Читать книгу The Mechanic's Gift - It is Finished - John Saurino - Страница 9

CHAPTER 5

The Promise

Nigel went to baseball practice Tuesday and Thursday nights during the week. I had to work late Tuesday, so Mary Lynn brought him to the field.

“How did it go?” I asked on her return.

Nigel’s face told the story.

“Fielding was fine. Batting was not as good,” she replied.

“That’s okay Buddy, I’m getting it figured out.”

He tried to smile and went to take a shower.

The batting technique books read easily, and by early Thursday morning I had finished two of them. Although as a boy I was a pretty good player, I simply used raw talent without much in the way of good coaching. I also focused mostly on football in high school. I quickly learned that baseball, like most sports, required a great deal of technique in order to become successful at it.

Thursday’s practice went fairly well, but Nigel still struggled with his confidence at the plate. It was really hard to watch the son I loved wrestle with his doubt in the gifts he had been given by God. As I stood at the fence, Joshua’s teaching on righteousness came to mind.

Was my unbelief in the incredible promises of God hindering my development as a Christian?

It seemed Nigel’s lack of faith, and its effect on his batting, created a physical example of my spiritual struggle. We both had much to learn about the blessings from a God who loves us.

Unfortunately, the Saturday morning game arrived before I was ready. I had completed my reading and watched the videos, but I hadn’t had time to execute my plan. We won the game but Nigel went 0 for 3 at the plate. He was mentally beaten, and everyone on the team knew it. At the end of the game, the coach came over to talk to me.

“Go to the car with your mother and brother. I will be there in a minute, Buddy,” I said to Nigel while he gathered his gear from the dugout. He could see the coach approaching and obeyed my request.

“John, it seems Nigel has lost some of his confidence. Maybe we should give him a little time off.” He was gentle in his approach, but serious with his statement.

“Yeah Coach, I realized that as well,” I replied. “I think he’s trying to adjust to the speed of the kid’s pitching.”

“I agree. This is a pretty big step from the machines, and he is young for the team. Plus, this is a competitive team, not a recreational league. He plays well on the field, but I need more from him with his bat.”

“I understand,” I answered with a nod of my head, knowing full well what was about to happen.

“I think I will replace him as a starter until he can show me more at the plate.” He looked at me asking, “Do you understand the situation?”

“Yes, I do. No problem Coach, you have to do what you think is best for the team,” I stated and we shook hands in agreement.

I began the painful long trek to the parking lot. I could see my wife in the distance loading Hans into the car. We had hit a new low, and I would have to break the news to Nigel. As I walked between parked cars, I heard the coach’s voice call out from behind me.

“Hey, John, hold on a minute.”

I stopped to see him carrying two duffle bags full of equipment.

“We don’t really have a batting coach, so I can’t do much for Nigel, but maybe you could get him some lessons in town. There are a few guys doing that locally, and I can get you their phone numbers. We could use Nigel’s speed and glove if he can get his confidence back when hitting the ball.” Obviously, his coach was trying to help.

I replied with appreciation of his efforts, “Thanks, I will let you know. I do have a plan.”

“Great! Then I will see Nigel at practice on Tuesday?”

“Absolutely,” I responded.

When I got to the car, Mary Lynn and Hans sat quietly in the air conditioning. Nigel was waiting for me outside by the driver’s door.

“What did the coach say, Dad?”

“He mentioned that we might want to get a little help with your hitting,” I explained while trying to develop an answer for the next question.

“Did I lose my starting spot on second base?” Nigel had always been very mature for his age and incredibly in touch with his surroundings.

“I guess so, for now, Buddy. But…he definitely wants you on the field. We just need to heat up your bat. I’ve been doing a lot of research and have some ideas on how to solve this problem together. Mom told me that Eric invited you over to his house for lunch and the rest of the afternoon, so let’s begin tomorrow. Is that a deal?” I put my hand out to complete the contract.

Nigel looked me straight in the eye. I could see that his determination had returned, and defeat was no longer at the forefront. A new goal had been established, and he was focused on regaining his starting spot with the team. Joy flooded my soul when he shook my hand with purpose and stated, “Deal!”

Before long, I was on my way to Joshua’s. Nigel was at Eric’s house, and Mary Lynn was at the playground with Hans and some friends. I smiled as I drove, enjoying the fact that my biblical research had provided the answer to the challenging question Joshua presented during our last encounter.

I was ready for him this time!

When I arrived, I could see that spring had exploded with a marvelous variety of colors in his yard. Bright purples, reds, and yellows were surrounded by the many shades of green. Time passed quickly while we worked together on the new engine. He didn’t talk much, but whistled his familiar tune between our light conversations. The motor’s short block was coming together nicely and would soon be completed. Although there was still a lot to do, we were on schedule according to his projected timeline. When the last piston was in place and bolted to the crankshaft, he turned to me with the much-anticipated inquiry.

