EmmDev 2016-08-31 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] The heart of it all #2

The heart of it all #2

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.      (2Corinthians5:14)

Yesterday we looked at the word "compels" which we roughly translated as "grips". The question we must ask today is "What grips us so?" What grabs our hearts, our attention, and our devotion. Why would Paul be willing to be considered "out of his mind"? Why would he be willing to suffer all kinds of persecution? Why does he keep going?
Because he has been gripped/compelled/constrained by Christ's love and by Christ's actions.

Paul is very clear about Jesus' actions: His death on the cross was the equivalent of everyone's death. Let's say that more fully... My eternity without God, which is the rightful result of my sin, was borne by Jesus as He hung on the cross. Your eternity without God, which is the rightful result of your sin, was borne by Jesus as He hung on the cross. All of humanity's eternity without God, which is the rightful result of its sin, was borne by Jesus as He hung on the cross.

As He hung on the cross, Jesus was the scapegoat for all humanity, and, in those three hours of dark God-forsakenness He carried the full weight of God's holy wrath in my place, your place and in the place of every human being to ever live.

One died for all and therefore all died.

The enormity of what Jesus died on the cross compels and grips Paul.

But what is equally astounding and gripping is Jesus' motive: He did this out of great and awesome love. Not because He had to or was forced to. He did it because He wanted to. He did it out of love.

Can you imagine a love willing to suffer so?
You don't have to imagine it - you've seen it.
Paul saw it and it gripped him.

---

EmmDev 2016-08-30 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] The heart of it all #1

The heart of it all #1

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.      (2Corinthians5:14)

This verse is the heart of the chapter and possibly the heart of this letter and Paul's life. We'll spend a few days on it...

Paul and his companions (and the Corinthians by implication) are "compelled" by the idea of God's love. The Greek word for "compelled" is interesting - it can be roughly translated as being "in the grip of". If we look at this word's occurrences in the New Testament then it makes sense:

• Peter's mother-in-law is "in the grip of" a fever. (Lk4:38)
• The crowds are "in the grip" of various diseases and pains (Mt4:24)
• The people of the Gerasenes are "in the grip" of great fear when Jesus drives the demons into the pigs. (Luke 8:37)
• Jesus is "in the grip" a large crowd when the bleeding woman touches the hem of His garment. (Luke 8:45)
• Jesus has the baptism (crucifixion) to be baptised with and He is in its "grip" until it is accomplished (Luke 12:50)
• Jerusalem will be "in the grip" of those who will besiege it. (Luke 19:43)
• Jesus was "in the grip" of the soldiers who were mocking and beating Him (Luke 22:63)
• When the Jews thought that Paul was blaspheming, they held their ears "in their grip" (Acts 7:57)
• Paul was "in the grip" of teaching and testifying when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia. (Acts 18:5)
• The father of Publius was "in the grip" fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him healed him. (Acts 28:8)
• Paul is "in the grip" of the choice between going to heaven and being with Jesus and staying on earth to continue His mission.

In the same way, Paul finds himself compelled/"in the grip" of this incredible idea that "One died for all and therefore all died."

Does it "grip" you too?

---

--
Theo Groeneveld
Emmanuel Presby Church
theo@emmanuel.org.za Cell: 082-5510752

EmmDev 2016-08-26 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] Manic?

Manic?

What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.      (2Corinthians5:11-13)

Paul's enemies accused him of being a "religious nutjob" (that's my loose translation of "out of our mind"). They probably pointed out his story of dramatic conversion and his reckless proclamation of the gospel that had had him imprisoned, flogged and stoned.

They claimed a more cerebral and sophisticated faith. They were more polished speakers whereas Paul could be tedious and long-winded. They argued that his delay in seeing them indicated his lack of stability and they they were the true apostles and that Paul should not be trusted.

Paul appeals to the evidence of their conscience.
They had seen his heart - they had seen his sacrifice.
He reminded them that he had been willing to do whatever it took to please God and reach others. Whether he seemed in or out of his right mind - Paul was focussed on God and on them and not on himself.

