Category: Hardman Truth

Three words, “God with Man”, describe God’s desired end game well; a Holy loving God living with His redeemed people.  If only given one word for God’s plan, it would be “Immanuel” meaning God with us.  Jesus, as we more commonly refer to Immanuel, was God’s Word (John 1:1) to us.  In His modeled, surrendered state, He is God the Father’s will and He is literally God the Father’s work (viewed in His part at creation; in the ‘works of God’ on earth; in interceding for us even now; in preparing a place for us; and on and on). He is the Word, the Will, the Work, the Way, the Truth, the Resurrection and the Life.  In a word, ‘Jesus’ is the plan for a righteous, free-willed people to be with God in a restored order (Revelations 21-22).

This was revealed in great depth to the Apostle Paul who worded it this way in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ”. God spoke many promises to men, and all of them are proved true, or are “Yes”, in Jesus.  Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change His mind.  Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? God’s word is solid, unchanging, and carried out – through Christ and through Christ obedient followers, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

If space were not an issue (the Bible couldn’t hold all there was to say of Him and this devotional sure won’t) we could consider Christ’s contributions of teaching of truth, performing of miracles, one sacrifice for all sin, defeat of death and the grave, afterlife place preparation, intercession, and then the pending promises of return, justice, and reign.  But with space being limited, let’s tackle one that although it was so high on Jesus’s teaching topics, it is rarely described much in churches today in the way Jesus described it. Let’s consider His establishment of the kingdom.

In Matthew 3:2, we see John the Baptist speaking of Jesus saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”   In Matthew 4:17, Jesus repeats the very same saying personally. Both the forerunner John and the messiah Jesus, are fulfilling prophesy (Isaiah 40:3; Isiah 9:7) in their actions and statements. The kingdom has come into men’s presence.  A kingdom of which it says in Isaiah 9:7 whose ruler’s “greatness of His government and peace there will be no end.”

When asked by the Pharisees in Luke 17:20-21 when the kingdom would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Rather than something to be observed it is something to be found.  Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added until you.” And when truly found, all material and worldly things will be forfeit before it.  In Matthew 44-46, Jesus shows us, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

While the spiritual kingdom is not physically observed, there is a great Kingdom Difference that can be realized; one worth a full change of life’s focus.  Consider the difference of kingdom salvation (John 3:16-18) versus eternal damnation.  Consider abundant kingdom life versus eternal death (John 10:10).  A worldly burden of guilt versus the kingdom’s religious liberty (Romans 8:1-2). Faith in God versus fear of man or circumstance (Hebrews 13:6). Trust versus anxiety or worry (Matthew 6:25-34).  Purposefulness versus aimlessness (Jeremiah 29:11).  Passion versus depression (Lamentations 3:22-24).  Assurance versus doubt (1 John 5:13).  Full knowledge versus ignorance (Colossians 2:2).  Peace versus turmoil (Isaiah 26:3).  Can you ‘see’ this kingdom worth trading all for?  ‘In Christ’ the kingdom is in your midst and present and a different lifestyle is possible.   Seek Him and His righteousness today.

Derek Dougherty

When my daughter was in 1^st grade, my son was still a year away from starting school. We lived in Southern Pine, NC which had a great quaint downtown shopping area and a regionally famous breakfast restaurant called ‘Mac’s Breakfast Anytime’.  My wife would drop my daughter off at school downtown and she and my son Landon would have the day together until they picked up Beth again at 3 pm, often including a morning walk in the ‘Village’ and breakfast at ‘Mac’s”. Every day was an adventure to Landon and I will never forget my four-year-old saying, every day with enthusiasm, “Mom (or Dad), what’s the Plan, What’s the Plan?!” Those days as a young family living out ‘the plan’ were so sweet. Inherently, as humans and Christians, we want to know the Plan. This is built into us. God’s Plan is the real ‘big-picture’ Plan for not only Christians but all people. The Bible delivers God’s plan thoroughly, starting with the initiation at creation in Genesis 1 and culminating with His delivered end-goal in Revelation 22. Understanding the plan is pivotal to God’s people understanding the offering of God’s love and their place in His Kingdom:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. It included land and sea, dark and light, plants and animals, and man and woman.  God spoke this creation into existence, saying “Let there be light, etc.” Jesus, God’s faithful Son, assisted God the Father from the very beginning. Speaking of Jesus, John 1:1-3 tells us that, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.’ At the completion of a six-day creation project God declared that “It was good.” The necessary beginning of the Plan was in place and it was set up well for His purposes.

