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KILMARTIN SERIES: 4
In this series, we are looking at how unclean and perverse spirits can easily take hold in a place and turn it away from The Lord. We are taking Kilmartin in Argyll as an example; largely because we live there, but also because it is a focal point where faith in God, once dominant, is being seriously challenged by unbelief, Humanism and New Age philosophy.
And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.
[Isaiah 8:19-22 NKJV]
Yesterday, I walked the dog as I usually do through the Glebe field and waited for our small terrierist to obey my instructions (it takes a while), I read the descriptive sign on the ground by the Glebe Cairn and saw that the cairn had been ‘excavated’ by Canon William Greenwell, a well-known archaeologist and Church of England priest. At that moment, I believe that The Lord gave me a vision, showing that various archaeological diggings and investigations in the area released many ‘dead’ and ‘dark’ spirits from their imprisonment to trouble the present day.
Some, I am sure, will consider such visions fanciful, but — as one not given to visions — when I have experienced such phenomena, they have proved to carry a great evidence of truth. However, discount them if you will, there is a powerful confirmation of circumstance there.
The ‘they’ of Isaiah 8:19 are not specified — Matthew Henry names them as ‘those that seek to familiar spirits, and regard not God’s law and testimony’ — but they speak to us; they speak to our natural selves, encouraging us to seek ‘mediums and wizards’. Why? Because there is no light in us. If we have any measure of His light, then it will shine upon the ‘trouble and darkness’. This is great news, for we need our Lord’s light in these troubled times more than ever before. Without it we are ‘driven into darkness’. These dark and ancient forces will cower and flee before the name of The Lord.
What we must realise and accept is that we live in a time of great darkness. The light of our Lord is being challenged and vilified at every turn. Again I say, why? My belief is that the spirits of darkness, buried in the deepest parts of the earth have been awakened by man’s probing and digging — in the spirit as well as the physical realms — and our curiosity about the distant past threatens to engulf the present.
How often have we heard that our God is a god of now — a very present help in time of trouble? Exactly. We know it, and need to be aware that the dead spirits of the past are powerful also and are surrounding us and seek to consume our very essence, converting us into their substance. It is happening and thus we must be ever on the watchtower, and also turning to our Lord in prayer
"Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants -- everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant — even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."
[Isaiah 56:6-7 NKJV]
And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.
[Isaiah 8:19-22 NKJV]
Yesterday, I walked the dog as I usually do through the Glebe field and waited for our small terrierist to obey my instructions (it takes a while), I read the descriptive sign on the ground by the Glebe Cairn and saw that the cairn had been ‘excavated’ by Canon William Greenwell, a well-known archaeologist and Church of England priest. At that moment, I believe that The Lord gave me a vision, showing that various archaeological diggings and investigations in the area released many ‘dead’ and ‘dark’ spirits from their imprisonment to trouble the present day.
Some, I am sure, will consider such visions fanciful, but — as one not given to visions — when I have experienced such phenomena, they have proved to carry a great evidence of truth. However, discount them if you will, there is a powerful confirmation of circumstance there.
The ‘they’ of Isaiah 8:19 are not specified — Matthew Henry names them as ‘those that seek to familiar spirits, and regard not God’s law and testimony’ — but they speak to us; they speak to our natural selves, encouraging us to seek ‘mediums and wizards’. Why? Because there is no light in us. If we have any measure of His light, then it will shine upon the ‘trouble and darkness’. This is great news, for we need our Lord’s light in these troubled times more than ever before. Without it we are ‘driven into darkness’. These dark and ancient forces will cower and flee before the name of The Lord.
What we must realise and accept is that we live in a time of great darkness. The light of our Lord is being challenged and vilified at every turn. Again I say, why? My belief is that the spirits of darkness, buried in the deepest parts of the earth have been awakened by man’s probing and digging — in the spirit as well as the physical realms — and our curiosity about the distant past threatens to engulf the present.
How often have we heard that our God is a god of now — a very present help in time of trouble? Exactly. We know it, and need to be aware that the dead spirits of the past are powerful also and are surrounding us and seek to consume our very essence, converting us into their substance. It is happening and thus we must be ever on the watchtower, and also turning to our Lord in prayer
"Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants -- everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant — even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."
[Isaiah 56:6-7 NKJV]
The only way to get into the relationship of ‘asking’ is to get into the relationship of absolute reliance on the Lord Jesus. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him.”
