This web log is no longer a venue for Hillside2theNations to speak out on issues pertaining to the kingdom of God. If you are looking for Hillside Community Church, their website is listed below. You can find Jason Bolt here: jsbolt.wordpress.com
Hillside Community Church: www.hc3.org
I try to put together some juicy tidbit of truth about every week or so. This week, however, anything coming from me would be a distraction from what I think would be most beneficial.
Below is a link to the sermon from this past Sunday (16AUG) at Hillside preached by Maks Nelkin, Hillside’s missionary to Ukraine. The title of this post has a double meaning. It describes what the sermon is about, and it describes what the sermon does. Even if you were there on Sunday, it is worth listening to again. Enjoy!
Grasping the Place of God and His Word in Your Life (2 Timothy 4:1-5)
- Jason N. Bolt
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
- John 2:23-25 NASB
A few months ago, I wrote concerning John 3:14-15 where Jesus says that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert so also must the Son of Man be lifted up so that whoever looks upon Him may be saved. That passage is so simple yet so significant. We have all been bitten. All of us have poison running through our veins; and unless healed, the end result will be death. Therefore, Jesus says that He must be lifted up in order that we might be healed and saved. The phrase “lifted up” is used a few other times in the New Testament, and it always refers to Jesus being lifted up on the cross. Meaning, Jesus had to be slaughtered in order to provide the cure for the disease that would otherwise lead to our death. That, however, is not the only meaning. How is it that the cure for our disease is realized? Verse 15 gives us the answer. “Whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.” Moses explained it this way in Numbers 21:9, “when he looked on the bronze serpent he lived.” So, Jesus is likening believing to looking. Therefore we must look upon Jesus and believe in Him to have eternal life. This leads us to the second meaning. How is it that you are able to look upon something? First, it has to be visible. No one has ever seen or looked upon anything that is not visible. Therefore, Jesus had to be physically lifted up on the cross in order to provide the cure; and He must continuously be lifted up, made visible, magnified, and displayed in a spiritually visible sense in order that we might look upon Him and be saved.
I share all of this with you because it is the reason I write to you. I want Jesus to be magnified in such a way that you can see Him clearly and in seeing Him clearly believe in Him fully that your joy may be made full in Him just as His joy is full. I pray that as your eyes glide across the black markings on this screen, or the ink marks on the pages of a book, and certainly the life giving words in your bible you would see Jesus lifted up and have eternal life by looking upon Him. Oh, may Jesus be lifted up! Oh, may we gaze upon Him! Oh, may we be healed from the venomous bite that plagues us!
Okay, all of that is by way of introduction so that you will know where we are going. We are going to lift up Jesus! So, let us now look at the text quoted above. You may remember that I wrote sometime back regarding Psalm 147:4 which says, “He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.” I tried to illustrate the magnificence of God that 1) He can count that high and 2) He is faithful enough to call them all by name. The numbers are mind boggling. I cannot even comprehend what “the number of the stars” even means, yet He has not only counted them ALL and named them ALL but has fashioned them ALL! His magnificence is amazing, and I could simply look upon Him in His glory for all of eternity and be fully satisfied.
One of the great things about the bible is that God is lifted up (many times through Christ) in this way all over. If you want to know who God is, read your bible. He is everywhere! For example, our text tells us that Jesus knew all men and was not in need of anyone’s testimony concerning man for He knew what was in every man. At first glance, this text seems to be telling us that Jesus would make a really good poker player. He could look across the table and know His opponent’s tell. Jesus would win the World Series of Poker every year in Las Vegas. While this is true and quite magnificent, it only scratches the surface of what the text is actually saying about Jesus.
Before we continue, let me give you a side note on magnification. Trust me, it is relevant. Above, I said that magnifying Christ is the goal of everything I write. Well, there are two ways to do magnification. There is the microscope way and the telescope way. A microscope makes little things appear much bigger than they are. Christ cannot be magnified in that way. He will never be made to look bigger than He is. Any attempt to make Him look bigger than He is will lead to blasphemy, for He would be made to look like something He isn’t. Telescope magnification, on the other hand, makes enormous things that seem insignificant appear more closely to what they actually are in order that their true significance can be understood. Christ is enormous yet seems so insignificant to so many people around us.