In a simple phrase, God’s plan or purpose, as revealed clearly throughout the Bible, is “God with Man”. The depth of the plan, however, is detailed. The real goal is Holy God together with a man with free will and purged of sin. A man who sees, acknowledges, and worships a Holy and deserving God. For free will and holiness to exist there must be choice and so in the Garden, God provides a people made in His image, physical beings, but with a spiritual side like God. We also see knowledge of the mysteries of God represented in the tree of knowledge. To this mix, God adds Satan the deceiver, representing the opposite of Holiness, an anti-Christ option and thus the first man and woman, from the beginning, must choose to trust and believe God, who is good, or Satan, who is evil.  God designed and framed the environment, the players, and the choice, and “it was good.” Satan’s initial lie is cast, fallen and sinful man emerges, and through one man Adam, the seed of sin is planted in mankind’s flesh forever, and the choice or free will of man is established for all men to come.

A Holy God cannot directly mix with a fallen man; if tainted with sin, He would not be Holy. So fallen man is removed from the Garden, but even so a promise or covenant is made through Abraham (Genesis 22:17-18) and a vision is planted of a future great city (Hebrews 11:10), i.e. a restoration of God the Father with a redeemed man. In Abraham, faith is established as the key to righteousness or redemption. The Law is put in place through Moses’ delivery of the commandments and absolute clarity of man’s sin is established by that Law. God’s stiff-necked and restless people cry out for a man to lead them versus God and God gives them what they want in the first of many kings in King Saul. God’s early plan for grace is demonstrated through David and a sacrifice for our sin, even indeed a new covenant and kingdom, is prophesied to rise from King David’s line. Fast forward and Immanuel, meaning ‘God with us’ is born under miraculous means in Bethlehem, out of David’s line (called the ‘root of David’; Revelation 22:16) and He is called Jesus. Jesus, the Word from John 1:1, arrived to walk among men, becoming the first Son of Man, with a purpose of 1) delivering God’s word to men, 2) being the sacrifice for our sins, 3) ushering in His spiritual kingdom, and 4) inviting all men to the planned outcome, i.e. Holy God joined with a redeemed, free-will man. Jesus’s teaching is completed and then He does what God the Father could not do directly, when He takes the sin of man on His shoulders and becomes, the great sacrifice for all (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus dies a horrible death on the cross and when complete, notes that “It is finished” and He releases His spirit and His body dies. Sin, Hell, and the grave are then defeated in His resurrection and Jesus returns to the Father to complete the preparation of a place for the kingdom of men and women who would choose God over Satan.

Peter and the other disciples, obedient and empowered by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, launch the preaching of Jesus’s kingdom and 3000 are added to the first church on the first day. Sharing and believing and serving together the church grows quickly. After a dramatic Damascus Road experience (Acts 9:3-6), Jesus launches the Apostle Paul on a task to include the Gentiles, along with the Jewish people, in the kingdom invitation.

Much time has elapsed since the initiation of the first church and just now perhaps the greatest prophesied sign, the restoration of Israel and the completion of a 70-year generation has been completed and celebrated this year. God’s plan, as delivered through John in the book of Revelation and supported by various Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles calls for a remaining return of Jesus, a reign of Jesus, a judgement and destruction of evil. This is followed by the completion of God the Father’s plan where God delivers a New Heaven and New earth, basically a new perfect order of things and God and a redeemed man are together. Here, the believers who have chosen God (and therefore Good) will be with God. In Revelation, it says that God will then declare that “It is finished”, i.e. His plan is fulfilled.

Can you see God’s plan? The beautiful creation, the use of Satan for free will, the early Promise to Abraham and his great faith, the sacrifice and work of Jesus, and the prophesied completion of God with Man? As God’s children, it really is good to know the plan for the Day — what an adventure. In Part 2, we will discuss Jesus’s great service to God the Father. There truly could be no greater Son.

Derek Dougherty

In Part 1, we determined that to be effective for God, love of God and others must be our first and primary focus as Christian men.  In Part 2, we stated that to be effective, we must believe.  If we don’t really believe Jesus is who he says He is, and we are who He says we are, what use can we really be to the Lord?  But even if we love God and others, and if we believe in Jesus, we will not be effective if we do not (really) obey God.