[from ‘Disciples Indeed’ by Oswald Chambers]
[from ‘Disciples Indeed’ by Oswald Chambers]
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KILMARTIN SERIES: 3
In this series, we are looking at how unclean and perverse spirits can easily take hold in a place and turn it away from The Lord. We are taking Kilmartin village in Argyll as an example; largely because we live there, but also because it is a focal point where faith in God, once dominant, is being seriously challenged by unbelief, Humanism and New Age philosophy.
“It shall be in that day,” says the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names [the nature] of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.
[Zechariah 13:2 NKJV)
Before Kilmartin and the Glen was a Christian settlement, it was an area of great importance, where our ancestors lived — it is currently thought — from around 11000BC. Our knowledge of any belief system they may have had is sketchy at best; but like all of us today, there would have been a spiritual component to their lives.
That spiritual connection features especially in a number of places as has been mentioned already. Kilmartin is one such place. Why is it that peoples — Christian and non-Christian — are drawn to these focal points. Most likely because they sense something unique about the site. Our forbears from long ago recognised it (it would seem) long before anyone had heard of the Christ. But then, so did the Hebrews. The Old Testament is, in part, the story of their search for understanding, which eventually unfolded in the New Testament.
In that searching, men frequently ran down rabbit-holes, following false trails until the Truth finally dawned; but remnants of the old beliefs sank themselves deep into the rocks and permeated the land awaiting their time of re-emergence. Then since the Victorian age particularly, people began scraping at the rocks and the ground to see what lay under the surface, and Pandora’s Box was opened. The ancient idols were awakened from their hibernation; although in truth, they never went away.
In the time since then, there have been waves of revival in various parts of the world — Asuza Street in California; the Welsh Revival; the Hebridean Revival and others. Significantly, they all arose from a few individuals setting themselves to earnest prayer. In every case a corner was turned — The Lord was resurrected in their hearts. The idols fled from Him.
They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
[Ezekiel 37:23 NKJV]
It happened before in Kilmartin, and it will happen again. Praise The Lord.
“It shall be in that day,” says the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names [the nature] of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.
[Zechariah 13:2 NKJV)
Before Kilmartin and the Glen was a Christian settlement, it was an area of great importance, where our ancestors lived — it is currently thought — from around 11000BC. Our knowledge of any belief system they may have had is sketchy at best; but like all of us today, there would have been a spiritual component to their lives.
That spiritual connection features especially in a number of places as has been mentioned already. Kilmartin is one such place. Why is it that peoples — Christian and non-Christian — are drawn to these focal points. Most likely because they sense something unique about the site. Our forbears from long ago recognised it (it would seem) long before anyone had heard of the Christ. But then, so did the Hebrews. The Old Testament is, in part, the story of their search for understanding, which eventually unfolded in the New Testament.
In that searching, men frequently ran down rabbit-holes, following false trails until the Truth finally dawned; but remnants of the old beliefs sank themselves deep into the rocks and permeated the land awaiting their time of re-emergence. Then since the Victorian age particularly, people began scraping at the rocks and the ground to see what lay under the surface, and Pandora’s Box was opened. The ancient idols were awakened from their hibernation; although in truth, they never went away.
In the time since then, there have been waves of revival in various parts of the world — Asuza Street in California; the Welsh Revival; the Hebridean Revival and others. Significantly, they all arose from a few individuals setting themselves to earnest prayer. In every case a corner was turned — The Lord was resurrected in their hearts. The idols fled from Him.
They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
[Ezekiel 37:23 NKJV]
It happened before in Kilmartin, and it will happen again. Praise The Lord.
Never say that God has done what He has not done because it sounds better to say it; never pretend to have an answer when you have not.
Jesus said, "Everyone who asks receives"; we say -- "I have asked but I have not received." It is because we ask in spiritual confusion.
Jesus said to James and John: "You do not know what you ask"; they were brought into fellowship with Jesus Christ's cup and baptism, but not in the way they expected.
Jesus said, "Everyone who asks receives"; we say -- "I have asked but I have not received." It is because we ask in spiritual confusion.
Jesus said to James and John: "You do not know what you ask"; they were brought into fellowship with Jesus Christ's cup and baptism, but not in the way they expected.
Listen to this Meditation
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KILMARTIN SERIES: 2
In this series, we are looking at how unclean and perverse spirits can easily take hold in a place and turn it away from The Lord. We are taking Kilmartin village in Argyll as an example; largely because we live there, but also because it is a focal point where faith in God, once dominant, is being seriously challenged by unbelief, Humanism and New Age philosophy.
“The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark; I will pour out My wrath on them like water.
Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked by human precept.
Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth, and to the house of Judah like rottenness.
[Hosea 5:10-12 NKJV]
‘he willingly walked by human precept’
I know that I must, like Enoch, walk with God and not rely on my own ideas; for if I do, I am ‘broken in judgment’ and also ‘oppressed’. Oppression, we learn, is the work of demonic spirits. Nowadays such interpretations are discounted, but in my experience it does ring true. There may well be other, scientific ways of saying the same thing, but for me the Bible example is the more telling.
‘like those who remove a landmark’
‘Ephraim’ means ‘a double ash heap, a place of fruitfulness’ and here Hosea uses it as the name for the northern kingdom; indicating that the land has become a place of deterioration and corruption. Why? Because God has lifted His hand from the place because ‘the princes of Judah’ (which represents the people of God) have dispensed with their boundaries (have abandoned God and returned to a sinful life). Therefore, God ‘causes’ the natural and spiritual land to rot.
Kilmartin Glen is quite spectacularly beautiful despite the current spate of attempts to spoil the natural environment. The quarry will eventually run out of the ‘raised beach’ it mines for resources. The despoiling of the original church manse’s ground by Kilmartin Museum will eventually resolve around a new state-of-the-art space to house the artificers plundered from the surrounding glen. In a way it will become a monument to what has always been the case in this landscape — that man has used and misused it for centuries, and continues to do so.
However, it is the spiritual battleground in which we find the greatest cause for concern. The Museum — although laudably providing a magnificent interpretive centre for local archaeology — is becoming a behemoth in the area, threatening to push Christian practice underground, while raising up their ‘worship’ of pre-Christian ‘Old Religion’ and Pagan relics, placing them conspicuously at the forefront of Cille Mhartainn (St Martin’s Church). The old Church of Scotland building is currently being used as a storeroom for the Museum and many trees (some diseased) are being felled to make way for the new look village, whether those of us who live here are expected to like it. Some will; some will not.
All this quickening pace of change strikes some of us very much like those who remove a landmark in Hosea 5. Progress involves change, but not all change is progress. What we need is for a fresh outpouring of His Holy Spirit — revival, if you will — in this oft afflicted land.
“The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark; I will pour out My wrath on them like water.
Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked by human precept.
Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth, and to the house of Judah like rottenness.
[Hosea 5:10-12 NKJV]
‘he willingly walked by human precept’
I know that I must, like Enoch, walk with God and not rely on my own ideas; for if I do, I am ‘broken in judgment’ and also ‘oppressed’. Oppression, we learn, is the work of demonic spirits. Nowadays such interpretations are discounted, but in my experience it does ring true. There may well be other, scientific ways of saying the same thing, but for me the Bible example is the more telling.
‘like those who remove a landmark’
‘Ephraim’ means ‘a double ash heap, a place of fruitfulness’ and here Hosea uses it as the name for the northern kingdom; indicating that the land has become a place of deterioration and corruption. Why? Because God has lifted His hand from the place because ‘the princes of Judah’ (which represents the people of God) have dispensed with their boundaries (have abandoned God and returned to a sinful life). Therefore, God ‘causes’ the natural and spiritual land to rot.
Kilmartin Glen is quite spectacularly beautiful despite the current spate of attempts to spoil the natural environment. The quarry will eventually run out of the ‘raised beach’ it mines for resources. The despoiling of the original church manse’s ground by Kilmartin Museum will eventually resolve around a new state-of-the-art space to house the artificers plundered from the surrounding glen. In a way it will become a monument to what has always been the case in this landscape — that man has used and misused it for centuries, and continues to do so.
However, it is the spiritual battleground in which we find the greatest cause for concern. The Museum — although laudably providing a magnificent interpretive centre for local archaeology — is becoming a behemoth in the area, threatening to push Christian practice underground, while raising up their ‘worship’ of pre-Christian ‘Old Religion’ and Pagan relics, placing them conspicuously at the forefront of Cille Mhartainn (St Martin’s Church). The old Church of Scotland building is currently being used as a storeroom for the Museum and many trees (some diseased) are being felled to make way for the new look village, whether those of us who live here are expected to like it. Some will; some will not.
All this quickening pace of change strikes some of us very much like those who remove a landmark in Hosea 5. Progress involves change, but not all change is progress. What we need is for a fresh outpouring of His Holy Spirit — revival, if you will — in this oft afflicted land.
So many of us limit our praying because we are not reckless in our confidence in God. In the eyes of those who do not know God, it is madness to trust Him, but when we pray in the Holy Spirit we begin to realise the resources of God, that He is our perfect Heavenly Father, and we are His children.