“So...do you have an answer to my question from our last meeting?” he asked with half a smile. Somehow, he knew I was prepared.

“I do indeed, Professor!” I stated with confident assurance.

He raised his finger and exclaimed, “Very well then, let us get more comfortable as you teach me what you have learned!” He headed out the back door and was off to the house.

I set up our chairs in the backyard before he returned with the snacks, asking, “Do peanut butter cookies and pink lemonade sound good to you?”

“Absolutely!”

He took a drink from his glass before restating his original question, “Tell me, John, what is the New Covenant God has established with those who believe in Christ?”

The words appeared at the top of the board before he sat down to listen.

I grabbed a cookie, my glass, and stood up. I was being very Italian and overly dramatic, but it was my turn to have fun with him. I started pacing, doing my best Joshua imitation and began reciting from memory.

“You will find the answer in Jeremiah 31:31-34, “The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.””

Joshua jumped to his feet with applause. His cookie was half-eaten still protruding from his teeth. He quickly reached for it and began shouting, “Bravo! Bravo!” while laughing the whole time.

When I finished my presentation, I took a deep Victorian bow and returned to my seat.

Ultimately, the applause came to an end and he became more serious with his thoughts.

“John, you have done yourself a great service. Many Christians do not know this promise they have received from God. Unfortunately, if you don’t know what a covenant says, or even worse, are totally unaware that it even exists, it is very hard to remain faithful to that covenant. Keep these words from the book of Jeremiah close to your heart.”

“Thank you, I will do my best, but I have to admit that I’m not sure I know the full meaning of this covenant God has established. For instance, it says this is a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. How does that apply to me?” I raised my hands slightly in question.

Joshua took those long strides to the whiteboard and began to teach.

“I understand your confusion. Let’s examine this new covenant in more detail.” I could hear the squeak of his marker on the board as he provided an explanation for each line of the verses I had recited.

“Jeremiah 31:31-34- “The time is coming,” he read from his writing.

“This ‘time’ to which he refers is the time of Jesus. It was in the future for Jeremiah the prophet. The New Covenant went into effect after the death of Christ. If you recall, Jesus shed his blood to pay the debt that sin had created. He needed to fulfill the old law and covenant before the new law and new covenant could exist.

“Now, let us move on with examining this New Covenant.” He read the next line.

“Declares the Lord.

“This covenant is not something God takes lightly.” Joshua continued to write as he spoke.

“When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”

I pointed to the board stating, “That’s the verse I was talking about.”

Joshua looked back at me with his reply, “I will explain how this covenant relates to you in just a minute, but first, we must revisit the past. If you remember, the house of Israel was from the lineage of Abraham. Abraham had a son named Isaac. Isaac had two sons named Jacob and Esau. One night, after wrestling with God in a dream, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. Israel had twelve sons leading to the twelve tribes of Israel and eventually the nation of Israel. There was a time when the nation of Israel was living as a divided people. One part was called Judah and the other was known as Israel. Let’s look at the next line of the New Covenant before we go any further.

“It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant.”

He paused from his writing to ask the question, “Who did God take by the hand and lead out of Egypt and those people did not remain faithful to the covenant he had established with them?”

My answer was easy, “God took Moses by the hand and led his people out of Egypt, but eventually they turned on God and built a golden calf.”

“Correct! Therefore, which covenant is he talking about in this verse?”

I thought for a moment before I said, “It seems that God is reminding them of the old covenant he had established with Moses when he gave him the Law on Mount Sinai. You said it was called the Mosaic Covenant. That covenant was based on the law of sin and death. If you sinned, you would not be allowed to live forever with God in Heaven, but rather, you would die and be banished to Hell.”

“Excellent! It seems we are ready to continue.

“Though I was a husband to them.

“You see, God remained faithful to the covenant he made with man at that time. Unfortunately, mankind did not do the same with God. The children of Israel rebelled against him and told Moses they wanted to go back to Egypt and no longer follow God into the promised land. Do you remember this story?”

“Yep. Please continue.” I said and reached for another cookie.

He pointed to the sentence he had just written on the board as he spoke.

“Declares the Lord.

“Once again, John…God is not kidding.

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time.

“Here, God is now talking of this New Covenant, which we are currently reviewing, that he made with the house of Israel after the time of Jesus’s sacrifice. Remember that a blood sacrifice was necessary to fulfill the debt of the old Mosaic Law. After that debt had been paid by Christ on the cross, God established a new law and this New Covenant with the children of Israel. If you recall, the children of Abraham living as the divided nations of Judah and Israel eventually became reunited as one nation known as Israel. This covenant pertains to that reestablished nation. However, all Gentiles, who believe in Christ, will also receive God’s promise as if they were Abraham’s children and a member of that reestablished nation. We spoke of this previously.”