He offers an interesting perspective:
"I'm not going to defend myself anymore - you should take pride in us!"
What does he mean by this?
- That they should be proud to be so loved by Paul and by God?
- That they should be proud of how God was glorified in Paul?
- That they should be proud that Paul was the real deal?
Maybe a bit of all of the above...

Later in the letter Paul will take up this theme of them being proud again - he will "boast" about the things that make him look weak so that God can be shown as strong.

There is constant pressure to make faith socially acceptable and inoffensive. Nobody wants to wear the label of being "overly religious" - but Paul sees only two things:
- God who he wants to glorify
- People who he wants to reach

May we do the same!

---

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EmmDev 2016-08-24 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] Persuader?

Persuader?

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others.      (2Corinthians5:11)

Yesterday we looked at Paul's "fear" of the Lord and concluded that it was a holy or intimate fear that stemmed from his incredible appreciation for the cross and what had been accomplished there. The convergence of righteousness and love in the perfect storm that was the cross fills Paul with such awe and respect that he can never domesticate God - God's ways and God's love are relentless and beyond our grasp.

We "fear" because when it comes to love and justice we are an ant in a hurricane. And we fear letting this love go. We hang on to God for dear life even though His magnificence completely overwhelms us.

And this is why we try to persuade others.

Our faith is not a nice sentiment or useful crutch.
If God were "tame" - completely understandable and predictable - then He would be a "god" that we make in our image. Instead, He is wild and unexplainable. Not safe - but good.

In the next few verses Paul will take us to his key phrase:
"We are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died."

The enormity of this action makes us want to tell others:
"Come and find a wild and radical God who is bigger than us."
"Come and meet a Saviour who gave more than we can imagine."
"Come and meet a God whose immensity in Majesty, Justice and Love will explode our brains and be more than we will ever need."

This is our God:

• Not an inconsistent and egotistical Roman god.
• Not a powerless pagan statue.
• Not the empty pursuit of power or wealth.
• Not superstitious attempts to pacify pantheons of petty gods through endless sacrifices and fasts.

But a majestic God whose love is bigger and more passionate than we can even imagine!

There is a direct correlation:

• The more we "domesticate" God, the more we try to have Him all figured out - the less we talk about Him.
• The more we fall at His feet and awe-struck worship - the more we talk about Him.

I know what I want to do...

---

EmmDev 2016-08-23 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] Do you know?

Fear?

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others.      (2Corinthians5:11)

If I were Paul, I would have written this differently:

• "Since, then, we know the love of God, we try to persuade others..."
• "Since, then, we know what it is to be forgiven, we try to persuade others..."
• "Since, then, we know what Jesus did on the cross, we try to persuade others..."
• "Since, then, we know what God did to make us His children, we try to persuade others..."

I would have gone for anything but "we know what it is to fear the Lord."
But Paul uses this word "fear".
We'd like to translate it with "reverence", but the Greek word "fobos" doesn't let us tame it too much. There is always something primal and instinctive about "fobos". When we talk about 'fearing' the Lord, we can't make it too sophisticated by talking about respect and reverence... This word "fobos" makes sure that we never tame or domesticate or limit God.

In his "Narnia Chronicles", CS Lewis, when speaking of the Christ-figure in his story who is portrayed by Aslan the Lion says: "Aslan is not a tame lion... Is He safe? No, He is not safe, but He is good."

In the verses that follow, Paul will reveal an incredible Jesus. He will show how, in His one death, Jesus died the deaths of every human being. This feat is one of immense strength, incomprehensible love and immeasurable sacrifice. You don't love this God like a friend, you love Him with awe, wonder, reverence and even fear:

• Fear of what it would be like if He hadn't done what He had done.
• Fear of the seriousness of the consequences of our brokenness.
• Fear at the realisation of God's incredible and consistent justice that Jesus died in our place rather than simply sweeping our sin under the carpet.
• Fear at the power and determination of God's love in stark contrast to our unfaithfulness.
• Fear of letting Him go. As big and awesome as He is - we don't want to let Him go.

We're like Moses, hidden in the cleft of the rock, for the sake of his life, so that he can simply see the back of God's glory as He passes by and what does Moses hear?? "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin."

Or the old spiritual song:
"Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh.... it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?"

This is what it is to fear the Lord.