[from ‘If You Will Ask’ by Oswald Chambers]
[from ‘If You Will Ask’ by Oswald Chambers]
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KILMARTIN SERIES: 1
“You shall not remove your neighbour's landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
[Deuteronomy 19:14 NKJV]
‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbour's landmark.’
[Deuteronomy 27:17 NKJV]
Years ago, a group of Christians were led by The Lord to come to Kilmartin to form a Spirit-filled church. That group eventually became the Living Stones Christian Centre, which thrived for 40 years or so until it closed in 2017.
In the next few meditations, we would like to look at why in those early days of what was known as The Latter Rain Movement, many believers were led to uproot from their homes and move elsewhere believing that The Lord was guiding them. Some of us at Cornerstone Kilmartin were among those who heard the call at that time, some more recently. We will focus on Kilmartin and the Glen as we want to understand why this place has been so special as a focus of Christian worship for centuries, and why it is now in danger of being overtaken by spirits of Humanism and New Age ideology. To do this, we must look initially to the distant past to help us understand the present tidal wave of change that is sweeping through Kilmartin Glen.
To begin, we need to see that the land is central to our existence and that the Bible maxim ‘First the natural, then the spiritual’ — what we see in the natural world (the land around us) gives insight into the spiritual realms (the land within us) — is emphatically set out in what is happening in this small but pivotal area of western Scotland. There are many such places around the globe and they all have one thing in common; our forbears recognised an intensity of spiritual force, a profound presence. Iona; Lindisfarne; Glendalough and others all have that 'presence' in abundance.
The Book of Deuteronomy tells us that someone who moves a neighbour’s landmark (or boundary) is cursed. This is a matter of inheritance — both natural and spiritual — and there are forces out there that want to encroach on that inheritance; nibble at it incessantly, and deprive each one of us what is ours by right of possession. We become aware of it in Kilmartin; this a spiritual battleground.
We already know that Christian faith is being inexorably eroded in modern times — not everywhere; some places are thriving — and our right to believe freely in our Creator God is being openly and increasingly challenged. These forces; these spirits seek to remove our landmarks; break down the walls of our salvation and take this land --- both natural and spiritual --- for themselves
We need not fear — The Lord has always maintained a remnant to carry His light through the darkest of times — but vigilance is essential; standing on the Watchtower; discerning the times.
[Deuteronomy 19:14 NKJV]
‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbour's landmark.’
[Deuteronomy 27:17 NKJV]
Years ago, a group of Christians were led by The Lord to come to Kilmartin to form a Spirit-filled church. That group eventually became the Living Stones Christian Centre, which thrived for 40 years or so until it closed in 2017.
In the next few meditations, we would like to look at why in those early days of what was known as The Latter Rain Movement, many believers were led to uproot from their homes and move elsewhere believing that The Lord was guiding them. Some of us at Cornerstone Kilmartin were among those who heard the call at that time, some more recently. We will focus on Kilmartin and the Glen as we want to understand why this place has been so special as a focus of Christian worship for centuries, and why it is now in danger of being overtaken by spirits of Humanism and New Age ideology. To do this, we must look initially to the distant past to help us understand the present tidal wave of change that is sweeping through Kilmartin Glen.
To begin, we need to see that the land is central to our existence and that the Bible maxim ‘First the natural, then the spiritual’ — what we see in the natural world (the land around us) gives insight into the spiritual realms (the land within us) — is emphatically set out in what is happening in this small but pivotal area of western Scotland. There are many such places around the globe and they all have one thing in common; our forbears recognised an intensity of spiritual force, a profound presence. Iona; Lindisfarne; Glendalough and others all have that 'presence' in abundance.
The Book of Deuteronomy tells us that someone who moves a neighbour’s landmark (or boundary) is cursed. This is a matter of inheritance — both natural and spiritual — and there are forces out there that want to encroach on that inheritance; nibble at it incessantly, and deprive each one of us what is ours by right of possession. We become aware of it in Kilmartin; this a spiritual battleground.
We already know that Christian faith is being inexorably eroded in modern times — not everywhere; some places are thriving — and our right to believe freely in our Creator God is being openly and increasingly challenged. These forces; these spirits seek to remove our landmarks; break down the walls of our salvation and take this land --- both natural and spiritual --- for themselves
We need not fear — The Lord has always maintained a remnant to carry His light through the darkest of times — but vigilance is essential; standing on the Watchtower; discerning the times.
