The Hound of Heaven by Francis Thompson, Read by Richard Burton And thats what this is about. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. At the heart of the Spirits work within us is His desire for us to know Christ more. We can do this, as Christians, by prayerful meditation on the Word of God. I expect a blessed transplantation of all these flowers below to a clearer atmosphere above, away from all this smoke and fog and damp, up where the sun is never clouded, where flowers never wither, where fruits never decay. What does it mean to feed the flock? Finally, the Apostle does not stop with this exhortation, but goes on to deliver a comforting reminder (read verse 3). 9. [6]I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. We might hide in the illicit romances of actors and actresses, but . (d) I think the drawing of the net to shore at last was meant to remind the disciples and all ministers of what will happen when the Lord comes again. Christ permeates Pauls writing to such an extent that it would be impossible to read around it. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. This is the real central point of all of these parables, namely the great lengths to which Jesus has gone to rescue us from ourselves. The futility of man and the power of God stand in contrast to each other, as well see further in this next section, but the antithetical parallels with man in our fallen state are striking. I thought I saw an Abrahamic type of faith a gigantic faith. [30] But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him! [31] And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. Memorization (Spiritual Formation in Christ for the Whole Life and Whole Person inVocatio, Vol. First, the divine imperative, as Augustine termed the creation of the world, is seen here in Christs powerful control over the life and death of His creatures. In everyway and on every level that you have provided for your children, the Father and His Son have far outstripped you. The theme itself is a venerable one. Comments will be approved before showing up. 824. The Heaven of Heaven | Answers in Genesis I like to think of myself as a patient man except, of course, when the kids or the co-workers, or someone (anyone) else has really pressed my nerves or my buttons repeatedly. Paul reminds us that: For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. In Eden, Adam took the fruit from Eves hand; in Gethsemane, Christ received the cup from His Fathers hand. Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said. [22] When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, Is that how you answer the high priest? [23] Jesus answered him, If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me? [24] Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. greatly increases our love of time with the Lord and grows us in unexpected ways. 15:11-13 And he said, There was a man who had two sons. 113. [15] Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Lastly, and I touched on this a moment ago, in revealing the nature and character of the Son in this moment we also see His sovereignty. I dont know why she turned around. Perhaps she was frightened by the angels and turned to go, or perhaps she sensed someone behind her and quickly wanted to see who was approaching. I believe its crucial that we understand God as working even now dynamically, personally, powerfully in history and in the lives of men all across the globe to expand his kingdom a real kingdom of real people. [20] And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time. (Luke 1:19-20), Gabriel is saying, I was JUST in heaven before Gods throne. Listen to Spurgeon and let your hearts agree with his: One more duty I would mention, though others suggest themselves. [iv], Sadly, there are many people who incorrectly associate Christs saving work with the entire world, as if all the world will be saved simply because this verse says that God loved the world. (Psalm 80:1-2). And as you meditate on and memorize the word of God, pray to the Lord and ask for His help to understand it and deeply engrain it in your mind so that when you face a Peter Moment you will have the sword ready to go. This view robs the church of important teachings concerning the kingdom that are clearly set forth in the New Testament. As Paul says: Put your mind and efforts into serving Him and others in obedience and with love through thick and thin. He knows the details of your life because He ordained the details of your life. The purpose is so that his prayer and plan might come to pass for us. They had a lot to sort outand after all, what could they do? (John 17:9-10). Let him go up. (2 Chronicles 36:22-23 ESV). Angels celebrate when we repent and are saved. Moses reaction is what our reaction ought to be when God changed our heart, Please show me your glory (vs. 18b). And that is the great love of our undiscriminating God. [16]And the free gift is not like the result of that one mans sin. The Revelation of His Glory and how it Transforms Us. (2 Corinthians 4:6, ESV). Jesus, in effect, was showing them that they didnt understand Him because they didnt understand the nature of the person of the messiah and his mission. We must give great time and energy to studying and spending time in the Word of God. Peter was so wrapped up in his own welfare that when it came to dying for Christ he was far from ready. Not only is it a feast for the eyes, and ears with the flowering trees and waves breaking upon the shore, but it is a spiritual feast even an emotional and mental feast for anyone who has ever been restored by the Lord Jesus. How can anyone be saved? Wed love