KNOWING I AM A CHRISTIAN

#591                                                         KNOWING I AM A CHRISTIAN                                                                                

Scripture I John 5:1-15 NIV                                                                                                                             Orig. 10-29-72

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 11-4-86 

Passage:  Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.  This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.  This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God has overcome the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ.  He did not come by water only, but by water and blood.  And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.  For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and the three are in agreement.  We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.  Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart.  Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.  And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.  We have the assurance in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Purpose: To help my people examine their relationship with God to the point of having assurance of faith.

Keywords:          Doubt                   Revival                 Faith                     Word of God    

Introduction

                Having a guest in our home last week was a happy privilege.  I have had occasion to think of such times when I was guest in pastor/family homes.  One always stands out from all the rest.  I arrived at my appointment at the prescribed time.  The pastor took me to his home to settle in before the service that night.  Entering the house, my friend explained that the teenage daughter had consented to relinquish her room for the week.  She would be elsewhere in the house.  I don’t know what negotiations went on before my arrival, but there I was, settling into a room that was decidedly not my style.  It was sufficiently comfortable, but the decorations were nauseating.  I spent the week under the watchful gaze of Bobby Sherman and Mickey Something-or-Other.  And having to enter the room through a curtain made from aluminum can pop-tops left me a little fractious.  There were two people praying for that revival that week.  Both praying that it would pass quickly: her and me.

                I am not the pin-up type.  I wouldn’t even make room for Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus. Sam Sneed maybe!  Jan Stevenson certainly!

                I do hold on to certain pictures occasionally.  A brochure came in the mail awhile back.  From an evangelist.  It was so different I tucked it away for possible future consideration.  The front contained a double picture of said evangelist.  On the left side under a seedy looking individual was the following: Police Department, Houston, TX 71770. “Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me.”

                Opposite was a current picture of the same individual, shaven, hair combed, neatly dressed.  Beneath this picture, Evangelist—“The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen could ever tell.”

                A question emerges, Does Christ make a difference in a person’s life?  If so, how can I know that I am a Christian?

I.             First, We Must Certify How One Becomes a Christian.  V13 “These  things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”  One becomes a Christian by casting doubt aside, and believing.  V11 “This is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” 

So there must be some analysis of doubt.  Is it the doubt of ignorance? How often do we hear someone respond to questions of faith?  John says in V13 “These things (are) written, that you may know fully.”  Paul expressed his belief clearly that he knew which he had believed.  He likewise instructed Timothy to “study to show himself approved unto God.”  If doubt exists, and it is the doubt of ignorance, heed God’s word.  Take seriously the witness of Christian friends who certify faith.

Perhaps your doubt is only the doubt of inexperience.  Akin to that causing Abraham distress when he was directed from Ur to some unnamed land afar off.  Dealing with doubt was in the going.  Or that bothering the spies. Two exceptions were Joshua and Caleb.  The spies saw the land and the enemy.  They saw a land worth keeping, and men worthy of such keeping, and they were afraid.  Victory, and disposal of doubt awaited going forth in battle.  Jesus stood one day at the door of your life and knocked, waiting to be invited in.  He has been there before, as He is now, and faith awaits disposal of doubt and asking.

It may also be that the doubt is the doubt of strangeness.  Let the story of Balaam alone be a sufficient warning.  In Numbers 22 Balaam, who had a kind of faith in God, was tempted to curse Israel.  His stubbornness before God brought him to the brink of death.  An angel of God blocked his path, and his donkey sensed the danger before he did.  Faith in the face of stubborn doubt may not be easy, but surrender to God is required.

II.            One Has Assurance that He is a Christian by Taking Hold of the Word of God.  V10b “He who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given.”  There are parallel verses from the pen of John. 1 John 5:13 “These things were written to those who believe that you may know that you have eternal life.”  John 20:31 “…Written that you might come to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that believing you might have life.”

So the Word is there, available to us all. We must grasp the rightness of its message for us.  Listen in as Elizabeth speaks to Mary. Luke 1:45 “…You believed that God would do what He said.  That is why He has given you this wonderful blessing.” (LB)  Hear what God said in the parable of the seed, Luke 8:15.  “The good soil represents honest good-hearted people.  They listen to God’s words, and cling to them and steadily spread them to others who also believe.”  Do not be so quick to ignore a text of the early church, comparing Berea to Thessalonica.  Acts 17:11 “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, or they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Jews as well as Gentiles.)

We are able to hold onto the Word of God because we trust the character of God.  Luke 12:32 “Fear not little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  What kind of father uses gifts to control his children?  Not a good one.  Not for long.  The Heavenly Father does not give to get or to goad or to gauge.  He gives because he is genuine and generous and good.  He invites us to be of one stock, with Him.

III.           Before We Conclude, a Brief Word of Counsel.  Don’t let the circumstance of your daily life nurture doubt.  Psalm 63:1 “My soul thirsteth for thee. My flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.”  In poetry and song we equate sunshine with good fortune.

                “O they tell me of a home far beyond the skies,

                O they tell me of a home far away.

                O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise,

                O they tell me of an unclouded day.”

But we have seen those places marked by unending sunshine, where no clouds ever appear.  It is a land through which course no streams, where no springs gurgle, and without tree or flower. 

Assurance of faith is not determined by trouble-free life.  It is determined by our desire to know and do the will of God.  John 7:17 (Phillips) “If anyone wants to do God’s will, he will know whether my teaching is from God, or whether I merely speak on my own authority.”

Conclusion

We mentioned pin-ups earlier.  What do you see in the picture gallery of your own life? Can you visualize a before and an after in relationship to God?  Can you identify a time when the picture changes?  What do you see that is different now?  How was it before Christ came?  If He has not, why do you detain Him? Why do you leave the door closed on such a One? 

V12 “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

THE MAN NAMED JOHN

#501                                                              THE MAN NAMED JOHN                                                                                     

Luke 1:5-15a NIV                                                                                                                                           Orig. 12/14/1990

In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest name Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.  Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly.  But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.  Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.  Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.  When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.  But the angel said to him:  “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.  Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.  He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

Purpose: Continuing a series for Sunday evenings on New Testament characters, here presenting John the Baptist as a man striving to please God.

Keywords:          Biography            John the Baptist’s History           

Timeline/Series:               Sequential/New Testament Characters

Introduction

                As noted last week, we are indebted to Luke for much that we know about John’s roots.  All of chapter one, remember, is unique.  In that lengthy chapter, VV 5-25 and 57-80 tell us about the birth of John, and the near-miraculous nature of his conception.

                Zechariah was a priest, married to Elizabeth who was also of the priestly line.  They were godly people, of advanced age, who had struggled somewhat with the barrenness of Elizabeth.

                The estimates for the time suggest that there may have been as many as 18,000 priests divided into the 24 courses.  All would be in Jerusalem for the major festivals (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles).  Otherwise, each course would serve one 8 day stint every six months in Jerusalem, from Sabbath to Sabbath (BI F88 p49).

                One day Zechariah was chosen by lot to burn incense in the temple. (Exodus 30/I Kings 11).  This happened morning and evening each day, however in the morning four were involved, in the evening only one.  It is likely that this honor would fall to a man only once in his lifetime.

