Religon vs. Relationship
Religion always attempts to replace relationship. Religion is worthless for the heart action Jesus wants to allow into our lives in order to make us new. Jesus wants obedience, not because He is looking for a bunch of workers, but because He wants to prepare our hearts for a life of glory in His presence forever. The Pharisees claimed to know God, but they refused to lead the people into greatness, instead, lacking a vision of something greater than they already had, they focused on the rules themselves rather than the "why" behind the "what."
Matthew 23:23-24 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
Focusing on the what without insight into the "why" never produces the desired result, just like trying to assemble something complex from an instruction manual without a picture of the finished product in front of you. If you have ever assembled a bike or a grill, you know what I mean. If you have no idea what the thing is supposed to look like, it is nearly impossible to understand the instructions in a way that is meaningful. Once you have a picture in your mind of where you are heading, each instruction makes sense and it is easier to see their importance.
While Jesus was scolding the Pharisees and scribes in Matthew 23, He was already sure of the reality of Matthew 24, where He gave His disciples the most clear understanding of the end times. He chronologically laid out His entire plan...if you just circle the "thens" and "afterwards" all of the time indicators, it is plain to see. If the Pharisees would have listened to Jesus, the tithing they were doing would have gotten connected to the "why" behind the giving of the original law, and how that was pointing to the end times...where tithing now will be proven to have been essential to resisting the schemes of satan to manipulate people. Tithing is Jesus and End Times 101... giving all your money away is Jesus and end times 301. The pharisees and their followers would have gotten way more generous in an instant if they would have seen that...the disciples gave it all away...laid it all down because they connected the why to the what:
Philippians 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
Jesus end time plan is the most important issue of the Bible...it is the culmination of everything Jesus came to do: to restore the entire creation back to what God called "very good" in Genesis 1:31, man face to face with God on this rock, planet earth. This is the fullness of good, and right now God is not content with us all living in a place less than the fullness of God face to face with His family. Jesus wants all of His followers to be as free as Paul...seeing everything but Jesus and His plans to rejoin heaven and earth as rubbish is ultimate freedom according to Jesus.
It is tempting to take Revelation casually. Many people, especially teachers in the Body of Christ, think Jesus' plans for the end are unknowable, or mostly symbolic, or not that important...that it will all work itself out and no one could really know what is going to happen or when. All of these positions are not only untrue, they are contrary to what Jesus taught. Jesus taught that His plans are knowable, not symbolic at all, and they are the primary thing on God's mind. The end-time plans were THE primary thing on the mind of those closest to Jesus, as well:
Luke 12:49 “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! (The fire is the end-time tribulation...all things will be revealed by this fire...2,000 years ago Jesus was wishing it were already kindled. He kindled it at Pentecost, and it will be becoming a fiery furnace by the last 3.5 years This is what is most prominently on His mind. He is very serious about coming back.)
Luke 12:46-47 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will (this is an end-time passage, according to Jesus you are supposed to know His will and be doing it!), and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
II Peter 3:11-12 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for (how can you look for it unless you know what to look for?) and hastening (how can you hasten the day unless you know the plan?) the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
I John 2:18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
After John said this, Jesus took Him up in a vision and showed Him the Revelation. He didn't tell John to "chill out!, you are too early" No! He said in Revelation 1:3 "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near." How can you "keep" an unknowable prophecy?? You can't. The truth is, the Book of Revelation is plain, straight forward, knowable, and it is unfolding before our very eyes right now. This is the most important thing to know and teach.
If you don't feel confident that Jesus' plan is knowable, it is because you personally don't know the plan. It IS plain and knowable in minute detail. The apostles and first disciples knew it, proclaimed it was knowable, and taught people to go after holiness...obedience...in the context of the imminent return of Jesus. This is what grew the church and spread it so fast. Revelation produces consecration...and consecration produces greater revelation. There is supposed to be a cycle of seeing the word made alive in the world and that driving us to "be ready" which leads us to greater consecration (simply means set apart from the rest of the world)...this is what Peter said: when you do this, it hastens the day of the Lord. For real...it speeds it up.
