A Palatable God?

This started as a facebook post for some of my friends and followers and then I quickly decided it was better suited to be placed here.

I am asked a lot by people, "How do you know that you know the REAL Jesus?"

What they are usually really asking is how I could possibly believe that my understanding of Jesus is correct, and why I think so many have gotten Him wrong.

In many ways my well is poisoned when I try to answer that question, they have already basically made the assumption that I am an arrogant pseudo-scholar who thinks I understand Jesus perfectly and if anyone disagrees with me they are inherently wrong.

I hope to never come across as that guy.

But at the same time I do believe that the Jesus I have come to know, love, and worship is the same Jesus that walked this earth 2000 years ago. You cannot separate the Jesus of history from the Christ of faith. They are the same person.

My response is usually that I side with the people who knew Jesus best while he was on earth, that is, the Gospel writers and the Apostles.

I believe that the tradition handed down from them through the pages of the Bible has been kept in tact and is as reliable, if not more reliable than any other ancient documents we have about any historical event or person, ever. (A fact that I would encourage everyone to do deeper study on.)

Why? Because I have no reason not to. The Greek manuscripts we have proved that the words were left unchanged. Jewish studies have proven to us that Scribes and priests made their top priority in their lives to accurately translate and record the Scriptures handed down since the days of Moses.

Many tell me that the Jesus in the Bible, or rather the 'God' of the Bible (as if they are somehow separate) is too primitive, too outdated, too ridiculous to actually believe in. If I ask who they believe in, I usually already know the answer. It is an image of a god who looks a lot like them, or who they want to be.

George Tyrrell once used an analogy to answer why that is the most ridiculous claim one can make,

When one looks into the deep well of history in search of Jesus, there is always the real hazard of seeing one's own reflection gazing back, and mistaking that for Jesus.

A god who is palatable to our own ideas and boxed in on what our idea of morality, love, and even sovereignty is, is no god, but a fantasy. A desire to know Jesus outside of the Scriptures is just as bizarre as wanting to know Jesus outside of community with His people.

Another scholar puts it this way, "God created us in His image, and then we returned the favor."

How arrogant of us to think that the Creator is out of touch with us today?Or that we would make better gods than YHWH ever could?

I'm sorry people think the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is out of touch with the 21st Century, I really am, because all that tells me is that there are millions and millions and millions of people who are out of touch with reality themselves.

The mission is still binding, brothers and sisters, and I stand on my firm belief that the Gospel and the Gospel alone is what can and will save this world. The old, old story that has been the Power of God unto salvation for 2000 years is still just as alive and powerful today... and still just as needed today.



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Nathan Bryant

is a pastor at River Run Church in East Orlando, FL. As a student at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri he majored in Biblical Leadership, New Testament Studies, and Missiology.  In 2014 he attended the Leadership Institute in Phoenix, AZ where he continued his education from other pastors and educators at one of the fastest growing churches in the United States. He loves the outdoors, whether it is camping in the mountains or jumping through the waves at the beach, nothing is better than enjoying God’s creation. Nathan longs for unity and commitment to Jesus to be a defining element in the global church of his generation.

Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our causes.

Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our boundaries.

Follow him on Twitter: Follow @nathanpbryant

Nathan's Website

 

Learning How to Worship: Psalm 144

I chose Psalm 144 to close the first go around in this series of posts because of how well I think the
Psalm encompasses and concludes the entire Psalter. It is a psalm of David, and whether intentional by him or not, I do believe its placement was very intentional by the compiler of the book.

Why?

Because within this Psalm I see reflections, allusions, even word for word quotes from some of the other poems we have studied. In many ways this is the acting last psalm of Book Five.

The next six psalms that actually end the collection are one, a stand alone psalm that also sums up the totality of the book fairly well, and then five doxologies to remind us of the praise of God and the centrality of Torah in Israel's life.

Psalm 144 acts as the final 'Hoorah!' in my opinion of the themes in the Psalter. It also bookends the entire psalter with Psalm 2 as another Royal Psalm. David is where we began, David is where we end, but the chiastic structure that this creates within the whole collection points us to the one who is far greater than David: God Himself.

Learning How to Worship: Psalms of Ascents

This week I am taking a different approach. I could have picked just one of these Psalms to highlight, but the fact is these specific psalms that I wanted to highlight were meant to be kept together.

Psalms 120-134 is a collection of Psalms that were used by Jewish pilgrims as they made their trek up to Jerusalem for festivals. These are psalms that were sung in preparation for worship at the Temple. They were designed to prepare the hearts and minds of the worshipers to be close to the presence of God. Jesus would have most likely sung these songs when he was twelve years old and walking to the temple in the caravan from Galilee (see Luke 2:41-52) He would have sung these with his disciples every time they came to Jerusalem. These psalms were memorized by the people. Something that was held so tightly by the Jewish people as they worshiped YaHWeH that Christians today still see the fruit of Scripture in is something we should definitely spend some time studying and perhaps memorizing and using in our own worship services.

So today I want to share five different pieces of wisdom I gleaned from these 15 Psalms:

The first Psalm of Ascents, Psalm 120 is a prayer to the LORD to deliver the people from those who speak ill against them as well as praying the LORD will save them from falling into the similar trap. The basic premise and piece of wisdom this psalm teaches us is one that the New Testament echoes, specifically James. Deceitful lips and lying tongues will not go unpunished. The LORD desires us to be at peace with all peoples, He desires for us to control or tame the tongue, that we will not say things that breed disunity and break apart harmony. This was probably a way for the people as they went up to Jerusalem to think about their speech, about how they have been living with their mouths. The image of Isaiah comes to mind when I think about that idea. These people were literally going up to where the presence of God was dwelling. When Isaiah saw the LORD in Is. 6, he cried out “Woe is me, a man of unclean lips.” It is a good practice among Christians today to be cognizant of our speech and how we address people, for it is the same mouth we will use to praise and worship our God.

