The Other Side of the Stone

The Other Side of the Stone

By David Wilkerson

Joseph took the body . . . and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away" (Matthew 27:59–60, NIV).

Jesus had just been crucified and was now lying in a tomb. As a massive stone was rolled to seal the doorway, everyone had a sad sense of finality. Scripture says a group of women, including Mary Magdalene, was sitting opposite the tomb. Those women must have been heartbroken. I can almost hear the despair in their voices: "What will happen now that Jesus is gone? How do we go on?"

Today we know the end of the story. We know that when Jesus said from the cross, "It is finished," He had conquered sin. We know that with His resurrection He had conquered death. And we know that He did it all for us.But what if we did not know the end of the story, as those women at the tomb? What were the eleven disciples thinking as they hid at a distance behind locked doors (see John 20:19)?

I do not think we can fathom what Jesus' death meant to His passionate followers. They had believed their Master was the hope of the world, the salvation of Israel, the light to the Gentiles. He was the great healer, raising the dead and setting captives free, preaching the good news to the poor. He was the embodiment of the new kingdom He preached about. As they thought back to His words, "It is finished," they must have thought He meant, "It's over. This is the end of the story."
All too often, as Christians endure the trials of life, this is the message they believe. They see no hope beyond their difficult situation. All they can see is a stone permanently rolled into place separating them from hope. Yet they are seeing things from this side of the stone. If only they knew what God is doing for them on the other side of the stone.
Maybe life has presented you with a hard, impassable situation. As you read this do you wonder, “Is God at work in my circumstance? Is Jesus really triumphant — in me? Can He really save me from this situation? I just don’t see a way forward.”

I tell you, God is on the move in your life at this very moment. The stone is being rolled away. Light is breaking forth and your Hope stands there in the doorway: Jesus! He has triumphed over all the powers of darkness and His victory is yours by faith.

Jesus

John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

In John chapter 12, Jesus is staying in Bethany at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus because it was near to Jerusalem. It is just six days before Passover, and people are coming from all over the world to celebrate Passover. Crowds came out to Bethany to see Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead. I can just see the crowds milling around Bethany and the house of Lazarus just to get a glimpse of him and Jesus. Jesus has eaten supper with Lazarus, and the house is filled with the perfume that Mary has poured on Jesus’ feet.

John 12:11 says, “The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.” You can sense the anticipation and excitement of the crowd as they hear Jesus is coming. For many who have come from far this may have been their first glimpse of Jesus, the one they had heard so much about. As Jesus arrives, the crowds erupt in shouts of joy and praise, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' The King of Israel!”  Not only is the multitude shouting, but John records that there was a voice from heaven like thunder that said, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again," referring to His name.

It is in this awesome context that Jesus said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The central message of the early church was Jesus Christ and Him crucified; that there is no other name in heaven and earth by which people may be saved.

In Acts the Jewish leaders ordered Peter and John not to preach or teach at all in the name of Jesus, beat them, and imprisoned them when they continued to boldly proclaim that name.  At the name of Jesus the lame man at the temple walked, and the apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. It was the name of Jesus that brought unity, growth, and blessing to the early church.

As we celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter, let us elevate Jesus not only in church but in our lives. Do not let the world intimidate you from using the name that is above every name.

Andy Clark

Building a Life of Influence

Proverbs 3:3-6
“Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
And so find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.”

Influence is birthed out of trusting and acknowledging God in everything.
Influence is evidenced in mercy and truth (NKJ), love and faithfulness (NIV).
The results are divine guidance, favor with God and man, health, and prosperity.

Peter gives this epitaph of Jesus’ ministry in Acts 10:38:
“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
We see here that the evidence of God’s favor and anointing power in the life of Jesus was His acts of mercy. These were acts that were born out of the will of God and fulfilled by God’s power. They were evidences to the world of God’s character and His favor.

This favor and influence in the early church was demonstrated through their lives of mercy. Acts 2:46-47 says, “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Acts 4:32 goes on to say, “Neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.”

Mercy is one of the key elements in God’s judgment of mankind. Matt 25:34-39 says,
“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me….. Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

This kind of unabandoned mercy can only be birthed out of trusting and acknowledging God in everything. The results are divine guidance, enablement, favor with God and man, health and prosperity of body, soul and spirit.

Andy Clark

Living in God's Favor

Two weeks ago (2/18) in my devotional “Favored One,” we saw that Mary entered into God’s favor not because of who she was or her performance, but because God imparted His favor upon her. As the angel challenged Mary to rejoice because of God’s favor, we too can rejoice because of God’s favor on us through Jesus Christ.

This week we want to look at the example of Christ and how we can live in God’s favor. Luke 2:51-52 says, “Then He (Jesus) went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Here we see Jesus grew in favor with God. Do you think before this that Jesus had any less favor with God? As God’s son, born of the Spirit, Jesus always had God’s full favor. But what we see at the temple is the beginning of the manifestation of that favor. This increase in favor with God and man was the result of his submission to his parents and God the father.

Through Christ we receive instantaneous favor with God, but it is through submission to God, His Word, and those He has placed over us that we begin to see the manifestation of God’s favor in our lives. In Luke 3:22 at Jesus’ baptism, God openly declares His favor over Jesus, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." This open declaration of favor comes after years of Jesus walking in submission. In Luke 4:1-2 this favor is put to the test when Jesus is tempted of the devil in the wilderness. Luke 4:14 concludes, “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.”

