Destination is not Guaranteed

A feature of working with people through a series of Discovery Bible Studies to help them journey towards seeing Jesus and putting their faith in Him, is that there is no guarantee of reaching the desired destination. That destination - for each individual - is them embarking on a life-time following Jesus, finding their own momentum to keep going long after your sessions have stopped. The fact that we have to face is that whatever our best efforts, people may drop out, change direction, or drift away for a whole host of reasons.

We have to give people the freedom and space to do that, since the series of studies are intended to enable someone to discover for themselves - at their pace and readiness. To not give that freedom would mean that ultimately people are not making their own spiritual-heart choice to trust Jesus and follow Him as Lord.

Reassuringly for us, Jesus had to face the same issue. At the end of John chapter 6 a number of 'disciples' were finding his teaching too hard (verse 60), and some turned back and no longer followed (verse 66). Jesus apparently let them go, wondering if even the twelve might reverse direction. Remember also subsequent visits to his home town discovering a lack of belief despite all the healings and miracles in previous visits.

When we try to sit down with people to do such studies, we are praying and looking for those who seem to be open in the first place. That is not an exact science, unless the Spirit graciously gives spiritual discernment or words of knowledge! People who appear open may turn out to be less so, and even those who are more genuinely open can still change direction - much to our frustration. Yet this goes with the territory, and is an occupational hazard as part of the work.

Our role, through it all, is to continue to give opportunities for people to discover Jesus as best as we can, and to be faithful to that endeavour.

Do Not Fret

Psalm 37 verse 1 reads "Do not fret because of those who are evil ..." and exhorts the hearer to trust God even as threat and wickedness swirl around in ever greater measure.

Such words are poignant for our times, as the phenomena some theologians are calling 'The Great Unravelling' plays out at different levels. Many of our established Western churches find themselves facing difficulties, even closure, because their congregation numbers (and cash income) continue to fall away - the existing ways of being church no longer working for them. Also at the international political level we are now living into an unravelling of a world order that we assumed secure from the outcomes of the 2nd World War. We now have Western nations openly advocating policies of mass ethnic cleansing (rather than just quietly funding oppressive actions away from the public gaze) and apparently gearing their responses in ways that align with indicted war criminals of foreign oppressive regimes.

As followers of Christ, we have to re-ask ourselves "Where do we find our security? In whom do we put our trust?". In the past we might have doctrinally declared trust in God through Jesus Christ, yet in practice trusted in our Western nation national and international structures. That must now change! Clearly nations of whatever status cannot be trusted ... the only entity truly trust-worthy is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Great Unravelling may make you feel quite alone and highly vulnerable. You may well be asking yourself 'Can I make a difference?'. Remember Jesus talked of His Kingdom - a different kind of Kingdom, one unlike any earthly nation state, regime or empire. He described it as the mustard seed, the tiniest of seeds ... that planted in the ground and grew ... continuing to grow ... eventually into a very large bush (or tree) which provided a place of shelter for birds etc. to come under its shade.

There is our clue! "Lord Jesus start with me - may I be firmly planted as your Kingdom agent". Yes the world is literally falling apart all around us, be it established churches, governments, nations and whole international systems ...

But the Kingdom of God will prevail, so do not fret in the midst of all the evil!

Bow the Knee

In the whirlwind of political scenes witnessed in the last couple of weeks, one event was the head of Meta announcing new vetting policies and approaches for posts on the social media platforms operated by that company. As this was reported in the media, one of the lines that struck me was: 'Zuckerberg bows the knee to Trump'. This went hand in hand with many headlines and articles caricaturing Trump as the un-rivalled king of America (and perhaps in his mind other countries too!).

This description of 'bowing the knee' sums it up nicely. In the final analysis who do we bow the knee too? The world will have its leaders, pretend leaders, and outright tyrants ... all of whom will demand allegiance. We can probably also say that the greater the 'tyrant-ness', the greater the insistence for total allegiance!

Bowing the knee to these leaders is the same as handing them the keys to your life, how it is to be lived, the decisions you will make and so forth.  You may still have clear ideas on 'the right thing to do ...', but these will be compromised in practice by this allegiance.

The Christian realises that these human leaders, regardless of whether we like their politics or not, are not the ones to bow the knee too. We might respect the position they are in, but they cannot command our total allegiance. That is because the Christian realises that these people are at best provisional, and the real Kingdom work (and thus the potential for improving society 'in the now') ultimately flows as a consequence of individuals committing their allegiance to Christ.

Allegiance to Christ also declares at levels above human authorities - to the principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12). It announces that the horribly subverted human rule (represented by Adam after the fall) no longer commands allegiance from all people. Instead the real King is now enthroned - Jesus is Lord! To Jesus the real King we willingly bow the knee, and we will bow the knee to no other.

Uniformity vs The Work of the Spirit

As you read Deuteronomy you can't help thinking that God is calling for both absolute unity and uniformity in worship. The people are to come to the place God will choose for their sacrifices rather than any old high place. They are to interact with the Levitical priests who will perform the key worship elements on their behalf. It is all to be tightly regulated.

Compared to the time in which we now live, this seems rather strange. Jesus commissioned his disciples (us) to scatter outwards, leading people to Jesus (and thus worship) wherever they went. Movement organisations flourish when disciples make disciples wherever they are, birthing diverse networks of micro-churches that have different expressions, a multitude of practices, and probably variations in their precise theologies.

Has God somehow changed between the time of Deuteronomy and the time of Jesus onwards? Has He changed His mind, or come up with a fresh plan B? How do we reconcile what appears to be exact opposites?

Of course Deuteronomy is concerned with the formation of the people Israel, whereas with Jesus it is the global Kingdom. The first might be characterised by law, whereas the second is characterised by grace ... but these understandings, though valid, still leave us with questions about the nature of God then compared to now.

It seems to me a key difference that helps explain is the giving of the Spirit. Back in the time of Deuteronomy the Spirit was active, but seemed to be on specific people (and perhaps also for specific purposes). The cosmic disruption of Jesus opened the way for the liberal outpouring of the Spirit. That outpouring enables a multitude of individual believers to know directly what God requires (see Jeremiah 31:31 - 34).

Without the outpouring of the Spirit a high degree of human-system-control is required - keeping everyone on track, avoiding wandering off back into false belief. The restrictions of one central place, Levitical procedures etc. effect all this. With the outpouring of the Spirit a wide variety of individuals (and small groups) can be led and remain in the Godly (Jesus) Way without requiring such systems ... if people grow in direct obedience to Jesus, i.e. to the leading of the out-poured Spirit. A variety and diversity is now possible, because the unity lies in obedience to Christ.

In such conditions the need for law evaporates, since Godly order is now being restored (akin to before the Fall). Grace was always there at the beginning, but Law was temporarily necessary for such a large social system (i.e. a nation of people). Now with the Spirit, the social system can multiply and diversify infinitely as long as unity of the Spirit is maintained, i.e. people living in obedience and operating in the work of the Spirit.

God did not change through any of this. He remains the same yesterday, today and for ever. The era has changed (pre- Spirit pouring / Spirit now liberally flowing). The event of Jesus made the change of era possible.