You cannot enjoy life by heeding outside pressures to change. Imagine what would happen if a lily did what some of us try to do. We say, “Oh, I must give up this; I must go here and there.” Imagine a lily’s hauling itself out of a pot and saying, “Well, I don’t think I smell nice enough. I don’t think I look exactly right. I must change myself!” The lily’s duty is to obey the law of its life where it is placed by the gardener.
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And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.
Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.”
And many believed in Him there.
[John 10:40-42 NKJV]
--
The phrase ‘beyond the Jordan’ appears three times in John’s gospel,
Whatever the historical significance of this place might be, spiritually it represents the place Jesus ‘went away’ to ‘and there He stayed.’ It indicates that ‘beyond the Jordan’ is the place where we also want to stay in our spirit life; the place where many believed in Him.
Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.”
And many believed in Him there.
[John 10:40-42 NKJV]
--
The phrase ‘beyond the Jordan’ appears three times in John’s gospel,
- in John 1:28; These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
- 3:26; And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”
- and here in 10:40; And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.
Whatever the historical significance of this place might be, spiritually it represents the place Jesus ‘went away’ to ‘and there He stayed.’ It indicates that ‘beyond the Jordan’ is the place where we also want to stay in our spirit life; the place where many believed in Him.
Launch out in the reckless belief that the redemption is complete, and then bother no more about yourself, but begin to do as Jesus Christ said — pray for the friend who comes to you at midnight, pray for the saints, pray for all people. Pray on the realisation that you are only perfect in Christ Jesus, not on this plea — “O Lord I have done my best, please hear me.”
[from ‘My Utmost For His Highest’ by Oswald Chambers]
[from ‘My Utmost For His Highest’ by Oswald Chambers]
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Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.
And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.
Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.
But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
[John 10:22-27 NKJV]
The Feast of Dedication is what we know as Hanukkah, celebrated annually by Jews for eight days to commemorate the cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem after it had been desecrated by the Syrians about 170BC. Solomon’s Porch was a colonnade for walking protected from the sun and used for gathering together and debating important questions.
Jesus may well have been there to talk to those who wished to discuss what He had to say, so the significance of the mention of the Feast of Dedication here is that Jesus was placing Himself dedicated to the restoration of the worship of God, at the time when this was being celebrated by every Jew.
This feast was also known as ‘The Feast of Lights’, or ‘The Feast of Illumination’ and was a time for joy and celebration.
‘If You are the Christ, tell us plainly’. If I have any thing to say to Jesus I will find him in the temple. Jesus wants me to believe, while I doubt instead. He has told me plainly and now He reminds me of the benefits of being in His flock. He always gives us that choice when we meet Him in the Holy place where He is.
Jesus responsed to the questioners that He had already told them who He is. The unbelievers’ response is to throw stones at Him and condemn Him, ‘Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand’ [verse 39].
And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.
Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.
But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
[John 10:22-27 NKJV]
The Feast of Dedication is what we know as Hanukkah, celebrated annually by Jews for eight days to commemorate the cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem after it had been desecrated by the Syrians about 170BC. Solomon’s Porch was a colonnade for walking protected from the sun and used for gathering together and debating important questions.
Jesus may well have been there to talk to those who wished to discuss what He had to say, so the significance of the mention of the Feast of Dedication here is that Jesus was placing Himself dedicated to the restoration of the worship of God, at the time when this was being celebrated by every Jew.
This feast was also known as ‘The Feast of Lights’, or ‘The Feast of Illumination’ and was a time for joy and celebration.
‘If You are the Christ, tell us plainly’. If I have any thing to say to Jesus I will find him in the temple. Jesus wants me to believe, while I doubt instead. He has told me plainly and now He reminds me of the benefits of being in His flock. He always gives us that choice when we meet Him in the Holy place where He is.
Jesus responsed to the questioners that He had already told them who He is. The unbelievers’ response is to throw stones at Him and condemn Him, ‘Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand’ [verse 39].
We are based on the platform of reality in prayer by the Atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not our earnestness that brings us into touch with God, not our devotedness, nor our times of prayer, but our Lord Jesus Christ’s vitalising death; and our times of prayer are evidences of reaction on the reality of redemption, so we have the right of approach to God in confidence, that the place of the Ark is our place, ‘therefore, brethren, having boldness.’ What an awe and what a wonder of privilege, ‘to enter the Holiest,’ in the perfectness of the atonement ‘by the blood of Jesus.’
