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Ps 32:8-9 Choose counsel.

Psalm 32:8–9 (HCSB): I will instruct you and show you the way to go;
with My eye on you, I will give counsel.
9 Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle
or else it will not come near you.

Here God is inviting us to choose the path of intentionally seeking his counsel and instruction in how to live. This is so far away from the earth-trapped thinking of the one who sees God’s instruction as a limiting or invasive burden. A kill-joy legal framework that prevents the full and free agency to do whatever it is one wants to do. Such a person forgets however, that despite the intensity of their desire to throw off all shackles they are never-the-less doomed to remain controlled and fettered by their own shortcomings. Change and growth does not come easily to such a one.

We are invited to observe that the alternative to willingly listen to his instruction is to plod along guided simply by the limitations of one’s own instincts. This is how the horse and mule operate. They are not willing listeners and require the discomfort of a bit to turn their head or change direction. They do not possess independent understanding at all in actuality.

Many have learned the benefit of seeking counsel from those who possess expertise and experience in a specific walks of life, be it in mounting a court defence, building a house, or baking a cake. God is now saying, that with his loving eye on you, his eons of experience, and intimate knowledge of best practice for image bearers, he can liberally and freely offer his life-saving counsel.

The choice is ours to make. Seek out and listen to his voice, or be left to experience the chafing of the bridles of our own making.
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What is Worship?


What is worship, actually?

We might respond by saying something like “it’s what we do when we go to church”. “We sing worship songs don’t we? It’s our praising of God when we pray and sing… It’s the band.” For many Christians, the exact definition of what worship actually is may be elusive. We’ve got no temple to go to. No altars any more. So I just bow my head, and you know, be… worshipful!

For modern-day Christians, the category of “worship” is pretty strongly linked with “worship services.” It’s what we do at church. But has it always been this way? The New Testament actually has precious little to say about “worship services”. It’s curious that the NIV inserts a few headings such as “On Covering the Head in Worship” (before 1 Cor 11:2), or “Intelligibility in Worship” (before 1 Cor 14:1), or “Instructions on Worship” (before 1 Tim 2:1) etc. The passages beneath the headings don’t mention the word at all.  So it reveals a way of thinking that “worship” is associated with the activities of the gathered Church in their “worship services”, a term that is itself absent from the New Testament. There seems to be a felt need to find support in the New Testament for our modern day practice and understanding.

So what is “worship” then?

Working Definition

Here is a working definition: Worship is an orientation of the heart that is willingly giving over its desires in order to be aligned with God’s desires. And as such, is not simply confined to times of assembly with other Christians. Rather, it is a base-line allegiance to the idea of becoming like Jesus Christ in thought, word and deed.

We may have to wrestle furiously with our sinful nature to get there. For example, let’s say something happens to you that makes you angry or fearful. It’s real. You felt these things.

Consider Psalm 4:

Know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for Himself; the Lord will hear when I call to Him. Be angry  and do not sin; on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still.  Offer sacrifices in righteousness and trust in the Lord. 

Psalm 4:3–5 (HCSB)

Offering Sacrifices

The Psalmist mentions anger, but does not simply say “don’t be angry”. Rather, when anger comes, do not sin, process it. Reflect. Be still – don’t ride into war. After the reflection, go forward in trust with God. “Offering the sacrifices” should not be taken as performing some kind of penance, but rather an invitation to conduct your overall life righteously, and if you do come to offer a sacrifice, may your heart be already stilled in right relationship with God and with others. Jesus provides a practical example of this in Mt 5:23-24:

So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Matthew 5:23–24 (HCSB)

 The overall thrust of this passage is about dealing with anger at the heart level  (Mt 5:21-26), and the specific illustration Jesus chooses is someone in the very act of “worship”. True worship is to align with God’s commands to love one another, and prioritise reconciliation with your brothers and sisters. 

The conventional understanding of worship simply as activities around gifts and altars is completely secondary to the main game of living a life in connection with God that can bring his blessing to others.

Paul quotes this Psalm in Eph 4:26 as he reminds the Ephesian Christians about how they had left their old ways and were in the middle of a renewal process.