                He entered the Holy Place, took incense from a bowl, and put it on burning coals atop the altar of incense, and then prostrated himself for a short period of prayer.

I.             In This Setting, Then, the Angel Gabriel Made His Appearance, Gave His Message of the Birth of a Special Son. (Luke 1:14-16).  Because of his disbelief, Zechariah would become mute, which, with recovery of speech at John’s birth, would be an enabler of many people recognizing this birth as a step, or a fore-work of the coming of the Messiah (V 76-79) “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

                Conclusions that we can reach about this man named John are drawn from v 13 “Thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.”  Repeating what is already established, the parents were elderly, childless; they were both of priestly lineage (of the division of Abijah: I Chron 24).  There is a familial link between John/Jesus. Mary and Elizabeth were kin (v 1:36 “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.”)  Their babies enjoyed unusual, even miraculous, births.  Both would bear names given them by the angel Gabriel: John—Yahweh gives grace, and Jesus—Yahweh is salvation. 

                Of the boyhood of John, we can only surmise.  He was to be reared a Nazirite V 1:15. The Nazirite vow is described in Numbers 6, and Samson and Samuel are examples.  Who takes over to rear a child born in the twilight of life?  No family is left to assume responsibility.  One thing is known: v 80 “And the child was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.”  One strong tradition suggests that John was reared by the Essenes, who were known to take orphaned boys and to live by strict rules of abstinence.  What this does not address is the fact of John’s priestly lineage.  It would be expected of him.  One writer (BI W82 p36) suggests he kept this covenant, but broke with them discovering what many had become.  We might well divide them today between liberal and conservative.

                Matthew’s description of John lead us to close the door on the Essenes. His raiment was camel’s hair; he wore a leather girdle; his diet was of locusts and honey; and he had a message as austere as his dress.  His message was as austere as his dress. V 3:8 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

II.            Our Next Concern, Therefore, Must be Message. Luke 3:3 “he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”  The gospel writers all affirm a prophet.  Luke (1:15) brings in the Holy Spirit, the Source of the divine message.

                The message proclaimed is repentance.  For us: a change of mind as consequence of sin. New Testament Greek: a change of mind from evil to good, worse to better.  The Old Testament word for repentance: shuv is more often translated “return again.” Remorse, regret, humiliation, grief because of sins against God mean much more than tears.  I Kings 21:27: “When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.  Hebrews 12:17: Esau “found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.”

                That repentance was to show in their lives.  Their deeds were to give evidence. “Fruits meet worthy”—from the Greek axiom.  Our “axiom” means self-evident truth. 

Additionally, John was to be the one who would introduce the Messiah.  It was a call to preparation. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” Matthew 3:3/Luke 3:4.  There is no need even to comment on his expectation of a particular person.  How well did he and Jesus know each other?  The link of their mothers does not guarantee any relationship.  John recognized Jesus as the appointed one.  Did he, however, recognize Jesus as the son of his mother’s kinswoman?

III.           Finally, What Stands Out of John’s Example?  V16 “And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.” 

His ministry began as a prophetic ministry of preaching and baptism.  Luke 3:3 “preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sin.”  Some say the unnamed disciple of John the Baptist (1:35f) was the other John.  John the Baptist offered the example of prayer. Luke 1:11 “Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples.”  Certain aspects can be taught. We know it more caught than taught.

He taught them to fast (abstain from food).  Matthew 9:14 “Then came to him the disciples of John saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?”  Pharisees: practiced legalism which Jesus rebuked.  Religious disciples from his Spartan days with the Essenes.  Jesus’ answer to them (Matthew 9:15) was that “the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

Conclusion

We still have much to learn from John in the exercise of commitment.  What they learned from him they practiced.  They were jealous for him.  In John 3:25 they argue with the Jews, and question John about Jesus’ early success.  John’s disciples are still at work long after his death.  In Ephesus (Acts 19:1f, c. 65A.D.) “disciples” of John the Baptist are ministered unto by Paul, subsequently baptized “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” 

Though, as this indicates, some were slow to follow, John the Baptist pointed people to Jesus.  His whole ministry was predicated on forecasting the Messiah. Four Gospels: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”   The “way” is the very word used by Jesus of Himself. John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”  He exercises a humility in relation to Jesus that most of us have yet to learn.  John 1:27, 30: “He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie….This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”  John 3:30: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

COMPLACENT CROWD OR COMMISSIONED CHURCH

#498                                  COMPLACENT CROWD OR COMMISSIONED CHURCH                                                         

Scripture Luke 14:16-24, NIV                                                                                                                           Orig. 5-26-68

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 7-18-91 

Passage: ¹⁶ Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷ At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ ²¹ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ²² “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ ²³ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴ I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

Purpose: Addressing my people on the need for the followers of Christ to confirm in daily living all things vital in showing ourselves committed followers of Jesus.

Keywords:          Christ                    Lord                       Commitment                    Complacency

Timeline/Series:               Luke

Introduction

                The article stared back at me from the daily paper (Town Talk, 5-24-67).  The dateline, San Francisco, should have given it away at once.  Weirdness seems to regularly first test its mettle there.

                I read on anyway.  “A well-proportioned brunette tiptoed through a hushed room decorated with a stuffed rat, two crows, and a skull.  She took off her clothes and lay down on a leopard skin covering a mantle. All was ready for the baptism of a child.

                “Anton Szandor Lavey,” continued the article, “who calls himself a sorcerer and the high priest of the First Church of Satan, baptized his gum-chewing three year old daughter Tuesday night as a hooded organist played ‘The Hymn to Satan.’”

                We read such things with measured disgust, and tense up trying to pat ourselves on the back:  “I thank God that I am not as other men.”

                Do you suppose there is a difference in the mind of God?  Think you that He sees this Satanism ploy any differently than He sees people in a Baptist, Methodist, etc., church, whose only telling influence is that they are gathered around an altar?

                Here we are in our Sunday best. Some of us.  Seated here in our comfortable, contemporary, even conservative pews.  Add to that our disdain for what Lavey and his crowd conjure up.  Is that enough to earn for us the favor of God?  Or does it take personal response, commitment even, to be a follower of Christ?  

I.             The Signs of Complacency are Clearly About.  V18 “And they all with one consent began to make excuse.”  Actually, the three major concerns of life figure into this parable.  One addresses his occupation, another his fascination, the last his adoration.  So we examine one’s vocational life, the avocational life, the invocational life.  See it as job, as fun, as church.

                Remember, this is a parable, and therefore, contains teaching meant for our ears, too.  Jesus was out touching lives: down-and-outers.  He was at a feast in the home of a prominent Pharisee.  It all started with a pontification.  One of the guests said, V15 “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God.”  He was inspired, perhaps convicted.  Now he would inspire others.  Jesus’ response was to direct his teaching to their complacency.  Excuse, job-related: this piece of land has to be put to proper use. Excuse, avocation: pull-off involving five yoke of oxen, a tractor-pull.  Excuse, religious devotion: “I have married a wife.”