Jesus returning is dependent on His Bride getting it and responding. Jesus has committed A LOT to the last generation. Much is required at the hands of that generation:
Luke 12:47-48 And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been COMMITTED, of him they will ask the more.
Jesus has committed much to us. Much was committed to the generation of the pharisees, too. They claimed to know God, but they didn't recognize His physical appearance on earth. If they would have, he would have taught them about the true worth of tithing. Tithing was given to people to keep them from trusting in anything other than God. In giving their hearts in risk to God. That would have made their hearts available to renew.
God doesn't force us to let Him make our hearts new...he waits for us to hand our heart to Him. If we don't trust Him to provide for us, then we keep our hearts in our own hands. You can tithe mint and herb...and still live without trusting God with your very life. It isn't until you are generous to the point of pain that you actually take a risk that requires God to fill the gap. This is what God wants...heart action that is uncomfortable so He can reveal truth to my heart when He fills supernaturally the self-created need. If you never take a risk, you will rarely see the supernatural. A history of seeing the supernatural is essential to flourishing in the fire Jesus is about to set.
Because the pharisees liked their comfortable little religious scheme...they liked having it all down pat...they couldn't see why their tithing was falling far short of what was necessary. They claimed to be guides, but they didn't even know the destination, let alone the path. They certainly wouldn't let Jesus tell them either...instead, they told Jesus how His kingdom worked. All those who followed these blind leaders were heading right into a ditch.
What I think about Jesus' end time plans is not important, but the truth of the word is that everyone who knows Jesus can be confident that His plan is knowable, plain and straight forward. Searching it out is essential. Having confidence in Jesus' plan is what will drive consecration, which Peter promised would hasten the day of the Lord.
I haven't always seen life this way, but now that I have seen it, I cannot unsee it. Now that I am confident in the plain and simple plan, it has changed my life entirely. It has brought a hunger for obedience, and consecration, and revelation...a cycle has started in my life that is leading to more and more revelation of the plans clearly laid out in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I am almost in disbelief about how obviously close we are to Jesus returning, and what is required to be ready. There is so much to do in what seems to me to be very little time! This causes me to be overly intense...
This morning, Jesus, in His mercy, corrected me. He said "Tom, you are so intense and anxious about all of this, but I am not anxious. I am excited about it. My plans are wise. They ALWAYS succeed. Say what I show you to say, and I'll take responsibility for the result. Be joyful like me"
Matthew 23:23-24 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
Focusing on the what without insight into the "why" never produces the desired result, just like trying to assemble something complex from an instruction manual without a picture of the finished product in front of you. If you have ever assembled a bike or a grill, you know what I mean. If you have no idea what the thing is supposed to look like, it is nearly impossible to understand the instructions in a way that is meaningful. Once you have a picture in your mind of where you are heading, each instruction makes sense and it is easier to see their importance.
While Jesus was scolding the Pharisees and scribes in Matthew 23, He was already sure of the reality of Matthew 24, where He gave His disciples the most clear understanding of the end times. He chronologically laid out His entire plan...if you just circle the "thens" and "afterwards" all of the time indicators, it is plain to see. If the Pharisees would have listened to Jesus, the tithing they were doing would have gotten connected to the "why" behind the giving of the original law, and how that was pointing to the end times...where tithing now will be proven to have been essential to resisting the schemes of satan to manipulate people. Tithing is Jesus and End Times 101... giving all your money away is Jesus and end times 301. The pharisees and their followers would have gotten way more generous in an instant if they would have seen that...the disciples gave it all away...laid it all down because they connected the why to the what:
Philippians 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
Jesus end time plan is the most important issue of the Bible...it is the culmination of everything Jesus came to do: to restore the entire creation back to what God called "very good" in Genesis 1:31, man face to face with God on this rock, planet earth. This is the fullness of good, and right now God is not content with us all living in a place less than the fullness of God face to face with His family. Jesus wants all of His followers to be as free as Paul...seeing everything but Jesus and His plans to rejoin heaven and earth as rubbish is ultimate freedom according to Jesus.