to move closer to church and to my work. To put it another way, He is not going to do the miracle so that He can receive praises from men, but rather to show men that He is praiseworthy. These verses metaphorically insist that Jesus is safe as long as he performs his Fathers will. Thats when you realize you had gotten an extra $300 out of the ATM and put it in an envelope for tomorrow thats why it wasnt showing up in the online statement! Christ called us to love our enemies (Matt. Is it not significant that Martha had a better understanding of the resurrection than the Sadducees? The Hound of Heaven. But his willingness to join Jesus was a matter of accepting the inevitable, clearly without understanding anything of the joy of which Jesus had spoken, to say nothing of being able to share in it.. We are fallen men and women. Throughout Scripture, the revelation of the name of God and the glory of God has had a similar affect on men. He cares deeply for them. John sees clear fulfillment of OT scripture and its just as clear that the apostle Peter did as well. They would have been happy for their suffering to be relieved Id wager. Therefore, it was the purpose of Christ to surrender in order that He might conquer for our sakes. It is overwhelming to me. In Scripture there are at least three different ways/modes God can be glorified (generally speaking). Charles Spurgeon. I FLED Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways. [2] Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. Therefore, let me give you four things to take away from this passage: No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. She is weeping for her brother, but also because she has been stirred again emotionally by the presence of Christ. (Romans 1:24-25, ESV). Theyre in our neighborhoods, theyre in the grocery stores, theyre not just in India theyre in your Bible study! In another occasion, He said, But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (Luke 11:20). Thousands have read "The Hound of Heaven" with tears, for it is the story of God's pursuit of all, who, like Thompson, reject him, and try to flee from him. [9] And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost. [10] Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.. This is the moment at his lowest when he comes to himself. This is where we find Peter, and this is where we find ourselves apart from the grace of Christ. Sproul was speaking of earlier when he said that Christs kingdom was inaugurated but not yet consummated. There are some promises, and some realities that are presently being realized in the church age, yet will not come to their full glory until Christ returns. Heaven and Hell. It is the beautiful glory of His holiness which confounds men. Listen to what God says to Isaiah about the hearts of men: Our deeds are evil, and we love our sinful ways. When you take the entire corpus of his work, his writing, youll see a man so transfixed on Jesus that in order to summarize his entire mission to the Corinthians he says that he resolved to know nothing else but Christ and Him crucified. His justice is seen in His passing over those self-righteous older brothers who refuse to come in and eat with the prodigals. Cant they just let us mourn Him? Mark emphasizes that the same malady afflicts the disciples. I hope you respond by recognizing the depth of your depravity and your sin and that apart from Christ you were a wretch without merit enough to last one hour before the Holy One. In fact, the New Testament opens with John the Baptists announcement of the kingdom: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2). This special affection is seen in the profuse love of this father for his wayward son. [3] He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Behold 153. The vast majority of its occurrences are therefore in Johns writings, as it is also found 24 times in Johns three epistles, and just three times in Peter. But none of it made sense to them yet. Whence arise these things? They were never intended to do it. NOTES: Realize that God is calling you not to a life of intellectual boredom, but to a renewed mind and transformed heart a mind which sees terrors as joys and trials as blessings. Thats His mission. This explains how we ought to behave exuding the love of Christ and how we will be distinguished from the world: By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35), 11:33-37 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. This is the same man who we call Doubting Thomas, but we see here that there is more to this man than simply cynicism (though that certainly seems to be a dominant characteristic of his nature). "The Hound of Heaven" is a 182-line poem written by English Catholic poet Francis Thompson (1859-1907). For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. Wesley's Journal, Vol. He knew what it was to walk on this earth. (Ephesians 2:8-10). Likewise, the miracle that were about to read of bolstered the faith of the disciples and those who were near Christ. 20:17-18 Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. [18] Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lordand that he had said these things to her. He knew what it was to lose a loved one. Similarly, God doesnt love the world because the world is inherently good. This section doesnt currently include any content. (Revelation 3:20-21). Thats just who He is, they probably thought. But when one reads the poem this strangeness disappears. [16] I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. [3] So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
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