Thursday, August 30, 2012

HEAVEN AND EARTH
The axle upon which the NT turns is--
  On earth as it is in heaven, Matthew 6.10
This is the principle by which Jesus prays, tells parables, performs miracles and teaches about the kingdom of heaven.  He sees the connection between heaven and earth.  So He has given us the opportunity to do the same.

  The spirit upon which the kingdom of heaven thrives is the Lord's Prayer for His own.  In this prayer we see how Jesus lived such a powerful life.  In Luke 10 Jesus had sent 70 disciples out to the places where He would soon come.  He gave them nothing to carry: no bag, no shoes, no greeting for anyone along the way.  They were to announce that the kingdom of heaven has begun.

  The 70 came back with joy, saying even demons obey them.  So in chapter 11 Jesus' own disciples ask Him how He prays.  They knew the power was not in the exact words the 70 disciples had said, the power was in the prayer of Jesus for them. So the disciples do not say, 'Lord, teach us to say what they said', they say, 'Lord, teach us to pray.'

  Jesus gives them 3 things to say.

  First, open your soul to God.  This is like the inhaling of Adam when the Lord God breathed into him, opening his soul to the breath of God.  Jesus opens the Lord's Prayer by opening His soul to the Father.  He says, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.  He is our Father, the One who created the universe.  When we open our souls to Him, we receive the understanding of who He is.  Paul put it like this--
  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present,
  nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able
  to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  You can see that Paul has opened his mind to the greatest, widest, deepest vision of which he is capable: life and death, past and present, height and depth, or any created thing.  David had said--
  How majestic is Thy name in all the earth,
  Who has displayed Thy splendor above the heavens.
God in  Christ would be incomprehensible were it not for the Holy Spirit giving us these words.  We can read and meditate on the Scriptures to glow open our minds as flowers open to the sun in spring.  The experience of many is that God opens the mind gradually through images or impressions that mean a great deal to that person.  This is like an individual kiss, from spirit to spirit.

  Paul tells the Philippians to focus on these things--
  Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
  whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy
  of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.

  Second, as God has opened our minds to fill us to the fulness of Christ, so we cultivate that fulness with His words.  We should breathe in His promises, breathe out our circumstances.  In His prayer, Jesus then tells us what He wants us to focus on daily--
  Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
  on earth as it is in heaven.
  Give us this day our daily bread
  and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.

  The breathing in is symbolized in--forgive us our debts--the breathing out is--we also forgive our debtors.  The breathing in is--do not lead us to temptation--the breathing out is--deliver us from evil.  The kingdom has come in Christ, do His will, depend on Him daily, and forgive.  These are the things we can concentrate on every day as an act of faith.

  And third, we must live this way.  When we make the kingdom, His will, forgiveness and daily faith our habit, we will be surrounded by the atmosphere of God.  God will not be an abstract being but the atmosphere which we breathe.  Jesus did this and says something similar to it.  He says to do the will of His Father is His meat and drink.  It is what sustains Him as food and drink did every day.  Jeremiah says--
  Thy words were found and I ate them,
  and Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart.
To believe, to forgive, to do His will every day is to take possession of His blessings.  This is how we appropriate what He has promised us.  It is how we see heaven in everything on earth.  Jesus says in Matthew 6--
  Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.
That gathers in a few words all of what we have been saying.

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