God calls us to action.  He speaks in many ways, but all men are called to some sort of obedient action.  Without putting action behind our love and our faith, we can have little effect at all, much less be deemed effective for the Lord.  You might ask, “Who would do this?, i.e. who would say they love Jesus, and believe on Him for salvation, but not act for him?  Well, let’s see…maybe me, maybe you, maybe every Christian man at some point?  Peter denied Christ and ran.  Moses hid in the desert.  Jonah went the opposite direction of Nineveh; and on and on…  But at some point, all defiant or immature runners will go through a gut check.  At some point, God breaks us down, provides clarity (vision and truth), and we have to be real with ourselves and Him.  Looking back over time, God called and we either genuinely loved, believed and served, or we wasted the time we were given, to the detriment of our spirit and others’ souls.

In the New Testament book of James, the author gets right to the point in Chapter 1, verse 22-25: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

Where are you at today in regard to obedience? Maybe teaching some, serving on committee, working at the food kitchen some?  Maybe even being a deacon or elder, i.e. a man with position?  For a good twenty years of my Christian life, about every five years, the Lord would show me with clarity the reality of my heart; that I didn’t harm Him, I said good things about Him, I read the Bible, and served at church, but really I was incredibly ineffective when it came to the advancement of God’s Kingdom.  I loved the Lord.  No doubt about it.  I believed on Him unto salvation.  I served in His name.  But I was not all in, not surrendered, and not obedient.  My faith was small and my actions, although busy, were ineffective.  This literally changed in a day.  God works that way.  What seems impossible (simply hidden) for decades, He can change in a moment.   For me, it started with a simple question that God placed on my heart, “If Jesus is who He says He is, and I am who I claim to be in Him, what is really possible?”  This question became a desire, that spawned a pursuit, which developed faith. Ten years later all I can say is “WOW!” and my conclusion is that Jesus is real, faithful, deep, and powerful today for changing lives; that His literal words — as written in the Bible AND delivered by the Holy Spirit — are truth; that He is LIFE now and eternal; and that the peace He promises defies understanding.  Obedience is now the natural response of my spirit that He has developed in me (my flesh sometimes interferes but my spirit always says, “Yes”).

We can ask this question individually, i.e. do we hear, obey and act?  As a group of God’s men we can ask the same question collectively.  If we are collectively hearing, obeying and acting effectively, why are babies murdered daily in our country before they are born? If we are acting, why are our schools devoid of God’s Word and our children not taught Jesus’s truths?  Where are the Christian men leaders speaking out about these issues and so many more?  Will this be the year of clarity that we look up from our inward denominational focus groups and realize that the next generation is going to Hell while we ‘serve’? Or will this be the time when clarity comes, those who ‘have ears to hear’ hear, HIS Christian men see that Jesus is who He says He is, and we get about doing the Father’s business with purpose?  Discuss this with your men’s group this month.  As for you and your group, will you really obey and serve?

Derek Dougherty

In Part 1, we determined that to be effective for God, love of God and others must be our first and primary focus as Christian men.  But beyond Love there is a need for Faith.  Apostle Peter, for instance, loved God but initially failed to act effectively.  Why?  Because his faith was still limiting and his focus was still physical.  But when his faith and vision matured, he fulfilled his purpose (to be the Rock upon which Jesus built his church) well.

If we review our personal relationship status with Christ and effectiveness for Him, we must first ask, “Do we love Him?”  Beyond this, we must ask, “Do we really believe Him?”  Do we believe the truths that He told us? Jesus used a unique statement with such great effect to take His original 12 disciples to another level of faith.  “Oh ye of little faith” was used three times in the book of Matthew.  This statement should be equally challenging and faith-prompting to today’s disciples.

In Matthew 6:25-30:

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[e]? ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 

In Matthew 8:23-27:

²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”  ²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.  ²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

In Matthew 16:5-11:

⁵ When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread.⁶ “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”   ⁷ They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.” ⁸ Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? ⁹ Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? ¹¹ How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

In the three uses of this statement Jesus basically collectively says, 1) Quit worrying about basics of life because your Father that love you knows what you need before you ask, 2) Quit fearing for your life because you are friends with the One who controls the winds and the waves, and 3) Quit being such shallow thinkers and believe and mature in your knowledge of the Faith.  Why and how do we do gain the faith to do these things? Because He is who He says He is and ‘in Christ’, these great promises and callings are ours.  How do we get to this level of faith and understanding? ‘Hear and See!’ Seek Him, ask for wisdom, and the Spirit of God will do the miraculous that only He can do, i.e. enlarge our faith.  Do we believe Him?  Oh WE of little faith — Let’s put fear and worry and immaturity behind, and believe today.

