PROGRAM MANUAL

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. . . . With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

Ps 119:11-16 The listing below indicates all the files and pages that should be contained in CHECKLIST the Look at the Book package. Please check the files you received to ensure If there is a problem, please call us: (800) that all material you need is included. 863-LOOK. We make every effort to Are there any missing pages? keep quality high, but mistakes happen.

Look Here First—the Program Manual
Member Manual
Handouts for weeks 1-10
Outlines for weeks 1-10 Genesis: The Drama Begins ...... 1-4 The B-I-B-L-E ...... 1-6 Exodus: God Comes Down ...... 5-8 The Seed ...... 7-10 Leviticus: Making a Holy People ...... 9-12 God Came Down ...... 11-14 Numbers: Obey or Pay ...... 13-16 The God of the Second Chance ...... 15-18 Deuteronomy: Blessings and Curses ...... 17-20 Your God is Too Small ...... 19-22 Job: Why Me, Lord? ...... 21-24 Thresholds ...... 23-26 Joshua: Canaan or Bust ...... 25-28 Enter Satan, Laughing ...... 27-30 Judges: On Again, Off Again ...... 29-32 The God of Judgment ...... 31-34 Ruth: Love Story ...... 33-36 Forget Me Not ...... 35-38 1 Samuel: Take Me to Your Leader ...... 37-40 A Question of Integrity ...... 39-42
Handouts for weeks 11-20
Outlines for weeks 11-20 2 Samuel: The Best of Times ...... 41-44 Long Live the King ...... 43-46 Psalms: The Song Book ...... 45-48 In Search of Excellence ...... 47-50 1 Kings: The Good, Bad & Ugly I ...... 49-52 Let Us Come Before Him with Thanks ...... 51-56 Proverbs: Mini-Pearls ...... 53-56 The Two Ways ...... 57-61 Ecclesiastes: Wine, Women, & Song ...... 57-60 Of Wise Men and Fools ...... 62-66 2 Kings: The Good, Bad, & Ugly II ...... 61-64 Questions of Life and Death ...... 67-70 Pre-Exilic Prophets: Apocalypse Now ...... 65-68 God and History ...... 71-74 Isaiah I: Dare to Discipline...... 69-72 God Works in Mysterious Ways ...... 75-78 Isaiah II: Glimpses of Glory ...... 73-76 Rebellious Child ...... 79-82 Jeremiah: Going, Going, Gone! ...... 77-80 Surprised by God...... 83-86
Handouts for weeks 21-30
Outlines for weeks 21-30 Ezekiel: Towering Inferno ...... 81-84 The Weeping Prophet ...... 87-90 Daniel: Dream Weaver ...... 85-88 Hope ...... 91-94 Post-Exilic Prophets: Recess is Over ...... 89-92 Faith for the Fire ...... 95-98 Esther: Foiled Holocaust ...... 93-96 First Things First! ...... 99-102 Ezra /Nehemiah: Follow the Leader ...... 97-100 For Such a Time as This ...... 103-106 Malachi: Sounds of Silence ...... 101-104 A Leader Willing to Lead...... 107-110 Gospels: Greatest Story Ever Told ...... 105-108 The Silent Years ...... 111-116 Luke: Jesus the Man ...... 109-112 Why Jesus? ...... 117-120 Acts I: Can’t Keep a Good Man Down ...... 113-116 The Upside-Down Kingdom ...... 121-124 Acts II: How the West was Won ...... 117-120 Seeing is Believing ...... 125-128
Handouts for weeks 31-40
Outlines for weeks 31-40 Galatians: Born Free...... 121-124 No Pain, No Gain ...... 129-132 1 /2 Thessalonians: Christian Primer ...... 125-128 The Heart of the Gospel ...... 133-136 1 Corinthians: One in the Spirit...... 129-132 Care and Feeding of New Christians...... 137-140 2 Corinthians: Imitation of Christ ...... 133-136 The Church as Body ...... 141-144 Romans: To Rome with Love ...... 137-140 Comfort in the Midst of Sorrow ...... 145-148 James: Practice What You Preach ...... 141-144 Vive la Difference ...... 149-152 Mark: Jesus the Servant...... 145-148 Trust and Obey ...... 153-156 Ephesians: Give Peace a Chance ...... 149-152 A Gospel for Today ...... 157-160 Colossians: To Know Him ...... 153-156 Let There Be Peace ...... 161-164 Philippians: United We Stand ...... 157-160 Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up ...... 165-168
Handouts for weeks 41-49
Outlines for weeks 41-49 1 /2 Timothy: Never Say Die ...... 161-164 All for One and One for All ...... 169-174 Titus: Sharp Focus ...... 165-168 It’s Not Over ’til it’s Over ...... 175-178 1 /2 Peter & Jude: Going Gets Tough ...... 169-172 How Shall We Then Live ...... 179-182 Matthew: Jesus the King ...... 173-176 Contend for the Faith ...... 183-186 Hebrews: New and Improved...... 177-180 The King has Come ...... 187-190 John: Jesus the God/Man ...... 181-184 Good, Better, Best ...... 191-194 1 /2 /3 John: Confident Christians ...... 185-188 Telling Jesus ...... 195-198 Revelation: When Worlds Collide ...... 189-192 Back to the Basics ...... 199-202 The Battle for the Bible ...... 193-194 Reframing the Future15—Program...... Manual203-206 Schedule

Week Handout Title Handout Page # Week Handout Title Handout Page #

Genesis: The Drama Begins ...... 1-4 Malachi: Sounds of Silence ...... 101-104

Exodus: God Comes Down ...... 5-8 Gospels: Greatest Story Ever Told .... 105-108

Leviticus: Making a Holy People ...... 9-12 Luke: Jesus the Man ...... 109-112 Numbers: Obey or Pay ...... 13-16 Acts I: Can’t Keep a Good Man Down .. 113-116

Deuteronomy: Blessings and Curses .... 17-20 Acts II: How the West was Won ..... 117-120

Job: Why Me, Lord? ...... 21-24 Galatians: Born Free ...... 121-124 Joshua: Canaan or Bust ...... 25-28 1 /2 Thessalonians: Christian Primer ... 125-128

Judges: On Again, Off Again ...... 29-32 1 Corinthians: One in the Spirit ..... 129-132

Ruth: Love Story ...... 33-36 2 Corinthians: Imitation of Christ .. 133-136 1 Samuel: Take Me to Your Leader ...... 37-40 Romans: To Rome with Love ...... 137-140

2 Samuel: The Best of Times ...... 41-44 James: Practice What You Preach .... 141-144

Psalms: The Song Book ...... 45-48 Mark: Jesus the Servant ...... 145-148 1 Kings: The Good, Bad & Ugly I...... 49-52 Ephesians: Give Peace a Chance ..... 149-152

Proverbs: Mini-Pearls ...... 53-56 Colossians: To Know Him...... 153-156 Ecclesiastes: Wine, Women, & Song .. 57-60 Philippians: United We Stand ...... 157-160

2 Kings: The Good, Bad, & Ugly II ...... 61-64 1 /2 Timothy: Never Say Die ...... 161-164

Pre-Exilic Prophets: Apocalypse Now ..... 65-68 Titus: Sharp Focus ...... 165-168 Isaiah I: Dare to Discipline ...... 69-72 1 /2 Peter & Jude: Going Gets Tough ... 169-172

Isaiah II: Glimpses of Glory ...... 73-76 Matthew: Jesus the King ...... 173-176

Jeremiah: Going, Going, Gone! ...... 77-80 Hebrews: New and Improved ...... 177-180 Ezekiel: Towering Inferno ...... 81-84 John: Jesus the God/Man ...... 181-184

Daniel: Dream Weaver ...... 85-88 1 /2 /3 John: Confident Christians .. 185-188

Post-Exilic Prophets: Recess is Over ...... 89-92 Revelation: When Worlds Collide .. 189-192 Esther: Foiled Holocaust ...... 93-96 The Battle for the Bible ...... 193-194

Ezra /Nehemiah: Follow the Leader 97-100

Instructions: There are 49 weeks in the Look at the Book For example, you will receive the handout for program. The date to the left of each line Genesis on . You should read through indicates the Sunday on which you will receive Genesis during the following week and come a particular handout. You will receive the prepared to dig a little deeper into the book the handout the Sunday before you do the reading. next Sunday during worship and Bible class. THE B-I-B-L-E

Until the past year, finding a Bible in Russia was a bit like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack--they were few and far between. The only place God’s word was actually available was on the black market. Even when the typical Russian had located a Bible for sale, it took half a month’s salary to purchase the precious book. World Christian Broadcasting--a ministry operating a powerful radio transmitter in Alaska which beams Christian messages into the Soviet Union--regularly read long passages of the Bible very slowly so that listeners behind the Iron Curtain could write out those precious words and pass copies around to their friends and families.

With the fall of the wall (and the growing freedoms which have resulted), Bibles are becoming more available in Russia. For example, the World Bible Translation Center, for instance--a ministry of the Churches of Christ--is rushing a million Russian Bibles into print for free distribution in the Soviet Union. The truly exciting thing, however, is not the increasing availability of Bibles but the deep hunger and yearning of the Russian people to know about God’s word. Listen as Dale Randolph, president of the WBTC, describes this hunger:

The demand for Bibles is just incredible... When freedom came, it was like a dam had been broken, and the desire came gushing forth. The people have been totally starved for the Bible. They’ve been starved for information about God. Everyone in that country is wanting to know what Christianity is about, from government on down. They want to look at what it says about family life, about alcoholism and other problems, to see its answers to life. There is a tremendous hunger for it. The opportunities over there are just benumbing. The Associated Press, 20 October 1990.

Randolph went on to describe his firsthand sampling of the Russian appetite for Bibles. In September of 1989, Randolph took 10,000 copies of the Russian New Testament to the Moscow Book Fair. When word got out that he was giving away Bibles, Moscovites lined up for hours to receive a copy. All 10,000 copies were gone by the first afternoon, so Randolph spent the next day and a half taking the names and addresses of 17,000 other citizens who wanted Bibles.

Are you hearing this? Writing out scriptures by hand as they are slowly read over the air waves...saving half a month’s salary to purchase the words of the prophets and apostles...waiting for hours in line to receive a copy of the New Testament. I ask myself the question, “Would we make similar sacrifices to know God’s word?”

The B-I-B-L-E 1 I counted the number of Bibles I have in my office--seventeen. That doesn’t count the audiotape version I carry around in the car, or the numerous Bibles I keep around the house. In the drawer of the bedside table of every hotel I’ve slept in, there has been a copy of the Bible--free for the taking. Walk into most bookstores in the USA and the problem you face is not finding a Bible but making a choice between the wide variety of Bibles available. There are King James or modern English versions. There are Simple- English Bibles. There are red-letter or illustrated editions. You can buy Amplified Bibles or Condensed Bibles or Bibles that contain eight translations in parallel columns. You can choose between leather or hardback or paperback bindings.

We are drowning in Bibles. They fill our shelves, clutter our coffee tables, slide around in the back seats of our cars. If we were a swearing people, we would always have handy the stack of Bibles to do it on.

Unfortunately, having a Bible is not the same as being hungry for what it says. The sad truth is that many of us do not read any of the Bibles in our possession. We open them on occasion. We read along when someone else is reading publicly. We can even recall vague snatches of scriptures learned in childhood. But as for a consistent, disciplined, sequenced pattern of personal Bible reading or study...we do not feel the need to dine on God’s word. One recent survey indicated that only 12 percent of Bible believers spend any time in the word on a daily basis; 34% read the Bible only once a week; while 42% of those who say they believe the Bible is God’s word read from it only once in a great while.

Seventy-five years ago, Henry Halley (the author of Halley’s Bible Handbook) identified the lack of Bible reading as the major crisis facing the church of his own day and fumed:

Oh, we talk about the Bible, and defend the Bible, and praise the Bible, and exalt the Bible. Yes indeed! But many church members seldom ever even look into a Bible-- indeed would be ashamed to be seen reading the Bible. And Church leadership generally seems to be making no serious effort to get people to be Bible readers.

The situation has changed little in the meantime. Isn’t it interesting that in the Soviet Union, where Bibles have been so scarce, there is a great hunger for what God has to say, whereas in America, where Bibles are plentiful, we spend more time watching T.V. and cutting our yards than reading God’s will for our lives. Perhaps familiarity really does breed contempt, even where the Bible is concerned.

The B-I-B-L-E 2 Today, I want us to think about the value of our Bibles, about how precious a thing it is to have a Bible in our possession and how criminal a thing it is to not be reading it. 1. There are many ways to establish the value of this book. a. I could emphasize the greatness of the author--that implies the value of his writing. b. I could emphasize the magnificence of the content--that also gives us a clue to how valuable a book might be. 2. Instead, let’s look at the sacrifices people through the centuries have made put a Bible in our hands. We can know something of the value of a thing the extent to which people will go to preserve and protect it.

I. Bible Burning

A. Jeremiah: Read Jeremiah 36:1-7, 15b-32 Jeremiah put his life at risk in order to speak and write the word of God. 1. He was beaten and put in the stocks. 2. He was thrown into prison numerous times. 3. He was kept at the bottom of a well, where he sank in the mud. 4. Jewish tradition indicates that he was taken away into captivity with the remainder of the Jews in Jerusalem, and was stoned to death there by his own people.

B. Antiochus IV (Ephiphanes) 1. Syrian ruler who exercised authority over Palestine during the 2nd Century B.C. 2. Ordered the burning in the Temple of the Jewish sacred scriptures (OT). 3. The riots which followed resulted in the deaths of several hundred Jews.

C. Diocletian 1. A.D. 303, Roman emperor Diocletian began one of the worst persecutions of Christians in history. 2. He ordered every copy of the Bible in Rome to be confiscated and burned. 3. 25 years later, Constantine (the first “Christian” emperor) came to the throne and ordered 50 copies of the Bible to be made at state expense. There were plenty of Bibles around from which to make copies!

Transition: Voltaire--French atheist of the 18th Century--boasted that in 100 years the Bible would be non-existent, replaced by his own work. 50 years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society bought his house and printing press and printed 1000’s of Bibles in his living room!

The B-I-B-L-E 3 II. The Sacrifices involved in the making of manuscripts A. The preparation of the materials 1. You didn’t just go to your local bookstore and buy a black book or a ream of paper. 2. Parchment: a. Stretch and dry animal skins. b. Scrape to remove hair and flesh. c. Scrape to provide a uniform thickness. d. Smooth with pumice stone and chalk. e. Cut to form scrolls or quires. f. Rule lines and margins. 3. Papyrus: a. Cut strips from the stem of the papyrus reed. e. Dry b. Wet and lay side by side to form a sheet. f. Polish and cut to shape. c. Lay a second layer at right angles across first. g. Glue into long strips to form roll. d. Wet and apply pressure to the whole. B. The Process of Copying 1. The Scriptoriums: 8-10 monks worked together to copy Bibles. a. One of them would read aloud while the others printed carefully. b. Slow work: one scriptorium produced one Bible a year. c. Tedious work: i. They counted the number of verses, words, and letters. ii. They calculated the middle word and letter of each book to make sure that no words or letters were omitted or added. 2. Our debt to these men: a. “Only three fingers write, but the whole body is in agony.” b. Quote from Metzger. pp. 17-18. Something of the drudgery of copying manuscripts can be learned from the colophons, or notes, which scribes not infrequently placed at the close of their books. A typical colophon found in many non-Biblical manuscripts reveals in no uncertain terms what every scribe experienced: ‘He who does not know how to write supposes it to be no labour; but though only three fingers write, the whole body labours.’ A traditional formula appearing at the close of many manuscripts describes the physiological effects of prolonged labour at copying: ‘Writing bows one’s back, thrusts the ribs into one’s stomach, and fosters a general debility of the body.’ In an Armenian manuscript of the Gospels a colophon complains that a heavy snowstorm was raging outside and that the scribe’s ink froze, his hand became numb, and the pen fell from his fingers! It is not surprising that a frequently recurring colophon in manuscripts of many kinds is the following comparison: ‘As travellers rejoice to see their home country, so also is the end of a book to those who toil [in writing].’ Other manuscripts close with an expression of gratitude: ‘The end of the book; thanks be to God!’

The B-I-B-L-E 4 III. Getting the Book in our Own Language

A. John Wycliffe - the first English translation 1. Completed a translation of the N.T. in English in 1380. 2. Popularity: a. The wealthy paid as much as $200 for a copy. b. Peasants saved pennies to buy a few paragraphs. c. One farmer gave a load of hay for the Lord’s Prayer. Another traded an ox for one page of Paul’s writing. d. “The unlearned cry to read the Holy Writ, to know it, with great cost and peril of their lives.” e. Nearly 200 copies of Wycliffe’s translation still exist--in spite of the fact that they were very expensive, copied by hand, and quickly outlawed. 3. Persecution: a. Authorities passed a law forbidding the translation of the Bible into English. Anyone reading the scriptures in English “should forfeit land, catel, life, and goods from their heyres forever.” b. “This Master John Wycliffe translated from Latin into English...the Gospel that Christ gave to the clergy and doctors of the church...so that by his means it has become vulgar and more open to laymen and women who can read than it usually is to quite learned clergy of good intelligence. And so the pearl of the Gospel is scattered abroad and trodden underfoot by swine.” c. Wycliffe died in 1384. In 1428, he was tried post-humously, convicted of heresy, his bones were disinterred and burned and the ashes scattered in the river Swift.

B. William Tyndale - The first printed Bible in English 1. The first book was printed by Johannes Gutenburg in 1456--a Bible, of course. It was not until 70 years later that an English translation was printed. 2. The story of Tyndale’s N.T. a. Could not translate or print in England because of persecution. b. Germany was freer--Luther had already translated the bible into German. c. Tyndale moved to Cologne, where he translated the N.T. and had it printed. d. He bribed English merchants to hide copies of this translation in their bags and crates being sent back to England.

The B-I-B-L-E 5 3. So popular did this Bible prove to be that the authorities quickly cracked down. a. “The New Testament translated into the vulgar tongue is in truth the food of death, the fuel of sin, the veil of malice, the pretext of false liberty, the protection of disobedience, the corruption of discipline, the depravity of morals, the termination of concord, the death of honesty, the well-spring of vices, the disease of virtues, the instigation of rebellion, the milk of pride, the nourishment of contempt, the death of peace, the destruction of charity, the enemy of unity, the murderer of truth.” b. The Bishop of London, Augustine Packington, and Tyndale. I. The Bishop contracted to buy, at great price, whatever copies of Tyndale’s N.T. that Packington could deliver. He wanted to burn them. ii. Packington alerted Tyndale who sent every spare copy he could lay his hands on. iii. The Bishop paid in full, burned his copies, and financed Tyndale to continue translating and printing his Bibles for some years to come. 4. In 1536, Tyndale was burned at the stake for the terrible heresy of translating God’s word into the English Language. Some scholars estimate that 90% of Tyndale’s translation is reproduced in the King James Version, published with approval of the government in 1611--75 years after his death.

C. The Great Bible 1. So great was the clamor for a Bible in English, that Henry VIII had an authorized English version placed in every church in the country. Six were chained to reading desks in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. 2. The people flocked around these Bibles for public readings of God’s word in their own tongues. 3. A bishop complained, “Divers wilful and unlearned persons inconsiderately and indiscreetly read the same, especially and chiefly at the time of divine service, yea in the time of the sermon and declaration of the word of God.” 4. This did not last long. Queen Mary ordered these copies removed and burned.

Conclusion: What sacrifices others were willing to make so that we could have a Bible. What a tragedy it is that so few of us read the Bibles that their blood and sweat made so readily available to us!

The B-I-B-L-E 6 The Seed Introduction: A. Family feuds make great stories. Some of the best (and worst) dramas have been built around one family at odds with another. 1. Shakespeare dealt with this theme in Romeo and Juliet - the Montagues and the Capulets were sworn enemies. 2. So does Friday night television - what would Dallas have been without the Ewings/Barns rivalry? 3. We're all familiar with the Hatfields and McCoys. Such family feuds are the "stuff of which legends are made." B. Genesis is a drama built around two feuding families. 1. The major story of Genesis is a growing separation between two groups of people, two "families" with very different values and goals. 2. Originally, there was only one family with one Father. a. God creates Adam and Eve (Ge 1 & 2). b. His intent seems to have been to raise up through them a family who would honor and worship him. 3. Chapter 3 tells of a split occurring and two family lines being established. a. On the one hand, the family of God - those who honor him as God and who live according to his commands. b. On the other hand, there is the family of Satan - those who have rejected God and who refuse to be governed by his commands. 4. These two families are sworn enemies. They are waging a battle in which only one side can be victorious; the losing side is doomed to extinction. I. Emphasis on Family in Genesis A. God Begins a Family 1. Did God create the earth because he wanted to start a family? a. He "gave birth" to Adam and Eve; they were made in the "image" of their Father. b. Ge 5:1-3 - God created man in his image and likeness. Adam had a son "in his image and likeness." c. Adam is called the "son of God" - Lk 3:38 2. Adam and Eve were his "children" through whom he hoped to raise an entire world of godly people. B. "Be Fruitful and Multiply" 1. So important is raising such a family to God, the command to "be fertile and multiply" is given some 17 times in the book of Genesis. a. Much of Genesis has to do with "birthing babies." b. More "begetting" goes on in this book than any other. 2. Examples of those who received this command/promise: a. Adam and Eve (1:28) b. Noah (9:1) c. Abraham - never commanded, but promised 7 times! d. Isaac (26:4) e. Jacob (28:14; 35:11) C. Emphasis on Genealogy 1. 193 verses are devoted to genealogical information - 13% of Genesis. 2. Jacob's 12 sons are listed four times in this book.

Genesis 7 Transition: God is not the only one interested in raising a family, however. Satan is also on the scene. He is a "father" himself, and is working hard to raise up sons and daughters in his image and likeness. This is where the drama of Genesis is born: an incredible family feud; a world-wide battle between good and evil. Notice with me how this second family began.

II. The Feud Begins A. Good Seed and Bad Seed 1. In the garden, there is one, big happy family (Ge 1 & 2). a. God has open fellowship with his children. b. He provides for their needs; they honor and worship him as their Father and God. 2. With the fall, however, a new family is born (Gen 3). a. No longer one family, but two (the Righteous and the Unrighteous, the Obedient and the Disobedient). b. No longer one Father, but two (God and Satan). 3. Read Genesis 3:15 - the foreshadowing a. The feud - enmity between the woman and the serpent. b. Both the serpent and the woman would have offspring: i. The woman (being the daughter of God) and her offspring stand for what God would continue to do through his family. ii. The snake would raise a family that would feud with God's family. c. The Promise is clear: in the end, God will win. We know that this promise was fulfilled in the Messiah. It was Jesus Christ who crushed the serpent's head and ensured the victory of God's family. B. Early Developments in the Family Feud 1. Cain, Abel, and Seth - immediately the battle begins. a. The two "seeds" - (Ge 4). i. Abel is "righteous" in God's eyes - he is family. ii. Cain is "unrighteous" - by his actions, he shows himself to belong to Satan's seed. iii. There is enmity between them - Cain kills Abel. b. Cain flees "east of Eden" and begins a family of his own, one that belongs to Satan's seed. c. The righteous seed of God is carried through Seth who, with his children, "called on the name of the Lord" (Ge 4:26). 2. Sons of God and Daughters of Men (Ge 6). a. Read Genesis 6:1-6 i. The "sons of God" - God's family line. ii. The "daughters of men" - Satan's family line. b. Evidently, Satan's seed almost swallowed up God's seed at this point - the whole earth had become wicked. Only Noah was "righteous" (6:9); only he could carry on God's line of righteous people. c. The flood was an attempt to start over again.

Genesis 8 3. Noah's sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Ge 9 & 10). a. A fresh beginning: "Be fruitful and multiply" (9:1). b. A fresh separation - once again, the seed of Satan is introduced into the family of God. i. The story of Noah's nakedness. ii. Ham and his offspring are cursed. God puts "enmity" between Ham's descendents and Shem's. - Shem became the father of the "Shemites" or the "Semites" as we call them today. - The descendents of Ham: Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Canaanites. All of these nations would give fits to the Israelites later on. Transition: At this point, God seems to change his strategy. He can't destroy the world every time Satan pollutes his family line. He can't start all over again every time Satan wins a round in the family feud. So God begins to protect his family line in a more particular way. In reality, he concedes most of mankind to Satan and chooses one man to continue his family line and ensure that eventually he would win out.

III. God Protects His Family We enter a time now when God steps in and takes matters into his own hands. He works actively to preserve his "seed" and ensure that his "righteous" family would be preserved. We will see him doing this through both the men and the women he has chosen to keep the family going. A. Abraham 1. Abram and Sarai - they struggle to have children. a. God has continued to promise them that they would have a son through whom all nations would be blessed, that their offspring would be too numerous to count. b. But Sarah was barren. 2. Nothing had happened by the time Abram was 85. Sarai gave him Hagar (her Egyptian slave) to raise up offspring. Ishmael was born. 3. Read Genesis 17:15-19 - Abraham is getting desperate. He shouldn't have worried. God stepped in and allowed Sarah (at the age of 90) to bear the child of promise as he had pledged. a. Ishmael became the father of the Arabic nations. b. Isaac, though, continued God's line. B. Isaac 1. Isaac and Rebekah struggle to have children. a. Rebekah was barren (25:21). b. They were married 20 years without children. 2. God intervenes and selects: a. Read Genesis 25:21-23 b. It would be the younger who would propagate God's family line rather than the older. 3. Esau sells his birthright, and Jacob steals Esau's blessing. God ensures that it would be Jacob who continued his line.

Genesis 9 C. Jacob 1. Rachel was the favorite wife of Jacob, yet she too was barren. When at last they had a son together, he became Joseph's favorite child. a. The attention is primarily on the story of Joseph - 12 chapters in Genesis tell his story. b. Yet the whole story of Joseph is about God using Joseph not to produce offspring that will eventually result in the Messiah but to protect the offspring of another man. c. The "seed" which would crush the serpent's head did not come through Rachel or Joseph. 2. God uses poor Leah to pass the seed along. a. She never would have married Jacob if he had not been tricked into taking her as his wife. b. Yet it was her fourth son through whom the Messiah would come. 3. Have you ever wondered why Genesis 38 is in the Bible? a. The story of Judah's sons and Tamar i. Er (Judah's eldest son) married Tamar, and later was killed by the Lord because he was wicked. ii. Tamar was given then to Onan (Judah's second son) to raise up offspring for his brother). He too was killed by the Lord for his wickedness. iii. Judah had only one son left and was hesitant to give Tamar to him lest the same thing happen. b. The story of Judah and Tamar i. After a "long time," Tamar takes matters into her own hands. ii. Judah sleeps with a "shrine prostitute" who keeps his staff and seal as a pledge for payment. iii. Tamar becomes pregnant as a result, but is saved from punishment when she produces Judah's staff and seal. He knows that he has not treated her correctly by not giving her to his son Shelah. iv. Tamar gives birth to twins: Perez and Zerah. 4. Read Matthew 1:3

Conclusion: 1. We are now God's family. a. We are his sons and daughters b. He is our Father 2. The "Family Feud" is still raging. a. The family of righteousness and obedience b. The family of unrighteousness and rebellion 3. God is still protecting his family.

Genesis 10 God Came Down

Introduction:

How do you go about reading a book? Authors write books to be read from the front to the back. First the preface, then Chapter One and so on until you reach the last page. Most of us are guilty, however, of turning to the end of a book first to see how the plot resolves. We are impatient readers. We don't let the story unfold in its own time. We want to know "who dunnit" right away.

Unfortunately, that is exactly how we read our Bibles. We have read much more of the ending of our Bibles than the beginning. All of us are far more familiar with the New Testament than with the Old. We've already read about Christ. We've already learned how God deals with man's sin. We understand a great deal about the nature and personality of God. We already know how everything turns out in the end!

In fact, so familiar are we with the "ending" of the Bible, it is difficult for us to comprehend that there was a time when God's people were in the dark about many of the things we take for granted. Think for a moment about the Israelites during the time of Moses. They didn't know many of the things we would consider basic to a relationship with God. They hadn't read about a "Messiah". They didn't know how to worship God. They didn't even know God's name!

As 20th century Christians, if we want to know something about God, we would turn first to the Gospels where God reveals himself through his son Jesus Christ. But as Jews living before the time of Jesus, we would most likely turn first to the book of Exodus to learn more about God.

Exodus is the "chapter" in the Bible that begins to educate people about God. Here God reveals some fundamental facts about himself: his name, his attributes, his concern for those he has chosen and how he is to be worshiped. A basic theme of Exodus is God's desire to be known. God comes down in this book to reveal himself to man.

We will notice two things about the book of Exodus today: 1. Some general things about the book which show us how much God is trying to reveal himself to the Israelites. 2. Three events recorded in the book which show us a great deal about our God.

Exodus 11 I. God Wants Man to Know Him

A. You will Know that I am the Lord Your God 1. Fourteen times in the book of Exodus, God acts in such a way that people will know he is the Lord. 2. God does a number of things to prove to the Israelites that he truly is God, that he can do what he promises, and that he is a powerful God. a. Sends the plagues on the Egyptians. b. Leads the Israelites out of Egypt. c. Gives food to the Israelites in the wilderness. d. Orders that the Tabernacle should be built. 3. God does similar things to the Egyptians to prove to them that they are dealing with a God different from the idols they worship. a. Sends the plagues. b. Destroys the armies of the Egyptians in the Red Sea.

B. Visual Symbols of God 1. It is in Exodus that God, for the first time, gives a visual representation of himself. a. In Genesis, God is usually just a voice that speaks from the darkness or in a dream. b. There are a few times when God's angel takes the form of a man in Genesis - e.g. the three men who came to Abraham when Sodom was about to be destroyed. c. By and large, God is invisible in Genesis. 2. In Exodus, however, God gives his people something to look at, something that not only shows his presence but indicates something about his character - fire and smoke. a. The Burning Bush - God appears "in flames of fire." b. The Pillar of Cloud and Fire i. Read Exodus 13:20-22 ii. This pillar represented the presence of God. c. Smoke and Fire at Mount Sinai Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire. (19:18). C. The Tent of Meeting 1. 12 out of 40 chapters deal with the Tabernacle. a. This emphasis on the Tabernacle can be bewildering. b. It becomes tiresome reading if you do not understand. 2. The Tabernacle is important in Exodus because it is here that God reveals himself to his people. a. Tabernacle = "Tent of Meeting". God meets the Israelites here. Read Ex 29:42-46. b. With the Tabernacle, God is reaching out to his people once more, providing a place where they can meet with him and learn about him.

Exodus 12 D. "God Came Down" 1. God "comes down" in Exodus. a. A beautiful statement about God's desire to be known. b. God makes the first move to reveal himself. 2. There are three special occasions when this takes place. Each occasion marks a significant point in the book and reveals something significant about God. a. 3:1ff (esp. vs 8) - God appears to Moses and reveals his name. b. 19:10ff - God gives the Law at Mount Sinai. c. 34:5ff - God shows himself to Moses. Transition: As we look at these three events in Exodus, forget you have read the end of the book. Forget for a moment you have seen the glory of God in the face of Christ. Put yourself in the place of these Israelites and experience what it must have been like to come, for the first time, face to face with the God of the universe.

II. God Reveals Himself A. The Burning Bush 1. God comes down in the burning bush. a. Moses is tending sheep and notices a bush which burns but is not consumed. b. When he goes over to explore, God speaks to him. 2. Read Ex 3:5-15 3. What we learn about God from this event: a. God is holy and should be revered - vss 5-6 b. God is compassionate, concerned about his people - vss 7-10 c. God has a name - "I am who I am" i. Though he had revealed himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he had not given his name (see 6:2 & 3). ii. Our God is "I am" - the one who was, is, and is to come. B. Mount Sinai 1. God comes down at Mount Sinai. a. Three months after leaving Egypt, the people camped around Mount Sinai. b. Moses climbed the mountain and was told to prepare the people; in three days, they would meet their God. 2. Read Ex 19:14-25 3. What we learn about God from this event: a. God is holy and should be revered - vss 16-19 i. The people trembled and were afraid. ii. When God finishes speaking, they ask Moses not to put them through such a thing again. They are too scared to hear God's voice (Ex 20:18-20). iii. To "see" God meant instant death. Such intimate contact between a holy God and man would be fatal. b. God requires a holy people to serve him. i. Chapter 20 gives us the 10 Commandments. ii. As God tells these people what they should be, we learn a great deal about who he is.

Exodus 13 C. Moses 1. God comes down to Moses. Here we get our best glimpse of God. God himself defines his character. a. The incident with the Golden Calf has just occurred. b. Moses, in his anger, has broken the stone tablets containing God's 10 Commandments. c. God has threatened not to go with the Israelites (lest he destroy them for disobedience) and Moses has begged God to reconsider. 2. Read Ex 33:18-23; 34:5-8 3. What we learn about God from this event: a. God is holy and should be revered - even Moses must be careful how he relates to God. God is too holy even for Moses. b. Yet, God longs to be known - he goes to great lengths to "reveal" himself to Moses. c. The attributes of God. "The Lord" is (34:6-7):

Conclusion: The Invisible God

There is a strong parallel between what is happening in Exodus and what happens in the Gospels. Exodus did for the Jews of old what the Gospels do for Christians today: it gave them a glimpse of their God. Exodus Gospels God "comes down" in order to reveal Jesus "comes from the Father" to reveal himself to man. God to man. By his actions and his words God proves By his actions and words, Jesus attempts to to his people he is the Lord. prove he is the Son of God. God endeavors to let people "see" him Jesus endeavors to let people "see" him and and learn of his character in Exodus. learn of his.

God is no longer invisible

There is one important difference between Exodus and the Gospels, however; a difference that makes me glad we have the last of the book as well as the first. In Exodus, God is still the invisible God. We can see some of him, parts of his character, a flash of fire and a pillar of cloud. But we cannot see God's face in Exodus, nor anywhere in the Old Testament.

But, with the coming of Jesus, we have seen the very face of God. Jesus could claim that anyone who had seen him had seen the Father, that he and the Father were one. One of his followers would later rejoice that God "made his light to shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Cor 4:6).

Exodus 14 The God of the Second Chance

Introduction:

Many of us have been through the agony of choosing up sides for a neighborhood baseball game. The biggest, fastest, and strongest are always the team captains. The rest of us must wait for a captain to call our names and invite us to join his team. What relief, what joy, when we are selected by one side or the other! Something about being chosen proves we are wanted and needed.

But it can also put the pressure on. The better the team, the better we are expected to play and the less room there is for mistakes. The more elite the club, the greater are the demands made on our characters and time. Sometimes, being chosen feels very good. But sometimes, being chosen isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I wonder if the Israelites were thinking along these lines when Moses stood before them and spoke the words we now have in the form of Leviticus. God had chosen them to be his own people in the events recorded in Exodus. He had brought them out of Egypt, gathered them around Mount Sinai, and then come down to be among them. He had selected them as his special nation and volunteered to be their God. What a privilege! What a joy!

But what pressure! Along with being chosen by God came the requirements for living with him. With the privilege of knowing the Holy God came the necessity of being a holy people. For the God of Righteousness and Perfection, only perfect people would suffice. When it comes to being chosen by this God, there is "good news and bad news."

1. Exodus is the "good news." a. Read Exodus 6:7, 8. b. This nation of slaves had been chosen by God. They were his "team" now. They were on his "side." 2. Leviticus is the "bad news." a. Read Leviticus 22:31-32 b. This book outlines, in graphic detail, what God expected of the people of Israel. If they were to play on his team, there were some rules by which they must abide. Along with the privilege came the responsibility.

Sometimes, being chosen isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Leviticus 15 I. God, the Perfectionist The deeper we get into the Old Testament, the more we come to an understanding that our God is different from us. God is more powerful than we are and knows more than we do. But the thing that strikes me most about our God is his incredible purity and holiness. • We are flawed human beings; he is perfection personified. • We are full of sin; he has not one jot or tittle of it. • We easily excuse our wrongs; he hates wrong with a passion.

A. The Emphasis on Holiness 1. "Holy" appears 87 times in Leviticus--more than any other book. 2. God stresses his essential holiness: a. "Holiness" is the primary quality of God's character. b. His very name is holy. c. The place where he lives is holy. d. The priests who serve him are holy. e. Whatever is dedicated to him is holy. 3. It follows that God's people must be holy: a. Read Lev 11:44, 45 b. Read Lev 19:2 c. Read Lev 20:7, 26 d. Read Lev 22:31, 32

B. The Emphasis on Perfection 1. Anything dedicated to God had to be "without defect." a. The sacrificial animals had to be perfect. b. The animals given as a tithe had to be perfect. c. Even the priests who served God in the Tabernacle were required to be "without defect." Blindness, lameness, or any other physical defect disqualified a descendent of Aaron from serving in the Tabernacle. 2. "Without defect" in the physical realm symbolized God's requirement that his people be "without defect" spiritually. God took perfection seriously.

C. The Emphasis on Cleanliness 1. "Clean" or "Unclean" is used over 200 times in Leviticus (more than any other book in the Bible) 2. Read Lev 10:10, 11 - The task of the priests was to distinguish between the clean and unclean, and to teach Israel to do the same. 3. Leviticus is a handbook on "clean living." There were: a. clean and unclean animals. b. clean and unclean foods. c. clean and unclean sicknesses. d. clean and unclean objects. e. clean and unclean people. f. clean and unclean relationships.

D. The Story of Nadab and Abihu - Numbers 10:1-3 1. The Sin (vs 1) - strange fire. 2. The Punishment (vs 2) - deadly fire. 3. The Point (vs 3) - "I will be honored."

Leviticus 16 Transition: Leviticus shows us very clearly that a holy God must have a holy people, that a perfect God requires a perfect people, that a clean God insists upon a clean people. When the Israelites were chosen by God, they were added to a very exclusive group. With the high honor comes the high calling. Often it must have seemed completely beyond their ability.

II. God, the Merciful In fact, it was beyond their ability. If the only thing you glean from the book of Leviticus is the incredible standard God sets for his people, you will leave this book feeling inadequate, inferior, and depressed. But there is something more important in this book than just the standard God sets for his people. As much as Leviticus deals with perfection, this book is even more about second chances. God requires perfection for relationship. Man is unable to meet that requirement. This book is about God bending over backwards to make up for our failures.

A. The Ideal and the "Allowance" 1. Holiness and Mercy a. God required people to be holy. This was the ideal. b. People required God to be merciful. This was the reality. c. Leviticus tells us how God takes unholy people and makes them holy once more. 2. Cleanliness and Purification a. God required people to be clean. This was the ideal. b. People required God to purify. This was the reality. c. Leviticus tells us how God takes unclean people and purifies them. 3. Here we have the standard; and here we have the means by which that standard can be met. It is not through man's effort or goodness or perfection. It is all through the mercy of God.

B. The Purpose of Sacrifice That's why sacrifice is such a prominent theme in Leviticus. All those animals being killed. All that blood flowing. All the ceremony and sacrifice and regulations. The entire sacrificial system was instituted as an allowance for the fact that people could not be holy and clean and perfect. God must consistently finds ways to make the imperfect perfect again.

1. Day to day sacrifices a. The Sin Offering: i. A sin is committed. ii. Confession is made. iii. An animal is sacrificed. iv. The blood is poured out at the base of the altar, the fat is burned on the altar, and the meat is later eaten by the priest. v. "In this way the priest will make atonement for [the sinner], and he will be forgiven" (4:31). b. The Guilt Offering was much the same.

Leviticus 17 2. Day of Atonement: a. Once a year, the sins of the entire community are forgiven. i. The High Priest sacrifices a young bull for his own sins, and sprinkles the blood in the most holy place on the Ark of the Covenant. ii. He then sacrifices a male goat for the sins of the people, following the same procedure as above. iii. He takes another goat, confesses over it all the sins of the people, and then has the goat released in the desert - the "scapegoat." iv. Finally, he bathes, sacrifices two rams as a burnt offering - one for himself and one for the people, and pronounces the people cleansed of their sin. 3. The purpose of all this was so that God could give his people a second chance. He required holiness; they were unholy. He required perfection; they were far from perfect. He required cleanness; they were an unclean people. So, what man could not accomplish for himself, God did for him. God, then as today, made man what man could not make himself.

Conclusion: God, the "Soft-touch"

God is more than just the God of the second chance, however. In one of the most touching and tender portions of scripture, God shows himself to be a "soft-touch" where man was concerned. In this passage, we see that God does not just go the second mile for man; he is willing to go a second hundred miles.

1. The Case of the Poor Man a. Read Lev 5:5 - a female lamb b. Read Lev 5:7 - two doves or two pigeons c. Read Lev 5:11 - a few handfuls of flour 2. God wants nothing to separate us from Him. a. He doesn't want sin to get between us so he provides a system of sacrifice to remove that barrier. i. Then it was animal sacrifice. ii. Now, it is the sacrifice of his son that removes the barrier of sin from between us and God. b. He doesn't want cost to keep us from taking advantage of the sacrifice that can be made for sin. i. Then it was a matter of finances. ii. Now it is a matter of response. No great deeds of daring are required, no conditions that only a few of us could fulfill. Only simple faith and obedience.

God bends over backwards to make forgiveness possible for all his people.

Leviticus 18 Your God is Too Small

Introduction:

In 1961, J. B. Phillips wrote a small but excellent book entitled Your God is too Small. The idea behind this book is that we have many notions of God which are simply inadequate to describe our great Jehovah. Since our ideas about God are flawed, our behavior toward him is often equally flawed. If we see God as a benevolent grandfather, we tend to take his mercy for granted and overlook his judgment. If we think of God primarily as a stern and harsh disciplinarian, we are likely to emphasize his punishment and overlook his grace.

Perhaps the greatest problem Phillips addressed was man's tendency to make God into a bigger version of himself . . . we try to create God in our own image. We make him think like us and react like us and feel like us. Too often, we become the yardstick against which the character of God is measured. Our worship of this kind of "god" quickly degenerates into a worship of ourselves.

In reality, God is not that small. He is not a deluxe version of ourselves. He is different. He is distinct. The very word "holy" stresses God's separateness from anything else in his creation. The God of Abraham cannot be stuffed into a practical-sized box that keeps him comfortably and conveniently at man's disposal. God is bigger than that.

The Israelites had the same problem with God which many of us experience. They wanted to mold God into fitting their needs rather than molding themselves to fit their God. Perhaps the major purpose of the events in Numbers is to show the Israelites that their God must be treated with respect. Numbers is the story of God teaching his people to respect and reverence him. He is not a God of convenience but a God of power and authority. Those who forget this fact do so at their own grave risk.

Numbers 19 I. The Israelites Underestimated God's Power (Chapters 13 & 14)

A. Coming into Canaan 1. God's promises concerning Canaan a. It would be a bountiful land - Ex 3:8. b. He would give this land to Abraham and his descendants - Gen 12:5. 2. The choosing and commissioning of the 12 spies. a. Read Nu 13:1 b. God never intended that the spies pass judgment on whether the land could be taken. c. They were merely to see how good the land was and to determine the best way to take it. 3. The report of the spies to the people. a. The land was bountiful - Nu 13:27 b. But it could not be taken - vs 28.

B. The Reaction of the People 1. These people had seen the power of God. a. The 10 plagues b. The parting of the Red Sea c. The miraculous provision of food and water. d. The presence of God at Mount Sinai. 2. Yet they forgot God's power when confronted with the reports about the people of Canaan. a. Read Nu 14:1-4 b. Their God was too small.

C. The Response of God 1. Read Nu 14:10-12 a. "How long will these people treat me with contempt?" b. Moses has to intercede in their behalf. 2. Read Nu 14:20-23 a. 40 years of wandering in the wilderness - one year for each day of the spies journey. b. The unfaithful spies are struck down and killed by a plague - all but Joshua and Caleb.

