Burning Ones – A Good Death - Session 4

There is not any Biblical account of beholding God that leaves the reader with a sense of flippancy.  I find it deeply concerning that within the charismatic movement (of which I’m part) there is a sense of levity expressed when teaching on the things of the Spirit.  Now to be sure, in the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy, but that joy is not silly or frivolous.  Joy is not glib.  There is not one Biblical account of people interacting with angels, messengers from God, where the participant is left with goose bumps, but otherwise unmarked.  Heaven and earth do not collide in a superficial way.  When the body of Christ begins to have angelic visitations where there is no heavenly message, where there is no fear of the Lord, then we should absolutely question the legitimacy of these visitations.  When heaven and earth interact there are real markers. 

Now that being said, our very hope is for more of God.  More dialogue.  More of His Spirit.  More heavenly experience.  My caution is that we look into these accounts, and know what we are asking.  And counting the cost, we would lift our voices and cry, “It is worth it.  Jesus, you are worth it.”  To desire the deep things of the Spirit with no regard for the things of the Spirit will leave us nowhere.  But this makes sense even in our earthly relationships.  To desire intimacy, and yet to have no regard for the person we are in relationship with, will not produce intimacy.  Not in marriage.  Not in our relationship with the Lord. 

I’ve been thinking about how the Lord works in our lives.  When He first comes to us, the greatest demand He makes on us is to simply receive His love.  It sounds so easy, but when you’ve been crushed by sin, letting love in can seem impossible.  He makes no other requirement on us.  Not at the first.  Because receiving His love, by receiving what He’s done for us on the cross, is enough.  The question of discipleship, or His Lordship in our lives, is this… now that you’ve received, do you want more?  When our hearts respond to His with a yes, He answers for us to follow Him.  But even then, it’s all about love.  It’s all about receiving more love.

Don’t be afraid of the title:  A Good Death.  It’s going to be all right.  Everything is going to be ok.  There is love on the other side.  Besides, everyone dies.  The only question for any of us is whether we die a good death, or not.

I.  A GOOD DEATH

A.   If you’ve seen the superman movie, there is a line, “A good death is its own reward.”  God speaks to me when I read novels, or watch movies.  He is the ultimate storyteller, and this is one of those lines that had God all over it.  There’s a similar dialogue in the movie, The Last Samurai.  The characters are discussing past battles and reliving old combat, and several times the Samurai leader would declare something to be a “good death.” 

B.    There are good deaths and bad ones.  But we will all die.  No one is going to get out of it.  We are all eventually going to cross over; the issue is not if we will, but how we will. 

Isaiah 6

5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

C.    Isaiah has an encounter with the Lord in the heavens that does more than reveal God… when you come into contact with Light, you are revealed too.  The state of your life is exposed.  If we’re honest this is why we shrink back from God.  It’s not so much that we don’t want to be close.  I think it often has more to do with the fact that we don’t want to be uncovered.  We still have areas where we are ashamed.  We know that we are bare before Him, that nothing is hidden from His sight.  We believe this.  But we have areas in our hearts that we don’t want to see.  And if we come into His love, if we come closer and let His love in to our hearts, we will have to see what we so desperately want to forget.  In our experience, love can often times be quite painful.  And it will always be so until we stop hiding.  The Lord calls to us like He did the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, in the garden.  He calls us to come out of our hiding places, and into His light and love.  Our fig leaves can’t conceal us, and so He has made for us a better covering… the Blood of Christ is our righteousness!

Revelation 1

[12] Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, [13] and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. [14] The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, [15] his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. [16] In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

[17] When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, [18] and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

D.   John sees the Lord and falls down like a dead man.  Divine encounter brings us to the end of ourselves.  There is nothing shallow or cursory about John’s meeting with Jesus.  He is brought to the very end of everything and anything he can do.  The Lord touches him so that he is able to receive.  Have you ever considered that you have to be anointed so that you are enabled to receive?  You need God to love God!

