hound of heaven spurgeon

This is about Christ setting the record straight. St. Luke's Episcopal Church. His salvation is provided at great cost, and in a way of His own choosing there are no other paths up the mountain of God. If Jesus had heard the news, then waited two days, then taken a day to travel to Bethany, that means that by the time the messenger arrived at Jesus Lazarus would have already been dead. It is always interesting when Scripture uses such a specific number to describe something. The truth that this conveys is that when human beings are allowed to have everything they naturally want, those natural desires are evil and rebellious not loving and seeking after the will of God. And if you are not a Christian then you have no lens to properly view these events. For no man will ever call upon the name of the Lord without the gracious help of God who opens our eyes and shows us the glory of the light of Jesus for what it truly is.[vii]. We have a Savior, aye, this is true but more than that, we have a friend. As if this wasnt clear enough, Jesus also stated: And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. But what John is highlighting here by leaving this part in about Peter is to say that humanly speaking we try so very hard to be in control. Both men were elevated to the highest positions in the land due to their faith. [10] Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish that you have just caught. [11] So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. John Owen rightly explains that this charge against them isnt aimed at their being slow mentally, or having a learning disability. [vii] Bruce Ware talks about how people see Christ intellectually, but they dont see him as glorious. I love the fact that He has identified with us in our suffering. Because we have the mind of Christ, we must also elevate our thoughts to His, to celebrate the significance of a lost sinner coming to salvation. Therefore, as D.A. Her breathless voice bursts out the news and immediately Peter and John take off for the tomb. The kingdom of God means that God is King and acts in history to bring history to a divinely directed goal. Those things which Daniel saw as far away, John saw as fulfilled at least partially in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the inauguration of his kingdom. He knows the details of your life because He ordained the details of your life. Therefore I must patiently wait for His plan to unfold even amidst trial. He has compassion for his sheep, for His children. That the world lies under condemnation from its own sin, That Gods love and plan for salvation extends far wider than simply to the people of Israel, That Jesus is the chosen instrument through which mankind will be saved from eternal damnation. [33] Who shall bring any charge against Gods elect? J.C. Ryle gets at an important point that I hadnt thought of right away, namely that the world mocks at repentance. Not to move on from the Gospel, but to better understand and appreciate the profundity of it glory. Only then do I feel like I have an excuse to lose my temper. Finally, we must understand the significance of His resurrection in light of being a plant in His garden, and Spurgeon articulates this important truth well: One other thought. Men who feign love for truth but are, in fact, miniature anti-Christs, pawns of their father the Devil who is using them until such a time when this course of action has run its course, and he moves on and leaves them to die still enslaved to him. [3] And this we will do if God permits. [25] For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. We weep because we are dying and we live in a dying world. May his words bring you the comfort they brought me: If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of conversion. And He appears precisely at the point where his presence is required, because all other voices for conveying to her the gladsome tidings have failedThe first person to whom He showed Himself alive after the resurrection was a weeping woman, who had no greater claim upon Him than any simple penitent sinner has. Peter has no inhibitions about going in if something has happened to his friend hes going to know about it and see the whole matter for himself. There is here a veiled reference to Matt. Interestingly, Beale thinks that John wrote Revelation with the book of Daniel in mind especially important in Daniel is the already/not yet function of his literature. Here is another one of the great I AM saying of Christ (the 5th one, if youre keeping track). And yet again, we must read as much with our hearts as with our minds, applying both to the task. But when one reads the poem this strangeness disappears. He has been given all power by the Father to execute His life-saving mission here on earth (see chapter 5). Sin is not simply what we do, its who we are we are sinners. 3:12)[ix]. I will feed them in justice. [14] I am the good shepherd. Another example of this is found in Acts 8 where we read the case of Simon Magus who was amazed by the miracles being wrought by the disciples of Jesus so he believed in Jesus. 