Numbers 20 II. The Israelites Usurped God's Leadership (Chapter 16)

A. The Rebellion of Korah 1. These events occurred during the 40 wilderness years. 2. Read Nu 16:1-3 a. Korah was first cousin to Moses and Aaron. b. As descendents of Kohath, Korah and his immediate relatives had the highest and most sacred duties besides those carried out by Moses and Aaron. 3. The reason for the rebellion: Korah felt he should have a leadership role equal to that of Moses and Aaron. He forgot that God chose these men - they were God's men. 4. 250 men rose up with Korah against Moses and Aaron. 5. Their God was too small. "You have gone too far." (16:3)

B. The Reaction of Moses 1. Read Nu 16:4-7 a. Notice the emphasis on God choosing his own leaders. i. "the Lord will show . . ." (vs 5) ii. "The man he chooses . . ." (vs 5) iii. "The man the Lord chooses . . ." (vs 7) b. It is God who chooses leaders for his people. They are not self-chosen. To rebel against them is to rebel against God. c. "You Levites have gone too far." (16:7b) 2. A literal "trial by fire." a. Korah and his followers are to put fire in their censers and draw near to God. b. Aaron will do the same. c. God will show who is to serve him as high priest.

C. The Response of God 1. The next morning: a. Korah and his followers gather at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting (vs 19). b. Moses warns the Israelites to move away: i. The ground opens under Korah and his family and swallows them alive (vss 31-34). ii. Fire comes out from the Lord and consumes the 250 men who rebelled with Korah (vs 35). 2. "These men have treated the Lord with contempt." (vs 30b)

Numbers 21 III. Moses and Aaron Took God's Credit (Chapter 20)

A. The People Complain once more. 1. They are at the end of their 40 years of wandering. a. All that time, God has supplied them with quail and manna - they've fed miraculously. b. Read Nu 20:1-5 - In spite of everything, they do not trust God to provide water. 2. Their God was too small.

B. Moses's Reaction 1. Read Nu 20:6-12 2. Moses is fed up with complaining Israelites. a. How many times has he heard this same song? b. They never seem to learn. 3. Impatience and fatigue result in sin. a. Rather than speaking to the rock, Moses strikes it with his staff - twice. b. Rather than giving God glory for making water flow from a rock, Moses includes himself in the credits - "Must we bring forth water . . ." 4. For one brief, unguarded moment, Moses' God was too small.

C. God's Response 1. "You did not honor me . . ." (vs 12). 2. The punishment of Moses and Aaron.

Conclusion

A. The Israelites miscalculated God on a number of occasions. 1. They underestimated his power. 2. They rebelled against his leadership. 3. They horned in on his credit. 4. In each case, God protected his honor.

B. How Big is Your God?

Numbers 22 Thresholds Introduction: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way ... Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, p. 1. Thus begins Dickens' poignant tale of courage and love, of death carts and howling mobs, of the privileged few and the deprived masses, of the guillotine and the social unrest that was the French revolution. His novel portrays one of the great transitions in history, a point in time when the past and present give birth to a very different future. There have been many of these transitions over the years: the destruction of Troy, Socrates and Athens, the battle of Actium; the inventions of gunpowder, the printing press, the internal combustion engine; the discovery of the New World, Copernicus' observations about the universe, Oppenheimer's work on nuclear fission. All were transition points in history.

Mankind has not always had the luxury of making those transitions thoughtfully. Sometimes we have been thrust rudely into the future with neither a "please" nor a "thank you." On occasion, however, we can see these transitions coming. We have had the opportunity to stand on the threshold of these transitions and think carefully about where we are going . . . and why . . . and what we hope to find when we get there.

It is during such times--as we stand on such thresholds--that Dickens' words hold greatest meaning for us. For we always look back at our heritage with a mixture of pride and rebellion, disdain and gratitude. And we always look forward towards our destiny with both fear and excitement, doubt and faith. When you are standing on a threshold, leaving an unsatisfying past and peering into an uncertain future, it is both the best of times and the worst of times, the spring of hope and the winter of despair, and we are all going direct to Heaven with the nagging doubt that perhaps we are going direct the other way.

Deuteronomy - a book about one such transition and one such threshold. 1. People at Plain of the Arabah 2. Moses addresses there. 3. He points out the transition: they are about to go into the land. 4. He asks them to pause at the threshold and consider.

Deuteronomy 23 I. Thresholds in Deuteronomy A. Standing on the Verge 1. A new generation a. This was not the same group of people God has rescued from the Egyptians. b. Most of those people had died during the last 40 years of wandering— everyone above the age of 20 at the Exodus, except Caleb and Joshua. c. These were their children and grandchildren. 2. A new land a. Here was the culmination of 650 years of promises. i. 650 years prior, God has promised Abraham the land of Canaan. ii. That promise had been repeated by God to Isaac and Jacob. b. It was a good land. 3. A new leadership a. Miriam had died and was buried at Kadesh Barnea (Nu 20:1). b. Aaron had died and was buried on Mount Hor (Nu 20:28). c. Moses is about to die atop Mount Nebo (Dt 34). d. Joshua and Eleazer were ready to assume the mantle of leadership. 4. A new chance a. They had been at this point once before. i. Encamped at Kadesh Barnea, sent in the spies. ii. Because of a lack of faith, they decided not to go into the land. iii. It had cost them 40 years in the wilderness and a host of graves to mark their wanderings. b. Now here they were with a fresh opportunity to enter the land. i. Encamped on the plains of the Arabah, at the foot of Mount Nebo. ii. They were going to make the best of their second chance. 5. This was transition time for them--that's what Deuteronomy is about. a. Moses calls them to contemplate what is about to happen, to peer across the Jordan and think about what the future holds. b. They had the opportunity to stand on this threshold and think carefully about where they were going . . . and why . . . and what they hoped to find when they got there. B. Contemplating the Future 1. The Threshold Question: What kind of nation would they be? a. Note Deuteronomy 28-30. Blessings and Cursings—the alternatives for their future. b. What kind of nation would they be? What sort of people? 2. The easy answer: What they did not want to be. a. Not strangers and pilgrims like the Patriarchs. b. Not slaves and aliens like their grandparents. c. Not wanderers like their parents. d. They didn't want to be faithless and be kept out of the promised land. e. They didn't want to be complainers and suffer the plagues. f. In a word, they did not want to suffer God's curses as their forefathers had so often done: Read Dt 28:20-29 3. If not that, then what?

Deuteronomy 24 a. It is always easier to say what you do not want to be than to enunciate what you do want to be. It is always easier to react to your heritage than to embrace your destiny. b. The Israelites did want to be people of God's blessing: Read Dt 28:3ff 4. The hard realities--Read Dt 30:19 a. How do you "choose life"? i. The future is not determined by a vote! ii. It is a consequence of present decisions! b. Read Dt 30:15-18 c. The connection between present and future, character and consequences. i. The blessings are conditioned on obedience--Dt 28:1-2. ii. The curses are promised for disobedience--Dt 28:15. C. Counting the Cost 1. Could they sacrifice today to become tomorrow what they hoped? 2. Could they be individually what they wanted to become as a community?

II. Thresholds for Us A. Standing on the Verge 1. A new generation a. We are not the same group of people God called to establish the church at this place. We are not even the same as 6 months ago! b. Look around: new faces, new people, new needs, new dreams. c. Not better or worse, but certainly different! 2. A new land a. We also stand at a Jordan and look across to a land we have been asked to go in and possess. But that land is very different from the land our Fathers saw! b. This is not the same world in which we are living. i. The events of eastern Europe, the middle east, etc. ii. Our local community has radically changed. c. Not better or worse, but certainly different! 3. A new leadership a. Notice the changes which have occurred here recently. [Examples] b. Not better or worse, but certainly different! 4. A new chance a. The sense that we have a new opportunity to accomplish the tasks God has given us to do, to become the people he wants us to be. b. We have been here before and will be here again. c. But, for now, we are encamped on the plains of the Arabah, at the foot of Mount Nebo, with a fresh opportunity to enter the land and possess it. 5. This is transition time for us. We are standing on a threshold. We are peering across our own Jordan, thinking about what the future holds for us. B. Contemplating the Future 1. The Threshold Question: What kind of church will we be? a. There is a great deal of ambivalence in us right now.

Deuteronomy 25 b. Is this the best of times or the worst of times? The spring of hope or the winter of despair? Are we all going direct to Heaven or are we going direct the other way? 2. The easy answer: What they did not want to be. a. We don't want to be like the "nations" around us. b. We don't even want to be like the church before us in certain respects. c. But definitely, we don't want to be people of the curse. 3. The tougher answer: If not that, then what? a. We want to be bold and courageous. b. We want to accomplish great things for God and his kingdom. c. We want to be people of God's blessing. 4. The hard realities a. How do you "choose life"? i. The future is not determined by a vote! ii. It is a consequence of present decisions! b. The connection between present and future, character and consequences. i. The blessings are conditioned on obedience--Dt 28:1-2. ii. The curses are promised for disobedience--Dt 28:15.

C. Counting the Cost 1. Could they sacrifice today to become what they hoped to be tomorrow? 2. Could they be individually what we wanted to become as a community?

Conclusion: Crossing into the Promised Land

1. Those who stand ready to enter, accepting all the responsibilities and challenges that adhere to men and women of God who are part of God's community. 2. Those who would enter without any personal ownership in this process, enjoying the blessings but making none of the sacrifices. 3. Those who are not sure they want to enter: a. The individualists who want little to do with the community. b. The ones with baggage who are not sure they can trust this community.

Deuteronomy 26 Enter Satan, Laughing

Introduction:

Think of a young family man, a man with a pretty wife and beautiful children, a man with great promise and potential. He has a nagging pain in the back and, on going to the doctor, is informed that he has cancer. There are only weeks left of what should have been decades. Why do things like that happen?

Consider a woman, devoted to her marriage and family, who discovers her husband has been unfaithful and wants a divorce. All of the agony that seizes such a woman . . . all of the disruption it causes in the home. Why do things like this happen?

What about the father who loves his children, who trains them to be moral and good, who teaches them about God and his grace, only to have his children turn away from God and lead lives of rebellion and immorality. Why do good fathers have disobedient children?

Feel for a moment with the mother who has spent her life bearing and raising and loving her children, only to receive a phone call one evening telling her that all 3 of her teenagers have been killed in an auto accident. Why do such tragedies ever happen?

If our faith in God cannot help us come to grips with such issues, it is not a faith for real life. Leave it to the ivory-towered intellectuals. Leave it to the Polly Anna's of our world who seem to waltz through life with never a care or a worry. For most of us, however, we need our faith to make sense of what seems senseless. We need God to answer the "whys" of our lives. Is he the cause of all this suffering? Are all bad things the consequence of our being such bad people? Does God punish us whether we are righteous or wicked? Just why do bad things to happen to people we know are good.

Job 27 I. Job: A Righteous Man who Suffered

A. Job, the Righteous 1. Read Job 1:1 2. The entire book of Job is founded on the premise that Job is righteous before God.

B. The Good Ol' Days 1. God has blessed Job with every imaginable blessing because of his pure and upright life. 2. Read Job 1:2-5 3. Job enjoyed every blessing from God: children, herds and flocks, servants and great wealth. For a long period, Job had lived with and come to depend on the gracious blessings of his God.

C. The Days of Evil 1. The first round of suffering a. Job 1:13-22 tells of the tragedies that suddenly fall upon Job, swallowing up his wealth and his family in one terrible day. i. Raiding parties steal livestock and kill servants. ii. Fire from the sky burns up his flocks. iii. A mighty wind topples the house where his sons and daughters are eating together, killing them all - not the benefit of even one survivor. b. Job's response: Read Job 1:20-22 2. The second round of suffering a. Job 2:7-10 tells of even more suffering heaped upon this man, suffering that is described in even greater detail through the rest of the book. i. Festering sores over his entire body (2:7; 7:5) ii. Scabs formed leaving black scars (30:28-30) iii. He is so disfigured by this disease that even friends find it difficult to look at him (2:12; 19:19-20) iv. Fever and loss of appetite (30:30; 17:17; 19:20) v. Constant pain (30:17) vi. He cannot sleep and even has bad breath! (7:4, 14; 19:17) b. He is so miserable that he curses the day he was born and longs to die (3:3, 11). c. Still, he does not sin: Read Job 2:9-10

Transition: The next 35 chapters record Job's struggle to make sense out of his suffering. It isn't that Job wants to find fault with God or that he is tempted to turn his back on God. He simply does not understand. Why would God rain so much suffering down on one of his most devoted followers? What reason is there that a righteous man should be tortured rather than blessed?

Job 28 II. Why Do People Suffer? A. Job's Friends and the Problem of Theodicy 1. The struggle to understand why bad things happen to good people unfolds in discussion Job has with his friends. a. Three friends come to "comfort" Job: Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar. b. Read Job 3:11-13 2. The attempt to "sympathize" quickly degenerates into a shouting match as his friends insist that bad things do not happen to good people. When people suffer, it means they deserve what they get.

B. The God of Pleasure and Pain 1. Job's friends take the position: "You reap what you sow" a. When you are righteous, God blesses. b. When you are wicked, God punishes. c. The fact that Job is suffering was proof that Job was sinful. 2. The words of one of Job's friends make this clear: Job says, "I am innocent, but God denies me justice, although I am right, I am considered a liar; although I am guiltless, his arrow inflicts an incurable wound." What man is like Job? . . . For he says, "It profits a man nothing when he tries to please God." So listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do evil, from the Almighty to do wrong. He repays a man for what he has done; he brings upon him what his conduct deserves. It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice. Job 34:4-7a, 9-12 C. The Complicated God 1. Job takes another position: Things are more complicated than that! Suffering is not so neatly packaged. a. There are times when things get turned around, when the very people who should be punished are the ones who prosper, while the very ones who ought to prosper bear the brunt of God's punishment. Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes. . . . They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace. Job 21:7-8, 13 b. Job is an example of a righteous man who, nonetheless, suffers. Read Job 23:11-15 2. If God is the one who blesses and punishes, why doesn't he take more care in choosing which people get what? The only answer Job can come to is that God is complicated, that you can't understand the way he works, that he treats people any way he wants to and there is no point asking God to justify his actions. 3. Read Job 9:14-15, 21-24.

Job 29 III. Enter Satan, Laughing

A. Life is not a Duet; it is a Trio 1. Job was indeed suffering in spite of his righteousness. 2. And all that Job's friends had told him was true. God does punish the wicked and reward the righteous. 3. There is a third party, however, that neither Job nor his friends took into account - Satan. a. Read Job 1:6-12 i. Job does not deal only with a God who loves righteousness but with a Devil who hates it. ii. While the goodness of Job is a point of pride for God, it is an affront to Satan. iii. The suffering that results in the life of righteous Job does not come from the hand of God but from the hand of Satan (esp 1:11-12). b. Read Job 2:1-7 - The same pattern is repeated. 4. It is Satan, not God, who causes the suffering of Job.

B. Why Do Men Suffer? 1. God causes some to suffer out of his hatred of evil. a. God punishes evil and rewards good (matrix in handout). b. If all we see, like Job and friends, is God's hand in the issues that face us, we might come to the same conclusions they did: If you suffer, you are evil. 2. Satan causes others to suffer out of his hatred of good. a. Satan is also alive and well. Some of what happens to us is the result of his work. b. Sometimes, when we suffer, it is not because God is punishing wickedness but because Satan is punishing good (matrix). 3. Job suffers, not because of God, but because of Satan. Job suffers because of his righteousness, not in spite of it.

Conclusion: 1. We are the people who hate Satan. 2. Will we, then, continue to serve him?

Job 30 The God of Judgment

Introduction:

Early in the second century, one of the most interesting heretics in all of church history came to prominence. Marcion was a wealthy ship owner from the region of the Black Sea. He gave up his business, however, and decided to spend the remainder of his life dabbling in theology. Although he was the son of an elder, his own father excommunicated him because of his eccentric views. Sometime around 140 A.D., he came to Rome seeking membership in the church there.

While in Rome, Marcion preached the gospel as he thought it really happened. The Old Testament, in his view, was the product of a sick and evil mind. "Look at all the lying, pillage, and killing," he said. "Look at the favoritism: Yahweh selects a race of idolatrous schemers to be his chosen people, and calls an adulterous, murdering brigand 'a man after my own heart.' No," concluded Marcion, "the one who made the world and inspired the Old Testament could not be good . . . The Old Testament god may be the powerful creator, but he is not the good heavenly father Jesus proclaimed."

Marcion preached that Christians must reject the Old Testament entirely. He believed Jesus opposed the work of the Old Testament god, claiming that Jesus really said (at Mt 5:17), "I have not come to fulfill the law but to destroy it." Marcion could not reconcile the God of gentleness and mercy that he saw in Jesus with the god of judgment and punishment he saw in the Old Testament.

Finally, he was excommunicated again. He became a travelling preacher, winning many converts to his thinking and establishing Marcionite churches throughout the East.

Have you ever had the same problem with the Old Testament? If we listen closely to the lessons of Joshua, we learn something vital about our God - an aspect of his character that is as important now as it was then.

Joshua 31 I. The Dilemma of the Book of Joshua

A. Passages in this book which cause problems. 1. Jos 6:20-21 - the fate of Jericho a. "Yes, but God doesn't specifically tell them to kill the women and children." b. See 6:1 - "Perhaps this is an example of men losing their tempers in the heat of battle." 2. Jos 8:24-27 - the fate of Ai a. The Lord instructed Joshua to carry off the livestock and plunder of the city. b. Surely he did not command or condone the killing of women and children in Ai. 3. Jos 10:40; 11:18-20 - the fate of Canaan. These two passages make it very clear that God did command all this killing. It was his intention to destroy the Canaanites, to "exterminate them."

Transition: Joshua is a book about war and bloodshed. All of it is at the instigation and command of God. Does that sound like the God we worship?

B. These passages highlight a major problem many have with the God of the Old Testament. 1. Examples of this same problem from other books: a. The Flood (Ge 6-8) - God wipes out the entire population of the earth (except for Noah and his family) - men, women and children. b. Sodom and Gomorrah (Ge 19) - Only Lot and his family are saved. The remainder of the city - men, women and children - are burned up. c. It was God who killed the firstborn of Egypt (Ex 12). We don't read of any exceptions. d. Nadab and Abihu (Nu 10) - burned up with fire. e. Korah and his family (Lev 16) - swallowed by earth. 2. How can the God we know from the New Testament, the God we see in the face of Jesus, the loving and compassionate God of the cross, possibly be responsible for this kind of death and destruction?

Joshua 32 II. The Message of the Book of Joshua

A. The Earth is the Lord's 1. He created it, maintains it, and determines its fate. 2. Especially is this true with Canaan. It is "the Lord's land" (Jos 22:19). a. It was promised to Abraham and his descendants. b. It was the destination of the Israelites when God brought them out of Egypt. c. God had claimed this country for his own all along. Though Satan might rule throughout the rest of the earth, here God asserts his right to rule and lays down the law for all to keep. 3. The rules of the land were that God would bless those who obeyed him and punish those who disobeyed.

B. He Blesses those who Obey Him 1. Canaan belonged to those who would be obedient to God's commands and who acknowledged God's rule. a. The Patriarches - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. b. Moses could not enter because of disobedience. c. Those who disobeyed God when he had first commanded the Israelites to conquer the land died in the 40 years of wandering. d. Only Joshua and Caleb survived to enter Canaan, and that because they had been obedient to God. 2. Read Joshua 1:6-9 a. Once they entered the land, "success" was conditioned on the obedience of Joshua and those who followed. b. If they would be obedient, God would bless their efforts.

C. He Judges those who Disobey Him. 1. This was true of his chosen people: a. The example of Achan (Jos 7). b. When there is sin in the camp, you must expect God's judgment, not his blessing. 2. This was equally true of other nations as well. a. God judged and punished Egypt (Ge 15:13-14). b. God judged and punished the Midianites (Nu 31). c. So in Joshua, he prepares to judge and punish the Canaanites.

Joshua 33 III. The God of Judgment A. A "full measure" of Sin 1. Read Ge 15:13-16 a. The time would come for the descendants of Abraham to drive out the Canaanites and take the land. b. That time was not yet, however. First, the sins of the Canaanites had to reach full measure. 2. The Sins of the Canaanites: a. A degraded and degrading religion: Baal and Ashtoreth and archaeological evidence. i. They burned their children in sacrifice. ii. Orgies were a common part of their "worship." Homosexual priests and prostitute priestesses were a normal part of religious observances. iii. Serpents played a large part in their religion - demonic overtones. b. A degenerate culture: i. Sexual immorality, including homosexuality and beastiality, was a prominent part of this culture. ii. Read Leviticus 18:24-28. B. Joshua: An Introduction to the God who Judges 1. This is a book about God's holy judgment: a. The wars recorded in Joshua brought punishment to those who had turned completely away from God and his precepts. Just as God would use pagan nations to punish his own people, so here he uses his people to punish a depraved culture. b. Joshua is a mini-Armageddon, a sample of what will occur in the last days predicted by the New Testament. Here is God sitting in judgment of sin and wickedness, punishing those who give themselves over to such things. 2. Joshua shows God to be God of all people and all nations. He requires a certain level of morality from all men and women. Throughout history, when people have degraded themselves beyond all hope, he has come in judgment and punished those whose lives are an offense to him. Conclusion: The God of Joshua is the God of Jesus also. 1. The dilemma we face with the God of Joshua is the same as that we always face about the issue of judgment. a. Do we really believe there is a heaven and a hell? b. Some, who fail to learn the message of Joshua, fail to understand something important about the nature of God. c. God is a God of holiness and judgment as well as a God of love. Until we understand that, we do not know our God as well as we should. 2. Jesus, meek and gentle Jesus, knew his father to be a God of Judgment. Read Matthew 13:37-43.

Joshua 34 Forget Me Not

Introduction:

For all the wonder and complexity of the human brain, in spite of man's intelligence and ability to learn, regardless of our capacity for abstract thought and mental gymnastics, many of us have trouble remembering the name of someone we met only moments before! Brag all you want to about your talent for learning . . . it's not what you learn but what you can remember that makes the difference in the end.

Why are we so prone to forget? Psychologists tell us that forgetting occurs at an alarming rate. 1. Much of what we "forget" we never even hear because we don't pay attention. 2. Over 50% of what we do hear and pay close attention to is forgotten within minutes. 3. The small piece of memory that remains is likely to be distorted in some way - what we remember does not always correspond with what actually happened.

The news gets even worse. Sometimes our problem is not forgetfulness but the motivation to recall. The child who is caught jumping on the bed for the tenth time in the last hour may claim to have forgotten his mother's warning. In reality, he didn't forget . . . he just didn't want to remember!

The book of Judges is a textbook on human forgetfulness. One of the most interesting themes of this book is the amazing capacity of the Israelites to forget God. They "forgot the Lord their God" (3:7) and "did not remember the Lord their God" (8:34). Perhaps they didn't pay close attention in the first place. Perhaps, in time, they forgot what he commanded them to do. Perhaps they just weren't very motivated to remember. Whatever the case, they spent many miserable years proving that man's poor memory affects not just his ability to recall names or anniversaries but to remember his God as well.

I. A Pattern is Established

A. Chapter 2: The Template for Judges This chapter sets the theme for the book. A pattern develops in this chapter that will recur throughout the remainder of the book. In this chapter, we learn something not just about the Israelites but about ourselves as well. If we think we are any different from them, we are sadly mistaken.

1. A Leader Dies a. Read Judges 2:7-9 b. So long as Joshua lived, the people served the Lord. c. However, no leader lives forever. When this man, so committed to God and to obeying his commands, when he dies, these people react in a way that is completely characteristic of us all.

Judges 35 2. Apostasy Occurs a. Read Judges 2:10-13 b. A new generation did not know God. i. It wasn't that they had not heard about what God had done for their forefathers in Egypt or in the wilderness or in the land of Canaan. ii. They had heard all right. They just forgot what they heard. c. In the course of one generation, they forgot God and quickly began to do evil in His eyes. A wholesale apostasy takes place among the Israelites. In less than 25 years, the Israelites went from complete consecration to God to complete apostasy. 3. God Punishes a. Read Judges 2:14-15 b. God's anger brings punishment on His people. i. Just as God had used the Israelites to punish the Canaanites, not God uses the Canaanites to discipline his people. ii. They were defeated in battle and harassed by raiding parties. c. They were in "great distress" (vs 15). 4. God Saves a. Read Joshua 2:16 b. God raised up new leaders for his people. c. These men, who listened to God and obeyed his commands, delivered the people from their enemies.

Transition: Read Joshua 2:17-19 The same pattern asserts itself time after time. God raises up a leader. The people return to God until the leader dies. The people forget God once more. God punishes his people until, once more, he raises up a leader.

B. The Pattern Followed Throughout Judges 1. Othniel - 3:7-11 a. Joshua dies. b. Read 3:7 - The Israelites forget God. c. Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram i. An invasion from the north-east. ii. He oppresses Israel for 8 years. d. Othniel - 40 years of peace. 2. Ehud - 3:12-30 a. Othniel dies b. Read 3:12 - The Israelites forget God. c. Eglon, King of Moab i. An invasion from the south-east. ii. Eglon oppresses Israel for 18 years. d. Ehud and his successor give Israel 80 years of peace. 3. Deborah - Chapters 4-5 a. Ehud dies b. Read 4:1 - The Israelites forget God. c. Jabin, king of Canaan i. An invasion from the north ii. Jabin oppresses Israel for 20 years

Judges 36 4. Gideon - Chapters 6-8 a. Deborah passes from the scene. b. Read 6:1 - The Israelites forget God. c. Midianites (to the south) oppress for 7 years. d. 40 years of peace under Gideon. e. Read 8:33-34

5. Jephthah - Chapters 10-12 a. The Israelites forget God (10:6) b. Philistines and Ammonites oppress for 18 years. c. God raised up Jephthah for 6 years.

6. Sampson - Chapters 13-16 a. The Israelites forget God (13:1) b. Philistines oppress for 40 years. c. God raises up Sampson for 20 years of peace.

II. Lessons for God's People of All Times

A. Apostasy is the Rule, Not the Exception 1. The Israelites kept forgetting God. a. You would think they'd finally learn their lesson! b. But the point of this book is that these people kept forgetting! i. Sometimes it took 40 years for them to forget. ii. Other times it took only 5 or 6 years. 2. Is the New Israel any different from the Old? a. We are just as liable to forget as they were. b. Though we hear all the stories about what God has done for our forefathers, we are no more likely to remember than they. c. How many "restoration movements" have there been in church history, calling us to remember the way things were? After each movement grew up a new generation who forgot their God. 3. Apostasy is the Rule, not the Exception, for God's People. a. Apostasy shouldn't surprise the church. It is only a matter of time unless we are very much on our guard. b. Apostasy is only a generation away. All it takes is the failure to instill a burning love of God in the hearts of those who will take the reins when we are gone.

B. God Disciplines Those He Loves 1. We marvel at the patience of God. a. God never gives up on His people. i. I would have given up on the Israelites when they were complaining so bitterly in the wilderness. ii. I surely would have given up on them after about the 3rd or 4th bout of forgetfulness here in Judges. iii. But God never gives up. He becomes angry with them. He is disappointed in them. But he never gives up. b. Even when they forget him repeatedly, when they rebel and follow other gods, God continues to draw them closer to Himself. 2. God's discipline is designed to bring his people back. a. God consistently punishes his people in this book. i. He brings wars and famine and poverty on them. ii. They labor under foreigners who make them miserable. b. But, like a father who loves his children, God's intent is not to cause suffering so much as to bring repentance. He wants his people back. Judges 37 3. The same rules apply to the Church today. a. When we find ourselves in the worst crises, when everything is going wrong and we want to give it all up, perhaps it is time to think about returning to God and recommiting ourselves to his Lordship. b. Discipline is a sign of God's continued love, not of his abandonment. It is an invitation to return to him and to live under his blessings. It is a request for repentance. 4. If apostasy is the rule rather than the exception, it might be equally true that discipline is also the norm. God's discipline shouldn't surprise us. It is a warning that things are not as they should be and an inducement to return to the fold.

C. God Uses Leaders to Restore His People 1. It is always when God raises up a leader that change takes place among his people. a. This entire book is about the men and women whom God chooses to lead his people back to himself. b. They were not the most likely candidates for leading. i. One was the son of a prostitute. ii. Another was a doubting Thomas who asked for 3 signs before he would accept God's call. iii. Yet another was a woman. c. One of the great things Judges shows us about the Israelites is their willingness to follow the leaders God chooses for them. When they recognized that God had raised up a leader, they followed that leader whole-heartedly. 2. God raises up leaders today. a. They are not always the most likely candidates. i. They won't always be drawn from the elders, deacons or preachers. ii. Title does not convey the right to lead in God's kingdom - only God's spirit gives that right. iii. There may be someone in this congregation today whom God is preparing to lead us into the future - someone with a burning commitment to be obedient to God. b. Like the Israelites of old, we must be wise enough to recognize when God is raising up a leader and to follow the leader God gives to us. i. How will we recognize such a leader? a) He will be full of God's spirit. b) He will demand obedience to God. ii. How should we follow such a leader? a) Heart and soul - He leads us back to God. b) Lead, follow, or get out of the way! c. It is only through strong and visionary leadership that real changes will take place in the church.

Judges 38 A Question of Integrity

Introduction:

The picture we get from the book of Judges is that Israel is in deep trouble. There is a general breakdown of moral standards and religious practice throughout the land. Most of the people had left Jehovah and were worshiping other gods instead. At least eight references are made to the Israelites forsaking God in favor of the local Canaanite gods. Even the Levites were engaging in a form of idolatry (see Jdg 17:5ff). The Israelites were fighting among themselves over territory and booty and power. There are stories in Judges of deception and murder, rape and immorality, human sacrifice and human slaughter. The constant refrain running through Judges is, "Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord . . ."

It is in this setting that the story of Ruth unfolds. "In the days when the judges ruled" (Ru 1:1), we find a family moving from Bethlehem to Moab in search of food. The story that follows offers a touching and heartening story of one woman's piety and personal integrity.

That woman is Ruth, a native of Moab and the daughter-in-law of Naomi. Ruth's devotion to Naomi and her sense of honor sets the book of Ruth apart from Judges - in the middle of a pig-sty of immorality we find a pearl of virtue and dignity. The fact that Ruth was a foreigner serves only to highlight a theme which will recur throughout the Bible - rightness before God is not determined by genealogy or nationality but by the quality of an individual's heart. Ruth has so pure a heart and shows herself to be of such integrity, God includes the story of this Moabitess in his Holy Scriptures and involves her in the family tree of both David and the Messiah to come.

Ruth 39 I. The Setting for Integrity

A. Setting the Stage - Read Ruth 1:1-5 These opening verses speak of a terrible series of tragedies. Naomi is, in certain ways, the female counterpart to Job. Later in this chapter, Naomi refers to these events as her "emptying."

1. There is a famine in Israel. a. No specific period of famine mentioned in Judges. b. Jdg 6:3-6 does mention the privation brought on by war and the marauding invaders of neighboring lands. 2. The family of Elimelech moves from Bethlehem to Moab. 3. Tragedy strikes this family: a. Elimelech dies, leaving Naomi a widow (1:3). b. Naomi's two sons subsequently marry, but they too die within 10 years of their move to Moab (1:4-5).

B. The Plight of Widows in Ancient Times If we don't stop for a moment and dig a little more deeply, we'll miss something that is the central point of the book. The writer of Ruth tosses off the trials of Naomi in five short verses. But there is a world of meaning under the surface here. What lies between the lines is just as important as what is actually stated.

1. There was no such thing as Social Security in that time. a. The health and wellbeing of women in ancient economies revolved around their connection with men. i. Girls were protected in their father's house. ii. Wives survived by the labor of their husbands. iii. That's one reason having sons was so vital in those days. Widows were supported by their sons in old age. b. The first 5 verses of this book do not just describe the bereavement of Naomi - they describe her destitution. Naomi had neither father nor husband nor son to take care of her. 2. Widows in Naomi's condition were literally reduced to begging. They lived in poverty on the mercy of others. a. God's provision for the care of widows and orphans. i. Caring for widows was a mark of special godliness among the Jews. ii. The gleanings provision - Read Dt 24:19-22. b. At best, however, the widow's life was hard. Three examples from N.T. times: i. The widow's mite (Mk 12:41-44) ii. Collection for widows (Ac 6:1) iii. Roll of Widows (1Ti 5:3ff)

Ruth 40 II. The Decision for Integrity

A. Naomi looks to the future - Read Ruth 1:6-13 1. The outlook for her is bleak. a. She is both widowed and without sons. She has no one to provide for her and her daughter-in-laws. b. She is too old to offer any prospects for the future. c. You get the feeling that she is simply going home to die - "The Lord's hand has gone out against me." 2. Her daughter-in-laws still have some options. a. They are still young and marriageable. b. They will be better off to return home and, some day, "find rest in the home of another husband."

B. The Response of her Daughter-in-laws. 1. Orpah returns "to her people and her gods" (vs 14). a. She sees Naomi's point and heeds her advice. b. Don't condemn her for obeying her mother-in-law. c. Yet, this book is not titled Orpah. It is not she we will remember. 2. Ruth decides to care for her mother-in-law. a. She knows what the future holds for Naomi. b. She knows also what the future with Naomi holds for her. Transition: Here we see a personal courage and integrity that is conspicuously absent among God's people. In all the evil and blackness of this period of Israelite history, it takes a foreigner to make a decision based on what is right. Ruth is a woman of integrity, and determines her course not on the basis of what is comfortable or convenient but on the basis of what is good and honorable. Read Ruth 1:16-18

III. The Cost of Integrity

A. Hard Days in Bethlehem 1. Naomi goes home, accompanied by her daughter-in-law. a. Read Ruth 1:19-21 b. From "Pleasant" (Naomi) to "Bitter" (Mara). c. From "full" to "empty." 2. Ruth goes to work, supporting her mother-in-law. a. Taking advantage of God's provision for the destitute. i. Gleaning in the fields of Boaz (2:2-3). ii. Following the reapers to pick up leftovers. iii. Threshing the grain for food and sale. b. She works hard and long (2:6-7, 17). i. Every day she went to the fields. ii. She worked long hours. iii. This lasted for 2-3 months.

Ruth 41 B. Right Choices are not always Easy to Live With 1. Ruth could have been safe in her father's house. 2. Instead, she does manual labor in the fields of a stranger. 3. The reason: Read Ruth 2:11-12.

IV. The Reward of Integrity

A. Romance in the Grain Fields 1. Boaz shows interest in Ruth (2:5ff). a. He feeds her lunch (2:14). b. He orders reapers to leave grain behind (2:15-16). c. He invites her to stay in his fields where she will be safe (2:8- 9). 2. Ruth shows interest in Boaz (3:1ff). She proposes to him at the threshing floor. 3. They marry and live happily ever after.

B. God Takes Care of those who Walk Honorably before Him. 1. Read Ruth 4:13-17 2. Boaz gets a wife. 3. Ruth gets a husband. 4. Naomi "has a son" to sustain her in her old age (4:15).

Conclusion: Integrity is never out of style. 1. So many of us run our lives like a business: a. We make decisions on the basis of what seems to give the best return. b. We wheel and deal with life hoping to hit jackpot. c. Very often, it is our morals and integrity that are the first things to go in this business. 2. We would never think of behaving like Ruth. a. She made a bad decision - acting with no prospects of profit. b. We would have been like Orpah - Play it safe, go for the sure thing. 3. Maybe it's time to let God run our lives. a. Our task in life is to live with integrity. b. It is God's task to make things come out to our good.

Ruth 42 Long Live the King!

Introduction:

The greatest and most bloody revolutions in history have been fought over issues of leadership. France threw off the yoke of her extravagant monarchy in the revolution of 1789. Thirteen years earlier, the Americans had fought for the right of self-governance. England, Germany and Russia—each in her turn—struggled to determine what form of government would be best. Princes, presidents, prime ministers, and priests have formed governments and attempted to lead nations. It appears that human beings are vitally interested in how they will be lead.

The same is true of the church. Throughout the years, Christendom has struggled with the issue of leadership. During the early centuries, dissatisfaction with local elderships led to the elevation of regional bishops and, eventually, to the establishment of a papacy. In the 16th Century, the Protestant Reformation rejected the leadership of the Pope, and began to move back towards a more Biblical pattern. Today, churches are led by every conceivable form of government: elders, preacher/pastors, congregational democracy, prophets, denominational hierarchies, ad nauseam.

The Israelites struggled over this same issue as well. Many of the conflicts recorded in the Old Testament arise over the matter of government and how the people respond to their leaders. Judges, prophets, priests and kings try their hands at managing the Israelites. From the time of Moses, through the judges, until the anointing of Saul, the children of Israel argue over the best means of providing leaders for themselves.

You would think that, at least when it comes to those who claim to be God's people, we might listen more closely to Him who is our ultimate leader and King. God has always had a plan for providing his people with leadership, a means of transmitting his will and wisdom through agents he himself chooses. The book of 1 Samuel tells of that plan and of our failure to follow it through much of our history.

1 Samuel 43 I. "Give Us a King"

A. The People Take Matters Into Their Own Hands (1Sa 8) 1. The surface issue - seemingly justified action! a. Samuel is growing old and feeble (vs 1). b. He appointed his sons as judges after him (vss 1-3). c. The people do not like his arrangements and ask for a King instead (vss 4-5). 2. The deeper issue a. As we will see, these people do not act out of a sense of moral outrage, but out of a lack of faith. i. There weren't content to let God give them leaders. ii. They wanted a king - like everyone else (8:5, 19-20). b. "They have rejected me as their King" (vs 7).

B. Saul is Chosen as King (1Sa 9-11) 1. 9:1-10:8 - Saul is chosen by God and anointed by Samuel. 2. 10:9-27 - Saul is crowned before the people of Israel. a. The nation gathers at Mizpah - Read 1Sa 10:18-19. b. Tribe: Benjamin; clan: Matri; family: Kish; Saul. c. Read 1Sa 10:25 3. Chapter 11 - The people acknowledge Saul as King. a. He gathers an army and marches to rescue Jabesh Gilead. b. The people acclaim him as king.

C. Samuel Makes Clear the Issues Involved (1Sa 12) 1. God has always provided leaders for his people. Read 1Sa 12:6-11 2. By taking matters into their own hands, they have usurped God's authority and rejected him as King. Read 1Sa 12:12-13 3. They should be careful not to reject God's leadership altogether! a. Read 1Sa 12:14-15 b. Even here, it is not Saul they are warned to obey. c. God is still God, even if he is not still King.

1 Samuel 44 II. The Relationship Between God and "Kings"

A. God is Responsible for Raising Up Leaders 1. He provided leadership during the wilderness wanderings. a. Moses - called by God from the burning bush (Ex 3). b. Joshua - commissioned by God before all the people (Nu 27:12). c. Judges - chosen by God as the need arose. d. All of God's leaders were selected, not by election or succession or contests of strength, but by the will of God. Raising up leaders was not the people's task, but God's. 2. God continued to provide leadership during Samuel's time. a. Samuel - The book opens by God intervening to raise up a "faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my mind and heart" (1Sa 2:35). b. Saul i. Even when the people asked for a king, God still reserved the right to choose the man. ii. Saul was God's choice, not Israel's. c. David i. Even when a King was enthroned, God determined who would succeed him. ii. The kingdom was given to David, not Jonathon. 3. God raises up leaders for his people. It is no one's task but his to determine who will govern.

B. God Also Takes Responsibility for Rejecting Leaders 1. This happened with the Priests. a. Eli is a leader rejected by God i. He condones his sons (1Sa 2:12-30). ii. God rejects him and promises to raise up a "faithful priest" (1Sa 2:35). b. Samuel replaces him. 2. This also happened with the Kings. a. Saul is a leader rejected by God i. He disobeys God's commands. a) about sacrificing - 1Sa 13 b) about the spoils of battle - 1Sa 15 ii. God rejects Saul's leadership and promises to appoint a new leader - Read 1Sa 13:13-14. b. David replaces him.

1 Samuel 45 Conclusion: Lessons on Leadership for God's People Today

A. God is Our Leader 1. No matter the structure of our human authority, God is still the one in control. 2. We are responsible ultimately to follow his lead. 3. All other human leaders exercise "Borrowed Authority" and must follow even as they lead.

B. God Chooses Leaders for Us. 1. God must be allowed to raise up leaders among his people. 2. God must also be allowed to reject leaders who no longer fulfill their function.

C. Leadership Depends, not on Talent or Age or Position, but on the Will of God. 1. We look on the exterior to find leadership qualities. 2. God looks on the heart.

D. To Follow God's Leaders is to Follow God; to Rebel Against His Leaders is to Reject God as our King.

1 Samuel 46 In Search of Excellence

Introduction:

A. A Brief Overview of Israel's Military History. 1. Joshua - Secured Canaan for the Israelites (see map). a. Israeli land: the east bank of the Jordan and the high country of the west bank; Dan to Beersheba. b. Foreign land: Mediterranean coast and Jezreel Valley. 2. Judges - Protected but did not expand the borders. 3. Saul - Protects borders rather than expanding them. a. Same borders as 400 years earlier (see map). b. If anything, ground had been lost - Jordan valley.

B. A Look at David's Conquests in 2 Samuel. 1. Securing a capitol city - Jerusalem (2Sa 5:6-10). 2. 2Sa 8 - A listing of David's successes. a. 8:1 - Subduing Philistia (expanding western border). b. 8:2 - Southern/eastern borders - Amalekites, Edomites, Moabites c. 8:3-10 - Northern border - Zobah, Arameans, Hamath

C. David Enjoyed Success in all his Efforts There were many great men in Israel's past: Noah a man of action; Abraham, a man of faith; Joshua, a great soldier. There were several good and noble judges. When it comes to "success" in expanding the kingdom of God, nobody can measure up to David. 1. The Bible describes him as "successful." a. Read 1Sa 18:5, 12-16, 30. b. The meaning of this word: i. Hebrew sakal - to be prudent or wise. ii. Translations: NIV & RSV - successful; NASB - prospering; KJV - behaved himself wisely 2. However translated, David excelled in wisdom and success.

D. Parallels between David and the Church Today. 1. In both cases, the kingdom had been established in some past time: Canaan - 400 years before; Church - 2000 years before. 2. In both cases, a much larger kingdom had been promised than was actually realized. a. Under Saul, God's physical kingdom was much smaller than that which God had promised Abraham. b. In our own time, God's spiritual kingdom is much smaller than that which God intends. 3. In both cases, the people of God were living beneath their potential and failing to enjoy their blessings. 4. In both cases, the problem lay squarely in a lack of faithful, visionary, daring leadership.

2 Samuel 47 Transition: As we examine some characteristics of David's life, we may find something that led to success for God's kingdom in his day that will lead to similar successes today.

I. God was responsible for the Successes of David.

A. First and foremost, we must recognize the work of God. 1. Read 2Sa 5:10 - "And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him." 2. Read 2Sa 7:8-9 3. Everything David did was of God. All credit belongs to God. It was by God's power that David accomplished great things.

B. Why did God so bless David with such success? 1. The same God chose both Saul and David. 2. Why did David succeed while Saul failed? Why did Saul barely protect the borders while David expanded them four-fold? II. David was a Man after God's Own Heart

A. Direct passages relating to David's character: 1. 1Sa 13:14 - God had looked for a man after his own heart to appoint as leader of his people. a. Saul had sinned - offering what only a priest could offer. b. Samuel tells Saul that God has taken the kingdom away from him and will give it to one who is "after his own heart," one who will keep the Lord's commands. 2. 1Sa 16:7 - He had found such a man in David. a. Samuel goes to anoint one of the sons of Jesse. b. He is impressed with Eliab - tall and handsome. c. God is interested in the heart. He intends David to be king because he has the right heart.

B. Qualities which endeared David to God: 1. Integrity - For the most part, David lived by his beliefs. There is honesty, honor, and heroism shown in David's life. 2. Tender Conscience - David, Bathsheba, Nathan (2Sa 12) 3. Close Relationship with God a. David loved to worship God, sing his praises, pray to him, and generally spend time in his presence. b. David loved God. He loved God's word. He loved God's house. He loved God's laws.

C. We need leaders after God's heart today. 1. Leaders who exhibit the kind of heart David had. 2. Leaders of compassion, integrity, and spirituality.

2 Samuel 48 Note: Although such characteristics are always necessary to do great things in God's kingdom, they are not always sufficient. There have been many people who have responded to God with integrity and conscientiousness and intimacy, but who have not done great things to advance the kingdom of God. Boaz was a good man, but he was no David. Samuel was a great man of God, but he was not the leader David was. Even Job, for all his righteousness, is known more for his ability to hang on than to accomplish great things. Something more is required of people before they can be used to "succeed" in expanding the borders of the kingdom.