                Deuteronomy 24:5 tells us, “When a man hath taken a new wife he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business, but he shall be free at home . . . to cheer up his wife.”

                So, in the parable, these guys have been honored by one more honorable than they.  It was to be a festive occasion.  They wanted, expected, to be invited, and would be insulted not to.  The corollary, I would remind you, is our invitation to the faith feast honoring God’s Son.  “I want, expect, to be invited,” you say, “but it must be convenient.”

                We could spend a lot of time here talking about excuses.  We could lose our jobs.  We have let pleasure take us where it would; in the tractor/taffy pull, “Go for the gold!”  We even use our religion as an excuse.

II.            The Expectation Here is Commission.  V16 “A certain man made a great supper and bade many.” V21 “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither.”  The oriental feast had a special dimension.  The invitation was for an appointed day.  It was understood that the hour awaited preparation.  They were to stay ready.  They were to come when called.  As they had accepted the invitation, they were to keep themselves available.

                The wealth of talent in the contemporary church is extraordinary:  People capable of turning the wheels of industry; professionals, teachers, gifted laborers. Imagine, all those talents dedicated.

                Hey, I have an idea.  Let’s dedicate our avocations to the Lord also.  Did you see that delightful piece about Darryl Strawberry?  He became a Christian, and he doesn’t play out of anger anymore.  But how many athletes, musicians, entertainers, entrepreneurs, have a new mountain to climb?  Christ is the Lord of what they are doing. 

                Very little of what it takes to be a Christian takes place here from 11 to 1.  Does it bring you back at 7pm?  What is your prayer life like?  The worst excuse of all is blaming the pulpit.

                Friendliness is an avocation: earnestness, enthusiasm.  When you are out of your place, you have left a void that cannot be filled.

                Leave some room for commitment invocationally, also.  The chairs at the feast are going to be filled, not by the most worthy citizen, but by the most enthusiastic, the most responsive.

III.           Finally, Do Not Overlook Intent.  V24 “None of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.”  Make no mistake, we are dealing with the purview of God here.  The invitation went out clear to all in nature.  Romans 1:20 “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, . . . so that they are without excuse."  Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”

                But God’s invitation came yet again.  Romans 8:1 “There is now therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ.”  Here the meaning came clearly.  The second invitation came, the clearest of directives.  The feast is prepared, you must decide.  Romans 8:31 “What shall we then say to these things, if God be for us, who can be against us?”

                To ignore the summons, to be complacent about the invitation is to court disaster. V24 as above—“none that were bidden shall taste of my supper.”  Romans 10:1f “My heart’s desire . . . for Israel is, that they might be saved. . .  For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness. . . , and going about to establish their own righteousness. . . , have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.”

                The message then of the parable is fourfold.  It tells of the provision of the feast.  It tells us of the people invited to the feast who think themselves worthy, who know themselves unworthy.  It tells us of the prospect of complacency.  It tells us of punishment awaiting negligence.  So it is a promise of provision through faith.

Conclusion

                A young man is said to have approached a holy man of India standing by the Ganges River.  “How may I find God?” he speculated.  The holy man seized him and thrust him violently under the water.  “Why did you do that?” he sputtered.  “When you long for God as you longed for air, you will find.”

CHRIST THE JUDGE

#491                                                                   CHRIST THE JUDGE                                                                                          

Scripture Acts 17:31, NIV                                                                                                                                   Orig. 4-28-68

                                                                                                                                                                                 Rewr. 2-20-91 

Passage:  For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.  He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.

Purpose: Continuing a series for Easter on Jesus’ nature, here seeing Him as the One in whom ultimate judgment must rest.

Keywords:          Christ                   Judge                    Judgment           Revival                  Nature of Christ              

Timeline/Series:               Easter/Other

Introduction

                Most of us, because of inoculations administered when we were children, have little fear of such diseases as small pox and diphtheria.  However, contagious diseases are still a great concern.  We are reading about the cholera epidemic in Peru. The Centers for Disease Control reports on other problem areas in the world.  Here in our own country, HIV is a terrible risk.  Deviant sexual behavior is not its only source.  Every winter, millions of people regularly take flu shots in a sometime fruitless attempt not to catch the flu during the peak-susceptibility cold weather months.  We want to think of ourselves as invulnerable to disease.

                Thankfully, some things have been brought under control.  Others are as death-dealing as ever they have been.  We must be sensible in our approach to health.  We must generate a healthy lifestyle.  Even with one, we are not completely invulnerable.

                One of the myths of the ancients was that of a man named Achilles.  He was the son of Peleus and Thetis.  His father was noted for bravery during the Trojan Wars.  Because his mother perceived that he would follow in his father’s steps and would thus face danger, she feared for his vulnerability.  While a baby, she dipped Achilles in the River Styx, presumably to thus cover him with a shield of protection.  He was thus submerged over the entirety of his body except the one spot on his heel where she held him.  The myth informs us that it was in that heel years later that Achilles was mortally wounded.

                In our day, even, an Achilles heel is a personal weakness for which there seems to be no solution.  We can protect ourselves and our families from a few of life’s dangers, but not all.  We may spend a fortune in the process and yet be vulnerable.

                The question raised by all of this is, “What good is an almost invulnerability?”  Why would people work with such determination to protect themselves from the vicissitudes of life, and pay no mind to the facing of the judgment of God? It is this judgment that we seek to address this morning as a part of the nature of Christ.

I.             It is a Judgment of Appointed Time.  “He hath appointed a day.”  There are places in the world where time means little.  People live in routine existence. Sameness controls their lives.

                For most of us, everything is by appointment.  We work appointed schedules.  Our children practice ball, music, art, taekwondo, by appointment.  We even meet our friends by appointment. 

                A four-year-old told her parents, just after her fourth birthday, that she wanted a baby brother for her next birthday.  As if by appointment, on her fifth, he was born.  Her mother was barely home from the hospital when the girl said she wanted a sister for the next one.  On that very day a little girl was born.  The little girl came breathlessly into the room, but was interrupted by her mother asking, “Susie, how would you like a puppy for your birthday, next year?”

                The judgment of God will be by decree.  John 5:28f “The hour cometh in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, to the resurrection of life; they that have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.”

II.            It is Likewise a Judgment of Universal Scope.  “He will judge the world.”  Every evil scheme will fall under the searching eye of God.  Paul had been brought out of Berea by his friends because of dangers.  They came here to Athens.  Doubtless, the same message that drove him from Berea, he preaches here.  Remember, these are the philosophers, scholars, learned men.  Architecture, art, philosophy know no equal.  There are no advantaged people before God.  The message is the same to all.

                Read the message preached in Acts.  The life of Jesus, the death, forgiveness.  Why would Jesus go through the struggle of the cross if it meant nothing?  What it means is forgiveness.  What it means is deliverance from the resurrection of judgment.

III.           It is a Judgment Administered in Righteousness.  “He will judge the world in righteousness.”  There is much injustice in our world.  History alludes to its presence in every time, clime, and culture.  Hitler is a prime example.  Russia represses the Baltic States.