---

EmmDev 2016-08-19 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] Now and Not Yet

Now and Not Yet

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.      (2Corinthians5:6-10)

In his letter to the Philippians Paul also talks about the tug-of-war he has with wanting to be "home with the Lord" but realising that he has work to do "in the body".

But Paul is wise enough to know that one can't neglect the "now" for the "not yet." There are some key principles in his thought process:

1. We live by faith and not sight: When we look at the chaos around us, it is tempting to give into fear and negativity. When we live by faith then we know that God is at work in unseen ways in the seen world.
2. We have confidence in our eternal home: Our longing or preference for "home" helps us to be brave and courageous in the midst of trouble.
3. We aim to please Him in all we do: Whether we are "home" or "in the body" it is God's glory that matters most.
4. There is a reckoning: What we do with our time matters. We will account for the things done while in the body. This is not a heaven or hell judgment (i.e. salvation by works) but we will answer to God about how His Kingdom has manifested in our lives.

There is both encouragement and challenge in this passage:
We can live by faith and confidence, but there is also a seriousness to life - how we live really does matter.
Let's live HOPE-FULLy :
We live with HOPE and we live to the FULL because it's all for God!

---

EmmDev 2016-08-17 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] Heavenly Minded

Heavenly Minded

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.      (2Corinthians5:1-5)

We've all heard the criticism: "He/She is so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly use." This is usually said of someone whose spirituality is so devotional and otherworldly that they have disassociated themselves from reality and the work God might have for them while they're on earth.

The criticism is valid - we don't disappear and go to heaven when we give our hearts to Jesus - He wants us to spread His Word and share His love in a world that desperately needs to return to Him.

So we have work to do in this world, but the flip-side is also important: While we have a lot to do in this world, this world is not our home.

Throughout Paul's Corinthian letters he uses the analogy of the pilgrim/camper/traveller. We're passing through this world. We don't build buildings - we pitch tents.

The passage we are looking at today explores this idea of being campers in this world. We don't hammer in our tent pegs too deeply. We don't get too caught up in this world and its trappings:

• Our security doesn't lie in earthly buildings - but in our heavenly home.
• We don't groan and long for earthly accolades and status symbols which are so often associated with what we wear. We know we will be clothed in white robes dipped in the blood of Christ and this status - being forgiven - is the only one that really matters. And we'll never be found naked, because Jesus' blood never fails.
• Our ambitions (groaning) are not for things of this world, but that the glory of heaven may "swallow up" the brokenness of this world. This is the same as praying "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
• God has designed us for this eternal life and we function best when our hearts and minds are geared toward this purpose and God gives us His Holy Spirit who is the One behind our longing wistfulness for the world to be a better place.

We're travellers longing for HOME!
We haven't been there yet, but we know what it's like because we know Jesus.

---

EmmDev 2016-08-16 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] Wasting away?

Wasting away?

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.      (2Corinthians4:16-18)

Ever feel like you are wasting away?

• Banging your head against the same old problems?
• Starting to feel your frailty or your age?
• Wrestling against insurmountable odds?
• Feeling so tired that getting of of bed is a huge effort?
• Surrounded by negativity and bad news?
• Feeling completely inadequate because of mistakes you made?

Paul knows what this is like - do you remember his words in chapter one? "We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life."

At one of our stewardship board meetings, James, our outgoing chairman, who led our devotions, talked about how hope is drained from our lives in a steady and persistent war of attrition. It's a process of "wasting away" and it's like a tick or a leech that drains the life out of us. Paul knew about wasting away and he knew that it can cause us to lose heart.

James went on to suggest that hope is different from despair, dis-heartening and attrition. When Hope comes in, it turns things around. People who have been through a long and debilitating struggle will often find that, the moment hope is revealed, even before circumstances change, they are ready to fight again.

Paul understands this. Hope comes from a deep place. It comes from our eternity that was bought by Jesus' blood. Hope is not shallow or superficial - it is not just thinking positive thoughts. Jesus' death is what opened eternity for us and just as His grace turned the cross into resurrection, He can work in our lives and in our circumstances.

