The Body Parts Of A Prophet

¶ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
Luke 24:44

The thirty-nine books of the Old Testament are generally categorised into History, Law, Poetry and Prophets. This is the genius of God. He has chosen to communicate His Word to all mankind through a story with sub-stories, art, decrees, narratives, and biographies. He has also chosen to do so largely through prophets. Some of these people were formerly princes, or shepherds, or farmers, or priests. Some of them were so odd they struck fear into entire towns and villages whenever they entered. Others were so ordinary they were laughed to scorn when they dared prophesy to Kings of nations. There was something peculiar about these instruments of God and we are now going to dissect one of them to see what was going on.

So Samuel called upon the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
First Samuel 12:18

¶ Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
Amos 7:14-15

For those of you who have been tracking with me through our Jeremiah series, I have attempted to show that Jeremiah was not cold-hearted, boney-finger pointing, party-pooper, but a deeply compassionate, caring, and sensitive young man who was given a job by God which he didn’t want. He became known as the prophet who wept. Through the series we have seen how he grew into a prophetic statesman who wanted God’s people to return to God instead of rebelling against God. Yet, no matter how well meaning a prophet was, people still recoiled at the prophet’s message. 

¶ “For my people are foolish;
they know me not;
they are stupid children;
they have no understanding.
They are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
But how to do good they know not.”
JEREMIAH 4:22

This week I had an interesting coffee with someone who died. Let me explain. Several months ago he experienced intolerable pain and was taken to hospital in the dead of night. As he got to Emergency Department, he passed out. The medical staff realised that he hadn’t just fainted, he had had a cardiac arrest. Despite their best efforts, the E.C.G. showed a flat-line for the twenty minutes they worked on him. Then an African doctor came into the room and took the dead man’s right foot. In less than a minute a feint pulse suddenly appeared on the ECG screen and the cardiologist ordered that he be taken immediately to ICU to be put on their specialised equipment. In all, doctors say that he was clinically dead for forty-five minutes before he was revived. During this time, and the subsequent recovery time afterwards, he met with the Lord in a way that he struggled to explain to me. “It was more real than you are across this table from me now” he said. “The Lord spoke to me,” he went on, “but not with words.” “I heard Him, but not in the same way I am hearing you now.” 

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
JESUS, Matthew 11:15

Prophets learned to use their spiritual ears. When Jesus said, “let him hear” it might sound like He was asking for permission on that person’s behalf, but the beauty of the Greek language, in which the New Testament is written, is that each verb tells us far more than can be translated into English. ἀκουέτω (akou-ettoe) is the Greek verb translated let him hear. It is what translators refer to as an imperative  – a command, in the sense of a parent saying to one of their two squabbling children – Let him go!  This is why more modern translations put an exclamation mark into the translation, such as the New English Translation (NET Bible)-

The one who has ears had better listen!
JESUS, Matthew 11:15

Prophets used these kinds of ears which Christ referred to. Some people argue that if God speaks He will have no trouble being heard and understood. If this is indeed the case, the New Testament would have had no need to repeat this imperative “Listen!” thirteen times (Matt. 11:15; 13:9; 13:43; Mark 4:9; Lk. 8:8; 14:35; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). Just as in any relationship, it’s possible (and common) for you to listen to someone without hearing what they are saying. Prophets learned to listen, hear and heed (advanced listening) what God was saying to them.

When God called Moses to be a Prophet and the Deliverer of Israel out of Egypt, He used a burning bush to get his attention. Moses saw something odd. Prophets tend to seethings differently to most of us. 

(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today’s “prophet” was formerly called a seer.)
First Samuel 9:9

Prophets saw people and often wept.

¶  Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jeremiah 9:1

How easy it is for us to look at people but never actually see them? God opened the eyes of the prophets to see what they were already looking at and then to begin to see with their spiritual eyes. The prophets themselves foretold of the coming New Covenant when this would become increasingly common when the Holy Spirit was poured out onto believers.