He quoted from memory and wrote the next verse further down on the board allowing room for completing the verses for this New Covenant.

“Galatians 3:29—If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

“Tell me John, how does a Jewish person define himself as a Jew?” Joshua took a minute to eat part of another cookie and sip from his glass, while I pondered the question.

“Isn’t it because they are a descendent of the line of Abraham?” I replied with mild uncertainty.

“Yes! Jews are the seed of Abraham. It deals with inheritance and is a product of lineage. A Jewish person is a member of Abraham’s family, the father of the nation of Israel. They are the chosen people of God and can trace their lineage back to Jacob who was renamed Israel and from there, back to Abraham. This lineage is found in the physical. There are indeed physical Jews based on their genetic lineage with Israel. But God does not think only in the physical, he also thinks spiritually.

“Gentiles, who are physically non-Jews, cannot trace their lineage back to Abraham, but have also become a member of God’s chosen people because of their faith in Christ. This does not occur in the physical but rather in the spiritual and in the spiritual sense, all Christian believers have become Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise of God. Let us re-examine what the Bible says on this subject.”

He held the book in one hand as he wrote with the other.

“Galatians 3:26-29—You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

“This verse explains why the new covenant with Israel also applies to you. You are not a physical Jew, but have become a recipient of this New Covenant, simply because of your belief in Christ!”

“That is very cool, Joshua!” I raised my glass to toast my spiritual inheritance. He returned the gesture with a smile and looked back at the board to continue.

“Declares the Lord.

“Is God kidding here?”

“No, Joshua, he is not kidding about his promises.” I smiled in appreciation of his repetitive humor and continued to watch his marker hard at work.

“I will put my law in their minds.

“God placed his new law in the mind of all believers. Because of your faith in Christ, you instinctively know right from wrong as a gift from God. Your mind has been transformed and renewed by the Holy Spirit living within you. I prefer the King James interpretation for this verse.”

He spoke from memory.

“Romans 12:2—And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

I raised my glass and said, “I’m beginning to understand.”

He nodded in acceptance and continued explaining the New Covenant, verse by verse.

“And write it on their hearts.

“God wrote his new law not only on your mind but also on your heart. God scripted his old laws on stone tablets or would tell men who eventually wrote them down. Then the priests would have to explain the old Law of God to his people. But the new law is written directly on your mind and heart, so that everyone who believes in Jesus has immediate access to the new law of God. The ability to read a particular language is no longer required to know the truth about God and his promises. As a believer in Christ, God’s law has become a part of you and lives in your mind and heart. This allows you to become closer to God, conform to his will, and receive the blessings of a loving father.”

I sat back in my chair as I mentally acknowledged the truth of his words. There was no doubt that I held an innate spiritual compass of God’s moral code deep in my heart. And now I was acutely aware of how it got there. His voice broke into my thoughts.

“I will be their God, and they will be my people.

“You must realize the beauty of this statement. God is claiming you as his child and he to be your father. Abraham was the father of the children of Israel, and they were God’s chosen people, but now, Gentile believers are also considered spiritual seeds of Abraham and therefore, God’s chosen people, as well.” He turned back to look at the whiteboard.

“No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me.

“In other words, Christians will not have to teach one another about what is right or wrong from a sheet of paper or stone tablets. God has written his law on their hearts and minds and they will all know him, his law, and his Divine Nature, if they believe.”

I could feel the truth of his statement travel deep into my soul.

“Let us step away from reviewing this new covenant for a moment and examine what the Apostle John said about knowing God and how that effects the sin in your life.” Joshua continued to teach as he wrote.

“1 John 3:5-6—But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

“As you can see, the Apostle John explains how if you continue to sin, you have not seen or known Jesus. But God says under the new covenant, you will all know him. So, I must ask you once again, do you continue to sin? Are you a sinner?”

He began reading the next verse he had written, before I could answer.

“1 John 4:15—If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.

“Tell me John, do you acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God? Yes? Then God lives in you and you in him. Yet, no one who lives in him keeps on sinning. Therefore, we need to revisit our original questions. ARE you a sinner? Or, WERE you a sinner?

“On the issue of sin, do you think, believe, and live under the old Law of Moses known as the law of sin and death? Are you like the children of Israel prior to the gift of Christ on the cross? Or, because of the grace of Jesus, do you live under the new law of the Spirit of life, the New Covenant, and possess the perfection of Christ within you? Tough question!”

He finished his cookie and smiled at his spiritually challenging remarks.

“No doubt, these are hard questions, Joshua!” I said in full agreement.

He nodded his head with certainty before he continued.

“Let us return to exploring this New Covenant God has established with all who believe.” He picked up his glass before he wrote the next line on the board.