Just as our Lord Jesus turned His lonely road to the cross into a highway into heaven, He can turn our struggles into new life.
We have a choice:

• We can look at the cross or we can look at the highway.
• We can look at the tick of despair that would suck the life out of us
• or we can look forward to the joy of standing in the presence of our Father in heaven and hearing Him say: "Well done, good and faithful servant."

EmmDev 2016-08-12 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] Belligerence

Belligerence

It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.      (2Corinthians4:13-15)

Trouble comes our way. It can be hardship, illness or persecution. And trouble threatens to quench faith.

Paul is quoting from Ps.116 (see below) which is a song of thanksgiving for God's deliverance from trouble and persecution. What is interesting is that Paul changes the wording slightly....

The Psalm says "I believed, therefore I said 'I am greatly afflicted'" whereas Paul says "I believed; therefore I have spoken." The Psalmist would seem to indicate that, in the midst of his trouble, his faith in God led him to bring his complaint to God who then delivered him - Paul states it more positively: We, in the midst of our trouble, believe, and we speak of the One who raised Jesus from the dead.

Could there be more trouble than death on the cross?? The cross was a death that was not only physical, but was considered cursed by God - a death that Jesus died as one who was completely innocent and yet carried the weight of our sin. Could there be any predicament greater than His?

BUT God raised Him from the dead!
So is there anything impossible for Him?

The Psalmist's faith allowed him to bring his complaint to God.
Paul's faith, because of the resurrection, allows him to HOPE.

And this hope pushed Paul to proclaim the Gospel to the Corinthians and to the world. It meant that Grace could reach more and more people and cause thanksgiving to overflow.

This is the curious thing about the gospel. The more you persecute Christianity, the more it flourishes. Why is this? Because hope is fuelled by the powerful truth of Jesus' resurrection and the fire of faith becomes unquenchable.
------------------------------------------------
PS 116:1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came upon me;
I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:
"O LORD, save me!"

5 The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
6 The LORD protects the simplehearted;
when I was in great need, he saved me.

7 Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.

8 For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
10 I believed; therefore I said,
"I am greatly afflicted."
11 And in my dismay I said,
"All men are liars."

12 How can I repay the LORD
for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.

15 Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his saints.
16 O LORD, truly I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant;
you have freed me from my chains.

17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD--
in your midst, O Jerusalem.

Praise the LORD.

---

EmmDev 2016-08-11 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] Life and Death

Life and Death

For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.      (2Corinthians4:11-12)

Yesterday I alluded to the fact that the early church saw suffering as a privilege. They believed that to suffer or die for the faith was to join Jesus on the cross - to share in His suffering. They believed that they shared a special fellowship with Jesus when they suffered because they were experiencing just a little of the suffering that He experienced for us.

But there was another dimension to Paul's understanding of the frailty and death of our "mortal bodies"... The Greek word that Paul uses for "mortal bodies" is more commonly translated as "flesh" and, in Paul's theological framework, the "flesh" is our sinful human nature which has to die so that Christ's resurrected life can be revealed in us.

This is a powerful victory - our bodies may be frail and suffering may be real, but in the midst of suffering and struggle we realise that flesh is not our be-all and end-all and we begin to recognise that there is LIFE - full, beautiful and ever-lasting LIFE - Life that is found in Christ alone.

So death is at work in Paul (and the Corinthians) and life is at work in the Corinthians (and Paul).

Why is there brokenness and heartache in the world?
The answer is actually very simple:
We are broken and dying.
The world is broken because we are broken.
And we have no-one to blame but ourselves.

BUT... in... Christ... we... can... come... alive!
Our old self can die away and we can become more like Jesus.
And death becomes life
and brokenness becomes wholeness
and despair becomes hope.

---

EmmDev 2016-08-10 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] Still Standing

Still Standing

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.      (2Corinthians4:8-9)

Johannesburg's "94.7FM" radio station ran an advert in cinemas for a while. It featured a Parktown Prawn (imagine a cross between a cockroach and a T-Rex!) to the accompaniment of a mother's scream and then various attempts to vanquish him - shoes, doom, a shotgun, a flame-thrower, etc until at last he emerges from his hidey hole whiskers twitching and Elton John's "I'm still standing" playing in the background.