Since you put away  lying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor,  because we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin.   Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the Devil an opportunity. The thief must no longer steal. Instead, he must do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share  with anyone in need. No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need,  so that it gives grace to those who hear. And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit.  You were sealed by Him  for the day of redemption. All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind  and compassionate  to one another, forgiving  one another, just as God also forgave you  in Christ.

Ephesians 4:22–32 (HCSB)

Renewing your mind

There it is again – Be angry and do not sin. (V26). This needs to  be an observable and material life change. Your kids need to be able to say “Dad doesn’t get angry any more like he used to”. Instead, the old bitter, shouty, slanderous talk is now forgiving, kind and compassionate (v31-32). The swearing is gone (v29). The kids are happily wondering “how did this all happen?”

Well, Dad got renewed in his mind (v32). Thinking differently, believing differently. Yes, that’s great but how? Paul explains:

Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you  to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,  holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed  to this age,  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,  so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will  of God.

Romans 12:1–2 (HCSB)

Transformation

And so we are back to worship. There is a definite connection between “worship” and “transformation” being discussed here. The true worshipper has been intentionally seeking out the good, pleasing and perfect Will of God with a view to implementing it in their life. So who does that? Who resists the culture of their society (v2) and actively seeks out God’s will? The worshipper does.

Jesus had thoughts on this too. When talking with the Samaritan woman, he was not interested in artefacts of worship such as finding the right mountain to go to, he was looking for true worship.

Jesus told her, “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans  worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and is now here,  when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit,  and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 4:21–24 (HCSB)

It’s non-physical, this true worship. It’s spiritual. It’s about what is inside you, how your heart is oriented, what is the core thing that drives you? What basis are you making your decisions on? What’s your code? Jesus is saying that if it is not based on God’s revealed truth, it’s not worship at all, no matter what you believe about anything.

Then there are things we can learn from the antithesis of God-worship – idol worship.

Idol Worship

He makes a god or his idol with the rest of it. He bows down to it and worships; He prays to it,  “Save me, for you are my god.” Such people  do not comprehend and cannot understand, for He has shut their eyes  so they cannot see, and their minds so they cannot understand. No one reflects, no one has the perception or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, I also baked bread on its coals, I roasted meat and ate. I will make something detestable  with the rest of it, and I will bow down to a block of wood.” He feeds on  ashes. His deceived mind has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself, or say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?” 

Isaiah 44:17–20 (HCSB)

Isaiah clearly is not up to speed on concepts such as “don’t make fun of people’s religious practices!” What he is saying is:

A closed mind + no reflection = no worship.

The idol worshippers Isaiah are remarking on have a belief system, but it is a false belief system, a lie in fact. A belief system so ridiculous it is worthy of prophetic satire. Jesus says true worshippers worship in truth. Not in lies.

Israel’s continual coupling with the idols of the people living around them is a massive theme in the Hebrew Bible. Before even setting foot into the promised land, God warned them “you must purge the land of all this stuff because it is going to entrap you” (Deut 7:1-6, 16). True worshippers do whatever it takes to purge the idols from their land.

If they don’t then this is what can happen:

The idols of the nations are of silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear; indeed, there is no breath in their mouths. Those who make them are just like them, as are all who trust in them. 

Psalm 135:15–18 (HCSB)

The new you

If you make an idol, you will end up being just like the idol. You become like the object of your worship. In the case of a mute and deaf physical idol, all shiny on the outside, you lose your voice, your ability to listen, and ultimately life animation itself, the poet says. 

And so it is back to the idea of “worship” and “transformation”. Idol-worshippers can be transformed too – they become like their lifeless worship object. On the other hand, faithful God-worshippers transform because they are ridding their heart-land from the ensnaring idols that have replaced God in that part of their lives. And so pride becomes humility, greed becomes generosity, hatred becomes love, harshness becomes gentleness and so on. You become Christ-like. Your life dispenses God’s grace to others around you. You are bringing God’s kingdom saltiness, light and love to those who live, work and play near you and with you.

Meetings


So what is the place and function of meetings of the body then? Paul tells the Corinthians to at least be organised about it! And the purpose is to build up the church:

What then is the conclusion, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one  has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, another language, or an interpretation.  All things must be done for edification.