“From the least of them to the greatest.

“Here on earth, all believers are equally important to God, no matter what their heritage or earthly accomplishments may be. Recall Galatians.” He pointed to the line that he had previously written on the board as he read it out loud.

“Galatians 3:26-—You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

“I love that!” I said with a fist pump.

Joshua smiled at my enthusiasm and finished reading the last two lines of God’s new covenant.

“Declares the Lord.

“Need I say it again? The Lord is serious about his promises!

“For I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.”

The gentleness of Joshua’s spirit overwhelmed his teaching as he continued to express the love of God.

“It is imperative you realize that God has forgiven you for your sins and truly forgotten them, ‘as far as the East is from the West’ and, ‘cast them into the Sea of Forgetfulness.’”

He took a sip of his drink allowing me time to experience the magnitude of these verses before posing his next question.

“So, if God remembers your sins no more, why are you so stuck on them? Why do you have such a difficult time looking beyond the sin nature harbored in your flesh, when you should be concentrating on your Spirit and its perfection in Christ?’

I considered what he had said and could feel my spirit grieve as I mentally acknowledged the truth of his statements. Love poured from his voice as he continued teaching.

“John, you must understand that you still live under a law of God known as the law of the Spirit of life which he has written on your heart. It provides God’s moral code that lives within you. And unfortunately, when you break that law you have committed a sin in the eyes of the Lord and you feel his spirit grieve. But you also need to realize that the moment you commit that sin, the blood of Jesus has provided instant forgiveness for what you have done, and his cleansing blood immediately purifies your soul. Therefore, there is no amount of time between your commitment of sin and your forgiveness of sin when you are actually living as a sinner.

“If you recall, back in the days when the Jewish people lived under the law of sin and death, they would commit a sin and lived as a sinner until a blood sacrifice was performed. This shedding of blood allowed them to regain righteousness in the eyes of the Lord until they committed their next sin. Unfortunately this was usually a very brief amount of time. Quite often, the same day they had been forgiven for their sins, they committed their next sin. And it may be a full year before they performed another animal sacrifice. Therefore, they lived as a sinner for that entire year before regaining righteousness in the eyes of God. They fluctuated between living most of their life as a sinner while enjoying only brief moments of righteousness. But belief in Jesus changed all of that. His sacrifice on the cross provided a cleansing blood for all the sins that you have committed or ever WILL commit! He is way ahead of you on this one. Although you may transgress the line of God’s new law of the Spirit of life, you must understand that because of Christ’s preordained forgiveness, there is no time that you actually live as a sinner. You have been forgiven for your sins before you ever commit them! This is why God’s new law does not mention sin or death. Through his Spirit he has already given you an eternally righteous life both here on Earth and in Heaven!”

“Wow...” My thoughts drifted out as a single word.

Joshua smiled at my understanding. “This is not to say that you should ignore this incredible gift and commit acts of defiance with disregard for their consequences. But rather recognize that your sins have been forgiven and forgotten by the Lord most High, and you are not to dwell on their inherent nature. In the Lord’s prayer you ask that God’s will be done here on Earth as it is in Heaven. It is God’s will that you are perfect in Heaven, therefore it must also be his will that you believe in your perfection through Christ here on Earth.

“When you continually claim that you ARE a sinner, you are focusing your belief on the sinful nature that dwells in your body and disregarding the gift of Christ on the cross. But when you state that you WERE a sinner, you are no longer allowing your faith to be consumed by what you see in your fleshly actions. You are expressing the unimaginable gift of grace from Jesus and the perfection he has brought to your spirit and soul. You must look beyond what you see in the flesh and believe in the gift of the sinless Divine Nature of the Holy Spirit that lives within you. All of this can only occur because of your faith in Christ. In order for you to mature in your faith, you need to think, believe, and live in the Spirit and not in the flesh on the issue of sin.”

He took a final sip from his glass before we shared the last cookie.

“John, God has established a new covenant with you and it states that he remembers your sins no more. You should do the same. It is of utmost importance to believe in this covenant and what the Spirit of God has provided for your soul. There is no doubt that you WERE a sinner. But through God’s grace, you must believe that your soul has now gained the perfection of Christ and his righteousness, just as you choose to believe that it has gained eternal life.

“Remember, believing comes before actions. You must believe in the promises of God, before he can take all of the Divine Nature that is living in his Spirit and place it in your soul. You believed in Jesus and his inherent eternal life with one hundred percent of your heart and God gave you eternal life. Now, you must do the same to gain the rest of his Divine Nature and its inherent Spiritual Fruit for your soul.

“Your job is to believe!”

I leaned back in my chair and stared into his flourishing backyard. These teachings were a lot to absorb. I smiled for a moment in consideration of how I was going to explain all of this to my wife.