                There are evident Biblical examples.  Psalmist: 73:6-8 “Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them.  Their eye bulges from fatness; the imaginations of their heart run riot.  They mock, and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high.” In v16 he continues: “it was too painful for me, until,” he said, “I remembered what is in store or them.”

                How many times the man on the street has no idea what really happens in the halls of Congress, in the state house, among the military tribunals, in our private enclaves.  –But God knows, and justice will be done.

IV.          It is Judgment Administered by a Chosen Agent.  “He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.”  Christ is this specially chosen vessel on the basis of his character, because His talk and His walk have been without sin.  His knowledge is flawlessly accurate. An Anglican burial service contains the words: “holy and merciful Saviour, thou most worthy Judge eternal.”

                The 19^th century Scottish preacher Alexander Whyte wrote “The righteousness of God is that righteousness which His righteousness requires Him to require.”  How does this measure against John 8:15 “I judge no man”?  He meant “to divide,” “to separate.”  John 8:15, again. “You judge after the flesh.  I do not.”

                It is human to issue rewards on the basis of favoritism. But Deuteronomy 1:17 reads “You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike.  You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God’s.  And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.”

V.            It is a Judgment Consummated in Hope.  “Whereof He hath given assurance to all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.”  Paul speaks of what they now have experienced.  It was not so clear before.  Job: “If a man die, shall he live again?”  David: “I can go to him, but he cannot return to me.”

                But it is clear now.  Jesus, who was dead, lived again.  Herein, the Christian witness is different from all others.  For the Hindu, reincarnation offers only a proposed re-birth to a higher caste, or as a bug.  Communism has a dead saviour whose coffin was a shrine.

                The New Testament, however, declares that the resurrection brings the believer into a state of grace.  Philippians 3:8f “. . . I count all things but loss, . . . that I may win Christ, . . . That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection.”  Acts 17:18 “He preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection.”  John 11:25f “I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”  I Peter 1:3 “His abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Conclusion

                Donald Barnhouse tells of an encounter on the Celebes Island with a boy and a small monkey.  The boy was selling the animal that he had trapped with a handful of rice placed in a gourd.  The monkey placed its small hand into the opening for the rice, but once clutching the object of its desire, he could not pull the hand free through the small opening, and was thus captured.  Sin is the object of our desire.  Jesus enables us to be set free.

ORDINANCES FOR THE NINETIES

#483                                                      ORDINANCES FOR THE NINETIES                                                                             

Scripture  Acts 8:35-39, I Corinthians 11:23-29 NIV                                                                                 Orig. 9-29-63

                                                                                                                                                                                 Rewr. 1-11-90 

Passage:  Acts 8:35-39

³⁵ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶ As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” ^[37] [a Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”^] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

1 Corinthians 11:23-29

²³ For I received from the Lord^(A) what I also passed on to you:^(B) The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body,^(C) which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant^(D) in my blood;^(E) do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.^{(F) 27} So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.^{(G) 28} Everyone ought to examine themselves^(H) before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. ²⁹ For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.

Purpose: Remind my people that the message and meaning of the Lord’s Supper have not changed.

Keywords:          Christ    Ordinance          Lord’s Supper                   Ordinance          Baptism               Communion

Introduction

                There is a beautiful passage from John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress (250C77p123), that is most applicable in the context of the Lord’s Supper.

                Then said Christian to the porter, Sir, what house is this?  The porter answered, This house was built by the Lord of the Hill, and he built it for the relief and security of Pilgrims. . . . Now I saw in my Dream that thus they sat talking together until supper was ready.  So when they had made ready, they sat down to meat.  Now the table was furnished with fat things, and with Wine that was well refined: and all their talk at the table was about the Lord of the Hill; as namely, about what He had done, and wherefore He did what He did, and why He had builded that House. . . .  Thus they discoursed together till late at night; and after they had committed themselves to their Lord for protection, they took themselves to rest.  The Pilgrim they laid in a large upper chamber, whose window opened towards the Sun rising: the name of the chamber was Peace, where he slept till break of day, and then he awoke and sang,

                Where am I now?  Is this the love and care of Jesus, for the men that Pilgrims are Thus to provide?  That I should be forgiven!  And dwell already the next door to Heaven!

                The potential thus in the Lord’s Supper is for us to dwell “next door to heaven.”

I.             First, a Brief Word about Determining Our Beliefs about Ordinances.  We must encounter the teaching of Jesus.  His early ministry was similar to that of John.  Acts 13:24 “. . . who preached . . . the baptism of repentance.”  Similarly, He instructed the disciples. Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, . . . baptizing . . . in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.”  Likewise He left His imprint upon the observance of the supper.  So He led the disciples.  So He instructed them to continue. Luke 22:19 “This do in remembrance of me.”

                The early church left a relatively clear PICTURE of its practice.  Denominationalism has altered it.  Individual teachers have abused it.  We have the early church with which to compare ourselves.  The third determinant has to do with the message of the ordinance.  We will deal with this shortly in describing our present beliefs.  It is noteworthy, that foot washing, exemplified by Jesus, did not pass into general use.  He didn’t advise its continuance, and we are hard pressed to find a celebrant.  We ought to learn the humility thus pictured.

II.            Next, a Brief Discussion about Our Beliefs.  Baptism: Acts 3:36 “Here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?”  Scriptural baptism is immersion.  A.H. Strong writes that every place where the New Testament uses the concept of baptism either requires or mandates a meaning based on immersion.  It is the immersion of a believer (Acts 8:37); there is no efficacy in a dunking in water not based on faith.  Repeated immersions are a sacrilege because they espouse untruth.  Baptism demonstrates a belief in who Jesus is, repentance and confession, and desire for discipleship.       It is an act of obedience.  Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you . . . unto remission of sin.”  It is a three-fold symbol of the Saviour’s life:  Death--Romans 6:5 “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, so shall we be in the likeness of His resurrection;” Burial and Resurrection—Colossians 2:12 “Buried with Him in baptism . . . risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God.”

                It is a testimony of the believer’s faith in Christ and in His gospel.  It is the prerequisite to the privileges of church membership.

                The Lord’s Supper: It memorializes the death of Christ.  Its elements are twofold: unleavened bread and available fruit of the vine.  It is the appropriation of the sacrifice of another for ourselves. Matthew 26:28 “This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”  It is the forecasting of His return. We are able to come to grips with this world as it is.  We know that the ultimate change will happen only upon His return.

                It is one thing more, it is an expression of obedience celebrated by the assembled church, according to Christ, the place of the supreme Lord, displaying a momentary picture of heaven.

Conclusion

                Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great British preacher, left a poem describing the supper.

Amidst us our beloved stands,

        And bids us view his pierced hands;

Points to the wounded feet and side,

        Blest emblems of the crucified.

What food luxurious loads the board

        When, at his table, sits the Lord!

The wine how rich, the bread how sweet

        When Jesus deigns his guests to meet!

If now, with eyes defiled and dim,

        We see the signs, but see not him;

O, may his love the scales displace,

        And bid us see him face to face!

Thou glorious Bridegroom of our hearts,

        Thy present smile a heaven imparts!

O, lift the veil, if veil there be,

        Let every saint thy glory see!