The relevance of this side note to our text is that the text says some enormous things about Jesus that seem insignificant. Therefore, I am going to try to use telescope magnification to help us see the significance. In other words, the text tells us that Jesus knows all men. Well, there are more than 6 billion people on the planet today; and I have no idea how many billions have previously walked the planet. Jesus does not need testimony regarding any of these people for He knows all of them fully. That is enormous. However, the text also says implicitly that Jesus knows you. While this is still magnificent, it is also a bit more manageable and will help us see the significance of what is said of Jesus.
How many thoughts have you had today? How many words have you spoken today? How many breaths have you taken today? How many millimeters (or some smaller measurement that I am unaware of) have all of the hairs on your head grown today? How many times have your heart muscles contracted today? How many times have you blinked today? How many times have your eyes focused on an object today? How many cells has your body generated today? How many times has your nervous system communicated sensations to your brain today? How many emotional impulses have you had today? Could you even list all the emotions you have experiences today? What are all the things you have done so far today? How many times and in how many ways have you sinned so far today?
If you are anything like me, there is one answer to all of those questions. I don’t know. It is 10:49am as I write this, and I could not tell you everything I have done today or list all of the thoughts I have had today. No one can do that. No one except Jesus that is. He has the answers to all of those questions and a thousand more for today and everyday. He knows you fully.
There is something so magnificent in this. Seeing a Being so glorious fills my heart with joy. As I said earlier, I could simply gaze upon Him and be satisfied forever. There is, however, more good news for us than simply being able to gaze upon Him. Knowing us, He knows what we need. Romans 8:26 tells us that we do not know how to pray but that the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Meaning, He knows what we need and has the ability to provide it. Furthermore, John 3:14-15 (and countless other passages) tells us that He is also willing to provide it.
Because He is infinite, He knows all things and has all things. Romans 11:36 tells us that all things are from Him and through Him and to Him. Because He knows all things, He knows what it is that we are in such desperate need of, namely, anti-venom to save us from the poisonous snakes that have been sent into the camp. Because He has all things, He indeed has the anti-venom which is His own blood. Because He is perfect and holy, He is willing to pour out upon us that anti-venom in a glorious display of His perfection and holiness that we me gaze upon Him and be saved.
Oh, may we look upon Jesus. May we see His infinite worth and confess His superior value above all other things. May we forsake the cheap imitations of this world and see the enormous Christ in all His significance for who He truly is. And may we lift Him up continuously that He may be magnified and made visible to the world that all of His chosen people may look upon Him and be saved.
- Jason N. Bolt
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.
- Philippians 4:8 (NASB)
Finally, brethren, whatever is true,
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. (Psa 19:9)
But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation. (Jer 10:10)
“Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” (Dan 4:37)
There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. (Joh 1:9)
He who has received His witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. (Joh 3:33)
May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, “That Thou mightest be justified in Thy words, And mightest prevail when Thou art judged.” (Rom 3:4)
For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God. (1Th 1:9)
And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev 6:10)
And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. (Rev 19:11)
whatever is honorable,
He has given freely to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted in honor. (Psa 112:9)
Honor the LORD from your wealth, And from the first of all your produce. (Pro 3:9)
In order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. (Joh 5:23)
Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. (Joh 8:49)
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1Ti 1:17)
And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever. (Rev 4:9)
Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen. (Rev 7:12)
whatever is right,
The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. (Psa 19:8)
Therefore I esteem right all Thy precepts concerning everything, I hate every false way. (Psa 119:128)
For the ways of the LORD are right, And the righteous will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them. (Hos 14:9)
So the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is righteous.” (2Ch 12:6)
O LORD God of Israel, Thou art righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day. (Ezr 9:15)
And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous art Thou, who art and who wast, O Holy One, because Thou didst judge these things. (Rev 16:5)
whatever is pure,
The words of the LORD are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. (Psa 12:6)
The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. (Psa 19:8)
Thy word is very pure, Therefore Thy servant loves it. (Psa 119:140)
And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1Jo 3:3)
whatever is lovely,
How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! (Psa 84:1)
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely. (Psa 135:3)
whatever is of good repute (of good reputation, well spoken of, or declared to be good),
And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge. (Psa 50:6)
The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory. (Psa 97:6)
And my tongue shall declare Thy righteousness And Thy praise all day long. (Psa 35:28)
O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Thy praise. (Psa 51:15)
Then all men will fear, And will declare the work of God, And will consider what He has done. (Psa 64:9)
To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. (Psa 92:15)
Let them give glory to the LORD, And declare His praise in the coastlands. (Isa 42:12)
The people whom I formed for Myself, Will declare My praise. (Isa 43:21)
if there is any excellence
And in the greatness of Thine excellence Thou dost overthrow those who rise up against Thee; Thou dost send forth Thy burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff. (Exo 15:7)
Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (2Pe 1:3)
So that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1Pe 2:9)
Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. (Psa 150:2)
Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things; Let this be known throughout the earth. (Isa 12:5)
Having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. (Heb 1:4)
and if anything worthy of praise,
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. (2Sa 22:4)
I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. (Psa 7:17)
Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious. (Psa 66:2)
Bless our God, O peoples, And sound His praise abroad. (Psa 66:8)
Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. (Psa 67:3)
Let heaven and earth praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them. (Psa 69:34)
Let them praise Your great and awesome name; Holy is He. (Psa 99:3)
This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD. (Psa 102:18)
Praise the LORD, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! (Psa 117:1)
Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD; Praise Him, O servants of the LORD. (Psa 135:1)
Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is becoming. (Psa 147:1)
Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. (Psa 150:1)
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! (Psa 150:6)
Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created. (Rev 4:11)
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” (Rev 5:11-12)
let your mind dwell on these things.
Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again. – II Kings 18:37 (NASB)
There was a man who had many beloved sons. The love with which he loved his sons was greater than that of any father who had come before him or that ever would come after him. Loving them with such a great love, he purchased a vineyard and hired all of his sons that they could come and work for him and with him and that they could dine with him at his table all of their days.
This, my friends, is not what the kingdom of God is like; but I share it with you to provide contrast with what the kingdom of God actually is.
The kingdom of God is like a man who began a great enterprise. When I say great, I mean great. There had never been such an enterprise ever taken by anyone, nor would there ever be such an enterprise taken by anyone. The enterprise was so great that it encompassed all the stars of the sky, birds in the air, fish in the sea, mountains and canyons on the land, and every thing that ever was or will be created… including all men. In fact, every created thing was designed with a specific purpose within the enterprise; and the fulfillment of this purpose would bring about the completion of the enterprise according to the will of the man who began the great enterprise.
For we are God’s workmanship having been created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world according the kind intention of His will. All things, including us, are from Him and through Him and to Him. The good work that He began in us He will carry on to completion according to His desire to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy which had prepared beforehand. Therefore, we are to go and make disciples of all nations; for we receive power from the Holy Spirit, and we are to be His witnesses throughout the remotest parts of the earth that they may know that He alone, whose name is the LORD, is the most high over all the earth. For as surely as God lives, the whole earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD. For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And it will come about that the LORD will send us to the distant coastlands that have neither heard His fame nor seen His glory, and we will declare His glory among the nations. After these things, God will rebuild the tabernacle of David so that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, all the gentiles who are called by His name and who have been created for His glory. Thus we shall proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. Not now only but also in the age to come. For there shall be a great multitude which no one can count from every nation and all tribes, peoples, and tongues standing before the throne and before the Lamb crying out with one loud voice, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!” They and all the angels shall fall on their faces before the throne and worship God, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
Act, O LORD, act, and use us for that which we were designed. Answer us this day, and make known the riches of Your glory upon these vessels of mercy that this people and all peoples may know that You, O LORD, are God having turned our hearts back again. Amen.
- Jason N. Bolt
The following is an excerpt from John Piper’s message titled, “The Divine Majesty of the Word. John Calvin: The Man and His Preaching” which was delivered on February 4, 1997 at the Bethlehem Conference for Pastors. The entire transcript (as well as audio) is available here.
I would like to begin by focusing our attention on God’s self-identification in Exodus 3:14-15. You remember that God called Moses and commissioned him to go to Egypt and bring his people out of bondage. Moses is frightened at this prospect and raises the objection that he is not the person to do this. God responds by saying, “I will be with you” (verse 12). Then Moses says, “[When I] say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” And God’s response is one of the most important revelations that has ever been given to man:
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” And God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD [JHWH], the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.”
In other words, the great, central, Biblical name of Yahweh is explicitly rooted by God himself in the phrase “I am who I am”. Tell them, the one who simply and absolutely is has sent you. Tell them that the essential thing about me is that I am.
I begin with this Biblical self-identification of God because my unhidden and unashamed aim in this message on John Calvin – and indeed in all the ten years of this conference for pastors – is to fan the flame in you of a passion for the centrality and supremacy of God in your ministry. My heart burns when I hear God say, “My name is, ‘I am who I am.’” Doesn’t yours? It burns when I think of the absoluteness of God’s existence – never beginning, never ending, never becoming, never improving, simply and absolutely there to be dealt with on his terms or not at all.