This is what Paul is driving at when he talks about his life as a follower of Christ: No absence of trouble and plenty of examples of grace.

In our modern day middle-to-upper class context we are quite attracted to the "prosperity gospel" that suggests that if we "come to Jesus, all our troubles will be over." Paul's theological framework is the antithesis of that. His framework is that when we follow Jesus, we should not be surprised if we are hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down and susceptible to death. But we should also not be surprised to discover that, in spite of all of these things, we are not crushed, we don't despair, we are not abandoned and we are not destroyed - in fact, we will discover that life - actually the LIFE of Jesus (in all its unconquerable beauty) - will be revealed in us.

We'll still be standing!

Sometimes trouble comes and we are caught up in the "why me Lord?" cycle of self-pity. Paul offers us comfort, understanding and hope:

• The comfort lies in the image of the cracked clay pot and the light that shines from the Treasure within. Our pots may be cracked but the LIFE of Jesus can shine through us.
• The understanding comes from putting trouble in context. When we experience trouble, God isn't "picking on" us - Jesus had trouble, Paul had trouble, the Corinthians had trouble and so why should we be the exception?
• The hope comes from this:
  - With God, hard-pressing doesn't crush us.
  - With God's help perplexity doesn't end in despair.
  - God's unstoppable presence sustains the persecuted.
  - And God's healing restores those who are struck down.

Trouble, in Paul's book, is just a little bit of Jesus' death. The early Christians considered it a privilege to suffer along with Jesus. For no suffering can be compared to the death He died for us.

May it be that Christ's LIFE shines in you even as you carry some of His death in your life-backpack.

---

EmmDev 2016-08-05 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] Cracking up???

Cracking up???

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.      (2Corinthians4:7)

Clay was the easiest and cheapest way to make jars. If you were in a hurry, a rough and ready jar could be made, if you had time and creativity you could make a beautiful one. But, at the end of the day, most jars were more functional than beautiful. It was the grain, salt, oil, spice, lentils, beans etc that were in the jars that mattered.

Come with me to middle eastern mama's kitchen and look at her pots... The tall thin one (the one that's slightly lopsided) has the lentils. The short stubby one has the flour. The one with a bit of a lip has the oil.

Clay is malleable but once it is fired fragile.
Jars are practical and about purpose.

God's light that shines in our hearts is like a treasure in a clay pot...
My friend Robin Jacobson once said:
When the jar is cracked the light can shine through...

There have been times in my life when I have felt like I am "cracking up" - and yet, in those times God has often done amazing things in spite of my brokenness. Because, ultimately, this all-surpassing power is from God, and not from us.

The picture below says it all...

Have a blessed weekend!
With love from your crackpot edev scribbler!

---

EmmDev 2016-08-02 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] Sun vs Moon

Sun vs Moon

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.      (2Corinthians4:6)

What's the difference between the sun and the moon?
You might say that the sun lights up the day and the moon lights up the night.
But the difference is more fundamental: The moon does not "shine" of its own accord - it reflects the light of the sun.

Paul is saying something similar about us. He draws an awesome parallel between Creation and Re-Creation (Salvation):
When the universe came into being, it began with those momentous words: "Let there be light!" This light was the foundation and pre-cursor of life as we know it. Without light there was no creation. Without light there was no life.

When it comes to the human soul, light (spiritual light - truth and love - the knowledge of God's glory ) is needed. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1Jn.1) But our hearts have been darkened (veiled) by our brokenness and failure. We have no light of our own.

But God shines His light into the world. Jesus is that light. Listen to His words in John 8: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

And He shines this light into our hearts - and what is that light?

Jesus is that Light.
Paul says that we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus!
Jesus:
- friend of sinners
- protector of the weak
- healer of the sick
- bread of life
- the Lamb of God
- the Way, the Truth and the Life
- the Son of God who willingly became the Son of Man
- the comforter of the broken
- the shepherd finding the sheep
- the One who calms the storm
- the One who forgives sins
- the One who died on a cruel Roman cross
- the One who rose again - pulverising the power of death
- the One who sends His Holy Spirit
- the One who is coming again!

This Light shines in our hearts...
.
..
... and we can reflect it!

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