                                                (250C77p169)

BIBLE STUDY

#477                                                                         BIBLE STUDY                                                                                                

Scripture  Luke 14:1-24 NIV                                                                                                                             Orig. 3/13/68

                                                                                                                                                                 Rewr. 3/1971, 12/1974

Passage:  One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. ² There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. ³ Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” ⁴ But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way. ⁵ Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child^[a] or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” ⁶ And they had nothing to say. ⁷ When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. ⁹ If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. ¹¹ For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” ¹² Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” ¹⁵ When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁶ Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷ At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ ²¹ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ²² “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ ²³ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴ I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

Keywords:          Banquet               Disenfranchised

Timeline/Series:               Bible study

Introduction

                Luke records four of the seven occasions of Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath.  (1) In Chapter 4, the  healing of Simon’s mother-in-law; (2) in Chapter 6, the man with the withered hand; (3) in Chapter 13, the woman with an 18-year infirmity; and (4) here, a man with dropsy—an excess of body fluids, known today as edema.

                It would seem that anyone so intent on upgrading man’s physical and spiritual condition would have drawn the immediate acceptance of the people.  Jesus, however, was hated by many. 

                Jesus’ Attitude at the Supper. 14:1  Jesus never refused any man’s invitation to hospitality.  He went into the house of one of the Chief Pharisees on the Sabbath day to eat bread. They watched Him: Jesus never lost patience with men even in times of stress.

                Jesus’ Action at the Supper.  14:2-6  His first responsibility is the alleviation of human suffering. V4 And He took him and healed him and let him go.  Attention is called to the Pharisees’ lack of value judgment.  “Which of you will not remove your beast from a pit on the Sabbath day?”

                Jesus’ Analogy About a Supper.  14:7-11 His teaching is always relevant.  V7 He marked how they chose out the chief rooms.  His teaching here is in regard to humility. V9 When you are bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room. Humility is retained by examination and by comparison.

                Jesus’ Advice to His Host at the Supper. 14:12-14 His advice is to examine our motives.  V12 Do not invite your friends, your brethren, your kinsmen, thy rich neighbours, lest perhaps they also invite you.  Their motives would be, perhaps, a sense of duty, self-interest, vanity, or an effort to befriend.  The result will be blessing from God rather than men. V14 And thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee.

                Apposition: Jesus Was Rebuffed By a Guest at the Supper.  14:15 The guest who said “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God,” was perhaps incensed at Jesus’ word to the host.  What right had He, through healing, to contradict the Law? What right to instruct the spiritual leaders? What right to advise the Chief Pharisee?  The guest might have said, “What do you know about blessing? He is blessed who is of the spiritual heritage of Israel.”

                Application: Jesus Rebuked False Claims of the Jews at the Supper.  14:16-24 Even a word spoken to a cynic is spoken in kindness. 

                But those to whom the kingdom was offered, rejected it: Because of vocation, and so immersed in work that there is no time for fellowship—“I have bought a piece of ground”; because of avocation, so taken with some novelty—“I have bought five yoke of oxen” (Did you know that 80,000 people a week see the Saints play football?!); because of invocation, in that the Mosaic Law says a man with a new wife will not go to war or be charged with business for one year—“I have married a wife.”

Closing

                There are those to whom the Christian life is a melancholy and a dread.  Swinburne, the poet, wrote, “Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean, The world has grown gray from thy breath.”  John Ruskin, an English author, told of a jumping jack given to him as a child, taken away by a pious aunt with the remark that toys were not things for a Christian child.  It’s little wonder that his brilliant mind turned to socialism and nature.  Wesley founded a school where the rule was no play, “because he who plays as a child plays as a man.”

                Jesus, however, pictured His Kingdom in terms of a feast.

***THE REMAINDER OF THIS BIBLE STUDY HAS BEEN LOST***

NO MORE CHANCES

#463                                                                  NO MORE CHANCES                                                                                         

Scripture Luke 13:6-9 NIV                                                                                                                                  Orig. 2-16-68

                                                                                                                                                                                Rewr. 10-26-81 

Passage:  Then he told this parable:  “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.  So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down!  Why should it use up the soil?’”              

Purpose: Continuing the series on the parables to remind my people of the teaching of Jesus relative to our responsibility to use our opportunities.

Keywords:          Grace    Judgment           Providence        Revival                 Uselessness

Series:  Parables

Introduction

                As Jesus continued his teaching, one of his Judean listeners raised a question.  There was no great love lost between the Judeans and the Galileans, and a report had been recently circulated that Pilate had stormed out against their rebellious character by having his guards strike some of them down even while they were offering sacrifices.   The one who raised the question was implying that they probably got what they deserved.  If there is any place that a right-thinking person ought to be safe it is at the appointment of sacrifice.  If, therefore, harm fell to them there, it simply means that they are guilty as charged and got their just deserts.

                Jesus then answers directly.  Do you think that those Galileans were the chief sinners among Galileans because that happened to them?”  Jesus then laid the burden of sin right at their feet.  “No!” he said, “They were not necessarily the chiefest of sinners just because they were killed.”  Then, addressing their own disdain of God’s purpose for them, he continued. “Unless you repent, you will also perish.”

                Then he brought up the case of a recent natural disaster.  The tower of Siloam in Jerusalem had fallen causing the death of 18 people.  He implies that if such as this can happen in Jerusalem, then the people must think that these victims were somehow deserving what happened to them.  Again Jesus addresses their own sin problem.  “That is not the case.” He says, but unless you repent of your sin, then you will ultimately perish just as violently as they did.

                He does not deny that these Galileans and these workmen in Jerusalem were sinners.  There is just not anything that he can do for dead sinners.  His concern is for the living and for their errant rationale that allowed them self-justification.  They were not safe from judgment simply because they were Jews.  They were not to be excused from the necessity of repentance simply because of the chance of their birth to a Hebrew mother.  Thus he shared with them the parable of the barren fig tree.

I.             The Parable Addresses Opportunity: The fig tree owned a special providence.  V6 “He came seeking fruit thereon.”  Perhaps the significance of a parable needs to be restated.  It is a story with a hidden meaning.  The significance of such a story is never in what is obvious.  It is not about a fig tree, but what the tree represents.  It must somehow relate to productivity. 

                If this is just about trees, then there are many factors to be considered: size, fertility, climate, etc.  If about trees, it can produce only what it is.  But if its meaning is about people then we startlingly discover that a person can do much more than just produce another being like unto himself.  Not only can he improve upon what nature has given, he can do more. He can produce a thought, an idea, a word, and a deed which, by the way, may be good or evil.

                It is a consuming thought to come to realize that the master of the orchard is conscious of every plant.  He expects no more that the plant, or that which it symbolizes, is capable to produce.  Of a fig tree, he would expect a fig.  But of one created to produce more and better things, he would expect that also.  The master of the orchard knows the opportunity of each of us and expects that of which we are capable.