When we come to understand the favor that God has given to us and walk in submission to His Spirit, it enables us to overcome the attacks of the enemy through circumstances that we face in life and come out in victory and the power of His might. It is through this process that the favor of God begins to manifest through us and impacts those who are around us. We see the culmination of this when Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah in Luke 4:18-19, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Living in God’s favor enables us to extend God’s favor to others who are bound in sin and oppressed of the devil. Living in God’s favor empowers us to “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you.” Begin to live in His favor through faith and submission to His Word and Spirit that the glory and the favor of the Lord may rest on you and bring deliverance to those you meet.

Andy Clark

An Everlasting Covenant

Psalms 105:8-10

“He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant.”

We serve a covenant keeping God. The Bible says it is “His covenant.” God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, who holds all things together by His word, is the one who makes His covenant with us. Thus, He is bound by His word to keep it for us. The writer of Hebrews shows how powerful this covenant is that God made not only for Abraham but for those of us who believe. Hebrews 6:13-18 says, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. …Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise (that is you and me) the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.”

The King of kings and Lord of all the earth, El-Shaddai the Lord All-sufficient, Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord our Provider, the Great I AM of our past, present and future has made a covenant with you. It is “an everlasting covenant” that has no expiration date. His covenant to us came into existence at “the word he commanded,” the same command that said “Let there be light” and there was light”, and we have had light every day since the creation of the world. It never changes! God’s covenant with you and with me is even more certain than creation because God said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will never pass away.” His covenant cannot fail because it is based on “two immutable things” God’s character and His word.

“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” (2 Corinthians 1:20) The promise is made by God, and in Christ they are Yes and Amen. But the promise is fulfilled through those of us in Christ Jesus for the glory of God. 2 Peter 1:4 says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.” Just as with Abraham, God has made a covenant with you that you may show forth His glory and be a blessing to your family, your church, your neighbors and the nations.

I want to encourage you today that God is a covenant-keeping God. Take time to review the covenants in His Word. Pray and allow these to become alive to your situation. Do not let doubt or disobedience hinder you from pressing into those promises. Remind God of His promises and be willing to step out in faith and maybe do something that you have never done before. Step out of the box of your routine and ability into the vastness of God’s greatness, and see Him work on your behalf.

May God by His Spirit and Word encourage you today.

Andy Clark

Favored One

Luke 1:26-38

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her,"Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"  

“But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

The favor of God is an amazing and wonderful thing. In the Scripture portion above the angel declares to Mary, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" Mary was troubled and wondered about the unusual greeting. The angel did not ask how she was doing, what she was doing, or about her family or job. The greeting was not dependent upon her education, wisdom, performance or circumstances.

The wonderful thing about God is that His favor on us is not based upon who we are or our performance. God’s favor is based upon His character and His love that He wishes to lavish upon us, despite what we have done. His favor is founded on the character and sacrifice of His son for us. Though Mary’s outward circumstances had not changed, God raised her from the ordinary to the extraordinary in his kingdom. God pulled Mary from her world into His world and a divine plan for mankind. In the midst of her simplicity God granted her dignity and purpose that would sustain her through the tremendously harsh experience of seeing her son falsely accused, beaten beyond recognition, and sentenced to one of the most cruel forms of capital punishment.

Sometimes we fail to understand the magnitude of God’s favor on us because we measure favor by worldly standards as something we have earned, and in turn we expect natural results of promotion, financial reward or praise of men. However, God’s favor is much greater than the favor of men. God’s favor brings us into relationship with Himself where our identity and fulfillment comes from Him and not our achievement or circumstances.        1 John 3:2-3 says, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

No matter what your situation is today, may you have a sense of God’s favor, not because of what you have done, but because of God’s great love and grace toward us. “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you.”

Andy

Living on the Edge

Matthew 10:37-39

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Through the annals of history God has called men and women to live on the edge. He called Noah to build an ark for the saving of his family, Abraham to leave his home for a country he knew not, Moses to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, Elisha to burn his plow, sacrifice his oxen and pursue Elijah for the double anointing, Esther to risk her life going to the king to save her people, Jeremiah at great personal risk and sacrifice to warn his people of God’s judgment, Peter James and John to give up the family business to follow Christ and become the founders of the church, and Christ who gave up His rights as God, made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, humbled Himself and became obedient to the death of the cross for our salvation.

I just returned from Niger where I encountered men and women living on the edge to see the kingdom come to this barren land. I was especially struck by a Brazilian lady whose husband was back in Brazil for three months for surgery, leaving her to run the ministry on her own. They lived in one room of a three-bedroom concrete house. One bedroom served as a food pantry, while volunteers lived in the other room. Their kitchen, dining room, and living room is a center where they prepare meals daily and bring hope to 200 children. They have no privacy, live on the edge financially, and are threatened by bearded men who sometimes sit outside their home in an attempt to intimidate them from sharing the love and hope of Christ to these children.

Living on the edge looks different for each one of us, but every one of us is being called and drawn to that place by the Holy Spirit. Living on the edge is outside of our comfort zone and place of security, it is the tug of the Spirit to involve ourselves in something beyond us, our capacity, and ability. Living on the edge is that place where the natural meets the supernatural, the temporal meets the eternal, and light encounters darkness. Living on the edge is the cry of every one of our hearts because it is where we encounter the face of God.

Break out of the mundane, take a risk, respond to God’s Word and the tug of His Spirit and live on the edge for God.

Andy Clark