III. David and the Capacity for Risk

A. David was a Risk-taker by Nature 1. When Saul asks David to kill 100 Philistines as the bride price for marrying his daughter Michal, David kills 200 for good measure. 2. Sneaking into Saul's camp with Abishai (1Sa 26:6ff). a. Saul was sleeping in the middle of his men. b. David sneaks into the camp late at night and steals Saul's spear and canteen. c. Partly, this was to prove he had no evil intentions towards Saul. It is also implied, however, that David loved to take risks. 3. You don't survive very long as a shepherd fighting lions, or a gorilla-fighter, or the leader of an embattled nation unless you are willing to risk.

B. David was also a Risk-taker by Faith 1. David and Goliath - 1Sa 17 a. Goliath was huge and insulting. b. The Israelites were afraid. c. David was willing to take the risk. Read 1Sa 17:45-47 2. David and Saul - 1Sa 24 & 26 a. Saul tried repeatedly to kill David (1Sa 18:10-11, 17; 19:1ff). b. David refused to kill Saul even when he had opportunity (1Sa 24 & 26). c. Read 1Sa 26:9-11 3. David and his Battles: a. On a number of occasions, God tells David to go to battle with forces far superior to his own. i. 1Sa 23 - Philistines ii. 1Sa 30 - Amalekites iii. 2Sa 5 - Philistines b. David does so each time because he knows it is the Lord's will.

2 Samuel 49 C. It was David's willingness to Risk that made him Successful 1. In each instance, David could have played it safe. a. Goliath, Saul, Philistines. b. But the way of safety is not the way of success. 2. When David saw the will of God, he willingly went out on a limb to do what God wanted him to do. 3. Because of this, the kingdom grew.

Conclusion:

A. "Risking it" in the Church today. 1. Reviewing the parallels: a. The challenge to expand the kingdom is before us. b. Like Israel under Saul, we are living beneath our potential and below God's promises. c. Any failure to grow is not due to: i. a lack in God's power ii. a misunderstanding of God's wishes iii. a dirth of opportunities d. Failure is due instead to a lack of risk-taking on the part of God's people. You don't accomplish great things without stepping out on a limb once in a while. 2. Risk-taking by faith. a. Faith asks us to go beyond what is comfortable! i. Confronting the Goliaths of our own day. ii. Fighting the superior forces that face us. b. Only this kind of faith will allow the kingdom to grow.

B. Are there any "Davids" in the church today? 1. God's church needs men and women who are close to his heart - people of integrity, conscience and devotion. 2. God's church also needs some riskers - those who add to their good heart the willingness to risk life or position or dignity so as to be obedient to God.

2 Samuel 50 "Let us come before him with thanksgiving"

The outline included in the handout for the book of Psalms is not intended to be a sermon outline so much as an Order of Worship. It seemed to us a little presumptious to talk about praise or worship from the book of Psalms when it speaks to that subject so well on its own. Thus, we have attempted to shape a worship period around the Psalms, including:

1. A mixture of readings and responsive readings from the Psalms. 2. Songs and hymns based on the Psalms. 3. Comments to guide the congregation’s worship.

The major divisions of the worship period (Praise, Confession, etc.) reflect the different kinds of Psalms. Although we could not include each type of Psalm in one short worship exercise, there is a listing of the various types under Outline of the Psalms (see p. 48 of the handout).

The various comments interspersed throughout the worship experience are important to set a mood and theme. By working with this outline and page 46 of the handout, you should be able to work your way smoothly through the service. Invite others to help you with this worship period: several people could be asked to lead various songs, read scriptures, and lead the responsive readings. Make copies of this outline for everyone who will be leading the worship period. Meet with them before hand to ensure that everyone knows when and where they will be playing their part.

Although this may represent a departure from your usual practice, you will be surprised at how positively people respond to a service oriented entirely toward worship. We spend so much time educating our people that we can overlook the power of leading them in praise.

The Psalms 51 Call to Worship: A. Orientation 1. Does everyone have a Handout? 2. In the Look at the Book program our congregation is working through, we come today to the Psalms. The book of Psalms captures the entire panarama of God’s dealing with men and women—His love for us; our sin and the need for confession and sacrifice; the suffering and death of God’s Son on our behalf; the resurrection of the Son from death. 3. Today we will use the Psalms to worship and celebrate. a. There will be no sermon from me. Instead, our sermon will come from the Psalms themselves as we read and sing our way through our worship period today. b. Our emphasis will be on worship: on praise and confession and remembrance and celebration. 4. You will need a Handout to follow our worship today. We will not be announcing song numbers or indicating what comes next in the order of worship—you must keep up by following along in the Handout. B. Admonition to Worship 1. Worship is a participatory event. a. Unfortunately, worship is in danger of becoming a spectator sport. i. You sit and listen. ii. Others stand and speak. b. But especially today, you are invited to be a full participant in our worship to God. i. Worship is a verb. It is something that we do rather than an activity we attend and observe. ii. It is your involvement in our assembly this morning which will determine whether worship occurs for you. iii. This service has been designed to encourage you to worship, aide you in worship, guide you to worship. But it is not, itself, worship. Only you can provide the praise and adoration that will make this activity worship. 2. So I admonish you—worship the Lord today! a. Clear your minds of all thoughts but Him. b. Lose yourself in the songs and the readings. c. Enter enthusiastically into the singing. d. Allow the Psalms to become expressions of your own thoughts and feelings. 3. Worship is a verb. Let us, together, fall on our faces before God and pour out our hearts in homage to him.

Reading: Psalm 95:1-7a Song: All People that on Earth do Dwell (#35) Song: Come, Thou Almighty King (#67, vss 1 & 2) Reading: Psalm 29:1-2

The Psalms 52 Period of Praise 1. There are a few things which cannot be done in moderation. a. You don’t love your children moderately. b. You cannot race at half speed. c. And you do not praise God with half a heart, with partial attention, with the volume turned down. 2. Praise—by definition—must be: exuberant…enthusiastic…exciting…joyous…intense. 3. Praise is immoderate. It is the extravagant, exhorhitant, extreme expression of wonder, awe and love to our great God. 4. Praise will often embarrass us. It will draw us out of our shells and our three-piece suits and our reserved demeanors and cause us to shout, to exult, to fall on our knees and then on our faces. 5. Worship invites us to focus on God and forget about ourselves. Let us forget about ourselves now as we praise our God together.

Responsive Reading: Psalm 103:1-5, 8-14 (The congregation reads aloud the text in bold print)

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. . . . The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

Song: Praise the Lord (#427) Song: Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah (#148) Reading: Psalm 8 Song: O Lord, Our Lord (#397) Reading: Psalm 117 Song: O Praise the Lord (#399) Period of Confession

The Psalms 53

It is when we forget about ourselves and come into the presence of God that we see ourselves most clearly for who we are.

Like the prophet Isaiah, we remember our sins and we exclaim, “Woe is me!”

What does God ask of us . . . that we be sinless? No. Rather, that we confess our sins, that we not be fooled by our own righteous facade into believing that we have a right to stand in God’s presence except by his grace.

We are in his presence now by his mercy and his mercy alone. For we are sinners. And it is only right that we confess the fact to God at this time.

Reading: Psalm 32:1-5 Period of Silent Confession before God. [Give the congregation a few moments to meditate and confess. Don’t get nervous and rush this. Let your people have sufficient time to consider God’s holiness and their own shortcomings…and to be grateful for his mercies which are ever new.] Song: Flee as a Bird (#465) Prayer of Contrition [Have someone lead a prayer of contrition (perhaps modeled on Psalm 51 or one of the other Penitential Psalms. Ask them to limit their prayer to this one idea and to develop the idea sufficiently. This is not the time for praying for sick people or asking for guidance for the President!] Reading: Psalm 51:7-15 Song: Unto Thee O Lord

The Psalms 54 Period of Remembrance

It was because we were sinners that a lamb was needed. It was because we were soiled by rebellion and selfishness that cleansing was required. It was because we were transgressors that Jesus came and died.

Every week, we gather to eat this bread and drink this cup. We remember that Jesus died for sinners, that Jesus died for us. As we do so today, remember that it was for our transgressions that he suffered…it was for our iniquities he died.

What a debt we owe him. What wondrous love moved him to take up that cross. What language can we borrow to thank him?

Song: “O Sacred Head” (#398) The Lord’s Supper [Let the comments you have already made serve as comments before the supper. Please do not break your people’s train of thought by allowing some other theme or idea to be introduced at this point. A simple prayer before the bread and cup should suffice.] Reading during Bread: Psalm 22:1-19 Reading during Cup: Ps 69:1-4, 7-9, 19-21, 13-18. Song: Christ, We do All Adore Thee. Reading: Psalm 2

Period of Rejoicing

In the Temple, worshippers moved from the city to the Temple grounds, through the Court of Women and the Court of Gentiles, to the altar. Beyond that, only a select few could move into the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.

We have done the same today. As worshippers we have moved from the bustle of our lives to this place of worship. We have entered into praise and confession and remembrance. Now it is time to enter that holiest place of all.

It is a simple thing for a man to die—they do it all the time. It is a far harder and rarer thing to conquer death and rise to live again. But our worship would not be complete if we did not contemplate and rejoice over the fact that our Lord did not stay dead. God had other plans for him—and for us.

The Psalms 55 Song (Low in the Grave—#337) with Reading Psalm 16:8-11a followed by verse 1 of song. Psalm 40:1-3 followed by verse 2 of song. Psalm 30:1-3 followed by verse 3 of song. Song: Christ, the Lord, is Risen Today (#64) Reading: Psalm 96 Song: I Know that My Redeemer Lives (#218)

Concluding Praise

We conclude this worship period as we began—by praising God. Why do we praise him? Because he is a great God, worthy of our adoration and devotion. Because we are great sinners, yet he loves us and shows mercy. Because he sent his Son to die so that we might live with him. Because he has raised his Son from the dead—a sign of assurance that one day we will rise to live with him forever.

Responsive Reading: Psalms 146:1-2; 147:1; 148:1-4;149:1; 150:1-2, 6. (Congregation reads aloud the text in bold print.)

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, How pleasant and fitting to praise him! Praise the Lord. Praise him from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and waters above the skies. Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

Song: Let Every Heart Rejoice and Sing (#319)

Announcements and Offering.

The Psalms 56 The Two Ways

Introduction:

One of the basic themes of the Old Testament is that the righteous will prosper while the wicked will be destroyed. Even though many Old Testament characters complain that just the opposite happens (e.g. Job, David, Habbakkuk), the truth is, in the long run, the righteous come out best. Only our tiny perspectives, our impatience with the working of God, makes us believe that the wicked could ever prosper. In the end, the good will always win out.

Those who worship themselves, who obey their own desires, who do what seems right "in their own eyes" are always defined in Scripture as "the wicked." Those, however, who worship the Lord, who obey his commands, and who do what God says to be right are the "righteous."

A. Examples of this theme in the Old Testament: 1. Moses sets these two ways before the Israelites. a. Life and death, prosperity and destruction. b. Read Dt 30:15-18 2. Joshua sets the same alternatives before Israel. a. Good promises, evil promises. b. Read Jos 23:14-16 3. The entire book of Judges shows that when Israel does right, God blesses them. But when Israel does wrong, God punishes. The "cycle of life." a. Disobedience b. Punishment c. Leader who encourages obedience d. Deliverance

Though God is concerned with how the Israelites conduct themselves as a group, he is far more concerned with individual behavior. The group is no more than the sum of its parts. You can't have a godly group without individuals making the commitment to be godly. It is important to note, then, that many individuals are used to emphasize this truth. This becomes very evident in 1 Samuel.

B. Individual Examples of this Principle: 1. Eli and his sons 2. Samuel 3. Saul 4. David

No one, however, exemplifies the spiritual laws at work in our world more than the character Solomon. His story, as told in 1 Kings, is a clear warning that only following the ways of God will lead to ultimate success. There were three appearances of God to Solomon that marked very specific points in Solomon's life. This story revolves around the theme of the two ways that man can take.

1 Kings 57

The Road not Taken

Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning, equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence; Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

1 Kings 58 I. The Promise

A. The First Appearance of God (1Ki 3:4-15) 1. Solomon's Request: a. Solomon went to Mount Gibeon, a few miles north-east of Jerusalem. The old Tabernacle of Moses was erected there, and Solomon went for a period of worship and meditation. He had a dream. b. God appears to Solomon and grants him one wish: "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." (1Ki 3:5) c. Solomon's wish: to be granted wisdom. 2. God's Response: a. He grants Solomon's request for wisdom. b. He grants also things for which Solomon did not ask: wealth and honor. c. He makes a promise. "And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life." 1 Kings 3:14 3. From this point, Solomon's reputation, wealth, and wisdom grew.

B. The Best of Times 1. An example of wisdom (1Ki 3:16-28). It is immediately after this that Solomon is confronted with two women, each claiming an infant is their own. 2. A time of Prosperity and Peace (1Ki 4:20-28) a. The surrounding kingdoms were "Solomon's subjects all his life" (vs 21). There was peace on all sides. b. Wealth increased, both for Solomon and for Israel. 3. A period of Scholarship: a. His interests ranged from music to botany to zoology. b. He was wiser than the Einsteins, the Nobel Prize winners of his day. 4. The Builder: a. He built palaces, houses, reservoirs, gardens, fortresses, and whole cities. b. Foremost, he was the builder of the Temple (1Ki 5-8). So magnificent was this structure that when Zerubabbel rebuilt the temple after its destruction in 536 B.C., those who remembered Solomon's temple wept at the comparison.

C. Israel under Solomon's rule 1. Never before or after would Israel enjoy a time like Solomon's. This was the zenith of Israel's glory. 2. His reign was the most peaceful, prosperous, and prestigious of any king who would sit on that throne. 3. A thousand years later, Jesus would draw on this legendary period still cherished by the Jews, and speak of the splendor of Solomon.

1 Kings 59 Transition: The Favor of God 1. All of this indicates Solomon was following in the ways of his father David - not perfect, but a man of devotion who could be called a "man after God's own heart." 2. As long as he stayed close to God, he enjoyed all the blessings of God. God had promised everything to this young man if only he would live faithfully. 3. Everything was going so well for Solomon. How could he help but "live happily ever after."

II. The Warning

A. The Second Appearance of God (1Ki 9:4-9) 1. The Situation: a. Some 20 years later - after the temple and the palace have been completed. b. Solomon has just dedicated the Temple with great ceremony and long prayers and many offerings. 2. God speaks with Solomon a. Read 1Ki 9:4-9 b. The tone has changed from promise to warning. c. Evidently, God is seeing something different in the heart of Solomon now than he saw 20 years earlier. 3. From this point, Solomon's kingdom begins a long slow decline.

B. The Worst of Times 1. Preoccupation with Material World - 9:15-28; 10:14-29 2. Love of Men's Praises - 1 Kings 10:6-8 - Flattery! 3. Obsession with Sex - 1 Kings 11:1-3 4. Dabbling with Idolatry - Read 1 Kings 11:4-8

Transition: What began as a tiny trickle of corruption and disobedience turned into a Grand Canyon of eroded character. Solomon, who began his reign full of good intentions and the full blessings of God, by the middle of his reign had fallen into every form of vice imaginable.

1 Kings 60 III. The Consequences

A. Breaking Every Rule in the Book 1. If my well-being as King depended on obedience to God, I would have gone to God's book to see if he had any special commands for kings to observe! 2. Dt 17:14-17 - God's specific commands for Kings: a. No large numbers of horses b. No large numbers of wives c. No large amounts of silver and gold 3. Solomon violated every one of these commands.

B. The Third "Appearance" of God 1. Sometime after this, God appeared to Solomon for the final time. By now, it is too late for Solomon to stop the erosion that has taken place in his life - he is more in love with his vices than he is with his God. 2. Read 1 Kings 11:9-13

C. The Results of Disobedience 1. The remainder of Chapter 11 (the final words about the reign of Solomon) are very sad indeed. 2. 1 Kings 11:14-40 - God raises up adversaries against Solomon. The rest of his days were spent trying to hold onto his throne. 3. Solomon dies.

Conclusion: To Obey or Not to Obey?

A. The Pattern continues through the remainder of this book. 1. Jeroboam a. 1Ki 11:37-39 - God promises blessings for obedience. b. 1Ki 13:33-34 - Jeroboam disobeys and is punished. 2. Evil kings who are punished for their sins: a. Rehoboam b. Abijah c. Nadab All did evil in the eyes of the Lord d. Baasha e. Omri f. Ahab 3. The story of Elijah, the righteous prophet, who was cared for by the hand of God for his faithfulness.

B. The Pattern still continues today. 1. Those who obey will be blessed. 2. Those who disobey will be punished.

1 Kings 61 A Test of Wisdom and Folly

Please answer the following items by indicating in the Response column which of the two statements is truer for you. A "1" indicates agreement with the statement on the left, while a "5" indicates agreement with the statement on the right. A "3" would mean you are torn between the two statements—each is equally true of you or you fall somewhere between the two extremes. "2" and "4" represent tendencies toward the statement on the left or right, respectively.

Item Response Proverb 1 I appreciate rebuke, correction, 1--2--3--4--5 I do not learn much from 9:7-10;12:1;13:1, and discipline. criticism or correction. 18; 15:5; etc. 2 I love to work. 1--2--3--4--5 I love to sleep and play. 10:5; 6:6-11; etc. 3 I know how to take orders. 1--2--3--4--5 I resent being told what to do. 10:8;13:13;19:16 4 I delight in wisdom and 1--2--3--4--5 I seek my pleasures in other 10:14, 23; 15:14; knowledge. pursuits. 17:24;18:2,15,etc 5 My words seem to bring 1--2--3--4--5 My words keep getting me in 10:21; 14:3;15:2, healing and peace. trouble. 28; 18:6-7, etc. 6 I am comfortable with silence. 1--2--3--4--5 I find it difficult to be quiet. 12:23; 17:27-28. 7 I strive to be humble. 1--2--3--4--5 Pride often gets in my way 11:2; 29:1, 23. 8 I seek the advice of others. 1--2--3--4--5 I follow my instincts. 12:15; 19:20. 9 I keep control of my temper. 1--2--3--4--5 I lose my temper frequently. 12:16;14:29;29:11 10 I try to choose wise friends. 1--2--3--4--5 I don't really 'choose' friends. 12:26;13:20; 18:24 11 I look before I leap. 1--2--3--4--5 I leap first and apologize later. 14:8, 15; 21:29. 12 To get my attention, a word is 1--2--3--4--5 I usually have to be hit in the 17:10; 19:25, 29; all that is needed. head with a 2x4. 21:11; 26:3. 13 I am quick to repent. 1--2--3--4--5 It is hard to say "I'm sorry." 14:9; 28:13. 14 I tend toward patience. 1--2--3--4--5 I tend toward recklessness. 14:16; 19:11. 15 I stay away from alcohol. 1--2--3--4--5 I need a drink sometimes. 20:1; 23:29-35. 16 I love peace. 1--2--3--4--5 I love to fight. 17:14, 19; 20:3. 17 I like to plan. 1--2--3--4--5 I like to 'go with the flow'. 19:2;21:5,20;29:2 18 I don't try to change fools. 1--2--3--4--5 Fools need special attention. 23:9; 26:4-5; 27:2 19 God knows better than me. 1--2--3--4--5 I know best. 3:5,7; 26:12; 28:2 20 I believe in sexual purity. 1--2--3--4--5 I believe in sexual freedom. 2:16-19; 5:3-23. Total:

Add up your scores in the Response column. The following ranges should give you clues on your "Wisdom" rating: 20 You are a modern day Solomon 100 You are a fool. 60 You are either foolishly wise or a wise fool. <60 You are moving in the direction of wisdom. >60 You are moving in the direction of folly.

Disclaimer: Most fools—being self-justifying and prideful—would probably score well on this test. Many wise people—being humble and self-effacing— would score poorly.

Proverbs [This test goes with following sermon] 62 Of Wise Men and Fools

Introduction:

Ancient Greek mythology told tall tales of brave men setting off on great quests in order to win the blessings of the gods. 1. Perseus was challenged to kill Medusa. 2. Jason was told to capture the Golden Fleece. 3. Theseus trounced the Minotaur.

They risked their lives to win immortality, honor, wealth, and power. So enticing were the carrots dangled before them by the gods, that these ancient characters thought little of making trips lasting for years, of leaving behind home and family, of putting themselves in great danger, of enduring incredible suffering and making terrible sacrifices.

And we envy them! Oh, not the sacrificing or suffering or danger parts: . . . but the quests which gave their lives purpose and direction, . . . and the prizes which motivated them to attempt great things and to reach higher than they might otherwise; . . . we do envy them these things.

For we live in modern times now, not ancient ones. • This is the Age of Reality not the misty times in which myths are born. • There are no quests for brave mortals to undertake today, no “Holy Grails” for modern man to pursue with the same abandon and daring as ancient heroes. • Today, God is dead, and there is no celestial hand to dangle that sweet carrot before us that would entice us to live better, to live higher, to live heroically.

Yes...we are modern, and we are realists...and we are quite empty inside.

Proverbs 63 I. The Quest for Wisdom A. A Quest for Today 1. Read Proverbs 2:1-6. 2. Solomon says there is a quest available for even modern men and women! a. Instead of a search for the Gorgon or the Golden Fleece, we are urged here to seek wisdom and understanding. b. And--yes--the quest will be a rigorous one: Solomon says we will need to “apply” ourselves (vs 2), and “cry aloud for understanding” (vs 3), and “search for it as for hidden treasure” (vs 4). Later, he will say, “Though it cost you all you have, get wisdom” (4:7b). c. But like the quests of old, there is a God who stands ready to reward us if only we will accept his challenge...he will give us both wisdom and understanding and will bless us with all the bounty of heaven. B. A Quest Worth Undertaking 1. You don’t seek wisdom for wisdom’s sake. a. Just as the ancients did their mighty deeds, not for the deeds themselves but for the rewards that accrued... b. So we are encouraged to seek wisdom for the incredible riches that are rained upon those who find her. 2. The rewards of wisdom are great! • Wisdom will prolong your life many years (3:2a). • Wisdom will bring you prosperity (3:2b). • Wisdom will win you respect and a good name (3:4). • Wisdom will cause you to be powerful and strong (24:5). • Wisdom will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones (3:8). • Wisdom will protect you and keep you safe (3:23). • Wisdom will keep you from being afraid (3:24). • Wisdom will keep you from the ways of wicked men (2:12). • Wisdom will save you from the adulteress (2:16). • As the Proverbs state repeatedly, “Whoever finds wisdom, finds life”(8:35). 3. Read Proverbs 3:13-18; 4:5-8. C. A Democratic Quest 1. In at least one respect, the analogy of the Quest for Wisdom with the ancient quests breaks down. For ours is a democratic quest. a. According to the Greeks, you had to be one of the “favored of the gods” to receive a divine challenge. I. Quests were only parceled out to those of special distinction and ability. ii. Not just anyone could try their hand. b. But the quest for wisdom is open to all comers. No distinctions on the basis of birth or circumstance or native ability. 2. Anyone can seek and find this holy grail. a. Read Proverbs 1:1-4 - These proverbs are collected for that purpose. b. Read Proverbs 8:1-6, 17 - Even (or especially) the simple and foolish are eligible. The only criterion: Do you love wisdom? She will love you. c. Read Proverbs 9:1-6 - The banquet is prepared for all comers.

Proverbs 64 II. Directions for the Quest There are a few issues which must be wrestled with before we set off on this grand and exciting quest. There are some parameters which we must respect if we are to be successful in our search for wisdom. Each parameter, unfortunately, goes against the grain of popular culture.

A. Recognize the Reality of Wise Men and Fools 1. We are uncomfortable with the idea that some people deserve to be called “fool.” a. Mt 5:22c- “anyone who says ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” b. We live in the midst of a culture that doesn’t want to be judgmental or overly harsh. The only thing we are intolerant of is intolerance itself. c. The notion that truth is “whatever is true for you,” • that people must be supported as they search out their own path, • that unconditional acceptance of others’ lifestyles must be our goal, those notions are so common in our culture as to be axiomatic. 2. Because we have been unwilling to identify fools, we have been unable to identify and advocate wise living. a. How can we know what is true if we will call nothing false? b. How can we know what is right in a world where nothing is wrong? c. And how in the world can we appreciate wisdom, when there is nothing in the world truly foolish? 3. If we hesitate to label folly, the Bible does not. a. God calls certain people “fools” and so does Jesus. b. David, Solomon, and Paul did not hesitate to identify fools c. Proverbs is founded on the assumption that wisdom and folly are distinct and identifiable lifestyles - and that you should pursue one and flee from the other.

B. Acknowledge the Sources of True Wisdom 1. The idea of “sources” runs counter to the popular culture. a. We are told that wisdom consists of getting to know the “inner self,” of listening to the “true you”...that the most available source of wisdom is the font of wisdom bubbling inside each one of us. b. The notion that we must go outside of ourselves to find wisdom is nothing less than cultural heresy. We find it hard to hear Solomon’s teaching that: i. folly, not wisdom, is bound up in the heart of a child. ii. those who trust in themselves are fools. iii. we should not lean on our own understanding. 2. Yet the proverbs teach us that true wisdom comes only from outside sources: a. The teachings of those wise people who have lived before us. b. The teachings of your mother and father (6:20). c. Most importantly, the words and commands of our God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy one is understanding.

Proverbs 65 C. Apply Yourself to the Quest 1. Once again, we come into conflict with the teachings of our culture. a. Since “wisdom” is whatever is wise for you... b. and since the best source of that wisdom is from within yourself... c. becoming wise ought to be entirely natural, as easy as falling off a log. 2. But Proverbs teaches—to the contrary—that wisdom is a hard-won trait. a. You must devote yourself to the pursuit of wisdom. b. You must make sacrifices to attain wisdom. c. You must set priorities that differ from the world around you to find wisdom. d. You have to work and listen and learn and obey and accept discipline and correction and forego surface pleasures and humble yourself in order to become wise. 3. This Quest requires its own kind of dedication. There are dues to be paid if you want to be wise. Wisdom does not come easily...it is not our natural bent.

III. Roadmarks on the Quest for Wisdom

A. “Test for Wisdom and Folly” [This “test” is included on pg. 62 of the outlines. Look it over. You may want to make copies of this for your members and pass them out at this point in your sermon. Have them take the test, emphasizing that they will have only a brief amount of time to fill it out.] 1. Pass out copies of the test to your members. 2. Explain the directions for taking the test. 3. Allow 3 minutes for taking the test. 4. Explain scoring and ratings.

B. How to tell if you are a fool (or a wiseman) [The remainder of the sermon is simply a matter of picking out the particular marks of wisdom or folly that are of interest to you or are problematic for your people. The passages listed at right are a few, though certainly not all, of the proverbs associated with each mark of wisdom. A brief discussion of a particular mark of wisdom, accompanied by a reading of the proverbs which apply, will round out this sermon.]

Conclusion: [You might want to conclude by looking at the following N.T. passages related to wisdom: Jas 1:5; Col 2:2-3; 1Co 1:18-30.]

Proverbs 66 Questions of Life and Death

Introduction:

We can fool ourselves into ignoring the important questions of life - until it is time to face death. We can live any way we please - until a brush with death makes us reevaluate. We can curse God and deny him and ignore him - until we lay on our death bed and stare him in the face.

Death is a judge who questions the worthiness of our lives. It is a litmus test, indicating the quality of the way we have lived. Death is a knife that divides the world into the fearful and the unafraid, the remorseful and those at peace, the angry and the accepting, the hopeless and the hopeful. Death separates the men from the boys.

Listen to the differences in dying:

Voltaire, the French philosopher, spent most of his life fighting Christianity. He scorned the teachings of Christ and ridiculed those who would follow Jesus. With his dying breath, however, he cried out, "I am abandoned by God and man: I shall go to hell!" In contrast, George Washington, a man of great faith, told his attending physician, "Doctor, I am dying, but I am not afraid to die."

Listen to the dying words of the great statesman Mirabeau: "Give me more laudanum, that I may not think of eternity. O Christ, O Jesus Christ." Or the words of the famous atheist Hobbes: "I am taking a fearful leap in the dark." Compare such statements with the quiet confidence of Sir David Brewster, the inventor of the kaleidoscope: "I will see Jesus: I shall see Him as He is. I have had the light for many years. Oh, how bright it is! I feel so safe and satisfied."

Ecclesiastes is a book written by a man facing death. Solomon is old by the time he writes this book. He sees all too clearly that his time is short. He becomes obsessed with death, angry at death, fearful of death. For Solomon, death is a defeat not just of the physical body but of all the hopes and dreams and ambitions of life. Because man dies, nothing in life means very much at all. Since Solomon could never come to grips with death, he never came to grips with life.

Ecclessiastes 67 I. Solomon's Search for the Full Life

A. Wisdom 1. Solomon begins his search by turning to wisdom. a. Read Ecc 2:12-14a b. There is value in wisdom. On the surface, wisdom is better than folly. c. Proverbs is a book written in praise of wisdom. Written in Solomon's younger years, Proverbs exalts wisdom as the highest good for which man can strive. 2. He turns away when discovering that wise or foolish, death will win out in the end. a. The older Solomon becomes, the more the value of wisdom fades. b. Read Ecc 2:14b-16 c. Death spoils wisdom for Solomon. What's the use of being so wise if you end up the same way as the fool. 3. That is the sting of death.

B. Work 1. Solomon turns next to work. a. Read Ecc 2:4-6 b. Again, during the years when Solomon was not thinking about death, he derived great pleasure from his work. 2. As he becomes more obsessed with the grave, however, he grows disillusioned with the drive to succeed, realizing that no accomplishment, no matter how great, keeps you from death. a. Read Ecc 2:17-21 b. The hard worker spends his life building only to have someone else reap the rewards of his labor. 3. That is the sting of death.

C. Wealth 1. Finally, Solomon looks at possessions: a. Read Ecc 2:7-10a b. He says elsewhere: "A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, But money is the answer for everything" Ecc 10:19 2. You can't take it with you. a. Read Ecc 5:15-16 b. As he faces his own death, Solomon realizes that all the wealth in the world cannot buy off the grave. Every dead man is a pauper. 3. That is the sting of death.

Ecclessiastes 68 II. Solomon's Conclusions on Life and Death - Chapter 9

A. Death is the Common Destiny of All - Ecc 9:2 1. This idea is repeated throughout Ecclesiastes: 2:14-16; 3:19-21; 6:6; 7:2. 2. What you are really doesn't matter. What you do doesn't make any difference. What you own is unimportant. In the end, death makes all men equal.

B. Death is the Great Evil - Ecc 9:3-6 1. "This is the evil in everything . . ." a. Read Ecc 9:3 b. Death is the great evil of life. i. The fact that all men die shows the fundamental unfairness of life. ii. That unfairness proves that life is vanity. 2. As bad as life is, it is better than death (9:4-6) a. At least there is hope for the living. b. The dead know nothing and are unknown. c. They feel and participate in nothing.

C. Enjoy Life While You Can - Ecc 9:7-10 1. Eat, drink and be merry. a. Read Ecc 9:7-9a b. All this sounds fine, until you understand that Solomon is not here giving a prescription for happiness but for escape. 2. Life is a sham - the thoughtless person may be able to eat, drink and enjoy. The thoughtful person realizes that its all meaningless. a. Read Ecc 9:9-10 b. Even enjoyment is meaningless because the knowledge that it will soon end makes it "toilsome labor."

D. Death: The Great Equalizer - Read Ecc 9:11-12 1. Life is a game of chance - you can't influence the roll of the dice. 2. Death comes unexpectedly.

Ecclessiastes 69 III. The Sting of Death

A. Dealing with Death is as Important as Dealing with Life 1. Most of us spend all our time trying to live full lives. 2. Perhaps we would live better if we thought more about dying. a. Dying tends to put living in perspective. b. Knowing death is coming puts a different slant on the way we would live. c. In many ways, learning to die answers most questions about how we should live.

B. Jesus and the Constant Awareness of Death 1. Jesus lived with the knowledge of his death. a. From the start of his ministry, he foresaw the cross. b. His understanding of death defined the way he lived. 2. Perhaps that is why so much of his teaching centered on helping his disciples deal with death. a. "Take up your cross and follow me." b. "He who loses his life will find it." 3. The parable of the wise and foolish builders a. Read Mt 7:24-27 b. It is vital to know that foundations of our lives will be tested. i. Be careful how you build your life. ii. It is the storm that tests the quality of a house, not its comfort level.

C. In Christ, Death no longer has its Sting 1. Read Hebrews 2:14-15 a. Slavery to death - the story of Solomon b. Delivery from fear - the story of the Christian c. Read 1 Corinthians 15:54b-58 2. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 a. "those who have no hope" - the story of Solomon b. The faith of the Christian that gives victory: i. Christ conquered death ii. Christ will conquer our deaths iii. We have hope.

Conclusion: Live like Today was the Last Day of Your Life. 1. Not an excuse for letting go of faith. 2. Rather, a prescription for holding onto faith.

Ecclessiastes 70 God and History

Introduction: What Shapes History?

Will Durant, in his series The Story of Civilization, makes the assertion that all history is the story either of great events or great persons. It makes sense that historians would organize history in this way.

You don't have to be much of a student of history to remember some of the events which have shaped the life of man and altered the course of human history. The invention of the automobile, the printing press, and the telephone have radically changed the progress of civilization. The American Revolution, the signing of the Magna Carta, the conquests of Greek culture in the four centuries before Christ -- each event has impacted our lives in ways that we cannot begin to appreciate.

Of course, behind each event stands a powerful personality - a great thinker or politician or soldier who, by sheer force of character or brilliance of mind, shaped the future by shaping events. When we think back on the past, chances are that we are more likely to remember the people behind the events, rather than the events themselves. People like Alexandar the Great Julius Caesar, Martin Luther, Winston Churchill, and Abraham Lincoln. History is shaped by such incredible individuals.

Perhaps it is an indication of our nearsightedness when it comes to spiritual realities, but even Christians tend to think of history in terms of events or people. The Bible, however, clearly indicates that history is the story of a great God working to accomplish his will. From a Biblical perspective, history cannot be analyzed simply by studying characters or circumstances. It can only be understood by studying the mind of God.

Christians would quickly admit this when talking about "sacred history" - people and events associated with Israel, the church, or the Bible's story. But we recognize God's role in "secular history"? Does he work to shape the government and policies of unbelieving nations? Does he use the people and events of the secular world to advance his cause?

We serve a God who is the shaper of history, not just a passive observer. He works in the affairs of men to accomplish his will.

2 Kings 71 I. Examples of the Bible's View of History God's working through history is especially seen in the Old Testament books of history - particularly in the books about the kings. There, prophets spoke believing God would make a difference; kings repented and changed convinced that God would make a difference; men prayed as if it would make a difference. A. The Division of the kingdom. 1. 1Ki 12 - The kingdom divides between Israel and Judah 2. Most historians would explain this rift as: a. The result of poor judgment on Rehoboam's part. b. The oppressive policies of his father Solomon. c. Cultural and religious differences between the south and north. 3. The Bible attributes the division to the plan of God. a. Read 1Ki 11:29-33 b. The division of the kingdom was the result of divine judgment - not political, social, or economic problems. B. The downfall of the dynasties of Israel's kings. 1. Dynasties were completely decimated by later kings. a. Jeroboam's entire family is killed by Baasha. b. Within 2 years of Baasha's death, his entire family is killed by Zimri. c. Within 15 years of Ahab's death, his family is exterminated by Jehu. 2. Historians explain these events as the desire of latter kings to solidify their rule, by eliminating any who had claims to the throne. 3. The Bible sees these events as the direct punishment of God. a. Each of these events was predicted (1Ki 14:7-11; 16:1-4; 21:20-22). b. The downfall of each house was connected to the sinfulness of the individuals involved. Transition: The control God exercised over history was not limited to the nation of Israel. God is the God of all the earth and all nations. C. The fall of both the Northern and the Southern kingdoms: 1. The fall of Israel (2Ki 17:1-23) a. Hoshea, king of Israel, stopped paying tribute to Assyria. b. Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, marched against Israel, laid seige to Samaria for three years, and carried off Israel into Assyrian captivity. c. Why did this happen? i. Because of political intrigue or better military strategy? ii. Read 2Ki 17:7-23 - It was God's will and work. God made use of a foreign power to accomplish his purpose. 2. The fall of Judah (2Ki 25:1-12) - 150 years later. a. Zedekiah, king of Judah, rebelled against Babylon. b. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, laid seige against Jerusalem for two years, leveled the city and the temple, and took the people of Judah into Babylonian captivity. c. Why did this happen? i. Because of political intrigue or better military strategy? ii. Read 2Ki 23:25-27 - It was God's will and work. God used Nebuchadnezzar to accomplish his divine purpose.

2 Kings 72 II. The God Who Acts - 2Ki 18 & 19 A. The Background to the Showdown 1. Hezekiah becomes king of Judah a. Read 2Ki 18:1, 5-7 - rebellion against Assyria b. In the fourth year, Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, attacks and conquers Samaria and carries away Israel. 2. Sennacherib comes to reestablish Assyrian control ten years later. a. Hezekiah pays tribute to save Jerusalem (18:13-16). They strip Jerusalem of all valuables. b. Sennacherib decides to attack Jerusalem anyway. B. The Arrogance of Sennacherib 1. Three encounters between Sennacherib and Jerusalem: a. "Don't deceive yourselves" - Read 2Ki 18:22, 25 i. An attempt to drive a wedge between the idolotrous people and Hezekiah the reformer. Playing on old resentments. ii. "Besides, your god told me to march against Jerusalem." b. "Don't let Hezekiah deceive you" - 2Ki 18:30, 32b-35 i. Hezekiah overestimates the power of Jehovah. ii. What other god has been able to stand against the Assyrians? c. "Don't let the Lord deceive you" i. Read 2Ki 19:9-12a ii. He is not strong enough to deliver you! 2. Sennacherib thought of the world like an historian - great men and great events make for history. Nowhere did he allow for a great God. a. He greatly outnumbered the army of Judah. i. As we shall see, his army numbered at least 200,000 fighting men. ii. Judah's army was far smaller. b. He had a long tradition of military conquests under his belt. He reminds Hezekiah of this twice in the course of these two chapters. C. The Faith of Hezekiah 1. If events were determined by men and circumstances, Hezekiah was lost. 2. But Hezekiah knew that in the events of men, there is a God who acts and moves to fulfill his purposes. 3. The responses of Hezekiah: a. Let God's prophet hear what has been said - Isaiah. i. Read 2Ki 19:3-7 ii. The honor of God is at stake, not just the safety of Jerusalem. b. Let God hear what has been said - Read 2Ki 19:14-19 D. The Response of God 1. The message: a. Read 2Ki 19:22-23a, 25, 27-28 b. God promises to act 2. The Action: a. Read 2Ki 19:35-36 b. God changes the course of history to suit his own purpose and to protect his holy name.

2 Kings 73 Conclusion: Lessons from 2 Kings for the Church today

1. What we do is not just the result of human effort or particular circumstances or powerful personalities. a. Have we fallen so far that we gauge what is possible using only the yardstick of our own strength and abilities? i. When we get out our little calculators and add up our meager resources to see what the church can do, we only show our utter disbelief in a God who works in history to accomplish his will. ii. Such reckonings are the very antithesis of faith. b. Will we not allow for a "great God" to overcome whatever limitations and constraints we see in ourselves? 2. We serve a God who is the shaper of history, not just a passive observer. a. The same God who shaped the history of ancient Israel to conform to his purpose will shape the history of this church to accomplish the same ends. b. Now, as then, all he requires is a people who believe in his power and willingness to intervene in history.

2 Kings 74 God Works in Mysterious Ways

Intro: Whale did, Whale did, Whale did, Whale did, Whale did swallow Jon . . . Jon . . . Jonah.

A. The book of Jonah is no Fishing Manual 1. When most people think of Jonah, they seem to think primarily about a prophet eaten by a great fish. 2. Since few of the people we know have encounters with man- eating marine life, Jonah often becomes one of those books that seem to have little relevance to modern life. 3. It makes a great story so long as it remains in the past. Bring it into the present, however, and we struggle to know what its meaning is for today.

B. Putting Jonah in Historical Context 1. Jonah only makes sense when you understand the historical context in which it occurs. a. Jewish readers understood the point of the book because they knew the events surrounding it. b. Too often Christian readers have ignored the history and, thus, have destroyed the book's ability to speak meaningfully to them about the God whom they serve. 2. The prophet Jonah was a real man with real roots confronting very real problems, the least of which was hungry fish. a. Born in Gath-hepher (4 miles N.E. of Nazareth). Only prophet other than possibly Hosea to come from the Northern Kingdom (Israel). b. Jonah was a unique individual: i. Only minor prophet in whose career the miraculous played a prominent role. ii. The only one whose major activity was on foreign soil and who preached primarily to a foreign people. iii. Only O.T. character who sails on the Mediterranean. iv. Only minor prophet mentioned by Jesus and the only O.T. character likened by the Lord to himself. c. Served primarily during the reign of Jeroboam II (approximately 800 - 750 B.C.). i. Time in which Israel was expanding and growing in power. During the days of Jeroboam, the borders of Israel were extended farther than any time after the reign of David and Solomon. There was peace and prosperity in Israel. ii. Already, however, there were storm clouds gathering on the horizon of Israel's future. A dark presence brooded to the north in the form of Assyria.

Pre-exilic Minor Prophets . . . Jonah 75 I. Assyria and Israel A. Background on the Assyrian Empire 1. Assyria by the time it becomes a factor in Biblical history: a. An empire roughly equivalent to modern Europe. In USA terms: an area bounded to the north by Lake Erie, to the south by Atlanta, to the west by the Mississippi river, and to the east by the Atlantic. b. First of the truly multinational empires of western civilization. i. Egypt had been a great civilization for 1000's of years, but never had ambitions to be an empire. ii. Greece and Rome would not begin expansion for 500 years. 2. Two major periods of Assyrian ascendance. a. Early Assyria i. Assur-uballit (1350 B.C.) ii. Assyria was established as an independent political power. iii. Heartland of Assyria - Tigris valley surrounding city of Nineveh. iv. Within 125 years, the empire stretched from Babylon and the Persian Gulf to the borders of modern Lebanon (Carchemish). b. Neo-Assyria i. 900-600 B.C. - the last and greatest period of Assyrian empire. The period also in which Assyria comes into contact with the people of Israel. ii. It was during the middle years of this period that Jonah prophesied. 3. The City of Nineveh a. Nineveh was not the capitol of Assyria until the last 100 years of this period. Calah was the place of residence for Assyrian kings until that time (20 miles to the south). b. Nineveh, nonetheless, was the city of first importance in the Assyrian empire: i. Walls 7.5 miles in circumference. Heroditus (Greek historian) reports that they were 380' high and 80' thick. ii. A "three day" city (Jnh 3:3). iii. Center of economic, religious, and social life of the Assyrian culture. Nineveh epitomized Assyria—they were essentially synonymous terms. 4. The Character of the Assyrians a. The brutality of their nature. The Assyrians were infamous for their cruel and bloodthirsty practices. i. Enemies impaled on stakes. ii. Piled the heads of slain enemies - boasted of the pyramids of skulls they amassed. iii. Asshurnasirpal III put down one rebellion by cutting off the legs of the officers of the enemy army and skinning alive the nobles. b. The brutality of their policies. If they did not invent the policy of mass deportations, they certainly perfected it.

Pre-exilic Minor Prophets . . . Jonah 76 B. Israel and Assyria 1. Before Jonah (the Assyrian threat). a. Ahab and Shalmaneser III (853 B.C.) - Ahab joined a coalition of 12 kings who fought against the Assyrians at Qarqar. According to Assyrian records, Ahab contributed 2,000 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers to the effort. b. 11 years later (842 B.C.) - Shalmaneser III conquered Aram and extended Assyrian control right up to the borders of Israel. c. 1 year later (841 B.C.) - Jehu, king of Israel, paid a heavy tribute to Shalmaneser to keep the Assyrians from flooding into Israel. d. Soon after is the probable time of Jonah's birth. 2. During Jonah's time (the Assyrian predictions). a. Amos and Hosea were contemporaries of Jonah. Both prophesied about the impending judgment of Israel. b. Amos was talking about God "sparing Israel no longer" (Am 7:8) and sending Israel "into exile beyond Damascus" (5:27 - i.e. Assyria). c. Hosea was even more specific, naming Assyria as the nation who would shame Israel and carry her away. 3. After Jonah (the Assyrian invasion). a. Tiglath-pileser III (743 B.C. - 2Ki 15:19) invaded Israel and blackmailed them to the tune of 37 tons of silver. b. Some years later, he attacked anyway, capturing Gilead and Galilee and deporting the people to Assyria (2Ki 15:29). c. In 724 B.C., Shalmaneser V invaded what was left of Israel, set siege to Samaria, and (3 years later) captured the city and deported the people to Assyria.