[from ‘Christian Discipline Vol 2’ by Oswald Chambers]
[from ‘Christian Discipline Vol 2’ by Oswald Chambers]
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But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
[John 10:12-18 NKJV]
Previously whenever I have talked of this passage, it has been in relation to William Holman-Hunt’s famous painting (shown above), which in itself is a sermon on John 10:12-18. We see that Jesus is not done with His shepherd/sheep metaphor yet.
The Hireling
A hireling is someone taken on to do menial work for (usually) poor wages. Consequently, the work is not done well, and as we see in the painting, the hireling's mind is rarely on the job he (or she) was hired to do. For the hireling, his own needs and desires are paramount; therefore - Jesus says - I need to look to and trust only Him. Who does the hireling represent spiritually? Anyone who would have me believe that he has my best interests at heart, but who is not Jesus.
'I lay down My life'
Only twice in The Bible, is Jesus quoted as saying 'I lay down My life'. Both times in John chapter 10. In John 13, the idea recurs, but then it is Peter saying it to Jesus. Because 'two' represents 'a witnessing' - God the Father is the one true God; Jesus is the Son, the second part of God, who witnesses to The Father, Who in turn witnesses to His Son ("This is My Beloved Son in whom I AM well pleased").
The Bible repeatedly witnesses to itself - the Old and New Testaments witness to each other - to be fulfilled in the Third Testament, which is the life of The Lord being fulfilled in His People. Here Jesus is stating His relationship with The Father; that His life is not His own, His life belongs to The Father.
Twice, Jesus says 'I lay it [His life] down' and twice 'take it again'; witnessing once more to the power invested in Him by The Father. This is an amazing statement - no wonder sceptics saw His words as blasphemy.
'there will be one flock and one shepherd'
This too is a statement of witness. Just as mentioned above about the testifying relationship between The Father and The Son, there will be the same relationship between Jesus and The Church of God. This is not a matter of doctrine or choice of denominational understanding, it is a simple relationship.
Thus, this exposition of Jesus 'witness statement' has taken longer to explain than Jesus' far better original.
The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
[John 10:12-18 NKJV]
Previously whenever I have talked of this passage, it has been in relation to William Holman-Hunt’s famous painting (shown above), which in itself is a sermon on John 10:12-18. We see that Jesus is not done with His shepherd/sheep metaphor yet.
The Hireling
A hireling is someone taken on to do menial work for (usually) poor wages. Consequently, the work is not done well, and as we see in the painting, the hireling's mind is rarely on the job he (or she) was hired to do. For the hireling, his own needs and desires are paramount; therefore - Jesus says - I need to look to and trust only Him. Who does the hireling represent spiritually? Anyone who would have me believe that he has my best interests at heart, but who is not Jesus.
'I lay down My life'
Only twice in The Bible, is Jesus quoted as saying 'I lay down My life'. Both times in John chapter 10. In John 13, the idea recurs, but then it is Peter saying it to Jesus. Because 'two' represents 'a witnessing' - God the Father is the one true God; Jesus is the Son, the second part of God, who witnesses to The Father, Who in turn witnesses to His Son ("This is My Beloved Son in whom I AM well pleased").
The Bible repeatedly witnesses to itself - the Old and New Testaments witness to each other - to be fulfilled in the Third Testament, which is the life of The Lord being fulfilled in His People. Here Jesus is stating His relationship with The Father; that His life is not His own, His life belongs to The Father.
Twice, Jesus says 'I lay it [His life] down' and twice 'take it again'; witnessing once more to the power invested in Him by The Father. This is an amazing statement - no wonder sceptics saw His words as blasphemy.
'there will be one flock and one shepherd'
This too is a statement of witness. Just as mentioned above about the testifying relationship between The Father and The Son, there will be the same relationship between Jesus and The Church of God. This is not a matter of doctrine or choice of denominational understanding, it is a simple relationship.
Thus, this exposition of Jesus 'witness statement' has taken longer to explain than Jesus' far better original.
Jesus says there are times when our Heavenly Father will appear as if He were a most unnatural father, callous and indifferent. But remember says Jesus, I have told you — ‘everyone who asks receives.’
When we get into spiritual confusion the usual way out is to say we have made a blunder, and we go back instead of forward. “I don’t know what to do;,I am up against a stone wall.” Will you ‘hang in’ to what Jesus said? If there is a shadow on the face of God the Father just now, remain confident that ultimately He will give you His clear issue as Jesus said.
It is not a question of black or white, or right or wrong, of being in communion or out of communion; but a question of God taking us by a way which in the meantime we do not understand.