I see a second teaching of life wisdom from the Psalms of Ascents, first in Psalm 121, but echoed throughout the Ascents (124, 125, 127, 129) is that God is our guard. He alone is all we need for protection and honestly, the only one who truly can protect His people from all harm. If God is for us, who can be against us? The wisdom here is remembering that. It is hard sometimes to remember that it is God who builds the house, it is God who watches over the city. It is God who ordains all things and allows all things. It is God, not me, who is strong and gifted in certain areas. It is God who has given us the ability, the opportunity, and the will to live. It is He who never sleeps on the job or ever has an “off-day”. God is sovereign over all and truly good to His people. Psalm 127 especially brings this home for me, a Psalm of Solomon, there is hint of the attitude of Ecclesiastes in it. Basically if God is not involved, it is all meaningless. Remember God, and don’t take pride in your own strength. Remember God, and don’t try to do things on your own. Remember God and worship Him for all that we do have, and not what we wish we had. The LORD is our portion, our inheritance, our only true need.

A third teaching of wisdom I gleaned from the Psalms of Ascents is one I saw in just about every single one of them. There is a necessity for true community in order to worship God the way He desires to be worshiped. Not only for that reason, but there is a sincere gladness by the Psalmists when they speak of doing things together. Psalm 133 is the cherry on top. Worship established community that was beneficial, encouraging, and joyous for the worshipers. We were made for community. The Christian life is not one that can be trail-blazed alone.

Theology is incomplete without community.

Fourth, the Psalms of Ascents teach us that preparing our hearts before God is just as important as the worship we give him in a corporate setting. I pull this concept more from the background and practice of these psalms more than the actual words of Scripture, but I think it definitely holds weight for us. If we are living lives of worship, every day of the week, it makes Sunday's corporate setting that much sweeter. What are you doing to cultivate an appreciation, reverence, and respect for God? What are you doing in your life to create space for God to impact you? Where are you serving so as to make your church's Sunday morning experience worshipful for everyone who attends?

Lastly, I see authentic devotion and faith of the people in these Psalms. It is hard to read these, even harder to sing these Psalms or speak of them without feeling the weight of the words.

Do we truly believe that God is our help?
Do we truly believe that God is our keeper, for now and forevermore?
Do we truly believe that God is sovereign, and that without Him nothing would be?
Do we truly believe that God will use our suffering for His purposes?

These words force us to practice certain disciplines, or else we find ourselves lying to ourselves when we say the words.

Do we wait for the LORD, and put our hope in His Word? (Ps. 130)
Do we practice the calming and quieting of our soul? (Ps. 131)
Do we resonate the desire to dwell together in unity? (Ps. 133)
Are we as devoted to God as the servants who worshiped in the Temple at night? (Ps. 134)

This isn't a call to be legalistic or do more things, just to go through the motions... it is a heart check. I can't read these 15 Psalms without asking myself if my faith is authentic and really desire more from my relationship with Jesus. On the other hand these Psalms are also a great reminder that I don't have to approach a Temple to be in the presence of God our Savior.

We are where His presence rests. That is a humbling, and yet glorious truth.



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Nathan Bryant

is a pastor at River Run Church in East Orlando, FL. As a student at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri he majored in Biblical Leadership, New Testament Studies, and Missiology.  In 2014 he attended the Leadership Institute in Phoenix, AZ where he continued his education from other pastors and educators at one of the fastest growing churches in the United States. He loves the outdoors, whether it is camping in the mountains or jumping through the waves at the beach, nothing is better than enjoying God’s creation. Nathan longs for unity and commitment to Jesus to be a defining element in the global church of his generation.

Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our causes.

Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our boundaries.

Follow him on Twitter: Follow @nathanpbryant

Nathan's Website

 

Formation Friday: Tears of the Saints

In lieu of a Formation Friday post, I wanted to share this.

Perhaps the most important Formation Friday post I could share. It is an updated video of "Tears of the Saints".

We have shared the older one before so I thought it fitting to share this one with updated stats and an HD makeover. It is always a humbling reminder of our call here on earth. We are so privileged. If you are reading this post today, YOU are a part of the most privileged, educated, and well off demographic in the world.

So watch the video below, but here is the takeaway:

PRAY. Perhaps the most formative discipline a Christian can practice, and one that is always talked about but seldom practiced. We need to pray for God to raise up more workers (maybe you are one of them) and GO! We need to pray for those who have been sent, that they would remain steadfast, fixed on Christ and the mission He gave them, and that their hearts would be overwhelmed with love for the people they are reaching. And let us pray for the unreached people groups themselves. There are still 7,000 who have never been touched with the truly GOOD NEWS of the Jesus. 7,000 people groups living without any kind of hope whatsoever.

I hope that I can be a piece of this great mission we have upon us. Will you?

"The job is not done in the world that Christ gave us to do..."

"Father, we will lead them home."

"Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven, and the alternative is hell; and millions and and millions and millions are on their way there; and we have the only means of escape in our heads and in our hearts, Jesus Christ."

"This is an emergency!"

"So, count the cost brothers and sisters. This is not an invitation to an easy life. For 2000 years, thousands and thousands of missionaries, the unnamed-no biographies written about them, just unnamed people of whom the world is not worthy, have counted the cost and put their lives at risk and reached the lost with the only message of salvation."