II. "Go to the great city of Nineveh . . ." A. Jonah Runs From God 1. Read Jnh 1:1-3 a. The first half of Jonah chronicles the prophet's attempts to avoid preaching to this city. b. He gets on a boat going in the opposite direction. i. Nineveh - 500 miles to the NE. ii. Tarshish - 2000 miles to the West. 2. Why does Jonah not want to preach to Nineveh? a. It's here we get so caught up in the fish narrative we overlook the important point of the book. b. Is it that Jonah is lazy or just disobedient or doesn't have any decent sermon outlines? c. Jonah hates Assyria. i. He has lived under Assyrian threat all his life. ii. He knows that God will use Assyria to discipline Israel if they do not repent. iii. Now that God is about to destroy Nineveh for her sin, Jonah wants nothing to hinder the Lord in his plans - like a poorly timed repentance on the part of the Assyrians!

Pre-exilic Minor Prophets . . . Jonah 77 3. Jonah runs from God. a. Because of his hatred for Nineveh, Jonah takes the boat to Tarshish, suffers the storm and is thrown into the ocean, and is swallowed by the fish. b. The point of this book is not that God can cause a fish to swallow a man but that God's ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. Our task is to be obedient whether we agree or not, whether we like what he is doing or not, whether we see the sense of it or not.

B. The Rest of the Story 1. Jonah travels to Nineveh. a. Read Jnh 3:1-3a b. While he may be there in body, he is not there in soul! You can lead a prophet to people, but you can't make him like them. 2. Jonah obeys God and preaches to the people of the city. a. Read Jnh 3:3b-10 b. A sermon in eight words! c. Is there a correlation between short sermons and tremendous response? i. The Ninevites believed God and repented. ii. God had compassion and did not destroy them. 3. Jonah is angry with God. a. Read Jnh 4:1-3 b. Jonah knew this would happen. i. He knew God would rather save than condemn. ii. He knew, if people repented, God would relent. iii. He wants to die. c. Jonah goes to the east of the city and waits to see if God will change his mind. i. Three days of preaching. ii. Forty days predicted before Nineveh ended. iii. Jonah must have sat there over a month. 4. The parable of the vine.

Conclusion: • This is not a book about a great fish but about a great God. The book of Jonah is not concerned with measuring the size of a fish's stomach but of measuring the size of the heart of God. • The real miracle of this book is not that a fish could swallow a man, but that our God could change the hearts of 120,000 souls.

Pre-exilic Minor Prophets . . . Jonah 78 Rebellious Child

A. Thunderstorms are such marvelous demonstrations of God's power. 1. I can sit and watch for hours as a storm approaches. The gathering clouds, the increasing lightening, the blackening sky all indicate refreshing rain. 2. But there is also a destructive force in a thunderstorm. 3. Isaiah is looking at a storm that is on the horizon. It is moving in on Israel and Judah. The book of Isaiah describes the coming of Jehovah in judgment on Israel for her sins. To the north lies Syria, to the west Babylon, to the south Egypt. They were poised and ready to take the nation. They wanted control. B. There was a constant battle for supremacy in the world of Isaiah. 1. Uzziah and Jeroboam II were closing out prosperous reigns that brought peace and plenty to the leading citizens of Judah. 2. Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt were powers who saw their chance to absorb more for themselves. 3. Judah and Jerusalem felt secure in the comfort of God's protection. C. Socially, there was a great gulf between the rich and the poor. 1. Abuse, resentment, and profiteering were everywhere. Extortion and eviction of the poor by the wealthy was the biggest game in town. 2. Corrupt government and a covetous judiciary made life miserable. Luxury, idleness and indifference to the needs of others added to the suffering of many. Drunkenness was rampant among politicians, priests, and prophets, leaving the people without leadership. D. The people were outwardly religious. 1. Formalism and ceremony were visibly in abundance. Unfortunately, religious rituals did not make for better moral behavior. Sin ruled. 2. The priests had failed in their high duty of leading the people to know God's Word and His requirements for them, and had actually led people into sin. a. It became the fashion for priests to live lives that lacked moral tone. Licentious rites, taken from the practices of paganism, brought such excesses that the path of purity and spiritual living was overwhelmed. b. Instead of taking the message of God to the people, they had become importers of customs and superstitions from the East. Prophets were too busy with strong drink to give attention to the spiritual welfare of the people. They had no message of value even if they had wanted to help spiritually. E. The task of the Isaiah was difficult. How could he cope with such problems and lead people to spiritual understanding?

Transition: The first chapter of Isaiah is an outline of the message this "prince of prophets" was to deliver.

[This sermon contributed by Glen Gray]

Isaiah (1-39) 79 I. God's Controversy with His People - 1:1-20 A. Jehovah's Complaint - 1:1-9 1. The complaint is that of a loving Father for his child (vss 1-2). a. This is his last desperate attempt to control a rebellious son. The son will be turned over to the jurisdiction of the civil court (Dt 21:18ff). He says to those in the gate, "I am bringing my son to you for discipline. I have clothed, fed, loved, strengthened, and provided for this my child. But this child of mine has done just the opposite of what I wanted the child to do. He has committed sins against me and it is now time that I must do something about it." b. Therefore, this loving Father must now bring the child before the judges at the gate to be stoned to death because of rebellion. 2. The actions of a rebellious child (vss 3-8). a. Jehovah shows what trouble he has had in bringing up his child. But all of His discipline has come to a completely negative end. Judah—His son—behaves worse than a brute beast. b. Men often allow sin to degrade them to an animalistic nature (Jer 5:8; 2Pe 2:12; Ro 1:18-32). c. vss 5-6 - They think wrong because they love sin. The whole man is diseased! d. Their sins include . . . Rebellion (vs 5) Murders (vs 21) Despising the Holy One (vs 5) Thievery (vs 23) Insincere worship (vs 10) Idol worship (vs 29) Unfaithfulness (vs 21) No knowledge (vs 3; 5:13) e. The first 10 chapters of Isaiah's record indicate that all of the ten commandments have been broken! A nation which should have been obeying, but were not! f. What's wrong with this people? Their heads are not in the right place. When they start thinking wrong, they start acting wrong! When they start acting wrong the whole man becomes diseased! g. None of the sins of God's people in Isaiah's day are new. Nor are many of the sins we commit today new. Sin is sin. h. What's wrong with a nation when eleven out of 100,000 people commit suicide every day? What's wrong with a people when six out of 100,000 commit a murder every day? What's wrong with a people when one terrible crime is committed every minute? What's wrong when 50% of the people in the hospital are there for mental reasons? What's wrong when over 50% of the marriages in this country end in divorce court? Sin has gotten into the life of the people!

Isaiah (1-39) 80 B. Jehovah's Correction - 1:10-17 1. The false correction of sin (vss 10-15). They were trying to find their own remedy to escape punishment from Jehovah. They were trying to worship their way back into fellowship. a. Meetings, activities, workshops, and ceremony can never take the place of faithful obedience (Jer 7:21-23). They go to worship on the Sabbath, go to Sabbath school, Wednesday night "Sabbath," and they have small group study of the prophets words—they do everything they can to get back into fellowship. b. Do we sometimes go through the same motions and activities? We attend all the meetings, observe all the correct procedures in an attempt to rid our lives of sin! But that will not happen! When a life is not lived consistently with its faith, that life will be judged by God! c. Some who go through the motions of worship are rank hypocrites. Others feel self-sufficient, without need of God (Am 4:4-5, 5:21-22; Jer 27:21-23). d. All the worship, all the praise, all that you are doing is nothing but a foul odor to God’s nostrils! It is worthless unless we get our lives straight with God! e. When men try to get back into fellowship with insincere worship and living, it will not work! It will mean nothing unless we daily live for God in all of our activities! f. There are many inventive ways of removing from the mind any fear of judgment or responsibility to Jehovah. Become totally liberal and say there is no sin. Develop our own religion and change the rules. 2. The true correction of sin (vss 16-17). a. Get your heart right! Repent! All the prophets had one word for Judah and Israel. Repent! Come back to Him! Change your life! b. God cannot be approached by man unless with the attitude of repentance. There must be a turning from sin and living for God!

Isaiah (1-39) 81 C. Jehovah's Call - 1:18-20 1. The Invitation (vs 18). "Come" is an imperative, a command. Your sins are too great. It's time for you to act - NOW! No matter how ghastly or horrendous sin has become, you can be clean. The invitation is to think, not to make decisions about salvation. God alone can lay down the conditions. 2. The Promise (vs 18). The worst of sin can be erased and the sinner transformed (Ro 3:23ff; 1Jn 1:7). We understand this as Christians. We know that Jesus died and shed His blood that we could have the removal of sins and be saved! We place our life into the hand of God! But I must come to Him. He says that to the Christian and the non-Christian. 3. The Alternative (vs 19-20). Destruction! There is nothing that we can do if we do not return to Jehovah! Judgment will come! It would happen to Judah and it can happen to this nation, this city, this church unless we repent! His is just and must punish sin! When a child is rebellious, he is disciplined. When God's people are rebellious, God disciplines. It is not because He hates us, but because He loves us.

II. God's Judgment Announced - 1:21-31 A. Jehovah's Reason - 1:21-23 1. Jerusalem had become unfaithful (vs 21). 2. Great men had become contaminated (vss 22-23). B. Judgment's Result - 1:24-31 1. The Person behind the judgment (vs 24). 2. The Purification of the repentant (vss 25-27). 3. The Punishment of the unrepentant (vss 28-31).

Conclusion: Sin is a corruption, killing, foreign substance in the soul of the individual and the church. The hurt cannot be healed until the cause of it is removed. Repentance and a return to God is the answer. But his message is clearly drowned out today with campaigns and programs and religious retreats and dynamic workshops. It is unpopular to call people to repentance. Unholy people want to preserve the status quo. But repentance was God's message through Isaiah, and it is His message for us today.

Isaiah (1-39) 82 Surprised by God

Introduction:

In 1334, the army of the Duchess of Tyrol encircled the castle of Hochosterwitz in the province of Carinthia. The fortress, situated on an incredibly steep rock rising high above the valley floor, was impregnable to direct attack. Only a prolonged siege could force the defenders to surrender the castle. In due course, the situation inside the fortress became critical: the defenders were down to their last ox and had only two bags of barley corn left. On the other hand, the attackers were facing problems of their own: the troops were growing mutinous, there seemed to be no end to the siege in sight, and the army was needed elsewhere for other urgent military business.

The commandant of the castle faced a difficult dilemma. Time was running out. Every possible solution had been tried and had failed. Surrender was only days away. So the Commandant decided on a desperate course of action: He had the last ox slaughtered, its abdominal cavity filled with the remaining barley, and ordered that the carcass be catapulted into the middle of the enemy camp.

The attacking army, thinking that the castle had so many supplies it could afford to throw food away, packed up their tents and left.

In our culture, we usually assume there is a direct and obvious connection between a problem and its solution, between and dilemma and its explanation, between a question and its answer. In neat, logical, linear fashion, we like to trace straight lines between issues and the means of their resolution.

And the straighter the line the better. No subtleties please, no tricks, no surprises. Just give us straight-shooting, unambiguous, clear-cut, precise answers to the problems we face. It is part of the American psyche to believe that for every problem there is a simple solution, and for every question there is an obvious answer.

Very often, however, the solutions to human difficulties are far from obvious. You can’t always travel in a straight line to get from the troublesome present to a better tomorrow. The answers to some of our dilemmas are not neat and logical and intuitively obvious. Frequently, we have to do something contrary to logic, something surprising and paradoxical, to accomplish resolution to the problems we face. Sometimes, you have to slaughter your last ox, stuff it with grain, and catapult it into the ranks of your enemies before they will go away and leave you alone.

God knows that. And in the book of Isaiah—for the first time in the O.T.—God makes evident his strange, wonderful, paradoxical, nonsensical solution to the problem he has with sin-sick, pride-filled, rebellious, and dying humanity.

Isaiah (40-66) 83 I. The Problem A. The Tumultuous Times of Isaiah 1. Brief overview of Isaiah the prophet a. A prophet for the Southern Kingdom—lived in Jerusalem. b. Received his calling in 740 B.C.—the year King Ussiah died. c. Prophesied until at least 681 B.C.—the year Sennacherib is killed. 2. The external situation—Judah is being threatened from all sides. How will God handle things so as to save his people and protect his honor? a. Troubles with Israel and Aram b. The threat of Assyria i. Tiglath Pileser III (745-727 B.C.) ii. Three campaigns against Israel (734, 733, 732 B.C.) c. The fall of Samaria (721 B.C.)—Shalmaneser V d. Sennacherib and Jerusalem (701 B.C.) e. Babylon on the horizon. 3. The internal situation—The problem grows worse once you look inside the Southern Kingdom. It is one thing for God to win the day politically/militarily. But how is he to win over his own people? They have forsaken him and forgotten him. What can he do to make them his in more than name only? a. Manasseh—King of Israel during the days when Isaiah was writing. i. Built altars to other gods and set up an Asherah pole in the Temple. ii. Sacrificed his own son in the fire. iii. Filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. b. Religious situation i. Idolatry—Isaiah frequently and bitterly condemned idolatry. ii. Religion degenerated into ceremony and rites. c. The moral situation i. Materialism ii. Injustice B. The Significance of these Problems in a Wider Context 1. The present was only the latest example of past patterns. 2. The Israelites were only one instance of the human plight.

II. God’s Solution A. The Logical Answers 1. The Flood Solution: wipe out and start over. 2. The Wilderness Solution: dismiss an old generation and raise up a new. 3. The Judges Solution: Punishment and restoration. 4. The David Solution: focus on the seed. 5. The Exile Solution: focus on the remnant. B. The Illogical Answer 1. The Anointed One—God’s surprising, nonsensical, illogical and effective solution to the problems faced by Israel and the world. 2. The Servant Songs—four of them in Isaiah.

Isaiah (40-66) 84 III. The Servant Songs of Isaiah A. The quiet revolutionary (Isa 42:1-7) 1. Thesis: God’s chosen one will revolutionize lives, nations, a world. vs 1a—He is God’s “chosen one in whom I delight.” vs 1b—God’s spirit will be upon him. vs 1c—He will bring justice to the nations. vs 3b—He will bring forth justice. vs 4b—He will establish justice on the earth. vs 4c—He will establish his law. vs 6b—He will be a covenant for the people. vs 7a—He will give sight to the blind. vs 7b—He will free the captives. vs 7c—He will release those in dungeons. 2. Antithesis: God’s revolutionary will accomplish these marvelous things through very peculiar means. vs 1—He is, after all, a servant. vs 2—He will be so quiet, he will not shout, cry out, or raise his voice. vs 3a—He will be so sensitive that the bruised reed he will not break, the smoldering wick he will not extinguish. B. The failing victor (Isa 49:1-7) 1. Thesis: This one, called by God, will save the entire world. a. He is commissioned to bring the Israelites back to God. vs 5b—formed to bring Jacob and Israel back (south and north) vs 6a—called to restore Jacob and bring back Israel b. But such a task is “too small a thing” for the Messiah. Read Isa 49:6, 7b. 2. Antithesis: Though he will accomplish so much, it will only be through self- doubt and the doubts of others. vs 4a—“I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.” vs 4b—paraphrase: Only God knows what I have tried to do. vs 7b—He was despised and abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers. C. The weak strong one (Isa 50:4-9) 1. Thesis: God has given truth and strength to his chosen one. vs 4a—He knows the wisdom of God. vs 4b—He can speak words which sustain the weak and weary. vs 4c—God gives him strength to face each day. vs 7a, 9a—The sovereign Lord helps him. 2. Antithesis: Though his is strong enough to persevere, he is weak enough to be hurt by men. vs 6—He is beaten, his beard is pulled, he is mocked and spit upon. vs 8—He is accused. vs 9—He is condemned. 3. Through it all, he is strong only because God is strong, he endures only because he leans on his God, he has confidence only because he trusts in God.

Isaiah (40-66) 85 D. The suffering savior (Isa 52:13-53:12) 1. No wonder Isaiah exclaims, “Who can believe what God is about to do?” “Who would ever think God would reveal his strength in this way?” (53:1) 2. Thesis: This is a Savior like no other. That God would use this one to save his people is beyond understanding. vs 2—He was nothing special physically . . . no commanding presence. vs 3—He was despised, rejected, and underestimated. vs 4—We thought he was afflicted by God. vs 5—He was pierced and crushed and punished and wounded. vs 8—He was killed. vs 9—Though innocent, he was considered guilty and buried with the wicked. 3. Verse 10 forms the hinge of this passage—“Yet . . .” a. All of this was God’s plan. b. It was God’s will that these things should happen. 4. Antithesis: Read Isa 53:11-12

Conclusion:

Sometimes, you have to slaughter your last ox, stuff it with grain, and catapult it into the ranks of your enemies before they will go away and leave you alone. The Messiah—this Messiah—was God’s ox thrown into the middle of Satan’s camp in order to save his people. Satan took one look at Jesus and said, “If God has righteousness enough to throw some away . . .” and he packed up his tents and left.

The Jews were looking for straight-shooting, unambiguous, clear-cut, precise answers to the problems they faced. They wanted a military leader who would overthrow the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, then the Greeks, then the Romans. They wanted a political leader who would unify the country and lead with wisdom and strength— another Solomon. They wanted an economist who would strengthen trade and increase prosperity.

And God gave them Jesus!

We also are looking for obvious answers. Like Naaman, we are willing to fight dragons, slay giants, battle the Gargon. But God tells us to dip seven times in the Jordan . . . He tells us to trust in this Messiah described by Isaiah.

Isaiah (40-66) 86 The Weeping Prophet

Introduction: A. The Rise of Asceticism 1. In 5th century Syria, asceticism was all the rage. The more one could deny the body, abuse the body, mortify the body, the more holy one could claim to be. a. It was during this period that the monastic movement became popular. b. Throughout, there was great emphasis on personal sacrifice and suffering. c. Most scholars of this era believe that the ascetic movement was a reaction to an increasingly mainstream Christianity. i. Constantine, the Roman Emperor, had converted. ii. No one was being burned at the stake or thrown to the lions. Persecution, for the most part, had become a thing of the past. iii. In such circumstances, what was a saint to do? 2. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 3. In the fifth century a new and quite original path was broken by Symeon, the father of the Stylites or “pillar saints,” who spent day and night, summer and winter, rain and sunshine, frost and heat, standing on high, unsheltered pillars, in prayer and penances, and made the way to heaven for themselves so passing hard, that one knows not whether to wonder at their unexampled self-denial, or to pity their ignorance of the gospel salvation. B. St. Symeon, the Stylite. 1. The career of Symeon. a. Admitted to a monastery at age 13. b. He ate only once a week (Sundays). Fasted 40 days during Lent for 26 straight years. c. He was dismissed from the monastery for almost killing himself with his self- abasements. Even his fellow ascetics thought he went too far. d. He lived as a hermit for some years. 2. The “Pillar” period. a. He built and lived on four different pillars—each successively higher and, presumably, closer to heaven: 9, 18, 33, and 60 ft. b. The platform at the top of the pillar measured a mere 3 feet in diameter. He could never lie down, barely sit, and mainly stand on his perch. c. Food was carried to him by disciples . . . I have no idea how he relieved himself! d. But Symeon lived on top of these pillars for 36 years until his death.

What strikes me is not so much the behavior of this poor man, but the reaction of the masses. They thought him a most holy saint. And so it has always been. The more strange, weird, and idiosyncratic some people’s behavior becomes, the more likely it is that other people will blame it on holiness, saintliness, and living close to God.

Jeremiah 87 I. The Life and Times of Jeremiah

A. Jeremiah lived in perhaps the most tumultuous times in Israel’s history. 1. Judah was in the final stages of her own national suicide. Israel to the north had self-destructed 100 years before. a. Religious apostasy was absolute. God’s law had been lost. b. Five different kings ruled Judah during Jeremiah’s adulthood. 2. The International Scene a. Assyria was no longer a threat—it had been destroyed at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C. b. Babylon was the major threat to the region. i. 605 B.C.—Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, and deported the leading citizens (among them Daniel and his colleagues). ii. 597 B.C.—Jerusalem was attacked again by Babylon when Jehoiakin rebelled. iii. 586 B.C.—Jerusalem was finally destroyed.

B. The Career of Jeremiah 1. Called in the 13th year of Josiah’s reign—626 B.C. 2. Prophesied through the reigns of Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. 3. He was a contemporary of Ezekiel, Nahum, and Habakkuk. 4. Lived through the siege, defeat, and destruction of Jerusalem. 5. Eventually, Jeremiah went with the survivors of this calamity to Egypt, where— tradition tells us—he was stoned to death.

Jeremiah 88 II. Observations on Jeremiah

A. Jeremiah was strange. 1. He was a mystic. a. A man of dreams and visions—almond blossoms and boiling pots. b. A man who loved object lessons: i. The clay jar—he called a meeting of the elders of the people and broke a jar before them to drive home his prophecies. ii. The yoke—Read Jer 27:1-2. He wore a yoke around for weeks to visually demonstrate what Judah could expect of the future. c. Jeremiah was a man who constantly heard the voice of God. 2. He was a doomsayer. a. It is not for nothing that Jeremiah is called “The Weeping Prophet.” Read Jer 6:10-11a; 15:1-3; 25:15-17, 27-28; 34:17-20. b. His message was defeatist—“Surrender!” i. “Don’t fight the Babylonians. They are God’s instrument for punishment. Give up. Capitulate. Submit.” ii. “We are going into exile. And when we do, build houses, marry, have children. You’re going to be there for a long time.” c. He spoke this message constantly. i. He had no pulpit, no service times, no worship agenda. But still he managed to preach this message wherever he could gather an audience. ii. He preached in the Temple, at the city gates, in the Palace of the king. iii. Whether before kings or the people or even the enemy, the content of his message remained the same. 3. And there is no question—Jeremiah must have come off as bizarre. a. Note Jer 16:1-9. God required certain things of his prophet that must have made him seem abnormal to the people around him. b. No family (vs 1-4), no funerals (vs 5-7), and no parties (vs 8-9).

B. As you would expect, Jeremiah suffered. 1. He had few friends. a. Jer 15:17—Those who claimed to be his friends were hoping he was just crazy, that his prophecies were fevered imaginings of an unbalanced mind. They hoped he was wrong. b. Even his kinsfolk plotted to kill him. 2. It is no surprise that Jeremiah had many enemies. Read Jer 20:1-2, 7-10; 26:7-11; 37:11-16; 38:1-6. 3. Many of the tears the “weeping prophet” shed were for his own pitiful condition.

Jeremiah 89 III. Sometimes, God Uses Strange Instruments to Accomplish His Will A. Jeremiah spoke the truth. 1. His strangeness, his suffering was not the result of psychopathology or twisted personality. a. It wasn’t that Jeremiah was just a morose kind of fellow. b. His message did not spring from depression or personal misery. 2. The content of Jeremiah’s preaching was rooted in his commitment to truth. a. There were days he did not want to speak the message God had given him to proclaim. b. But Jeremiah was convinced that his people’s only hope was to hear the word of God and respond to it with mourning and repentance. B. The fact is that the truth is often hard to hear. 1. There were many others who did not share Jeremiah’s reverence for truth. Read Jer 23:16-18, 21-22, 25-32. a. Most of us would rather hear pleasant words. b. Few false prophets suffered as Jeremiah did when they went about saying, “Peace. Peace.” c. Yet is was the prophets with pleasant words who were responsible for the great suffering which would follow in the years ahead. 2. For Jeremiah, truth—and the good of the people—outweighed his personal sacrifice and suffering.

Conclusion: A. You can’t always judge a book by its cover. 1. Just because someone climbs up on a pole and subjects himself to horrible suffering does not necessarily mean he is holy or lives closer to God. 2. But sometimes the truest words we will ever hear will come from the strangest messengers. 3. Being a Christian today does not mean we have to be strange or weird or wear funny clothes or speak in 16th century English. There are times however, when Christians are called upon to stand against their culture and tell the truth—even if it means that we look a little bizarre in doing so. B. Three great roadblocks to Christian witness today. 1. Our aversion to strangeness. We don’t want to be seen as different. 2. Our fear of suffering. We don’t want to be persecuted. 3. Our reticence to tell painful truth. C. Read Heb 11:32-38a

Jeremiah 90 Hope

Introduction: A. Learned Helplessness and the Lowly Rat 1. Most of us think of “hope” as a human characteristic . . . something that requires the intellect and cognitive ability only humans possess. But, in a strange series of experiments conducted by social scientists during the 1960’s, even rats appear to have the capacity to hope. 2. Take two groups of rats, put them in separate cages and apply a small electric shock to the floor of each. a. With the first group, apply the shock to one side of the cage but not the other. Quickly, the rats learn to escape the electric shock. They move rapidly to the other side. b. With the second group, apply the shock to the entire floor so that there is nowhere the rats can move to escape the shock. Quickly, they learn that nothing they do will keep them from getting shocked, so they give up and do nothing. 3. Now take those same rats and place them in a bucket of water. a. The rats in the second group—which have learned there is no escape—will swim for a few minutes and then give up. They will drown if not rescued. b. But the rats in the first group—which have learned that there is a connection between their effort and escape—will swim for hours until completely exhausted. 4. I don’t know if rats feel hope. But it seems clear that one group has learned to give up and the other group has learned to keep trying. If the difference between the two isn’t exactly “hope,” it comes pretty close.

B. Rats and people need hope to keep going. 1. It’s hard to keep struggling when you’ve lost all hope. If there is no connection between what we do and what happens to us, why not give up? 2. People cannot persevere unless they have hope. a. Give them hope that their behavior can make a difference and people will work and suffer and sacrifice for a lifetime. b. But take that hope away, and after a few feeble minutes of swimming, they will give up and sink. 3. Like Job’s wife, if ever we lose our hope we are tempted to curse God and die.

Ezekiel 91 I. The Life of Ezekiel A. The early years 1. Read Ezekiel 1:1-3. Ezekiel would have been born in 623 or 622 B.C. a. 100 years after the fall of Samaria. b. At the same time that Josiah rediscovered the Law and launched his religious and social reforms. 2. Ezekiel was probably raised in Jerusalem a. We know he was from a priestly family. b. In the particular deportation when Ezekiel was carried off, we are told that Nebuchadnezzar carried off “all Jerusalem” (2Ki 24:14). c. Ezekiel’s later visions of the Temple are detailed and imply some personal acquaintance with Jerusalem and its environs. 3. Life before the exile. a. He would have been 16 or 17 when Nebuchadnezzar carried off the first wave of exiles in 605 B.C., and should have considered himself fortunate to have avoided Daniel’s fate. b. Though he doesn’t mention Jeremiah, Ezekiel must have heard the preaching of the “Weeping Prophet” during this period. c. When the second wave of exiles was taken to Babylon, Ezekiel was among them—a twenty-five year old Jew, taken away to a land of strangers. B. Babylonian Captivity: Nebuchadnezzar settled this group of exiles at Tel Abib, near the River Chebar, not far from Babylonia itself. 1. Life in exile was not terrible. These were not concentration conditions. There was no forced labor as in Egypt, no back-breaking taxes. a. Ezekiel married and lived in his own house. b. He was able to move about freely and carry out his prophetic mission. c. The exiles went into business, governed themselves, and worshipped. d. Almost 150 years later, when Ezra led a band of exiles back to Jerusalem, most of the people preferred to stay in Babylon. 2. But for Ezekiel, the exile must have been frustrating. a. He was of an age when he should have been serving as a priest in the Temple. i. But the Temple was hundreds of miles away. ii. Soon, it would be destroyed completely. iii. Jeremiah sent a letter during this time indicating that none of these exiles would ever see Jerusalem again. b. How hopeless things must have seemed to Ezekiel and his fellow exiles. i. The gloomy pronouncements of the prophets had come true. And the worst of their predictions were yet to come! ii. God was becoming increasingly harsh in his treatment of the Jews. —from rebukes to plagues to oppression to destruction. —from discipline to public humiliation to rejection to execution. —But still the people continued in their idolatry and rebellion. iii. The glory of the Lord had left the Temple. The covenant was revoked. iv. The Davidic line of kings was about to come to an end.

Ezekiel 92 Transition: It is in this context that Ezekiel receives his calling from God. The potential priest becomes a prophet. His entire ministry would take place far away from the holy city in which he was raised. Though he would have dreams about Jerusalem and speak often of Jerusalem, never again would he see his beloved country, city, and Temple. Ezekiel, in keeping with the prophecy of Jeremiah, died in exile.

II. The Prophecies of Ezekiel Ezekiel is a difficult book for modern Christians to understand. It is full of extravagant language and bizarre imagery. It is a thoroughly Jewish book that contemporary Christians struggle to grasp. But the fundamental message of Ezekiel is not all that difficult. It is a message about hopelessness and hope, about giving up and persevering, about God’s will expressed in judgment and salvation. A. Ezekiel’s Words of Hopelessness 1. Chapters 1-24 contain Ezekiel’s oracles of judgment against Jerusalem. a. All of them occur before Jerusalem is actually destroyed. b. All graphically emphasize the hopelessness of the situation. i. Ezekiel lies on his left side for 390 days and then on his right side for another 40 days to demonstrate God’s judgment of the people’s sin (Eze 4). ii. He shaves head and beard to enact the fate of the people of Judah (Eze 5). iii. He accuses Judah of adultery and prostitution, painting vivid pictures of Judah’s unfaithfulness (e.g., Eze 16 and 23). iv. His terrible words culminate in the death of his wife. God refuses to let him mourn openly to demonstrate the hopelessness of their position. Nothing they do can avert God’s anger from their homeland. 2. Chapters 25-32 contain Ezekiel’s oracles of judgment against the nations. a. These are dated during or just after the final siege of Jerusalem. b. All emphasize the hopelessness of Jerusalem’s situation and the danger of gloating over her fate. B. Ezekiel’s Words of Hope 1. A great transition occurs at Ezekiel 33. a. August 14, 586 B.C. Jerusalem and the Temple are burned to the ground. b. That event marks a radical change in the tone of Ezekiel’s prophecies. i. From a prophet of doom, he becomes a messenger of hope. ii. Before, nothing could be done to avert the disaster that was about to fall on Judah and her people. iii. Now, however, the time of hope had arrived again. There was something the exiles could do to make a difference—repent. 2. Chapters 33-48 contain Ezekiel’s oracles of hope for the people. They are some of the most beautiful and lyric prophecies in all the Old Testament. a. God will be the Good Shepherd of his scattered and wounded sheep (Eze 34). b. The people of God will be restored (Eze 36). Read Eze 36:24-28 c. Israel and Judah will be made one nation under one king (Eze 37). d. No nation will threaten God’s people for God will protect them (Eze 38-39). e. There will be a new Temple, a new Jerusalem, and a new Israel (Eze 40-48).

Ezekiel 93 Which brings us to the most famous passage in Ezekiel. Ezekiel is given a vision of a valley filled with dead, dry bones. In what is surely one of the most powerful demonstrations of hope in the midst of hopelessness, God shows Ezekiel that when you deal with a Resurrection God, there is never reason to lose all hope.

III. Dry Bones—Read Eze 37:1-10 A. “Can these bones live?” 1. Ezekiel sees a valley full of “very dry,” thoroughly dead bones. a. The volume of bones—the valley is full of them. b. The age of the bones—they are dry, sun-bleached, lifeless. 2. God asks Ezekiel a powerful question: “Can these bones live?” a. Is God taunting Ezekiel? Is he rubbing his nose in the hopelessness of the situation? b. Notice Ezekiel’s wise answer: i. Ezekiel knows he cannot see life among the bones. He could have answered, “No way!” ii. But Ezekiel knows what kind of God he serves. iii. “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” It is not a question of whether dry bones can live, but whether the God of life chooses to make it so. 3. “Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones” a. The word of the Lord goes out (vss 5-6). b. Bones come together and reassemble into skeletons. c. Flesh and tendon cover the bones. d. But they are lifeless still—they lack breath. 4. A new creation a. The word of the Lord goes out again (vs 9). b. Breath entered the bodies. c. “They came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.”

B. Can this people live again? 1. Ezekiel knows he has witnessed a demonstration of what God is going to do with his nation Israel. But, just in case he missed the point, God interprets the vision. 2. Read vss 11-14 a. The bones are Israel—dead, dry, lifeless. b. “Our hope is gone . . .” (vs 11) c. A new word from the Lord is about to go forth: “I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them . . .” d. Dead bones will live again.

Conclusion: Where there is a God with resurrection power, there is always hope. If rats can learn to keep swimming, those who serve this kind of God have no excuse to give up.

Ezekiel 94 Faith for the Fire

Introduction A. Read Daniel 3:1-6 B. Nebuchadnezzar was not a man to be messed with. 1. He was a fierce and ruthless warrior. a. It was he who defeated the Assyrians and Egyptians in the great and decisive battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C. b. His armies defeated Judah twice, and the third time demolished Jerusalem. c. When Zedekiah ws brought to Nebuchadnezzar (586 B.C.), he made Zedekiah watch as he killed all his sons, had his eyes gouged out, and then led him away into captivity in shackles. d. You didn’t mess with Nebuchadnezzar. 2. He was the leader of a world empire. a. He sat at the top of a huge pyramid built on the backs of conquered peoples. b. His word was law...his whim was reality...Daniel tells us that when Nebuchadnezzar said, “Off with his head” there was no court of appeals, no second opinions. c. He was king of the largest empire the world had ever known. He was the wealthiest, most powerful, most influential man in all the world. d. You didn’t mess with Nebuchadnezzar. 3. He was a proud man. a. He was proud even with God... Daniel 4 tells of God having to humble him. God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to whomever he pleases! b. How much more was he proud with people. i. He didn’t take lightly to being ignored or disobeyed. ii.You didn’t argue with Nebuchadnezzar...it was “Yes, Sir” or “No,Sir.” c. You didn’t mess with Nebuchadnezzar. 4. When such a man builds an image and tells you to bow down, you do as he says! C. Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah worked for Nebuchadnezzar. 1. They were Hebrews brought to Babylon at the same time as Daniel (605 B.C.). 2. They rose to prominence in Nebuchadnezzar’s court along with Daniel. a. They were the three who, with Daniel, asked for kosher food so as not to defile themselves. b. They were taken into the King’s service and renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. c. They were made administrators of the province of Babylon. 3. They knew about the fiery furnace that was threatened to those who would not bow before the image...and they knew Nebuchadnezzar would not be afraid to use it!

Transition: Listen now...You can hear the horns, flutes, harps, and pipes calling people to worship the image. People are beginning to face the idol, fall on their knees and prostrate themselves before the image. What are these three Jews, worshippers of the God most high, to do? Freeze frame. Push the pause button.

Daniel 95 I. This is a Classic Faith Dilemma A. The Context of Faith 1. There was an obvious conflict between what was expected of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego by others and what their own beliefs demanded of them. a. Nebuchadnezzar certainly expects them to submit to his command and bow down before the golden image. b. But they cannot bow to the image and be true to themselves or their God. 2. There was an obvious risk involved in not doing what others expected of them. a. It was not just that they might disappoint Nebuchadnezzar by failing to do what he expected of them. b. It was not even that they might lose their positions of authority and power or that they might be economically devastated by their decision. c. The risk in this case was more immediate, more physical than that. There was a furnace that was heated and waiting for any who refused to bow down. 3. There was an obvious temptation to make the obvious less obvious. a. Perhaps there is a way to bow without really bowing. i. Bowing down physically doesn’t mean you bow down in heart and mind! ii. Maybe they could keep their fingers crossed while they bowed. iii. Perhaps they could drop something and stoop to pick it up! b. Perhaps there are better reasons for bowing than for not bowing. i. Surely one bow is a small price to pay for the ability to wield such godly influence over Babylon. ii. It would be foolish to risk such a powerful position by being stubborn. c. Perhaps there is a way not to bow but to avoid the consequences. i. “O King, we have arthritis and cannot bow down.” ii. Begging, grovelling, apologizing. B. Faith is Trusting God no matter the Circumstances or Consequences. 1. Unfreeze frame...hit the “Play” button...Read Daniel 3:7-15. a. The actions of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: i. They couldn’t rationalize bowing down. 1) The musical instruments sounded...the throng bowed as one man. 2) There stood the three Hebrews, sticking out like sore thumbs. ii. They are brought before the King to explain themselves. b. The reaction of Nebuchadnezzar. i. He was furious that they had disobeyed him. (v. 13) ii. He was willing to give them another chance. 1) Perhaps they had misunderstood 2) Perhaps they would rethink their positions. iii. “Sound the trumpets again, and this time do as you are told.” 2. “They trusted in him...” Read Daniel 3:16-30. There is no more powerful example of faith in all the Bible save the crucifixion of Jesus himself. a. Faith is trusting God no matter the circumstances or consequences. b. Faith will always win out.

Daniel 96 II. A Closer Look at the Meaning of Faith A. Faith is a verb 1. We tend to think of “faith” in the sense of “the faith.” a. 1Ti 3:9--”They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith...” b. “Faith” has come to mean a “body of truths,” a set of facts we espouse. 2. But “faith” is used far more often in the Bible to signify dynamic trust and reliance. a. When Jesus chides his disciples--”O you of little faith”--he is not commenting on the number of their beliefs but on how very small their capacity for trust is. b. “Faith” most often signifies the ability to trust, to believe, to have confidence and to act in a bold and daring manner on the strength of convictions. 3. This story is a good reminder that it is the strength of our faith rather than the particulars of what we believe that is often at stake. a. They knew what God had said, “Don’t bow down to idols or worship them.” b. But the $64,000 question was: would their faith (trust...confidence) be strong enough to allow them to act on that command no matter the consequences? B. The Extent of their Faith--Read Daniel 3:16-18. 1. God was more real to them than Nebuchadnezzar. a. “We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.” (vs 16) i.Wait a minute: that is precisely why they’ve been called before the King. ii.Implicit in this: Who must they defend themselves before? God! b. There stands Nebuchadnezzar in the flesh...the furnace is hot and threatening. But Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego see God more clearly, fear God more fully, are determined to obey God more completely than Nebuchadnezzar. c. God was more real to them than Nebuchadnezzar—that is faith! 2. They believed God had the ability to save them. a. vs 17a--”the God we serve is able to save us from the furnace.” b. They not only believed God was real but that he was powerful...that he could reach his hand into the world and make a difference. c. More--They believed in a God who could act in the here and now. i. Not just a God of the there and then...a God of creation...a God of Sinai and Palestine...a God who acted on behalf of their ancestors. ii. They put their trust in a God who could work powerfully in the present, in Babylon, who could deal with the King and the fiery furnace they faced. d. They believed God had the ability to save them—that is faith! 3. It is one thing to believe in God’s ability. It is another to trust his willingness. a. Read vs 17--They trusted not only in a God who can but one who will. b. They trusted that God knew of their circumstances, that he cared about them and their danger, and that he would intervene powerfully in their behalf. c. Because they trusted in a God who was real, in a God who was able, and in a God who was willing, they exhibited the kind of faith that God’s people need. 4. The most incredible step of faith of all--Read Dan 3:18. a. Even if he did not choose to do save them, they trusted him still and would be obedient to him regardless. b. If God chose not to save them from the furnace, he would save them in the furnace . . . if he would not save their lives, he would save their souls. III. Lessons for Our Faith

Daniel 97 A. We Must Learn that Faith is a Verb 1. It is all very well to define faith in terms of its contents... a. We believe all the right things, hold all the correct positions, do not espouse error. b. There is a real sense in which the content of faith determines the power of faith. 2. But the more important aspect of faith--practically speaking--is our ability to trust, to have confidence, to act in a bold and daring manner as a result of faith. a. Story of older farmer chided for missing a co-op meeting by younger farmer. i. Younger: “There were so many new things to learn.” ii. Older: “I already know more than I put into practice.” b. We can know lots of religious facts and have all our doctrinal ducks in a row. c. The crying need today is finding the trust and confidence to act according to what we say we believe. B. We must Learn to Deal with Faith Dilemmas 1. We find ourselves in situations where there is an obvious conflict between what others expect of us and what our faith demands. Rarely are the situations so dramatic...but they are obvious. a. Moral dilemmas / priority dilemmas / trust dilemmas. (right/wrong) (urgent/important) (believing/doubting) b. Don't think we can fail the small tests and then pass the large ones. 2. Frequently, those situations involve risk if we refuse to live up to others’ expectations. Rarely are our lives at risk...but frequently our relationships or reputations. a. We may risk the affection or approval of others. b. We may risk a job, our economic stability. 3. There are constant temptations to make the obvious less obvious. a. Looking for the compromise, the excuse, the rationale, the justification. b. Trying to make disobedience look like obedience, faithlessness look like faithfulness. c. Having your cake and eating it, too...Pleasing God and pleasing men. d. You will face such a situation sometime this week! There are all kinds of furnaces...the point is, there is always a furnace. C. If we are to deal successfully with faith dilemmas, We must Learn the Faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 1. God must become more real to us than any other person or situation. - Learning to walk in the presence of God. 2. We must believe that God has the ability to save us. - Accepting that God can work in the here and now. 3. We must believe that God is willing to save us. - Understanding that God knows what we face and cares about it. 4. We must trust and obey God no matter what. a. We cannot make our faith conditional--God saves us and we will be faithful. b. We trust God to save us, period--if not from the furnace, then in the furnace. Prayer for Faith

Daniel 98 First Things First!

Introduction:

Charles Hummel, author and educator, tells of some advice given to him once by an older and wiser friend. "Your greatest danger," said this friend, "is letting the urgent things crowd out the important."

The important things are those matters which are ultimately significant but usually don't have to be done today. The urgent things, on the other hand, insist on our immediate attention even though they usually don't amount to much in the end.

You know the choices: Should I go home and spend time with my wife or do I squeeze in another hour at work? Do I play with the kids or do I cut the yard? Can I learn to be content with what I have or must I spend my life in the pursuit of more? Esau did it when he sold his birthright to satisfy his hunger. You and I do it all the time.

We live in constant tension between the urgent and the important. We find ourselves making choices daily, hourly, almost minute-by-minute between devoting ourselves to those things which are truly important and those which seem so urgent but, in the end, lack real substance. They compete constantly for our time and energies. Both have their place and need our attention. Unfortunately, the urgent often crowds out the important. We end up majoring in minors and minoring in what is truly major. We lose sight of priorities and waste away our lives on trivialities.

Where this issue becomes most clear is in our decisions about God. It is in the religious sphere that we find ourselves most tempted to sell the important for a bowl of the urgent. Weeks pass and you realize you haven't spent time in prayer - are you stressing the important or the urgent? Months pass and you realize you haven't shared the gospel with anyone - are you stressing the important or the urgent? You don't have time for the work of the kingdom, you don't give what you should to the Lord, you go to church a lot but you're not sure you really worship - are you stressing the important or the urgent?

The preaching of Haggai confronts this issue head on. He was dealing with people just like us - people who had forgotten what was important in the press to take care of the urgent.