When we get into spiritual confusion the usual way out is to say we have made a blunder, and we go back instead of forward. “I don’t know what to do;,I am up against a stone wall.” Will you ‘hang in’ to what Jesus said? If there is a shadow on the face of God the Father just now, remain confident that ultimately He will give you His clear issue as Jesus said.
It is not a question of black or white, or right or wrong, of being in communion or out of communion; but a question of God taking us by a way which in the meantime we do not understand.
- Published on
Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
[John 10:7-11 NKJV)
Chapter 10 is full of sheep and the Shepherd. Verses 7 to 11 clarify and expand upon what Jesus says in verses 1 to 5. In between in verse 6, it says '...they did not understand the things which He [Jesus] spoke to them.' They could not understand, perhaps because they were thinking in a literal sense, without the understanding conferred by the Holy Spirit.
It reminds me of my own experience when I first started reading the Bible, when gifted a small Gideon New Testament at age 12. In the two years that followed I diligently followed the reading programme, underlining passages that spoke to me. Most of it 'went over my head', try though I might to find a meaning. It was not that I was totally unfamiliar with scripture - I'd had a Bible and Hymnary for Primary School, and my mother in particular was well versed and could quote a lot from it. It would be another 40 years (wandering in the wilderness?) before I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The effect was not immediate for me, but I almost stumbled over the realisation that, gradually, day by day, I was able to pick up my Bible and find that I had a deepening understanding of the enormous wealth of wisdom and life it contained.
The idea that Jesus could call Himself 'the door of the sheep' no longer sounded daft, but had an amazing deep resonance. I daresay such experience is common to many, but what we can see from this Gospel truth, is that Jesus was always aware that most were not going to 'get' His message straight away, and that He will wait patiently until the moment is right for each of us to turn to Him.
'I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.'
Jesus likened Himself to the door, because a door or a gate is a two-way thing - and we 'will go in and out' until the moment when we are ready to go out no more.
'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.'
[Revelation 3:12]
That is why He is The Good Shepherd; He knows how to tend to His flock and knows how they (we) will behave. He understands us, even if we often fail to understand Him.
All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
[John 10:7-11 NKJV)
Chapter 10 is full of sheep and the Shepherd. Verses 7 to 11 clarify and expand upon what Jesus says in verses 1 to 5. In between in verse 6, it says '...they did not understand the things which He [Jesus] spoke to them.' They could not understand, perhaps because they were thinking in a literal sense, without the understanding conferred by the Holy Spirit.
It reminds me of my own experience when I first started reading the Bible, when gifted a small Gideon New Testament at age 12. In the two years that followed I diligently followed the reading programme, underlining passages that spoke to me. Most of it 'went over my head', try though I might to find a meaning. It was not that I was totally unfamiliar with scripture - I'd had a Bible and Hymnary for Primary School, and my mother in particular was well versed and could quote a lot from it. It would be another 40 years (wandering in the wilderness?) before I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The effect was not immediate for me, but I almost stumbled over the realisation that, gradually, day by day, I was able to pick up my Bible and find that I had a deepening understanding of the enormous wealth of wisdom and life it contained.
The idea that Jesus could call Himself 'the door of the sheep' no longer sounded daft, but had an amazing deep resonance. I daresay such experience is common to many, but what we can see from this Gospel truth, is that Jesus was always aware that most were not going to 'get' His message straight away, and that He will wait patiently until the moment is right for each of us to turn to Him.
'I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.'
Jesus likened Himself to the door, because a door or a gate is a two-way thing - and we 'will go in and out' until the moment when we are ready to go out no more.
'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.'
[Revelation 3:12]
That is why He is The Good Shepherd; He knows how to tend to His flock and knows how they (we) will behave. He understands us, even if we often fail to understand Him.
Loyalty to Jesus Christ is the supernatural work of Redemption wrought in me by the Holy Ghost Who shed abroad the love of God in my heart, and that love works efficaciously through me in contact with everyone I meet.
- Published on
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
[John 10:1-5 NKJV]
At first reading, it is a little difficult to identify who is what and what is what in this parable. No wonder verse 6 says ‘they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.’ Some images are clear immediately — the shepherd is Jesus Himself — but who is the doorkeeper?
Well, the doorkeeper seems to allude to the church. If that is so, then the rest of the message makes sense, because ‘to Him the doorkeeper opens’, although Him is shown as him. Even so, some of the words do not make sense to the rational mind of today. Sheepfolds have gates not doors (although gate would translate readily), and why would you need to ‘climb up’ to the door whether you be a robber or a saint ... or a sheep, come to that?