Derek Dougherty

Jesus’ and the Apostle Paul’s New Testament teaching on the priority and importance of love is crystal clear.  Because we know that Jesus spoke only what He heard God the Father speak (John 12:49), we know that His teaching on this priority comes directly from God the Father Himself.  Similarly with Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the very Spirit that searches the mind of God, we know that his teaching comes from the Father as well. As a Christian, God says love is to be our priority. You might say, of course it is, I know this, we all know this. If so, then why the passivity, distraction and ineffectiveness? Do we not know that God’s love always has an outflow and a product?  What is the product or fruit of our love? Is it what it could be?

In Matthew 22:36-39 Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is. His response is simple, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.” Pretty straightforward. And he pushes in a little further, noting that, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” In other words, if you do these two, all other commandments and laws will be carried out. Do we prioritize well?

Paul gets the principle well. In a mature state, after being called by the Lord directly on the Damascus Road and instructed by the Holy Spirit for an extended and intense time, he puts the love priority in the most eloquent, clear and deep wording of the Bible in what is well-known as the Love Chapter of 1 Corinthians 13. To fully get the emphasis, we must put ourselves in his shoes and look at it from his perspective. Doing so as a younger man or younger Christian, with an open mind and heart, can help avoid many wasted and ineffective years.  Paul said, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels…if I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge…have all faith so as to move mountains…bestow all my goods to feed the poor and give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing (and I am nothing).” That statement and the depth of the sacrifice that we read that could be made without love, should give us great pause. It basically says that what we consider our most sacrificial deeds and what we deem our greatest spiritual gifts does not imply that we truly love God or one another. It says knowledge of the deepest mysteries of God is worth little without love before it. It says great belief in God’s being and power without love has no profit. It says love of God comes first. And it makes sense, right? For that which we love, we will do anything required; we will make the ultimate sacrifice; and we will serve.

Jesus modeled love for us. In John 13:1 is says that Jesus, “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” In John 15:13 Jesus says, “Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friends.”  In John 13:34 Jesus is direct to His collective disciples saying, “Love one another as I have loved you…By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.” In John 21:17, Jesus is direct to one of His mightiest men, Simon Peter, “…Jesus asked him for the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’….‘Feed My sheep’”. Jesus loved the Father. He was all in, ‘til the end.

The priority is clear. We are to love. The product of that love is clear, i.e. if we love we will act (believe, hope, serve others, give generously, give all, etc). The questions remains individually, “Do we really love God and others? Or do we really just love ourselves?”

Derek Dougherty

American history is full of legend­­ary men who built things.  Henry Ford built cars.  Cornelius Vanderbilt built railroads. Patton and Eisenhower built military ‘machines’.  Their efforts created physical and business and military entities that still have strong lasting impact today, 80 to 200 years later.  All of these men had vision and resolve and the vision and resolve were supported by brains, brawn, and balls.  Men are powerful creatures.  Created in the image of God, we have inherent capabilities for greatness; abilities to think, reason, imagine, dream, work, battle and persist under trial.  When we do, things are built.

Our Christian heritage is also built on and through men of vision and strong will.  Their vision and resolve were empowered by male strengths as well, but their true strength was in their faith in a sovereign, active and personal God.  When the physical and mental capabilities are coupled with spiritual understanding and Kingdom-based faith, the impact is beyond the physical and temporal, i.e. eternal edification is the result.

Consider Abraham, a capable man who with God’s blessing flourished in the livestock business in the land of Canaan (Genesis 12).   No doubt the other men in the region saw and marveled at his increasing territory footprint in such a short time.  But it is highly probable that almost none of them had a clue about the true depth of what was being established.  Did Abraham?  Yes.  God works through humble (powerful but yielded) men and does amazing things.  And He tells them what he is doing.  He often even makes deals or one-sided promises with them.  I say one-side because only God can carry through on a promise. As men, we cannot guarantee the actions of the coming evening in the morning.  Our side of the deal is belief, a choice to serve, and the faith to endure.  Not an immaterial contribution, just absolutely nothing in comparison to the strength and consistency of Jehovah God.  With Abraham, he saw and acknowledged the active blessing of the Lord, and he believed and acted on his faith.

King David knew of the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, and he believed and displayed an active faith at a young age, killing the lion, the bear, and Goliath (1 Samuel 17).  Who could forget the battle cry of that would establish his rise in notoriety and legend, “You can come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled.”  After this shout David proceeded to separate the giant Goliath’s head from his body.  Here and in the years following we see David’s established faith exercised.  Though David, God would establish Jerusalem and create a House of Grace from which Jesus the Messiah would emerge hundreds of years later.  Again, great and promised plans moved forward through a great (humble and full of faith) man surrendered to a great God.