Post-Exilic Minor Prophets—Haggai 99 I. Going Home A. From Jerusalem to Babylon 1. Nebuchadnezzar's three deportations: (2 Kings) a. 605 B.C. - Daniel and companions carried away. b. 597 B.C. - Ezekiel taken to Babylon. c. 586 B.C. - Solomon's Temple is destroyed. 2. The prophets had foretold both captivity and release. a. Captivity: The Babylonians are coming! i. The consistent message: Repent! The time is near. ii. But they knew there would be no repentance and that the Lord would wipe away Judah just as he had Israel. b. Release: 70 years would see the restoration of Judah. i. Jeremiah (25:11-12) understood that after 70 years Judah would be restored to their lands. ii. Even as they spoke of the punishment, they also foretold the relief. B. From Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra) 1. The decree of Cyrus, King of Medes and Persians a. Read Ezra 1:1-4 b. 538/537 B.C. Cyrus ended the Jewish exile - 70 years after the first deportation under Nebuchadnezzar. 2. The mandate to rebuild the temple. a. It wasn't just that he allowed the people to return. b. He ordered them to rebuild the temple. 3. The first return of exiles under Zerubabbel (536 B.C.). Some 50,000 Jews return to Jerusalem. 4. Half-hearted effort to start on the temple. a. Three months after returning, they rebuilt the altar. b. One year after returning, they began to rebuild the temple. c. Quickly opposition arose from the Samaritans and all work on the Temple came to a halt. C. A Question of Priorities 1. Personal Agendas — There were many loose ends to tie up after an absence of 70 years. Housing, business issues, political questions all had to be addressed. 2. God's Agenda — "Seek my kingdom first; rebuild the temple." a. God, who had moved Cyrus to release the Jews, had also moved him to command the rebuilding of the temple. b. God's "business" had also been neglected for 70 years and he wanted true worship begun once more.

Post-Exilic Minor Prophets—Haggai 100 Transition: Enter the Prophet Haggai 1. We don't know much about his background: a. Did he return with Zerubabbel? b. Did he come from Babylon later (like Nehemiah)? 2. 520 B.C. - 16 years after the return of the captives, nothing had been accomplished in rebuilding the temple. 3. August 29, 520 B.C. - Haggai begins to preach.

II. Get Your Priorities Straight!

A. A Problem of Priorities 1. Read Haggai 1:1-4 2. "The time has not yet come . . ." a. "There are too many obstacles standing in the way. When God really wants us to rebuild the temple, he will remove all the difficulties in our path." b. "There are so many other things demanding our attention. Let us get settled first and then we will see to the Lord's work." 3. The message of Haggai - "Your priorities are messed up!" a. Living in fine houses while God's house is in ruins. b. Always letting personal agendas supercede the goals of God.

B. The Consequence of Majoring in Minors 1. Read Haggai 1:5-11 2. "Give careful thought to your ways . . ." Even when they pursued their personal agendas, they did not succeed in attaining their goals. 3. The consequence of majoring in minors is that you don't even do a very good job on the unimportant things. God does not bless efforts that do not put him first.

C. The Blessing of Putting First Things First 1. Read Haggai 1:12-15 2. The beauty of obedience: a. They stopped rationalizing and excusing and delaying. b. After 16 years, they started obeying! 3. The blessing of obedience: a. "I am with you," declares the Lord (vs 13). b. "From this day on I will bless you" (2:15-19). c. Because they sought first God's kingdom, everything else would be added to them.

Post-Exilic Minor Prophets—Haggai 101 Conclusion: Haggai - Where are you now?

A. We have Problems with Priorities as Well. Our greatest danger is letting the urgent crowd out the important. 1. Personal Agendas — So many urgent little things pressing for our time, demanding our attentions, clamoring to be taken care of. In the end, how trivial they all are. 2. God's Agenda — "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

B. We Need a Haggai to Help us Major in the Important. 1. To help us see that our priorities are messed up! a. Living in fine houses while God's house is in ruins. b. Always letting personal agendas supercede the goals of God. 2. To help us see the consequence of majoring in minors. a. We are wasting our lives on the inconsequential. b. And we don't even do a very good job on the unimportant things. God does not bless efforts that do not put him first. 3. To help us see the blessing of putting first things first. a. The beauty of obedience: no more rationalizing and excusing and delaying. b. The blessing of obedience: Because we seek first God's kingdom, everything else will be added as well.

Post-Exilic Minor Prophets—Haggai 102 For Such a Time as This

Introduction:

There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures. William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar Act IV, Scene III

There are a host of statements in common usage which bear out Shakespeare's observations on this "tide in the affairs of men" which ebbs and flows and must be respected if our ventures are to succeed.

It's now or never. Opportunity knocks only once. He who hesitates is lost. Strike while the iron is hot.

Most of us recognize that success involves doing the right thing at the right place at the right time. The trick. of course, is to know which is the right time and where is the right place and what is the right thing to do. But how many chances have been missed, how many opportunities squandered, because we misread the tides of our lives and did not launch out at the flood, but remained bound in shallows and miseries all our days.

The book of Esther is about such tides in the life of one young Jewish girl, living in the capitol of Persia around 475 B.C. It tells of Esther's rise to the throne of Persia and of an opportunity she has to change the course of history. It is a powerful story of courage and success, but an even more powerful lesson about how a single person can make a great deal of difference for God.

Esther 103 I. Three Lessons on Making a Difference for God A. Preparing for the Time 1. Read Esther 2:8-9, 12-18 a. An edict to find a new Queen. b. Hegai, the keeper of the harem, was in charge. 2. Preparing physically a. Girls were chosen initially on the basis of their looks (2:2). b. 12 months of beauty treatments. c. Esther was naturally endowed with physical beauty but spent one year preparing herself to be as beautiful as possible. 3. Preparing under the skin a. In Esther's case, beauty was more than skin deep. i. She pleased Hegai, the keeper of the harem (2:9). ii. She pleased "everyone who saw her" (2:15b). iii. She pleased King Xerxes (2:17). b. Socially, emotionally, and intellectually, Esther had been preparing to make the best impression possible.

Lesson #1: The time for preparation precedes the time of opportunity. If the preparation has not been done, the opportunity cannot be grasped. Esther didn't wait until the King went looking for a Queen before preparing herself to be the best she could be. If she had waited, she wouldn't have been chosen.

B. Recognizing the Time 1. The Jewish nation is threatened. a. Haman plotted to destroy the Jews. i. His hatred of Mordecai turned to all Jews. ii. He got Xerxes' permission to eradicate the Jews. b. Mordecai heard and sought Esther's help. 2. Read Esther 4:7-11 - Esther hesitates. a. She was not convinced it was time for her to act. b. Excuses seemed preferable to action. i. If she had been truly convinced of the threat, the risk to herself would not have stopped her. ii. She still hadn't seen it was "now or never". 3. Read Esther 4:12-14 - The right place at the right time. a. ". . . you have come to royal position . . ." b. ". . . for such a time as this" (4:14).

Lesson #2: Be alert for the opportunities God makes available. All the preparation in the world does little good if we don't recognize the opportunity to put it all into practice. Here was Esther - prepared, in the right place, with the King's ear - yet she almost failed to see that her time had come. Had she missed this chance, had she said "No" to this opportunity, there would have been no book named "Esther". She would have missed the very chance for which God had raised her up.

Esther 104 C. Risking at the Time 1. Read Esther 5:1-3 a. Esther takes her life in her hands and approaches the King unsummoned. i. The law: death to those approaching in this way. ii. The exception: extending the scepter. b. The King welcomes Esther. i. At that point, the battle is won. ii. Haman is as good as dead when Xerxes extends the scepter. 2. The rest of the story: a. Esther reveals Naman's plot against her people. b. Xerxes executes Naman and promotes Mordecai. c. The Jews of Persia are saved from destruction.

Lesson #3: Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Every opportunity for gain is equally a danger for loss. This story could have ended very differently - Esther could have lost her life when coming to plead for her people. Certainly she was prepared and finally she saw that her time had come. But in the end, she had to muster the courage to act and the willingness to risk something precious in order to gain something even more important.

Transition: Three lessons on making a difference for God: 1. Prepare — The time for preparation precedes the time of opportunity. 2. Recognize — Be alert for the opportunities God makes available. 3. Risk — Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

II. Making a Difference for God Today

We seem to have the impression that all of the great things to be done in God's kingdom were accomplished in the good old days. There are no more dragons to slay, no more nations to conquer, no more visions to pursue. All that belonged to a bygone era, a nobler time. We are content, it seems, with allowing the heroic and the dramatic and the extraordinary to stay in times past while we busy ourselves with the commonplace and the average and the unexceptional. It is almost as if we believe that one person or one group of people can no longer make much of a difference for God. God doesn't provide that kind of opportunity any longer.

Esther 105 A. The Result of not Considering the Tide 1. We don't prepare for opportunities. a. Why should we prepare to make a great difference when we no longer believe that great differences can be made? b. We are not grooming ourselves to be ready when God puts us in the right place at the right time. We are not preparing ourselves to do the right thing. 2. We don't recognize opportunities when they come. a. Since we do not expect to make a real contribution, we don't recognize the chance to make such a contribution when it arises. b. By the time we get through analyzing the opportunity and putting it through the committees and doing a feasibility study on it, the chance is long past. 3. We don't risk much when, at last, we see an opportunity. a. Even when we do recognize an opportunity to make a difference for God, we seem unwilling to jump in over our heads, to take a risk for the sake of the kingdom. b. We decide to play it safe, to be reasonable, to do it half-way, to compromise. The chance for doing something great becomes another success at being mediocre.

B. Taking the Tide at the Flood 1. Preparing ourselves for the chances God gives. a. Making ourselves "beautiful" for our King. b. Taking the time now to make ourselves the kind of servants God can use when he calls us. 2. Recognizing the chances God gives. a. Knowing when God has put you in the right place at the right time. b. Being alert to when the iron is hot, and holding yourself ready to strike it. 3. Being willing to risk greatly to gain greatly. a. There are times for caution and restraint. There are also times for speculation and risk. b. We can risk a little and gain a little. But, having the power of God behind us, such an attitude is almost criminal.

Conclusion:

There is a tide in the affairs of God, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of a Christian's life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures.

Esther 106

A Leader Willing to Lead

Introduction: A. The Broken Record 1. You may think after today's lesson that I have a hitch in my get-along and keep repeating the same ideas. a. Once more, we discuss the accomplishment of great things, the need for bold and dynamic leadership, and the possibilities that open up when God's people take advantage of God's power. b. You will hear things today that I have stressed in past sermons. 2. Be open to the possibility that I'm not just riding a personal hobby-horse, but that the Bible itself makes these points repeatedly. a. The Old Testament is the record of God using men and women of faith to accomplish great things. b. Abraham, Moses, the Judges, David, the prophets, Esther - each character exhibits some of the same attributes that God uses to do marvelous things. 3. The last major character of the Old Testament era is Nehemiah. Once more, God teaches a lesson about what can be accomplished if only someone will trust God and expect him to give the increase.

B. A Preview of Nehemiah Nehemiah is a study of how God accomplishes great things through his people and in his people. In order to see how God does that, we have to begin where God begins—with the small not the large, with the individual not the masses, with one person willing to listen to the call of God and to make a difference for God's sake. The bread and butter of God moving powerfully among his people is his ability to find one person willing to hear him and work with him to effect change.

This book is a study of leadership, but not the kind of leadership we tend to think of in the church today. When we talk about leaders, we talk about elders and preachers and all those religious professionals who have been given a position of leadership in the church. For many of us, leadership is synonymous with position - if you don't have the position you have no business trying to lead.

But in God's plan, a whole lot of leadership has nothing to do with position or title. I think it is safe to say that most of those God has called to lead his people have been chosen in spite of their position and not because of it.

1. Abraham wasn't expecting to be called by God to do great things. He was a 75 year old man, settled in his ways and not really looking for any new challenges. Yet God spoke to Abraham, and surprised him with leadership. 2. David wasn't expecting to be king of Israel. He was the youngest of eight brothers, a shepherd. Yet God spoke and surprised David with leadership. 3. Peter wasn't expecting to do anything extraordinary with his life. He was just an ignorant fisherman, tending his nets and minding his business. Yet God spoke to Peter and surprised him with leadership. Godly leadership has never been synonymous with position. It is synonymous rather with a willingness to listen to the call of God and to do something in response. Nehemiah 107

That's how it was with Nehemiah. He was a prominent person in the court of King Artaxerxes, but Persia is a long way from Jerusalem! Nehemiah had never even seen Jerusalem. He had been born and raised a thousand miles away. He wasn't a priest or a prophet. He was just a layman. And yet we will see God surprise this man with leadership and challenge him to do a great work for the glory of God.

I. A Leaders is Someone Who Takes Needs Personally - 1:1-4 A. The Condition of Jerusalem - vss 1-3 1. The return of Hanani: a. Time - December, 446 B.C. b. Place - Susa, one of the capitol cities of Persia 2. The News of Hanani: Jerusalem is in bad shape. The walls are broken down and the gates burned. The people are facing great trouble and reproach.

B. The Condition of Nehemiah - vs 4 1. Evidently, Nehemiah was expecting the repair of Jerusalem to have proceeded much further. It had been over 10 years since Ezra went to Jerusalem with the intention of rebuilding the city, and Nehemiah must have been shocked to find out that so little had been accomplished in that time. 2. Nehemiah takes the news hard. a. He sits down and weeps. b. He mourns for some days. c. He fasts and prays. 3. Notice how personally Nehemiah takes this news. a. There were many other Jews in Susa who were eager for news about Jerusalem. Why did God not use one of them for his purposes? b. Nehemiah determined that he would do something personally to see to the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

Lesson 1: There can be no leadership without people who feel needs so personally they are willing to accept personal responsibility to do something about those needs. Nehemiah not only wept over Jerusalem, he resolved that he had to do something to make a difference.

II. A Leader is Someone Who Lets God Lead Him - 1:5-11 A. Nehemiah's first instinct was to pray. 1. Read Nehemiah 1:5-6a 2. We like to think of leaders as men of action, as people who are impatient with waiting and quick to start doing something - anything. 3. Nehemiah doesn't rush off and buy a plane ticket to Jerusalem. His first action doesn't seem very active to us - he simply bows his head in prayer.

Nehemiah 108

B. Note how Nehemiah devoted himself to prayer. 1. "Night and day" he prays to God about this matter. 2. He does this for 4 solid months! Kislev (1:1) is the fifth month of the year. Nisan (2:1) is the ninth month of the year. December and April respectively. C. Prayer is an important part of Nehemiah's life. 1. At least 10 times in this short book we read about him praying. 2. Is it just accidental that the people we've studied recently through whom God did great things were consistently people of prayer? Prayer is always characteristic of people that God can work in most powerfully.

Lesson 2: There can be no leadership without leaders who recognize their need for God. It isn't enough for us to feel a sense of personal responsibility to respond to the challenges God puts before us. Like Nehemiah, we must develop a strong sense of our need to wait upon the Lord. Godly leaders fight the urge to start doing something long enough to make sure they know what God wants them to do. Nehemiah waited four long months, praying to the Lord for guidance, praying for wisdom, before he did much of anything at all.

III. A Leader is Willing to Take Risks Lesson 3: There can be no leadership without people who are willing to take risks to do the will of God. It isn't enough for us to feel a personal obligation to respond when God calls. It isn't enough to be willing to wait upon the Lord for guidance. Being a leader for God always involves stepping out beyond ourselves in faith. 1. It may be the risk Abraham ran when he packed up the family camel and moved the entire household to another country - the risk of seeming foolish and unstable. 2. It may be the risk David ran when he picked up five stones from a stream and went out to face Goliath - the risk of taking on overwhelming odds. 3. It may be the risk Peter faced when beginning his work with the church - the risk of dreaming great dreams even when reality would tell you those dreams could never come true. 4. Godly leaders are willing to take risks as they try to do what God wants.

A. The Risk Nehemiah Took 1. Read 2:1-3 - Just from reading this account you couldn't appreciate the danger Nehemiah faced in going before the king with a sad face. 2. The story of Esther - risking her life by appearing before another Persian king without an invitation. 3. As the king's cupbearer, Nehemiah was responsible for testing the king's food and drink for poison. It was no small matter when the king's cupbearer looked ill! 4. Just a few years before, Artaxerxes himself had banned further construction on Jerusalem. Enemies of the Jews had sent letters to Artaxerxes asking him to search the history books an see if Jerusalem hadn't always been a center of subversion and rebellion. What do we know of law of the Medes and the Persians?

Nehemiah 109

B. Nehemiah was Willing to Take Such Risk - Read 2:4-9 1. He requests to be sent back to "the city where my forefathers are buried." (2:5) Notice he doesn't mention "Jerusalem" 2. He asks for an extended leave of absence—it turns out to be 12 years! (2:6) 3. He asks for letters of passage to get to Judah. (2:7) 4. He even asks for a royal handout - a letter for supplies to be given out of the royal treasury.

Transition: Nehemiah felt a personal responsibility to respond to the need in Jerusalem. He turned to God for wisdom and guidance. And he willingly took risks to accomplish what God wanted him to do. That is Godly leadership!

Conclusion: How does all of this apply today? Are there any walls to be rebuilt today? Do the people of God face any great challenges now? Is God looking for any people in this day and time who are willing to listen to his call and respond? You bet! God still looks for 'Nehemiahs' today. The question is not whether God is looking for leaders in the church today. The question is whether you are a person God can use for leadership. "But I'm not an elder. I wouldn't make a very good preacher." That's not the point. Most of the leadership God raises up among his people has nothing to do with position. It has everything to do with the quality of your heart. Can God use you for leadership?

1. When you hear about needs in the church or in the world, do you feel a personal responsibility to do something about those things? 2. Do you find yourself turning to God and opening yourself to his leadership about this matter? 3. Are you willing to take risks when you find out what God wants you to do?

If these things are true of you, get ready! God is going to surprise you with leadership. It may not be today or tomorrow, it may not be something big or earth shattering. But it will come. Someday God will lay on your heart a burden, some task needing to be done, some challenge needing to be met, and will ask you to show some leadership about that matter. Will you be ready to respond like a Nehemiah or not?

If these things are not true of you, watch out! That doesn't mean that you re safe from leadership. It only means that you haven't learned yet how to be a good follower. How can we claim to be disciples if we don't feel a personal sense of responsibility for the needs of God's people? How can we even begin to follow the Lord until we are willing to be open to his leading? And how can we pretend to take up a cross daily when we aren't willing to risk anything to accomplish God's will.

The very things that qualify a man or woman for discipleship are the very things that qualify them for leadership. Every member of God's body is a potential leader. We don't have to wait for the religious professionals to exert leadership in God's church. God is constantly surprising each of us with the responsibility of leadership.

Nehemiah 110 The Silent Years

Introduction:

The importance of context illustrated by the word "run." 1. run a mile 2. get a run in your hose 3. faucets and noses run 4. run of good luck 5. run amok 6. run for political office (almost the same as #5)

The meanings of words is determined by the words that occur around them. Words have little meaning apart from the context in which they occur. How much more important is context for understanding events and behavior and persons.

Many Christians act as though background and context are unimportant for an understanding of the New Testament. The way many of us ignore the Old Testament, you might think God had wasted his time all those years he worked with the Jews. It seems difficult for us to grasp that, while we may understand the basic message of the gospel without having any knowledge of God's working in history, we cannot hope to understand that message fully. The more we study the Old Testament the better we understand the New.

The same can be said of the Intertestamental Period. Those 400 years have been called the "Silent Years". They are a blank in the minds of many of us—we do not understand what a study of that time can contribute to our appreciation of the New Testament. Most of us step out of Malachi straight into Matthew without much thought about what has happened in between. That causes real problems, however. You can't read very far in your N.T. without coming across some things your O.T. did not prepare you for. Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, the Feast of Dedication (Jn 10:22), synagogues, Greek-speaking Jews, Roman procurators—all have their roots in the time between the testaments. The world into which Jesus was born was a product of both ancient and recent history. A clear understanding of both helps us to gain a clearer understanding of him.

A note on worship: Most of this lesson will be more like a lecture than a sermon. We'll focus on history more than theology. But you will be encouraged to worship if you will focus on the way our God moved in history to prepare the world for the coming of his son. What we will talk about today will help you understand better just how powerful a God we serve.

The Silent Years 111 I. External Developments Shaping the New Testament World

The book of Daniel was, for the Jew of the intertestamental period, a road map for the future. In this book, God specifically revealed the shape of the world over a 400 year period. The "visions" (one given to Nebuchadnezzar and three to Daniel) showed clearly the political scene preparing the world for the coming of the Messiah.

A. Nebuchadnezzar's Dream and the Intertestamental Period [Explain events surrounding Nebuchadnezzar's dream.] 1. Read Da 2:36-38 a. Babylon is the head of gold (626-539 B.C.). b. Important, but not in the intertestamental period. 2. Read Da 2:39a a. Medo-Persia is the chest of silver (539-331 B.C.). b. History: 1) Approximately 65 years after Nebuchadnezzar had his dream, the Medes and Persians under Cyrus captured Babylon (in 539 B.C.) and ruled for the next 200 years. 2) This is the time frame in which the events of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther took place. The exiles returned and rebuilt Jerusalem's walls and Temple. 3) Famous Kings - Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, Artaxerxes. c. Under Persian rule, the Jews regrouped and prospered in a way that would not have been possible before. Whereas the Assyrians and Babylonians had a brutal foreign policy, the Persians encouraged local religions and government. God used this to rebuild the promised land and the Jewish nation in order to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. 3. Read Da 2:39b a. Greece is the loin of brass. b. History: 1) In 336 B.C., Alexander the Great, at age 20, came to the throne of the Hellenistic Empire. He quickly swallowed up the Persian Empire and just as quickly passed from the scene, dying at 32. 2) 332 B.C., Alexander marched on Jerusalem, the city opened its gates to him, and (according to the legend) the priests showed Alexander the Daniel passage that refers to him (Da 8:5-7, 21). 3) 150 years later, Antiochus Epiphanes, the great-great-great- grandson of one of Alexander's generals, would throw Israel into one of the most terrible crises of her existence. The Maccabeans raised an army during this time to fight back.

The Silent Years 112 c. Alexander did more than conquer the world militarily. He conquered culturally as well. Greek became the universal language for the next 500 years. Greek customs and philosophy infiltrated every culture under Alexander's rule. God used this fact for the spreading of the gospel: the New Testament (written in Greek) was easily understood by many in the first century world; Paul was fluent in Greek language and philosophy and used both in his mission efforts. 4. Read Da 2:40 a. Rome - the legs of iron. b. History: 1) 63 B.C. the Roman general Pompey attacked Jerusalem and brought Judea under Roman control. For the next 130 years, Palestine remained a rebellious and troublesome Roman province. 2) Herod the Great was confirmed by the Roman Senate as King of Judea, and took power in 37 B.C.. It was at the end of his life that this Herod ordered the killing of all male children under 2 in and around Bethlehem (Mt 2:16). c. Just as God used the Persians and the Greeks to pave the way for the coming of his son, so too he used the Romans. The Pax Romana (Roman Peace) was well established throughout the known world at the time of Jesus and his apostles. An extensive road system criss-crossed the Mediterranean world thanks to Roman engineers - easing the way for preaching the gospel. 5. Read Daniel 2:44-45a - The never ending Kingdom.

B. Daniel's Dream and Antiochus Epiphanes 1. Read Daniel 8:3-14 (with interpretation in vss 19-26). a. Ram with 2 horns = Media and Persia (vs 20) b. Goat = Greece (vs 21); horn = Alexander (first king) c. "Another horn" = Antiochus Epiphanes 2. The persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes: a. 175 B.C. - Antiochus became King of Syria (and the Seleucid Empire). b. 169 B.C. - He desecrated and ransacked the Temple, plundering all its treasures. c. 167 B.C. - The abomination that causes desolation. 1) Antiochus ordered the Jews to cease observance of the Law, Sabbath, religious festivals, sacrifices and circumcision. 2) He destroyed copies of the Torah. 3) He ordered the Jews to sacrifice to himself and to eat the flesh of swine. 4) On 25th of Chislev, he turned the Temple into a place of worship of Zeus, and offered up swine's flesh on the spot which God's altar had occupied.

The Silent Years 113 3. The Maccabean Revolt a. Mattathias and Judas led the crusade. b. Three years later, the Temple was rededicated and sacrifices continued. Hanukkah (or the Feast of Dedication) is the holiday celebrating this event. c. The sons of Mattathias led the rebellion in Israel for the next 30 years, and their offspring provided leadership for Palestine until Herod the Great became King of Judea around 37 B.C.

II. Internal Developments Shaping the New Testament World

A. History of Israel's "Decline and Fall" 1. 1010-930 B.C. - The Zenith of Israel's political and religious life. a. King David - establishing the Kingdom b. King Solomon - establishing the Cultus 2. 930-586 B.C. - The demise of Israel. a. Division of the Kingdom 1) Political consequences: two nations/kings/capitols 2) Religious consequences: two temples/priests/sects b. Destruction of Israel - 721 B.C. c. Destruction of Judah - 586 B.C. 1) Babylonian captivity 2) God preserves his remnant For all intents and purposes, Israel ceased to exist as a "reality". The Davidic monarchy is gone, the temple is destroyed, the "promised land" has been stripped from the Jews. Now, only Israel as an "ideal" remained.

B. An Imitation Kingdom 1. Return of the Exiles - 538, 458, 445 B.C. a. The rebuilt Temple couldn't compare with Solomon's. b. The rebuilt Israel couldn't compare either. 2. Political realities: a. Israel was no longer an independent nation. 1) Never again would she have her own King. 2) She was a pawn in regional politics. 3) In a 22 year period, Judah changed hands 6 times. b. Even the Maccabees were not rulers so much as rebels. 3. Religious realities: a. Intense religious persecutions b. Religious leaders became more concerned with politics than with God. Eventually, the high priesthood became little more than a political appointment.

The Silent Years 114 Transition: Add all this together. On the one hand there is the bitter and humiliating reality that Israel - the once proud nation and the envy of all other nations, the chosen people of God - is no more than a second rate province, without any power or influence. On the other hand, there is Daniel's prediction that it would be during the time of the "fourth kingdom" in which: "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever."

III. The Messianic Hope

A. The Shape of the Messianic Expectation Out of this unique mix came a burning desire to see God's promises fulfilled regarding his Messiah. For it would be the Messiah who would rectify all of injustices and heal all wounds. He would throw out the hated foreigners. He would establish Jerusalem as the center of the world. He would institute perfect worship and call all Israel to return to the ways of the Torah. Once more, Israel would be united and strong. Kings of all the nations would travel to Israel to pay homage to the Messiah and his people. The "Golden Age" would return again and, this time, last forever. 1. The Messiah expected to be soldier/statesman/philosopher 2. A superhuman figure combining the best of David, Solomon, Nehemiah and Judas Maccabeus.

B. Our Window onto Messianic Expectations. 1. Old Testament passages fueling this view of Messiah: a. The use of the O.T. by intertestamental Jews - looking for hope and relief from oppression. b. Read Isaiah 11:1-5, 10-16 2. Intertestamental literature preaching this expectation: a. Development of "Messianic literature" b. The Pseudepigrapha - esp. 1rst Enoch 3. New Testament passages reflecting this kind of thinking: a. Reinterpreting N.T. passages in light of the Messianic expectations. b. Read Luke 1:67-75

The Silent Years 115 Conclusion: 1. God used the Medo-Persians to return his remnant to the promised land, to rebuild Jerusalem and make things ready for the coming of his son. 2. God used the Greeks to spread a common language throughout the known world - a vehicle by which the news of his Son's coming could be voiced abroad. 3. God used the Romans to provide the atmosphere of peace throughout the world that would make it possible for the good news to spread. 4. God used the downtrodden Israelites and their earnest longing for the Messiah to come. a. Though most of the Jews did not recognize in Jesus the "great deliverer" they were looking for, a few did. b. A few were able to understand that God had in mind a completely different kind of kingdom and king. c. Those few changed the world.

The Silent Years 116 Why Jesus?

Introduction:

We sing the song "Why did my Savior come to earth?" It asks an important question, one which calls us back to the fundamentals of our understanding of who Jesus was and what his purpose was. The Gospels ask that same question. In their answers, you learn more about the significance of Christ's life and death and about his importance to us.

Most of us understand that Jesus came to save us from our sins. His death, burial and resurrection are the crux of his coming. It is no accident that the Gospels devote about a third of their space to the final week of Jesus' life. The writers were emphasizing his death as the primary reason for his coming.

But that is not the only reason. The gospels give us a great deal of information on Jesus that has little to do with his eventual suffering. What about his teachings, the parables, and the object lessons preserved in the gospel accounts? Again most of us understand that one of the reasons for Christ's coming involved the "education" of mankind: the teaching of moral precepts and social responsibilities and religious attitudes.

There is one other thread running through the Gospels, however, that constitutes another answer to the question, "Why did my Savior come to earth." It is in this thread that you will discover something about Jesus that will touch you as much as the rest and may well motivate you in a way the others cannot.

The Gospels 117 I. The Hidden God

A. Moses and the encounter on Sinai 1. 3500 years ago - Moses on Sinai surrounded by God's glory in the "Tent of Meeting" 2. Read Exodus 33:18-23 a. The beauty 1) There is the desire to see God - "Show me" (vs 18) 2) There is the desire to be known - "I will" (vs 19) b. The tragedy - there is also the prohibition against seeing God's face.

B. The same theme runs throughout the Old Testament. 1. The beauty - David expresses the desire to see God.

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple . . . Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me . . . Psalms 27:4, 7-9a 2. The tragedy - there is always a penalty associated with seeing the face of God. a. The usual rule: "No one may see me and live." b. God often warns against coming into his presence. c. People to whom he does appear cover their faces or fall to the ground in fear.

The knowledge most Old Testament characters had of God was secondary. They heard descriptions of God, and read about his attributes. They witnessed the results of his presence, and the effects of his work. They listened to words he spoke from the prophets and even heard the distant rumblings of his voice. But there was no direct vision of his features, none of the intimacy implied by a face-to-face, eye-to-eye relationship. Though there was contact with God, it was contact from a distance and at arm's length.

The Gospels 118 II. God Became Flesh 1600 years after Moses, another man took up this theme. There was a difference, however. Whereas Moses begged God to show his face, John thanked God for having done so. What Moses was told he could not see, the Apostle claimed to have beheld. A. The Encounter 1. For John, the encounter with God happened not on a mountain top but in a fishing boat. There were no clouds or fire present, only nets and the smell of fish. 2. It wasn't dramatic at all - he simply met a man who asked him to leave his business and become a disciple. John had no idea what he was stepping into as he stepped out of that boat. 3. How long it took John to awaken to God in Jesus there is no way to tell. Somewhere between the call and the crucifixion, John began to realize that in Jesus he had found not just a good man or a great prophet but the literal embodiment of God himself. B. The Witness 1. Read John 1:1-5, 14-18 a. The Word was God (vs 1) b. The Word became flesh (vs 14) c. The Word made God known (vs 18) 1) exegeomai - "has made him known" 2) "exegesis" - to bring out, to make known. 2. Read 1 John 1:1-3a - John saw, heard, and even touched that which Moses was forbidden to see. John touched God, and it is out of a sense of astonishment for that fact that John writes. C. The Claims This is not just John's interpretation of the life of Jesus. Jesus himself made the claim that he had come to show us the invisible God. 1. Jn 8:19 - "You would know my Father also." 2. Jn 12:44-45 - ". . . he sees the one who sent me." 3. Jn 14:6-9 - "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father."

This is John's message, a message he learned from Jesus himself: Jesus was God; Jesus became flesh; Jesus reveals the Father to us. That carpenter wet from baptism, that young man cleansing the Temple, that tired traveller resting by a well in Samaria was the God of the universe come to visit. In his words, in his actions, in his thoughts and character John recognized the exact impress of Jehovah. Studying the personality and character of Jesus uncovered for John the heart of the Father and was able to see him face to face.

No wonder the apostle Paul would write: For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2Co 4:6 III. The Illustrated Man

The Gospels 119

A. Man and the Image of God 1. Man was made to be like God. a. Read Genesis 1:26-27 b. In creating man, God formed a manifestation of himself. We also were like God. 2. Man perverted the image with the Fall. a. With the coming of sin, the image was perverted. b. After the first few chapters of Genesis, man as God's image completely disappears. God also disappears into invisibility. 3. Man forgot who he himself was. a. We talk about something being "human" or "inhuman." b. The truth is that we don't know what man is supposed to be. He is supposed to be like God, but when God withdrew, we lost our model of what humanity was to be like.

B. Christ as the Perfect Man and the Perfecter of Men 1. Christ as the "image of God" (he is often referred to in that way throughout the N.T.) is the representation of what God designed us to be. a. In Jesus, we discover what we were meant to be from creation. b. As we look at him, we not only see God, we see the ideal man. 2. It is through Christ that we are given the power to become like God once more. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus is constantly cast in terms of its power to transform and renew man so that one again he images the God who created him.

Conclusion:

"Why did my savior come to earth?" Certainly, he came to save us. And he also came to teach us. But just as surely, he came to show us. He came to show us God. And he came to show us what God intended us to be.

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. Matthew 13:16-17

The Gospels 120 The Upside-Down Kingdom

Introduction: [You will need to go to a local fish-supply store and purchase the catfish I use as an illustration in this sermon. They are not expensive. Call the children up around the pulpit and let them oohh! and aahh! over it.] Behold the lowly "Upside-Down Catfish." Synodontis Nigriventris.

These fish are found in the murky river waters of Africa. They swim along the ledges close to the bank. Curiously, they always swim upside- down. Rather than having the usual protective markings of fish (dark on top and light on the bottom), these fish are "Nigriventris" - black bellied. They are dark on the stomach and light on the back. But, since they are always upside-down, this works out to the same thing. They feed on insect larvae floating on the surface of these rivers, scooping up these larvae while swimming along completely upside-down.

I wonder what it would be like to see the world from the perspective of Synodontis Nigriventris? Welcome to the Gospel of Luke!

The picture of Jesus given by Luke reminds us very much of our friend, the Upsidedown Catfish. In this gospel, Jesus is completely upsidedown and backwards from what we would expect of God-come-to-visit. The Jews were looking for Charlton Heston parting the Red Sea. Luke portrays the Messiah as a carpenter from Galilee, poor and rough-handed. Instead of surrounding himself with the rich and influential, Luke tells of a Messiah who hobnobs with tax collectors and fishermen. Rather than a Messiah who gloried in all that was Jewish, Luke's Messiah threw open the kingdom to the gentiles.

Jesus is upsidedown in Luke. His values are different from ours; his goals are backwards from what we might expect of someone in his position. He preaches an upsidedown kingdom.

The picture of Jesus given by Luke reminds us very much of Synodontis Nigriventris. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus is completely upside-down and backwards from what we would expect of God come to visit.

Luke 121 I. The Upside-Down Messiah A. Messianic Expectations - Then and Now 1. The Jews had been looking fervently for the coming of the Messiah for centuries. Yet most of them did not recognize Jesus for who he was. He was so upside down from what they were expecting, they could not imagine he would be the Messiah. a. The Messiah was expected to be a powerful political and military leader who would throw out all enemies and restore glory to Israel. b. They were looking for a second David—someone who dressed and acted and looked like a king. They were confused when Jesus appeared in a rough home-made robe, hobnobbing with the rabble, and with no "form or comeliness that we should desire him." 2. Nor should we be too hard on them. We would not have expected it either. If we knew God was about to take the form of man, where would we go looking for him? a. Would we look in carpentry shops? We'd be looking in palaces or the White House. b. The trappings of Deity - power, prestige, wealth? B. Messianic Realities in Luke's Upside-Down World 1. The finances of the Messiah. Far from what you would expect, the Messiah was not wealthy or privileged. a. Born in a stable (2:7) b. The poor man's sacrifice (Read Luke 2:24) 1) Leviticus 12 specifies a lamb. 2) A pair of birds was allowed only for the very poor. c. "...no place to lay his head." (9:58) 2. The friends of the Messiah. Jesus seemed to have none of the social sensitivity we would have imagined. He knew none of the rich and the famous, he had no political "connections," he went out of his way to anger and antagonize those who were in power. a. Hanging out with the wrong crowd - always with the poor and the powerless, the sick and the sinful. b. Closest associates were fishermen and tax-collectors. 3. The mission of the Messiah. If you were to ask Jesus what he was about, what his purpose was, he would have given you something completely different from what you would expect the long- awaited Messiah to give. a. "to preach good news to the poor." (Read Luke 4:18) b. "to seek and to save the lost." (19:10) 4. The politics of the Messiah. In fact, Jesus taught exactly the opposite kind of politics that the Zionists of his day expected of the Messiah. a. "give to Caesar what is Caesar's . . ." (20:25) b. "Love your enemies, . . . (6:27) 5. The death of the Messiah. The Jews thought the Messiah would live forever and establish an eternal kingdom. a. Jesus makes specific predictions of his coming death. b. Who could fathom God enduring the agony of a Roman cross? II. The Upside-Down People

Luke 122 Luke not only portrays Jesus as being upside-down, he also shows Jesus looking for upside-down followers. For someone who wanted to change the world, Jesus chose the most unusual people for disciples. A. It is not the Rich who are blessed, but the Poor. Any politician will tell you that, to mount a successful campaign, you need contributers with deep pockets. Yet Jesus goes out of his way in Luke to alienate those who have money. 1. Those who love riches are roundly condemned in this Gospel. a. Read Luke 6:24-25a - "Woe to you who are rich . . ." b. The man who tears down barns to build bigger is called "a fool." c. Jesus warns you cannot serve both God and money (16:13). d. It is his wealth that keeps the rich young man from committing his life to Jesus (18:18-30), prompting Jesus to remark, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" 2. It is the poor, in contrast, who are praised in Luke's gospel. a. It is to them Jesus came to preach. b. Read Luke 6:20-21a - "Blessed are you who are poor" c. It is the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame who replace those too busy to come to the master's banquet (14:16-24). d. Poor Lazarus, not the rich man, was with Abraham (16:19-31). e. The widow, who gave everything, is preferred by Jesus to the rich who gave out of their abundance (21:1-4). B. It is not the Religious who are welcomed, but the Sinners. If Jesus didn't pander to the rich, you would think he might want to enroll the religious. But again, Luke shows Jesus making enemies of the religious and friends of the sinners. 1. Eating at Matthew's house (Read Luke 5:29-32) a. Pharisees complain that Jesus would eat with sinners. b. "I have not come to call the righteous . . ." 2. This sets the tone for Christ's interactions with religious leaders. a. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, it is the priest and Levite who "pass by on the other side." b. It is the Pharisee who is not justified by prayer (18:9-14). c. Three times in Luke, Jesus is invited to the house of a Pharisee. Each time in confrontation and rebuke. There are 10 interactions between Jesus and the Pharisees in Luke - every one is confrontational and antagonistic. 3. Sinners, on the other hand, receive a warm welcome from Jesus. a. He is always in trouble for eating with "tax-collectors and sinners" (5:30; 7:34; 15:2). b. Luke alone tells three stories which summarize his feelings about sinners who knew they were sinners and had no pretenses about their own righteousness. 1) He deals gently with the sinful woman (7:36-50). 2) The touching story of Zacchaeus (19:1-10). 3) Christ and the thief crucified with him (23:40-43).

Luke 123 C. It is not Race that matters, but Heart. At the very least, you would think that the Jewish Messiah would emphasize the importance of being a Jew. With all the hatred of foreigners at the time, the Messiah would be very careful to stress "Jews first; everyone else a distant last." 1. Jesus affirms that what recommends a man or woman to God is not nationality but faith. a. The Jews were preoccupied with being the "chosen people." b. Jesus, in the gospel of Luke, is concerned with more than race; he's looking at the heart. 2. His ministry to the Gentiles. a. Read Luke 4:23-27 1) "No prophet is accepted in his hometown." 2) The widow of Zarephath and Naaman were gentiles. b. A Roman centurion causes Jesus to remark, "I have not found such great faith even in Israel" (7:1-9). c. Read Luke 13:28-29 d. Two stories about Samaritans are told - Parable of the Good Samaritan (10:30-36) and the 10 lepers (17:11-19). In both, it is the Samaritan rather than the Jews who respond in a godly way.

Conclusion: The Upside-Down Kingdom

A. Paradoxes of the Kingdom of God 1. It is the poor who are rich, the hungry who are full, and the sad who are happy (6:20-21). 2. Those who try to save their lives will lose them (9:24; 17:32). 3. The least are the greatest (9:48b; 22:26). 4. Those who are last will be first (13:30). 5. He who humbles himself will be exalted (14:11; 18:14).

B. Are you ready for an upside-down lifestyle?

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Seeing is Believing

Introduction:

How many of us believe in UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects)? How many of us believe in Sea Monsters? (For those of you who raised your hands, we do have padded wagons waiting at each exit!) Do you realize that there have been over 70,000 reported sightings of UFOs since World War Two? I personally do not believer in UFOs. But there are 70,000 individuals out there who do. I don't happen to believe in sea monsters. But there are many who have visited Loch Ness or seen something on the high seas who believe fervently in such things.

What makes the difference between me and them? They saw something I haven't seen. For those people, UFOs or sea monsters aren't really a matter of hard evidence or scientific probabilities or logical assumptions. Rather, they have witnessed something that will make believers of them no matter what science or evidence or logic may say. You can argue with them 'till you are blue in the face - ultimately, they will only smile and say, "I know what I saw."

Seeing is believing. And that fact is central to an understanding of the book of Acts. You cannot approach this book and understand its heart and dynamic without understanding the importance of "seeing" to this book. The faith, the zeal, and the evangelistic fervor of the disciples in Acts is founded on the fact that they could smile and say, "We know what we saw." These were eye- witnesses of Jesus - his life, death, and resurrection. That witness charged the early church with a sense of conviction and urgency which has rarely been seen any time since.

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I. The Emphasis on Witness in Acts

A. Jesus understood the importance of his apostles being eye-witnesses. 1. Read Acts 1:1-3 - Luke reports that Jesus made certain these men knew beyond doubt he was alive: a. He “showed himself” to these men. b. He "gave many convincing proofs that he was alive" c. He "appeared to them over a period of 40 days" 2. Read Acts 1:8 - Jesus commissions the apostles not so much as teachers or preachers but as witnesses. a. Their primary task was not to organize the church or develop theology or inculcate morality. b. They were called to tell other people what they had seen and heard.

B. The apostles understood the importance of having seen with their own eyes and touched with their own hands. 1. The choosing of a replacement for Judas. What requirements do you impose for becoming an apostle? High moral character, good speaker, visionary? 2. Read Acts 1:21-22 - The witness was all important. a. Someone who had seen everything from the start. b. Someone who could "become a witness" of the resurrection.

C. The emphasis on witness comes out in the sermons of Acts. 1. Sermon on the day of Pentecost: a. Peter preaches on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. b. Read Acts 2:32 - At the climax of his sermon, Peter stresses that he and the others had witnessed the resurrected Jesus. 2. Sermon in the Temple: a. Peter and John heal a crippled beggar in the Temple and attract a great crowd to listen to their preaching. b. Again Peter preaches the death and resurrection. c. Read Acts 3:15 - Peter has seen Jesus. He is a witness. 3. Sermons before the Sanhedrin: a. Read Acts 4:18-20 - Their first encounter with the Jewish authorities. b. Read Acts 5:29-32 - Second encounter, after having been warned not to preach in this man's name. 4. Peter's sermon to Cornelius: a. Peter doesn't lecture Cornelius on being a dirty gentile. His message focuses on Christ. b. Read Acts 10:37-41 - More particularly, his message focuses on his witness to the Christ.

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II. Seeing Makes All the Difference in Acts A. Seeing Built Faith 1. Saul was the last man on earth the early Christians expected to convert to Jesus. a. Saul was there, giving approval to the death of Stephen (8:1) b. It was Saul who "began to destroy the church" when a great persecution broke out against the Jerusalem church (8:1-3). c. It was Saul who (in Chapter 9) breathed "murderous threats against the Lord's disciples" and went even to Damascus to arrest those belonging to the Way. 2. Yet something happened to Saul that changed him from persecutor to preacher, from despiser to disciple. a. Read Acts 9:3-6 - What happened to Saul? b. Quite simply, he witnessed the risen Christ. 1) Acts 9:17 - Ananias tells us what happened: "Jesus, who appeared to you . . ." 2) Acts 9:27 - Barnabas reports what happened: "how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord . . ." 3) Paul himself tells us what happened: Read 1Co 15:3 (Note emphasis on appeared.) 3. Seeing is believing in the book of Acts. It is a powerful motivation for faith. B. Seeing Fueled Zeal and Boldness 1. Notice the Apostles before they saw the resurrected Jesus: a. They had deserted Jesus at his arrest. 1) Peter denies he even knows Jesus. 2) None of the apostles relieve Jesus of the burden of the cross, but a stranger named Simon. 3) Only John is recorded as being at the crucifixion. 4) It is not the 12 who take Jesus from the cross and bury him, but two men we know little about - Joseph and Nicodemus. b. They were afraid. John tells us that on Sunday, they were together but had the doors locked for fear of the Jews. 2. Notice the Apostles after they witnessed the resurrected Jesus: a. Eleven times, Acts describes the disciples as "bold." b. On one occasion, when the Sadducees saw the boldness of Peter and John, "they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus" (4:13). c. Far from hiding behind closed doors, the apostles speak up in the Temple, courtrooms, synagogues, and the market place. When beaten, they rejoice; when imprisoned, they sing; when about to be killed, they give thanks! 3. Seeing produces zeal in the book of Acts. It is a powerful motivation for boldness.