I confess that I have no ready answer to this conundrum, except to say that thieves and robbers will always have to climb up out of the pit to gain anything, and that whether the sheepfold has a gate or a door, our Lord leads His captive flock to freedom in Him. Hallelujah!
What is clear from this is that with the Holy Spirit, we will without fail recognise our Lord and Master — the Shepherd of the Sheep; for we know that ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’.
But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
[John 10:1-5 NKJV]
At first reading, it is a little difficult to identify who is what and what is what in this parable. No wonder verse 6 says ‘they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.’ Some images are clear immediately — the shepherd is Jesus Himself — but who is the doorkeeper?
Well, the doorkeeper seems to allude to the church. If that is so, then the rest of the message makes sense, because ‘to Him the doorkeeper opens’, although Him is shown as him. Even so, some of the words do not make sense to the rational mind of today. Sheepfolds have gates not doors (although gate would translate readily), and why would you need to ‘climb up’ to the door whether you be a robber or a saint ... or a sheep, come to that?
I confess that I have no ready answer to this conundrum, except to say that thieves and robbers will always have to climb up out of the pit to gain anything, and that whether the sheepfold has a gate or a door, our Lord leads His captive flock to freedom in Him. Hallelujah!
What is clear from this is that with the Holy Spirit, we will without fail recognise our Lord and Master — the Shepherd of the Sheep; for we know that ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’.
The look of Jesus will mean a heart broken forever from allegiance to any other person or thing.
Has Jesus ever looked at you?
The look of Jesus transforms and transfixes. Where you are ‘soft’ with God is where the Lord has looked at you. If you are hard and vindictive, insistent on your own way, certain that the other person is more likely to be in the wrong than you are, it is an indication that there are whole tracts of your nature that have never been transformed by His gaze.
[from ‘Called of God’]
Has Jesus ever looked at you?
The look of Jesus transforms and transfixes. Where you are ‘soft’ with God is where the Lord has looked at you. If you are hard and vindictive, insistent on your own way, certain that the other person is more likely to be in the wrong than you are, it is an indication that there are whole tracts of your nature that have never been transformed by His gaze.
[from ‘Called of God’]
- Published on
In noticing that Jesus was awake while the disciples slept in Gethsemane, we should also consider that — as we sleep — Jesus Himself is in the most fervent prayer with the Father. The heavenly messengers — the Angels — are working overtime while we rest.
Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.
[Matthew 26:45-46 NKJV]
Jesus needs His disciples to sleep, to rest and recover, so that He can speak to the deepest parts of us. He knows that the purpose of sleep is that we are prepared; strengthened for what is ahead. We cannot merely sit meekly doing nothing. He speaks to us, ‘Rise, let us be going.’
He gives us the free will choice of going with Him; joining Him wherever it will lead, but with the caveat, ‘See, My betrayer is at hand.’ It is not the easy road. The choice is clear, either go with Him to and through the Cross to new life — resurrection life — or go with the betrayer and side with the sinners. ‘Choose whom you will serve’; that is the reality of the agony in Gethsemane.
Gethsemane is ‘the oil press’, where the anointing of the Holy Spirit is worked in us, concentrated by His prayer to keep us following Him. Only by travelling that way with Him do see the glory, or we can turn back to the darkness we knew before.
Jesus already knows your answer, but His prayer is always that you turn your eyes upon Him.
Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.
[Matthew 26:45-46 NKJV]
Jesus needs His disciples to sleep, to rest and recover, so that He can speak to the deepest parts of us. He knows that the purpose of sleep is that we are prepared; strengthened for what is ahead. We cannot merely sit meekly doing nothing. He speaks to us, ‘Rise, let us be going.’
He gives us the free will choice of going with Him; joining Him wherever it will lead, but with the caveat, ‘See, My betrayer is at hand.’ It is not the easy road. The choice is clear, either go with Him to and through the Cross to new life — resurrection life — or go with the betrayer and side with the sinners. ‘Choose whom you will serve’; that is the reality of the agony in Gethsemane.
Gethsemane is ‘the oil press’, where the anointing of the Holy Spirit is worked in us, concentrated by His prayer to keep us following Him. Only by travelling that way with Him do see the glory, or we can turn back to the darkness we knew before.
Jesus already knows your answer, but His prayer is always that you turn your eyes upon Him.
The joy of Jesus was the absolute Self-surrender and Self-sacrifice of Himself to the will of His Father, the joy of doing exactly what the Father sent Him to do, and He prays that His disciples may have this same joy fulfilled in themselves.
[from ‘Bringing Sons Into Glory’]
[from ‘Bringing Sons Into Glory’]