Consider Peter, a mere fisherman whose faith goes from just budding to rock-strong in a three year period.  This faithful fisherman would be the man on which Jesus would build the church of Acts.  Consider Paul, a former persecutor of the church of Acts, who would meet Jesus in a life-changing encounter and go on in obedience and write letters that would expound on the operational truths of a new and expanding church for the next 2000 years.

Abraham, David, Peter and Paul…these were not sissy men who rode tabernacle pews on Sundays and faked religious authenticity on Mondays.  These were strong non-neutered men’s men who fought through physical, mental, and spiritual attacks to contribute to the building of a coming eternal Kingdom.

God is still working through men of faith today to build the Kingdom.  While almost none surrounding them have any idea of the promises made, humble men hear the Lord and respond with faith.  The Lord reveals his steps to his men and the Kingdom advances.   Let’s humble ourselves, hear, and believe.  The result will be an eternal edification.

Derek Dougherty

 

At our church, we have a “boiler room team” – a group of people who take shifts praying for our service each Sunday (patterned after Charles Spurgeon’s church “heating plant”). Last Sunday was one of my shifts and I was in our House of Prayer alone. We are going through the book of Nehemiah, so I had read Nehemiah 2-6 before praying and listening and then I prayed for bit – sensing that God was speaking even as I was praying. I picked up pen and paper and wrote what I heard:

Hear My voice, my beloved. I know your brokenness. Do you not know I am the Restorer of all that is broken? I can and will cover all your guilt and shame. Do not be afraid! I, your God, am at your right hand. I go before you and I make a way for you.

Come, see! Let Me rebuild what is broken. Be still, let Me display My love in your life. I long to take what you offer – your broken hearts – and make them new. You long for true love, let Me give you that and more in abundance.

My children, trust Me. My grace is sufficient. My mercy is never-ending. My peace is complete. Let Me make you whole. You can walk in power – it is available to all who turn to Me. Trust in Me. Walk with Me. Let Me tell you of My love for you!

You think you are lacking something but yet you don’t come to Me. I am Provider and Sustainer. Test Me and see if this is not true.

Beloved, I love you. I have loved you and will love you. I delight in you. Come and sit with Me. Experience the truth of My love. I take care of My sheep. I heal the hurts, I lead to places of rest. Follow My voice.

Beloved, I say again, I love you.

Steve Pierce

Jesus saith unto him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me”. – John 14:6    

Which way do we go?  Or, where are we going?  This are typical, reoccurring, and important questions with different levels or scales.  Sometimes these questions are used fairly trivially, i.e. which way to the grocery store, or maybe the group is trying to make a decision on what to do on a Saturday night, etc.   In John 14:6, Jesus is at the highest level of this questioning.   He is talking about THE way, i.e. the Way to God and eternity with God.  And He is talking, like He often does, about a subject that can be applied at many scales, and can meet us where we are.

At the simplistic level, He is saying that He is the only way to have relationship with God the Father.  This is a great statement of Truth.  He says, “If you want to get to God, you have to come through Me”.   There is not another way by which men can be saved from their sin.

At another level, we realize that He not only is the portal to the Father in regards to salvation, but that our way to the Father is to follow Jesus in the Way that He lived and taught.  Simply put, the way that He modeled, shows us ‘our way’ to heaven.   Society asks, “What would Jesus do?”    When we look at what Jesus DID, we see ‘our way’.   What did He do?  In Philippians 2, it says, ‘He did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage, rather, He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant…He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

What is He asking us to do?  Take up our cross and follow Him.  Surrender our life to God.  Allow the Holy Spirit to mold our spirit into a new person, one that does what the Father asks and assigns us to do.  Our Way to heaven and the Father is to follow the Way that Jesus modeled.

At the 101 level, He is the way to heaven (the only portal).

At the 202 level, He modeled our way for us (demonstrated).

At a deeper level, He not only modeled it for us, but ‘our way’ is in Him.

He is our portal to God, He showed us how to live for God (surrendered) and He IS the Way.  We must share in His death if we want to share in His resurrection.  What does that look like?