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C. Seeing Spurred Evangelism 1. Faith and Zeal spilled over into Evangelism: Because they knew that Jesus had been resurrected, and because they were so excited about that fact, they had to share what they had seen and heard. 2. Chapter 5 as an example of the evangelistic fervor of the apostles: a. All believers met together at Solomon's colonade (vss 12-16). b. Sadducees arrest the apostles and put them in jail (vss 17-18). c. That night, an angel releases them and sends them to the Temple to "tell the full message of this new life" (vss 19-20). d. "At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people" (vs 21a). e. The full Sanhedrin convenes and sends for the apostles. But they are back in the Temple "teaching the people" (vss 21b-25). f. The apostles are re-arrested and accused of having "filled Jerusalem with your teaching" (vss 26-28). g. The response of Peter: "We must obey God rather than men! . . . We are witnesses of these things . . ." (vss 29-32) h. They flog the apostles and order them not to speak (vs 40). i. The apostles go right back to preaching (vss 41-42). 3. Being a witness brought a great sense of responsibility. There were others to be told "the full message of this new life."

Conclusion: How do we catch a vision of Jesus today? A. The Pressing Needs of the Lord's Church today 1. We are in desperate need of the very things which so characterized them: a. Faith - life-changing and powerful b. Zeal - changing our timidity into boldness c. Evangelistic fervor - so we never cease to tell 2. Yet the one thing which seems so influential in promoting those characteristics in the lives of the apostles is out of our reach. a. It was the witness which changed in the apostles - primary evidence! b. We have no primary evidence—only the word of those who saw. B. Jesus Knew that Discipleship could not Depend on Sight. 1. The story of doubting Thomas - John 20:24-29 2. Read John 20:29 Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. 3. Jesus understood there would be a class of believers who did not have the privilege of an eye-witness experience. C. Learning to "See through the mirror darkly" 1. Seeing through the eyes of gospel writers. 2. Using other senses to come into contact with the divine. a. Just as the blind man must develop other senses to make contact with his environment, the man and woman of faith must develop other senses to make contact with Jesus. b. Examples: Worship, Prayer, Obedience, Imitation

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No Pain, No Gain

Introduction:

Nobody seems to like a whistleblower. Even when they seem to be doing right, we are uncomfortable with the idea of "ratting" on someone else. Parents discourage their children from being "tattle tales." By many methods we reinforce the notion "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

All of which means it is possible to speak the truth, to do what is right, but not be appreciated for dong so. When those in the military point out such fiascoes as $6,000 coffee pots and $400 hammers, you might think they would be rewarded for their honesty. But more often than not, these whistleblowers are drummed from the ranks of military service. You can cheat the tax-payer and be protected. But uncover the cheating and you're in for real trouble! Nobody likes a whistleblower.

These people are being hounded, fired, and abused not because they've done something wrong but because they will not be quiet about other people's wrong doing. Our world does not appreciate others being let in on the secret. That world wants everyone to live by the motto, "Live and let live" with the emphasis on "let live." It teaches us not to make waves, to keep our mouths closed, to mind our own business.

Christians, however, are in the whistle blowing business. It is not our duty to be quiet or to look the other way or close our eyes. Rather, having confessed our own sinfulness, we find ourselves in the unenviable position of pointing out the sins and lostness of others. We blow the whistle on the evil of our world, on the deceptiveness of the human heart, on the depravity of fallen man. We cannot just live and let live - we must call people to an honest appraisal of their future.

That task will keep Christians in perpetual hot water. When we speak for God, we will speak words which will always get us in trouble. If we will not risk blowing the whistle, we cannot claim to be disciples of Jesus.

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I. The Life of Paul: From Persecutor to Persecuted

A. Saul's Career as a Persecutor 1. Death of Stephen - Acts 7:57-8:1 2. "destroying the church" - Acts 8:3 3. "breathing out murderous threats" - Acts 9:1-2 4. Read Acts 26:9-11

Transition: In chapter 9, as we saw last week, Saul saw the Lord on the Damascus road and committed the remainder of his life to the preaching of the gospel. At that moment, Saul made the transition from hunter to hunted, from persecutor to persecuted. Much of the last half of Acts chronicles Paul's suffering.

B. Paul's Experience with Being Persecuted 1. Following his conversion: a. Damascus - the Jews conspire to kill him - 9:23-25. b. Jerusalem - Greecian Jews try to kill him - 9:29. i. His friends send him to his home town, Tarsus. ii. Saul is not mentioned again until Barnabas goes to Tarsus to look for Saul. He needed help with the dynamic work going on in Antioch. It is from here that they begin the first missionary journey. 2. First Missionary Journey: a. Pisidian Antioch - The Jews spoke abusively against Paul (13:45), stirred up persecution against him and expelled him from the region (13:50). b. Iconium - Paul learned of a plot by the Jews and Gentiles to stone him and escapes to Lystra (14:5-6). c. Lystra - Jews from the two previous cities come to Lystra and succeed in having Paul stoned, dragged out of the city and left for dead (14:19). 3. Second Missionary Journey: a. Philippi - Gentiles of the city have Paul severely beaten, thrown in jail, and then expelled from the city (16:23). b. Thessalonica - The Jews started a riot after Paul spoke in the synagogue (17:5). Paul escaped to Berea. c. Berea - Jews from Thessalonica travelled to Berea and started a riot there, forcing Paul to Athens (17:13). d. Athens - the Athenians scoff at Paul when he talks about the resurrection from the dead (17:32). e. Corinth - Jews became abusive (18:6) and brought Paul before the civil authorities (18:12).

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4. Other Examples: a. Ephesus - Idol-makers caused a riot (19:28-31) that almost resulted in Paul being lynched. b. Jerusalem - Paul causes two riots by his preaching, and so infuriated the Jewish leaders that 40 of them vowed not to eat or drink until Paul died (23:12-13). c. Acts ends with Paul in prison at Rome, waiting his audience before Caesar.

Transition: Paul seemed to make people mad. He kept getting himself into trouble. All he had to do was be quiet, and all the trouble would have stopped. All he had to do was stop talking about Jesus. 1. Read 2Co 6:3-5 2. Read 2Co 11:23-26

II. Those who Speak for God will Always be Persecuted A. The Example of Jesus 1. If anyone could have done what was right without giving offense, it would have been Jesus. a. If it was just a matter of saying things in the right way, with the right words and in the proper tone of voice, Jesus would have know how to speak the truth in a way that did not offend people. b. The reality is that you cannot speak the truth and avoid giving offense. Even Jesus could not do it. 2. Because he spoke the truth, they killed him. a. He had any number of opportunities to save himself: i. If he had just kept quiet in the Temple. ii. If he hadn't admitted to being the Messiah to the Sanhedrin or to Pilot. b. All Jesus would have had to do to live a long life would have been to simply keep quiet, just not speak. When he chose to speak up, he doomed himself.

B. The Example of the Apostles 1. Jesus warned that all those who taught about him would be similarly treated. a. He warned them of imprisonment, beatings and even death (Matthew 10:17-39; Mk 13:11-13; Lk 21:12-17). b. Jn 15:20 - "Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also."

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2. The fate of the apostles - (according to tradition) a. Peter - crucified b. Andrew - crucified c. Matthew - the sword d. James, son of Alphaeus - crucified e. Philip - crucified f. Thaddaeus - shot with arrows g. Thomas - spear thrust h. James, son of Zebedee - the sword i. Bartholomew - crucified

C. The Example of the Early Christians 1. Stephen - stoned after preaching to the Sanhedrin 2. James - beheaded by Herod 3. Persecutions of the early Christians 4. Later persecutions

Conslusion: Counting the Cost Today

A. Coming to Terms with Suffering Today 1. Historically, suffering has gone hand in hand with following the Lordship of Jesus Christ. 2. Read 2 Timothy 3:12 "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted . . ." 3. Is suffering a part of contemporary Christian living?

B. What are We Willing to Suffer for Christ? 1. To speak or not to speak - that is the question. 2. The decision to witness measures not only the level of our commitment but also the level of our courage.

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The Heart of the Gospel

There are certain topics you do not discuss in public. Politics and religion, we are often told, are two of the taboo subjects which are to be avoided at all cost. People have too many opinions about such topics. They feel the issues too deeply and bring to their discussion an emotional involvement which clouds the mind and raises the voice. Bringing up certain issues at public gatherings is like throwing dynamite into a crowded room - it certainly gets everyone's attention but it often does more harm than good. So we are told to avoid such discussions and steer the conversation toward safer and less controversial themes.

When we take up the book of Galatians, it is important to recognize that we are handling dynamite. This material is some of the most basic, yet most controversial, in all the New Testament. The teaching here is absolutely central to the gospel, yet it is widely misunderstood in the religious world and in our own fellowship as well.

Perhaps the greatest theological controversy to rock the evangelical community in recent years revolves around the very issues discussed in Galatians. What is the relationship between faith and works? What makes us right before God - what we believe or the way we live? What is the motivation for Christian conduct - fear of condemnation or gratitude for salvation? So difficult have such questions become that some sensitive souls would have us avoid the topic altogether. There are too many differing opinions and too much chance of conflict.

Of course, the very fact that Paul addresses these questions in Galatians indicates that the controversy is not new. Even a cursory reading of church history will show that some of the greatest conflicts through the centuries have centered on faith and works. Each side of the question has had its champions. Each side has been guilty of distortion and exaggeration in arguing its position - antinomianism on the one hand, legalism on the other; faith only versus a work-ethic salvation.

You will be uncomfortable with Paul's teaching in Galatians. No matter what side of the controversy you are on, you will have trouble with this great book. You will find yourself thinking, "That can't be right." Yet, you cannot be fully "Christian" until you understand and accept what is being taught in this book.

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I. An Exegesis of Galatians 2:15-21

A. Background of this Passage 1. Paul and Peter are Jews who have learned that being "Jewish" counts for nothing in the pursuit of righteousness. They are living like Gentiles (2:12a, 14). 2. Peter has second thoughts. a. He starts living according to the Law again (2:12). b. He starts requiring the same of the Gentiles (2:14). 3. Paul rebukes Peter "to his face" (2:11, 14) for requiring of the Gentiles something he did not really expect of himself.

B. Defining Some Terms 1. Justification - a legal term borrowed from the courts. "It is the exact opposite of 'condemnation.' 'To condemn' is to declare somebody guilty; to justify is to declare him not guilty, innocent or righteous." It refers here to our standing before God. Used 5 times in these seven verses. 2. Law - Often in Galatians, this refers to the Law of Moses. Even more often, however, it refers to any system that depends on obedience to make man righteous before God. In 2:15-21, it has the later meaning.

C. The Meaning of the Text 1. The Two Paths to Justification (2:15-16) a. You can try to be justified by "Doing it" - Personal righteousness depending on perfect obedience to the law. You are pronounced innocent because you are innocent. b. You can be justified by "Faithing it" - Attributed righteousness depending on faith in Christ. You are pronounced innocent because Christ died for your sins. c. Paul and Peter have already learned that obedience will never lead to righteousness, for people can never be perfectly righteous. It is not what we do that justifies us before God, but what Christ has done for us. 2. The Problem with "Faithing it" (2:17-19) a. What, then, is the motivation for right living? If it is not a requirement for justification, why would we want to live right? b. Paul's response - you can't have it both ways. Either Christ justifies you before God or your personal goodness does so. In "faithing it," we burned our bridges back to earning salvation. 3. The Potential of "Faithing it" (2:20) a. The key to ethical living is no longer obedience. Right living is not a cause of justification. b. The key to ethical living is now transformation. Right living is the result of the cross. 4. The Conclusion (2:21) - If justification comes through personal obedience, Christ died for nothing and grace counts for nothing.

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II. Understanding the Heart of the Gospel What Paul accomplishes in this small book is a grand overview of the schemes of God and humanity to be at peace. Reaching back to a time when we "did not know God," Paul paints a vivid picture of our attempts to reach God by means of obedience to the Law. All such efforts, though they had their purpose and place, were doomed to failure because of the foibles of man. What was needed was a new means of justification, one that dealt with our greatest problem - ourselves!

A. Being Right before God according to the Jew (Pre-Christ) 1. The Law of Moses was predicated on obedience to God. a. A perfect Law, outlining God's unwavering standard, required absolute obedience for righteousness. b. Perfect obedience was the only standard allowable for relationship with God. Anything less than perfection was simply not good enough.

Law + Perfect Obedience = Righteousness The man who Cursed is everyone who If a law had been given that could does these things does not continue to do impart life, then righteousness would will live by them everything written in certainly have come by the law (3:12) the book of the Law (3:21b) (3:10)

2. Of course, grace was required even under the Law. a. None of the great characters of the Old Testament were perfect, yet they still enjoyed a relationship with God. b. The sacrificial system was one provision a gracious God made to maintain relationship with sinful people. 3. But grace was supplemental to the Law, not integral to it. a. Grace was a patch glued on the only weak point of the system God had designed (i.e. sinful and rebellious man). b. What was needed was grace built into the system from the ground up.

B. Being Right before God according to Paul 1. Paul tells the Galatians that it was never God's intention for man to prove his merit to God by absolute obedience. a. Even under the old law, there were hints that something better was coming. b. Abraham's faith was credited as righteousness. (Note: not a faith apart from works but a faith expressing itself through trusting action.)

Law > Christ So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. (3:24)

2. The Law leads us to Christ. a. It was good, but was foiled by our predilection for sin. b. It proved just how much we needed a system based on faith rather than merit.

Galatians 135

Christ and the Cross + Me and the Cross = Righteousness Christ redeemed us from the I have been crucified with curse of the law by becoming Christ and I no longer live, a curse for us. (3:13) but Christ lives in me. (2:20)

3. Christ, meeting the Law's demand for perfection, took our punishment upon himself. Since the Perfect died, the Imperfect can live. We were crucified (by faith) in Christ. He who died for us now lives in us.

Righteousness > Life in the Spirit ...a man is not justified by So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not observing the law, but by faith gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (5:16) in Jesus Christ. (2:16)

4. The righteousness we have gained vicariously becomes a righteousness in fact. Having once been justified (apart from any basis other than faith in Jesus), now our lives are empowered to live up to the standard we could never meet before. We begin to live by the Spirit and eagerly put to death the desires of the flesh.

C. Being Right before God according to the Legalist

There was a group in Paul's day (and in every time since) who attempted to combine justification through works with justification through faith. If Christ's cross brings forgiveness, how much better (according to this theory) if we are so well behaved he doesn't need to forgive us for much.

Christ and the Cross + Law + Perfect Obedience = Righteousness But even if we or an angel It is for freedom that Christ has You who are trying to from heaven should preach a set us free. Stand firm, then, be justified by law have gospel other than the one we and do not let yourselves be been alienated from preached to you, let him be burdened again by a yoke of Christ; you have fallen eternally condemned! (1:8) slavery. (5:1) away from grace. (5:4)

1. This group appreciates the cross of Christ, but sees something additional as necessary for justification. The cross is not enough to assure salvation to the sinner - he must become less a sinner (a more "perfect" individual) before God can truly justify him. 2. What is needed is adherence to Law. A new system is set up to assure proper behavior. New rules govern behavior and provide a standard against which one's righteousness can be measured. 3. Paul's charge, of course, is that such a system creates a new form of slavery. We are bound to obey the letter of the law because we are trusting in our own ability to be righteous to commend us to God. Rather, in Christ, we are righteous - before we act righteously, even while we are still sinners. Our confidence before God rests in the cross, not in our own behavior. From this, insists Paul, comes our motive for righteous living. We simply try to live up to our reputation!

Galatians 136 The Care and Feeding of New Christians

Introduction:

A. All of Us are Concerned about the Plight of New Christians. 1. Have several new Christians stand up. 2. The road ahead for the new Christian: a. They have so much to learn about: the Bible, the church, the mind of Christ. b. They have so much to unlearn. i. Old habits and behavior patterns ii. Old attitudes and prejudices c. They have so far to grow. 3. The perils along the way: a. Leaving by the back door. i. The danger of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. ii. Many fail to live to "adulthood" in the church. b. Missing the mark. i. The danger of settling for something less. ii. The danger of becoming lukewarm. iii. The danger of becoming like the rest of us.

B. The Background of 1 & 2 Thessalonians 1. Read Acts 17:1-4 - Establishing the Thessalonian church during early months of A.D. 50 on the second missionary journey. 2. The movements of Paul from this point (Acts 17 & 18): a. From Thessalonica to Berea (17:10) b. From Berea to Athens (17:14&15 - Timothy and Silas left in Berea, joining Paul later in Athens) c. Timothy sent to Thessalonica (1Th 3:1-2) d. Paul went to Corinth (18:1) in late summer of 50. e. Timothy rejoins Paul in Corinth a few months later (Acts 18:5; 1Th 3:6), the occasion for the writing of this book. 3. As little as 6 months had passed between Paul's preaching the gospel in Thessalonica and his first letter to this congregation. The second letter was sent within 6 months of the first.

These Thessalonian Christians were just babies in the faith. They were barely six months old. They faced the opposition of their fellow citizens. There was ridicule and persecution. Paul had been with them for only a few days when an angry mob came looking for him. Paul escaped to Berea, but these new Christians had to continue their old lives with a new faith.

What do you say to baby Christians in these circumstances? What do you feed them to keep them from falling away? Paul knows they are in danger and writes these two letters to help these Christians grow up fast. I. These Baby Christians Needed some Careful Instruction 1 & 2 Thessalonians 137

A. What Paul Taught the Thessalonians while in their Presence 1. Paul taught them "the word of God." a. Read 1Th 2:13. b. Paul, as always, began at the beginning - the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ" (Acts 17:2-3). c. They believed the word of God, the gospel of Jesus, as the foundation on their new lives. 2. Paul taught them to count the cost. a. Read 1Th 3:4. b. When you believe, you must expect to suffer. Having founded their lives on Christ, they needed to know what to expect about where this new commitment would lead. 3. Paul taught them how to live. a. Read 1Th 4:1-2. b. Founded in Christ, expecting to suffer for their faith, these new Christians were encouraged to live noble and holy lives.

B. What Paul Taught the Thessalonians in his Letter to them. 1. Chapters 4 and 5 are full of practical teaching and admonitions. Teaching material makes up the bulk of these chapters. 2. Topics Paul teaches about: a. Ethical living (4:3-8) b. Fellowship (4:9-10) c. Eschatology ("last things") (4:13-5:11) d. Attitudes toward leaders (5:12-13) e. General admonitions (5:14-22)

Transition: New Christians need to be told many things: about Jesus, about morality, about living the Christian life.

But sometimes, what we say is just not enough. New Christians need more than the theory of Christianity or our words about Christian living. They need something much more practical to fully understand what it means to be a Christian. They need not just to hear but to see.

1 & 2 Thessalonians 138 II. These Baby Christians also Needed some Exemplary Models

A. "... not simply with words, but also with power ..." 1. Read 1Th 1:4-7 2. Paul contrasts mere "words" with his example a. The gospel is not just a matter of what we say. b. It is also a matter of power, Spirit and conviction; i.e., the manner in which Paul lived (vs 5b). c. Paul's example "gave flesh" to his words. 3. They became imitators of Paul and of the Lord. a. The first skill necessary for becoming a Christian is listening. "Faith comes by hearing . . ." b. But to grow as a Christian, we must develop the skill of watching. ("You know how we lived among you.") c. Finally, true maturity comes when we learn the skill of imitating. Imitating both Christ and his followers. 4. In turn, the Thessalonians became a model for other new Christians (those in Macedonia and Achaia) to imitate (vs 7).

B. "... not only the gospel ... but our lives as well ..." 1. Read 1Th 2:8-12 2. The same contrast is present (vs 8) - "words" and "life" a. It takes real love to share the gospel of God, the good news about Jesus, the message of salvation. b. It takes even greater love to share not only the gospel but your life as well. 3. Paul's sharing of his life: a. He cared for them like a mother caring for her children (vs 7). b. He worked day and night, not to burden anyone (vs 9). c. He let them witness how holy, righteous and blameless he was (vs 10). d. He dealt with them as a father deals with his own children (vss 11-12).

C. The Care and Feeding of New Christians According to Paul 1. From Paul's perspective: a. First the words - preaching and teaching the gospel. b. Then the actions - living and modeling the gospel. c. Then a constant reminder of the words and actions - 1rst & 2nd Thessalonians. 2. From the new Christian's perspective: a. Listening to the words, which leads to faith b. Watching the actions, which leads to imitation c. Becoming what you hear and see, which leads to modeling the Christian life for others.

1 & 2 Thessalonians 139 Conclusion:

A. Words to the New Christian: 1. Find someone who is older and wiser in the faith, someone whose life shows their commitment to Jesus and their commitment to walking in his footsteps. 2. Then be willing to: a. Listen to them - learn from their teaching. b. Watch them - learn from their behavior. c. Imitate them - become what you see in them.

B. Words to those of us who are older: 1. Adopt a new Christian. Love them enough to treat them as a father would his children. Be delighted to share with them not only the gospel but your very lives as well. 2. Then: a. Take the time to teach them by your words. b. Share your lives with them - let them see your holiness, righteousness, and blamelessness. c. Constantly encourage them to imitate you as you imitate the Lord.

1 & 2 Thessalonians 140 The Church as Body

Introduction:

All of us, in addition to the normal five senses, have a sense of proprioception. The continuous flow of sensory information from muscles, tendons, and joints help us to thoughtlessly, unconsciously monitor the position and movements of our bodies. Proprioception is the ability to sense ourselves, to feel and own and control our bodies.

Dr. Oliver Sacks tells the story of the “The Disembodied Lady” in his book The Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. A healthy 27 year-old, active and robust, mother of two, Christina suffered an inflammation of the spinal nerves which effectively destroyed all proprioceptive senses. She awoke one morning no longer aware of her body. She could not stand—unless looking directly at her feet. Her hands ‘wandered’ about aimlessly— unless she stared at them and willed them to be still. When she reached for something, her hands would miss or wildly overshoot the mark.

When Dr. Sacks first saw her, she said in horror, “Something awful’s happened. I can’t feel my body. I feel weird . . . disembodied.” Though Christina has learned to carry on the usual business of life, she can only do so through the exercise of great vigilance— literally watching every move she makes. If her attentions are diverted for a moment, she collapses in a heap.

The apostle Paul never met Dr. Sacks. Yet I know he would have been fascinated by the story of Christina and would have seen in her sad predicament a perfect metaphor for Christ and the church. For, too often, the various parts of the church body act in uncoordinated and disconnected ways. And there must be times when Jesus feels disembodied, when he can make his body do what he wants only through the exercise of great vigilance.

I. Body and Head in Paul’s Thinking A. The church, according to Paul, can be called the body of Christ. 1. Paul understands the physical body to provide a striking parallel to the manner in which we relate to our Lord and to one another. He is the only NT writer to use this metaphor. 2. Yet it is one of his favorite ways of talking about the church and shows up in a number of his epistles. B. The development of Paul’s thinking about the Church as Body. 1. In his first letters (Gal, 1&2 Thess—late 40’s or early 50’s), Paul says something about the physical body, but does not develop the body as a picture of the church. 2. By the mid-50’s, however, Paul is exploring the idea of the church as a body. a. In 1 Corinthians and Romans, Paul calls the church “the body of Christ” (1Co 12:27) and insists that “in Christ, we who are many form one body” (Ro 12:4-5). b. But the emphasis in these writings is always on the idea of fellowship—the horizontal relationships we enjoy in the church. 3. By the time of Ephesians and Colossians, Paul’s use of the metaphor has shifted.

1 Corinthians 141 a. In these later epistles, it is Jesus as head of the body that is the point. b. The church, like a body, has a head which directs the activities of all members. Transition: We want to look at these ideas today as we study about the church as the body of Christ. As we do so, concentrate on what Paul is trying to communicate to us about who Jesus is for the church, who we are in relation to Jesus and who we are intended to be for each other.

II. The Body Relates to Itself A. A Church divided. [Have congregation turn to 1 Corinthians 12] 1. The church in Corinth was having major problems. a. Division, lawsuits, pride, prejudice, hurt feelings, sin of all sorts. b. At the heart of it all was their failure to understand what the church is and who they were in relation to one another. 2. So Paul adopted the picture of the “body” to re-educate the Corinthians and adjust their understanding of themselves and how they should treat each other. B. Read 1Co 12:12-20, 27 1. Paul begins his teaching here by setting up the metaphor (vss 12-13). Our physical bodies have many parts. That diversity of parts does not keep us from seeing an essential unity, however. Sew together all the fingers and feet and knees, and you have a person—a single, unified body that is greater than the sum of its parts. 2. So it is with Christ and the church (vss 12b, 13). There may be many and diverse parts of the body of Christ. That diversity does not keep us from seeing an essential unity. We all were baptized by the one Spirit and were united together by that Spirit into one unified, class-less, prejudice-free body. 3. Then, for the next 13 verses (14-26), Paul proceeds to talk about the physical body and how God has created it to function. But we all know (as did they) that Paul is really talking about something else. C. Unpacking the Metaphor 1. The church is like a body in that, though we are a unit, we have many different members with many different functions. a. Unity does not mean uniformity. Read vss 14-16 b. For all the oneness of our physical bodies (and the church), there are still many different parts (or members/gifts/roles), each with its unique role to play. c. Paul expects us to understand what he says about the body (diverse members, one body) and apply the principle to the “body of Christ”—the church. 2. The church is like a body in that its very survival is dependent on a rich diversity of members who do what they do for the common good. a. This tension between unity and diversity is as God intended—Read vss 17-20. b. Without many parts (Christians) doing many jobs (ministries/roles/tasks), there could be no body (church). c. God has arranged for this diversity of members and functions (in the body and in the church) just as he wanted them to be. d. Again, Paul expects his readers to acknowledge the truth of what he says about the physical body and apply those truths to another body—the church. Transition: 1. Notice how Paul uses this figure only to talk about fellowship—the horizontal.

1 Corinthians 142 a. There is no mention here of Christ as the head. b. No teaching about the need for the church to be submissive to its head. c. The point is that, like the body, the whole should respect and accept each part. 2. There is another way, though, that Paul uses this image of the body. Notice briefly.

III. The Body Relates to its Head A. A church growing up. [Have congregation turn to Ephesians 4] 1. The issue when Paul wrote Ephesians had more to do with growth and maturity. a. Paul writes to encourage them to mature in the Lord. b. But what direction are they to grow in? By what yardstick do they measure their growth? How do they know they have reached maturity? 2. Paul adopts the same “body” metaphor to help these Christians answer such questions. a. Only now, the metaphor has broadened to encompass the body and its head. b. It is less the relationship of church members to each other than the relationship of the church to its Lord that is Paul’s point. B. Read Eph 4:11-16 1. Paul makes use of the same kind of language here as in 1 Cor 12. The “body of Christ” and “parts” are mentioned. There are even comments about “unity” and the church “building itself up in love” and “each part” doing its work—echoing the Corinthian passage. 2. But Paul is thinking primarily here of the vertical dimension (how we relate to Christ and him to us) rather than the horizontal one. In particular, he seems to be thinking about how an immature church relates to a perfect Lord—it grows! C. Unpacking the metaphor—again. 1. It is the head which defines what real maturity is. a. In this passage, it is the picture is of a small body attached to a large head which underlies the comparison which Paul is making. i. The immature body, lagging far behind in growth, must struggle to reach a stature that is worthy of its head. ii. One thinks of an infant (or even a puppy!), with the body always playing catch-up to an already well-developed brain and head. b. But it is ever the head which determines what is the proper size and level of maturity for the body. 2. The church is like a body in that, just as a body grows into its head, so do we grow into our Lord. His maturity and fullness and perfection are the measure of the church’s intended growth. Transition: There are certainly other comparisons Paul makes using the body/head metaphor to explain the relationship of the church and Jesus. But perhaps the point is made. Paul has creatively adapted the picture of the church as body to teach about how we should relate to one another and how we should relate to Jesus. We are a body . . . each of us are members of it . . . and Jesus is our head.

1 Corinthians 143 Conclusion:

We began today by considering the case of Christina, a woman who suffered the horrible fate of “losing” her body. When we, like Paul, understand the church as the body of Christ, it is easy (and sobering) to consider whether there might be a parallel between Jesus and that poor woman.

It is easy to see in her flailing and disjointed movement our own squabbling and bickering and lack of coordinated activity. And it is easy to see in the unresponsiveness of her body to her wishes (unless she is relentlessly attentive) a parallel to Christ’s frustration with a church so unresponsive to his desires and commands.

But we will end with one other observation, an implication of the body metaphor which Paul did not draw but could well have. [Christina] has no words, no direct words, to describe this bereftness. . . . And society lacks words, and sympathy, for such states. The blind, at least, are treated with solicitude— we can imagine their state, and we treat them accordingly. But when Christina, painfully, clumsily, mounts a bus, she receives nothing but uncomprehending and angry snarls: “What’s wrong with you, lady? Are you blind—or blind-drunk?” What can she answer—“I have no proprioception”? The lack of . . . sympathy is an additional trial: disabled, but with the nature of her disability not clear . . . she tends to be treated as a phoney or a fool. Sacks, pg. 51 How many times has the world seen the church walking through life and despised our Lord for the clumsiness of his body? Seeing our infighting and paralysis, knowing too well our hypocrisy and disease, the world looks at our Lord and snarls, “What’s wrong with you, Christ? Are you blind—or blind-drunk?” And for want of a body that will cooperate—with itself and with its head—Jesus must endure being treated as a phoney or a fool.

But what can he say to a skeptical world? “I have no proprioception? I feel disembodied? My church does not respond to my commands?”

Brothers and sisters. We are Christ’s body. Each of us is a member of it. He is our head. And if language means anything, if Paul says anything worthy of attention when he uses this metaphor to speak of the church, we must take seriously the fact that:  we have been baptized by one Spirit into one body.  all of us are members of that one body, unique but unified.  Jesus is head of this body, connected organically and directing its movements.  we must be growing in unity and in the knowledge of Jesus so that, in all things, we might grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

1 Corinthians 144 Comfort in the Midst of Sorrow

Intro: A. The Marathon Man In The Marathon Man, Dustin Hoffman plays the role of a student obsessed with the marathon. He idolizes great runners of the past and, in his own running, learns to control pain so as to complete the race.

Sir Lawrence Olivier plays the part of the "White Angel," a Nazi dentist who terrorized concentration inmates during WWII. He has learned to use pain to get what he wants.

The most memorable scene in the movie comes as Olivier stands before the bound Hoffman gesturing with a dental drill in one hand and oil of cloves in the other. The choice he offers Hoffman is resistence (with the consequence of the drill being used again) or compliance (with the oil of cloves being applied to relieve pain). Suffering or relief. Agony or anesthesia.

B. Christians are also Men and Women of the Marathon 1. Christians are also in a race of sorts. a. But it is not the painless sprint - a quick dash that hardly makes us break a sweat or breathe too hard. b. It is a marathon - the long, grinding endurance test that, by its very nature, involves suffering. 2. We are in this race for the long run. a. We must learn how to control pain to finish the race. b. Discipleship is often a matter of both pleasure and suffering. It also is a matter of learning to deal with pain so as to run the race. 3. Knowing Jesus is both agony and ecstasy. a. With great privilege comes great responsibility. b. With great love comes great vulnerability. c. With great expectations come great disappointments. d. With great plans come great anxieties. 4. The walk of discipleship involves highs and lows, ups and downs, good and bad, joy and sorrow. a. Are we only "fair-weather friends" of Jesus? It is easy to be a Christian when everything is warm, loving, joyful, radiant, peaceful, good and kind. b. Have we learned the secret of dealing with trials? It is much harder to be a follower when I am discouraged and disheartened, depressed and lonely, weak and hurt.

Transition: The book of 2 Corinthians is about dealing with suffering in the Christian walk. In particular, Paul tells us in this book how he maintains his confidence and enthusiasm in the midst of persecution both from those outside the Christian community and (perhaps even harder) from those within.

2 Corinthians 145 I. The Cycle of Sorrow and Comfort

A. The Example of Jesus 1. Though Jesus was the son of God and creator of the universe, he was not exempt from suffering: a. Jesus was called a "man of sorrows" who was "acquainted with grief" (Isa 53:3). b. "Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered" (Heb 5:8). Jesus was made "perfect through suffering" (Heb 2:10). 2. But Jesus also knew how to find comfort when he suffered. a. The temptations in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry (Lk 4:1-13). b. The temptation in the garden at the end of his ministry (Lk 22:39-46).

B. The Example of Paul 1. A litany of Paul's sufferings in 2 Corinthians: a. Read 2Co 1:8-9a b. Read 2Co 4:8-11 - hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down, carrying around the death of Jesus, being given over to death. c. Read 2Co 6:3-5 - (Note vss 9-10: dying, beaten, sorrowful, poor, having nothing). d. Read 2Co 11:23-29 2. Yet, somehow, he does not lose heart or give up. He keeps running the race. a. Chapter 1 - Hard times, but God delivered (vs 10). b. Chapter 4 - Troubles, yes. BUT . . . i. but not crushed, or in despair, or abandoned, or destroyed; the life of Jesus is revealed. ii. "We do not lose heart . . . we are being renewed day by day" (4:16). c. Chapter 6 - Troubles, yes. BUT . . . (Same pattern). "we live on ... not killed ... always rejoicing ... possessing everything." d. Chapter 11 - "When I am weak, then I am strong" (Read 2Co 12:9-10). 3. How did Paul keep from giving up? How could he keep going in the face of such sufferings? What was the secret that let him find comfort in the midst of sorrow?

Transition: We need to know Paul's secret. Sometimes, we are all too quick to have our own little pity parties over how hard it is to be a Christian, over how tired we are, over how disappointed we are in a brother or sister, over how tough it is at times to keep our standards high. Perhaps instead of stopping in the middle of the race to catch our breath or take a nap, we need to learn from Paul the secret of being a better marathon Christian - the kind that runs through the pain and learns to catch a second wind, a spiritual strength.

2 Corinthians 146 II. Paul Knows the Secret of all Comfort! [Read 2Co 1:3-7]

A. God Gives Comfort - Note 2Co 1:3-4a 1. Paul knows who God is. a. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. i. God knows what it is like to have a son suffer. ii. He knows, too, how to help a son endure. iii. Paul uses God's relationship with Jesus (as both God and Father) to illustrate his relationship with compassion and comfort. b. The Father of Compassion. i. He is the Father of both Jesus and Mercy. Like son, like Father. ii. Just as Jesus shows us the nature of God, so too does God's other "son" - compassion. c. The God of all Comfort i. He is the God of both Jesus and "Encouragement". ii. Just as God sent Jesus to us and instructed him what to say, so God can send comfort. 2. Paul knows what God can do. a. He "comforts us in all our troubles" (vs 4a) i. parakaleo - to comfort or encourage. Formed by two Greek words: para - beside, in the presence of; and kaleo - to call. The basic sense of the word is to stand beside someone to encourage him when he is undergoing severe testing. ii. This word governs this section. Occurs 10 times in 5 verses. b. God is there in all our troubles. i. "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen" - Spiritual ii. God knows those troubles (vs 4a) c. The God who knows can comfort. i. He is the God of all comfort. ii. For each trouble, he has a comfort.

B. Christians Give Comfort - Note 2Co 1:4b-7. 1. The purpose of God's encouragement (vs 4b): a. We have experienced the comfort of God in our lives. b. We learn how to "channel" encouragement to others. 2. The pattern for suffering and comfort (vs 5): a. The sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives. b. With the suffering comes the encouragement. c. The encouragement is so great that it flows over into the lives of our brothers and sisters. 3. The ministry of encouragement (vss 6-7): a. Seeing suffering as an opportunity to comfort (vs 6a) b. Receiving encouragement to pass it on (vs 6b) 4. The result: a. It will produce patient endurance b. With every pain there is enough comfort (vs 7)

2 Corinthians 147 Conclusion: Learning to Live with Pain 1. Look to God for your encouragement a. Don't gripe or complain or give up. b. Look for your spiritual second wind from God. 2. Look to your brothers and sisters for encouragement a. Let them encourage you. b. Get your mind off yourself by encouraging them.

2 Corinthians 148 Vive la Difference

Introduction:

About 600 years before Christ, a Greek slave named Aesop developed a reputation for wisdom. His stories of birds and beasts - with the inevitable moral at the end of each tale - have continued through the centuries to educate men and women about themselves. One of Aesop's fables uses a Peacock and a Crane to teach a lesson much needed by the church today.

A. The Parable of the Peacock and the Crane The Peacock and the Crane happened to meet one day and the Peacock spread his beautiful tail, and minced around and looked with contempt at the Crane as though it were just an ordinary creature and not worthy of his proud notice.

The Crane didn't like this insolent, haughty behavior, so he said, just loudly enough for the Peacock to hear him, 'Peacocks would be fine birds if fine feathers could make them so, but it must be terrible not to be noble enough to fly up above the clouds.' Then the Crane flapped his large, strong wings and sailed away, leaving the Peacock below not half so pleased with himself as he had been before.

The Point - It is foolish to insult others because they are not like us. In many ways they may be much better than we are.

B. The Tension between Unity and Uniformity 1. It is certainly important for us to stress the necessity of unity in the body of Christ. a. Most Christians struggle with "dying to self" and with "considering others better than yourself." b. We have a great deal to learn about being "group centered" rather than "self-centered. 2. In our eagerness to promote the oneness of the body, however, we must overlook the differences that exist between people. 3. So long as the church is made up of people, diversity will be an inescapable fact of life in our congregations.

Transition: The same God who made the Peacock and the Crane made a Peter and a Paul, a John and a Thomas. In the church, as in the fable, it is foolish to condemn others because they are not like us. In many ways, they may be better.

Romans 149 I. Unity and Diversity: A Case Study A. A Brief Look at Diversity in the New Testament Church 1. When Paul stated, "Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all" (Col 3:11), he was exaggerating slightly to make a point. a. There were Greeks and Jews, slaves and free, males and females, rich and poor in the early church. b. Simply because these people became Christians did not mean there were no differences among them. c. Paul did not say there were no differences between members of the early church, only that such differences did not threaten the unity of a group glued together by Jesus Christ. d. He was not arguing against diversity but for unity in diversity. 2. The New Testament church was about as diverse a group of people as you could possibly imagine. a. Many Christians (like Matthew) were Jewish; others (like Cornelius) were Gentiles; a few (like Timothy) were a mixture of both. b. Some (Apollos) were well-educated and even wealthy; others (Peter and John) were poor and unschooled. c. Paul had a conservative religious background; the Corinthians had worshipped with prostitutes. d. Some were hot-headed (Peter); others were loving (Barnabas); still others were logical (Luke). e. Many (like Philemon) were free; many others (Onesimus, for instance) were slaves. f. There was no such thing as a "typical" Christian. 3. The bloodiest battles fought in the first century church centered on this very issue of diversity (Jew/Gentile). B. The Battle for Cookie-cutter Christians 1. Having allowed Gentiles into the church, a concerted effort was launched to make them as much like Jews as possible. "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses" (Ac 15:5). 2. To a certain element of Jewish Christians, only a remaking of the Gentile converts along Jewish lines could maintain the unity of the church. a. Gentile Christians must be circumcized; they must observe the Law; they must even honor the traditions. b. They must become as Jewish as the Jews in order to enjoy fellowship in the church. Some Jews, like some of us, could not understand that there was room in Christ's one body for diversity on such matters. 3. But the fact is that room has always existed in God's church for diversity on a wide range of issues. a. Gentiles, with all their differences in background and behavior, were as welcome in the church as Jews. b. You didn't have to be kosher to be Christian. i. Pork-eaters could rub shoulders with pork-haters. ii. Synagogue attendance was not required, nor a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, nor the wearing of phylacteries and skull caps.

Romans 150 II. Acceptance: The Key to Unity A. Unity Does Not Depend on Uniformity 1. The remarkable feature of the New Testament church was not the similarity of its members, but its ability to maintain unity despite such diverse people. 2. How did first century Christians manage to build a unified fellowship out of such a pluralistic membership? a. Paul tells us how in the 14th chapter of Romans. b. Far from suppressing diversity, he gloried in it. The myriad faces of the church proved the power of the gospel and the power of Christian fellowship. B. The Problems at Rome 1. There were differences among sincere Christians. a. Read Ro 14:1-5. b. Two issues: food and religious days c. It may not seem important to us, but is was to them. 2. The church at Rome found unity threatened by diversity. a. They concluded this threat could be alleviated only by all members of the congregation acting alike. i. Those who refrained from eating certain foods (or considered certain days holy) began to pass judgment on those who did not. ii. Those who ate freely (or observed no holy days) tried to ridicule their brothers into more tolerant and broadminded attitudes. b. Each side played the power game, the first group questioning the commitment of the second and the second group questioning the sanity of the first. C. The Teaching of Romans 1. Into this situation stepped Paul, insisting that unity in the Body of Christ had nothing to do with uniformity on the part of its members. a. Paul could have laid down one rule for all to follow. b. But Paul saw a greater issue at stake - the importance of keeping the body unified in the presence of diverse opinions. c. He knew that if it were not this issue it would be another over which brothers differed. 2. Paul asked these Christians to try a new method of promoting unity - to accept diversity on such "disputable matters" and to behave in such a way that these issues did not become divisive. D. Don't Judge 1. Read Ro 14:1, 3 a. The matter are "disputable" - no "Thou shalt." b. Accept each other and don't pass judgment. c. Those who can - don't look down on those who cannot. d. Those who cannot - don't condemn those who do. 2. Read Ro 14:4, 10-12 a. Judgment about such matters should be left to God. b. Worry about your own standing before God. c. Give others the freedom to determine for themselves.

Romans 151 E. Do What Leads to Peace 1. Read Ro 14:13, 17, 19 2. Christians must never allow minor things to interfere with the major. a. When differences on peripheral matters cause the peace of the kingdom to be threatened, believers have strained the gnat and swallowed the camel. b. Paul commanded that "every effort" should be aimed at what is truly major - peace within the congregation. F. Accept One Another 1. Read Ro 15:5-7 2. Christ has accepted so much in each of us - so much that is inconsistent with his preferences, or immature by his standards, or incomplete according to his knowledge - that it smacks of ingratitude for us to be less accepting of our brothers. If Jesus can put up with the likes of you and me, we ought to manage a grudging tolerance of each other!

Conslusion: Diversity in the Church Today

A. The Church as Melting-Pot 1. There are differences in who we are as people. a. Black and white, rich and poor, young and old, , up-tight and laid-back. We have different cultures, values, appearances and personalities. b. Some of us like rock; others prefer Mozart. We are single and married and divorced. All of us have lived through the Great Depression; it's just that some of us refer to the crash of '29 while others are describing what happened when they flunked chemistry. c. In this one group there are optimists and pessimists, thinkers and doers, hard-liners and soft-touches. 2. There are differences in who we are as Christians. a. Some of us were raised in warm, vibrant churches; some come out of legalism; some grew up more concerned with social status than with God's word; some of us never came to church during our childhood. b. There are forty year old Christians and forty day old Christians. There are spiritual giants and those who still need milk. Some of us are "liberals;" some of us are known for more conservative thinking. c. There is not a single individual in this congregation who would agree with you on every issue. B. How are we to Deal with Diversity? 1. Diversity is not a threat to unity. a. If we are not careful, diversity will be viewed as a barrier to Christian oneness. The plea for unity will degenerated into a passion for uniformity. b. But the oneness spoken of in the New Testament has nothing to do with "standardized Christianity." 2. We need to learn Paul's lessons to the Romans: a. Stop judging on disputable matters. b. Do what leads to peace. c. Accept one another as Christ has accepted you.

Romans 152 Trust and Obey

Introduction:

"I love you more than life itself," the young man said to his girl friend. "For you I'd climb the highest mountain, I'd swim the deepest ocean . . . and I'll be over Friday night if it doesn't rain."

