An Unrecognized Fulfillment
Posted on Sep 10, 2009
Today, I picked up a book entitled The One Year Christian History. It is a book that basically has a relevant historical event for in Christian history for each day of the year. So, I turned to the today’s date and it was such a coo entry that I decided I had to share it.
“In A.D. 32 the Feast of Tabernacles would begin in (today’s date) September 10. Jesus, like every faithful Jewish man, would make the journey to Jerusalem to attend. The Feast of Tabernacles was the most popular of the three annual feasts requiring attendance in Jerusalem of every Jewish male.
“The purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles was to remind the Jewish people of God’s blessings on them during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness during which God had been present in their midst in the tabernacle. There in the wilderness He had provided them water from a rock when they were thirsty (Exodus 17:1-7) and manna from heaven when they were hungry (Exodus 16:4).
“As an annual reminder of God’s provision in the wilderness, every Jewish family was to build a small booth out of tree boughs and palm branches and live in it during the seven days of the feast (Leviticus 23:39-43).
“Jesus’ anticipated trip to Jerusalem was filled with absurdities. For the past months JEsus had been spending His time in Galilee because the Jews of Jerusalem and Judea were seeking to kill Him (John 7:1). Now that the time had come for the Feast of Tabernacles (v. 2), Jesus was expected to go to Jerusalem, but He had to be careful how He went lest He be murdered before God’s appointed tim for His death on the Cross.
“The instruction for observance of the Feast of Tabernacles was that “every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign Lord” (Exodus 23:17), yet here the Sovereign Lord, Jesus, was personally present but many in Israel were trying to kill Him. Indeed, just a few months later they would crucify their Sovereign Lord.
“In the first chapter of his Gospel, the apostle John used a verb related to the Greek word for tabernacle to introduce Jesus: “The Word became flesh and [literally] ‘tabernacled’ among us.” In other words, just as God had been present in the midst of His people in the Old Testament tabernacle in the wilderness and later in the temple, GOd was now present in Jesus. The Jews were seeking to kill Jesus at the feast of which He was the fulfillment–He was the “tabernacle of God with men.”
“A daily highlight of each of the feast’s seven days was the water drawing ceremony. At daybreak priests went from the temple to the pool of Siloam. There they filled a golden pitcher with water and carried it back to the temple.
“As they approached the south side of the temple, trumpets sounded three times. The priests bearing the pitcher then proceeded around the altar while the temple choir sang the Hallel (Psalms 113-118). When the choir reached the opening words of Psalm 118, every male shouted with them three times, “Give thanks to the Lord.” Then as the chosen priest mounted the altar, he poured the wine and water offerings into the two silver bowls. As he poured, the choir sang the words of Psalm 118: “The stone rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone” (v. 22). On the seventh day of the feast, the priests circled the altar not once, but seven times.
“Of this particular Feast of Tabernacles John records, “On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “If you are thirsty, come to me! If you believe in me, come and drink! For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water will flow out from within’” (John 7:37-38). Jesus used “living water” to refer to the Holy Spirit who would be “poured out” on believers after He had ascended into glory (John 7:39; Acts 2:17-18). Jesus, “the stone rejected by the builders,” was the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles.”
A Glimpse of Jesus
Posted on May 31, 2009
Tonight in the youth pastor’s meeting at Student Life I heard a story that brought me and many other men and women to tears.
One of the leaders from Student Life told us a story of a family in Birmingham who had a son named Tucker. At seven years old, Tucker was diagnosed with Leukemia. He became a believer about a year ago at the age of eight, and the cancer persisted and progressed in his little body.
Now, at the age of nine, the cancer was at bringing about the inevitable conclusion of death; a conclusion of which Tucker was becoming more and more afraid. Last night, his health had gone downhill and he and his family knew that he was close to death. As the night went on he was in his bed gasping for breath, each one becoming more and more laborious due to the cancer that was consuming his lungs.
At around 11:00 p.m., Tucker’s parents began to sense a spiritual, angelic presence in the room with them. Tucker’s gasps for air ceased and his breathing became more and more normal. At around 1:00 a.m., Tucker sat up in his bed and looked at the wall and said, “Who are you?” His parents understood that Tucker noticed a new visitor with his spiritual eyes, one that they could not sense. Fear started to grow inside of him as Tucker seemed to sense this other person’s presence. Seeing his fear, they responded to Tucker,
If it is Jesus, you can go to Him.
Feeling the affirmation of his heart at the presence of his Savior, Tucker said to Jesus,
I want to go with you.
Then, with his parents watching him, the last words his parents ever heard him say were to Jesus,
How far do we have to go?
It was almost as if Tucker was reaching out to take hold of the extended hand of Jesus, and as he took His hand spiritually, Tucker breathed his last breath here on earth and passed out of this world and into the next.
I am so thankful for the testimony of this nine year old little boy that went to be with Jesus on the morning of May 31, 2009. It has made me praise God for His faithfulness and the trustworthiness of His promises. He truly is good and His mercy endures forever!
Be a Blessing
Posted on May 11, 2009
I have been thinking recently about attitudes that should guide my life because of various issues I have been facing and struggles that I have had relationally. I am more and more persuaded that a pastor who is seeking to plant his life in a single place for a long period of time in order to do ministry should be continually concerned with the attitudes he is clothed with; because his attitude not only shapes his reputation, but also shapes how the people receive the Gospel.
Therefore, as a fleshing out of my understanding of my life verse (1 Corinthians 10:31), here are the attitudes our principles that I have come up with so far. This may seem overly simplistic, but simple is good sometimes, right?
- The first attitude or principle is: I will be a blessing to God.
- The second attitude or principle is: I will be a blessing to others.
Like I said, this may seem simplistic, but I honestly believe that the secret to life in Jesus is not complex. If I understand that my daily existence boils down to being a blessing to my Father, and I am seeking to be a blessing in everything that I do and say then my life will be wonderful and satisfying. And if, after that, I seek to be a blessing to every person that I meet in a day, whether in word or in deed, then not only will I be a blessing to them, but that will also be a blessing to my Father.
Consider, however, the strategies of our enemy. Our natural desire is to seek our own will, comfort, and interests above all others. This motivation may be explicit (in that it is blatant in all our actions) or it may be implicit (in that our actions have a mask of goodness over them, but are really selfishly motivated). I think Paul felt this in Romans 7:23-25 when he wrote, “I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Who will deliver us from our selfishness? Only Jesus. Who will deliver us from a ministry-ending outburst of anger? Only Jesus. Who will deliver us from our internal and external rebellion against God’s designs and purposes? Only Jesus.
My friends, let us dwell in Jesus today. He is our only hope.
Living Lord’s Supper 2009
Posted on Apr 10, 2009
The Living Lord’s Supper 2009 was a hit! Thanks to everyone who helped with it.
To view the many pictures we took, go to the FBC-Abbeville Photo Gallery.
To watch the entire performance, click one of the videos below.
Living Lord’s Supper 2009 (Part 1) from Ryan Johnson on Vimeo.
Living Lord’s Supper 2009 (Part 2) from Ryan Johnson on Vimeo.