1 Corinthians 14:26 (HCSB)

Mentioned here are the reciting of a psalm (possibly a hymn (NIV)), and various types of instruction. They prayed (1 Cor 11;4, Acts 1:14, 2:42, 4:31). The early church met together every day in the temple courts (Acts 2:46), but broke bread back at home (Acts 2:46). They praised God (Acts 2:47). There was a lot of apostolic teaching happening as they assembled in the temple courts (Acts 4:33, 5:25-28). In fact, the primary activity we can observe in the meetings of the church in the New Testament is instruction (eg Acts 11:36, 13:15). This makes sense as it was the only way a predominantly illiterate church that did not possess personal copies of Scripture could ever be taught.

In parallel with that, the early Christians were thought of as being worshippers of God. For example: 

While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack against Paul and brought him to the judge’s bench.  “This man,” they said, “persuades people to worship God contrary to the law!” 

Acts 18:12–13 (HCSB)

Conclusion

Worship then is not so much what you do in a meeting, but it’s how you live. It’s more like breathing than participating in any set-piece activity. It’s a constant heart orientation. A true and positive, bi-directional partnership between man and God. Initiated by God and responded to transformationally by man. This…. Is your true and proper worship.

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The Good News

Jesus came talking about a message of “Good News”. So, what is this good news? Many people have looked into Christianity hoping to find it, but have found it didn’t seem to live up to the advertising. It didn’t feel like good news, sometimes it didn’t even sound like good news, and even the people talking about it didn’t seem that happy either.

But perhaps we haven’t heard it right. That’s what I am are trying to do here – taking a fresh look at what Jesus was actually saying in the gospels. We will park our western post-reformation theological outlook for a while and see if it gets us somewhere.

This has been my own journey. Four decades or so of evangelical and restoration views. But then I tipped the Lego box over, and have now started to put the pieces back in one at a time. So welcome to the blog, and I hope we can get to know each other and learn something transformative here in our own walks with God.

Andrew Kitchen

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Matthew 10:5-8 Jesus sends out the disciples

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Phase II

At this point in Jesus’ ministry he had been teaching and healing publicly for some time, and was known by the public at large and was certainly also on the radar of the religious leaders. His disciples had been with him long enough to have learned some things about the way of the kingdom, and now Jesus was inaugurating phase II of his strategy.

In the preceding passage (Mt 9:35-38), we learn that Jesus although working very hard (Mt 9:35) was not able to meet all the needs he would have liked (Mt 9:36). Time for intern assignments for his disciples!

At that point in time they were to proclaim the message of the kingdom to the Jews only. Nothing against Samaritans and Gentiles mind you, (Jesus ministered to them as well), but just at this juncture, the disciples were still new at this, and probably best off sticking with the culture they can most naturally relate to, and perhaps were less likely to be hostile to (Mt Lk 9:51-56) at that point in their spiritual lives. Also, the beachhead among the Jews was still being established. Ministry to the Samaritans and Gentiles would come in time (Acts 1:8).

The Message

And their message? “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Twenty-first century Christians need to pause and engage with that. Note how different it is to the typical evangelical message of “Jesus will save you from your sins”. It’s a completely different approach. Contemplate what the “kingdom of heaven” is all about and investigate that, rather than heading down a sin/salvation rabbit hole on the first day in spiritual kindergarten.

This is the same message that Jesus (and John) had already been preaching. The very first words out of Jesus’ mouth in his public ministry were “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near (Mt 4:17).” Not “Repent, so that you don’t go to hell when you die.” See the difference?

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Matthew 13:10-17

Then the disciples  came up and asked Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered them, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know,  but it has not been given to them. For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  For this reason I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see,  and hearing they do not listen or understand.  Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You will listen and listen, yet never understand; and you will look and look, yet never perceive.

For this people’s heart has grown callous; their ears are hard of hearing,and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyesand hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn back—and I would cure them. 

“But your eyes are blessed  because they do see, and your ears because they do hear!  For I assure you: Many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see yet didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear yet didn’t hear them.

Teaching style

“Your teaching style is different, Jesus. You tell these stories. None of the other rabbis do that. Why do you do it?” That’s essentially what his disciples are asking in this passage. “What’s the parable thing all about?”