II.            The Parable Addresses Obstructions to Opportunity.  The fig tree reminds us that uselessness invites disaster.  V7 “Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.”  Some would like to apply the parable to Jesus’ hearers, thus the Jewish nation. It is true that Isaiah foresaw such an eventuality. He describes the beloved’s vineyard “on a fruitful hill” and marks its destruction.  Isaiah 5:1-7 “I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard. My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.  He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines.  He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well.  Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.  Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.  That more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?  When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?  Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard:  I will take away its hedge and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled.  I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there.  I will command the clouds not to rain on it.  The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in.  And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness but heard cries of distress.”

                We dare see not see it, however, as relating to other than ourselves.  Judging a tree we examine its leaves—right size and of good texture; its roots deep and strong; its fiber soft, pliable, moist; but if it bears no fruit, cut it down.

III.           The Parable Asserts Offensiveness.  The fig tree will understand that nothing which only takes and does not give can survive.  V7 “Cut it down, why doth it cumber the ground?”  The literal meaning is why does this plant allow the ground to be reduced to inactivity?  Not only is the tree useless, the soil beneath it is rendered useless.  An interesting parallel exists with other parables: Prodigal—“Lost,” loss of wellbeing; Strait Gate—“Destruction,” loss of wellbeing; Fig tree—“cumber,” loss of wellbeing; Fig tree—“cut it down,” loss of wellbeing.

                The message is a twofold one, for empires and for individuals. We must never passively keep someone else from achieving their spiritual best, and we must anchor our lives to a bold, assertive spiritual activity.

IV.          The Parable Speaks of Obligation.  By the grace of the keeper of the orchard, a second chance is extended.  V8f “Let it alone for one year more.  I shall dig about it, and if it bear fruit, well.”

                We are not directed to do something about our past, for we cannot; Thomas Hardy wrote in The Ghost of the Past, “We two kept house, the past and I.”  We are not to be dazzled by the future, for we cannot grasp what it may hold; Longfellow wrote in A Psalm of Life, “Trust no future howe’er pleasant! Let the dead past bury its dead! Act, act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o’erhead.”

                Be sure only of this, that God in Christ gives to each of us, to all, a second chance.  Christ, on the cross, prayed “Father, forgive.” The foundling church offered to Israel a second chance to believe. Acts 13:46, First to Israel, “But seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.”  The nation, the denomination, the individual church, the believer, likewise understand that our very being (wellbeing) is “second chance.”  The mind of the Father and the Son is the same that repentance spurned.  The soil must be cleared for one who will repent.

V.            Finally, the Parable Acknowledges Oblivion.  The fig tree testifies that there is coming a last chance. V9 “If it does not bear fruit after this year, then, cut it down.”  The judgment made by the gardener is based on its fruitlessness.  It is not the fault of the gardener.  It is not the fault of the soil.  The fault rests only upon the agency judged.  Understand this, please, of the judgment of God: It will always be upon spiritual potential denied.  He will not judge any person for something they were incapable of doing. What one is capable of, and what one “wills” to do with that capability is, sadly, too often, two different things.

                We, who have been favored to live in a part of the world graced by the finer things of life must accept a responsibility to do with these things to the glory of God.  Who then must face a more severe judgment? The Russian who grew up being taught that God was a capitalist plot? The remote tribesman whose only notion of God is the predictability or unpredictability of nature?  The third world refugee who knows nothing so completely as he knows hunger?  Or the polished citizen of a western culture who has the best of all things, but who ignores the clear warnings of sin, and judgment, and last chances?

                Make no mistake, we are accountable.  The divine gardener pleads “spare.”  It is he who finally declares “cut it down!”  Recall please the message of John the Baptist, the forerunner.  He admonished Israel to repent, and then warned, “and even now is the axe laid unto the root of the trees: Every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.”

Conclusion

                We are called therefore to believe.  That belief requires repentance, for we have sinned, and in spite of our sin the second chance has been given.  Finally, acknowledging that second chance means that we choose to live in such a way that others understanding our commitment to life in our Lord Jesus Christ will begin to reckon their own lives in relation to Him.

THE PARABLE OF THE LOVING FATHER

#379                                                THE PARABLE OF THE LOVING FATHER                                                                       

Scripture  Luke 15:11-32 NIV                                                                                                           Orig. 6/30/63 (10/81)

                                                                                                                                                                                    Rewr. 8/6/87 

Passage:  ¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.  ¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.  ¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.  “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.  ²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  ²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.  ²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’  ²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’  ³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Purpose: In a series on the New Testament parables, here sharing with my people on the theme of human intemperance beset by God’s great love.

Keywords:          Disobedience                   Forgiveness        Revival                 Self-righteousness         Sin        

Timeline/Series:               Parable

Introduction

                Once upon a time there were two young children who went to spend the summer with their grandparents.  Their names were Billy and Sally.  They lived most of the year in the city, and a few weeks on their grandparents’ farm in the summer was a wonderful experience for them.

                Billy, like many little boys, was exceedingly curious.  He enjoyed all the different things, and animals that he encountered.  One day Grandfather had some work to do in the hayloft and it was too hot for Billy to help.  He was free to roam.  He picked up his slingshot and went out to play hunter.  Out beyond the barn, almost out of sight of the house, Billy had armed his weapon and had it ready.  Suddenly, Grandmother’s pet duck waddled around the corner of the barn.  Without so much as a flinch, Billy let fly his artillery.  His aim usually wasn’t very good, but this time he was right on the mark.  The duck lay dead.  He looked to see if anyone was in sight.  Then, scared though he was, he quickly buried the duck back of the barn.  That night at supper he couldn’t eat.  His grandmother asked if he was sick.  After supper he and Sally went to wash dishes. She said she wasn’t going to help, and if he complained she’d tell about the duck.

                You can imagine what the next week was like.  Billy was miserable.  Finally, one afternoon Billy went to his grandmother’s sewing room.  He stood around, picked up trinkets in which he had no interest.  Shuffled from one foot to the other.  “Billy, if you need to know it, I love you.”  Then came the flood of guilt and confession.  “Billy, I was sitting here by the window and saw the whole thing.  I wondered how long you would endure this bondage to Sally before you came to me.”

I.             First, Parables are Often Unique in Their Setting.  We can back up a couple of chapters.  Luke 13:22. “. . . Jesus went through the towns and villages . . . as he made his way to Jerusalem.”  Jesus is clearly conscious of the precious commodity of his dwindling days.  Luke 17:11 “Now on his way to Jerusalem”—his last.

                More directly, the scribes and Pharisees were murmuring about his friendship with sinners.  Luke 15:2 “[They] muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”  Aren’t you glad Jesus is like this?  You know where we would be otherwise.

                Thus Jesus shares 3 parables of lost possessions.  There is a lost sheep (15:3).  It doesn’t will to be lost. It just wanders away.  The shepherd seeks it until it is found.  It is lost! It is sought! It is found!  The finder rejoices.

                There is a lost coin (15:8).  It has no capacity to lose itself, or to understand its lostness.  The one discovering it lost, holds other things incidental until it is found.  It is lost! It is sought! It is found! The finder rejoices.

                There is a lost son.  He is lost, not because he wandered off, or was impassively misplaced, but because he chose to leave, to separate himself.  He was just as lost! He was sought! He was restored! His return causes joy for his father.