¶  “And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
Joel 2:28-29

The heart of a prophet was full of love for God. In First John we are told that it is simply impossible to love God without loving people. The prophet who closes our Old Testament, Malachi, sounds like he is angry and perhaps cold-hearted. But nothing could be further from the truth. Angry? Yes. When a heart is full of love it is more prone to anger – because that heart’s expectations of the ones they love are higher. Malachi was angry that the people had neglected God and His House (Mal. 1). Malachi was angry that the people of God had compromised marriage (a picture of our relationship with God for the world to observe, Mal. 2). Malachi was angry that the people had begun to treat their religion as routine and worthy of their left-over time/talent/treasure, and as such, he charged with robbing from God because He deserved their first, their best, not their spare-change (Mal. 3). And Malachi was angry because fathers no longer cared enough for their children to ensure that they were taught the ways of God, and as such, the land was now full of fatherless delinquents who carried out violence in the streets (Mal. 4). But Malachi’s anger was caused by his heart being full of love for God and people. He cared. Just as a parent who cares for their child and thus does all they can to guide them, correct them, and discipline them, so Malachi sought to guide, correct, and even bring a disciplining rebuke to those who had grown complacent, routinised, and half-hearted in their devotion to God.

Christ has called His Church, you and me, to a prophetic voice to our generation. In this light, we each and all would do well to develop the ears, eyes and heart of a prophet by drawing nearer to God with open ears, open eyes, and an open heart. Time prevents me from exploring the other body parts of a prophet, but I do hope that as come together as the Church we will be an increasingly complete prophetic body to a world that seems to be becoming increasingly delinquent and violent just as it was in Malachi’s day.

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
Malachi 4:2

Ps. Andrew

The WHY of Me

I'm preaching through the Gospel of Luke this month. As I've pondered the earthly life of Christ through Luke's account, several things stand out that have magnified the wonder of Christ to me.

Firstly, Luke was a Gentile but he felt it necessary to carefully use Jewish and Hebrew terminology to present Christ to his Gentile audience. He uses language that was not commonly in use by those who did not worship God. "Christ." "Son of Man." "Son of David." "Messiah." Sometimes we become overly-sensitive about using "Christian-ese" without realising that there is a richness to the language that rather being avoided should perhaps be explained to our audience. Here in Tasmania this is a growing challenge. We live in a state that has the highest rate of: "No Religion" ticked on the Census. Added to this, Tasmania has the highest rate of "absentee church members" in Australia (people who identify a church as their church but do not regularly attend). We also seem to have a somewhat hostile political climate that arguably scorns Christianity and Judeo-Christian values. Presenting an accurate picture of Jesus to a culture not familiar with the Bible is a growing challenge for us.

And blessed is the one who is not offended by me. Luke 7:23

Sure, we could reinvent Jesus and "re-package" Him to a world more likely accept a kind, sensitive, misundertood, troubled, social worker. But this is not the Jesus that Luke is presenting to the world. Luke's Jesus is the One foretold by the Prophets. He is the One who came not to primarily set up relief-programs or give the world Millennium Goals. He came to save people enslaved, blinded, poisoned, and corrupted by self-deceiving-yet-enticing sin!

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Luke 19:10

The second stand-out thing in Luke's account of Christ is just how much he wants his Gentile audience to become familiar with the Scriptures. He uses the established language of the Old Testament. He quotes frequently from it. And he then culminates his Gospel with this spiritual appetite whetting citation from The Christ -

¶ Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."Luke 24:44

Everything in the Old Testament was written about Me, Jesus said. Wow. With this one verse in his Gospel, Luke has just taken a pinch of salt and sprinkled in the spiritual mouths of his readers. Imagine being a Gentile unfamiliar with the Old Testament Scriptures and you've just read that! Everything in the Law of Moses - all the ceremonies, all the animal sacrifices, the layout of the Tabernacle, the conquest of Canaan, and the ministry of the prophets - point to Jesus!

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:27

F.W. Boreham writes in A Handful Of Stars, that many people miss the point of the Bible. Why read the Bible? Jesus gave a profoundly simple answer: Me. And F.W. Boreham suggests that this sublimely simple answer to the why question is confused by readers who are looking for laws to keep when they read the Bible. They are looking for the Bible's Prohibitions (Thou shalt not...) - the things that God forbids. They may ignore the Precepts (Thou shalt...) - the things that God commands be done. To read your Bible like this is to live as a pauper while have a million dollars in your bank account! "Everything written about Me" Jesus said. The Bible is firstly about a Person, not Prohibitions or even Precepts.

