The Names of God - Consolation of Israel

Consolation of Israel (Jesus)

Luke 2:25 (ESV)

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Israel only occupies .0043% of the world’s landmass, but has been the desire of nations throughout time. It has been conquered repeatedly, even when it had very little to offer in terms of natural resources. The people of this tiny country know disappointment and loss. They have been either ruled or taken captive more times than any other people on the planet.

During the days known as “The Silent Period,” the time between the writings of the Old Testament and New Testament, Israel had fallen prey to the Romans. The religious orders of the Pharisees and Sadducees taken over the leadership of the Jewish Faith, and added many laws to the Law of God in order to keep the people in bondage.

Even in this bleak situation there were some that still held true to the promise of a messiah. One of these was a man named Simeon. Luke tells us that Simeon was “waiting for the consolation of Israel.” This consolation would come, but it would not be as most expected.

Many wanted a messiah that would deliver them from captivity and restore pure worship to the temple. They wanted peace. However, on the day Jesus was brought to the temple to be circumcised as required by The Law, Simeon was there. He recognized something in Jesus that very few knew. Simeon saw the Messiah! He knew the long awaited Consolation of Israel had come.

Consolation: The comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment.

This definition epitomizes the role Jesus fills in every life that He touches. Everyone needs comfort. Everyone has suffered loss. Jesus came to heal these wounds and provide access to the Father from whom all blessings flow! Once we are reconciled to God through Jesus we tap into the very source of life.

While on earth loss and disappointment will still come. That’s part of living in a fallen world. But, we have the Holy Spirit to bring us comfort and we have the hope of Heaven to keep disappointments at bay. We are no longer waiting on the Consolation of Israel. We now have The Comforter living inside us … forever!

The psalmist requested that we pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Psalm 122:6 (ESV)

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you!”

That Peace came when a baby was born to a virgin in a stable in Bethlehem. If we will embrace Him, if we will accept the Covenant that He came to make with mankind, we will know His peace.

The Names of God - Confidence of All the Ends of the Earth

Confidence of All the Ends of the Earth

Psalm 65:5 (NKJV)

By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas; …

When we view ourselves as insignificant or meaningless it can give way to fear. Everyone wants to think they matter. Everyone wants to think somebody loves them and knows that they exist. The good news is that Somebody does!! The psalmist, David, wrote these words many years ago but they still ring true today. God is the Confidence of All the Ends of the Earth.

If you live on the outskirts of town, or in some remote village in a remote part of the world, God still knows you by name. He loves you as much as anyone else. He stands ready to be your Confidence as you live your life for Him.

Even if you are the reason you are in a remote place, God is still there!

Psalm 139:7-10 (ESV)

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Do you remember Jonah? He purposely ran from God, attempting to get as far away, geographically, as he possibly could from the place that God sent him, only to find that God was there, too. If you will embrace this attribute of God it will help you by knowing you can never be taken away from God’s presence. If this was true of those in the Old Testament how much more so for the Believers that have embraced the New Covenant?

When Jesus ascended to be seated at the right hand of the Father, He did as He promised and sent the Holy Spirit to abide IN the Believers FOREVER! Once you have been baptized into Christ you can never be separated from Him again. The Holy Spirit (God Himself) indwells your spirit. He is now your Confidence of All the Ends of the Earth. There are many passages that give us the assurance of this.

Luke 1:37 (ESV)

For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Romans 8:31 (NKJV)

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Philippians 4:13 (ESV)

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Acts 1:8 (ESV)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Matthew 28:20 (ESV)

“… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The bottom line for us is this: God is always there, wherever “there” is! This is true for everyone, but for the Believer He is not only present. He also abides within us. And will forever!

The Names of God - Christ, the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God

Christ, the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God

1 Corinthians 1:22-24 (ESV)

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

An earlier look at the word “Christ” defined the root Greek work to mean, “anointed.” Jesus Christ is the Anointed One, which means He carries an anointing. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthian church explains the purpose behind preaching.

Proclaiming of the Gospel (preaching) is not intended to be a “sign” or “worldly wisdom,” but instead it should be “Christ crucified”! Instead of the sign for which the Jews seek it becomes a stumbling block. For the Gentiles (Greeks or non-Jews) it is seen as folly instead of wisdom.