Any woman will tell you that a man who says he loves you isn't nearly so desirable as a man who shows he loves you. All the professions of love in the world don't amount to anything if words aren't supported by deeds. In fact, most of us judge how much someone loves us not by what they tell us about their feelings but by the way they treat us.

While we've learned this lesson in our personal lives, many people still struggle with a similar issue in their religious lives. According to much of the protestant world today, God is more interested in what we say about him than in what we do for him. Just say you believe and you will be saved. Just pray the "Sinners' Prayer" or put your hand on the T.V.. Just accept Jesus into your heart. "We are saved by faith only," this crowd will cry, and they cringe at the suggestion that anything more may be required of the Christian. Discipleship, righteous living, yielding to the Lordship of Jesus - all become so much optional equipment to their one and only essential: a disembodied "faith." A writer for this viewpoint shows just how far they are willing to go to advocate "faith only." It is possible, even probable, that when a believer out of fellowship falls for certain types of philosophy . . . he will become an 'unbelieving believer.' Yet believers who become agnostics are still saved; they are still born again. You can even become an atheist; but if you once accept Christ as saviour, you cannot lose your salvation, even though you deny God. R. B. Thieme Apes and Peacocks or the Pursuit of Happiness, p. 23.

Why is it so difficult for us to accept that God is at least as smart as a girl friend or wife? He knows that the person who claims to believe is not nearly so desirable as the one who shows his faith through the way he behaves. "Actions speak louder than words" both in romance and in religion.

James 153 I. The Battle between Faith and Works

A. The False Dichotomy 1. Paul and James a. Paul - in Galatians and Romans - argues for justification by faith apart from works of the law. We cannot earn our way into heaven by what we do. Our best shot is but "filthy rags" in God's eyes. b. James argues for justification on the basis of faith that is evidenced by what we do. Faith alone, he will say, is not able to save us. 2. Martin Luther sets the agenda a. Luther began the Protestant Reformation by grappling with the teachings of Paul in Galatians and Romans. i. His favorite concept was salvation through faith. ii. A true concept, but carried to an extreme. b. Luther had little patience for the book of James. i. James "contradicts St. Paul and all other Scripture in giving righteousness to works." ii. He esteems it "a rather straw-like epistle." 3. Faith and Works - Misunderstanding both Paul and James a. Faith becomes a purely internal condition of the heart, a cognitive and passive acceptance. b. Works becomes mere external activity, having no connection to or comment on the heart.

B. The True Unity 1. Faith and works are understood (Biblically) to be a unit. They work together to complement and complete each other. 2. Examples: a. In the Old Testament i. Read Hebrews 11:1 - Faith is being sure enough to act. ii. Read Hebrews 11:4, 7, 8, 17, 23, 29-34 iii. Faith was always backed up by action. Without the action, would the faith have mattered? b. In the teachings of Jesus: Read Mt 7:21 - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." c. In Paul: i. Read Romans 1:5; 16:25-27 ii. Read Galatians 5:6; 6:9-10

James 154 II. Faith without Works is Dead - Read James 2:14-26

A. The Issue - vss 14-17 1. Faith without deeds is powerless to save (vs 14) a. Read vss 17, 20, 24, 26 b. Such faith is "without worth" 2. An Analogy (vss 15-17) a. We all recognize that love must be expressed. i. Words of love and compassion are not enough. ii. Some action is required to back up the words. iii. No action, no love. b. In the same way - no action, no faith. 3. James is familiar with the kind of Christian who is uncomfortable being asked to prove his faith by his life. James insists that Christians must "put up or shut up."

B. The Argument - vss 18-19 1. The answer to that kind of Christian: a. The "someone" in vs 18 is answering the "someone" in vs 14. He agrees with the position James takes. b. The quotation does not end in the middle of vs 18 but continues on to the end of the verse, or even vs 19. 2. Works is the only way to prove faith exists. a. The fruit principle allows the one who acts right to show that he believes right. b. What principle allows someone to prove faith in the absence of behavior? 3. Faith is not just acknowledging that God exists. a. A mere intellectual assent will not save. b. The demons can give that, but such "faith" leads to fear rather than salvation.

James 155 C. The Examples - vss 20-26 1. James goes on to give two examples of how faith without deeds is useless. a. Abraham and Rahab b. He calls the "faith only" Christian an "empty-head." c. The real question here is actually "What would the outcomes of these situations have been without the actions of Abraham and Rahab? 2. Abraham offers Isaac (Read James 2:21-24) a. When God told Abraham to offer Isaac, Abraham obeyed. i. "his faith and his actions were working together" ii. "his faith was made complete by what he did" iii. Because he was willing to act, the scripture could truly state that "Abraham believed God ..." b. What if Abraham had not done what God said? i. He could still believe in God, yet choose to disobey him. ii. But would that kind of faith justify him? iii. Without obedience, the scripture could not have stated that "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." c. Abraham was justified not just because he said the right words but because he did the right thing. We are justified by faith expressing itself through works. It is not faith plus works but faith at work that is the kind of faith pleasing to God. 3. Rahab saves the spies (Read James 2:25-26) a. Rahab protected the spies and, as a result, was saved when the Israelites took Jericho. b. But what if Rahab had turned the spies in? i. She could still have believed in the power of the God of the Israelites without choosing to risk her own life to save those of the spies. ii. But would that kind of faith have saved her? c. Rahab showed that she had a living faith when she risked her own life in behalf of God's people. Without the risk, there would have been no saving Rahab in the destruction which followed.

Conclusion: 1. Many of us live a "faith only" theology. a. We count on confession to justify us. b. What about discipleship, ethic, commitment? 2. Many of us look to the wrong kind of deeds as evidence of faith. a. Church attendance is not the ultimate expression of faith. b. Abraham and Rahab were not commended for observing ceremony or assenting to credal dogma - they were commended for taking risks. i. Abraham risked his future. ii. Rahab risked her life. 3. True faith must and will express itself through works.

James 156 A Gospel for Today

Introduction:

It is tempting, when approaching a gospel book like Mark, to spend all our time and efforts studying about the mind and heart and ministry and personality of Jesus Christ. But instead, let's step back from this book just enough to explore the reasons for why such a book would have been written. We will look at the author and audience of Mark in an attempt to understand better the picture of Jesus that is painted in this gospel.

Why would anyone write a gospel? Certainly the gospels were written because the Holy Spirit moved the authors to write and because the authors had a message about Jesus they wanted to share. In fact, there are a number of motives at work behind the writing of a gospel. Luke, for instance, writes for a gentile audience in order to give an "orderly account" of Christ's life. John is not interested so much in order - he is concerned with theology. Matthew wrote an "apologetic" gospel, proving that Jesus was the Messiah to a predominantly Jewish audience.

Mark wrote to persuade, to inform, to convince. But he also wrote, it seems, to minister to a group of Christians who were hurting and who were considering leaving the faith. The emphasis in Mark is distinct. The focus on suffering and discipleship is pronounced. The promise of persecution and the admonition to persevere is consistent. Why would Mark write on these particular themes unless he knew that the people to whom he wrote needed to hear some lessons along these lines?

It is important that we allow each gospel to speak its unique message. We have four gospels, not one. Each has a peculiar flavor, an individual twist. If we can understand and appreciate that uniqueness, our understanding of Jesus and his early followers will be immeasurably enriched.

Mark 157 I. Early Tradition Regarding the Gospel of Mark

A. The "Church Fathers" 1. It was understood by the early church that this gospel was written by Mark, who was intimately associated with the Apostle Peter, for the Christians of Rome. 2. Papias (ca. A.D. 140) - Ecclesiastical History 3.39.15 And the Elder said this also: Mark, who became Peter's interpreter, wrote accurately, though not in order, all that he remembered of the things said or done by the Lord. For he had neither heard the Lord nor been one of his followers, but afterwards, as I said, he had followed Peter, who used to compose his discourses with a view to the needs of his hearers, but not as though he were drawing up a connected account of the Lord's sayings. So Mark made no mistake in thus recording some things just as he remembered them. For he was careful of this one thing, to omit none of the things he had heard and to make no untrue statements therein. a. Behind this gospel is the eyewitness account and apostolic authority of Peter. b. Mark was not concerned to write a chronological biography of Jesus but—like his mentor Peter—to remember everything he could about Christ's life and to apply it to the needs of his readers.

B. John Mark in the Biblical Tradition 1. There is no indication that John Mark was a disciple of Jesus during his earthly ministry. a. We know he was a Jew, living in Jerusalem (Ac 12:12), so that he probably knew of Jesus. b. Some people see a reference to Mark in the young man who ran away naked the night Jesus was betrayed (Mk 14:51-52). 2. What we know of Mark is from years after the resurrection. a. It is to Mark's mother's house that Peter fled when miraculously released from prison (Ac 12:12 - A.D. 44?). b. Later, Mark joined the missionary team of Saul and Barnabas (Mark's cousin - Col 4:10) (Ac 12:25 - A.D. 46). c. He traveled with Paul and Barnabas to Cyprus and the coast of Asia, but returned to Jerusalem when the team turned inland. d. Paul refused to give Mark another chance on the second missionary journey, so Barnabas took his cousin and returned to Cyprus (Ac 15:36-41 - A.D. 49) e. 12 years later, however (ca. A.D. 61), Mark is with Paul in Rome (Col 4:10; Phm 24) and 5 years after that, Paul would write that Mark "is very helpful to me in my ministry" (2Ti 4:11). f. Mark appears to have been in Rome at the time both Paul and Peter are imprisoned and martyred (2Ti 4:11; 1Pe 5:13 - ca. A.D. 67/68).

Mark 158 Transition: Both the account of Acts and the Epistles and the witness of the early church fathers agree in identifying John Mark as the likely writer of this book. If they were right on authorship, there is no reason to doubt their statements about Mark drawing his gospel from the preaching of Peter and writing from the region of Italy soon after the death of the apostle - A.D. 67-69.

II. The Situation at Rome in the Late 60's A. Nero and Rome (A.D. 54-68) 1. First five years were governed responsibly. 2. Nero began to show his true colors: a. Heavy taxations and false accusations b. Ordering of suicides at public banquets 3. The fire of 64: a. Only 4 of 14 wards were spared - 3 were destroyed. b. The Romans rumored that Nero had set the fire to allow more room for building his palace. c. Looking for a scapegoat. B. The Church and Rome 1. Before A.D. 64, the church in Rome was unmolested. a. There is no evidence of persecution in Romans, written around A.D. 57. In fact, Paul refers (at least in principle) to Nero when he calls the "one in authority . . . God's servant to do you good" (Ro 13:4). b. The picture of conditions for Christians in the early 60's (from Acts 28) is good. Paul could preach "boldly and without hindrance" (Ac 28:31), and even had access to Nero's household (Ph 1:13; 4:22). 2. The situation changed in A.D. 64. a. Statement by Tacitus, Annals, XV. 44. (ca. A. D. 100) [Nothing] could stifle scandal or dispel the belief that the fire had taken place by order. Therefore, to suppress the rumour, Nero fabricated scapegoats, and punished with the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men, loathed for their vices, whom the crowd styled Christians. . . . First, then, the confessed members of the sect were arrested; then, on their information, vast numbers were convicted, not so much on the count of arson as for the hatred of the human race. And derision accompanied their end: they were covered with wild beast's skins and torn to death by dogs; or they were fastened on crosses, and when daylight failed were burned to serve as lamps by night. Nero provided his Gardens for the spectacle, and gave an exhibition in his Circus, mixing with the crowd in the garb of a charioteer, or mounted on his chariot. Despite their guilt as Christians, and the ruthless punishment it deserved, the victims were pitied. For it was felt that they were being sacrificed to one man's brutality rather than to the national interest. b. The church goes underground - literally. i. It was during this period that the Christians took to the catacombs. ii. Suppression of the church was state policy for three centuries.

Mark 159 C. The Task of Mark 1. To write a gospel that will encourage the Roman Christians to remain faithful in suffering. 2. To accomplish this by showing Jesus as one who understood suffering and encouraged his disciples to stay true in the face of suffering. 3. To show that nothing the Roman Christians could suffer at the hands of Nero was alien to the experience of Jesus.

III. Overview of the "Suffering" Theme in Mark with Rome in Mind A. The example of Jesus to remain faithful in suffering. 1. Jesus knew what it was to have people turn against him. a. His family thought he was out of his mind (3:21). b. His home town "took offense at him" (6:3). c. Jewish leaders called him demon possessed (3:22) and a blasphemer (2:7). d. The crowds that first loved him turned against him in the end (15:11). e. His friends deserted him (14:50). One of them betrayed him (14:44-45). Another denied him (14:66-72). 2. Jesus knew what it was to live under threat of death. a. From the beginning and throughout his ministry, the Jewish leaders had looked for a way to kill him (3:1, 6; 11:18; 14:1). b. He knew that he was walking the path to death (4 specific predictions of death in Mark: 8:31; 9:12; 9:31; 10:33-34) c. Jesus knew the agony of waiting for the soldiers to come (14:33). He had prayed to be spared (14:35). d. Above all, though, he showed his desire to do God's will rather than his own (14:36). 3. Jesus knew what it was like to suffer and die. a. He was spit on, beaten and mocked by guards (14:65). b. He was flogged, ridiculed, struck and spit upon by Roman soldiers (15:15-20). c. He was crucified by the Romans (15:24) and insulted by the Jews (15:29-32). B. The Teachings of Jesus to remain faithful in suffering. 1. In the parable of the sower (Mk 4:1-20), Jesus describes a kind of hearer who is like seed sown in rocky places - "Since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away" (vs 17). 2. Read Mark 8:34-38; 10:29-31; 13:9-13.

Conclusion: A Gospel for Today 1. It is the responsibility of the church of each generation to present a Jesus who addresses the concerns and troubles of that generation. 2. We are all in the "gospel writing" business. 3. First we must know the building blocks. Then we can figure out how to put them together in a way that lives and breathes today. 4. Read Mk 13:10, 16:15-16

Mark 160 Let there be Peace

Introduction: Learn Dona Nobis: Holy Father, grant us peace. Dona Nobis, Pacem Pacem (Latin version)

We sing many religious songs about peace. Dona Nobis happens to be a very old song on this theme. But there are other songs— more modern— which we have in our hymnals and are also built on this theme.

Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin: The blood of Jesus whispers peace within.

When peace like a river attendeth my way . . .

Master, the Tempest is Raging (The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will, Peace, be still! Peace, be still!)

You don't have to be a Christian to sing songs about peace. You don't have to understand the person of Jesus, you don't have to be a part of the church to appreciate the theme of peace and to sing songs about that theme. There was a song, popular during World War Two, that the people of England loved to sing - The White Cliffs of Dover.

There'll be blue birds over The White cliffs of Dover Tomorrow, just you wait and see There'll be love and laughter and peace ever after . . .

Even someone so confused and tormented as John Lennon knew enough about the needs of the world to write a song entitled "Give Peace a Chance." It became a theme song for an entire generation.

The book of Ephesians is one more hymn about peace. From first to last, in the most beautiful melodies and with the most intricate of harmonies, Paul writes a song about peace.

Ephesians 161 I. Jesus and the Gospel of Peace A. The Messiah and Peace 1. Isaiah 9:6b-7a And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. 2. Isaiah 11:6 - description of the Messianic Kingdom: The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 3. Micah 5:4-5a He will ... shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace. 4. Ezekiel 37:24a, 26a My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. . . . I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. B. Jesus and Peace 1. Luke 1:76-79 - Zechariah predicting the work of John and the Messiah: And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins . . . to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace. 2. Luke 2:14 - the angels announce the birth of the Messiah. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. 3. Matthew 5:9 - Jesus blesses those who make peace and promises this is how others will know they are "sons of God." 4. Jesus sends away those he has healed with a blessing of peace (e.g. Lk 8:48), and teaches his disciples to "be at peace with one another" (Mk 9:50). 5. At the triumphal entry, as the crowd shouts, "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest" (Lk 19:38), Jesus weeps over Jerusalem because it did not know "what would bring you peace" (vs 42). 6. On the night he was betrayed, Jesus comforts his disciples with the words, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (Jn 14:27). Jesus was (and is) the Prince of Peace who came from the God of Peace preaching a Gospel of Peace so that we might be at peace. II. Ephesians and the Theme of Peace Ephesians 162

A. The Problem of Alienation (Read Eph 2:11-12) 1. Separation between man and man. a. Prejudice between Jew and Gentile - Jews had the greatest contempt for Gentiles. They called Gentiles "dogs" and "uncircumcised," and were fond of saying that the only reason God had created the Gentiles was so that he could have fuel for the fires of Hell. b. Paul, writing to Gentiles, said there once was a time when the Gentiles were "excluded" from Israel and were "foreigners." 2. Separation between God and man. a. The Gentiles once were "separated from Christ" (no expectation of a Messiah). b. They were "atheoi" - without God, "No-god-ers." 3. There had been no peace in the lives of the Gentiles.

B. Christ, the Peacemaker (2:13-18) 1. "But" - the most hope-filled word I know. a. Though once we were alienated and excluded and separate, that is no longer the case. b. Christ entered the picture, and with Christ came reconciliation. 2. The work of Christ (vss 13-14): a. When we were far away, he brought us near (vs 13). b. He brought unity to division (vs 14b). c. He destroyed the hostility (vs 14c). 3. The purpose of Christ (vss 15b-16): a. To make peace between people ("one new man out of the two"—vs 15b) b. To make peace between God and man ("to reconcile both of them to God" - vs 16). 4. The preaching of Christ (vs 17): a. Christ came with a message of peace for those who were far and near (vs 17). b. We both have access to the Father through him (vs 18).

C. The Community of Peace (2:19-22) 1. The two-fold peace (vs 19): a. We are fellow citizens - social peace. b. We are members of God's family - theological peace. 2. The growing church is the sign of peace and reconciliation (vss 21-22).

Ephesians 163 III. What Price Peace?

A. If this is Peace, Who Needs War? 1. Note: this book on peace concludes by talking of war. a. "our struggle" (6:12) is constant. b. Paul describes the Christian's armour (vss13-18). 2. The Prince of Peace knew he would not bring peace! a. Matthew 10:34 Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (Son against father, daughter against mother, enemies in the household.) b. Perhaps not the intention of Jesus, but the result none-the-less. 3. Other examples of a lack of peace in the N.T.: a. The church at Corinth b. The conflict between Jew and Gentile in the early church. c. The argument between Euodia and Syntyche at the Philippian congregation.

B. What Kind of Peace did Jesus Bring? 1. It was not cheap peace. a. Not the spineless ecumenism that is so often touted about as "Christ's peace." b. Not the avoidance of conflict or the suppression of differences. c. Not the sacrifice of principle for the sake of superficial harmony. 2. It was a very costly peace indeed. a. It cost Jesus his life. In Ephesians 2:11-22, that which won peace was the death of Jesus. i. It was "through the blood of Christ" that we, who were far away, were brought near. ii. It was "in his flesh" that Jesus destroyed the hostility between us and God. iii. It was "through the cross" that Jesus reconciled us to God and to each other. b. It will cost us our lives as well. i. The peace Jesus offers is a peace found among those who have also taken up their crosses and followed in his steps. ii. It is a peace available to those who are more committed to the kingdom of God than to "saving their lives." iii. It is a reconciliation between ourselves and God and ourselves and each other that is accomplished through his blood, but then is built upon through our own dying to self.

Ephesians 164 Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up

Introduction:

The young men at the door were well dressed and mannerly. They sounded reasonable and knowledgeable. They had come to convince me that God had spoken in these last days and said things which I needed to hear. I listened quietly to their spiel, and then asked them the one question that always cuts right to the heart of any debate about God:

"Tell me what you think about Jesus Christ."

They looked at each other and then began to explain away everything I believe the Bible to teach about Jesus. Jesus, they said, was a "son of God" just as Satan was a "son of God." Jesus was the good brother and Satan was the bad. Jesus is the god of this world only -- other spirits are "god" over other worlds. In fact, if we believe the right things, we will one day be gods ourselves just like Jesus.

The Mormons are not the only ones in religious realms to have gotten Jesus wrong. How important is it, anyway, to get Jesus right? If you gain the whole world but miss out on Jesus, just how much have you missed out on after all? If you have all knowledge and can fathom all mysteries, but you don't know Jesus Christ, how much in the dark are you?

There are many religious groups who will tell you that you haven't missed out on much if you miss out on Jesus. They play fast and loose with Christology, challenging not just the orthodox position on Christ but the Bible's plain teaching. They seem to think it nothing to redefine his work, to question his nature, or to cast doubt on his teaching. "It is important that we understand God," they say. "Understanding Jesus is nice, but not essential."

I. The Importance of Getting Jesus Right A. Christ has always been Controversial 1. Modern day heresies about Jesus. a. The Mormons are not the only ones to have strange ideas about Jesus. b. The Unification church teaches that Jesus lived a long life, married, and had children. He was killed in the end, but it wasn't what he intended to happen. c. Jehovah's Witnesses will allow that Jesus was "a god," but refuse to confess that "Jesus is God" (note the New World Translation on John 1:1). d. Even in mainstream churches there is confusion about Jesus Christ. i. Many in the Calvinist camp teach that Jesus can be your Savior (you can believe in Jesus and thus be saved) without also being your Lord (there is no commitment or submission to Jesus required to be saved). ii. Unfortunately, there are some of us who live this philosophy even if we don't teach it. 2. Earlier heresies about Jesus. a. Such teachings in our own time should not surprise us. There have always been people who have perverted the Bible's teachings about Jesus Christ. b. Gnostic Doceticism in the second century; Arianism in the third and fourth. c. Christological heresies have always plagued the church. B. What You Believe about Jesus Determines Everything Else 1. The Diamond cutter's art: Colossians 165 a. Finding the fracture plane. b. The result: beauty or dust. 2. Jesus is religion's "fracture plane." a. If you get Jesus right, everything else will come out right. b. If you get Jesus wrong, nothing else can come out right.

II. Colossians and the Importance of Getting Jesus Right

Someone (or some group) in the Colossian church has misunderstood the very heart and soul of the Christian message. Probably, it wasn't that they were deliberately trying to sabotage the church in Colossae. They may even have had good motives - attempting to help these Christians to know more or live better or worship more acceptably.

A. The Danger facing the Colossian Church 1. "You need more knowledge" a. Read Col 2:8-10a b. Some would tell us that greater knowledge (depending on human tradition, etc.) is the key to spirituality. It is Christ plus special knowledge. c. Paul insists that Christ is all we need for true spirituality. When we know Christ, we know everything we need to know to know God. 2. "You need more ceremony" a. Read Col 2:16-17 b. Some would tell us that stricter ceremonial observances are the keys to spirituality. It is Christ plus special religious observances. c. Paul insists that the "reality is found in Christ." When we worship Christ, we have worshiped in spirit and in truth. 3. "You need more spiritual experiences" a. Read Col 2:18-19 b. Some would tell us that visions and a more direct communication with the spirit world are the keys to real spirituality. It is Christ plus a special experience of the transcendental. c. Paul insists that reliance on such things "disqualifies you for the prize." When we look at Christ, we have seen all that we need to see for spiritual growth. 4. "You need more rules and regulations" a. Read Col 2:20-23 b. Some would tell us that more "Dos and Don'ts" have to be required before people can become spiritual. It is Christ plus a strict code of conduct. c. Paul insists that such things have an "appearance of wisdom" but that knowing Jesus is the only way to restrain "sensual indulgence." When we have committed to following Jesus, we have the one rule that is truly able to promote holy living.

Colossians 166 B. Paul's Encouragement to Get Jesus Right

According to Paul, these people were majoring in minors and minoring in that which was truly major. They had forgotten what was at the very center of Christianity - Christ. If knowing Christ and loving Christ and imitating Christ is not sufficient to produce God-honoring lives, all the rules and knowledge and spiritual experiences in the world will not do the job. At the very core of the Gospel is the belief that Jesus and Jesus alone has everything the Christian needs to make him perfect in God's eyes. It's not Christ plus anything. Jesus doesn't need anything else to make us what he wants us to be. All he needs is our absolute dependence on him.

1. The Supremacy of Christ - Read Col 1:15-18. a. Christ was the creator of all things (vss 15-17). b. Christ is head of the church (vs 18a). c. Christ is the firstborn in resurrection (vs 18b). d. He has supremacy in everything else (vs 18c) - certainly he needs supremacy in our hearts. 2. The Fullness of God is in Christ - Read Col 1:19; 2:9-10a. a. Everything that God is is in Christ. b. Everything that we need is in Christ. 3. Our Foundation is in Christ - Read Col 1:28; 2:6-7. a. He is the essence of the message we preach. i. Paul could have taught many things to help these pagans start acting like Christians. ii. The one thing he saw as basic was a knowledge of Jesus Christ. b. He is what we are rooted and built up in. 4. Christ is our Life - Read Col 3:1-4. a. We set our hearts and minds on him. b. Our lives are swallowed up in the pursuit of him. 5. Everything we do is in Jesus - Read Col 3:15-16. a. His peace rules in our hearts. b. His word dwells in our minds. c. Everything that we say or do is in his name.

Colossians 167 Conclusion:

A. Christ is the Beginning and End of Christian Living. 1. Nothing else will lead us to God. 2. To know great mysteries or see wonderful visions or enjoy magnificent worship periods or hold the highest moral standards is without value if you do not know Jesus Christ. 3. Jesus is first and foremost. Everything else becomes important only when built upon a foundation of commitment to him.

Christians are Christ-Ones. Christ is the atmosphere in which we live. He is our source and power. He is our model and guide. We are experts in Jesus Christ. We do not pedal a new moral code. We do not major in deep spiritual mysteries. We are not professional experience hunters. We are a people who know Jesus, and who are committed to knowing him more every day of our lives.

B. Christ and the Discovery 1. Reentry is a very dangerous point in any space mission. a. A few degrees too low, and the space craft burns up. b. A few degrees too high, and the craft will bounce off the atmosphere and be catapulted into space. c. There is only a very narrow "window" which the space craft must pass through if a safe landing is to be attained. 2. Jesus is the window of everyone who would land safely in the arms of God. a. If you fail to get him right, even over the little things, the margin of error will mean spiritual death. b. Only by getting him right can we be assured safe landing.

Colossians 168 All for One and One for All

Introduction: A. The Man of the Past 1. 300 years ago John Donne penned these words: No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse . . . any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. John Donne, Holy Sonnets 2. Donne's words reflect something about the rural man of the past. a. People once were "connected" to each other in community. b. Families were extended, neighbors permanent, friendships lifelong. 3. That sense of permanence had a major impact on the way people of the past viewed reality, their commitments to people, and even themselves. a. They once defined themselves in terms of groups. i. They identified by clan or guild or social class. ii. They thought in group terms and according to group standards. b. The man of the past was less an individual than "a part of the maine." B. Oh the times, they are a-changing 1. In 1965, we found a new poet more to our liking. Paul Simon penned a hymn in praise of the individual, proud of his freedom from the group. "I am a rock, I am an island," wrote Simon, capturing an important difference between the past and the present. 2. Transience is the norm of life today. a. Transience in place: In each year since 1948 one out of five Americans changed his address, picking up his children, some household effects, and starting life anew at a fresh place. Even the great migrations of history, the Mongol hordes, the westward movement of Europeans in the nineteenth century, seem puny by statistical comparison. Alvin Toffler, Future Shock b. Transience in occupation: i. Department of Labor - "the average twenty-year-old man in the work force could be expected to change jobs six or seven times." ii. The salesman of today could be the author of tomorrow and the professor of the day after. c. Transience in Relationships: Our friends float past; we become involved with them; they float on, and we must rely on hearsay or lose track of them completely; they float back again, and we must either renew our friendship—catch up to date—or find that they and we don't comprehend each other any more. John Barth Philippians 169 Transition: This sense of transience impacts the way we view reality, our commitments to people, and ourselves. 1. We no longer define ourselves in corporate terms. We don't make decisions on the basis of what would be beneficial for the group. 2. We belong to the "me" generation. We have entered the Age of Individualism. We have become a people who evaluates everything in terms of how it will affect ourselves. 3. We are no longer a "part of the maine." We are rocks; We are islands.

I. Individualism and the Church

A. Teaching the "me" generation to think in "we" terms. 1. An essential challenge of the church today is to teach the individualist how to act as "a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine." a. Put simply, the church is faced with teaching the "me" generation how to think in "we" terms. b. People who have been reared in a culture that worships individualism must now learn how to behave in the context of a group - the church. c. A new set of attitudes and skills is demanded if the individual is to become a part of "the body." 2. Most people coming into the church today are simply not equipped to think in group terms. a. Dependency, we have learned, is weakness; accountability is slavery; submission is demeaning. b. The very notion of denying self so as to promote the group is alien to the modern mind. c. To say that the unity of the church may be more important than individual interests and freedoms is tantamount to cultural heresy. 3. Unfortunately, the contemporary church has not come to grips with this reality. a. New members are required to learn some basic theology and to conform to a basic code of ethics, but rarely are they taught how to "conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God" (1Ti 3:15). b. When converts are brought in, we assume they already know how to think and behave in corporate terms. 4. Most church members are individualists in Sunday-go-to-meeting clothing. a. They still think in "me" terms. b. They act, not on the basis of what is good for the group, but on the basis of personal preference. c. In the mind of the modern Christian, the needs of the many often take a back seat to the needs of the one.

Transition: This has Always Been a Problem in the Church 1. None of this is to say that the problem of "self" centeredness as opposed to "group" centeredness is unique to our time - only that it is more pronounced. 2. Christianity has always struggled with teaching its adherents to "die to self" and to behave in a manner that "builds up the body."

Philippians 170 B. The Early Church had its Share of Individualists 1. Paul fought just the kind of individualistic thinking that plagues the church today. a. Paul had to address this problem among Christians at Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, and Philippi. b. Many of them, like many of us, did not know how to live in the kind of community envisioned by Christ when he established his church. 2. While Paul wrote to an audience 2000 years removed, the lessons he taught are tailor-made for the church today.

II. Trouble in Philippi A. Background on Philippi 1. Philippi was a small but cosmopolitan city, rich in history by the time Paul preached there. a. As one of the way-stations along the Via Egnatia (the major overland route connecting Rome with the markets of the East), Philippi played host to a wide variety of traders and travelers. b. It was here that Antony and Octavian conquered the armies of Brutus and Cassius (the assassins of Julius Caesar). In time, Octavian fortified Philippi and established a military outpost. c. When Paul came to this city, its inhabitants were mainly Roman, though Greeks and Jews were represented. 2. In every way, Philippi provided just the kind of environment Paul seemed to covet for the preaching of the Gospel - a diverse, bustling metropolis set at a crossroad of trade and political life. B. Individualism at Philippi 1. Almost ten years after founding the church in Philippi, Paul received word that serious problems had arisen. a. Two most dedicated women were at odds with one another, and their bickering had caused unpleasant difficulties in the church (Php 4:2). b. Pride and selfish ambition had reared their ugly heads, and the unity of the body was at risk. 2. Paul wrote immediately to the Philippians, and (though he did not mention the rift between Euodia and Syntyche until chapter 4) used the entire letter to teach some important lessons on corporate living. Transition: 1. Read Php 2:2-8 - Paul reminded his readers of some basic rules for thinking in "we" terms. 2. Paul's aim in this passage is to deliver a mortal blow to individualistic thinking in the church. a. Unity, not self-actualization, is the goal of congregational life. b. It is the body's good, not the fulfillment of the individual, which must motivate each member's thoughts and actions. d. As members of a body, Christians must learn to subordinate themselves for the benefit of the congregation. 3. Only then can the tyranny of the "I" yield to the fellowship of the "we."

Philippians 171 III. A Prescription for Philippi A. Be One 1. Read Php 2:2 - the melody for this magnificent hymn on church life. Four times in this single verse, Paul stresses the importance of thinking in group terms. Think alike. Love alike. Be of one soul. Be of one mind. 2. The quest for oneness: a. My thoughts, emotions, soul and mind are incorporated into the personality of the congregation. b. While the individualist marches to his different drummer, the Christian makes every effort to be one with the rest. 3. Oneness is not sameness a. Paul is not arguing for cookie-cutter Christians. He is not saying that we should all hold identical opinions or strive for a bland uniformity. b. He is saying, however, that the Christian longs to move in the same direction, work for the same goals, share a common purpose and affection.

Transition: How is this kind of "oneness" possible? What can individual Christians do to make such unity a reality? Paul deals next with some practical attitudes and skills that will foster this kind of group identity.

B. Be Humble (Php 2:3) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 1. Again, Paul strikes at the "Me" orientation so common in our culture. a. It is dangerous to insist that nothing should be done "out of selfish ambition" in a society that buys millions of copies of a weekly magazine called Self. b. And it is almost blasphemous to command that we should consider others better than ourselves in a society that made Looking Out For Number One a runaway best seller. 2. But if the church is serious about real unity, Paul's comments on humility must be taken to heart. a. Oneness in the local church is impossible so long as ambition and conceit characterize her members. b. At the core of both vices is the individualism that destroys unity because it cares more for self than for the body. 3. Paul advocates a radical humility—one which goes so far as to count others "better" than self. a. This is the "group attitude" counteracting individualistic pride. i. This humility is not a lack of healthy confidence. ii. Nor is "considering others better" an overestimation of their abilities or a blindness to their faults. b. What Paul proposes is a conscious decision to sit at the foot of the table so that others may be honored.

Philippians 172 C. Be Concerned (Php 2:4) Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 1. One of the prime symptoms of a "me" mindset is tunnel vision - a narrow and exclusive focus on personal agendas, hobbies and interests. a. "My" programs must be advanced, "my" priorities must take precedence, "my" perspectives are most valid. b. The individualist fails to recognize that others have legitimate interests. 2. A "we" mindset yields a very different attitude. a. Because we are "group" centered, the priorities of our brothers become priorities for us. b. We are as concerned to see the interests of others advanced as we are to see our own affairs prosper. 3. Christians cannot blindly pursue personal agendas. a. We are one in spirit and purpose. b. We consider one another as better than ourselves. c. As a result, we pay attention to the things which interest each other.

IV. Have this Mind Among You

A. The Example of Jesus 1. There is no greater argument against individualism than the life of Jesus. a. Throughout Scripture, Jesus shows himself to the consummate "we" thinker. b. Each of the rules Paul gives for living in the body is exemplified in the life of Christ. 2. Note Php 2:5-8 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! B. Jesus was the Consumate "WE" Thinker 1. He valued oneness a. He became like us so that he could reach us. b. He prayed for oneness: "that they may be one" 2. He showed humility a. He "made himself nothing, taking the nature of a servant." b. He always put others' needs before his own. 3. He was concerned about us a. His love for us was the motive for the cross. b. He considered us "better than" himself. 4. Had Jesus been part of the "me" generation, he would have clung to his preeminence. Had he been the individualist, he would never have emptied himself and taken on the nature of a servant. Had Jesus been looking out for himself, he would not have gone to the cross.

Philippians 173 Conclusion:

This is the attitude Christians must imitate. It is time for us to throw off the shackles of self-centeredness. For too long, Christians have crippled the church by an inability to think beyond themselves. If the church is ever to be a body - a living, breathing, vital organism - members must recognize that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

So, be one - do everything in your power to keep step with your brothers. Be humble - put the wants and needs of others ahead of your own. And be concerned - learn to appreciate and value the priorities of other Christians.

Above all, be Christ-like. Pour yourself out. Become a servant. Lay down your life. When this is accomplished, there will be no more individualists in God's one body. Instead, our motto will be, "All for one and one for all." Easy? No! But if the three musketeers could do it, a few committed Christians should be equal to the task.

[This sermon adapted from Among Friends, James Hinkle and Tim Woodroof, NavPress, 1989.]

Philippians 174 It's Not Over 'til it's Over

Introduction:

There is a popular poster available in most book stores which shows a wide-eyed cat holding on for dear life to a clothesline. The caption underneath reads, "Hang in there, Baby." I don't particularly like cats, but I like that poster. It communicates a message that all of us need to hear from time to time in our lives - that often it is not brilliance or brawn or bravado which is needed in day to day living so much as the simple capacity to stick things out.

We use a number of folksy sayings which make the same point:

Keep on keeping on. Never say die. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on. It's not over till it's over.

The ability to hang on, to persist, to persevere is one of the most praiseworthy characteristics we humans possess. We don't like quitters, we hate ourselves for giving up, and the very word "surrender" leaves a bad taste in our mouths. Even when things seem bleakest, there is something about the human spirit that refuses to say "uncle."

Until it comes to matters of faith, that is. Satan is constantly tempting us to give up and let go. There are times when it is not our persistence which is most notable, but our lack of it!

Christians need few things as much as the ability to hang on. We've all known people who, in the excitement of conversion, make some initial changes and commitments only to lose in time both their excitement and their faith. Very few of us start out luke-warm, but the New Testament constantly warns that many will end up that way. When it comes to faith, what begins with a bang often ends in a whimper.

We get tired. We grow apathetic. We lose interest. We become comfortable. And all of that persuades us to slow down, back off, drop out, and give up. We try to tie a knot, but we can't seem to hold on. It's sad but true that it's over for many of us long before it's really over.

The Pastoral Epistles are an encouragement to keep on keeping on.

Pastoral Epistles (2 Timothy) 175 I. When did Paul Die? A. The witness of the Bible: 1. Silence of Acts a. Acts ends in this inconclusive manner. i. No word on the conclusion of Paul's ordeal in Rome. ii. No hint of the outcome of his trial before Caesar. iii. No indication as to whether he lived to continue his work or was martyred in Rome around A.D. 62. b. Most of us assume he died at the close of Acts, martyred under Nero after coming to trial in A.D. 62. c. There are several problems with this assumption. 2. Testimony of the Pastorals a. The events spoken of in the Pastoral epistles (1Ti, 2Ti, and Titus) do not fit within the time frame covered by Acts. i. When did Paul leave Timothy in Ephesus or Titus in Crete? ii. When did Paul ever winter in Nicopolis? iii. When did Paul ever suffer in prison like he describes in 2 Timothy? b. Either Luke left out a great deal of material when he wrote Acts, or the events of the Pastoral letters took place after the close of Acts. 3. A hint in Romans 15:23-28 a. Written in A.D. 57, at the close of the third journey, just prior to Paul's return to Jerusalem. b. The spirit warned him "in every city" that prison was facing him (Ac 20:23). c. Even so, Paul plans to do mission work in Spain. B. The witness of early church traditions: 1. Clement - 1rst Letter to the Corinthians (circa A.D. 100) Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned. After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects. 2. Eusebius - The History of the Church (circa A.D. 325) And Luke, who committed to writing the Acts of the Apostles, ended his story at this point, after informing us that Paul spent two complete years at Rome under no restraint and preached the word of God without hindrance. There is evidence that, having then been brought to trial, the apostle again set out on the ministry of preaching, and having appeared a second time in the same city found fulfilment in his martyrdom. In the course of this imprisonment he composed the second Epistle to Timothy.... In this second Epistle to Timothy he remarks that only Luke is with him as he writes, and at his first trial not even he: presumably that is why Luke concluded the Acts of the Apostles at that point, having traced the course of events throughout the time he was with Paul. I have said this to show that it was not during the stay in Rome described by Luke that Paul's martyrdom was accomplished."

Pastoral Epistles (2 Timothy) 176 C. A Second Possibility 1. A Fourth Missionary Journey? a. It is likely that Paul was released after his trial, around A.D. 62. b. He may well have carried out his plans to conduct a missionary journey through Spain. c. He may also have revisited some of the churches he established, providing a setting as described in the Pastoral Epistles. i. Travelled to Crete, where Titus was left (Tit 1:5) to finish the work and appoint elders. ii. Travelled to Ephesus, where Timothy was left (1Ti 1:3) to teach the gospel and deal with false teachers. iii. Travelled to Greece (wintering in Nicopolis), where he wrote back to Timothy and Titus, sending 1 Timothy and Titus. d. From there he travelled back to Rome. 2. A Second Roman Imprisonment? a. In Rome, the Neronian persecutions were in full swing. i. The Christians had been blamed for the Great Fire. ii. Nero was busy making an example of the Christians. b. Paul may well have been arrested during this time for being a leader of the Christians. During this imprisonment, Paul wrote 2 Timothy. 3. Death under Nero in A.D. 67/68.

II. 2 Timothy and a Lesson in Perseverance 1. Paul has had a long ministry full of suffering. a. Approx. 32 years of service, every bit of it full of persecution. b. Now he is in prison about to die. 2. Yet Paul has never given up or quit! a. He has "stuck it out" through the worst of times. b. He writes to encourage Timothy to do the same. c. He shames us by his example of perseverance.

A. Paul's Suffering in 2 Timothy 1. Paul's language: a. "Suffering" - uses the word 7 times. b. "Persecutions" - 3 references c. "Chains" - 3 references 2. Paul is lonely. a. It was difficult for people to find him. i. Read 2Ti 1:16-18 ii. Onesiphorus seemed to be unique in this. b. Many had "deserted" Paul: Note: 2Ti 1:15, 2Ti 4:9-10a, 16. c. Only Luke remains - Read 2Ti 4:10b-11a d. He wants Timothy to join him quickly. Note: 2Ti 1:4, 2Ti 4:9. 3. Paul is in a "state of want." • Read 2Ti 4:13, 21—He is without his books or warm clothing. 4. He knows that the end is near (Read 2Ti 4:6).

Pastoral Epistles (2 Timothy) 177 B. Paul's Perseverance in 2 Timothy 1. Endurance in suffering: a. Read 2Ti 1:11-12 b. Read 2Ti 2:8-10 c. Read 2Ti 4:16-18 2. "I have fought the good fight ..." a. Read 2Ti 4:6-8 b. Paul's example of perseverance: i. The time has come ii. I have finished the race iii. Now . . .

Transition: Paul is not just writing to tell about his own suffering and perseverance. He wants to encourage Timothy (and us) to follow his example and to persevere even in great suffering.

C. Paul's Encouragement in 2 Timothy 1. Paul's charges to Timothy: a. 2:1-3 b. 3:14-15 c. 4:1-2, 5 2. "Here is a trustworthy saying" - Read 2Ti 2:11-13

Conclusion:

During the darkest days of WWII, Winston Churchill became famous for his speeches on perseverance. On one rainy day early in the war, people waited for hours to listen to a speech by the famous statesman. When at last Churchill rose to speak, he looked out over the audience and said just seven words - "Never, never, never, never, never give up!" And sat down! It wasn't a long speech, but it is considered by many to be his most powerful.

In the life of the Apostle Paul, we have something better that the speeches of Churchill. We have the example of one who kept the faith, who hung on, who never gave up. Can we do any less?

Pastoral Epistles (2 Timothy) 178 How Shall We Then Live?

Introduction:

Do you believe this building is on fire? Do you believe that nuclear missiles are, at this moment, on their way to destroy this city? Do you believe that I am a homicidal maniac about to kill as many of you as I can?

Your actions speak plainly about your beliefs. The fact that you still sit calmly in your seats tells me that either you do not believe these things to be true or you have fallen asleep sooner in my lesson than usual.

Do you believe that once you were dead in your sins, lost from God and without a clue about how to live life? Do you believe that God loves you so that he gave his only Son so you could find forgiveness for your sins and begin a new life? Do you believe that Jesus shows us how to live, and that we should do all that we can to live like him since he died for us?

The ultimate test of our beliefs about these matters lies not in what we say but in what we do. What is important is not the words we mouth but the life we live. When Jesus said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ yet do not do the things which I command you,” he understood the tendency of people to profess one thing and practice another.

The real question facing many of us today is, “What difference has my belief in Jesus made in my living? Since I believe all these things about Jesus, how should I be acting day in and day out?” I’m not talking about church-going or hymn-singing or sermon-listening either. I’m talking about ethics, about the standard you choose to determine what is right and what is wrong, about whether you act on what you claim to believe. As Christians, we daily face the challenge not of saying we believe but letting that profession affect the way we live.

I. A Brief Survey of the Condition of Religious Observance in Jesus’ Day. A. Religion divorced from ethic There was plenty of comfortable, non-demanding religion when Jesus came to live among us—religion that expected little of its adherents, required only a little temple attendance and an occasional sacrifice. Religion in Jesus’ day, for the masses, had become something you put into a corner of your life. But you didn’t let it affect the rest of your living. Religion was divorced from ethic.

