My people, listen to my teaching. Listen to what I say. I will speak using stories. I will tell secret things from long ago...We will not keep them from our children. We will tell those who come later about the praises of the Lord. We will tell about His power and the miracles He has done. (Verses 1-4)
This secret was the message that was hidden from everyone since the beginning of time, but now it is made known to God's holy people. God decided to let His people know this rich and glorious secret which He has for all people. This secret is Christ Himself, who is in you. Colossians 1
Got any family secrets? Shameful things hidden in the back of the family closet that if anyone knew it would ruin the sterling reputations of generations? Or just some you hide from everyone because you are ashamed of yourself? Or maybe you are holding on to a great secret that you can't tell yet...and can't wait to. I knew what was going to happen in the last episode of Downton Abbey last night and kept the secret for two weeks. But, I digress. (What was the writer thinking, though? Really.)
The Godhead kept a secret for thousands of years. Hinted at it. The Three-In-One knew the plan all along. From the beginning. The Father wanted to adopt children. From the likes of mankind. Wanted to make them literally His. With His DNA. After the last Old Testament writer, Malachi, dotted the last i and crossed the last t, God didn't speak directly to Israel for four hundred years. Nothing. One of the last things God said was: The names of those who honored the Lord and respected Him were written in His presence in a book to be remembered. The Lord All-Powerful says, "They belong to Me. On that day they will be My very own. As a parent shows mercy to a child who serves him, I will show mercy to My people." Malachi 3:16. Then silence.
One day a star arose in the night sky. Unbelievably large and eye-catching in its brilliance. God winking. It's time. The baby cooing in the night air of a manger -- He's the secret. Lamb of God, the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. The first piece of the heavenly puzzle. Why this day above others? Why now after all the years of silence? Shhh....that's a secret. The Father wants to surprise us. And He does. Jesus wasn't a king...not here. Slaughtered as a perfect offering. Outside the city. What is going on? Disciples scratching their heads while they hide as cowards from the law. "When I go away I will send the Helper to you. If I do not go away the Helper will not come." John 17.
Up from the grave came Jesus. On His own. The Helper, the Spirit, there just like they planned to power a dusty body back to life. Mary can't believe it. Neither can Peter and John. Where did He go? Then Jesus is there. With them. Touching them. Eating with them. He has risen to the Father and come back to have a talk with the men about the rest of the secret. About the kingdom of God. "Wait for the Holy Spirit, Who I told you about. When He comes to you, you will receive power. They couldn't think what that would look like. Sitting in an upper room in a Jerusalem building, over a hundred of His disciples, friends and family anticipating...something.
Whoosh! A mighty wind! Doors rattled. Shutters flapped. The day of Pentecost had come. The Feast of Weeks. Fifty days after Passover. Fifty days after the death of Christ. It celebrated first fruits of the harvest. And the Trinity smiled...or maybe celebrated with raucous laughter, clapping hands, jumping up and down. The secret fully revealed. The joy for which they planned before planet Earth began to spin. The Holy Spirit's turn. Rushing into men and women, firing their lives with intention and power. Raising them from their chairs to go out into a world that needs to see what it looks like when humans get the DNA of God. Indwelt by the Helper. Pregnant with the power of the Most High God. Who is now their Father. The true children of God are those who let His Spirit lead them. The Spirit we received does not make us slaves again to fear. It makes us children of God!!! With that Spirit we cry out "Father!" And the Spirit Himself joins with our spirits to say we are God's children...God knew them before He made the world, and He decided that they would be like His Son so that Jesus would be the firstborn of many children. Romans 8. Jesus the first fruit of Pentecost.
And there it is. The secret this psalmist didn't know yet. The big plan. God would sow His Spirit in man. How it must have thrilled the Godhead to see those first disciples as they healed the sick, cast out demons and proclaimed the secret to the whole wide world! From the inside out, the children of God move in concert with the risen Lord Who guides them by the power of His Spirit. Are you dancing yet? But for those who honor Me, goodness will shine on you like the sun, with healing in its rays. You will jump around, like well-fed calves...on the day I do this. Malachi.