Why do people join Christ's church? For worship? Being a worshiper is high and noble calling. For fellowship? Being in fellowship is needed. We are told to worship The Christ. We are told not to neglect to fellowship (Heb. 10:25). But before we are called to worship or fellowship, we are called to follow Christ. We could call ourselves a Christian and worship Christ but if we are not following Christ, we are a Christian in name only. We could call ourselves a Christian and fellowship with other believers but if we are not following Christ we are deluded into thinking that our mere associations make us a Christian.

They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?"Luke 24:32

Luke's Gospel present Jesus as Someone foretold in the ancient Scriptures. He presents Jesus quoting the Scriptures. He then closes his Gospel with the bold claim that all Scripture actually about Jesus! If we want to follow Jesus we must search for Him in the Scriptures. F.W. Boreham says that we must approach the Scriptures in the right order: The Person, The Precepts, The Prohibitions. By seeing the Person of the Scriptures our hearts are glowing with a warmth to do the Precepts of the Bible, and then are hearts feel revolt for the very things that the Scriptures Prohibit. We devote ourselves to the Person of Jesus. We delight to do His will. We despise those things He warns against. The order is important. The "why" is not a "what" but a "Who".

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures
Luke 24:45

Open your Bible today and you'll be opening more than a book. Join me in Luke this Sunday and it will cause you to join with Him on Monday. Why read the Bible? Because Jesus said, "It speaks of Me." The Why of Me is really the Why of Him.

Andrew Corbett

OF THE BOOK

Christianity is known as a 'religion of the book'. Christians used to be referred to as 'people of the book'. That book is the Bible. But is this now an out-dated idea?

Mark 12:10 Have you not read this Scripture... [Jesus Christ]

Christianity is founded on the claim that the Bible is the uniquely inspired Word of God to mankind. The message of the Bible is that God created everything which He culminated in the creation of a man and a woman (Creation). But this man and woman rebelled against their Creator and tainted human race with sin (Fall). God showed mankind the demands of justice because of that Fall (Law). God sent a Redeemer to atone for mankind's sin (Cross). Christ conquered death and rose from the dead (Resurrection). On the last Day He will separate "sheep" (followers of the Shepherd) from "goats" (idolaters) as all people, living and the raised dead appear before His throne (Judgment). Those in Christ will enjoy full satisfaction for eternity whereas those outside of Christ will receive their due for eternity (Eternal destiny).

Matthew 22:29 ¶ But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God."

The Bible is uniquely inspired by God. As you read it, it washes you (Ephesians 5:26). As you study it, it nourishes you (Matthew 4:4). As you ponder it patiently it, it satisfies you (Psalm 1). God has provided no other means for these much-longed for blessings.

Luke 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

The Bible claims to be true. It is not true merely because we believe it to be true. That is not what makes something true. Some people doubt the Bible and feel that they need more faith to believe the Bible. The solution to doubt is not more faith, but the truth! Truth dispels doubt. The Bible is true (John 17) and can be verified by the four tests of truth.

Are you washing daily? Are you nourishing your soul? Has your search for satisfaction been quenched by the ponderous riches of God's Sacred Word? Even if you only make reading Paul's Epistles before the end of the year your Scripture reading your goal you will benefit greatly. But a necessary warning: As you read the Bible you will encounter a completely different set of values to those of the world - of whom the Bible says that they, "hate the light" (John 3:20). Thus, you may find yourself shocked by the startling demands of Scripture to be 'other-worldly' rather than 'worldy'. But sometimes we need to be 'shocked' and 'startled' to get our hearts back into rhythm with our divine Life-Giver.

Psa. 34:8 ¶ Taste and see that the LORD is good.
Oh, the joys of those who trust in him!

How Prophets Complain

Jeremiah, The Weeping Prophet, Part 7

Jeremiah Part 7 from Dr Andrew Corbett on Vimeo.

Jeremiah, The Weeping Prophet, Part 3

Jeremiah, The Weeping Prophet, Part 3 from Andrew Corbett on Vimeo.