I recorded this testimony a few years ago after encountering Nathan Wheeler’s testimony of how he came to Jesus. And to be honest, I was pushed into making this as a defense mechanism when someone challenged me that my experiences of God might have been the devil. I apologize that it might seem like I’m rambling a bit. I do respect your time, so if you have something better to do then by all means do that. But if you want to spend some time hearing my story then pull up a chair and a cup of coffee and let’s get to it.
The truth really does set us free. No excuses, no bulls***, just open and honest heart-on-the-sleeve bare your soul to God and you will be free. This talk includes some of that kind of vulerability and also some pretty wild and amazing experiences of God, which, once the Awakening takes full effect (in your and my life) will be commonplace.
Revelation 12:10-12 says, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11″And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 12″For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
“Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:6 NLT
How did Jesus live his life?
So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. 21For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants. 22In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, 23so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.
24“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
25“And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. 26The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. 27And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.d 28Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, 29and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. 30I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will. – John 5
Sorry. I couldn’t help but let Jesus keep talking. I hate to cut him off.
He also says that he never speaks apart from his Father’s direction:
Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. 45For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. 46I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. 47I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. 48But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. 49I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.” – John 12
So this is how God expects us to live as Jesus lived. We do what the Father shows us and we speak as the Father directs us. Beautiful isn’t it?
Prayer: Father, enable us to see what you are doing and join you in your work. Give us the ability to speak your words that lead people into relationship with you (eternal life). Fill us with your Holy Spirit and may we keep in step with your Spirit.
And then, we get to do the stuff. Raise the dead, heal the sick and cast out demons.
Jesus said:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” John 14:12-14
Growing up I never prayed to God the Father. I could believe that Jesus was alright because he saved me from the terrible wrath of the Father. I realized that Jesus taught us to pray to the Father, but I sure didn’t, ’cause I didn’t trust him!
“Jesus, You are ok, but don’t leave me in the room alone with your Father! Thank you for saving me from him and his terrible wrath!” This reveals how messed up my theology was!
The book and movie the Shack bring us back to what the Scriptures have to say about the union that the Father and Jesus share. The author of The Shack, William Paul Young, makes the claim that this union didn’t end at the cross and that the Father never left his Son… hence Papa has nail scars. Of course this summa cum laude Bible college graduate (with some seminary) isn’t alone. He shares this theology with the early church fathers, and theologians C Baxter Kruger, C.S. Lewis, Thomas F. Torrance, etc… and with the Holy Bible as well, as we shall see.
Was Jesus abandoned by the Father at the cross?
Jesus said, “You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.” (John 16:32)
Do we believe him? What about when he was abandoned on the cross? Didn’t Papa and Holy Spirit leave him then?
2 Corinthians 5:19 tells us: “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” (NLT)
Was this just one third of God in Christ, or was it the fullness of God like this Scripture says?
“For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.” Colossians 2:9
This is such a major point of discussion in the movie the Shack, this notion of Papa abandoning his Son. And then the Father shows his scars. Pointing to the truth of the above Scriptures. “God (Papa) was in Christ… the Fullness of God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.”
And apparently he pulled something off because, after all, he did say, “It is finished.” Didn’t he? (I am remembering a scene from Mission Impossible 4 when he says, “mission accomplished!”) And on his end, indeed it is!
When speaking of his coming crucifixion, here is what Jesus says:
“Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will know that I am He,
and that I do nothing of Myself;
but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.
And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone,
for I always do those things that please Him.” (John 8:28-29 NKJV)
Ok, so what about when Jesus said, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
We are left to assume by Jesus words that the Father forsook the Son. But don’t we have to disregard so much of what Jesus has already said to believe this?
What’s going on here? Well, this is how I have heard it presented:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” are the opening lyrics to a popular Messianic song, Psalm 22.
Jesus is beginning to quote the opening lyrics of Psalm 22 which everyone knew. It’s not as if he was even capable of quoting the whole thing as he was gasping and straining for his every breath. I have heard that this Psalm was sung and rehearsed often at Passover. Look at what this Psalm goes on to say:
“They have pierced my hands and feet.
I can count all my bones.
My enemies stare at me and gloat.
They divide my garments among themselves
and throw dice for my clothing.” (vs 16-18)
To those standing by who were familiar with this song/psalm thought about these verses and realized, “Look! They have pierced his hands and feet! Look at those soldiers over there throwing dice for his clothing and dividing up his garments.”
The Psalm goes on to say:
“For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from Him;
but when He cried to Him, He heard.” (Psalm 22:24 NKJV)
Here was how the NIV rendered it:
For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
So, is “the afflicted” referring to Jesus? Was Jesus abandoned? Was he forsaken?
One of my friends pointed out that Jesus came to show us the Father, and the one time we need the Father to be like Jesus the most, he pulls out?
Remember when Jesus breathed his last and gave up his Spirit?
“And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, He breathed His last.” Luke 24:36 NASB
So the Holy Spirit was with him through the end? The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as the the Spirit of Jesus.
I am now convinced that the Trinity never “got divided” even on the cross. I’m still in the midst of researching the atonement and what can be known, biblically, about what happened there.
Yes, I still find it hard not to believe that if Jesus said, “why have you forsaken/abandoned me?” that He wasn’t indeed forsaken and abandoned. I have a really hard time seeing it differently. I’m sure many of you do as well.