Christ in us, the hope of glory. And Jesus said: "It is finished."
This secret was the message that was hidden from everyone since the beginning of time, but now it is made known to God's holy people. God decided to let His people know this rich and glorious secret which He has for all people. This secret is Christ Himself, who is in you. Colossians 1
Got any family secrets? Shameful things hidden in the back of the family closet that if anyone knew it would ruin the sterling reputations of generations? Or just some you hide from everyone because you are ashamed of yourself? Or maybe you are holding on to a great secret that you can't tell yet...and can't wait to. I knew what was going to happen in the last episode of Downton Abbey last night and kept the secret for two weeks. But, I digress. (What was the writer thinking, though? Really.)
The Godhead kept a secret for thousands of years. Hinted at it. The Three-In-One knew the plan all along. From the beginning. The Father wanted to adopt children. From the likes of mankind. Wanted to make them literally His. With His DNA. After the last Old Testament writer, Malachi, dotted the last i and crossed the last t, God didn't speak directly to Israel for four hundred years. Nothing. One of the last things God said was: The names of those who honored the Lord and respected Him were written in His presence in a book to be remembered. The Lord All-Powerful says, "They belong to Me. On that day they will be My very own. As a parent shows mercy to a child who serves him, I will show mercy to My people." Malachi 3:16. Then silence.
One day a star arose in the night sky. Unbelievably large and eye-catching in its brilliance. God winking. It's time. The baby cooing in the night air of a manger -- He's the secret. Lamb of God, the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. The first piece of the heavenly puzzle. Why this day above others? Why now after all the years of silence? Shhh....that's a secret. The Father wants to surprise us. And He does. Jesus wasn't a king...not here. Slaughtered as a perfect offering. Outside the city. What is going on? Disciples scratching their heads while they hide as cowards from the law. "When I go away I will send the Helper to you. If I do not go away the Helper will not come." John 17.
Up from the grave came Jesus. On His own. The Helper, the Spirit, there just like they planned to power a dusty body back to life. Mary can't believe it. Neither can Peter and John. Where did He go? Then Jesus is there. With them. Touching them. Eating with them. He has risen to the Father and come back to have a talk with the men about the rest of the secret. About the kingdom of God. "Wait for the Holy Spirit, Who I told you about. When He comes to you, you will receive power. They couldn't think what that would look like. Sitting in an upper room in a Jerusalem building, over a hundred of His disciples, friends and family anticipating...something.
Whoosh! A mighty wind! Doors rattled. Shutters flapped. The day of Pentecost had come. The Feast of Weeks. Fifty days after Passover. Fifty days after the death of Christ. It celebrated first fruits of the harvest. And the Trinity smiled...or maybe celebrated with raucous laughter, clapping hands, jumping up and down. The secret fully revealed. The joy for which they planned before planet Earth began to spin. The Holy Spirit's turn. Rushing into men and women, firing their lives with intention and power. Raising them from their chairs to go out into a world that needs to see what it looks like when humans get the DNA of God. Indwelt by the Helper. Pregnant with the power of the Most High God. Who is now their Father. The true children of God are those who let His Spirit lead them. The Spirit we received does not make us slaves again to fear. It makes us children of God!!! With that Spirit we cry out "Father!" And the Spirit Himself joins with our spirits to say we are God's children...God knew them before He made the world, and He decided that they would be like His Son so that Jesus would be the firstborn of many children. Romans 8. Jesus the first fruit of Pentecost.
And there it is. The secret this psalmist didn't know yet. The big plan. God would sow His Spirit in man. How it must have thrilled the Godhead to see those first disciples as they healed the sick, cast out demons and proclaimed the secret to the whole wide world! From the inside out, the children of God move in concert with the risen Lord Who guides them by the power of His Spirit. Are you dancing yet? But for those who honor Me, goodness will shine on you like the sun, with healing in its rays. You will jump around, like well-fed calves...on the day I do this. Malachi.
Christ in us, the hope of glory. And Jesus said: "It is finished."
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