Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Men will by nature rebel
against every true revelation of the glory of God in Jesus
Christ. Many do so while professing to
be the followers of Christ, as they exalt the free will of men
and make the redemptive work of Christ to be a mere attempt
to save men, which ultimately depends upon them instead of
Him. One cannot deny the testimony
of Paul, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
that according as it is written, he that glorieth let him glory
in the Lord. Yet many will seek to modify
what Paul clearly stated in order to promote their schemes which
give men a place to glory in their own decisions, works, faith,
and obedience. In the same fashion, they will
revolt against Paul's clear declaration of the absolute sovereignty of
God. Nay, but, O man, who art thou that replyest against God?
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast
thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over
the clay? of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and
another unto dishonor. The man who is convinced that
his opinion is always correct is either a fool or unlearned
in the limitations of even spiritually minded men. There are some passages
of scripture that are difficult to understand, yet we must be
faithful to set forth what understanding we have in a manner which would
encompass the essence of the truth as it is in Jesus, even
if we might miss the exact import of it in every detail. Mark 9.1
is just such a scripture. And he said unto them, that there
be some of them that stand here which shall not taste of death
till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. It is
true enough that the Lord could have been speaking of an event
far off in the future, yet it would appear that it could not
be beyond the lifetime of those to whom he was speaking. Some
have surmised that he is speaking of the coming of his kingdom
at the end of the age, when he returns with a shout and the
voice of the archangel. But such seems unlikely to me,
since he did say that the event which he is describing would
occur while some of them were still alive. Others have thought
that he has reference to the coming destruction of Jerusalem
around the year 70 A.D. Such seems a strange consideration
to me and does not represent the emergence of the kingdom
of God with power. Then there are those who believe
that he has reference to the day of his ascension back to
the right hand of the father which was witnessed by them as
the heavens opened and he was received into the glory which
he had with the father from the beginning. This was indeed a
momentous and glorious event, which surely shaped their concept
of the extent of the reign of his kingdom. Yet I do not believe
this is the event which was referenced by the Lord either, due that
all of them to whom he spoke were present when he ascended,
rather than some of them. So we're left to consider what
event did he have reference to. When we look at the scriptures
which are considered prophetic, we can be certain that they all
have their fulfillment in Christ, since the testimony of Jesus
is the spirit of prophecy. All of the creation shall worship
at his footstool, because he is the creator of all things,
which he made for that very end. He would reveal his glory to
a people which he created for that very reason, who would delight
not simply in his creation of them, but in their redemption.
which is clearly made manifest in the unfolding of his kingdom
in the earth. He had reference to this fact when he said upon
this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. The opening up of the understanding
of his disciples was an ongoing work of his ministry. One can
only guess at their wonderment each time he performed some act
which caused him to say, what manner of man is this? So it
would appear to me that the event which he has reference to here
in Mark 9, 1 is the event which occurred on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Peter's expressed desire to build three tabernacles of equal import
for Elijah, Moses, and the Lord shows that his line of thought
was in keeping with his Jewish heritage and tradition. How startling
it was to hear that voice from heaven thundering out, this is
my beloved son, hear ye him, as Moses and Elijah faded from
view. If this is not a revelation of
the kingdom of God coming with power, I'm not able to imagine
what it would be. That revelation was cemented
in Peter's mind on the day of Pentecost when he declared, therefore
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
this same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. This is the message of His kingdom,
which has no end, and is the setting forth of His kingdom
in power. For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.