                The elder brother does not joy in return.  Nor does he find joy in his father’s joy.

II.            Next, We View the Lost Son As a Principal Character in Our Story.  V11: “A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.”  It is noted that Jesus does not call this young man a prodigal.  Keep in mind the religious bigots listening.  They are vindictive of Jesus’ openness to sinners.  We can measure both sons and their sin.  The younger was callous and rebellious; the older was censorious, retaliatory.

                We can learn that there are good things about this young man.  He is his own person.  He is ready to strike out on his own.  But he handles it poorly.  His immaturity shows he gives his father no chance to counsel him.  He is seeking only what is rightfully his. Deuteronomy 21:17 The right of the firstborn is a double portion.  He seems to be a man of simplicity and responsibility.  He discovers his mistakes, and blames himself.  He knows his best chance is starting over. At home? Enslaved?

                The Bible describes three kinds of enslavement: Bondsmen—respected family extensions; servant—subordinate but with status; hired servants—temporarily indentured.  The younger son is a man to whom repentance is not an unreasonable alternative.  V.17 “And when he came to himself, he said . . . I will go . . . and say . . . Father, I have sinned.”

                Don’t make the mistake of accusing him as an unthankful delinquent.  There is a mind sustained by childhood teachings.  There is a heart with gratitude for a loving father.

                There are interesting interpretations. Augustine: the “far country” represents the forgetfulness of God. “Came to himself” suggests restoration from madness.  Paul’s description in Ephesians 4:18, “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance . . . in them due to the hardening of their hearts.”

III.           Then, We Must Consider the Older Brother Just as Lost in His Condescending Attitude.  V28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in.”  The elder brother stands in the parable for the hardhearted Pharisees who necessitated its message.  They did not share Christ’s concern for sinners.  We must consider our own attitudes.  As the younger was riddled by an uneasy conscience, this one purported to be without fault. V29: “I never disobeyed your command.”  He was unforgiving.  One-third of the estate has been lost.  His ledger-book mentality demands censure.  Even brotherhood is too high a price for acquittal.  Add to his other wrongs that of betraying his father’s joy.  Father: “this thy brother.”  Son: “This thy son.”

                The theologian George Buttrick wrote: “The far country is measured in motives rather than miles.”

                Finally, the parable shows no evidence of repentance for the elder brother.  Some suggest that it is a true story.

IV.          The Parable Remains Forever that of Loving Father.  V22 “But the Father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it; and let us eat and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; was lost, and is found.”

                There were some things that the father could do. The robe, best or first, showed honor and restoration.  The ring established the relationship and oneness (Wedding Ring, Class Ring, Super Bowl Ring).  The shoes, not worn by the lowest servants, were provisioned to sons.

                There were other things, however, that the father could not do.  He could not erase the wrong done: Billy could not revive the pet duck. He could not promise a second part of the estate.

                He depicts all the characteristics of the heavenly Father.  He waits patiently and lovingly.  He recognizes the repentant pilgrim.  He goes out to meet the weary son.  He interrupts the confession.  God is no stickler for law for law’s sake.

                A totally new picture of God emerges.  We saw the shepherd search for the lost sheep.  We watched as the homemaker searched for the lost coin.  We sense that the father is brooding for his lost son.  God’s concern for the lost is the brooding concern for what is of eminent worth.

Conclusion

                I have had recent occasion to reconsider the different attitudes allowed my Dad and myself in regard to God as Father.  When he was a lad, his dad deserted them.  He tried to run the tiny farm, but in failure, lost the only holding they had.  He has lived out his life without owning property: fearful of loss.  But the greatest disparity is that he knew no human counterpart to depict for him the true picture of God as one of zealous good will.

A GLORY THAT IS FOREVER

#147                                                            A GLORY THAT IS FOREVER                                                                                  

Scripture Romans 11:1-36 NIV                                                                                                                      Orig. 10/28/62

                                                                                                                                                                                    Rewr. 8/1/85 

Passage: I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. ² God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”^[a]? ⁴ And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”^[b] 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. ⁶ And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

⁷ What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, ⁸ as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
    eyes that could not see
    and ears that could not hear,
to this very day.”^[c]

⁹ And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap,
    a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
¹⁰ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
    and their backs be bent forever.”^[d]

¹¹ Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. ¹² But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!

¹³ I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry ¹⁴ in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? ¹⁶ If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷ If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, ¹⁸ do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. ¹⁹ You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” ²⁰ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

²² Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in His kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. ²³ And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

²⁵ I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, ²⁶ and in this way^[e] all Israel will be saved. As it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion;
    he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
²⁷ And this is^[f] my covenant with them
    when I take away their sins.”^[g]

²⁸ As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, ²⁹ for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. ³⁰ Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, ³¹ so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now^[h] receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. ³² For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and^[i] knowledge of God!
    How unsearchable his judgments,
    and his paths beyond tracing out!
³⁴ “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
    Or who has been his counselor?”^[j]
35 “Who has ever given to God,
    that God should repay them?”^[k]
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
    To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Purpose:  Continuing the series from Romans, here showing the wisdom of God in saving His people.

Keywords:          Bible Study                         God’s Omnipotence                       Salvation

Timeline/Series:               Romans

Introduction

                It is interesting how prominently the Jews have figured in human history.  Time does not permit but a casual telling of the story that, as often as not, their prominence was their undoing. 

                The presence of the Jews (Hebrews) galled the Egyptians during Moses’ time to the point that it became the practice of state to see them become slaves.  This is similar to the intent of the Third Reich in our own century: The presence of wealthy Jews, and a race of people so content in their heritage, angered the German war lords to the point of holocaust.

                Individually, the activity directed at them has not been much different.  Do you remember Haman, the Agagite, and Mordecai the Jew?  Mordecai was just trying to be faithful to his religious beliefs.  He was not out to challenge anyone else, or to convert them.  But he so galled Haman that he went to his death in a challenge of supremacy.

                Every age has had its company of Jews who become prominent in their fields.  You have heard about the farmer who was a man who excelled in his work.  Well, Jews have a way of rising to the top, as cream over milk.  Perhaps that is the characteristic that has labelled them and marked them for hostility and persecution.

                Search any  area of interest, medicine, government, commerce, industry, and you will note leaders in extraordinarily vaunted positions who are Jews. ***TEXT LOST AT END OF THIS PARAGRAPH***

I.             The Glory of Grace.  V1 “I say then, has God cast away His people?  Certainly not!”  The saved remnant appear in prior lessons: Romans 9 is about God’s sovereignty and election, and Romans 10 is about Israel’s failure and Gentile belief.  The concept of remnant is not new. According to some accounts, Noah spent 120 years preaching and building.  Only his family joined him on the ark.  Genesis 6:8 “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”

                The New Testament accounting shows that even Jesus had many who heard who did not believe.  Matthew 7:14 “Straight is the gate, and narrow the way, leading to life, and few there are that find it.”

                At Kadesh-Barnea, 12 spies went out. Ten returned, reporting there was no hope of success; only two believed.  The obvious illustration of Elijah shows a believing host.  Paul considers himself as proof of God’s constancy.