I just plain don’t understand the mystery. It is indeed a new thought to many of us that Papa was in Christ (the whole time?) reconciling the world to himself. I believe that is what the Bible reveals. I just don’t understand.
I suffered seven long years of depression and despair because I became convinced that God had abandoned me. My healing came when my wife had a vision of me curled up in a closet and Jesus was sitting with me with his arm around me. (Indeed I was sitting in a closet in absolute terror after I felt abandoned by God!)
No doubt, Jesus entered into our sense of alienation when he took all the sin of the world. He was experiencing all our pain and suffering that sin brings and could likely no longer see his Father or experience his love. Indeed, EVERYTHING the Scriptures tell us that Jesus endured on the cross are absolutely true! (Who is denying that?)
I’m reminded of what Isaiah 53 says about the sacrifice our Lord made on our behalf:
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed. (vs. 5)
But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels. (vs. 10-12)
Did Father turn his back on the Son? Besides Jesus words on the cross, does the Bible specifically ever say that he did? Correct me if I’ve missed something.
I am remembering this Scripture from Isaiah 54:7
“For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I will take you back.”
He uses the term, “as though…” just before it to compare. Here is the context:
“Fear not; you will no longer live in shame.
Don’t be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you.
You will no longer remember the shame of your youth
and the sorrows of widowhood.
5For your Creator will be your husband;
the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
the God of all the earth.
6For the LORD has called you back from your grief—
as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband,”
says your God.
7“For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I will take you back.
8In a burst of anger I turned my face away for a little while.
But with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the LORD, your Redeemer.
9“Just as I swore in the time of Noah
that I would never again let a flood cover the earth,
so now I swear
that I will never again be angry and punish you.
10For the mountains may move
and the hills disappear,
but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
His covenant of blessing will never be broken because neither side of this covenant depends on you. Christ Jesus fulfilled both ends of the covenant and depends on his Mercy. Thankfully he is pure Mercy.
There was a scene in the movie The Shack that captures this idea of how we sometimes feel abandoned:
“When all you see is your pain, you lose sight of me.”
How does this relate to us?
Hebrews 13:5 says this:
“God has said, “Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”
Unless you sin, right?
What about that Scripture that says “you are too holy to look on sin?”
Well, I just looked up the one verse that gave us this idea and this is one of the most literal translations from the NASB:
“Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?” Habakkuk 1:13
He doesn’t approve. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t see.
His face is always toward us. Because He is Love and that is what he does! He can’t help it! I mean, just look at this Scripture I prayed for my daughters when I put them to bed tonight:
The LORD bless you, and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.’
“So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.” (Numbers 6:24-27)
A C#m D2 E
I’ve got this knot inside of me, It’s getting hard to breathe
I’m straining for the surface now, I’m pleading for relief
Desperate for my Papa’s love, I’m feeling beaten down
Why is this Great Sadness, Clinging to me now?
F#m E F#m E
But when I come to you, Your arms are open wide
CHORUS:
D E A F#m
Your love drives my fear away
When I feel lost in the gloomy dark,
I focus on the cross, how it moves my heart
Your love drives my fear away
Now I trust in Your light so pure
How your love holds my heart secure
Your love drives my fear away
Your love Jesus
A C#m D2 E
I’ve grown especially fond of you, Your love’s reshaping me
My heart is filled with gratitude, Your goodness I believe
I open my heart wider still, Receiving all your love
You’ve taken my Great Sadness, I’m healed by your blood
F#m E F#m E
And when I come to you, Your arms are open wide
(CHORUS)
2017 Reflect Worship Music (Inspired by the Shack)
We need to remind ourselves who God truly is. He is Good. He is love. And His mercy triumphs over judgement. Sing along to this beautiful and identity affirming song.
Lyrics for Mercy, from A Brave New World, by Amanda Cooke.
My past embraced
My sin forgiven
I’m blameless in Your sight
My history rewritten
Chorus:
Cause You delight in showing mercy
And mercy triumphs over judgement
Oh Love, great Love
Fear cannot be found in You
And there will never be a day
You’re uncertain of the ones you choose
So I will awake
And spend my days
Loving the One who has raised me up
From death to life
From wrong to right
You’re making all things beautiful
My wife and I are loving this song lately. I shared it for the first time in a friends living room earlier tonight (well, at least as much of it as I knew). We gathered to pray and worship God. We need to be doing this more. Especially as the Lord Jesus (Adonai Yeshua) on his way. Well, no matter what his coming IS closer now than it ever has been. The enemy is panicking as he sees the Church Awaken to who God really is. He is getting desperate.
The enemy is losing his grip. People are turning away from sin and coming home to their loving heavenly Papa. All of heaven is breaking out in celebration as more and more people are joining the loving family of God. Religious bondage is being broken over others as they are shown that God is Love and He is Good and inviting us into enjoying our union with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The scales are falling off of people’s eyes. Believers are seeing God in a new light and it’s bringing a whole lot of healing and intimate connection
Tonight we prayed for twins who were just born and not expected to live through the night. Later, while we were praying about demonic harassment in the form of fear and nightmares, I get a call from my wife that my little girl woke up screaming and thrashing around. All my children were crying back home, so we prayed for them.
Growing up I never prayed to God the Father. I could believe that Jesus was alright because he saved me from the terrible wrath of the Father. I realized that Jesus taught us to pray to the Father, but I sure didn’t, ’cause I didn’t trust him!
Daniel Lovett 