Jesus explains that he has been crafting his preaching style as a response to the reality of the varying degrees of receptivity to be found in the hearts of men. Quoting Isaiah 6, he describes the phenomenon of the calloused heart. A heart that has reached the point of being impervious to new truth due its long history of rejecting it. By now, the excuses, finely crafted apologetics and other forms of self-talk easily deflect any new claim for attention. “No more new information please. We are closed.” is written on the sign outside the shopfront of these hearts.

Secrets of the kingdom

And so, while giving them his best shot with a memorable and pointed story Jesus does not attempt to ever forcibly pry open such a heart. There are plenty of others around who are willing to hear about “the secrets of the kingdom” and he will invest his time with them.

So, what are these “secrets of the kingdom” then, and just how secret are they? Well, Jesus is clearly in the process of revealing them (Mt 13:11) to all of those who want to listen and learn. The sentry’s challenge question is “Do you really want to come in” and the password is “Yes”. The things of the kingdom are indeed secrets but not inaccessible ones.

Jesus has just taught the parable of the sower. The secret here? Receive the words of Jesus. Allow the seed to grow. Nurture it. Make room for it in your life. We are not talking any next-level super-secret Q-drop stuff here. Other secrets? The first will be last. Blessed are the meek. The greatest among you will be your servant. The Gentiles are going to be part of this…. Hello?… are you still there?… the line’s breaking up… can you still hear me?

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Matthew 12:25-28

Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Group Dynamics
There is a lesson in the dynamics of group culture to observe here about how people in different groups process and respond in different ways to the same event. The event was a clear, irrefutable and public healing  of a blind and mute man by Jesus. Profoundly life-changing for the man. Amazing and thought-provoking for the people. Deeply threatening for the Pharisees.

The text says that the people, the general local population, Jewish, but non-aligned with any particular religious group were simply “astonished”, and rightly so; it was a miraculous event, outside  experiential norms. It got them thinking, and reaching into their knowledge of Scripture for a possible explanation.

Ezekiel 34:16 speaks of how God will shepherd his sheep with justice: “I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy.” and links this promise of a shepherd to a prince of the line of David (Ezk 34:25). Just prior to this healing Matthew has editorially linked Jesus’ healings with Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming of God’s chosen servant (Mt 12:18-21). He is using this whole episode to really underline the point.

And so the wheels are turning in the minds of the people. “Could this be the guy? That’s really cool.”

The gathered Pharisees had a different response. This Jesus fellow was not one of their group. He didn’t do the same things they did, in fact he seemed to deliberately flaunt their long-established traditions. He didn’t look at things the same way they did. He wasn’t one of them. And, now that he is stepping onto their religious lawn, he just has to be stopped. Turning to page one of the playbook, it reads “Discredit”.  And so the talking points that went out that day said to say: “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons”. Subtext: he is not from God (like we are), he is with the opposition (the devil).

Think about it people

Jesus didn’t even have to break a sweat to dismantle their argument, just by asking the “so how would this actually work?” question. He gives them a few options to go forward with, none of them comfortable. Option 1 – your claim defies simple logic (Satan throwing himself out?, oh come on!). Option 2 – Don’t your guys do the same thing? Or is not really about casting out demons but about one of you? Or Option 3 – Jesus credits them with being able to throw out demons, but no one in the group has ever actually  managed to do it.

And the most uncomfortable of all? The truth. “If I am working with the Spirit of God, then the kingdom has come upon you” ie. “You are wrong, and no one is coming to you for your permission”.

Now, if you are used to being one of the ones in charge in a religious group, that’s a bitter pill to swallow. Maybe too bitter for some. This dynamic still plays out today. The “keepers of the truth” have their own mini-kingdoms where they rule with unassailable power. Occasionally, someone steps on their lawn by exhibiting a life of living actual kingdom participation. The ranks must close, and the discrediting must start in a desperate effort to preserve the identity of the group.

Choice

There is a choice still available though and some may take it. Nicodemus was one such as this, he was able to see that God was working through Jesus (Jn 3:2), although he still struggled to fit Jesus’ teaching into his paradigms. The very teacher of Israel needed to be born again.

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