Ezekiel 3

[12] Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the LORD from its place!” [13] It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake. [14] The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me. [15] And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.

OVERWHELM- (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

To overspread or crush beneath something violent and weighty, that covers or encompasses the whole; as, to overwhelm with waves.

E.    When God comes, He comes.  And His presence is overwhelming.  His Goodness is overwhelming.  His Kindness of overwhelming.  I don’t want you to be afraid or worried that what you will encounter from His heart will be bad.  It won’t be bad… quite the opposite, it will just be so much Good!  It will be so Good, that you will be left utterly undone. 

Exodus 33

[18] Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” [19] And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. [20] But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” [21] And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, [22] and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. [23] Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

F.    Can you imagine there is so much Goodness emanating from God that for our safety we have to be protected?  I can’t even begin to comprehend what this means.  God is so marvelously Good that He has to shield us for our welfare!  Come into the light.  Just because there’s some pain involved doesn’t mean He’s not Good!

II.  IDENTITY ISSUES

A.   When we are heavenly minded, we can finally be some earthly good.  When Isaiah sees the Lord (Isaiah 6), he doesn’t become lofty and out of touch, rather he comes into full identification with his generation.  It’s no longer Isaiah chiding those “ungodly” people.  Suddenly, before the Lord, Isaiah can see that he is in the exact same state. 

B.   
The Apostle Paul was taken into heaven, and came out with the same marked character: humility.  A real encounter with Jesus will not, no cannot, leave you conceited.  Why?  Because a real encounter with God is also a real revealing of our own hearts.  And anyone who has truly seen the state of his or her own heart cannot be conceited.  The secret to humility is to come into the light.  Stop trying to be humble.  Just come into God!

2 Corinthians 12

[1] I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. [2] I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. [3] And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—[4] and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. [5] On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses—[6] though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.

C.    Paul, who was taken into the third heavens, came out of that divine encounter and wrote this:

Romans 3

[23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

D.   Paul included himself in this “all.”  We need to see Jesus.

1 Corinthians 9

[19] For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. [20] To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. [21] To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. [22] To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.

E.    This was not a mission’s strategy; this was the result of Paul’s heavenly interactions.  He identified with all because he had seen his own heart.  And whether he was dealing with Jews or Gentiles, the truth is that all of sinned. 

F.    When we try and do ministry out of any place other than encounter, we will not see heavenly results.  Our hearts must come into a revelation of our own need… even our own depravity.  Priestliness requires identification.  And no matter what our gift to the body, the church, we must operate from a place of priestliness.  We must identify with those we are called to serve.  God will not rest on our human pity.  We must see that we are wretched, poor and blind too!  I know that this will be offensive to many, but it is nevertheless the way. 

Revelation 3

[14] “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.

[15] “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! [16] So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. [17] For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. [18] I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

G.   God wants us to see.  He wants us to prosper.  The issue is that we see that He is the source of our sight and the source of our abundance.  The issue is identity.  The Christian life is about abiding, reflecting and receiving.  It’s about coming to terms with the truth.  I don’t know why this should be so difficult to work through, but it is.  It’s painful to come to terms with the truth.  But!  But when we do, we will see.  And when we do, we will receive everything we need for life and life more abundantly. 

H.   I can’t save us from the woe.  I can’t save us from falling down like dead men.  I can’t save us from the overwhelming Goodness of God.  And I wouldn’t want to!  This is the good death.  It’s good to come to the end of ourselves.  This is GOOD! 

Luke 18

[9] He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: [10] “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ [13] But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ [14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

I.      The blessing is in the seeing.  Do you see?  We’re all in the same boat.  We all desperately need God.  You need Him just as much as the prostitute turning tricks.  So do I!  Let’s come in to the Goodness of the Lord, even though the price is seeing ourselves.  Let’s come in anyway.  He’s so worth it!

Father, anoint me to abide, reflect and receive.  I want to come into your Goodness.  Help me see You and give me grace to see myself.  Break shame off of my life as I draw closer to you.