Look Up! Uplifting Inspiration from Christ's Timeless Past

By Scott Mohr

Would you like to grow your awareness of the vastness, the majesty and the eternal qualities of our God? Would you like that awareness to help you live the abundant life that Christ came to give? Look Up! will inspire you to see and worship the Savior from a fascinating Old Testament point of view, resulting in a heavenward focus on Him for your daily life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ambassador International
• Release date: Oct 25, 2013
• ISBN: 9781620200759

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title Page

Endorsements

Copyright Page

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Appendix—Further Opportunities for Investigation

Notes

Acknowledgments

Bibliography

Endorsements

Scott Mohr has done a great service to the body of Christ in writing this much needed perspective on the pre-incarnate Christ. I’m more convinced than ever that we (21st Century Christians) need a better understanding of the greatness and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. I think this book will contribute to that wonderfully. May the Lord use it for His glory.

—Brian Brodersen

Pastor, Calvary Chapel

Scott Mohr’s easy to understand study of Old Testament Christ types is masterful! It’s relevant, insightful, and presents bite-sized portions of Christology in a way that applies to everyday life. Every Christian needsto make Look Up! part of their prayer time and devotions.

—Pastor Mark Ambrose

Senior Pastor, Pacific Coast Church

San Clemente, CA

Look Up! will take you on a captivating journey into Jesus Christ’s endless past. As your image of Christ increases and as you set your heart and mind on things above, you will be moved to walk in victory, not defeat. With your eyes focused clearly on Christ and His eternal glory, you will experience His power working in you to accomplish the tasks He has for you here on earth. Scott Mohr’s fresh look at the work of Jesus throughout eternity will motivate you as you strive to walk in a manner worthy of His calling.

—Andreas Mehrguth

Director, e3 Legacy

A ministry of e3 Partners Ministry

Thank you, Scott, for meeting a very real need in our lives. When we’re not careful, our attention is drawn to just about everything BUT the majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we live with the resultant lack of joy, hope and divine purposefulness. Unfortunately, many of us end up thinking that such a meager existence is normal. We need some help! Scott is throwing us a lifeline: a tool to strengthen our focus on the only healthy Object—the Lord Jesus Christ. May readers allow these pages to take them to Fullness of Life!

—Ron Van Peursem

Whether you are looking for something fresh out of the Old Testament Scriptures, seeking to understand hidden mysteries and analogies in its pages, or just want a tremendously encouraging and rewarding read, Scott Mohr provides it all in Look Up! You’ll enjoy the thrill of a treasure hunt as Scott leads you from clue to clue and uncovers gem after gem – all pointing to the ultimate treasure of Jesus Christ Himself. Combining amazing pictures of the pre-incarnate Christ with real-life stories of his own adventures as a missionary, dad, and surfer (Dude!), Scott’s work has caused me to reexamine Old Testament pages I’ve read many times before. Take it a chapter at a time or read it all at once—then go back and look for more treasure! You won’t be disappointed.

—Pete Johnson

Orlando, Florida

Copyright Page

LOOK UP!

Uplifting Inspiration from Christ’s Timeless Past

© 2011 Scott Mohr

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-935507-46-8

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Cover Design & Page Layout by David Siglin of A&E Media

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The colophon is a trademark of Ambassador

Dedication

Dedicated to my beloved family for your endless support

and encouragement.

Chapter 1

Things Above

Live life as if you were dying.

We’ve all heard this cliché from those with good intentions for our well-being. However, I have never found much appeal in this philosophy. I understand that those who hold to this motto seek rich experiences in life, but the thought of a life that ends in death provides me with no inspiration at all. Experiencing contentment and satisfaction requires a much more uplifting outlook. I’d rather base my life on a saying like "Live life as if you were going to live forever!"

Out of His bountiful mercy and grace, God has made this lofty perspective available to us today. We need only take hold of Jesus’ many words conveying His intention to give us life, both now and for the everlasting future.

I think of Jacques Cousteau in the 1940s. He wanted to explore the oceans of the world. In those days, however, divers needed to wear a large metal helmet with air tubes connected to a boat on the surface. This severely limited a diver’s ability to move about under the sea.

Seeking a new approach, Cousteau proceeded to invent the Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, better known as SCUBA. This device consisted of an air tank and a breathing regulator, allowing the diver to move about freely under the water. With his invention, Cousteau revolutionized ocean exploration, giving divers the ability to obtain a much greater perspective of the undersea world.

In a similar manner, when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are given the opportunity to live life with a vastly expanded perspective greater than was ever possible before. We are given a stunning view of eternity and the knowledge of God’s timeless greatness and grandeur. No longer are we limited to earthly, human-centered perspectives that result in lives of emptiness and futility, but rather we are led to the realization that God is preparing an everlasting paradise and that He has invited us to join Him in bringing it all together.

Having received citizenship in the everlasting kingdom of God, we are provided with everything that we need for this life and for the life to come. Yet I find that many Christians lack a sense of contentment, and few display signs of the peace, hope, and joy that should flow from this outpouring of God’s mercy and grace.

I often find myself so focused on my earthly circumstances that little or no room exists for this heavenly perspective that God has made available to me. In the evening I will look back at the day and realize that I have spent very little time focused on His infinite greatness. I will often conclude that I have thought only about my own concerns, cares, and desires, resulting in a feeling of distance from God.