Let it hit you, brothers [and sisters]: God – the God in whose name this conference gathers – never had a beginning. God never had a beginning! “I AM has sent me to you.” And the one who never had a beginning, but always was and is and will be, defines all things. Whether we want him to be there or not, he is there. We do not negotiate what we want for reality. God defines reality. When we come into existence, we stand before a God who made us and owns us. We have absolutely no choice in this matter. We do not choose to be. And when we are, we do not choose that God be. No ranting and raving, no sophisticated doubt or skepticism, has any effect on the existence of God. He simply and absolutely is. “Tell them I AM has sent you.”
If we don’t like it, we can change, for our joy, or we can resist, to our destruction. But one thing remains absolutely unassailed. God is. He was there before we came. He will be there when we are gone. And therefore, what matters in ministry. above all things, is this God. I cannot escape the simple and obvious truth that God must be the main thing in ministry. Ministry has to do with God because life has to do with God, and life has to do with God because all the universe has to do with God, and the universe has to do with God because every atom and every emotion and every soul of every angelic, demonic and human being belongs to God, who absolutely is. He created all that is, he sustains everything in being, he directs the course of all events, because “from him and through him and to him are all things, to him be glory [in our ministries!] forever” (Romans 11:36).
- By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org
“He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.”
–Psa 147:4 NASB
Our Milky Way Galaxy is thought to be 100,000 light years in diameter and 1,000 light years thick. If you are like me, those numbers really do not mean anything. We all know that a light year is the distance light travels in one year, but how far is that? Answer: 9.4605284 x 10^15 meters. Hmm… another useless number for feeble minds like mine. Here is a number that might make some sense to you: 9,460,730,472,580.8 kilometers or about 5.87 trillion miles. I realize that is still an incomprehensible number, but I think maybe God intended it to be that way. Just to be sure He went way beyond our comprehension, God also created the rest of the universe containing more than 100 billion galaxies spread across 93 billion light years. That is 93,000,000,000 x 5,870,000,000,000 miles totaling 545,910,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles… whatever that is.
Our galaxy contains somewhere between 200 billion and 400 billion stars. For the sake of argument, we will use the smaller number. If there are 100 billion galaxies in the universe containing 200 billion stars each, then there would be roughly 20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the universe. What can we learn about God from this number? First, He can count that high. Second, He is creative enough to name that many stars and faithful enough to call them all by the name He has given them. “Bless the LORD, o my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain” (Psa 104:1-2, NASB).
But wait, His splendor does not stop there. God not only displays Himself in His splendor through these indescribable ways but also in ways near and dear to the human heart. God spoke to Abraham, saying, “And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven” (Gen 24:4a, NASB). Paul wrote to the Romans, saying, “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Rom 4:16, NASB). Furthermore, Revelation 2:17 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it” (NASB).
So not only does God count the number of the stars and call them by name, but He has also counted and numbered His people who are as numerous as the stars and given each one a name. How amazing and awesome it is to serve a God who can count and name the stars. How much more amazing and awesome it is to serve a God who can do that and, out of His great love, count and name us that we may know Him just as He has known us!
- Jason N. Bolt
Definition: being entirely without fault or defect.
– Merriam-Webster
“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
– Mat 5:48 NKJV
Defining terms is something that I am coming to find of great value. The frequency at which I use words without knowing their meaning, explicit or implicit, is somewhat shameful. Just the other day I told someone that I was being facetious. I could not even begin to give you a definition of that word, yet I use it regularly. What is even more concerning are the words I use that have more than one meaning. Imagine for a moment that I use a word for which I have no definition, and three people for whom the word has different meanings hear me use the word. Now, I have just said three different things when in reality I never really said anything. It is one thing for this to take place among people regarding everyday discussions, yet it is an entirely different thing when it takes place in regards to the character and attributes of God.
The word perfect is an excellent example. You can see above how Merriam-Webster defines the word, and we can probably all agree on that definition. The application of the same definition to God, however, is a bit more challenging. Using the same definition in saying that God is perfect is to say that God is unable or incapable of having any fault or defect. However, Christ says that all things are possible with God; and I believe God to be infinitely capable. So while our statement about God may be true, it is wholly inadequate in addressing the characteristic of God which we are attempting to define – namely, His perfection. The problem is that we try to use words to define God. When in reality, it is God who defines words.