846-847. This view robs the church of important teachings concerning the kingdom that are clearly set forth in the New Testament. But needless to say that the God whose hand was in the suffering and death of His Son is also in your life not just to make you appreciate the good times, but to fashion you after His Son in order that you might have true joy both now and forever in heaven. If heaven is rejoicing at these things, ought we not to give them our attention as well? But it is popular tradition now to assume this be the case. Cant they just let us mourn Him? Prior to this verse, the Lord Jesus has been the one speaking, but many scholars believe that John 3:16 is actually John now commenting, and given the flow and narrative of the passage, I believe that this is correct. The disciples had no such privilege at that moment. As Moses says, this Word of God is our very life surely it is worthy of our attention today. Cast away your pride and your old life and trust in the salvation that comes from believing in the name of Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV). 11:28-29When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, The Teacher is here and is calling for you. [29]And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Ryken says that this word receives (prosdechomai) was to welcome them into fellowship, to accept them and associate with them. Our sins are recognized as that which is an offence first and foremost against God. Carson notes how some theologians remark that this power seemed to be so awful (awe-inspiring) that had He not specified the name of Lazarus that all dead people everywhere would have had to obey His fiat. It is a world-historical movement, following the fall of Adam, in which God works to defeat Satan and bring human beings to acknowledge Christ as Lord. As long as ever I could, I rebelled, and revolted, and struggled against God. You were faithless, hopeless, and on a grim march toward eternal death when He snatched you off that path and plucked you like a brand from the burning (Zech. The hallmark of this text is a warning to believers not to live their lives as introverted and covetous people. He had a word for everyone because He was rescuing men and women from every tribe, tongue and nation. He initiates a love for us that softens our hearts, and draws us to Himself. Specifically, we see in the word so at the beginning of verse six, that Christs motivation for staying is born out of verse fives love for the Bethany family. Here He is speaking of the disciples. Praise God He has not passed us over, but has shed His grace and mercy upon us, the underserving, the helpless, the hopeless in order that we may be given a hope that will never fail. We have loved ones with cancer. The second thing I want to note here is that Martha is the one who comes running to Jesus when word reaches their home that the Lord is on His way, and is nearing the village. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. The argument used by non-Reformed people is that the text teaches that everybody in the world has it in their power to accept or reject Christ. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10). It is God who justifies. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? "There cannot be heaven without Christ. [ix] R.C. Once again, Luke 19:10 serves as a wonderful guide to understanding this chapter, Forthe Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost., 15:1-2 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. It could also be a literary/stylistic devise he is employing to prime the reader for more to come (namely in chapter 12:3). Let him go up. (2 Chronicles 36:22-23 ESV). Matthew Henry is wise to point our attention to the Lords own words about His coming resurrection and how this generation would ask for a sign of His messianic qualifications and would receive no other sign but that of the Sign of Jonah.. Pink notes the fulfillment of a few OT types: in crossing the brook Cedron, accompanied by His disciples, another Old Testament type was most strikingly fulfilled. Why is this? And Peters denial is set off against the meekness of the Lamb, sent to the slaughter. So not every thought is written long-form, there are several footnotes with other thoughts at the bottom, and everything is in bullet form. In the context of the Fourth Gospel, these verses deal with Peters reinstatement to service, not his elevation to primacy.. As Jesus has already told us in chapter 10: For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. I hid from him, and under running laughter. (John 17:12 ESV). 23:6-12) and Jesus final appearance before Pilate (Mt. It would have taken an amazing effort to have accomplished this this was a coordinated effort. [10] For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. In Scripture there are at least three different ways/modes God can be glorified (generally speaking). The theology fell out of style, yet there are some very smart theologians whom I respect who still hold this theology today. Certainly I believe that since Christ the world has been changed in huge part by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 53:6), no one does anything that is truly good in the eyes of the Holy God we serve (Roman 3:12). She didnt realize she was talking to Jesus! The scene is a complex one. A careful look at the text reveals, however, that it teaches nothing of the kind. Believers will indeed gain wealth, influence, and even dominance.