supposed to be worshipping God? What are you thinking about as you sing the hymns at church? Are you really praising God or just mumbling words? Is a Bible-study the last place you’d be found? Did you go once and all they talked about was the Bible? Did you find it too hard to follow even though you’ve been a Christian for years?

What makes you think you’re a Christian anyway? Do you look into your own heart and say, “Well, I don’t smoke and I wouldn’t even put so much as a cough-lolly in my mouth in case there is alcohol in it!” Do you come to church complaining in your heart that the place is so dead? Have you ever thought that maybe it’s you who are dead? Maybe everyone else is looking at a holy and righteous God, everyone except you! The Lord wants you to look at Him and live and not at everything else and die.

Why did the Lord send fiery serpents in among His people? It was because they were complaining about God and His providence for them, wasn’t it? He got their attention. He got them to look where He wanted them to look! When Old Testament Israel discovered they were facing certain death for complaining they responded, didn’t they? They looked at the fiery serpent on a pole and were saved from the serpent’s poison.

God wants you to stop looking at yourself in a selfish, self-centered manner. He wants you to keep on looking at Christ and His cross so you don’t perish like those in the wilderness. Keep on looking at Christ and His cross and you’ll live forever. For Jesus has been lifted up not only on a cross, not only from the grave, but He has also been lifted up to the highest heaven. And it’s the job of the Christian to do as Moses did with the Brazen Serpent. Christians are to lift up Christ among a humanity that is dying. We are to parade Christ before the serpent-poisoned humanity as Paul did for the Galatians, “before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified” Galatians 3:1. This is how the church is to shine forth the light of Christ! Simply by displaying Christ in the Gospel and urging people to look at Him and live!

However, don’t be fooled. You yourself need to keep on looking at Jesus. Otherwise it’s not the Gospel you’re portraying, rather it’s hypocrisy!

Conclusion

Are you looking at Jesus during the worship service? Are you looking at Jesus in the Bible Studies and the Prayer Meetings? Are you looking at Jesus while you work and while you eat your lunch? Are you looking at Jesus with your whole life? If you are, then that means that you are lifting up Jesus! It means that you are lifting up the Son of Man for all the world to see. It means that your like Moses in the wilderness lifting up the Brazen Serpent! You’ll be like the lifeboat looking for the survivors of the Titanic disaster!

Oh! Will you lift up Jesus for all the world to see “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”?