The Ultimate Flash Mob

It was the ultimate flash mob.  Normally a flash mob involves a bunch of very talented musicians and singers. They dress in everyday clothes and converge on somewhere like a shopping centre. Then it begins. One by one these apparently ordinary individuals start playing instruments or begin to sing. It is so unexpected. A crowd gathers. They are enthralled. The ordinary and the extraordinary converge.

This time, as usual a wonderful concert broke into an ordinary context. However, what was different for this flash mob was that the participants did not plan it before hand.It was so apparently random that they did not even know they were to be involved.

The crowd on the street when Jesus rode into Jerusalem just started cheering and clapping and waving branches and they all sang the same song together. That’s what happens when something in heaven works its way down to reaches us in the here and now on earth.

Isaiah 13:13 articulates this clearly. God shakes heaven and the earth shakes in response. It seems as though different things on earth resonate to different degrees with the vibrations of heaven.

Jesus was riding into Jerusalem which was a copy of the real Zion. We know it now as the father’s house, the home he had left some 30 years ago. In one week he would actually return home, but this was close enough to that to stir the Father’s heart. He got excited up there on his throne. Perhaps he stood and pointed out the situation to his archangels and gushed with pride for his beloved son. Twice before he had become so excited that his voice could be heard on earth – At Christ’s baptism and transfiguration. I suppose the Father and the hosts of heaven were cheering him on, and no doubt making a fuss and he rode into town. 

On earth, ordinary folks were stirred to worship. Their souls soared. Their hearts overflowed. Their bodies danced and waved branches and their voices sang. They were resonating to the tempo of heaven. In fact, if they hadn't responded, then, we are told, the rocks themselves would have. The earth must respond to the heartbeat of heaven. Incredibly, the rocks were more heavenly resonant than the Pharisees. What about me? Am I responsive to heaven’s atmosphere?

Christ sure was. I think he was eluding to this very thing when he said that he sees the father working and he works. He heard him speak and he speaks. We often think of this as very deliberate and voluntary. Maybe it was much more like the crowds on the day of the triumphal entry. It seems like an involuntary thing as the crowd were caught up in the moment. Perhaps they wondered what it was all about later in the day.

As we become more like Christ our resonance with heaven increases. We become particularly sensitive to the moods of the Father. He feels angry and so do we. He has compassion and we are also moved. He celebrates and we rejoice as well. Through us, the atmosphere of heaven can quickly and powerfully be felt on earth. His kingdom can come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

A Pharisee, a rock, a random person on the street, or a devoted ally of heaven. We all must respond to what goes on in heaven. As for me, I want to be as responsive as I can possibly be. I guess that only happens by dwelling in the Father’s house – A lot.

And it gets me thinking . . . When we are truly moved to worship, something is probably going on in heaven and we are just part of the fallout. Revival must be the same. Great movements of the Holy Spirit must be a reflection of a heavenly reality. I feel like I want to tune myself to harmonise more with what is above. I want to be more like Christ, an undiluted extension of what is happening above . . .

Divine Deluge

Have you ever noticed that so many of the Christian musicians, songwriters and worship leaders that move us to worship seem fixated on the River. It comes up in their songs. They dwell there. They talk about it. It seems somehow personal for them, as if this river is part of their native country. Perhaps it is because the souls that lead us in worship must first worship for themselves. Their staple diet is inspiration. And this river bridges the gap between heaven’s joy and abundance and earth’s malaise. It carries something of paradise downstream. Some would say that is indeed the definition of inspiration.

Maybe we miss something if we abstract the river and treat it as a mere representation of something else. It’s not just theory. Ezekiel swam in it, and felt overwhelmed by its depth and power. It’s a real river – For most of us, most of the time entirely intangible, but this river is part of the unchanging landscape of heaven. It’s spiritual but real. A place to dwell in the spirit, and a place to be refreshed and revived.

When Christ touches our hearts in salvation, that awesome river flows with great power into our spirits. It is a testament to the resilience of the fleshly callouses that make our hearts hard, that they can withstand the pressure of this divine deluge.

Come with me to the river. In the shade of the thick foliage of the trees that line its banks, dwell with me awhile. Pluck a leaf from one of the trees. In your hand you now hold something with medicinal properties far surpassing anything found in earthly pharmacies. The leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations. And that testifies to the character and potency of the River. The trees’ deep roots drink from that source and soak up its properties and power, until it oozes out of their leaves. Look and listen. This mighty waterway teems with life. I have never heard a worship song that celebrates the fish that leap from heaven’s great river.

Here is the thing – this river flows to us as an abundant source of healing, blessing provision and transforming power. It is a place to bring our pain and hurt and wounds. Shelter beneath the shade of its banks when the desert heat has become unbearable. This river brings heaven close when it otherwise feels so distant. Stoop down and take provision and sustenance from its waters. Go back to the barrenness of your circumstances with your hands full.

The river brings the kingdom of heaven within us . . . into our innermost being. It is yours and mine. We own the glory and wonder of the River because it flows with great power into our spirits. The shade of its banks, those healing leaves, and the provision that teems beneath its waters – They are all ours. A stretch of this glorious waterway is our very own – A gift from heaven.