[xv]. This account includes the restoration of the Apostle Peter. This is the real central point of all of these parables, namely the great lengths to which Jesus has gone to rescue us from ourselves. [13] First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. A session of the Sanhedrin (Mt. It isnt as though His staying away had any affect on the situation materially. [6] Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. In each parable something that was lost been restored. How we think about the kingdom of God shapes how we view the book of Revelation, and perhaps the millennium question in particular. MacArthur makes a good point about the Greek word used here that is often translated troubled is actually more accurately understood as sternly warned or scolding in terms of the feeling it conveys. I think there are two tricky things here. (We saw the contrast for example between the hope of Christ in the joy to come, and Thomas duty-bound devotion in verse 16). You need milk, not solid food, [13] for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14:53-65) with frank consensus was followed by a formal decision at dawn and dispatch to Pilate (Mt. While Peter is sinning, Jesus is obeying. In answer to their question about the kingdom, Jesus gave the fundamental mission of the church. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 177. [20]So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Left as it is, water creeps into crevices and freezes, thereby expanding and cracking the cement blocks. Francis Thompson, Gordon MacDonald. There is no doubt that the world was in darkness before He came so much so that every other nation worshiped idols except Israel. He says, In Pliny the Elders Historia Naturalis he lists all the known fish species at the time. Paul reminds us that: For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. It is a kingdom which will never be shaken. [14] But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. He doesnt simply understand it for we could well believe that He understands it being, as He is, a all-wise all-knowing God but He also empathizes with us. Here we learn how this discernment is achieved: by constant practice. Jesus calls upon us to be both approachable and loving and also transparently truthful. [6] And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. [7] Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Because when we face the most extreme circumstances that this life can throw at us, we can do so with a full understanding that the one who walked on the earth and felt our pain and our suffering and our daily irritations is the same One who calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, is the same one who rose from the grave, and is the same one who will one day defeat ALL death and sickness and famine to His own praise and glory. If you were in the garden, in the courtyard, at the temple, you would also have betrayed Christ. She supposed Him to be the gardener. For as Paul tells us: Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned[13]for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. The immature are unskilled in the word of righteousness. We must immerse ourselves in Scripture Reading, Scripture Memorization, Scripture meditation, and prayer. While futurists await a future literal earthly kingdom (which we all look for), the way in which we speak about and think about Gods exercise of power and authority over the world, and the souls of lost people is important. They dont want to hear that they are sinners and that their sin is wrong. We all must stand in debt and awe that the Hound of Heaven has chased us down, has set His great and mighty love upon us, and though we deserved it not, has rescued us from certain death. That is why we have the fellowship of the church. In fact, they just left and went back to their homes leaving Mary at the tomb with her sorrow. [ix] Tom Schreiner, New Testament Biblical Theology, Pg. Leave here does not mean forsake, for the author clarifies by stating not laying again a foundation, in other words you need to start building on the foundation. Our King reigns now, so for us to put the kingdom of God entirely in the future is to miss one of the most significant points of the New Testament. Surely His love looks greater and greater the more we look at Peter and our own souls. But he is correct that from what I have read at least, letters (a), (b) and (c) are universal in their appearance in the minds of many commentators, and definitely appeared in my mind as I studied the passage. Spurgeon was a man well acquainted with sorrow and pain and he penned the following graphs based around his understanding of Romans 14:8, which says, We live unto the Lord.. The Elevation of Worship in Todays Culture, Reformation Month Devotionals: Thoughts from Richard Baxter. (a) I think that Christs remarkable appearance to the disciples, when they were in the act of fishing, was meant to remind them and the whole Church of the primary duty of ministers. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. John Frame[xviii] and Keith Mathison both consider themselves Post-Millennial. [15] Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. What God does He does in such a way as to indicated that He is God, AND that He is good! Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. As this text was originally written, it referred only to the length of life and the length of existence which God promised to his obedient Israel. I know my own and my own know me, [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 11:30-32Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. In time, as we follow Gods example of agape love for our enemies, we may even begin to experience phileo love for some of them as we start to see them through Gods eyes. For He delights in taking weak dying sinners and bathing them in the nutrition imparting light of His gospel. Come!, 11:38-40Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. Its applicable to what were looking at here, because I believe it will show us something of the character of God, and if we can catch a glimpse of that, perhaps we can more rightly appropriate what He is working in our lives through suffering and storms. He arrived at some knowledge of his own heart and some knowledge of God's heart. "It hath not entered the heart of man, the . [25] Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. His mercy is showcased in the way in which He loves the unlovable whom He amazingly sees as valuable enough to search the earth over for and saves them out of a wretched situation. So John gets to the tomb but theres no Jesus, and he doesnt enter into the gravesite but observes the scene from outside the door. Ordo we stay in our homes sobbing over a loss or a heartache. Isaiah cowered in fear. Collection administered by Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Likewise, the miracle that were about to read of bolstered the faith of the disciples and those who were near Christ. Father! [16] The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirsheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. He truly is Lord of all and he exercises that Lordship full now, though it is unseen (as Sproul mentions above). He was not a hypocrite in His teaching, He lived out this love it was this love that motivated His every action and controlled His every move. Let us live earnest, useful, holy lives, to the praise of the glory of his grace. [20]Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, [21]so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. But why? Even the loss and the letdown. He wields His power and knowledge with wisdom and His plans are never foiled. Do we run to our master, the healer, the Lord? Finally, the Apostle does not stop with this exhortation, but goes on to deliver a comforting reminder (read verse 3). [34] For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, [35] until I make your enemies your footstool. [36] Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. (Acts 2:23-36). If Adam represented us in the garden, Peter represented us in the courtyard: Liars. 15:16-19 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. I mean, I was JUST there in heaven in the throne room!, Christians ought to behave different because they have a different perspective. (Isaiah 66:18-19), ***Isaiah clearly has an eschatological purpose here, and I will talk later about how Paul sees Gods glory as currently mediated through the Bible (2 Cor. is possibly represented by the woman in the second parable Pg. He waited to come to them out of love, remember. He brings us out of darkness into His marvelous light by His sovereign initiating love. Before He endured the cross, He wanted to shore up the faith of those disciples who had for so long been following His words and His teaching. [2]It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. And the coin that is lost well you guessed it, thats the lost sinner God is searching after.[7]. The second point is mind blowing and its also where people get tripped up in Universalism. His tripartite restoration of this impetuous man mirrored the three-fold denial which Peter had so shamefully displayed just days before. I believe its crucial that we understand God as working even now dynamically, personally, powerfully in history and in the lives of men all across the globe to expand his kingdom a real kingdom of real people. It has been a few months since you studied these passages, so let me just remind you that Jesus had come into Jerusalem riding on a colt people triumphantly praising His arrival, which John details in chapter 12. I love the thought that Jesus, the Supreme Gardener, appears at this time to what might be regarded as the weakest and feeblest of the plants in His garden. The words, whoever believes in him should not perish assume that there will be some who do perish, and that had Christ not come into the world all would, indeed, perish. It is his duty, one might say. Cowards. Francis Thompson (1859-1907) 239. There's a famous reading by Richard Burton here: http://youtu.be/gToj6SLWz8Qhttp://en.wikipedia.org/. The number one hundred fifty-three represents 100 for the Gentiles, 50 for the Jews, and 3 for the Trinity. Now we come to passage that is so majestic and so profound in its display of Christs power that I can hardly find the right words to describe what we read here. This discerning is shorthand for living in such a way that reflects Gods work within you it means loving others and God, and is the result of a renewed mind and transformed heart. [2] He makes me lie down in green pastures. http://www.gotquestions.org/phileo-love.html#ixzz3FWIhOYPt. ", But Thompson also knew the unrelenting love of Jesus, the hound of heaven. If you are a Christian and you have become puffed up in your walk. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. Because Jesus is who and he is he inevitably divides people., Specifically, it is interesting that some people ran to the PhariseesCarson says, One might charitably hope that the motive of at least some of them was to win the Pharisees to the truth, but the contrast set up between those who believe and those who go to the Pharisees suggest that their intent was more malicious., Ryle says that these people who ran to the Pharisees had been hardened in heart, Instead of being softened and convinced, they were hardened and enraged. John is concerned to show that Christ Jesus understands our pains, He understands our sorrows. In order to do that, we must be knowledge about what He says in His Word. Its hard to read 1 John and really put your finger on how that will happen but we can look to how it happens in inches during our lifetimes here on earth and thats exactly the purpose of what Paul was writing in 2 Corinthians, and why Christ came to raise Lazarus from the grave in John 11. We meet another similar such example when Gabriel visits Zachariah in the temple and tells him about how his wife Elizabeth is going to bear a child he is aghast at Zachariahs reaction unbelief. 15. But I have also been blessed by the tribulations of this world; they are the fashioning hand of my gracious Lord who works out all things for good. [6] In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. C.H. [ix] Again we see the call to Spiritual maturity, which is more than simply intellectual sophistication (Sproul). So the resurrection should not have been a surprise, but I believe that in the moment it was a shock, and the disciples were stunned by the sequence of unfolding events. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. The stench of death was likely setting in, and no one ever though of the man comingbackto life. There were two trials, one Jewish and one Roman. (Philippians 1:9-11). [xi] We must inculcate His truths into our minds and lives. . He will then deceive the nations again, presumably achieving some measure of his old power. God has showed both common grace to all of mankind in that Hes allowed a way of salvation at all, and a more specific and particular saving grace to those whom He chose to save before He made the world. They said, The Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. They were concerned that the Roman leadership would be disturbed by the commotion of the Jewish citizenry and the potential consolidation of power behind a rebel leader (namely Jesus). The Rev. Earlier in John we read Jesus words to Nicodemus: Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3). [16] For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. We know that He was fully human and we know He was emotional (had emotional ties to Martha and Marry and Lazarus) about this situation. Your mind will become alert and observant. Autobiography, Vol. So we see here that the character and majestic holiness of Jesus is bound up in the name, and the revelation of this is too much for the finite soul to really process. As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with unhurried and unperturbed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His divine grace. Also present were john and Alexander, but we know nothing about them. And where we spend our time and money is an accurate reflection of where our affections truly lie. (f) I think, besides this, that the respective positions of the disciples and Christ, when they first saw Him, may possibly be intended to represent the respective positions of Christ and His people during this dispensation. For if many died through one mans trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. The great signs (of which this is the 7th and final in Johns gospel) of this book point to the character of Jesus Christ and His true identity as the Son of God. What this verse does teach us is that God has prepared a way of salvation (eternal salvation) for the whole world people from every tribe and tongue and nation will have a way to be saved. And those who do not believe in the name of the Son of God will not be saved from that condemnation. Even in the midst of all this seeming chaos, Jesus is getting everything He wants. (Ephesians 2:8-10). For those of us who are children of God, saved from the wrath of the Father because of the work of Christ on the cross, we must not miss the importance of this text. Ill say more about that in a moment. Is John contradicting himself? [39]Jesus said, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days. [40]Jesus said to her, Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?. Hes using this Word to do that. In this culture hospitality was a very important part of the social order, and who you ate with was just as important. "The Hound of Heaven" however, is still relevant. Last night I preached a message from verses John 3:16-21 in our evening service and Ive posted both the notes and the audio below. The New Testament church has become the Israel of God. The second principle is tied to the first, and it is this: The kingdom of God is dynamic. That is to say it is more than just this idea of God separately reigning in heaven, He is working out His will in and amongst us in time and space.
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