                It continues to Paul’s day and ours.  Every Jew who believes is of the people of God. “Remnant” refers to true believers.

                With a hardened heart, people can be earnestly and sincerely wrong.  V7f “Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were  hardened.  It is  not enough to be good.  It is totally inadequate to claim sincerity. 

The human heart is not dependable.  The Hebrews prove it.  Paul elsewhere has his own testimony.  Acts 26:9 “Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.”

II.            The Glory of Provocation.  V11 “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall?  Certainly not!  But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.”  Out of the Jewish failure, faith has come to the Gentiles.  Romans 1:16, “For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”  The Gentile is given salvation.  The Jew is incited to desire.

                The nature of their problem is in Romans 10:3.  “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God.”  The source of this deplorable condition is in Romans 11:8.  “God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.”  Here, Paul reiterates Deuteronomy 29:4 and Isaiah 29:10.

                Did God want to destroy them?  Such is unthinkable.  Paul says “God forbid!”  Isaiah shows that this stupor is in response to their unbelief.

                Take care to note the end result.  The Gentiles are saved.  The Jews are provoked to believe.

III.           The Glory of Ingrafting.  V17 “And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree.”  The imagery in Paul’s lesson is that Israel is the tame olive tree.  Gentiles are the wild olive tree.  On the trunk of the olive  tree, split by limbs broken off, a piece of non-native material is broken off because of uselessness.  In Romans 10:21 Paul recalls the words of Isaiah. “Concerning Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.’”

IV.          The Glory of Future Promise.  V26 “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written, the deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this is my covenant with them.”  This says, “All of Hebrew stock will be saved,” or, it says that all Jews who come to accept this conditional right, in Christ will be saved.

V.            The Glory of Praise.  V33 “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.”  The Jew with his strong position in regard to God finds himself disavowed.  This total spiritual energy aimed at God’s people is to reach the unchosen.  That energy is then turned from Israel to the Gentiles, which will ultimately be the means by which the Jew is attracted to his prior post.

***THE CONCLUSION TO THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***

A FAILURE THAT IS ADDICTIVE

#141                                                        A FAILURE THAT IS ADDICTIVE                                                                               

Scripture Romans 10:1-21 NIV                                                                                                                        Orig. 9/23/62

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 7/25/85 

Passage: Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. ² For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. ³ Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. ⁴ Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

⁵ Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”^[a] 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”^[b] (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”^[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”^[d] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”^[e] 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”^[f]

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”^[g]

¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”^[h] 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. ¹⁸ But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.”^[i]

¹⁹ Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,

“I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
    I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”^[j]

²⁰ And Isaiah boldly says,

“I was found by those who did not seek me;
    I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”^[k]

²¹ But concerning Israel he says,

“All day long I have held out my hands
    to a disobedient and obstinate people.”^[l]

Purpose: Continuing a series from Romans, showing Israel’s failure to understand their relationship to God and faith.

Keywords:          Bible Study                         Law                       

Series, Romans

Introduction

                Quest is a major factor in one’s concept of dedication.  Do we envision a great task entrusted to us?  Do we apply ourselves to its success?

                It is said that the ship’s log used by Christopher Columbus on his first crossing of the  Atlantic repeats, “This day we sailed westward!” day after day.  When Cyrus Field was preparing to put in place the very first Atlantic cable, he first  made fifty trips across that great ocean to prepare for it.  Gibbon, the historian, wrote his autobiography nine times before he was satisfied with it, and spent twenty years on his greatest work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. 

                More recently, this week’s news tells of treasure hunter Mel Fisher.  For sixteen years he has searched the waters off of Key West, Florida, for a sunken Spanish galleon, Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank in a hurricane in 1622 with millions in silver and gold.  The search cost Mr. Fisher the lives of a son, daughter-in-law, and another diver.  He is said to have greeted his divers every day for years with the statement, “Today’s the day!”  Last Saturday morning was the day.

                But the Jews, instead of seeing their relationship with God as a quest of faith, saw it as an endowment of merit.  As long as they were the guardians of the law, they were special.  Paul shows them that this is not so.  Faith must be the target of Jew and Gentile.

I.             The First Consideration Is Their Judicial Failure.  V4 “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

                We need a right picture about failure.  It  was not a failure of the law.  Romans 4:4f “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes . . ., his faith is accounted for righteousness.”  Psalm 32:1 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”

                It was  certainly not God’s failure. Isaiah 1:9  “Unless the Lord of hosts had left to us a . . . remnant, we would have become like Sodom.”  Clearly, it was their failure.  Three times (Luke 12:56, 19:44, 21:24): “How is it you do not  discern this present time?”

                They were not without urgency.  There was will, determination, even excitement, but all in error.  Paul prays for their salvation.  He tells us that they are not.  He tells us that they can be:  II Corinthians 3:16 “When one turns to the Lord the veil is taken away.”  He tells us that they will be: Romans 11:26  ”All Israel will be saved.” 

Their failure is that they are looking to their  Jewishness, not grace, to save.  We are not saved by our Baptistness.  Others are not saved by their Methodistness, etc.  We are not saved by our churchiness.

II.            Next, We Look at Their Spiritual Failure.  V9 “If you confess with  your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that  God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  It speaks of grace, of God doing what we cannot, of appropriating the sin-covering function of Jesus’ death for our sin.  John 1:12 “As many as receive Him, to them God gives the power to become His children.”

                Apart from Jesus we are cut off from God.  So also were the Jews.  It is a terrible risk to assume someone may have attained the spirit of obedience.  It speaks too clearly of  confession. It localizes that confession in Christ Jesus. It did the Jew no good to confess his Jewishness.  It does no good to confess our churchiness.  V10 “With the mouth confession is made.”

                How long has  it been since we talked to someone about Christ?  Sunday School teachers need to talk to their pupils.

III.           It Speaks of Their Social Failure.  V14f “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?  And  how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?”

                They chose what they could not save.  When the law is not passing out punishment for wrong it is failing.  One of our social concerns today is that the law is not always fair.  We don’t need a law that lets people get by with more; we don’t need a law that, as someone said, “you can get out of if you have money.”

                Mercy is a bestowal of grace. V4 “Christ is the end of the law,” the “termination,” the final reckoning.  It will  never go beyond this.  It is God’s last word on the subject.

                The Jew still has not learned that law and grace are antagonistic.  Romans 4:4 “To him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.”  Romans 11:6, “If by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace.”

IV.          Paul Adds a Concluding Note of Proof of Their Failure.  Deuteronomy 32:21, God said to  Moses, “I will provoke them to jealousy.”  Isaiah 65:1 “I was found by those who did not seek me.”  Isaiah 65:2 “I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Conclusion

                The last entry in the diary of David Livingstone was: “Jesus, my Saviour, my king, my God, I rededicate my all to thee to be and to do for thee  the best that I can until the day is done.”  There is GRACE.  There is BELIEF.  There is CONFESSION.

                Dare any of us think that we can get by on less?  Jesus died for my sin, and it behooves me to daily honor that reality as it if were a badge on  the sleeves of my clothing, telling all of my fealty to Him.