For example, how would we know if something were entirely without fault or defect? We would compare it to the thing which we know to be without fault or defect. What is the thing we know to be without fault or defect? God. How do we know that He is without fault or defect? He is that which defines a fault or a defect. Even if He had something that we considered to be a fault or a defect, that thing would no longer be a fault or defect because it would be of Him. Similarly, a day is determined by the length of time it takes for the earth to rotate 360 degrees on its axis. If the earth for some reason rotated faster, we would not say that the earth is defective and try to adjust it to our clocks. We would adjust our clocks to the earth. All of this is to say that there is more to the perfection of God than simply being without fault or defect.
What if we were to define perfect as having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics? That, I believe, takes us a bit closer to what it is we are looking for. God has every desired quality, both human and divine. That is, God contains within Himself every quality that any human could desire; and He contains in Jesus every human quality that could be desired. Furthermore, He contains within Himself every quality that deity (or God Himself) could ever desire; and He contains every divine quality that could ever be desired. The perfection of God is wholly other than being without fault or defect. This is why we refer to Him as holy. The human meaning of holy, used to describe nearly everything from lamp stands to people, is to set apart or be separate or to be consecrated or dedicated to the Lord. The holiness of God, however, goes far beyond being set apart. He is holy other, and He is so much so that human languages fall short in describing His holiness. Holy, when ascribed to God, is where language ends and beholding begins. Our languages cannot go any further because they are limited in nature, and the holiness of God is unlimited due to His nature. Therefore, we are told to be still and know that He is God (Psa 46:10).
This is where the defining of terms takes us, to the end of language. When we reach the end of language, all that is left is to behold (2Cor 3:18). Now, think of how quickly we reached the end of describing the holiness of God with words. I realize our description was by no means comprehensive, and we could spend countless days illustrating His holiness; but my point is that we will reach the end of what words can do. If our languages find their end here in this world, how much more will we see their imitations in the limitless world to come? Just what is it we think we will be doing for all of eternity? This may seem strange, but I doubt we will be talking much. We will spend eternity beyond the point where language stops. We will, in a sense, be speechless as we behold the glory of the Lord.
Just in case you think this to be a boring prospect, let me give you an illustration. My wife and I knew each other for six months before we were married. I lived in CO, and she lived in MT. Nearly every weekend, I would drive to Billings; and we would spend most of our time sitting on the couch in her parents’ living room. We generally conversed some regarding the prior week and the things we had done, but we often found ourselves simply beholding one another. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. We literally just sat and looked at each other with great intensity and enjoyment. Those days are over but not because Sara is no longer beautiful as those of you who know her can attest. Those days are over because I know her face as I know my own. As beautiful as she is, her face is limited and can be seen fully in this world. That, however, will not be the case when we behold the glory of God in the face of Christ (2Cor 4:6). “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (1Cor 13:12, NASB). We will need an eternity to behold the glory of God in the face of Christ, for He is a limitless and perfectly holy God who desires us to behold Him that our joy may be complete as His joy is complete (Joh 15:11). What could complete the joy of an infinite, limitless, perfect and holy Being other than an infinite, limitless, perfect, and holy Being? His perfect joy in Himself shall become our perfect joy in Him. We shall be perfect just as He is perfect, and it shall be this way forever!
- Jason N. Bolt
“The blind see and the lame walk; the leapers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
– Mat 11:5 NKJV
After a few days of village living in eastern Uganda, we came to the town of Mbale where we met with the local Food for the Hungry (FH) staff. Our hope was to visit some children in a small community a ways outside of town. Upon our arrival in the community, Angela came running to meet us. She was stationed that day at the small clinic FH had started. Angela is a registered nurse from Canada who is currently volunteering in the area. She spent much of the day with us enjoying the familiar faces and language. As the only foreigner working with FH in Mbale, her sacrifice to me seemed great. She would spend five days a week treating patients in various clinics in the area. Generally, she would be the only medical care her patients would ever see. The difficulty of the work alone would be enough to keep most people away, so I found myself wondering what it was that had brought her there and kept her there.
The next morning, Angela shared a story with me about a young girl named Peace. The story had taken place two years prior during Angela’s first visit to Uganda. While treating patients in a rural village outside of town, someone barged into the room frantically urging Angela to see this other patient who had just arrived. She agreed, and a small and emaciated infant was brought in who looked more like an old woman than a baby. She was suffering from Malaria and a whole host of other infections and illnesses and was too weak even to cry. Angela immediately gave the family money and instructed them to take the child to the hospital in Mbale. Over the next several weeks, Angela continued to visit Peace (there are no nurses at the hospital) and slowly nurse her back to health. She was probably only moments away from death that first day, but her recovery was remarkable. Angela showed me pictures of Peace, one from the day she first arrived at the rural clinic and one from two months later. I could not believe that it was the same child in the pictures. The story was truly astonishing. I looked up at Angela and said, “Now I understand why you do what you do.”