It is tempting to take Revelation casually. Many people, especially teachers in the Body of Christ, think Jesus' plans for the end are unknowable, or mostly symbolic, or not that important...that it will all work itself out and no one could really know what is going to happen or when. All of these positions are not only untrue, they are contrary to what Jesus taught. Jesus taught that His plans are knowable, not symbolic at all, and they are the primary thing on God's mind. The end-time plans were THE primary thing on the mind of those closest to Jesus, as well:
Luke 12:49 “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! (The fire is the end-time tribulation...all things will be revealed by this fire...2,000 years ago Jesus was wishing it were already kindled. He kindled it at Pentecost, and it will be becoming a fiery furnace by the last 3.5 years This is what is most prominently on His mind. He is very serious about coming back.)
Luke 12:46-47 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will (this is an end-time passage, according to Jesus you are supposed to know His will and be doing it!), and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
II Peter 3:11-12 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for (how can you look for it unless you know what to look for?) and hastening (how can you hasten the day unless you know the plan?) the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
I John 2:18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
After John said this, Jesus took Him up in a vision and showed Him the Revelation. He didn't tell John to "chill out!, you are too early" No! He said in Revelation 1:3 "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near." How can you "keep" an unknowable prophecy?? You can't. The truth is, the Book of Revelation is plain, straight forward, knowable, and it is unfolding before our very eyes right now. This is the most important thing to know and teach.
If you don't feel confident that Jesus' plan is knowable, it is because you personally don't know the plan. It IS plain and knowable in minute detail. The apostles and first disciples knew it, proclaimed it was knowable, and taught people to go after holiness...obedience...in the context of the imminent return of Jesus. This is what grew the church and spread it so fast. Revelation produces consecration...and consecration produces greater revelation. There is supposed to be a cycle of seeing the word made alive in the world and that driving us to "be ready" which leads us to greater consecration (simply means set apart from the rest of the world)...this is what Peter said: when you do this, it hastens the day of the Lord. For real...it speeds it up.
Jesus returning is dependent on His Bride getting it and responding. Jesus has committed A LOT to the last generation. Much is required at the hands of that generation:
Luke 12:47-48 And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been COMMITTED, of him they will ask the more.
Jesus has committed much to us. Much was committed to the generation of the pharisees, too. They claimed to know God, but they didn't recognize His physical appearance on earth. If they would have, he would have taught them about the true worth of tithing. Tithing was given to people to keep them from trusting in anything other than God. In giving their hearts in risk to God. That would have made their hearts available to renew.
God doesn't force us to let Him make our hearts new...he waits for us to hand our heart to Him. If we don't trust Him to provide for us, then we keep our hearts in our own hands. You can tithe mint and herb...and still live without trusting God with your very life. It isn't until you are generous to the point of pain that you actually take a risk that requires God to fill the gap. This is what God wants...heart action that is uncomfortable so He can reveal truth to my heart when He fills supernaturally the self-created need. If you never take a risk, you will rarely see the supernatural. A history of seeing the supernatural is essential to flourishing in the fire Jesus is about to set.
Because the pharisees liked their comfortable little religious scheme...they liked having it all down pat...they couldn't see why their tithing was falling far short of what was necessary. They claimed to be guides, but they didn't even know the destination, let alone the path. They certainly wouldn't let Jesus tell them either...instead, they told Jesus how His kingdom worked. All those who followed these blind leaders were heading right into a ditch.
What I think about Jesus' end time plans is not important, but the truth of the word is that everyone who knows Jesus can be confident that His plan is knowable, plain and straight forward. Searching it out is essential. Having confidence in Jesus' plan is what will drive consecration, which Peter promised would hasten the day of the Lord.
I haven't always seen life this way, but now that I have seen it, I cannot unsee it. Now that I am confident in the plain and simple plan, it has changed my life entirely. It has brought a hunger for obedience, and consecration, and revelation...a cycle has started in my life that is leading to more and more revelation of the plans clearly laid out in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I am almost in disbelief about how obviously close we are to Jesus returning, and what is required to be ready. There is so much to do in what seems to me to be very little time! This causes me to be overly intense...
This morning, Jesus, in His mercy, corrected me. He said "Tom, you are so intense and anxious about all of this, but I am not anxious. I am excited about it. My plans are wise. They ALWAYS succeed. Say what I show you to say, and I'll take responsibility for the result. Be joyful like me"
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