However, when you enter the New Covenant with Christ you immediately understand that the Gospel is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. It is in fact a sign because of the lives that are transformed by it. It is wisdom because it shows us how to truly live. This is the difference between that which is simply inspired and that which is anointed.

Christ, the Power of God and Wisdom of God. He is The Word of God Made Flesh. This is why the Bible is powerful. It contains The Word as inspired by the Holy Spirit (anointed), not just the writings of humans (inspiration).

Paul understood that human reason has some power. It can move people (sign) and confound even the wise (wisdom). But these things cannot lead to salvation of the human spirit. It can transform the human soul, but the human spirit requires a new birth. It requires the Spirit of God to come and ignite a re-creation because though we live, we are literally dead men walking; dead in the spiritual sense because of our separation from God due to sin.

But when we encounter the Anointed One, and His Anointing, and we enter into the New Covenant made available to us by Christ and His death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seating at the right hand of the Father, we are re-created in His image by the Holy Spirit that Jesus sent after He ascended. We become new creations in Christ.

His Word then bears witness of the new life that Christ brings, the zoe, or God-kind of life, by transforming our hearts and minds (our soul) to reflect the image of Christ that has already been formed in our spirit. This is the mystery! It is Christ in us, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)

We are then commissioned as ambassadors of this new Kingdom to which we are made citizens. We then “preach” the Good News to our world. Preaching is not a vocation reserved only for “the clergy,” but is commanded for everyone that believes. Preaching does not require a pulpit, vestments, or professional oratory skill. It is simply telling the truth about Christ, the Power of God and Wisdom of God.

We are not called to produce a sign, or develop human wisdom. We simply tell the Good News of how we encountered The Truth, and how THIS truth has set us free to be the person God created us to be. There is no fear in this type of preaching. There is no harm caused by this type of preaching. There is no “us and them” in this type of preaching.

You may have never seen yourself as a preacher, but if you are a Christian, one in Covenant with Christ, then you are a preacher. Paul encourages us to proclaim Christ is everything that we do.

1 Corinthians 10:31-33 (ESV)

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

2 Timothy 4:2 (ESV)

… preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)

… but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, …

Live your life as a testimony of the grace you have been shown by God, and walk as a vessel that carries Christ, the Power of God and Wisdom of God.

The Names of God - Christ, the King of Israel

Christ, the King of Israel

(Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews)

Mark 15:32 (ESV)

Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

As Jesus was hanging on the cross, after being beaten, mocked, and spat upon, continued to be derided by those responsible for His crucifixion. Pilate, after the trial, wrote an inscription that was placed on the cross.

John 19:19-20 (ESV)

Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.

These were intended to be derogatory terms to further humiliate the man they were putting to death. Jesus never said He had come to be their king. At His trial, Jesus was asked the question. He did not confirm their accusation.

Matthew 27:11-14 (ESV)

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

After Jesus was born there were wise men that came to Jerusalem searching for the One for whom the sign was given, the “star in the east,” that they had followed. They referred to Jesus as “the king of the Jews.”

Matthew 2:1-2 (ESV)

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

This is a contributing factor to the confusion that Jesus’ disciples, the ones who walked with Him every day for years, thought He had come to conquer the Romans and free Israel from their oppression. John’s record of the conversation with Pilate gives us a better picture of how Jesus described His role as a king.

John 18:33-37 (ESV)

So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

Jesus did admit He was a King, but not the “King of the Jews,” nor the “King of Israel,” but He was King over all creation! This Man is Christ Jesus, the Lord!

The fact that Jesus was born a Jew (nationality) was to fulfill prophecy that there would be a messiah that would come through the lineage of David, from the tribe of Judah, born in Bethlehem of a virgin. He then lived a sinless life according to the Law of Moses so that He could then be given as the Spotless Lamb, the Eternal Sacrifice, which would take away the sin of the world. He did not come the first time to conquer an earthly kingdom, but to conquer the spiritual kingdom that ruled the earth.

Revelation 1:5-6 (ESV)

… and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The second time He comes, He will come as the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and will conquer everything!

Revelation 19:16 (ESV)

On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

This is why we worship Christ Jesus, the Lord. We bow our knee to Him now, so when He comes the second time we will be WITH Him!