The Apostle Paul gives us profound direction for overcoming this dilemma in the third chapter of Colossians. In verses 1–3, he states,

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Consistently setting our hearts and minds on things above will tremendously impact our lives. When we focus moment by moment on Christ’s eternal greatness and glory, we then establish the mindset necessary to live the abundant life that He spoke about.

Keeping this heavenly perspective of Christ’s glory moment by moment gives us the ability to make important choices in our daily lives. First of all, the destructive power of sin no longer dominates our thoughts and decisions. In the verses that immediately follow our passage from Colossians 3 above, Paul addresses specific behavioral struggles that we face from day to day. He discusses damaging conduct such as anger, lust, greed, malice, and slander. He insists that we are able to put to death these devastating behaviors when we direct our eyes to Christ in His eternal splendor.

Focusing our minds heavenward on Christ’s majesty produces an uplifted outlook for life as well. Rather than ride the rollercoaster of human emotion that ebbs and flows with the circumstances of life, we have the opportunity to experience a life continually influenced by Christ in His radiant glory. We can choose to have feelings tossed about by the events of each day, or we can constantly set our hearts on things above, leading to peace, hope, joy, and other rich life perspectives that God has made available through a personal relationship with Him.

Surely times of challenge and difficulty will occur in life, leading to episodes of undesirable emotion. We all encounter them as even Jesus did during His time here on earth. I myself have dealt with seasons of considerable anguish and sorrow at different times. Yet, without a doubt, we can trust that richness of life abounds for those who maintain an ongoing perspective of His eternal glory.

Certainly the focus of every believer’s life should stay fixed on bringing glory to God, rather than seeking personal benefits as the primary motivation for a relationship with Him. Yet, out of His great love for us, Jesus Himself declares that He came to bless us with the gift of life. He spoke of everlasting life, of spiritual life, and of abundant life. He declared, I am the bread of life, I am the way and the truth and the life, and I am the resurrection and the life. He specifically stated, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. He desired that we lift our eyes toward Him both now and for the rest of eternity to experience the blessings that He came to give.

The pages of the New Testament overflow with messages to expand our understanding of these things. However, our journey in this book will take us in an entirely different direction. The Bible tells us that Jesus has existed from the infinite past, without a starting point or natural beginning. From eternity past He has reigned as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity of God, presenting us with the opportunity to explore His fascinating presence in many illustrious episodes of the Old Testament as well. Wondrous prophetic, visual, and symbolic manifestations of Christ that occurred long before His birth in Bethlehem serve to focus our hearts heavenward upon Him.

My heartfelt desire is that each of us will look up toward Christ more consistently, such that we are inspired to live the abundant life that He came to give. For as we behold His timeless majesty and splendor from eternity past, our perspectives of His immeasurable greatness will expand in life-changing proportions. As a result, we will become more acutely aware of our place in His everlasting kingdom, a place where unimaginable blessings abound.

Chapter 2

The One from Eternity Past

I once needed to be flown out of a remote area of Africa for medical reasons. This required the pilot of our single engine aircraft to taxi down a very short runway and then elevate the plane over some tall trees that surrounded the airstrip. The takeoff seemed treacherous to me on a sunny day, but to make matters worse, a severe storm pounded the area as we pulled out onto the runway. The intensity of the rain, wind, and fog allowed for very limited visibility.

Somewhat concerned that we could see only a few yards in front of us, I inquired of the pilot about the risk of taking off in such hostile conditions. With tremendous calm and confidence in his voice, he replied that he didn’t need much visibility and that he could fly the plane by simply observing the instruments. The guidance and data provided by the navigational equipment would accurately point the way to our destination.

In a similar way, Jesus pointed us to the Old Testament to discover His timeless glory from eternity past. Like instrumentation providing precise navigational assistance, He made specific statements about His existence from long before His birth in Bethlehem. One prominent example of this comes in the fifth chapter of the book of John, where during a conversation with the Jewish leaders of His day, Jesus declared,

If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. (John 5:46)

Certainly the Jewish leaders believed the writings of Moses, the first five books of our Old Testament, which contain the whole basis for the Israelite law. Yet, in a statement that must have shocked His audience, Jesus stated that Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy all contain specific references to Him!

In another passage, this time from the book of Luke, Jesus encountered two disciples on the road from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus. There Luke tells us,

… Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (Luke 24:27)

In other words, not only do the writings of Moses speak about Jesus, but so also do many other Old Testament passages as well! He made His point again in John 5, telling the Jewish leaders:

"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." (John 5:39)

Jesus expected His audience to know about His presence in the Old Testament. He emphatically stated that the writings testify about Him, providing us with a fabulous resource for inspiration in our lives. With such tremendous potential blessing available to us, why wouldn’t we delve deeply into the Old Testament for encouragement to set our hearts and minds on Him? Why wouldn’t we desire to discover the images of Christ that exist there to enhance our heavenly focus and to increase our experience of abundant life in Him?

In the chapters that follow, we will see three enthralling ways that Jesus appears in the Old Testament. First, He unmistakably emerges as the subject matter of many remarkable prophecies. The foretelling of His birth in Bethlehem in the Old Testament book