I lived in want, so broken, and so exposed to circumstances. I nearly perished from thirst with the River always within my reach.

Childishly Simple

It is difficult. There is something about the Kingdom of God that is elusive. Ears are deaf to its invitation and blind to its whereabouts, yet it is near at hand. Tax collectors and prostitutes find it easier to enter, than do the wealthy and religious. The kingdom is hidden and costly to gain. It is a pearl of great price. Once discovered it causes us to choose between everything else we possess, and itself. We must sell all we have to gain it, but it is worthy of the sacrifice – A priceless treasure. The more we have of wealth and reputation in the world, the greater the sacrifice that must lie upon the altar. Hence the difficulty for the wealthy and respected. It is a treasure hidden in a field, discovered accidently and instantly bringing us to a conflict of emotions. It is irresistibly attractive and can be obtained, but how great the cost will be.

Salvation is not costly, and nor is it difficult. It was costly for Christ, and torturously difficult for him to obtain for us. It comes to us as a free gift with an open invitation. The cares of this World may compete to hinder our entry. We may not make those hard choices. I have married a wife. I have bought a team of oxen. I have purchased a field. Career or success, investments and relationships can hold us back. It is a choice between this world and the next, decided and experienced in the here-and-now. The choice is clear, but the sacrifice of turning our back on the World is painful. The choice is so simple that a child could choose correctly. In fact, we need to be like a child to overcome the difficulty of our choice . . .

“Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

Mark 10:15

The Kingdom of God is a place. It is nothing short of paradise – The paradise of God the Father. It is his house – A wonderful place where he lavishes his blessings on us, from out of an abundant store. The World, another place, competes for our attention and our residency. Where will we dwell? To turn our back on the world is to leave empty-handed. All of our wealth, and all of our possessions must be laid down to leave that place. Our reputation is a garment that we cannot wear on the quest to find the kingdom. But the World is no real loss. It is a hard and oppressive system. It shows no mercy. “Conform or perish”, it declares to us. It squeezes us and manipulates us. Over our head a constant threat – Conform or lose your wealth and reputation. The Father’s house is a place of escape from the cruel tyranny of the World. Living under the regime is no life at all. The Father’s house is a place of pasture, and of abundant life. It is difficult, but also childishly simple.

Joy and Humility

We feel joy in our heart and humility is a state of mind. If joy and humility are linked, then we would expect that humility would lead to joy, and not the other way around. Why? Because we are used to thinking that our head comes before our heart. Joy and humility in the face of suffering were certainly connected for Christ. In fact, the joy set before him gave rise to humility. And that humility enabled him to endure shame that he despised and the pain of the cross.

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:8

Jesus . . . who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2

I always thought that the Lord found humility to bear the Cross because of the promise of future joy in the eternal kingdom. It makes sense. Suffer through this and the reward will outweigh the pain of the moment. If this is the case, then humility now does lead to future joy. All is as we expect. But what if Jesus had already received the joy before the cross, and it bred humility and enabled him to endure his sufferings?

. . . Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross . . .

Hebrews 12:2

Christ, by faith, entered into the Father’s house. He is the author and perfector of faith. He blazed the trail there. Hebrews chapter twelve is encouraging us to enter in and draw near to the Father’s house, so that we won’t turn back and fall away. Coming to Mount Zion, the real place of worship, that so much other revelation was merely a copy of, brings us before the Father and his many blessings . . . love, joy, peace, &c. The Spirit brings us to the Father and the fruit of his work is that we arrive there and feel in our heart those blessings . . . straight from the source. That’s how we come to obtain inexpressible joy.

. . . you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith . . .

1 Peter 1:8-9

By faith we enter in, and the joy we receive, completely de-coupled from our circumstances, is difficult or impossible to express. The author to the Hebrews is encouraging his readers to follow Christ’s example and to enter in, receive that joy in the face of suffering. That joy produces a harvest of humility and endurance, to safeguard their souls. The transformation of the human soul proceeds first upon the heart, and then the mind and the will are affected.

Romans chapter twelve urges us to . . .

. . . present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

First there is a battle and our flesh must lose dominion over us. This a battle for our heart to be free to feel again. Then another battle is wages and the World must be overcome and the Father’s house embraced. Within his walls we feel the blessings that he lavishes on us. The crushing, conforming pressure of the World grows weaker there. That allows our minds to be transformed. Finally the World’s dominion is broken. The ultimate result is that we approve the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Yes, the final transformation of our souls takes place in our will and desires.

So joy in our heart comes before humility in our mind. And humility precedes the will to endure. That was how it was for Christ and also for us. We don’t have to face the difficulties of life on empty, hoping that we can hang on and make it through for some eventual reward. Yes, the reward will come, but we have resources for the here and now. We can be equipped for the challenges we face in the Father's house. The joy he sets before us, that makes our heart burst, will go further. It will make the world grow dim in our eyes, which is essential for us to gin true humility. And as our hearts are full of joy and the mind of Christ and his humility is our state of mind, our will and desires will change. We will be able to endure . . . saying, "Not my will but yours be done".