As more days went by, we visited a village three hours north of Mbale known as Piswa. Just one week before we arrived, a child brought a grenade to school with the intent of killing three teachers. The result was four dead students and numerous others in the place locals refer to as the hospital. We later visited the place known as the hospital to visit the wounded children. I am cautioned in using that term because the building I saw did not resemble what I know as a hospital but rather a place filled with sick and dying people. Throughout our trip, I heard stories of wars and rapes and child abductions. I heard stories of the horrible outcomes of families infected with HIV/AIDS and the orphans that are left behind to die alone. We saw things happen on the streets that would leave the most calloused of hearts speechless. Through it all, I began to think that there must be something else that causes people like Angela to do what they do. There must be something that makes all the suffering and hardship worthwhile.
On my last day in Uganda, I heard what is possibly the most tragic yet hopeful human story I have heard thus far in my life. We spent the day with a woman, Wendy, who has spent the last 30 years in Africa. She has worked in war-torn northern Uganda and Rwanda, but most of her time has been with HIV/AIDS orphans in Kenya. She began to tell me about a nine year old boy whom they had grown to love as their own but was dying of TB with no hope of recovery due to HIV/AIDS. The boy had gone blind and was struggling for life every day. Being just before Christmas, Wendy and her family decided to keep him in their home until he passed. They celebrated Christmas every day because they did not know if that day would be his last. So, they opened presents nine mornings in a row leading up to Christmas. When Christmas Eve came, they knew his time was short. That evening, Wendy sat with him on his bed. Although he had been blind and too weak even to speak, he sat up in his bed and looked Wendy strait in the eye. Then he turned and looked intently out the window for a moment. Lying back down, he breathed his last.
As Wendy spoke these words, I realized what it is that causes such people to do what it is that they do. The hope of the gospel of the glorious Christ is what carries them on. Even in death and horrible tragedy, the eyes of the blind are opened to see Christ coming in His glory. There is nothing more valuable than seeing Christ coming in His glory. Every war, sickness, disease, heartache, tragedy, and even death simply fall away in view of the surpassing value of seeing Christ. Oh, Father may we see You in Your glory? May our eyes be opened and our ears unstopped? May our crippled limbs be healed that we may run to You? May You cause the eyes of the nations to see You that they may fall down and worship You? For You, oh Lord, are the only worthy One; and You deserve all honor and praise and glory!
For His Fame,
Jason N. Bolt
This is a fictional account based mostly on what the word of the Lord has said in scripture and some on what I fear the Lord will say in the future.
- Jason N. Bolt
Then Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
Then Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. And Saul came to the city of Amalek, and set an ambush in the valley. And Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt. And he captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night. And Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal.” And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have carried out the command of the LORD.” But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait, and let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”
And Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the LORD anointed you king over Israel, and the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the LORD, and went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.”
Then the word of the Lord came to the apostles and the church by the mouth of Christ saying, “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” For, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, shall stand before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands; and they shall cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Therefore, thus says the Lord, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. For the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached throughout all the world, and then the end will come.”
Then the church went out and proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom throughout all of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and even to some of the ends of the earth. In fact, the gospel was proclaimed so much by the mouth of Paul that all who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. Through generation after generation, the gospel continued to spread to various parts of the world to the extent that the name of Christ became more known throughout the world than any other name.
Then the word of the Lord came to the church, saying, “Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. Remember therefore what you have received and heard, and keep it and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief; and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you.”
Then the church responded, saying, “Behold, our deeds have been completed in the sight of the God.” But the Lord said, “Why then do I not hear the nations worshipping before Me? Why then is My name not known throughout every tribe, tongue, and nation?” And the church said, “There are some who have given way to ease and comfort, and there is still much work to do; but we have remained faithful seeking only to bring You glory among the nations in all that we have done.” And the Lord said, “What then are things with which you have filled your lives? What are these useless hobbies you have spent your time on? What are these worthless toys you have spent you money on? What are these grotesque buildings you claim to have constructed in My name? How dare you fill your lives with ease and comfort and the things which you desire while My word goes unheeded and the nations go on worshipping other gods and speaking atrocities against Me?”
Then the word of the Lord came again saying, “He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says.”