Ask a Greek or Roman or even an ordinary Jew how his faith impacted his life, whether he lived more honestly or purely as a result of his beliefs, and you would get the same blank stare you get when asking that question today. Religion was something you did at the temple, on certain days of the week. Religion was ritual and ceremony and holy words. Religion had little to do with the way people lived at home, at work, and at play.

Titus 179 B. Examples 1. Religion overgrown by sin: paganism. a. Bacchus—drunken revelries. b. Aphrodite—temple prostitution. 2. Religion overlooking sin: Judaism a. The Pharisees could take away the house of a widow one moment and offer a lengthy prayer the next. They could tithe seeds and ignore justice. They would keep the outside clean, but inside they were full of filth. b. They had made religion so exacting and irrelevant to the masses, that the ordinary people had conveniently compartmentalized religion to an area far removed from where they lived daily. c. It wasn’t that Judaism promoted sin. It just didn’t have much to say to ordinary people about practical daily living. 3. What was needed was a religion to overcome sin. a. Jesus came to change not just our beliefs but our lives as well. His religion was never intended to be a Sunday morning occurrence. It is, rather, a fever which infects every moment of our lives. b. The apostles understood this and preached it. i. Peter, James and John insist in their writings that believing is not enough. Faith has to make a difference in how we live. ii. Paul is especially careful to teach that right beliefs have to be followed up with right behaviors. Transition: Christianity is intended to change us. Not just what we say but what we do. It is not meant to be a nice set of beliefs by which we can define ourselves. Christ offers a clear call to let our transformed minds result in transformed living.

II. Words to a Young Preacher A. Titus’ work with Paul. 1. Titus is mentioned 13 times in the N.T. 2. He did missionary work with Paul. We are especially aware of his work in the city of Corinth. 3. He was a trusted and valued co-worker. Paul depended heavily upon him. B. His work on Crete. 1. Paul and Titus had done mission work on the island of Crete. 2. It was a difficult work because of the Cretans’ notorious immorality. 3. Paul left Titus on Crete (1:5) to finish the work and appoint elders. C. Paul’s purpose in writing: 1. Paul writes to give Titus instructions about how to minister in Crete. 2. He tells him to appoint elders, what different groups in the church need to hear from their preacher, and what his duties as a minister are. D. Read Titus 2:11-38 1. The crux of the book. 2. So important that Paul covers the same material twice (2:11-15; 3:1-8).

Titus 180 III. The Message of Titus A. Remember always that something has happened to us. 1. The Grace of God has appeared to us. a. Read 2:11, 14; 3:4-7. b. The light was shining in the darkness. 2. Grace did something to us. a. Read 2:11; 3:5—Grace saved us. b. Read 2:14—Jesus gave himself to redeem us from all wickedness. 3. Grace did something in us. a. Read 2:12—Grace is teaching us to live differently. i. We can say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions. ii. We can say “Yes” to self-controlled, upright, and godly living. b. Read 2:14—Grace is purifying us.

B. Remember we are not what we used to be. 1. What we were: a. 2:12a—Ungodly and given to passions. b. 3:3—Foolish, disobedient, deceiving and enslaved, malicious, envious, hated and hating. 2. What we are becoming: a. 2:12b—Self-controlled, upright, and godly. b. 2:14b—Eager to do good. c. 3:1-2—Submissive, obedient, ready to do good, not slanderers, peaceable, considerate, humble. d. 3:8—devoted to doing good.

C. Remind people of these things. 1. Read 2:15 a. These are the things you should teach. b. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. c. Do not let anyone despise you as you do so. 2. Read 3:8 a. This is a trustworthy saying. b. Stress these things. c. These are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Transition: Had the Cretans not heard this from Paul? Was this a new message Titus was to begin preaching to them? Had they never heard that Jesus was supposed to make a difference in their living? In fact, they had heard this same message again and again. The problem is they weren’t getting it!

Titus 181 Conclusion:

There is a celestial tug-of-war going on in Crete for the lives of these new believers. Satan is as interested in the behavior of Christians as God is. He is working to influence the direction Christians choose to go.

Ethic is where the battle for the souls of men is the hottest. Satan doesn’t care what we say we believe so long as he can convince Christians to behave the way he wants us to. If Satan can win the battle for behavior, he has truly won.

Many of these Christians had not yet learned that professions of faith are not what Christianity is about. The practice of faith is where Christianity stands or falls.

Many of us today have trouble getting the same point. It is possible, even probable, that Satan will allow us to say anything we please about the content of our beliefs and to espouse great cosmic truths. The question that most concerns him is, “Do we practice what we preach?”

Paul warns Titus that some of his congregation will want to compartmentalize religion to the point that what they do on Sunday morning has little impact on how they behave Saturday night. Many of us will want to do the same thing. This has been the struggle of Christians in every age—making behavior yield to beliefs.

The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passion, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.

Grace that does not teach us that lesson is not the grace Jesus came to deliver. Let’s live in the grace that grants a new lifestyle along with our new life.

Titus 182 Contend for the Faith

Introduction:

A. Throughout history false teachers have perverted the truth. 1. The serpent (Satan) in the Garden of Eden was the first but certainly not the last. a. Moses had to deal with false prophets in Egypt. b. Jeremiah hurled a stinging rebuke at the false teachers of Israel and Judah (Jer 14:14). c. Paul prophesied that some among the leaders of the church would fall away into error (Ac 20:29-30). d. And the Spirit explicitly taught that false teachers and prophets would be around in the last days (1Ti 4:1-2). 2. The world is still in the throws of false teaching, and it will be that way until they are thrown into the Lake of Fire at the judgment.

C. The Epistle of Jude is especially concerned with false teachers. The key word is "apostasy." The main body of the epistle is an impassioned attack on those who pervert God’s truths, accompanied by collected examples of God's vengeance on such people. Jude heaps up image upon image, graphically depicting the polluted character of the licentious apostates against whom he is warning the church. He returns again and again to the subject— as though language was insufficient to give an adequate idea of their sin—to express his burning hatred of their perversion of the doctrine of the Christ.

D. Jude discloses the way of dealing with error. It is "Be loyal to the Truth," the theme of the letter.

[This sermon contributed by Glen Gray]

Jude 183 I. Introduction (vss 1-4)

A. The Person—Jude, brother of the Lord (Mt 13:55), is the writer of the letter. (See "Background" section of handout.)

B. The People 1. Called - 2Th 2:14; Gal 1:6 2. Beloved - Ro 5:8 3. Kept - in the love of God, and by His power - 1Pe 1:5

C. The Purpose—vs 3 1. “Contend earnestly" (to wrestle) denotes the extreme efforts which are to characterize the faithful in defense of the truth, no matter how great the enemy may be. This is a positive word. It does not descend to the level of being against everything. Our contending for the truth must be worthy of the One whose truths we are defending. We are glowing Christians, not growling Christians. 2. "For the faith" - the sum of all that Christians are to believe and obey. (Ac 6:7; Ac 13:8, 14:22) It is the body of Truth about Christ presented to believers in order that we might maintain a close communion with God. 3. "Which was once for all delivered" to the saints. The faith was a permanent deposit. It will never be superseded, emended, or modified. It is perfect, adequate, complete - 2Ti 3:16. It provides the means to refute the gainsayer and resist the advocates of false doctrine. There is no other gospel!

D. The Immediate Occasion—vs 4 1. Ungodly men - They were without reverence. No respect. 2. Turning the grace of God (salvation) into licentiousness. (cf. Ro 6:1; Gal 5:13.), and turning their freedom into an opportunity for the fleshly desires. 3. They denied the deity of Christ. 4. This same type of false teacher exists today.

Jude 184 II. Jude's Warnings Concerning Their Judgment and Character

A. Jude provides three warning examples as evidence that such heretics would not escape the vengeance of God. 1. The unfaithful Israelites in the wilderness (vs 5). (cf. 1Co 10:1- 11) All of this is summed up under the basic sin of unbelief. Though they engaged in formalities and complied with outward ritualism, they were still unwilling to adopt righteousness as a way of life. If half a million men were executed by God for unbelief, these false teachers will not escape! 2. The angels which sinned (vs 6). If angels do not escape the vengeance of God, neither will these false teachers. 3. The cities of the Plain (vs 7). These cities were guilty of the most horrid sins of the flesh: bestiality, homosexuality, human sacrifice, etc. Their punishment stands as a reminder of what will happen to all ungodliness. 4. The Application (vss 8-9). The old immorality and the teaching of Hedonism are still around. Joseph Fletch stated, "neither rape, nor incest, nor any sexual act, nor indeed the denial of one's Lord or the violation of the 1st commandment by having another God is necessarily and always wrong." (Christianity Today, 1965, p. 32). 5. In vs 10 these persons have given themselves over to their "instincts," and fleshly appetites. So many today let their feelings flourish in uncontrollable experiences until the Scripture is disregarded. The result of it all - they are destroyed.

B. Three instances of individual wickedness (vs 11). 1. Cain, an example of disobedience (1Jn 3:12). 2. Balaam, an example of greed (Nu 22:5-7). Disregarded the Word of God for sordid gain. 3. Korah, an example of railing (Nu 16:1-35). Rebellion against authority.

C. An analysis of the wicked men against whom Jude warns (12-16). 1. "Hidden reefs in your love feasts." Unnoticed, dissension makers. 2. "Clouds without water carried along by wind." Promises, but no results. 3. "Autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted." No fruit. 4. "Wild waves of the sea casting up their own shame like foam." (cf. Isa 57:20) 5. "Wandering stars." No light 6. They are recognized by the prophesy of Enoch (vss 14-16). We know little about Enoch's prophesy, but he knew the fate of ungodly men!

Jude 185 III. Jude's Exhortation to the Faithful

A. Reminder That Ungodly Men Were to be Expected (17-19).

B. Encouragement to Build on the Most Holy Faith (20-21). 1. Firm in the faith (vs 20) a. It is holy - pure, not defiled. b. The faith that was "once delivered" - Jude 3) c. No false doctrine. 2. Pray in the Holy Spirit. a. Keep the lines of communication to heaven open. b. God does answer prayers. 3. Keep yourself in the Love of God (vs 21). a. How? By conforming our lives to His will. b. Jn 14:9-10 4. "Waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord..." (21) a. Keep on hoping! b. If man loses hope, he loses the assurance of God's judgment, of eternal life, and faith (Tit 2:13).

C. How are we to treat those caught up in false teaching? 1. To the doubting—have mercy. Demonstrate the kindness and love of Christ to those doubting. Assist them in finding faith. There are many in the world who are fed up with "religion" and they want to drink from the pure water of life. Must reach them with mercy. 2. To others—use firmness. There are a few people who require a shock to their consciences. Rebuke their teaching flatly. Declare their error in no uncertain terms, for they are on the brink of Hell. 3. To still others—mercy and fear. Declare God's truth, but do not become involved with their sin (Gal 6:1.)

Conclusion: (24-25)

Fearlessly, Jude has rebuked the false teachers threatening the peace and holiness of the church. Now, with tenderness and faith, he commits his readers to the source of all good, to their Protector, Defender, and Lord.

May we through equal faithfulness make Him ours as well.

Jude 186 The King has Come

Introduction:

Only in the last few hundred years has the idea of "democracy" become popular. For most of human history, nations have been governed by kings and royalty. Some of the most dramatic and interesting events of history have centered around the rise and fall of various kings and kingdoms.

1. The Roman empire, the dynasties of Egypt and China, the great monarchies of France and England - all have made great history and drama. 2. The very names of certain kings bring rich memories and wonderful stories flooding to mind: Charlemagne and Louis XIV in France, King Arthur and Henry VIII in England, Peter the Great and Ivan the Terrible in Russia - each has his own story and history to tell.

It's not surprising to find books and plays and songs and poetry written about kings and kingdoms. Suetonius wrote Lives of the Caesars. Shakespeare alone wrote plays about Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra, Hamlet (king of the Danes), King Lear, King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, and Henry VIII. The songs, books and poems that have immortalized King Arthur and his Camelot are too numerous to mention.

The book of Matthew is also the story of a king . . . not a political figure like Caesar, but a king nonetheless. From first to last, Matthew describes a king who establishes his kingdom, who claims his right to the throne, who fights with those who oppose his reign, and who calls men to bow the knee to his rule. The book of Matthew has been called the royal gospel. It is about King Jesus and the necessity of accepting his reign in our lives.

Unfortunately, we come to this book with a handicap - we cannot comprehend what living under a king really means. We haven't experienced what it means to bow down before royalty, to pledge our lives in the king's service, to obey without question or delay, to yield to someone else's absolute authority. In some ways, democracy has unfitted us for living under a king. But the message of Matthew is that Jesus is king, and we must either accept the fact and bow before him, or reject that claim and rebel against his reign.

Matthew 187 I. Jesus as "King" in Matthew A. Matthew's Teaching about the Kingship of Jesus 1. Jesus is from the right stock—Read Matthew 1:1. a. Jesus is descended from King David. He is of royal lineage. This ties Jesus in with all the messianic prophecies about "one like David" in the O.T. b. The people recognized him as King, calling him by the title "son of David." i. Two blind men (9:27) ii. The crowds wonder if Jesus were the one (12:23) iii. Canaanite woman (15:22) iv. Two more blind men (20:31-31) v. Triumphal entry (21:9, 15) 2. Jesus is born in the right place—Matthew 2:1-6. a. Matthew points out that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. b. Wise men are looking for "king of the Jews" (vs 2). c. Read 2:4-6 - That is where "the ruler" would be born. 3. The Coronation of the King—Read Matthew 3:16-17 a. Certainly, Jesus is the son of David. b. He is, more importantly, the son of God. 4. What kind of king would Jesus be?—Matthew 4:1-11 a. Read 4:8-11 b. Satan also offers a kingdom to the king. Jesus rejects his offer with the statement that he would serve only God - he would be God's ordained king. 5. Preaching the kingdom—Read Matthew 4:17&23 6. God's Chosen one—Matthew 12:15-21 a. The context is rejection. i. The Pharisees are questioning Jesus about his behavior on the Sabbath (12:1-14). They want to kill him. ii. Later (12:22-45), they blaspheme the spirit within him and demand a sign. b. The quote from Isaiah emphasizes that, though the religious leaders may have rejected Jesus, he is nonetheless God's chosen one. 7. "You are the Christ"— Matthew 16:13-16 a. Jesus is not content to be "just" a prophet. b. He is Christ, God's anointed, the King. 8. "...in your kingdom"— Matthew 20:20-21 a. Zebedee's wife kneels before Jesus (vs 20). b. She knows Jesus has a kingdom to rule. i. She does not understand a spiritual rule. ii. She is thinking in political terms, influenced by some mixture of Christ's teaching and her own expectations.

Matthew 188 9. The Triumphal Entry—Matthew 21:1-11 a. Read Matthew 21:4-5 b. Matthew sees this as fulfillment of the scripture that has Jerusalem's king coming to it. 10. The great question—"Who are you?" a. The Jews: i. Read Matthew 26:63-64 - "Are you the Christ?" ii. Jesus tells them plainly. b. Pilate: i. Read Matthew 27:11 - "Are you the King?" ii. Again, Jesus answers plainly. 11. The mockery of Jesus by soldiers—Matthew 27:27-31 Note that their savagery centered around "king" symbols. 12. The charge against Jesus—Matthew 27:37

B. The Issue of Authority There are at least 5 occasions in Matthew where "authority" becomes a major issue. This, again, focuses on Jesus' right to rule. If he is king, he has all the authority he needs. If he is an imposter, he has no authority at all. 1. Teaching with authority - Matthew 7:29 Jesus had a certain aura about him. By sheer weight of his personality and wisdom, the people recognized an authority and power that was beyond anything they had seen. 2. Authority to Forgive - Matthew 9:6&8 a. The Jews questioned his authority to forgive sins. b. Jesus proved his authority over sin by showing his power over disease and evil spirits. 3. Giving authority - Matthew 10:1 4. "By what authority" - Matthew 21:23-27 a. Background: triumphal entry and cleansing the temple. b. The chief priests demand an accounting. 5. "All authority" - Read Matthew 28:18-20 a. Jesus is king of the earth - he has all authority. b. Thus, he can commission and command.

C. Jesus' Self Understanding Jesus knew himself to be king. Matthew gives us a few glimpses into Christ's awareness of himself as king. Though he did not come shouting his kingship, he nonetheless was very aware of his position in the kingdom of God. 1. Lord of the Sabbath Matthew 12:8 2. Jesus on the throne Matthew 19:28; 25:31 3. Calling himself king Matthew 25:34, 40 4. "I am" statements Matthew 26:64; 27:11

Matthew 189 II. To Bow or to Rebel?

The fact of Jesus' kingship is one of the major issues in Matthew. People's reaction to that fact is another. While Jesus is shown to be king in Matthew, the real issue is not the reality of his kingship so much as whether people will acknowledge him as such.

A king reigns. He requires subjects who submit to his will. He demands obedience and obeisance. Read 1 Samuel 8:11-17. To say that Jesus is king immediately is to divide the world into those who will bow before him and those who will not.

A. Those who Bow to King Jesus 1. Nature (e.g. calming the storm - Mt 8:23-27) 2. Demons and disease 3. Mostly people: a. Four fishermen - Mt 4:18-22 b. A Centurian - Mt 8:5-13 c. A Taxcollector - Mt 9:9 d. A Canaanite woman - Mt 15:21-28 e. A host of the sick and needy.

B. Those who refused to bend the knee. 1. King Herod - Mt 2:13-18 2. The region of the Gaderenes - Mt 8:28-34 3. His hometown population - Mt 13:53-58 4. The rich young man -Mt 19:16-22 5. Judas - Mt 26:14-16 6. The religious leaders - Mt 26:57-68 7. The crowds - Mt 27:20

Conclusion

We are not sure what to do with a king anymore. Are they ceremonial figureheads? Are they expensive PR agents? How do you behave in the presence of a king anyway?

Hint: Bow down and worship. Pledge your life in the king's service. Promise to obey without question or delay. Commit to yield to this King’s absolute authority.

Matthew 190 Good, Better, Best

Introduction:

Sears has discovered a very effective marketing technique. Most appliances, tools, and equipment come in three flavors: Good, Better, and Best. The marketers at Sears are very clever. They not only know their product - they know people.

Notice that they didn't label these categories Bad, Mediocre, and Pretty Good. Nobody would put money down for something that is markedly inferior. The worst you can do in buying an appliance from Sears is "Good." Many people will happily settle for this, except there is always the nagging question in our minds, "Why settle for the 'good' if you can have something 'better.'

One good reason to settle is cost. Notice that Sears varies the price according to categories. If everything cost the same, you and I would always opt for "Best." But Sears demands that we pay more for the best, or else settle for that which is less than the best.

When it comes to matters of religion, there are also decisions between what is good, better, or best. Most of us want the best in this area too. Unfortunately, it’s not quite so easy to tell which is the "Best" from that which is merely "Good." And again, unfortunately, even here the "Best" demands a higher price of us - we are tempted to settle for something less than the best, hoping that the "Good" will be good enough.

Hebrews 191 I. The Old Law was Good This was the firm conviction of the Jewish nation before the coming of Christ. "It was good enough for Moses; it ought to be good enough for us too!" In fact, the Old Law was good.

A. Its long and venerable history (by the time of the N.T.). 1. 2000 years of God's dealing with the Jews - first through Abraham, then through Moses and the Law. 2. 1500 years of Mosaic Covenant and the system that went with it.

B. The "System" 1. The Law - the standard by which men were to live. a. Religious, political, legal, and social guidelines for Israel. b. A labyrinth of commands and prohibitions that were designed to teach men morality, justice, and right. b. What if the standard proved too demanding? How did the Mosaic Law deal with the problem of sin? 2. The Sacrifices - the means of making amends. a. Sin meant death. Substitutionary sacrifice was prescribed - an animal could die in man's place. b. The number of animal sacrifices required by the Law came to 1,273 per year. That number did not include sacrifices made by individuals for sins. i. Daily - a lamb in the morning and evening. ii. Sabbath (i.e. weekly) - two lambs in addition to daily offering. iii. Monthly - two bulls, one ram, and seven lambs. iv. Special - five major feasts, each with its own requirement for sacrifice. c. Who could make the sacrifice for sinners? 3. The Priesthood - those who could approach God. a. Physical descendants of Aaron. b. A special class of men was created to mediate between God and man.

Transition: This whole elaborate system was an attempt to find a way for man to relate to God, to deal with the problem of sin and the separation it causes between ourselves and our God.

Then along came a bunch of upstarts (themselves Jews) who criticized the system. They claimed that the Law could not bring perfection, that the sacrifices were ineffective, and that the priesthood was tainted and temporary. These followers of the Carpenter blasphemed everything the Jewish leaders held as sacred.

The book of Hebrews is a Christian's comparison of the old law with the new. The Law of Moses was good, but Christ was better. In fact, Christ is best of all.

Hebrews 192 II. The Law is Not Good Enough A. The Law was a means rather than an end. 1. The Jews had come to see the law as the end all and be all - the perfect standard by which perfection could be attained. 2. The Christians claimed that, while the Law itself was perfect, it could not make us perfect. a. Read Hebrews 8:7-13 b. The old covenant is flawed by the unfaithfulness of the people - they were disobedient. It is "obsolete" and "will soon disappear" (8:13). In fact, the writer says in other places: "The law made nothing perfect" and it is "only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not the realities themselves." c. A "new covenant" was needed - one written on minds and hearts (rather than stone tablets), one that would teach us of God and would truly forgive sins. B. The sacrifices were a symbol, not the substance. 1. The Jews thought that animal sacrifices could cleanse them of sin and make them right with God. 2. Christians claimed that the blood of animals was only symbolic of another blood that truly cleanses sin. a. Read Hebrews 10:1-4, 11 b. Bull blood cannot take away sin; it can only remind us that the wages of sin is death (vs 4). c. A better sacrifice is needed - one that is offered "once for all" and has the power to remove sin. C. The priests were imperfect men, not the pure priest we needed. 1. The Jews thought that their priest could make effective sacrifice for their sins. The Jewish system was founded on the assumption that a human priest could act as mediator between the people and God. 2. Christians pointed out major problems with these priests. a. 5:3 - They had sins of their own. The very thing that made the people unworthy to approach God also made the priests unworthy. b. 9:6-10 - They had limited access to God. They could only go into the Holy of Holies once a year, and then only the high priest could go in. People who sin moment by moment need a more frequent forgiveness than that. c. 10:4 - They had ineffective sacrifices. Even when they stood before God, they had only animal blood to offer. Transition: What was the Christian alternative? The Christian insisted that the Law was good. It had its place and fulfilled its role. But it was never intended to be the last word from God. The Law was good, but Christ was better. The author of Hebrews makes that point repeatedly in his book. The words "better" or "superior" occur 15 times.

Hebrews 193 III. Christ is Better

A. Christ has a Better Covenant 1. Four times in Hebrews (7:22; 8:6; 9:15; 12:24), Jesus is connected with a new or better covenant. 2. Read Hebrews 8:6 (in the context of 8:7-13). a. Jesus mediates a new covenant that is superior to the old. It is founded on better promises. b. This is the covenant that writes God's laws on the hearts and minds of the people, that teaches them of God, and that assures forgiveness of sin. 3. "Perfection" comes through Jesus Christ. The Old Law could make nothing perfect - that privilege was reserved for Jesus Christ. a. He has "made perfect forever" (10:14) those who belong to him. b. He is the "author and perfecter of our faith" (12:2).

B. Christ is a Better Sacrifice 1. What kind of blood really cleanses sin? a. Chapter 10 - not the blood of bulls and goats. b. Only the blood of God's son. 2. Read 10:5-10 a. Not a sacrifice but a person (vss 5-9). b. The blood of Jesus (the "second" sacrifice) rather than of animals (the "first" sacrifice - vs 9). b. This blood really works (vss 10).

C. Christ is a Better Priest 1. Read Hebrews 10:11-14 2. The new priest is better than the old: a. Offers only one sacrifice. b. It is an effective sacrifice at that (himself).

Transition: 1. Read Hebrews 10:15-18 2. This is the new covenant that deals with sin. a. Christ mediated the new covenant by: i. Offering himself as sacrifice ii. Playing the priest by bringing that sacrifice before God. b. There is no need for any more sacrifice.

Conclusion: Christ is Best 1. He has everything we need. 2. But the best costs more - he costs everything you are.

Hebrews 194 Telling Jesus

Introduction:

Have you ever wished that you had been a contemporary of Jesus? I don’t mean giving up air conditioning and automobiles to walk around in sandals and sleep on a straw mat. (I bet it was truly difficult to find a good espresso in Jesus’ day.)

But, so far as your faith is concerned, have you ever wished you had “been there”?  That you could have walked and talked with Jesus?  That, like John, you might have seen him with your own eyes and heard him with your own ears and touched him with your hand?  That you had been able to sit around a fire with him in the evenings and converse about spiritual matters?  That you could have witnessed him healing the sick and casting out demons and raising the dead?

It is hard, 2000 years distant from Jesus, to live with the conviction and commitment needed to be his disciple. The passing of the years has dulled something of the urgency, the passion, required to follow closely in his steps. And so we tell ourselves that if only we had been there, seen his miracles, sat at his feet and heard his words—if only we had the advantages of John or Peter, we too could muster up the kind of faith they had.

The idea that, had we been there, we might not have believed in him at all hardly ever enters our minds. We assume that seeing him would have been enough not only to make us believe but to make us believe deeply and unshakably and fanatically.

Transition: But consider this. Most of those who were there, who saw Jesus with their own eyes and heard him with their own ears did not become his disciples. The vast majority of those who met Jesus face to face went away angry or confused or, at least, unmoved. It is not just possible, it is probable that had we been alive when Jesus walked the earth the question we would wrestle with would not be how deeply to believe in him but whether to believe at all.

John 195 I. Faith does not always come by Seeing A. Being a contemporary does not assure faith. 1. It surely didn’t help most of the religious leaders. a. These were people • who had been waiting for the Messiah their entire lifetimes. • who knew the law of Moses; they were familiar with the prophets. • who had lived in anticipation of God’s sending the one who would “redeem Israel.” b. They were “there” when Jesus lived and worked.  They saw the results of his miracles firsthand.  They heard the power of his preaching with their own ears.  But they didn’t recognize him as the Messiah when he came; they still hated him and succeeded eventually in killing him. 2. Being a contemporary didn’t help most of the common people who met Jesus. a. It was possible to pass Jesus in the street and never know who he was. b. It was possible, even, to eat his miraculous bread or feel his healing touch and still not believe that he was who he claimed to be. c. Many of these very people, in the end, were shouting, “Crucify him!” 3. Being a contemporary wasn’t all that much help even to his disciples. a. They still struggled to come to faith. For all the things they saw and heard, for all the miracles and words of truth, they still found it difficult to put their trust wholly in Jesus. b. At least one disciple found himself unmoved by the evidence of his eyes and ears. i. Judas watched Jesus heal and walk on water and even raise a man back to life. He heard the truths which Jesus spoke and witnessed the lives which he changed. ii. Still, he remained a thief and a schemer and, finally, betrayed Jesus.

B. The Need for Eyes with which to See. 1. Seeing is not always believing. a. Faith in Jesus requires something more than events to look at—it requires eyes with which to see. b. Such eyes have very little to do with corneas and lenses and optic nerves.  They are eyes located in our souls. • Eyes which are able to see spiritual things and discern the truth. • Eyes which are thoughtful and hungry and tired of being blind. 3. Why is it that some people believe in Jesus and others do not? a. It isn’t because some were “there” and others were not. b. It isn’t because some saw great things and others only heard the reports. c. It is because some are blind and long to see, while others see everything and remain blind.

John 196 II. Why John Wrote a Gospel When John sat down to write a book about Jesus, he did so recognizing that his readers would not have been contemporaries of Jesus. They had not “been there,” they had not met Jesus and heard him speak and seen him perform miracles. But John did not see that as an obstacle to faith. The real obstacle was a blindness of the soul that kept people from believing, whether they saw Jesus in the flesh or only heard reports of Jesus from people like John. So John wrote his book with that blindness in mind. How do you tell the story of Jesus in such a way that he steps out of the pages of a book and into the hearts of those who read the book?

A. The Uniqueness of John’s Telling of Jesus 1. John did not tell about Jesus like Paul did. a. One of the things that is fascinating about Paul’s story of Jesus is how little Paul tells us about the earthly ministry of Jesus. b. For Paul, it was enough to confront people with the cross and resurrection, and the implication of those events for people in Corinth and Ephesus and Galatia. c. But John wants to say more about the life of Jesus than that. There is something imbedded in the way Jesus lived—in the words he spoke, in the miracles he performed—that John understood to be important in leading people to faith. i. And so John does not write like Paul—his book isn’t a letter teaching Christians how to live out the cross and the empty tomb in their daily lives. ii. He writes a story about the life of Jesus in the belief that first people have to see Jesus Christ for who he is and then they will be motivated to live under Christ’s lordship. 2. And John did not tell about Jesus like Mark did. a. Mark’s story emphasized what it meant to follow Jesus, how to be his disciple. b. You get the feeling that Mark is telling Jesus to people who have already come to faith . . . they just need to understand how to count the cost and walk their talk. c. But John is concerned with something more basic than that. His story of Jesus does not assume faith at all. He writes what he writes “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn 20:31).

John 197 B. The Purpose of John’s Gospel—There are two issues John returns to repeatedly in his story of Jesus: 1) Jesus is God come to earth, and 2) Do we believe that truth? 1. John writes his story to show that Jesus is God in the flesh. a. John begins right off with his understanding of Jesus: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. . . . No one has ever seen God, but God the one and only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. b. In John’s story, Jesus makes more claims to divinity than in all the other gospels combined. His claims are shocking and bold and unmistakable. They are so audacious that several times his listeners try to stone him on the spot for daring to “make himself equal with God.” c. John is careful to present us with a series of “signs” which are intended to prove that someone who can do what Jesus does must be who Jesus claims to be. 2. John writes his story to help us see Jesus with the eyes of faith. a. He doesn’t just fill page after page with as many events, as many memories, as he could dredge up from the past. b. Raw events on paper would be even less effective in producing faith than those same events acted out by Jesus in front of his sceptical and blind audiences. c. What John intends to do with his book is tell the story of Jesus as interpreted through his own believing eyes. C. The need for an “interpreted life” 1. John carefully selects events which show people struggling toward faith (or rushing headlong into rejection). a. We meet in this book a whole cast of characters who saw everything Jesus did and yet saw nothing: the religious leaders, the crowds, Judas. b. And we meet also some special individuals who saw Jesus and had eyes to really see: Nicodemus, a woman by a well, a blind man. c. And, above all, we see Jesus through the eyes of John who witnessed everything first hand, who bears witness that Jesus is the Christ and who helps us see Jesus through the eyes of faith. 2. John is constantly commenting on those events, leading his readers to see them as he saw them, to understand them as he understood them, and to respond to them as he himself responded.

Conclusion: It is comforting to think that, had we been contemporaries of Christ, we would have been wise enough to see him for what he was and become his disciples— move over John and Peter and Philip, we have arrived! The truth is that we would have been as blind as the crowds and, in all likelihood, would have been too busy or too shocked or too dense to become his disciples.

Instead, we have the great privilege of seeing Jesus through the eyes of John, of watching as he warns us to look carefully, of witnessing events which John presents is such a way that we are more likely to really see, truly understand, and fully believe.

John 198 Back to the Basics

Introduction:

Let's do a little mathematics together. How much is four times five? Six times eight? Twelve times twelve? How did you come up with the right answers for those equations? Do you carry around a little plastic card containing all the answers to the most commonly asked mathematical questions? Do you have to resort to a calculator to arrive at those answers?

Of course not. You didn't even think about it. The answer popped automatically into your mind because you, like me, have learned your multiplication table. You know some basic math that helps you answer most of the day to day equations that pop up in modern society.

But what if I asked you "What is fourteen times thirty seven?" Now we find ourselves in uncertain territory because we are dealing with numbers that lie outside the boundaries of the table that we memorized. The answer does not come automatically to mind. If we are not careful, we'll throw up our hands and say, "I never was much of a mathematician anyway."

We can solve harder problems (like "fourteen times thirty seven") by breaking the equation down into smaller pieces. Four times seven; four times three; ten times seven; ten times three. Suddenly, we are back to dealing with questions we know the answers to. And, marvel of marvel, when you add it all up you can solve the big question because you know the answers to basic formulae.

Religion is very much the same thing. There are some basic, fundamental issues that give us the answers to Christian living. There is a "Life Table" for Christians that constitute home ground for us - the source of our security and identity. We don't have to carry around little plastic cards containing all the answers to the most commonly asked religious questions. We can know most answers automatically if we learn the basics by heart.

Even when the questions become more difficult, when we have to deal with questions that lie outside the boundaries of our basic understanding, we need to go back to the basics. We can often solve complicated religious questions by breaking them down into smaller pieces. We can start with questions we know the answers to - questions that call us back to basics and to those fundamental principles we learned from the beginning.

In 1 John, we have the multiplication table for Christian living. It doesn't cover every situation or answer every question, but it goes a long way toward helping us know we are on the right track. Confess Jesus as your Lord, keep God's commands, and love each other - those are the equations that John repeats over and over in this book. He repeats himself not because he has nothing else to say but because he has nothing more important to say.

1 John 199 I. The Importance of Right Believing

A. Real Christianity Begins with Christ - Read 1Jn 1:1-4 1. The witness of John: a. Jesus is real - heard, saw, touched (1:1). b. Jesus is significant - from the beginning (1:1), word of life (1:1), eternal life (1:2), Son of God (1:3). 2. Christianity begins with fellowship with Christ. What John saw and heard (i.e. Jesus) gives us fellowship. a. John invites us to have fellowship with him (1:3). b. More importantly, he invites us to have a fellowship with God that is available only through Jesus (1:3).

B. Don't Settle for Anything Less - Read 1Jn 2:18, 20-25 1. There are those who have gotten Jesus wrong. a. Bowing down before statues and images rather than the real, live, breathing Jesus. b. Jesus the revolutionary or the politician or the social worker or the therapist, rather than Jesus the God of the Universe. 2. There are even those who have denied Jesus entirely. a. They deny that he is the Christ. b. They deny that he came from God. c. In so doing, they throw God out with Jesus. 3. The real Christian remains in Christ. a. He acknowledges Jesus as Lord and savior (2:23). b. He confesses Jesus as the source of life (1:2; 5:12). c. He "believes in" (5:1), "lives in" (3:6), "remains in" (2:24), "continues in" (2:28), "hopes in" (3:3) Jesus.

Transition: If we would go back to basics and ask what is truly fundamental about Christian living, we could start with what we believe about Jesus. Are we focused on him? Is he the center of our universe, the source of our life, the hope for our future, the content of our message? Do we confess him as Lord and Savior, and bow to his will for our lives? To be a Christian, you have to know Christ.

1 John 200 II. The Importance of Right Living - Read 1Jn 1:5-2:6

A. Three Ways of Stating this Principle 1. We must walk in the light (1:5, 7). 2. We must obey Christ's commands (2:3). 3. We must imitate Christ's example (2:6) 4. John here stresses the necessity of living pure, holy, righteous lives if we would know we are Christians.

B. The Great Hindrance in Keeping this Principle 1. Sin is an inescapable part of the human experience. a. John is not stressing "sinlessness." b. It is not the presence of sin that disqualifies us from "walking in the light" so much as how we deal with the presence of sin. c. All people, including Christians, have sin in their lives - obstacles which must be overcome as we try to obey Christ's commands. 2. There are two kinds of sinners in the church: a. Those who deny sin and thus walk in darkness. Such people are: i. Liars (1:6) ii. Self-deceived (1:8) iii. Blasphemers - calling God a liar (1:10) b. Those who confess sin and limit its role in their lives. These people, in contrast: i. Have fellowship with God (1:5) and each other (1:7). ii. Are purified constantly by Christ's blood (1:7). iii. Have an advocate with the Father (2:1).

Transition: If we would go back to basics and ask what is truly fundamental about Christian living, we must look hard at the way we live. We must obey Christ, live as he did, walk in the light. And when we fail, we must be quick to acknowledge that we are sinners and that we need Jesus to cleanse us from sin and make things right between ourselves and God. To be a Christian, you have to keep Christ's commands and accept Christ's forgiveness.

1 John 201 III. The Importance of Right Loving - Read 1Jn 2:7-11

A. The New Command 1. Shades of John 13:34-35 a. How new and awesome that command must have seemed to the disciples when Jesus taught them to love each other. b. This was a new love, with new depths and new dimensions and a new pattern in Jesus himself. 2. Now the command was "old" in that it made up one of the very basic tenets of Christian living. It was foundational for living in the light. 3. Yet it is new again, since it must be rediscovered and reaffirmed by each follower of Christ.

B. Relationships are Fundamental to Christian Living. 1. Throughout this book, John talks about what Christian love entails: a. It means laying down your life for your brother just as Jesus laid down his life for us (3:16). b. It means sharing material possessions with those who are in need (3:17). c. It means not just talking about love, but acting to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters (3:18). d. It means showing that we truly love God by the way we love those who are made in his image (4:19-21). 2. If you want to walk in the light, you must love your brother in this way. 3. Anything less than this is tantamount to "hating" your brother and "murdering" him.

Transition: If we would go back to basics and ask what is truly fundamental about Christian living, we must deal with the way we treat each other. Religion is not a solitary business conducted between an individual and his God. It is a group endeavor that involves our relationships with each other as much as our relationship with God. To be a Christian, you have to love those who belong to Christ.

Conclusion:

When we know our "Life Table" we can find a great assurance and peace about our walk with God. We can know we are Christians and that we are walking in the light. We can have confidence that Christ is honored in our lives, even when those lives are far from perfect.

[This sermon was adapted from Confident Christians, by Glen Gray and Tim Woodroof, Harmony Publications, 1989. Reprints of the entire study are available from Look Press.]

1 John 202 Reframing the Future

Introduction:

It is a Saturday afternoon, holiday time for all boys, except Tom Sawyer, who has been sentenced to whitewash thirty yards of board fence nine feet high. Life to him seems hollow, and existence but a burden. It is not only the work that he finds intolerable, but especially the thought of all the boys who will be coming along and making fun of him for having to work. At this dark and hopeless moment, writes Mark Twain, an inspiration bursts upon him! Nothing less than a great, magnificent inspiration. Soon enough a boy comes in sight, the very boy, of all boys, whose ridicule he had been dreading most: “Hello, old chap, you got to work, hey?” “Why, it’s you, Ben! I warn’t noticing.” “Say—I’m going a-swimming, I am. Don’t you wish you could? But of course you’d druther work—wouldn’t you? Course you would!” Tom contemplated the boy a bit, and said: “What do you call work?” “Why, ain’t that work?” Tom resumed his whitewashing, and answered carelessly: “Well, maybe it is, and maybe it ain’t. All I know, is, it suits Tom Sawyer.” “Oh come, now, you don’t mean to let on that you like it?” The brush continued to move. “Like it? Well, I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?” That put the thing in a new light. Ben stopped nibbling his apple. Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth— stepped back to note the effect—added a touch here and there—criticized the effect again—Ben watching every move and getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed. Presently he said: “Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”1

What Tom Sawyer has done, of course, is reframe his situation. Without changing anything about the situation itself, he has offered Ben a different view of reality. Whitewashing is not a chore—it’s fun!

Now watch the apostle John as he takes the reality of the church near the end of the first century—persecuted, ridiculed, disenfranchised—and reframes the situation in a way that brings hope and encourages perseverance.

Revelation 203 I. Words to the Seven Churches A. Time has passed. 1. This revelation was probably given to John about A.D. 95. 2. Enough time has gone by since the days of Jesus to allow: a. the church to be established throughout Asia. i. Most of these churches are not mentioned in Acts. ii. Probably established during a later period of evangelistic activity. b. The faith of these Christians has begun to cool. i. 2:4 “You have forsaken your first love” (Ephesus). ii. 3:1 “You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (Sardis). c. False teachers have entered the church and gained a foothold. i. The Nicolatians (2:6, 15). ii. Jezebel (2:20ff). B. The situation is changing—a period of intense persecution is coming. 1. There are hints of this in the letters to the seven churches. a. 2:10 (Smyrna) “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.’ b. 3:10 (Philadelphia) “...the hour of trial that is going to come...” 2. There are direct references to it in the rest of the book. a. “those who had been slain because of the word of God” (6:9-11). b. “they did not love their lives so much...” (12:11). c. “the blood of the saints...” (17:6). d. “the souls of those who had been beheaded” (20:4). Transition: How does John encourage a flagging church to remain faithful in the dark days to come? He tells a story. He paints a picture. He reframes their faith and suffering in a wider perspective. II. The Great Perspective Read Revelation 12:1-10, 12, 17. The Tale of Two Beasts. There will be a terrible time on the earth then. • A beast will arise from the sea. 1. That great dragon—Satan—will work through the beast. 2. The beast will utter proud words and blasphemies. He will blaspheme God, heaven and those who live there. 3. The beast will make terrible war on the saints, to conquer them. 4. All the world will worship the beast, and the dragon who rules through it. • Then another beast will arise from the earth. 1. He will continue and expand the work of the first. 2. He will perform great and miraculous signs and will deceive the world and reinforce their worship of Satan. 3. He will mark all worshippers of Satan on the right hand or forehead with the name of the beast . . or his number. 666. Do not be alarmed, church of Jesus. God is in his heaven and all is right with the saints. Read Revelation 14:1-7, 9-11

The Tale of Judgment • There will come upon the earth, then, a terrible time of judgment.

Revelation 204 1. And the anger of God will pour out on the earth and those who have worshipped the Beast. 2. Ugly and painful sores will break out on those who bear the mark. 3. The sea and the rivers will turn to blood. 4. The sun will scorch people with fire. 5. Men will gnaw their tongues in agony and curse God for their pain. • And the angel of God will proclaim: Read Revelation 16:5-6

Do not be alarmed, church of Jesus. God is in his heaven and all is right with the saints.

The Tale of the Second Fall

• Then will all the kingdoms, powers and authorities of this world quake with fear! 1. All those who used their power to serve the beast and oppress the saints . . . all the corrupt kings and merchants who amassed their wealth and raped their people . . . all those who encouraged sin and lived in luxury and counted life cheap. 2. They will weep and mourn and cry out. The kings, princes, generals, mighty. 3. They will hide in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 4. They will call to the mountains, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits upon the throne and from the wrath of the lamb.” • For the great day of judgment will have come . . . and who can stand?

Read Revelation 19:11-16, 19-21; 20:1-2a, 10b

Do not be alarmed, church of Jesus. God is in his heaven and all is right with the saints.

The Tale of the New Church

• Then there will be a new heaven and a new earth. 1. And there will be a new Jerusalem, a bride beautifully garbed. 2. And a loud voice will announce: Read Revelation 21:3-4. • The New Community will not be like the Old. Before (Old) After (New) Suffering Rejoicing Poor Rich Weak Strong Ruled Over Ruling

Read Revelation 21:22; 22:3-5

Revelation 205 III. The Role of the Saints in the Meantime A. What is our responsibility during this period of cosmic conflict? 1. What it isn’t. a. Devising strategy by which Satan can be subdued. b. Bulking up for the great conflict ahead. c. Undermining the Beast, or unmasking its ugliness, or raising an army to combat its hordes. d. Determining exactly when and where the beast will arise. 2. What it is: Persevere . . . hold on . . . be faithful. B. The Perseverance theme in Revelation. 1. Perseverance commended in the Seven Churches. [Note occurrences in chapters 2&3] 2. “Overcoming” is not linked to power or knowledge but to perseverance. 3. Perseverance and the beast. a. In the context of the Beast who blasphemes and deceives and kills . . . b. Read Rev 13:10b. 4. Perseverance and judgment. a. In the context of outpouring judgment . . . b. Read Rev 14:12.

Conclusion: When things look bleakest, it is time to reframe. When the situation seems hopeless, it is time to reframe. God is in his heaven and all is right with the saints. When we learn to see this life through the lens of the Spirit, suddenly it becomes possible to persevere. When we learn to view the world around through the eyes of faith, hanging on makes sense.

The message of John to these struggling Christians is the same as Paul’s to the church in Corinth:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2Co 4:16-18

1 This example taken from Watzlawick, Weakland and Fisch, Change. pgs. 92-93.

Revelation 206