In today’s American Church, men are often told that the Way is to say a sinner’s prayer, come to church faithfully, sit in a pew and listen respectfully, serve on a committee or maybe a teaching role, and help perpetuate the collective American Church of some denomination in a non-confrontational way.  Is this what Jesus did?  If Jesus were here now, what do you think He would do?   I think He would do what He did.  I think He would be who He is.  What did He do? He was a disciple of God, the Father (He said what He heard the Father say; He did what He saw the Father do).  He discipled others.  And He communicated spiritual Truths in a way and at a level that was amazing —- He was a Masterful Communicator.  What is our Way? It is Jesus and what He did.  Be a disciple.  Disciple others.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, communicate the truths of God in a purposeful and masterful way.   This might not be passive, and it might not be non-confrontational.   But it is the Way, i.e. it is Jesus!

Derek Dougherty

Jesus was a masterful communicator; the Master Teacher.  To say He spoke at another level would be an understatement.  But anything less would have been beneath His high purpose.  He came to earth to 1) reveal God and His grace to men, 2) be a sacrifice to cover men’s sins, 3) describe God and His Kingdom, its functioning and our part in it, and 4) offer God’s gift of salvation and Life to men.  Not a simple assignment and conventional simple minded communication would hardly have served the purpose.

As Christ’s men, our known assignments are often not simple either, and we would do well to learn from Jesus’s communication style.  Paying attention to what He spoke about, the level at which He addressed different people, the tone for the different groups, and the contrast with the existing establishment, could teach us a lot about how we should go about our Kingdom assignments.

Consider Jesus’s discussion with Nicodemus in John 3.  What was the topic?  “Ye must be born again.”  What was the level of depth?  Very deep, i.e. beyond the present understanding of the ruling Pharisee faction.  What was Jesus’s tone?  Graceful? No.  Direct? Yes.  Condemning? Yes.  Confrontational?  With Nicodemus?   No.  In regards to ‘conventional’ truth? Absolutely.  In regards to the religious establishment of the time?  Definitely.  Did Jesus cater to the establishment and work to try to convince the Pharisees or make them understand?  Absolutely not.  Did Jesus talk about politics, or taxation, or social injustice?  Or, in contrast, did he talk about Kingdom business?

Consider Jesus’s discussion with the woman at the well in John 4.  What was the topic?  Living water.  What was the level of depth of knowledge?  Deep, both from Jesus and a woman that knew her history.  What was Jesus’s tone?  Gracious? Yes, in contrast to the Pharisee discussion above.  Direct? Absolutely, to the point of telling her she had had 5 husbands.  Condemning? No.  Confrontational?  With the woman? No.  In regards to the established relationship boundaries between Jews and Samaritans? Yes.  In regards to conventional knowledge? Absolutely.  Did Jesus cater to the woman and work to explain the next level to her? Yes, in fact He spent several days there teaching.  Did Jesus talk about current policies and historical relationships? Or, did He talk about Kingdom business?

Consider Jesus’s discussion with Satan when tested in the desert in Mark 4.  What was the topic? Spiritual sustenance, self-preservation, and great power.  What was the level of depth?  Super deep, i.e. the jousting of two advanced spiritual representatives from the two competing realms of good and evil. What was Jesus’s tone? Graceful? Not quite.  Direct? Totally.  Condemning?  Not in word, only in the effect of His choices.  Confrontational?  At the highest level — eternal consequences.  Did Jesus cater to the established ruler of this earth?  No.  Did He talk about politics or taxes or the weather? Or did He continue to focus on His Kingdom assignment.

There are many other examples of Jesus talking to individuals in the Gospels and I encourage you to review them with this same line of thought, but just from these three examples, what do we ‘see’?   The focus of the topics was not on simple things of this world, but rather a strong focus on the things of His Father’s Kingdom and His personal assignment.   The level of depth?  Beyond conventional wisdom!  What about His tone?  It differed depending on who He was talking to.  For the humble woman with genuine interest, it was gracious and engaging.  For the religious establishment (man’s version) and Satan, it was direct and unapologetic, even directly condemning in regards to the truth.  What about His focus?  He had a Kingdom and assignment focus that was strong and consistent.   What did He NOT talk about?  The petty things of this world that do not last.

What is the application?  We walk in the same world with similar tasking (other than the sacrifice for sins, which only Jesus could accomplish, and it is done).   Just like conventional wisdom and communication were not fitting for Jesus’s task, they are not fitting for our calling.  Thankfully we have access to the written Word and the Holy Spirit.  Consider your communication methods.  How do they compare?  Are you gracious to the humble?  Are you direct and strong for truth in all cases?  Are you about your Father’s business, or do you get lost in the things of the world?

Derek Dougherty