Trinity Fellowship

Sin and rebellion have thrown this world into a great darkness and confusion. The world is dark and confused because it is populated by people who have chosen darkness and confusion. When our first parents kicked at the rule of God, everyone in this room was there with them. There is only one way back, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. He has shone His light into the world, and while our natural reaction to Him is violent, we know that the light must overcome the darkness. When we live our lives to the glory of God, we are polluting the shadows. These shadows don't go away happily, and this is why we are promised conflict when we shine the light of Christ. The difficulty of the task may mean losing family and friends, but gaining Christ is worth that and so much more. This world has been bought with His blood; are we willing to suffer a little while as we enter His rest? Are you willing to lay your own glory down, to pick up a cross, and carry it across the finish line? Will Christ find you worthy of Him? If He left us to do this on our own, it would still be worth it, but He is so much kinder that that. He has sent us each other to push and encourage one another – to help carry the cross for each other when it gets too heavy. Christian, you have already lost your life, so don't be discouraged! In losing your life, you found Christ. You have found a reward that far surpasses whatever you have lost. This week, look for and create opportunities to encourage, to show hospitality, and to help a struggling brother or sister carry their cross a little closer to the finish line.

Pentecost concludes much of God's earlier work. Most notably, it reverses a curse that God sent against idolatrous unity, and replaces it with a blessing born out of true unity. In this way, Pentecost is also a fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham to bless all the nations of earth. It concludes God giving law to Moses on Sinai amid wind and fire. The description of the Holy Spirit's work help us understand the meaning of Eden's four rivers and of how Ezekiel's temple turns a trickle into a flood. The Holy Spirit is wind, fire, and water; and He is now breathing new life into men and women, as He fits them for the new creation. He sovereignly gives hearts of flesh, turning His people into a temple not made with hands; a living Torah. While the symbolic outpouring at Pentecost was unique, the substance and the power carries on as we do the work of translation and evangelism. Pentecost is the force behind world missions. As individuals, as families, and as Trinity Fellowship, let us be Pentecostal Christians in the truest and richest sense as we preach to the dry bones, knowing that they can and will live again.

Today we celebrate the fact that Christ ascended back to heaven 40 days after His resurrection. Ascension is a theme that appears in the mists and shadows of all redemptive history. It's there in the smoke of the ascension offerings which go up to God. It's there in the saints who bypass death like Elijah, and get taken directly to heaven. It's in Daniel's vision of the Son of Man going up to the Ancient of Days. The pattern of 40 days of probation also lurks quietly. Like Israel was in the wilderness for 40 years, so Christ is tested for 40 days before starting His public ministry. Elijah's ascension means his ministry is handed off to Elisha, just as Christ's ascension means His ministry is handed off to the Apostles after their testing. In the 40 days between Christ's resurrection and His ascension, these men go from sullen discouragement to cheerful boldness as they begin to understand what's happening. The work of Christ is to carry on through them, and now through us, as we announce the Lordship of Christ over all. We know the nations must turn to Christ. Every tongue must confess. Every knee must bow to the king of kings. Those knees that won't bow willingly will be forced to when the ascended Christ shatters them with His rod of iron. The Ascension of Christ means that sin no longer reigns. Unbelief is futile. Darkness no longer has the last word. Christ is king of king and lord of lords. He deserves all our honour, all our praise, and all our allegiance. This week, fight sin with ascension power. Lay claim on all of Christ, for all of life.

Fear makes men weak. Godless men resort to violence and intimidation not because of their strength, but because of their weakness. They can't help being made in the image of God, and this means they know their dark deeds will be exposed. Their fear makes sense. Fear is what drives them to persecute the godly, and this is precisely why Christians are not to give in to the fear. Our sins have been forgiven. Fear and shame have been driven far away, and so we are to stand strong and confidently. We know that God brings all things to light, and when He does, the sound of a driven leaf puts His enemies to flight (Lev. 26:36). God alone has ultimate power over body and soul, so we are to fear Him alone. This fear is not a fear which leads to flight or to weakness; it is a fear of reverent awe. He has written even the most mundane details into the story with meticulous precision, so what should you be afraid of, Christian? If you are Christ's, you are to acknowledge this just as gladly as He acknowledges you.

Knowing that His is going to be a life of persecution and martyrdom, Christ warns the Twelve that they are going to face the same outcome as their Master. If they are going to proclaim law and gospel, wrath and grace, and the Lordship of Christ, they can expect to be hauled before councils, kings, and governors. They will be tempted to switch to self-preservation mode and avoid trouble by betraying others, and yet this would be proof that they do not have communion with Christ, as Judas' betrayal is going to prove. Endurance across the finish line is the final proof that Christ is ours, and we are His. This is what the Twelve were called to, and this is what we are still called to do down to today. As we fulfill this calling, we are to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. To make Christ truly known, we must understand the Scriptures well enough to correctly interpret the world around us, and internalize them deeply enough that we can live a life of heartfelt holiness and integrity.